Muggle Summer

A/N: Time to roll out the semi-obligatory seventh-year saga. As the title indicates, I'm going to limit the story to the first three months. Why? Well, the first six chapters are in the can: roughly 18,000 words to describe the first 18 hours after Dumbledore's funeral. At that rate I'd have to donate an extra server to our web hosts to support a year's worth of story.

This is one is canon-plausible, gentle readers, and begins about an hour after Harry sees Ron's arm wrapped around Hermione's shoulders. There's harmony in every chapter if you squint hard enough, but those impatient for the apple pie payoff might better check out my one-shots (listed below). It'll take a while in this one.

Thanks for reading, and please review.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, no familiars harmed during the production of this text.

++++++++++++++

Chapter 1 - Back before he left

“Wotcher, Harry. Headmistress McGonagall needs to see you in her office.”

Harry reluctantly opened his eyes. He didn't bother asking Tonks how she had found him. She was an Auror; she was used to finding wizards who didn't want to be found.

So much for the avoidance planning.

Jump the queue and pre-board the train using your quidditch team captain's badge. Split off from Ron and Hermione when they head to the prefect's car and find an empty compartment. Cast Silencio spells on both the outside and inside of the compartment door. Top it off by charming the door window with the illusion of a student-filled compartment.

It had bought him five minutes of quiet.

“Argh,” muttered Harry. “The train will leave before I even make it back to the castle!”

“Imagine so,” she replied. “But I'm sure the Headmistress will get you to London somehow.”

He didn't really want to meet with anyone, but he lacked the energy to argue about it.

Tonks wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “I'll let your friends know what happened, and see to it that your trunk makes it to your Aunt and Uncle's house.”

“That's okay, Tonks” replied Harry, as he reluctantly pulled out his wand and released Hedwig from her cage. “I'll just shrink my trunk and Hedwig's cage and carry them with me.”

“And do what once you do make it to the Dursleys?” asked Tonks, as she turned him around to face her. “Still an underage wizard, you know.”

Harry looked at her with a tinge of annoyance. She was right; Harry couldn't legally do magic outside of Hogwarts for another eight weeks. In spite of his destination he packed his school robes into the trunk, and shoved the invisibility cloak into his sweatshirt pocket. With Hedwig on his shoulder for company, he stepped back onto the platform and started the long walk back towards the castle.

++++++++++++++

Dumbledore's password still worked.

The Headmistress of Hogwarts was sitting behind the large wooden desk, lost in thought and gazing out the window. She looked like a balloon whose air had been released.

Without turning towards Harry, she conjured a comfortable chair and asked “Tea?”

“Yes, please,” Harry said, as he fully entered the room. “Erm…I'm sorry, but I wasn't quite sure what to do with Hedwig.”

“No matter,” replied the Headmistress. “Fawkes's roost is empty.”

Harry tried to shoo Hedwig towards Fawkes's perch, but she wanted no part of it, and flew instead to the window sill. Harry looked around the office as the Headmistress poured two cups of tea. On the whole, it still appeared as if Dumbledore should be behind the desk, rather than hanging on the wall.

He looked over the Headmistress's shoulder at the portrait of the former Headmaster.

She noticed his gaze. “He hasn't woken yet,” McGonagall said. “The other portraits tell me that it might take weeks.”

Harry sighed and sat down. There were so many questions, so many needs, and so little hope….

McGonagall interrupted his thoughts. “That said, he's apparently still found a way to reach out to us.”

She picked up a piece of parchment and passed it across the desk. Harry immediately recognized the neat handwriting of his former mentor:

Dear Harry,

Please forgive the brevity of this message. There is someone you should meet prior to your return to the Dursleys. The sword will come in handy. More to say once I get used to this portraiture.

Regards,

Albus Dumbledore

Former Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

“When I returned from the memorial service I found that note stuck on the portrait frame,” the Headmistress said.

Harry frowned. “Do you think it could be a trap?”

“That was my initial thought,” McGonagall replied, “but even with Dumbledore gone I can not imagine how Voldemort could arrange to have a note written in Albus' hand placed within this office.”

Harry thought about that for a second. “Can't imagine Voldemort asking me to bring the Sword of Gryffindor to our next get together either.”

He rose from his chair and began to pace in front of the desk.

Headmistress McGonagall chewed on her lower lip. “Harry,” she asked, “will you sit and talk with me for a few minutes?”

He furrowed his eyebrows as he sat back down. Harry had never seen her so tentative before.

The Headmistress turned away from Harry as she conjured a handkerchief and rubbed the corners of her eyes. She turned back towards him and took a few moments to compose her thoughts.

“They say that if you want to truly know a wizard you need to fly a mile on his broomstick,” she began. “While I've always thought myself highly sympathetic to your situation, it's only been in the past few days that I've truly come to appreciate the burden that you carry.”

“How is that, ma'am?” Harry asked.

“Well, it's just that…. Dumbledore's dead, Snape's betrayed us, Voldemort's chasing after my students and Hogwarts could well close its doors for the first time in over 700 years,” she replied. “And in an emergency meeting earlier today, the Hogwarts trustees removed the “Interim” portion from my title. Apparently, I am now their own “Chosen One,” - the person who is supposed to prevail against all that.”

The Headmistress looked down at her desk. “Frankly, Harry, I don't feel prepared to meet their expectations. And yet I don't feel I have any other choice but to try. Does that sound familiar?”

Harry could see the vulnerability, and accepted it for what it was. A very small voice in his head told him to resent the fact that she was asking for his compassion, given all that he'd been through himself (it was, he noted, a voice that sounded a lot like Draco Malfoy's.) It wasn't hard to ignore it.

“Yes ma'am,” he said with his own eyes moistening. “That does sound very familiar.”

A second handkerchief was conjured for Harry's benefit.

McGonagall let him blow his nose before continuing. “Harry,” she said, “over the past six years I doubt that anyone would characterize my interactions with you as maternal.”

“Oh don't say that, ma'am,” replied Harry, “unless you've bought a new broomstick for every new seeker on your house quidditch team.”

“Yes, well, that was a happier time for all of us, wasn't it,” she said. “A time when taking the House Cup from Snape's office was more important than…”

“Than taking his head from his shoulders?”

“Quite,” she agreed simply.

“What I'm trying to say is that just as I was Deputy Headmistress, I always found myself also being deputy surrogate parent.”

Harry looked at her quizzically. “Ma'am, I'm not sure I understand.”

A fresh handkerchief was conjured and used.

“I always let Albus make the important decisions about your care, even when I strongly disagreed with him,” she replied. “Did you know that I was perched on their fence the day before Albus placed you on the Dursley's doorstep? I watched them…dreadful people…I did not want you in their care.”

“No, I didn't know that,” Harry said. “Don't suppose Professor Dumbledore ever admitted you were right?”

“Well, yes,” she replied, “Albus was trusting to a fault, and it took him a long time to accept the possibility that blood relatives would treat you so badly. Though once I learned of the protections that your mother's sacrifice provided I understood there was incentive to hope for the best.”

“But now that he's passed on,” she continued, “there are things you should know.”

McGonagall shuffled through the parchment on her desk, and pulled out a single piece from the pile. She looked down at it, then looked up at Harry.

“Before their deaths, your parents made arrangements for your care in case…well, they knew they were in great danger. Their wills designated your Aunt Petunia as your legal guardian and Professor Dumbledore as the trustee of your estate. It was fortunate that they structured things that way; had they not, your Aunt and Uncle would have been given their Gringott's key when your parents were killed.”

Harry's face turned pale. “They would've cleaned out the vault in a minute, if they could have gotten past working with the goblins.”

“Yes, I imagine so,” she said. “Now, as legal guardians the Dursleys should have been making decisions on your behalf not just in the muggle world, but in the wizarding community, as well. Luckily for you, they renounced that control during your first year at Hogwarts.”

“They did?” Harry asked.

“Yes, they made it quite clear that they wanted to know nothing about your well being during the school year. Didn't want to see an owl from us unless it notified them of your death.”

“I'm not surprised,” Harry said. “They've never been too keen on owls.”

“Hmmph,” was the Headmistress's reply. “In any event, their request effectively made the Headmaster of Hogwarts your legal guardian while you were within the wizarding community.”

Harry thought about this. “So that means that right now, while I'm still at Hogwarts…”

“…and while you are still under seventeen years of age…yes, Harry, I am your legal guardian in the wizarding world.” She paused for a moment. “I hope that isn't too upsetting an idea for you.”

“No ma'am,” Harry softly replied. “It isn't.” He looked up at her. “Not upsetting at all.”

“Well then,” she said,“that brings us back to my maternal instincts, doesn't it?”

“Don't start, ma'am,” Harry replied. “You've been far more of a mother to me that Aunt Petunia ever has.”

“But not as much as Molly Weasley, I'm certain of that. Or Miss Granger, for that matter.”

“Mrs. Weasley, I'll grant,” said Harry, with a pause. “But Hermione?”

“Yes, Harry,” said McGonagall, “Hermione. Or have I been wrong all these years in assuming that she's done a great deal to keep you on the straight and narrow?”

Harry thought back to all of the times that Hermione had made sure his homework was done, all of the times that she kept him from making rash moves, and all of the time she spent with him during his frequent trips to Madame Ponfrey's infirmary. Even with everything that happened the past year, with their arguments over the Half Blood Prince's potion book, and Malfoy, and Ginny….and Ron…

“Well, she's tried to keep me out of trouble, at least,” Harry finally said. “Can't say that she's always been successful.”

That drew a smile from the Headmistress's face. “No, I couldn't either,” she replied. “But I daresay that neither of you would be alive today were it not for the other. And it's been a long time since I've ever seen two people in my House that cared more about each other.”

She was about to tell Harry that the last two were his parents, but thought better of it. Which was a good thing, because Harry was wondering why she said what she did. Surely she knew that he had been dating Ginny, and that Ron and Hermione had feelings for each other?

“Ah, but forgive me, I've gotten us off track again,” the Headmistress said. “With your trustee…gone...” She used the handkerchief again. “When your parents designated Albus as the trustee of your estate, they also designated a rather lengthy list of alternates in the event of his passing. Again, this was prescient. Had they not designated alternates your Aunt would be trustee by default.”

“So if my Aunt isn't legally in control of my vault right now, who is?” asked Harry.

“Your parent's will designated Sirius as the first alternate. Some might have thought it surprising, given his somewhat wild character, but for the few months he was with you I certainly saw a level of parental responsibility I thought I'd never see in him. I'm sure that your parents saw that as well.”

Harry thought about how much he missed his godfather and showed the Headmistress that he could conjure a hankie just as easily as she could.

“Had it not been for Remus's condition your parents no doubt would have made him an alternate as well. The Ministry's position on the legal status of werewolves is indefensible. But as it stands, your parents listed as second alternate...me.”

Harry considered this for a moment. “So that means that you are both my wizard legal guardian and the trustee of my estate?”.

“Yes, Harry, although again, for not that long,” she replied. “Once you turn seventeen you will gain control of the remainder of both your parent's estate and your inheritance from Sirius. I was told by one of the goblins attending the service this morning that you are also mentioned in Albus's will.”

“I'd rather have Dumbledore alive than any of his gold,” said Harry.

“Wouldn't we all,” the Headmistress replied. “Wouldn't we all.”

“Now, after all this, to my point,” she continued. “I had a chance to talk with some members of the Order this morning. Amazingly, some still think that even with Albus dead and your seventeenth birthday approaching that you should leave fighting Voldemort and the Death Eaters to the so-called adults.”

The Headmistress leaned forward, as if to share a secret. “You should know that I no longer live in that camp.”

“Ma'am?” Harry asked, uncertain what he had heard.

“What I'm trying to say is that…well…” She paused and gathered her thoughts. “I'm telling you, Harry, that while I may now have a good deal of legal control over your life that I have no intentions of exerting it. Unless, of course, you ask me to. What I'm trying to say is that I trust you…your ability to tell me what I can do for you, rather than expect you to trust me to decide on your behalf.”

“Wow,” was all that Harry could say. “Erm, thank you, ma'am. I don't know what to say.”

The Headmistress stood and walked to the front of her desk. She leaned back and sat on the front edge, so that her knees were almost touching Harry's as he sat in the chair.

“What I hope you'll say is that you forgive me for not treating you this way sooner. What I hope you'll say is that you'll be willing to accept any maternal advice I might offer as freely given, and free to ignore. What I hope you say is that you won't mind if I give you a hug that would make Molly Weasley proud.”

Harry looked up at her with tears running down his cheek. He stood, rather awkwardly, given how little space there was between them.

“Okay,” Harry said. “First, I forgive you, even though I don't think you should apologize for doing what you thought was best. Second, I can't imagine how I'll defeat Voldemort without the benefit of your advice and support, so I am thrilled to hear you say you'll offer it. And, third….” Harry finished his answer by wrapping his arms around his Headmistress.

“Thank you, Harry,” she said, after breaking the embrace. “You…….you should get going now on whatever adventure Albus has planned for you. But before that…some advice?”

“Of course,” said Harry with a smile.

“Thank you,” she replied. “First, I'm afraid that you can't count on the Order's help right now.”

“Why not?” Harry asked.

“The Order was created by Dumbledore,” she replied. “All of the loyalty oaths were predicated on Dumbledore's leadership, and, unfortunately, we never created any bylaws or contingencies for its continuation if he died. And even if we did, there's Snape's membership, and whatever knowledge he brought to the Dark Lord.”

“So what does that mean?”

“Well,” she replied, “in the short term that means you shouldn't expect to have someone from the Order watching over you at the Dursleys. Not that it always made a difference…still think we should've fed Dung's guts to goblins after that dementor attack…”

Harry smiled again.

“Now, that doesn't mean that someone won't be there but…well, I talked with Miss Granger this morning and she told me that she and Ronald Weasley intend to stay with you at the Dursleys. I hope you let them. You might be underage, but they aren't, and I'd feel more comfortable knowing that they were watching your back even with the blood protections in place.”

Harry nodded.

“Oh,” she continued, “and don't be surprised if you see a tabby cat perched on their fence now and again. The Board is going to wait until August to decide on whether Hogwarts will open this fall, so I might have some time even with my new responsibilities.”

“I'd like that, ma'am,” Harry replied. “Am I'm sure that Crookshanks would enjoy the company.”

“Now, Mr. Potter!” she said with a sly grin. “Second thing - based on how Scrimgour and his flunkies treated me this morning, you should worry about the Ministry.”

Harry thought for a moment. “Was there anything in particular that he said?”

“Nothing officially,” she said, “but it's clear that they think they can roll over me in ways they never would have dreamed to attempt when Albus was Headmaster. Dolores Umbridge and Percey Weasley acting so smug - they probably see as much opportunity to grab power now as Voldemort does.”

Harry nodded. “This morning Scrimgour asked me again to join forces with the Ministry. He wasn't too happy when I brushed him off saying I was still Dumbledore's man.”

“Oh, Harry,” she replied. “While I am proud of you, I'm afraid what that will mean…you see, there are some in the Ministry that believe that you are as much of a threat to the wizarding community as Voldemort.”

“I'm not surprised,” Harry said, “but what can they do?”

“They can track your use of the floo network and owl post, and also come down hard on any legal missteps,” she replied. “You haven't forgotten your visit with the Wizengamut, have you? Without Dumbledore's help, they may make another run to break your wand.”

“No magic use until I'm seventeen,” Harry said. “I'll try.”

“Well,” said the Headmistress, “I wouldn't go that far. You are not allowed to use your wand to cast spells outside of these grounds until you are seventeen. I emphasize the phrase `use your wand;' I do not think that those who fashioned the law ever imagined an underage wizard capable of performing wandless magic…occlumency, for example. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes, Headmistress, I understand exactly what you mean,” said Harry, arching one eyebrow.

“Also, do not forget that there are very few restrictions on the underage use of magical items.”

“Oh,” said Harry, “guess I never really thought about that being raised by the Dursleys.”

Headmistress McGonagall's eyes suddenly lit up with inspiration. With a smile, she pointed her wand across the room and an unmarked door opened. “Harry,” said asked, “would you mind helping me clean out the closets of my new office?”

When Harry turned towards where her wand had pointed he smiled.

“Why yes, I'd be happy to help out, ma'am,” he said.

The Headmistress reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a rucksack. “Well then,” she said, “you might find this useful.”

Harry took the offered rucksack and walked over to the closet filled with items he guessed Filch had confiscated from Hogwarts students. As he began sorting through the stockpile, McGonagall excused herself from the office, saying that she had just thought of a few other places in the castle that needed some cleaning.

With the office to himself, Harry did a careful inventory of the closet's contents. He was delighted to find a pen knife similar to the one Sirius had given him (and he had lost at the Department of Mysteries); that went straight into his jeans pocket. Harry sorted the other items into two piles; things that might be useful in a fight, and things best used to annoy his cousin Dudley. As he began to fill the pack with portable swamps and nice assortment of whiz-bangs he realized that the rucksack McGonagall had given him had a charmed interior; no matter how much he loaded into the pack there was room for more. A quick check of the three exterior pockets showed that they were similarly charmed. With that knowledge in hand, Harry filled the pack indiscriminately with everything from belching powder to a magical tent.

The Headmistress returned to her office with a trunk filled with items that she told Harry had come from Snape's former office. He initially recoiled at the idea of touching anything that Snape had previously handled, but found that many of the items predated his tenure as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He saw the broken foe-glass, some secrecy sensors, and the extra-sensitive sneakoscope that Mad Eye Moody's imposter had played with. He also noticed several books that the Headmistress had pulled from Snape's private library. She told Harry that while the aurors investigating Dumbledore's death had taken Snape's notebooks and other writings, Madam Pince had successfully argued that all of the other texts in his office had been on loan from her library.

The Headmistress shrank and lightened the trunk, and gave it to Harry with a strict reminder to have someone of legal age restore it to size. Once Harry packed the trunk away, he hoisted the rucksack onto his shoulder; as he expected, it weighed no more than an ordinary rucksack.

With a flick of her wand McGonagall opened the glass case that protected Godric Gryffindor's jewel-encrusted sword. The Headmistress then turned towards Harry.

“While Albus's note doesn't mention it, I suspect that transportation has been pre-arranged.”

“I image you're right,” replied Harry with a smile. “But do you think it's safe? I mean, not so much where I'm going, but how…like you said, the last thing I need right now is some harassment from the Ministry.”

“Well,” she replied. “I believe that the crime lies in the unauthorized making, rather than in the using, particularly if it was an unexpected journey, so…”

“So they'd have to ship the portrait off to Azkaban?” Harry asked.

The Headmistress glanced over at Dumbledore's portrait with a terse grin. “I dare say that the Ministry would find it easier to remove Mrs. Black's portrait from the wall.”

Harry swung his rucksack onto his shoulder, drew out his wand, and walked over to the sword's case.

“Be careful, Harry,” the Headmistress said.

Harry nodded. When Hedwig added her hoots of concern, Harry laughed, and asked the Headmistress to send his familiar to the Burrow with a quick note telling them of his plans. He then grabbed the sword's hilt, and felt the all-too familiar hook in his gut sensation produced by an activated port key.

-->

A/N: A gentle reminder…In my playland, Harry turns 17 in 2006, rather than 1997. Thanks for reading, and please review.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no profit being made, objects viewed may be closer then they appear.

Chapter 2 - An Unexpected Meeting

The port key dropped Harry Potter onto the pine-needle covered ground of a small glade. He immediately crouched into a defensive posture, but saw no threats and sensed no magic. The only movement Harry noticed was a small van driving along a paved road some 50 meters away. Taking in the sights, smells the weather, he guessed that he wasn't very far from Hogwarts.

Harry looked down at the sword he still held in his left hand. He swung his rucksack off his shoulder and sheathed the blade in one of the expandable pockets, leaving the ruby-encrusted hilt out for quick retrieval. With his rucksack re-shouldered and wand still in hand, Harry cautiously walked towards the road. Looking in the direction the delivery van had traveled, he saw the road disappear around a curve. Looking up the road, Harry saw a wrought-iron gate and guardhouse about 100 meters distant. Two men dressed in dark suits and sunglasses stood on either side of the gate.

They appeared far too well-dressed to be wizards in muggle clothing, and rather than wands, Harry saw one man using a hand-held radio; the other held a clipboard. Taking a leap of faith in Dumbledore's plans, Harry left his cloak pocketed and carefully walked out onto the road.

The men watched him silently as he approached the gate. When he got within a few meters, one of the men called out, “You wouldn't happen to be Harry Potter, would you?”

Harry nodded. The man talked into his radio, and the gate slowly opened. Gesturing towards a white Land-Rover parked on the inside of the gate, he said, “This way, sir. They are expected you up at the castle.”

+++++++++++++

It was a quiet ten minutes drive up to the building that the guard had called “The Castle.” Frankly, it didn't look like much of a castle to Harry, at least when compared to Hogwarts. It was big, and built of stone, but only one tower rose from the main building, and its ramparts were only a few stories taller than the building itself.

Based on their approach, Harry guessed that the port key had delivered him to a side entrance of the estate. A much larger road approached the building from its front, and Harry could see many parked vehicles there. There were people milling about, and it almost looked like they were standing in line to board some type of tractor-pulled tram. The only other time Harry had seen anything like this was when his Aunt and Uncle took him to the zoo with Dudley. He smiled to himself when he thought about that day, when he learned that he could talk with snakes and when Dudley learned that he should have brought a change of pants.

The Land-Rover pulled up to the side of the building, away from the crowds, and Harry was shown inside. The entry hall was bright and cheery. Large landscape paintings set in heavy wood frames hung on walls dressed in gold wallpaper and trimmed in white wood. The furniture had overstuffed cushions upholstered in pastel floral prints, and flower arrangements were strewn about.

Although he had never been there, Harry imagined that Hufflepuff's common room could look like this, except for the fact that this was obviously a muggle residence. No creatures were bounding across the oil paintings of wooded landscapes, no fire was lit in the fireplace for floo travel, and the heads mounted on the walls of the staircase landing belonged to antelopes, rather than to retired house elves.

Harry was led up the stairs and down the landing to another set of stairs that hugged the walls of what must have been the tower he'd earlier seen. The stairway ended in a room that looked much more Gryffindorish than Hufflepuffian. Pieces of walnut and leather furniture were grouped about the room. A large stone fireplace set within one wall contained a modest fire that looked more ornamental than functional. The unlit torches held in sconces along the stone walls also appeared decorative, given the brass floor lamps that were scattered about, and a large, ornate chandelier overhead.

Long narrow windows set within the opposite wall allowed the sun to cast bright rectangular patches of light onto the ornate Oriental rug that covered the stone floor. A tallish man wearing a brown tweed jacket was looking out one of these windows, with his back turned to Harry. Harry noticed that the window the man stood in front of provided a glimpse of heath-strewn hills.

Harry tried, but failed, to detect any sense of magic within the room. The man who had escorted Harry into the entrance way cleared his throat and announced, just before leaving, “Your Highness, may I present to you Mister Harry Potter.”

The man in the tweed jacket turned towards Harry and strode across the room with his hand outstretched.

“Mister Potter, welcome to Balmoral.”

Harry instantly recognized the man's face from a certain portrait that had hung on the wall of his primary school classroom. From all appearances, Harry had just been introduced to the future King of England.

He cautiously held out his right hand and gave the man a handshake that was somewhere between firm and tentative in strength. “It's a pleasure to you,…your… your Highness.”

The middle-aged man took a step back, as if to allow Harry the chance to take some measure of the person he had just met.

“Mister Potter, you likely have a million questions running through your mind, right now, am I right?”

Harry, who in fact had only time to process a few hundred questions since his introduction, could do little more than nod.

“Well, my young man, given what I understand you recently been through, I'm not surprised, and not in the least offended by your caution. Allow me to suggest we have a seat by the fire.”

Harry was guided towards two high-backed chairs near the fireplace. The man that had shown Harry into the room reappeared with a tray that held a silver pitcher and two glasses of iced pumpkin juice.

“Pumpkin juice?” - that silent two-worded question jumped to the front of the line of the questions currently dancing in Harry's head.

“Thank you, Hawksworth, you may go,” said Harry's companion, and the two were soon left alone before the fire.

“Please Mr. Potter, have something to drink. I can't promise you that it will taste as good as what they serve at Hogwarts, but I've been told that my cook's recipe is fairly close.”

Mention of the word “Hogwarts” put Harry immediately back on the defensive…just how would the Prince of Wales know anything about Hogwarts? Harry refocused his senses on the man and surroundings, but still could not detect the presence of magic.

Harry cautiously chose a glass, but made no effort to raise it to his lips. The man reached down and picked up the other glass and took a long drink. “Please, Mr. Potter, I'm not trying to poison you.”

Harry nodded slightly as he watched the man take another drink from his glass.

“If I were in your shoes, Mr. Potter, I would be desperately looking for the answers to a few key questions. Namely, `Am I really the Prince of Wales and if I am how do I know about Hogwarts?' Not to mention the question of why you are here and whether or not you can trust me. How am I doing?”

Harry maintained his gaze. “Pretty well on the mark on all four, I think.”

“I see.” The man finished his drink and set the glass on the tray in front of him. “Mr. Potter, I wish I had more time to gain your confidence, but we have some critical issues to discuss before your departure for London. Allow me, then, to try to allay whatever fears you might have of my intentions.”

The man opened the left side of his jacket and very slowly reached into an interior pocket, allowing Harry to see him retrieve a brown leather billfold. He pulled out what appeared to be small, dog-eared photograph. As he passed it to Harry, he said two simple words in a near-whisper.

“Acid pops.”

Shocked, Harry looked down to see a magical image of the Prince with his arm around the shoulder of Albus Dumbledore, who appeared to be laughing.

“Yes, Harry, I knew Albus Dumbledore. He has been a friend of my family for as long as I can remember, and I was proud to call him a personal friend to the handful of people in both our worlds that I could trust with that secret.”

The Prince shifted in his seat as he pulled on the front seams of his trouser legs. He gazed into the fire for a few quiet seconds before reaching over and refilling his glass. He then stood up and looked straight at Harry.

“Mr. Potter, it is a tradition in my family that any glass used to make an important toast never be used again.” Harry realized what was being said, rose from his chair, and raised his glass.

“To Albus Dumbledore,” said the Prince. “If his presence enriches the next world even half as much as his life enriched our own, then it truly deserves to be called Heaven.”

“To Albus Dumbledore,” Harry whispered.

The thrown crystal shattered against the back of the hearth, and Harry began to sob.

And the man thought by most royal watchers to have all the warmth and compassion of your average puddle of mud stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the teen. “I know, Harry” he said softly. “I know.”

++++++++++++++++

After a few minutes, the Prince led Harry back down to the main floor and out into a garden located at the rear of the building. The fresh air and bright sunlight helped the men regain most of their composure. They walked down a limestone-block pathway, each with arms held behind them.

“Harry,” the Prince asked, “over the years Albus has told me much about you, and your progress at Hogwarts. Did you know that he considered you to be the son he never had?”

Harry's mind raced, as he thought back to that awful night, as he stood immobilized and watched his mentor's body tumble over the Astronomy Tower's restraining wall.

Harry reached into his pocket and tightly grasped the fake locket for which Dumbledore had sacrificed his strength and his life. Once again he felt a sense of great failure, hopelessness, and all-consuming fear of facing Voldemort without Dumbledore there to guide him.

“Harry, you know I too am trying to come to grips with Dumbledore's death. I wish I had been able to attend his funeral, but you can imagine the…the logistics… that would have been involved.”

Harry nodded. “How did you know about the funeral…how did you know that Dumbledore had died?”

Without looking, the Prince reached into a coat pocket and pulled out a phoenix feather that he slowly twisted in his fingers. “I've been up from London for the past week doing some fly fishing and planning for mum's summer residency. Four nights ago I heard the cry of a phoenix, and then Fawkes appeared at my bedroom window. And I knew. As for the funeral, well, Harry…let me just say that many in your world would be shocked at just how much a few of us muggles know about them.”

Harry's eyes went wide as the Prince tossed out the word “muggle” as if they were conversing at Hogwarts Castle, rather than Balmoral Castle. How much did he really know?

“Muggle, sir?” he asked.

The Prince looked at Harry with a crooked smile. “Yes, I know about your world, and I know just what some in your world think of us non-magical folks….”

“And what is that, sir?”

The Prince paused for a moment. “Harry, have you any idea how many titles I currently hold?”

Harry looked up and shook his head.

“Wouldn't imagine you would. Frankly, I have problems remembering all myself… Let's see. I am the Prince of Wales, the Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, the Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Chester, Lord of Renfrew, and…” The Prince look down at his fingers and counted as he mouthed through the list again, “Oh yes, Lord of the Isles…although I sometimes also fancy myself the Lord of the Dance, but only when I'm not in public.”

Harry laughed out loud as the Prince did a little jig.

“Ah, that's more like it, son,” the Prince said. “But, I am also painfully aware of the fact that I am heir to the muggle throne, and future King of muggle England. You have to admit, the word “muggle”does trip off the tongue a whole lot easier than “non-magical” or “non-wizard.”

The Prince glanced down at his watch. “Oh, look at the time. Harry, you do need to be in London tonight. Will you let me to ramble a bit upon why you are here?”

Harry nodded.

“Right. Well, then. Harry, I know that you are fighting against a dark wizard. I know that if this dark wizard…Voldemort, correct?…that if this dark wizard and his forces win that the results would be disastrous not only in your world, but in mine. I know that this war has already resulted in the deaths of many muggles by events that have been mistakenly labeled as natural disasters, or accidents, or terrorist acts.

Harry, I'm not sure if you are aware of the fact, but the British Prime Minister has been in consultation with Scrimgeour, your Minister of Magic, concerning this situation. However, from what Dumbledore had shared with me, I suspect that your Ministry has severely underrepresented how dire things really are. Frankly, Albus didn't have much faith in your Ministry as a whole, and in this Scrimgeour chap in particular. I believe that this is an attitude that you share, am I right?”

Harry smiled with agreement.

“Well… Albus was convinced that the best hope for both our worlds lay not within the Ministry of Magic, but within the hands of you and your young friends. In fact, he had great confidence in your ability to rise to this challenge.”

Harry once again cringed with self-doubt and guilt.

“You must realize, Harry, that Dumbledore shared all this with me for a reason…he was convinced that some key part of your success in the battle with Voldemort would come not by what you have learned at Hogwarts, but from what you might learn in the muggle world.”

Harry pondered over what within the muggle world could possibly help him battle Voldemort.

The Prince broke Harry's thoughts. “Harry, Dumbledore asked that I help you during your stay on our side of the fence. I am not certain how I can help you, although I have a few ideas. Ultimately, though, that will be for you to decide. Also, Albus wanted any knowledge of my help be kept closely held. You see, our Prime Minister doesn't know about my family's connection to Dumbledore, and I'm not sure that he knows anything about you. Unless, of course, your Minister of Magic has mentioned your heroic efforts during their meetings?”

“Oh, I doubt that very much, your Highness.”

“Right, then. I'll leave it for you to decide whom within the wizarding community you can trust. On my end, I have asked a few close friends to provide their assistance on my behalf; you'll know them as you learned to trust me. Rest assured they will do whatever they can to provide you with whatever you need. And if they can't help you for some reason, these might come in handy.”

The Prince handed Harry a small wireless telephone and a folded piece of parchment. “The note informs the reader that you are on Queen's business, and are to be provided whatever assistance might be available. Comes in handy if you want to skiv out of a traffic infraction, amongst other things. Just keep it safe in your wallet.”

“Um…I'm sorry, your Highness, but I don't have a wallet.”

“What? Well, then,” said the Prince, “take mine.” He handed Harry the brown leather billfold.

“Oh, sir, that's quite alright, I can get one…”

“Really, Harry, just take it. It's not like you have lots of free time to go shopping, and Lord knows I seldom have the chance to use it myself…hard for me to just pop down to the pub to buy a few pints.”

Harried thanked the prince and placed the note inside the wallet.

“You'll notice,” said the Prince, “that I only have a few hundred pounds in there…but the charge cards might come in handy. I'll have you authorized before you leave today.”

“Thank you, sir, but money is the one thing I don't really think I need help with.”

“Ah, Dumbledore mentioned that. But he also said something about the advantages of not having to run down to your bank whenever you needed a spot of cash. He also feared that there may come the day when you were blocked from gaining access to your wizard money.”

Harry thought about the goblins, about whether they would ever be tempted to join Voldemort's side, and nodded.

“The telephone has an untraceable number. Don't worry about going over on minutes, and if you need to contact me directly just hit Speed Dial 1 or text me.”

“I'm sorry, sir, but what is speed dial? And how exactly would I `text' you?”

The Prince laughed.

“Oh my goodness…a teenager that doesn't know how to text message?” he asked.

“Harry Potter, you truly do live in a different world.”

-->

A/N: As the title suggests, this is a transition chapter. On the bright side, Hermione finally joins my cast of characters (then again, so do the Dursleys). Thanks to all who have reviewed, and to those who have been graciously patient as my story (slowly) unfolds.

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine; neither is the money (only fair, I guess).

Chapter 3: Planes, trains and automobiles

Harry gripped the armrests of his seat as the small jet taxied down the runway of the Castle’s private airport. Of course he’d seen airplanes flying over the Dursleys’s house, and he knew that airplanes could fly…it was just that, like Arthur Weasley, he didn’t have the foggiest idea how they did so without using magic. Harry wondered if his magical powers were strong enough to levitate the entire jet, if need be, and wished that his Firebolt was with him, rather than packed in his trunk aboard the Hogwarts Express.

The Prince had arranged for the London-bound flight and told Harry that the Durlsleys would be made aware of Harry’s travel plans. Actually, what he said was that he would "take care" of them, but only smiled when Harry asked what that meant. He did tell Harry that he had arranged ground transport and dinner once he arrived in London.

Looking around, Harry noted that the airplane’s interior was just as luxurious as some of the rooms in Balmoral. There were a dozen comfortable leather seats, and the cabin interior was trimmed in mahogany with a plush crimson carpet. Although the cockpit door was closed, Harry had been promised a full tour by the flight captain once they were in the air.

One of the plane’s uniformed stewards stopped next to Harry’s seat and showed him how to fasten his seatbelt. "Is this your first flight, then?" he asked.

"No…but it’s the first time I’ve flown in an airplane."

The steward smiled, somewhat quizzically. "Well, then, just sit back and relax, Mister Potter, there’s nothing to worry about."

Harry was tempted to ask the steward just how worried he would be if he were about to make his first flight on the back of a thestral, but thought better of it.

The plane lifted smoothly off the ground and banked into a gentle curve. It felt strange to be flying through the air without the wind in his face and his feet dangling off of a broomstick. After a few minutes, Harry raised enough courage to look out the window at the ground below.

The view looked amazingly similar to what he’d seen perched high above Hogwart’s quidditch pitch - the green hills and valleys, the lochs and the forests. Harry wondered whether Hogwarts might somewhere down there within his view.

He recalled Hermione quoting from Hogwarts, A History, a few years back. The location of Hogwarts was unplottable – a wizard couldn’t mark it on any map. It was also supposed to be hiding in plain sight from the views of any muggles that happened to stumble upon it. Instead of seeing the castle, a muggle would see a hovel with a sign saying "Danger – Do Not Enter," or something like that.

Except Harry was a wizard; while a muggle airplane pilot flying over Hogwarts might not see the castle, a wizard passenger just might…

But then again, the converse should be just as true. If wizards riding in muggle airplanes could see Hogwarts, could wizards at Hogwarts see muggle airplanes?

Harry couldn’t remember ever seeing an airplane fly over Hogwarts. The airplane he was aboard was flying much higher than he ever dared fly on his broom; he could see for dozens, maybe even hundreds of miles. If Harry could see the tiny outlines of houses and communities, then why wouldn’t, by corollary, somebody at Hogwarts be able to see an airplane? Sure, there were probably established flight corridors for air traffic, but never a plane within sight of the castle?

He considered the possibility that wards had been established not only to keep muggles from seeing the magical world within Hogwarts, but to keep wizards from seeing the muggle world outside. Sort of like muggle repelling charms in reverse. Harry decided to add that to the list of things he needed to discuss with Hermione.

Harry stopped looking for castles and started to look for train tracks. Somewhere, down there, Ron and Hermione were aboard the Hogwarts Express. He wondered what they were doing right now, and if they knew that he wasn’t on board. He hadn’t failed to notice Ron’s arm around Hermione after the service, and he wondered whether they were using the time to sort out where they stood with each other. Harry knew that they had promised to stay with him at the Dursleys, but he really didn’t imagine how his Aunt and Uncle would allow that, and seriously wondered how Ron would survive more than a day or two in a non-magical household.

Wishing to drift away from that topic, he turned away from the window, leaned back into the seat, and drifted off to sleep.

+++++++++++++

A few hundred kilometers ahead, the Hogwarts Express was snaking through the green hills of the Lake District and Hermione Granger was snaking through the aisle of one of its carriages. It was a far different experience than when she first conducted patrols as a prefect.

The previous Fall, the train was filled with the typical assortment of animated and excited students (except for the first years, who were, of course, terrified). Most of her time had been spent confiscating forbidden items that students were trying to smuggle into Hogwarts (by the end of the trip her bag of goodies would have done a fair job of stocking a branch location of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes).

This trip was, in contrast, quiet. Extremely quiet. All of the students on board seemed to be aware that Hogwarts might not reopen that Fall, aware that they might not see their friends and classmates for a very long period of time, and (except for a few Slytherins) aware that Dumbledore’s death made their world a far more dangerous place. Once the train pulled out of Hogwarts Station it became readily apparent how this awareness was going to manifest itself.

One of the other muggle-born students had nicely summed it up.

Terror-snogging.

On past trips home Hermione had seen (and been disgusted by) the frantic tonsil-tickling of soon-to-be-separated-for-the-summer couples. But this went well beyond that, both in terms of frequency and intensity. Nearly half of the upper-year students, and far too many of the younger ones seemed to be searching for comfort in the arms of another. Couples who had been together all year, couples she had never seen together before, even couples Hermione would never have paired in a million years. She was glad to have been assigned a car mostly filled with younger-year students – it would have been dreadful for her to have to get in between, say, Lavender Brown’s lips and those of Merlin knows who (or how many).

From an intellectual perspective, it was easy for Hermione to see why this was happening. She had scandalized some of the other prefects when she argued, during a hastily called meeting at the start of the trip, that the snogging was actually therapeutic (up to a point). From an emotional perspective, Hermione could see the need as well, and a small part of her longed for a bit of therapy herself.

"But there are limits to enforce," she thought to herself, "and ‘snog-free’ zones to maintain, and Ron’s patrolling a different car, and Harry isn’t even on the train….."

Hermione let out a small gasp when that last thought passed her mind. "Harry? Why did I even think of him? He’s my best friend, he’s Ginny’s boyfriend. Okay, so he did break up with her this morning, but it was Ron who had his arm around me after the service, it was Ron I was so jealous over when he was snogging Lavender Brown, it was Ron, right?

It took her more than ten minutes to formulate a rationalization that could stand on its own legs.

Why are the other students snogging? Because they are scared, and they need to feel safe, and the easiest way to feel safe and secure is in another person’s arms. But in her case, it was Harry that always made her feel safe and secure, even without the snogging. Harry – the eleven-year-old boy that saved her life before they were even friends. So, when in her mind Harry showed up in the same train of thought as snogging, it really didn’t mean that she wanted to snog her best friend.

Terror-snogging is to other students as Harry is to Hermione.

Yes. Of course. That had to be it.

Hermione leaned up against a compartment door. She was scared about what might happen that summer. She was terrified about what needed to happen that summer. She wanted Harry on that train.

+++++++++++++

It was raining in Little Whinging. Hard. The rain beat down with an intensity that betrayed the new neighbors who had failed to properly clear their gutters. Vernon Dursley noted with smug satisfaction the ponding along the house foundation directly across the street, and wondered whether the two men who had scandalized the neighborhood when they had moved in the previous month were getting water in their basement. "Would serve those poofters right," he muttered, to nobody in particular.

And it was that lack of audience, rather than the weather, that was souring Vernon’s disposition.. For once he wanted to bask, to bathe, to wallow in the rare differentness of Number 4 Privet Drive. Oh sure, there had been the odd wedding party or two that had hired a fancy car to show off around the neighborhood. But nothing close to the 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III whose sideboards Vernon had one foot up upon, in what he imagined to be a dashing pose.

A white-gloved driver held a large black umbrella over Dursley’s head. Given the umbrella’s limited size and the awkward pose that Vernon insisted on striking whilst next to the car, one white glove and a bit of sleeve were the only parts of the tuxedoed driver that weren’t getting soaked. "All part of his job," Vernon rationalized to himself.

The front door of the house opened tentatively as a second well-dressed man attempted to protect both Petunia Dursley and her son Dudley from the elements. As there wasn’t an umbrella in all of England big enough to cover both of them, the man shuttled Mrs. Dursley to the car first, then returned to keep any rain from striking Dudley, his clip-on tie, or his soon-to-be-autographed boxing gloves.

The invitation to join the current European Heavyweight Boxing Champion for lunch had arrived two weeks ago. Vernon had been forced to call most of his chits in at work to get the day off on such short notice, and Petunia had given up her weekly bridge club meeting, but that was no matter. Their son, the current All-Schools Boxing champion, was to be personally congratulated and recognized for his success. The car and driver were all part of the package. The only bad part was the fact that they would have to swing by King’s Cross station after the event to pick up his cursed nephew Harry.

The thought of his nephew caused Vernon to scowl. Just a few short weeks and they’d be forever done with the boy, done with his type, done with the owls. But not before, of course, he earned his keep. Vernon noted with some satisfaction that Harry’s list of summer chores was just as long as ever. Every weirdo cloud has that silver lining…he looked despondently up at the clouds that were presently shedding rain, then up and down the street, searching for anyone who might be positioned to glimpse their due.

An admonishing voice called out from inside the car. "Oh for goodness sake, Vernon, get in the car or we’ll be late."

Dursley reluctantly ducked into the rear of the car. The car’s two attendants climbed into the front; a moment later, the car pulled away from the curb and started towards Central London.

A/N: Ever hear of the theory of punctuated equilibrium? The idea is that species don’t evolve at a gradual rate; rather, they stay about the same for millions and millions of years before some great asteroid hits and creates havoc and upheaval and then all sorts of things happen rather quickly. That’s how my plot seems to be playing out…Dumbledore’s death is the asteroid, and things are really wild and wooly for a while until the characters evolve and a new sort of equilibrium reestablishes itself. And of course all those wild and wacky events need to be described, right?

That’s my excuse for what will be a seven-chapter day, and I’m sticking with it. Here’s the hump chapter.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. I’m not making any money out of this. Usual Stuff.

Chapter 4 – More Travel (at least it’s within London)

Platform 9 ¾ was quiet when the Hogwarts Express pulled into King’s Cross Station. For security reasons, parents had been kept on the muggle side of the brick-walled entrance. Once the all-clear was given, prefects allowed small groups of students off the train one at a time, and teams of aurors quickly shepherded each group across the barrier and into the arms of their parents. The process was streamlined through Ministry of Magic arranged "Closed for Repair" signs, floor-to-ceiling tarps and some well-placed muggle repelling charms.

Hermione, Ron and Ginny were in one of the last groups to leave the train. Siblings were grouped together, and prefects had to ensure that all within their houses were accounted for.

Neither Ginny nor Hermione were all that happy Ron at that moment. Ginny’s ears still stung from his scolding; although Ron hadn’t actually caught her snogging, it didn’t escape him that she spent most of the trip thigh-against-thigh with Dean Thomas. Worse, she apparently hadn’t even looked for Harry, or realized that he had left the train back at Hogwarts.

Hermione was ill at ease for a different reason. Ron had gotten upset when she suggested that the prefects split up one per carriage to facilitate continuous monitoring; he had apparently expected to patrol hand-in-hand. Hermione had thought this to be a tad presumptuous. Sure, he had been there for her during the funeral, and hadn’t left her side from there to the tower and back to the train. There had been, however, no discussion about how things stood between them…whether they were finally looking at themselves as a couple. It was as if Lavender had set the standard for warp speed relationship progression.

"So what are you going to do now that Harry’s gone missing?" asked Ron, as another batch of students left the train.

"Besides sending my otter out to chew on his leg until he lets us know he’s safe? I don’t know," she replied.

"Could always stay with us," Ron said hopefully.

"No," said Hermione, as she sized up his intentions. "I might as well use the time to be with my parents. I’m still underage on the other side, and I’m going to have to coax a permission out of them to stay with Harry this summer."

"Yeah, well," replied Ron, "don’t think that being of age is going to make it any easier for me to tell Mum I’m not staying at the Burrow this summer, much less skiv out on seventh year."

Tonks stepped into the car. "Your turn, guys."

"Heard from Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Nothing yet," Tonks replied with a slight smile. That had been the eighth time Hermione had asked. "I’m going to get his trunk to his relatives, then pop back to Hogwarts to check with McGonagall."

Hermione nodded, as she checked off the last three names on the Gryffindor roster, shooed Crookshanks into his travel box, and began to drag her trunk towards the head of the car.

"What are you doing?" ask Ron. "Forget your age already?" Ron pointed his wand at his trunk and levitated it towards the car door.

"No worries you haven’t," Hermione replied as she dropped her hold on her trunk handle and levitated both her trunk and Ginny’s. "You plan on grabbing anything other than your wand this summer?"

"Won’t need to with you around, I image," Ron said, waggling his eyebrows.

Ginny’s trunk lost altitude and hit Ron behind his knees. He tumbled backward and ended up flat on his back on the trunk’s lid.

"But he’s so used to grabbing his own wand," Ginny giggled. "Why should he stop now?"

Hermione’s smile at Ginny’s comment turned into a scowl as she turned towards Ron. She raised her wand towards him, ignoring Ron’s look of uncertainty, and cast a shrinking spell on Ginny’s trunk. It shrank to the size of a paperback, which caused Ron to again fall, this time back flat on the floor. Ginny and Tonks laughed as Hermione performed the same spell on her own trunk and placed it in the pocket of her jacket.

"Oy, Hermione, what about mine?" Ron asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh," Hermione said with a smile, "I’ll leave that to you. Wouldn’t want you to lose your touch."

Ron let out an exasperated groan. He didn’t even try to shrink his trunk – he had yet to master that transfiguration charm and didn’t dare practice on something that contained most of his worldly possessions. He levitated his trunk again and guided it out onto a waiting cart on the platform.

An auror led the three through the brick wall as Tonks, wand drawn, looked up and down the platform. Hermione swore she could hear a loud maternal shriek even before she passed through the wall.

"Ron! Ginny! Come here you two!"

As Hermione walked through the wall she saw Mrs. Weasley smother her two youngest children using arms that looked as if they had been extended by one of the twin’s products.

"Oh, and Hermione, give me a hug, too" Mrs. Weasley said. "I am so glad that you’re all safe and sound."

"Not like you didn’t just see us this morning, mum," Ginny said.

"Yes, well, I wish you could have floo’d home with us, but what with the security and the lines at Hogsmeade…where’s Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked, suddenly realizing his absence.

"Erm, we don’t really know," replied Ron. "Tonks said he was pulled off the train to meet with the Headmistress just before we left."

"Headmistress? Well, yes, I suppose so," said Mrs. Weasley stiffly. She grabbed Ron and Ginny’s chins and asked, "How are you two doing?"

"Fine," Ron and Ginny replied, in a tone of voice that suggested otherwise.

"Yes, well, nothing some home cooking can’t improve upon," said Mrs. Weasley, "once we get home, that is."

"Mom, don’t tease me, you know the train doesn’t have a dining car," Ron whined.

"We have to stop by St. Mungo’s," said Mrs. Weasley. "Your father is trying to sort things out about Bill. Besides, once we use their floo connection we’ll be home quicker than if we had taken a car."

"Why is Bill at St. Mungo’s?" asked Hermione. "We saw him at the funeral – Madame Pomfrey released him from the infirmary didn’t she?"

"Yes she did," said Mrs. Weasley, with a sharp edge in her voice. "But it seems that some busybodies from the Department of Magical Creatures have suddenly lost faith in her professional judgement. They’ve insisted he stay at St. Mungo’s until the next full moon."

"Oh, no," said Hermione, "Fleur must be so upset…that’s what, ten days away? What about the wedding plans?"

"So did they decide to call it off?" Ginny asked, full of hope.

"Certainly not, dear," said Molly with an air of certainty. "Nothing is going to stop their happiness…not that vile Greyback, or Scrimgeour, or anyone. Besides," she said trying to lighten her mood, "it’s not as if the groom does a lot of the planning, right?"

A call came from across the hall. "Hermione! Over here!" Hermione looked up to see her parents waving at her.

"Excuse, me, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said with a happy but puzzled look on her face.

"Yes, of course, dear," Molly replied. "Do say hello to your parents for me, and don’t be a stranger to the Burrow this summer, promise?"

Hermione nodded as she turned to Ron. "I’ll let you know if I hear anything," she said. She gave him an awkward hug then ran towards her parents. For some reason, they were wearing ridiculously oversized red-rimmed spectacles and were terribly overdressed; her mother was wearing an evening gown, while her father was dressed in a tuxedo.

"Mum, Dad, it’s so good to see you," Hermione said, after a few necessary moments of smothering. "But really, you didn’t have to get all dressed up just for me."

"And why not," asked her mother, with spring in her voice. "Like the latest trend in fashion eyewear?"

"Let me guess," said Hermione. "They’ve got muggle repellents set up and those glasses are what got you by them."

"Right in one, sweetie," said Mr. Granger. "It really is too bad that they’re collecting them at the exit. We’ve got tickets to see Sir Elton at the Palladium next month, and these are so Yellow Brick Roadish."

"Oh, Daddy, really," said Hermione. "So you’ve explained the glasses, now, about the formal wear?"

"You’ll see," said her father, with a grin plastered across his face, "you’ll see."

+++++++++

Hermione’s confusion was compounded once they left the station. Rather than cross the street to the car park, they steered her towards the taxi rank.

"Where’s the car, Dad?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, it’s at home in the garage," her father replied with a mischievous smile. Just then a black Bentley limousine splashed through the puddled remnants of a rain shower and pulled in front of the queue. The car’s boot door popped open as the uniformed driver got out and tipped his hat.

"Good evening, Miss Granger," the man said to Hermione. "Do you have any trunks to stow?"

Hermione looked at both of her parents, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

"What?" Mr. Granger asked. "Can’t we spoil the greatest wit….greatest student of her generation once in a while?"

Mrs. Granger chimed in. "Erm…we should keep Crookshanks with us, dear… where’s your trunk?"

Too surprised to be thinking properly, she reflexively reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the paperback-sized trunk. She caught her breath when she realized what she had done, but, on a whim, handed the box to the driver with a smile. "They want to be cheeky, then so will I," she thought to herself.

The unflappable driver didn’t miss a beat. "Very good, Miss Granger," he said, as he took the box from Hermione and placed it in the boot. The evil grin she gave her parents produced some chuckles.

"Touché, Hermione," said her mother, as the driver held open the rear door and the Granger family climbed into the back seat. Crookshanks whined, but Hermione didn’t let him out of his box.

As the Bentley pulled out into traffic Hermione decided to give up trying to pry any more information from her parents; words would have had a tough time getting past their Cheshire Cat grins. A small part of Hermione was bothered by how her parents were acting. Owls had been sent to all Hogwarts parents informing them of Dumbledore’s death, and they knew she had attended the memorial service just that morning. Yet they hadn’t mentioned it at all. But she certainly wasn’t going to say anything about it – too easy to give them the benefit of the doubt.

She knew that their antics were due in part to her long absence. Hermione also knew that she wasn’t the typical boarding-school student home on break; it felt more like a respite from a tour of duty, and they were no doubt ecstatic just to see her alive.

Despite all of her grief and fear she was happy to be back with her parents, though - just not goofy-happy. But if they wanted to be goofy-happy, she had no problem compartmentalizing her worries for a while. It was something she had learned to do very well whilst standing by Harry’s side.

They tried to find things to talk about, but the conversation soon faltered. On other trips from King’s Cross the Granger family sedan was filled with stories about Hogwarts and Hermione’s world, but their muggle driver put a damper on that type of talk.

Hermione’s mother doled out bits and pieces of news about her cousins, the neighbors, and the school-aged children of their coworkers at the clinic. It was the same thing every year – cousin Barry just graduated and was going to uni at Bristol, only one of the Thompson twins passed their driver’s examination on first go, her neighbor Lizzie just got her braces removed, and so on.

Her mother always hoped that these updates would strengthen the tenuous string that kept Hermione attached to the muggle world. Hermione had long ago realized, though, that they only produced the opposite effect. Hers was, quite simply, a world turned upside down, and the stories only emphasized that fact. Her "normal" was a world in which ghosts and goblins and Dark Lords ran about; it was the world of computers, and dental floss, and angst-filled pimply-faced teens that was unreal.

"Well," Hermione confessed to herself as the car continued to move through traffic, "maybe the teenage angst part is the same."

++++++++++++

In a different part of London the occupants of another car were anything but goofy-happy.

The Dursleys had spent two hours waiting in a hotel meeting room for Dudley’s hero. At first they were elated – they’d been taken to a ballroom at the Savoy, and it had all seemed so posh, so West End – Petunia had already exposed two rolls of film for bragging material with the neighbors. The elation had turned to frustration as the hours dragged on, however, with the men who’d brought them there constantly apologizing for the delays. They hadn’t even been fed.

And then came word that the meeting place had been changed, and that they needed to be driven to a different location. Vernon’s face had turned crimson, and his neck bulged out against his shirt collar, but Dudley’s pleas to do whatever was needed for him to collect his autograph put a cap on his father’s temper.

It took about a half-hour for Vernon to realize that the car they had been riding in had been driving in circles.

"Alright," he bellowed, with face turned puce, "I’ve had enough of this. Take us back home."

"But father," Dudley lamented.

"But father nothing," Vernon replied. "It’s clear to me that someone has played a nasty joke on us…Oy! Did you hear me up there, bring us back home."

The man in the car’s passenger seat turned around to face Vernon. "I’m afraid that’s not possible, sir. Just sit back, and you’ll be at your meeting in a few minutes."

"Meeting with whom?" Vernon shouted. "I said, take us home…or are you holding us against our will?"

"Sorry, sir," the man replied, "it will all be made clear at your meeting."

"Meeting with whom, I ask you again!" Vernon cried out. He stopped for a moment to wrap himself around a thought that turned his puce-colored face a bit pale. "You….you aren’t one of those kind of people are you?"

The man looked at him questioningly. "What kind of those people are you talking about?"

"You know," Vernon replied, "one of those… people…like Dumbledore…. you know, wizards."

"Wizards?" the man said incredulously. "You’re asking me if I’m a wizard?"

"Yeah, that’s right."

The man broke out into a laugh and turned towards the driver. "Hey Gerry, did you here that? This bloke thinks we’re bleeding wizards!"

He turned back to face Vernon with a sneer. "That’s right, sir, you found us out, …caught us with our wizard’s robes down, you did. My name is Merlin and my friend over there is Tinkerbell."

"Clap if you believe in fairies," the driver said with a laugh.

Vernon turned red again. "I demand you return us to our home!"

"Alright, tubby, I’ve had enough of you," the man said. "Sit back, and shut yer trap." He reached into his coat and withdrew a handgun. "Or I might have to use my wand."

Vernon quickly sat back in his seat.

"That’s better," the man said as he holstered his firearm. "Oy!" the man said as he nodded towards a suddenly nauseous Dudley. "Don’t go making a mess, we just got the upholstery redone."

Dudley whimpered, but managed to keep his stomach from rejecting his lunch.

The Dursleys didn’t say a word for the rest of their trip. They were too scared to see much either, else they might have noticed the black Beefeaters hats worn by red-uniformed guards, as the car pulled off the road and through the gates of a military barracks.

Chapter 5 – Dinner with the Grangers

A/N: Sorry, but pumpkin pie is not being served just yet (you know it’s on the menu, though).

Disclaimer: These are not my characters, they belong to the extremely talented JKR, her publishers, Warner Bros, etc, etc.

Hermione didn’t fail to recognize her location as saluting members of the Queen’s Guard allowed access through the main gates of Buckingham Palace. From that point on she was in fairytale land.

Doormen rushed to open the door of their car and beefeaters sprung to attention as they walked up the Palace steps. Someone from the Palace staff introduced herself as Crookshank’s hostess for the evening, and took him off for some feline pampering. A separate escort led them through the obscenely ornate main entrance and up the red-carpeted main staircase. Opulence was everywhere she looked.

"This is unreal," she told her parents.

"Well," said her father, "for a girl that has flown on a hippo-giraffe that is saying something, isn’t it?"

Hermione giggled. "They’re called hippogriffs, Daddy."

But even her parents took a moment to take in their surroundings. The room they’d been shown into had gold-trimmed walls and was furnished with eighteenth-century antique chaises and ottomans trimmed in gold. Two chandeliers, each at least ten feet long and ten feet wide, hung from a gold-trimmed recessed ceiling. The floors were carpeted in an antique Oriental rug large enough to cover the King’s Cross meeting hall. And the artwork was stunning even if it was static; life-sized portraits of kings and queens throughout the ages, along with what Hermione recognized were works by Rembrandt, VerMeer, and Reubens.

Their escort left them with word that someone else would be with them shortly. Hermione walked into the room, expecting at any moment to have museum guards materialize and scold her for touching the furniture. There was a fire within a marble-tiled fireplace set against the far wall. Sitting on a gold high-back chair reading a book was someone who at first glance didn’t appear out of place, given his formal attire.

It was the unruly mop of raven hair that shook her out of her every-girl-wants-to-be-a-princess mindset.

Hermione tore across the room with a shout and tackled Harry, who had stood to greet them. The force of her hug knocked him back down on the chair. Harry smiled; he’d been in worst places recently than lost in Hermione’s hair.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said into his shoulder, "Where have you been? I was so worried about you when Tonks told us you weren’t on the train."

Harry tilted his head sideways to get a partial view of Hermione’s parents through her hair. With his arms wrapped around Hermione, he had to blow a sizeable chunk of her hair away from his face in order to clear his throat. "It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Granger," he said with a smile.

Hermione jerked her head off of Harry’s shoulder and looked at him crossly.

"Oh….nice to see you too, Hermione," he said. The mock sincerity earned him a punch in the arm.

"Now Hermionikins," her father laughed, as he walked towards the pair. "How am I going to be able to shake his hand if you break the arm that’s attached?"

"Shake it nice and hard, please," she replied. "And maybe squeeze some sense into him before he tries to take off again without his friends."

"How did you get here, Harry?" Mr. Granger asked as he shook Harry’s hand. "Hermione told us you weren’t on the train."

"I flew," Harry replied.

"Flew?" Hermione asked incredulously. "In broad daylight?"

"Yeah, it was brilliant," Harry said.

"On a broom?" Hermione asked.

"No, on a Gulfstream, silly."

Hermione frowned. "A jet? How did you arrange that?"

"Erm, a friend of Dumbledore’s," Harry said. "All in all much more comfortable than the Firebolt…pleasant meal, comfy nap, and I didn’t have to land every time I needed to use the loo. They even let me fly it for a bit."

"They did?" asked Mrs. Granger.

"Yeah, well, once we were in the air and cruising. Funny, the pilot told me that I was a natural at flying."

"Imagine that," said Mr. Granger with a laugh.

Harry laughed as well. "I wasn’t too sure at first. Couldn’t even think about magic, or else I’d have probably fried all of the electronics. But they let me dive, and move the rudders, and they explained all of the instruments for me…Mr. Weasley would have thought he had died and gone to muggle Heaven."

"Harry," said Hermione, "this is just too weird. Mom and Dad all dressed up with a car that takes us to Buckingham Palace, only to find you here in black tie after using an airplane to get home from Hogwarts? Will somebody please tell me what’s going on?"

"You’ll see," said Harry with a grin.

"Now that’s just what we keep telling her, but will she listen?" asked Mr. Granger.

The French doors opened at the end of the room and a well-dress man approached them.

"Oh, Brian," said Harry. "I’d like you to meet my friend Hermione Granger and her parents."

He turned and grinned at Hermione. "Yes," he teased wordlessly, "I’m on a first name basis with the Palace staff as well."

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione’s mother said, "but we’ve already met Mr. Willox."

It was her parent’s turn to get Hermione’s evil eye treatment.

"Good evening, Miss Granger, and welcome." the man said to Hermione. "Your mother thought that after your travel you might want to freshen up a bit, and perhaps - well, she gave us a few things this morning in case you might like to change..."

Hermione tried to articulate something but couldn’t manage anything more than an open-mouthed "Huh?"

"It’s okay, Hermione," said Harry. "just go with the flow…they did the same for me."

Hermione’s mother grabbed her hand and led her out of the room. "Listen to your friend, dear, and flow with me towards the Palace powder room."

Harry and Mr. Granger spent a moment walking around the room examining the artwork. Harry felt more than a little awkward being alone with Hermione’s father.

It was Mr. Granger that broke the ice.

"So how long have you known?" he asked.

"Erm, I don’t really know what I know, sir." Harry replied. "For all of the teasing I was giving your daughter, I don’t really have an idea what’s going to happen much past dinner. How long have you known?"

"We got the invitation about two weeks ago, and Brian visited this morning with some more details," Mr. Granger replied.

"Two weeks?" Harry asked.

"Yes, does that mean anything to you?"

Harry paused for a moment. "Only that this visit was likely arranged by Dumbledore before he…" Harry couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence.

"Oh, Harry," Mr. Granger said, "I’m so sorry for your loss. Hermione’s told us how close you were to your Headmaster."

"Thank you," Harry replied softly.

"Harry…there’s so much I’d like to ask you, but now is certainly…"

"No, that’s alright, sir," Harry said. "As much as Hermione’s done for me, as much as she’s risked…you’ve risked….well, it’s the least I can do."

"Thank you, Harry," Mr. Granger replied. "I hope you don’t think I’m trying to go behind Hermione’s back, but she’s told us that owl mail can’t be trusted anymore, and she’s no doubt afraid we’d refuse to let her return to Hogwarts if she tells us too much."

"I understand, sir. She’s very lucky to have two parents that care so much for her."

Mr. Granger thought for a moment. "We were told that Dumbledore died during an attack on the castle by the Death Eaters…is it true that he was murdered by one of your instructors?"

"Yes," said Harry, "Our former potions instructor, Snape. Dumbledore trusted him, even though he used to be a Death Eater. He’d been acting as a double agent– spying for us as he was pretending to spy for Voldemort….only he wasn’t pretending."

"Was Hermione involved…in the fighting….was he there?"

"Not really," Harry said. "She was guarding a part of the castle away from the fight…stunned by Snape before she knew that he’d turned…and as far as we know, Voldemort wasn’t directly involved."

"No, I’m sorry, I meant the one that tried to…well, the one that attacked Hermione."

Harry winced as he realized that Mr. Granger was asking about the previous years’ attack at the Department of Mysteries – the night Sirius died and Hermione was almost killed by one of Voldemort’s Death Eaters.

"Dolohov wasn’t there," were the only words that Harry could push past his tongue.

"Harry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean too, well I guess I should have expected that and you should be proud tonight rather than despondent."

"I don’t feel very proud right now, sir."

"Well you should, you know," Mr. Granger replied. "Hermione’s proud of you, and we’re proud of the way that you’ve shouldered what life’s thrown at the both of you…"

"It’s not fair that she has that burden. I….I was marked for this mission as a baby…it’s a destiny I can’t shake. But she doesn’t have to…"

"Oh yes, Harry, she does. Hermione has made that quite clear to her mother and myself. Frankly, from all that I’ve learned about your world she’s always going to be safer by your side… if you hadn’t rescued her she’d have been a troll’s Halloween snack, right?"

"Well that was Ron who clubbed the troll on the head…"

"Only after a very brave eleven year-old boy jumped on his back and stuffed his wand up his nose, right?"

"Yes, but…"

"Enough with the ‘yes-buts,’ Harry," Mr. Granger replied. "Hermione’s told us Voldemort would kill all of the muggle-born witches and wizards if he could…was she right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then Hermione would be at risk even if she did nothing."

Harry thought about what Mr. Granger said.

"The girls will be back soon…let me just say that I hope that we get to see a lot of you this summer. And I hope that if there’s any way that Emily and I can help that you’ll let us. Fair enough?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you again, sir."

They returned to their artwork inspections as Harry thought about what Hermione’s father had said. It wasn’t as if Hermione hadn’t told him that she was proud of him before, but what did it mean for her to tell that to her parents?

+++++++++++++++

Harry’s jaw dropped when Hermione returned to the room with her mother.

Mr. Granger whistled softly. "Emily, where did my little girl go, and who is this Velo on your arm?"

"They’re called Veelas, daddy," Hermione, said as she walked up and kissed him on the cheek. "But thank you, anyway."

It was déjà vu all over again for Harry…they were the same dress robes that she had worn at the Yule Ball. Except they couldn’t be the same…that was two years ago, Harry thought, and she’s grown taller since then, and…and filled out in ways school robes don’t show...

Hermione bore in on Harry’s reaction.

"So you remember?"

"How could I ever forget," Harry replied. All of the discomfort built up during his talk with her father melted away at his feet, and was replaced by a warm glow in his core and a lightness in his head.

"Erm…Mr. and Mrs. Granger, may I steal your daughter away for a minute?" Harry asked.

"You’ve had her for the past nine months and still need more time?" Mr. Granger asked with a smile. "Okay, you got a minute…just know that I’ll be looking at the most beautiful witch of her generation the whole time."

"Oh Daddy, stop," Hermione said, as Harry led her to a different part of the room.

"How did your mother, I mean, they shouldn’t have fit you, I mean…not that you’re bigger now, well you are…but in a nice way, but…."

Hermione put one hand on her hip, raised an eyebrow at Harry and smiled as he desperately tried to talk himself out of his mess. She finally came to his rescue.

"They’re the same robes, Harry…mom sent them to Madam Malkin’s last week hoping to find the same style in a different size, but they only needed a resizing spell."

"Of, course," Harry said. "I’m sorry, Hermione – I guess it’s hard…hard to talk when your breath’s been… erm, speaking as a friend…of course…did I ever tell you that night that you looked beautiful?"

"You didn’t have to," Hermione said sweetly. "Your eyes said it for you, just as they are now…as a friend of course. And thanks, Harry."

"I’m just worried that Krum’s going to pop out of the fireplace and spirit you away…"

"Or that Ginny would show up?" Hermione asked.

Harry frowned, and Hermione kicked herself. She had only been trying to play along, and let Harry know that he looked handsome in his evening wear as well, but Merlin! How stupid and insensitive could she be?

"Or Ron?" Harry asked. "Maybe he should be here meeting your parents instead of me?"

Hermione sighed. "I’m sorry, Harry, I was stupid to say that."

"No," said Harry, "you weren’t, especially now that you and Ron…"

"…you and Ron what, Harry?"

"Well, just that…"

Hermione grabbed both of Harry’s hands. "Harry, you and I need to sit down and have a long chat about things. But not now…Mom and Dad are looking at us, and there’s some flow we have to go with, right?"

"Yeah, guess you’re right."

Hermione surprised Harry by kissing him on his cheek. "If whoever set this up had wanted Ron here tonight he’d have been here. But he’s not, and that’s fine, because there’s no boy I’d rather my parents get to know more than you."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Now let’s head back over there and let Dad dote on me some more."

Hermione grabbed Harry’s hand as they walked back to her parents, who were trying (but failing) to act as if they wouldn’t have paid anything for a pair of extendable ears.

+++++++++++

When dinner was announced they were led into a small but lavishly appointed room with a dinner table set for four. Atop the table were the finest crystal, china and silverware that any of them had ever seen. The meal that was subsequently served on this dinnerware was equal in sumptuousness, with main courses of roast pheasant, braised lamb chops and poached salmon.

Harry told them about his day in between the fork selection lessons that Hermione discretely provided. Not really knowing how much Hermione had told her parents about Hogwarts and the Second War, he spoke in general terms. He did say that had arrived at the Palace about an hour before they had met. Hermione talked about the train trip, and updated Harry about Ron, Bill and St. Mungo’s.

Once they had finished eating, the staff silently poured them tea.

"I have to admit," Harry said with a chuckle, "that this was a far better meal with far better company than what I had a right to expect for tonight."

"No, Harry," Hermione replied, "you had every right to expect more than the horrible treatment you’ve been given all of these years."

"Speaking of horrible," Roger Granger said, "we didn’t see the Dursleys at the platform this evening."

"Our hosts took care of them," replied Harry. "You’ll see them in a bit, I imagine."

"They’re here?" asked Hermione.

"Um, somewhere near here, I think," said Harry. "Brian asked me if I wanted them to join us for dinner, but I suggested that my Aunt and Uncle might prefer their own company."

"That’s too bad," said Mrs. Granger. "Hermione’s spoke of them…I would have liked to have seen if they really did sport cloven hooves and horns."

"Don’t give your daughter any ideas," Harry replied with a laugh.

"Now, son," said Mr. Granger, "…erm, you don’t mind if I call you that, do you?"

Hermione looked at her dad with saucer eyes. "Dad!"

"No, Mr. Granger, I don’t." replied Harry, smiling at Hermione’s embarrassment as much as to cover his own. "Although, it’s a bit of a surprise given how little you know me."

"How little we know you?" asked Mrs. Granger. She chuckled. "Harry, some day you’ll have to read the owl posts Hermione sent us during her first few years at Hogwarts. I’ve got them stored back home."

"Mom!" said Hermione, turning a shade of red that Harry thought complemented her periwinkle robes quite nicely. "You didn’t! You can’t!"

"Emily’s right, young man" Hermione’s father chimed in. "Took me three months into the first term before I realized that there were students at her school that weren’t named Harry Potter."

"Uggh…" Hermione exclaimed with exasperation. "What’s next…the photo albums?"

"Oh, no" Mr. Granger replied, "we’ve got those saved for when Harry comes to visit us."

Hermione scowled.

Mr. Granger continued with gleam in his eyes. "As I said before, Harry, I hope we have the opportunity to get to know you better this summer. Hermione’s never had any Hogwarts friends visit her at home, and I’d love to get the real story about what she’s been up to the past six years."

"Dad!" Hermione exclaimed.

Given the conversation pattern, Harry expected Hermione to follow up with some cut about her father’s jokes scaring all of her friends away. But Hermione didn’t; instead, she looked at Harry with some seriousness. He couldn’t tell why, and before he had the opportunity to probe Brian entered the room to announce that it was time for the evening’s entertainment.

As they left the table, Harry stepped back so as to give Hermione the chance to walk next to her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Granger, however, had different plans; they shooed him towards Hermione and let the two of them take the lead. Hermione leaned towards them and raised her eyebrows, giving her parents the universal teenager sign for "Mom, Dad, stop embarrassing me!" That didn’t prevent her, though, from turning towards Harry and grabbing his arm with a sly smile.

"Harry Potter," she said, "if you aren’t going to tell me where we’re going or what’s happening next, then I’m going to insist that you lend me an arm for comfort."

He laughed. "Hermione," he replied, "you know you never need a reason to ask for my arm."

Hermione looked into Harry’s eyes as if to divine some meaning. This kept her from seeing the smiles on the faces of each of her parents, as they joined hands and gave each other knowing looks.

A/N: You know, I really should be spreading these updates out a bit more, so that you don’t get mad at me when the backlog is cleared. But as this is a little shorter than the rest….just remember that you’ve been warned.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 6 – Knight Protectors of the Realm

Harry and the Grangers were led through a football pitch-sized ballroom and into a lavishly intimate drawing room. A dozen chairs trimmed in gold satin were set in two rows facing the far end of the room, and Brian directed Hermione’s parents towards the first row. He then led Hermione and Harry to spots facing the far wall a few feet in front of the Grangers. He smiled, wished them luck, then took a seat in the row behind Hermione’s parents.

A door opened in the wall in front of Hermione and Harry and several men dressed in ornate crimson and gold suits entered the room. One of the men offered Harry his rucksack with a bit of flourish. Shocked that he had left it behind at dinner, and not knowing exactly what to do with it, Harry dropped it on the floor next to his side. Another man stood in front of them, surveying the room as if to see that everything was properly placed. The man then looked at Harry and Hermione and smiled.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, let me again welcome you and your guests to Buckingham Palace. We should be ready to start in a moment."

"Excuse me, sir, but start what?" asked Hermione.

"Why, the ceremony, of course," replied the man. "Ah…but you still don’t know, do you?"

"We’re afraid not, sir," said Harry.

"Well, apologies are in order, then. The Prince thought it might be a rather nice surprise for you. I’m sure Her Majesty would have talked about it at dinner had it been possible. She also offers her apologies, by the way…you see, there was a state dinner with the King of Norway that had been planned for months, and the Prince thought it best if we proceeded directly upon your return to London."

Harry and Hermione shared saucer eyes as another member of the palace staff strode through the doorway and whispered into the man’s ear.

"Right, then, here we go," he told Hermione and Harry.

"But what are we supposed to do?" asked Harry.

"Don’t worry, Mr. Potter," the man replied. "Just follow the Queen’s lead. She’s done these things hundreds of times, you know."

The Queen of England strode into the room followed by a rather large retinue of staff. She wore a long navy blue evening gown, white long-sleeved gloves and a brilliantly sparkling tiara made of platinum and diamonds.

Hermione looked like she was about to faint. Harry, having already met the Queen’s son that morning, found it a bit easier to go with what was now a very Royal flow.

The Queen stepped towards Harry and Hermione and offered them a welcome, and a personal apology for having missed the opportunity to dine with them. She then took a few steps back onto a small platform that four members of the Palace staff had placed down on the floor while the Queen was chatting with her teen-aged guests.

"Well," the Queen announced, "shall we begin?"

The Queen looked at Harry. "Mr. Potter, tradition holds that a knight candidate may choose the sword by which his or her titled is conferred."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other with shock, having finally realized what was about to happen. Hermione turned to her parents to find them beaming smiles back at her.

An attendant approached the Queen’s side, holding a sheathed sword. "We use my father’s sword quite often," she continued, one hand gesturing to her side, "It’s a very nice sword…perfectly adequate…but, perhaps, Mr. Potter, you might prefer a different instrument?"

Harry’s head snapped up slightly; the Queen was looking at him with the kind of sparkle in her eyes that he often saw in Dumbledore’s. He stole a peek at Hermione; there was nothing stolen about the wide-eyed stare that bounced back. She looked like she was going to kill him, just as soon as the Queen was out of blood splatter range.

He looked back at the Queen and smiled. "Thank you, your Majesty. With no disrespect meant towards your father or his sword, I believe I do."

Harry swung his rucksack in front of him and loosened the straps. He flipped the cover back to reveal the jewel-encrusted hilt of a golden sword. He looked at Hermione with another smile; she was silently mouthing the words "You don’t – You aren’t! – You can’t!" in rapid-fire repetition. His smile widened as he reached forward and unsheathed the Sword of Gryffindor. He took a step forward and offered the sword to the Queen.

The Queen grabbed hold of the sword’s hilt and gracefully swung the blade to one side in small waist-level arcs.

"Ah," she softly cooed. "It’s magnificent. We have heard legends about this sword," the Queen said. She looked down at Harry. "Should we, then, be addressing you as Lord Gryffindor?"

Harry looked at the Queen, gobsmacked by her question.

"Harry Potter is fine, your majesty," he stammered.

"Very well, then," she said with a smile. "We believe it is time for the witnesses to be brought forth."

Harry and Hermione heard doors opening behind them and turned to watch the Dursleys as they were escorted into the room. They didn’t look very happy. Two large men prodded them towards the second row of chairs; one of the men had what appeared to be a chopstick in his hand, and was waving it around with a grin on his face. Vernon eyes narrowed into tiny slits and his teeth clenched when he saw Harry standing with the Queen. The condition of Petunia’s teeth was indeterminable, as they were presently covered by lips fixed in an oval-shaped open-mouthed silent scream.

The Queen smiled and announced, "We welcome all of you Buckingham Palace, and to this ceremony. We are most pleased that while this is event is necessarily a non-public occasion that these two young people are still able to celebrate with those closest to them."

Hermione gave Harry a disapproving glance as he looked back at his Aunt and Uncle and stifled a snort.

Still smiling, the Queen continued. "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, will you kneel."

Hermione and Harry followed the command as a herald unrolled a lambskin parchment and read out:

"Oye, Oye, Oye. Be it made known amongst here present, and be it made known throughout the land at such time deemed prudent, that Harry James Potter, son of James and Lily Potter, and Hermione Jane Granger, daughter of Roger and Emily Granger, have performed unspecified heroic acts in the defense of the Realm, and demonstrated loyalty, bravery and strength of spirit worthy of emulation for all across our lands. To honor these actions and their strength of character, Her Royal Highness, the Queen, hereby invites them to join the Most Royal Order of Arthur as Knight Protectors of the Realm.

The herald rolled up the parchment as two members of the palace staff lifted red silk hoods over Hermione and Harry’s heads. Sewn on the outside of each elongate hood was a gold lion reared on hind legs.

As the hoods were being placed around their necks they heard a not so quiet "No!" shouted behind them. They turned to see Harry’s Aunt and Uncle’s beet-red faces trembling with anger and confusion. The two men that had escorted them into the room clamped down upon Vernon and Petunia’s shoulders with their ham-fists. In addition, the man behind Vernon placed one end of his chopstick into the entrance of Vernon’s left ear. It was the last they heard from the Harry’s Aunt and Uncle during the ceremony.

Dudley was, frankly, too ill educated and oblivious to realize what was happening. His little brain was, in fact, wondering when the Queen was going to introduce him to his boxing hero.

"Today you are invited to join the Most Royal Order of Arthur. This is the oldest Royal Order within our Empire," said the Queen, in a clear voice that filled the room. "It is also the least well known. The Order was established in the earliest days of our Kingdom by those pledged to battle Evil as members of King Arthur’s Round Table. Over the centuries, members of the Order of Arthur have fought in the greatest battles never described by any historian."

"At least," the Queen said as she looked down at Harry and Hermione with a smile, "not in any muggle history books."

The staff members who had given Hermione and Harry their hoods returned to the Queen’s side with two boxes. They opened each box to reveal identical jewel-encrusted medallions fashioned in gold and platinum. Each starburst-shaped medallion bore a crossed sword and wand within its centre.

"Of the many that sat with Arthur at his Round Table, twelve were both warrior and wizard. It is said that King Arthur created the Order as a tribute to these twelve and their loyal service, and that Merlin himself created the twelve emblems of the Order. Unlike the badges of other Orders, these emblems were returned to the Order once a Knight Protector passed on, so that they in turn could be passed onto a worthy successor.

"Begging your pardon, Your majesty," said Hermione, "but does that mean that these are two of the original twelve?"

"Yes, Miss Granger," said the Queen, "these badges are more than 1,200 years old."

Hermione looked at the relics fashioned by Merlin himself with awe.

The Queen continued. "All who are here today should understand that given the nature of the service performed by those within the Order of Merlin it is necessarily a secret society. We note with sadness that with Sir Albus’s passing, there is only one other living member. Were he in better health, Sir Evan would have been here today to celebrate with you and your family. We hope that you will both have the opportunity to meet him soon."

Hermione and Harry looked at each other with astonishment, each wondering who this Sir Evan could be and what he had done to join an Order that included Albus Dumbledore.

The Queen raised Godric’s sword into the air. "Now for the fun part," she said.

She tapped the flat edge of the sword on Harry’s shoulders and said "Harry James Potter, I dub thee Sir Harry, Knight Protector, Order of Arthur."

She then moved to face Hermione and placed three similar taps on her shoulders. "Hermione Jane Granger, I dub thee Dame Hermione, Knight Protector, Order of Arthur."

The Queen took a step back. "Arise, Sir Harry and Dame Hermione, and go forth into the Realm with certain knowledge of the Crown’s support."

The Queen stepped towards Harry and returned the sword. She then shook their hands and said, "We understand that you have had a long day, and we shan’t keep you any longer. Know that you will find welcome in our presence wherever that might be."

"Thank you, your Highness," said Harry.

One of the Queen’s assistants gave her a box that matched the last two she had presented. As the Queen passed this box to Hermione she said, "We are also aware that there is a third who deserves our royal recognition, and who will no doubt be at your sides as you face the challenges that lie before you. Were he here today, we would be bestowing upon him similar honors. We hope that Mr. Ronald Weasley and those others who are, shall we say…fully vested in the wizarding world…might some day be publicly recognized by us without fear of repercussions. In the interim, should you think it safe, we ask that you convey to Mr. Weasley our thanks, and on behalf of the Crown and Her Majesty’s Government provide him with this token of gratitude."

"Thank you, your Highness," Hermione said. "We will."

Mr. and Mrs. Granger were directed by the Palace staff towards the Queen. She shook their hand and congratulated them on their daughter’s accomplishments. A photographer stepped up to take a few pictures of the Queen, Harry and the Grangers.

Petunia Dursley, totally forgetting that it was because of Harry that she was even in the same room as the Queen, rushed towards her for picture proof. The Queen glanced up at Petunia’s direction, but seemed to stare right through her as she turned and left the room. Petunia’s view was blocked by several members of the Queen’s staff before her camera’s flash was fully charged.

Noticing that Petunia’s efforts had failed, Hermione broke away from her parents and walked straight up to Harry’s aunt. "I’m sorry, but were you hoping to bring home a souvenir?" she asked cloyingly. "Here, let me help you."

Hermione reached into her dress robes and discretely pulled out her wand. She quietly murmured something, and flicked her wand towards Petunia.

Harry look over to see what trouble Hermione might be getting into and broke out into a laugh. His aunt was throwing the quietest fit he’d ever seen from her, apparently thanks to a Silencio spell. Hermione had also managed to transfigure his aunt’s dress into a long white shift with flashing red letters on the front that read:

"My nephew was knighted by the Queen and all I got was this lousy t-shirt."

Harry walked over to Hermione and gave her a hug. Turning to his Aunt Petunia with a grin, he took great pride in introducing her to the brightest witch of his generation.

Chapter 7 – Karma’s Little Helpers

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

The Palace had made arrangements for Hermione’s parents to spend the night at the Savoy. Mr. and Mrs. Granger had amazed their daughter with their willingness to let her spend the night at the Dursleys. It had, in fact, been harder to convince Harry; he had argued quite strongly that she should be with her family. He only relented after Hermione promised that she would spend the following day with her parents.

The Dursleys were not at all thrilled at the prospect of Hermione’s stay, but it was impressed upon them that they had no say in the matter. Vernon nearly popped the collar button of his dress shirt when he learned that Brian Willox, the Palace staff member that had coordinated the knighting ceremony, was also going to be staying with them. Brian noted that "the Queen wished to ensure that Sir Harry’s stay wasn’t an inconvenience."

When it became clear that the Queen’s wishes alone weren’t going to hold sway, Brian gave Vernon a list of twenty people with connections to the Royal family of some sort. Four had been knighted, twelve had dined with a member of the Royal Family in the previous two years, eighteen belonged to the same club as a Royal, three had children with royal godparents; one of them was even two-hundred thirty seventh on the royal succession list. These people all had one more thing in common, however.

Each and every one of them had the power to ruin Vernon’s career at Grunnings -his supervising director, three members of the Grunnings corporate board, a half dozen board members from Grunnings’s corporate parent, key decision makers from their eight largest accounts. Any of them could put Vernon on the curb.
Vernon Dursley was too stupid to be afraid of magical threats, but he was plenty smart enough to recognize why the list was provided for his review. It was blackmail; pure, simple and effective. Familiar as well; Vernon had been no stranger to similar tactics as he had climbed up the Grunnings corporate ladder.

He returned the sheet of paper to Brian very quietly.

With an eye towards getting the blood protections back in place as soon as possible, Aunt Petunia was asked to join Harry, Hermione and Brian for the trip to Number 4 Privet Drive. Vernon and Dudley rode home in the back of a trailing van. Hermione had thought to pop over to The Burrow to update Ron until Harry told her about the Headmistress’s concerns about apparations. As an alternative, they had the driver take them to the Leaky Cauldron, where they used the floo connection to call the Burrow.

Molly almost hugged Harry’s purple-flamed face; they hadn’t gotten his note until they had returned from St. Mungo’s. Ron had already gone to bed, and she didn’t want to wake him. Deciding then to wait until morning to update Ron, Harry asked her to send Hedwig on to the Dursleys.

Though neither of them mentioned it to the other, both Harry and Hermione had concluded that Ginny had said nothing to her mother about the break up. There was, in fact, so much they wanted to share with each other, but with Aunt Petunia sitting across from them once they returned to the car they chose instead to learn more about Brian Willox, their new companion.

He answered their questions in a straightforward, but slightly reticent manner, acting as if the details of his life should be unimportant to those he’d been assigned to serve. At the age of 38, Brian Willox had just recently been awarded his twenty year’s service pin as a member of the royal staff. He was the latest in a long line of Willoxes to work at the Palace; his great-great grandfather Edwin had been a groomsman in the early years of Victoria’s reign. Brian had started as a cook’s assistant in the kitchens, and after ten years had worked his way up to the position of associate chef. In what he considered a beneficent stroke of luck, one of the Queen’s grandchildren had made it a habit to sneak into the kitchens, and over time had taken a liking to Brian. That relationship led to a position on the personal staff of the Prince’s family, where he had worked ever since. While Brian had no immediate family, he did have a family member whose occupation no doubt had something to do with his new assignment.

His younger sister, Christina, was a muggle-born witch that ran a Wizard’s Bed and Breakfast in Coventry.

"Oh my," Hermione exclaimed, when she learned this news, "so that means you’re a card-carrying muggle?"

"Yes indeed, Dame Hermione," Brian said, as he fished a small card from his billfold and handed it to her.

Harry leaned over to get a glimpse. At first glance it appeared to be a "Loyal Customer" discount card for a chain of muggle home electronic stores. With a tap of Hermione’s wand, however, the card morphed into a parchment containing magical images of Brian and his sister, their names and addresses, and the following text:

The muggle bearer of this parchment is an immediate family member of a witch or wizard citizen of the United Kingdom of Magical Great Britain. As such, they may lawfully retain knowledge of the wizarding world and possess magical items in quantities up to those limits established by Exemption 13.B subpart (f) of Protection of Muggles Act and the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy.

Amelia Bones, Head

Department of Magical Law Enforcement

The United Kingdom of Magical Great Britain

"Wow," said Harry, "I’ve never seen one of these before."

"Really?" asked Hermione. "That’s a bit odd. My parents got their cards the day after I accepted my invitation to attend Hogwarts."

They looked up at Petunia, who was trying desperately to feign ignorance of their conversation and its content. "Yes, we received those cards as well," she finally replied. "About as easy to ignore as those blasted invitations."

Harry wanted to ask Brian more about what he knew, and who else at the Palace was in the know, but hesitated with Petunia sitting across from him. When Brian finished describing his background Hermione urged Harry to close his eyes for a few minutes’ rest. Without asking, Brian took Crookshanks out of his travel box, placed the box on the floor and lifted Crookshanks onto his lap. This freed up the bench space between Harry and Hermione, so that when Harry did close his eyes, and his head dropped to the side, it landed on her shoulder. Hermione looked at Brian and quietly offered him her thanks. He smiled and nodded his head slightly. Crookshanks, happily getting the spot under his left ear scratched, looked up at Brian and purred his thanks as well.

It only took Petunia a few seconds to destroy the "one big happy back seat" vibe. Demonstrating that she lacked any of Brian’s reserve, she hissed out at Hermione.

"Are you Harry’s girlfriend?" she demanded. "Because if you are, or if you think that even with the Queen’s favor I will allow you two to sleep together under my roof, then you are sorely mistaken."

Hermione sat quietly for a few seconds, until she was reasonably certain that she could put Harry’s aunt in her place without waking him. When she turned towards Petunia, Harry’s head swung off her shoulder and into her lap. Without thinking, she removed Harry’s eyeglasses and cradled his head with her left hand as she launched into a response.

"Petunia, If I share a bed with Harry tonight it will be because somebody needs to be within arms reach to get him through the nightmares and night terrors that he has suffered all of these years. Merlin knows he can’t count on you to do that."

Petunia’s indignant reply of "Well I’ve never…" was immediately cut off by "and that’s half the problem!."

"If I sleep next to Harry tonight it will be because somebody needs to watch his back. Somebody he can trust to be there. To be there if or when the evil that killed your sister, and his father… and the evil that killed Albus Dumbledore last week decides to come knocking on your door."

Petunia gasped at the news of Dumbledore’s death. Brian felt the air temperature drop precipitously and asked the driver to turn off the air conditioning.

"No, Petunia," Hermione continued, "I am not Harry’s girlfriend. But I am everything else. I am Harry’s Guardian Angel, I am his comrade in arms and I am his devoted friend."

Brian felt air moving against his face and was alarmed to see that Hermione’s hair begin to sway out as a breeze began to circulate around the cabin in a clockwise direction. Something was definitely wrong with the car’s ventilation system.

"I am his rock just as he is my shield. Get between us and you will get squished."

Brain noticed that her eyes were on fire and there was a silvery glow building behind her wind-swept hair.

"I am the mother bear protective of her cub. Try to separate me from him and you will get mauled."

Brian began to compare his present experience against select scenes from various horror movies.

"From everything Harry has told me you and your family have made Harry’s life a living hell for the past sixteen years. Well, not this summer, Petunia…not this summer. Because I am Lily Evans Potter back from the dead and your day of reckoning has arrived!"

Unsure if that kind of channeling was actually possible in the wizarding world, Petunia slid as far away as she could and still be riding in the car. Hermione took a deep breath and paused. The storm that had literally been brewing in the back seat passed, and Brian noticed that the electric tension in the air had somehow been drained. Deciding to punctuate her remarks, Hermione pulled out her wand and casually rested it on Harry’s side, and adopted a sweet, conversational voice that seemed all the more sinister when juxtaposed against the tone of her previous comments.

"Oh, and Petunia, dear," she said, "in case you didn’t clue into the fact that we weren’t pestered by Ministry owls when I transfigured your dress, I am seventeen and an adult in Harry’s world. I am sure you realize what that means."

Petunia’s eyes went wide and she tried to swallow the sanctimonious retort that she had been mentally rehearsing during Hermione’s scolding. Crookshanks relaxed and pushed his ear against Brian’s hand. He got his wish, as Brian silently tried to gauge whether Hermione was going to make his job easier or harder.

Hermione’s eyes moved towards the side window and out into the night, as she tried to figure out where the uncharacteristic passion and fury had come from and where it went during Petunia’s dressing down.

Harry’s eyes stayed firmly shut. He had heard it all, but understood far less.

Harry had felt the magic straining to burst out from Hermione, and had feared what might happen if it went unchecked. With all of the concentration he could muster, he had tried to absorb that magic like a lightening rod. He had no idea how he had done it, but he was certain that he had succeeded.

How else could he explain the elation that was burning within him? It was if he had swallowed a river of Fawkes’s tears….his mind was racing, there was energy surging from the top of his scalp down to the tips of his toes. There was warmth within him that was as extreme in its extent as the grief that had gripped him at the beginning of the day.

It was Hermione’s magic that made him feel that way – that, or her fingers running through his hair as his head rested in her lap.

Harry felt guilty about maintaining the ruse, but was in too good of a mood to test the alternative hypothesis.

He kept his eyes shut.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was half eleven by the time they pulled up to Number 4 Privet Drive. Harry reluctantly sat up and looked out at the house. He fully expected that the structural evidence of his childhood abuse would still be visible; as a precaution, he made Hermione promise to wait until morning before hexing anyone into the next century.

Once Vernon opened the front door they almost tripped over Harry’s trunk which had been placed in the front entranceway. Harry pocketed a small piece of parchment attached to the trunk and proceeded to give Brian and Hermione a quick tour of the house. Meanwhile, the Dursleys searched in the kitchen for some normalcy and a bite to eat.

Harry had expected Hermione to rage at the sight of the cupboard and his bedroom door, so he was surprised by her tears. She sobbed quietly as she poked her head under the stairs and tried to imagine spending a childhood there. Tears filled her eyes as she opened and closed each of the four separate locks that could keep someone inside Harry’s bedroom but not keep anyone out. The tears trailed down her cheeks when she pushed the cat flap in and out and tried to imagine how anyone could be cruel enough to use it to feed their sister’s son.

It was Brian that provided the outrage. Terms like child abuse and parental negligence were quietly hurled about amongst a heaping handful of invective. That people could treat any child that poorly was criminal; that they did it to someone in the Queen’s favor was worse. He was halfway to ringing the police before Harry took him aside and explained a few things.

Brian didn’t understand why Harry needed to stay with people who had treated him so badly; they could have been back to the Palace for a good night’s rest within the hour. But Brian accepted Harry’s decision to stay without question. They were staying, most likely for two weeks, and he would simply make sure that over that fortnight Harry would be treated far better than what he’d ever experienced under his Aunt and Uncle’s care. And if that meant that over that same period of time the Dursleys had it worse than ever before – well, he had no problem being karma’s little helper.

Brian had the opportunity to quickly discuss his plan with Hermione when Harry opened his bedroom window to let in a slightly flustered Hedwig. It didn’t take Hermione any time at all to warm to either Brian or his ideas.

When Harry returned they walked back down to the kitchen and announced a house meeting. Vernon and Petunia sat at the kitchen table silent and ashen-faced. Dudley was oblivious to the fact that there was a new sheriff in town, and was whining about his desire to go to bed. Hermione changed his complexion to match that of his parents with the simple phrase "oink-oink."

With the defenses of each of the Dursleys suitably softened, Harry witnessed Hermione and Brian deliver a withering shock and awe attack.

There were no survivors.

When the meeting ended, Brian positioned himself at the base of the stairs and adjusted his watch to timer mode. On his mark, Dudley dragged Harry’s trunk into his own room and then scavenged from his closet some clothes and as many potentially incriminating objects he could find. Petunia jumped up the stairs and rushed to the master bedroom to empty (as best she could) their closet’s contents into two trunks. Vernon ran out to the car to get Brian’s trunk, which he then dragged up into Harry’s old bedroom. Hermione and Harry watched the flurry of events from the living room sofa with bemused expressions.

Brian’s signal after three minutes time brought everyone together again. On a request from Petunia, an extra fifteen seconds time was allowed to retrieve some bedclothes and blankets from the upstairs linen closet, which she used to make up the living room couch. There had been some thought to storing the Dursley’s trunks under the stairs before it was made clear that they might make Dudley’s fit even tighter.

Brian, Hermione and Harry left the Dursleys to fend for themselves and retreated to the upstairs.

Brian took the guest bedroom for the night; neither Harry nor Hermione wanted him to sleep in Harry’s old bedroom room until Vernon had replaced the door. Dudley had left his bedroom a shambles, but Harry had no plans on sleeping anyway; he was still too jazzed from the day’s events and the ride home from the Palace.

Hermione and Brian protested against Harry’s plans to stand watch for the night, but he said it was the least that he could do after what they had just done for him. He expressed amazement that the Dursleys had surrendered so quickly and completely, and feared that there might be a reprisal. Brian told Harry that he thought that possibility was remote; the Dursleys were bullies, and bullies became cowards when faced with the righteous use of power. But Harry insisted, and backed his intentions by dragging the chair from Dudley’s seldom-used desk into the hallway and taking a seat.

After Hermione told Harry that she’d take his place early in the morning, she went into the master bedroom, enlarged her trunk and unpacked her night clothes. When she looked more closely at the bedroom furniture she noticed with amusement that the bed and dressers were knockoffs in the same style as the antique furniture she had seen and sat on at Buckingham Palace.

Hermione walked towards the bed but her hand recoiled when she reached to turn down the bed cover. There was a whiff of bleach in the air that matched the stringent, aseptic appearance of the room. Did she really want to sleep in Vernon and Petunia’s bed? Not really, but if it kept them from being comfortable tonight then she would. Any chance that Petunia had changed the bed clothes when she was up here earlier? Shuttering at the thought, she raised her wand and cast a Scourgify spell on the sheets before she tucked in for the night.

She was asleep almost before her head hit the newly cleaned pillowcase.

Chapter 8 – Late night visitors

A/N: With this chapter, the backlog is officially cleared. You’ve been warned. ;-)

On the bright side, it’s extra-long. Don’t know if it’s extra-better…it’s the first chapter to justify the Action/Adventure part of the story’s descriptor, and I’ve found it much easier to write romantic comedy. Oh, well. Thanks in advance for the reviews, and if you tried to leave a review for the previous chapter but were blocked by the site, I’d love to hear your thoughts on chapter 7 as well.

Finally, sorry for the haphazard italics (particularly with spells)…had trouble getting them uploaded for some reason.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Harry had anticipated a Dursley counteroffensive that night; he was surprised, therefore, when the first thing up the stairs wasn’t his uncle, but a screech owl. The bird dropped a familiar looking envelope at Harry’s feet not fifteen minutes after his watch began and flew off before he had the chance to stop it.

The message was all too familiar.

Dear Mr. Potter:

We have received intelligence that Finite Encantatem and Scourgify spells were used at twenty-three and twenty-four minutes past midnight within your Muggle-inhabited household.

Your wanton disregard for the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has gone unchecked far too long. Ministry representatives will call on your residence shortly to destroy your wand. Any attempt to evade their administration of justice will be dealt with most severely.

Given your repeated violation of this Decree you should consider yourself expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the unlikely event that it opens this Fall. Furthermore, you are required to attend a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9am on July 30, where additional disciplinary actions will no doubt be levied.

Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Dolores Umbridge

Office of the Minister of Magic

Harry exhaled a scatological request, then reluctantly woke Hermione.

“Oh Merlin,” she said. “I cast those spells on my trunk and your Aunt and Uncle’s bed clothes.”

“Thought as much,” Harry replied. “They detected magic use in the house and assumed that I was the only one here that could have cast that spell.”

“Couldn’t they just check our wands?” Hermione asked.

“Doubt that the echoes would be strong enough to show up resolved with Priori Incantatum…not that I expect they’ll take time to look. It’ll be Stupefy first and ask questions later.”

They quickly identified their responses, both written and practical. Hermione scrawled a quick reply to send off with Hedwig while Harry roused his relatives.

“What the blazes?” said Vernon, “It wasn’t enough for you to claim our bedrooms so now you claim our sleep?”

“Sorry,” Harry replied, “but there a strong possibility that we may be under attack in a few minutes and I thought you might prefer the relative safety of the upstairs lavatory.”

Petunia’s face went white. “But I thought Lord Voldemort couldn’t hurt you while you stayed in our house.”

“That’s right,” said Harry. “You know that, I know that, but there’s no guarantee that the bad guys know that. And even if they did, I doubt that my mother’s protection extends over your heads as well.”

The Dursleys didn’t wait to argue with Harry’s logic.

Brian, who had been awoken by Vernon’s shouts, wanted to call the local police for help; Harry refused, saying that giving the nature of the visit Hermione and he needed to handle things themselves. He then suggested that Brian slip out of the house in order to keep the Royal connection quiet. Brian reluctantly agreed, but said that he’d be watching from a safe distance with cell phone in hand.

Harry took the rucksack that McGonagall had given him into the dining room and dumped its contents out; the contraband covered the table and spilt over onto the floor. He was tempted to grab the Sword of Gryffindor, but decided to try to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. Instead, three balls and a saucer-shaped item were tucked into his pockets. On a bit of inspiration, Harry activated the two pair of omnioculars and propped them up on a hallway shelf and the kitchen counter, so that they faced the front and rear entrances to the house respectively.

Harry looked up as Hermione entered the kitchen. She had changed into a dark sweater and black pants, with hair up in a loose ponytail and her wand out and ready.

“What happened to my little princess?” he asked.

“Laura Croft kicked her bum out of bed,” she replied with determination.

“Time for a good luck bear hug, Dame Hermione?”

“’Fraid not, Sir Harry.” She leaned forward and laid a quick kiss on his lips. “That will have to do.”

Hermione ran down the hallway to take up a defensive position a few feet away from the front door. It took Harry a few seconds to shake off the shock of her kiss before he turned off the kitchen lights, and walked out to the rear steps. Turning back towards the kitchen, he reached into a pocket, and threw a ball marked “Swamp Surprise” onto the floor. Harry watched with no small amount of satisfaction as the thrown ball turned Aunt Petunia’s spotless kitchen floor into muck. The “surprise” came two seconds later, when a concealment charm covered the swamp’s surface with a perfect imitation of the original patterned linoleum.

Harry heard five distinct cracks as he circled around towards the front of the house. He groaned; it was two more than they had expected. Harry took up a position near the front corner of the house, hidden by invisibility cloak and shrub, and spotted a silvery otter as it scampered out the front door and sped off into the night.

It took a full minute for his guests to arrive; Harry noted with some satisfaction that the protective wards in place had forced them to apparate a good two blocks down the street. There were six in the party. Five moved with a purpose that screamed out “auror in action,” while the sixth (who must have side-armed) lagged behind with a waddling gait. As they approached the house two of the black robed figures silently split off to the rear of the house. The other three waited for the laggard, who chose a position on the street curb, well away from the house.

They didn’t bother to knock, unless you counted the Evansco incantation that made the front door disappear. Two of the men leapt into the doorframe and fired off stunning spells without any word or warning. Harry thought he heard a Protego called out, but wasn’t sure it was done in time.

Harry reacted as soon as the stunners were released. The first ball he threw burst into a cloud of dust that enveloped the three men into pitch-black darkness. The three figures turned and fired spells in Harry’s direction, but the Peruvian Instant Blackness Powder and Harry’s cloak kept them from aiming with accuracy. When the second thrown ball broke, the men found themselves not only enveloped in darkness, but shoulder deep in the muck of a portable swamp. From the tenor of their voices they were not very pleased.

Harry yelled towards the front entrance. “Hermione, are you okay?”

Panicked by the lack of a reply, Harry grabbed the disc from his pocket and flung it against the house. He then dove through the hole that the portable door had created and tumbled into the living room. His heart sank when he saw Hermione crumpled up against the coat closet’s door. When Harry called out to Hermione a second time her eyes opened. She immediately rolled over onto her stomach and dove behind the closet door as a red beam shot out through the blackened front entrance.

“I’m fine, Harry,” she said, as she tried to loosen the bruised shoulder that was attached to her wand hand.

The crash of a Reducto spell against the back door kept Harry from asking a second question. He pulled the cloak back over his head and ran towards the kitchen. Harry heard someone yell “Clear!” and reached the doorway connecting the dining room to kitchen just as a robed figure cautiously entered the house. The man’s first step sent him tumbling face-first into the faux linoleum.

His partner, who’d stayed at the threshold to cover his back, swore as he tried to both counteract the trap and guard against attack. With his attention focused in front of him, the attacker was surprised by the kick from behind that connected with his behind and sent him sprawling into the swamp. Harry saw the foot, but couldn’t identify the supporter attached to it; the black-clothed figure disappeared without identifying himself.

Harry quickly refocused his attention on the two men in front of him, and their comic attempts to find solid ground. He threw the last ball in his pocket at the two men; the belching powder that enveloped them made saying anything coherent (like a counterspell) problematic. With the immediate threat neutralized, Harry squatted down under his cloak, wand now in hand, and waited.

Meanwhile, Hermione had cast a Levicorpus spell at the first sight of fingers reaching out from the darkness in search of solid ground. The attacker that was sent head under heels cast the counterspell before remembering where he would land. Upon hearing the splash Hermione realized what had happened and modified her defense by casting a freezing charm at the swamp’s surface. The water froze fast enough that two of the three attackers were caught with ice-encased wand hands. The third was so busy trying to thaw his partners free that he caught the full force of the third Silencio spell that Hermione had cast blindly into the darkness.

With the threat of attack considerably lessened, Hermione cast a proprietary counterspell to the Peruvian Instant Blackness Powder that she’d helped the Weasley twins develop just two days prior (and two days after its lethal use during the attack on Hogwarts). Three quick Stupefy spells found their marks, as did the follow-up Accio wand spells. With three wands pocketed she ran towards the back of the house.

A disembodied arm caught Hermione before she went for a swim, which caused her to cast an off-balanced Protego as the two assailants tried to fire off curses at her. The combination of burped incantations and mud-covered wandtips, however, rendered this defense unnecessary; the spells fizzled and dribbled out through the wand tips. Hermione nailed the two men with Stupefy spells before they had the chance to clean their wands.

It wasn’t until Hermione had Accio’d their two mucked-up wands that Harry remembered about Umbridge. They both vaulted back to the front entrance and aimed their wands out towards the street in search of a target.

What they found were two wizards sitting on a bench eating popcorn.

“Fred…George?” Hermione called out.

“Nope, just the cavalry,” said Fred.

“Nice show,” added George, as he threw a few kernels into his mouth. “We give it two thumbs up.”

“You really should have sprung for the Deluxe version of the swamp, though,” said Fred. “The crocodiles are worth every extra galleon.”

“We’re fine, thank you very much,” Hermione said sarcastically as she and Harry lowered their wands and carefully skated across the icy surface towards the twins.

“Didn’t happen to run into Dolores Umbridge on the way in, did you?” Harry asked.

“Oh, we’re on top of that situation,” replied George.

“Yeah,” added Fred with a grin, “wouldn’t want to be accused of sitting down on the job.”

As Hermione and Harry reached the street curb they saw that the twins were speaking with characteristic literalism. The “bench” they were sitting on was, in fact, the rigid frame of the former Hogwarts High Inquisitor, levitated two feet off the ground.

“You two are too cruel,” Hermione said with a laugh, “but probably not too comfortable.”

“It’s not so bad,” said Fred, as he shifted on his seat.

“Just have to wiggle a bit to get around the lumpy bits,” added George. “Popcorn?”

“Erm, no thanks,” said Harry. “So did she put up a fight?”

“Dunno,” said Fred. “She was standing stunned when we got here.”

“Must have caught a stray spell,” Hermione surmised, as she looked back at other three rigid bodies.

George tilted his popcorn bag out in a futile hunt for popped kernels amongst the duds. Giving up, he looked up at Hermione. “So can we play with your swampcycles?”

“No,” said Hermione impatiently, “playtime is over. Don’t need the muggle neighbors seeing any more than they need to.”

“Yes, mum,” was the sing-songed reply, as the twins rose to help Harry and Hermione clean up. It only took a minute to banish the swamps, repair the windows and doors, and levitate the six rigid assailments into the living room.

“How did you guys get here,” asked Harry, as they regrouped inside. “How did you know we were even here?”

“Didn’t you read the note on your trunk?” Fred asked.

“Erm, no,” Harry replied, fingering the unread parchment in his jeans pocket with some embarrassment.

“We drew short straws at dinner.”

“This was a Weasley operation?” asked Harry.

“Still think Charlie enlarged his straw,” Fred muttered to his twin.

“Yeah, not like he hasn’t had years of practice.”

“Anyway,” continued Fred, “we got here and place was quiet, so we left the note saying we were at Arabella’s and to ring her on the jelly-phone when you arrived.”

“But I didn’t,” Harry said.

“No, but I did,” Hermione interjected.

“When?”

“When I heard all of the apparations…thought it was time to ring Mrs. Figg’s for some help.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you were one smart witch?” asked Harry.

“Oh,” said Hermione with a grin, “I’ve heard that once or twice.”

Their banter was interrupted McGonagall’s patronus, who leapt into the living room and curled up around Hermione’s leg.

“Oh foo, playtime’s over,” said Fred.

“Yeah, the adults have arrived,” added George.

“Hey Harry,” Fred asked, “can we take a look at your toys?”

“Sure,” said Harry. “Probably a good idea to put them away for the night.”

“We can take care of that,” George replied.

As Fred and George excused themselves to sort out the dining room mess Harry pulled the hoods back from the heads of their captives. He immediately recognized two; Dolores Umbridge and a tough-looking, wiry-haired wizard that he’d had run-ins with before.

“Good evening, Dawlish,” said Harry. “Assuming, of course, you are Dawlish and not some polyjuiced Death Eater.”

The auror rigidly raged.

“Oops,” said Hermione. She cast binding charms on the immobilized figures, then counteracted the Silencio and Stupefy spells. Dawlish’s mouth was mobilized in mid-rant.

“..care if you think you’re the greatest thing since butterbeer you’re going to Azkaban for this one, boy!”

“Over a simple Scourgify spell?” asked Harry, with a grin on his face.

“No,” Dawlish replied, “for attacking an auror and resisting arrest.”

“Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves?” asked Hermione from across the room. “Expect Headmistress to be here shortly.”

“To do what,” asked Harry, “laugh at their ineptitude? An entire auror team, brought down by two Hogwarts students using nothing more than a few second year spells and pranks from a joke shop?”

“You knew why we were here,” Umbridge spat out. “You got the owl…underage magic use…you resisted arrest.”

“No,” said Hermione. “Well, actually, yes – we did get the owl message, but you should have gotten our reply, and in any event you can hardly claim that we resisting arrest when they made no effort to identify themselves as aurors in the first place.”

A flash of twirling light appeared behind them, out from which strode Headmistress McGonagall and Gawain Robards, the current Head of the Auror Department.

“Was her orders,” mumbled one of the other glum-looking men, before he realized that there were more ears listening.

“Really?” asked the tall, badged wizard who had just portkeyed alongside Headmistress McGonagall. “And what exactly were those orders?”

“To collect and break the wand of this underage liar,” exclaimed Umbridge, as she pointed her triple chin towards Harry. “And to defend themselves if need be from any illegal and foolish attempts to resist enforcement of the rule of law.”

“Oh, shove it, Dolores,” said McGonagall, with uncharacteristic fervor. “Hermione, will you please explain to everyone what happened here tonight?”

Hermione quickly summarized the events of the previous hour; her Finite and Scourgify spells, the Ministry’s owl post, and subsequent attack. Both she and Harry handed their wands over to the Head Auror for his review. As Harry had predicted, however, the spells that had last been cast hadn’t been dark enough or strong enough to leave discernible residue.

When Umbridge shrieked about the spells Harry had no doubt used that evening Harry denied using his wand while Hermione tried to force Dawlish to admit that the aurors hadn’t identified themselves before they attacked. Instead, Dawlish claimed just the opposite, and accused Harry and Hermione of opening fire first. The other aurors remained silent – they were in enough trouble as it was for their incompetence; they didn’t want to add insubordination to the list.

When Harry and Hermione accused Dawlish of lying, Umbridge told them in no uncertain terms to prove it…and if they didn’t want time added to their stay at Azkaban to immediately remove their bindings. Harry decided at that point that enough was enough. He retrieved the two pair of omnioculars and handed them to the Headmistress and Head Auror.

Hermione smile when she realized what Harry had done. “You are so...”

“Busted.” Harry said simply.

The Headmistress and Head Auror took the omnioculars, then rewound and replayed what had previously been recorded. Auror Robards looked over at Harry during his review.

“Where were the muggles that live in this house during the attack?”

“Upstairs in the loo,” Harry replied. “They’re still up there.”

The Auror nodded and traded omnioculars with McGonagall to gain the other perspective. When he was finished reviewing the two recordings, the Head Auror walked over to Harry and Hermione and returned their wands.

“On behalf of at least my little portion of the Ministry of Magic,” he said, “I wish to extend a sincere apology for the abhorrent behavior displayed here tonight. There was no excuse for it.”

“Erm, thank you sir.” Harry replied.

The Head Auror took a small card from a pocket in his robes, touched it with his wand, and handed it to Hermione. “Miss Granger, here is the contact information in case you wish to press charges against these men. I’ve added my secured floo location information on the back if you have any problems with the paperwork. Our internal investigation on tonight’s activity will be completed within the next few days, and I’ll make sure that you have a copy of the final report.”

“Thank you, sir,” Hermione replied.

The auror then turned to Harry. “Your Headmistress informs me that Miss Granger intends to stay here through the summer. Rest assured, the detection of anything short of an unforgivable within these walls will be interpreted as having come from her wand.” He jerked his head towards Umbridge. “You will not be bothered by the likes of her again, if I have anything to say about it.”

He then turned towards the team of hit wizards with their wands bundled in his outstretched hand.

“If we weren’t so short-handed I’d snap these wands myself. Right here. Right now.”

The five muddy and bound Aurors looked up with shock.

“As it is, we need every wand we can get, even when they are so poorly and unlawfully wielded… Dawlish!”

“Yes, sir.”

“As of now, you and your team are suspended from active operations. It’ll be desk duties for the lot of you while the investigation takes place. But don’t wait for the investigation’s end to start packing your bags; whether it be as guest or guard, you’re heading to Azkaban.”

The hit wizards’s shock was redoubled.

“And as for you, Dolores,” he said icily, as he turned towards her, “I have, unfortunately, no direct control over you. Merlin knows what keeps you in power at the Ministry…however, on the way here the Headmistress described some allegations of unforgivable use and other illegal acts during your tenure at Hogwarts. I will be investigating these allegations myself. If they bear out you may plan on feeling the full fury of the Auror Department raining down upon your toady-little head.”

Umbridge’s retort was silenced by McGonagall’s wand.

“Thank you, Minerva,” the Auror said. “Now, I believe that your students have been bothered enough for one night.”

He placed his wandtip on his Auror’s badge and muttered an incantation. The badge started to flash on and off as he placed it down on the living room’s coffee table. He then banished the ropes that bound the hit wizards and Umbridge. The aurors morosely reached down to touch the badge as their Head grabbed Dolores’s elbow roughly and did the same. A second later, they vanished as the portkey was activated.

“I think it time for me to take my leave as well,” Headmistress McGonagall said. She handed the omnioculars to Harry. “A very creative, if unorthodox, defense Mr. Potter.” She then turned towards Hermione. “As for you Miss Granger, some fine spellcasting. I have to ask, however, where you learned to cast a Levicorpus spell. I don’t recall it being on the Hogwarts standard list of spells.”

“Erm…Professor Lupin taught it to me, Headmistress.”

“I see,” McGonagall said, with her eyes narrowing just a bit. “Please take care, Miss Granger, when casting spells not found on the standard list. Mr. Potter might share with you the consequences that sometimes arise out of freelance spellcasting.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Hermione said rather contritely.

“Headmistress,” Harry cut in, “how did you get Head Auror Robards to come with you…do you think he’s trustworthy?”

“Well,” said McGonagall, “let’s just say that Gawain is a friend of the family. And yes, I believe that you can trust his intentions. Whether he actually has the political capital to boot Umbridge from the Ministry is a different question, though.”

At the sound of a soft knock on the new front door, Headmistress McGonagall morphed into her animagus form and took her leave out the back. Hermione and Harry heard a distinct hiss from the dining room as they opened the front door and let a relieved Queen’s man back into the house. Brian’s reappearance reminded Harry that his relatives were still up in the loo; he went upstairs to give them the all-clear as well.

“We repacked your goody bag,” Fred said, as he handed Harry the rucksack.

“But not before we labeled everything that was ours or that we knew about, though,” added George. “Hope you don’t mind, but there were a couple of items we didn’t recognize…wondered if maybe we could bring them back to the lab for a look-see.”

“Sure,” said Harry, “no problem. While you’re at it, can you send me a few more swamps? I kind of liked playing with those tonight.”

“Consider it done,” said George, just as the Dursleys crept back down the stairs.

“Hello, there,” the twins said in unison.

At the sight of Fred and George all three of the Dursleys recoiled, and Dudley broke out into a whimper.

“Nice to see you again, Dudley,” said Fred.

Dudley jumped back up a few stairs and whimpered some more.

“What’s a matter, Dudley, cat got your tongue?” asked George.

“Or maybe you’re just a bit tongue-tied?” added Fred.

“Now boys,” said Hermione, “don’t scare our hosts. They need to come down the stairs so that we can go back up the stairs and to bed.”

“Okay,” said Fred. “We’ll just have a sit on the front steps, then. Don’t mind us.”

“They’re staying too?” asked Petunia anxiously.

“Erm, just for the night, as a watch,” said Harry. “Unless, of course, you’d like to see them more often?”

Three heads shook sideways with great vigor.

“Right then,” said Brian, “shall we try this once again?”

As the Dursleys set up again in the living room and Brian repaired to the guest bedroom, Harry walked Hermione to the master bedroom’s door.

“With Fred and George here you are going to try and get some sleep, right?” Hermione asked.

“I guess so,” Harry replied.

“Erm, do you want me to Scourgify Dudley’s sheets?” she asked.

“No thanks,” Harry replied. Not that I don’t trust Auror Robards’s word, but why test things so soon?”

“Good point,” Hermione said, with a bit of nervous laughter in her voice. “So…your Aunt and Uncle’s sheets are clean…”

“Thanks, Hermione,” Harry quickly interrupted, “but I’ll be fine in Dudley’s room.”

“Oh,” said Hermione, “Sure. No problem…So….good night, Sir Harry.”

Harry took her hands in his and grinned. “Sweet dreams, princess.”

Harry gave each of her hands a gentle squeeze, then let go as he headed into Dudley’s room. It wasn’t until he closed the door that he let out a deep breath. Scowling at Dudley’s sheets, he ripped them off the bed and flipped the mattress for good measure. He thought about heading back downstairs to give Fred and George the “reading material” that he found stashed beneath Dudley’s mattress, but didn’t dare head back out to the hallway.

Had he done so, he would have found Hermione still there, standing at the threshold with the fingertips of one hand touching the door and whispered words touching her lips.

“Sweet dreams, my handsome prince.”

Chapter 9 Sorting Things Out

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed my previous chapters.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

+++++++++++++++++

Harry woke to the sound of Dudley pushing a lawnmower. It was going to be a good day.

He got up out of bed and rummaged through the closet for an empty coat hanger, upon which he hung the black tuxedo and white shirt that he’d slept in. He opened his school trunk, threw on some of the less heinous hand-me-downs, and headed out into the hall. Harry had to step over his Uncle Vernon, who was struggling to remove the lowermost hinge pin from his old bedroom’s doorframe.

"Good Morning, Uncle Vernon," he said. "Sleep well?"

If looks could kill Harry would have had to dodge a curse.

He took the stairs two at a time and headed towards the kitchen, where he found Brian cleaning some dishes in the sink. Brian turned towards him and asked "Feeling alright this morning, Sir Harry?"

Harry looked past Brian out through the basin window to see his Aunt Petunia fighting a losing battle against the hedgerow.

"Brilliant, Brian. Just brilliant."

The Queen’s man filled a mug and pushed it across the counter as Harry took a seat. " ‘Coffee as black as his hair’ is how Dame Hermione described it," he said.

"She knows me too well," Harry said as he took a sip. "Speaking of which…"

"She popped over for Saturday brunch with her parents," Brian replied. "Asked me to have you call her when you woke up. Oh, and she left you the paper."

Harry nodded as he glanced over at the Daily Prophet’s headline, "Ministry Thwarts Crazed Centaur Attack at Hogwarts!" Brian placed a plate in front of him laden with fresh fruit, a warm bran muffin, and granola-topped yogurt.

"Pardon my initiative," Brian said, "but after taking a look at your Aunt’s pantry this morning I ran over to the market for a few things that weren’t so…shall we say…processed."

"Erm, no, no problem," Harry replied, eyeing the yogurt with suspicion. "Looks fabulous."

"Eat up, then, Sir Harry – from the looks of your clothing they must have been starving you at school."

Harry looked at Brian with a bit of confusion. "Just the opposite, actually," he replied, "Foods great at school…a little more traditional (that yogurt wasn’t looking any better), but always plenty to eat."

"So this stapled-stomach look is fashionable in the wizarding world?"

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, wondering why muggles would want to have a staple gun anywhere near a stomach. He looked down, saw his clothes, and realized Brian’s mistaken assumption.

"No, no…these clothes are Dudley’s hand-me-downs. Pretty much all my muggle clothes used to be his, except for what I wore yesterday...that was from Hermione."

"Well," Brian intoned, "to borrow a phrase from your friend, not this summer. Sir Harry, not this summer…we’ll visit a clothier’s this afternoon.

"Oh, speaking of clothes," Harry said, "I’ve got the suit and shirt hanging upstairs in the closet whenever you want to take it back to the Palace."

"Want it back?" Brian asked, with incredulity in his voice. "I’m terribly sorry, I should have been clearer yesterday afternoon. The suit and shirt are yours, Sir Harry. You’re going to need them."

Harry chuckled to himself. "I really appreciate that, Brian, but I can’t imagine needing that tuxedo any time soon."

"Only because we haven’t had time to discuss your engagement calendar, Sir Harry," Brian replied. "Of course, since your knighthood is secret and won’t appear on the Registry it won’t be as busy as it might be, but…you and Dame Hermione will have opportunities…I know for a fact that you’re going to be invited for a small reception at Windsor next week, and there’s to be a post-concert party with Sir Elton next month…"

"Hmmph," Harry said with a tinge of chagrin. "I don’t know why anyone would want to invite me to anyplace fancy. Beside, Hermione and I need to do a lot of…studying…this summer, and a fair bit of travel." He looked back out the window as his Aunt wiped sweat from her brow, hedge shears in hand. "But then again, we might be able to attend a few events…particularly if it gives a few people I know some twisted knickers."

Brian checked where Harry’s gaze was and smiled. "I see, Sir Harry. So instead of a single swift blow from your magnificent sword it will be death by a thousand paper cuts?"

"Oh, no," replied Harry. "I’ve no plans to kill them….I’ll probably stop somewhere in the high eight-hundreds."

The front doorbell rang, and Harry looked towards Brian.

"Sorry, Sir Harry, but I believe that is a friend of yours…a Miss Tonks? Dame Hermione and the Weasley brothers vouched for her before they left…she’s been here most of the morning."

The doorbell rang again. Then again.

Harry thanked Brian for breakfast as he grabbed his coffee and headed towards the front entrance. The already open door provided a partial view of Tonks, who was standing on the front steps, eye-level with the door bell.

"Wotcher, Harry." She pressed the doorbell again. "These push-the-button-hear-some-bells things are funny aren’t they…wonder what’d it would be like to have one hooked up to the floo connection."

"Careful, Tonks." he replied, "You’re starting to channel Arthur Weasley."

Tonks looked up, then turned her hair Weasley red. "Not a bad idea, Harry…maybe if there were two Arthurs running about one of them would occasionally get a word in edgewise with Molly."

Harry laughed. "So what brings you to the Dursley residence?"

"Business," Tonks replied, as she restored her hair color.

"Erm…what kind of business?" Harry asked warily.

Tonks gave Harry a grin. "Head Auror Robards ordered me to do the follow-up field investigation to the pantsing you gave Umbridge and Dawlish last night. Figured you’d be less likely to slime an Auror that you already knew."

Harry nodded, a twinkle in his eye. "So does this take you off the security detail at Hogwarts?"

"Only temporarily," she replied. "With luck and a little cooperation from The-Boy-Who-Swamped I’ll be back there tonight."

"The-Boy-Who-Swamped?" Harry asked. "Don’t tell me that they are really calling me that at MLE."

"Just the ones that either really hate Dawlish or really love him," Tonks said with a grin. "Of course, that’s just about everybody - he has a rather polarizing personality."

Harry shook his head and sighed. "So tell me, Tonks, which camp is Head Auror Robards in?"

"Don’t really know," she replied, as she entered the house and began to examine a small scorch mark in the closet door. "He plays things close to his robes."

"What can you tell me about him?"

"Not too much, really," said Tonks. "He’s a behind-the-scenes quiet type. Never flashy, rose through the ranks based on his management skills…makes sense, really, since he sorted Hufflepuff."

"Really?" asked Harry. "I can’t picture too many Hufflepuffs becoming Hit Wizards."

"Well, Harry," Tonks replied, "you need more than bravery and cunning to be a good Auror…or a good leader, for that matter."

"Doesn’t sound at all like someone Scrimgeour would pick as his replacement."

"Depends on what Rufus thought he needed, don’t you think?" Tonks asked. "Talk to the rank-and-file aurors and most will say that Scrimgeour picked him exactly because Robards didn’t seem that ambitious, or power hungry. Gives him more of a shot of staying in control at MLE as well as at the Minister’s office."

"Never thought of it in that sort of way, I guess," said Harry. "Sounds like more of that political glad-handing back-stabbing manipulative garbage that Umbridge seems to excel at."

"I agree," said Tonks, "that Umbridge has gotten where she has because of her political skills. But that’s exactly why those skills aren’t garbage, Harry. Without political savvy, the best-intentioned and brightest wizard will always get cut down at the knees."

"Doesn’t seem very fair."

"I agree, but that’s the way things are. You know, it might be useful for you to learn more about that political garbage, Harry…worked for Dumbledore."

Tonks finished her inspection of the closet door and wrote a few things down on some parchment.

"Okay, Harry, I’ve finished in Hermione’s room and downstairs…just need to check your wand and those omnioculars that came in so handy last night."

"Sure thing," said Harry, handing her his wand. "Be right back."

As Harry walked upstairs he passed his Uncle, who had finally removed the door from its frame and was dragging it out as trash. He quickly retrieved the two pair of omnioculars he’d stored in his trunk, and returned downstairs.

"Here, Tonks," Harry said. "Erm, can I get these back sometime soon? They proved to be rather useful."

"Oh, I don’t need to take them, Harry…just need to download the recorded images. Got a spell that preserves them in my wand. Just take a few minutes."

Tonks placed the devices on the living room coffee table, flicked her wrist in a complex pattern and said an incantation that Harry didn’t catch. She then placed the tip of her wand onto the lens of first one, then the other pair of omnioculars.

"So are these the ones you had around your neck at the last World Cup?"

"Erm, no," Harry replied. "McGonagall let me raid Filch’s stash of contraband yesterday morning."

"That’s strange," Tonks replied, "I’ve never seen omnioculars on any list of banned items…unless…"

Tonks grabbed one of the omnioculars, put it up to her eyes, and pointed it towards Harry. She turned various knobs and pushed different buttons, until one such adjustment produced a very un-Auror-ish giggle.

"Unless they’ve had some after-market…erm...capabilities added," she concluded.

"Like what?" Harry asked.

Tonks lowered the omnioculars.

"Hang on a second," she said. She looked away from Harry, as if in thought, then morphed into a frighteningly accurate image of Dolores Umbridge. Once the transformation was complete she handed Harry the viewing device.

"Aim it at me, then hit that red button by your left index finger three times."

Harry followed her instructions, then let out a small scream as he dropped the device back onto the table as if it were on fire.

Tonks let out a good laugh. "What’s the matter, Harry? Was what you saw too…hot?"

"That’s not funny, Tonks…I almost cast my patronus."

"Makes sense to me…if dementors suck out your soul, then a naked Umbridge could suck out all of your libido… Oh, and by the way…nice wand."

Harry’s face turned a deep crimson as he realized what Tonks had seen before giving the omnioculars to him.

"I’m sorry, Harry, couldn’t resist pulling your….your chain a bit. Here, let me make it up to you."

Tonks changed her appearance back to her normal, bubble-gum-haired form.

"Fair is fair."

Harry became even more embarrassed when he realized what Tonks was offering.

"No thanks, Tonks. I’ve no desire to have Remus kick my arse from here to Argyle."

"And what are you implying, Mr. Potter?" Tonks shot back, with a twinkle in her eye.

"Erm, nothing…just that yesterday morning it looked like Remus had finally realized how much of a daft git he’s been when it comes to your feelings for him."

"Oh," Tonks said a bit sheepishly, as it became her time to blush. "Well, if you saw that, then it must have been really obvious," she said with a smile. "Or else it takes one daft git to know another."

"Hey, who are you calling a daft git?" Harry asked playfully.

"Know thyself, Harry Potter," she replied, as she morphed once again, this time taking the form of the newest lady knight in England. She picked up the omnioculars and handed them back to a confused-looking young man.

"Safe to look now…unless you’re flexible enough to kick your own arse."

Harry was trying to decide between a witty retort and an angsty self-evaluation when the doorbell chimed once again. This time, Brian came in from the kitchen to answer the door.

"Oh, Dame Hermione," he said as he glanced at Tonks and Harry. "I didn’t realize you’d returned. Good that you’re here, actually."

As Brian opened the door Harry whispered into Tonks’s ear. "So what are we going to do now, "Hermione"?"

"Have to play along," she replied. "He might be card-carrying, but that doesn’t mean he should know what I can do."

"Great."

"So why is he calling you Sir Harry?" Tonks asked. "And why is he calling me damn Hermione?"

"Erm, just an inside joke…tell you later."

Brian brought two men dressed in business suits into the living room. "Sir Harry, Dame Hermione, I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Jackson and Mr. Wall. They work Palace security, and they have some rather urgent business."

"Good morning," said one of the men, "We’re sorry to disturb you, but we need your help." The other man opened a small black bag and placed a laptop computer onto the coffee table. He opened the screen and pushed a few buttons, before swearing.

"What’s this then, Steve…blasted thing was working just before we crossed the street."

The man’s older partner hunched over the computer keyboard and frowned. "That’s what modern technology does for you, Wally…told you once, told you a million times, it’s the tried and true that you need to do."

Harry noticed that the computer screen was only a few inches away from the activated omnioculars. He quietly reached down and pocketed the device.

The older man straightened up and turned towards Tonks and Harry. "Dame Hermione, Sir Harry, my young technogeek partner and I are part of a security team established by the Prince to keep an eye on your respective residences."

"You mean you’ve been watching this house?" asked Harry, with a bit of alarm.

"Yes, Sir Harry," the man replied. "As well as the Granger residence. And it’s about that…" The man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a photograph, which he handed to Tonks.

"Dame Hermione, do you recognize either of the two men in this picture?"

Tonks and Harry looked at the static image of two wizards poorly disguised in muggle clothing. One man had matched top hat and tails with speedos and flip-flops; the other (whose attire was at least internally consistent) was wearing leather lederhosen.

"Erm, no, afraid not," Tonks replied cautiously. "Where was this image taken, and when?"

"The picture was obtained about one hour ago. Surprised you didn’t recognize where it was taken…the two men were standing across the street from your parent’s house."

Harry and Tonks shot looks of concern at each other before she replied. "Well, I’ve been away at school for so long, of course…guess they must have repainted the house, or something."

"Brian," asked Harry, "we need to talk to Hermione…I mean her parents…straight away."

"Certainly, Sir Harry," Brian replied, wondering why the Hermione in front of him couldn’t do that herself. He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and pushed a few buttons on its keypad.

"Hullo, Mr. and Mrs. Granger? Brian Willox here…sorry to bother you but Sir Harry and your daughter need to talk with you…she’s what?" He looked at Tonks rather strangely. "Oh, I understand. Yes, well, one moment please."

He handed the cell phone to Harry cautiously.

"Thanks, Brian," Harry said, we’ll just be a minute. He grabbed Tonks’s hand and ran up the stairs to Dudley’s room. Having closed the door, Tonks cast a Silencio spell as Harry put the phone up against his ear."

"Hullo? Hermione?"

"Yes, Harry, it’s me. Can you explain why Tonks is with you looking like me?"

"Erm, long story…that’s got to wait though. We’ve got problems."

"What’s wrong?" Hermione asked.

"There’s a couple of Death Eaters staking out your parent’s house."

There was a loud gasp for reply.

"Merlin, Harry…my parent’s house. So they plan on…but how did they find out where I live…How did you find out that they’re there?"

"The Prince has security people watching both our houses, and the ones apparently minding this house showed me a photograph of them across the street from yours. But what’s important now…are you still with your parents?"

"Yes, we just got back to their room after brunch."

"Good. Stay there, I’m coming to get you."

Tonks interrupted the conversation. "Harry, you shouldn’t go anywhere…you won’t be protected yet."

"Is that Tonks, there?" Hermione asked. "Harry, give her the phone."

Harry reluctantly gave the cell phone to Tonks.

"Hermione," Tonks said. "I’ll have an auror team there as soon as possible…wait, where are you? No, don’t answer that, who knows who might be listening in. Okay, send me your patronus, no wait, don’t do that, they’ll catch that at the Ministry…"

Harry grabbed the cell phone as if it were a snitch. "Hermione, we’re going to find a way to get you guys back here safe…I want your parents here, where we can protect them…wards are up…might be best to use muggle transport…yeah, I’ll make arrangements…call you right back."

Harry looked down at the phone keypad until he finally found the "end" button. "Tonks, don’t even start about using magical transport for them. Hermione’s parents are muggles, and they’re probably less likely noticed if they’re using muggle transportation.

"Yeah, you’re right I guess. Still think she could use an extra wand there just in case."

"Fine, then, we’ll go downstairs and have them take you to Hermione. And don’t forget you’re still Hermione for now."

"Don’t worry, I won’t." As she cancelled the silencing charm and opened the door she planted a kiss on Harry’s lips.

"What was that for?" Harry asked.

"Thought you might like to kiss Hermione for good luck," she replied.

"I’ve already done that once this morning, thank you very much."

"Really?" asked Tonks. "Well what do you know…maybe you’re not such a daft git after all."

Chapter 10: Waiting in Wallyworld

A/N: Thanks for all who have posted reviews…they really do motivate me to keep this story moving along (vanity thy name is fanfict author).

Disclaimer: Not my story, no money being made, not responsible for the language I used whilst watching USA's 1-1 draw with Italy.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Harry and Tonks opened the door to Dudley's bedroom, only to find the way blocked by one very hacked-off familiar.

“Hey Crookshanks,” Harry said as he reached down to scratch an ear. The half-kneazle ducked his head away from Harry's hand and hissed at Tonks.

“Wotcher, Crookshanks,” she said. “Oh, I see.” Tonks said, as she realized what skin she was wearing, “You're probably wondering why…” She quickly morphed back into her baseline bubble-gum colored hair form. “See, it really is me.”

The half-kneazle glared at Harry, then back at Tonks, and hissed again.

“Erm, Crookshanks,” Harry said, “there is a perfectly good explanation why Tonks looks like Hermione, and why she and I were in…erm, in my bedroom…but we don't have time to explain right now, ok?”

Crookshanks stared at Harry unconvinced.

“Look, Crookshanks, we really don't have time…Hermione's parents may be in danger, and Tonks and I have to go check things out....Hermione's with them, though, ok?” Harry said, a bit nervously. “Now, while we're gone we'll need somebody to watch the Dursleys to make sure that they don't do anything stupid…will you do that for me?”

Hermione's familiar stared over at Tonks, who'd changed back to Hermione's form. He then looked back at Harry with disapproving eyes and slowly walked back into the master bedroom.

“Geezsh,” Tonks said as they headed towards the stairs, “Didn't expect to have a chaperone around here.”

“Oh,” said Harry, “he's just looking out for his best girl,” Harry replied. “Speaking of which…”

Harry ran back into Dudley's bedroom and poked his head out the window. A quick scan revealed his cousin watering the backyard with his sweat, but no signs of Hedwig.

Guessing that she could do a better job of taking care of herself than the Granger's, he pushed finding Hedwig to the back burner and ran downstairs with Tonks.

They found Brian, the two security men and his Uncle Vernon in the dining room, gathered at an object newly hung on the wall across from where his Uncle usually sat for meals.

“Vernon,” the younger security man said, with a newly displayed lisp, “you've been holding out on us, haven't you dear?”

Harry could tell that his Uncle's anger was simmering just under the boil.

“Here we were,” Wally continued, “imagining that we'd just moved into a typical suburban neighborhood, with typical suburban neighbors, and then…well, there you are with this most amazing piece of art.”

Wally walked over to his partner and put his arm around his shoulder. “It's brilliant, luv, don't you think?”

Harry couldn't decide what was more interesting: the strain with which the older security man was playing the role of gay neighbor, or the “artwork” that they were all staring at.

Somebody had nailed the door to Harry' old bedroom had been up onto the wall, with the locks facing out and the cat-flap hanging out on its hinges.

Frankly, the only thing Harry thought was brilliant at that moment was the gleam in Brian's eye.

“It's just so powerful…” Wally romped on, “such a strong statement…were it hung in a gallery I might think the artist was commenting on the human condition, and how much we cruelly bar the love of those around us from reaching us. But here, hung within the context of prototypical suburban kitsch, it says something quite different to me.”

The young security man gave Harry a wink as he walked over to Vernon and grabbed one of his hands with both of his.

“Oh, Vernon, my dear man,” Wally said in a soothing tone, “we understand…it must have been so painful, to have locked away your feelings for so long, in such a desperate attempt to conform within this suburban hell…. How brave you are, Vernon, to have bared your tortured soul with this piece of art…such a desperate cry for help to those who of us who have walked in your shoes and struggled with our own closeted thoughts and feelings.”

Harry had never seen his Uncle look so nervous and agitated. His attempts to keep from bursting out in laughter at his Uncle's situation weren't helped when he looked over and saw Brian biting his tongue in an attempt to do the same.

“Vernon,” Wally said sweetly, and he lifted up the hand he held and lightly kissed it, “We're here for you.”

Vernon, whose head was about to burst, looked over at Brian, who'd cocked his head at an angle and raised his eyebrows in an expression that clearly implied that he'd best be polite to his neighbor. Or else.

“Erm…thank you,” Vernon stammered. “I'll…I'll remember that.”

The older security agent walked over to his partner and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Wally,” he said, “I think Vernon could use some alone time. Shall we make good on our invitation for his nephew and friend to cross the street for some tea?”

“Good idea, luv,” Wally said, remembering that torturing the Dursleys was only a secondary assignment. “Vernon, are you going to be okay? Can we steal your nephew and his guest away for a while?”

“Erm, sure,” Vernon quickly replied. “Be my guest….steal them away for as long as you want.”

“Okay, then,” Wally said as he grabbed Vernon's hands. “But you know where to go if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, don't you?”

“Uhhh, right,” Vernon replied, with gritted teeth.

++++++++++++++++

Harry's glee at the Queen's men's ability to get so deeply under his Uncle's skin was quickly replaced with guilt and concern when he realized that those three minutes might have been better spent helping the Grangers. As they left the house and crossed the street Harry called Hermione on his cell phone to update her and get assurances that they were still safe. Once told where the Grangers were located, Tonks set off on her own to join them, telling an understanding Brian that she could get there quicker than any muggle transport.

The security men showed Harry inside the house that they'd been living in for all of a month. The downstairs rooms seemed normal enough, from what Harry saw. The living room showed definite signs of having been lived in (as opposed to, say, his Aunt's aseptic aesthetic); throw pillows were laying haphazardly on the leather sofa and a matching club chair; magazines and a remote were spread out over the coffee table.

Once inside the house Brian and Steve, the older security guard, bounded up the stairs, leaving Harry alone with Wally in the front entranceway.

“So you guys really have been living here for the past month?” Harry asked.

“Yeah,” Wally said. “Not such a bad assignment, although Steve is a bit of a pig around the house.”

“And you guys aren't really….erm, are you?”

Wally laughed. “No, we aren't a couple. Steve's not my type, and while I might bat from the opposite side he's as painfully straight as they come. We're just partners on the job.”

Harry nodded, realizing that by answering a question Harry hadn't asked Wally had answered the original as well.

“Nice job needling my Uncle,” Harry said. “You knew just what buttons to push.”

“Oh, thanks,” Wally replied. “Amazing how nervous folks get when I feed their stereotypical fears and play the swishy hand routine.” For emphasis, Wally waved a limp wrist towards Harry. “Of course, it also gives me a chance to make Steve squirm, so it's always a good time for me.”

Harry grinned. “So why are you pretending to be, erm…a couple?” he asked. “I mean, if you're trying to lay low and stay undercover…it's not like you two blend in very well around here.”

Wally grinned back at Harry. “No….you think? It might be counterintuitive, but acting as a gay couple in this neighborhood actually helps us do our job.”

“How is that?”

“Well,” said Wally with a smirk, “we've got a job to do minding you, and some equipment to do it with that we wouldn't want the neighbors to catch on to, right? This way, we haven't had neighbors pounding on our door wondering when we're handing out invitations for a housewarming party.”

“That makes sense,” Harry said as he nodded. “And given the prejudice around here, they probably expect you having men running in and out of here all the time, and imagine you two spending all day lounging about snogging each other, so…”

“Yeah, so they haven't caught on and wondered why we don't leave home for day jobs, or why other agents come and go.” Wally grinned at Harry. “Not bad, kid…makes me think that it wasn't a fluke how well you handled your guests last night.”

“You mean you saw?” Harry asked with alarm.

“Yeah,” Wally replied, “where did you think Brian went while you and Dame Hermione were busy?”

“Wait,” Harry said, “if Brian told you about us, and our, erm…skills, then…”

“No worries, Sir Harry,” Wally grinned, as he produced the same kind of identification card from his billfold that Brian had shown him the night before. “My brother's a wizard, and Steve's mum and sister are witches.”

“Merlin,” Harry exclaimed as he looked at Wally's card, “does everyone at the Palace have one of these things?”

Wally laughed. “No, Sir Harry, it just seems that way. There's really only a few of us in the know…we're kind of a team, I guess you could say, that handles situations involving both our worlds.

“Wow,” Harry exclaimed, “guess I never realized that there were muggles out there that didn't always try to pretend that magic didn't exist even when they knew better.”

“Yeah,” said Wally, “there are a few of us that aren't really bothered by the thought…sort of like there are some witches and wizards that don't have problems living in the muggle world, huh?”

Harry's reply was interrupted when Brian and Steve bounded back down the stairs.

“Here's the situation, Sir Harry, best we know it.” Brian said. “Remote surveillance indicates that those two badly-dressed blokes are the only threats within a two block radius of the Granger residence. We've got people both inside and outside the Savoy, and they haven't seen anything…our perimeter here is also clean. We'll have on-the-ground confirmation of all this within the next ten minutes.”

“Merlin, Brian,” Harry said as he shook his head with slight amazement, “you sure that all you did at the Palace was cook?”

Brian nodded his head and blinked in acknowledgement of Harry's insight. “Another time, Sir Harry. Right now we need to make some decisions about the Grangers.”

“Right,” said Harry, as he gathered his thoughts about the information he'd just been given. How much information should he provide or did he need to provide to help the muggle security men do their job? “We do need to compare notes sometime soon on what each knows, and what we think it safe for the other to know. As for now…”

Harry thought for a moment, then reached a decision. “The woman that visited earlier today, Tonks? She's someone Hermione and I can trust with our lives. She's also an Auror….mean anything to you guys?”

All three men nodded their heads.

“Right then,” Harry continued, “in a perfect world we'd be able to trust every Auror with our lives, but the fact that our guests last night were also Aurors should dispel that idealistic notion fairly well for you.”

Again, the three men listening to Harry nodded their heads.

“Erm,” Harry said, choosing his path and words carefully, “you guys know about Death Eaters?”

The nods from all three men were accentuated with eyes that narrowed and backs that stiffened.

“The two blokes in front of the Granger house are probably Death Eaters, or their stooges…no other reasons for wizards that we don't know to be hanging around their house. Pretty surprising that they've discovered where Hermione's parents lived…we've got some hard work to do following up on that question, but I'm thinking that they're just a couple of low-level scouts waiting for the Grangers to return from picking up Hermione at the station.”

“We were thinking the same thing,” Brian replied.

“If the Grangers hadn't visited the Palace and stayed in town last night, I'm sure the plan was for those two to go get help once they'd returned…they probably could have attacked at the train station, but I imagine that it was pretty heavily guarded, and that the house would be a much softer target. Much more of a statement, as well, if they were able to raise the Dark Mark there.”

“Dark Mark, Sir Harry?” Wally asked.

“Oh, sorry, keep forgetting that you guys might not have what's common knowledge in our world. Anyway, important thing is that they are still waiting to ambush the Grangers at their house. Means, I think, that the Grangers haven't somehow been tracked to their current location….you guys certain that there's nothing unusual down where the Grangers are staying?”

Brian nodded. “Given what you've just told us, and what we've already pieced together, we think that the safest thing to do is to move the Grangers from the Savoy to a safe house…might not take long for the bad guys to figure out what's happened and retrace their steps.”

“Agreed,” Harry said. “Is there any way that you guys can quietly bring Hermione and her parents here?”

“Here, Sir Harry?” Steve asked. “Not to discount the defensive skills you put on display last night, but if they know where the Grangers live shouldn't you also expect them to know where you are right now? Might just be placing the Grangers out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

Harry thought for a moment. “Normally, I'd agree, but let's just say that there are some extra security measures in place around my Aunt and Uncle's house…for the next eight weeks, at least…anti-apparation wards, for example.”

Harry recoiled when he realized that he might have broken some rules talking about apparation with muggles, but the fact that nobody blinked, or asked for an explanation, suggested that he hadn't revealed information that wasn't already known.

The three men silently looked at each other; after getting two curt nods from the security men Brian turned towards Harry.

“We can have them here safely within the hour, Sir Harry,” he said. “Will there be others there to transport?”

“Just Tonks and Hermione, for now,” Harry replied. “I ought to be there as well, but for reasons I can explain later I'm rather constrained when it comes to defending myself…or others, for that matter. Tonks should be there though, and I imagine she and Hermione aren't going to be shy about having their wands at the ready, so….”

“Not a problem,” Brian said. “I'll knock on their door myself. It'll add an hour or so to the arrival time, but it does sound like a prudent course of action.”

“Right, then,” Harry said. “Sounds like a plan.”

“What about those Death Eaters?” Steve asked.

“First things first,” Harry replied. “I want to make sure the Grangers are safe before we figure out that problem.” Harry paused for a beat. “So Brian, you're going to join Tonks and Hermione, while I probably should wait across the street, so…”

“Want some company while you wait, Sir Harry?” Wally asked.

Harry, who been a bit worried about what the Dursleys might try if he were alone with them, nodded his head. “Thanks, I'd enjoy that.”

“No problem,” Wally said with a wink. “Gives me a chance to dress down your Aunt for her heinous window treatments.”

++++++++++++++++

It was a painful two hour wait for Harry, even with the amusing entertainment provided by Wally and his Aunt Petunia. Had he been a normal muggle teenager, he'd have probably spent the entire time on the telephone with Hermione, ensuring that things were still okay. But Harry wasn't used to the concept of accessible methods of communication that didn't involve fireplaces, so his contact with Hermione had been limited to a single call after the strategy session had broken up.

The fact that Wally wasn't showing a lot of concern was comforting for Harry, up until the point when Wally's cell phone went off. After a brief conversation, he informed Harry that the Grangers would soon be there; he then left to work out some security arrangements with Steve. Harry made his own welcome plans by grabbing his invisibility cloak and heading for the concealment provided by the shrubbery in front of the house.

It was typical weekend afternoon on Privet Drive; the only real difference Harry could detect was that the neighbors all seemed to have the same televised football match blaring out their windows that he'd been watching with Wally. It was supposedly a big deal, this muggle game of football; preliminary matches for their own version of the Quidditch world cup. Wally had tried to explain the game, but Harry frankly found it a bit boring and two-dimensional.

With seemingly the entire neighborhood glued to their tellies it wasn't hard to notice when a large Land Rover with black-tinted windows rumbled down Privet Drive. It slowly passed by, stopping only after it had reached the next intersection and turned around to face back towards Harry. Harry then spotted a rather large truck as it turned the corner and headed towards him, with an identical black SUV just behind. The second Land Rover stopped short as the lorry stopped in front of him. Two men dressed in gray overalls jumped out of the cab and quickly looked up and down the street. The insignia embroidered on the backs of their coveralls matched the large advertisement painted on the side of the truck.

From all appearances, the Dursleys were about to get some furniture delivered from Harrods.

After about fifteen seconds, one of the men walked behind the container and opened the doors, while the second watched with one hand inside his jacket. A metal ramp was extended from the trailer down to the street, and several people emerged from the back of the truck carrying pieces of bedroom furniture. They all wore the same overalls, but had matching caps that were pulled down low on their heads.

The man who'd open the back door of the trailer walked up to the front door of the Dursleys and rang the bell. A somewhat wary Vernon opened the door then stepped to one side, having been made aware of what was expected of him. The mattress-carrying workers marched them right into the house. Had anyone been watching the work rather than the match, they may have thought it strange that four of the overall-clad workers who'd brought in the first pieces of furniture never came back out.

It took all of ten minutes for the truck's contents to be emptied, and for the trailer to be filled with what they were replacing. Harry, who had been watching all the time from under the front window, could hear his aunt sob a bit as her faux-French colonial bedroom set was marched unceremoniously out to the truck.

The swap-out completed, those men who'd finished the job packed up the van and drove off, accompanied by the two SUVs. Harry, wand in hand, shed his cloak and stood out from the bushes. He found Wally and Steve, who both gave thumbs-ups from their locations, and returned their gesture. He then turned to enter the house, relieved to know that those whom he now considered to be his real family were safe and sound within his Aunt and Uncle's house.

-->

Chapter 11: Nexus

A/N: Two chapters without Hermione/Harry banter? Need to fix that right away. And so my hopes for a four-chapter second day are dashed. Oh well…gotta have that pumpkin pie.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, and I'm reconsidering my position that Ginny is not a major character in canon so long as JKR has her in the running for getting knocked off in Book 7.

+++++++++++++++

Harry was lying on his new bed, flipping through the channels on his new plasma screen television when the cell phone rang.

“Hey, what's up Hermione?”

“Oooh, I'm impressed, Harry. You've figured out caller id.”

“Erm, no,” Harry replied. “Just figured that you'd be the only one calling me.…so what'cha doing?”

“Nothing. What are you doing?”

“Nothing much…watching some muggle telly.”

“Merlin, Harry, listen to us; we sound like a couple of teenagers.”

“Maybe that's because we are teenagers, Hermione.”

“I know, but you know...it's just that you don't sound like the weight of the wizarding world is on your shoulders right now.”

“That's only because I got all this extra support from my new mattress,” Harry replied. “But yeah, I know…feeling comes and goes, but…it's nice.…erm, so how are your folks doing?”

“Amazingly well,” Hermione said. “I mean, here they are, in hiding, sort-of, with Death Eaters staking out their house, and they're acting like it's a walk in the park.”

“So what's so bad about that?” Harry asked. “It's not like they're the Dursleys, with their heads up a blast-ended screwt.”

“Umm…I guess.” Hermione replied. “It's just too weird and scary, though, having my parents suddenly involved in the fight with Voldemort, and seeing them take it all in stride. You should have seen them at the hotel, Harry…they were trying to calm me down. Not that I'm upset they aren't cowering in fear, but…”

“But you don't know whether it's the parents that should be taking care of their little girl or the other way around.”

“Yeah, that…that actually makes sense….it's like there's this nexus between our world and theirs.”

“Erm, yeah…nexus.” Harry said. “That was the exact word I was going to use.”

“Oh stop it, you prat.” Hermione said tongue-in-cheek admonishment. “So…I was wondering…would you like to join us for dinner tonight?”

“Hmmm, sounds tempting…let me check my engagement calendar…Saturday…Saturday…Saturday…looks good…not scheduled to rescue the damsel in distress until Tuesday.”

“Damsel in distress?” Hermione asked. “So who is the damsel, Harry?”

“Erm, usual story. Really pretty, lives in a tower, needs a brave knight to come rescue her from eternal boredom…”

“Don't suppose I'm that damsel?”

“Oh…no,” Harry said. “You're a Dame, not a damsel.”

“Oh,” said Hermione, “so what's the difference?”

“The difference is,” Harry stammered. “Erm….

“Yes, Harry?”

“Difference is…damsels are pretty but helpless…they have to be rescued because they can't save themselves.”

“And a Dame?”

“Dames? Well, I've only met one, mind you, but if she's representative, then Dames are pretty and anything but helpless…more likely to save the knight's sorry arse than him save her cute one.”

“So, Dames are pretty useful around the house, huh?”

“More like pretty protective of the house - got the video to prove it.”

“Oh, that's right,” Hermione said, “Tonks was talking about your little toy…”

“My little toy?” Harry asked, thinking back to what Tonks had seen that morning. “You do mean my omnioculars… right?”

“Maybe….so do you think my bum is cute, Harry?”

“What?”

“You said knights have sorry arses and Dames have cute ones.”

“Oh….Merlin, I'm going to get hexed either way I answer.”

“Why would I hex you if you did think my bum was cute?”

“Erm…because that would mean I'd been looking at it close enough to tell.”

“I see….so have you, Harry?”

“Have I what, Hermione?”

“Looked closely enough to tell.”

“Erm……right…so…what time is dinner?”

“Seven, and check your closet. I picked out something for you to wear before I left.”

“Seven it is, then,” Harry said.

“Oh, and Harry?”

“Yes, Hermione?”

“I won't hex you if you notice.”

++++++++++++

An hour later, Harry left his Aunt and Uncle's house to meet up with the Grangers. It was a quick trip; Harry waved to Mrs. Number Seven as he crossed Privet Drive. She looked just as shocked as his Aunt Petunia did when he came out of his room. To be fair, though, it wasn't every day you saw a teenager coming out of Number Four dressed in Armani.

Although it had been great sport to shock the Dursleys into thinking that their house was going to get even more crowded, there was never any intention for Hermione's parents to stay at Number Four. Once they'd shed their disguises and showed their disgust at the physical signs of Harry's previous care, the Grangers family had crossed the street.

Dinner was served in the backyard, on the patio. Standard security procedures frowned upon those facing death threats dining al fresco, but given the unprecedented combination of magical wards and muggle electronic surveillance devices, the only thing threatening them that evening were a few fluffy storm clouds.

The patio table was dressed in white linen. So was Harry (although his unlined linen suit was actually more of a taupe that complemented his white silk t-shirt rather nicely).

“So tell me,” Harry asked, in between bites of seared tuna, “how you managed to select an entire summer wardrobe for me without leaving that hotel room.”

“Well, it was pretty straightforward,” replied Hermione, who was no less nicely dressed. “Once it became clear that we weren't going to be taking you to the nearest shopping centre tonight, Brian suggested that we pick up a few things while we were still in the City.”

“You went out to clothing stores with Death Eaters on the hunt?” Harry asked.

“No, dear,” Emily Granger replied, “the clothier came to us.”

“The concierges were wonderfully helpful,” Hermione added.

“I'm sure that they would been just as helpful had they not gotten a call from Windsor telling them to bill the Royal account,” Roger deadpanned.

“And they just showed up at your hotel room door with a rack of clothes?”

“Pretty much…yeah,” Hermione said. “Of course, we did have to give them a rough idea of your size, so that I didn't have to do a lot of magical alterations once the fittings were done…”

“ Fittings?” Harry asked, raising and eyebrow. “You know, I was about to ask how you'd done such a great job sizing me up blind.”

“Oh we didn't do it blind, dear,” Mrs. Granger said with a smile.

“Yes, Harry,” her husband said, “I'd say that their eyes went quite wide open once Tonks provided them a dummy that was….how should I say it….fully representational.”

“She didn't,” Harry said.

“She most certainly did,” Mr. Granger said.

“You mean Tonks morphed into me just to try on clothes?”

“Oh, yes, dear,” Mrs. Granger said, “It so much easier to see what colors looked good on you.”

“I can't believe that you guys did that,” Harry said, with a hint of a smile and a resigned shake of his head.

“You've got a problem with Tonks pretending to be someone else?” Hermione asked. “Hey kettle, what color is the pot?”

“Yeah, yeah…least I didn't ask her to...so about being fully representational…”

“Well,” Hermione replied with a smirk, “how else would we know whether the trousers would fit?”

“You know it was the strangest thing, though,” Emily recalled. “You might have thought that Tonks would have to guess on the..erm…dimensions, but she didn't have to think twice about yours, Harry.”

Hermione's father choked on some wilted spinach.

“So tell me, Harry,” Hermione ask, “ did I make your crotch tight?”

Hermione's mother chimed in right behind. “Or do you have more room than you need?”

Harry looked at Hermione and her mother, wondering how in the world he was supposed to respond to their questions.

“Erm, they're fine thanks.”

The conversation went dead for a few seconds before Hermione and her parents burst out laughing.

And it was at that point, the point where Harry realized that the Grangers was comfortable enough to tease him the same way they did Hermione, that he knew for certain that he'd been accepted as part of a very loving family.

It felt good.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Once they'd finished off one of Brian's signature desserts (Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Candied Ginger and Hot Buttered Rum Sauce), Hermione's dad pushed back a bit from the table, took a deep breath, and smiled.

“You know, a bloke could get used to this.”

“I'm pretty impressed,” said Harry. “If it had been the Dursleys in your shoes they'd all be looking for a change of pants about now.”

“Well it's a pretty low bar you're setting if you're comparing us with the Dursleys,” Mr. Granger said.

“Sure, but even against normal people…I mean, people staked out in front of your house, waiting to kill you?”

“Balanced against a fine dinner on a beautiful summer's night with our daughter and her best friend…I'm thinking that it's a great day.”

“Really?” Harry asked. “Not to take anything away from Brian's seared tuna and Hermione's company, but…”

“Guess we see the glass more than half-full,” Hermione's mom said. “Play the hand that's dealt you, make lemonade from lemons, Carpe diem…that sort of thing.”

“Alright, who polyjuiced my parents?” Hermione asked, “and where did you hide them and their middle-of-the-road, can't-be-any-more-conventional-than-dentists attitude?”

Her parents laughed.

“Sweetheart, it's all a matter of figuring out what is most important our lives,” Roger said. “When was the last time you ate two dinners in a row with us? And what were the chances that we'd be doing it any time this summer before fate dumped us all on the Dursley's door stoop?”

“It's not that we aren't worried,” Mrs. Granger added. “Of course we're concerned; but why let that fear rule us?”

“The only thing I really fear,” Roger said, “is that they torch our house before we get a chance to rescue your baby photos.”

“Oh, Dad, don't start that again.”

Roger laughed. “Frankly, as well as our protection has been, I'm a bit surprised we haven't heard back from Tonks.”

“Well,” Hermione replied, “she did say it'd be hard to arrest them as it stood…the only rules they're breaking right now are fashion-related.”

“Might be best to leave them alone, unless you desperately need something from your house” Harry said. “So long as they're looking for you there, they won't go looking for you here.”

“Ah, yes good point, Harry,” Roger said. “That brings us around to a question that Emily and I have for the two of you. It's pretty clear that we can't stay at the house, at least until Voldemort's gone and probably even after that...”

“Oh, I feel so terrible, that house has always meant so much to you,” Hermione said.

“It's just wood and brick, dear,” her mother replied, “and not at all important when it comes to our lives and yours.”

“And that goes for the dental practice, as well,” her father added. “If they know where we live we have to assume that they know where we work.”

Harry started to count on his fingers. “So, we've got to find you a new place to live, and a new place to work, and provide security…”

“Hold on, son,” Roger said. “You're getting ahead of yourself. Emily and I have been thinking about this, and talked with Wally and Steve…and, well…”

“Hermione, dear,” Emily asked, “how long do you and Harry plan on staying here in Little Whinging?”

“Why do you think that…”

“Hermione,” her father interrupted, “you were going to tell us that you would be staying with Harry this summer, right?”

“Not that we hadn't expected you to,” her mother added.

“Well,” Hermione admitted, “I was going to tell you yesterday, but then we got diverted by the Palace, and then today, but then the whole Death Eater thing sprang up”

“I see,” her father said. “So, about how long are you two staying here?”

“If you'd asked me two days ago, I'd say for as little time as possible,” Harry said. “That would have been two weeks, to ensure that my mother's protections were up until I turn seventeen on July 31.”

“But now…” Roger said, “Harry, you do understand that whatever it is that you two have to do to defeat Voldemort is far more important then worrying about Emily and myself, right?”

“If you fed me veritaserum,” Harry replied, “I'd probably be forced to agree…but that doesn't mean that we can't do both at the same time.”

“Dad, why are your plans contingent on ours?”

“Because, dear,” he replied, “we don't want to hamper your fight, but if given a choice we'd rather be with you then holed up in some governmental safe house under assumed names.”

“And not just with you,” her mother added, “But doing everything we can to help you.”

“So, you want to know if it would be okay for you two to stay here with us?” Hermione asked.

“Well, not with you per se,” Roger said, “but we've been invited to stay here at Number Five for as long as we like.”

“And not that your neighbors aren't, erm, lovely, Harry,” Emily added, “but `as long as we like' is only going to be only so as long as you and Hermione are here.”

“Sounds brilliant,” Harry said immediately.

“You and Dad, staying here?” Hermione asked. “Not that I don't love you both, but what would you do?”

“Oh,” her Father said, “probably drive our teen-aged daughter and her boyfriend crazy…”

“Dad!”

Harry noted with interest that Hermione's admonishment was delivered with a slight grin. Hermione noted Harry's interest…and didn't stop smiling.

The patio door opened and Steve joined them.

“Sorry to interrupt, but we've got company.”

Hermione reached for her wand. “Friendly or not so friendly?”

“Well, the old woman and her cats seem harmless enough, but if looks could kill then the sweaty red-haired kid lugging a trunk…”

Harry and Hermione looked at each other before reaching the same conclusion.

“Ron.”

They held each other's gaze, as if neither wanted to break the spell that had enchanted the last couple of days. It was Hermione who finally broke eye contact and left the table to meet their friend.

Harry looked down at his plate; dessert was long gone. He looked around the table, at the Grangers, at the sky…trying to savor, for one more fleeting moment, the feeling of being part of one big happy Granger family before joining Ron and Hermione out front.

Nexus, indeed.

-->

Chapter 12: Love Shack

A/N: Lest I be accused of pandering to my wonderful (and concerned) reviewers, I'd like to point out in advance that the object mentioned in the chapter title appeared way back in the first chapter.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

+++++

Ron had lived through a terribly rotten, no good, horrible day.

It started that morning, with a proper row between him and his mum about where he was going and how much he was needed at home. That argument made use of the Burrow's floo connection out of the question. Planning on trying to hail down the Knight Bus, he had therefore levitated his trunk out to the road and stuck out his wand. And waited.

And waited some more.

It was only until he started to think desperate thoughts about facing his mum again that the bus appeared. With Stan still in Azkaban, Ron had to deal with the replacement conductor, who was anything but friendly. When forced to explain his need for “emergency” transport, Ron was threatened with a citation and hefty fine for a frivolous call. As it was, he was given a stern warning and left alone (again) in the dust.

With no better alternative in hand, Ron made the three mile long walk into town. With the nearest muggle household only a half-mile down the road from the Burrow, he had to hand carry his trunk for most of the trip. Dusty, sweaty, and extremely irritated, he arrived at Luna's doorstep and prayed that she was home. In his first bit of good luck that day, she was.

Luna almost seemed disappointed when he explained why he'd shown up at her house with his trunk. Her mood brightened a bit, though, when Ron accepted her invitation to stay for dinner. Her father was gone on a special assignment, so they ate a simple meal with only each other's company. Ron had been forced to admit that it had been a lot easier for him to find things to talk about with Luna than he'd ever imagined possible.

Once dinner had ended, his nightmarish journey continued. Knowing that the twins had stood watch on Privet Drive the night before, he used the Lovegood's floo connection to get to his brothers' shop in Diagon Alley. Fred and George had made it clear to Ron that given how well Harry and Hermione had dealt with Dawlish and Umbridge that he'd just be getting in the way. But on Ron's insistence, they'd pointed their floo connection towards Arabella Figg's fireplace and kicked him through the grate.

The argument between Ron and Hermione had reached Harry's ears well before he reached them. It wasn't a pretty sight. Ron was upset that Hermione hadn't contacted him sooner, she was upset that he was being so presumptuous, that he hadn't bothered to announce that he was coming to Little Whinging, and that he was an overall git.

Once they started talking about the Hogwarts Express and levitation spells Mrs. Figg tactfully suggested that they find someplace a little less public to sort things out. Harry agreed, suggesting that Hermione go talk to her parents while he took Ron into Number Four.

Introductions went about as well as could be expected. Uncle Vernon grouched about running in a boarding house, but made sure it was said softly enough not to reach Brian's ears. Ron was quite impressed with Harry's new bedroom, and appreciated the fact that there were two twin beds already in place. The wide-screen plasma telly was fairly mesmerizing, but with the promise of a pitcher of iced pumpkin juice Harry was able to lure Ron out onto the backyard patio, where Harry had told Hermione to meet them.

Ron and Hermione's second attempt at civility went much more smoothly. Harry didn't know if it was the pumpkin juice, or that the initial shock of Ron on their doorstep had lessened, but really didn't care. Despite how incredibly well things had been with just Hermione and himself in muggleland, he had to admit that he was glad to see Ron. They talked well into the night about their experiences over the past two days.

For their part, Harry and Hermione gave a fairly accurate description of what they'd been through. Little things like kisses for good luck were omitted to protect the not-so-innocent, and neither of them was all that forthcoming about the extent of their new relationship with the Royal household. Harry said that he'd gotten some help from a friend of Dumbledore's, and that Brian and the guys across the street were part of that assistance. They said nothing about their knighthoods, or about their Order of Merlin badges...which, they decided, had been a very good idea when they realized that a certain tabby cat sitting on the side yard fence was paying close attention to their conversation.

The Headmistress's arrival completed the transitioning in Harry's mind to the challenges that he faced within the wizarding world. It was probably for the best, given the enormity of their task, but Harry was very reluctant to let go of what he and Hermione had shared the past two days. He suggested that they call it a night and convene their own little war council in the morning.

Harry had been to afraid to ask whether Hermione was going to return to Number Five to stay with her parents, so he was pleasantly surprised when she led the way upstairs. Harry noted that Brian had already tucked in behind the new six-paneled door to his old bedroom. Hermione stopped at the top of the landing, gave Ron and Harry hugs that were exacting in their sameness, and retired to the master bedroom. And as the two boys went to their new bedroom, they passed by the open doorway of the guest bedroom, which, despite the Dursley's protests, had been left vacant. After all, they never knew when Harry's Aunt Marge might stop by for a visit.

Karma's little helpers had done good that day.

+++++

The following morning was blissfully uneventful on Privet Drive. Brian and Hermione decided to ease up on the Dursleys (it was Sunday, after all), allowing Vernon to take Dudley to the gym for a workout. Harry and Hermione took Ron across the street to meet her parents, Wally and Steve. Harry insisted that he cook breakfast, so that Brian could take the car into London to pick up a few things from an organic farmer's market. It was the one sure way Harry knew that he and Ron wouldn't go hungry.

While discussing where the best place would be for Harry, Ron and Hermione to hold their mini-summit, Harry remembered that there was a magical tent inside his bag of tricks. After retrieving his knapsack from upstairs, they rolled out the tarp in Number Four's backyard and staked down corner poles that magically telescoped out from their grommets. When fully erect, the tent was about the same size as the ones they'd used at World Cup.

“Harry,” Hermione asked, “you said you got this tent from Filch's stash of confiscated items?”

“Yeah, seems kind of strange for something so innocent looking to be on the banned list, doesn't it?”

Hermione's eyes brightened up a bit. “Not if it's the tent that I heard about at one of the Prefect's meetings last year.”

“Nothing dangerous, was it?” Ron asked warily.

“Only if you're worried about your morals,” Hermione replied. She looked around the fence line, and not seeing any neighbor's noses, drew her wand. “One way to find out,” she said, and dove into the tent flap before either Ron or Harry could stop her. “Hermione!” Harry exclaimed, as he grabbed his wand from his back pocket and followed right behind.

That it was a magical tent, there was no doubt. The interior space was much larger than its footprint. Harry couldn't immediately tell whether there was more than one room, since his brain was too busy processing what was immediately before him.

Hermione was sitting on the edge of a large king-sized bed that was covered with a red, pink and white checked duvet. A very large mirror stood in lieu of a headboard; the ceiling itself was also mirrored. These mirrors reflected red and white blobs which were forming, growing and combining on the walls as if they were covered in magical lava lamp patterned wallpaper. The floor was carpeted in red shag; the room was lit by candlelight and smelled of jasmine and sandalwood.

“Hermione…where are we…why did you do that?” Harry asked.

“Because I knew you'd be right behind me,” Hermione said with an amazed look on her face.

“Well, sure, I was going to be right behind,” Harry said. “but what was so important to find out that it was worth scaring me to death?”

“Whether you'd be able….erm, Harry, where's Ron?”

“Probably right behind me…” He turned to look back at the flap. Puzzled that Ron hadn't already burst through, Harry poked his head out of the tent flap. His Aunt and Uncle's backyard was still there, but Ron had gone missing.

Harry popped his head back inside and turned back towards Hermione, whose look of minor shock had been replaced by bright eyes and a smile.

“Hermione,” Harry said, “why do I think you know what's going on?”

“Erm…because I'm the smartest witch in my generation?”

“Well, yeah,” said Harry, as he walked up towards a nightstand and spied a toy not typically left by Father Christmas under the tree. “I just wouldn't have expected you to be in the know about this, erm…this kind of magic.”

Hermione laughed, a bit nervously. “Well, there's always the possibility that you don't know everything about me,” she cooed, as she patted the bed with her hand. “Have a seat, Harry?” she asked

Harry looked at Hermione within the context of her surroundings and suddenly decided that sitting might be a very useful thing to do. Declining her invitation, though, Harry instead took a seat on the ground with his knees up in front of him.

“So where did Ron go?” he asked.

“Probably wherever the distraction spell that we activated sent him.”

“We activated a distraction spell?”

“Yes, and a silencing spell as well, if this is the tent that I'm thinking of,” said Hermione.

“And what kind of tent is that?” Harry asked.

“It's called a Love Shack,” she said. “Japanese magical import, designed for couples that don't have a place to, erm…to be together when they want to be alone. You know…get away from your parents…or friends…Japanese muggles have something similar…they're called Love Hotels.”

“Oh,” Harry said, “well I guess that makes sense, given the décor.” Harry looked at her with some concern. “So you've been in one of these before?”

“No,” Hermione said quickly. “I just heard about it after it'd been confiscated from a couple of Hufflepuffs.”

That's good,” Harry said, almost to himself. “So…they wanted something a little less crowded than the Astronomy Tower?”

Hemione returned the look of concern. “Yes they did…and just how do you know about the crowd of couples at the Astronomy Tower?”

“Erm…so I've heard…” Harry replied, with a guilty-looking smile. Changing the subject, he asked, “So, with the distraction charms in place, how did the owner get caught?”

“With his pants down,” Hermione said with a grin. “Oh, you mean…well, Hagrid spotted it on the Forest's edge…they must have forgotten that giants are immune to most charms.”

It was then that Hermione and Harry decided to check out the rest of the tent.

A sliding door along one of the sidewalls revealed a room nearly as large as the first, decorated and furnished to resemble a Japanese bath house. A wall of large stone boulders dominated the left side of the room, with water cascading down from the top of the wall in a waterfall that emptied into a recessed pool. Steam rose from the water's surface and spilled over a short stone wall that divided the pool from the central tiled section of the room, which held two wooden benches laden with scrub brushes, buckets and hand-held shower heads. On the right-hand side of the room an elevated floor was covered with tatami mats made of woven straw. Large throw pillows and cushions were strewn around the floor mats; beyond that a large charmed window showed a blossoming cherry tree with boughs that framed a mountain vista.

Two pair of thonged wooden sandals bounced up and down off the floor in front of Harry and Hermione like excited puppies. Harry and Hermione took the hint, and slipped on the sandals before clip-clopping over the tile floor to shoji screens on the far wall. When pulled to the side, the screens revealed two separate changing rooms (complete with shower, toilet and sink), and a small, but functional kitchen furnished with a table set for two.

Harry had a mind to inspect the charmed window more closely. Hermione, unfortunately, was too late in warning him not to step onto the tatami with clad feet. As soon as Harry stepped on the mat he was unceremoniously hurled up into the air and thrown head-first into the pool. He surfaced to the sounds of Hermione's laughter and the tatami mat's scolding (its voice that of an elderly Japanese woman).

“Harry, you do know that you're supposed to scrub yourself clean before you enter the bath, don't you?” Hermione asked, as she walked towards the pool. Shethen made the classic mistake of offering Harry a hand out of the tub. Whether it was that she trusted Harry too much, or had not seen enough romantic comedies, the result was the same; Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her into the water with him.

“Harry Potter, you are incorrigible!” Hermione stated, after she surfaced.

“Yeah, well, Hermione Granger, you are very wet,” he replied, with a grin and two eyes fixated on her t-shirt.

Hermione realized immediately what Harry was intimating, and dove back down to neck height. Her embarrassment was quickly tempered by agitation as Harry broke out into laughter.

“Oh, Harry…you are terrible. Just you wait.”

“Wait for what, Hermione?” Harry playfully responded.

Hermione's eyes narrowed a bit, a clear sign to Harry that she was working something out. She then simply said “Evanesco!”

The look of surprise on Harry's face told Hermione that her little experiment had been successful.

“Wait,” she said, “until I determine whether I could cast underwater spells too.”

“But I liked those new trousers!” Harry exclaimed.

“Mutual Assured Embarrassment,” Hermione said with a smile. “Still eager to get out of the pool?”

Harry looked at her for a second, before smiling. “Your mistake, my dear, is assuming that I would be embarrassed.” He grabbed his wand, which had tumbled out of his back pocket when Hermione had made his trousers disappear, and stood up on one of the underwater benches that lined the pool walls. This move gave Hermione a close-up view of dripping-wet pants as they clung to his upper thighs. The boxer shorts were a present from the Weasley twins; crimson in color, they sported a golden snitch which fluttered around the button fly.

“Fancy a game of Quidditch, Hermione?”

Hermione looked up at Harry with a bit of awe, then realized that he was challenging her to display the same kind of Gryffindor courage. She stood up on the bench, just a few inches away from Harry, thrust her chest out with her hands on her hips, and looked straight into Harry's eyes.

“Sure, Harry,” she replied, “just so long as it's my snitches that you're grabbing for.”

Harry smiled, straining to maintain eye contact. He pointed his wand towards the wall and Accio'ed a kimono that was hanging on a hook. He then wrapped the kimono around Hermione, grabbed the two ends of the sash, and used them to pull her wet body up against his. Hermione's breath hitched as he tied the knot.

Harry smiled. “Another time,” he said.

With a tinge of regret, Hermione nodded her head and summoned a second kimono, which she wrapped around Harry. The robes had drying charms within their lining, so that they (and their clothes) were dry before their feet hit the floor. She then hung her robe back on a hook and transfigured Harry's into a new pair of trousers.

“Think it's time we go find Ron?” he asked.

Hermione sighed. “Suppose so,” she replied.

Together they walked back into the bedroom and towards the tent flap. Just before the door, Harry grabbed both of Hermione's hands and faced her.

“Thank you, Hermione,” he said. “I never could have imagined two more magical days, especially here in Little Whinging.”

A tinge of disappointment crept over Hermione's face. “You make it sound like the magic is over.”

“Merlin, I hope not,” Harry replied.

And then he kissed her.

His two hands releasing hers to reach up and cradle her cheeks as he turned his head slightly leaning forward kissed her. It only lasted a few seconds. When he pulled back to break it off, her lips followed his, stealing a second peck before retreating in support of Hermione's attempts to avoid swooning.

There was a look of wonder on her face…an “I can't believe I kissed Harry” kind of look. She smiled and said sweetly (and somewhat cryptically), “Tin roof….rusty!”

Harry started to say something but she stopped him with a shake of her head and an index finger pressed up to his lips.

Harry smiled in understanding.

She grabbed Harry's outstretched hand and they walked back outside, loosened the lines and stakes, and took down the tent. Harry then tucked their Love Shack under his arm and they walked back inside the house in search of Ron.

-->

Chapter 13: The First Mini-Summit

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

++++++++++

They found Ron inside Harry's bedroom, his eyes glued to the telly. “Oh, there you two are…decided on a place to talk yet?”

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and smiled in the midst of Ron's blissful ignorance. Hermione had her wand out and was about to transform one of the twin beds into a meeting table before Harry gave a yell to mind his telly. Scowling a bit at how quickly Harry and Ron had fallen in love with their new electronic toys, Hermione led them next door.

It was the first Harry had seen the room since its redesignation and refurbishment. Harry noted that there'd already been two transformations; one that had replaced Petunia's psuedo-Provincial dreck with the sleek Scandinavian design furniture from Harrods, and the second that had transfigured the modern style pieces into something Hermione called “contemporary castle.” There was a four-poster bed that dominated the room, but it was built of light maple, rather than dark walnut and the curtains were white and gauzy rather than burgundy-colored and thick. She had added a fireplace, but it was trimmed with marble tiles rather than heavy stone. A comfortable reading chair and floor lamp, large maple desk and banks of maple bookcases completed the bedroom set.

Hermione shrank the bed down to doll-house dimensions and elongated the desk's writing surface to form a table about which she conjured three chairs. Pulling the one nearest her back and taking a seat, she whipped out a blank scroll, quill and ink well and looked up at her boys.

“Well, come on, take a seat.” She conjured some quills and parchment for their use.

“Right, then, first things first,” Hermione said. “Harry, as much as I hate to see you tempted into becoming a couch potato, you did have a good point about not using my wand in your room. We should designate your room as the muggle room and mine as the magic room, and try to keep the two separate so as not to fry your new toys.”

“Erm, thanks…I guess,” Harry replied with a smile.

“Well, even with Auror Robard's assurances, it would be best not to have too many spells going off in an under-aged wizard's room,” she replied.

“Good point,” Ron said. “Guess that means the Xbox stays in our room, right?”

“Merlin,” Hermione exclaimed, “boys and their toys.”

Harry tried to steer the agenda back on track.

“Right, well…there's all kinds of things I think the three of us need to discuss, but…” Harry looked at Hermione, who was wearing a bit of fear on her face, and decided that now was not the best time to tell one mate that he'd kissed his other mate. “I think for now we should focus on three issues…schedule, money, and Hermione's house.”

“Sounds good to me,” Ron said, “sooner we can get back to the wizarding world the better, as far as I'm concerned.”

“Oh, Ron,” Hermione lamented, “you've been here all of what, half a day and you're complaining?”

“Yes, but..”

“Like I was saying,” Harry interrupted, “When Dumbledore made me promise to return here this summer he never really said just how long I'd have to stay to extend my mum's protections up to my birthday.”

“Well it shouldn't be any longer than the shortest amount of time you've ever spent here, right?” asked Ron.

“Actually, Harry,” Hermione said, “I anticipated this question when you said that you wanted to go to Godric's Hollow just as soon as possible.” She unrolled a parchment, enlarged it, and stuck it against the wall with a post-it charm. Upon the parchment was a chart with points and a line marked upon it.

“You'll never change, will you?” Ron asked.

Hermione ignored him. “This chart plots the amount of time you've spent with your Aunt and Uncle for the past six years. After First Year, you were here most of the summer…Ron rescued you about a week before term, right? Before Third Year you stayed at the Leaky Cauldron better part of a month. Summer before Fourth Year, you were here a total of six weeks before the Quidditch World Cup. The Dementor attacks before Fifth Year limited your stay to four weeks, and then last year it was all of two, right?”

Harry nodded.

“Now you'll notice that I've connected the points with a line that has a surprisingly constant negative slope. Projecting that line out to this year would suggest that in order to keep your mother's protection you'll have to stay under your Aunt's control…”

“Up until lunchtime?” Harry said with a smile.

“Excellent,” Ron said, “so you can tell them to piss off and we can all find someplace magical to live, right?”

“And where do you propose that to be?” Hermione asked.

“No shortage of food at The Burrow,” Ron replied.

“No shortage of stress, either,” said Hermione. “No thanks.”

“Well,” Ron replied, “what about Grimmauld Place? Food isn't as good, but we could always get take-out from the Leaky Cauldron, right?”

“That's great, Ron,” Hermione said. “Good to know we'd be AK'ed on full stomachs at least.”

“Huh?”

“Ron, get a clue,” Hermione said. “We lost our secret keeper, so it's not a secret location anymore.”

“Why not?” Ron asked. “Are you sure that the Fidelius Charm stops working once the Secret Keeper dies?”

“Honestly, Ron…” Hermione fumed. She got up, walked out the door, and returned a minute later with a rather frightened Dudley. “Now, quit the wimpering,” Hermione told him, “I don't want any stains on my new carpet.” She then turned to Ron. “Ron, would you be so kind as to tell Dudley where the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is?”

“Are you out of your mind?” asked Ron.

“Just do it, Ron,” Harry said, as he nodded his head and palmed his wand.

“Fine, but don't blame me, Ron replied. “Oy, Dudley…the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is Number Twelve Grimmau….”

“Obliviate!”

Harry and Hermione's stereo simulcast knocked Dudley right between the eyes.

“Erm…how did I get here?” he asked, immediately afterwards, looking very worried.

“You walked,” Hermione replied, as she twirled her wand in one hand like a snare drum performer. “Now run along, Duddikins, before we decide to do some target practice.”

Dudley didn't need to be told twice.

“Fine,” Ron said, “so it's no longer a secret location. All we need to do is cast a new Fidelius Charm that protects the location of the home of the smartest smart-alec witch in all of England.”

“Be my guest, Ron,” Hermione said in a huff.

“What,” Ron said with some degree of confusion, “you mean that you can't?”

“Ron,” Harry said, “there's a reason why Dumbledore was Secret Keeper. He was about the only wizard powerful enough to cast the spell.”

“That difficult, eh?”

“Think about it, Ron,” Hermione said. “If the charm was any easier to perform then Fred and George would have made themselves the secret keepers for Slytherin's toilets years ago.”

“Oh, good point.”

“Which,” Harry said, “brings us to my second agenda item - money. As nice as we've been set up by, erm, Dumbledore's friend, I don't want to rely on his generosity forever. And when we do move on, we'll need money to find a new place to stay. I was hoping to ask Bill to help me with the money issues, but…”

“But there's no telling when the Ministry will let him out of the restricted ward at St. Mungo's,” Ron agreed.

“Right,” Harry said. “Frankly, I don't have a clue how much I have in my vault. Dumbledore told me last year that Sirius had left me 12 Grimmauld Place in his will, and that a “reasonable” amount of gold had been transferred into my vault, but who knows how Albus defined `reasonable'?”

“How did you get money for books last year?” asked Ron.

“Bill got it for me, remember?” Harry replied. “Breakfast table…day we went to Diagon Alley…visited the twin's shop and drew wands on Malfoy's mom…”

“Oh yeah, how could I forget” said Ron. “Oh, if only Hermione had kept that time turner...”

“Malfoy's mom would well down on my “To Do” list if I had one of those,” said Harry. “About eight feet of parchment below “Take out trash - kill Snape.”

“But the point is,” interrupted Hermione, “You don't know how long your gold will last if your full-time job for the next year or so is chasing Tom.”

“Exactly. I know that my parents had put enough gold into my vault to get me through school rather comfortably,” said Harry, “but from what I know some of what I inherited from my parents doesn't get released to my control until I turn seventeen.”

“So you've got `before' gold and `after' gold?” asked Ron.

“Yup,” said Harry. “Knowing how much of both I have would help a lot right now. It would be nice for me to know what I could spend, if I wanted to, right now, both in the wizard and muggle worlds. If I had enough money now to rent my own apartment, say, then I wouldn't have to live here any longer than I needed to renew my mother's protective charms until August. But if I have to wait,”

“You always can come to the Burrow,” said Ron.”

“Yeah, I know that,” said Harry. “But with Bill and Fleur's wedding and all of the planning I don't want to give your mum something else to worry about.”

“Wouldn't be a problem at all,” said Ron. “Look, for once you are getting enough food to eat at the Dursley's, so you won't be showing up as the summertime skinny you've been in the past. Mum's not going to have to take any time to put meat back on your bones. Second, you being there might actually help with the wedding. Even though mum's warmed up to the idea of having Fleur as a daughter-in-law, they've still been knocking heads over flowers and decorations and punch flavors. Enough to keep me out of the house and on our quidditch pitch all day long. I could use the company, and Ginny could too.”

“Ron,” said Harry, “you know how things stand between Ginny and me...we've broken up, and that isn't a situation that is going to change. Period.” He looked at Hermione, who was looking down at the table, trying to hide a smile. “I don't think that spending time in the same house will help things any.”

“Well you never know,” replied Ron.

“Let's get back on track, shall we?” interjected Hermione. “Harry needs to find out what is in his vault, and what will be there once he turns seventeen. We all agree that Harry should avoid Diagon Alley right now, so he can't 'go to the vault himself. Bill can't find out for him right now, and it might be difficult to sneak a goblin out of Gringott's to visit Harry here.”

“So one of us can go for him,” replied Ron. “That is, if you trust us mate.”

Harry reached under his shirt collar and pulled out the necklace that held his bank vault key. He looked at both of his friends, thought for a moment, then handed it to Ron. “Will you go for me?” asked Harry. “I'd ask both of you to go, but with Hermione's parents here in hiding…”

Ron straightened his back a bit as he reached out for the key. “I'd be happy to help, Harry. You can count on me.”

“I know I can, Ron,” Harry said. He tried to gauge Hermione's reaction, but his peripheral vision was wretched without corrective side lenses. “Now, Gringott's won't be open until tomorrow, and there's probably extra security measures and long lines…any chance you could stay with Fred and George tonight and get there first thing in the morning?”

“Depends,” Ron said, only half-seriously, “what does that Brian chap have planned for dinner?”

“Didn't you hear him talk about that organic farmer's market?” Hermione asked. “He was planning on cooking up some bean curd and lentils, I think.” She flashed Harry a quick wink.

“Erm, right…I'll be at my brother's presently.”

Harry looked at Hermione and wondered if she'd wanted to have Ron out of the house as much as Harry did right about then. “Finally, last agenda item,” he said. “We need to take down the Death Eaters parked in front of Hermione's house.”

“And who is we, Harry?” Hermione asked. “It's one thing to defend a house with only your bag of tricks, but to attack without a wand?”

“There has to be a way,” Ron said.

“Even if there was, we'd have to wait until Harry's protections are renewed in a couple of weeks.”

“I don't want to wait that long,” Harry said. “Maybe…” he thought, “you know, I think that it's time for Aunt Petunia to take me on a little car trip. As long as I'm under her so-called care, I should be covered.”

“What,” Ron said, “she's just going to wait in the car while you take care of the Death Eaters?”

“Why not?” Harry replied. “It might do her some good to realize what they'll be up against once we've left Little Whinging for good.”

“But like Tonks said,” Hermione reminded him, “the spotters aren't breaking any laws…last thing we need are charges of vigilantism.”

“It's against the law to wear the Dark Mark, right?”

“Yes, but they were wearing long sleeves in the photograph, right?” Hermione said. “We can't go after them on the assumption that they might be tattooed.”

“Well, you got to admit, Hermione, long sleeves in the heat of summer is a little suspicious, right?”

“It still doesn't give us just cause…it wouldn't give the Aurors probable cause to make them roll up their sleeves.”

“What if we could prove they had the Mark?” Harry asked.

“Then, sure, they are fair game,” Hermione replied. “But how?”

“Tonks did tell you about her discovery, right?”

“What, that you have a cute little birthmark just below your left…”

“No, you know….”

“Ok, fine,” Hermione replied. “Still we would want to decide whether to take those two alone, or set up a sting to get their support crew as well, though.”

“Sting?” Ron asked. “Shouldn't we be planning on using something stronger than a stinging hex?”

Harry and Hermione looked at Ron and shook their heads.

“Pure-bloods,” Hermione said with exasperation and a smile.

“Hey!” said Ron.

“So should I go round up Aunt Petunia and the omnioculars?” Harry asked.

“Harry, did you hear what you just said?”

“Oh, Merlin…right up there with Umbridge…sorry about that.”

“It's alright,” Hermione replied. “So do you want to hassle with your Aunt, or get a quick answer?”

Harry's eyes narrowed a bit in concern. “Yes, okay, but only if you take Tonks with you and promise not to do anything more than peep.”

“What are you talking about, Harry?” Ron asked.

“Hermione and Tonks are going to do a little scouting for us,” Harry replied.

“Oy, what am I,” Ron asked, “a potted plant?”

“No,” Hermione replied, “you are a wizard without a license to apparate.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Ron said, “rub it in. So what will Harry and I do while you're gone?”

“Sounds like you've already got your assignment,” Hermione replied. “And Harry's got some of Snape's private library waiting for his review next door.”

“Lucky you, mate,” Ron said with a laugh.

“Oh, don't worry about me,” Harry replied, as he stole a glance at Hermione. “I'll find a way to keep occupied.”

Harry then nonchalantly turned to Hermione. “Erm…I'm going over to Number Five to ask Wally something. Do you want me to say anything to your parents?”

Hermione looked at Harry with one slightly raised eyebrow, then turned to Ron. “I probably should tell my parents that I'll be gone for a couple of hours. Why don't we meet in your room in fifteen minutes, then I can walk with you to Arabella's?”

Ron thought for a second before saying sure, then made a beeline for the video game console next door. Harry grabbed the omnioculars and his invisibility cloak from their room, handed them to Hermione, and joined her as she went downstairs.

“So what do you need to ask Wally?” Hermione asked, once they were outside.

“Erm, to be honest, I was more interested in asking you something without Ron being there,” Harry replied.

“Thought so,” Hermione replied with a smile. “Not sure it's much better talking right under my parent's noses, but…”

Steve had the door open for them even before they rang the bell. They asked for a quiet place to talk for two minutes. Looking around, the only semi-private area they could find was the hall closet. Worried that being found there by her parents would be even more of a problem, they for a settled for an empty living room with their eyes peeled for company.

Harry sat on the couch first; Hermione slid in facing him, with one leg tucked underneath, so that she could cover both of his legs with her other leg. She then leaned her side against the back of the couch, and wrapped her arm around Harry's shoulder and started to play with his hair. Harry recalled having lots of Common Room discussions with Hermione in this exact position, but never remembered the body contact to be so electrifying. He leaned his head back against her arm and smiled.

“Hermione,” he said, “We keep saying that we need to talk, but we haven't…and I know that I've been reluctant to for fear of screwing up this wonderful thing that we've had going the past couple of days and so I haven't pushed it, but maybe now…”

Hermione smiled back at him. “Things have been rather special, haven't they?”

Harry nodded. “You know, as we were taking down the tent I was half afraid that what we did was more of a reaction to our surroundings, but…”

The fingers that had been running through Harry's hair froze into a claw position.

“But,” he continued, “sitting here in this living room doesn't make you any less fanciable…and doesn't make me any less needy when it comes to wanting to snog you silly.”

Her fingers flattened against the side of Harry's head and pulled it roughly towards hers as their lips connected in a brief but steamy kiss. Hermione pulled her head back and opened her eyes.

“Amazing how we think alike, isn't it?” Their discovery was then bluntly interrupted by Wally clearing his throat and announcing that Mr. and Mrs. Granger were coming downstairs.

Harry pulled back a bit and expected Hermione to do the same, but she merely relaxed her grip on his head and returned to her hair play, while her other hand dropped down and rested on his upper thigh. She responded to Harry's nervous glance towards the doorway with a smile, only turning towards the door when it was obvious that her parents had entered.

“Hi Mom. Hi Dad,” she said, with what Harry thought was an amazing amount of confidence.

“Well,” Mr. Granger said with a broad smile, “hello there you two…I do hope that we weren't interrupting anything.”

“You were,” Hermione said, “but that's okay…I've got to go out and do something with Tonks for a little bit anyway…you two mind keeping Harry company while I'm away?”

Harry looked at her with a bit of shock. “Erm, thanks but I really should be getting back to the house…don't think my Aunt knows where I am right now.”

“So whatever it was you wanted to talk about?” Hermione asked sweetly.

“Erm,” Harry replied, a bit sheepishly, “I think that I got an answer to my question.”

Hermione's eyes shone brightly. “Good,” she said. “I think that I did too.”

She stood up, and grabbed Harry's hand to pull him up off the couch. She didn't let go as she walked towards her parents and gave each of them a quick peck on the cheeks. Harry looked a bit flustered by everything, but not enough to let go of Hermione's hand as her parents parted and let them pass.

“See you both for dinner tonight, right?” Roger asked.

“Erm, sure,” Harry replied, after getting a confirmatory nod from Hermione.

Hermione's dad smiled. “Off you go, then, dinner's at seven.”

Roger had enough courtesy to wait until Harry and Hermione were half-way across the street before coughing the word “Whipped!” into his hand. The coughs generated when his wife responded with an elbow to his ribs were far less intelligible.

-->

Chapter 14: Memories and Muggle Hunts

A/N: I posted Chapter 13 over the weekend; some of you might not have seen it. At least I hope that’s the case…for some reason my chapter hits dropped by 50% for the past two chapters. Any and all review comments on why interest might be waning are welcome (pacing too slow, not enough steamy romance, etc.) Thanks.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

++++++++++++++

Harry wasn’t in the mood for researching while Hermione was potentially in harm’s way, so when Brian returned from his trip to the market he was more than willing to help put away groceries. He used the opportunity to thank Brian again for helping secure the safety of Hermione’s parents, and for making his stay with his Aunt and Uncle the best ever (though truth be told, that was a very, very low bar to hurdle).

The two talked a bit about schedules and safety. Brian being a card-carrying muggle gave Harry some latitude when it came to describing anti-apparation wards and his mother’s protections. When Brian pointed out that with those wards in place there’d be advantages for Harry to stay at Number Four even after two weeks time, Harry noted that the house was rather crowded. And as much fun as it was to put his Aunt and Uncle in their places, having them camp out in the living room wasn’t going to be fun for anyone for more than a couple of days. Brian said that there might be a win-win scenario for all involved, if they looked hard enough.

Harry also expressed concern about now having two houses to potentially defend, and limited options for safe havens if they came under attack. Harry hadn’t minded putting his relatives in the bathtub during the Auror incident, but didn’t care for the idea of forcing the Grangers to do the same. Again, Brian thought that there might be a solution to that problem, and when asked, Harry agreed that he’d be more likely to stay at Number Four through the summer if that problem was addressed.

Fifteen minutes after she’d left Hermione rang Harry on his cell phone. He went up to his room to take the call.

“Hermione…please tell me you’re safe.”

“Harry, I’m safe…please tell me you’re breathing.”

“Yeah, yeah, can’t a guy worry about the safety of his girl…erm,”

“What was that Harry? Did you call me a girlerm?” Hermione asked. “Gee, must of missed that Magical Creatures class.”

“Very funny, Hermione,” Harry replied. “So did you get a look at them?”

‘Yes,” Hermione replied. “Yes we did.”

“And?”

“And,” Hermione whispered conspiratorially, “underneath their clothes they were naked!”

“Hermione,” Harry said with some degree of exasperation, “did they have the Dark Mark?”

“Yes, Harry, they did.” Hermione replied. “Tonks downloaded the images from the omniocular to her wand and returned back to the Auror Department to show it to her boss. She’s going to get back to me once they’ve decided what to do.”

“Good,” Harry said. “So where are you now?”

“At a coffee shop a couple of blocks away from my parents house,” Hermione replied. “Just thought I’d call before I apparate so you don’t worry when you hear my arrival.”

“That was thoughtful,” Harry said. “Say, speaking by the way, did you have your cell phone on when you left here?”

“Erm, I guess I did,” Hermione replied. “Forgot to turn it off…funny, it seems to have survived the jump.”

“That is strange,” Harry said, “but useful to know….wonder if you could use it within a magical area like Diagon Alley.”

“That I’d doubt,” Hermione said, “but we could always try.”

“Maybe so,” Harry said, “but rather than Diagon, maybe you could swing by St. Mungo’s? I’m feeling pretty bad that I can’t visit Bill right now.”

“Why Harry, that’s so thoughtful,” Hermione replied. “But what if Ginny or Molly are there…what should I say?”

“Erm, I don’t know,” Harry said. “How about, ‘Nice to see you Molly and back off Ginny he’s all mine?”

“So you’d want me to lie?” Hermione asked with a touch of tease.

“What part would be lying?” Harry asked. “It wouldn’t be nice to see Molly there?”

“Oh, Harry,” Hermione said. “I wish I could reach through the phone and hug you right now...but that’s a conversation for you to have with Ginny, not me.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Harry replied. “But back to that hug…not like there’s going to be anyone stopping us when you do return.”

“Yeah, I noticed that,” Hermione said with a smile that Harry couldn’t see. “Have you started a list of overnight errands for Ron to run for us?”

“Hermione, you are terrible,” Harry replied. “Brilliant, but terrible…now go say hi to Bill while I start on that list.”

Harry played with the Xbox for a few minutes before losing all patience and heading downstairs to wait for Hermione on the front steps. He found the Grangers doing the exact same thing across the street, having received a call from their daughter right after she’d talked with Harry. Their invitation to wait with them on the back patio with a pitcher of pumpkin juice was to tempting to pass up, even with the potential for embarrassing questions. After securing his Aunt’s begrudged “permission,” Harry crossed the street and had an amazingly relaxed visit with Hermione’s parents, taking the opportunity to fill them in on the neighbors, the neighborhood, and his life before Hogwarts.

The patio conversation was starting to show inflections of anxiety when, after thirty minutes time Hermione still hadn’t appeared. It was terribly difficult for Harry to maintain his wits; he was still getting used to the idea of Hermione off on her own, without his help and protection. The wonderful way she’d handled herself with the Aurors had been reassuring, yet he still felt incredibly responsible for her well-being.

The crack of an arrival by apparation was music to their ears, once Harry told Mr. and Mrs. Granger what that sound meant. They were heading through the house to the street when Steve barreled down the stairs with the news that someone had apparently apparated. A quick call to Hermione confirmed that she’d made her arrival, and was only a block away from the house. When Harry and the Grangers walked out to the front curb, they spotted Hermione walking down the street dragging a wheeled carry-on suitcase. It was all Harry could do not to charge down the street to snog her senseless.

“Hey, Hermione, how did your ‘errands’ go?” her father asked, once she’d reached the front of Number Five.

“Fine, Dad,” she replied, “back safe and sound.”

Harry looked at the small trunk rather suspiciously. Grabbing the handle while she still had hold gave him the chance to give Hermione a small welcoming squeeze.”

“Welcome back,” he said. “Want me to take that?” he told Hermione.

“No thanks,” Hermione said with a smile, as she wheeled it up towards Number Five.

“Did you get to see Bill?” he asked.

“Yes, Harry,” she replied. “He and Fleur said hello, and thanks for thinking of them.”

“Just Fleur was there?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Just them,” Hermione said with a smile. By then they’d all reached the living room, where Harry and the Grangers sat on the couch and Hermione placed the carry-on on the table and unzipped it. She reached inside and retrieved the omnioculars and invisibility cloak, which she tossed to Harry.

“Thanks for letting me borrow the cloak,” she replied, “Came in real handy when I slipped inside.”

“Hermione!” Harry exclaimed, “you promised that you’d stay safe!”

“I was safe,” Hermione replied, “Tonks had a wand pointed at the two the whole time I was inside.”

“Do I dare ask where inside was?” her mother asked.

“Well,” Hermione said, “I couldn’t resist picking up a few things as long as I was at the house.” She reached into the piece of luggage and retrieved two large photo albums.

“Oh Hermione, you shouldn’t have,” her mother said quietly. “You know that your safety was more important than these.” The tears in her eyes, however, strongly tempered the admonishment.

“Well, with all of the teasing…” Hermione replied. She gave her parents their wedding photo album, then sat on Harry’s lap. Leaning back, she placed her head on Harry’s shoulder, opened the front cover of the second album, and showed Harry the still image of a two-year old child sitting on the floor, wearing a pink frilly dress and an opened book for a hat.

“Once upon a time,” she said, “there was a little girl that didn’t know that she was a witch…”

+++++++++++++

The conversation over dinner that night was focused on two main topics: how silly it had been for Hermione to have snuck into her parent’s house to retrieve the photo albums, and how cute Hermione had been as a child. Hermione was thankful that most of the conversation dwelt on the latter topic. It had only taken a few pages of photos for Harry to forget how angry he was at the risk she took and to marvel that Hermione was sharing with him a large part of her life that he knew next to nothing about.

When the conversation did drift back to the Granger residence the talk was centered around how the Death Eaters might have found out where Hermione lived. It wasn’t as if there was a directory of witches and wizards, and even if there was it wouldn’t have included muggle addresses that lacked floo connections. And while Harry suspected that Snape had, at some point in time, been part of the Order’s rotation keeping watch over Number Four, neither he nor Hermione had been aware of any similar protection for her or her parents.

Harry and Hermione started to fret when they realized that the Death Eaters might know not just her home address, but the addresses of other muggle-borns as well. They decided that Headmistress McGonagall would be the best person to ask about home addresses and who might have them, but didn’t want to discuss the issue with her over the floo. Harry would have owled, save for the fact that Hedwig hadn’t returned from her trip to the Ministry very early the previous morning. That, Harry realized, was a separate problem.

Mr. Granger suggested that a roundabout way of determining whether other muggle-born houses were being watched would be to ring them up directly and ask. Harry and Hermione thought that was a smashing idea, and decided that Dean Thomas would be a good test, until they realized just how many Thomases there were in the London telephone directory. Mrs. Granger then suggested that Wally and Steve might be able to help, given the fact that they had somehow figured out how to contact them two weeks past. And so it was that while Roger and Emily stayed on the patio to drink some tea, Harry and Hermione had a little chat with Wally. They found him in the kitchen of Number Five.

“Wally,” Harry asked, “I was wondering if you guys could help us find a friend.”

“Sure, I can try, is this person muggle or magical?

”Magical,” Hermione replied, “but his parents are muggles and he’s probably staying with them right now.”

“And I’m guessing you’ll need more than a phone directory?”

“Probably so.”

“Okay,” Wally said, “hold on while I get my laptop.”

Wally went upstairs and returned a few seconds later with his portable computer.

“It’ll just take a few seconds to start up. I was trying to troubleshoot why it wasn’t working across the street.”

“Oh, I could have told you that,” Harry replied, “once I found out you were a card-carrying muggle…you had it set up next to an activated magical device.”

Wally thought for a second. “The binoculars?”

Harry nodded as he fished the omnioculars out of his pocket. “Don’t worry,” he said, “it’s deactivated right now.”

“I’d like to talk with you about that interference, some time…it might help our security,” said Wally. “And by the way, we call ourselves ‘c-mugs.’”

“Huh?”

“Card-carrying muggles.”

“Oh,” Harry said. “What is it with muggles and their love of acronyms?”

Wally flashed Harry as smile that would have been emoticon’ed in text. When the image he was waiting for appeared on his monitor he typed a few keystrokes and moved the arrow around the screen with a trackball at the keyboard’s base. Harry thought Wally’s hand movements weren’t any less intricate than those used to cast an average-level spell, particularly when he quickly keystroked in the answers to his questions.

“Right, then,” Wally asked. “Does your friend have a name?”

“Dean Thomas.”

“Thomas..Thomas…Thomas. Right. Not on the list. No worries.”

He opened a new window on the screen and did more data entry.

“Do you know his parent’s names?”

Harry and Hermione looked at each other then jointly answered “No.”

“Age and birthdate?”

“Erm…same year in school as me, birthday’s March the 24th,” Harry replied.

“Do you know roughly where he lives?”

“Pretty sure it’s London.”

“Blast it. It would have to be London, wouldn’t it….bloody fools couldn’t compile records if they collated themselves…so, do you know what part of London?”

“No.”

“Do you know if his parents both living?”

“Pretty sure that they are.”

“Still living in the same place as when he started at your school?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

After a few more keystrokes Wally looked up at Harry.

“So tell me everything you can remember about his muggle life.”

“Like what?”

“Anything…brothers and sisters, any schools he talked about, places he visited, names of relatives, old girlfriends…”

“Well, he loves football…still has a West Ham poster above his bed at school.”

“Oh, an East Ender, most likely…that helps. Anything else?”

“Erm, sorry…that’s about it.”

Wally’s fingers flew over the keyboard he was hunched over as his eyes scanned window after window as they popped up on the screen. Thirty seconds later, he rolled his shoulders, drew his hands back from the keyboard and sighed. “All that information, and I can’t pin him down,” he said. “I should be embarrassed, even working with such a common name.”

“So,” Hermione said, “it was a little easier to track down a girl named Hermione?”

Wally grinned at her. “Once we figured out how to spell your name, yeah…you were pretty unique.”

Harry wondered how Wally had gotten Hermione’s name in the first place, but held that thought. “Hold on,” he said. “Why are you trying to apologize for not finding his address, when all we gave you was a name, birth date and favorite football team? Pretty hard on yourself, aren’t you?”

“I need to be, Sir Harry,” Wally said, “if I’m to be of any help to you and to the Crown, right?” Wally hunched back down over the keyboard, looking at the different windows opened on his laptop’s LCD. “Let me take a look back…you are certain of his birthday?”

“Yes,” replied Harry, “we threw him a party this past spring when he turned seventeen…woke up a bit tender then next morning.”

“Right, then,” Wally said. “And that his parents are both living?”

“He’s talked about his mom and dad at school,” Harry said.

“And I’ve met his parents at the train platform on the way to school,” Hermione added. “Why do you ask?”

“Well,” Wally replied, “there’s a Dean Thomas that looks like a good match, except that he was born Dean Radcliffe.”

“Why would that be a good match?” Harry asked.

“Because,” Wally explained, “this boy’s father died when he was only a year old. His surname was changed to Thomas when his mother remarried.”

“Oh,” Harry replied, “he’s never said anything about a stepfather.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know,” Hermione said.

“Didn’t know that his real father died when he was a baby?” Harry asked, knowing what that might have felt like.

“You never know,” Wally said. “One quick way to find out, though.”

“How is that?” Harry asked.

Wally took his cell phone out and dialed a number that he read off of his screen. When it began to ring he handed the phone to Harry. When it was answered, Harry introduced himself and asked for Dean. A few seconds latter, an incredulous voice was asking questions.

“Harry??” he asked. “Harry Potter ringing me on a muggle telephone? What’s going on?”

“Well, hello, Dean…erm…”

Hermione grabbed the phone from Harry’s hand.

“Hi, Dean, this is Hermione. We’re just making sure that all of the DA members got back safe from school and that things are alright at your house.”

“Things are fine, here, though they’d be a lot better if the boys were playing better over in Germany…are you and Harry, erm, together right now?”

“Obviously, Dean, since we’re in on the same telephone conversation,” Hermione replied. “Ron and I are staying with Harry at his Aunt and Uncles to make sure things are safe for him there.”

“Oh…of course, that makes sense,” Dean replied.

“So Dean, we’re trying to limit communications by owl and floo, for security reasons…is this telephone number going to be a good way to reach you?”

“Sure,” Dean replied. “I’m amazed you were able to get it, but I guess you are the brightest witch, right?”

“Something like that,” Hermione replied with a smile. “We’ll talk to you soon, Dean.” As she ended the call Harry looked at Hermione closely, trying to figure out just what Dean had said to make her smile.

Wally had been quietly typing information into the computer screen during the conversation. Harry turned to him and asked, “So, I don’t know much about computers….how easy would it be for a Death Eater to do that?”

“It’d be bloody impossible, Sir Harry,” Wally said, “unless he had the same security clearances and the same knowledge of on-line databases that I have.”

“Don’t pay any attention to him, Wally,” Hermione said. “Google searching isn’t high on the list of Harry’s lovable traits.”

“Hey!” Harry said. “Erm, well, fair enough, so long as there’s plenty of other reasons to love me.”

“Oh, there are, Harry, there are…” Hermione said with a smile. “So Wally, would you mind sharing with us how you worked your on-line magic?”

Wally looked at her and thought for a moment. “I’d love too,” he said, “but….hold on a minute. Why don’t you guys grab something to drink from the kitchen and I’ll see what I can do.”

Wally locked his screen and went upstairs. When he returned to the living room he found Harry and Hermione sipping cold butterbeers.

“I’m impressed,” Harry said, as he raised his bottle in Wally’s direction. “Who’s your supplier?”

“The Palace sent over a case this morning,” Wally replied. “they have a few connections.”

“I’m beginning to appreciate that fact,” Hermione said. “So what did you find out?”

Wally grinned sheepishly. “I found out that when it comes to magical issues you have higher security clearances than I do. Who would’ve known?”

“Erm, certainly not us,” Hermione replied. “That’s wild…I wonder why ever that is?”

“Perhaps it comes with the badge and hood?” Harry asked.

“Maybe,” Wally replied. “What it certainly does mean, though, is that I can tell you exactly how I found your friend’s potential home address.”

“You were cross-referencing existing electronic databases?” Hermione asked.

“Yes,” Wally said, “Although truth be told, I was working primarily with a highly classified database we just finished compiling a couple of months ago.”

“So what does this classified database identify?” Hermione asked.

“Muggle-born students at Hogwarts.”

“Excuse me?” Harry asked. “You’ve figured out a way of identifying magical children?”

“No,” said Wally, “just those who lived in muggle society at some point in time, so no pure-bloods.”

“How did you figure out how to identify muggle-borns?” Hermione asked.

“Well,” Wally replied, “it all started with Sir Harry.”

“And exactly how did I start you off?”

“Well, we reverse engineered you.”

“You did what to me?” Harry asked.

“We used you as a confirmed data point, Sir Harry, and worked our way backwards to find out how we might identify you and others like you with the information at hand.”

“And when did you find out about me…that I was a wizard?” Harry asked.

“Last August, in a meeting with our P.M., your former Minister of Magic…Fudge, right?...anyway, he told our Prime Minister about a “boy-who-lived.”

“Merlin, no,” Harry replied. “I’m never going to live down that nickname, am I?”

“Go on, please,” Hermione asked.

“Right then,” Wally replied. “In this meeting, your Minister talked about the battle against Mr. You-know-who and his Death Eaters, and the role that Sir Harry has in that battle. Well, the P.M. decided that our government that we should learn everything we could about this Harry Potter person.”

“Why would your Minister want to know about me?” Harry asked.

“I’ve never been told explicitly,” Wally said, “but I suspect that our government was keen on finding you, so that we could offer our assistance.”

“And just why would the muggle government want to help me?” Harry asked.

“Because muggles are dying in your war, Sir Harry, and should, Heaven and Merlin forbid, the dark side prevail, many more muggles will die.”

“Oh,” Harry said quietly. “That makes sense, I guess.”

“So what governmental databases did Harry turn up on?”

“Quite a few, actually,” Wally said. “The most telling one was the list of children under guardianship due to deceased parents. You, Sir Harry, are the only Harry Potter on that list plus or minus three year’s age.”

“Fudge told your P.M. that my parents were killed?”

“Erm, yes, I guess so,” Wally replied. “We didn’t have a transcript to work off of…just got a summary based on what the P.M. could recall once he had the courage to admit to his Intelligence chief that he’d been visited by wizards.”

“So what else did you figure out about me?” Harry asked.

“Well, from the guardianship records we learned that your parents were both killed on the same day when you were a baby, that you were being raised by your muggle aunt and uncle, and that you left the public school system at age 11 but still had residence in Surrey. That’s actually far more then we needed, of course, but the extra information did provide some nice confirmation.”

“So you found Harry…how did you extrapolate from him to other Hogwarts students?” Hermione asked.

“Ah, there’s the deductive reasoning part.” Wally said. “Harry left public schools at age 11 to attend Hogwarts, and he didn’t take any GCSE’s. So we compiled a list of all the students that were enrolled in the public schools at some point over the past twenty years, but didn’t sit for those examinations.”

“GCSE’s..those are the muggle versions of our O.W.L’s right?” Harry asked.

“Pretty much,” Hermione confirmed.

“Why was sitting for these examinations important?” Harry asked.

“Because,” said Hermione, “there are quite a few students who first attend local primary schools, then public secondary schools. [ed. note…in Britain, private high schools are called ‘public’…don’t ask me why] But unlike Hogwarts students, almost all of these public school students still sit for the GCSE’s, right?”

“Correct, Dame Hermione,” Wally said. “Even home-schooled muggle children sit for the exams. And since school attendance is compulsory until age 16, we reasoned that the only students that left public school at age 11 but didn’t take GCSEs were those that moved out of the country, or died. And that information is compiled in databases as well. It wasn’t a perfect screening process; mind you; we got false positives for students at a few public schools that use the IB examination program, and those that attended boarding schools outside of Britain.”

“That’s the excuse my parents used!” said Hermione.

“Yes, we’ve run into that a fair bit. But the c-mugs in our group were able to validate the model using their magical sibling’s names.”

“Not to be rude, or anything,” Harry asked, “but why was it so important for you to identify muggle-born students at Hogwarts?”

“Because we have reason to believe that they and their families are at greatest risk for any non-random attack by the Death Eaters,” replied Wally. “Should the worst occur, we have contingency plans in place to relocate any who are willing to locations outside of the country.”

“Wow,” Harry wisecracked, “a government that is actually trying to protect its citizenry. What a novel idea.”

Hermione’s eyes brightened as she raised her eyebrows a bit and leaned forward. “So why don’t you back up a bit, now and tell us more about that list you first mentioned.”

“Oh,” said Wally, “that’s just our list of all known wizards and witches, including the Hogwarts students.”

“You’ve got a list of known wizards?” Harry said excitedly. “How in Merlin’s name did you compile that list, and how many names are on it?”

“Well, to answer the second question first, we’ve got…” Brian scrolled down to the end of a screen window. “Five-hundred forty-seven, of which three-hundred eight are confirmed. Tip of the iceberg, for sure, but one does have to start someplace.”

“Well how long have you been looking?” Harry asked.

“About nine months,” Wally said. “Your name was first on the list, once we got it from the P.M.”

“And who are ‘we’, Wally?” Hermione asked.

“Erm, let’s just say a very select group within Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”

“So that means that you’re more than just a Palace security person, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, Dame Hermione, it does.”

“And Steve, and Brian as well?”

“Yes,” Wally replied.

“You mean that you’re all spies?” Harry asked with concern.

“No, Sir Harry, it does not,” Wally replied. “We gather information on magical threats to our country and its citizens.”

“So you belong to MI-5, the Security Service?” Hermione guessed.

“Not quite, Dame Hermione,” Wally said. “Our small group worries about both internal and external magical threats, so it includes people from both MI-5 and MI-6, the Secret Intelligence Service.”

Hermione let out a small laugh. “Don’t tell me…you officially don’t exist, but your work involves magic and is somewhere between that of MI-5 and MI-6. So logically, if anyone in government has a sense of humor, you should call yourselves…”

“Well I can’t speak for the rest of the government, Dame Hermione,” Wally said with a smile, “but we certainly do.”

“You do what, Wally,” Harry asked.

“Have a rather twisted sense of humor,” Wally replied.

“Oh,” Harry said. “So who exactly do you work for?”

Hermione answered for Wally.

“Wally works for MI-5 ¾.”

Chapter 15: The Royal Historian

A/N: Thanks to all who answered my request for input on where the story is going. I appreciated all of them (even the cool flames), and I’ve incorporated some of these comments into this chapter. Can’t do everything at once; those of you looking for how Ginny goes ballistic in my little world have a bit more time to wait. Caution: this is a banter-free snog-free plot-driven chapter. Also, the two links within the chapter do a better job showing the chapter’s setting than my descriptions.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

+++++

Day 4, Monday 8:15 am

The black Bentley had leather bench seats, tinted glass, and a black soundproof divide between the front and back seats. You couldn’t have asked for a more private place for a relaxing snog…which was why Harry Potter was so irritated that he was sitting alone in the back seat.

Hermione had left Number Four early that morning to catch Arthur Weasley before he left for his job at the Ministry. She then planned on meeting up with Ron in Diagon Alley, and join Harry once they’d visited the bank on his behalf. Brian was presently driving Harry to the British Museum; a meeting had been pre-arranged with a muggle historian that reportedly specialized in muggle/wizard interactions.

Harry wasn’t certain how much snogging would have taken place even had Hermione been riding with him. They had experienced their first quarrel as a semi-official couple the night previous, over Wally’s revelations about just how much the muggle government knew about the wizarding world.

The list of identified muggle-born Hogwarts students that they’d been shown was disturbingly accurate, save for the omission of those born and raised in the Irish Republic. Wally was pleasantly surprised when Harry told him this; MI-5 ¾ hadn’t realized that Hogwarts drew students from beyond the borders of Great Britain. He had, in fact, been poised to confirm Wally’s list right then and there before Hermione stopped him.

Later that night Hermione laced into Harry for his willingness to divulge wizarding world secrets to Wally and the muggle government that he worked for. She reminded Harry about his obligation not to reveal, to the extent practicable, any information about the magical realm to muggles. When Harry responded with disparaging comments about the wizard governments that made the non-disclosure laws, she reminded him that running afoul of the Ministry put him at risk for sanctions and/or jail time in Azkaban that would hamper his horcrux hunt.

The one good thing that came out of that discussion was their willingness to find common ground once the two had staked out their initial positions. Harry had seen Ron and Hermione have similar arguments many times before, but rarely were they able reach consensus. But last night, Harry had been willing to accept that he’d been a little too loose with information, and Hermione was willing to accept the idea that there were extenuating circumstances that clouded what would otherwise have been a black and white issue (like the fact that without Wally’s list there wouldn’t have been the surveillance in place to warn her parents away from their house). They finally resolved to obtain some wizard’s world legal advice from someone they could trust.

Wally had provided them with the list of suspected Hogwarts students, and they’d spent a good deal of time figuring out how to enter the contact information onto the laptop computer that had been included in Harry’s refurbished bedroom. While they’d been encouraged by the fact that Dean Thomas’s house hadn’t been hit by Death Eaters, they wanted to confirm that observation with the other muggle-borns. By the time they decided to call it a night neither was much in the mood to deal with the possibilities afforded by unchaperoned adjacent bedrooms; that would have brought on an entirely new discussion and some probing self-evaluation. So they parted not that much differently than if Ron or her parents were right there with them - a hug and quick peck on the lips before retiring to their separate rooms.

It had been too late to call the other students to confirm their phone numbers and addresses the night previous, so Harry was using his time in transit to call on some of his classmates, spreading word of the Death Eater sightings at Hermione’s house, and gathering additional contact information. As Hermione had pointed out, it was unlikely that the Ministry of Magic was currently monitoring e-mail traffic.

A call rang in from Hermione’s cell phone when Harry was about five minutes away from his destination. It was Ron, amazingly enough; Hermione and he had already been to the bank and Hermione was giving Ron a lesson on muggle technology as they rode towards the Museum in a taxicab.

The trip to Gringott’s had been very short; the goblins had ratcheted their security procedures up to 11 on a scale of 10. Only the vault owners were allowed access, even if they’d authorized another person to use their key. Had Harry shown up in person there still would have been a day-long queue to get though their verifications. When Harry observed that he would have to make a trip himself, Ron told him that the goblin they had spoken with was most apologetic, and seemed to understand why Harry couldn’t be there. Arrangements had therefore been made for Harry to meet with a Gringott’s representative at a muggle bank in The City the following morning. Harry wondered just how the goblins would swing that one off once Ron confirmed that his brother was the only human that worked for the bank.

Ron then handed the phone to Hermione, who told Harry that she’d had a little more success in her mission. She’d explained to Arthur that her parents were in hiding from the death eaters, and that she was considering arming her parents with some knowledge about wizard attacks as well as a few of the toys that proved useful against the Aurors. Arthur appreciated her situation, but said that she was within the gray zone of wizard’s law and that he didn’t feel qualified to give rock-solid legal advice. He did, however, give her the name of a wizard friend whose legal counsel he trusted. This barrister had an office in Diagon Alley, and Hermione had taken the initiative of setting up an appointment with him for the following afternoon at the Leaky Cauldron.

They ended their conversation just as the Bentley pulled up at a side entrance to the British Museum. As it was a good two hours before its scheduled opening there wasn’t much of a crowd. Harry jumped out of the back seat and, practicing constant vigilance, scanned the street for potential threats, as did Brian when he left the driver’s seat. His Aunt Petunia, forced to come along to provide Harry the required nominal oversight, got out of the front passenger seat paying attention to little more than her own indignation.

Once Ron and Hermione arrived and the taxicab was paid off two well-dressed men wearing micro-headsets ushered the small group through the main entrance. Brian steered Petunia towards the museum’s coffee shop while the Trio were led into the Museum’s central court.

Hermione gasped when the entered the courtyard. Harry looked around and wondered what had caused that reaction; the architecture was strange, but not really startling. The space was bordered by four neo-classical buildings that stood in stark contrast to a futuristic cylindrical building that sat in the middle of the court. The central building had wide winding staircases rising up on either side, long rectangular windows, and a string of bright lights that rimmed the roofline. Harry noted that “roofline” was a relative term, since the entire courtyard was covered by a huge glass and metal roof.

“I’d forgotten it’s gone,” Hermione said quietly. “I mean, I knew it was gone…my parents brought me to the Millennium Celebration, after all, but still...”

“What’s gone?” Harry asked.

“The British Library,” she replied quietly. She spoke as if a close relative had died, but given Hermione’s love of books and libraries Harry figured that wasn’t far off the mark.

Hermione explained that the British Library used to sit in the area now occupied by the cylindrical building, and that the Library had a special reading room that only researchers (over the age of 18, of course) were allowed to use. Many famous writers had worked there, including Karl Marx, Kipling, and Oscar Wilde. Once, when she was nine years old, a college professor who was a friend of her parents had smuggled her inside for a quick visit. The way Hermione described the visit was reverential, like the way an Elvis fan might describe Graceland, or the way a shoe lover might describe Imelda Marcos’s closets.

Hermione scoffed when Ron read a descriptive plaque that stated that the Reading Room had been preserved, with the cylindrical building constructed around it. It wasn’t nearly the same, she said, if for no other reason than the fact that anyone off the street could use the new building. Harry laughed at her viewpoint; if his Hermione was going to be snobbish about anything in the world, it would have to be having access to restricted library collections.

Their escorts led the Trio past statues set within the courtyard’s concourse, up the stairs and into the new Reading Room itself. Harry, at least, was impressed. The circular room had a glass onion dome that poked up through the contemporary glass and steel flat roof that connected it to the surrounding buildings. The perimeter of the room was covered floor-to-ceiling with bookshelves, and the center was occupied by a luxurious librarian’s reference desk area that Madame Pince would have died for.

A young woman in dreadlocks that was working in the reference area gave their escorts a friendly wave and pointed them towards a table, where a wizened old man sat with a short stack of books. The man introduced himself as Robert Baxter, the Royal Historian appointed by the Queen to maintain the Court’s knowledge of the wizarding world. In what was fast becoming a routine means of introduction, he offered them his muggle identification card. He then stated that the Prince had asked him to provide some information and answer questions they might have about the extent of muggle knowledge of the wizarding world.

Ron looked rather skeptical. “I didn’t know muggles knew anything about the wizarding world.”

“Mr. Weasley,” Baxter replied, “royal families have long been aware the world of magic, and for good reason.”

Harry asked a more probing question. “So who do you work for…the Prince or MI 5 ¾?”

“Both, actually,” the historian replied.

“Well can you explain something then?” Harry asked. “When I talked with the Prince he made it sound like he was operating independently of the Prime Minister’s office…and that he knew much more than the P.M did about the wizarding world. Yet now we’re being told that the P.M. created MI-5 ¾ and has been getting information independent of the Royal household. And we’ve got people like yourself that say they work for both…so what’s going on?”

The historian looked at Harry appraisingly. “It is a rather complicated situation,” he finally admitted. “The Royal household has always been aware of the wizarding world, to some extent. I’ve held my position as the Royal Historian for twenty-three years, for example. In contrast, up until the past year the civilian muggle government knew very little about the wizarding world. That all changed when your Ministers of Magic told our P.M. about your troubles; there has been a massive ramp-up in information gathering by the civilian government since that time, led by MI-5 ¾. This effort necessarily involved the recruiting of new agents, and focus was made on enlisting the help of c-mugs and others already aware of the wizarding world. Brian Willox and I were part of that recruitment class. But since we kept our jobs with the Royal Household, we’re currently working undercover, so to speak.

“So the Royal Household doesn’t know about MI-5 ¾?” Hermione asked.

“No,” Baxter replied, “and the Prime Minister, in turn, doesn’t know that the Royal family knows about the wizarding world.”

“Why all the secrecy?” Harry asked.

“Plausible deniability,” the historian replied.

“Plausible what?” Ron asked.

“Plausible deniability,” Hermione explained, “is when people that work for a political leader keep sensitive information from him or her, so that the leader can truthfully deny any knowledge of that information if things go wrong.”

“Well put, Dame Hermione,” Baxter said, “although in this case the knowledge is withheld so as to protect it.”

“What,” Harry asked, “you can’t trust the Royals or P.M.?”

“On the contrary, Sir Harry,” Baxter replied. “It’s that we don’t trust their occlumency skills. Since they have direct contact with wizards as part of their duties, it’s important that their knowledge of the wizarding world be kept to more or less what the wizards think they should know. And it’s all the more important for the P.M to keep clear of our work, given the fact that he’s got one of your wizard policemen sitting outside his office door.”

“An Auror working at Number 10 Downing?” Harry marveled. “Wonder if Tonks knows who that is.”

“Speaking of withholding knowledge, Sir Harry,” Hermione chided. The historian chuckled as she turned towards him. “No offense, Mr. Baxter.”

“None taken,” he replied. “I rather like the current contents of my brain, and don’t fancy the thought of getting obliviated needlessly.”

“Perhaps, then” Hermione said, “we should focus on what you can tell us what you do know about wizards and muggles.”

“Right then,” the historian replied. “Perhaps you can tell me how much history they teach at Hogwarts?”

Hermione was fairly forthcoming. “Every Hogwarts student studies the history of our school, and that necessarily spills over into more general wizard history. But while I’ve always been fascinated by the subject,” she continued, making a pointed glance towards Ron and Harry, “some others find it hard to apply themselves.”

Ron smirked, “Well, Hermione, you have to admit that the instructor wasn’t the liveliest on staff.

“Ah, I see,” said the historian, “and how much do you know about the history of Great Britain, or the muggle world in general?”

“There is a muggle studies class, but from what I hear the textbook’s more than a century old ,” replied Harry. “But Hermione and I attended muggle primary schools, so I guess we know the basics.”

Harry was amazed to see Hermione shake her head in agreement. An admission that she had only a rudimentary understanding of anything under the sun was a rare event.

The historian nodded, and began his story with the days of Camelot, when the realms of magic and monarchy openly coexisted. Merlin served as King Arthur’s closest advisor and sat at the Round Table amongst other wizards, knights and paladins. Subsequent kings and queens had a Royal Wizard on staff to advise them as well. This situation wasn’t unique to England; kings and queens on the Continent had their own wizards as well. As a result, when one king warred with another, the wizards on each side joined the battle.

He then jumped a few centuries to 1066, when William the Conqueror and the Normans invaded England. The Normans brought their wizards with them, and they fought the English wizards in a battle separate from the defeat at the Battle of Hastings. The historian noted that in contrast to the muggle armies, the English wizards actually defeated their Norman counterparts, under the inspired leadership of the King’s wizard Gryffindor.

“So Godric Gryffindor was the English King’s wizard?” Hermione asked. “That’s not something that’s well known in our world.”

“Wait a minute,” Ron said, as he worked out the math. “Isn’t Hogwarts supposed to be more than a thousand years old? Godric would have had to been at least 150 years old by 1066.”

“Ron,” Hermione said, “maybe you want to recall how old our last Headmaster was?”

“Oh yeah,” he replied. “Never mind.”

“Now when the Norman King William took control of England,” Baxter continued, “he demanded that Lord Gryffindor swear fealty to him. But Gryffindor was tired of battle, and tired of being intertwined in muggle politics. And so he quite simply vanished, and took the wizarding world with him.”

“He went back to Hogwarts,” said Harry. “That makes sense, since it is in Scotland, which wasn’t under Norman rule at the time, right?”

“Correct, Sir Harry,” the historian said. “Legend has it that he had joined forces with the great wizards of Wales, Ireland and Scotland and formed a magical United Kingdom long before the muggle version came into being.”

“So the other founders were also king’s wizards?” Hermione asked.

“That, Dame Hermione,” he replied, “we do not know.”

Ron looked at Hermione and Harry with no small amount of confusion over why the historian was calling her “Damn Hermione.” Harry looked at Ron, and acknowledged his confusion with the one word promise of “Later.”

“Yes,” the historian continued, “as you no doubt know, ever since that time wizards and witches have lived amongst us but apart from us for the past thousand years. Given things like the Hundred Year’s War and Spanish Inquisition I can’t say I blame them. But over that time, there have been times when our worlds have collided, or at least overlapped a bit more than either side likes. And so, there has always been a need to keep muggle leaders in the know about the wizard’s world. These days, it is your Minister of Magic and our Prime Minister that meet from time to time, but back in the old days, when the House of Windsor had a bit more power than it now enjoys, it was the Queen or King of England that was kept in the loop.”

“Interesting,” Hermione said. “But why does the Queen’s family still know about the wizarding world now that they don’t actually control the government?”

The historian smiled and stated that given the frequency of changes in muggle civilian government that there were no doubt advantages in maintaining long-term contact with the Royal family. He also noted that since members of the Royal family almost always married members of other European royal families, that there weren’t that many people that had to be trusted with the truth. He then said, somewhat cryptically, that there was a much more compelling reason for the Queen to know about the wizarding world, but stated that the Prince had asked to explain that to them himself.

Out of curiosity, Hermione asked the historian about the books that were on the table. He explained that he had brought a few ancient texts with him from the new British Library in case there was some question about his story.

Hermione’s eyes grew wide at that comment, and asked whether the Library had within its collections any depictions of Godric Gryffindor. Baxter nodded, and carefully opened one of the vellum-paged tomes in front of him. After flipping through a few of the yellowed pages of handwritten text he found the image he was looking for.

“Here is a depiction of his investiture as Lord Gryffindor, ten years before the Battle of Hastings,” he said. “From what I understand, Sir Harry, it’s not very different from what your investiture would be, should you wish to claim your birthright.”

The historian then turned the book around for the three to see. Under other circumstances, they would have been peppering the man with questions about Harry’s birthright. As it was, however, all of their focus was upon the image itself.

It appeared to be a knighting ceremony, with a man kneeling before a king. There were several clues that suggested that it was indeed Gryffindor that was kneeling. That he was an English wizard was indicated by the badge that he wore; it was the very same starburst-patterned emblem that Harry and Hermione had been presented when the joined the Order of Arthur. That it was Godric Gryffindor was indicated by the sword shown held by the king; it was Godric’s sword, and Harry and Hermione both recalled the Queen’s comment that the knight could choose the sword used for the investiture service.

But the one feature within the image that the Trio immediately focused on wasn’t what was in the king’s hand, but rather, what was in Godric’s; a shield that bore the Gryffindor crest.

“Well boys,” Hermione said rather quietly, “We might just have another artifact to find.”

Chapter 16 : Rethinking the Three D's

A/N: Needed a bit of naughty banter, so this didn't go as far as I wanted it to (I'm sure some of you would want to see things go farther too, but I need to be mindful of my ratings). Oh, what to do with those wicked thoughts now that Portrait is on hiatus? Thanks to all who have reviewed, and especially to those whose reviews I can count on (and eagerly wait for) after posting each new chapter.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Ron's questions started in not five seconds after the Trio had piled into the Bentley's rear seat for the ride back to Little Whinging from the Museum.

“Right then,” he began, “Who is this Prince that you were talking about, why was that guy calling you Sir Harry and Dame Hermione, and when did you plan on telling me that there were muggles that aren't as stupid as they're made out to be?”

“All that's more important then the fact that we've got a solid lead on a possible horcux?” Hermione asked, as she waved the DVD disc that the historian had given them.

“Right now,” Ron replied, “yes…I think so.”

“And here I was thinking your first question would be when's lunch,” Harry quipped.

“Oh Ron, you are….you want to talk about stupidity?” Hermione asked. “How long did you stand in front of the toilet the other night waiting for the seat to magically pop up for you?”

“Oy, you muggles do nearly everything different…how do you expect me to absorb it all at once…I'm not some bloody sponge, after all.”

“That might be her point,” Harry tried to gently interject. “We did tell you about the Prince the other night, just not by name…we thought, particularly after your rough time getting here, that it'd be best if you eased into your new world.”

“Would've been nice if you'd given me the choice,” Ron said.

“Yeah, well, it wasn't like we got to pick and choose how we learned about the magical world, was it?” Harry replied. “Look, mate, all of this came out of the blue, what…three days ago now? Hermione and I are still trying to sort most of it out ourselves.”

“Fine,” Ron muttered. “So now's your chance to bring me up to speed.”

Harry and Hermione then proceeded to fill in some of the gaps to the story Ron had been told two nights previous. They found it hard to explain the concepts of landed gentry and peerage, since there was no historical equivalent within the magical realm. Certainly there were some magical families that acted as if the were better than others by birthright, but they'd had never been in a position to divvy up wizard England into fiefdoms, baronies or dukedoms. They explained their knighthoods as ceremonial recognitions…the equivalent of being awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class, and made sure they conveyed to Ron the Queen's message about his involvement within the Order of Arthur. They promised to give him his emblem when the returned to Number Four, explaining that they'd not really had time to anything more than look at them.

Ron's fears about being excluded from Harry and Hermione's activities were placated by their explanations, and by reassurances that neither of them planned on pretentiously throwing their titles around any time soon. Somewhat surprisingly, he spent more time dwelling over the fact that he'd distinguished himself in a way that none of his brothers had before. He also worried about them accepting too much help and becoming too dependent on muggles. Harry suggested that if Ron wanted to start down that path that he would return the plasma screen telly and videogames when they returned to his Aunt and Uncle's. Ron thought that a tad extreme.

They then launched into a discussion about the potential horcrux. Had Dumbledore had known about it? The former Headmaster hadn't described it to Harry; as far as they knew the only two surviving relics had been the sword and Sorting Hat. But had Dumbledore done any research at the British Library? It would have been nice if he'd kept some sort of log of his research efforts so they know where he's already looked, but they doubted that he would have risked writing anything down. Harry recalled that there were many bottled memories in Dumbledore's office that he hadn't shared, and thought it possible that there would be potential information there. That question got added to the list of things to ask the Headmistress the next time that they saw her.

The conversation then drifted towards Godric. The historian had told them that unlike Voldemort, Gryffindor's Lordship was real; he had inherited the title, a castle and a modest fiefdom even before he'd been appointed the King's wizard. Gryffindor's lands and wealth had expanded when he became the King's most trusted confident, but all had been forfeited to the Crown when he refused to swear fealty to the conquering Norman king.

They had no idea what being the King's wizard (or, for that matter, Queen's wizard) would entail in modern-day England. Ron thought it funny that should Harry accept the title that it would be one Lord versus another in the final battle. Harry, however, was more worried about having even more responsibilities added upon his shoulders, and Hermione was worried about what kind of trouble Harry would get into were to do magic on behalf of the Crown.

And Ron was worried about…well, actually, he finally did start to worry about lunch. He shared Harry's skepticism over the tins of tofu and other healthy organic foods in Brian's pantry, and wondered out loud whether they ought to stop by the Leaky Cauldron for take away. Hermione, predictably, scowled a bit as Ron's unhealthy eating habits, but not enough not to knock on the glass partition and ask Brian to stop someplace for fish and chips.

As luck would have it (at least from Hermione's viewpoint), Brian selected a restaurant that was directly across the street from an athletic shoe store. None of them owned trainers suitable for running, and even Ron reluctantly agreed that adopting a fitness regimen would be one useful way to bide their time at Number Four. So while Brian waited on the food, they dragged Petunia with them, and returned with new trainers all around.

Harry had used the Prince's charge card to pay for the purchases, hoping that it would be the last time he'd need to do so. The sales clerk almost fell over when he saw the name imprinted on the card, but said nothing as the charge was electronically processed. Ron might have made a sharp comment about the deferential treatment that they subsequently received, had he not made the mistake of asking a question about credit cards that prompted an impromptu lecture from Hermione on muggle monetary systems. Harry grinned at Hermione's level of detail, and wondered whether it was meant to discourage future inquiries on all things muggle.

+++++

The Trio found a slightly flustered owl waiting for them at Number Four. Harry had left the bedroom window open in the hope that she'd return; the bowl of water and food he'd laid out for her seemed to have dampened any anger the bird might have harbored for not being missed the past couple of days. Hedwig had a think envelope for Hermione and a letter for Harry, both bearing the Auror Department's seal. Harry quickly opened his letter:

Dear Mr. Potter,

Please forgive the unfortunate delay in your owl's return from the Ministry. My investigation has revealed that your name and address was placed on a Level III watch list just prior to her arrival here early Saturday morning - the work of someone from the Minister's office, apparently. All letters and packages sent to the Ministry by persons on this watch list are considered high risk for hexes and/or curses, and standard procedures for handling this type of post include owl isolation and containment within a high-security stasis field until the safety of their delivery can be determined. Current backlog for this type of post is about three weeks.

Placing your name on this list (which includes, by the way, Tom Riddle, Severus Snape and Lucious Malfoy) ensured that any reply that you provided to Umbridge's letter Friday night would not have been received and read. Which was entirely the point, I imagine. Rest assured that your owl was unharmed by the stasis field.

I wish I could say that the person who did this would be held accountable, or that I have the power to immediately remove your name from this watch list, but I can not. Your owl now knows a reliable alternative delivery address, should you or anyone that you trust care to contact me directly. Since all of your owl post communication is subject to isolation, please feel free to route posts addressed to other ministry addresses through me; I will see that they are delivered without delay.

Again, my apologies to you and to your familiar.

Gawain Robards, Head

Auror Division

Magical Law Enforcement Office

Ministry of Magic

Harry traded letters with Hermione. Her package, also from the Head Auror, included the incident report that she'd been promised. The investigation had confirmed their version of events last Friday, and that the disciplinary action promised that night had, in fact, been metered out. The Head Auror also indicated that plans were in place to arrest the two Death Eater look-outs on her parents's doorstep. He asked that they allow the MLE to handle the situation from here on out, and expressed his hope that Harry, Hermione and her parents would trust his department to perform better than they had at Number Four. As an aside, he also stated that the Ministry had placed a rather large requisition with the Weasley Twins for their after-market omnioculars.

Harry asked Hermione what she thought about letting the Aurors handle that operation. She said that she would have to check with her parents, but that she was inclined to let it go - the three of them certainly had more pressing issues to attend to. Still, she made a note to track down Tonks to find out when the arrests were to be performed.

The first use of their running shoes suggested that the need for a fitness regimen was more pressing than initially thought. None of them handled the exercise pain-free, and Ron had a rather difficult time keeping up with Hermione's pace. They squabbled most of the distance, to the point where Harry suggested that they might need a neutral third party to lead their workouts. Mr. Granger, who found them on the front lawn winded and aching after their run, thought that was an excellent idea, and promised to make arrangements for some coaching.

Harry let the other two shower first, which created yet another teachable moment for Ron (red is hot, blue is cold, and don't flush when someone is in the shower). The hot water was gone by the time Ron was done, but that was just as well, since Harry needed to cool down after spending some quality time watching Hermione run. Once done, he wrapped himself in a towel and made his way to his new bedroom, where he changed into a new summer outfit and headed next door to Hermione's room.

Hermione was sitting on the four poster looking through one of the books from Snape's personal library. “Where's Ron?” she asked.

“Erm, next door,” Harry replied with a grin, “He said he wanted to learn more about muggle technology.”

“So he's playing with the Xbox?”

“Right in one,” he said, as he crossed the room, sat down next to her, and nuzzled her ear with his nose. “Missed you,” he told her.

“Hey, that tickles,” she replied with a giggle, “and I was only gone for an hour or so.”

“Okay then,” Harry said, “Missed being able to do this.” He then put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek.

Hermione turned so that she could kiss him properly on the lips. “I missed this too, but we really shouldn't be doing this so long as there's a chance for Ron to walk in, right?”

Harry tilted his head and began to nibble on her ear. “Want to pitch the tent?” he asked.

“Looks like you already have,” Hermione snickered, as her eyes traveled down his torso. “Besides, I think we should spend some time working on nonverbal spells instead.”

“Oh, you're no fun,” Harry replied with a sigh, “but you also are right…I can still hear Snape's taunts about that.”

“Well, maybe, then” Hermione mused, “we can make practice fun?” She walked over to her desk, turned the chair around and sat down. “Or at least get you properly motivated.”

She pointed her wand towards the bedroom door and locked it. After casting a series of silencing spells on the door, windows and walls, she turned towards Harry and with a single motion flipped her t-shirt up over her head. Harry drew in a sharp breath - all she was wearing were jeans and a black lace bra. With a smile and fire in her eyes, Hermione then reached in between the cups and unclasped the front of her bra. Making no effort to remove the undergarment, the bra cups fell only slightly towards the sides, and remained draped over her skin.

“Remember the first spell we learned at Hogwarts?” she asked. “I doubt either of these scraps of fabric weighs much more than a feather.”

Harry shook his head. “Hermione, you are going to be the death of me,” he chuckled, as he nevertheless withdrew his wand from his pocket and aimed it towards Hermione's chest.

He never realized how loudly he could shout “Wingardium Leviosa” inside his head…or how many times he could do so. The only thing moving Hermione's undergarment, however, was her slightly ragged breathing.

“Harry,” she finally asked, “exactly how are you trying to do it?”

“Saying the spell in my head,” he replied.

“Erm, maybe another approach?” she asked. “Think about apparition…that's a nonverbal spell, but there's no associated incantation. Just the…”

“Three D's,” Harry nodded, “destination, determination, and deliberation. Of course, destination doesn't really apply in this case….maybe D-cup?”

Hermione crossed her arms in front of her chest. “That's not funny, Harry…and they're B's not D's.”

“Look good to me,” Harry replied with a grin. “Let's see…the three B's….how about breasts, breasts and breasts?”

Hermione moved to fasted her front clasp. “Are we done here, then?”

“No, wait…” Harry said quickly. “Let me try again.”

Hermione dropped her arms back down to her sides, while Harry thought about his determination, his deliberation, and his….desire.

The fabric stirred, then lifted straight up into the air.

Harry couldn't remember ever being happier over a successful spell cast.

Hermione, forgetting her new state of undress, leapt up and gave Harry a bear hug. “Harry, that's wonderful, you really did it!” she exclaimed, giving him a big kiss.

“Like you said, Hermione, I just need the proper motivation,” he replied. He then let out an evil-sounding laugh. “So how much do you think your knickers weigh?”

Hermione punched him in the shoulder…not that he minded, given the view that procedure provided. “Perv,” she replied with a smile. “Besides, I'd imagine you'd want my knickers to drop down, rather than rise up.”

“Imagine I would,” Harry replied with a smile.

+++++

It was movie night at the Granger's. Well, actually it was at Number Five, and it was the Granger residence that they were actually watching, but there was popcorn, at least.

A quick chat with Tonks had confirmed that the Auror's operation was planned for that night, and the Trio had decided to honor Auror Robard's request to stay away from the area. It was Hermione's parents that had suggested that it still might be possible to see what happened, so after dinner (and with Petunia's permission, of course) the Trio had crossed the street and were finally given a full tour of Number Five.

They hadn't been shown the upstairs bedrooms before, and when they were led into the largest bedroom they understood why Wally had asked them to check their wands at the door. The room had been transformed into a command and control center/surveillance post, with banks of flat-panel screens displaying live video feeds from not only Harry's neighborhood, but within Number Four itself. Wally had three of the largest monitors set up side-by-side on a table pushed up against the wall, and once they were shown in he switched the video feeds so that the left monitor showed the two Death Eaters standing on the street corner down from the Granger's house and the right monitor showed a wide angle view of their entire street. With little activity shown on either screen Wally popped a DVD into the desktop computer that sat beneath the central monitor, and they all sat back and watched a movie while they waited.

There wasn't much room to sit in front of the screen…a couch and two sturdy chairs. Wally and Steve sat in the chairs, while Mr. and Mrs. Granger sat on the couch. At their insistence (and to her father's great amusement) Hermione and Harry insisted that Ron take the other spot on the couch (given his long legs, of course). That left Harry and Hermione sitting on the floor together, in front of her parents.

Given Wally's sense of humor (and personal preferences), Hermione wasn't at all surprised by the selection.

“Friend of Dorothy's, eh Wally?” she asked.

Wally laughed. “A flaming fan,” he replied. “Watch it, though, or I'll ask Harry in front of your parents whether you are a good witch, or a bad witch.”

“Oy, quiet down,” Ron said in between handfuls of popcorn. “I want to hear those munch-people sing.”

Dorothy and company had made just made it to the Emerald City when Steve jumped up to the table, minimized the movie's window, and opened up a new feed. When Harry looked at the right monitor he understood why.

A black sedan had pulled into the Granger residence's drive.

The new video feed that Steve had opened was from inside the Granger residence. Wally had already repositioned himself in front of a separate computer, and was typing at a furious pace. Ten seconds later, an emerald-tinted image appeared on a monitor directly above the center screen.

“Satellite infra-red,” Wally said simply.

“You've got a spy satellite taking pictures of our house?” Emily Granger asked incredulously.

“Not all of the time,” Wally admitted. “I just repositioned it now.”

Hermione looked at Wally in sheer wonder. So did Ron, although his was wonder as in “I wonder what in Merlin's name he's talking about.”

Hermione didn't have time to explain, so she couched it in terms Ron could assimilate. “It's muggle magic, Ron…it lets you see things in the dark, based on the heat that different objects produce.” She then got up and traced the outlines of streets and houses on the display screen for his benefit.

They all watched as a young woman that looked remarkably like Hermione and a man and woman got out of the car and walked inside the house.

“Tonks,” Harry said in recognition.

Once inside Tonks and her Auror pretend parents shed their muggle jackets, drew their wands, and took up a defensive position around a shoe that one of them had taken out of a coat pocket. Moments later, the two Death Eaters crossed the street and approached the Granger residence. A large crack was heard from the inside feed just before the screen went black. Harry looked up and counted eight newly formed black spots within the infrared screen that were within the Granger residence footprint. Then, almost as suddenly, a large black spot that included the entire Granger property appeared on the satellite feed.

“They used magic of some sort,” Wally said. “That black spots is magical interference with the infrared waves, and something fried the camera inside the house.”

“A group must have apparated inside the house just before an anti-apparition ward was established,” Harry reasoned.

“But were they good guys or bad guys, and who set the ward?” Ron asked.

“Good or Bad…can't tell based on their infrared profiles,” Wally replied.

“Oh, I hope that Tonks isn't trapped,” Emily Granger exclaimed.

“They're fine, I bet,” Hermione said. “that shoe was most likely a port key.”

Sure enough, just as the left monitor went to black the long-range street view on the right-side monitor showed three figures appearing across the street holding a shoe in their hand. They dropped the shoe and immediately fired spells towards the two Death Eaters on the Granger's doorstep. The next thing they new, there was an even larger black spot centered on the infrared view of the house.

“So,” Ron decided, “the Aurors just overlapped their own anti-ap ward on top of the Death Eater's…and now that Tonks is out it is just Death Eaters that are trapped inside.”

“Smooth,” commented Steve.

Perhaps realizing their predicament, the Death Eaters blasted a huge hole out of the back of the house and tried to fight their way out. Several Aurors, however, were able to cut them down easily from well-fortified and hidden locations around the house perimeter.

The fight lasted all of three minutes from that point. In the end, two Aurors were down and being tended to while all of the Death Eaters were immobilized, bound, and spirited away. A second group of Aurors appeared on site; one group ran into the house while the second fanned out looking for muggles to obliviate, and setting up repellent charms up and down the block. Not five minutes later, the men that had been inside the house reappeared with bags over their shoulders and then disappeared once they'd cleared the wards. The Aurors that had been covering this movement themselves disappeared, until only the Obliviators were left. Two started to mend the gaping hole in the house wall, while the others stood guard. Once repairs were complete, someone cancelled the wards and then they themselves disappeared.

Ten minutes, two causalities, ten Death Eaters in custody. It seemed like a good day's work, even to Harry.

-->

Chapter 17: Clan Chief

A/N: Just a note that I posted the previous chapter late last Friday afternoon…many of you might not have seen it before it got quickly bumped from the site’s homepage.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

+++++

Tuesday June 5 (Day 5)

The following morning’s trip to the bank provided Harry, Hermione and Ron with one more opportunity to plot and strategize from the backseat of the Bentley.

They started with a discussion on the previous night’s battle between Aurors and Death Eaters. Tonks had visited Privet Drive about an hour after the attack; having decided it best to stay silent on muggle surveillance capabilities, they had to feign ignorance of the operation and its results. She did have some information that they hadn’t gleaned from the video feeds. It turned out that Death Eater assault on the Granger household had been something of a father/son affair, with Crabbe, Goyle and their fathers comprising half of the raiding party. While the interrogations hadn’t yet been completed, Harry and Ron were quite certain what the two Slytherin students would have done to Hermione had they been successful in capturing her and their parents. Hermione seemed rather calm over that point, commenting that it was too bad that the Malfoys hadn’t been there as well.

Tonks had informed them that the Aurors that had entered the house immediately after the battle were a moving company of sorts; they’d shrunk and lightened as much of the furniture, wardrobes and other household items as they could in the limited time they had and hauled it away in large bags. Not knowing where Hermione’s parents were now staying, the Auror Department was storing what they’d recovered until Hermione could give them a forwarding address. Tonks agreed with Hermione and Harry when they decided it best if the Granger’s location was kept from the Ministry – there was no way to know who might pass that information along to the wrong people.

Wally’s wizardry then became the topic of discussion. The fact that he had the ability to direct the location of a spy satellite’s cameras had been nothing short of amazing to Hermione, even in the face of Wally’s self-deprecating modesty. It turned out that one of the few surveillance satellites owned and operated by the British Secret Service had been dedicated to combating terrorism and terrorist threats. It had been previously deployed over Afghanistan, but the London tube bombings the year before (not to mention Voldemort’s attacks) had forced the government to rethink its view on potential threats to its citizenry. The satellite was now at MI-5 and MI-5 ¾’s command pretty much whenever they needed it.

The post-battle video analysis had forced them to disclose Tonks’s metamorph skills; there was no other way for them to reconcile the screen capture of Hermione’s face at the battlescene with her contemporaneous presence at Number Five. They weren’t surprised to learn that Brian had already guessed as much, after Tonks had mimicked Hermione at Number Four a few days past.

Wally had spent a bit of time right after the battle digitally manipulating and enhancing the images of both the Aurors and the Death Eaters. The three had been amazed at how well the computer software was able to create headshots of the wizards, both good and bad. They had been even more amazed when Wally then matched the mugshots against those stored in his database. It turned out that three of the Death Eaters had profiles that matched those taken by security videos and other recording devices present during previous attacks on muggles. Wally also identified four of the Aurors involved in the attack as having been present at King’s Cross the previous Friday. He laughed when Ron had asked how they’d manage to take pictures at the train station; the Ministry of Magic’s request for the muggles to close off the entrance to Platform 9 ¾ to outside eyes all but announced the fact that there’d be a high proportion of wizards and witches amongst the faces captured by the Station’s security cameras.

The fact that they’d been allowed to see Wally work his computer magic was something they all had noted. Ron’s suggestion that the muggle security men had been too dense to realize what they were revealing was shot down fairly quickly by Hermione. She said it was much more likely that MI-5 ¾ wanted the Trio to know what they were capable of doing, and what they knew of the magical world. Whether this was to advertise how they might help the Trio, or assure them that the knowledge was gained independently of anything the three might have let slip was unknown.

Hermione stated that the muggle satellite images might have helped them more than Wally might have imagined. She reviewed what they saw on the satellite feed, and did a backseat physics lesson on electro-magnetic radiation (her knowledge bolstered by a quick read of one of Dudley’s unused textbooks the night before). She expected Ron to have been completely befuddled by the notion that heat was related to colors, and that muggle technology existed that could translate infrared radiation into something within the visible spectrum. He displayed, however, a surprisingly good level of understanding that (much to Hermione’s chagrin) he attributed to his time spent on the Xbox (specifically, the night vision goggles used by his terrorist-hunting Special Forces alter ego).

The fact that anti-apparition wards had created dark spots on the infrared image was most intriguing to Hermione, and something she (rather sheepishly) noted she didn’t fully understand. It might have been that the magic within the ward had disrupted the ability of the satellite to image that portion of its field of view. But if the attack had been in day time, they should have been able to see “through” the magic, given the fact that anti-apparition wards are transparent within the visible range of light.

Harry wondered about his invisibility cloak, and whether its properties would help Hermione’s problem solving. He noted that there were two ways of the magic working…it could either change the person wearing it, or change the way that people looking at the cloaked person perceived it. Hermione rather excitedly mentioned the goofy glasses that her parents wore at the train station…that was a clear case of magic that affected the viewer, rather than the object being viewed.

Harry said that his cloak had to work the same way…it wasn’t as if his body shifted to a different plane of existence when he wore the cloak (they all brought up instances over the years when they’d been bumped into while cloaked). He then wondered whether the cloak worked just with visible light, or whether it affected the infrared as well. Ron stated that the easiest way to find out was to get their hands on some night-vision goggles and do the experiment themselves. When Hermione asked where they’d be able to find that kind of equipment Ron replied that if Brian and MI-5 ¾ weren’t able or willing to provide them that they could just buy some on the internet. Much to Harry’s amusement, Ron was rather evasive when Hermione asked Ron pointedly how he knew about the internet, and what websites he might have visited during this “research.”

Ron tried to get out of providing an answer by asking Hermione what difference it made whether night vision goggles would reveal invisible objects. He guessed that the goggles would go haywire as soon as it got anywhere close to the cloak, just like the cameras that had been set up in the Granger’s house. Hermione responded with a scenario that left Ron and Harry rather dumbstruck. If anti-apparition wards consistently created black circles on infrared satellite images, then the muggle government, if it chose to, might be able to identify the exact location of every single magical structure or area protected by those kinds of wards. Harry was quick to catch on how that could help them find Voldemort (anti apparition wards set up at the Riddle mansion, perhaps?), but he voiced that idea just as they pulled up to Prescott’s, so the point was left for later.

Brian was once again tasked with babysitting Petunia; a colleague was there to mind the car while the five of them walked up the wide marble stairs and into the bank. As instructed, they told a receptionist that they had a meeting with a Mr. Nigel Nilbog; the Trio was promptly led by a guard towards an elevator bank while Brian and Petunia took seats within the lobby.

After a short trip several floors down beneath the main level they were shown to a rather austere conference room and introduced to a Mr. Jenkins, whose business card indicated was the Bank’s president. Mr. Jenkins showed them a side table with tea and coffee service; they’d just returned to their seats when a rather small door opened from the wall opposite and Headmistress McGonagall entered the room, followed by three goblins. They’d half-expected to see the Headmistress; Tonks had conveyed for them word of the meeting time and place (although they imagined she would have met them on their side of that door). Harry recognized one of the goblins as Griphook, who’d taken him on his very first roller-coaster ride to his Gringott’s vault. His eyes went wide when they were introduced to the other two goblins; Griphook was accompanied by no less than Ragnok, Goblin Clan Chief, and Earchewer, his clan champion.

Given the amount of material covered, the first part of their meeting went surprisingly fast. The human bank president did most of the talking, explaining that Prescott’s had been a goblin-owned muggle bank for over two centuries (the Trio didn’t bother asking him for his muggle identification card, considering the fact that he didn’t bat an eye when the goblins showed up as proof enough). The bank was the main conduit for money exchanges between pounds sterling and galleons; whether they knew it or not, most Gringott’s patrons also had accounts at Prescott’s. Griphook then passed out six rather thick portfolios; four to Harry, and one each to Ron and Hermione. Each portfolio contained an inventory of a vault, any associated muggle bank accounts, and investments both (muggle and wizard-related).

Ron and Hermione were rather shocked when they looked at their individual net worths. Griphook explained that their vault contents reflected the disposition of Albus Dumbledore’s estate. Their former Headmaster had, as a result of his partnership with Nicolas Flamel and other shrewd investments, been one of the richest wizards in Britain. Not wishing that the use of Harry’s money (or their willingness to accept it) become an issue for either Ron or Hermione, Albus had bequeathed to each of them the sum of one hundred thousand galleons, as well as a few personal mementos; Hermione had been given all of Dumbledore’s books, research notes and journals, while Ron had been given the former Headmaster’s entire collection of chocolate frog cards. Each, of course, thought themselves the richer.

As might be expected, Harry’s finances were a little more complex. Each of the four portfolios were associated with a specific vault within Gringott’s. The first covered the vault he’d had access to since his First Year at Hogwarts; Harry was rather surprised to see just how much money was within it. Griphook noted that the balance reflected not just the remainder of the “school” money left by his parents, but the money that had been bequeathed by Sirius. All of those funds were available for his immediate use. The second portfolio described the contents of the Potter family vault, which he’d gain access to upon his seventeenth birthday. The vault contained not only a large amount of gold, but two pages worth of itemized magical items, which McGonagall explained were either Potter family heirlooms or the salvageable contents from their house at Godric’s Hollow. The Headmistress then added that while Dumbledore hadn’t left Harry any money, he had been bequeathed the pensieve, as well as all of the Headmaster’s bottled memories. She passed them to Harry in two small boxes, which he handled as if they were the most priceless artifacts imaginable.

When Harry opened the third and forth portfolios he found single pieces of parchment within each that didn’t provide an inventory, but rather noted that Harry held a disputed or unresolved interest in the vault contents. One was associated with the Black family estate; apparently there were investments and other financial holdings that weren’t directly owned by Sirius, but rather, by the Estate. While Sirius had been the last Black by name, there were still a few surviving members of the Black family through maternal bloodlines (including, McGonagall noted, Nymphadora Tonks and Draco Malfoy), and the disposition of this portion of the Black family fortune was currently under review by the Wizengamot. A resolution was expected sometime in the next decade. Harry found the last portfolio by far the most interesting and terrifying; the vault was described as belonging to Lord Gryffindor. When Harry asked the goblins how they knew he might have an interest in Godric Gryffindor’s estate, Griphook smiled, and suggested the sword that Harry had stashed in the rucksack by his side was proof enough.

The Headmistress then identified a final sum to be under Harry’s limited control. Dumbledore had specific that the bulk of his estate (more than thirty million galleons) be placed in a trust for the defense and support of Hogwarts. The trust, which had been established prior to his death, identified Harry as its executor, with the power to spend any or all of the funds for that purpose.

When Hermione asked about establishing pound sterling accounts at Prescott’s, the bank president handed each of them an envelope that contained account information and debit cards, which they could use to draw against their accounts. Griphook further explained that each of the portfolios were charmed to facilitate transfers between their Prescott and Gringott accounts; they merely needed to touch their balance sheets with their wands and drag numbers from one account to the other. Similarly, their wands could be used to write down a new location on the ledger, and funds (or items) could be dragged with their wands from their vault to that spot. If that new location was, say, their residence, said cash (or item) would be delivered directly to them.

Harry, who was looking over the inventory of his personal vault, asked if he could do a test run. The Headmistress objected to his underage wand use, which made the goblins all laugh; the use of their magical items were untraceable by any Ministry magic. Harry then used his wand to write “Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging” on his balance sheet, and dragged a single item from his vault to that written address.

At that point Clan Chief Ragnok spoke his first words of the meeting, stating that with the financial issues dealt with that it was time for important issues to be discussed.

“Issues more important than finances?” Harry asked with a slight grin.

“Indeed,” Ragnok replied. “We wish to speak with you alone, Harry Potter.”

The bank president was already gathering his things, and the Headmistress stood and asked if he would show her to a secure apparition point. Harry, however, blanched at the idea of asking Ron and Hermione to leave.

“I do not wish to offend, Clan Chief Ragnok,” he replied, “but you should know that anything you say to me in private I would share with them later. I trust them with my life.”

“Then they are of your Clan?” Ragnok asked.

Harry turned towards Ron and Hermione and got the answer he was looking for just from their eyes. “Yes,” he said, “Ron is my champion, while Hermione is, erm…”

“I am Clan Chief Potter’s consort,” Hermione said with authority.

That comment earned her some sharp glances and intakes of breath from both Ron and the Headmistress (who had almost been out the door). From Harry she got eyes full of wonder and breath that was a tad ragged.

“Hell of a way for Ron to find out,” Harry thought to himself.

“Very well, then, Clan Chief Potter,” Ragnok said. “I wish to speak with you of alliances and the future of our Clans.”

“I would be honored to hear your thoughts on these matters, Clan Chief Ragnok.,” Harry replied, with all of the diplomacy he could muster.

“As you are no doubt aware,” Ragnok began, “your champion’s older brother has spent a fair bit of time trying to convince me to side with those who fight Voldemort. It is only because Bill Weasley has been such a trustworthy Gringott’s employee, and that he spoke on behalf of Albus Dumbledore, that he didn’t suffer the fate of the Ministry representative that made that very same request.”

“What happened to the Ministry’s representative?” Ron asked.

“My champion lived up to his name.”

“Oh.”

“With Dumbledore’s passing to the next plane of existence, we asked Bill Weasley for whom he now spoke on behalf of…and he chose you,” Ragnok said, “thereby reconfirming our opinion of the soundness of his judgement.”

“Your words are too kind, Clan Chief,” Harry said.

“But not too overblown,” the goblin replied. “We have no faith in the ability of the Ministry of Magic to protect its own, much less the rest of the magical realm. You, on the other hand…well, let’s just say that the goblins see their interests and their future closely tied to yours and your Clan.”

“I am honored, Clan Chief,” Harry replied. “I would value your counsel on how I might act to preserve those interests.”

“A wizard asking for a goblin’s advice?” the Clan Chief’s champion blurted out. “It must be some trick.”

“Hold your tongue, Earchewer,” the goblin chief said sharply. “His humility only supports our assessment, and planned course of action.”

The goblin then turned towards the Trio. “You have entered into an alliance with the muggles in your battle against the Dark Wizard,” he simply said. “Now, no need to deny this fact,” he said, as Harry’s face turned a bit white, “it was strategically a wise move. Had you not done so I may have been courting favor with the Prince myself.”

“I am sorry, Ragnok,” Harry said, “but we had hoped to keep my relationship with the muggles quiet, for now. Might I ask how you knew?”

Griphook smiled. “Last Friday you were authorized to use the bank card owned by the Prince of Wales…did you notice the name of the bank that issued that card?”

“Prescott’s,” Harry said, with a nod of comprehension.

“The Royal family has one of the larger vaults beneath Gringott’s,” the goblin said. “Not as big as yours, of course, but most of their wealth is managed by the Bank of England.”

“Why would you consider a muggle-goblin alliance?” Ron asked.

“Self-preservation,” the Chief replied simply. “Voldemort…the Ministry of Magic and their kind…they all underestimate the powers of the muggle clans even more than they underestimate goblins. We have envisioned a future under the Dark Mark and it is, quite simply, disastrous.”

“Haven’t Voldemort and his kind have be courting goblin favor, promising power and playing on injustices both past and present?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, Consort Granger, they have,” Ragnok replied. “But the Death Eaters foolishly believe that should they gain power that the muggles would leave them alone, or perhaps be too ignorant to even notice the difference. Do you believe that likely?”

“No,” Hermione replied. “They will not stand for the killing of muggle-born wizards and the muggle hunting that no doubt would follow Voldemort’s success…and if they don’t already have the means to destroy Voldemort, they certainly have the will and resources to acquire those means in short order.”

“We agree,” Ragnok said, “and fear greatly the consequences of that battle. At best it would destroy much of the wizarding economy, and at worst…well, at this point in time goblins enjoy a certain amount of economic leverage over wizard humans. We have nothing close to that leverage and control over muggle humans, and expect that the war against Voldemort would also bring an attack against our clans and other magical sentients.”

“That is a dark vision of our futures, Clan Chief Ragnok, and one that I would like to prevent,” said Harry. He thought for a moment. “Your decision to even consider a goblin-human alliance must have been controversial within the Goblin Nation.”

“That, Clan Chief Potter, is a slight understatement,” Ragnok replied with a chuckle. There are some who can not see beyond the dishonorable actions of the Ministry, and their continued protection of Bagman the Thief.”

“Would your position be strengthened if the money he stole from the Goblins was repaid?” Harry asked. “Depending on the actual amount, I might be in a position to help.”

“While you do have funds sufficient to cover our losses,” Ragnok replied, “this has grown to much more than a simple reconciling of bank accounts. Any government that harbors a known thief can not be trusted…even if you brought me Bagman’s head on a spike that would not change.”

“I understand, Clan Chief,” Harry said. “Perhaps, then, we will look at ways of changing the Ministry’s position on this matter.”

“That would be most helpful, Clan Chief Potter.” He stood up. “We have given you much to consider, I am afraid. Perhaps we should meet again soon?”

“We would enjoy just such a meeting,” Harry said, as he stood and shook each of the goblin’s hands. Earchewer then went to Ron and (after a close physical appraisal) shook the hand of his counterpart. Griphook in turn approached Hermione.

“I believe that congratulations are in order, Consort Granger,” he said quietly, and with a slight smile. “We were unaware of your position within Clan Potter…you have chosen wisely.”

“Thank you, Griphook,” Hermione replied, “and yes, I believe I have.”

She glanced over at Ron, who was watching her with a frighteningly cool expression.

Hermione did not look forward to their next conversation within the back of the Bentley.

Chapter 18: A Simple Trip from Point A to Point B

A/N: I felt a little bad about ending the last chapter just before the obligatory “Ron figures it out” point in the story, so I made some time to plot out the “Talk” before delving into their meeting with the wizard barrister (every time I try to limit myself to 2 chapters/plot day…). It’s been done so, so many times, and quite often much better than how I’ve done it, but humor me. We’ll get this out of the way, and then you can start worrying about how Ginny will take the news.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

+++++

Harry’s queasiness about discussing Hermione’s status as his “consort” was replaced by a different kind of stomach distress when the doors of their elevator opened to the main lobby.

Their exit was blocked by a rather stern looking Headmistress.

“Follow me, the three of you.”

With nothing short of complete expectation that they’d follow, McGonagall turned and walked into a rather large conference room set against the back wall of the lobby. Not that far gone from school, the Trio quietly did as they were told. Once inside the door slammed behind them, accompanied by loud clicks and clanks within the walls and windows that left little doubt that their conversation would be private.

All but four chairs surrounding the conference table disappeared; with three of the four on the side closest to them the Trio didn’t wait for orders to sit down. The Headmistress started to pull the fourth chair away from the opposite side of the table, but changed her mind and launched into her tirade whilst pacing back and forth in front of them.

“In all my years at Hogwarts,” she began, “in all my years as Head of Gryffindor House…never have I seen students act with more rashness and presumption than the three of you just displayed. Mr. Potter, do you have any sense of what you just did in that meeting…do you have any sense? Proclaiming the existence of your Clan…negotiating directly with the Goblin Clan Chief…you might just as well announce your open sedition against the Ministry of Magic.”

Harry was too stunned to reply.

“And you, Miss Granger…let’s just gloss over the “consort” business and focus on the fact that you are very likely the only female that has dared speak to Ragnok before being spoken too and lived to tell the tale. Surely you know something about the patriarchal clan system within the Goblin Nation?”

“But…”

“As for you, Mr. Weasley,” the Headmistress continued, as she ignored Hermione’s protest, “Harry proclaims that you are his Clan Champion and you just sit there like a fish out of water? After the meeting you shook hands with Ragnok’s champion, right? Do you know why he’s called Earchewer? Let me tell you…he wasn’t given that name, he earned it.”

Ron let out one-half of an “Eek” before swallowing the remainder.

“And here we are, barely a week after Dumbledore’s passing…what do you think your former Headmaster would say if you were in his office right now?”

Harry thought for a moment before replying. “Care for a lemon drop?”

A slight smile erupted on the Headmistress’s otherwise stern face. “Yes, Harry, I imagine you’re right.” She transfigured the conference table into a couch that faced just in front of the three and took a seat.

“So,” she said, “perhaps you’d consider telling me what happened after I left?”

Harry smiled and proceeded to give her an abbreviated summary of the discussion (leaving out the bit about his relationship with the Prince). The Headmistress was initially amazed at the prospect of a muggle-goblin alliance, and seemed a bit skeptical of the goblin’s assessment of muggle capabilities. Nevertheless, she was understandably quite pleased that the goblins had finally gotten off the fence and decided not to join Voldemort’s forces.

Headmistress McGonagall’s tone of voice and demeanor grew progressively warmer as they talked, and Harry picked up on the fact that much of her warmth was directed towards Ron. She mentioned that she visited The Burrow the day before, and told Molly in no uncertain terms that Ron’s efforts that summer would be vital to the Order’s mission She said that she was inclined to return that afternoon to share the additional good new, certain that Ron’s parents would be immensely proud of what he’d done. She noted that while Bill had certainly laid the foundation it was Ron that had helped cement the ties between the goblins and wizards…that while Percy had been a Weasley Head Boy that there’d never been a Weasley named Clan Champion…and that Dumbledore no doubt thought Ron’s efforts valuable, or else he wouldn’t have made him wealthier than either of the Twins.

It was a pretty blatant attempt to boost Ron’s ego, and Harry was more than grateful to see it working. With every comment Ron’s back grew a little straighter, and his eyes a little brighter. Harry thought those eyes actually sparked a bit when the Headmistress casually mentioned that while she was at The Burrow that Luna Lovegood had visited hoping to hear news about Ron.

Hermione chose that moment to announce their need to take their leave for lunch. When the Headmistress asked how well they were eating at the Dursleys, she received some muttered “It’s alright’s,” prompting her to call out for Dobby the house elf. He instantly appeared with a rather large picnic basket filled with the staples of a Great Hall feast. Ron eagerly grabbed the basket and spent a few seconds with his nose over it, savoring the smells of all his favorite comfort foods. Wondering out loud whether they’d be allowed to eat in the back of the limousine, Ron headed out into the main lobby to find Brian.

Harry and Hermione couldn’t help but laugh as they watch Ron leave. Their eyes met, and they turned to offer the Headmistress their thanks.

“You really knew how to punch all of his buttons,” Harry said with some wonder.

“I should,” the Headmistress replied, “I have been his Head of House for the past six years.”

“And you’ve been ours, as well, haven’t you?” Hermione asked rhetorically.

McGonagall smiled and nodded. “I trust,” she asked, “that your self-identification as Harry’s consort doesn’t have any legal underpinnings…at least for now?”

The two blushed a bit as they looked at each other. “No,” Hermione replied, to which Harry added in his thoughts “Not just yet.”

“Yet I sense the two of you have taken a few steps down that path together?” she replied with a small grin.

“Is it that obvious?” Harry asked, as he tentatively grabbed Hermione’s hand.

McGonagall chuckled, “It has been, for quite some time. Care to share when the two of you realized it yourselves?”

Harry said “Friday” at the same time Hermione said “Sunday.” Hermione looked at Harry with an arched eyebrow as he shrugged his shoulders. “At the Palace, seeing you in the periwinkle blue dress,” he said simply. She nodded. “And seeing you in the tuxedo...” She turned to the Headmistress. “Harry’s right…it was Friday.”

McGonagall nodded with a terse smile of recognition. “Like the phoenix, rising from its ashes…so that would be June 1…ah, I believe Poppy will be delighted to hear the news.”

“Why is that?” Harry asked.

“Because she won the betting pool, of course.”

+++++

“So your Harry’s consort?” Ron asked, in between mouthfuls of Yorkshire pudding. “What’s that mean exactly?”

They were on their way back to Little Whinging, having cancelled their afternoon meeting with the wizard barrister in order to sort out their meeting with the Goblins. They were also well on their way to finishing their feast.

“Well,” Hermione replied, “in the context of that conversation, it meant that I’d be allowed to stay for the rest of the meeting…Ragnok expected some level of authority, after all.”

“Yeah, but what’s it mean?” he asked, rather coolly.

“Erm….in the muggle world, a consort is the husband or wife of a king or queen.”

“Brilliant,” Ron replied, “much better I be the champion and you the consort, then.”

“Yes,” Harry said with a nervous laugh and a glance towards Hermione. “I agree.”

“So, the goblins, they have clans, and each clan has a Chief, who has a champion fighter and a wife?”

“Erm, pretty much,” Hermione replied, “except that from what I’ve read, goblins chiefs don’t necessarily have to be married to their consort.”

“Oh,” said Ron, who’d moved on to tackling a ham shank. “So you wouldn’t have been lying to the goblins if you were Harry’s girlfriend.”

“Erm…yes, you’re right.”

Ron thought for a few seconds. “Goblins are sticklers when it comes to the truth, you know…liars are just one step below thieves in their eyes.”

“Yes,” Hermione said with a slight pause. “I think I read that someplace once.”

“Of course you did,” Ron replied. He pointed the shank of ham towards Hermione. “So were you lying?”

Hermione looked at Harry, who took the initiative to answer. “No Ron, she wasn’t.”

Ron dropped the shank on his plate and fished through the basket, looking for some dessert. After picking out three different types of pastries, he looked straight at Harry.

“So were you cheating on Ginny, then?”

“No, Ron, I wasn’t,” Harry replied. “What Hermione and I have…it’s just at the start, except of course it isn’t since we’ve known each other so long, but…it happened after I broke up with Ginny.”

“I see,” Ron said quietly. He then turned to Hermione.

“Tart.”

“Excuse me?”

Ron clarified by pointing towards the pastries. “Fancy a tart, Hermione?”

“No thank you, Ron.”

Ron nodded as he grabbed a drink from his goblet of pumpkin juice.

“You know, Hermione, I fancied you for the longest time.”

“Yes,” Hermione replied, “I know.”

“Snogging Lavender Brown wasn’t exactly the best way to show it,” Ron continued, “But I did.”

“Past tense, mate?” Harry asked with some degree of hope.

Ron looked closely at Harry. “Yeah, past tense.”

“As of when?” Hermione asked.

“Dinner Saturday night, Luna’s house.”

“Oh,” Hermione replied.

“She likes me,” Ron said simply. “She likes me as Ron Weasley, and not just the package deal of Harry and Ron…or worse, as Harry’s mate.”

“She’s a sweet girl,” Harry said. “Brave too…showed that at the Department of Mysteries.”

“Yeah,” Ron agreed, “but so did Ginny.”

“Yeah, she did…but that’s over, Ron…we broke up and it’s over.”

“Sure, Harry, I know it is.” Ron said. “Plan on telling her anytime soon?”

“Erm, well, don’t know when I’ll see her…got to stay at the Dursleys, after all.”

“Yeah, guess that makes sense,” Ron replied. “We could have visitors, though, right?”

“Sure,” Harry replied somewhat tentatively. “Thinking of inviting Ginny to dinner?”

“No, of course not,” Ron replied. “You think I have problems in muggle land, can’t imagine what she’d do without a magic mirror telling her how pretty she is every morning...actually, I was thinking of Luna.”

“We’d love to have Luna visit,” Hermione said.

Ron looked at her cross-eyed as he hunted for any missing treats in the basket. “Nice pronoun, Hermione.”

“Oh…yeah, sorry about that,” she said.

“It’s alright,” Ron replied. “I can deal with plurals…just promise not to snog under my nose, okay?”

“Sure, Ron,” Harry said with some relief. “We can work with you on that one.”

Ron shook his head. “So about that lying to goblins thing…were you serious when you told them I was your champion?”

“Of course I was, mate,” Harry replied.

“Good,” he said, “wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Chapter 19: Normality

A/N: As a portkey public service, I’m rushing to post this chapter next to "Circle’s End," in the hope that a bit of my fluffy fluff and a joke or two might ease the sting of madscientist’s brilliant, but tear-jerking update. So go read that first (if you haven’t already), and then come back here with some tissues…I need some right about now.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

The Trio arrived at Number Four to find that the goblins had already completed Harry’s portfolio transaction. They also discovered that Harry’s delivery instructions should have been much more specific - the coffee table in his Aunt and Uncle’s living room had been replaced by Sirius’s motorcycle.

Harry couldn’t decide what was funnier; his Aunt Petunia’s shock over the new piece of furniture, or the fact that the goblin who had made the delivery had forced her to sign for it. With more empathy than she knew she possessed, Hermione shrank the motorcycle just enough for Ron and Harry to roll it out the door and onto the drive.

The arrival of the classic motorbike brought Wally, Steve and Roger out from Number Five for some fawning. Harry, who had only half-believed that the motorcycle would really materialize, balked when they encouraged him to go for a spin. Hermione saw his hesitancy and had grabbed his hand in support.

"You know, guys," she told the men, "there’s a good chance that the previous owner installed some rather nasty theft deterrence charms." Her warning caused the men to back up and give the motorcycle some space.

"Thinking about Sirius?" she asked Harry, rather quietly.

"No," he replied, "well, yes, but more than that…I was thinking about the last time this motorcycle was in front of this house."

Hermione realized what he was alluding to. "Hagrid used this bike to bring you to the Dursley’s all those years ago, the day after your parents…."

"Yeah," Harry said, cutting her off before she could complete that sentence.

Hermione let go of Harry’s hand and pulled him close, reaching under his arm to grab his waist. Harry responded by wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"You need to learn how to ride this, and quick," Hermione said.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because this is how you got to your Aunt and Uncle’s, and by Merlin, this is going to be how you are going to leave it….how we are going to leave it…when the time comes."

Harry looked at her and kissed the top of her head.

And Hermione’s father, who had seen and heard all and was always quick with a snarky quip, for once held his tongue.

+++++

Neither Harry nor Hermione were surprised when Ron later announced that he wanted to pay Luna a visit that night. They all agreed it was a good time for him to do so…it gave Ron a chance to process both what he’d heard at the bank and in the Bentley. Hermione suggested that it’d also be a good time for him to patch things up with his mum. Ron, however, seemed hesitant to lose his excuse for needing to use the Lovegood’s floo connection.

Ron had the bright idea of using his wand and portfolio to transfer fifty galleons from his vault to his school trunk. He had originally wanted to write down "left front pant pocket" as the delivery address, until Hermione suggested that a less than accurate delivery might be rather painful. With more than enough "date money" for the first time in his life, Ron whistled a happy tune all the way to Arabella’s house. Had it been more on-key, Harry and Hermione would have recognized it as "Weasley is our King."

With Ron gone Harry and Hermione were faced with a number of competing uses for their time. Tempted to either set up the tent or dive into Dumbledore’s pensieve, they instead chose to take advantage of the sunny weather and walk hand-in-hand about the neighborhood. Of course, Hermione thought of a way to justify their choice. She wasn’t entirely happy with the apparition spot she’d been using, so they walked the neighborhood scouting potential alternatives, using a spell that Tonks had shown her that identified the limits of an anti-appartion ward. They then marked this boundary on a neighborhood street map that also showed Wally’s camera locations within his monitoring network.

The charm that Hermione used turned her wand into a sort of dousing rod that twitched whenever it encountered an anti-app ward. This allowed her not only to hold Harry’s hand, but to hold a conversation with Harry while the charm was working.

"So I hope that you didn’t mind too much that I proclaimed myself your consort," she said with a smile.

"I’d be a daft git if I did," Harry replied. "Besides, I was the one that decided I was a Clan Chief in the first place."

"You had to do that, you know," Hermione said. "Ragnok wouldn’t pledge cooperation with anyone that he didn’t consider his equal in rank."

"Yes, I know," Harry said, "I just don’t like it very much…makes it sound as if I buy into this ‘Chosen One’ business."

"Well, with Dumbledore gone…" Hermione said relatively tentatively, "Look, I know you don’t feel worthy to lead the forces of Light, but it’s not as if the Ministry is instilling confidence in too many people. And besides, there’s a lot of people that do think you’re worthy, and would support you in a heartbeat."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, sweetheart," Harry said, as he gave her hand a small squeeze. He got a bit nervous when his endearment caused Hermione to blush. "I hope you don’t mind that I, erm…well, Hermione do you think things are going too fast between us?"

She stopped and turned towards him with a smile. "Too fast? It’s only been, what, six years now that we’ve been nearly inseparable."

"Yeah, but, you know what I mean," Harry replied. "It’s because of that that I want to make sure that I don’t muck anything up…I feel like such a git sometimes, not knowing what to do or say around you, and I’m terrified that if I screw this up that we’d lose our friendship as well."

Hermione gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and backed that up with a tender, if brief, kiss. "So long as you’re my ‘just Harry,’ you don’t have anything to worry about," she said. "It is a bit backwards, I suppose."

"How’s that?"

"Well, think about how a lot of relationships begin," she explained. "Couples swapping spit in the Common Room before they bother to find out if they’re compatible over the long term…not to mention the ‘three date rule.’"

"What’s that?" Harry asked.

"Something I read about," Hermione said., "Supposedly, when you are young, single, and sexually active, if you don’t shag a person by your third date then the relationship isn’t going anywhere."

"Oh," Harry said, "so remind me how many dates we’ve had?"

Hermione gave his shoulder a punch. "Officially, none, you prat…my point is, instead of shagging then finding out if you could live with the other person’s faults over the years, we’ve already gotten the second part out of the way. Our level of compatibility is, well, off the charts, in my opinion."

"I agree," Harry said. "Which bring us back around to the original question...what do we do now, and when do we do it?"

"I don’t know," Hermione said. "I love where we’re at right now, and I love the thought of where this is going. But most of all, I love the idea that I can trust you utterly and completely."

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said. "Not to test that level of trust, but does it bother you that we’ve started something so soon after I broke up with Ginny?"

"Didn’t I just say I trusted you utterly and completely?" Hermione asked. "Would you like the aid of a Sonorus charm?"

"No, it’s just…well I just wanted you to know how incredibly different I feel with you," Harry replied. "I mean, Ginny’s a sweet girl, but my time with her was just an escape I’m afraid. I feel bad for her, actually…she wanted a lot more than I felt comfortable giving her."

"How was it an escape?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I’ve been trying to figure that out," Harry replied. "The time I spent with Ginny…it was like I was a normal teenager, with normal worries…that sense of normality that I’ve always yearned for. But my time with her…I couldn’t integrate that with my real world."

"So Ginny is normal, and I’m abnormal?" Hermione asked.

"No, silly," Harry smirked. "I’m talking about what I’ve wanted, what I thought I’ve wanted…when I was with her, I felt normal…But we were both deluding ourselves, I think."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because when it comes down to it," Harry said, "I’m not normal, and Ginny wouldn’t have wanted to date me if I really was."

"You think so? Even if Voldemort hadn’t marked you you’d have been captain of the Quidditch team."

"Nah, I’m pretty sure Ginny would be looking for a knight in shining armor, and I’d…I’d still rather be out the spotlight."

Hermione thought for a moment. "So if she made you feel normal, then I make you feel how?"

"You mean besides the warm fuzzy-butterflies in my stomach-luckiest bloke in the world feeling?"

"Sorry, guess I was fishing for a complement."

"You shouldn’t have to fish," Harry replied. "This might sound strange, but you make me feel capable…like I can love someone and kick Voldemort’s bum at the same time…like I have a fighting chance to survive…like I have the motivation to survive."

Hermione’s eyes narrowed a bit as her heart skipped. "And when Voldemort is gone, won’t you want to go back to normal?"

It was Harry’s turn to punch Hermione’s shoulder. "Will you stop, already? Why would I want to settle for normal, now that I’m feeling the way I am right now?"

Hermione cocked her head sideways a bit with a smile. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Sir Clan Chief."

"Will it get me past the third official date?" Harry asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"Let’s work on the first one, sweetheart," Hermione replied.

+++++

They completed their neighborhood tour without finding any better spots to apparate than the small copse of trees Hermione had used near the playground. There was, however, a rather nice vacant home for sale just beyond the wards, a few houses down from Arabella’s (which, not surprisingly, was just inside the wards). Hermione suggested that they could apparate inside the home to contain the noise, but worried about spooking the neighbors. Harry, recalling the newfound extent of his wealth, suggested the simple solution of buying the house. Hermione thought that a tad extravagant, given how long they planned on staying in Little Whinging, but Harry thought it worth checking, and asked her to start looking into what it would take to maintain the wards beyond his birthday.

Having already promised to eat dinner that evening with her parents, Hermione sent Hedwig to Tonks and Remus with a request to meet later that night. They wanted to talk about their goblin meeting with magical people they trusted, and thought that Remus might be able to show Harry how to use the charmed motorcycle.

They enjoyed another fine meal on the backyard patio of Number Five that evening, with Harry and Hermione’s visit with the goblins the main dinner table topic. Until, of course, Hermione’s parents decided it was time to drop their own bombshell.

"So, Hermione," her father started out, "your mum and I have had a few days to sort things out."

"The past few days have been exciting," Emily Granger added, "and we’re a little reluctant to pick up our dental drills and go back to our old lives."

"Wouldn’t being hounded by Death Eaters wear thin after a while?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I’m sure it would," her father replied. "Not that we aren’t confident that the two of you will take care of that problem in the very near future. We’re talking about what to do right now, though…about starting our new lives."

"You thinking about new identities…moving to the States…something like that?" Hermione asked.

"Well, not quite," her dad replied. "The government has offered to put us into a long-term protection program…new house, new identities, new jobs…it’s very generous, but they’ve also given us a much more appealing alternative."

"What’s that?"

"They’ve made us a job offer," her mum replied.

"Work for the government?" Hermione asked, a little nervously. "What…the Queen’s men need some dental work?"

A light bulb flipped on above Harry’s head . "You are going to help Wally and Steve, aren’t you?"

"That’s the idea," Roger admitted.

"Oh my…erm…just what….MI-5 ¾?" Hermione stammered. "No offense, but you two will need more then dental drills to fight Death Eaters."

"That’s what we tried to tell them when they made the offer," her mom said with a smile. "But they said that we possessed a few key qualities that made us perfect for what they had in mind."

"What’s that?"

"Well, for one thing, the perfect cover..."

"Cover?" Hermione asked with alarm. "My parents, the dentists, working undercover?"

"Well, not exactly undercover…" her father replied. "We are your parents, after all, it’s nothing we aren’t already doing now."

"But you don’t know the first thing about security, or defending yourself against attack, or any number of things."

"True enough," Mr. Granger said, "but we do have eyes, ears, and a strong incentive to pick up the rest as soon as possible."

"So what will you need to do," Hermione asked, "attend some training academy?"

"Ordinarily, yes, we would," Roger replied. "But given the circumstances, they’re going to bring the trainers to us, so that we’d be able to stay with you."

"So what kind of training would you receive?" asked Hermione. "I can’t believe it’d be enough to keep you out of harm’s way."

"Don’t know exactly what kind of training," Roger admitted. "Imagine we’ll find out soon enough. Look…we know you’d be worried, and we thought about not telling you, but…well, your mum and I have no intention of being helpless muggles, and I was serious the other night when I said that we wanted to do whatever we could to help you two."

"It’s our fight too, now." Emily said. "It has always been so…ever since you and Harry were targeted for attack."

"You’ve been pretty quiet about all this, Harry," Roger noted. "What do you think?"

With all three Grangers looking for his response, and one in particular looking for some support, Harry decided to tread carefully.

"Well," he began, "you might think that you have limited job opportunities given present circumstances, so I was thinking that I’d like to offer you both an employment alternative."

"My parents working for you?" Hermione asked. "Don’t you think that’d be a little…weird?"

"No, Hermione," Harry replied, "I don’t. Look, it’s because of me that they’ve lost their house and employment, it’s the least I can do, and you know I have the means to offer."

"Harry," Emily said, "we appreciate your offer, but it really isn’t necessary."

"Why don’t you hear what I’m offering first?" Harry said. "Look, it seems like every day there are at least two or three ‘top priority’ things added to our ‘To Do’ list. Hermione and I could really use your help."

"Harry, I thought the idea was keeping them safe?" Hermione stated, with a bit of exasperation.

"They could work within the wards, or otherwise be with one of us," Harry explained.

"What sort of work do you have in mind?" Hermione’s father asked.

"Well, Mr. Granger," Harry replied, "I learned this morning that I’m even wealthier than I imagined, but I really have more important things to do than manage that money. I could use a financial manager to keep track of things for me. And you also saw yourself that we could use some sort of personal trainer for physical fitness…we also need to learn how to drive, and to do so just a little better than the average teenagers that don’t have bad guys chasing after them."

"So I’d be your personal assistant?" Roger asked.

"No, more like my Dad, only you’d get paid for it," Harry replied with a smile.

"Any specific ideas on who’d be providing this training?" Roger asked with the beginning of some understanding.

"Mr. Granger, have you ever heard of the term ‘plausible deniability’?" Harry asked. When Roger nodded his head Harry continued. "I don’t think I really need to know where the trainers come from, though it sounds like you’ve already got a good handle on where to look…and maybe you could even get a group discount, so that you and your wife could join us as well."

Hermione looked at Harry a little crossly. "Harry, I don’t think this is helping…"

"Hermione," Harry said with some seriousness, "your parents want to help, and since they’re your parents I’m guessing that I’ll have as much luck pushing them away as I had leaving you behind last week."

Hermione signed, seeing the logic in Harry’s argument and silently cheering that he’d taken one more step away from his misguide notion of meeting his fate alone.

"Mum, Dad, are you sure about this?" she asked.

They both nodded.

"Well, then, mum, unless Harry has a better idea…we need your help organizing all of the muggle-born Hogwarts students and their families into a support group/network. Set up e-mail lists, arrange for computers for those that need them, maybe even a secure web site."

"Sounds like a plan, dear," her Mom said with a smile, "although you know that computers aren’t my strong point."

"Yes, I know," Hermione replied. "But I imagine you might be able to find someone in the neighborhood that could give you some pointers." She looked at Harry and grabbed his hand tightly. "Not that Harry and I need to know who that person is, or whom he might work for."

"Great," Roger said with a smile. "Now, there’s just one more thing that your mum and I would like to ask you and Harry."

"Oh, Merlin, what now?" Hermione asked with a chuckle.

"Are the parents of the Clan Chief’s Consort automatically members of the Clan, or do we have to fill out an application form?"

Hermione did a "fish out of water" routine while Harry gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I don’t think we need to mess with paperwork," he told them. "Speaking as Chief and on behalf of my Consort…welcome to Clan Potter."

Chapter 20: TGIF

A/N: Thanks to all who have reviewed and who will review at the end of this chapter.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

+++

Friday, June 8

As a charmed boombox belted out encouragement to “Fly into the danger zone,” two wizards engaged in a mock dogfight above an open meadow on a hot summer's day.

The charmed broomsticks roared like the afterburners on a muggle fighter jet, and had wands strapped to their handles facing the direction of flight. The two wizards used Sonorus spells to communicate with each other, combining clips of borrowed movie dialogue with disparaging comments about the other's sagging Quidditch skills.. Whenever one thought that they had the other in his “sights” he'd reach down to the wand and fire off a series of white projectiles, which splattered paint whenever they made contact with a solid object.

It was only after each was nearly completely covered with paint that the two wizards, wearing goofy grins and helmets bore the monitors “Prongs” and “Padfoot,” responded to the beckoning of a very-pregnant witch and a wizened old wizard and landed for a picnic lunch.

It was the fourth time that Harry had poured this memory into the pensieve, and for the fourth time he failed to hear or see anything that he thought shed light on horcruxes and the battle against Voldemort. Not that that was the point of this trip into the mist; this particular memory had almost reached Mirror of Erised status as something he wanted to experience over and over again.

The most pressing topic of conversation during the picnic lunch was potential baby names. Harry's given name was apparently a fused compromise between his father's first choice (Horatio) and his mother's (Charlie). Sirius fought hard for the name “Regulus,” noting that the firstborn son of Lily and James was destined to be a “Little King,” as well as the brightest star in the Lion's House at Hogwarts. Lily, however, expressed some understandable reservations about naming her child after Sirius's Death Eater brother. On that note the three wizards changed the conversation topic; they were trying to keep the conversation light. His mum wasn't very comfortable physically, and was concerned about giving birth to a magical child with a mediwitch on hand rather than an obstetrician. The memory ended with Dumbledore reassuring his Mum that Poppy would be there when it came time his delivery.

Harry scribbled down a reminder to ask Madame Ponfrey if his first visit to her infirmary (and to the bed he knew far to well) had been made while still inside his mum. He then scooped the memory out of the pensieve, and set the stoppered vial back into the tray that Dumbledore had conveniently labeled “Happy Memories for Harry.”

Fancying a break from his study, he placed the pensieve and vials back into Hermione's trunk, and restored the security wards that guarded it. Harry then walked next door, where Hermione was reviewing the information provided by the Royal Historian on a DVD disk. A nuzzle, a kiss, and a whisper provided all the incentive she needed to join Harry for a brief respite.

They walked hand-in-hand downstairs and out to the garage, where Ron and Steve were doing a collaborative study on the magical/muggle interface within Sirius's motorcycle. They were quite pleased with themselves, having just discovered that the motorbike's alternator had been encased in a thin layer of dragon hide. Ron needed no convincing when it was suggested they break open some butterbeers on the backyard patio.

“Hard to believe that we've only been here a week,” said Harry, as the three plopped down on comfy deck chairs. He gave a wave to the next-door neighbor, whose attitude towards him, likely nearly everything else in Little Whinging, had changed markedly from the previous year.

“Yes we have been rather busy, haven't we?” Hermione said with a smile, as she reached for Harry's hand.

Harry waggled his eyebrows and started to sing in a low voice. “I'm heading down the Atlanta highway…”

“Not right now you're not, sweetheart,” Hermione said with a chuckle.

“Cor, Hermione, what have you done to my best mate…he's singing?”

“Lookin' for a love getaway.”

Ron winced. “Erm, too much information, Harry.”

“Sorry,” Harry said, with a goofy grin. “probably too knackered after this morning's workout, anyway.”

Ron took a swig from his bottle. “With you there on that point…at this rate that slave-driver will have us outrunning hexes by end of summer."

The physical training regimen that Roger Granger had set up for them was breathtaking in an entirely literal sense. The three had been roused early on the morning following Harry's job offer by a retired SAS drill sergeant, who led them on a three-mile run, which they then unhappily learned was just the warm up. Calisthenics, push-ups, crunches and a second, even longer, run followed. Any resentment the three might have held towards Roger for finding such a sadistic taskmaster to train them was countered by the fact that he and his wife were suffering right along with them. It also helped that Roger had arranged for a full-time massage therapist to set up shop across the street to work out at least some of their aches and pains.

“Well, you better hope you can run faster than a hex,” Hermione replied, “because you certainly can't drive faster than one.”

“Why would he bother driving away from a hex?” Harry asked. “With all his experience he'd be better off crashing into it.”

“Oy, don't start that again,” Ron complained. “It's not my fault muggles put curves in their roads.”

Hermione sprayed her butterbeer as Harry broke out into a hearty laugh.

The driving lessons had been less stressful physically, if not mentally. A private driving instructor took the three out in the Bentley each afternoon. This gave each of them a turn behind the wheel, and gave Hermione ample opportunity to practice her obliviation and magical dent removal skills.

“Well then, Ron” Hermione said, “why don't you show us what you've learned in your muggle studies field course and fetch us another round from the muggle refrigerator.”

“Very funny, Hermione,” Ron replied as he headed towards the kitchen.

Roger had also arranged for tutors to provide instruction on individualized topics. Hermione was taking lessons on the muggle sciences of physics and chemistry from a local college professor, a London-based martial arts instructor was instructing Harry on the basics of swordplay, and Ron was learning how to make toast.

Ron really didn't mind the chiding he took from the other two; that his field-based muggle studies program began with Brian working in a muggle kitchen meant that he was always close to a hearty snack. Having grabbed three more bottles of butterbeer he tucked a bag of crisps under his arm and headed back to the patio, where he found Harry's chair shoved next to Hermione's and her head resting on his shoulder.

“Oy, find a room, you two,” he chided.

Harry broke out the falsetto:“Love Shack, baby Love Shack… Love Shack, baby Love Shack”

Hermione sat up and punched Harry's shoulder. “Save it for karaoke night, Potter,”

“Yes, dear,” Harry replied with a grin.

Ron chose to ignore their intimacy. “So Hermione, remind me again who these chems are and why you're learning about their history.”

Hermione scowled. “That's chemistry, Ron, not “chem history.”

“Alright,” said Ron, “same question.”

“Thought we went through this after our meeting with Professor Lupin the other night,” said Harry. “Muggle chemistry is sort of like potions class, except without the greasy git instructor.”

Tonks and Remus has visited Number Four the same night Harry had made job offers to Hermione's parents. Even though Tonks had told them earlier that week that she and Remus had finally connected, it had been great to see them stroll up Privet Drive holding hands. In fact, between the two of them, Harry and Hermione, and Ron having returned from his date with Luna with a grin on his face and a small bite mark on his neck, it had been hard to get beyond the gossip.

Harry had asked Remus what he was doing for work as he showed Harry how to control Sirius's motorbike. Remus had replied that his job prospects were now especially limited, given that Snape was his wolvesbane supplier and Slughorn had resigned his post on the day of Dumbledore's funeral. Since wolvesbane had a short shelf-life, he'd been forced to ask Headmistress McGonagall if she'd allow him to spend the next full moon in the dungeons of Hogwarts, under guard of the House Elves and some of their unique confinement wards.

Hermione's suggestion that they could try to brew the potion themselves was appreciated, but not very helpful given the fact that the recipe required the fresh flowers of some particularly rare magical plants. It turned out that Snape's value as a potions master wasn't just due to his skill…it was in no small part due to his private contacts and network of suppliers. Dumbledore's death and Snape's disappearance had, in fact, dried up the supply of standard potion ingredients, as wizards and witches began hoarding and stockpiling for what looked like dark days ahead.

The chemistry class that Hermione was taking was providing the background she needed to discern whether a solution to this problem could be found in the muggle world. She was hoping that at least some of the standard potion ingredients were needed for their chemical, rather than magical, compositions. In the interim, she had added “Potions Laboratory” to the list of things for Clan Potter to acquire.

Having polished off the bag of crisps, Ron went back into the house for another bag. He returned to find Hermione and Harry swapping stories about their independent studies that afternoon.

In Hermione's opinion, the medieval text that provided the image of Lord Gryffindor and his shield contained enough new information by itself to warrant a revised edition of Hogwarts, A History. The book was a biography of Godwin, Earl of Sussex, and his son Harold Godwinson (also known as Harold II), who was the last of the Anglo-Saxon kings that Gryffindor had served. It was Harold Godwinson who'd lost his crown (and his life) to the Norman invaders in 1066 during the battle of Hastings. Godric Gryffindor's exploits were featured prominently within this work; dragon management, the magical transport of various royal mistresses, and production of healing potions all seemed to be the order of the day for the Royal wizard. The Order of Merlin was mentioned as a working body of wizard warriors, active not only against the Normans but against the occasional Scandinavian attack (the Norse were, at the time, still in control of good chunks of the northern coastline at the time).

Apart from the pleasure of learning more about the everyday life of their house namesake, Hermione was enthralled by two different facts. The first was that none of the dozen or so depictions of Lord Gryffindor showed a wand in his hand. It was always his sword (and, on occasion, the shield as well) that he held; in contrast, all of the five other wizards shown wearing Order of Merlin badges were wand wielders. The second fact concerned Godwinson more than Godric…he was reportedly killed when an arrow pierced his eye. Harry thought the fact unremarkable (there being all sorts of gruesome ways to be killed back then) until Hermione reminded him that one of the Hogwarts ghosts they'd seen at Nearly Headless Nick's Death Day party was dressed in armor and had an arrow coming out of his forehead. The possibility that this ghost was none other than Godwinson himself made finding and interviewing this ghost close a top priority on their Hogwarts “To Do” list.

Harry reluctantly reported on his afternoon's work; he knew he should have been reviewing the stored memories that were more likely to have information about the horcruxes. He was, in fact, trying to formulate an apology at the same time he was joking about almost being named after a Death Eater when Hermione's eyes went wide and she attacked Harry with a huge bear hug. Ron's restatement of the need to find a room was ignored, as Hermione exclaimed that with Harry's description of the memory she knew not only who R.A.B. was, but where Slytherin's locket might be located.

But before she could explain herself, they heard the squeal of brakes, the slam of a car door and the roar of a very irate uncle. Curious as to what the fuss was all about, they headed inside, where they found Vernon Dursley displaying a deep shade of red.

“You,” he hissed, as he pointed at Brian, “this was you're doing, wasn't it?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Brian asked with a slight grin.

Petunia rushed to her husband's side. “Vernon, what's wrong?”

“They've transferred me at work,” he replied.

“Transferred?” Petunia asked nervously. “You mean to a different division of the company?”

“No,” Vernon scowled “To a different country.”

Dudley, who'd been doing his best to stay away not just from the Trio but from Brian and his list of jobs, entered the kitchen and the conversation. “Where we moving to, Dad?” he asked.

“Romania…our new plant opened there this past spring.”

Petunia felt faint, as she grabbed the back of a kitchen chair.

“Could be worse,” Dudley said. “Heard there's plenty of pretty girls in Rome.”

“Rome is in Italy, you dolt,” Vernon replied.

“Oy, Vernon, my brother the dragon tamer lives in Romania,” said Ron. “I'm sure he'd be happy to help you get settled.”

“Say, there's an idea,” Hermione chimed in. “Charlie might even be able to introduce you to some friendly vampires.”

Harry found it hard to do anything more than smile and repeat the word “Brilliant” as a mantra.

“So Vernon, when do you start your new position?” asked Brian.

“Week from Monday, as if you didn't already know,” Vernon replied as he stared at Harry. “Least you'll lose your precious protection without us around.”

Harry thought for a second. “Suppose you'll be leaving next weekend?” When Vernon nodded, Harry nodded back as he looked to Brian and said “Two weeks.” Brian returned the smile as Harry turned back to his Aunt and Uncle. “Suppose we'll muddle through somehow…imagine you'll be looking for a housesitter?”

Vernon renewed the lustrous shade of red around his collar. “I'll burn the house down myself before I let you…”

“Say Vernon,” interjected Brian, “is it true that your company has a distribution center in Nigeria?”

Vernon held his tongue as his brain wrapped around that threat. “I imagine we can work out a rental agreement.”

“Rent your house to your own flesh and blood?” Brian asked, as he reached for his cell phone.

“Fine!” shouted Vernon, who stormed out of the house and into his car, followed by a worried looking wife and child.

The Trio had the decency to wait until the door slammed behind Dudley before breaking out in laughter, and congratulatory handshakes for Brian.

Brian asked Harry “You did say that two weeks was all you needed to spend tethered to your Aunt, right?”

“Yes, I did,” said Harry. “Merlin, Brian you've outdone yourself with this one.”

“Now wait,” said Brian, “you really ought to hear about some remodeling ideas that Roger and I have been kicking around before saying that.” He then reached into a kitchen cabinet drawer and pulled out a roll of blueprints.

-->

Chapter 21: Games and Fools

A/N: Some folks picked up on the fact that the Top Gun reference in the previous chapter conflicts with the canon’s timeline. I should have repeated the following disclaimer in the last chapter’s A/N…This story is canon-plausible with one major exception: all of my stories are set with a pushed-forward timeline that has Harry celebrating his seventeenth birthday in 2006, rather than 1997. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, I’m too lazy to go back and check whether a piece of muggle technology or cultural reference is "period." Second, some of my stories are beta’d by my kids, and they like stories where Harry and Hermione could be singing the same songs or wearing the same styles as they are. Third, I just think it reads better. There is precedent…Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel was published in 1953. His 007 backstory had Bond joining British Intelligence in the late 1930’s. That would put his birth year sometime around 1910. Think we’ll see a 96-year old secret agent in the upcoming remake of Casino Royale? I think not. Thanks for reading, and please review.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Sunday, June 10

Four days of intense physical training had brought the Trio’s bodies close to the point of breakdown, and well past the point where sore muscles were adversely affecting their research. Sunday was therefore declared a day of rest.

Rest, that is, from physical exertion…which is why Hermione was more than a little peeved to find her boys in the muggle room with wireless game controllers in hand.

“Hey, mind your hit points, that orc is slaughtering you,” shouted Ron.

“Well, Mr. Wizard,” Harry retorted, “he wouldn’t be if your firestorm spell had actually worked.”

“Oh, and how I was supposed to know they were fire resistant?”

“Gee, Ron, maybe by reading the bloody player’s guide?”

Hermione walked right in front of the plasma screen and gave them the evil eye. “Aren’t you two supposed to be working on your charms research?”

“We are, Hermione,” Ron explained, as he struggled to look over her shoulder. “Learning how to kill orcs and goblins with these controllers will make us very charming…now get out of the way!”

With no small amount of frustration Hermione whipped out her wand and pointed it at the game console. Ron and Harry immediately dropped their controllers on the floor.

“Okay, okay, we get the idea,” said Harry. “We were working on that research…just taking a break is all.”

“Merlin,” Hermione exclaimed, “you boys and your toys.”

“Now, Hermione,” Ron patiently explained, “we are doing some serious research with this game playing. My wizard is learning all kinds of things as he gains levels.”

“Oh, so now you’re going to learn how to do magic with a muggle video game for a tutor?” she replied. “Honestly…why go to Hogwarts?”

“Well, I have to admit,” Harry said, “whoever made this game has some funny ideas about wizardry and magical monsters. Ron and I could make a fortune as consultants to the muggle gaming industry.”

“And do what,” Hermione asked, “teach muggle children how to cast spells and defend castles?”

Ron squinted a bit at Hermione. “Say that again, would you?”

Hermione frowned. “All I did was ask if you and Harry were planning on teaching muggles the right way to cast spells and defend castles.”

“Yeah…that’s what I thought you said,” Ron replied. “Not a bad idea, actually, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they could even teach us a few things.”

“What are you on about?” Hermione asked.

Ron got up and rummaged though a pile of jewel box cases and picked one out. “This game is called Siege Lords…we’ve only played this one a bit, but…it’s a game where one army defends a castle from attack by a second army. A player picks one side or the other and commands the troops against either a friend or the computer. You can even go onto the Internet and fight against real people who live in other cities, or even countries.”

“And….” Hermione said impatiently, rotating her hand in the international signal for “get to the point, you git.”

“And before the game starts you get to choose the type of castle you want to lay siege to, or defend, and what kind of weapons and troops you command. They’ve got all kinds of castles and forts to choose from…everything from medieval moat-protected castles to wooden forts out on the nineteenth century American frontier.”

“So how would this help?” Hermione asked. “It’s not like you could choose to defend Hogwarts Castle from the Death Eaters, right?”

Harry was nodding his head up and down slightly, with the hint of grin on his face. “Right, but maybe it could be…Ron, you’re bloody brilliant. Knew there’s a reason why I put up with you and your snoring.”

“I’m not following,” Hermione said, with some degree of frustration.

“That’s okay, dear,” Harry said with a smirk, “you still get to be the smartest witch of your generation.”

“Harry Potter…”

“Only teasing, ‘Mione, you know that,” Harry said with a smile. “Let Ron and me work on this for a bit, alright? It’s probably a dead end, but hey…if it gets us away from the Xbox it can’t be all bad, right?”

Hermione looked at Harry, who was giving her the puppy dog-eyed look that he knew she couldn’t resist. “Fine,” she finally said, “just so long as I get to motivate you to be quick about it.” And with that she grabbed the controllers out of Ron and Harry’s hands, and confiscated the game console’s power cord. That brought a whimper out of Ron.

“Thanks, Hermione,” Harry said, as he turned towards Ron. “Properly motivated, then?”

Ron gave Harry a healthy scowl as he grabbed the Siege Lord jewel case and followed him out the door.

+++++++

“So you think a bunch of nine-year old kids playing a video game will help you win your war, huh?” asked Wally. “Well it works for the Yanks,” he mused, “so I don’t see why it couldn’t help you too.”

As MI-5 ¾’s resident computer geek, Harry and Ron had figured that Wally might know a thing or two about video game design. They were right.

“Erm…we don’t want them to actually fight,” Harry replied. “We could actually just work with the simulation ourselves. Just thought that letting the gamers hack on it might reveal some strategy or tactic we aren’t thinking of right now.”

“Yeah, I know what you meant,” Wally said, “although I was serious about kids going to war with joysticks. Maybe not nine-year olds, but they’ve got kids your age controlling real-live remote-control airplanes and dropping bombs using computers and controllers thousands of miles away from the battlefield.”

“Well, that’s a separate thought,” Ron said. “Right now we’re interested in how we could create a game that simulates real-life wizard fights.”

Wally nodded. “Well, first thing you need to do is decide whether you’d want to create a simulation or a game.”

“What’s the difference?” Harry asked.

“A computer simulation tries to recreate or simulate real conditions in the real world, then makes predictions on outcomes based on a certain situation and how the people within the situation react.” Wally explained. “A computer game creates fictional conditions and balanced player abilities then lets players try to overcome certain situations. So the question is whether you want to learn something or have fun.”

“Can’t do both, huh?” Ron asked.

“There are games that do both,” Wally replied, “but most commercial games like the ones up in your bedroom are sold as entertainment. Sounds to me like you need more of a simulation.”

“Is that something that could be done rather quickly?” Harry asked.

“That depends,” Wally replied, “on how realistic you want the simulation to be and what kind of resources you devote to the project. A lot of game design involves writing computer code, so the more programmers you have working on the project the quicker it progresses.”

“Well, I certainly have the resources available to me, but I don’t have the foggiest idea of how to program.”

“You wouldn’t have to,” Wally replied. “My advice, if you want to pursue this, would be to find a game that has a similar basic concept, then have the game developer adapt it to your specifications.”

“Ever play Siege Lord?” Harry asked.

Wally laughed. “Sure, but it’s been a while. My mates and I played it for about 40 hours straight the week it came out. Good AI, killer graphics, but the music blew.”

Harry showed Wally the game’s jewel case. “The case says that the game creator is based in London…any suggestions on how we could meet with them?”

“Sure,” Wally said with a smile. “Just give me a few days.”

+++++++

Ron and Harry returned to Number Four with hope that they might retrieve the game controllers, but Hermione held firm and forced them to complete a discussion they’d had the day previous about R.A.B. and his locket.

Once the previous Friday’s excitement over the Dursley’s imminent departure had passed, Hermione had pulled Ron and Harry aside and reminded them that they’d seen a locket similar to the fake that Harry still carried in his pocket back at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. She then linked the initials to Sirius’s brother, and theorized that Regulus had hidden the horcrux at the Black mansion for safekeeping. Harry then reminded Hermione that even if the real locket was at Number 12 that they couldn’t risk trying to retrieve it, given the broken Fidelius charm.

They’d almost decided to file that potential horcrux information away for later consideration when Ron got the bright idea of getting Kreacher to retrieve it for them. Before Hermione thought to object, Harry had summoned both Kreacher and Dobby to Number Four. While Hermione spent a few minutes coming up with specific instructions that Kreacher couldn’t twist to his own ends, Ron and Harry enjoyed some semi-obligatory terrorizing of Vernon and Petunia (with instructions for the elves to enjoy muggle piggy-back rides).

Even with some air-tight legal language, it was all Dobby could do to drag Kreacher out to the mansion and bring him back, with the disappointing news that the locket was no longer where Kreacher had stashed it two years previous.

Harry’s recollection that he’d caught Mundungus Fletcher trying to pawn some pilfered Black family silver had led to what was, at present, unsuccessful manhunts in both the muggle and wizarding worlds. Hermione had cashed in one of the favors Head Auror Robards has promised in lieu of pressed charges and asked him to find the erstwhile Order member, while MI-5 ¾ was conducting a correlative search in muggle London (on the theory that Fletcher wouldn’t be above selling magical contraband if he could find a willing muggle buyer).

Discussion on this day drifted towards the topic of what to do once they recovered the locket. Ron’s simplistic notion of “We destroy it, of course,” was dismissed by Hermione’s reference to Dumbledore’s right hand. Though any of them might have made the same sacrifice, if pressed, it was thought best to explore alternative options prior to going down that path.

“Hold on,” thought Ron, “you destroyed a horcrux without losing an arm, didn’t you Harry?”

“Well, yes,” replied Harry.

“So why don’t you do the same thing over again?”

“If only it were that simple,” interjected Hermione. “There are probably far too many variables to control.”

“Like what?” asked Ron.

“Well,” thought Hermione, “you get the parchment and start taking notes, then.” She turned to Harry. “Let’s play newspaper.”

“Hold on,” said Ron, “this isn’t some kinky role-playing thing is it?”

“You wish,” replied Hermione. “I was suggesting that we use the same techniques that responsible journalists use when they write stories to describe how Harry destroyed the diary…who, what, where, when, why and how. You wouldn’t know about this, of course, since you’ve only been exposed to the Quibbler and Daily Prophet.”

“Oh, yeah,” replied Ron, “see your point.”

“We start with the who, then….obviously, that’s Harry.”

“Right,” replied Ron, as he chewed on his quill tip. “So tell me something we don’t already know.”

“Cor, Ron, sometimes….” Hermione took a deep breath. “The relevant point is that Harry, unlike Dumbledore, was able to destroy a horcrux without getting injured.”

“So there might be a reason for that…my connection or something?” asked Harry.

“Exactly,” Hermione replied with a smile. “Now, doesn’t mean that Harry has to be the one to do the job, but it might be. Let’s move on to ‘what.’”

“It was a diary, while Dumbledore destroyed a ring,” replied Harry. “Though he didn’t actually burn a hole in the ring, did he?”

“Maybe because there was already one there?” asked Ron, earning a reproachful look from Hermione.

“Harry’s got a point,” said Hermione. “Harry destroyed the diary’s utility…couldn’t write in that diary afterwards could you?”

“But Dumbledore didn’t crack the ring into two or melt it down,” Ron added. “When he was done it was still a ring, just without the trapped soul fragment inside of it.”

“No, that’s not entirely true,” said Harry. “The gold ring wasn’t broken, but the stone mounted within it was cracked.”

“That’s right,” thought Hermione. “So there might be something said for extreme violence. Let’s move on, though, so we can take a look at the entire picture …who, what, now where.”

“Where was the Chamber of Secrets,” replied Harry. “Don’t know, really, where Dumbledore destroyed the ring…suppose we could ask his portrait if and when it wakes up.”

“Why would the Chamber be someplace special?” asked Ron.

“Besides the fact that it was built by Salazar Slytherin, was home to a basilisk, and was only accessible to someone who, like Voldemort, could speak Parseltongue?”

“Fine,” snapped Ron, “besides all that then….”

“So what you’re suggesting, then,” asked Harry, “is that all things being equal it’d be safer to try and destroy the Horcrux within the Chamber than someplace else?”

“Exactly, Harry,” replied Hermione, with a beaming smile that threw Ron into a slight funk. “Which brings us to ‘When’ and ‘Why.’”

“Pretty obvious why we want to do it,” groused Ron, “and Harry and Dumbledore had the same motivation, didn’t they?”

“Not exactly,” Hermione said, “Harry didn’t know it was a horcrux when he destroyed it, while Dumbledore did…although I doubt it’s a huge difference. Same thing with when he did it…it could be something like a full moon having an effect, like lycantrophy, but it doesn’t seem like something Voldemort would get hung up on.”

“So then we’re left with how to do it, aren’t we?” asked Harry. When the other two nodded agreement he began thinking out loud. “Let’s see, I was in the Chamber, and just pulled the poisonous basilisk fang out of my arm, and I was a bit angry at Tom’s echo so I speared the diary with the fang, and then the book caught on fire and I heard a loud scream. Don’t remember if it was the echo screaming, or the soul fragment.”

“How did the book catch fire?” asked Ron.

“Dunno,” replied Harry, the burnt hole just sort of grew away from the fang. By the time it was done the hole was a lot wider than the puncture mark.”

“So it could have been the use of the fang, the poison in the fang or both that destroyed the horcrux,” said Ron.

“Yeah, sounds about right,” said Harry. “We left the dead basilisk down there, so it’s possible we could find a fang…maybe even the one I used. But I imagine that the venom would have dried up by now.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Hermione concluded. “Either the fang would work or it wouldn’t…remember what we did trying to open the locket in the first place? Ron, I think you were banging it against a table.”

“Merlin, you’re right,” said a Weasley Gone White.

“So,” said Harry, “when we find the locket, or the cup, or some other horcrux, we’ll just go to Hogwarts, use Parseltongue to enter the Chamber of Secrets, slide down the chute, clear out the caved-in passageway, nick a fang from the basilisk’s skeletal frame and then I’ll use it to poke Tom’s soul fragment. No problem.”

“And even if it didn’t work,” said Hermione with a smile, “I’ll get to see the Chamber and we can collect some basilisk bones and fangs to barter for potion ingredients.”

“Great,” said Ron, rather weakly. “Day in the park, stroll by the lake…let’s bring a picnic lunch and spread it out inside Salazar’s statue mouth. And now that’s settled, can we have the game controller’s back?”

Hermione shook her head as she allowed her boys to go back to their games.

+++++++++

Wednesday, June 13

The sound of steel striking steel provided a rather incongruous overlay to the staccato chug-chug-chug of the neighborhood hosepipes. Nobody within earshot of Harry’s sword fighting lessons in Number Four’s backyard paid any attention, however; they were either in the know, or had been gullible enough to accept a rather implausible explanation (namely, that he was training for the Olympic longsword event).

After a full week of lessons Harry felt as if he’d progressed from totally awful to merely dreadful. His muscles burned from the workouts; one hour each day spent hacking at a stout wooden post, followed by a second hour of sparring with the master swordsman. Those parts that didn’t burn were battered and bruised from the hits he took from his instructor’s dulled edge. Fortunately, the instructor seemed to think that things weren’t all that bad.

“You know you’re a natural at this,” the swordsman said, as he picked Harry up off the ground for the tenth time that afternoon. “I’d almost say it’s in your blood.”

“Must have been a vampire hunter in a past life,” Harry joked.

“Well you certainly have the sword for it,” the instructor replied. Harry looked down at Godric’s sword and cursed himself for slipping. Even with the leather straps that covered the sword’s blade it was easy to tell that it was pure silver.

He tried to laugh it off. “Too bad, then, that the prospects for that line of work are slim.”

The master swordsman gave him a careful look. “That’s only because English vampires are so docile,” he replied. “Now, down in the Baltics, that’s a different story.”

“Ha ha, that’s a good one,” Harry replied nervously, wondering just how much his instructor knew about vampire hunts.

The man nodded with a glint in his eye. “Yes, well, Mr. Potter, we’ll take it as that.” The instructor began unwrapping his sword so that it could be sheathed for transport. “So,” he asked Harry, “have you decided whether you’ll be using the left or right hand yet?”

“Right, I hope,” Harry replied, “but as I’m not completely certain I’ll still need work with both.” Sword hand was an issue he’d been grappling with all week. He’d been working on simple spells using his left hand, but hadn’t progressed to the point where he felt he could imagine fighting with sword in one hand and wand in the other. Of course the ability to do wandless magic would solve the problem, but he was still working on nonverbal spells that didn’t involve removing bits of his girlfriend’s clothing.

With the day’s lesson’s over Harry went upstairs to take a shower. As he entered the muggle room to store his sword he marveled at the latest phase of remodeling. Brian hadn’t waited for the Dursley’s departure; taking a cue from the control room across the street, they’d replaced the single desk and chair with smart looking modular workstations that took now took up one entire wall of the room. Four separate computer systems were set up, with large flat-screen monitors, scanners, and color laser printers. Their 48-inch plasma screen telly had been remounted on the wall above the workstations, end-to-end with two new identical screens, creating a seamless video display roughly two-feet high and nine-feet long.

Ron was presently standing behind Fred and George as they hunched over laptop computers on an L-shaped extension that jutted out from the wall.

“Oy, George, how many times do I have to tell you?” Ron asked, peering over his older brother’s shoulder. “It’s swish and click, not swish and flick.”

“Worse than McGonagall, you are,” George lamented. “Why couldn’t the muggles have invented a wand-shaped mouse?”

“Hey, be thankful for small favors,” Ron replied. “I could have forced you to use the trackball.”

“Oy, Ron,” Harry interrupted, “Not showing them sites your mum wouldn’t approve of, are you?” he asked.

“Now, Harry, you know Hermione’s installed NetNanny,” Ron replied. “Of course, she only did that on the old desktop,” he said with a smirk. “And now that I’ve got administrator-level authorization for the new network…”

“Thank Merlin you’ve taken to your muggle studies, little brother,” Fred said with a smile.

“So, really, what are your big brothers doing in the Internet?” Harry asked.

“Oh, a little market research, some new product development, a healthy bit of industrial espionage…” George said.

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Harry replied, “how is your net surfing helping the shop?”

“Simple, really,” Fred said, “We’re looking at how muggles compensate for their non-magical limitations, then borrowing their ideas to make magical versions of their inventions.”

“Got the idea from Ron,” George admitted, as he held up one of the pairs of night vision goggles that Ron had bought on-line. “Any wizard worth their salt wouldn’t need these spectacles to see in the dark…they’d simply cast the right charm. But same thing could be said of shield charms, and look at all the money we’ve made selling shield-charmed clothing to the Ministry of Magic.”

“So you’re going to make magical night vision goggles?” Harry asked.

“That’s right,” said Fred, “ones that’d work not only in areas where magical interference would trash the muggle goggles, but ones strong enough to work inside areas affected by Peruvian Instant Blackness Powder.”

“I thought you guys and Hermione developed the counterspell against that powder.”

“Sure,” Fred agreed, “but why banish the powder that blinds your enemies if you can still see?”

“Makes sense to me,” Harry said. “So what else are you into?”

“Working with Hermione to look for raw materials,” Fred said. “Stuff we need for our potions and powders.”

“You expect to find potion ingredients on the Internet?” Harry asked. “How many wizards you think are e-Bay power users?”

“There’s the beauty, Harry,” George replied. “We’ve found muggles selling ingredients that they don’t even know have magical properties. One place ships out salamander’s by the dozen, another sells valerian root and astragulus. There’s a site that sells Chinese herbs that’s going to be practically a one stop shop for us.”

“What about delivery, though,” Harry asked. “It’s not like FedEx ships to Diagon Alley.”

“Ah, yeah, we thought about that,” Fred replied. “Had a talk with Wally and Brian, and they suggested a way around that.”

“You’re going to smuggle your supplies in?” Harry asked.

“No,” said George, “although that’s not a bad idea. Fred and I figured it’d be easier if we just had a muggle shipping address. Now, don’t worry,” he said, noting Harry’s arched eyebrows, “we aren’t planning on setting up shop here at Number Four.”

“But Number Seven, on the other hand,” George said with a gleam in his eye.

“Prefer Number Twelve myself,” said Fred. “although any house with a backyard free of gnomes works with me.”

“You two are thinking of moving to Little Whinging?” Harry asked. “Aren’t you a bit afraid the Death Eaters will recognize the new address?”

“It’s not like they don’t know where to find us in Diagon Alley, right?” Fred replied. “Besides, from what we’ve seen, there’s a rather attractive combination of protections available here on this street.”

“Not to mention the fact that it’d be an honor to live so close to the Great Clan Chief Potter.”

“And his Consort, don’t forget,” said Fred with a wink and a nudge.

“Yeah, ‘bout time on that one, Harry,” said George. “Wish you’d have smartened up a few months ago, though…had the month of March all to myself.”

“Oy, will you give the Clan Chief business a rest?” asked Ron. “It wasn’t Harry’s idea in the first place.”

“Works for us, though,” replied Fred. “Which reminds me…we want in.”

“In where?” asked Harry.

“Into the Clan, of course,” said George. “Oh, and if it’s not too much trouble, we’d like to have Clan titles, just like little brother here.”

“Can’t you prats let me enjoy something on my own?” whined Ron.

The twins looked at each other, then dead-panned back to Ron.

“No.”

“So what were you thinking,” asked Harry, more bemused than bothered by the idea.

“Well, ‘Clan Beaters’ would be nice, if you decided to field a quidditch team, but…”

“What about Clan idiots?” suggested Ron.

“Not a bad idea, actually,” thought Harry, “assuming that we tweek it a bit….I could use a jester or two.”

“Erm…maybe ‘Clan Fools?” suggested Fred.

Harry thought for a few seconds. “Fine, on condition that you both wear foolscaps at all official Clan functions.”

The twins looked at each other with a gleem in their eyes and replied in unison.

“Consider it done.”

Chapter 22: Ding Dong, Dursley’s Almost Gone

A/N: I see that the last posted chapter was relatively uninspiring with respect to reviews. Guess I wasn’t thrilled with it either… I’d blame the muse if I wasn’t so self-aware of my limitations as a writer. Or the fact that a new job, a new school year with homework to help with, and a new soccer team to coach has kept my mind otherwise occupied.

Okay, I’ll stop whining. Thanks for sticking with me. I hope this chapter reads better, and that (good or bad) you’ll write a short review at the end. Oh, and feel free to click on the hyperlinks to check out Ron and Hermione’s new wheels.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc. etc.

++++++++++++

Friday, June 15

The day the Dursleys moved out would have been bright in the bleakest of weather; that it was sunny and warm seemed downright decadent as Harry Potter rolled his motorcycle out of the garage.

The morning’s driving lesson had been cancelled in lieu of driver’s examinations for Ron and Hermione; given circumstances and status, the examiner had been brought to them. Harry had promised Hermione that he’d stay out of trouble, but there was only so much driving to be done within the wards, and he intended to keep a watch out for them as they drove out into Little Whinging proper.

Harry rolled the motorcycle around the loading ramp of the lorry that was hauling the Dursley’s belongings off to the Balkans and gave a wave to Roger, who was standing on the curb with a cellphone to his ear. With a look up and down the street to confirm that no other eyes would be watching him, he kick started the bike and sped off down the street.

Though Harry was some six weeks away from eligibility to take his license examination, he figured that his "Doing Queen’s Business" card would get him out of any trouble with the authorities. Besides, he only needed to break the law for a half-block, at which point he had enough speed to lift off and engage the cloaking device.

Shivers traveled up and down Harry’s spine as he flew up and through the anti-apparation barrier. Hermione had warned him that he might notice a surge of magical energy at the ward boundary; Ragnok had sent Bill Weasley and the Gringott’s ward master to them the night previous to overlap goblin anti-apparation wards on top of his mother’s protection. Though Harry had been quite confident that he’d been under Petunia’s care long enough to maintain those wards until his birthday, he was more than happy to have an extra layer of protection that would last beyond July 31. The goblin’s wards also provided a bonus that he’d wished he had years before; the Ministry’s remote magical detection devices were useless within the protected area.

Harry leveled off at about five hundred feet and looked down upon the neighborhood, which his Fools had recently renamed "Little Wizarding" ( or "Little Wiz", for short). They hadn’t been jesting about their choice in accommodations; over the past week Roger Granger had arranged for Harry’s new holding company to purchase fifteen of the seventy-five houses located within the two block radius of Number Four. Offers that were well above market value had been made, in fact, to every owner of a house within the zone. There were reasons both practical and moral; fewer muggles around the neighborhood meant less worry about secrecy laws, and less worry about collateral damage when the Death Eaters decided to attack.

Three other moving vans could be seen on neighborhood streets, as families took advantage of financial incentives to leave as soon as possible. Whether the empty homes would be filled, and by whom, was open to debate. The Twins were talking openly of bringing in other Order members and members of the DA into the neighborhood for some on-site security. Plans were also afoot for MI 5 ¾ to grow right along with their little community; he’d caught Wally and Brian with blueprints and construction talk over the past week, but gotten nothing more than smiles when Harry asked what they were scheming.

It didn’t take long for Harry to spot the black Bentley that Ron and Hermione were using for the exam; it was currently negotiating a parallel parking attempt (that it was faring poorly led Harry to suspect that Ron was presently behind the wheel). With his focus on the car he didn’t notice Hedwig’s arrival until her silent wings had delivered her to his shoulder.

"Hey, girl, I’m supposed to be invisible," he admonished with a grin, as he reached into his pocket for an owl treat. Hedgwig’s hoot in response sounded not the least bit remorseful. Harry decided to tease her by asking, "How’s Pounce and the boys?" That earned him a nip on his ear.

With his newfound wealth Ron had decided it was finally time to get a familiar that he could be proud of, and had purchased a male Great Horned Owl that he’d named "Pounce" (after the way he snatched his meals). With Charlie’s help, they’d also imported a half-dozen owls from the Continent to become Clan Potter’s Mail Service. Harry had spent a lot of time with his familiar reassuring her that she was his first and favorite, and she’d responded by organizing the new arrivals into an ersatz air force. These days, there was always at least two owls flying over Little Wiz on a surveillance mission, and if they happened to pounce upon a gangly rat with a silver paw sneaking amongst the shadows, so much the better.

Harry watched as the Bentley pulled to the curb and Ron and Hermione traded seats. After a few more minutes he started to search for two other vehicles that were supposed to be making their way towards Number Four. It didn’t take to spot long the convertibles, driving down the arterial with identical mops of red hair in the front passenger seats. He grinned and swooped down towards them.

He pulled out of his silent dive fifteen feet above the two cars and followed them until they reached Privet Drive. Once he caught sight of the straight patch of empty street in front of him, Harry flipped off the cloaking device and silencer, and inverted his motorcycle. With toes gripping under the seat and a roar of his engine he buzzed the two cars upside down with a modified sloth move.

It said something about Wally and Brian’s comfort level with magic that they didn’t crash the two cars as Harry flew over their heads. At the end of Privet Drive Harry flipped the bike back upright, nudged it down to the ground and pulled it back around in front of Number Five. He got a look of admonishment from Hermione’s mother, who’d been chatting with her husband the front yard.

"Harry Potter," she said, "if you think that your antics will make me more likely to allow Hermione to ride on the bike with you…"

Harry replied with a grin, "Yes, mum."

"Give him a break, dear," Roger said, "were I in the same situation I’d be doing cartwheels over the Dursleys departure."

The two vehicles that Harry had been chasing finally pulled up next to Harry and the Grangers.

"Oh my goodness, Harry," Roger said. "What have we here?"

"What we have here, Mr. Granger," replied whichever twin was in the lead car, "are two certified wizard-friendly automobiles….tested them out ourselves, we did."

"Is that true?" asked Emily Granger.

"Yeah, it is," Harry confirmed. "Took a bit of work to find cars old enough to have computer-free engines and the bare minimum of electronics."

"Doesn’t hurt that they are both classics either, eh Harry?" Brian asked.

"Well then, go on," Roger said with impatience, "pop the bonnet and let’s have a look."

"Which one?"

Roger snorted. "Like you even have to ask."

"It can wait, can’t it?" Emily asked. "Harry did say these were going to be presents, and they’ll be around presently?"

"Yeah, I guess," Roger mumbled. "Hey Harry," he asked, "who gets the red one?"

Harry broke out into a deep laugh.

"Like you even have to ask."

Just then the door to Number Five open and Steve yelled out. "They’re coming around the corner." That gave the Twins just enough time to conjure tarps that covered the two cars before Hermione carefully pulled the Bentley up and into the driveway of Number Four. After putting the car in park she and Ron bounded out of the vehicle and ran across the street.

Harry asked, "Hey, how’d it go?"

Hermione, who had reached him first, grabbed his arms and gave him a quick kiss and a smile. "It went great. I think Ron did well enough."

"No question that Hermione passed, of course," said Ron with a bit of whine in his voice. They looked back over at the examiner, who at that moment handed some papers to Brian and shook his hand. Steve crossed the street to drive the man back to the examination station, passing Brian as he approached the Trio with a smile on his face and valid licenses in each hand.

Hermione squealed and gave Ron a bear hug. "We did it…we did it both!" she exclaimed.

"Do you have to sound so surprised?" Ron asked, as Harry shook his hand with congratulations.

"Well, we didn’t know you could stop a car without the Womping Willow’s help," explained Fred.

"Sod off, Fred."

"Hey now, mind the language," Harry said. "lest I reconsider your rewards."

"And what might that be?" Hermione asked, as she appraised the two covered cars with interest.

"What, my kiss isn’t reward enough?" Harry asked in mock pain.

"Not when you’re teasing, it isn’t"

"Fair enough," said Harry, as he threw two sets of car keys at his friends. "One for you, and another for you."

With the sound that was the Hermione had ever come to a squeal she pulled the tarp from first one car, then the other. She and Ron then both stepped back and gawked.

"Merlin, Harry, they’re beauties," Ron exclaimed.

"Oh Harry," Hermione said, "they’re wonderful…which one’s for me?"

"Like you even have to ask," said Ron, as he walked towards the second car.

Roger look towards Ron with a tinge of sympathy. "You know, Ron," he said, "the Morris Minor is probably the most beloved classic car in all of Britain, and it’s pretty rare to see a convertible like this one these days."

"No, it’s great," said Ron, as he opened the door and sat behind the wheel. He gave the horn a good honk, then looked down with some confusion at the floorboard. "What’s this other brake pedal for?"

"Oh, that’s the clutch," said Harry. "We were only able to find one magic-friendly car with automatic transmission…sorry, mate, but you’ll have to learn to drive stick."

"And that car with automatic transmission would be this one?" Hermione asked, as she ran her hand along the side of her shiny red car.

"Yes," said Roger with no little amount of awe.

"It’s a Bentley, like the one across the street, isn’t it?" she asked.

Harry opened the door for her and she sat down on the white leather seat. "1962 Bentley S3," he said, more for Hermione’s father’s benefit than for her. "6.2 litre eight cylinder engine, duel carburetors." He leaned over the car door, reached around Hermione’s shoulder, and pointed towards the steering column "and four-speed automatic transmission."

Hermione turned and kissed Harry’s cheek then whispered into his ear. "Thank you Harry…it’s beautiful."

"Not even close as beautiful as you are, sweetheart," he replied.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, you know."

"I’m counting on it," Harry replied with no small amount of cheek.

"Why don’t you kids go for a ride?" asked Emily.

"Good idea," chimed in Brian. "we cancelled your afternoon classes."

"But what about the Dursleys?" Fred asked. "They ought to hang around to give them a proper hexing at their sendoff."

"What do you think, Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked at her, then stood and looked around at Fred and George, the Grangers, Brian and Wally. He then looked back over his shoulders at Number Four, where he spied his aunt, uncle and cousin looking out from the living room window in utter disbelief.

"You know," he said, "with all of the changes, all of the good that’s happened these past two weeks, it’s like they’re already gone. The Number Four and its neighborhood that I knew and dreaded returning to each summer…they’re gone too." He walked around to the front passenger side and climbed in. "I think I’ve got better things to do and better company to keep then to dwell in the past just to wait to see them leave."

Hermione’s eyes glistened as she leaned over and kissed Harry again, this time on the lips. "Oh Harry, I’m so proud of you."

Harry looked over at Ron. "So are you coming, or not?"

Ron jumped into the back seat. "I’m in, but where to?"

"I’m thinking we should take a nice ride out to Devonshire," Harry replied with a wink.

"Excellent idea," beamed Ron, as he leaned back and imagined Luna by his side on the rear bench.

"Have a nice time kids," Emily said, "but remember that we’ve got a little celebratory dinner planned, so be back by seven."

"Yes, mum," Hermione said excitedly, as she turned the ignition and revved the engine. Harry reached into the glove box and pulled out three pair of Oakleys and a white silk scarf. "Have to be properly attired to drive this vehicle, my dear," he grinned, as Hermione wrapped the scarf around her hair and all three of them donned their new black sunglasses.

"Hey Fred and George," Harry said, "just because we won’t be around doesn’t mean my Clan Fools can’t give my Aunt and Uncle a proper send off, right?"

"You can depend on us, Chief" the Twins replied, as they clicked their heels together and gave salutes.

Hermione put the car into gear, and the three headed out towards a future that, given the present state of the wizarding world, seemed just then to be unnaturally bright.

Chapter 23: Sir Evan of Eastleigh

A/N: Sorry again that it’s been two weeks between updates. Promise the next one won’t take as long, and hope that it’s worth the wait. Have to admit I’m feeling completely amateurish after reading the works of some of the real writers at this site. Inspiring, no doubt, but they also make the task at hand seem so daunting.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc. etc.

++++++++++++

Friday, June 15, 11:30am

Hermione shouted over the wind as the Trio sped down the road. "So when do we pull off the motorway?"

Harry reached into the pocket and pulled out his MI-5 standard issue mobile telephone/computer/global positioning system. After a few screen touches and pips he shouted back, "Just past Basingstoke. It’s the A303."

Ron leaned forward to be heard from the back seat "How long will it take to get Luna’s house?"

"Projected time is two hours and thirty seven minutes," Harry said, "and that’s without stopping for lunch."

"Blimey, that’s five hours, there and back," shouted Ron. "How do muggles stand all the time it takes to travel?"

"Well, we find ways of passing the time," said Hermione. "Like listening to the radio." She frowned when all that she heard was click when she twisted the radio knob.

"Erm, sorry," said Harry, "that was apparently the one part of the car that didn’t survive Fred and George’s road test."

"Oh, makes sense," said Hermione. "So what kind of magic were they able to do with the engine running?"

Harry grinned. "They claimed to have Reducto’d a pillar box at 100 kph."

Ron’s eyes lit up as he leaned forward in his seat. "So can we try?"

"No," was the unified response from the front seat.

"You’re not even driving," said Hermione, "why don’t you sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride?"

Ron did as he was told…for all of five minutes.

"Are we there yet?"

Hermione shook her head as she scanned the horizon ahead of her. "Well, it does look like rain," she replied.

Fifteen minutes later they’d pulled off the M3, attached the car’s protective soft-top, and used their mobile’s wireless internet service to locate a muggle restaurant with positive on-line reviews. As Hermione expertly parallel parked her vehicle Harry caught sight of a dark green park a discrete distance away. He smiled and pointed their tail out to Ron and Hermione as they entered the traditional-looking pub.

The three found an empty table amongst the lunchtime crowd. "Order us a round of butterbeers, will you Ron?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked quizzically at Hermione as Ron headed up to the bar to speak with the publican. "They won’t have butterbeer in a muggle pub, will they?"

Hermione just winked, and watched as Ron returned empty-handed.

"They don’t have butterbeer," he said.

"Sure they do," Hermione deadpanned, as she pointed behind the bar. "Tell him that it’s right next to the butterscotch."

As Ron returned to the rail for additional embarrassment Harry leaned over to Hermione.

"You are a wicked witch," he told her with a smile

+++

It was raining heavily when they’d finished their meal and fizzy drinks (the most potent brews Ron could garner from the ill-humored licensee) and discovered that they had time on their hands. Hermione had called home to confirm that the following car’s occupants were friendly (they were), and in the process learned that they weren’t particularly wanted back in Little Wizarding (at least until that evening).

"What’s that about, then?" Ron asked.

"Mum was rather evasive," Hermione replied. "Your brothers are no doubt planning something."

"Are the Dursleys still there?" Harry asked.

"Yes," she replied, "though I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to leave for the airport early…George apparently decided that your Aunt and Uncle would blend in better with the locals if he lengthened their canines."

"Brilliant," Ron said. "Hope they took pictures."

"Any ideas on what we can do this afternoon, then?" Harry asked.

"Mum chatted with Brian while I was still on the telephone, and he suggested that it might be a good day to visit Sir Evan."

"Who?" Ron asked.

"The only other living member of the Order of Arthur," Harry said. "So does he live anywhere near here?"

"Turns out he does," Hermione replied, "at a nursing home in Eastleigh, down by Southampton. Mum’s e-mailing directions."

+++

"Did you say Sir Evan, luv?" the nurse asked incredulously when they asked for him at the front desk. "You mean he actually is a knight? Next thing you’ll be telling me that there are witches and wizards running about as well."

The three laughed nervously before Harry leaned forward with some disarming candor. "Well of course there’s witches and wizards" he said with a wink. "What do you think we are?"

The nurse chuckled. "Really?"

"Swear on Merlin’s beard," Harry replied. "Of course, that’s top secret information…Sir Evan will have to answer to the Queen for that one, he will."

The terribly anxious moment that followed was punctured by a roar of laughter that would have given Hagrid’s bellowing a run for its money. "Well don’t worry about me, lad," she smiled, as she led them down the hall to the elderly knight’s room. "I won’t tell a soul." She knocked on a door then opened it just a bit to shout inside. "Oi, Sir Evan, got some witches and wizards that are wanting to talk with you."

"About bloody time," came a strong voice in reply. "Show them in."

Sir Evan Turnbill was the kind of sprightly old man who wore his eighty-eight years quite well, thank you very much. He credited his vigor to a daily regimen of five walked miles and four gin and tonics, and had been rather put off that a broken hip had confined him to the bed of a nursing home.

"Good afternoon, Sir Evan," Hermione said as the three approached his bedside. "I’m…"

"Dame Hermione Granger, here with Sir Harry and Mr. Weasley, I presume?" the old man interrupted. "So, tell me how I know you lot aren’t Death Eaters."

The three looked at each other, slightly taken aback, before Hermione reached into her purse and retrieved her Order of Arthur badge. With their identities thus confirmed, the three were treated to the very same stories that the nurses had proclaimed so fantastical; which they were, of course, unless you happened to have lived in both the muggle and magical worlds.

Evan Turnbill was card-carrying muggle (younger brother a Hufflepuff, Class of ’47) who joined the Royal Air Force at the onset of the Second World War. He had spent the first few years as a Spitfire mechanic, with an excellent service record that was nonetheless rather ordinary. That all changed, however, when he was ordered to report to an airbase in East Anglia, along with five other men from different service branches and fronts. A sonarman whose submarine had been ordered home just to deliver him to shore, an army attaché based in India, a tank driver, a codebreaker, and a cook...they thought that they had absolutely nothing in common until Albus Dumbledore strode into the room in full wizarding regalia. It was then that they realized they all were muggle soldiers with magical siblings.

The muggle government’s war against the Germans and Dumbledore’s battle against Grindelwald

had reached a point where collaborative efforts had been deemed necessary. Dumbledore had learned that Grindelwald, a Dark Wizard based in Bavaria, had begun to work openly with the Nazi government. Unlike Voldemort, Grindelwald didn’t despise muggles; in fact, he hid from wizarding world by living with the muggles, and helped Hitler with things like the initiation of a nuclear program (theoretical physics not all that different from the study of arithmancy). Deciding to fight fire with fire, the muggle and magical governments of Britain had allied to develop a small, integrated team of wizard and muggles in the know to defeat Grindelwald and thwart Hitler’s plans for world domination.

Each of the muggle servicemen was paired with a hit wizard save for Sir Evan, who was paired with Dumbledore himself. The reason for this pairing became clear rather quickly; muggle skills were critical to the team’s success (much to the consternation of the Aurors). Most of their initial missions involved information gathering; since Grindelwald was living and dressing like a muggle in the muggle world, English muggles were needed to do things like drive vehicles, coordinate clothing, and spot things that just seemed out of place.

The first attempts to side-arm apparate Evan and the other muggles behind enemy lines had been near-fatal; it was only after the King had knighted the six muggles and six wizards and invited them to join the Order of Arthur that they were able to get around this transportation problem.

"How did knighthood make side-arming any easier?" Harry asked Sir Evan, as he, Hermione and Ron stood around his bedside to hear his story.

"The badge" replied Sir Evan, "is a instantaneous transportation device."

"Really?" asked Harry.

"Yes," Sir Evan said. "A very convenient way to travel. Safe for muggles, too."

"I’ve never come across this in Hogwarts, A History," frowned Hermione.

"Oh, well then it’s not possible, right?" Ron chided.

"Dumbledore had said that there had been rumors of the badge’s powers, but with no living member of the Order there wasn’t anyone to pass that information on. Took him almost two years to find Merlin’s research journal."

He pointed towards his badge, noting that it was shaped like the sun, with twelve golden rays pointing out from an amber core (each representing a member of the Order). "The magical properties of each badge are activated when the user calls out the war cry used by Arthur and his round table knights," said Evan.

"What was that?"

"Well," said the elderly man, "for some reason, the cry was ‘Clarence!’…now, you see, when I used the war cry my badge was activated." He held his badge up to reveal four of the twelve sun rays lit, one at each compass point. "My ray is the East," Sir Evan said. "You can tell it is the only one activated because it’s brighter than the rest."

Sir Evan urged the Trio to try out their own badges, only to be disappointed by the fact that Hermione was the only one that had hers on her person. When Hermione used the rallying cry her badge lit, with both East and South rays glowing brightly and the North and West faintly. "Ah, Dame Hermione, so you are the South….or would you prefer six o’clock?"

"I think ‘South’ has a better ring to it," she said in reply.

"Now that the badge is activated you can transport to my position merely by saying the word Socioarus."

"And I’m transported exactly to your position?" she asked with a tinge of concern.

"Well, actually, you’d end up in a safe piece of unoccupied airspace a few feet away."

"So does it work like a portkey?" asked Harry.

"I’m not sure," Sir Evan said. "Never used a port key."

"What does it feel like when you are transported?" asked Hermione.

"Well," said Sir Evan, "it feels like you’ve got a fishhook in your stomach that somebody is trying pull out through your navel."

"Portkey," said all three in near unison.

"Is it traceable? Does it work in places that are warded? Does it have a range limitation?"

"I’m not sure. You folks are the wizards, imagine you’d know better than me. I can tell you that back during the war we used it to travel between England and Germany, so it works that distance at least. Beyond that, I’m not sure." He went on to explain that when a muggle-wizard team went on a mission the wizard would apparate to a target area, then the muggle would use the badge to catch up with his partner. He then added that the badges also acted as a communication device.

"Like a two-way radio?" asked Hermione.

"More like a twelve-way radio, if you wanted to talk to everyone in the Order at the same time," said Sir Evan. "To talk with a specific person, you touch a specific ray and say "Confabulus."

"What if you want to talk with more than one person?"

"Then you simply press a finger on each of the target rays as you say the activation word. If you are in a hurry, or wanted to create a conference call, you can press your palm against the badge centre and contact everyone in the Order.

"Does the person you want to speak with have to have their badge activated to talk with them?"

"Yes they do. If you try to call someone whose badge is turned off, that person’s badge would vibrate and warm to the touch, so they’d know to turn it on. The connection would be established once they say the war cry; you don’t have to say Confabulus to receive a call."

"So it’s a medieval cell phone?" asked Harry.

"Yes, I imagine you could think of it that way," said Sir Evan. "Of course, fifty years ago we didn’t have cell phones to compare it with. Even so, there are some advantages today to using your badge…you don’t need to be near a transmitting tower to talk, they work inside caves and underground, and you don’t need to recharge a battery."

"Or worry about going over minutes," mumbled Hermione, speaking from experience.

The Trio chatted with Sir Evan for a few more minutes about his wartime experiences. Harry wanted to learn more about the missions Sir Evan undertook by Dumbledore’s side, but the elderly knight suggested that those stories could wait for another day….particularly since they had some new toys to play with when they returned home.

And so the three bade Sir Evan goodbye with promises to make a return visit soon.

+++

The conversation was rather animated on the return journey to Little Wizarding.

"Do you believe the stories the old muggle told?" asked Ron.

"Why shouldn’t we?" Hermione replied. "because he’s a muggle?"

"’Course not," Ron replied rather defensively. "Just the idea of powerful magical devices being held in the hands of muggles, and worse still, them knowing about it."

"He’s a c-mug, remember?" Harry replied. "And if being around Brian and Wally these past couple of weeks have taught me anything, it’s that there’s a lot more of them and they know a lot more then I ever imagined…and that’s not a bad thing."

"Why do you say that?" asked Ron. "Keeping our magical existence quiet from the muggles has been the key to our world’s existence, hasn’t it?"

"To what end, though?" Harry said. "Our Ministry seems much more interested in keeping its secrets than defeating Voldemort, and muggle lives are being lost as a result. It’d be different if we could handle our internal battles, well, internally, but that’s not how it’s working out is it?"

Ron thought about that for a second. "So if defeating Voldemort requires breaking our secrecy laws…"

"Then I’ll break them," Harry replied firmly, "And anyone who wants to be a part of Clan Potter should be willing to do the same."

Ron leaned back a bit in his seat, wondering if Harry was issuing a defining challenge. "I’m with you, Harry, no worries there," he replied quickly. "I’m just worried about having to fight Voldemort and the Ministry at the same time, especially with dad being on the other side."

"Don’t sell your dad short before he’s asked to make that choice," Hermione replied. She tried to defuse the situation by changing the subject. "So do you think Sir Evan will be able to help us?"

"Don’t see how, given his bad hip," Ron replied.

"Think about how the badge operates, though" Hermione said. "If they work like he says, then we could always transport to his location if we ever got into trouble, or stuck within an anti-apparition field. Assuming," she added, "that we all have our apparition licenses sometime in the next decade or so."

"Yeah, yeah," Ron replied. "Kind of limited use, though, if it means we’d always end up in Eastleigh…without someone being badged inside Little Wizarding…too bad we can’t get our hands on more of those things."

"Well," said Harry, "I can always talk to the Prince about getting more badges, though I think we’d have to think hard about who they’d go to. And as for having a badge in Eastleigh but not one in Little Whinging, there’s a solution to that, isn’t there?"

"Think he’d want to move?" Ron asked.

"In a heartbeat, if it meant spending some time with Hermione," Harry replied with a grin.

"Oh stop," Hermione said. "He’s a very nice man, and if he flirts a bit, well, at eighty-eight he can get away with it." She took a hand off the steering wheel and, after activating the badge she was wearing over her summer jumper, touched Sir Evan’s ray.

"Oh, Sir Evan?"

"Yes, Dame Hermione, brightest ray of the sun, what can I do for you?"

Ron grinned while Hermione shook her head at him. "We were just wondering if you’d like to stay with us for a while up in Surrey."

They heard something mumbled on the other side, and a moment later Ron had company in the back seat.

"Thought you’d never ask," Sir Evan said with a frail smile, as he leaned back on the rear bench of the Bentley.

Chapter 24: Queen’s Wizard

Disclaimer: Not my character, no money being made, etc.

+++

"The wards are still up," Harry said, as the tingling sensation traveled down his spine even before Hermione had turned onto Privet Drive. "I do hope that isn’t because Aunt Petunia is still here."

The chances that the Dursleys were still in Little Whinging, and any thoughts that there would be anything "small" about the dinner celebration that evening were quickly dispelled by the sight of the circus tent that covered a good portion of Privet Drive. Hermione parked the car just outside of a barricade set up at the end of the street. Wally and Brian were waiting for them with umbrellas and a wheelchair.

"Good evening, Sir Evan," Brian said as he opened the rear door. "Sir Harry’s mobile call gave us the opportunity to ready a place for you to stay. Would you like me to take you there?"

"Not unless it has a stocked wet bar, thank you very much," Sir Evan replied. Ron rolled his eyes; the elderly knight had been badgering them to stop at a pub for a few drinks ever since he had popped out of thin air and onto the Bentley’s rear bench.

Brian smiled as he helped Sir Evan into the chair and handed him an umbrella. "I believe we will be able to accommodate your request under the tent."

As Brian pushed Sir Evan past four parked motorcoaches Wally hung back to chat with the other three.

"I hope you don’t mind our initiative," he said, "but we’re going to make Number Twelve wheelchair accessible and convert its living room for Sir Evan’s use."

That’s fine, Wally," Harry replied. "We had been talking about turning one of the houses into an infirmary...this just moves that construction schedule up a bit." Harry crunched his eyebrows as he thought of something. "Do we have anyone lined up to take care of him?"

Wally nodded. "We had the same concern…there aren’t any c-mug geriatric nurses on MI-5 ¾’s payroll. But in a rather happy coincidence, one of your guests this evening is a card-carrying registered nurse."

"And who would that be?" Harry asked.

"A Mrs. Janet Miller," Wally replied, "the muggle mum of a Hogwarts student from Chelsea."

"Oh great," groaned Hermione, "she must be Amy Miller’s mum."

"Who’s that?" Harry asked.

"Third-year Ravenclaw," she replied, "and one of the more ardent members of the Harry Potter fan club."

Ron chuckled. "And how would know about the membership rolls of just such a club?"

Hermione blushed. "Well, I thought it my duty as Harry’s friend to keep tabs on what his groupies were up to."

Harry grabbed Hermione’s and pulled her close. "And I suppose that was the only reason for joining my fan club, huh?"

"Maybe," she replied, before sticking out her tongue.

Harry tried to catch her tongue with a kiss, then laughed. "Well I suppose it’s time I break little Amy’s heart, along with any of the other witches in that club that are here tonight."

Hermione’s eyes sparkled. "Who said it was only witches that fancied you?"

"Too much information," Ron yelled, covering his ears with his hands.

"Speaking of guest lists," Harry said quickly, as he turned to Wally, "I thought we agreed that tonight’s dinner party was going to be small."

"Well it is, actually," Wally said with a smile, "when you compare it with the Solstice Celebration that Fred and George have planned for next week..."

"So what about the muggle neighbors?"

"We put them on a bus and sent them to the West End for the night…they’ve got tickets for the revival of Camelot."

That wasn’t the only clue that someone from the muggle world had sprung the surprise, rather than the Weasley Twins; a yellow-brick road lay along the street, leading to a tent decorated like Munchkinland. Young children in brightly-colored costumes were running around with huge lollypops in their hands, or waiting in line for pony rides and candy floss. Their parents and older siblings were mingling under the tent and in front of a stage set with musical instruments and loudspeakers; Harry recognized the faces of several muggle-born Hogwarts students sprinkled within this crowd.

"Looks like Mum put her mailing list to good use," Hermione said with a smile, as they were approached by a blond wand-bearing teen that wore white silk, corkbottle caps, and a goofy smile.

"Erm, I’m supposed to ask whether you are you a good witch, or a bad witch."

Hermione and Harry laughed, while Ron stood gobsmacked.

"Merlin, Luna, you look…you look beautiful."

"Thank you Ronald," she replied sweetly, as she walked up to him and gave him a kiss that turned Ron’s face beet-red instantaneously.

Harry reached his arm around Hermione’s shoulder and hugged her close. "Oi, Weasley," he said, "save the bashful bit for the Snow White party."

Ron overlaid befuddlement on embarrassment as Luna took his arm and led him towards the tent. A great cheer arose when the four were spotted, and Harry, Ron and Hermione were quickly enveloped within a sea of handshakes and backslaps as thirty-seven muggle-born Hogwarts students angled for a chance to introduce Harry to his or her family. It took the better part of an hour for Harry to meet everyone; he managed only through the support of Hermione by his side and the butterbeers that kept getting placed in his hand.

Harry might have spent the entire night within that crowd had Brian not saved him with word that he had another guest waiting to meet him. He led Harry, Hermione, Ron and Luna inside Number Five, where they found the Prince of Wales and his Royal Historian chatting with Hermione’s parents.

"Oh, there you are, Sir Harry…come in, come in," the Prince said. "And this must be Dame Hermione," he said, as he kissed the back of her hand. "It is a true honor to finally meet you, my lady."

Hermione blushed, not knowing whether she should pull her hand back, or curtsy, or give some sort of formal response. "Pleased to meet you, Your Highness," she finally replied. Harry then introduced the Prince to Ron and Luna, and started to introduce Luna to Hermione’s parents before they stopped him with word that they had met before the party started.

"So what brings you to Little Whinging, your Highness?" Harry asked.

"Well, I did hear that there was cause to celebrate your freedom," the Prince replied. "And I as I already had a few things that I wanted to discuss with you I thought I’d come out and do it in person."

"How can I help you, your Highness?"

"Now you see…there you go again," the Prince replied. "Please remember that I am the one that is supposed to be asking how I can help you."

"Erm, yes, your Highness."

The Prince suggested that they all sit down. "Firstly," he began, "Mum and I were wondering if you would join us for lunch on Tuesday. We’re having a little get together out at Windsor, before taking in a bit of racing."

"Racing…on Tuesday?" Hermione asked. "Isn’t that the day that the Queen reopens the Royal Ascot?"

"Why, yes," he replied, "yes it is. Don’t worry…lunch won’t be anything too large, and it’s quite a short ride from the castle down onto the course. Supposed to be nice weather, I hear."

"You…you aren’t asking us to ride in the Queen’s procession, are you?" Hermione asked incredulously, looking from the Prince over to her parents and then back.

"Erm, yes, I am," the Prince replied. "I know that it’s rather last minute, but…"

"But we aren’t royalty," stated Harry.

"Is that so, Sir Harry?" the Prince replied with a smile. "Well, perhaps we can decide that part later, then? Good. Onto the second point. I understand that you’ve met with Mr. Baxter already? He’s been doing a little research for me, and we’ve come upon something that you might wish to consider. Mr. Baxter?"

"Erm, thank you, Your Highness," the Royal Historian replied, and he turned towards the teens. "Over the past week I have been reviewing some of the treaties signed between the leadership of the muggle and wizarding worlds, with particular interest on the position of Royal Wizard."

"You mean like Godric Gryffindor, when he was King’s Wizard?"

"Exactly," the historian replied. "You see, there hasn’t been a Royal Wizard for quite some time, and we weren’t quite sure whether the position had been eliminated by treaty, but it turns out that it hasn’t been."

"So the Queen, if she wanted to, could appoint a Royal Wizard even today?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Baxter replied.

"What does a Royal Wizard do?" Ron asked.

"Well, back in the old days, the Royal Wizard was the sovereign’s representative in the wizarding world…an ambassador of sorts. They also led the wizarding forces loyal to that king or queen, in the days when the two world hadn’t completely separated, and advised the ruler on magical issues."

"But there aren’t any wizard forces under control of the Queen, are there?"

"No, and neither under the civilian government," said the historian. "That right was ceded by treaty in the Sixteenth Century…but the position of Royal Wizard wasn’t ceded…it was kept for ceremonial purposes, much like the Swiss Guards that work for the Pope."

"Which brings us around to a question for you, Sir Harry," the Prince interjected. "Her Royal Highness would be pleased that you would consider serving her in that capacity."

"You see there might be some advantage for you to hold that post," the historian said. "We understand that you have to worry about just how much information about the wizarding world you can legally share with Her Majesty and her government. As Queen’s Wizard, we do not believe that would be an issue…there is no treaty limitation on the advisory role of the position."

"So there’s an exception to the secrecy regulations for Royal Wizards, so long as it’s the Queen he’s talking to?" Harry asked.

"Again, that is our interpretation," the historian said. "The Royal Wizard is also allowed to use magic to support and defend the Crown, and there is no limitation made based on the age of the wizard."

"So you think that if I were Queen’s wizard I wouldn’t have to wait six more weeks to use a wand legally," Harry said. "Sounds like an attractive offer…Hermione, any drawbacks that you can see?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "Besides the obvious political fallout?" she asked. "Can’t imagine Scrimgeour will be too happy about you working for the Queen instead of him. It would also probably limit your future career options...forget working for the Ministry, or as an Auror."

"The pay is pretty good, if that is an issue," the Prince said with a smile. "Although we were also considering combining the ceremony with an investiture for the new Lord Gryffindor, and that would certainly involve some additional financial resources…."

"I’m not worried about money," Harry said, "I would like to do something interesting after all of this, though…and I imagine that I could always track down Dark Wizards in defense of the British Empire, right?"

Hermione turned to the historian. "Was Albus Dumbledore asked to be King’s Wizard during the war?"

"As a matter of fact he was," the Prince replied. "Unfortunately, he felt that his first loyalty had to be to Hogwarts. Of course, that didn’t stop him from acting as a de facto advisor," he said with a smile, "or from leading the Order of Arthur….oh, that’s right. I almost forgot. As Queen’s Wizard you would have control of the remaining eight badges…I understand that they might be useful when placed in the right hands."

"Yes, I imagine that they would," said Harry, thinking furiously. "I hope this doesn’t offend you, Your Highness, but it sounds like some of this is based on treaty interpretations by your staff. Not that I doubt your skills, Mr. Baxter, but I might want to get a second opinion from a wizard barrister."

"No offense taken, my boy," the historian said. "That does sound like a prudent idea."

"I’ll take that as a provisional yes, then," the Prince said, "and trust that you’ll be able to establish a legal opinion from your side in the near future?"

"Sounds like a plan, Your Highness," Harry said.

"Excellent. I suggest that it’s time to head out to the tent, then. The Grangers have arranged for a splendid band to play tonight."

As the group headed back to the tent Harry grabbed Hermione’s hand and asked to speak privately for a minute.

"Hermione," he asked, "you know how I talked about breaking some Fan Club hearts tonight?"

"Yes," she replied with a slight smile.

"Well, I’ve been having second thoughts."

"What about, Mr. Potter?" she said with a tinge of concern.

Harry quickly realized the multiple meanings of his last comment. "Not about you, or about us," he quickly reassured her. "About whether we should keep our relationship a secret. And no, it’s not because I’m not proud to be your boyfriend, or afraid of Ginny, but…."

"But what, Harry?"

"Well, I’m afraid that it would be too dangerous for you if word got out that you were close to me."

"You mean closer than I already was, or in more danger than I already was?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Harry, I’m already marked, probably number two on their hit list, since I’m a muggle-born, and our friendship’s been no secret. And I mean, really, they’ve already tried to kill my parents and take me out, how much worse could it get?"

"Are you sure?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Are you sure you don’t want to see who else is enrolled in your Fan Club?"

"Yes, I’m sure," Harry said with a bright smile and a quick kiss. "Have it your way, then….just don’t say I didn’t warn you."

"Whatever do you mean, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, nothing," Harry replied with a smirk.

They got to the tent just as Hermione’s mum had stepped up to the microphone at the front of the stage.

"Good evening, everyone," she began, "my name is Emily Granger, Chief Information Officer for the Fawkes Foundation, and, more importantly, Hermione Granger’s mum." (cheers and laughs from the crowd). "I hope that everyone got enough to eat…the band will be starting up in a few minutes, but before that I’ve got a few announcements to make."

"Those families that that requested mobile telephones or laptop computers can pick them up at the back of the tent before boarding the bus. There will also be sign up sheets there for anyone who needs high-speed internet connections installed, or computer lessons."

"Secondly, the summer lecture series ‘Muggles ‘R Us’ will kick off next Thursday, with a presentation by Robert Baxter from the British Museum titled ‘Merlin’s Legacy.’ Place and time will be posted this weekend on the muggleborn.com website. Which reminds me…anyone who hasn’t gotten their secure login codes yet should see me before the end of night."

"And last, all of the families here tonight should have met their club leads by now. Each club of families should make plans to meet sometime in the next week or two. Now we’ve already heard from a few students that wish to be in the same group with best friends or housemates, but we really hope you try the assignments that we’ve made. Groupings were based on geography, but we also made it a point to see that each club has different houses and years represented. Remember kids, on this side of Platform 9 ¾ you’ve all been sorted into the same house."

"And now, I’d like to turn the microphone over to a very special guest. Please give a warm Little Wizarding welcome to His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales."

The Prince strode up onto the stage, producing a raucous round of cheering. While Harry looked on with no small amount of apprehension, the Prince began to speak.

"On behalf of Her Majesty’s Government and the residents of Little Wizarding I’d like to thank all of you for coming out to this event. We are here to celebrate a liberation of sorts…not just Harry’s liberation from his tyrannical relatives, but the liberation of all of us from the tyranny of isolation and fear."

After the cheers and clapping subsided he continued. "But perhaps I should step back and explain why I am here. Two weeks ago, when I first met an amazing young man named Harry Potter, I was reminded that I am heir to the throne of all of Great Britain, and not just its muggle bits."

That comment drew laughs from the crowd. "Her majesty’s government has the obligation to protect all of its citizens. Now there are some who believe that the government has no interest in protecting British witches and wizards from magical threats, but I think that this is rubbish. Young witches and wizards do not forfeit their rights as a citizens of the Empire upon their entry to Hogwarts, and the most basic of those rights is the expectation that their government will protect them from all threats, be they external, internal, or magical.

Now there are some who argue that the wizarding community has the resources to handle magical threats on its own, and that the muggle government of Great Britain should mind its own business. Well, it is the unfortunate truth that over the past year the wizarding community has been unable to thwart the Dark Wizard and his minions. The evil one who fancies himself Lord Voldemort has even purposely attacked muggles in an attempt to reach his intended goals. While we have no intention of getting in the way of the Ministry of Magic’s efforts, neither will Her Majesty’s government stand idly by in the hope that things will get better on their own.

And this is where all of you, this young man, and this community enter into the story. I’m sure that most of you have heard the story of Harry Potter, of how he has seemingly been destined since birth to face Lord Voldemort. In the short time that I have known him, he has done nothing to diminish my confidence that he is up to this task, but he can not do it alone. Her Majesty’s government has made certain resources available to him for this fight, but this help alone is not sufficient. It is up to all of us, and all of you, to do whatever you can to help him in this fight. It is my hope that you will consider any help you give him to be as if you were giving it to the Crown itself. And it is my expectation that even in the darkest of days, you will all display the stoic resolve and strength that is at the very heart of what it means to be British."

The Prince then decided that it was time for Harry to make a few remarks. Saying that while he wasn’t used to being a warm-up act but that in this case it was entirely appropriate he pulled Harry up onto the stage and pushed him in front of the microphone. Harry looked as if he’d rather face Voldemort than a live microphone.

"Well, erm…look, I’m pants at giving speeches," he began, "so I hope you’re not expecting anything fancy coming out of my mouth." Sprinkles of laughter arose from the crowd. "It’s great seeing so many of my schoolmates here. Looks like we have a few Gryffindors here tonight (cheer), not to mention Ravenclaws (cheer) and Hufflepuffs (cheer)…if anyone out there is from Slytherin House (jeers and catcalls), the Death Eater’s Friday-night Fish Fry is next street over (big laugh)."

"I love seeing all of you with your families, because that’s what this is all about…what the work of the Fawkes Foundation is all about. I want all of the Hogwarts students out there to thing about your parents, and brothers and sisters. If you think we live our lives in the Twilight Zone, what about them? When they’re at work and a co-worker starts bragging about their son’s play on the soccer pitch what can they say…yeah, but you should see what my kid can do with a broom?" (laugh). When the neighbors bring around pictures of their children dressed for school balls can ours show off us in our dress robes? (someone shouted "No great loss for Weasley," to the crowd’s amusement). While we’re away at school its the parents that have to always watch what they say, or do, to keep our world secret, and up to now they’ve had to shoulder that responsibility pretty much on their own. If the Fawkes Foundation can do anything to help support our families, to ease the burden they carry…through a network of other families with muggle-borns, then it will be an investment well made."

"The Prince talked about the challenge we face tonight. In a perfect world Voldemort would have no power. In a slightly less perfect world, the Ministry of Magic would be powerful enough to handle him. But we all know the reality….and we also know that on its own the muggle government would find it hard to defeat a dark wizard. This is why a third way is so necessary…a path along which muggles and wizards march side by side, and with those will stand with us against the Dark forces."

"I’ve seen some amazing things these past weeks, and imagined amazing possibilities….ways for muggles and wizards to collaborate in ways unthinkable for those blinded by narrow minds and racist attitudes. It’s enough to give a skinny young kid with hopeless hair some hope. And I can’t begin to say how much I appreciate all of the help and support I’ve received….from the Prince to the Grangers to all of you. It’s been…well, it’s been brilliant."

"There’s lots more we could talk about, but that’s what IM’ing is for, isn’t it? (laughs)…I just want to end by saying one thing more…Hermione, will you come up here?"

The crowd cheered and whistled while Harry held his hand out to a very embarrassed looking witch. He pulled her up on stage and spun around to face the crowd, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"You know," Harry said, "there’s a prediction out there that Lord Voldemort will be defeated by a power he knows not. Headmaster Dumbledore thought it was love, but it’s also entirely possible that it is the power of muggles. That was a bit of a riddle for me, as I look for all of the advantages I can get to defeat Old Tom; what should I look for….love, or a muggle?"

Harry looked at Hermione, who was giving him a very high eyebrow. "Well," he continued, " I’d like to announce tonight that I’ve found an answer to that riddle. Killing two birds with one stone, I’ve fallen in love with the smartest and prettiest muggle-born witch that I know – Hermione Jane Granger."

At that very moment, while the crowd went wild with applause and wolf whistles and cries ("About time, Potter" being quite popular) Harry pulled Hermione towards him and planted a long, full kiss on her lips. That only incited the crowd to louder cheering. When they broke the lip lock, Hermione, her cheeks bright red, leaned over and whispered into his ear.

"You are so going to get lucky tonight, Potter," she said with a smile.

Chapter 25: Back Watching

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

+++

“Ouch!…erm, morning Luna,” Harry stammered, as he blotted spilt coffee, “did we miss giving you the belt?”

The blonde-haired teen entered Number Four’s kitchen wearing the same red “Clan-Potter” dressing gown that Harry was wearing. Except that hers was hanging open over a skimpy mid-drift baring camisole and bright-red knickers.

She reached into the robe’s pockets and pulled out the ends of the belt. “No…is that a problem?” she asked with a bit of concern. “I like to air out my navel in the morning…keeps the nargle larvae from nesting, you know.”

“Erm, no…that’s fine,” Harry said. “I’m glad to see that you feel comfortable here…it’s just that in the muggle world, erm, well…we usually wear something over our knickers when we’re in mixed company…unless we’re more than just good friends.”

“Oh….sorry,” Luna replied as she quickly tied her robe closed. “I thought that it wasn’t any different than muggle swimming costumes.”

“You’re right,” Harry replied, trying not to make his houseguest feel bad. “Guess that it’s one of those muggle customs…location is everying, I guess….Say, our morning run is at six…maybe you brought some shorts and you could join us?”

Luna’s eyes brightened back up. “I didn’t, but I can transfigure some…be right back.” Harry poured a cup of coffee for Luna while she ran back upstairs to change. She returned with a bounce in her step and ever bigger bounce in a skin-tight t-shirt, forcing Harry to very carefully place his coffee mug on the countertop. Choosing to say nothing, he wondered just how many other surprises were in store with Luna visits to Little Wizarding.

“You’re up early…weren’t able to sleep?” he asked.

“Ronnie sure snores a lot, doesn’t he?” Luna replied. “I could hear them clear across the hall…how do you get any sleep at all in the same room?”

“Six years of practice,” Harry replied with a grin. “It’s actually gotten better, if you can believe that. Hermione convinced him to start wearing a muggle breathing strip across his nose at night.”

“Maybe it will get better once we start sleeping together,” Luna said.

“Erm, yes…well, perhaps it will,” Harry said, forcing something out of his mouth besides sprayed liquids.

Luna plopped down on a kitchen table chair. “Unless, of course, you and Ron prefer sleeping together.”

Harry’s head snapped back a bit in shock. “Luna, Ron and I sleep in the same room, but we’re not sleeping together.”

“Oh…what’s the difference?”

“Well…wait, you really don’t know, do you?” he asked.

“Don’t know what?” Luna replied, confusion clearly displayed on her face.

“When muggles talk about two people sleeping together, they really mean that they are shagging.”

“Oh…well if that’s the case why don’t they just say shag instead of sleep?”

“Erm…good question…usually if two people share a bed they’re also shagging…unless you listen to Uncle Vernon, of course,” Harry replied with a grin.

“So muggles only shag when they’re asleep? Where’s the fun in that?”

“Erm, no I guess it’s just the most private place to, erm…” Harry caught sight of somebody walking down the hall. “Good morning, Hermione.”

“Most private place to do what?” Hermione asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

“Oh, Harry and I were just talking about sleeping together,” Luna said matter-of-factly.

“Excuse me?”

“We were talking about the phrase ‘sleeping together’ and how it means more than just sharing a kip,” Harry replied quickly.

“Oh,” Hermione said, as she looked at Luna and Harry with furrowed brow. “And exactly how did this topic of conversation take place?”

“I told Harry that Ron’s snoring might get better if he slept with me.”

Wondering whether it really was that innocent, Hermione decided to change topics. “So what got you out of bed so early, Harry?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said wearily. “A bit excited after all of last night’s fun, and I knew I had a stack of papers to go through.” He had in fact been reviewing an emancipation document that legally severed his Aunt and Uncle’s custodial rights over him.

Harry’s mobile chirped.

“Good morning, Sir Harry, sorry that it’s so early.”

“That’s fine, Wally, we were already up,” Harry replied. “What’s going on?”

“There was an accident in London last night that might be of interest to you. A man was struck by a lorry and taken to hospital. The report caught the eye of one of my colleagues when it was noted that the victim was wearing some sort of purse tied to his belt.”

“A wizard, eh?” Harry asked.

“Well, I wasn’t sure until they e-mailed me some pictures of the crime scene. After all, I’ve been known to carry a purse around myself now and then. But the style it was so…erm, medieval…it just simply screamed wizard…no offense,” Wally added quickly.

“None taken,” Harry replied with a smile. “How is this bloke doing right now.”

“Just came out of surgery about two hours ago…still in a bad way, though,” Wally said. “It happens now and again that a John Doe is really a Merlin Doe, and there are protocols in place for notifying your wizard hospital, but…I thought I’d forward a head shot to you first, since the man is the same height and weight you gave us for that Mundungus chap.”

Harry’s heart jumped a beat. “Sure…send me the photo and I’ll take a look.”

“It’s already been sent…remember how to check your e-mail using the mobile?”

“Yeah, hang on.” Harry pushed a button to place Wally’s call on “hold,” then changed screens and punched a few more buttons to get to his in-box, where the message was waiting. He opened the attached jpeg, and squinted when the upper torso of the accident victim filled the mobile’s display screen.

“What do you think, Hermione?” Harry asked, handing her the device.

“Hard to tell with all that blood splatter,” she replied, “but it could be him.”

“Let’s check it out then,” Harry replied.

Hermione nodded and toggled back to the call, letting Wally know that Harry and she wanted to make an identification in person.

“He’s bringing the black Bentley around,” she said, after ending the call and returning Harry’s mobile.

Harry nodded and turned towards Luna, “Would it be alright if we left you here with Ron for a few hours?” he asked.

“Fine with me,” Luna replied with a dreamy looking look. “Gives me the chance to work on his snoring problem.”

+++

Hermione leaned forward over the rear-facing bench. “Wally, I’m sorry but would you mind terribly if we rolled the divider up?”

“That’s why it’s there, Dame Hermione” Wally replied with a smile. “We’ll be at hospital in about thirty minutes.” He then saved her the trouble and raised the opaque divider between front and rear seats. Hermione leaned back, then stretched out on the bench facing Harry.

She turned a wide yawn into a smile. “Merlin, I’m still sleepy...I could use a kip.”

Harry chuckled. “Gee, I wonder why,” he replied with a bit of cheek. He then surprised Hermione by pouncing on top of her. “Need a blanket?”

“Got your hopes up about practicing after Luna’s comments, Harry?”

Harry reached down and pulled an errant strand of her hair back from her face.

“No,” he replied, “I’ve had those hopes for a little while now.”

“Since when?” Hermione asked.

“Since the last time I was stretched out in this motorcar.”

Hermione paused for a second to process, then squinted a bit when she arrived at an answer. After squinting she gave Harry a good sock in the arm.

“I thought you were sleeping when I was dressing down your Aunt!”

Harry grinned. “Kind of hard to sleep through the thunderstorm you were brewing.”

“Oh,” she said quietly. “Guess I did get a little worked up.”

“So do you think we could do it?” Harry asked.

“Do what?”

“Watch each other’s backs through the night.”

“Depends on whether you sleep on your side,” Hermione replied.

“What about your parents?”

“I’m more worried about Ron,” she said.

“Looks like Luna might be a help there,” Harry said. “So when do you want to try?”

“Think you can behave yourself until third date?”

“Does last night count?”

“Erm…yes, I think so,” Hermione said with a smile. “But that’s only one, and next time I’m expecting you to do the planning, not Mum.”

“Fair enough, I guess,” Harry said, mustering all of the sincerity he could gather at that moment, “I think that I can…that is, if you think you can keep your hands off of me.”

“My hands?” Hermione asked, with a sparkle in her eye. She shoved her two hands down the rear pockets of Harry’s trousers and gave a firm squeeze. “After last night…you’re the one worrying about my hands?”

“You didn’t seem to mind.”

Hermione raised her head up and gave Harry’s nose a quick peck. “No, I didn’t, did I?”

+++

Mundungus Fletcher had never smelled a room as sterile as the one within which he regained consciousness. It was quite unnerving…almost as unnerving as the fact that his eyes were almost completely wrapped in white gauze and that he was breathing through a tube that was shoved down his throat.

“Why Dung, you are alive…so nice to see you again, though I dare say I’ve never seen you quite so….clean.”

Dung tried, but failed, to turn his head towards the voice.

“Whoa, watch it there, Dung…the doctors have your necked braced for a reason…what… what’s that? Oh yes, and the tube is there because you weren’t breathing too well without it. You see, for some reason, these muggle doctors actually think your sorry excuse for a life is worth saving.”

Dung’s eyes were able to move, and once they regained their ability to resolve the image that was presently hovering above his face the result wasn’t very encouraging.

“Yes, Dung, it’s me, Harry…you know, the kid you left to Dementors while you were off pawning stolen goods…the kid whose mansion you stole from…and before you try to apparate, don’t bother…you’ve been ankled with an anti-app bracelet.”

Dung could barely feel something around one of his legs, but was in no position to see what it was.

“So here’s the situation. The muggles found you left for dead after being struck by a lorry outside of a pawn shop. Your head’s a right mess, and your brain is still so swollen that the doctors think they’ll have to operate again….yes, Dung…again. They’ve already drilled a few holes into your skull to reduce the swelling.”

Mung didn’t think that doctor’s trying to save his life could have anything to do with drills and his skull.

“Nurse tells me that if they have to go back in it won’t be drills, this time but a saw.”

Dung’s eyes narrowed in fright.

“Oh, now Dung, I knew you’d be worrying about that, so I thought I help ease your concerns. Nurse let me borrow one of the tools they’d be using.” Harry held a small battery-operated rotary saw over Dung’s head that was about the size of an electric toothbrush, with a 5cm diameter circular saw blade held perpendicular to the grip.

“See these muggles, they use technology to make things so much smaller, and quieter,” Harry explained. “Would you like a demonstration?” Harry pressed a button on the handle and the circular blade began to twirl with a soft, but high-pitched whine that had Dung’s full attention.

“Of course, you wouldn’t need all of the knives and drills and saws cutting into your body if you were at St. Mungo’s, now would you? So I have a simple proposition…I’m going have the doctors take that tube out of your mouth, and you’re going to tell me where I can find a locket that you took from the Black mansion. Then we’re going to get it, and when we do, I’ll see to it that the healers at St. Mungo’s fix you up.”

“Deal…or no deal?”

Three hours later, Harry returned to Dung’s hospital room with Hermione and Wally by his side and the real Slytherin’s locket in the front pants pocket opposite the one which contained the fake.

“Well, wonders never cease, it was right where you told me it was…and I only had to pay two hundred quid to get it back.”

“I may be a thief,” Mundungus said weakly, “but I’m no liar.”

Harry walked over to the bed and pulled the tape off of the magazine that had been wrapped around Dung’s led. Dung’s eyes went wide as Harry showed it to him and Wally began to wheel the hospital bed out to a waiting ambulance for the ride to St. Mungo’s.

“Well I’m no thief,” Harry said, “but I have been known to stretch the truth some times myself. Guess we’ll have to call it even.”

+++

Harry and Hermione had hoped to test their badge’s ability to transport them across Little Wiz’s goblin wards, but Ron wasn’t answering their call. Sir Evan, of course, had his badge operant for what turned out to be a successful test. The return trip to Number Four wasn’t quite as successful, from a time efficiency standpoint. First was the fifteen minute chat with Sir Evan, who was thrilled with his new accommodations now that his things had been packed up and delivered from the nursing home in Eastleigh. Then there was the meeting with Nurse Miller and her entire family, who had returned to Little Whiz that morning to look at the possibility of moving into Number Twelve, at least for the summer. Once they got out to the street, they were met by Hermione’s parents, who wanted to talk about how well the party had gone, and give word that three additional muggle-born families had already expressed interest in moving to Little Wiz.

It was some sixty minutes after their “instantaneous” arrival on Privet Drive that Harry and Hermione entered the front door of Number Four. They found the house empty, save for Ron and the Xbox. He informed them that Luna had floo’d back to her house to pack her things, having secured her father’s permission to accept Harry’s offer for her to stay with them in Little Wiz. Brian had driven out to the Lovegood residence to pick up Luna and her things, having decided that it be safer if the Luna’s move was muggled. This rather conveniently allowed the Trio to talk about horcrux disposal.

Harry was inclined to immediately make the trip to Hogwarts and the Chamber of Secrets to find a loose basilisk fang lying about to smash upon the horcrux. Hermione, after scolding Harry a bit for his typical impetuousness, suggested that it would be prudent to wait until the Twins were able to furnish them with the protective dragon hide body suits that they’d ordered. She also pointed out that Harry still couldn’t legally use magic (at least where it could be detected), and that there wasn’t much downside if they waited until things were properly prepared…except, of course, for the fact that waiting would mean that they’d have a little piece of Lord Voldemort’s soul to constantly safeguard.

The three spent some time balancing the pros and cons of waiting to attempt to destroy the horcrux before Harry struck upon the idea of asking MI-5 ¾ to hide the locket until they were ready to dispose of it. Ron initially scoffed at the idea of muggles having a place secure enough, but Hermione came to Harry’s aid, pointing out that it would be hard to find a place less secure than when the locket was in Mundungus’s possession.

And so, after transfiguring a breakfast cereal box into a wooden chest and securing the locket with Hermione’s most intricate charm work, Harry tucked the horcrux under his arm and they walked across the street to Number Five, where Wally promised to “Indiana Jones” the container (until such time as Harry wanted it back). Wally subsequently promised to deliver a DVD of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” so that Ron would understand the movie reference.

Harry told Ron and Hermione that he had some business stuff that he needed to discuss with her Dad, and suggested that he’d catch up with them in a bit. He then walked up to Number Five’s operations center, where Mr. Granger was taking his turn monitoring the neighborhood’s surveillance system.

Harry knocked on the open door. “Mr. Granger, do you have a few minutes?” he asked.

Roger Granger swiveled around on his chair and gave Harry a smile. “Of course, Harry, have a seat.”

“Thanks,” Harry replied, as he sat down and focused on the questions and statements that he’d been rehearsing in his mind for most of the day. “Erm, wanted to say thanks again for the party last night…it was brilliant.”

“It was nothing, Harry….and everything that you deserved to celebrate,” Bill said.

Harry took a breath. “Mr. Granger, I’d like to…erm…wanted you to know…well, I’m hoping that you aren’t too concerned about the feelings I expressed last night about your daughter.”

Mr. Granger smiled. “Why would Emily and I be concerned…we already knew how you two felt about each other, and what you said was…well Emily for one thought it was sweet.”

“Erm, thanks,” Harry replied. “I guess I just wanted to reassure you that, even with the Dursleys gone that you can trust me with your daughter and her, erm…virtue.”

Roger squinted just a bit and nodded almost imperceptivity, finally understanding the reason for Harry’s visit.

“Worrying what we might think now that you two almost have the run of the house?” he asked.

Harry nodded.

“Harry,” Mr. Granger replied, “what I said two weeks ago still holds true. We trust you with Hermione’s life, and everything that goes with it. We’ve trusted Hermione to make wise decisions for longer than that. Nothing you two have done since that time has shaken that trust.”

“I appreciate that, Mr. Granger, it’s just that you might think that…especially know that Ron and Luna there, well…”

Roger chuckled. “Harry, I appreciate the fact that you were concerned enough to come talk to me. Not too many teenage boys would do that. But we trust you two to do what you think is right for the both of you. Fact is that both of you are full of virtue, and that’s not going to change regardless of whatever happens in your relationship.”

Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing and his faced showed as much.

“Harry, Roger continued, “you and Hermione live in a dangerous world at a particularly dangerous time. Emily and I have already talked about this, and given a choice, we’d frankly feel better knowing you two were watching each other’s back night and day…and I do mean night and day. Am I making myself clear?”

Harry stood, and nodded as he reached out his hand.

“Thank you, Mr. Granger, I promise not to let you down.”

Roger shook Harry’s hand, placing his other on Harry’s shoulder. “I know, Harry…I know.”

++++

Hours later, a waning moon cast light onto four intertwined feet at the base of Hermione’s four poster bed.

“Harry,” Hermione said looking back over her shoulder, “don’t you want to snuggle some more?”

“I promised your dad I’d watch your back,” Harry replied, as he traced his fingertips over Hermione’s gown-covered shoulder blade.

Hermione turned so quickly that Harry didn’t have time to move his hand away as it was dragged onto her chest. “Harry Potter, you didn’t tell my dad that we were thinking about this, did you?”

“Of course not,” Harry replied had a smile. “he was too busy talking about something called ‘plausible deniability.’”

Hermione slapped at Harry’s chest. “Merlin, he did what? And you really were talking about this weren’t you?”

“I’m sorry, Hermione, but I just had to,” Harry replied.

Hermione smiled, then pulled Harry’s head in for a languid kiss. “Well whatever you said must have been reassuring, else we’d have seen Dad camped outside our door.”

“Of course it was,” Harry replied, “it wasn’t like I was asking for permission to ask you to marry me.”

Hermione giggled. “Well that’s good to know.”

Harry gave her an evil grin. “Saving that question for next week.”

Chapter 26: Field Appointment

A/N: Sorry for the cliffie, but I’ve decided to break up this set piece into two chapters. There’s a lot to digest here, and I’d really like to get some feedback on what I’ve laid out here before diving into the battle (yes, battle).

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

+++

Little Wizarding, Surrey

Sunday, June 17, 7:02pm

Nymphadora Tonks took delight in showing her boss how to use a doorbell.

“Head Auror Robards, thank you for coming on such short notice,” Harry said, after he opened the front door. He shook the man’s hand, and led the two into the living room. “Let’s see…you know the Headmistress, of course, and you have met Hermione. This is my good friend Ron Weasley and this is…”

“Remus, good to see you again,” the Head Auror interrupted, as he nodded towards Lupin.

“Would you like something to drink, Head Auror?” Hermione asked. “We have pumpkin juice, butterbeer, some muggle iced tea…”

“No thank you, Miss Granger,” the man replied.

“Let me start by apologizing for the bounce and subsequent walk that you just took,” Harry said. “We didn’t know that our new security wards would keep you from using your personal portkey until you just tried.”

The Head Auror nodded curtly. “I have to admit that I was rather surprised…the only other place that I’m aware of with that kind of warding is Gringott’s.”

“Yes, well…we just consulted with the…erm, security advisors…who helped install the wards. Apparently I can authorize portkey use by members of the Clan and Clan Friends. We can put you on this list…assuming, of course, that you would want to be one or the other.”

The Head Auror gave Harry a confused stare, then turned to Headmistress McGonagall. “Minerva, what’s going on?”

The Headmistress smiled, “Gawain, while I am his wizard guardian for a few more weeks, we are on muggle territory, and it is my understanding that under muggle laws Clan Chief Potter is an emancipated minor. In any event he can speak for himself.”

“Clan Chief?” the Head Auror asked.

“My barrister filed the papers at the Ministry last week,” Harry replied nonchalantly. “Guess with all of the bureaucracy word hadn’t gotten around yet…but if it’s alright with you, Head Auror, I’d like to defer further talk on this issue and get to the matter that led to our request for this meeting?”

The Auror nodded, as Harry got down to business.

“This afternoon, at approximately 4:15pm, we caught Peter Pettigrew scouting around the backyard of this house in his animagus form. Twenty minutes later we obliviated and released him.”

“You did what?” the Head Auror asked. “You do realize that it was at your insistence that Pettigrew had been placed on the ‘Most Wanted Wizards’ list, don’t you?”

“Mr. Potter likely had very good reasons for doing what he did,” Headmistress McGonagall interjected. “And I’m sure that he will be happy to share them with us.”

“In a manner, yes,” Harry replied. “But if it’s all the same I’d rather show you what happened, so that you can offer your own opinions on what was said and done.” He drew his wand from his back pocket as Ron brought the pensieve out from behind a chair.

“Mr. Potter, I assume you’ve placed the muggles in this house out of earshot?” the Head Auror asked.

Harry smirked at the Head Auror as he placed his wand tip on his temple. “Rest assured, they are well out of earshot...now close your eyes for a second will you? I wouldn’t want to get into trouble for underage wand use.”

Robards responded with a gruff “Just get on with it,” as Harry pulled a silvery wisp of a memory from his head and placed it into the pensieve.

“Is it safe to jump in,” McGonagall asked, “or should we just look?”

“It would be a bit crowded if you didn’t jump,” Ron replied. “I’ll hang back to keep a watch while Harry and Hermione join you to answer your questions.”

Twenty minutes later six witches and wizards returned from their journey into the recent past. Ron greeted them with butterbeers. “So what did you think?” he asked.

The Head Auror took a healthy swig from his bottle. “I think that we have a lot to think about.”

“Were we wrong to assume that in exchange for canceling the life debt Wormtail’s word was good?” Hermione asked.

“No, I think that you worded the agreement quite carefully,” Remus replied. “I might have held on to that debt for a better deal, but…”

“It was worth it if what he told us was true,” Harry replied. “Besides, he merely exchanged one debt for another owed to Hermione…without her intervention I would have killed him on the spot.”

“Pettigrew might have thought he was telling the truth about this plan…” Remus mused.

“We’ve considered the possibility that he’d been intentionally fed misinformation,” Hermione replied. “And we’ve sketched out a plan that we think will keep us and the Ministry safe, even if it is a ruse.”

Head Auror Robards stepped into the discussion. “I find it difficult to believe that the Death Eaters have cells within any Ministry department, much less the Auror corps. I devised the constant vigilance program myself.”

“Gawain,” McGonagall replied gently, “nobody in this room questions your skills, but remember whom we are dealing with. After all, they were able to hide a polyjuiced Death Eater under Dumbledore’s nose for almost a year.”

The Auror paused in thought for a minute. “So, Mr. Potter, what are your plans?”

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione before giving the Head Auror a grim looking smile. “Well for starters, I plan on accepting an invitation from the Queen…”

Monday, June 18, 4:00pm

“Mum, I have absolutely nothing to wear for tomorrow!”

Emily Granger couldn’t choke off a laugh as Luna Lovegood helped her daughter rummage furiously through her bedroom closet. “Hermione, I never thought I’d ever hear you say something so charmingly teenagerish, particularly given circumstances.”

Hermione talked over her shoulder. “Well it’s not everyday that you’re invited to dine with the Queen and sit in the Royal Enclosure on the opening day of horseracing at Ascot, is it?”

Emily nodded sympathetically as Luna pulled the blue evening gown out that Hermione had worn at her knighting ceremony. “Maybe you could transfigure this one?”

“Thought of that,” Hermione said, “but I’m pants at altering, and even if I weren’t, I don’t have a clue what I should be wearing…besides a hat, of course. At least you’ve got that one covered, Luna.”

“Oh, I’m not sure about that,” Luna said. “Ron made me promise to keep it quiet amongst the muggles, and it does have a mind of its own.”

Hermione berated herself for not knowing exactly what to wear to the event. There had to be a book on the subject, but she’d been too busy worrying about defeating Voldemort to read Vogue. With all of the humility she could muster, she finally decided to take her mother’s suggestion and ask for some outside help.

Exactly seventy-two minutes later, Wally whisked Luna and Hermione into a small dress shop on a fashionable street in London’s West End. He introduced them to the shop’s owner, an old friend he worked with at the Royal Household. “Do their beauty justice, Helen,” Wally instructed, “they’ll be in the Royal Box, so they’ll have to look good on camera.”

“Cameras?” Hermione asked.

“Of course,” the seamstress replied. “The Royal Ascot’s always televised, and there’s a lot of interest this year with the new grandstand opening up. It’ll be something like 60 different countries, 25 million viewers, if you can believe the newspapers.”

Hermione looked nervously over at Luna. “If anybody asks,” she warned, “your lion runs on batteries.”

Tuesday, June 19, 10:30am

Roger adjusted the knot in Ron’s tie as they waited for the girls to emerge from Hermione’s bedroom. “Funny you don’t know how to tie one of these,” he told Ron. “It is part of your school uniform, isn’t it?”

Harry laughed as stood before a mirror and tucked some unruly strands of hair under his black top hat. “Little muggle boys have clip-ons, little wizards have self-knotting ties.”

“Sod off,” Ron said, just as Emily and Wally walked down the stairs.

“Oh don’t you two look handsome,” said Wally, who, as part of their security detail, was also dressed in a morning suit. “They’re coming right down, and Hermione’s a little self-conscious, so help out, will you?” Harry didn’t have time to reassure Wally on that point, as Luna had just turned the corner of the stairs. She wore a tan short-sleeved silk jacket over a full length strapless navy blue silk dress, accessorized by her cork-bottle necklace and lion hat.

Ron exclaimed, “Luna…you look erm…really, really nice.”

“Thank you, Ronald,” Luna replied breezily as she twirled around once before him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “And you look rather handsome, in a muggle sort of way, yourself.”

It was Harry’s turn to gaze with amazement as Hermione somewhat nervously walked down the stairs. She wore a dark green full-length dress that matched Harry’s eyes. The dress was sleeveless, with a pleasing (at least to Harry) display of décolletage that was partially concealed by her Order of Arthur badge, which hung loosely the end of a thick platinum link chain. Covering the dress was a sheer long-sleeved overlay that buttoned closed at the neck and flared out towards the floor, floating out behind her like a gossamer cape. In deference to her profession, she wore a pointed witch hat that had been transfigured to match her dress color. The brim had been enlarged a bit, so that it flopped down rather stylishly in the front. Large flowers were arranged about her hat, held in place by a familiar looking green vine.

“Devil’s Snare?” Harry asked.

Hermione smiled as she ran her hands down Harry’s lapels and rubbed Harry’s badge, which (like Ron’s) was pinned to his suit jacket. “Thank you, Sir Harry, you look handsome too.” She then waved off Harry’s apology with the comment that his eyes had, once again, betrayed his thoughts. As it was raining lightly outside, Emily Granger shooed the four teenagers into the living room for pictures using both muggle and magical cameras.

“So are we all armed and dangerous?” asked Ron afterwards, as he pulled his wand and a shrunken down broom out of his suit jacket. Harry tilted his head back until he felt the tip of his sword hilt, then reached under his shirt collar and carefully pulled his sword out and over his head. “I’m so glad Fred and George found this magical scabbard for me,” he said, as he used his other hand to open his jacket and reveal both his wand and shrunken-down Firebolt. He then tipped his head forward and caught the brim of his top hat as it flipped off of his head. He looked down at all of the objects stored within it. “Same with McGonagall’s work on this hat…can’t imagine my rucksack being considered an appropriate accessory for the day.”

“At least you three have solid concealment,” said Hermione, as Luna pulled her wand out from a sheath concealed by one of her sleeves. Lacking similar opacity about her upper torso, Hermione tucked two fingers into a hidden seam on the side of her dress and pulled down. The sound of ripping Velcro was heard as she exposed her right thigh and a garter belt that secured her wand.

“Say,” said Harry with a grin, as he reached towards the opened seam. “What else do you have hidden in there?”

“Never you mind,” Hermione said as she slapped his hand away. “C’mon, we don’t want to be late for the Queen.”

A cheer rang out as the four stepped out onto the front porch. Lining the path to the waiting vehicles were friends, both old and new...Fred and George next to Brian and Sir Evan, who were across from Remus and Tonks. Further down stood some of the latest initiates into the Clan Potter family…Dean Thomas, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, Lee Jordan, Seamus Finnegan, and Neville Longbottom.

Hermione walked up to Sir Evan, who was sitting upright with a Bluetooth-enabled headset in one ear and a handgun holstered on the side of his wheelchair. “Now you promise to call us the second you realize that you need back-up here?”

“Don’t worry about us, Dame Hermione,” the knight replied. “Between Wally’s men and your young wizard friends we’ll be in fine shape.”

Harry walked up to Tonks and Remus, who were also dressed for Ascot. Lupin looked rather uncomfortable in his suit coat.

“Remus, you clean up good,” Harry said. “If I didn’t know better I’d think you were ready to see Tonks walking down the aisle.”

Remus laughed as Tonks’s cheeks turned a shade that clashed with her hair.

“You just watch yourselves along the way, and we’ll see you there.”

Harry then walked over his fellow Gryffindors. “Want to say again how grateful we are that you all have helped keep watch these past few days.”

“We’d have been hurt if you hadn’t asked us,” Lee replied.

“Well, with any luck things will continue to be quiet here, but if it does get hairy…stick with Fred and George, they know the neighborhood, and trust the muggle support…they’re not as helpless as you may have been led to believe.”

Neville clicked his heals at attention and gave a smiling salute. “Aye aye, Clan Chief.”

“Oh, stop that,” Harry scolded.

Wally approached Harry’s side. “Neighborhood evac starts in five minutes, Sir Harry, we should go.”

“What?” Seamus said with amazement, “First it’s Clan Chief, then it’s Sir Harry…when do we start saying ‘Your Lordship?’”

Harry shook his head and snorted out a rueful grin. “Oh, about an hour from now.”

+++

They made the trip in two cars; Harry and Hermione rode in the back of her Bentley, driven by Wally, while Ron and Luna rode in the back of the black Bentley with Steve up front. There’d been some talk about the four riding together, but their security detail insisted on driving, saying that even it were perfectly safe that as guests of the Queen they should arrive in style.

“It’s not fair,” Harry mock-whined, as he reached an arm around Hermione’s shoulder and pulled her close. “Their Bentley has blackened windows and that screen between the seats.”

Hermione jabbed an elbow into his side. “Harry, honestly…at a time like this.” She paused, then waggled her eyebrows. “Then again, what better time than this?” She then grabbed his chin and kissed him full on the lips.

“A bit of an exhibitionist, are we?” Harry asked, when their lips finally parted.

“Nothing wrong with a bit of snogging is there?” Hermione replied. “Besides,” she said in a raised voice as she turned towards the front seat, “the Royal Household’s staff is famous for its discretion, right?”

“My apologies, Dame Hermione, did you say something?” Wally replied, with a grin that was reflected in the rear view mirror. “My eyes and ears were focused on the road.”

“There you go,” Harry said with a Cheshire Cat’s grin.

“Just keep it PG13, Potter,” Hermione replied, as she leaned forward and wrapped both hands around Harry’s neck. “Wouldn’t want to corrupt the morals of any kiddies looking in.”

++++

As Little Wizarding was located in the western suburbs of London, very near Windsor, (and Ascot, for that matter), it took all of thirty minutes for the two cars to arrive at the Castle. After passing through the main gates the cars bypassed the front entrance and drove around the perimeter of the grounds, finally stopping outside a large wooden outbuilding. Wally and Steve ducked into the building, only to return a few moments later carrying several pairs of Wellington boots.

“You’ll be more comfortable wearing these,” Wally said, as he opened the rear door. Hermione stepped out of the car whilst making some adjustments to her dress, then slipped out of her fancy new low-heeled shoes. She looked over at the other car and noticed that Luna was pulling up on the front of her sleeveless dress.

Hermione decided to tease. “Wardrobe malfunction, Luna?”

Luna looked a little puzzled. “No, I don’t think so,” she replied. “The fabric went exactly where Ronald’s hands wanted it to go.”

Harry and Hermione laughed as Ron tried to stammer out an explanation. With raised dress hems the four were led through puddles of water and mud and into the royal stables, where they came upon the Queen of England, who was presently nuzzling a thoroughbred’s nose with her own.

Wally cleared his throat and introduced the four to the Queen, whose own pair of Wellies contrasted with her blue hat and dress just as sharply as Hermione and Luna’s.

“We are pleased to see you again, Sir Harry and Dame Hermione,” she said, with both hands still grasping the horse’s bridle, “and delighted to meet you, Mr. Weasley and Ms. Lovegood.”

“Is that really a horse?” Luna asked incredulously. “I’ve never seen one before.”

The queen laughed. “Yes my dear, this is a real live horse. Perhaps not as colorful as some of your more magical creatures, but the way she runs is magical in and of itself.” She patted the side of the horse’s head and turned back towards the four. “One of mine,” she said proudly, “and odds-on favorite for tomorrow’s last race.” Raising her hand towards the far side of the stable she said, “You should meet my grandson…he is around here someplace with his young lady friend.”

The four followed her as she walked down the stable pathway. “We do hope that Brian has made your summer a little more comfortable than in year’s past, Sir Harry?”

“He’s been absolutely brilliant,” Harry replied, “I can’t thank you enough for what you did.”

“We have no doubt that we will be the one thanking you for what you’ve done in far too soon a time,” the Queen replied. “By the way, we will be spending all of next month at Balmoral, and would be pleased if you and your friends could visit for at least a portion of that time.”

Harry and Hermione exchanged quick looks of concern and calculation. “We are honored by your invitation, Your Majesty,” Hermione replied, “and would very much enjoy just such a visit.”

“Excellent,” the Queen replied. She stopped in front of a seemingly empty stall and, in a voice eerily similar to Dolores Umbridge’s, cleared her throat.

“Hem, hem.”

After a moment, the stall door opened and a handsome young man in his early twenties appeared. He wore a top hat, tails, and a guilty-looking grin as he led a demure young lady dressed in pink out of the stall.

The Queen said, “May I present my grandson, Prince Harold, and his friend, Lady Penelope.”

“Good morning, grandmum,” the young prince replied. “I was just showing Penny around the stables.”

“Yes, that is quite evident,” the Queen replied, as she pulled a piece of straw away from the back of the young woman’s dress.

The young prince smirked as he looked towards the four. “Ah, you must be the bright young students from up North that father’s been talking about.”

“I imagine so, Prince Harold,” Hermione replied with the kind of saucer eyes she last wore at Buckingham Palace. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Please, call me Harry,” the young prince said, “although that might get confusing, right Sir Harry?”

Harry frowned a bit at the star-struck attention Hermione was paying to the most eligible bachelor in Britain (well, muggle Britain, at least).

“Yes, well that little problem will be resolvable soon enough, won’t it?” suggested the Queen.

“Erm, yes, Your Highness,” Harry replied modestly.

The Queen looked out the stable’s doorway. “It is nearly time for lunch. Would you go find your father, dear…tell him that we need his presence here in the stable house?”

“Sure, grandmum,” Prince Harry replied. He led his girlfriend out of the stable.

The Queen sighed. “So spirited…just like his mother. Has us wrapped around his little finger, he does.”

A few minutes later a Rolls Royce pulled up outside the stable and discharged the Prince of Wales. “Hullo, Sir Harry, so good to see you again,” he said. “And this must be Dame Hermione, Mr. Weasley and Ms. Lovegood.”

“Your hats are quite amazing,” the Prince continued, “and a most fashionable placement of your badge, Dame Hermione. I understand you had the opportunity to test drive them over the weekend.”

“We did indeed,” Hermione replied.

“Did you bring the necessary instruments, Charles?” the Queen asked.

“Yes, mum,” the Prince replied. He then opened his coat jacket and pulled out a piece of parchment and a large round object that was hidden under red silk.

“Sir Harry,” the Queen said, “in the interest of time and secrecy we thought it best to take care of this here. However, we must insist that this be considered a field appointment, and that there will be a time to do this properly at Westminster.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.” Harry said, as he pulled Gryffindor’s sword from its hidden scabbard and placed it in the Queen’s gloved hand. He then took a knee in front of her.

“Oh, Sir Harry that really wasn’t necessary,” the Queen said, “now you’ve gone and got some mud on your trouser leg. Remind us to have that cleaned up at the Castle…can’t have the Royal Wizard looking off when he’s presented to the Commonwealth, can we?”

Harry smiled. “No, Your Majesty, certainly not.”

The Queen nodded. “Dame Hermione, I believe that there was need of an official witness?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Hermione replied. She slipped behind a stall door and disappeared with a small “pop.” Fifteen seconds later, she returned in a bright display of light accompanied by the Head Auror.

“Your Majesty,” Hermione said, “may I present to you Gawain Robards, Head of Magical Law Enforcement’s Auror Department, and a member of the Minister of Magic’s cabinet.”

“It is our understanding that you are aware of these proceedings and have the authority to act as official witness for the wizarding world?”

The Head Auror bowed stiffly. “I do indeed.”

The Queen then began to read from the parchment, with the Prince and Head Auror by her sides, and Hermione, Ron and Luna standing behind Harry.

“Sir Harry Potter, do you swear fealty to the Crown and promise to use all of your powers, be they physical, mental or magical, to defend it and its citizenry, both muggle and wizard, against all enemies?”

“I do.”

“Then let it be known that under terms agreed upon in the Treaty of Carlisle that I, Elizabeth, Monarch of the British Isles, do hereby claim the right to appoint a Royal Wizard, and do bestow that title upon Sir Harry Potter, along with all associated rights and responsibilities.”

She nodded towards the Prince, who unwrapped the silk-covered object, revealing a heavy gold-chained necklace that he hung on Harry’s bowed head. Hanging at the end of this chain was a fist-sized pearl, guarded on each side of its mount by golden upright lions. When the Queen placed the tip of Harry’s sword against the pearl it lit up with an amber glow that filled the entire stable with warm light. As she drew the sword tip away, arcs of fairy lightning briefly held the connection between sword and emblem.

The Queen seemed nonplussed as she continued. “At this time we also proclaim restoration of the honor and position of the House of Gryffindor within our Royal Court, and do confer upon he who leads that house by birthright the honor and title of Lord.”

The Queen then touched Harry’s shoulders three times with the sword’s blade.

“Rise, Lord Gryffindor.”

Harry looked rather embarrassed by all of the pomp as he stood and sheathed his sword. That didn’t keep him from smiling widely as he accepted the handshakes, hugs and backslaps from those few witnesses to the event. He was rather pleasantly surprised by the vigor of the Head Auror’s handshake.

“Is everything set on your end?” Harry asked quietly.

“It is indeed, Lord Gryffindor,” the Auror replied with a smile.

“Please, you don’t need to use that title.”

“So how should I address you, my Clan Chief?” Robards asked with a wink.

Harry shook his head with resignation. “Harry…just Harry is fine.”

Chapter 27: The Royal Ascot

A/N: Oops, poor planning on my part (or is it that I just like having the Queen interacting with the kids so much?). The two-part set piece is now three chapters long, and the battle is yet to come. But since this is the third update in five days I'm not going to feel too guilty. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter…I look forward to your thoughts on this one as well.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

+++

Tuesday, June 19, 11:45am

Windsor Castle

Harry Potter made the short walk from stable house to Castle flanked by Queen and Consort, while the Prince and Ron lagged behind to allow Luna a few more minutes with the horses.

“We will honor your request not to be addressed as Lord Gryffindor,” the Queen said, “unless, of course, it is necessary…we are curious, though, about the reason behind the reticence.”

“Well, Your Majesty, I can't pretend that I'm just a normal bloke, as much as I want to be,” Harry replied. “Fate marked me different at an early age…and it's not that that I'm not honored by your recognition, because I am. I'll even admit that I've gotten used to having Brian and Wally call me Sir Harry, and it does allow me to address a certain someone as `Dame.'”

Harry earned a poke in the ribs for that comment.

“But I'm no use without my friends, and I'm not going to succeed without them, and it's hard for me to accept a title that makes it sound like I am better than them.”

The Queen thought for a moment. “As we have said, we are prepared to confer knightship upon Mr. Weasley…anyone who wears the badge of the Order of Arthur deserves that recognition…and if he had difficulty with the oath of fealty we could make the title ceremonial…would that be of some help?”

“Thank you, your Highness,” Harry replied, “We'll ask him, though I have to say that he's accepted our titles with good humor.” He then stole a glance at Hermione. “But I guess I was thinking about being addressed as Lord while Hermione is still a Dame.”

The Queen smiled. “Well, Sir Harry, I'm afraid that the solution to that problem is out of my hands.”

Harry gave the Queen a confused look, while Hermione inspected the cobblestone path with a hint of smile and blush in her cheek.

“Why is that, Your Majesty?”

“Because, Harry,” Hermione said softly, “You are the only one that can give me the title of Lady Gryffindor.”

“And how would I do that?” he asked.

Hermione's blush grew a bit deeper. “By having another chat with my father.”

“Oh,” Harry said, without really understanding what she meant.

“Ohhhhhhh” he added (a few moments later), when he finally did.

+++

When the three reached one of the rear entrances to the Castle grounds they turned back to see that Ron, Luna and the Prince had just starting down the path. Suggesting that they wait for them, the Queen led Hermione and Harry to a bench that provided a stunning view of the immediate Castle grounds, and the Windsor Great Park beyond.

“First visit to Windsor, Sir Harry?” the Queen asked. Harry nodded as he looked around at the wide expanses of green land, dotted with copses of ancient hardwoods and manicured gardens. “I think that it's lovely, Your Majesty.”

“We're not surprised,” the Queen replied with a smile. “After all, it has changed little over the years, and some of those trees are old enough to have been planted by Godric's gardeners.”

Harry chuckled softly, having reached the point where these revelations could be taken in stride. He nodded his head towards the building behind them. “So I imagine that means this was Gryffindor's castle?”

“No, Sir Harry,” the Queen replied, “Windsor Castle was built by William the Conqueror…after he seized the land from Godric and knocked down the keep that was already standing there.”

“Please excuse me, Your Majesty,” Hermione interjected, “but we had been led to believe that Gryffindor's lands were up in the Midlands, where Harry was born.”

“They were indeed, Dame Hermione,” the Queen replied. “or perhaps more correctly, now that we once again enjoy Lord Gryffindor's presence, they are indeed. These five thousand or so acres of land, however, were presented to Godric when he became King's Wizard…and became part of the seized lands when he subsequently refused to serve the conquering Norman king.”

“I'm a bit afraid to ask,” Harry said, “but when you said that Gryffindor's lands are located in the Midlands…”

“You do realize, Sir Harry, that Godric's seized properties were only conditionally incorporated into the Royal land holdings?” the Queen asked. “William decreed that should Lord Gryffindor ever return to England and swear fealty to the Crown, that he'd regain his honorific, his lands…even his seat in the House of Lords…and now that Lord Gryffindor is once again the Royal Wizard…”

“House of Lords?” Harry asked weakly.

“Yes, Lord Gryffindor,” the Queen replied, “though we regret to inform you that as a result of recent government reforms that your hereditary seat is no longer available.”

Harry's face gained back a bit of the color that had been lost at the thought of having to sit as a Member of Parliament. “That's quite all right, Your Majesty,” he said.

The Queen nodded, having expected that reply. “There will have to be some accommodation reached regarding your land holdings, though.” She then waved her arm towards the Castle. “Over the years, a portion of your real estate portfolio has been developed to the point of making the return of title rather…impractical.”

“No need to do that, Your Majesty,” Harry quickly replied.

The Queen smiled and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. “No, Sir Harry,” she said, “we will be quite insistent on this point. Which is why we are pleased that you will be joining us in Balmoral…there is some land near there that you might consider suitable as exchange.” The Queen allowed Harry and Hermione to silently ponder that statement as the Prince, Ron and Luna finally joined them.

The small party entered the Castle's State Apartments where members of the Royal staff were waiting to lead them into a large room with luncheon seating for a hundred. Harry quickly scanned the tables and determined that they were the youngest there, by far; even the wait staff looked like they had at least thirty years of experience under their belts. The only people close to their age were Prince Harry and Lady Penelope, who were seated at the end of the head table with her parents. Perhaps realizing their potential discomfort, the young prince excused himself with a few words to his girlfriend and strode over towards them.

“Grandmum, perhaps you'll allow me to make introductions about the room?” he asked. To Harry's great concern the young prince took Hermione's hand and proceeded to introduce the four teens to the other tables of guests.

Hermione had never had the back of her hand kissed so many times. It seemed that every elderly Duke, Lord, and Viscount considered it obligatory to take her hand upon introductions. Some eyebrows were raised as the young prince introduced Harry and Hermione as Sir Harry and Dame Hermione, given that their knighthoods were not only recent but secret, but nothing was said.

When introductions were completed Harry politely but resolutely took Hermione's hand from Prince Harry's and made his way to an empty table, where they were confronted with plates of bright red whole lobster. While Hermione was no stranger to seafood, and Harry had boiled a few lobsters for his Aunt and Uncle over the years, Ron and Luna needed to be told that they hadn't just been presented with play toys.

“Well what are they suppose to do, then?” Ron asked, while putting back onto his plate the lobster that had just finished boxing with Luna's.

Hermione gave a small sigh of exasperation as she picked up a small fork, pulled some flesh out from the split tail of her crustacean, and dipped it into drawn butter. “They're supposed to sit there while we eat them.”

1:00pm, Windsor Castle

“That's a lovely motorcar,” the Queen said, looking fondly over at Hermione's Bentley. They had finished lunch and gathered at the front entrance of the Castle, where a small fleet of black limousines was waiting to ferry them to Ascot. The Queen, however, was looking past these motorcars to the Little Wiz Bentleys parked on one side. The Queen turned towards Hermione and asked, “It's an S3, isn't it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Much more dashing than the stuffy motorcars decorum dictates we ride in,” the Queen said. “Would you mind terribly if we used it to get down to the course?”

“Certainly not, Your Majesty,” Hermione said, with a small amount of fluster.

The Queen directed her staff to have Hermione's vehicle added to the queue of motorcars, and, once Wally had it in place, shooed Harry and Hermione into the back seat with her. Ron gave Harry a questioning look (to which Harry replied with shrugged shoulders), then joined Luna and Steve in a car farther down the queue.

Once the motorcade started along its way, the Queen stated, “Sir Harry, Dame Hermione, we have just a few minutes's drive, far too little time to spend worrying about proper titles and royal `we's.' In present company, a simple ma'am will do, understood?”

“Yes Your…erm, yes ma'am,” Harry replied.

“I just wanted to let you know that Wally has provided me a thorough overview of your rat catching efforts over the weekend, and subsequent plans for the day…a most ingenious scheme, by the way…”

“Thank you, ma'am,” Hermione replied. “Given the probable risks, though, are you certain that you should be there today?”

“Of course I am,” the Queen replied. “I've attended every opening day at Ascot since 1945, and have no intention of stopping now.”

“But we're not certain that we'll be able to protect you if they throw everything that they've got at us,” Harry worried.

“Comes with the job, my boy…it's expected that I be there, and it's my duty to be there. It won't be the first time that there have been terrorist threats made against us…you are aware of the Troubles we've had over the years, aren't you?”

“Yes ma'am,” Harry replied, thinking not only of the recent subway bombings but of attacks by militant separatists.

“We can not let the terrorists change the way we go about our business…can't allow them to keep us from living and loving, or they will have already won.”

Harry looked passed the Queen, caught Hermione's eyes and shared with her a small smile, in recognition of the fact that they were living in agreement with the Queen's words.

1:25pm, Ascot Racecourse, Windsor Great Park

The Royal motorcade pulled up just outside of the Ascot grounds, where five horse-drawn open carriages were waiting to transfer the Queen and Royal Family to the Royal Box. The motorcars of those not fortunate to enter Ascot in such style went on to the grandstand, leaving the four teens, the Queen, and fifteen members of the Royal Family behind.

“Hermione, are you certain that this kind of entrance is necessary?” Harry asked, with no small amount of resignation.

“Harry, we've been through this before,” she replied. “It's essential that everyone in the stands and in front of their tellies gets a good look at the Royal Wizard before anything else happens, and now that you are the Royal Wizard you need to be close enough to protect her.” She then followed the Queen and gave her hand to a groomsman who helped her step up into the first landau. The Prince of Wales smiled as he held an arm out for Harry to follow behind.

“I've learned over the years that on occasions such as these the correct response is, `Yes, dear,'” he said.

Harry muttered something to himself and took a seat next to Hermione on the rear-facing bench, as the Prince took his place next to the Queen. From his vantage point he could see Ron and Luna as they joined Prince Harry and his great-grandmother, the Queen Mum, in the next carriage. When all of the carriages were full, members of the Queen's guard galloped up the line wearing smart red dress uniforms and holding drawn sabers. Harry was wondering just how useful these swords would be in a fight until he caught a glimpse of automatic weaponry partially hidden within the tacking.

The carriages began their short trip at a saunter. “If it weren't for the fact that everyone expects me to face forward I'd have offered you my spot,” the Queen said to Harry. “Better view of potential threats.”

“No worries, Your Majesty,” Harry responded. “If our intelligence information is correct, Hermione and I will feel the danger before anyone else sees it.”

The carriages traveled a fairly short distance between two stables before reaching their entry point out onto the grass-covered track. Upon sight of the lead carriage thousands of spectators crowded into both the Royal Enclosure and the less fashionable seating stood and cheered. Harry spotted many hats within the crowd that were just as elaborate as Hermione's.

The Queen smiled and waved to the crowd as their entrance (and the occupants of each successive carriage) was announced on the racecourse's public address system. Harry winced as he was presented to the crowd as “The Queen's Wizard, Gryffindor - Lord of the Illusion!” The crowd took pause as well, having never heard his name and title before, but acting on the assumption that anyone important enough to bump young Prince Harry and the Queen Mum down the line and into the second carriage had to rank favor, gave him polite applause.

Harry was grateful to see the attention of the crowd and the cameras quickly shift from him to Luna, who was laughing and waving wildly to the crowd from the next carriage. The roar of the crowd was matched by the roar of her lion hat, which had suddenly decided to spring to life.

“Batteries,” Luna explained brightly after every roar of her hat and every flash of a camera.

The single lap around the course gave Harry the opportunity to examine the infield and note that the props that they had designed for this event were all in place. Five large wooden boxes, each six feet square, were spaced evenly in a single line that bisected the oval infield. Each was propped up on a set of legs, some twenty-feet high, which made peering into each box next to impossible, even from the highest part of the stands. Banners were draped down the sides of each box, with decorative designs that matched similar banners placed elsewhere within the park.

Harry checked that a small earpiece was firmly in place and reached into a coat pocket, pushing the button on a small transceiver which activated his wireless communications device. He had meant to do a radio check, only to discover that it would have interrupted a rather colorful running commentary being transmitted over the airwaves.

“Merlin's Beard, the boy fancies himself Lord of the Illusion?…all dressed up, he must think that these muggle electronics interfere with my eye enough that I can't see through these wooden walls…Just wait until I get down out of this box and I'll show him a magic trick or two…”

“Pipe down, Mad-Eye,” said another, in a matronly Scottish brogue, “I didn't hear you come up with any better ideas at the meeting.”

“Hear me?….Hear me?” Mad-eye retorted, “Surprised we can hear anything with these muggle contraptions stuck up into our ears….”

An over the shoulder smirk from Ron and a chuckle coming from Hermione led Harry to believe that they had their communicators working as well.

“Hey Mad-Eye, when this is all over I'll be happy to replace that earpiece with a wet sloppy kiss,” Harry said quietly into his hidden microphone.

“Oh, nice that you could join us, Lord of the Illusion,” Mad-eye responded. “Save your kisses for the lovely lass next to you.”

Ron cut into the conversation, “Excuse me, but can we do the radio check? Just like we practiced last night, okay Professors?”

“Box 1, Moody, check.”

“Box 2, McGonagall, check.”

“Box 3, Vector, check.”

“Box 4, Flitwick, check.”

“Box 5, Sprout, check.”

“Lupin, check.”

“Tonks, check.”

“Why aren't you two holed up in boxes?” asked Mad-Eye.

“Helping the kids guard the point of attack, remember?”

“Well if anyone cared a lick about me they'd have remembered that I'd spent enough time being boxed up at Hogwarts…”

The four teens, Wally and Steve ignored Mad-Eye's complaints as they added their radio checks and Ron, who was taking his role as Clan Champion quite seriously, proceeded to remind everyone that their muggle transmitters would die the first time they used magic, and that nobody should do any magic until Harry did. The four teens were pleasantly surprised by how well these directions were taken; it was truly an upside down world in which Ron was doling out commands to his Hogwarts professors.

Once the carriages reached the Royal box the Queen's guard escorted all of the ladies to their seats, with the men following close behind. Harry gave a slight nod to Tonks and Lupin, who were positioned a few rows back within the crowd.

The first race was announced after a rousing chorus of “God Save Our Queen,” and Harry was finally starting to believe things had settled down a bit when the Prince turned and announced that the Prime Minister would soon join them. Not a minute later the head of the muggle British government entered the box, accompanied by a rather large and rather cross-looking appointments secretary.

The Prince introduced the four to the P.M, taking care to identify Harry as “the Queen's Wizard, Gryffindor.” The Prime Minister in turn introduced them to Kinglsey Shacklebolt.

“It's a very unexpected pleasure to see you again,” Kingsley said to Harry and Hermione.

“Oh, you know each other then?” the P.M. asked.

“Our paths have crossed now and then,” Hermione said, “though Mr. Shacklebolt has never been so handsomely dressed on those occasions.”

“Nor has your attire come so close to matching your beauty, Dame Hermione,” the Auror replied. He turned towards Harry. “Staying out of trouble this summer, Gryffindor?”

Harry laughed. “Oh, you know me Kingsley, trouble has a way of finding me even when I'm not looking.”

The Auror nodded, then took a step back as the others in the box took note of their conversation. “I do hope you have a pleasant afternoon,” he said, with a look on his face that suggested he was expecting otherwise, “and I can't wait to see what sort of show you are planning, Gryffindor.”

“And I'm looking forward to your support, during the show, Mr. Kingsley,” Harry replied.

“I will try, though we all do have our priorities, don't we?” Kingsley asked. He nodded towards the Prime Minister, who'd just completed a perfunctory conversation with the queen. The P.M. once again said how glad he was to have met Harry and left the box.

After the excitement of the royal procession and meeting with the P.M. the races themselves seemed rather anticlimactic. When the third of seven races was complete a late luncheon break was announced, to Ron's great pleasure. Wally led them out of the Royal box and into the sod-covered area where umbrella-wielding spectators from the Royal Enclosure were queuing before tables piled high with smoked salmon and strawberries in cream. They had just managed to fill their plates with food and grab flutes of champagne when a chill filled the air, and the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood straight out.

The four teens quietly put their plates down on a table, then quickly made their way towards the front of the stands, as murmurs of ill-ease and discomfort spread amongst the muggle crowd.

“Feels like company has arrived,” Harry said over the transmitter.

“You think so?” Mad-Eye replied sarcastically, as his magical eye whirled around in its socket. “They're gathering out above those woods to the North.

The four teens, whose wands had been out and down at their sides from the first indication, looked out at the swirling cloud of evil that was coming their way.

“Looks like Wormtail got this part right, at least,” Harry said. He nodded to Hermione, who discretely placed her wand tip to a newly minted medallion and sent out the alarm. At the same time Ron activated his badge and sent word to Sir Evan and Little Wizarding.

“Okay, Wally, everyone…looks like it's showtime.”

Ron and Luna nodded to Harry and Hermione as they left to take their positions with Wally up in the grandstand's control center. Harry walked Hermione back to the Royal Box, where Tonks and Lupin had their wands drawn out and eyes drawn to the gathering storm.

Harry squeezed Hermione's hand. “You take care of yourself first, promise?”

“We should be fine Harry…it's Shacklebolt that they're expecting a response from, remember?”

“Yeah, well, best laid plans of mice and men…” Harry replied nervously, as he glanced over towards the Auror, who nodded in acknowledgement.

Hermione turned to face Harry, and to his chagrin used her cleavage to hold her wand while her hands straightened out his tie.

“Wish I was that wand right now.”

“Hush, Harry,” Hermione sweetly admonished, “and take care to remember you still have a live microphone.”

“Give her a kiss and get on with it,” they heard Moody growl into his microphone.

“Yes, dear,” Harry replied cheekily, as he gave Hermione a quick kiss.

“Knock `em dead, Harry,” Hermione said.

“I certainly intend to try,” he replied, as he ducked under the track railing and strode toward his place on the infield's center stage.

-->

Chapter 28: In Defense of the Realms

A/N: In order to keep my promise, this chapter weighs in at twice the normal size. Hope that you enjoy it (and that it doesn't play out as too implausible). Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, including a special thanks to the many first-timers.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Tuesday, June 19, 2:45pm

Little Wizarding, Surrey

The rotten-egg smell of mercaptan lingered in the air as the ersatz Little Wiz Defense Force mustered in front of Number Four. Brian Willox, Fred Weasley and Sir Evan reviewed the fourteen wizards, witches and muggles in front of them.

They'd been paired off into “Phoenix Teams,” each consisting of a wizard or witch matched with a muggle member of MI 5 ¾. Brian and Fred were “Phoenix One,” while Roger Granger was paired with George, Emily with Dean Thomas, and five muggle marksmen paired with the remaining Gryffindors. Everyone wore boots, black pants, and jumpers that bore the newly fashioned crest of Clan Potter: the shield of St. George behind a phoenix with outstretched wings, flanked by two upright Gryffindor lions. The wizards carried wands and brooms; the muggles, automatic weapons. All wore belts bearing pockets filled with goodies from Fred and George's shop and MI-5 ¾'s research laboratories.

“Alright,” Brian said, “we've got warm medallions and verbal confirmation from Ascot that they've got nasties about. If our intelligence is right, we'll have company here soon enough. You all know the plan…just remember that no house, no street…nothing is more important than everyone getting home safe tonight.”

“Excepting the bad guys, of course,” Fred added, which earned a laugh from the ranks.

“Weapons checks, then move out,” Brian commanded, dismissing his troops. While the witches and wizards retightened their wand holsters and fine-tuned their brooms, Fred renewed the area silencing charm that had been placed around a wall of sand bags propped up against a side fence. The MI 5 ¾ agents proceeded to silently test fire their Sterling automatic rifles and sub-machine guns, until each was convinced that their weapons would work within a magical field of at least modest strength. The agents then holstered their weapons and mounted brooms behind their respective magical partners (each much more at ease with the idea of flying on broomsticks than when they'd begun practicing two nights before). The teams then flew out to their assigned posts along streets evacuated some two hours earlier by a false threat of a broken gas main.

While Fred cleaned up the shooting range, Brian shared a few words with Sir Evan.

“Are you certain that you don't want some on-the-ground backup, Sir Evan?”

“Heavens, no, Brian,” replied the elderly knight, who was wearing a World War II RAF uniform that still fit. He touched the sunburst badge pinned to his olive drab jumper. “I've got all the backup I need right here…and if that's not enough…” He reached to the side of his wheelchair and pulled his old service revolver out of its holster.

“Even broke out the silver bullets from my old kit,” he said with a smile. “Never know if one of them's going to be a werewolf.”

Brian laughed as he handed Sir Evan a bullhorn. “Good luck, then, and good hunting, Sir Evan,” he said. He then turned and hopped onto Fred's broom. And with a wave, the last of the eight Phoenix Teams flew off to their appointed post.

2:50pm, Ascot Racecourse, Great Windsor Park

“Ladies and Gentleman, as part of the Grand Reopening festivities, the Royal Ascot is pleased to present the magical debut of the Queen's Wizard, Gryffindor, in `Lord of the Illusion.'”

Harry nervously waved to the crowd from the infield stage as Wally and Ron tried to reassure him through his earpiece.

“Blimey, Harry,” Ron said, “you've got Dementors gathering behind you and you're nervous about facing a crowd of muggles?”

“Dementors, I've faced before,” Harry quipped back.

“Well, you needn't worry about the television cameras, at least,” Wally added, “They've all gone to news updates during the break.”

“Right, so I've only got a few thousand to convince that I'm not using real magic, then. Brilliant.”

“Quit whining and get on with it,” chirped in Mad-Eye.

Responding to that cue, Harry tipped his hat to the crowd as the music that Wally had loaded into the Racecourse's sound system began to play. Wally then started in on their script.

“Don't let his youth mislead you folks,” Wally announced, “Gryffindor was born with magic in his blood, and has made magic the center of his life ever since he received his first wand at age eleven.”

Harry withdrew his wand from an inside coat pocket and sent a shower of red sparks out its end.

“Status, report, Ron,” Harry said into his microphone. Upon realizing that his wand sparks had fried his transmitter, he activated his Order of Arthur badge and restated his request.

“The black cloud's right behind you,” Ron replied from this grandstand vantage point. “It's stopped growing, but I can't make out individuals yet…look like they're holding back.”

“Great,” Harry replied, “They're going to make me go through my entire bag of tricks.”

“It took no time for Gryffindor to master the spellwork of ordinary magicians,” Wally continued to read.

Down on the stage, Harry took a white feather out of his pocket, pointed his wand at it, and caused it to float six inches up into the air. There was the smallest smattering of applause from the crowd. Harry then moved on, casting Orchideous to produce bouquets of flowers from the end of his wand. He then set his top hat upside down on a table, reached into it, and pulled out a wine glass. Putting his hat back onto his head, he cast a fountain of wine spell to fill this glass with merlot, which he then drank.

“Careful there Gryffindor,” Wally announced, “We might have to check your ID if you want to drink your magic.”

There was some nervous laughter from the crowd as Harry put his hands on his hip in an exaggerated pout.

“Merlin, I'm bombing,” Harry muttered into his badge.

“You're doing fine, Harry,” Hermione said in reassurance, as she shared some dark chocolate with the Queen. “It's the Dementors - they're making everyone ill and ill at ease…keep going.”

Harry plowed on, reaching into his hat and pulling out twenty more wine glasses, which he placed side-by-side on the square table. When he ran out of room he cast an enlargement spell that lengthened the table, and recast the wine-making spell which sent spurts of fluid into the glasses. Harry then looked up towards the announcer and stuck out his tongue.

Despite its discomfort, the muggle crowd applauded a trick that they'd never seen before.

“Status, Ron?”

“Keep going, Harry,” Ron replied, “I'll let you know when to duck.”

“Moving right along,” Wally continued, “Gryffindor then began working more complex magic, to the point where he's capable of conjuring a menagerie of magical beasts.”

On that cue, the music grew much louder, and fog machines began billowing smoke along the track. Harry doffed his hat and touched the brim with his wand, firing off Weasley fireworks from inside. At first, brightly-colored muggle-style salvos were shot off, but that quickly changed as one of their more elaborate firework creations took form….a large silvery pegasus that launched out of his hat and began to fly around the track. The audience ooohed and aaahed.

Harry then turned and pointed his wand towards each of the professor-filled boxes. Fog began billowing out of each box, and on Ron's cue, each of the Hogwarts professors lit off more of Fred and George's magic. The pegasus was soon joined by firework versions of a tiger, unicorn, gazelle, elephant and flying pig, all in a romp around the smoke-filled infield.

The distraction provided by these fireworks allowed Harry to turn towards the Dementor cloud. As if recognizing an old friend, a few individual Dementors immediately took form and began flying straight towards him.

“Dementors on the attack!” Ron bellowed into his microphone.

Harry smiled to himself as he stretched out his arm and thought about how happy his life had been the past two weeks.

“Expecto Patronum!”

Ron cried out, “Patronuses away!”

The stag that sprung forth from Harry's wand was at least three times the size of any he'd produced before.

It leapt up and over the five boxes, as if to assist in Ron's appeal, then flew straight towards the leading Dementors with head down. The corporeal Patronus of each professor sprang from each of the boxes and followed hotly in pursuit. Ron and Luna joined Remus and Tonks on the Grandstand's rooftop, and four more Patronuses came down onto the field from above. One animal not joining in attack was an otter; Hermione stood alone guarding the Queen, and was too close to the muggle crowd to spell cast, unless it was an emergency.

Many muggles never had the chance to try to make sense of the display, their ill ease morphing into acute nausea once the Dementors dropped down fully within the grounds. Those lucky muggles with sunny dispositions and a slight resistance to the malaise thought they were seeing the best magic show of their lives, with the Patronuses blending in almost perfectly with the firework animals and Harry's presentation.

The first two Dementors took it on the chin (or whatever they had that passed for a chin); Harry's Patronus flat-out destroyed them, sending the black corpses down to the ground. The second wave was beaten back by the other Patronuses, with the silvery pack breaking off in pursuit of those Dementors who chose to scatter. The collective mass of evil that hadn't rushed down to attack Harry took note and fled.

Not in fear, but in satisfaction, knowing that after achieving their primary objective the Dark Lord would see them well-fed that night.

2:56pm, Ministry of Magic

Percy Weasley blew by the Head Auror's appointments secretary with all of the bluster and authority that he carried within his own mind. The Head Auror, whose medallion was still lukewarm in his pocket, was ready and waiting for the Special Assistant to the Minister of Magic.

“We've just been informed that somebody cast a Patronus spell in full view of thousands of muggles,” he exclaimed breathlessly.

“I know,” the Head Auror replied, “Whose department do you think it was that issued the alert?”

Percy huffed. “Obviously, this is a huge concern for the Minister…what are you doing about it?”

Head Auror Robards sat calmly and slowly counted to three before responding.

“Actually, there have been several different Patronus spells cast. We're fabricating portkeys right now that will send Patronus-qualified emergency response teams to the site.”

“Whatever for?” Percy demanded. “Any wizard brazen enough to defy International Laws on Magical Secrecy doesn't deserve the Ministry's aid.”

“Shouldn't we be more worried about the reason why a Patronus spell was cast?”

Percy looked at the Head Auror with unqualified contempt. “By order of the Ministry of Magic, you will immediately initiate `Operation Wipe-out'.”

The Head Auror shook his head. “And send everyone and their secretary into harm's way, just so long as they can obliviate a muggle?”

“You will follow the Minister's order, Head Auror Robards, or we will find someone else who will.”

The Auror bit the inside of his cheeks to stave off a smirk. “As you wish, Special Assistant to the Minister,” he replied. He fished a finger-sized crystal out from a hidden pocket inside his robes and set it into one of a series of keyed holes that were inset on the top of his desk. He then touched his wand tip to the crystal key and uttered an authorization incantation. Loud klaxons immediately began to shout out across every floor of the Ministry of Magic.

“You'll be joining us, then, Special Assistant to the Minister?” the Head Auror asked with a smile.

“Certainly…I can obliviate as well as anyone,” Percy spit back in reply. “And I'll be using the Minister's portkey, of course.” And with that the young wizard turned on his heel and stormed out of the office.

Once Percy turned the corner the Head Auror retrieved a silver mirror from his desk drawer and tapped it with his wand. He smiled grimly when the face of his closest friend and classmate appeared.

“And so it begins, David,” Robards told the Head of the Portkey Control Office. “Break out the special shoes.”

+++

Magical Secrets Emergency…Magical Secrets Emergency…This is not a drill !…All Obliviate-Qualified Ministry staff and visitors report to the Atrium!

Magical Secrets Emergency…Magical Secrets Emergency…This is not a drill!…All Obliviate-Qualified Ministry staff and visitors report to the Atrium!

Magical Secrets Emergency…Magical Secrets Emergency…This is not a drill!…All Obliviate-Qualified Ministry staff and visitors report to the Atrium!

On every floor and in every Department of the Ministry, wizards and witches dropped what they were doing and obeyed the klaxon's commands. Their movements were calm and well rehearsed. Some would say (in trusted company) that they were too well rehearsed, and indicative of the misguided priorities of a Ministry more worried about keeping their world secret from muggles than keeping their world safe from Lord Voldemort.

A few witches and wizards who'd be happy to tell just about anyone that the Ministry's priorities were off were presently ignoring the klaxon's commands and gathering in Arthur Weasley's office. Many were, like Arthur, Ministry employees; the others had all found reason (or excuse) to visit the Ministry of Magic that afternoon. When the office became quite crowded and the stream of visitors trickled out, Arthur stood on his desk, cast a Silencio spell on his door, and counted heads. Accounting for those deployed elsewhere, Arthur concluded that the trustworthy balance of the membership of the disbanded Order of the Phoenix was present. He tried to give a reassuring smile to his wife, who was looking very nervous, and addressed the group.

“Well,” he began, “it's good to see that I'm not the only one risking a hundred galleon fine by ignoring the alarm.” That got the smattering of chuckles that he'd been looking for. “Look, if a much lighter purse is all we have to worry about today then I'll be a happy wizard indeed…but as you know, those alarm bells wouldn't be ringing if the first attacks hadn't already occurred.”

“We should be out there protecting those kids,” Molly lamented. “Heaven knows what Ron's Patronus spell is capable of producing these days.”

“Molly, the kids have half of Hogwarts's staff out there helping them,” Arthur replied. “And we've got a job to do ourselves here at the Ministry.” He looked back at the rest of the group, “And to that end…good luck, and let's go.”

Arthur stepped down from his desk, while his son countered a Gringott's-quality locking charm that had been placed on an office closet. The uniforms, weapons and special equipment that had been stored within this cache were quickly and efficiently distributed.

+++

The Order members were not amongst the crowd of hundreds of witches and wizards that were crammed into the central atrium of the Ministry of Magic when the Head Auror appeared with the Portkey Control Office Head and three of his lieutenants. Each of these men carried a box of muggle trainers, which they began to distribute amongst the crowd.

Failing to spot a suitable vantage point from which everyone could see him (and the fine set of office robes he was now wearing), Percy Weasley used a hovering charm to lift himself up to the top of the fountain statue, where he found stable footing atop the goblin's head.

“Attention,” he called out, in a magically-aided voice, “Your attention please…I am Percy Weasley, Special Assistant to Minister Scrimgeour, I am Percy Weasley, Special Assistant to Minister Scrimgeour...”

The fact that a fair portion of the crowd was ignoring him led Percy to the false conclusion that his Sonorus spell wasn't working, so he zapped his throat again. “YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!” he boomed out, at a volume that cause the Minister of Magic below to duck and wince at the same time. Satisfied, Percy continued.

“We have learned that magical spells have been cast within the presence of thousands of muggles at a place called…(he looked down at a hand-written note) Ascot. Scouting parties from Magical Law Enforcement have identified a large area enclosed area near this site to which we can safely and surreptitiously travel, and the Portkey Control Office is presently distributing portkeys for that location's coordinates. Once the portkeys have been activated and we have arrived at our location the plan is simple…. the Auror Department will establish a perimeter, and everyone else is to spread out and obliviate anyone not carrying a wand. Do whatever you must to keep any muggle from leaving the area before their memory can be erased….up to and including the use of stunning and binding hexes. Now then, grab onto a portkey…you all should know your shoe buddies by now…should be room enough for everyone…right, then…listen for the count.”

Percy quickly dropped back down to the ground lest somebody shoulder him out from using the same portkey as Minister Scrimgeour.

Head Auror Robards levitated himself up a few feet off the ground, checking to see that everyone had gathered around a shoe (excepting, of course, those that he spotted partially hidden along the perimeter). With an almost imperceptible nod to the latter, he then dropped back down and gave a much more deliberate nod to his friend, whose wand was ready to activate the countdown on his mark. Robards then annoyed Percy by commanding the full attention of the crowd without magical aid.

“Here we go everyone,” he resolutely stated to the hushed and attentive crowd. “Portkey activation in five, four, three, two, one!”

Two things happened as the portkeys were activated:

1. Dozens of witches and wizards purposely removed their hands from the portkey just before they were spirited away from the Ministry; and,

2. These witches and wizards were immediately shrouded both in darkness and mire, as Peruvian Instant Darkness balls, Portable Swamp disks and bags of belching powder were thrown down upon them from the Atrium's perimeter.

+++

The witches and wizards who did hold onto their shoes were transported to a large empty warehouse on the outskirts of Norwich, some two hundred and fifty kilometers northeast of Ascot Racecourse. Each portkey dropped its riders onto a square within a pitch-sized checkerboard pattern that someone had thoughtfully painted onto the concrete floor.

The Head Auror immediately amplified his voice. “Hold your positions, everyone…this is Head Auror Robards, nobody move from your landing points.”

A buzz of confusion traveled across the room as the Head Auror, his friend and three lieutenants strode over to a table, where five brooms and a mobile phone were waiting for them. Robards grabbed the mobile and one of the brooms, then zoomed up above the crowd with the others. As the other four were quickly making head counts, the Head Auror addressed the crowd.

“I need everyone's full and complete attention,” he loudly commanded. “At this very moment the Ministry of Magic is under attack. I repeat, the Ministry is under attack by Death Eaters, aided from within by their undercover operatives.”

After a moment of stunned silence, a voice cried out.

“Well, what are we doing here, then?”

“He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named sent Dementors to attack and harass muggles gathered at Ascot,” Robards quickly explained, “knowing full well that there'd be at least one wizard there who would respond by casting a Patronus spell. That, then, would cause the Ministry to overreact by activating Operation Wipe-Out, causing those who should be guarding the Ministry to leave it in the hands of those who just took their hands off of the same portkeys that sent the rest of us here.”

As the crowd tried to process that backstory, and look around to see if anyone they knew had gone missing, the same person who had yelled out the previous question asked a logical follow-up.

“Well, what are we doing here, then?”

“We, sir, are quickly taking stock of how deeply our ranks have been compromised, and preparing ourselves for a fight. Having been tipped off on the Death Eater's scheme, I made arrangements for a small but capable force to stay behind and deal with the traitors…specially authorized portkeys will be activated in ninety seconds to send anyone who cares to join that fight back to the Ministry.”

As the Head Auror finished issuing instructions, one his lieutenants flew over to him and passed along a piece of parchment with a hand-written head count. He blanched at the numbers…three-hundred seventy present, sixty-seven missing. They'd also compiled a list of Ministry staff who should have answered the klaxon's call but didn't; Robards counted nine on this list (including four from his own department) that he didn't recognize as members of the Order.

He took a second look, hoping to see one specific name. Not finding it, he asked, “Umbridge?”

His lieutenant pointed towards a corner of the room, where the toadish (but apparently loyal) witch was trying to stay as far away from the return trip portkeys as possible.

“Pity,” he thought to himself, as he circled down to where his lieutenants were distributing supplies from cached boxes. Minister Scrimgeour and an animated Special Assistant to the Minister were waiting for him.

“Robards, on whose authority did you develop and authorize this plan?” Percy demanded.

“My own,” the Head Auror replied.

“Didn't see fit to trust the Minister?” Percy bellowed with indignation.

“No offense, Special Assistant to the Minister,” the Head Auror replied, “but we had to act fast on our information, and given how sensitive it was, there were obvious concerns over how just how far it should be spread.”

“And you thought the Minister of Magic couldn't be trusted?”

“Obviously not,” Robards replied, “but I apparently had good reason to worry about his staff.” He handed the parchment to Scrimgeour, who quickly confirmed his own head count; almost a third of his people had failed to travel with him. He silently passed the list over to Percy.

“What will we find upon our return to the Atrium?” Scrimgeour asked the Head Auror.

“With luck, something similar to what Umbridge and her Aurors encountered during their visit to Surrey two weeks past,” Robards replied.

“And what else don't I know about this attack?”

Before the Head Auror could reply, the mobile phone that he'd pocketed upon his arrival rang. Looking down at the Caller ID, he smiled.

“Excuse me, Minister,” he said, “But this is an important call.”

“Robards here…situation?….good….sixty-seven, at least…yes, I know…no, the toad came with us…no, should be fine, need you in reserve in case he improvises…what?…oh, well that makes sense…thanks, Clan Chief, you too…right.”

Percy and Scrimgeour looked at the Head Auror with shock and confusion as he closed the flip-top on his mobile and returned it to a pocket.

“That was Potter, if you didn't guess,” Robards said. “He has Ascot secure, and his cover for their magic use is holding. They're working with the muggle authorities to obliviate a handful of folks that still need it…he's lending us Mad-Eye Moody and Professor Flitwick…says that they aren't blending in as well as the others.” His eyes sparkled with bemusement. “Imagine that…well, we've got twenty seconds before return…any questions?”

The Special Assistant to the Minister of Magic was about to say something before seeing his boss shake his head with resignation and silently turn towards one of the waiting portkeys. Biting his tongue (hard), Percy turned his tail and followed the Minister of Magic.

3:05pm, Little Wizarding, Surrey

“Break your wands in half and throw the pieces on the ground!”

The group of thirty Death Eaters broke out into raucous laughter. It was good to see that they would have at least one muggle to play with.

After mass apparating into the Park just outside of Little Wiz's protective wards, the Death Eater party had strolled down to Arabella Figg's house. They were disappointed to find nobody home within the empty house, as her possessions (and the contents of several other houses in the neighborhood) had been shrunken down and transported out of harm's way the night previous. Frustrated, the Death Eaters followed through on orders to destroy the only floo connection within the area, and torched the house with a round of incendiary spells.

They had then made their way towards Number Four, with strict orders to rape, pillage and destroy only after they'd taken Harry Potter prisoner. The Death Eaters therefore took pause when they came upon the muggle who dared address them from a wheelchair parked in the middle of the street.

The masked leader cast a Sonorous spell on himself and fired back, “Aren't you muggles taught to say please?”

Sir Evan raised his bullhorn back to his face. “Doesn't apply to Lord Moldyshorts and Death Idiots like yourselves,” he replied. “This is your last warning…snap your wands, remove your masks, and put your hands on top of your head.”

Ever mindful of what happens to those who go against the Dark Lord's orders, the lead Death Eater nevertheless decided that anyone brazen enough to make fun of their leader's name had to be dealt with immediately. He snarled and raised his wand towards Sir Evan's head.

“Avada Kedavra!”

But given that the killing curse requires a two word incantation, and that transport via Sir Evan's Order of Arthur badge required only one (which was uttered just as soon as he saw the wand pointed towards him), the lethal green beam found as its mark the back of an empty wheelchair.

“Where'd he go?” asked one Death Eater. “Sure you didn't Reducto him?” asked another. “Sure he was a muggle?” asked a third.

“Doesn't matter,” replied the frustrated leader, as he pointed his wand up towards the sky. “Finally got enough of a reason to conjur the Dark Mark.” The group then continued the short walk towards the Dursley's.

+++

Having witnessed the exchange from a rooftop perch a block away, Brian Willox decided it was time to break radio silence.

“Sir Harry, have you got Sir Evan?” Brian asked.

“I've got him,” replied Ron, speaking on his mobile from an empty box near the top of the Royal Enclosure. “He nearly plopped down right onto my lap.”

“How are things at Ascot?” Brian asked.

Having retrieved a fresh earpiece and microphone Harry broke into the conversation. “We just finished out here. All safe and accounted for, unless you're counting Dementors…what's your situation now, Brian?”

“We've got thirty-three, I repeat thirty-three Death Eaters about to turn the corner onto Privet Drive. They've set fire to Mrs. Figg's house, ignored our commands, tried the killing curse on Sir Evan, and just cast the Dark Mark,” he replied, as he peered into his binoculars. “It's floating up over the corner of Privet Lane and Persimmon Path ...Phoenix Four, looks like you've got the safest approach to fuel that fire.”

“Copy that, Phoenix One,” came the reply, “we see it, and we're on it.”

“Good,” replied Brian. “Sir Harry, when might we expect the cavalry?”

“From what we've heard,” Harry replied, “there won't be any help from the Ministry any time soon...they've got a fight on their hands…but we'll be there, just as soon as we can.”

“Hold your position, Sir Harry…you do still have the Queen there don't you?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“But there's a backup plan in place that doesn't require you presence here, Sir Harry. Stay put and let us do our part.”

“He's right Harry,” Ron interjected. “Still don't know if they were planning a second wave here at the racecourse.”

It took nearly all of Harry's powers to overcome his “saving people thing” and listen to logic.

“Fine,” he finally said. “Just keep yourself and my future in-laws safe, would you Brian?”

Several different voices talked over each other on the radio, each trying to ask, “What was that, Harry?”

But Emily Granger, as the muggle member of Phoenix Team Four, was too busy to hear Harry's reply. She was presently undoing the covers on two leather pouches strapped to her belt while her wizard partner, Dean Thomas, got his broom up to a hover. After checking that the safety was turned off on her holstered Sterling, she gingerly swung a leg over the broom behind Dean and wrapped both arms securely around his waist. They then swooped down off of their rooftop perch and started to slowly and carefully make their way towards Mrs. Figg's.

Mrs. Granger and Dean Thomas had been assigned to monitor/guard the northeast street access to the warded zone. Like the other seven wizard-muggle pairs, they hadn't been tasked with trying to keep the Death Eaters from getting inside the warded zone. Instead, their mission was to keep the Death Eaters within the wards, blocking their escape until help arrived. Their secondary mission was to clamp down on any evidence of magic use observable from beyond the evacuation zone.

Dean carefully inched the broom forward between houses, dropping down into successive backyards after clearing each fence. When they reached Mrs. Figg's backyard, they activated the timers on three smoke bombs that Mrs. Granger had been carrying and quietly tossed them towards the rear of the house.

By the time each exploded with a small “pop” Phoenix Four was safely perched on a new rooftop with a good view of the fire. Dean then cast a blowing breeze charm towards the plumes, which pushed the columns of thick black smoke towards (and around) the Dark Mark, effectively screening it from distant muggle eyes. Their secondary mission completed, they flew back to their original position.

“Phoenix Four returned to roost,” Mrs. Granger called out.

“Roger that,” said Brian, as he reached into a sleeve pocket and withdrew an eight-inch long laser device. “Phoenix teams, bug out…I repeat, all phoenix teams, bug out….phoenix fire's on the way.”

“Roger that,” came the reply, as seven pairs of wizards and muggles packed their brooms for flight.

Brian looked over at Fred (his “Phoenix One” wizard buddy), who already had one hand on his broom.

“Coming?” Fred asked.

Brian shook his head as he turned the laser pointer on. “With all the smoke…now shoo…you'll be in charge at the rendezvous point.”

Fred nodded and patted Brian's shoulder. “Keep your head low,” he said, before jumping onto his broom. He then swooped down to the South, away from the Death Eaters and over the backyards of Little Wiz towards the prearranged meeting point.

Meanwhile, Brian looked down the street towards the pack of Death Eaters that was too arrogant (or too stupid) to spread out. He aimed his laser beam at a pointy hat within the crowd and voiced an authorization code into his transmitter.

One-hundred and thirty kilometers away, within an unmarked warehouse on a nearly abandoned airbase, an RAF pilot on loan to MI-5 ¾ toggled cross-hairs over a bright red spot and pushed a button on his computer joystick. He watched his LCD display with satisfaction as a five-hundred pound laser-guided bomb cleared the struts of a remote-controlled drone aircraft that had been circling Little Whinging and started it's fifty-thousand foot descent.

Following a long-standing tradition of aircraft bombers and artillery men, the bomb casing exterior had short, hand-written messages for the intended targets. One side said “Don't Mess with Muggles,” while the other was a tad blunter:

“Hocus Poke This Up Your Arse!”

“Target acquired, feather's away,” the remote pilot called out. “Smoke's pretty think, Phoenix One…we'll need constant sparkle.”

“Roger that.”

Predictions by MI-5 ¾ weapons laboratory engineers that strong magical fields would wreak havoc on the internal guidance systems of so-called “smart” munitions had been confirmed by Wally the week previous, when he had driven across Little Wiz's ward boundaries with a dud bomb in the boot of his Bentley. But as the hemispherical wards that protected Number Four extended up no more than 400 feet above the ground, 99% of the pathway of a bomb dropped from 50,000 feet was free of magical interference, and the ability to self-correct course was magically lost for only the last few seconds of descent.

Much more worrisome were the mundane factors that had, for the most part, always limited the idea of “window-point” accuracy for laser-guided weapons to the minds (and presentations) of defense company marketing departments. “Smart weapons” rely upon clear and constant “sight” of a laser beam's reflection to adjust tail rudder angles and make in-flight course corrections. Smoke commonly interferes with this sight, even when the forward observer who has identified the target maintains a continuous laser beam spot. And the ability of the forward observer to maintain a constant “sparkle” of laser light on a target is always far from certain; even at a terminal velocity of more than six hundred miles per hour, a bomb dropped from 50,000 feet takes almost a minute to reach ground. And a lot can happen during that minute.

The clear view that Brian initially enjoyed allowed him to target his laser beam device from a well-hidden vantage point. Fifteen seconds after the bomb was released, however, the group of Death Eaters turned the corner onto Privet Drive, where a tall tree blocked Brian's view. Brian scrambled along the rooftop hoping for a better angle, and discovered that the only clear sight line required him to stand straight up on the roof crest. Which is what he did, without thought of personal safety.

The Death Eaters had just gathered in front of Number Four when one of them spotted someone standing on a rooftop pointing a wand down towards them.

“Expelliarmus!”

The force of the spell blew Brian backwards, while his “wand” was flung violently out of his hand. Both were thrown to the ground.

The Death Eater who had cast the disarming spell used an “Accio” to take a closer look at the wand that had been raised against them. He then pushed the button located on one end of the metallic rod, thereby proving two separate facts:

1. Battery-powered laser pointers aren't damaged by Accio spells; and,

2. Curiosity can kill more than just cats.

The ten seconds of time during which the Death Eater played with his new toy was just enough for the bomb's sensors to reacquire its target and trim its tail in course correction. The bomb hit the ward boundary only twenty feet off course, and hit the ground a second later, thirty feet off-target into Number Five's front yard.

Given the specified accuracy and precision of the weapon, it was a direct hit.

Fred Weasley had ignored Brian's direct orders and, rather than land at the prearranged meeting point, had ducked behind a tree to a spot where he could keep an eye on his partner. Having witnessed Brian being thrown from the roof, Fred was flying at top speed towards him when the smart bomb detonated. The blast knocked him off Fred broom, his body landing fifteen feet away from Brian's.

George Weasley, who had seen Fred fly back to rescue Brian, was on route to rescue his brother when the bomb went off. Having been partially shielded from the bombblast by a house, he managed to stay on his broom (later claiming that the force was no greater than a typical bludger). After using words Mrs. Weasley would have conjured soap over, he quickly landed his broom in between Brian and his brother.

“Two down,” he cried into his microphone, “Brian Willox and my fool brother down…I need medics now!”

++++

Wednesday, June 20, 4:00am

10 Downing Street, London

The muggle Prime Minister had learned the hard way to treat the assurances of newspaper publishers with a large dose of skepticism. He also considered the British public's faith in the electronic news media to be quite secondary to the trust that they put into their morning newspapers…which is why he had waited until the wee hours of the morning before addressing the small painting in the corner of his office.

“You there,” he said to the small portraiture, “I want a meeting with the Ministry of Magic immediately.”

The rather ugly looking man within the frame, his eyes closed tightly, ignored him.

“Wake up you little gnome,” the Prime Minister said in raised voice. “Fetch me Scrimgeour or I'll bring the Queen's Royal Wizard around and have him give you a good hexing.”

The portraiture opened one eye and grimaced.

“The muggle Prime Minister's `request' has been conveyed to the Office of the Ministry of Magic,” the painting replied tersely.

“Good,” the P.M. said with no small amount of authority. He then returned to his desk and waited, while reading the front page of the last of the major dailies to have been rushed to his office.

*************************

The Scot's Daily Journal

Wednesday, June 20, 2006

*************************

Salmon Spoils Royal Ascot Reopening

Windsor Great Park (RPI) - Thousands of spectators took ill during the opening day of racing at the Royal Ascot, forcing authorities to cancel the last four races of the day. Ministry health officials later attributed the mass outbreak of upset stomachs, ill ease and general despondency to a massive case of food poisoning.

“It was the salmon mousse,” said Ministry Health Department spokesperson T. Gilliam.

More than six hundred individuals were taken to area hospitals, with one hundred thirty admitted for overnight observation. The Queen and members of the Royal Family in attendance were reportedly not among the victims. The symptoms surfaced immediately after the third race, and put a damper on a spectacular display of magic performed during the debut of “Gryffindor,” a highly talented teen-aged illusionist who, according to Palace insiders, recently received a royal appointment as the “Queen's Wizard.”

see “Queen's Wizard,” page 8

=======

Gas Main Explosion Rocks North Surrey Neighborhood

Little Whinging, Surrey (RPI) - Two men were seriously injured and several homes destroyed when a ruptured gas main exploded Tuesday in the suburban London community of Little Whinging. Local officials, noting that the neighborhood had been evacuated some two hours previous when the leak was first detected, expressed relief that the injury toll wasn't higher. More than two hundred residents spent the night in shelters while gas company workers and emergency responders worked to determine the extent of the pipeline breach and evaluate the structural safety of lesser-damaged residences. The underlying cause of the rupture is still under investigation.

*************************

Before the P.M. had time to turn the page to learn more about Sir Harry the small portrait raised its tinny voice.

“The Office of the Ministry of Magic regrets that its representative is not able to consult with you at this time,” it said.

The Prime Minister looked up at the portrait. He'd been informed that the Ministry of Magic had been secured hours ago, so they couldn't blame this avoidance on the fighting.

“Minister Scrimgeour sends his regrets?” he asked in clarification.

After a few seconds silence, the painting responded. “The Office of the Ministry of Magic regrets that its representative is not able to consult with you at this time.”

“Wonder if he's been sacked,” the P.M. thought to himself. He stood and headed over to his leather-bound office couch, where he sat and addressed the portrait a final time. “Well, whomever the Ministry's representative turns out to be knows where to find me.”

Looking down at his watch, the P.M. decided it was time to end a very long day by stretching out for a very short kip. What magic lay beyond the sun's rise was something he could certainly wait to see.

+++++++++++++

A/N: The plural form of “patronus” should be patroni, but I've stayed with what's used in canon (despite my nom de plume)

-->

Chapter 29: The Round Tower

A/N: Happy Holloween, and thanks for all of the thoughtful reviews.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Wednesday, June 20, 11:00am

Round Tower, Windsor Castle

The Queen’s Wizard and Queen’s grandson climbed the last few stone steps to reach the highest point within Windsor Castle. The journey had taken them to the rooftop of the Round Tower, where cannons still guarded the Royal Standard that flew whenever the British Monarch was in residence.

“Well, Prince Harry,” Harry concluded as he looked out past the battlements, “this must rank as the nicest and most elaborate play fort in the world.”

The Young Prince chuckled. “Only second best, I’m afraid…there’s a Sultan down in the Emirates that had a half-scale replica of the Fortress of Fao built for his boys.”

“Still…”

“Yes, you’re right,” the Young Prince agreed. “When we were younger, my brother and I spent as much time as we could up here, playing knights and artillerymen…had these cannons carried live powder we would have flattened most of Berkshire several times over.”

The panoramic view was spectacular, and the Young Prince was all too happy to point out various landmarks and the vestiges of English countryside. To the South, within the Windsor Great Park, were hunting lodges turned Royal residences and the stables where he’d been presented the Royal Wizard’s orb. Turning west, they looked down upon the rooftops of Windsor Town; beyond the town was Ascot Racecourse, nestled into a bend of the Thames.

“Surprised that they’re racing today?” Harry asked.

“No,” replied the Young Prince. “The show must go on, stiff upper lip, and all that…sure that you don’t want to give a repeat performance?”

Harry shook his head. “I think they’ve seen enough Dementors over there for now, and I seem to attract them like flies.”

The Young Prince nodded as he grappled with his latest c-mug lesson on magical beasts and beings. “It was quite strange watching you and your comrades fighting something that I couldn’t see…whatever happened to the two Dementors you downed?”

“Don’t know,” Harry replied. “The corpses dissolved away before we could poke at them.”

“How does that work…killing something that wasn’t alive in the first place?”

“I’m not quite sure…they don’t teach necromancy at school.”

“Necromancy?” the Young Prince asked, as he began to walk stiffly with his arms out. “You mean like zombies?”

“Yes,” Harry replied quietly. “Except that in our world they’re called Inferi, not zombies.”

The Young Prince took notice of the slight change in Harry’s complexion, and hollow look in his eyes.

“Don’t tell me that you’ve run up against those things as well?” he asked.

When Harry nodded, Prince Harry shook his head and whistled a low note as they continued their walk along the parapet.

“When I was your age, the scariest thing I had to face was my chemistry professor.” He stopped Harry and pointed north towards a campus of buildings and playing fields. “Speaking of which, there’s my old school.”

Harry looked out over the tower’s edge.

“Eton?”

The Young Prince nodded, as he patted the barrel butt of one of the eighteenth-century cannons. “Father says that it’s no coincidence that this one’s aimed straight at the faculty’s residence.”

“He went there too?” Harry asked.

“Sure,” the Young Prince replied. “The English Crown has been sending its boys there for centuries.”

“Would of thought the instructors too afraid to treat you with anything less than respect,” Harry replied.

“Oh, no,” the Young Prince replied with a rueful grin. “The staff takes great pride on living up to the House of Windsor’s insistence that its young men not be treated differently.”

“So let me guess,” said Harry. “The chemistry professor assumed you were full of yourself based on who you were, instead of how you acted, and took every opportunity to knock you down to what he thought should be your proper size.”

“Yeah,” the Young Prince said with surprise. “How’d you know?”

“Been there, been subjected to that.”

They continued their clockwise stroll, stopping to look east down the length of Heathrow’s two main runways as a passenger jet completed its landing. Twenty miles beyond the airport were the skyscrapers of Central London. Using the airport and various motorways as guide points, the two were able to distinguish Little Whinging from the similarly nondescript communities that surrounded it.

“Stopped by the hospital on the way out this morning and visited Brian,” the Young Prince said.

“That was nice,” Harry replied. “Hermione and I plan on returning there this afternoon…still unconscious?”

“Yes,” the Young Prince said. “His sister arrived this morning, you know.”

“No, I didn’t” replied Harry, already feeling guilty at the thought of meeting Brian’s family.

“I was quite close to him growing up,” sad Prince Harry softly, “used to sneak into the palace kitchens at night and he’d cook all my favorite greasy foods.”

“He told us that…he’s done so much for me as well,” Harry replied glumly.

“Chin up, Sir Harry,” the Young Prince said, as he straightened his own back. “He’s not dead.”

“Close to it,” Harry replied, “and I wasn’t there to help him.”

“Even wizards can’t be in two places at the same time…or can they?”

That comment brought a tight grin to Harry’s face as he thought about Hermione’s time turner. “Erm, no…at least not anymore.”

“So how’s your mate’s brother doing?”

“Fred?” Harry asked. “Broken arm, three cracked ribs, ruptured spleen, nasty concussion…he’ll be fine.”

“They must work wonders at your wizard hospital.”

“Yeah,” replied Harry, as a germ of a thought crept into his head. “They can.”

The Young Prince paused for a moment, then tried to change topics. “So have they let your neighbors back into their homes yet?”

“Should have by now,” Harry replied. “When I talked to Wally this morning they were close to done.”

“Wow,” replied the Young Prince. “Heard about the damage…suppose you had some magic brooms and dustpans for the clean-up?”

Harry chuckled. “No, we fly on our brooms, and the neighborhood’s still a mess. Most of the houses still have broken glass, and there’s rubble and debris everywhere…guess I was talking more about cover-up than clean-up; we spent most of the night moving dirt and dressing up the impact crater just enough to make it look like a gas line explosion.”

“Imagine then that they’ve finished the body count?”

“Mostly,” Harry replied grimly. “Twenty-two dead, four wounded, and a lot of unidentified bits of bodies …took muggle search dogs and lots of “Accio body parts” spells to find it all.”

“Harsh,” was the Young Prince’s assessment.

“You could say that,” Harry agreed.

“So how long before you can move back?”

“Dunno,” Harry replied. “Wouldn’t do to use magic for the home repair, and my Aunt and Uncle’s house was flattened. I could move into one of the other houses I now own, but the magical protections that were in place are in poor shape. But even if they weren’t, I’m not sure I could return.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because despite our success yesterday,” Harry explained, “there’s still Death Eaters out there looking to get to me. I’m certain we’ll have to defend ourselves again, and, well…how many gas main explosions can you have in one neighborhood before somebody gets suspicious?”

The Young Prince laughed. “Yes, well, I can see your predicament…which is why I’m pleased grandmum’s given you some options.”

Harry nodded. “You certain you wouldn’t mind lending me your play fort for a little while?”

The Young prince smiled. “No worries, Sir Harry. It was indeed a fabulous play fort, and this rooftop was a brilliant place to bring my teen-aged dates, but…well, we all move on, don’t we? Besides, it’s the Queen’s decision, and the offer’s already been made.”

The flag turret’s door swung out as the Prince of Wales led Hermione to the rooftop for her first views from the top of the Tower.

“So what do you think, Hermione?” Harry asked, as she approached and took his hand.

“Harry, can you feel it,” she replied excitedly. “I think I’ve already found a couple of dormant protection wards but there’s older magic than that at work here, I just know it. Pretty sure I can work out the equations needed to attenuate anti-app wards into something more elliptical...we should be able to cover the Upper Ward, at a minimum…maybe the entire castle with a little help from our security consultants.”

Harry smiled. “That’s great, Hermione, but what do you think of the inside?”

“Oh, well, there is a lot of space to work with, don’t you think, Harry?” she quickly replied. “Hedwig would love the huge area just below, and with the stone walls and fireplaces, and the apartment’s main room’s almost like Gryffindor Tower’s, isn’t it? And that one room that used to be a library, and the…”

“And the one bedroom?” Harry asked, with one eyebrow raised.

Hermione blushed just a bit. “Oh, well, there is that second apartment…Ron and Luna would have room when they visit, and the Prince was saying that the ground floor apartment used to house guards…it’d be perfect for mum and dad…” Realizing that she was babbling a bit and making more than a few assumptions, she tried to self-correct. “or any other MI-5 ¾ staff, of course.” She caught her breath, then asked, “So…what do you think, Harry?”

Harry smiled. “Well…”

The Prince of Wales, sensing that he was witnessing something akin to a young couple buying their first house, took on the role of real estate agent and tried to close the deal.

“I will admit, it is a bit…rustic,” he said. “But your quarters in Buckingham might compensate, and we aren’t without the means to make it at least a little more comfortable for you here.” He paused, then added, “It wouldn’t be the first time a Royal Wizard took up residence within the Round Tower…and I’d wager those stone steps would create a healthy sense of space, should Hermione’s parents be assigned to work or live down at the base.”

It was Harry’s turn to blush, with the realization that there were lots of things he’d like to do with Hermione that he wouldn’t want her parents to walk in on. Seeing an anticipatory look in her eyes, he turned back towards the Prince.

“But what would happen if the Death Eaters track me down again?” Harry asked. “Wouldn’t do to repeat yesterday’s tactics, would it? Hermione and I could get away easy enough, but how would the Queen or anyone else escape if need be?”

The Prince glanced over to his son who was smiling broadly. “Sir Harry,” the Prince said in reply, “the Queen usually only spends weekends here at the Castle; it’s Ascot that has her here for the week. And if she were to be in residence…well, this castle is nearly a thousand years old, and contains more than a few secret tunnels and passageways…isn’t that right, Prince Harry?”

“Erm, quite right, father,” the Young Prince said, with an unapologetic smirk still on his face.

Harry smiled at the give and take between father and son. He turned to Hermione, who said, “It’s up to you, Harry.”

Harry turned back to the Prince. “We would be honored, then, to accept the Queen’s generous offer of shelter.”

Hermione let out a little squeal (“squee” was what it actually sounded like), and hugged Harry tightly.

The Prince of Wales turned towards his son with and offered some fatherly advice. “You should take notice,” he gently chided his son, “of the benefits of cluing into your girlfriend’s opinions.”

When the two broke apart the Prince asked, “Will you two be joining us for lunch?”

Harry shook his head. “Thank you for offering, Your Highness, but we’re meeting Ron at noon down in London.”

The Prince nodded as looked at his watch. “Well then,” he said, “You should get going. Even with the morning rush over the roads will be busy.”

Hermione and Harry looked at each other and smiled.

“Oh, that’s right,” the Prince said, “you two don’t have to worry about paying road congestion fees, do you?”

+++

Harry and Hermione used the thirty minutes not spent on the expressway to meet with the Castle’s superintendent, who promised to have the Tower cleared and cleaned by the end of the day. They then called Wally to get a Little Wiz update, and to let him know that the lorry holding their personal possessions could be dispatched to Windsor.

At five before noon, Hermione apparated to a secured travel point in London’s West End, then walked two blocks to the trendy muggle restaurant that Wally had recommended. It took her a few minutes to find a suitably secluded site within the busy bistro.

“Hermione!” Ron whined, as she pulled down the “closed for cleaning” sign that she’d been forced to conjur. “Why’d it have to be the women’s loo?”

Hermione frowned as she shooed her two boys out into the main eating area. “Don’t like it, pass your apparition test and you can pop up wherever you want.”

Head Auror Robard’s greetings and the prompt attention of the wait staff forced Ron to put his rant on hold. After ordering their food they took turn providing updates on their latest activities.

Ron began with word from St. Mungo’s. He had been one of the many relatives of injured patients who had stood overnight guard at the wizard hospital (with so many of the injured Aurors, those normally on guard had been redeployed to the Ministry). Ron said that a rumor was spreading within this voluntary cadre that the Ministry was going to draft all seventeen and eighteen year old witches and wizards into Ministry service. A second fast-spreading rumor clarified the first, stating that the draft would be restricted to pure-blooded witches and wizards. He then reported the senior healer’s latest estimate, that half of those injured during the battle would be released within forty-eight hours, and that half of those remaining would be cured within a week’s time. He ended on a personal note, conveying word that Fred was healing nicely, and that the lingering effects of the Cruciatus spell that had struck his mum were fading. Her healers were now predicting a slow, painful, but ultimately complete recovery.

Harry and Hermione followed with news on Little Wiz and the muggle world. Three of the four Death Eaters that had survived the blast still lay unconscious within a military hospital. The fourth had been brought back within Little Wiz’s weak, but operant anti-apparition wards and was under heavy sedation. The Phoenix Teams were still on site, guarding the prisoner and working hard to maintain the official story on what had happened the previous day. As far as Harry and Hermione knew, the cover stories for both Little Wiz and Ascot were holding in the muggle press.

They asked Ron and Robards whether word of the attack on Little Wiz had spread within the wizarding world, and were told that secret was holding as well. They agreed that this was a good thing, once the Head Auror passed along news from the Ministry of Magic.

Rufus Scrimgeour had avoided an immediate sacking through the skillful deployment of deceit and misdirection. The subterfuge had been straightforward and effective. Head Auror Robards had advance knowledge of the attack plans and coordinated the successful response. Head Auror Robards was a member of the Minister’s cabinet. Therefore, using the transitive power of mathematics and sleazy politicians, it was the Minister’s Office that had valiantly saved the wizarding world from You-Know-Who. It had become the big victory that had proven so elusive for Scrimgeour’s office. Any questions on why there were so many Death Eaters working for the Ministry had been explained away with the simple observation that Scrimgeour had only been in power for a year, and that the vast majority of insurgents had been hired by previous administrations. In other words, “Blame Fudge.”

The misdirection was far more insidious. Plans to arrest Harry for underage magic use had been reluctantly cancelled after Robards reported that he’d witnessed Harry’s investiture as Queen’s Wizard. A quick trip to the Book of Wizarding Records confirmed this event, as well as its legality. The furor that the Minister and his staff hurled upon the Head Author for witnessing and giving legitimacy to Harry’s position was intense, but quiet. After all, Scrimgeour had just identified the Head Auror as a hero, and announced his intention to award him the Order of Merlin, Second Class. There weren’t, unfortunately, as many constraints when it came to attacking Harry.

The wireless was already reporting that Harry Potter had betrayed the wizarding world by accepting the position of Queen’s Wizard, and that he’d shamelessly used his magical powers before thousands of muggles in a self-aggrandizing attempt to gain fame and celebrity. A “senior Ministry official” had told the WWW that Harry was now a far graver threat than Voldemort, stating that his actions threatened the shroud of secrecy that protected the entire wizarding world from muggle interference. Word was also going around that Rita Skeeter would be reporting on this story in the next day’s Prophet.

The Head Auror apologized to Harry for the Ministry’s actions, and asked if he should go public with the truth. Harry and Hermione convinced him to stay quiet and keep his head low, arguing that the Ministry’s lies might lead Voldemort away from how his battle plans had actually been betrayed. They also argued that the battle against Voldemort needed the Head Auror to keep his job, and to stay on top of the Ministry’s machinations. And since it wouldn’t do for a Ministry war hero to be seen in public with a pariah, they suggested that the Head Auror return to his office, and limit communications until the dust settled and a proper response had been formulated.

Before leaving, Robards jotted down a spell equation and wand movement diagram on the back of a serviette. As he handed it to Hermione, he suggested that it might come in hand in the days ahead.

“What is it?” Ron asked, as Hermione worked through the arithmancy.

After miming the wand directions with an index finger, Hermione shook her head and sighed.

“It’s the counterjinx for Howlers.”

+++

8:00pm, The Round Tower, Windsor Castle

Hermione Granger had severely underestimated the amount of time and physical exertion Harry would need to process the Head Auror’s news. She’d called their personal trainer and Harry’s longsword instructor from the restaurant to set up late-afternoon training sessions at Windsor Castle. While waiting for the instructors to arrive, they had helped Palace staff empty out the Round Tower’s storage area, not bothering with shrinking and lightening spells. They then used that empty space for an exhausting series of practice duels. The physical trainer had taken them on an hour-long run within the Park and followed that with an hour of calisthenics. Harry then returned to the Tower with his instructor for an hour of sword training.

It had been two hours since that lesson ended, and Hermione could still hear Harry hacking away at conjured wooden posts. She decided that it was time to take action. Putting her unpacking on hold, she grabbed Harry’s backpack and climbed the stairs that led from their new mid-tower apartment to where Harry was slicing and dicing.

The Round Tower’s dimensions and layout had changed many times over the centuries. The last major modifications had been in the 1820’s, when Windsor Castle’s transformation from fortress to palace was completed under George IV. In order to maintain its position as the highest and most visible structure within the Castle, the Round Tower’s height was increased some thirty-three feet. Despite the inclusion of window wells in the new stone walls, the new interior space within the addition was left unfinished, creating a huge enclosed area within this false upper story.

It was within this space that Hermione found a sweaty and slightly bloodied Harry. Three calls were needed before she caught his attention.

“Enough, Harry.”

It was enough to make him stop.

She approached and took his hand, using the other to pull at a wooden splinter that had found its mark on Harry’s neck. A kiss staunched the wound and slowed down his heart rate.

“Come,” she commanded quietly. “You stink.”

He looked at her oddly as he leaned down on his sword. “Come where?” he asked. “I didn’t see any indoor plumbing within the Tower…did you?”

As Hermione shook her head she reached into Harry’s backpack and pulled out the magical tent. With a few quick wand strokes she raised it and staked it down.

“Come,” she commanded, as she pulled him towards the tent’s entrance. “You stink.”

Harry obeyed, and soon found the peace he’d been seeking at the end of Hermione’s scrub brush.

Chapter 30: Extreme Make Over: Castle Edition

A/N: First off, now that I’ve hit the 30 chapter/100k word mark, I actually took the time to lay out a timeline for the rest of the summer. Looks like it will take another 25 chapters before the Hogwarts Express leaves Platform 9 ¾ on 1 September, but at least I now have the route to the station mapped out. I hope that the story stays interesting enough for my faithful readers to join me on that ride. Second, a few reviewers have asked for more details about Windsor Castle and the surrounding area. I’ve decided to accommodate that request by using a bit more description, combined with selective hot links that connect with some of the web sites that I’ve used in my research. Please let me know if this helps, or distracts.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Thursday, June 21, 7:35am

Round Tower, Windsor Castle

It took Harry Potter a few seconds to realize that it was his badge that had woken him, and not his alarm clock. A charitable observer might forgive this disorientation, noting that he was in a darkened room, on a new bed, and wearing a short kimono instead of pajamas. And a discreet observer might overlook the sweet confusion that came with him waking up tightly spooned against Hermione. But Harry was too frightened at that moment to think about either charity or discretion. He groped for his glasses, and with newly focused vision made a snitch-worthy lunge towards the Order of Arthur badge that was flashing on the floor.

“Sir Evan,” he exclaimed, “what’s wrong?”

“Erm, nothing, Sir Harry,” the elderly night replied via badge phone. “I was checking to see if you and Dame Hermione were safe…her parents are having trouble finding you.”

Harry’s movement had woken Hermione, who had found the magical light switch. “What?” she asked, as she turned towards Harry, “where are they now?”

“Erm, one second,” was the reply, “got them on my mobile…ah, they are the base of the Round Tower, and they say that they couldn’t find you in your new quarters. Your mobile wasn’t working either.”

Hermione grabbed her mobile from her nightstand and double-checked the charge. When she looked back up Harry guessed that she had made a realization similar to his.

“Erm, Sir Evan,” Harry asked (rather sheepishly), “will you tell them that we’re fine and that we’ll meet them at the base of the tower in ten minutes?”

“Consider it done,” Sir Evan replied.

“How are things on Privet Drive, by the way?” Hermione asked.

“Oh, bit of a mess still, but Number 12 is in fine shape…your friends are pretty handy with their repairing spells...looking forward to your return, though.”

“Oh..well, yes,” stammered Harry. “We’ll talk about that with you soon. Thanks again for your help, Sir Evan.”

“Your very welcome, Sir Harry…Evan out.”

“Arrgh,” Harry lamented, once he “hung up” his badge, “He thinks we’re moving back still…and I can’t believe we forgot about the Confundus spell on the tent flap…good thing that it wasn’t an emergency.”

“Yes,” agreed Hermione as she wiped sleep from her eyes. “No worries at all, other than what mum and dad will say when we explain why they couldn’t find us and give them a tour of the tent.”

“What?” Harry asked with alarm, as he looked around at the room. “Oh Merlin, that would look bad...do we have to?” He quickly stood and pulled at the obi that was tied around the waist of his short robe.

“Yes, we probably do” Hermione replied with a smile, as she watched Harry retrieve his boxer shorts from his clothes pile. “But don’t pull those up into a twist just yet.”

“Hermione,” Harry said reprovingly, “your parents have been amazingly accepting of our relationship and current living arrangements, but really…do you want to push our luck?”

To emphasize his point, he opened his nightstand drawer, pulled out a pair of velvet-lined handcuffs, and started swinging them around on one finger.

Hermione crawled over to Harry’s side of the bed on all fours. Tracking how poorly her kimono kept up with her thighs as she moved, Harry failed to notice as Hermione caught the swinging handcuffs with one hand, quickly wrapped her arms around him and used the cuffs to drag him down on top of her.

“If this is all that you worry about today,” she told him in an unusually husky voice, “then I’ll take my chances.”

Harry gulped as Hermione raked the handcuffs up the length of his back and pinned the back of his legs down with the heels of her feet.

“Erm, Hermione?”

“Yes, Harry.”

“Would you like to go out a second date with me tomorrow night?”

“Thought that you’d never ask.”

+++

It only took Harry and Hermione a few minutes to resist temptation, change into trainers, and run down to meet her parents. After apologizing for the Confundus charm (which Hermione claimed she now used almost reflexively after sharing a house with Dudley Dursley), Harry and Hermione led her parents out of the Castle and along the running route that they’d used the night before. From the Castle it was exactly three miles down The Long Walk to The Copper Horse and three miles back, with a four-mile long loop in between that took them past Cranbourne Tower, Cumberland Lodge, and Frogmore. Hermione was amazed at how well her parents kept up, despite knowing that they had started their training at the same time that Harry and she had. She said as much as they cooled down with a walk around the outer perimeter of the castle walls.

“Well somebody has to keep up with you two,” Roger Granger explained with a smile, “or else there’s no telling what sorts of mischief you two could get into.”

Harry and Hermione responded with nervous laughter. “So was everything alright last night downstairs?” Harry asked.

“Yes,” Emily said, “it was like we were camping, what with the army cots and kerosene lanterns…though I’ll admit that the chamber pots were a bit off-putting,”

“Which reminds me, young lady,” Roger said, “We didn’t hear you two come down last night to use the facilities across the way. Please tell me you have some sort of magical water-free toothbrush.”

“Erm, something like that, daddy.”

“Well good,” Roger replied with a smile. “Just because your mum and I aren’t practicing dentists anymore doesn’t get you off the hook when it comes to proper oral hygiene.”

“Speaking of your new jobs,” Harry said quickly, trying to change the topic, “I don’t think I ever told you both how amazed I was whilst watching you train this past week.”

“Thank you Harry,” Roger said. “I was a little amazed myself at how easily Emily took to flying…she usually leaves her lunch behind when she hops down off of carnival rides.”

“Well,” Emily replied in mock indignation, “maybe that was only because I had somebody so big and so strong to hold on tight to during that ride.”

“Oh, mum,” Hermione said with a bit of exasperation while Harry laughed.

“Seriously, though,” Roger said, “I’d have to say that even with all of the scary bits that I couldn’t think of a better way to have spent the past few weeks.”

“So even when the bits get scarier?” Harry asked, “because you know that they will.”

“Hermione Jane,” Emily said with a smile, “it sounds as if your boyfriend is trying to get rid of us.”

“Oh, no” Hermione replied, “it’s just his saving-people-thing kicking in.”

“Well that’s good,” Roger replied, as they signed back in at the guardhouse in front of the George IV Gateway and walked into the Upper Ward’s courtyard, “because we’ve got business to discuss this morning.”

“Erm, that might have to wait,” Harry said, as he spied a flock of owls perched patiently on the Round Tower’s battlements. “Looks like Hermione and I have some mail to defuse first.”

With promises to meet the Grangers in a half-hour’s time for breakfast, Harry and Hermione climbed up to the tower’s addition to take on the assault of mail. Having made it a point not to have The Daily Prophet delivered to Windsor, they relied upon the breath of commentary to gauge just how caustic Rita Skeeter’s hack-job had been. From the looks of things, it was every bit as bad as what they’d expected, but not more so.

Hermione expressed encouragement at seeing some supportive letters from Ministry workers who had experienced the truth first hand. A few had even chosen to sprinkle their remarks with disparaging comments about the Minister of Magic and his staff (using personal parchment, of course).

“Could have been worse,” Harry opined, “looks like only seventy percent is negative, and only half of that lot are howlers.”

“Well hello, Mister Optimism,” Hermione replied. “Certainly a welcome change from how surly you were last night.”

“Well what can I say,” Harry replied as he gazed fondly towards the Love Shack, “you just washed all of that anger off of me.”

“Right,” Hermione replied, “best you find another way of calming down …I’m not about to carry that scrub brush around with me.”

“That’s too bad,” Harry said, “because it was my focus on those bristles on my back that helped me clear my mind. I was quite serene there, for a moment.”

“Only for a moment?”

“Well, the cold bucket of water over my head was rather harsh for my concentration.”

Hermione laughed. “If that’s the case maybe some scrubbing would help with your occlumancy skills.”

Harry thought about that off-hand remark more seriously than Hermione expected.

“Yes, I think you are right… certainly bound to be more effective than anything Snape taught me.”

Hermione stared up and off to one side in what Harry recognized as one of her classic thinking poses.

“So a single-point focus….like a labyrinth almost, or a rosary…makes sense, actually…don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner.”

“Think about what?” Harry asked.

Hermione cast an Accio spell, and a few moments later handed Harry the Love Shack’s scrub brush.

“Think that it’s time for you to take a Zen shower,” she replied. “By yourself,” she added, quickly shooting down Harry’s expectant look.

+++

As the loser of a game of rock-paper-scissors, Harry reluctantly grabbed some fresh clothes and made the short hike to the castle guard’s changing room. Harry was happy to see that Mr. Granger was still there to document his propriety…it was even worth the good-natured ribbing that he took (e.g. “So Harry, I imagine you use magic to keep from having to shave each morning, right?”). Harry showered and dressed in a white shirt, Gryffindor rep tie, mauve linen suit, and loafers. They then made their way to the Royal Mess, where they joined Emily and Hermione for breakfast.

The “Royal Mess” was, for all intents, a company cafeteria – a place where Castle employees could grab a free meal without having to navigate through crowds of tourists and security checkpoints. But this was Windsor Castle, and the Queen took care of her staff,, so it was as much a company cafeteria as a Rolls Royce was a commuter car. The hall was large and ornate, with hardwood floors, oriental carpeting and walls covered with paintings not of monarchs, but of those who served monarchs over the centuries. The tables were covered in linen, set with real silver, and dressed with fresh flowers.

The Mess manager greeted Roger and Harry at the door as if he were welcoming guests into his own house, and led them to a table where Hermione and Emily were already scanning a menu whose entrees ranged from haute cuisine to comfort foods.

“So, Harry,” Emily said after the two men were seated, “It seems that you are already turning heads and making friends within the Castle.”

“How’s that?”

“The manager mentioned your insistence on taking meals here, instead of within one of the private state rooms…said it was ‘refreshingly humble for a member of the peerage’.”

“Well…it wasn’t just my decision,” Harry replied, as he took note of Hermione’s glowing smile. “And I don’t see why anyone should make a big deal…after all, I am a employee of the Crown, right?” To emphasize that point, Harry grabbed the Staff ID that hung from his jacket lapel.

“And walking into the kitchens to thank the staff?”

“Seemed the right thing to do…and Hermione’s got me well trained not to take Hogwart’s house elves for granted.” That comment earned a laugh from the table, as a waiter arrived to take their order. “I also wanted to give them an update on Brian’s condition…a lot of his old co-workers were there and word had gotten around that he’d been injured.”

Emily nodded. “I called the hospital while we were waiting…he’s been moved out of the Intensive Care Unit.”

“That’s great…has he regained consciousness?”

Mrs. Granger shook her head. “They think it still may take a few days…it was a rather nasty concussion that he suffered.”

“And they won’t know until he wakes just how bad the spinal cord injury was?”

After Emily nodded the conversation dropped for a few seconds as they all thought about (and silently prayed for) Brian’s prospects for a full recovery.

Roger broke the silence by providing Harry with an initial cost estimate from Privet Drive. Had there really been a gas main explosion, the utility company would have been liable, but given the circumstances, it was understandably reluctant to accept responsibility. MI-5 ¾ did have a secret fund for these sorts of things, but Harry had insisted that he cover the costs, arguing that the attack involved wizard terrorists. As a handshake compromise, the charges were to be split down the middle, with Harry providing payment in kind; rather than directly repay the Crown he would use his funds to support wizard forces fighting against Voldemort. With an estimate now in hand, Harry told Roger that he would create a “war funds” account within his Gringott’s portfolio, and transfer a galleon-equivalent amount.

Emily then raised a Clan Potter issue. Plans had been made for a summer solstice party that weekend, with an expanded guest list that included every muggle-born Hogwarts student and their family. She had made arrangements to cover travel expenses for those students that lived outside of Greater London, but was uncertain what to do now that Privet Drive was a construction zone. Harry replied that bringing all of the muggle-borns together was more important than ever, given the Ministry’s actions. Hermione pointed out that there was plenty of room within the Castle, but that it might not be prudent to flaunt his position as Queen’s Wizard. Harry agreed, and mentioned sight of some sort of amusement park when he was up on the Round Tower’s roof. Emily promised to look into that possibility and to have a list of potential alternatives ready for Harry by dinner.

Harry had just poured a second cup of tea for Hermione when Wally entered the hall and approached their table. He asked, “Lord Gryffindor, Dame Hermione, would you allow me to interrupt your breakfast?”

Harry smirked at Wally’s formality as he nodded in response. Wally explained that the Prince had instructed the Household Staff to fast-track the renovation and refurbishment of the Round Tower. To that end, there was a delegation of people that wanted to meet with Harry and Hermione for a tour. They immediately agreed, on condition that the Granger’s come along as well (as they might have an interest on the ground floor living quarters). And so it was that fifteen minutes later Harry, Hermione and her parents were introduced to the Castle Superintendent, the Royal Architect, the Castle’s Maintenance Chief and the Royal Curator of Art. The Royal Historian, whom they’d already met, was there as well.

It took almost an hour to complete the tour. As they made their way up through the various floors it became clear to Harry that there were competing interests within the group. The Maintenance Chief was almost embarrassed that the Queen had offered such spartan quarters to her guests, and took every opportunity to suggest how the floor plans could be changed, elevators installed, and modern conveniences provided. In contrast, the Royal Architect wanted to leave the tower the way it was, in the name of historic preservation. Whenever his colleague started to discuss knocking down walls, or adding an HVAC system, the Architect would argue (politely, of course) that the Queen’s guests would be much more comfortable elsewhere within the castle. The Curator took a middle course, asking that the changes be kept to what was absolutely necessary, and that they be done with an eye towards historic accuracy. And while the other staff members were trying to make their points, the Royal Historian provided more information about the tower’s history.

Windsor Caste was one of a series of fortifications built within a day’s march of London, and the Round Tower was one of the first structures built within the Castle. Its foundation stones were placed on top of an artificial hill that was constructed using the rubble from a previous structure.

“Who lived in the Tower besides the occasional Royal Wizard?” Harry asked.

The historian replied, “When there wasn’t a wizard in residence the tower belonged to the Superintendent’s predecessor.”

“His title was Castellan,” the Superintendent added, “though he was also identified as a governor. He lived in the upper apartment, while his lieutenant-governor had the ground floor quarters.”

“So this Castellan…was it a military or a civil post?” Hermione asked.

“Both,” the historian replied. “He was the local judge, chief forester and warden of the Windsor forest…at the same time, he was in charge of the castle’s defense, and of any prisoners kept within the tower’s cells.”

The tower’s detention area was sandwiched in between the upper and lower living quarters, with confinement space allotted based on the prisoner’s rank and gentry status. The first level had twelve small cells; the second level, four. The third level had only a single cell; this “King’s Suite,” was the historic home of jailed monarchs and regents.

Each of the two separate living areas had three rooms spread over two levels. The first floor of each apartment was a large open common room, with fireplaces spaced evenly along the circular walls. This was the main living area, and was also used as a dining room. The floor above was divided into bed chamber and dressing room. Since the ground level also had a guard house and storage room for weaponry, the lower apartment’s rooms were necessarily smaller.

In keeping with its main purpose, the tower’s living quarters were all opened to the circular staircase, providing easy access to its narrow windows for the Castle’s archers, and (later on), musket men. In fact, the only interior doors within the Tower were attached to the jail cells. This openness became an issue when the group discussion hit upon privacy concerns; anyone climbing the tower’s stairs to raise and lower the Royal Standard had to walk through each of the living quarters.

Harry’s worry about explaining away the Love Shack once the tour reached the addition proved baseless; Hermione had taken it down after her morning shower. The posts Harry had used for sword practice were still there, though, prompting him to provide cryptic comments about their use in a new illusion that he was developing.

After finishing their tour the group moved to a castle conference room to hammer out a renovation plan. Harry and Hermione scored points with the Architect and Historian by severely limiting the scope of work. Walls would be built to separate stairwells from living quarters, a stone-encased pipe chase would provide water and sewer service throughout the tower and electrical service to the lower apartment. Small W.C.s would also be built within each dressing room. Plans to build modern kitchens and install centralized heating were shelved; they would take their meals in the Royal Mess, and rely upon the fireplaces to provide heat in the winter.

When asked about potential reuse of the detention levels, Harry decided to leave it in its present condition; his only request being that the cell doors have modern locks installed. The Superintendent jokingly asked whether Harry had plans on housing any prisoners; when Harry smiled and replied “That’s exactly what I’m planning to do,” Hermione was the only one to realize that he just might be serious.

Once plans were finalized the meeting broke up with the Castle’s superintendent and art curator asking for separate meetings with Harry and Hermione. Wally tagged along as the Superintendent gave Harry and Hermione an overview of the Castle’s security systems.

The bulk of the Castle’s defenses were arrayed to defend against tourists, rather than terrorists. The Castle was one of Britian’s most popular tourist attractions, particularly after the devastating fire of 1992, when the Queen opened for public display many of the rooms that had been restored at taxpayer expense. As the Superintendent led them through Castle grounds he pointed out various checkpoints and queues, where Castle visitors were checked to ensure that nothing dangerous was brought in, and nothing valuable taken out. He further noted that, after an embarrassing series of incidents, great care had been taken to keep uninvited guests from gaining access to the private portions of the Castle. Most of that effort was done remotely, as he demonstrated by walking them through a monitor-filled control room similar to what had been housed upstairs at Number Five Privet Drive.

The Superintendent’s tour ended just before lunch, leaving time for Harry and Hermione to privately discuss their security concerns with Wally. Hermione stated her intent to develop an anti-apparation field large enough to encompass the Castle, but noted that public access within parts of the Castle would still be an issue. Harry agreed, pointing out that a Death Eater’s wand wouldn’t trip a metal detector, and that wacky clothing couldn’t be trusted as a tell-tale indicator of magical ability. Wally asked if there was some sort of magical equivalent of a metal detector to identify magical devices. Harry mentioned the Sneakoscope, but said that it probably wouldn’t be focused enough to pick one wizard out of a crowd. He promised Wally that he’d have Fred and George look into the matter.

Wally then asked about protection wards for the Round Tower itself. He recognized the need to keep the general muggle population out of the tower, but worried that muggle repellent charms would be too obvious, and keep c-mugs like him from entering. He suggested that a muggle electronic entry system might work, but Harry, recalling Slughorn’s pre-Hogwarts accommodations, thought that they might be too easy for a wizard to disarm. As usual, it was Hermione that thought of a practical solution…a security ward that was keyed for only certain individuals to pass, combined with a dummy key card device that an authorized visitor would go through the motions of activating.

Harry and Hermione next told Wally about the Daily Prophet article that had identified him as Queen’s Wizard. Now that this knowledge was out within the wizarding world, Harry was afraid that the Castle would become a Death Eater target. He mentioned that the Prince had described some secret escape routes within the castle, and asked him to find out more about these passageways. They then discussed how the Castle should be defended from physical attack. Wally noted that there was an army barracks a mile away from the castle with troops nominally designated for castle defense, but noted that there weren’t any c-mugs within those ranks. While MI-5 ¾ could easily plant a few of its agents within the Castle’s security team, they agreed that the Castle defenses should be no less robust than Privet Drive’s. Harry and Hermione decided to raise this issue the next time that they met with the Prince or Queen.

After lunch Harry and Hermione met with the Royal Art Curator to discuss Round Tower interior design. The Curator told them that the Castle had a large supply of antique furniture, carpeting and wall hangings that they could pick and choose from, and led them to a basement-level storage area underneath the State Apartments. Along the way, the curator tried to manage expectations, noting that within their inventories “modern” was used to describe anything made after the eighteenth century. Hermione surprised the curator when she replied that Harry and she had lived in a castle that lacked electrical service for most of the past six years, and would therefore be quite comfortable with even the simplest of accommodations. Encouraged by this response, the curator helped Harry and Hermione select several pieces of antique furniture and oriental rugs that would have been right at home within the Gryffindor common room. They also picked out large armoires and cabinets for the dressing room, and a four-poster bed, two desks and matching chairs for their bed chamber. Harry and Hermione then asked that her parents be allowed to similarly furnish the ground level living quarters.

With furniture and floors covered, the Curator took them to a fireproof climate-controlled storage room that housed a small portion of the royal art collection. Hermione was thrilled when told that they could decorate the Round Tower’s walls with any of the stored works. Again, the curator tried to manage expectations by noting that all of the Rembrandt’s were already hanging on royal walls. With more than a thousand pieces to choose from, Hermione asked to use the Collection’s e-gallery to narrow the field, while Harry asked if artwork had historically hung on the Round Tower’s walls. While the Curator excused herself to research that question, Harry and Hermione clicked through the e-gallery, cross-referencing possibilities against a list of works currently on display.

“So what are we looking for?” Harry asked.

“Wizards,” Hermione replied, “or, at least, something that might have been painted by a wizard.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m curious,” Hermione replied with a tad of defensiveness. “And because you never know what a magical painting might be able to tell you.”

“Oh….erm…Hermione, wouldn’t you think one of the muggles around here would have noticed a magical painting?”

“Not if it was dormant,” Hermione replied.

Harry confessed his ignorance on the topic of sleeping magical paintings, which prompted Hermione to dive into a lecture based, of course, on the material that Harry should have known had he ever bothered to read Hogwarts, A History. Had he been taking notes, Harry’s short version of the presentation would have read: “Paintings need magic to stay alive. Wizard artists paint magical pictures of food, and the portraits “eat” this magical food. No magical food = no energy = paintings become dormant.”

“How will we know if a painting is magical if it’s dormant?” Harry asked.

“Well, without a magical still life to offer as a meal, we have to make some educated guesses, then zap each potential painting with a magical spell. That would probably provide enough energy for a portrait to at least stretch its legs.”

“But why would a wizard artist paint pictures for a muggle king or queen?” Harry asked.

“Because they were the ones with the money,” Hermione simply replied. “And it’s always possible that the Royal Family purchased a magical painting that had long gone dormant.”

It took Hermione just a few minutes to search through the computer database, arriving at a list of twenty different paintings similar in style to those hanging in Hogwarts. With Harry keeping watch for the Curator, Hermione retrieved these works using several variations of “Accio Portrait of Burkhard von Speyer”. She was disappointed that after magical transport none of the paintings gave signs of being magical, though they were all marvelous to look at. With the Curator still out of the room, Hermione decided to goose the paintings with some additional magic, and cast levitation spells. Again, none of the portraits moved, though Hermione though she might have seen an eyelash flutter in Portrait of a Young Man by Giovanni Bellini. She set that work aside, along with a similarly titled work called Portrait of a Man, (not because it appeared magical, but just because she liked it.)

Harry helped Hermione return the other paintings to their cubby holes, finishing just before the curator returned the room. She first complemented Hermione on her selections, and promised to have them brought to the tower along with the furniture. The Curator then told Harry that she had located a journal account that described Round Tower wall hangings during the Eighteenth Century, but that none of these works were within the collection’s database. She thought it possible that this artwork had remained in the tower, and had been stored with the other material that Harry and Hermione had helped remove from the Tower’s addition. They asked for and received permission to poke though these storage boxes.

Harry and Hermione spent a half-hour opening boxes and banishing dust-bunnies as they rummaged through the Tower’s past. They found swords and halberds and battle-axes, copper plates and goblets, moldy bedding and, finally, a box of unframed art. Having been trusted to work alone within the storage room, Harry unrolled each piece and used sticking charms to hang them up against a wall for closer display.

There were eleven different works, covering a variety of styles, media, and (frankly) skill levels. They ranged in size from an eight-by-twelve-inch piece of paper to a wall-sized tapestry eight feet long and ten-feet wide.

“Interesting,” Harry said with a wide grin, “Now this…this lot I could see hanging on our walls…what do you think, dear?”

It took Hermione all of three seconds to determine the unifying theme that had turned Harry into an art lover. Whether woven or painted, Baroque or Byzantine, intimate in detail or grand in scale, they all had one thing in common:

Naked ladies.

All artfully posed, mind you, but naked nonetheless.

“Oh, honestly, Harry!” Hermione said with a bit of disgust. “I’d have expected that response from any one of the Weasley boys, but from you?”

Harry looked at her with mock indignation. “Ah, the perils of being a patron of the arts.”

He laughed as Hermione scowled. “Ah, come on, Hermione, don’t you get it? This stuff was hanging in a guard house full of soldiers…not much different than some bloke having a page from a girly magazine hanging in his locker.”

“And your point is?”

“Erm, don’t have one, I guess,” Harry replied with a grin. “Just thought we ought to check if any of these were magical…since there have been wizards in the tower, you never know….”

“You never know how in touch they were with their inner perv?”

“Now Hermione, you were the one that said a magical painting might tell us something valuable.”

“Yes, yes, I get the point,” Hermione replied with exasperation. “But your sticking charms were magical and nothing happened.”

“Well your painting needed an extra boost before you thought you saw fluttering eyelashes, right?”

Hermione reluctantly agreed and cancelled all of the sticking charms. The artwork fell to the floor in a heap. She then used the same levitation spell that had been placed on the other artwork.

“Hey, I saw that,” Harry exclaimed excitedly, “that one there…she wiggled her bum a bit…you saw that, didn’t you?”

It took most of Hermione’s willpower to reply truthfully.

“Yeah, yeah, I did,” she muttered, pointing towards a painting depicting a group frolicking nude within a mountain spring. “Would have to be the one with the most women in it, wouldn’t it?”

Harry grinned. “Why don’t we goose them with some more magic…we want to be sure, right?”

Hermione shook her head with resignation, and then joined Harry in shooting a variety of harmless magical spells at the painting. After a thirty second barrage the painting’s spring began to flow and all nine of the bathers began to move in a series of wiggles, winks and grins. One figure, wearing a crown of roses in her hair, fixed her eyes on Harry and began to bend and stretch in ways that rendered useless the tree branches and leaves that had been strategically placed by the artist for modesty purposes.

Hermione put hands on hips and scowled a bit at the figures within the painting. “You do know that you’re all pushing your luck, don’t you?” Focusing on the one that had taken interest in Harry she said, “Let me guess, your name is Erato, right?” When the figure nodded her head regally Harry asked how she knew the figure’s name. Hermione pointed towards a pile of clothing and objects by the water’s edge.

“Those robes are Ancient Greek in design,” she replied, “as are the lyre, the flute, and the masks used by actors in Greek tragedies and comedies. Each of those objects are historically associated with one of the Nine Muses, and, well, there’s nine women there, isn’t there?”

Harry replied, “So how did you guess this muse was named Erato?”

“She’s the muse that inspires poets to write erotica.”

“Oh…well I certainly see how she could be inspirational.”

“Get your mind out of the painting, Potter,” Hermione chided.

“Erm, yes…dear?” Harry replied, with a somewhat guilty-looking expression.

Hermione sighed as she stepped towards the canvas and address the figures. “Alright, ladies, bath time is over, if you have any interest in hanging within a magical household again.”

Though the muses lacked enough magical energy to verbalize a reply, the fact all stepped out of the water and started to get dressed indicated that Hermione had gotten her point across.

“Right then,” Hermione said. “You’ll need to strike a pose…we’re going to have to show you to muggles. Behave, and I might just might arrange a magical meal for you…understand?”

The Muses nodded in agreement as they each grabbed their distinctive prop and arranged themselves in the poses and positions originally given by their creator. Just to be safe, Hermione case a Finite Incantatum spell on the canvas before rolling it up.

The Curator was understandably excited about Harry and Hermione’s discovery. As one of the foremost art experts in Europe, she was able to identify the artists for almost all of the works. That she knew nothing about the bathing muse painting beyond it’s Italian Renaissance style didn’t dampen her enthusiasm; she labeled it a masterpiece upon inspection. A bit embarrassed that such a magnificent work had been allowed to fester in non-archival quality storage under her watch, she was amazed that her careful inspection found no evidence of damage. Harry and Hermione told her that her secret was safe with them, and that they’d take good care of the painting while she looked into the painting’s provenance. With that convenient arrangement reached, the grateful Curator told Harry and Hermione that after obtaining an electronic image of the painting she would frame it herself and deliver it to the Round Tower.

As they walked back towards the Round Tower, Harry apologized for acting his age in front of Erato. Hermione cocked her head slightly, and then took his arm and smiled. “You’re forgiven, but only because I’ve seen that lustful look on your face before.”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. “You mean some time that Fleur was around?”

“No, silly,” Hermione replied demurely, “I mean last night.”

+++++++++++++

References

Charles Knight’s “Guide to Windsor” provides a detailed description of the Round Tower circa 1811 (i.e. before Wyatville’s comprehensive castle makeover in the 1820’s).

The Nine Muses painting I describe is fictional, so don’t go looking for it in the e-gallery. My ideas on the magic behind magical paintings are explored in more detail in a separate fanfic, “Portrait of a Wizard as a Young Man.” Young readers should mind the rating difference.

Chapter 31: A Quick Visit to the Wizarding World

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Friday, June 22, 7:30am

Ottery St. Catchpole

Harry and Hermione had taken advantage of the early solstice sunrise and left Windsor Castle at 5:00am, hoping to catch Mr. Weasley before he floo’ed to work. Motoring was a decadent waste of time, but with little traffic on the road and the wind in their hair, they had both relished every moment. Right up to the point where they spotted the road sign for Ottery St. Catchpole.

“What’s wrong?” Hermione asked, noticing Harry’s sudden mood change. “Disappointed that we had to postpone our date tonight?”

“No,” Harry replied. “I mean…yes, I’m disappointed, of course…but everything is moving so fast, on so many fronts, and now I’ve got the other badges…”

“And it isn’t letting up any, is it?” Hermione added. “You know, Harry, this ‘three date’ thing was a cute idea, but under the circumstances…”

“Stop right there, Hermione,” Harry said. “If you aren’t going to hold me to it, then I am. Saving the world is no excuse for not treating you right.”

“Oh, Harry…” Hermione sighed. “You treat me right with every breath you take…except, of course, when you’re panting over the Muses.”

“Hush,” Harry chided. “And take care to recall that it was your idea to hang it in the Tower last night….”

The banter lagged as Hermione navigated onto the path that so rarely doubled as The Burrow’s driveway. She thanked Merlin that they were driving Ron’s motorcar, rather than hers, then noticed another change in Harry’s demeanor that mirrored the transition from smooth asphalt to rough dirt.

“So Harry, really, why the sudden sullenness?”

“Erm, guess I was wondering how long it would take for life to imitate art.”

“How so?”

Harry turned and gave a rueful smile. “Remember that racy muggle movie we watched last week?”

Hermione blushed a bit. “You mean The Unbearable Lightness of Being?”

“Yeah, that one…guess I was thinking about the ending.”

Hermione nodded. Though she had fallen asleep before the movie’s end, she had read the novel.

“Harry, it has been magical morning…a magical month for that matter. But that doesn’t mean that there’s a lorry just around the bend that going’s to end it all with a fatal head-on collision.” As she drove through the Burrow’s protective wards she added, “Particularly on this path.”

Harry shook his head and smiled a bit as he looked down towards his feet. “Ginny’s reaction to our news might have the same force as a head-on collision.”

Hermione nodded as she matched Harry’s smile. “Which is why,” she replied, “I owled Luna yesterday asking her to invite Ginny to spend the night at her house…we’ve got enough to do here before tackling that distraction.”

Harry jerked his head around towards Hermione and let out a quiet snort of bemusement. “Anyone tell you that you are one smart witch?”

“Oh, once or twice.”

By that point Hermione had pulled up in front of Mr. Weasley, who had heard the motorcar’s engines and was anxiously waiting to greet them. She allowed Arthur the opportunity to work the car door’s handle.

“Hermione, Harry, what a pleasant surprise,” he said as he opened her car door. “It’s so good to see you again!”

That Mr. Weasley took the time for hugs and handshakes before touching more than the Morris’s car door was clear indication that this greeting was genuine (though his patience seemed a bit tested as Fleur and Bill came out to add their welcomes).

“Hermione, you have a lovely motorcar,” he exclaimed.

“Oh, it’s not my car, Mr. Weasley, it’s Ron’s.”

“Ron’s?” Bill asked, “You mean my little brother actually knows how to work one of those things?”

Hermione nodded. “Didn’t even have to obliviate the muggle examiner for him to get his license,” she noted, which caused Arthur to puff out a bit in pride.

“Chip off the old block,” he said, as Hermione offered him the car keys and a chance behind the wheel. Once seated, he looked at the front dash, then down at the floor boards. “So where is the drain?”

“What drain?”

“The drain to take away the rain water.”

It took Harry only a few seconds to understand Arthur’s bewilderment. He then made Mr. Weasley’s day by showing him how the convertible’s cloth-topped roof could be extended up and over the interior. Hermione made Mr. Weasley’s week by asking if they could leave the motorcar there at the Burrow. That gave Fleur the chance to tactfully suggest there’d be time for Arthur to spend with the vehicle later in the day. Mr. Weasley agreed with a hint of chagrin, and invited Harry and Hermione into the Burrow’s kitchen for some coffee.

“You should have told us you were going to visit,” he chided. “We’d have had a big breakfast waiting.”

“Erm, that’s exactly why we didn’t call ahead,” Hermione said. “Didn’t want anyone to make a fuss, particularly Molly.”

Arthur nodded, “Well, if you come around to see Ron and Ginny, I’m afraid, there not here.”

Harry replied, “We know, we talked with Ron on the way out this morning…he’s off the graveyard shift in a few minutes, though, right?”

“Yes, off of work and ready for bed, just as soon as he tumbles through the floo. But Ginny should be up over at Luna’s, so it’d be easy to visit her.”

“We’re planning on visiting Luna’s later,” Hermione replied, “but we really hoped to have a chance to visit with you and Mrs. Weasley.”

“Oh,” Mr. Weasley said with a bit of surprise, “Well Molly’s still resting…hasn’t done much else since she came home yesterday…I’ll go and wake her.”

“Please don’t do that, Mr. Weasley,” Harry quickly said, “I know all too well what she’s going through. Maybe you could just tell her we stopped by, and we’ll try again later?”

“I vill be sure to do zat for you,” Fleur interjected, as she levitated the kettle over to fill their mugs. Her comment brought Harry’s focus out of the conversation and onto his surroundings for a moment. It had been a year since he’d last visited the Weasley’s, but something had still seemed a bit off when he had first entered the kitchen. It took Fleur’s hospitality, and the kitchen apron that she was wearing, for him to figure it all out.

For the moment, at least, they were in Fleur’s kitchen, not Molly’s.

The differences were minor, but all added up….a vase of fresh flowers on the table, a bowl of fresh fruit on the counter, and (most tellingly) a kitchen wall clock that now sported two additional hands: one labeled “Fleur” that hovered over “Home,” and a second marked “Molly” that pointed towards “Mortal Peril.”

Hermione’s voice brought Harry back from his quiet thoughts of guilt. “Ron said that the Ministry won’t let you take time off of work to be with Molly,” Hermione said. “That’s terrible.”

“Yes, well, we are very short-handed now, aren’t we?” Mr. Weasley replied. “And with Fleur here…she’s been a godsend, she has…Thank Merlin the Ministry’s wizard draft won’t affect her.”

“So they’re really going to go forward with that?” Harry asked.

“I’m afraid so,” Arthur replied. “Of course, they’re not calling it a draft…it’s been euphemized a Ministry intern program.”

“On a massive and involuntary scale, of course,” Bill added.

Arthur shook his head. “And since the Minister put Umbridge in charge, needless to say it only applies to purebloods.”

“That stupid cow wants another crack at what she failed to do at Hogwarts,” Harry stated.

“I’m afraid you are right,” Arthur said sadly. “That Hogwarts might not open this fall is going to be presented as their rationale for including Ginny and all of the other sixth years in the program.”

“What? That’s outrageous.” Hermione said. “They’re not old enough to do magic on they’re own, but they’re old enough to be drummed into Ministry service?”

Arthur nodded. “Minister’s office thought of that, sad to say…since Hogwarts is officially closed they’re transferring the ‘instructional exception’ authority to the Ministry.”

“So instead of Headmistress McGonagall and our professors teaching students how to responsibly use magic it will be Umbridge and her stooges?” Harry scowled. “It’s disgusting…you’d think they might be humbled by the level of treason we found within their ranks, but they’re turning around and using this treason as an excuse to grab even more power!”

“A very cogent analysis, Harry,” Bill said. “Question is, what are we going to do about it?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know…I really don’t know. Bad enough we have to fight off Voldemort…but the Ministry as well?”

“You’ve got the ear of Head Auror Robards, Harry,” Mr. Weasley. He then gave a weak smile. “As well a few other ministry officials…”

“Thank you , Mr. Weasley…you don’t know how much that means to me,” Harry replied. “When does this ‘intern’ program start?”

“Owls are being sent out today, with assignments starting a week from Monday.”

Harry took note of the time. “We’re going have to spend some time working out a response,” he concluded, “but in the meantime you need to get to the Ministry on time…can’t give them an excuse to hassle our supporters, can we?”

Arthur smiled and said “I’ve still got a few minutes…floo traffic to the Ministry has been lighter than normal these past few days… can’t imagine why.”

Harry reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small electronic device. “We brought something that we thought you might want to see. Mrs. Weasley too, as soon as she’s up to it.” He opened the top up to reveal the small LCD display of a portable DVD player. “It’s not going to work inside the house, but maybe out in the yard?”

He went on to explain that it was a muggle version of omnioculars, with a recording of the Dementor attack on Ascot. Arthur’s eyes lit up as he calculated just how late he could be getting to work. With a laugh and wave, Bill and Fleur pushed Arthur out the door and towards the backyard Quidditch pitch with Harry and Hermione.

Once they were far enough away from the concentration of magic that was centered on the house, Harry turned on the player and showed Arthur how to work the controls. He then popped open the drive to reveal the DVD disk on which the recording was housed. Hermione explained that muggle movies could be played on the machine as well, and handed Arthur a small case filled with some of her favorite films.

When the DVD recording of the Ascot magic show began to play Arthur quickly forgot about the technology and focused in on the Dementor attack. Ron had given him a cursory description of what had transpired, but it was nowhere near as riveting as seeing it replayed for himself. Harry provided a running commentary, and made sure to freeze the frame when Ron’s fully formed patronus came into view.

“That’s…that’s Ron’s?” Arthur asked with wonder, as he watched a tenacious terrier nip at a Dementor’s heels. “Oh my, Molly is going to be beside herself with pride when she sees this.”

“That was our hope,” Hermione replied, “because that ties into why we wanted to talk with you before Ron got home.” She then handed Arthur an engraved invitation, printed on Royal stationary.

Five minutes later, with DVD player, invitation and explanation in hand, Arthur led Hermione and Harry back inside the house. After checking in on Molly, he floo’ed off to the Ministry. A few minutes later, Ron popped out of the fireplace, tired and a bit worse for wear. He wasn’t too tired, though, to proudly take his big brother out for a ride in his convertible, which left Harry and Hermione alone for a few minutes with Fleur.

Hermione wanted an update on the wedding. Fleur, in turn, wanted an update on Hermione’s love life. At Harry’s embarrassed blush Fleur explained that it was her Veela blood that had betrayed their quasi-secret, rather than any loose words from those Weasley boys that were in the know. She cautioned, though, that Harry’s love-smitten face could be read by anyone who had a vested interest in looking, which made him blush even more. Hermione grabbed Harry’s hand in reassurance, and told Fleur that they were going to break the news to Ginny that afternoon at Luna’s house. Fleur agreed with that plan, noting with a smile that Ginny’s shrieking might interfere with Molly’s rest.

And on that reassuring note Hermione and Harry walked out beyond the Burrow’s protective wards. Along the way they waved goodbye to Ron and Bill as they drove back down the dirt path in the Morris. Once clear of the wards, Hermione gave Harry a quick kiss and disapparated to Diagon Alley.

Given that the ethereal plane was considerably less congested than either muggle motorways or the floo network, the trip went very fast. The glamour charm that Hermione applied upon arrival facilitated anonymous entry into The Leaky Cauldron, but didn’t fool the observant eye of its bartender.

“They’re already upstairs, miss,” Tom quietly told her as she approached the bar. “Second door

on the right.”

Hermione nodded her thanks, and was soon in the company of Tonks and Remus.

“Thanks for meeting on such short notice,” she said, as she cancelled the glamour and layered her silencing charms on top of those already lain.

“Are my eyes getting to old to spot an invisibility cloak’s use, or did you make the trip alone?” Lupin asked.

“I’m sure your eyesight is fine, Professor,” said a voice projected from inside Hermione’s sweatshirt.

“What did you do, Hermione,” Tonks asked with surprise, “shrink Harry down and stuff him in your pocket?”

Hermione smiled and shook her head as she unzipped her hooded sweatshirt to reveal her Order of Arthur badge. “All clear, Harry,”

Two seconds later, Harry Potter followed a flash of light into the room.

Remus raised an eyebrow. “Fashioning illegal portkeys these days, Harry?”

The Queen’s Wizard smirked as he pointed towards his badge. “Guess we weren’t exhaustive in our descriptions of how these things work.”

Tonks and Lupin looked at each other with befuddlement until Hermione explained the transportation charms that Merlin had fashioned into the badges. Tonks wistfully lamented that with a pair of those Remus would have to work much harder to avoid lunch dates with her.

Harry smiled and fished two badges and two invitations out of his rucksack. “Then it looks like you’re out of luck, Remus.”

After a few minutes of discussion, Tonks and Remus agreed to the terms that came with the badges, and became seven and eight o-clock, respectively. Harry gave brief instructions on how to use the badge while Hermione gave a brief lecture on the Order of Arthur itself. Then, with promises made to meet at the Burrow later that evening, Hermione and Harry made their way towards Fred and George’s with two additional badges in hand.

+++

Two hours later, Harry and Hermione were performing pre-run stretching exercises with her parents back at Windsor. The Grangers initially seemed far more interested in the side-trip Harry and Hermione had made to Gringott’s than in any one of the morning meetings.

“So the goblins jumped your seventeenth birthday by a few weeks?” Emily asked Harry.

Harry nodded. “I wouldn’t call it goblin logic for fear of a nose chewing, but it seems that way. Griphook told me that wizard world adulthood is defined not by age, but by the ability to legally use magic. Since the legal age to cast spells outside of school is seventeen, that’s also the age of adulthood…for most witches and wizards,” he added, with a tinge of embarrassment.

Hermione jumped in. “In Harry’s case, the legal use of magic is predicated not on age, but on his position as Queen’s Wizard. Since under the terms of the governing treaty Harry can legally use magic, the goblin have decided that by treaty Harry is also an adult in the wizarding world.”

Roger Granger frowned in thought. “Does this mean that your mother’s protections are no longer in place?”

“I really don’t know,” Harry replied. “Guess the only way to test it would be to allow Voldemort to try and kill me between now and the end of July.”

“Let’s hold off on that experiment, then,” Roger said with a grin. “So I guess this answers my question on why your vault portfolios changed over the past couple of days.”

Harry nodded. “It did seem abstract until Hermione and I took a ride down to the Potter family vault.”

“Mum you should have seen it,” Hermione said with excitement, before realizing that Harry was embarrassed by his wealth. “I mean, well…like Harry said, it’s one thing to see a list of magical objects that he owns, but quite another to see them all in one place.”

Harry tried to change the topic. “Wish I had a camera to capture the look on Hermione’s face when she opened her vault for the first time.” Hermione blushed as her parents laughed at Harry’s teasing.

“So did you bring anything back with you?” Roger asked.

Harry shook his head. “Just a few things…did make arrangements for a delivery later today, though.”

“What kind of things?” Emily asked.

Harry only gave a “wait-and-see” smile in reply as he led the way out of the Castle and into the start of their late-morning run.

As they had made plans to meet Sir Evan for lunch at the Royal Mess, the pace was necessarily quicker than normal. When they’d finished, Harry and Hermione surprised her parents by leading them not to the changing rooms, but back to the Round Tower.

“I don’t know about you kids,” Emily said, “but Roger definitely needs a shower after that run.”

Hermione laughed. “You’ve got running water in your apartment now.”

“What?” Roger asked. “We were told that it’d take at least a week for the plumbing to be done.”

Harry lowered the ward that guarded the tower and opened the door. “We were told that too, so we thought we’d take matters into our own magical hands.” He led them inside, grabbing an oblong canvas bag on the way up to the second level of the ground level apartment.

Harry stepped into the dressing room and started to gauge ceiling heights and floor space, taking into consideration the antique furniture that had been moved there the night previous. He turned to Hermione, who had stopped at the room entry with her parents and pointed towards one corner of the room, “Should fit over there, don’t you think?” Hermione nodded and, ignoring her parents questioning looks, helped Harry empty out the canvas bag’s contents. It only took a couple of minutes to pitch the tent that they’d removed from the Potter family vault.

Roger’s comment upon entering the magical tent’s living room was amazingly similar to what Harry had said back at the Quidditch World Cup.

“I love magic.”

Hermione used freshening charms to take care of the mustiness as Harry led her parents from room to room. It was larger than the Love Shack, with two bedrooms and a full kitchen. The tent was also built with family more in mind than naughty fun. The furnishings were comfortable, (as much as nineteenth-century style furniture could be comfortable). More importantly, the bathroom was only thirty years out of date, with a bathtub, separate shower, and controls that (thankfully) didn’t require use of a wand.

Hermione cut into her parent’s sense of awe with a reminder that they had a lunch date with Sir Evan. When Emily asked if Harry or Hermione wanted to use the shower first they were forced to admit that they had their own tent upstairs. With promises to give that tour sometime later, Harry and Hermione left her parent’s new tent for their own.

+++

Sir Evan was thrilled to have been invited to Windsor Castle for lunch; despite his knighthood it was the first time he’d ever been inside. His reaction, then, when Harry and Hermione asked if he wanted to live within the castle, was understandably favorable. There were two issues that needed resolution prior to his move, however: his hip, and the Death Eater prisoners that were still being held underneath Privet Drive’s wards.

Sir Evan’s envisioned mission as part of the newly reconstituted Order of Arthur was twofold. First, a centralized anchor point was needed for the Order; a safe meeting place within the muggle world where all of the Order members could meet in an emergency. That anchor required someone to stay at the Castle at all times. Since Sir Evan was already serving as an anchor for Privet Drive, it would be a change in location more than a change in mission. But as the captured Death Eaters were now all under combined muggle/wizard guard on Privet Drive, Sir Evan was still needed there (in case other Order Members were needed there in a hurry). Harry stated his intention to resurrect the Round Tower’s role as a jailhouse of sorts, but said that any decision to do so required active Castle wards and permission from both Queen and Prime Minister. Hermione was working on the former, while a meeting on 10 Downing had been arranged for the following week to discuss the latter.

The possibility of Round Tower as jail tied into Sir Evan’s second role at Windsor Castle. If there were wizard prisoners to be kept within the tower, there would be need of an on-site jailor. A c-mug was also now needed to raise and lower the Round Tower’s flagging whenever the Queen was in residence. Sir Evan could fill both roles, but only if he could get up and down the Tower’s stone stairs. The broken hip and wheelchair use were therefore an issue. When this point was brought up over lunch Sir Evan gave a guilty smile, and confessed that over the past week he had been able to sweet talk two very nice young witches (Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet, specifically) into casting some low-powered healing charms on his leg. To prove the point, he rose from his wheel chair and performed a little jig.

Sir Evan had maintained the ruse in order to shield Katie and Alicia from any troubles about spell casting on a muggle. Harry and Hermione were more amused than alarmed, however. Harry told Sir Evan that a spell cast within Privet Drive’s wards couldn’t be tracked, and Hermione told him that any residual magic within the restored hip bone would dissipate within a few weeks. With that information in hand, Sir Evan stood and asked to take a walk up the Round Tower’s steps.

That Sir Evan had no problem walking up and down the stairs allowed Harry and Hermione to show him where they thought he might take up residence.

“Don’t mind the bars, Sir Evan,” Harry said as he led them into the jail’s “King’s Suite.” “We’ve already asked for a replacement door.”

The single room that covered this level of the tower was exactly the same as it was during the previous day’s tour, with three exceptions: one tent, and two paintings. As the tent appeared on the outside to be perfectly normal, Sir Evan’s attention was immediately drawn to the larger of the two paintings. Of course, the fact that there were nine beautiful women moving about within the frame might have had something to do with it as well.

“Sir Harry, how did you know my taste in art?” Sir Evan asked with a roguish grin.

Roger Granger and Harry joined Sir Evan for a closer look at the Muses. “Hey Harry, was there more where this one came from?” he asked with a laugh. Meanwhile, Hermione and her mom stood with arms crossed, sharing a look of bemusement.

“At least they have clothes on now, mum,” Hermione said.

They watched with fascination as the nine figures took turns reaching through the edge of their painting and into the smaller work that hung right next to it. It was a still life of a bowl of fruit, and the Muses were grabbing apples and bunches of grapes. In between bites the figures flirted with the three men and spoke endearments in French.

“They look hungry,” Emily said.

“You would be too, if you hadn’t eaten in five hundred years,” her daughter replied. Hermione then told her mum the fascinating story that the painting’s figures had told in between their first bites of magical energy.

The nine women who had posed for the portrait weren’t really muses, of course…the witches that had served as inspiration for ancient muggle mythology had lived some two thousand years prior to the painting’s execution. A sixteenth-century French wizard artist had created the painting, and the figures were echoes of young French witches that had lived at that time. They had told Hermione that the rich mistress of a French king had commissioned the painting. The King, who had been imprisoned within the Round Tower, had written to this mistress of his loneliness, and she had conspired with the French king’s wizard to give him some company.

There was a reason behind the painting’s topic. Wanting to give his king something more than just eye candy, the French wizard had scoured the French wizarding world for not just beautiful witches, but smart and artistic ones as well. One was versed in poetry, another in the Classics, a third had a voice of gold, and so on. By choosing to paint them as Muses, the wizard artist was able to give them the instruments and texts that the echoes needed to entertain the French king in private. Apparently, the English king and castellan that held the French king were ignorant of the wizarding world, and thought nothing of allowing the painting to be hung in the jailed king’s cell (his confinement having certain advantages due to his rank). The jailors were similarly ignorant of the reason why several paintings of food accompanied the larger work.

Emily asked why, if the figures were now clothed, they had been found bathing nude, and why they hadn’t eaten for five hundred years. Hermione explained the mechanics of magical paintings, stating that the figures eventually ran out of painted food, and had been unable to scavenge for more. The story for their state of dress was a bit darker. After the French king died in captivity his jailor discovered the magic behind the paintings and decided to satiate his more prurient interests. He removed the magical food paintings from the castle, and forced the echoes to shed their clothing and perform for him in exchange for a few pieces of magical food, brought back to the castle one grape at a time.

“So this castellan forced them to become sex slaves of a sort?” Emily asked.

“I’m afraid so,” Hermione replied. “They had no rights, of course…magical world has problems granting equal status to sentient magical beings, much less paintings…really horrible, when you think of it…”

“Well at least they’re in a better place and better situation now,” Emily replied.

Hermione nodded. “They’re still a little too flirty for me, but at least it’s in French…Harry’s not exactly a master of languages.”

That earned a laugh from Emily. “Well unfortunately for me, our family vacations across the Channel have given your father more than enough understanding. Speaking of which…” She called out to her husband, “Think we have some duties at the control room, Roger.”

“Yes dear,” her husband replied with feigned grumpiness.

As the Granger’s headed off to their MI-5 ¾ responsibilities, Harry and Hermione showed Sir Evan his future magical home. With need to stay for that night’s meeting, Sir Evan suggested that he could use a kip inside the tent before teatime. Looking at their day schedule, Harry and Hermione realized that they themselves had ninety minutes of free time before they were to meet with Ron back at the Burrow. Rationalizing that their day had started early, and promised to end late, Harry and Hermione left Sir Evan for the friendly confines of their own magical tent and an afternoon nap of their own.

++++++++++

A/N: This busy day has been split into two chapters. Took me long enough, but we will see Ginny next time around. Grrrowwlll!

Chapter 32: Org Chart

A/N: Sorry, but my muse is going on Thanksgiving holiday, so it was update now, or wait until next week. A poor excuse for pushing back Ginny once again, but I’m really working hard on writing a scene that hasn’t already been done a thousand times (and at least a few hundred times better than me). Hope that serving up a large fluffy dish of pumpkin pie is adequate compensation.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Bliss lost out to worry as Harry rose from the failed kip. Untangling his limbs, he sighed as Hermione reached out in her sleep for the warmth he’d stolen from her, then turned and headed down to their common room.

Harry walked up to the borrowed white board, grabbed a dry erase marker, and checked off the last four names on their list. There’d been little doubt that they’d accept the offer to join the Order of Arthur. Fred and George, who had seen the badges in action, said yes even before Harry could completely verbalize the invitation. Tonks and Remus had been almost as quick; their brief discussion at The Leaky Cauldron involved far more explanation of purpose than arm-twisting.

It was the rest of the list that had caused Harry’s stomach to flip in fear - Wally, Steve, and Hermione’s parents. The guilt felt over Brian’s condition had initially blinded Harry to the notion that the new Order members were all wizards, and capable of bouncing back from injury as easily as Fred had. With second thoughts, however, he decided that his responsibility to the Queen required quick access if need be. Sir Evan, of course, could anchor her location when she was at Windsor, but Ascot Week was an aberration; weekend visits were more often the norm, and even with her advanced age she got around the country quite a bit. With input from Wally and Steve they’d decided that the best approach to this problem would be for Steve to be reassigned to the Queen’s personal guard. In that way, all of the Order of Arthur members could rally to his position should the Queen ever again come under attack.

This idea of rally points had also been used to flesh out the roles of Tonks and Lupin. Tonks and all of the other Aurors that had been guarding the grounds of Hogwarts had been recalled to the home office after the attack, so she would be well placed to allow immediate access to the Ministry of Magic. Lupin, on the other hand, had no official ties to the Ministry, making him an ideal candidate for anchoring Hogwarts. Of course the Headmistress would have as well, but after some thought (and a bit of guilt) they’d decided that Remus would be more nimble on a broom and in battle.

Which left five badges, and the realization that the wizard-muggle teams that had been used on Privet Drive had worked for a reason. Wally was a natural selection, but they’d agonized over whether or not to include Mr. and Mrs. Granger. On the one hand it seemed like a selfish move; with the badges her parents would be able to escape any dangerous situation better than any other muggle could. But on the other hand the badges would put them at greater danger than any other muggles, because of the responsibility that came with it. Roger and Emily had proven their mettle at Privet Drive, and were constantly surprising them with new skills and capabilities. They also were c-mugs with motivation to fight and the knowledge to support that fight, but still…they were her parents. In the end, they had decided to lay out their concerns to her parents and ask their opinion. Roger and Emily had said that the choice was Harry’s, but they’d be honored to serve if asked. Harry, very reluctantly, gave them that honor.

Harry had plenty of ideas to explore with the assembled Order. He also, however, had plenty of self-doubt. Was he really a leader? It had been one thing to head up the DA, but as Harry looked once more at the list of names he came to the startling realization that he was the youngest person on the list!

And if that wasn’t enough to worry about there were all of his other responsibilities. Harry started to draw, following some of the diagram and flow charting tricks Hermione had taught him. A big box labeled “Clan Potter” was drawn on the board’s edge, with an arrow connecting it to his name on the Order list. A second box, marked “Fawkes Foundation” was similarly tied to his name. And then the dam burst, and all kinds of worries were linked to his name (e.g. Hogwarts, his finances, MI-5 ¾, member of the Queen’s staff). By the time he’d finished the white board resembled a giant web, with Harry the spider in the middle of it all.

He stepped back, then made the startling realization that he’d forgotten something. He reached out and wrote “VOLDEMORT/YOU-KNOW-WHAT HUNT” within a box that he linked to his name. Thinking that the omission perfectly symbolized his current state, he hurled the dry erase marker towards the white board. It bounced off the surface without satisfaction.

A call on his badge brought him out of his funk.

“Wally, what’s up?”

“Nothing bad, Sir Harry…just wanted to let you know that there are some boxes waiting for you down at the loading docks.”

Harry assumed that the goblins had made their delivery from his vault and told Wally that he was on his way. He then walked down the stairs and out of the tower. The loading docks were located within the Lower Ward, away from the State Apartments. As Harry’s path took him past a perpetual queue of tourists, he steeled himself for some public recognition.

The possibility that he might become just as famous within the muggle world was a frightening prospect. Being “The-Boy-Who-Lived” had forced him to accept the stares, smiles and waves from strangers for years, so he’d reasoned that he’d be able to adjust. He tried to limit his movement around the Castle to times outside of public hours, but there were times (such as this one) where he knew he just had to grin a bear it.

A teenage girl recognized him as he walked down the path and yelped out an autograph request. It’d happened twice the day previous, and he obligingly walked over. This time, however, there was more than a Castle Tour ticket stub to sign; the preteen handed Harry the latest issue of a muggle magazine called TRW (short for “Teen Royal Watch”). The cover startled him; it was a picture of him in top hat and tails, taken at Ascot. The teaser headline read “Wizar-Delicious! Palace Serves Up New Magical Hearthrob.”

As he finished writing the magazine cover, things began to spiral out of control. Another magazine was thrust in front of him, and then another, as the queue developed a bulbous growth of star-struck girls on its side. Hands not holding pens aimed camera phones, and picture flashes began to flare as the autograph requests became much more direct and provocative; one twenty-something blonde asked if he’d sign her knickers (while they were still worn, mind you).

A hand grasped his shoulder and pulled Harry back as the mob tried to crush its way into singularity. “Right then, that’s enough, ladies and gents. Please return to your queue, as the Queen’s Wizard has some meetings to attend to…back in queue, please….”

Harry turned and gave Roger Granger a slightly embarrassed look as Emily placed herself between Harry and the tourist pack desperate for some body contact. Once Harry cleared the crowd by a few meters those still in pursuit realized its futility, and quickly turned to secure their places in line.

“Thanks for the help,” Harry told the Grangers, as they walked away from the crowd. “Almost apparated out that situation.”

“Tsk, tsk, Harry,” Roger said with a smile. “You’ll be needing to be more mindful of visitor’s hours, now that Fleet Street’s proclaiming you ‘Queen’s Hottie.’”

“Arrggh,” Harry replied, “That’s exactly what I didn’t want happening…hope you two didn’t think I was courting any of that.”

“No worries, Harry,” Emily replied. “We had video on you from the start…came when we realized you’d be needing some help.”

The Grangers walked Harry down to the dock, where two burly Castle staff members were already loading large boxes onto two utility carts. He signed some papers, then took an offered seat next to one of the men as they drove out onto the path back towards the tower. He yelled out more thanks to the Grangers as he passed them on their walk back to their post, then turned and waved again to the crowd as they caught sight of him.

“Become a Castle attraction yourself, you have,” the driver dryly said.

“Yeah, I guess it comes with the job,” Harry said with resignation.

When they arrived at the tower Harry got out to open the door, then walked back to help the two men unload. One of the men practically slapped his hand away. “What do you think you’re doing, there, lad?”

“Just lending a hand…it’s my things, after all.”

The man shook his head. “See that the kitchen staff were right about you…Sir Harry, is it? Yes, well, Sir Harry, have you ever heard the ditty about Sir Reggie?”

Harry shook his head.

“Ah, well it goes something like this…

Sir Reggie went to change a light,

Fell off the ladder, serves him right!

He should have stayed where he did best,

And paid those skilled to do the rest.

Harry took a few seconds to work out the poem’s purpose. When he failed to wipe the daft look off his face the man continued. “You and I, we both work for the Queen, right? To do what…I’m a mover, and you’re a magician. If you spend time doing what I can do to serve the Crown, then who is going to do the wizarding? Not me.”

Harry nodded. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you to think that I think I’m better than…

“Look Sir Harry,” the man said, “It touches my heart to see your feet on the ground, and lacking airs…but you need not prove that every day by washing dishes and mowing the lawn. By letting those around you do what they do best…that’s what allows you to do your magic…to do what you do best.”

Harry broke into a smile, and reached out his hand. “Thank you for the advice…I can’t tell you how much your wisdom is going to help me.”

The mover shook Harry’s hand, and then raised his fingers up in a military salute. “Happy to help, Sir Harry.”

Harry asked the two men to wait just a few seconds before bringing the boxes upstairs, which gave him time to shrink down and pocket the white board. He then left instructions to leave the boxes within the common room while he went upstairs to “work on his magic.” Once in the dressing room he resized the white board and used a sticking charm to place it on a wall. With the mover’s sage advice still ringing in his ears, Harry started to quickly sketch out a revised organizational chart.

Thirty minutes later Hermione found Harry sitting cross-legged on the floor looking up at his work. She smiled as she sat down behind him and scooted up with her legs outside his. With two arms wrapped around his chest she pulled Harry back until he was leaning on her with his head rested on her shoulder. After a little ear nibbling she asked, “Couldn’t sleep?”

Harry smiled as he closed his eyes and shook his head. “Things on my mind.”

“So it seems,” Hermione replied. “Looks like you’ve taken my flow charting lessons to heart.”

Harry nodded. “Along with the rest of you…and sorry, no give backs.”

Hermione responded with a squeeze. “Guess I’ll muddle through somehow.” She released a hand to wave towards the board. “So what brought this on?”

“I was worrying about things getting lost in all of the shuffle…decided I needed to clarify and quantify my life.” He turned his head towards hers. “So what do you think?”

Hermione let out a “Well…” that for all the world sounded like purring.

“I think it’s brilliant, and smart, and bound to be wildly effective.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Hermione.”

“I certainly hope so, Harry.”

“It’s only a rough draft, though,” he replied. “Any changes before I spring this on Wally and Ron and your parents?”

Hermione stood, grabbed a marker, and began chewing on its end as she examined the board. In the center, Harry had written his name next to Hermione’s with Ron’s right below to form a triangle. All three names were within a box labeled “Treasure Hunt,” representing, (Hermione guessed), the Trio’s horcrux search. Outside this box, Harry had drawn more boxes, each representing a group or organization that he was linked to. Within each box was a membership roster of sorts, with the top name in all-caps and underlined. Hermione noted that Harry had, on paper at least, accepted the need to delegate power and authority. The box labeled “Fawkes Foundation” had her mum’s name on top, her dad’s name was linked to Harry’s finances, and her name…well, her name was in quite a few boxes, but it was given top-billing within Clan Potter.

“Harry,” she asked, “Don’t you think that the Clan Chief should be head of Clan Potter?”

“Only when I have to,” Harry replied with a smile, “Thought I’d ask the powers behind the throne to run things otherwise.”

Hermione silently nodded, noting that Ron’s name was also prominent within the Clan box, as Champion and head of something labeled “CAF.”

“Stands for ‘Clan Air Force’,” Harry replied sheepishly when she asked about it. “Wanted to make sure that Dean, Neville and the rest know how important they are in all this.”

“Because you ran out of Order of Arthur badges?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Hermione nodded and moved on to the other side of the board. The names of the twelve Order of Arthur members were boxed, with Harry’s name underlined (but not all-capped). MI-5 ¾ had a box with Wally’s name on top (and Harry and Hermione’s absent). Windsor Castle had a box as well, as did Hogwarts, the muggle government and a small box with the word “Peanut Butter Brigade.” When asked, Harry said that it was a place-holder of sorts, representing his relationship to those within the magical world that supported him (with “Peanut Butter” standing for “Pure-Blood”)

Hermine took two steps back from the board. “I think that Harry Potter, Inc. has become a multi-national corporation,” she said.

“Well, not quite,” Harry replied. He looked up at the board and realized that something was missing. Standing, he took the pen from Hermione and drew a box around their names, then drew a line connecting the two names. Above the box he wrote “House of Lord Gryffindor.” He then walked back behind Hermione and wrapped his arms around her in embrace.

“Erm…Harry?”

“Yes, Hermione.”

“I assume you added the Lord to distinguish that box from the Gryffindor House at Hogwarts?”

“That’s right.”

“So shouldn’t Lord Gryffindor’s name be underlined as the head of that little group?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Oh….so Harry?”

“Yes, Hermione.”

“We’re the only two people in that box?”

“For now, yes.”

Hermione turned with a look of scrutiny on her face. “Planning on a harem?”

“No,” Harry said with a smile. “Planning on in-laws.”

Hermione went wide-eyed. “You know, Harry, that’s the second time I’ve heard you talk about in-laws this week…just how definite are those plans of yours?”

Harry’s face dropped into a serious expression. “You’re right, Hermione, I shouldn’t be joking about something that’s so important.”

“Erm Harry…that’s nice, but it didn’t really answer the question?”

“Guess you’re right…it’s just that…well, I can’t imagine living without you in my life. That’s nothing new…I would have said the same thing two months ago…but now it’s, erm, so much better.”

“How?”

“Well…the snogging, of course, is brilliant, and you wield a mean scrub brush, and…and I used to be afraid that if we became more than friends that we’d lose that friendship.”

“Imagine your Aunt and Uncle weren’t the best role models there.”

“For certain,” Harry replied. But it has worked, hasn’t it? We’ve gone beyond just spending all of our waking hours together to adding in the sleep time as well…and we’re not at each others throats, or arguing, or thinking less of each other…”

“Oh sure, say that now…but what happens the first time you hear me pass gas?”

“Who says I haven’t already?”

“Harry James Potter!”

“Ah, come on, Hermione, with all of the time we’ve been together…I mean Ron’s blasts are legendary, but you can’t blame it on him all the time, can you?”

“That’s what a polite boyfriend would do.”

“Well…I guess I could blame him, even though I’d know better…”

“And how is that?”

“Erm…you have to admit, Hermione, while Ron’s display an amazing two octave range, the associated smell is far more consistent. Well, consistent enough to notice a difference….”

Hermione sighed. “Merlin, it’s like having Ron around…one minute we’re talking about marriage plans and the next thing you know we’re comparing farts.” She laughed nervously. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

Harry laughed with her. “You can say anything around me Hermione, and I’m not going to think less of you…you know that.”

Hermione’s eyes were getting moist as she nodded in agreement. “I know…I’ve known that for a long time. Brings us back to that backwards approach we’re taking to our relationship.”

“You mean determine over a number of years that we’re compatible and then go out on a second date?”

“Exactly.” She placed a tender kiss on his lips then took a step back.

“You know, Harry, if you’d have been sorted Slytherin I might have thought your comments about in-laws were a sneaky way of testing the waters before risking a plunge.”

“Really?” Harry smirked. “You do know the Sorting Hat wanted to put me there.”

She gave him another kiss. “Yes, I do.”

“Sure, you say that now, but will you say ‘Yes’ or ‘I do’ when it really matters?”

Hermione smiled, “Guess you’ll have to risk jumping off into the deep end to find out.”

“You know I’m not a very good swimmer.”

Hermione kissed his nose in benediction. “So bring some gillyweed.”

Chapter 33: Muggle Summer II: The Wrath of Ginny?

A/N: Back again. Thanks for your patience…it’s been a while now since last post on this story. Hope that those of you who followed “Gladiator” over that time period considered it time well spent. I’m thinking of this as a “second season,” with plans of working hard to get the next dozen or so chapters out. Have to say that the announcement of Book 7’s publishing date is a strong motivator (I’d rather have readers compare her version against mine rather than the other way around). And now, with that pretentiousness out of the way….

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Friday, June 22, 3:15pm

Ottery St. Catchpole

Harry and Hermione had to take an indirect route from Windsor Castle to Luna Lovegood’s house, as Hermione had never been there before. They apparated/ badge-traveled to just outside The Burrow’s wards, where Ron was waiting for them in his car. From there it only took a few minutes to drive into town.

Harry had floo-called Luna’s father from the Leaky Cauldron earlier that morning with a request to meet with him at his home that afternoon. While Harry didn’t want to explain the meeting purpose, it was easy enough for the Quibbler’s editor to assume that next issue’s cover story on the secret influence of vampires (“Vlad and Rufus: Separated at Birth?”) might be bumped.

Luna had already promised Harry and Hermione to keep Ginny at her house until dinner, allowing plans for Harry to meet with Ginny there as well, effectively killing two birds with one stone. Harry hoped that was all the killing that would occur during those meetings.

They spied Luna and Ginny reading on the front porch steps of the Lovegood residence; Luna was deep into the Sixth-year Ancient Runes text she’d borrowed from Hermione, while Ginny was hunched over the latest “Teen Witch Weekly.”

The skies were overcast, but not yet wet, so the car’s roof was down. This allowed Ginny to practically fall into Harry’s lap after she ran to the stopped car in a blur of red hair and wrapped her arms around Harry’s neck. She pulled his head towards her in a tight embrace, oblivious to Hermione’s scowling in the rear seat and Harry’s deft avoidance of her lips.

“Harry,” she exclaimed, “it’s so wonderful to see you…it seems like ages.”

“Nice to see you too, Ginny,” Harry replied with a bit of stiffness. With gentle insistence he snaked his upper torso out from her embrace. “Erm. Ginny, we should talk later, but right now we’ve got to meet with Mr. Lovegood inside.”

“Okay, sweetheart,” Ginny replied with saccharin-levels of breathiness. Hermione, who was half-way out of the car, turned and stared, but said nothing; it was enough for her to see Harry scoot over the stick shift so that he could exit the car from the side opposite of Ginny.

“I’ll be waiting right here,” Ginny called out. She didn’t see Harry roll his eyes as he strode up the steps with a small stack of portfolios under his arm.

“Father is in his study,” Luna said, as she opened the front door for Harry and Hermione. “First door on the right.”

“Thanks, Luna,” Harry replied, as he grabbed Hermione’s hand and led her inside. Ron, now in Clan Champion mode, drew his wand out and turned his back to the front door, on guard against the advances of Death Eaters and ex-girlfriends. Harry heard him say, “No, Ginny, you’ll just have to wait,” before the door closed behind them.

Harry spared a second to take in his surroundings. It wasn’t a fancy house, but it was comfortable and inviting. The furnishings weren’t that much different than the Burrow’s; a bit less worn, without seven children in the house, but also less tidy (he thought that perhaps Luna’s breezy nonchalance ran in the family). Double stacked bookshelves, piles of yellowing newspapers and the bric-a-brac of world travelers also distinguished the decor.

His observations were interrupted by Lawrence Lovegood’s hearty greeting.

“Mr. Harry Potter, and Ms. Hermione Granger, it is rather thrilling to finally be able to meet you in the flesh.”

Harry turned and gave Luna’s father a firm handshake. “Pleased to meet you as well, Mr. Lovegood. Thank you for agreeing to meet with us at your house and on such short notice.”

Lovegood nodded as he closed the door behind the two teens and cast a series of silencing and privacy wards about the room.

“Thank you for the privacy,” Hermione said. “That was quite an impressive array.”

Mr. Lovegood shrugged his shoulders. “I’m the one that should be conveying thanks…I’ve wanted to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Potter for some time.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” Harry replied, “We both benefited from those Quibbler stories.”

Mr. Lovegood looked at him strangely. “Stories? You misunderstand me, young man. It is my gratitude as a father that I wish to convey. It is as if I could characterize Luna’s happiness and general outlook on life in terms of ‘Before She Met Harry at the start of Fourth Year,’ and ‘After She Met Harry.’”

Harry’s ears turned a bit red. “Thank you, sir,” he replied, “but I don’t think anything I did could have made that much of a change. If anything, I would say that Ron Weasley would have the lion’s share of any credit to be given.”

Lawrence Lovegood looked at Harry for a moment, then nodded as if he’d reached some internal conclusion. “Well perhaps we can discuss that another day. I imagine that you have other things…?”

“Yes, sir,” Harry replied. “I imagine that you’ve been following the reporting on my exploits over the past week in The Daily Prophet?”

Luna’s father nodded. “Always make it a point to scout out the competition, even when its accuracy and objectivity is worth little more than a slightly used chamber pot…so are you here to discuss opportunities to tell your side of the story?”

“Not right now,” Harry replied. “I mean, it did work rather brilliantly last time we did that, but Hermione and I think that we need a more…well, Slytherin…response to the way the Prophet is slandering us, and working as the Ministry’s mouthpiece.”

Hermione said, “Here’s the problem …the Daily Prophet has worked with the Ministry to lay out just enough facts to make it difficult to rebut. I mean, we could…but any accurate description of what’s happened this past week would put certain…intelligence assets…at risk.”

“It also might bring certain events to light that we’d rather stay out of the papers right now,” added Harry.

“I see,” Mr. Lovegood replied. “So you’re thinking of another approach?”

Harry nodded. “I’ve recently gained full control of the Potter Clan’s financial interests, as well as some additional monies from the Black estate. We want to use part of those resources to help you, and The Quibbler, get the truth out about the battle against Voldemort.”

Luna’s father looked at the two teens a bit cautiously. “Are you asking to buy the Quibbler?”

“Oh, no, sir, not at all,” Harry quickly said in reassurance. “If we were to buy any paper outright it’d be the Prophet itself…I apparently already own about 5% of its stock.”

“The problem is that Harry doesn’t want to give even the appearance of using his money to buy power and influence,” said Hermione. “If he did buy that rag, the Ministry would probably just start up its own newspaper, claiming that the wizarding world couldn’t trust what the Prophet would print with Harry as publisher.”

“Like it has a reason now,” Harry muttered.

Lovegood nodded, rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “So a more indirect approach that wouldn’t allow the Ministry to argue that Harry’s controlling either the Prophet or the Quibbler?”

“Exactly,” Hermione replied with a smile. She then reached into her rucksack and retrieved a portfolio of parchment papers. With Lovegood’s encouragement, she started down her list.

“First, we’ve been asked by an independent foundation to make arrangements with the Quibbler to start some new subscriptions.”

“Really?” asked Lovegood, wondering how this piece of information fit in. “How many new subscribers are we talking about?”

“We don’t have the full count right now, but at least six hundred to start.”

Lovegood took a step back in shock.

Harry explained, “The Foundation is looking for a way to get accurate and timely information about the wizarding world into the hands of every single muggle-born Hogwarts student and their families. Giving them a copy of the each issue of the Quibbler seemed a logical approach.”

Hermione had to bite her tongue just a bit when Harry said “accuracy” and “Quibbler” in the same sentence, but nevertheless continued. “The Foundation also expressed interest in getting this news spread more than once a week…might be a stretch to immediately jump to a daily paper, but maybe three times a week would be possible?”

“Three times a week?” asked Lovegood. “That’s a lot of copy to produce…I’m afraid that our staff would not be up to the task, and I’m very sure our old presses wouldn’t be able to take that kind of production rate for very long.”

Harry smiled. “We brought those potential issues to the Foundation’s attention. Their Board of Directors have authorized me to offer an immediate no-interest loan for you to purchase new printing equipment and hire new staff. They also thought you might want to consider moving to a newer, more secure location.” Harry smiled when he added, “Of course, the Board expects that the per issue purchase price will have to be raised a bit to cover these costs, and is prepared to pre-pay its subscriptions at twice the current rate.”

“Don’t forget the advertising,” Hermione said. “That might take up some space in the new editions as well.”

“Oh yes, thank you, Hermione,” said Harry, as she passed a piece of parchment over to Mr. Lovegood. “It turns out that over the years most of the Potter finances have been invested in wizarding businesses, rather sitting in piles of galleons at Gringott’s. That list you have are the businesses and enterprises that I presently either own outright or own majority interest in. I think that you’ll recognize at least a few of them as Quibbler advertisers.

“And a few more that advertise only in the Prophet,” Lawrence added as he quickly scanned the list.

“Up until now,” replied Harry with a grin. “I’m afraid that the Prophet is about to experience a rather shocking drop in advertising revenue.”

Hermione added her smile and comment. “Much better to be in the Quibbler’s position…why with its sudden jump in circulation, I’m sure, Mr. Lovegood, that you’ll be able to increase your advertisement rates quite nicely.”

“And I’m sure that the companies on that list will be willing to pay those new charges,” Harry said with a twinkle in his eye.

Lovegood stood gobsmacked in front of the two teens, then turned to levitate a pile of books off of his desk chair so that he could take a seat.

“This is all so overwhelming,” he finally said. “And what do you, or this foundation expect in return?”

“Nothing,” Harry said in reassurance. “Nothing more than what you are already doing.”

“Well…” said Hermione with a small smile, “It might be nice to know that at least some of those new reporters you hire focus on the Ministry and current events, and that Scrimgeour’s hijinks share the lead with Snorkack sightings now and again.”

Lovegood chuckled at that response. “Fair enough.”

“I couldn’t say for sure,” Harry said with a smile, “but you might find that in the future there will be a few more Ministry insiders willing to speak to Quibbler reporters off the record.”

“As well as the occasional anonymous tip from those most definitely outside of the Ministry, Harry?” the editor asked with an upraised eyebrow.

They all laughed at that observation. Hermione then provided Lovegood with some papers to sign from both the Fawkes Foundation and Gringott’s. The Quibbler’s editor didn’t fail to notice the unmarked envelope that was also within this pile of parchment. Harry and Hermione were forced to decline Lovegood’s invitation to stay for dinner with assurances to meet again in the near future, Luna’s father then led Harry and Hermione back out to the front steps of his house.

Upon his return to his office Lovegood opened the unmarked envelope. A few pieces of parchment and two wizarding photographs spilled out. Quickly scanning the first document, he found a list naming all of the Death Eater insiders that had tried to take control of Ministry that past week, sorted by department. “Little wonder they didn’t name names and departments in the Prophet,” he mused, as he realized just how many spies were within the Minister’s office itself.

He then laid the two photographs side-by-side on his desk. The first photograph was a headshot of Rita Skeeter, winking at the camera while her Quick Quotes Quill scribbled furiously over her shoulder. The second image was a close-up shot of a black beetle that appeared to be trapped in a glass jar. A comparison of these two pictures revealed markings on the beetle that looked amazingly similar to the gaudy glasses that Rita was wearing. Apparently, Lovegood’s anonymous source was thinking along those same lines, for attached to the second photograph was a Ministry list of all registered animagi (Skeeter’s name was absent), a copy of the law requiring anamagi to register, and contact information for the Ministry personnel responsible for enforcing that law.

Lovegood shook his head and laughed, thinking, “A most Slytherin response, indeed.”

+++

When Harry and Hermione returned to the front steps of the house they found Ginny anxiously waiting for them. Bowing to the inevitable, Harry asked Ginny to take a walk with him. Ginny squeeled in delight as she grabbed his arm and they began a slow walk around the streets of Ottery St. Catchpole.

“Harry,” said Ginny, once she thought they were out of earshot of the others, “it’s been so awful reading those lies about you in the Daily Prophet.”

“Yeah, well what do you expect?”

“I mean, the idea that you’d even think about working for a muggle instead of for the Ministry. Even if she is some kind of Queen…”

Well, actually,” Harry said somewhat bemusedly, “they got that part right.”

Ginny stopped in her tracks and asked, “What?”

Harry snorted, then looked around for someplace to sit. He led Ginny to a bench placed within a small municipal park and took a seat, making sure that Hermione, Ron and Luna (who had been trailing the two at a discreet distance) were still within eyesight.

“The part about me working for the muggle Queen of England is what the Prophet got right.”

“But why?” asked Ginny, shock etched on her face, “What business does this muggle queen have meddling with the wizarding world?”

Harry looked at Ginny rather crossly, then said, “Ginny, it’s the business of the muggle Queen and the muggle Ministry to protect its citizens. When our Ministry and the Aurors can’t keep Dark Lords and Dementors from killing innocent muggles, then they do have the right to get involved.”

“But wouldn’t you be more effective working for the Ministry rather than this queen?”

Harry shook his head and sighed. “Ginny, you read the Prophet…the part about the Minister of Magic believing that I’m a serious threat is for the most part true as well.”

“You, Harry…a threat?”

“Yeah,” Harry replied. “Not to the wizarding world, mind you, but a threat to them…Scrimgeour, Umbridge…even your brother Percy. And the feeling is mutual, frankly.”

“How so, Harry?”

Harry snorted. “Hermione and I had to fend off an attack by Umbitch and her lackey aurors the first night I was back at my Aunt and Uncle’s.”

“Oh,” said Ginny. She ignored the idea that the Ministry had it in for Harry and then asked what she thought was a much more pertinent question.

“So why was Hermione at your Aunt and Uncle’s house?”

Harry looked at Ginny with disbelief. He counted to five, then calmly replied, “Because I needed her there.”

“What? You needed Hermione’s help?”

Harry sighed. “Yes, Ginny, as much as it pains me to have her in harm’s way, I don’t think I could live without Hermione by my side.”

Ginny’s face started to turn beet red. “So you distance yourself from me, saying that I can’t be put in harm’s way, but it’s okay for Hermione to be with you night and day?”

“No, Ginny,” Harry replied. “it’s not like that…I also told Hermione that I didn’t want her near me the same day I told you.”

“So what made you change your mind…what did she do to make you change your mind?” Ginny huffed. “Why her and not me?”

Harry took a moment, then replied softly. “Because Hermione refused to allow me to push her away, Ginny….and you didn’t.”

“Oh,” Ginny replied, looking as if Harry had just punched her in the gut. After a few quiet moments spent staring at the ground she looked at Harry with steely resolve and said, “Well now I’m refusing too.”

Harry shook his head. “That can’t happen, Ginny.”

“And why not?”

Harry ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “Well, for a number of reasons. First, because you’re underage.”

“But so are you, Harry.”

“Yeah, well as Queen’s Wizard that underage restriction doesn’t apply to me anymore…that was one of the reasons why I agreed to the job.”

“Oh, well…when have we worried about those restrictions, Harry?” Ginny asked. “Never been a problem at the Burrow, right?”

“Exactly my point,” Harry replied. “Students that grow up in wizarding homes don’t have to worry about getting caught doing underage magic when they’re home on break, because the Ministry simply assumes the magic is being done by the parents.”

“Really? I thought that they had some sort of tracking spell on our wands.”

Harry shook his head. “The Ministry has sensors that detect when and where magic is used…they can’t tell who is actually doing the spell. That’s why they need to do Priori Incantatum to detect the use of Dark spells using a particular wand. That’s the reason why I got in trouble back in Second Year when Dobby did magic at my Aunt and Uncle’s house…the Ministry assumed that if magic was done in that muggle household that I must have been the one to do it.”

“Huh…I didn’t know that.”

Harry nodded. “That was the same excuse Umbitch used to attack us three weeks ago when Hermione cast a cleaning spell on some bed clothes.”

Ginny paused, then brightened her expression when an idea came to mind. “Then you can simply move to The Burrow…Ron’s back now, after all.”

Harry shook his head. “Ginny, being Queen’s Wizard makes me responsible for certain things…I need to stay within the muggle world this summer. Just like you and all of the other pureblood students will be forced to stay in the wizarding world.”

“What do you mean?”

Harry looked at her and decided that Ginny really didn’t know about the draft. “Talk to your dad, Ginny…the Ministry is going to force all of the Sixth and Seventh Year pureblood students to work at the Ministry as interns.”

“Oh.” Ginny replied. “So that’s the reason for Hermione being with you….because she’s muggleborn?”

Harry nodded. “That’s just one of the reasons.”

Ginny sighed, then tried to pull Harry into an embrace. “Oh, Harry,” she said, “I just can’t wait until you kill Voldemort so that all of this will be behind us and you can move back to the wizarding world and we can go back to the way things were…”

Harry carefully pulled Ginny’s arms away from his neck and shook his head as he held her hands. “That’s not going to happen, Ginny.”

“Oh, don’t say that, Harry…of course you’re going to defeat Voldemort.”

“Well, that part, okay,” Harry said with a slight grin. “But if and when that happens, things will never be the same.”

“What do you mean? You’ve still got Seventh Year, and N.E.W.T.’s, and a Quidditch team to captain, and a girlfriend to snuggle up with in front of the Common Room fireplace…”

“No Ginny,” Harry said firmly. “We can’t go back. I don’t think I’m even going back to Hogwarts as a student, and I have more important things than Quidditch to worry about, and….well, there’s one more very important reason why things can’t go back to the way that they were.”

“Why is that?”

Harry let Ginny’s hands go, pushed his own into his pockets, and summoned the courage to reply while looking at her eyes.

“Because Hermione and I have fallen in love with each other.”

Ginny’s eyes went wide, then she began shaking her head almost violently.

“No!”

Harry looked back across the street and saw that Ginny’s response had drawn the interest of Hermione and Ron (both had wands drawn discretely to their sides).

“I’m sorry, Ginny, but it’s true.”

“No, no, no,…that’s not possible, Harry, no, it simply can’t be.”

“Ginny…”

Ginny stood up and started to walk back and forth in front of the bench, with her head down and arms wrapped around herself.

“No…no…no…not possible….not the way it’s supposed to be…not the way it’s meant to be…”

“Ginny, stop, please, and listen to me.”

Ginny shook her head and muttered. “Nope, can’t listen to what can’t be happening…no….Mrs. Ginny Potter…it’s the way it’s supposed to be…”

Harry stood and grabbed Ginny’s arms, forcing her to stand still. “Ginny, are you going to stop and listen to me, or am I going to have to petrify you?”

“No, Harry,” Ginny replied, “you wouldn’t do that to me…we were meant to be together…”

“Oy! Ginny!” Ron shouted from across the way. “If Harry doesn’t, then I will.”

Ginny turned her head to look at her brother, then shook her head once more. “Nope, can’t be happening…must be a dream, or some delusion, or else Ron would be hexing Harry right now…can’t be real…Mrs. Potter…meant to be…”

Hermione decided that enough was enough and crossed the street. Ron and Luna were close behind, each worried that hexes would be flying in the very near future.

Hermione went to Harry’s side, and grabbed hold of his hand in support. She turned to Ron and nodded, in a silent request for help.

“Ginny, this is not a dream,” Ron said, as he walked up to his sister. “Harry and Hermione are together, I’m okay with it, and that’s as it should be.”

Ron’s comment broke Ginny out of her quasi-catatonic state. She waved her arm towards Harry and Hermione and asked, “What? You’re okay with this?”

Ron reached out for Luna’s hand, which she gave him with a smile. Ron then turned back to his sister and said, “Yes, Ginny…I’m more that okay with it.”

Ginny looked at Ron and Luna holding hands and put a rational thought together. “So you..and Luna?” Ginny asked sarcastically. “Oh, now it makes so much sense….Harry and Hermione, Ron and Luna….well where in Merlin’s name does that leave me….with Draco Malfoy?”

Ron shuddered. “Don’t need to go down that road, Ginny, do you?” he asked.

“We’re sorry that your upset about this,” Hermione said, “But it is what it is…it is what it has been for some time now. We just didn’t realize it, and I think that you know that’s the case.”

Ginny turned towards Hermione and her eyes narrowed. “You!” she cried. “You knew I’ve fancied Harry for the longest time…you knew and you betrayed me!”

“No, Ginny,” Harry said, his fingers now on his wand, “You didn’t fancy me, you fancied The Boy-Who-Lived.”

“What?” Ginny asked. “But you are the Boy-Who-Lived?”

Hermione made an attempt to reach out but Ginny turned her back. Harry motioned to the others to take a few steps back.

“Ginny, walk with me some more?” he asked.

Ginny didn’t look up at Harry, but did nod her head slightly and reached out her left hand. Harry let out his deep breath, then looked over to Hermione. When she nodded her acceptance, Harry took Ginny’s hand, and began to walk with her down a park path.

“You had a crush on me even before you met me, didn’t you?” he asked.

Ginny quietly stole a glance at Harry, before softly replying, “Maybe.”

“But you didn’t know what I was like, really…all you knew of me was that I somehow saved the wizarding world, right?”

“But then I did meet you, Harry,” Ginny said, “and I did get the chance to know the real you.”

Harry nodded. “Yes, Ginny, you had the chance, but did you really take it?”

“Of course I did,” Ginny replied a bit sharply. “Or did I miss something in between all of the snogging last month?”

“I think maybe you did,” Harry replied sadly. “If you really did know me then you wouldn’t have said what you did on the day of Dumbledore’s funeral.”

“What?” Ginny asked, in a tone that suggested she really didn’t know. “What do you mean?”

Harry sighed. “You said that I wouldn’t be happy unless I was fighting Voldemort.”

“Um, yeah?” Ginny replied. “You’d rather somebody else was doing it? I mean, really…it’s who you are.”

Harry stopped and had to count to ten to stave off an outburst. “Ginny….you still don’t get it, do you?” He sighed. “If somebody has to face Voldemort, I guess it has to be me if you take stock in the prophecy, but….fighting Dark Lords is not who I am….Your heroic Boy-Who-Lived might get off on being a superhero, but Harry Potter would wish nothing better than to have a quiet life with a wife, family, and bit of garden to tend to.”

Ginny shook her head. “Oh, that’s just the stress talking, Harry.”

“No Ginny,” Harry replied sharply. “It’s always been that way….you know, Ron used to think the same way, and if he’s gotten it through his thick skull then I would hope you could too. I’d trade all of the fame and all of my fortune for a simple life of anonymity.”

Ginny shook her head. “No…even when you do kill Voldemort, you’ll still want to be the good guy, the hero…it’s the “people saving thing,” like Hermione says.”

Harry stopped and forced Ginny to look at him. “Yes, Hermione’s said that…but she also knows just how reluctant I am when it comes to dealing with all of the publicity and fame and adoration.”

Ginny tried to make a joke of that, saying, “Well you will really need to work on that then, because if you think you’re popular in the wizarding world now, just wait until Voldemort’s gone.”

Harry shook his head. “I’m not going to change, Ginny, and I don’t think I’ll care a rat’s arse what the wizarding world thinks of me, because I’m not sure I’m ever coming back.”

“What do you mean?” Ginny asked. “Of course you’ll be part of the wizarding world, how could one of the most powerful wizards in the world not be?”

“You still don’t get it, do you?” Harry asked quietly. “I don’t want to be part of a wizarding world that doesn’t care if a Dark Lord pops up every fifty years…I mean, look at this pure-blood nonsense that is still out and about.”

“Well you certainly could change that as Minister of Magic,” Ginny replied brightly.

“No, I don’t think I could,” Harry replied, “even if I were offered the job. Which I won’t, because Queen’s Wizard is not a job to walk away from….not a job I want to walk away from.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ginny, by accepting the job as Queen’s Wizard I’ve given up any chance of working for the Ministry of Magic…at least in its current form. In a way I actually have added fuel to the fire of all of those pureblooded bigots who claim that muggle-borns can’t be trusted in the wizarding world.”

“But you’re not a muggle-born, Harry…your dad was pure-blooded.”

“I was muggle-raised, though….I don’t see the difference, and the bigots don’t either.”

“So that means…”

“So that means that I’ll never be able to live completely within the wizarding world, even if I wanted to.”

“But there’s no reason why I couldn’t chuck it all to be with you, right?”

“Ginny, let’s be honest,” Harry replied. “You’ve been raised in the wizarding world…been a part of it all your life. I can’t imagine you trying to live even partway in the muggle world.”

“But I could try.”

“Yes, Ginny, you could try….but you wouldn’t truly be happy in the muggle world.”

“So you and Hermione…it’s just because she’s muggle-born, then, eh?”

Harry shook his head. “Not at all, Ginny…unless being muggle-born is the only way someone couldn’t be so captivated by the Boy-Who-Lived image that she couldn’t see the real me…see me as I want to be.”

The walked silently for a few moments, giving Harry the chance to confirm that the other three were still a respectful pace behind.

“Listen, Ginny, I don’t know if what I’ve said makes any sense, but it is the way it is, and I need you to accept Hermione and me being together.”

Ginny snorted. “Why do you need my acceptance?”

“Because, Ginny, I don’t want to lose you as a friend…just like I didn’t want to lose Ron’s friendship.”

“You still want to be friends?”

Harry pulled Ginny into an awkward hug. “Of course I do.”

“So just friends, then?”

Harry looked at Ginny for a moment, then added, “Well, friends and comrade-in-arms too.”

Ginny looked at Harry quizzically. “But I thought you didn’t want me fighting by your side?”

Harry nodded. “That’s right, Ginny…but with the way things are I still need your help…maybe even in ways more important than being with me.”

“How’s that?”

Harry paused, then looked over his shoulder back at Ron, Luna and Hermione.

“Well, Ginny…I need to form another army, kind of like the DA.”

“Something like the DA but not the DA?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah…right now I’m calling it the Peanut Butter Brigade.”

Ginny looked at Harry strangely. “What’s peanut butter, and how would you use it to fight?”

Harry laughed, and motioned for the others to join in the scheming.

+++

A/N: Yes I know a few of you are still patiently waiting for the last chapter of Gladiator…it’s getting there, really. Give me another week or so.

Muggle Summer

A/N: Stupid Author Trick #12: Lose the flash drive that held all of your "in progress" files. Stupid Author Trick #13: Back up your flash drive on an occasional and irregular basis. Didn’t affect this story that much, but I’m going to have to start the last chapter of Gladiator Sweat over from scratch. Sorry folks.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 34 – Down on the Farm

Friday, June 22, 6:00pm
Ottery St. Catchpole

Ginny Weasley considered it a ridiculously implausible situation.

Four weeks ago she was well on her way to showing Harry Potter the insides of every broom closet in Hogwarts. And today….today, Harry showed her the inside a muggle automobile. Which wouldn’t have been so bad, had it not been for the fact that she was in the front passenger seat next to her brother, while Harry was snuggling up against her former friend in the backseat.

The news that Ron not only could drive the car but owned it would have be shocking in its own right, had it not been revealed on the heels of Harry and Hermione’s little surprise. She snorted as Ron struggled to push pedals and move the metal stick in between them to keep the automobile moving forward. It seemed that Harry had no trouble with Ron trying to learn to live as a muggle.

Go figure.

They were making the short trip from Luna’s back to the Burrow, and the Golden Trio were kind enough to leave her alone with her thoughts. She found herself thinking not so much about what went wrong with her and Harry, as what went wrong when Harry broke the news.

You see, Ginny was rather disgusted with her own performance. She had a good idea what was going to happen…how could she not have, given the dragon-sized hints that Ron and Luna had been dropping the past week or two? And still, when Harry told her that he was with Hermione she hadn’t been strong…she’d gone mental. Near-catatonic. In a daze. Mumbling incoherently. All in all far too much like how Michael Corner and Dean Thomas had acted when she had broken up with them. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Harry had gone on to explain why he couldn’t be with Ginny with arguments that actually made sense.

It was a very bitter potion to swallow.

At least she’d recovered some of her dignity in the aftermath. He still wanted to be friends, which meant that she might have the chance to learn about "the real Harry" that she apparently new nothing about. And it was actually rather exciting to have had Harry ask her to do something that was not just important and potentially dangerous, but something that Hermione couldn’t do.

A long-term approach to the problem was indicated….this could just be a little detour along their pre-ordained path. Harry would beat Voldemort…how could he not? The idea that he wouldn’t be welcomed in the wizarding world after that was silly. And while Hermione certainly would have no problems living in the wizarding world with Harry, there were no guarantees that when that time came Hermione would be living, were there?

You didn’t have to get an O on your divination O.W.L to see how the stars were lining up. They were fighting a war. People close to Harry were dying in that war, and the closer Harry got to killing Voldemort, the closer those dying were to Harry.

Two years ago it was Cedric Diggory, whom Harry had considered a friend. He’d been killed while Harry looked on helplessly in the Riddle graveyard. Last year it was Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather, killed while Harry looked on helplessly at the Department of Mysteries. And last month it was Headmaster Dumbledore, Harry’s mentor, who was killed as Harry looked on helplessly at the top of the Astronomy Tower.

Ginny looked over at her brother and worried. Because if the pattern held, the next person in Harry’s life to die while he watched helplessly would be either Ron or Hermione. Maybe both.

Not that she’d wish too much harm on her head, but what if it was Hermione…who’d be there to help Harry get through things then? The night Dumbledore was killed Ginny had been the one to comfort Harry, while Hermione was conveniently petrified and out of the picture.

Ginny looked out the rolled-down door window and smiled. She could bide her time, play nice and pretend to be happy for Harry. She could also make sure that the next time he needed that kind of comfort…the next time someone dear to him was killed while he looked on helplessly…that she was in a position to provide it.

And that the boyfriend-stealing bitch was either once again out of the picture, or the one that was down on the ground.

+++

They arrived at the Burrow to find official-looking letters waiting for Ron and Ginny on the kitchen table. Fleur and Bill were explaining that Arthur had brought them home from the Ministry just as their father came down the stairs and joined them.

"Well go on, open them," Arthur said, "Let’s see where they the powers that be decided to sort you."

"You mean you don’t know?" Hermione asked, as the two tore into the envelopes.

Arthur Weasley replied with a thin smile, "Can’t say that I’m currently in the loop when it comes to the Minister’s office these days….Ron, care to share with us? Imagine the two letters are practically the same."

"Um, sure, dad," Ron replied:

===

June 22, 2006

Ronald Weasley
The Burrow

Greetings:

In accord with Emergency Decree Number(EDN) 124, approved by the June 18, 2006 special session of the Wizengamot, you will report to the Goblin Liaison Office, Being Division, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at 8:00am Monday, July 1, 2006 to begin your internship position within the Ministry of Magic. Specific work hours, duties and expectations are provided on the attached parchment. You might be pleased to note that all required fees associated with your participation in this educational program have been waived by Minister Scrimgeour’s Office.

As per EDN124, failure to appear at the appointed point in time, or to participate in this program, will result in a fine of 100 galleons per day and/or imprisonment on a two days per day missed basis.

We are certain that you will find this unpaid internship to be an enriching experience.

Sincerely,

Dolores Umbridge, Director
Ministry Internship Program
Office of the Minister of Magic

Cc: Percey Weasley, Assistant Director, Ministry Intership Program; Goblin Liaison Office

===

"Bloody Hell," swore Ron, "the git fancies himself an Assistant Director."

"Language, Ron," Ginny said in admonishment.

"Goblin Liaison Office, eh?" asked Bill. "Ginny, what’s your’s say?"

Ginny frowned. "Same thing, except I’ve been assigned to the Werewolf Registry Desk in the Beasts Division.

Ron snorted. "Are any new werewolves bothering to register these days?"

Bill shook his head. "Nope…that position was vacant even before the Ministry purge…had to get somebody from Centaurs to sign off on my discharge papers from St. Mungo’s."

"So what’s the point of forcing me to work in an office that doesn’t have any work to do?" asked Ginny. "Seems like a big waste of time."

"Not much more to learn in the Goblin office," Ron added.

Harry frowned. "That’s the point, I imagine."

Hermione nodded. "Rather ingenious, actually."

"How’s that?" asked Ginny.

"The Ministry lost a lot a good part of their workforce when they were exposed as spies," Hermione replied. "Some of those people were assigned to key positions that really are important."

Arthur nodded. "So they fill the critical positions by transferring current Ministry personnel, then backfill their less critical posts with unpaid interns."

"But they’re calling this an educational internship," Ginny whined. "Without work to do I won’t learn a thing."

Arthur sighed. "Maybe Percy and the Minster’s office trusts you two about as much as me right now, so they want you out of the way."

Harry nodded. "Look on the bright side, Ginny, at least you’ll have time to revise."

Ginny scowled a bit. "Revise for what? Without test results don’t know what I’ll be taking this fall even if Hogwarts opens."

Arthur shook his head. "Plenty of time to worry about things like that later," he said. "Why don’t you two run up and visit your mother…she’ll want to hear about your letters."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "She’s awake? Might Hermione and I visit as well?"

Arthur looked appraisingly at Harry and shook his head. "She’s still rather weak…better to limit the excitement." As if to punctuate that assessment, they heard wailing coming from upstairs about a lost son named Percy.

Arthur left the kitchen intent on settling his wife’s frayed nerves, allowing Fleur to quietly ask if Harry and Hermione had broken the news to Ginny. The reply of "Yes and no" didn’t make much sense, until the two swore Bill and Fleur to secrecy and quickly let them in on their plans.

They fended off another dinner invitation from Fleur with the excuse that they’d soon be off to another meeting. When the badges worn under their robes began to vibrate, Ron came down the stairs at a pace just under barreling and gave Harry and Hermione a questioning look. The two looked at each other in silent communication, before Harry smiled and turned to Bill and Fleur.

"Do you two want to add on to that oath of secrecy?"

Bill and Fleur both shrugged shoulders and nodded as the three teens pulled their robes open enough to expose their Order of Arthur badges.

"So Big Brother," Ron said as he winked at Harry and Hermione, "You think the protective wards are strong enough around this house?"

"Of course," said Bill, a bit put off. "Did them myself…just as strong as any guarding any of the Ministry’s buildings."

"Oh, okay," Ron said with a sly smile. "Just checking….I’ll be back in a couple of hours to ask again." He then touched his badge, said a few quiet words, and disappeared with nary a pop.

Bill and Fleur both looked at where Ron should have been, then turned to face Harry and Hermione with a mixture of wonder and fear in their eyes.

"He doesn’t even have an apparition license," Bill said.

Harry smiled. "Didn’t need one," he explained. "He didn’t apparate."

"Should I worry about the wards?" Bill asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Your wards are fine, Bill…they just don’t work for what Ron just did…we’ll explain later." And with a touch and spoken word Hermione disappeared too.

Fleur turned to Harry with a look of shock on her face and asked, "How did they do zat?"

Harry smiled and answered (rather cheekily) just before he joined his friends.

"Honorary house-elves."

+++

Harry had reason to hold that smile when he reappeared, for Ron had already found the drink table.

"Butterbear, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Thanks, mate," Harry said, as he took the offered bottle and took in his immediate surroundings.

They were standing in the middle of good-sized drawing room. The rear-projection television, electric lamps and wall-to-wall carpeting immediately betrayed the area’s muggleness. The room was naturally lit from large windows set in three of the four walls, as well as a sliding glass door. A buffet table, set up against the fourth wall, held trays and chafing dishes filled with food. The furniture was informal and comfortable, adding to the rather rustic atmosphere. Hermione was standing to the side with her mum, huddled over a clipboard.

"Nice place they’ve found for us, ain’t it?" Ron asked.

Harry turned to him and nodded. "It certainly is….are the others here yet?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders as he nodded towards the two Granger women. "Haven’t had time to ask…barely had time to say hello to Hermione’s mum before she arrived and started talking about schedules and meeting stuff."

Harry nodded as the patio door slid open and Mr. Granger, Wally and Steve entered the room with attractive-looking woman that appeared to be in her mid-thirties.

Steve said, "Allow me to introduce you three. Sir Harry, Dame Hermione, Ron, this is my mum, Helen Wall."

Harry and Ron both did doubletakes when Steve made his introduction, as the woman he identified as his mother looked far too young for the job. Hermione, however, had apparently already figured things out.

"Mrs. Wall, it’s a pleasure to meet you," she said as she walked up to shake her hand. "We can’t thank you enough for volunteering to help our cause."

"I’m the one that should be saying thanks," the woman replied with a smile. "Steve has always been far too tight-lipped about what he’s done with his life. It’s amazing what I’ve learned about him, just in the past couple of days."

Ron looked on with a screwed-up expression on his face. "Erm…somebody want to explain why Steve’s mum looks more like his sister?"

"Oh Ron," Hermione scowled, "I’d have expected that from Harry, not you…she’s a witch, remember?"

Harry snorted. "Of course," he said, "As a witch she ages much more slowly than her, erm…non-magical son."

"Oh, don’t be afraid to call me a squib," Sir Harry. "No skin off my nose."

The Queen’s Wizard shook his head. "I’d rather not…it’s the pure-bloods that only see shame in normality."

"Who is calling my big oaf of a son normal?" Mrs. Wall asked with a smile. "Why the stories I could tell you about my little Stevie…"

"Yes, well, that won’t be necessary right now, mum," Steve said, his ears getting a bit red. "Better to talk about why you’re with us, eh?"

Mrs. Granger chimed in. "And it’d be better to tell that story once everyone is here."

Harry nodded. "Anything needing our attention before that happens?"

"No, Clan Chief," Emily replied.

"Please, Mrs. Granger," Harry asked, "this isn’t a Clan function…no need for the formality."

"What should we call you then?" Ron asked. "Chief Mugwump of the Order of Arthur?"

Harry shook his head with small grin. "Just Harry is fine…we could all use last names, but with two Walls, three Grangers and three Weasleys that might get a bit confusing."

Wally nodded. "A pre-meeting tour of the grounds, then Harry?"

"No, we can do that as a group…unless there’s a reason not to, let’s get the rest here before dinner gets cold."

And with that decision the first meeting of the Order of Arthur in more than sixty years was begun. The Weasley twins, Tonks and Remus were called and arrived by badge (Sir Even remained at Windsor Castle as a rally point should the Queen come under magical attack). The group made its way past the buffet table, and as the clouds had decided to part for a spell they took their plates and drinks outside and dined out on the wood-planked porch.

Harry found the informality comforting. As he’d been rather nervous about his leadership role in the Order of Arthur, he was quite certain that Hermione and her mum had arranged to have this first meeting take place outside of the formality of Windsor Castle. It was almost like a small cocktail party, with clusters of two and three people forming and reforming as they got to know more about each other and their meeting locale.

They were eating on the front porch of a comfortable four-bedroom modern country home set upon thirty acres of land. "The Farm," (as it was soon dubbed by the group), had been available for purchase on the real estate market for some time (as the absentee owner refused to reduce the price beyond what he had overpaid for it). MI-5 3/4 had made arrangements for a holding company to obtain a short term lease, with an eye towards purchase if it ultimately met the needs of the Order of Arthur as a operational base.

The primary advantage of the property could be readily seen from the front porch. The homestead was set on a western hillside of a prominent slope, and enjoyed an expansive view of the countryside. And it wasn’t just some random piece of English countryside, mind you…the River Otter meandered through the vista, and the quaint town of Ottery St. Catchpole hugged its banks in the foreground. The Farm was, in fact, a scant four miles away from The Burrow as the crow (or broom) flies. One couldn’t quite see the Burrow, of course; it was located within a small wooded vale south of town.

The proximity of the Farm to the Burrow was quite intentional. There was every expectation that the Weasley residence was a Death Eater target, and Ron would be staying there during his "internship" at the Ministry. MI-5 3/4 wanted to watch over the Burrow as well as they could.

While Harry and Hermione made an effort to chat with everyone there, they focused in on the person they knew the least about. Helen Wall was a pureblood that married for love rather than honor an arranged marriage contract. Subsequently disowned and scorned within wizard society, she had nevertheless done quite nicely for herself and her family with a greenhouse business that operated in the grey zone of the mixed muggle/wizard economy. She had successfully raised two children (one magical and one not), and would have been quite happy to continue down the course she had plotted for herself had it not been for two events; the untimely death of her beloved husband Reggie, and a call to service from Her Majesty’s Government.

When most of the dinner plates were clean (allowances being made for Ron’s third helpings), the group returned inside for tea. Hermione levitated the buffet table over to one side of the room while Tonks and Remus conjured the few extra chairs needed for everyone to have a seat. Harry stood in front of the other twelve and rather nervously "called" his meeting to order.

"Erm, guess we’ll begin," he said. "I should start by thanking Mrs. Granger and Wally for setting this whole thing up on the fly, and for arranging the location." Emily and Wally waved off the polite round of applause and motioned for Harry to continue.

"Before we get too far along I’d like to introduce Steve’s mum…hope you all had the chance to meet during dinner…while Mrs. Wall isn’t badged, she will be a very important part of how we go about our business."

The group then spent a few minutes talking about Helen Wall’s new mission. Mrs. Wall had been recruited as a MI-5 3/4 agent by her son, soon after he had been himself recruited. Since then, she’d provided the agency a good deal of valuable information from her business dealings with wizard apothecaries. Now she would be more on the operational side of things than intelligence gathering. Agent Wall would be the nominal resident of the "Farm;" under cover as a retiree that had a desire to dabble in her own greenhouse and "reconnect with the wizarding world." To that end, she had made application to have a floo connection established and registered the Farm as a magical household. While the backlog of floo service applications was at least a few months long, this would provide an explanation for any detection of magical use on the property.

Once they talked about what Steve’s mum would be doing she excused herself from the meeting. Harry didn’t want to ask her to leave, but relented after Steve talked about security clearances and plausible deniability. But before Harry could say too much more, Wally moved to the front of the small gathering and asked to speak a few words. Harry was more than happy to yield the floor.

"Three weeks ago today," Wally began, "Her Majesty the Queen and Her Majesty’s government pledged to do whatever it could to help three teen-aged kids vanquish what is currently the greatest threat to British citizenry. And not just the wizarding part of it, either…you are all aware of just how successful this collaborative effort has been, as you have all, in various ways, been in the thick of the fight.

"And then some," Fred Weasley added.

Wally smiled. "This past week, Sir Harry was invested as the Queen’s Wizard, and provided the opportunity to select those who would join them in the Most Royal Order of Arthur. Looking around, I’m very happy to see the results of that selection process. Happy because…well, Sir Harry will no doubt emphasize the Order’s charge to save the Queen from all magical threats."

"Well," Harry interrupted, "that is why the Order was started, wasn’t it?"

"True enough, Sir Harry," Wally replied, "But I have it on good authority that Her Royal Highness considers her safety to be best ensured when the Order is helping Sir Harry do all that he can do in his battle against Voldemort. In fact, the Queen herself asked that I convey her hope that Sir Harry would consider members of the Order to be his own council, his support network, and the ones to rely upon whenever he is need."

"She didn’t need to do that," Harry said with a bit of embarrassment.

"Perhaps not, but that is exactly what Her Majesty did," Wally noted.

"Don’t worry, Wally," Hermione said, "I think you’ll find that Harry managed to reach that same conclusion on his own."

"Did he now?" asked Ron.

Hermione nodded and said, "Harry, why don’t you show them your white board?"

Harry looked at Hermione a bit sheepishly, but did as he was told and pulled the shrunken board from his pocket. When he attached it to the wall Harry blanched, and quickly banished the diagramming before anyone could ask smart questions about the "House of Lord Gryffindor." He then took a dry-erase marker from his pocket and drew a line down the center of the board. He wrote "Wizarding" at the top of one side and "Muggle" on the other.

"Right then, the Order of Arthur was established centuries ago with a single goal in mind…to protect the Crown from magical threats. Today that means keeping Moldishorts away from the Queen." To illustrate this point he drew (on their respective sides) a happy face wearing a crown and a cartoonish skull sporting a forked tongue.

Harry’s artwork drew a laugh as he erased the center portion of the dividing line and replaced it with a rectangular box labeled "Order of Arthur" with his name inside and at the top. He then noted,"The Queen and her muggle citizenry are at risk because Tom hasn’t limited his terror to the wizarding world, and the Ministry of Magic hasn’t been able to prevent him from killing innocent muggles who are unable to defend themselves from magical attacks. That’s where we come in."

"Our little group will straddle the bright line between the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. We have muggles with knowledge of the wizarding world and wizards and witches who are comfortable on the muggle side. Each brings strengths and areas of expertise, and I’m hoping that we’ll be able to use these strengths to help achieve our objectives. And while some of you may be involved in multiple overlapping areas, each will be asked to take a leadership role within the group."

Harry then started adding names to the box, linking each name to a new box located (as appropriate) within the wizarding or muggle world.

"Last week, Clan Potter came into existence in order to forge an alliance with the Goblin Nation. I couldn’t get out of being Clan Chief, but for purposes of leading the Clan and managing its alliances I’ve asked Hermione Granger to take charge."

"And what exactly," George Weasley asked with a smile, "is Hermione’s position within the Clan?"

"You would ask, wouldn’t you Fool?" Hermione replied with a smile. "If anyone doesn’t know, I’m Harry’s girlfriend and Clan Chief Consort."

"Erm, moving right along," Harry said quickly, "Besides being Clan Champion, Ron Weasley is going to take the lead in our efforts to organize purebloods at the Ministry into our Peanut Butter Brigade"

"Peanut Butter Brigade? Asked Wally. "Care to say anything more?"

Harry, Hermione and Ron took a few minutes to elaborate. More than half of the members of the DA had been raised in pureblood families, and were therefore subject to the Ministry’s forced internship program. The plan was for Ron to establish a network of these students and like-minded others, collecting information and forming a coherent cadre with those Ministry officials already sympathetic to Harry’s cause. Ron would be working closely with Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom and his sister Ginny.

"What’s little sister going to be doing?" asked Fred.

"Well, we’ll have to wait and see," Harry replied cryptically. "She’s going to try and get an internship working for her brother in the Minister’s office."

"What are the odds they’d let your ex-girlfriend anywhere near Scrimgeour?" asked Tonks.

Harry smiled. "Depends on how convincing an actress she can be."

"No worries there, then," said George. "Ginny’s nothing if not the little drama queen."

Hermione nodded. "We let Bill and Fleur in on it, but it wouldn’t hurt to have you two reassuring your parents when Ginny appears to abandon the family and pull a Percy."

"Right-o, Clan Chief."

Harry shook his head with a bit of exasperation. "Moving right along, Hermione’s parents, Roger and Emily Granger….Roger is managing my business empire and looking for creative ways to wage economic warfare against the enemy."

"Which enemy?"

Harry snorted. "Voldemort, you Fool, although anything that could make Umbitch’s life more difficult would be welcomed as well. Roger is also arranging the muggle-side of our training this summer…physical training, swords and other weapons. Anyone that wants to join us in our early morning runs inside Windsor Park is more than welcome."

"Emily Granger has the lead role in organizing all of the muggle-born students and their families into a support group and making sure that they have all of the information they need as things progress. She’s done a fabulous job already, and with the Ministry pulling the bigot card we really need to make sure that the communication lines are kept open.

"And we can’t forget," Harry added with a smirk, "that Mrs. Granger has already flown a combat mission on the back of a broomstick."

Hermione sighed at this comment…it was hard for her to imagine anyone describing her parents without using the word "dentist." How quickly things had changed.

"Say Harry," Fred asked, "what’s the nickname for the muggleborns that you’re organizing?"

"Nicknames?"

"Yeah," replied George. "Like the Peanut Butter Brigade."

"Erm…hadn’t thought about that," Harry admitted. "Wally?"

"Yes, Sir Harry?"

"You muggles are the smart ones when it comes to acronyms…work your magic will you?"

Wally nodded, and began playing with words with pen and paper.

Harry continued on to the other Order members and their roles. The Weasley twins were the suppliers of magical equipment and devices, with a particular emphasis on ways for muggles to protect themselves from magical attacks. Their shop would also serve as a rally point as the quickest way for anyone in the Order to get to Diagon Alley. Similarly, Tonks would anchor the Ministry of Magic, and Remus Lupin the anchor for Hogwarts. Both would also be the contact for what was left of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Hey Harry," Ron asked, "shouldn’t we find a way to distinguish between the other Order and this one?"

"Yeah, might be a good idea," Harry said. "Anyone?"

After a few minutes thought Emily Granger suggested that the Order of Arthur could be informally known as "The Art Club." Everyone liked that idea.

"The Art Club it is, then," Harry proclaimed.

Remus then shook his head and said, "I still don’t understand how I’ll be an anchor for Hogwarts…it’s not like I have a position there."

"Not just yet," Harry replied with a twinkle in his eye, "but I’m working on that."

Steve was then recognized as the rally point for the Queen as a member of her security detail, and Wally was linked on the whiteboard to a box labeled "Muggle Gov’t."

"Excuse me, Sir Harry, but I’ve got something," said Wally.

"What’s that?"

"The acronym for muggle-borns…might I suggest ‘COMB’? It would be short for ‘Coalition of Muggle-Borns’?"

"Hmmm," said Harry, "not quite as cheeky as MI-5 3/4, but…"

"Sorry, but that ‘MB’ letter combination is tough." Wally explained. "Didn’t think you’d want TOMB…Give me some time and I might work out something else out."

"Fair enough," said Harry with a grin. He then drew a cartoon castle on the muggle side of the board similar to the one labeled "Hogwarts" and linked it to Sir Evan’s name with the explanation that he would be the anchor for the Round Tower and Windsor Castle.

With the group all finally introduced, Harry opened the floor up for any bits of information that anyone wanted to share. That led to updates on the medical conditions of Brian Willox (still in a coma) and Molly Weasley (recovering, but still in bed). Wally stated that the four Death Eater prisoners were all conscious and still at Privet Drive, thanks to the anti-apparition leg-bands that had been anonymously provided from the Auror Department (thank you, Tonks). There was a brief debate about what to do with the prisoners…they were low-level recruits that wouldn’t have much information to provide, and Harry really didn’t want to tie up resources guarding them. It was therefore decided to turn the prisoners over to the Aurors (once their memories had been suitably modified). The mark that all four bore on their forearm was evidence enough to have them confined.

With Ron scheduled to work another graveyard shift at Midnight and planning still to be done for the next day’s muggle-born get-together the meeting broke up a little after 9:30. Hermione told everyone to plan on meeting at the Farm until wards were up and running at Windsor, and everyone agreed to keep in touch with their badge communicators.

Wally brought a seven-passenger Land Rover around the front of the house to take the three Weasleys, Tonks and Lupin back to the Burrow. While there was nothing physically keeping people from apparating out, it was thought best not to show too much magic flashing about the Farm until some proper warding was established. Steve volunteered to take first watch on the Farm (providing him with some quality time with his mum), leaving Harry, Hermione and her parents to watch the high-summer sun set from side-by-side porch swings.

"Well that could have gone better," Harry said with a sigh.

"What do you mean, Harry," Emily replied, as she passed glasses of wine all around and took a sip. "I thought you did a great job."

"But we barely did more than introduce ourselves….wasn’t any planning or collaboration or trap setting…"

"Going to be a bit of a problem if you use the battle planning with Head Auror Robards as your standard for meeting accomplishments," Roger pointed out.

"Yes, but…"

"Harry this was the very first meeting," replied Roger. "Can’t expect to do much until everyone gets used to the idea of working together…give it some time."

Harry shook his head. "I just worry over whether we have that time available."

Hermione scooted over closer to Harry and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "Hey…remember three days ago? All of those Death Eaters that were splattered on Privet Drive or uncovered at the Ministry? Can’t see Voldemort recovering too quickly from that kind of pantsing, do you?"

"Dunno," Harry replied.

"Has been quiet since then, hasn’t it son?" Roger asked.

"Yes, but…"

Emily walked behind the swing that Harry and Hermione were sitting on and gave his shoulders a good squeeze. "But nothing, Harry. You’ve done some great things over the past three weeks, and I think you don’t just deserve a bit of rest, you absolutely need some rest. So take it, or else."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Or else what, Mrs. Granger?"

"Or else we’ll force you to explain a rather curious comment you made over the radio during the heat of battle the other day," threatened Roger with a smile.

Harry looked at Roger with mock shock (as he wasn’t all that upset over the possibility of discussing the idea of in-laws right then). "Oh…no, anything but that!" he exclaimed.

"Well then, sit there and watch the sunset, son."

Harry raised his hands in surrender and released some of the tension in his shoulders. As Hermione leaned her head against his, he wondered if he would ever get used to this kind of love and attention.

He fervently hoped not.

+++

A/N: The "Farm" is based on "Ware Farm" a real live property currently available for purchase just outside of Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire. Anyone got a spare million pounds? It’ll get you some very Nice views.

Muggle Summer

A/N: I've been reading a lot of Independent!Harry/Manipulative!Dumbledore fics lately, and some of that has bled into this chapter. Not too much, mind you, but there had to be a reason why Remus Lupin hadn't figured much in Harry's life since PoA, right?

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 35 - On Lounging and Lupin

Saturday, June 23
Windsor Castle

The next morning Harry found Hermione still wearing the top half of his pajamas. Unfortunately, rather than modeling them in bed (where he wanted her), she was wearing them whilst sprawled out on the tatami-atted side of the Love Shack's bathing area. She was scribbling furiously on some parchment next to a detailed half-metre tall scale model of Windsor Castle.

“Thought we had a `no work' agreement, Miss Granger,” Harry deadpanned, as he struggled to hide a grin behind the stern countenance of an authority figure.

Hermione dropped her quill and gave Harry a “hand in the cookie jar” look of guilt. “Oh, that was `no physical work,' wasn't it?”

“Nice try,” Harry replied. “You'd have been better off claiming that the castle was a toy that you were playing with.”

“Well I am playing with it, in a way,” Hermione replied. “Here…watch.”

She then touched her wand to five small stones that lay on a circle around the castle and said an incantation that created a translucent purplish dome that completely enclosed the scale model.

“Brilliant,” Harry said. “When I get back from the loo you can explain what you just did.”

Hermione nodded in agreement, then returned her gaze to the arithmancy equations she'd been working on. When Harry returned, she told him that an owl from Gringott's had made an overnight delivery.

“Miniaturized rune stones,” Hermione explained. “They work exactly the same way as the full-sized ones, only on a much smaller scale.”

“And they're good for what…” Harry asked, “creating protective fields around a little witch's doll house?”

Hermione slugged his arm. “No, silly…they're used to help design protective fields using a bench-scale model.”

Harry nodded. “So this bit of `I'm not working' is working on your asymmetrical warding plans for the castle?”

“Exactly,” Hermione replied with a smile. “It really is more fun than work, though…hard to believe that ward designers actually get paid for this type of thing.”

When Harry looked over at the equations Hermione had scrawled out he shook his head in disagreement. “Well, it looks like work to me.”

“But it's rather exciting, Harry,” admitted Hermione. “The goblins were rather taken with the idea when I wrote to them…they want to meet with me on Monday to discuss it, and, well…I just wanted to be prepared for that meeting.”

Harry reached over and pulled her up to her feet and up against his bare chest. “Well, I'm rather taken with the idea of you following through on plans to lie about on the rooftop in your swimming costume.”

Hermione gave Harry a devilish look in response. “Who said anything about wearing costumes while we sun ourselves?”

Harry gave her a gobsmacked look. “You can't be serious…we're directly under Heathrow's flight lanes. Fancy on giving the pilots a show?”

“Oh Harry,” she replied with a smile, “am I not a witch?” She then took a step back and cast a disillusionment spell upon herself. A few seconds later, Harry's pajama top appeared out of thin air and landed on his head.

“They won't be able to see me,” Hermione explained, “but the sun's rays will.”

“Rather ingenious, there, sweetheart…but what if someone were to call out a Finite Incantatum spell?”

“Harry Potter, you wouldn't dare!”

“Aaaah, you're probably right,” he admitted. “But it would make it rather difficult to tell if you're getting a sun burn, wouldn't it?”

“Hmmm….hadn't thought about that,” she admitted.

“Suppose I could always poke about at intervals to see if any parts were hot to the touch?”

“You would be so lucky…I'll just make sure I've got plenty of sunblock applied.”

“And you think that the lotion would disappear on skin contact?”

“Don't imagine why not.”

“Think we ought to find that out before we hit the roof, don't you?”

“Well, suppose you're right. And I imagine you'll volunteer to be the applicator?”

“No, got a better idea,” Harry replied. He then made a sudden lunge towards Hermione. Having gauged her position by the sound of her voice, he quickly scooped her up, carried her over to the hot tub and threw her in (completely ignoring her protests). Harry was rewarded with an anatomically correct depression in the water's surface once Hermione surfaced.

“Always wondered what would happen if you were caught in the rain wearing an invisibility cloak,” he replied dryly, as Hermione splashed and sputtered her objections.

“Harry Potter, you are incorrigible!”

“Yeah, well, Hermione Granger, you are very wet,” he replied, with a grin and two eyes that were fixated on her aqueous outline.

Hermione was about to issue a retort when she experienced deja vu. Laughing, she asked, “Isn't this the point where I banished your trousers?”

Harry paused, then smiled as he caught on to just how much the conversation was mirroring their first visit to the Love Shack. He pulled on the drawstring of his pajama bottoms, and launched himself into the tub almost before those bottoms hit the stone floor. When he resurfaced and pulled Hermione into a wet embrace he simply noted,

“Beat you to it.”

+++

After a half-hour or so of what Harry had cheekily described as “snagging” (i.e. intimate acts intermediate to snogging and shagging), they called Hermione's parents and arranged to meet for a late breakfast. Emily Granger only ordered tea and biscuits, as she had a very busy schedule ahead of her. Almost all of Hogwarts's muggle-born students and families were converging in London that morning for what would have been a spectacular Summer Solstice Party on Privet Drive. As that location was no longer available to them, Emily had followed through on Harry's mention that he had seen some kind of amusement park from the Round Tower's roof. It had turned out to be a theme park named “Legoland,” based around a muggle play toy involving plastic building blocks. And while the theme park was geared towards younger children, there were roller coasters and rides available for the older siblings. The park normally closed at six, but Mrs. Granger had made arrangements to rent out the entire park just for the muggleborns and their families for an additional four hours. The band and caterers that had been contracted for the party would also move to the new venue.

Mr. Granger got some quality time with the kids once his wife left to double check on the day's transportation. Harry and Hermione filled Roger in on their previous day's discussion with Luna's father, and that led to a discussion concerning the wizarding world's portion of Harry's investment portfolios. Roger expressed some concern about his ability to manage the wizard business side of Harry's portfolios. He didn't have the kind of access to information that existed on the muggle side, and obviously knew very little about the business plans of cauldron makers and broomstick manufacturers. This led Hermione to remind Harry that they had failed to reschedule their appointment with the wizard barrister that Mr. Weasley had recommended, and Harry agreed that it would be worthwhile to see if this person could help not just with legal advice, but business as well.

A light rain was falling from plump low-hanging clouds as they left the Mess, dashing any immediate plans for roof-top lounging. Roger returned to his ground level living quarters to gather a few things before taking over Steve's watch on The Farm. Harry and Hermione walked up to their quarters and lit a fire in one of their first floor fireplaces to battle the damp chilly air within the stone tower.

“Any ideas on how we can productively rest?” asked Harry, as he joined Hermione on a sofa placed in front of the fire.

Hermione shook her head “no” as she looked around the large open room. Castle staff had moved the furniture they had selected into the Tower, and done some cursory placements and groupings, but not exactly to her liking. Then there was the issue of the boxes delivered by the goblins the day before. Within those boxes were almost all of the shrunken furnishings that had survived Voldemort's attack on Godric's Hollow the night Harry's parents were killed. Someone had made arrangements to move them into the Potter family vault, and they'd been front and center when she and Harry had visited it the day before.

It had been the most emotional part of the trip…direct links between Harry and his murdered parents were few and far between, so the chance to sit at his parent's kitchen table, or rock in rocking chair his mum might have used to sit with him was quite something. The furniture itself might not have been as ornate or lavish as the Castle's, but there was no way Hermione could refuse Harry's request to bring all of the furniture back to the Tower. The only suggestion she had made was that they leave Harry's crib in the vault. He had spent a good five minutes sobbing and clutching the rails (as if it were a lifeline), and she feared that the raw power of those emotions would be ever present if the crib were brought back with them.

Not that she told Harry that reason, mind you….Hermione got in touch with her inner Slytherin and had suggested that with the limited amount of room they had in the Round Tower that it might be better to store the crib “until they had need for it.”

Hermione chuckled to herself as she recalled the resultant look on Harry's face. Talk about emotions turning about on the head of a pin…

“What's so funny?” Harry asked.

“Oh…nothing,” Hermione replied, trying her best to keep a grin from breaking out. “Just wondering how we're going to fit all of the new furniture inside the tower walls.

Harry nodded. “Well, with Sir Evan taking up residence downstairs we could move some of it to his quarters.” He then added with a smile, “Not that I'd consider it a legitimate way of resting.”

“We could always levitate the pieces…wouldn't even break a sweat.”

Harry shook his head. “Yes, but that'd be quite a bit of expended magical power, wouldn't it? We need to keep our heads low until the anti-magical detection wards are up.”

Hermione nodded in agreement. “Which is why I really should take another look at my equations and ward model…I'm so glad that you agree.” And before Harry could object she placed a peck on his cheek and bolted upstairs to continue her project work in the tatami room. He snorted, quite certain that Hermione had expertly steered the conversation in that direction from the very start. But he let her go…it was important work, and asking Hermione to leave that bench model for a day would be like asking her to forego breathing.

He thought about visiting with Sir Evan, but the old man was busy trying to remember his wartime French in his efforts to interact with the Muses. Ron would still be sleeping after his shift at St. Mungo's…Harry wondered just how early he could call and see if Ron and Luna wanted to join them at the theme park that evening. And then he remembered that there were others he could call using his badge, and he gave Remus's badge a tickle.

“Erm…hullo?” Remus answered, after a few moments time.

“Hey, Remus, it's Harry…hope I'm not interrupting anything.”

“No, no…not at all…Tonks is working day shift at the Ministry right now.”

“Oh,” replied Harry with interest. “Does that mean I would have been interrupting something if she were there with you right now?”

Harry heard something close to a growl, before Remus answered. “Are you looking to talk about witches, or something? Because I've got a few questions about you and Hermione….”

“No, no, Remus, just joking,” Harry quickly countered. “Actually, I was wondering if you'd like to pop over for a visit. You haven't had a tour of our new digs yet, and I'm looking for some company now that Hermione's abandoned me for her arithmancy.”

“Sure, cub, just give me a few minutes to clean up.”

And so it was that Harry found the second best way to spend a rainy day of rest within the Round Tower (he thought Remus would have understood coming in second to “Hermione in the hot tub”). After the tour (and raised lupine eyebrows over the Love Shack), the two spent time catching up with each other's activities. Both felt a bit of remorse for not having kept in better touch. Harry thought running with the werewolf pack as an important enough reason to be away the previous year, but Remus disagreed, and got Harry a bit riled up once he explained why.

It turned out that Remus had considered almost all of the time he'd spent on his “mission” for the Order of the Phoenix to have been a waste of time. Moony had long known enough about werewolf subculture and wizarding world bigotry to accurately predict how the pack would react to Greyback's alpha leadership and Voldemort's promises. He had told Dumbledore at the outset…and still was ordered to go and “gather intelligence,” and disappear from the wizarding world for the better part of a year. Moony initially resisted Harry's questioning about why he thought Dumbledore had done so, but finally gave in and voiced suspicions that the mission was a part of the former Headmaster's efforts to limit his contact with Harry and Hogwarts over the past three years.

When Harry (quite predictably) insisted that the former DADA professor explain, Remus recounted a confrontation with the Headmaster after Snape had outed him as a werewolf. Remus had insisted that Snape was a direct threat to Harry, and that if he had to go that the potions master did as well. Dumbledore, however, claimed that he would not be able to overrule the Board of Governors on Remus's termination, and that Severus Snape had to remain at Hogwarts for security reasons (and this was even after Remus had shown the Headmaster a pensieved memory of Snape's actions within the Shrieking Shack). Ever since that argument, Remus had thought Dumbledore had made it a point to find ways of keeping Remus away from Hogwarts and Harry, and only asked for Remus's involvement as a last option.

After hearing Remus's explanation, Harry became angry to the point of almost letting off some accidental magic. The way that Dumbledore appeared to have kept Remus out of his life and out of the picture seemed too much like the way he forced Sirius into quasi-house arrest at Grimmauld Place. There were only two possible explanations in Harry's mind, and neither were charitable… the Headmaster had either justified his actions with his (ultimately) deadly zeal to insulate and protect Snape, or worse, had purposely manipulated Harry's childhood to remove anyone who might challenge Dumbledore's self-appointed position as a trustworthy father figure.

They'd been sitting in front of the fire during the discussion. After silently fuming (and running his hands through his unruly hair), Harry stood and pulled his white board out from a pocket. After enlarging it and placing it upon a wall, he took a marker and vented some energy with a few lines:

“I will not speak ill of the dead.”

“I will not speak ill of the dead.”

“I will not speak ill of the dead.”

Remus looked on at this exercise with a bit of wonder at Harry's maturity and control. When he complimented Harry on this, the teen responded with a statement that the white board could have come in handy the night he'd been told the full prophecy. When Remus asked what Harry was talking about, the Queen's Wizard's anger redoubled.

“You mean Dumbledore never told you about the prophecy?” Harry yelled. “It wasn't just me he was keeping it from?”

More lines were written when Remus confirmed that was indeed the case. The former DADA professor asked if Harry wanted to put off continuing the conversation, Harry shook his head, firm with the conviction that Remus deserved to know the full story about Harry's life, from the earliest point that he could remember it.

It only took a few descriptions of the abuse Harry had suffered at the Dursley's for Remus to grab a marker and write a few lines of his own. However, curiosity proved far stronger an emotion than outrage, and the two soon were swapping stories and filling in missing pieces. Harry was amazed at the number of things that Remus didn't know about him…from the little things (e.g. the Sorting Hat had suggested Slytherin), to the big (e.g. everything that had happened within the Chamber of Secrets, and his first year's adventures with Norbert, Fluffy, and the Philospher's Stone). Remus, in turn, gave Harry full descriptions of what the Order of the Phoenix had (and hadn't) done over the years, and told a few stories about Hogwarts faculty meetings that had ended up with wands drawn. Those stories provided just enough comic relief for the two wizards to begin to look forward at what could be, rather than back at what should have been.

The “So now what?” moment came a bit after two in the afternoon, a fact that Harry only realized once his stomach began grumbling. The two fetched Hermione (who had also been expertly ignoring her own stomach's empty protests) and made their way to the Mess for a late lunch. The late hour at least provided the three an empty room and the ability to continue their Round Tower conversations.

After getting an abridged (and less emotional) description of Harry and Remus's revelations, Hermione noted that the Headmaster, for all of his faults, had at least made the current situation possible by arranging for Harry's introduction to the Prince of Wales. Harry then added that the provisions made in Dumbledore's will could also bring forth a positive legacy, providing a segue way for a discussion on Harry's plans for the defense of Hogwarts.

They spent more than a few minutes brainstorming on ways to defend Hogwarts from what they all saw as an inevitable attack (whether or not students were in residence). Remus was fascinated by what Hermione called “Harry's Hair-brained Scheme” to create a video game simulation based on attacking and defending Hogwarts Castle. Without knowing very much at all about muggle electronic or strategy games Lupin shared Hermione's skepticism, but did add that so long as it didn't take to much time in Harry's schedule that it was worth the shot in the dark.

The mention of Harry's schedule led to discussion on the types of training that Harry and Hermione were undertaking. Remus was very impressed with the physical training and sword play, but added that while the two had done well in the muggle world that they still needed to keep their magical skills sharp. The two agreed, with Harry noting that it was only with his appointment as Queen's Wizard the week previous that he'd been able to get around the underage magic laws. Remus offered to help them now that the restrictions had been cleared, and the three decided that the Room of Requirement would be the best place to train. Harry was leary of spending more time than was needed within the wizarding world (given the Ministry's and Prophet's attacks), but Hermione noted that if Remus was already within the castle that their badges could provide a “quick in/quick out” form of transport.

Remus asked if the badges would work within the grounds of Hogwarts, as it was only the Headmaster (or Headmistress) who had the authority to create portkeys for travel to and from the school. Hermione replied that while badge-travel felt like portkey use that they worked differently enough from portkeys to be potentially excluded from this restriction. They therefore reached a “only one way to find out” conclusion, and Harry and Hermione asked Lupin to set up a meeting with Headmistress McGonagall early in the next week.

The discussion about Hogwarts, and Harry's earlier stories about the Chamber of Secrets led Harry to gently ask Remus about the full moon two weeks past. Lupin's wince made Harry regret that he had done so, but Remus went on to say that the use of Hogwart's dungeons as a secure place to transform had proven effective, and as he'd only had opportunity to use the wolvesbane potion two out of the past twelve months that the change hadn't been that traumatic. This led to Hermione picking up their previous discussion about brewing the wolvesbane potion. She informed Remus that they had plans to harvest the basilisk's remains for potion ingredients, and that she thought they'd fetch a fair value trade for what they would need. Remus nodded and expressed thanks, but noted that they'd still need the services of a master potions brewer who had the right contacts to make the trade.

When Hermione asked if Slughorn could fill that role Lupin said yes, but added that he was a hard wizard to find when he didn't want to be found. Harry agreed, but thought that even when in hiding that the man would probably still keep in touch with his network of carefully-selected friends and former students. Remus laughed at that comment, and said that the Slug Club was a well-entrenched institution even back in his days as a student. Hermione then suggested that the network might be used to their advantage, and that if word got out that someone had a basilisk corpse on their hands that he'd find them in a heartbeat. Harry agreed, recounting the zeal with which Slughorn had collected arachnid venom and unicorn hairs on the night of Aragog's funeral, and Remus offered to set the wheels in motion by contacting a few members of the Slug Club that he still knew.

Remus parted company with Harry and Hermione after finishing their late lunch, promising to keep the two informed as he worked the various tasks that he had agreed to tackle. The hug that Moony gave Harry before badge-jumping to Diagon Alley via Fred and George's shop was almost as bone-crushing as Hermione's best.

Harry didn't mind one bit.

-->

Muggle Summer

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 36: The Rookery

Sunday, June 24, 10:00am
Windsor Castle

The morning sun mocked Harry as he gazed over the Tower's parapets and sipped his tea. The sun had stayed hidden behind rain clouds the entire day previous…the petulant and absent guest-of-honor at their Legoland solstice party. “No problems shining down upon the Ferris wheel and roller coasters today, though”, he noted, as he looked out towards the theme park's grounds and recalled the previous night's activities.

The persistently heavy rain had prevented any of the theme park's rides from operating for the three-hundred or so muggle-born students and their families. Harry thought the gathering doomed, only to discover that contingencies had been made for the English weather. Theme park staff boarded the group's tour buses at the front entrance and directed them to a large building on the edge of the park grounds. Inside they found half-built large-scale Lego constructions surrounded by workbenches and piles of brightly-colored building blocks. Mrs. Granger used a loudspeaker to announce that they were in the place where all of the theme park's scale model replicas were designed and built, and that they had been invited to do some creative construction on their own.

Shouts of joy came from different parts of the room, as children dived head-long into the opportunity to build with out material limits. The activity quickly turned into a competition, with teams of students building plastic replicas of their magical world for their muggle parents and siblings. “Magical creatures” was decided upon as the main theme, and after a hour's worth of work (and with a seemingly unending supply of building materials), a small menagerie of half-metre tall hippogriffs, centaurs, unicorns and the like were on proud display. Of course, some of the students were more creative than others; Dean Thomas's group built a snarling potion master hovering over a cauldron and identified it as a “Hooked-nosed Snape.” None of the magical children disputed its characterization as the scariest creature within the wizarding world.

The park staff was amazed at the breath of creativity on display (nobody chose to tell them that all of the creatures were inspired by real-life interactions). They also were impressed with the speed and efficiency with which the models had been built (not having seen some of the older students use liberal amounts of magic to replicate pieces, change their colors, and securely stick them together). The park workers went so far as to invite the entire group to create a much larger model of one of the figures for permanent display within the park. Strength of applause was used to select the Creevy brother's diorama (“Harry and the Horned-tail”) as the winning model (much to his chagrin). Pallets of blocks were brought in, and for the balance of the evening food and music were afterthoughts to the construction project. For much of that time, Harry served as a fairly-good humored live model, with a muggle push broom held between his legs.

It turned out to be an enormously successful event, and something that Mrs. Granger had the right to be proud of. Not that her work was done, mind you. Due to the inclement weather, vouchers had been provided to gain following-day readmission, and many of the families had plans to do just that. Emily had been up and out of the castle by seven that morning to coordinate the logistics.

Clan Chief and Consort had other plans for the day. They had risen early, splashed through an early morning run, and taken breakfast before the tourist queues had chance to take form. Hermione had disappeared into the Love Shack for more work with her own scale model constructions, leaving Harry just outside the tent to whack away at a wooden post. That he was drinking his tea alone following that work-out bore witness to Hermione's attention to task. That he couldn't prevent his teacup from trembling in either hand bore witness to his need to increase sword-arm strength.

Wally interrupted the post-workout cool-down with a badge-call request for Harry to meet him in the MI-5 3/4 field office. After determining that it wasn't an emergency, Harry promised to meet with him after taking a shower. He then walked down to their bed chambers, pulled some fresh clothes from his wardrobe, and ducked into the Love Shack. A comfortably-dressed Hermione was hovering over her model wards on the tatami mats across from the hot tub.

“Hey Hermione, will you be a dear and press my suit while I'm in the showers?” asked Harry. “I'm pants at that ironing charm, and Wally needs to meet with me downstairs.”

Hermione looked up at Harry and snorted. “Getting a bit dressed up for a weekend morning, aren't you?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders and smiled as he looked at the suit held in one hand and Italian loafers held in the other. “Well…Queen's Wizard and Lord…I do have a certain image to maintain, don't I?”

That earned a snicker. “When have you ever worried about your attire, Harry?”

“Erm…not worrying…just working with what you and your mum picked out for me.”

“Sure, Harry…that wardrobe did include some jeans and polo shirts, did it not?”

“Well…I guess so.”

Hermione smiled as she “tsk'ed tsk'ed” him. “Don't suppose it's because it's Wally you're meeting?”

“And just what are you suggesting?”

Hermione stood up and walked over to Harry wearing a bright smile. “That you're either a closet clothes-hound,” she replied with a smile, “or that all of that witty banter with Wally means you're a closeted something else.”

“Hermione!”

“Yes?”

“I'm surprised at your intimations….just because I'm secure enough in my own skin not to wither when he gets a bit catty?”

Hermione grabbed Harry's waist with both hands and pulled him close. “Perhaps I am reading too much into this.”

With a frown of mock indignation Harry held the suit and shoes out from the embrace. “Mind the clothes!”

“There you go again, Harry….now I think you'll just have to prove yourself.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “What…prove I don't care about clothes by tossing them?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I'd rather prove to you that my friendship with Wally is completely platonic.”

Hermione smiled. “And just how do you propose to do that?”

The linen suit and loafers fell to the floor as Harry grabbed Hermione and tossed her over his shoulder. She let out a “Squee!” as he carried her into the Love Shack's main room and tossed her down on the bed. Something more like a growl came out of her mouth as Harry stripped down to his boxers and pounced on her.

As he began nibbling on her earlobe, Hermione coyly noted, “You do realize that your suit is now completely wrinkled, right?”

Harry stopped nibbling long enough to murmur, “Would you worry if I cared?”

Hermione closed her eyes and shook her head as she pulled Harry's sweaty chest down to hers. “As long…ooh!…as long as you keep doing that……never!”

+++

Harry arrived at MI-5 3/4's field office a little later and a lot more rumpled then he had initially planned. He found Wally sitting alone in-front of three large computer screens.

“Well don't we look dashing,” said Wally. “The wizard wears Armani...yet again.”

Harry laughed. “Is that a complaint?”

“No, it's a critique. Bad form to be caught on a magazine cover twice…or ten times…in the same outfit.”

“Perhaps I should let you lay out clothes for me rather than Hermione, then?”

“Erm…no thank you. First c-mug secret agent rule is `Never get in between a witch and her wand, no matter how gorgeous it is'.”

“But Hermione always has her wand with her.”

Wally made a show of fluttering his eye-lashes. “I was talking about a different wand, Sir Harry.”

Harry winked at Wally. “Flirt”

“Tease.”

Harry chuckled. “What have you got for me, Wally?”

Wally bit his lip before rifling back a scandalously funny retort, and waved Harry over.

“We've been working on improving surveillance capabilities for your Diagon Alley area, and have run across something you might want to see.”

Harry leaned over Wally's shoulder and took a closer look a digital aerial photograph of an urban area. “That's Charing Cross in London, then?” he asked.

Wally nodded as he pulled up a correlative street map on one of the side displays. While Harry matched up the two images using street patterns, Wally pulled up a picture on the third screen.

“Look familiar, Harry?”

Harry looked across and nodded. “That's the muggle side of the Leaky Cauldron.” He then looked back at the air photo and pointed. “That's right about there, right?” he asked.

Wally nodded. “Exactly….which would mean that this cluster of small buildings behind it is Diagon Alley, right?”

Harry paused to match the bird's eye view of the area to a mental image of a street level view of the Alley. “Yes, it must be,” he concluded. “That big building is Gringott's, and there's Madam Malkin's, and the Weasley Twins's store is right there.” He then squinted and frowned.

“Something look a bit off, Sir Harry?”

Harry nodded as he pointed to a spot just one block away from the Cauldron. “That building just south of there is casting a rather long shadow…just how tall is it?”

Wally smiled at how quickly Harry was on the uptake. “Tall enough to look down upon you wizarding folk, or so we think, at least.”

“So you think?” asked Harry with one eyebrow raised. “Are you not a secret agent?”

After chuckling, Wally noted, “It's listed as a residential building, but we sent four different people there yesterday for a look see and they all came back a bit dazed and confused.”

Harry smiled. “Don't suppose you sent along a wizard, eh?”

Wally let out another small laugh. “Actually, I asked Fred and George to visit, but they came back just as befuddled as the others.”

Harry thought, “So maybe it's a wizard residence with ward's tied to ownership…”

“There's an idea,” said Wally. He quickly searched for (and found) building ownership records on an internet database. This search revealed that the building was built in the late 1890's, and currently owned by a rather nebulous corporate entity with a non-descript name. During this search, Harry focused not so much on what Wally was doing but rather on the street address he typed into the various search engines.

“Eight-seven Shaftesbury Avenue…you know, Wally, I've seen that address somewhere before,” he said. After a minute or so of rather intense concentration it came to him. Harry pulled a miniaturized ledger from an inside coat pocket and stepped into an adjacent empty room (so as not to fry the electronics). A quick search of holdings provided the information he needed, and he returned to Wally's side with a lopsided grin on his face.

“So why exactly are we interested in this building, Wally?”

“Erm…because we'd like to be able to keep an eye on the Weasley shop,” Wally replied. “They are out in a rather exposed location.”

Harry nodded. “And we watch over our own.”

+++

Thirty minutes later Harry and Hermione were in downtown London, standing across the street from the building that had piqued Wally's interest. Hermione looked skeptical

“Remind me why this was worth changing into a dress and leaving my ward models, Harry?”

Harry smiled as he grabbed her hand. “Potter estate management, my dear.”

They noticed small brass plaques on either side of the front entrance that provided a street address and building name. It was called, “The Rookery.” The entrance itself had a neo-gothic archway, and was guarded by stone gargoyles. Harry felt a magical tingle on the back of his neck as the two stepped onto the building's front steps. Hermione felt a strong urge to back away, and this urge to flee remained until Harry literally dragged her by the arm through the front door. Once inside, they found an elegantly appointed lobby of what looked to be a small hotel. They walked towards the back of the room, where a smartly dressed house-elf greeted them from behind a mahogany desk.

“Good day, Clan Chief Potter,” he said. “The goblins informed us that we might be see your return sometime soon.”

Harry adopted a look of confusion on his face. “Good day, erm…I'm sorry but what's your name?”

“Forgive me, Clan Chief. My name is Gilbert, and I am The Rookery's chief concierge.”

The house elf looked surprised when Harry reached out to shake his hand. “Please to meet you, Gilbert. This is Hermione Granger, my, erm…”

Hermione giggled a bit at Harry's hesitance. “Nice to meet you, Gilbert. I am the Clan Chief's Consort.”

Gilbert gave her a wide-eyed nod. “It is an honor, Consort Hermione.”

Harry gave her a fish-eye, then turned to the house-elf. “Gilbert, it is my understanding that I own an apartment in this building.”

“Yes indeed, Clan Chief Potter…would you like to see it now?”

At Harry's nod, Gilbert led them into a magical lift, and asked Harry to place his hand and wand tip onto a metal plate where floor buttons might otherwise be. The plate gave off a glow and the lift began to move. After a few moments the lift door opened and Gilbert announced, “Twenty- third floor, otherwise known as `Potter's Playpen'.”

+++

That night Clan Chief Potter and his Consort invited most of the Art Club over to The Rookery for a small housewarming party (Sir Evan and Steve remained at Windsor to serve as anchor and Royal bodyguard respectively). While everyone one thought the apartment (which actually took up the entire 23rd floor) was lovely, they were far more interested in the large balcony and the differing views it provided.

Witches and wizards that looked down from the balcony saw the Leaky Cauldron's rooftop, and, beyond that, a breathtaking view down the full length of Diagon Alley. Muggle Art Club members, however, could look in the exact same direction and see only warehouses, similar to the two-story structures that everyone agreed could be found in the adjacent city blocks. Evidently, the same kind of magic that protected Hogwarts from the prying eyes of muggles was at work in Central London.

Conjured telescopes, binoculars and window panes were used to work out just how that magic was working. Hermione had hypothesized that muggles might see through the magic if they weren't seeing it with their bare eyes, based on the fact that Colin Creevy hadn't been killed when he viewed the basilisk through his camera lens. Unfortunately, muggle eyes were still fooled, even when looking through glass. It was only when Wally set up a digital camera and Harry aimed it towards Diagon Alley that the Grangers and he could see in the camera's image display what they should have been seeing with their bare eyes.

The house-elf that Gilbert had assigned to serve them for the night had been thrilled when Harry and Hermione asked him to decide on food and beverages for the small get-together. He was flat-out gobsmacked when they asked him to place an additional setting on the dinner table for himself. The house-elf, who was named Dalton and spoke the Queen's english, demurred, until Harry pointed out that it would be the most efficient way for everyone to learn more about the building's history. The house-elf told an amazingly interesting story.

Diagon Alley had hidden in plain sight for hundreds of years, with walls and street-level notice-me-not charms all that was needed to remain in the shadows. That changed, however, in the early 1800's, when muggles invented balloons and ways to build taller buildings. In response, wards were constructed to provide a hemispherical illusion for any muggle who might spy down upon the magical enclave. This allowed unabated development of the surrounding muggle neighborhoods, including residential buildings similar to The Rookery.

The Rookery distinguished itself from these other buildings not just with its wards and magical conveniences, but with its somewhat colorful origins. It took a bit of prodding, but Dalton finally admitted that the Rookery had been built by a small, elite social club of pure-blooded wizards for randy rendezvous. Some patriarchs kept their mistresses there, while others used their apartments to entertain muggle prostitutes. The building's location was perfect for these purposes; conveniently close enough to Diagon for them to slip away, but on the muggle side of the Leaky Cauldron (where no proper pure-blooded witch might care to follow). The club itself held nominal ownership of the building, and arranged for maintenance and upkeep through discrete and automatic withdrawals from Gringott's accounts.

Remus noted that the information Dalton provided was amazingly candid. The house elf shrugged his shoulders and stated that it didn't really matter how candid he was, since nobody other than Harry would remember what he said once they left the property. Immediately pressed for details, Dalton explain that the entire building was charmed so that anyone other than the flat owners would magically forget about the building (and everything that occurred within its walls) once they crossed back over the wards. This automatic obliviation process was created and maintained not just for privacy but for discretion; with the charm in place philandering wizards didn't have to worry about remembering to obtaining consent from the women they brought there.

The implications of the house elf's information cast a shadow on the evening, particularly when they realized that at least a few of the original patriarchs were probably alive and actively using the rest of the building. The group decided to call it a night and either badge-jumped or apparated back to their homes. Wally held back to talk about setting up long-range cameras on the balcony, until Harry reminded him that he would forget everything they talked about as soon as he left. With that conversation thus deferred, Harry and Hermione were soon the only two remaining.

Harry refilled their wineglasses with the last of the open bottles and joined Hermione on the balcony. It was nearly eleven and just barely twilight, as the summer sun dipped behind the western suburbs. They watched quietly as Diagon Alley's street lamps were lit. Hermione broke the silence, noting, “The more I think about why this building was built and what it's used for the less I appreciate this view.”

Harry agreed. “Also a waste of tasteful interior design, if you ask me…I was planning on ravishing you in the boudoir until I realized that you wouldn't remember any of my kisses.”

Hermione grinned. “So you think your kisses are worth remembering, Potter?”

“You'd be the one to know, sweetheart.”

Hermione's eyes lit up a bit. “Oh there may have been one or two that stood out.”

“Only one or two?”

Hermione nodded. “Of course, it wouldn't hurt to reinforce those memories by recreating the scene of the crime.”

Harry smiled and began to quietly sing. “I'm headin' down the Atlanta highway…”

“I'd rather you be quietly heading to Windsor.”

“Hey Hermione, do you think you'd like my singing any better during the trip?”

“Don't think I'd be able to notice, with all of the flashing lights and sounds.”

“Guess I'll just have to sing louder, then.”

Harry called Sir Even and they said the badge-jumping magic words. Hermione imagined that it was the first time a B-52's song had been sung on the astral plane.

“Love Shack, baby Love Shack!…Love Shack, baby Love Shack!…Love Shack….”

-->

Muggle Summer

A/N: A previous version of this chapter was posted for about 90 minutes last Friday, before a spot-on review from Particle Accelerator bothered me enough to pull the chapter back. After axing large portions of Clancyish techno-prose and off-track plot meanders, 4000 words were cut down to 2,100. So then, rather than immediately put it back up, I took the time to write in the lunch scene, thereby tempering the plot twisting narrative with some HHr fluffiness. I think the end results reads better, but perhaps the few that read the original post will be better positioned to comment.

Sorry to everyone who got a chapter posting alert, only to find the chapter gone. I'm working on curbing my narrative enthusiasm.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 37: Double-Oh-Patriarch

Monday, June 25
The Rookery, London

The next morning, Harry Potter apparated to the Rookery with a case of electronics and some unanswered questions for the house-elves that worked there. Figuring that he ought to find out if he could trust the elves before he broke out the cameras, he called out for Gilbert. The house-elf appeared in an instant.

“Good morning, Patriarch Potter,” said Gilbert. “How might I be of assistance?”

Harry frowned at his latest honorific. Bad enough being called the “Boy-Who-Lived,” or “The Chosen One”, but in just the past four weeks he'd been pronounced to be “Sir Harry,” “Clan Chief Potter,” “Queen's Wizard,” “Lord Gryffindor,” and now “Patriarch Potter.” He counted the titles on his fingers, and snorted when he realized that he only needed one more to match the Prince.

“Wonder how one goes about becoming `Grand Poobah Potter'?” he thought to himself.

Shaking himself from this thought, he asked the house-elf if what he did or said within the Flat would be held in confidence.

The house-elf looked shocked at the question. “Of course, Patriarch. The first rule of the building is, “What happens at the Rookery, stays at the Rookery.”

Harry nodded, and then asked, “Does that kind of discretion include the patriarchs themselves?”

Gilbert nodded. “The Rookery's house elves must never speak about the other Patriarchs and their activities with anyone…even another Patriarch.”

“So is there any way any of the other Patriarchs would know I was here, either yesterday or today?”

Gilbert paused, then replied. “It is doubtful, Patriarch Potter. No records are kept or notifications made of when or how the Patriarchs use their flats. House elves and goblins manage the building and all of its finances for the benefit of the Patriarchs. So unless you were seen walking into the building by another Patriarch…”

“I see,” said Harry. “Well, Gilbert, you have been most helpful. Thank you for your time and assistance.”

Gilbert bowed, but before he disappeared Harry asked, “And just to be certain, what we just discussed will not be shared with any of the other Patriarchs?”

The house elf nodded, then said with a slight smile, “Death before indiscretion, Patriarch Potter. It will be as if I was never here.”

Once the house-elf disappeared Harry unpacked the case and set up the cameras and other sensors that could be controlled with telemetry. He'd been given a crash course on what cords went where and the right buttons to push before the trip, but still found it necessary to call Wally for some troubleshooting tips.

Meanwhile, MI-5 agents were busy setting up cameras and a concealed observation post in front of the building. Agents stationed at the site were to call MI-5 3/4's Windsor field office with physical descriptions of anyone entering or leaving the building. By comparing these “eye-witness” descriptions with live camera images, they hoped to be able to account for the potential use of glamour charms. With luck they would catch the faces of at least a few of the patriarchs that chose to walk into the building rather than directly apparate inside.

There were plans for more comprehensive monitoring of the building, but Harry left the details to Wally and Steve. He admired just how quickly the hastily assembled monitoring plan was being implemented, but wasn't big on the “wait and see” approach.. He was (and figured he always would be) a man of action…someone who wanted to bash doors down rather than watch who used them. But as he already had plenty of other things on his plate at the moment, he was content to let this pot simmer, so that he could focus on tasks that hadn't been delegated to others. There were, in fact, six different things he had wanted to do that day in Central London, and he was already behind schedule. And so it was with some relief that he finally got confirmation from Wally back at Windsor that the cameras he set up were working properly. He packed up his things, badge-traveled to the back room of the Weasley's shop, and prepared for his next meeting.

+++

Harry walked confidently down High Street and into the main lobby of Gringott's wearing a blond curly wig and a black eye-patch. The only thing funnier than his appearance was the fact that nobody blinked an eye (hiding in plain sight was easy when everyone expected a powerful wizard like Harry to use magical disguises). He ignored the disgusted looks and protests of bank patrons who thought he was jumping the queue and strode confidently towards a desk located near the back of the lobby.

“Good day, Griphook,” he said to the goblin seated behind the desk.

The goblin looked up and said, “Good day, Clan Chief.”

Harry took a seat in front of Griphook and pouted. “Aaah, you saw through my disguise. What was it, you read my magical aura? Maybe I tripped some `clan-chief detection wards' on the way in?”

Griphook gave Harry a toothy smile as he stood from his desk, pulled two thick ledgers under his arms, and directed Harry towards a private conference room, “Something far more mundane,” he explained. “You are the only wizard to have ever recognized me and called me by name.”

As soon as the conference room's door closed Harry pulled off the itchy wig and annoying eye-patch. “Much better,” he said to himself. He then asked, “Griphook, what can you tell me about the a flat I now own in a building called `The Rookery'?”

Griphook hummed quietly as he opened up one of ledgers and began to search. Finding the page he was looking for, he said, “One flat, located at 87 Shaftesbury Avenue, Soho, London. Four bedrooms, 3,900 square feet, occupies entire twenty-third floor of building known as `The Rookery.' Acquired by the Potter Estate in 1892 at time of construction. Original purchase price 87,000 galleons. Current estimated value 3.3 million galleons, although restrictive magical covenants bar you from placing it on the open market.”

Harry nodded, then asked, “I understand that the building is actually owned by some type of club. Are there annual billings or fees to cover my share of the building maintenance costs and other services?”

The goblin nodded hummed some more as he checked a different section of the same ledger. He then replied, “This past year the sum of 13,000 galleons was withdrawn from the Potter vault. Authorization for these automatic withdrawals was made by your grandfather on behalf of himself and his future heirs. As the Potter Patriarch you may stop these withdrawals, but this action would result in forfeiting your ownership of the property to the organization that holds nominal ownership of the entire building.” Griphook looked up from the ledger and asked, :Do you wish me to stop these withdrawals?”

“Erm, no…not just yet,” Harry replied. He then noted, “When I visited the property yesterday a house-elf informed me that Gringott's gave notice that I was the new Potter Patriarch and might be soon visiting.”

Griphook gave Harry a cautious look, and then replied, “Under the terms of your grandfather's authorization, Gringott's was required to notify The Rookery as soon as the Potter family had a Patriarch. You became the Potter Patriarch last week when you became Queen's Wizard …a letter was sent by secure bank owl and received by a house-elf named Gilbert.”

Harry paused, then said, “Please Griphook, don't be nervous…you were only doing your job and fulfilling the bank's obligations, right?”

“Yes, Clan Chief, thank you.”

“Please Griphook, it's Harry…especially when it is just the two of us in private, alright?”

Griphook gave Harry a second cautious look, then smiled once more. “As you wish…Harry.”

The young wizard then asked, “Did you contact any of the wizards that live there, or belong to the club that runs the place?”

Griphook shook his head. “We deal only with the house-elves. Privacy issues.”

Harry smiled when he realized it likely that none of Patriarchs knew he had access to his Rookery flat. Wondering if somebody like the senior Malfoy would know through other means, he asked, “Was anyone else notified when I gained my majority and full control of the Potter estate?”

Griphook sighed, then answered, “A required notification was sent to the Wizengamot.”

“Why the Wizengamot?”

The goblin gave Harry a tight-lipped smile. “Most likely because the Potter Patriarch has held a permanent seat on that body for more than 900 years.”

Harry accepted this reason, and then sighed. “Any chance that they haven't gotten that message yet, Griphook?”

Griphook paused, then asked, “Would you wish that the Ministry not know?”

When Harry nodded, Griphook's toothy grin returned. “I sent out the required notification to the Wizengamot's office on the day it was attacked. While I have a return receipt that proves the message was delivered, I also know that the magical seal on that envelope was never opened.”

Harry cocked his head. “Why do you imagine that is, Griphook?”

The goblin pressed his fingertips together and replied. “I understand that the Wizengamot office was one of more damaged portions of the Ministry. It is possible that the letter was destroyed before anyone could read it.”

Harry nodded, and then asked, “Are you going to send another notification?”

Griphook smiled. “Gringott's was obligated to send notification. Gringott's is not obligated to determine whether the notification that was sent was actually read.” He then added, “At your instruction we could send a second owl.”

Harry thought about the benefits of his voting authority in the Wizengamot secret and realized he knew little about how that body worked. “Not that I would sway anybody's vote right now,” he thought to himself.

“I think one notification was sufficient,” he decided out loud. “Any one else, then?”

Griphook looked down at the ledger, and then said, “There are a number of individuals and organizations that might be notified whenever an heir reaches his majority. Members of the family are notified, but we have no records of others in the Potter line. Any wizard family that has entered into a betrothal contract with your parents would be notified…”

Harry interrupted. “Would be….not was…right?”

Griphook delayed his response just long enough to see Harry squirm (who said goblins can't have a bit of fun?). “No, Harry, your parents did not obligate you to honor a betrothal contract.”

After Harry let out a sigh of relief, Griphook added, “That being said, there are presently forty-seven open betrothal offers to from other Families or Clans.”

“Forty-seven different marriage proposals?”

“Yes, Harry.”

“That's simply…hard to believe.”

Griphook raised what could pass for eyebrows on a goblin's face. “I have the names of the witches right here if you'd like to take a look.”

Harry chuckled, then noted, “Well, I couldn't get into too much trouble if all I did was look, right?”

Griphook thought for a moment, then replied tactfully. “It might be argued that a wise and responsible Patriarch should take at least a cursory glance at the list, if only to consider the value of any potential clan alliances.”

Harry grinned at Griphook, and asked, “Let's hope that wise and responsible consorts would think the same way if they found out.”

A wheezy cough erupted out of Harry's throat when he looked down at the ledger.

“Oh. My. Sweet. Merlin,” he exclaimed.

After working through the list he asked, “Is there a reason why so many families would be willing to offer one of their daughters to me?”

The goblin chuckled to himself. “Besides the fact that you are famous, wealthy, and the scion of one of the oldest wizarding families in Britain?”

“Yes, besides that.”

After they shared a few more chuckles (who knew that goblins liked a good joke just as much as any other sentient?) Harry asked for a copy of the list, as well as all of the correspondence and documentation associated with each offer. Griphook called another goblin into the room and sent him scurrying with orders to honor this request.

“The records will be available in a few minutes time,” said Griphook. The goblin then asked, “Is there anything else, then Clan Chief?”

Harry scowled a bit. “I'm sure that there is, let me take a look at the list Hermione made out for me.” He then glanced down at the piece of parchment pulled from his pocket. After a quick glance at his muggle wristwatch, he said, “Merlin, I'm supposed to be over at the Palace in a few minutes. But I also wanted to eat lunch with Hermione.”

Harry looked over at Griphook and asked, “What do you think, my friend…Queen or Consort?”

The goblin squinted a bit and pursed his lips, before asking, “Do they serve food at this muggle Palace?”

Harry smiled at the goblin's question. He then stood, shook Griphook's hand, and said that his wisdom went far beyond the world of finance.

+++

Thirty minutes later, Harry answered a badge-call from Hermione.

“Hello, Hermione…how is your meeting going with the goblin ward masters?” he asked.

“Erm, fine…well, better than fine, actually,” she replied. “But we're on break…they all just got called away to check on some warding down within the vaults.”

“Really?” asked Harry. “Does that mean you have a bit of time for lunch?”

“Imagine so,” Hermione replied. “Have a place in mind?”

“Actually, I do…why don't you jump over.”

Hermione paused. “Will I remember where I ate afterwards?”

She couldn't see the grin on Harry's face when he replied, “Yes, I think you just might.”

The jump took Hermione to an elegantly-decorated room with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on three sides and large windows within the fourth. A gentle breeze passed through these windows, bringing the scent of freshly-mown grass into the room where it mixed and mingled with the scent of century-old books and Beef Burgundy (the later coming from a table within the room's center, elegantly set for lunch). The intoxicating combination of aromas nearly made Hermione's knees buckle.

“Little woozy from the jump?” Harry asked cheekily.

Hermione shook her head as she turned to the sound of Harry's voice. She startled at just how handsome he looked in his dark-olive two-piece suit, shirt and tie. She looked down at the workday robe she was wearing and frowned.

“Wish you had told me that lunch was a formal affair, Harry.”

“You've got a wardrobe full of new clothes here, if you like,” he replied with a grin. “But it is just the two of us here, and I think you look beautiful just as you are.”

She nodded as she took a second look at her surroundings. “We're at the Palace, then?”

Harry nodded. “Welcome to the Royal Wizard's Suite….would you rather take a tour or eat lunch?”

Hermione looked towards the room's closed door, then over at the table of food. Focusing beyond the table towards one of the bookcases, she resisted the urge to add browsing as a third option, and suggested that they eat while the food was still hot.

Harry nodded as he pulled out a chair for her.

“Quite the gentleman, Harry,” she said.

“Well, comes with the territory, I imagine,” Harry replied, as he took his own seat and lifted up his already-filled wine glass. “A toast?” he asked.

Hermione's thoughts drifted back towards Gringott's and her unfinished work. But the label on the open wine bottle was just to intriguing, and Harry just too handsome, for her to care. She raised her glass towards Harry.

He smiled and proposed, “To fairy tales with happy endings.”

The breath that got caught in her throat kept Hermione from replying. With moisture gathering in the corners of her eyes she clinked her glass against Harry's.

“To our happy endings,” she replied.

It took a few minutes for either to be inclined to start up a conversation.

Harry finally asked about Hermione's meeting with the ward masters. She happily reported that the goblins were thrilled with her successful bench-scale demonstration of attenuated anti-apparition fields. There was a lot of work left to do with power boosting and spell focusing before they could recreate this success on a full-scale model, but these were already-established processes, and the ward masters were confident that they'd have a marketable process by week's end.

Harry smiled and congratulated Hermione on her success. “So do you think this means we'll have wards up at Windsor by week's end?” he asked.

Hermione nodded. “I might know for sure later today. They're bringing the Director of Warding Services in this afternoon to start negotiating a licensing agreement.”

“Wow, that's great Hermione…do you have any ideas on how much your ideas are worth?”

Hermione hemmed and hawed a bit, before Harry encouraged her to not be so modest.

“The ward masters think that by reducing the boundaries down to the exact footprint of the warded area they'll reduce their power requirements by an average of 25%. But they also think that they can charge at least 10% more for “custom-tailored” wards.”

“So they can charge more for something that will cost them less to build?”

Hermione nodded. “They started talking about either selling the idea to them outright, or granting them an exclusive license to use it.”

“Wonderful,” said Harry. “I'm so proud of you…so which way are you thinking?”

“Not sure,” Hermione replied. “I'm thinking of offering a trade instead…I let them use my attenuation mods, and they teach me how to build wards that block magical detection.”

Harry thought about Hermione's statement, before his eyes lit up. “With those kind of wards up over a building, underage wizards could practice their magic!”

Hermione smiled. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

Harry couldn't contain his enthusiasm, and almost jumped across the table to give Hermione a hug. “Oh, that's simply brilliant, Hermione.”

Before Harry could turn his admiration into a snogfest Hermione asked how his morning had gone. Harry sighed, then sat back down and recounted his adventures within the Rookery flat. He then jumped over his meeting with Griphook to describe his introduction to staff at Buckingham Palace. Harry had met most of the Queen's Palace security detail, as well as the chief of Palace security, whom he described as a bit “Snape-ish.”

“How so?” Hermione asked.

“Well, he was a bit put-off that he had to give me a tour of their command center…thought that the `Queen's little magician' didn't have a good enough reason to know.”

“So what happened?”

“Steve sat him down for a little chat,” he replied. “And he gave you and me some new identification badges to deal with the bureaucratic git.” Harry then reached into his pocket, pulled out a plastic ID card, and passed it across the table.

Hermione's eyes widened, and she gave Harry a questioning look. He responded by flipping his own palace staff ID around to show an identical badge.

“So is this just a fake ID for cover?” she asked.

Harry shook his head. “Afraid not,” he replied. “They don't want there to be any questions about our authority to lead others in the defense of the Royal Family.” He then stood up straight and extended his hand. “Agent Granger, welcome to Her Majesty's Secret Service.”

Hermione shook her head, not sure that she liked the idea.

Harry noticed her concern, and said, “Look on the bright side, Hermione. They're starting us with mid-grade commissions.”

“So?”

Harry smiled. “So how many other teenagers do you know that outrank their parents?”

Hermione broke out into a small smile, and then asked, “Well that's all fine and good, but the real question is whether or not I outrank my boyfriend.”

Harry grinned, and then replied, “They initially wanted to put me a couple of grades higher than you, but then I asked if that would prevent me from snogging a junior officer.”

“So what happened?”

“I made them demote me down to your rank.”

Hermione laughed, then walked over and gave him a hug. “Oh, Secret Agent Potter, how romantic.”

Harry paused, then chuckled at her response. “Merlin, there's another one.”

“Another what, Harry?”

“Another title…ties me up with the Prince.”

“Really?” Hermione asked. “I didn't know it was a competition.”

Harry shook his head. “It isn't really. There's only one title that I really care about…and chuck the rest.”

“And what title would that me?”

Harry placed a kiss on her forehead and replied, “Hermione's boyfriend.”

Hermione looked into Harry's eyes before snorting and pulling him into a hug.

“Oh, Harry,” she cooed. “I wish that I didn't have to go back to that meeting right now.”

Harry looked at his wristwatch and said, “You don't need to be back for another forty-five minutes.”

“Really?” asked Hermione. “And just how might you know that, Mr. Potter?”

Harry smiled and said, “Griphook assured me that the ward inspections would take at least an hour-and-a-half to complete.”

Hermione shook her head, deciding whether to admonish Harry for his scheming, or praise him for his ingenuity. Some ear nibbling forced the issue.

“So Harry,” she said, “you promised to give me a tour of the Royal Wizard's suite?”

Harry stopped chewing on an earlobe so that he could whisper in her ear. “Any particular room you might be interested in, Hermione?”

She pulled him into an even-tighter embrace and nodded. “Don't suppose they gave you a broom closet?”

Harry smiled as he shook his head. “Sorry,” he whispered, “No broom closets. I do have a rather large master bedroom at my disposal, though.”

It was Hermione's turn to smile as she broke the embrace, grabbed his hand, and started pulling him towards the door.

“Guess that will have to do.”

-->

Muggle Summer

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 38: The Birth of a Jr. Marauder

1:30pm, Monday, June 26
Queen's Wizard's Quarters
Buckingham Palace

Harry Potter felt rather guilty that he hadn't told Hermione about the marriage contracts. He had planned on doing so during lunch, but the romantic atmosphere engineered to soften the blow of that revelation had gotten the best of them. Next thing he knew, they were snogging in his newly assigned bedroom at Buckingham (and he didn't want to ruin any of that). She had then dashed back Gringott's to continue her work with the goblins, making him feel even more guilty about stealing her away from her ward work.

Harry suspected that things would be worse, now that the first chance to tell her had come and gone. Best he could do was rationalize the need to find out more about these contracts before the next chance came at dinnertime. But who to talk to? It was the kind of problem that he'd bring to Hermione first, but that wouldn't do. Ron was clearly out…Harry loved him like a brother, but this was another one of those times when his Champion's jump to jealousy might get the best of him. The ideal candidate would be a married wizard that Harry trusted, but the only one to fit that bill was Arthur Weasley, and he was clearly out given that Ginny's name was on the list.

And so it was that Harry reluctantly sat up in his new bed and decided to call Remus Lupin (whose conflict of interest was almost as bad as Arthur's). With assurances that Harry wasn't interrupting his afternoon, Remus badge-jumped and immediately dropped to one knee.

“My liege,” he intoned.

“Oh knock it off, Remus,” Harry scolded, as he rose from his seat on the mattress edge. “It's either `Just Harry' or a hex for you.”

The former DADA professor broke out into a grin as he stood. That grin grew wider as he took in his surroundings.

“So Harry,” Remus asked, “did I ever tell you about my nights on patrol as Gryffindor Prefect?”

Wondering why his former professor was raising this topic, Harry shook his head.

“Quite something,” Remus continued. “With my were-enhanced sense of smell I always knew when pheromones and bra hooks were being released behind closed broom closet doors.”

It only took Harry a few moments to catch on, and to realize that his recently used bedroom might not have been the best place to receive a guest. Waffling between acute embarrassment and roguish camaraderie, Harry decided to put on the brave front.

“Down, boy,” he replied, “or do I need to mark my new territory?”

Remus broke out into a hearty laugh. “No worries, Alpha,” he said in reassurance. “Although it would be great fun to watch you pee around the perimeter of the Palace.”

Harry rolled his eyes as he grabbed Remus's elbow and showed him around the new apartment. Of particular note were two large walk-in closets. Harry guided his mentor to a section that bore his name and handed him a clothes hanger.

“Thought we'd grab a cup of tea in the Mess,” he explained.

Remus nodded as he shed his robe and hung it on the bar next to a bespoke shirt and tailored suit. Hanging next to the suit were black combat fatigues, and two wizard's robes (one plain and one formal). Looking down his black trousers and lightweight sweater, he snorted and asked, “Do I need to change into that fancy muggle wear?”

Harry gave Remus the once-over and smiled. “Good enough to throw on just the jacket…it'll give you someplace to hang your credentials.” As he handed over both the jacket and a security badge, Harry explained that each member of the Order of Arthur had his or her own sets of clothing to facilitate travel between the muggle and wizarding worlds. Similar mini-staging areas were planned for Hogwarts, the back of Fred and George's shop, the Round Tower, and the Farm.

“Five sets of clothing?” Remus asked. “Harry, you don't need to do that. I mean, at the very least I can transfigure my clothing whenever there's a need.”

Harry shook his head. “Not happening, my friend,” he replied. “The Queen insists that her Order be properly uniformed at her expense. Some of us could transfigure, sure, but Wally, Steve and the Granger's can't.” He then added, “And in any event these outfits are more than they might seem.”

Remus cocked his head as he slipped on the jacket and took a closer look. It was slightly heavier than he expected, and hung a bit stiffly, as if there were something between the wool fabric and silk lining.

“An inch-and-a-half of steel-reinforced Kevlar, magically thinned and lightened,” Harry said. He then explained what Kevlar was, and noted that MI-5 ¾ testing had proven that the material's stopping power hadn't been compromised by the magical alterations.

“So this would protect me from what, exactly?” Remus asked.

Harry grinned. “Oh, not much…knives, swords, bullets...”

“Expecting to fight against muggles, are we?” Remus asked with a confused smile.

“Not really,” Harry explained. He then surprised Remus by withdrawing the Sword of Gryffindor from its hidden scabbard and whacking it against the werewolf's wand arm. “But I imagine any magical opponents I face might wish they were muggles if I catch them without something similar on.”

Remus winced from the sword's impact. While the Kevlar had completely stopped the blade from slicing through his arm, it hadn't cushioned against the blunt force behind the sword stroke. Embarrassed by his failure to maintain his guard, Remus gritted his teeth and struggled not to rub the area bruised by the attack. As he sheathed his sword Harry noted that Fred and George had also added the same shield charms used on the robes they had sold to the Ministry.

As the two left the apartment, Harry told Remus that the muggle identification badges would be needed whenever they ventured beyond his quarters (the same held for trips outside of the Round Tower at Windsor). He also informed Remus that his badge identified him as a member of Palace security, and that he'd need to wear an earpiece similar to the one worn during the Battle of Ascot, if for nothing else than show.

Harry's functional earpiece and transmitter came in handy when he got turned around on his way to the Mess. He could, of course, have used his badge to get directions from Steve, but there were muggles about in the hallways. With Steve's aid it only took them a few minutes to reach a mess hall strikingly similar to the one Harry visited so often at Windsor. As it was between lunchtime and teatime, the two found it easy to find a table where they could chat without need of privacy charms. Five minutes later, they were settled in with tea and fresh-baked scones.

After complimenting the service, Remus asked, “So I imagine you wanted me here to do more than dress me and show off your bachelor pad?”

The Queen's Wizard snorted. “Most definitely, Remus.” After the few seconds of silence that accompanied a bite of biscuit, he off-handedly said, “I had an interesting chat with my Gringott's advisor this morning.”

“About your financial situation?”

“Amongst other things,” Harry replied with a smile. He took a moment to pique some interest, then asked, “So what can you tell me about wizard world marriage contracts?”

Remus choked a bit on his tea, just barely managing to avoid a spray. “Have the goblins added matchmaking to their portfolio of services?”

Harry chuckled as he shook his head and began to recount his conversation with Griphook. Lupin was pleased to learn that Lily and James hadn't agreed to any binding betrothal agreements, but lost it at the idea of Harry having to deal with open-ended marriage contracts.

“So did Griphook tell you how many open offers there were?”

Harry nodded, and told him. Remus couldn't help but spray upon hearing the number.

“Forty-seven?” he exclaimed, loud enough to catch the attention of staff standing on the other side of the room.

Harry shushed his friend, and nodded.

Remus stated, “As a muggle-born witch I take it Hermione's parents weren't involved?”

Harry nodded in confirmation.

“So what did she think about all this?” Remus asked.

“That's the thing,” Harry replied sheepishly. “I had the chance to tell her during lunch, but couldn't bring myself to do it.”

Lupin squinted at Harry. “But you both found time enough to work up a sweat, eh?”

Harry nodded. “Well, yes…I was going to tell her, but we just got carried away a bit, and…”

“And now you're worried about what she'll say not just about the offers, but the fact that you didn't immediately tell her.”

Harry sighed. “Right in one.”

Remus scratched his head. “Don't know quite what to say, cub. I mean…my experience with witches isn't any longer than yours….So what made you hesitate?”

“Besides the fact that she was making doe eyes at me all during lunch?”

“Erm…yes.”

“Oh…well….”

“Do you know which witches we're talking about?”

Harry nodded. “Only a few,” he noted. “It seems like just about every pure-blood family with an unattached female under the age of sixty has made an offer.

Remus nodded in understanding as he mentally reviewed his class lists.

“I mean, really,” Harry spouted. “what were my parents thinking?”

Remus paused before replying. “Your mum and dad never mentioned anything about marriage contracts for you, cub…besides the fact that they had rejected binding offers from the Malfoy and Nott families.

With a questioning look, Harry said, “Well if that's the case then why is there a Malfoy on the list?”

Remus shook his head. “Dunno, Harry. It could be that those open offers were extended after your parents's deaths.” He then snorted. “Didn't realize the Malfoys had a daughter to marry off, although I wouldn't put it past them to offer up Draco for the right amount of money and power.”

Harry shuddered at the thought. “I asked Griphook about that…apparently there's a line of Malfoys still in France.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” Remus replied. He then said, “If it helps any, I do know that your father fought tooth and nail to avoid one of these contracts so that he could marry your mum.”

“He did?”

Remus nodded. “It was a right mess. Words were spoken between James and your grandfather that never had opportunity to be taken back before either of them…well…”

After trailing off, Remus's eyes lit up. “But that would matter, here, right? As Head of Family, you could reject all of these open offers out of hand.”

When Harry nodded, Remus asked a logical follow-up. “So what's the problem? Is there somebody on the list that you fancy?”

Harry shook his head forcefully. “Of course not.”

“So what's the problem telling Hermione? It's not as if you asked for these contracts, right?”

Harry shook his head once more. “Guess I'm worried that Hermione would insist I consider the potential benefits of family alliances.”

Remus waved his hand dismissively. “Please, Harry…have a little faith in Hermione. And if not faith, at least a sense of humor…I mean, what other teen-aged wizard has that many offers?”

“Haven't a clue,” Harry replied. He paused, then gave Remus a evil look. “Think I should have a sense of humor about all this, eh?”

“Most definitely.”

Harry chuckled as he retrieved a small parchment scroll from an inside coat pocket. As he handed it across the table he snarked, “Let me see your sense of humor after read through the list.”

Remus nodded and began to scan down the scroll. Harry was dead on with respect to comprehensiveness. All the big family names were there, including more than a few aligned with Voldemort. “Cornelius Fudge's daughter, now there's a match,” he thought to himself. Most of the specific witch's names were unfamiliar to him; Remus guessed they might be older sisters (or the spinster aunts) of Harry's classmates.

Two names caught his eye. “So you've been offered your choice of the Patil girls?” he asked.

Harry shook his head and sighed. “Not just my choice of one, but under the laws of magical India their parents offered me both.”

Remus chuckled. “Now you see Harry? Plenty of humor right there.”

“Yeah, right Moony,” Harry snarked. “Just scroll down to the end of the list.”

Remus nodded as he let the bottom end of the scroll fall. The first thing to catch his eye was Ginerva Weasley's name at the bottom of the list. “That could be awkward,” he thought to himself. But then he glanced up a couple of lines and blanched.

He looked up at Harry and noticed that his eyes were twinkling like Dumbledore's used to. He looked back down and confirmed that the name he thought he saw was really there.

“Apparently,” Harry dryly noted, “open-ended offers can come from more than just pure-blooded families.”

Remus nodded, and said nothing for ten full seconds before breaking out into a series of gut-wrenching guffaws. Harry couldn't help but join in, earning them scolding looks from the mess hall manager. They got the non-verbal cue and quickly returned to Harry's quarters to begin their scheming.

In the end, they decided that there was little need to embellish what was, all by itself, a rather wonderful opportunity to prank. Harry found the nerve to spill the news to Hermione, and was pleased to be on the receiving end of her empathy. She even agreed to help with their plans.

And so it was Ted and Andromeda Tonks were invited to dine that night with Harry Potter at Buckingham Palace. Their daughter Nymphadora (who had been invited separately along with Remus) had no idea why Harry and Hermione wanted to meet her parents (though she suspected it was Hermione's way of forcing Remus to met her parents). Her parents, in turn, suspected that Harry wanted to discuss the issues surrounding Sirius Black's disputed will.

Mr. and Mrs. Tonks were given the full treatment, with a car picking them up and delivering them at the Palace steps with Beefeaters saluting at the gates. Harry, Hermione, Tonks and Remus met them at the front entrance, and showed them to the Queen's Wizard's Quarters, where dinner was served. Harry and Hermione, dressed in formal evening wear, perfectly played the role of gracious host and hostess. Dinner conversation was light and centered around Tonks's childhood adventures as a metamorph and Harry's adventures at Hogwarts. While a few questions were asked about Harry's new role as Queen's Wizard, care was taken by all not to discuss Sirius's will or Voldemort's war.

Once dessert and tea was served, Harry made the bold suggestion that the bag the traditional post-dinner segregation of the sexes and that everyone repair to the library for after-dinner drinks. Once there, Hermione calmly announced that as Potter Clan Consort she would take the lead on negotiating the terms of the open-ended marriage contract in advance of Nymphadora's marriage to Harry.

As the one with the least experience in the fine art of pranking, it was all Hermione could do not to burst out laughing at the look on the Tonks family's faces. She held on just long enough for Remus to take a wizard photograph that documented the only time in his future wife's life that she was able to display a beet-red hair color that so completely matched her facial skin tone.

Remus considered the many future nights spent of the couch to be more than worth that photo. Harry and Hermione agreed, right up to the point where Tonks so brilliantly pranked them back.

But that's another story.

-->

Muggle Summer

A/N: I've decided to skip a 38 as a chapter number, so that the author's post numbers match chapter numbers. Doesn't affect the story…just didn't want folks looking for missing text.

This chapter is a bit short, but it is nicely self-contained and I did try to keep the techno-plot meanders to a minimum.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 39: Percy's Problems

Thursday, June 28
Ministry of Magic

Special Assistant Weasley strode into his Special Assistant's office and barked at the small wizard painting mounted behind his desk.

“Tell the muggle Prime Minister that he should make himself immediately available for Minister Scrimgeour's arrival.”

The echo wizard scowled at the live wizard's arrogance and stomped out of his frame in a huff. The portrait had never heard so much as a “please” or “thank you” since it had been moved to Percy's office two months previous. Special Assistant Weasley was oblivious to this reaction, as he was busy arranging parchments in his portfolio. It was the first time the Minister had invited him along to one of these meetings, and Percy didn't want to give him any reason to make it the last time he did so.

He was all packed-up and halfway to the Minister's office when the portrait returned to its frame with some disturbing news. “I was unable to determine whether the muggle minister heard my announcement.”

Percy frowned. “What do you mean, you were unable to determined if he heard you? Did you make the announcement?”

“Yes.”

“Did the muggle minister notice you were speaking to him, or say anything in reply?”

“I was unable to determine that.”

“Why not?”

“Because my other portrait is covered with some sort of black cloth and no sound is coming from the muggle minister's office.”

“What?” Percy yelled. “Since when?”

The wizened old wizard echo snorted, then replied, “Two days ago.”

Percy's face turned pale. He then shouted, “Two days ago? Why didn't you report this to me?”

The echo smiled as Percy's knickers twisted. “You ordered me to spy on the muggle minister and report back if I saw any wizard in the office besides Auror Shacklebolt or heard any discussion of the wizarding world,” the painting explained. “I have neither heard nor seen anything that required me to interrupt your busy day doing very important things.”

Shocked at this response, Percy sat down on his desk, put his head in his hands and fretted. This was bad. Very bad. Minister Scrimgeour was expecting to floo straight away to the muggle Minister's office once he returned from lunch, and Percy didn't even know whether the muggle Minister was in his office.

“Well if the portrait can't deliver the message, I'll have to do it myself,” he muttered. Percy rushed down the hall to the Minister of Magic's office. Brushing aside questions from the receptionist and Aurors that stood guard, he burst into the empty executive office and grabbed a pinch of floo powder. Kneeling in front of the hearth, he threw the powder into the fire, confidently yelled out “muggle minister's office,” and stuck his head into the blue flames.

A few seconds latter Percy's head was forcefully cast out the flames with enough momentum to throw his entire body ten feet back from the floo. As he painfully pulled himself up from the floor he heard a tinny female voice announce, “The floo destination you have requested is no longer in service, or has been disconnected. Please check your address and try again.”

Special Assistant Percy closed his eyes and sighed. It wasn't as if the muggle minister's floo was paid on subscription, so somebody must have magically shut down the floo connection from the other side.

“The muggle Minister's office has been attacked,” Percy immediately thought. “Or worse, Potter shut it down.” With second thoughts, Percy discounted the former, as they would have heard from the Auror stationed there. “Unless the Aurors are betraying the Ministry as well,” he worried. That there might be some disloyal Aurors wouldn't have surprised Percy one bit, given just how unhelpful Head Auror Robards had been the past couple of weeks. The chances that he would be given an Auror team to check in on the muggle minister's office were nil (especially after Auror Dawlish's team performed so dreadfully for Madame Umbridge).

Percy thought of a way to potentially circumvent the Auror department, and scurried towards the Magical Surveillance Office, where records could be checked for magic use anywhere within the British Isles. While the MSE was part of the MLE and worked closely with the Aurors, Percy knew that he could trust at least a few of its staff. After all, they had been hand-picked by the Minister's office just last week to replace the Fudge-hired traitors that used to work there.

As he impatiently waited for a lift, Percy's thoughts drifted to the other replacements the Ministry had been forced to place. He'd been shocked to find that so many of the covert Death Eaters had been seemingly high-performing loyal Ministry employees. They were, of course, Fudge-hires and not at all Minister Scrimgeour's responsibility, but still….a rather radical shake-up, and not just in the MSE. Lots of new hires taking over the running of the magical transportation network, too. As he entered the lift he realized that this was probably the reason why the Minister's Office wasn't notified about the shut-down floo connection.

Percy reached the desired floor and stormed the surveillance office with an expectation of immediate respect and immediate answers. What he received was grudging confusion. As best as they knew, no magic had been used within the muggle minister's office for the past week. Which didn't make any sense, since magic would be needed to shut down the floo connection and (possibly) shroud the portrait with magical silence.

Special Assistant Weasley returned to his little office and ordered the portrait to check again for the muggle minister. While the echo was gone he leaned against his desk and tried to catch his breath. The dashing about had tired him, and he was very much looking forward to having interns do the running for him.

The thought of Ginny doing some of that running brought a small smile to her older brother's face. Receiving her tear-stained owl-post that practically denounced her former boyfriend and begged for Percy's forgiveness was, without a doubt, the highlight of his past week. Minister Scrimgeour had been most pleased with the development, and Madame Umbridge had been more than happy to have Ginny's internship switched from Centaurs to the Minister's office. Percy himself would manage his sister's development as a loyal Ministry employee.

The portrait returned with nothing new to report, forcing Percy to take drastic and decisive action (mainly because he was too afraid to reveal his mistakes by asking the Minister for direction). He walked over to the corner of his office that had been specially cleared for outbound-only apparition, drew his wand, and disappeared with a loud crack.

Percy had planned on apparating directly into the muggle minister's office (having previously scouted out the street location for just that purpose). He was therefore quite surprised when he bounced off of anti-apparation wards and landed with a crack some 200 meters east of his target…particularly as this displacement put him a few meters above the Thames River. Once there, the non-magical forces of gravity came to bear, and he fell feet-first into the murky waters.

Shouts from muggle bystanders who had heard the crack and splash greeted Percy's ears when he resurfaced. He cursed, transfigured his wizard robes into muggle clothing, and swam to shore. He had just found a relatively quiet spot to magically dry himself when an all-too familiar voice addressed him from behind his back.

“Oi Percy…nice day for a swim, eh?”

Special Assistant Weasley immediately thought to grab his wand, but realized that Harry Potter would have stunned him by now if that was his intention. He slowly turned and found the Queen's Wizard standing a few yards away, dressed in a muggle suit.

“Queen's Wizard Potter, I figured that you must have been involved in this outrageous and wanton disregard for magical secrecy.”

Harry snorted. “In my opinion, your little tour of the Thames was more obliviator-worthy.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and asked, “I suppose you have a legitimate reason for trying to gain entry into the Prime Minister's Office?”

Percy frowned at the thought that Harry knew his intentions. “You're clearly out of bounds, Potter. Whatever schemes you have as Queen's Wizard have no relevance to official matters between the two Ministries.”

“Ah, but I must disagree, Special Assistant Weasley,” Harry said with a grin. “By right of treaty, the Queen's Wizard is allowed to defend the Crown and all members of Parliament from magical attack…used to just be the monarch but apparently some guy named Cromwell saw fit to work out an add-on.”

“So?”

Harry smirked. “Percy, Percy, Percy…I would think that the Ministry employee in charge of spying on the Prime Minister's Office would at least know something about his subject. The Prime Minister is a member of Parliament.”

Percy sputtered. “But, but this is an outrage…you're meddling with official means of communication…”

“Nothing of the sort,” Harry replied. “The muggle Prime Minister requested that I evaluate some rather specific security issues, and asked me to shut down the floo connection. You see, he doesn't know a lot about our world, and is afraid that if the Minister of Magic can floo into his office than any old wizard might.”

“But that's rubbish!” Percy exclaimed. “It's a secured floo-connection that only connects the two Minister's offices.”

“Oh is that so?” Harry asked. “And has anyone bothered to explain that to the Prime Minister?” When Percy didn't respond Harry added, “Thought as much. Don't worry, though, I made sure that the Prime Minister has a thorough understanding of all of the magical objects that have been placed in his office.”

Breath caught in Percy's throat. “All of the objects?”

Harry smiled. “Yes, Percy, that includes the magical portrait that has been spying on the muggle Prime Minister for who knows how many years.” He then shook his head, adding, “Have to say that he was a bit peeved to learn that the painting was more than just an ugly magical doorbell.”

Percy sputtered again, then tried to recover whatever dignity he could muster. “Well, I'll have you know that I was trying to conduct official Ministry business. The Minister of Magic has urgent business with the muggle Minister.”

Harry straightened his own back and replied, “And the British Prime Minister is not at Scrimgeour's beck and call. If the Minister of Magic wants a meeting, he'll have to do what everybody else has to do.”

“What's that?”

“Make an appointment.”

Percy turned beet red at Harry's insolence. “And just how is the Minister's Office supposed to do that without use of the floo or portrait?”

Harry paused, and then fished his mobile out of a trouser pocket. Hitting the right speed-dial combination, he put the phone to his ear and soon said, “Good afternoon, Auror Shacklebolt, this is Queen's Wizard Potter, how are you?….oh, fine thanks…say, just needed to let you know that somebody tried to apparate into 10 Downing Street a few minutes ago…yeah, wards worked like a charm…who?…oh, Percy Weasley of all people…said he was trying to set up a meeting between the two Ministers….yeah, I'll tell him. Thanks.”

Harry pocketed his mobile then looked over at a puce-colored Percy. “Auror Shacklebolt has been in Glasgow the past few days with the Prime Minister. They're expected back tonight, and he suggested that you provide Head Auror Robards with a meeting request and proposed agenda. He'll make sure that Auror Shacklebolt gets it to the Prime Minister.”

“That's hardly an appropriate protocol chain,” Percy sputtered.

“Maybe so,” Harry replied, “but it's the best you'll get until the two Ministers can get together to agree on methods of communication that don't involve espionage and trespass.”

Percy shook his head at the thought of just how much shouting he'd hear when he returned to the Ministry. Resigned to his fate, he couldn't resist asking Harry an additional question.

“So just how did you construct anti-apparation wards and shut down the floo without tripping the Ministry's magical-detection devices?”

Harry beamed a wide smile back at Percy and replied, “Magic.”

The Queen's Wizard then escorted Special Assistant Weasley down the street to a location just outside 10 Downing Street's wards. He magically opened a pretend public loo and pointed Percy inside.

“Why do you want me to go in there?” Percy asked.

“Because you apparate too loud,” Harry replied simply. “It got both magical and muggle soundproofing on it. After all, we do want to keep our secrets, right?”

“I most certainly do not apparate too loudly.”

The teen-aged wizard snorted. “How would you know?” he asked. “You don't stick around long enough to hear.”

Percy scowled in response, but did take care to close the door as he stepped inside. It took the Special Assistant longer than usual to focus on his destination, as he was distracted by the nagging suspicion that crossing Harry Potter would ultimately prove not to be a savvy career move.

-->

Muggle Summer

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 40: Mucking About

10:00am, Saturday, June 30
Mucking Marshes, Essex

Ronald Weasley found it hard to believe his first full day in official service to the British Monarchy would involve dressing up in white muggle jumpsuits and poking through heaps of muggle garbage with a willow branch.

“Cor, Hermione, can't you just give us bubble heads?” he whined, as he caught a whiff of waste. “I'm this close to adding my breakfast to the rubbish pile.”

Hermione looked up from her own heap and shot him a look of disgust that had little to do with the soiled disposable nappies that were underneath her Wellies. “Save it for someone who's got nothing better to do than to care, Sir Ronald.”

“I mean, really,” Ron continued, “didn't expect being a knight would always be a walk in the park, but this is just foul.”

“Suck it up and take the good with the bad, mate,” Harry called out from his position a few feet away. “Didn't see you complaining about your duties last night when you were mucking about with the Queen.”

The grin on Harry's face conveyed more amusement than anger; even he had to admit that their present situation was quite a step down from the previous night's ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Not that it mattered to him, mind you…they were horcrux hunting, and when compared to an inferi-infested cave this was a walk in the park.

Mucking Landfill was the kind of appropriately descriptive name that authors love to give to their characters and places. Only this place was far from fictional. A waste disposal facility located in Essex, Mucking Landfill was the current recipient of nearly all of the rubbish produced by the City of London. Had been, actually, since it was commissioned in 1994, which is why the Trio were busying themselves dumpster diving on a grand and magical scale.

Like seemingly everything else that had supported their campaign against Voldemort, the lead had come from the muggle world. One of Wally's colleagues had suggested that preparing a background profile of Voldemort's personality might help predict his future actions. As part of that effort, Harry and Hermione had reviewed the pensieved memory of Dumbledore's first encounter with young Tom Riddle. The memory began with a curbside view of the orphanage where he was raised, which caused Hermione to pull Harry out of the pensieve even before they saw Tom Riddle. She excitedly explained that the orphanage might be a potential horcrux repository, given its significance as the place where Tom first learned he was a wizard. Harry agreed, but told her that Dumbledore had shared her suspicions, but had been unable to find the orphanage's real world location (despite a thorough search of school and ministry records).

To the surprise of no one, Dumbledore's failed search efforts did little to deter Hermione.

“Albus Dumbledore,” she simply stated, “didn't do Google.”

With Wally's help, Hermione used the internet to locate the names and addresses of seven different orphanages that had operated within the City of London during Tom Riddle's childhood. Internet map sites then provided not just the locations of these addresses, but point-to-point driving instructions and route maps.

Harry, Ron and Hermione then visited all seven sites during a afternoon's drive in her Bentley. Unfortunately, only two of the seven street addresses were attached to buildings of appropriate age, and neither of these buildings had an exterior that matched what they had seen in the memory. Seemingly at a dead-end, they had returned to Windsor only to have Wally take renewed interest in one of the street addresses. A check on his laptop subsequently revealed that one of the street addresses with newer construction had been the site of a seemingly random Death Eater attack on muggles.

“That's it, then,” Harry decided, once he heard the news. “Voldemort hid a horcrux at the orphanage, then sent his toadies around to check on it once he returned.”

“Are you sure?” asked Hermione. “Why would he risk storing something so important in a building that could be torn down so readily?”

“Because he was thinking like a wizard,” Ron explained.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Harry asked.

“Ever notice that there aren't many new magical buildings?” said Ron, answering a question with a question. “Wizards never tear down old buildings…reshape them, resize them, add on to them, sure, but never tear them down…think Burrow.”

“Why?” Harry asked.

“Because you'd lose the magical energy that was poured into the original construction,” said Hermione, with a nod of comprehension.

“So Voldemort didn't plan on urban renewal?” Harry concluded.

“Exactly.”

“So if there was a horcrux hidden there, where would it have gone?” asked Harry.

Ron paused, and then said, “Either somebody removed it from the building before it was torn down, or it went wherever the building rubble went when it was torn down.”

“Could one of his supporters have taken it before the tear down?” asked Harry.

“Doubtful,” surmised Hermione. “Those buildings are more than a few years old, and Voldemort wasn't around to let anyone know.”

“That makes sense,” Harry concluded. “Now, I wonder where the construction debris could have gone?”

Wally's inquires had provided the answer that placed them where they were today, with their rubber boots ankle-deep in the detritus of a disposable society. From the street address they got a building permit, which led to the demolition permit, which identified the general contractor, whose records provided both the date of building demolition and the where the debris was sent. The landfill that had accepted the waste kept rather meticulous records themselves, and could identify, within a quarter-acre area and twenty-foot depth interval, where the debris had been placed within the facility.

They'd arrived on site at 8am that morning, only to find that the Queen's men had once again done some excellent advance work. Two large backhoes had stripped off the protective soil cap and the waste that overlay the layer of interest. The muggle backhoe operators weren't surprised by the fact that there were government officials conducting this type of search; Scotland Yard investigators were out there on a near-monthly basis looking for this or that piece of evidence. They would have been very surprised by the search equipment, though, had they hung around after they had completed their work. But as it was time for morning tea, the two men cleared out of the search area before they could spy the forked pieces of wood that the three visitors had pulled out of their kits.

The search wasn't to involve active magic, as Harry had no desire to reveal their interest in the site to either Voldemort or the Ministry of Magic (explaining why Ron's desire for a bubble of fresh air went unmet). The forked willow branches were magical dousing rods, charmed by the Weasley Twins to point towards magical objects (MI-5 3/4 had already deployed prototypes of these rods to security checkpoints at Windsor, Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street). The rods were another reason why they weren't using magical spells…at the beginning of their search the only magic that the dousing rods would point to were their wands and Art Club badges. So, until Fred and George found a way to modify the charm to screen out known magical objects, the three were forced to take turns searching; two would douse while the third stood just outside the detection range with their own wand in one hand and the other two wands in the other.

The work was hot, sweaty and exhaustive. In the first hour of searching they had uncovered a small bag of gobstones, the tip of a forever-inked quill and a broken shard from a magical mirror. Each time they got a tip of the rod they had to stop and dig down through the waste by hand until they uncovered the object. Fortunately, the objects that they'd found were only buried a few feet beneath the surface; without the ability to adjust the range and sensitivity of the rod they could have been forced to dig as much as ten feet down with shovel and pick. Ron quipped that with all of this valuable field testing that they ought to get a share of brother's profits from developing the rod.

Given their search results, the three greeted the fourth time one of their divining rods gave a sharp jerk downwards with as much resignation as excitement.

“Any guesses on what it will be this time?” Ron asked, as they swapped out their dousing rod for shovels and began to dig into the waste.

“I'm actually surprised we've found anything,” Hermione replied. “I wouldn't have expected to have wizard waste mixed in with the muggle trash.”

“Well I still can't get over just how much muggle trash there is in the first place,” Ron replied.

“What, you think the wizarding world is any more environmentally responsible?” asked Harry.

“Of course,” said Ron. “You don't see wizards heaping their trash out over the countryside.”

“So exactly where do they put their rubbish?” Harry asked.

“Haven't a clue,” Ron replied. “Back home, Mum and Dad just banish the garbage with the bin is full.”

Hermione shook her head. “Typical…out of sight, out of mind.”

“Oh, so like you know?” Ron quipped.

“Yes, and you would too if you ever…”

“Bothered to read Hogwarts, a History,” Ron and Harry finished for her in unison.

Hermione frowned a bit. “Well it's true, you know…the standard banishment spells were developed at Hogwarts in the Eleventh Century, with all banished material magically transported to the Waste Plane.

“Waste Plane?” asked Harry.

“Yes,” Hermione replied. “It's an off-shoot of the small bit of ethereal plane used by the floo network.”

“You mean the floo connections transport people through heaps of garbage?” asked Ron incredulously.

Harry snorted. “Always knew there was a reason I didn't like floo travel.”

Hermione sighed (as much as she could sigh without breathing in too much stench). “I did say off-shoot, Ron,” she explained.

Ron's retort was cut off by Harry's cry of discovery. During the conversation they had dug through a layer of household garbage and uncovered a separate layer of rough-hewn wood and plaster. Harry stepped down and began to push and pull at the timber. Ron eventually jumped in to help, and with shoulders underneath the end of one length of wood the two were able to pry up on a large piece of plaster.

“See anything?” Harry asked Hermione, as he and Ron struggled to keep the section of wall elevated off of the base of the pit.

Hermione jumped into the pit with her rod (which now pointed sideways rather than straight down). Following down the length of willow branch with her eyes, she quietly replied, “Yes, Harry, I do,”

She then stood and added, “Give me a second and I'll crawl under to get it.”

“Don't you dare, Hermione,” Harry replied. “Don't know how long Ron and I can hold this piece up.

Hermione looked at Harry and nodded as she swapped out the dousing rod for her wand. Deciding that just a small bit of active magic could be justified, she then pointed her wand underneath the wall fragment, and uttered an incantation that brought a grim smile of satisfaction to Harry's face.

“Accio Helga Hufflepuff's Cup.”

+++

The discovery of another horcrux rekindled the destruction debate on the way back to Windsor. They just so happened to have planned on visiting Hogwarts the following day, as the network of Slug Club alumni had finally gotten word to Horace Slughorn that there was a fortune in potion supplies sitting underneath the castle. Ron thought that they ought to bring the cup down with them into the Chamber and try and destroy it straight away, until Hermione cautioned that it would be difficult to explain to their former Potions Professor why they were trying to ruin a priceless Founders artifact. And so, after returning to the Round Tower and cleaning off the filth and grime, they met with Wally and asked to “Indiana Jones” the cup to wherever the locket was presently stored.

Talking with Wally about the need to destroy these objects then brought out all types of creative contingency plans. It was understood that if the three teens were killed or captured before they could do the job that the muggles would have to try and do it themselves. Steel factory blast furnaces and other industrial sources of amazingly high temperatures had been discounted as possibilities, for fear that there might be a destructive explosion associated with the release of the soul fragments. The best two ideas so far were either blasting the objects during an underground nuclear bomb test, or sending the objects out into space, in a low-altitude orbit that would force the horcruxes back down to the Earth (when they would presumably be destroyed by the heat of reentry).

After completing their afternoon meeting with Wally, the three teens were delighted to find themselves unscheduled for the balance of the day. Ron decided to head back to the Burrow for a kip, as he was still getting used to a normal sleeping schedule (his overnight guard duty at St. Mungo's now at an end). He badge-jumped from the Round Tower to the Twins's shop so that he could use their floo; now that the anti-apparation/portkey wards were in place over the castle, this was the only way a wizard could magically leave Windsor Castle.

Harry plopped down the sofa that sat in front of their main fireplace, cracked opened a butterbeer, and arched an eyebrow towards Hermione.

“So,” he said off-handedly, “I imagine there's at least a dozen reasons why we can't spend the rest of the day snagging?”

Hermione smiled as she spread out on the rest of the sofa and placed her head in his lap. She fluttered her eyebrows up at him and said, “Funny, but I can't think of any at the moment.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Harry tried not to get his hopes up as he began to mentally review his “To Do” list. “Warding all done?”

Hermione nodded. “The goblin warders are done down here and have moved up to Balmoral in advance of the Queen's vacation.”

“The Queen?”

“Down in her State Apartments, I imagine…she heads back to Buckingham tomorrow night.”

“Prime Minister?”

“That meeting is Wednesday, in advance of Thursday's mini-summit with Scrimgeour.”

“Fawkes Foundation?”

“Mum's over at Cumberland Lodge today, doing the advance planning for the Summer Institute. We'll be chatting with the Headmistress about that tomorrow.”

Harry nodded, thinking that they did have a lot planned for their return to Hogwarts. He then continued down his list.

“Peanut Butter Brigade?”

“Ron and Neville have got their cells in place, Ginny's practically moved in with Percy and Penelope, and the Goblins have promised that Ron's first day in the Liaison Office would be rather productive.”

“Well that sounds dangerous,” Harry replied with a grin. “How about MI-stuff?”

“We're meeting with the Twins on Tuesday and touring headquarters, wherever that is.”

“How about the Rookery?”

“Only seen run-of-the-mill patriarchal perverts so far. Oh, you will have to swap out the camera's battery packs next week, though.”

“The Farm?”

Hermione let out a big sigh. “Really Harry, it comes down to worrying about The Farm? If you don't want to snag you could just say so.”

Harry looked down at Hermione with a look of horror on his face. He took her into his arms and said, “Oh Hermione, of course I want to…it's just that we need to stay on top of things, right?”

Hermione lifted her head up so that her lips met his in a quick kiss. Leaning her head back down onto his lap she replied, “Harry, you are on top of things. Why don't you just move `Act like a normal horny teen-aged male' to the top of your `To Do' list?”

Harry cocked his head and waggled his eyebrows. Trailing a hand down Hermione's torso, he grabbed a soft mound of flesh and said, “Wouldn't it be easier just to put you on top of my `To Do' list?” He then punctuated this question with a pinch.

Hermione let out a soft moan as she ground the back of her head into Harry's lap. Quickly getting the desired response, she smiled and cooed, “Looks like I'm the one that's on top of things now.”

And with that statement, Harry decided to trust in the power of delegated authority.

There was no further talk of “To Do” lists that night.

-->

Muggle Summer

A/N: I felt so bad about wasting the Chapter 38 chapter alert with an Author's Note that I went back and replaced that note with a real chapter. It describes how Harry deals with the 47 open-ended marriage contracts that Griphook told him about. You don't need to read the new Ch 38 to follow the main story line, but it is kind of fun (in this author's humble opinion).

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 41: Hairnets and Headmasters

5:00am, Sunday, July 1
Windsor Castle

Harry Potter looked out over the gray horizon and scowled. The storm clouds that had brought high winds and three inches of rain to Windsor had lingered long enough to ruin what would have likely been a very pretty sunrise…as if they already hadn't annoyed him enough for the lost sleep. About the only good thing he could say about the weather was that it had given him an excuse to break out his Firebolt.

Without shifting his gaze from the clouds Harry said, “We need to be finishing up, Hermione…sun's rising, my arm's getting tired holding this “notice-me-not” screen, and the tourists will be out and about soon enough.”

Hermione glanced up at Harry, who was hovering a few feet above her position on the roofline, and nodded. “Think I've almost got this last set lined up again.” She then tilted her head towards her badge and asked, “How is it looking down there, Dad?”

Some hundred yards away (and twenty yards beneath her) Roger Granger scanned down the length of the castle's western wall with the lens of his digital camcorder.

“I still see some hairnet about fifteen feet in front of you, Hermione,” he replied.

“Well, bugger this, then,” she said as she crouched back down to check her crystal alignments.

“Hermione,” Harry admonished lightly, “with your dad listening in?”

“Where do you think I learned that kind of language?” she replied tersely. “And for the last time, father, my wards are not hairnets.”

In the time it took for the laughter and banter between her father and boyfriend to settle down, Hermione managed to finally get her crystal sets realigned. With her dad's confirmation that his daughter's protective wards were once again invisible to both the naked and digital eye, Hermione badge-jumped down to his ground level vantage. Harry rolled up his distraction shielding and (rather reluctantly) then flew down and joined them.

They had discovered that Hermione's attenuated anti-apparation wards were visible to electronic sensors earlier in the week. She had been monitoring the master rune stone set during start-up of the wards around Buckingham when Wally called and asked if she knew why the Palace was covered in a black hairnet. Hermione had immediately dropped the supposedly invisible wards and badge-jumped to Wally's location, where she reviewed videotape of the Palace shrouded in a black hemispherical lattice of magical energy. This had been a source of great embarrassment for Hermione… not just that she hadn't accounted for this phenomenon in her modeling, but the fact that Wally's “hairnet” nickname for her wards had somehow stuck. To liken her protective warding to the mundane devices that protected cafeteria food from unwanted strands of hair? Humiliating.

It had taken her an entire day to diagnose the problem. Hermione's working hypothesis was that the black strands of magical energy that were woven into a standard anti-apparition net had very localized notice-me-not charms. As a result, when a person (whether muggle or wizard) looked towards the wards, their brains would ignore the black net and only “see” what was on the other side (Mrs. Granger had suggested window screening as an appropriate muggle analogy). This effectively made the wards invisible to the naked eye, but not to digital eyes (akin to what they had already seen at The Rookery).

The goblins working with Hermione had suggested “notice-me-not” charms on the structures themselves, but it was rather impractical to ask muggles to ignore some of the most famous architecture in Great Britain. Hermione's solution was a second rune line that shifted the “color” of the netting from visible black to “invisible” far ultra-violet (a spectrum that was outside of the sensor range of nearly every digital camera and camcorder). This add-on required the placement of optically perfect quartz crystals set at ten-foot (or less) intervals along the ward perimeter. The exact placement of these crystals was critical, since each piece of quartz needed to be in the line of sight of the crystals on either side of it. Alignment was relatively easy for rectilinear structures like 10 Downing Street, but more difficult for castles with irregular footprints (and turrets and parapets). As a result, the wards around 10 Downing Street that had bounced Percy into the Thames were in place two days before similar warding could be raised around Windsor.

Windsor's wards had only been up and running for thirty-six hours when high winds associated with the nighttime storm blew away three of Windsor Castle's crystals and shifted the alignment of ten others. Part of the problem was the fact that they couldn't use magic to stick the crystals to the rooflines and walls. Finding a more durable muggle adhesive had therefore been mentally placed high on their “To-Do” list in the midst of their early morning's repair.

+++

Later that morning, when Harry and Hermione met her parents for breakfast in the Royal Mess her mum quipped, “Well from the looks of you two I'd never have known you'd been up half the night.”

Harry gave Hermione's mum a guilty-looking smile and replied, “Amazing what a little pepper-up potion can do.”

“And this potion explains why you two are dressed so nicely?” Emily asked. “I thought you had plans on butchering a basilisk today.”

Harry and Hermione looked at each other. She arched an eyebrow, and when Harry replied with a shoulder shrug she turned back towards her mum.

“We aren't going to Hogwarts until eleven,” Hermione said. “We're meeting with the Dean at eight.”

Emily furrowed her eyebrows a bit in confusion. “You're meeting Dean Thomas, my broom-buddy?”

Hermione shook her head as she reached under the table and grabbed Harry's hand. “Erm, no…we're meeting with the David Conner, the Dean of Windsor.”

It was Mr. Granger's turn to be confused. “Dean of Windsor? That's not a royal title I'm familiar with.”

Hermione giggled. “That's because it isn't, daddy. Dean Conner is the vicar in charge of St. George's Chapel, here at Windsor.”

Roger's eyes brightened. “Is he now?” He looked over at a suddenly nervous-looking wizard. “I didn't realize that you were much of a church-goer, Harry.”

Harry fidgeted a bit in his seat and replied, “Guess I haven't been, actually. The Dursley's were the Christmas and Easter kind of church people, but they never brought me along. Then at school, well…can't say that I've seen much of an active Christian community within the wizarding world.”

“Can't imagine why, given all of the burning's and inquisitions,” Mrs. Granger said. “So now that you are your own man, you've become interested?”

“More like now that he's Hermione's man, dear,” Roger quipped.

“Hush,” Emily scolded, with a swat on her husband's arm for emphasis. “I think it's wonderful, whatever the reason.”

As Roger rubbed his sore arm he turned and asked brightly, “So just why would you two be needing to meet with the vicar, Harry?”

“Dad!” Hermione scolded, as she whacked Roger's other shoulder. “Be nice…there's all kinds of reasons why Harry and I would want to meet with Dean Conner. St. George's is, after all, the home of the Order of the Garter.”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Roger replied. With a wink he added, “They also do an occasional wedding over there as well, right?”

Hermione squeezed Harry's hand a little harder as her eyes narrowed. “Yes, weddings,” she said evenly, “but don't forget baptisms too.”

Roger choked on his juice, and quickly sought reassurance. “Please don't tell me that you two will be looking for that kind of service any time soon.”

Harry and Hermione turned to each other, and held serious expressions for all of five seconds before Hermione broke, and broke into a grin.

“No worries, there, Dad,” she replied.

As Mr. Granger let out a sigh she explained Dean Conner had requested an informal meeting with the Queen's Wizard, and that he might be a good resource for meditation skills that would bolster their occlumency techniques.

“So,” Roger mused, “meditation is all you'll be talking about, then?”

“Well,” Harry replied, “we won't have that much time…there's a Communion service at eight-thirty.”

“You two are welcome to join us, of course,” Hermione said brightly.

“We'd love to, dear,” Emily replied. “Thank you for asking.”

With Roger's hopes to gain back some of the sleep he had lost whilst helping repair the wards dashed, he turned to his daughter and asked, “Any chance I can get a jigger of that pepper-up stuff in my juice?”

Hermione chucked as she passed the carafe of coffee across the table. “Sorry, dad, but muggle ears aren't built to spout steam.”

11:00am, Sunday, July 1
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

With a change of clothing more appropriate for combat than church, Harry and Hermione keyed into Tonks and Remus's badges and jumped directly into the Headmistress's Office. Minerva didn't know what was more disconcerting…visual reconfirmation that badge-jumps ignored the castle's wards, or the fact that her two favorite students were dressed in muggle military issue. She furrowed her eyebrows as she gave their goggle-covered wool caps, equipment-laden belts and thigh-packs the once-over. “I thought that this was mostly a social call, Mr. Potter,” she said.

Harry grinned as he walked up and offered his hand. “Our apologies, Headmistress…we were asked us to field test some of our new gear for comfort and ease of movement.”

“I see,” Minerva replied, as she shook Harry's hand. She was about to compliment Harry on just how much straighter he was standing when compared to his last visit to her office exactly one month previous when she noticed his eyes dart up to a spot over her right shoulder.

“See something that interests you?” she asked.

Harry nodded as he considered the fact that a black cloth that was presently draped over Dumbledore's portrait (eerily similar to his handiwork within the Prime Minister's office). “How long has he been awake?” he asked.

“Five days, now,” the Headmistress said with a smile.

Hermione frowned. “Excuse me, Headmistress, but if Professor Dumbledore's portrait is awake then why do you have it covered?”

The question drew some interest (as well as some cat calls) from the other Headmaster portraits that hung on the office walls. After Minerva properly shushed the paintings she replied, “Albus's echo is in training, Miss Granger.”

“Training?”

“Yes, dear,” Minerva replied. “I have learned and come to appreciate the fact that there is an adjustment period for every newly animated portrait.”

Hermione's eyebrows were raised in interest. “Adjustment?” she asked. “I thought that the echo's service to the current Head of School could begin just as soon as it woke up.”

“Theoretically, yes,” the Headmistress replied. “The compulsion for a headmaster's portrait to faithfully serve is magically bound to the paint itself. Unfortunately, it takes a bit of time for each new headmaster to…erm, appreciate…how to best provide that service.”

“I don't understand,” said Hermione.

The portrait of Phineas Black could stay silent no longer. “Stupid witch, she's trying to tell you that Dumbledore's echo is trying to be just as bossy and manipulative as the original.”

“That will be quite enough, Headmaster Black,” McGonagall scolded. She then looked back towards Hermione and said, “while his analysis is a bit caustic, it is also fairly accurate….apparently every Headmaster echo comes out chomping at the bit to offer unsolicited advice to their successor.”

“He should have known that well-enough,” another portrait quipped. “It's not like Dumbledore could forget that he had me under wraps for a full year and a half.”

Harry and Hermione swung their heads around and took in the portrait that had made this comment.

“Headmaster Dippet, at your service,” the bald echo said. “Well, at the Headmistress's service, actually.”

Hermione nodded. “You were Headmaster before Dumbledore,” she said, matter-of-factly.

“Indeed,” added McGonagall, “and Headmaster back in the day that I was a student.”

“I always knew that you were destined for great things, Minerva,” the echo replied.

That comment brought out some coughing and throat clearing from the other portraits. Harry thought that Phineas's cough sounded more like an accusation (specifically, a rather rough-voiced accusation that sounded like “Suck-up!”) He tried to get the conversation back on track. “So what does the portrait's training regimen involve, Headmistress?”

McGonagall smiled as she waved towards the walls. “Well, there has been no shortage of suggested techniques,” she said. “Right now I take off the wrap and silencing spells at the start of each morning, with a warning that they go back right on after the first piece of unsolicited advice.”

“Oh, so how long did he last today, then?” asked Harry.

The Headmistress smiled, “A little less than three minutes.” She then gave Harry a more somber look. “I imagine that you might have questions for the Headmaster…I can unwrap him if you want.”

Harry held the Headmistress's gaze and thought quietly. While there were a hundred different questions he wished to ask the echo, they also had a busy day and were already a bit behind schedule. He also wondered whether this might be some sort of test. Looking around at the others he replied, “Maybe another time, Headmistress…I think that I already have people here in the flesh that I trust and can turn to for advice.”

The radiant smile that burst upon Hermione's face (and the no-less-warm look in McGonagall's eyes) told Harry that he had passed whatever test might just have been administered.

“Well, then,” the Headmistress asked, “How might I help you navigate through Hermione's “To Do” list?”

Tonks snorted as Harry pulled a piece of parchment out of a pocket.

“Nothing wrong with a little delegated authority,” Harry said with a smile. “Right, then, first things first…Remus told you that we've enticed Horace Slughorn to come out of hiding to brew some wolvesbane?”

“Nothing like a bit of basilisk bait to bring out his nobler instincts,” Tonks quipped.

“Whatever it takes,” Harry replied. “Next full moon is a week from today, and it wouldn't do to have Hogwarts's Castellan out of sorts too much, right?”

Remus shook his head at the title. “Harry, I've asked you before not to call me that…I'm nothing but an invited guest around here until the Board of Governors approves your proposal.”

“Okay, fine,” Harry shot back, “Acting Castellan Lupin.” He glanced at his watch. “We've arrangements to meet Slughorn in Hogsmeade at one o'clock. We had originally thought to have him oversee the potion ingredient harvesting, but after taking a good look at the memory of my last trip down to the Chamber we thinking about a new plan.”

“Oh?” asked the Headmistress. “So what caused your change of heart?”

“Couple of things,” Harry said. “First, the goblins expressed some concern about the stability of the tunnels when we showed my memory of the cave-in.”

“Really?” asked McGonagall. “You've decided to have goblins involved here?”

Hermione nodded and explained. “They are, after all, experts at caverns and tunnels, what with their underground vault system.”

Harry added, “They also have the best curse-breakers in the world, which will be handy to have in our pocket.”

“You're expecting to encounter curses that you didn't trip before?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “We might…after all, I really didn't have time to properly explore the Chamber, and there could be secret rooms and doors.”

The Headmistress thought for a moment. “Harry, I know you've gotten along very well for the goblins, but they don't do these sorts of things for free.”

Harry smiled. “No, they certainly don't, which is why I'm raising the issue with you.” He pulled a scroll from his rucksack and placed it in front of the Headmistress. “We did a bit of hard bargaining, but nothing will happen without your blessing.”

“And just what kind of bargain did you get, Harry?”

Harry replied, “The goblins will give us one of their best engineering teams, a half-dozen curse breakers, and adequate security during the exploration. They'll clear out and stabilize the tunnel, remove any curses they encounter, and provide a safe work environment while we harvest the basilisk carcass. They also have agreed to give us a full three-dimensional rendering of the Chamber of Secrets and all of the associated tunnels, piping and caves. In exchange, they get to keep any treasure we find.”

“Less the fifteen percent finder's fee to Harry,” Hermione added.

“Which I plan to add in full to the castle's defense funds,” Harry quickly stated. “I also should note that we get to keep the basilisk carcass, which will be worth far more than its weight in galleons, as well as any books, documents, and relics attributable to any of the Founders.”

Hermione nodded. She had made sure that that last provision was in place on the odd chance that a Riddle had hidden a horcrux other than the diary down there.

The Headmistress rubbed her chin with one hand and thought. “What makes them think that there is anything worth anything down there besides the basilisk?” she asked.

Harry grinned. “They consider it to be a bankable hunch,” he replied. “At the very least they will be able to pry out four rather large emeralds from the Chamber's door.

Minerva gave Harry a tight-lipped grin. “I must say, Harry, that it is refreshing to see you adopt a more cautious attitude, and that you are not afraid to ask for the help of experts.”

Harry chuckled. “Like I said earlier, Headmistress…I'm learning to appreciate the benefits of delegated authority and subcontractors…were it not for Hermione's desire to learn first-hand about harvesting potion ingredients, I might have had the goblins do that as well.”

McGonagall nodded, then asked, “Do you have an idea on how long your subcontractors will take?”

Harry nodded. “If you agree to it, I'll return tonight with the goblin teams and open the entrance for them. Barring discovery of some major secret tunnels or passageways, they'll be in and out within the week.”

As the Headmistress looked over the contractual details, the echo of Phineas Black asked, “So how will this little adventure benefit the school, young man? The Chamber of Secrets is, after all, part of Hogwarts itself.”

McGonagall's gaze snapped up from the parchment and she glared at the portrait. “Perhaps Dumbledore's portrait isn't the only one lacking in training?” she asked.

Hary chuckled. “No, he's right, Headmistress, I image that you might need to defend your decision before the Board of Governors, particularly if we find lots of valuables down there.” He then stood and paced a bit as he thought back to his second year.

“This `little adventure' as Phineas puts it, is directly related to an adequate defense of the school. We currently have a very poor understanding of the tunneling and piping down there, and it could well be the case that there is more than one entrance to the chamber. Having an accurate map of where all of the pipes lead to, for example, will help Remus decide which areas to block, which to monitor, and which to leave alone.”

“I agree, Minerva,” Remus added. “We don't think there's a separate way out from the Chamber…if there was then Voldemort wouldn't have had Draco Malfoy spend most of last year looking for a different way inside the castle.”

“But at the same time we don't want to bank the school's safety on assumption of Lord Thingy's rational thought processes,” added Tonks.

“Lord Thingy?” asked the Headmistress.

Tonks shrugged her shoulders. “I've got other nicknames, but they're not for polite company.”

“Then we must find time to be impolite, my dear,” Minerva replied with a smile. She then turned back to Harry. “If the goblins don't start their work until tonight then why are you still meeting with Horace?”

Harry replied with a smile. “If you allow me, I'll show you something he'll surely consider to be worth at least a few month's dosing of wolvesbane.” He then led the group out of the office and down the moving stairway.

Along the path to Moaning Myrtle's haunt, the Headmistress decided to broach a different topic.

“Miss Granger,” she said, “I've made arrangements for you to meet our entire school staff, as you requested.”

Hermione nodded. “Thank you Headmistress, I'm looking forward to doing a little brainstorming with them on lesson planning.”

“And if a few of them volunteer to teach at your so-called Summer Institute, so much the better, eh?”

Hermione smiled. “We're offering paid teaching positions to every staff member, including yourself, Headmistress.”

“So you noted in your owl post,” McGonagall replied. “While I doubt that I could leave the Castle as Headmistress, I would enjoy learning a bit more about your plans.”

Hermione agreed, and gave an impromptu preview of her recruitment presentation for the Hogwarts faculty. But before she could get too far into explaining how their summer school would work around the Ministry's underage magic laws they arrived at the porcelain entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

Myrtle, unfortunately, wasn't there to flirt with Harry and provide comic relief.

As the group gathered behind Harry he rather unceremoniously opened the Chamber with the appropriate Parseltongue command. The small gust of air that burst up out of the piping was fresh, and carried no stench of decay. Harry couldn't decide whether this was a good or bad sign.

“So this is the piping that you slid down on using your bum?” asked Tonks.

“The very same,” Harry said.

“Salazar didn't think to add some stairs, then?” Tonks replied.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Guess it couldn't help to ask.” He turned back towards the open entrance and tried unsuccessfully to order stairs to appear using Parseltongue.

“So what now?” asked Remus.

“Well,” said Harry, “Tonight the goblins will be bringing modified magical carpets that act sort of like an elevator. But it really doesn't matter right now.”

“Why is that, Harry?” McGonagall asked. “How do you plan on getting to the basilisk?”

Harry smiled. “Magic.”

“Magic to get to it, then?”

“Oh, I'm not going to it,” Harry replied. “It will come to me.”

“And how do you plan to do that?”

Harry waggled his eyebrows at the Headmistress. “The same way I completed the first task.” After warning the group to step away from the entrance, he pulled his wand out, pointed it down the pipe, and yelled out “Accio Basilisk Skin.”

It took fifteen seconds for the scaly skin that Harry had encountered during his second year to make its way up the pipe, which was more than enough time for him to conjure the shield that kept the dark green skin from slapping him the face.

“Did you leave the inner door opened?” asked McGonagall.

Harry shook his head. “This was lying in the tunnel before we even got to the Chamber,” he replied, adding that the pensieve review had shown the shed skin to have been on the near side of the cave-in. As he ran a hand down the length of it he noted, “Shed Basilisk skin isn't as magically resistant as the bit that's still attached, but it's still worth a thousand galleons an ounce.”

“So how many ounces of skin is there in a twenty foot length, Harry?” Remus asked.

Harry smiled as he held out the skin for Remus's examination. “More than enough to keep Slughorn happy, and for you to keep your wits about you next Sunday night.”

And with that analysis, Harry spoke the words that closed the entrance until he returned later that night with the goblins.

-->

Muggle Summer

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 42: Queer Eye for the Mad-Eye

5:45pm, Monday, July 2
15, Bressenden Place, London

“Wally!”

Special Agent Jackson smiled as he crossed the threshold of one of his favorite London pubs. The fact that he looked nothing like the overweight actor that portrayed Norm on the Yank television show was annoying, but not enough for him to not play along with the running gag.

The publican drew a pint of ale as Wally walked towards his usual seat, and asked, “What's up, Mr. Jackson?”

Wally looked over the crowd of mostly middle-aged men and let out an overly dramatic sigh. “Certain not my interest, given the ugly mugs sported by you lot.”

The other pub patrons laughed, and responded with their own blunt assessments of Wally's fashion sense as he took a seat at the bar. He bantered back and forth with a few as he scanned the room for potential threats. The only thing that looked out of place was a handsome blonde-haired man that was nursing a beer and scowling at anyone and everyone who made the mistake of getting within five feet from his position in a corner booth.

On a hunch, Wally took out his mobile phone and casually pointed it towards the man as he punched buttons on the keypad. While it looked like Wally was placing a call, he had in fact activated the device's digital camera. A thin smile crossed his lips as he captured the image of a man that looked very different within the camera's viewfinder. He e-mailed the image to Harry, and then followed up with a phone call.

“Good afternoon, Lord G,” Wally quietly said, once Harry had answered the call. “It appears that your guest has arrived early and is sporting one of those glamour charms.”

“I expected as much,” Harry replied. “So is Mad-Eye any better looking in disguise?”

Wally replied, “Perhaps better looking than he wishes, at the moment.”

Harry chuckled dismissively. “Please, Wally, don't tell me that your favorite pub is the kind of place where Mad-Eye looks fetching enough to flirt with.”

“Now, hush,” said Wally. “I'll have you know that `The Stag' is a fine upstanding establishment.”

“Not to mention the only gay bar within walking distance of Buckingham Palace,” Harry snarked back. He then asked, “So should I wait until our prearranged meeting time, or do I need to rush over before he hooks up with someone?”

Wally smiled as a patron walked up to Mad-Eye's table and asked if he was looking for some company. As Moody barked out notice that he was waiting for someone, Wally replied, “No, take your time, Harry. I can always jump in if things start getting desperate.”

“More like the other guys are getting desperate if they're hitting on Mad-Eye,” Harry replied. “So any fashion requests, Wally?”

Wally snorted, and then said, “Oh, that Paul Smith jacket you had on today is fine. Just change into the white trousers, lose the tie, and wet down your hair.”

“Anything for you Wally,” Harry replied cheekily, “but no promises on the hair…see you in fifteen.”

Secret Agent Jackson acknowledged Harry's promise, pocketed his mobile, and wondered whether he could expense report a second pint of ale as necessary for his undercover guise.

Meanwhile, back at Buckingham Palace's Queen's Wizard's residence, Harry closed the book he was reading and walked from the library into his bedroom. After rummaging through his closet he swapped gray trousers for white, black wingtips for black dragonhide boots, and a tie for an open collar. Knowing that it wouldn't make a bit of difference, Harry did nothing to his hair.

The ten-minute walk from palace to pub placed him in front of the meeting place just as Big Ben began tolling the hour. The pub's exterior was unassuming, and nothing at all like the kitschy seventeenth century dressings worn by other pubs in the area (who relied much more upon the patronage of tourbook-wielding tourists). If fact, given its flat face, red paint and large square windows, Harry thought it resembled the exterior of a muggle double-decker bus.

As Harry entered the pub he caught the eye of more than the two people inside that he knew. He would, if asked, have blamed it on his designer clothes (despite Hermione and Wally's frequently-offered assessments that he was easy on the eyes of either sex). But Harry was too busy following Wally's eyes towards the retired-Auror's location to notice that others were in the room. Wally remained at the bar as Harry walked confidently up to the Moody's table and asked, “Looking for some company, handsome?”

Mad-eye scowled and replied. “More like I'm looking to hex the boy who arranged for this meeting place.”

Harry laughed as he slid into the booth. “Then it appears we've both found what we're looking for.”

A waitress came by and took Harry's drink order, which gave Mad-Eye a chance to order his fourth pint of the afternoon.

“Careful, there, Mad-Eye,” Harry said once the waitress disappeared. “You wouldn't want to get too tipsy to apparate.”

The retired Auror scowled. “Never been a problem before.” After finishing off the pint he had been nursing he asked, “Mind telling me how you saw through my glamour, milord?”

It was Harry's turn to scowl. “Lay off the lordship, Moody. It's just me.”

“Aye,” Mad-Eye replied, “but the you that you appear to be has never been quick enough before to see through my glamours.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders as he took out his mobile, pointed its camera lens across the table, and captured an image. He then passed the mobile to Mad-Eye and said, “Digital eyes can't be tricked by magic.”

Moody held the mobile just long enough to look at the screen, then dropped it as if the muggle device would give him a rash. “So you're too good and too smart for magic now that you're the Queen's favorite wizard, eh?”

Harry shook his head as he retrieved the mobile from the table top. “Of course not,” he said. “Just trying to be smart enough to find any advantage I can when it comes to fighting Dork Lords.”

Mad-Eye nodded as he jerked his head Wally at the bar. “He's your man, then?” he asked.

The Queen's Wizard nodded. “Yeah, that's Wally…he was the one doing the commentary during my magic show at Ascot.”

The retired Auror acknowledged the response with a grunt, then looked around and said, “You know, this lot look dodgier than what you'd find at the Hogshead.”

“Hush, now, Moody,” Harry replied. “How could you go wrong with a pub that shares the name of my patronus?”

“How about a pub where the patrons don't all share the same kind of plumbing?”

Harry laughed at Mad-Eye's whining. “You do have to admit that this is the last place you'd expect to find a pure-blooded homophobic Death Eater….and it's even karaoke night if we stay long enough.”

When Moody failed to banter back Harry changed topics. “So how have you been doing as an de-retired Auror?”

The previously retired Auror looked around the pub, and decided that for all of it's shortcomings that it was loud enough to ensure some privacy. “It's been a right pain in the arse,” he then replied. “Nothing but twelve-hour shifts since Ascot, training wet-behind-the-ears cadets and auror-wannabe's…and it only got worse today.”

“How's that?” Harry asked.

Moody replied with a question of his own. “Imagine that you've heard about the Ministry's so-called intern program?”

Harry nodded. “Hermione's meeting with Ron and some of the other indentured students as we speak.” He then said, “I imagine that they've asked you to train some of these pure-blood students to become Aurors?”

“More like `ordered,' rather than asked,” Moody replied. “The lot of them so young and raw I half-expected them to be storing their wands in their nappies.”

Harry smiled. “So you plan on whipping them into shape?”

“Whipping them is what I wish I could do,” Mad-Eye replied. “With what that Umbridge woman has assigned me…if they weren't so lazy and incompetent I'd be worrying over the fact that half of them will likely be taking the Mark.” In support of his assessment he handed Harry a list of names.

Harry let out a low whistle as he scanned the list of Auror Department interns. “I see what you mean,” he replied. “Guess it would make too much sense to assign students that are actually good in DADA.”

Moody snorted. “From what Lupin's told me, that'd be hard to do, given the fact that the only pure-bloods that were any good in defense were part of your little club.”

“And therefore completely uncontrollable and unreliable from Umbitch's standpoint,” Harry concluded. He then added, “Which is part of the reason why I wanted to meet with you.”

Harry then gave Mad-Eye an abridged version of the presentation/sales-pitch that Hermione had made the day previous at Hogwarts.

Muggle-born students had been asking for defensive training from the earliest days of Emily Granger's organizational efforts. There was understandable (and in Harry's mind justifiable) fears that the Ministry of Magic would provide an inadequate response to any Death Eater attacks on muggle-borns and their families. The fact that the Ministry's compulsive “internship” program was restricted to pure-bloods only bolstered these fears. Harry's willingness and desire to help had been initially thwarted by the underage magic laws. That all changed when the goblins taught Hermione how to set up wards that shielded an area from the Ministry's magical sensors.

The Royal Family had offered the Queen's Wizard the use of one of their properties for establishment of a magical summer school for muggle-borns. Cumberland Lodge was former Royal residence located in Great Windsor Park, just a few miles from Windsor Castle (Harry and Hermione's morning running route, in fact, passed by it). Since it belonged to the Queen, it was easy for Harry to justify protective warding, and if the Ministry of Magic didn't notice the extra bit of warding Hermione added to shield their magical probing then it was their loss, right?

Once the idea of a magical summer school became feasible, the scope had (predictably) expanded beyond defense against the dark arts. They hoped to offer some kind of instruction in all of the magical arts, save for divination (at Hermione's insistence). And even that would be reconsidered should they be able to convince Firenze to join them. They planned on a six-week session, from the middle of July right up to the departure of the Hogwarts Express on September 1 (should the school reopen that fall).

“And you're telling me about this for a reason, I imagine?” Mad-Eye asked.

Harry nodded. “We're recruiting potential staff, and there's a few of us who wouldn't mind learning from the real Alastor Moody.”

Mad-Eye grinned. “What, that Barty Crouch Jr. didn't channel my thoughts well enough for you?”

Harry shook his head and smiled. His retort was interrupted by the waitress, who had been thoughtful enough to bring the two a second (and fifth, in Moody's case) round. During that time, Harry heard a soft whirring coming across the table and assumed that the retired auror's glamoured magical eye was giving him a thorough inspection. The frown that Mad-Eye sported as that eye focused on Harry's jacket suggested that he saw something rather disagreeable.

Moody then quietly asked, “And will this school of yours be teaching kiddies how to use muggle weapons like that toy that you're hiding under your jacket?”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “First off, the answer is no on firearms training. But more importantly, are you thinking that my Browning 9mm doesn't have enough stopping power?”

“What I think is that you're daft to be carrying a muggle firearm in the first place,” Mad-Eye replied tersely. “Do you even know what happens to wizards that use guns instead of their wands?”

Harry gave a slight nod as he closed his eyes for a half-second. “Yes, Hermione has made me fully aware that the wizard who uses a gun against another wizard is signing his own death warrant…even if it's in self-defense.”

“And so she's told you that even carrying a weapon like that sets a wizard up for treatment as a pariah?”

“Yes, Mother,” Harry replied with a rueful grin. “Though I dare say the wizarding world already thinks of me in those terms.”

Moody shook his head back and forth as he took a long draw from his glass. “That's not something to be glib about, laddie…for all of their depravity even the Death Eaters refuse to use those things.”

“Probably because the pure-blooded bigots couldn't imagine it'd do them any good to use a muggle weapon,” Harry replied.

“And they'd be wrong?” asked the retired Auror.

“Alastor, Alastor, Alastor,” Harry replied. “You sound like Molly Weasley on polyjuice…surely over the course of your career you've seen what a modern firearm can do in a fight?”

“Aye, nothing that well-placed hex couldn't,” the retired Auror replied.

Harry snorted. “So you can teach me a hex that would fill Fenir Grayback full of silver slugs the next time I meet him?”

Moody cocked his head and closed his good eye as he thought for a moment. He then replied, “So you think the Ministry's own laws can be used against them?”

Harry shrugged. “I'm not looking to find out, but if it comes to it, then yes.” He took a sip of his own beverage and then added, “They can't have it both ways, Mad-eye…if they want to discriminate against lycanthropes and consider them to be beasts rather than humans…”

“Then you can't be charged with using a muggle weapon against a wizard,” Mad-Eye replied. “Makes sense, though I don't like it one bit.”

“Why is that?”

Mad-Eye shook his head. “I suppose you've spent some time learning how to use that thing?”

Harry nodded. “About an hour of training every day for the past couple of weeks.”

“So have you spent the same amount of time working on your spell casting?” Mad-Eye asked.

Harry shook his head. “No, can't say that I have…Hermione and I have been rather busy.”

“Busy doing something more important than readying yourself to fight Voldemort?”

“Maybe not more important,” Harry admitted. “But I'd wager you'd consider it nearly so.”

The retired Auror shook his head dismissively and rolled his non-magical eye. “I'm listening, then,” he said.

“Well,” Harry began, “aside from creating and executing the plan that resulted in the death or capture of more than a hundred Death Eaters…”

Mad-Eye brushed the quip away with a wave of a hand. “That was two weeks ago,” he said. “Been busy resting on your laurels?”

“No, not at all,” Harry said defensively. “Though it'd be fair to point out that we haven't heard word of any Death Eater attack anywhere in Britain since then.”

When Mad-Eye rolled his hand around in a “get-to-the-point” gesture, Harry added, “Well, aside from learning how to mask our magic use underneath protective warding, setting up various types of surveillance systems, and setting up defensive perimeters for Hogwarts, we've been working with the muggles on some protective equipment.”

“Too lazy to duck when a spell's thrown your way, then?”

“No,” Harry replied, “just trying to protect ourselves from the killing curse.”

“What?” Mad-Eye asked incredulously.

“The killing curse,” Harry repeated. “You know, Avada Kadavra, nasty green beam that kills on contact unless you're a boy-who-lived…”

“I know the curse, boy,” Mad-Eye growled. “I was asking what makes you think that muggles can produce a defense against a curse that can't be defended against.”

Harry smiled. “But Mad-Eye, you know that's not really the case, right?” he asked. “Besides from ducking, there's always hiding behind something solid.”

“Or summoning something solid in the curse's path,” Mad-Eye said with an approving nod.

“And that's the rub,” Harry replied. “I've seen the spell stopped by a brass statue, and I've seen it swallowed up whole by a phoenix. But I've also seen it set a wooden desk aflame, and we all know that the curse isn't stopped by normal clothing.”

Mad-Eye nodded. “I could add a few items to that list, you know.”

“We were hoping you would say that,” Harry replied. “Muggles have protective armor that will stop a bullet, but we haven't a clue if it is solid enough to stop the curse.”

“So what do you want from me, then?” Mad-Eye asked.

“Well, that list of things solid enough to stop an AK,” Harry replied. “Or better you're your pensieved memories of battles where the killing curse has been tossed about.”

The retired Auror thought for a few moments. “Can't say I like the idea of giving this kind of information to the muggles…never know when they might turn on the wizarding world.”

Harry shook his head. “And on the other side I've got muggles worried about letting wizards know they aren't as helpless as they're thought to be…c'mon Mad-Eye, work with me here.”

Moody frowned, finished off the contents of his pint glass, then said, “I'll get you the memories if you promise me that it'll just be you and your lassie taking a peak.”

Harry nodded. “Fair enough,” he said. “Oh, and there's one more thing I need to ask.”

“What's that then.”

“Erm…we were wondering if you'd be willing to help us test prototypes.”

Moody raised an eyebrow. “What, you want me to wear this muggle armor and bait a Death Eater into cursing me?”

“No, no…other way around,” Harry replied. “The thing is, I don't know too many people who have ever cast the killing curse before, so I was wondering…”

“Yes, laddie, I've used that spell once or twice in my day,” Moody admitted. “So you want me to curse somebody while they're wearing your contraption?”

“If it wouldn't be too much to ask,” Harry said quietly.

Mad-Eye snorted. “And who would be dressed to be killed?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Still working on that one…we're thinking maybe of transfiguring some pigs.”

“You want me to do a pig?” Mad-Eye barked, loud enough to catch the attention of some of the pub's other patrons. The wizard then sat befuddled as laughs and catcalls were thrown back at him.

“What'd I say?” he asked Harry.

“Erm, must have been a punchline to a joke,” Harry said, trying to suppress his own laughter.

Mad-Eye sighed, then said, “I should be the one laughing at you.”

“Why's that?”

The retired Auror shook his head. “Did that Death Eater teach you nothing about Unforgivables?” he asked rhetorically. “Can you even tell me how the killing curse kills?”

“Erm, sure,” Harry replied. “The Avada Kadavra curse kills by separating the soul from the target's body.”

“Exactly,” Mad-Eye replied. “So can you tell me why that spell might not work on a pig?”

Harry paused, then turned a bit red with embarrassment. “Because pigs don't have souls to separate from bodies.”

Mad-Eye nodded. “Now, you go find me a nasty enough Death Eater, and we'd be talking.”

“Really?” Harry asked.

Mad-Eye shrugged. “It's war,” he explained, “and I'm tired of capturing Death Eaters just so they can be sent to Azkaban and escape.”

Harry nodded in agreement. “Well, we had a few low-level recruits for a while, but we gave them back to the MLE…I'll put you down for some provisional target practice, then.”

Mad-Eye nodded, and was about to catch the waitress's attention for another round when Wally left the bar and joined-in on their conversation.

“Hate to interrupt, Lord G” Wally said with a grin, “but Dame Hermione did ask that I ensure you return to the Palace with your wits about you.”

Harry rolled his eyes as Mad-Eye let out a hearty laugh. “Mothers…surrounded by mothers, I am,” Harry lamented.

Wally smirked as he put his arm around Harry's shoulder and brought him into a loose embrace.

“Now, now, Harry,” he chided as he fluttered his eyebrows. “You wouldn't want me any other way…or would you?”

Harry grinned. “Sorry, Wally, but you know that I'm taken.” He then pointed his thumb towards Mad-Eye and added, “but this handsome man might appreciate your charms.”

Wally chuckled as he waved his mobile phone towards the retired Auror for another look underneath the glamour.

“Your friend might better appreciate some fashion tips,” he quipped.

AlastorMoody sat gobsmacked, trying to figure out not just if he had been insulted, but whether or not he should care.

Wally then said, “So Mr. Moody, be a love and tell me more about this glamour charm.”

Mad-Eye hesitantly asked, “What you want to know?”

“Well,” Wally replied, “I was wondering what would happen if I tried to give you a kiss…would my lips touch the handsome prince's or those of the frog that lies underneath?”

When Mad-Eye let out a growl Harry figured that it was a good time to demonstrate that he was still a wizard. The sticking charm (cast under-the-table) that kept Moody in place while he and Wally made their escape worked like…well, it worked like a charm.

+++

A/N: In case anyone is making travel plans, there actually is a gay bar near Buckingham Palace that is called, “The Stag” (or so I've read, on the internet). Amazing how these things sort of fall into place…

-->

Muggle Summer

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 43: The Breakfast Club

Monday, July 2, 10:30pm
Queen's Wizard's Quarters
Buckingham Palace, London

Harry Potter was so caught up in the moment that it took Hermione three tries to contact him using their Art Club badges. When he finally noticed that one of the sun rays that decorated his badge was lit, he activated it and said, “Hey, Hermione, what's up?”

“I've finished with Ron and Neville, so I'm looking for a ride home,” Hermione replied through the badge. “Where are you?”

Harry took in his surroundings and replied, “Within one of Mad-Eye's more gruesome battlefield memories…Outer Hebrides, I think, but I'm not positive.”

“You are inside a pensieved memory and we can still communicate?” Hermione asked incredulously. “When did you discover that we could do that?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders as he watched a much younger Mad-Eye curse out the lifeless body of colleague that hadn't ducked a curse in time. “Just now, when I answered your call….so do you want to join me?”

There was a pause, then Hermione replied, “No thank you, I can wait until rejoin our reality.”

Harry nodded to himself. “Shouldn't be that much longer...I'll call when I'm back.”

The Queen's Wizard's prediction quickly found confirmation as memory-Mad-Eye banished the unresponsive cadaver into the approaching path of a deadly green curse. Harry watched with fascination as the body burst into flames. That fascination turned bitter when the smell of seared human flesh flooded his olfactory nerves. Harry briefly pocketed his muggle pen and notebook so that he could cast a bubblehead charm. He then retrieved his journal and began to document the successful block of a killing curse (with a note in the margins to add spellcasting to the growing list of things one could do within a pensieved memory).

The end of the memory caught Harry by surprise and within mid-sentence, causing ink to smear across page as his body was swept back into the library of the Queen's Wizard's Quarters. After taking a moment to gather his wits, he returned Hermione's call and gave her the all-clear to badge-jump to his location. He then lost some of those regained wits as Hermione pulled him into a bear-quality embrace.

“Thanks,” Harry said, once they pulled back a bit from each other. “After fifteen different battles I needed that.”

Hermione gave him a sympathetic look. “You can finite the bubblehead, Harry,” she then said. “Unless you think I need a shower of something.”

Harry chuckled as he drew his wand and he canceled the spell. “You, my dear, are a scent for sore nose. Not that I wouldn't mind joining you in the shower.”

Hermione tsked-tsked him. “Later, lover-boy, and only if you promise not to try and transfigure yourself into a sponge again.”

“Hey,” Harry objected, “I thought you'd like me being a loofa.”

“Oh sure,” Hermione snarked back, “Being reminded of that creepy-old blow-hard American news telly commentator always gets me excited.” She then took a seat on one of the room's wing-backed chairs and asked, “So your meeting with Mad-Eye went well, then?”

“Why do you ask?” said Harry. “Recon that a recap of my visit to a gay bar would get you more excited than Bill O'Reilly?”

Hermione snorted. “Just about anything would get me more excited than that oaf…I can't imagine why the Palace has him and that horrid station on its satellite reception.”

Harry laughed. “They probably added it when the American President paid a visit and forgot to take it off when he left.” He then pulled her back into an embrace and said, “And speaking of taking it off…”

Hermione looked down at his journal notes, then gave him a smack on the shoulder. “Not until you've finished your homework, young man,” she admonished.

When Harry gave her his best puppy-dog eyes look she softened a bit and said, “Right then, clean up out here then you can finish up in the bedroom while I get set for bed.”

“So we're spending the night here, then?”

“I think so,” Hermione replied. “It's a bit past Sir Evan's bedtime…wouldn't want to wake him for a badge-ride to Windsor…Wally's here with Steve, the Queen is here for the balance of the week, and mum and dad have the night watch at the Rookery.”

“Ah,” Harry said suggestively, “so it's just you and me.”

“You, me, and that data you promised to send to headquarters tonight,” Hermione replied. She then pulled him close by grabbing the front of his shirt and gave him a rather intense kiss. “So finish up and send it out,” she said, “because I don't do threesomes.”

Harry was too shocked to snark back a witty response, but not too shocked to know what Hermione was suggesting. As she turned and headed towards the bedroom he mad a mad grab for the open vial that was sitting next to his pensieve. He quickly coaxed the smoky strands out of the bowl and into the vial, stoppered it shut with the cork, and then set the vial on a shelf next to all of the others that he had reviewed. After grabbing his notebook and the laptop computer on which he had been transcribing his notes, he made a mad dash to the master bedroom, where he found Hermione inside the walk-in-closet…wearing only her knickers (Yes!, thought Harry)…but with her back turned to the door (Rats!, thought Harry).

As she reached into a built-in chest of drawers for a cotton nightgown Harry said, “Don't feel as if you have to get all dressed up on my account.”

Hermione startled, and reflexively dropped the nightgown so that she could cover her chest with her arms. She looked over her shoulder at Harry and said, “I'll be dressing in the other bedroom if you don't finish up your work.”

Harry raised his arms up in surrender, and said “Okay, okay, I get your point…no playing with your points until I've finished up.”

Hermione pulled the nightgown over her head, then turned and exited the closet (giving Harry a sharp smack on his other shoulder as she passed), and walked into the attached bath. In the time it took her to wash her face, braid her hair and brush her teeth Harry had finished his hand-written notes, fully-transcribed them into a MS-word document, and attached that file to an e-mail to be sent to MI-5 3/4's version of Q Branch. Taking advantage of the Palace's secure wireless network, he was polishing off this last task whilst in bed, wearing only some pajama bottoms.

When Hermione re-entered the bedroom Harry looked up and asked, “What's with the ponytails?”

Hermione smiled demurely and said, “I didn't want my hair to get in the way tonight.” And to emphasize her intentions, she flipped the cotton nightgown that she was wearing over her head and tossed it down to the floor.

Harry gulped as he looked down at his laptop screen. “You're making it awfully hard for me to balance this laptop on my lap, you know.”

Hermione chuckled as a bit of silk joined the cotton nightie on the bedroom floor. “Am I making it hard for you to send that e-mail, or just making you hard?”

“Both,” Harry replied.

With a rather feral growl, Hermione crawled across the king-sized mattress and grabbed the computer from Harry's lap. The click of the “Send” button was quickly followed by the snap of the laptop cover as she rather carelessly dropped the computer onto the nightstand.

“Well, now that I've taking care of one of those problems, perhaps it's time I tackled the other one.”

Harry gave her a saucy grin as he flicked the sheets off of his lower body and said, “You know that you have delegated authority to deal with that kind of problem any day…or night.”

And as Hermione pounced on him, Harry wondered why all of his other problems couldn't be solved in such a satisfying manner.

+++

The next morning Hermione woke up (as she usually did) just a few seconds before the alarm clock was set to ring. When she reached across Harry's torso to turn it off before it chimed, he surprised her with an arm that wrapped tightly around her back and a nose that nuzzled tightly against her chest.

“Guess you're up already,” she said.

“You could say that, then say it again,” he replied impishly.

Hermione shifted her weight back off of Harry's chest so that their eyes could meet. “Let's go, Lord Loofa…PT with the Palace Guard in fifteen.”

Harry frowned as he plopped his head back against his pillow. “Can't we sleep in and run later in the morning?”

Hermione shook her head. “We've got Breakfast Club at eight, remember?”

“Well, we could always do that in bed, like yesterday's conference call.”

Hermione smirked. “This is a big bed, Harry, but not big enough for all twelve of us…remember we're doing it live today.”

“Oh…right,” Harry replied with no small amount of disappointment. He then joined Hermione for another trip to their closet, where they dressed in trainers and work-out clothes.

It was the fourth time that Harry and Hermione had joined the muggle Guard for their morning regimen. Fifteen minutes of stretching was followed by a short three-mile run along the Palace's garden paths (with two-and-a-half miles of walkways, they didn't see too many flowers twice). From there it was straight inside the Palace and downstairs to the underground firing range, where Harry and Hermione worked on handgun accuracy under elevated heart rates. They then moved on to an exercise room, where a twenty-minute circuit of weight machines focused on the development of upper-body strength.

During the hour-long program they took every opportunity to meet and chat with the other participants. The group was a mixture of Foot Guard Regiment soldiers (active military that provided photo-ops for tourists and a perimeter guard for Buckingham Palace), Metropolitan Police, and MI-5 security personnel. After the initially cool reception that Harry received from Palace security forces, they had decided that the path to their acceptance as members of the Queen's security detail was from the ground up. And so Harry and Hermione did their best to blend in…joining in training exercises and eating in the Palace Mess as much as their schedules would allow.

Acceptance at Buckingham Palace was slower than what they'd faced at Windsor Castle. Hermione thought it had something to do with their status…not as Lord Gryffindor and Dame Hermione, necessarily, but rather as credentialed teen-aged MI-5 agents that barely knew how to shoot (a gun) straight (since MI-5 3/4 and their status as witch and wizard were state secrets, Harry and Hermione's official “cover” was as members of MI-5). While the two had shown no signs of “airs” or pretense, their living arrangements within the Palace had only accentuated their unique status…few members of the Royal staff actually lived at Buckingham Palace, and none of them had accommodations like the Queen's Wizard's Quarters.

It was to these Quarters that Harry and Hermione returned after their work-out, with barely enough time for (necessarily separate) showers before breakfast. Staff from the Palace kitchens arrived precisely five minutes before eight bearing carts and trays filled with a variety of breakfast dishes (ranging from heavy traditional English fare to lighter, healthier dishes). With swift efficiency, they set up the food buffet-style on the dining room's side table, After thanking them for their assistance, Harry showed the staff out with all of thirty seconds to spare before the appointed meeting time.

Not that this punctuality turned out to be necessary, mind you…while most of the Art Club arrived by badge-jumping spot-on eight, Fred and George had to be called more than a few times before one of them was roused from their beds. With a tight-schedule for many of the other Art Clubbers, Harry insisted that the Twins join the group in their bathrobes, if need be. His decisiveness was rewarded by a glaring vision of twin brothers dressed in garishly charmed pajamas that would have made Dumbledore proud. Except, maybe for the animated characterizations…Fred's hot pink pajamas sported a dirty-old-wizard who was creating wind gusts to lift the robes of unsuspecting witches, while George's lime-green outfit hosted a herd of satyrs on the prowl.

“Oi, you two…since when am I the responsible one?” demanded Ron, who was busy balancing a plate full of food on the way from buffet-line to table.

“Since your promotion, little brother,” replied Fred.

“Promotion?” asked Emily Granger with a yawn (as she had just come off of working the night shift). “But didn't you just start your job yesterday?”

“That he did,” Harry interjected. “But perhaps he can talk about that during his two minutes.”

And with that gentle prod, Harry moved the Art Club through the buffet line and to their seats around the dining room table. Hermione gave Harry an approving nod when he sat at the head of the table; not so much because he was entitled to be there, as the fact that Harry recognized that he needed to be there (despite his reticence).

“Alright folks,” he said, trying to quiet the group down, “thanks to Fred and George's late arrival we're already a bit behind schedule.” He nodded towards the twins and added, “You two will be sharing time as a result.”

“If that's our punishment we'll make it a point to be late more often,” Fred quipped.

Over top of the chuckling that Fred's comment provoked Harry said, “So just to review…yesterday's conference call went a bit long, so we're limiting everybody's oral reports to two minutes or less, and Hermione's got something to help keep to schedule.”

When Harry gave her a nod, Hermione cast a mist-producing spell down the length of the table. When the smoke cleared, everyone found that they had an egg suspended eighteen inches above their heads.

“These are egg timers,” Hermione explained. “If you don't finish your report in time then your egg will drop, thereby making you aware of the fact.”

The announcement brought a mixture of laughter and mild protests (that would have been far stronger had each and everyone in the room known that magical cleaning spells were available to take care of any inadvertent mess). It turned out to be incentive enough, though, for everyone to provide timely and concise reports. It was during these updates that several bits of interesting and important information was shared.

Lupin informed the group that the goblin engineers were still hard at work shoring up the tunnels that surrounded the Chamber of Secrets. They estimated two more days time before it would be safe to enter the Chamber, which actually worked well given everyone's schedule. Meanwhile, Slughorn was back inside Hogwarts brewing the wolvesbane potion that was needed by week's end.

Tonks gave a brief report…things were relatively quiet within the MLE. There still hadn't been any detected Death Eater activity since Ascot, and Mad-Eye Moody had been a right pain in the arse whining about the new interns that he'd been forced to train.

Roger Granger reported no unusual activity at the Rookery, with only the usual patriarchal perverts making use of the facility. The only patron to have used the building's street entrance hadn't been under a glamour, but would have been easy enough to track had they wanted to based on his rather flamboyant attire.

Emily Granger used her time to report on the Summer Institute at Cumberland Lodge. The teaching area was nearly ready, and class lists finalized. With Mad-Eye Moody agreeing to help with DADA instruction, their staffing was complete, so long as they could find a way to ferry Firenze the centaur back and forth between Hogwarts. The most pressing issue was getting the names of incoming muggle-born students, and she enlisted Remus's help in working the Headmistress McGonagall to work out those details.

Sir Evan informed the group that he had spent the most delightful day with his Muses, and that hadn't much to do otherwise with the Queen back at the Palace.

When the elderly muggle failed to speak much past thirty seconds, Ron asked if he could have the extra time (he was refused). He then proceeded in turn, with news that upon his first day as an intern within the Goblin Liaison Office that Ragnock himself had sent word that they would only deal with the Potter Clan Champion. As a result, he'd been made active Head of the office, effectively re-retiring Cuthbert Mockridge, who had been asked to step into that role when Dirk Cresswell (the well-liked and respected muggleborn who had held that position) had been killed during the battle inside the Ministry. Mindful of the egg, he failed to mention anything about the Peanut Butter Brigade.

Which left it to Hermione to fill in the details on the first day of the Ministry of Magic's intern program. Based on the reports of their network of friends and sympathetic Ministry employees, nothing much happened beyond the goblin ultimatum. There was a fair bit of “orientation” (which, from the sounds of things, consisted of boring speeches and propaganda from the likes of Umbridge and Percy). The network had been given orders to lay low, for at least the first few weeks, and to do nothing more than to blend in and observe how things played out.

Fred and George next used twin-speak to describe their day within MI-5 3/4's Q Branch as “guest researchers.” While much of their day had been spent dancing around the Magical Secrecy Laws (under Harry and Hermione's stern supervision), there had been a few opportunities to meet and get to know some R & D-wonky kindred spirits. They had hammered out an agreement to jointly develop AK-resistant body armor, and had also started talking about supply chains and mass-production for some of their product line.

Wally and Steve followed with a joint report of their own, passing out the Royal Family's schedule for the day. They mentioned that the Queen and Prince Phillip had plans to visit Canada and a few of the Caribbean Commonwealth countries in two-weeks time, and asked whether something should be done in terms of magical security. When asked, Tonks told the group that the MLE only watched over the PM, and not the Royal Family. She said that other muggle sovereigns and leaders weren't normally provided magical security coverage while in Britain, but that they suspected many brought magical security on their own (either knowingly or unknowingly). She didn't know if this was always the case, or due to the fact that Voldemort was running rampant within Magical Britain.

Feeling some responsibility for the safety of the Royal Family as Queen's Wizard, Harry stated that he would discuss the matter with Head Auror Robards at their next meeting. He then used this decision to transition into his own report. He described (in very circumspect terms) his meeting with Mad-Eye at The Stag, and noted that he had already catalogued fifteen different objects that the retired Auror had used to block the killing curse. He ended by noting that Hermione and he were meeting with the Prime Minister later in the day, in advance of the next day's meeting with Scrimgeour.

And with that, the Breakfast Club concluded. Cars were waiting to ferry individual Art Club members out beyond the protective wards. Ron and Tonks were driven directly to the Ministry of Magic, while Fred, George and Remus were delivered to the Leaky Cauldron (where the Hogwarts Castellan floo'ed to Hogsmeade and the Twins walked into the Alley and their shop). Sir Evan and Wally shared a ride out to Windsor Castle, while Steve walked from Queen's Wizard Quarters to the Palace's Security Command Center.

This left Harry and Hermione in their quarters with two very tired parents. While Hermione and Harry had been switching back and forth between living in the Round Tower and the Palace, Mr. And Mrs. Granger had become quite settled within their Windsor apartment. But with the prospect of an hour's commute out to the Castle they were happy to accept Harry and Hermione's offer for them to use their guest bedroom. So grateful, in fact, that Hermione's parents either didn't recognize or didn't care about the fact that their daughter referred to it as the “guest” bedroom, rather than hers.

+++

A/N: I caught some flak last chapter for implying that spiders have souls, but pigs don't. I could honestly say that this is my mistake, or cover my butt with use of a suggestion by Ishtar, who suggested that a spider could have been both magical and sentient (and perhaps bearing some sort of life-force or soul). Pigs, on the other hand…..

Not that it will be important to the rest of the story, mind you.

-->

Muggle Summer

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

A/N: A reminder on my contemporary timeline...this chapter takes place in the summer of 2006, rather than 199x, so Tony Blair is Prime Minister (and has been for more than half of Hermione's lifetime).

Chapter 44: 10 Downing Street

Tuesday, July 3, 11:30am
Buckingham Palace, London

Hermione startled when she heard a soft knock on the library's door. She tried to close the open window on her laptop display, but missed and clicked on the "minimize" button instead. She silently cursed as Harry entered the room before she could fix her mistake.

"Lunch is here," Harry announced, as he crossed the room with a neck nuzzle in mind.

Hermione tried to casually shut her laptop screen down before he could look over her shoulder at her display.

"Still working on your presentation?" Harry asked, as he gave her a hug from behind

She nodded and leaned her head back into the hug. "There's no such thing as perfect when you're presenting to the Prime Minister."

Harry chuckled into her ear. "But they already have the summary version of the brief you wrote for the Queen, right?" he asked. "They'll only need more in case your report wasn't comprehensive enough, and what are the odds of that?"

Hermione sighed. "Comprehensive would have meant giving them the latest edition of Hogwarts, A History...how could anyone expect us to brief muggles on Voldemort and the current state of the wizarding world in two-thousand words or less?"

Harry opened both hands in front of Hermione. Counting off, he asked, "How about 'Voldemort sucks and the Ministry of Magic isn't much better'?...that's only ten."

"Bah!" exclaimed Hermione. "No time for cute banter."

"Agreed," said Harry. He then impishly added, "Which makes me wonder why you are taking a "virtual tour" of 10 Downing Street on the internet."

Hermione blushed, and stammered a bit. "Well, I...guess I was just wondering what the inside looks like, and, erm..."

Harry smiled as he pulled Hermione up from her chair and led her by hand out to the dining room, where plates of food were waiting. "You could have just asked me," he noted, as he took a seat, "I was there a few times last week, after all."

"Well, you were busy in the bedroom practicing wandless magic," Hermione explained. "Didn't want to disturb you."

"It's alright," said Harry.

"What's alright?" Hermione asked, as she sat and started to tuck in. "My explanation, or 10 Downing Street?"

"Both," Harry quipped, with an intentional air of indifference. "The building's a lot smaller than Windsor or Buck, of course, but the upstairs flat was kind of cozy."

"What?" Hermione exclaimed. "You didn't tell me you were inside the P.M.'s living quarters as well."

"You didn't ask, and I didn't think it was important," Harry explained. "Besides, I was only up there long enough to check all of the fireplaces for hidden floo connects."

"What's it like?"

Harry paused, and then said, "Erm, cozy, like I said." He then shook his head and asked, "You aren't a little starstruck at the idea meeting the P.M. at his place, are you?"

"No," Hermione quickly replied.

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Well, maybe...a little," Hermione admitted.

Harry smiled. "I'm a bit surprised," he admitted. "I mean...you didn't get this wiggy when we met the Queen, or Royal Family, or visit Windsor, or Buckingham."

"Well, that's different," said Hermione. "I didn't have time to get nervous before meeting the Queen, or before arriving here at the Palace...somebody thought it best to keep the whole thing a surprise."

"I'll only take partial blame on that point," said Harry. "I was mostly clueless for most of that day as well." He then asked, "But why be nervous now? I mean, Tony's a nice guy, and he..."

"First-name basis, Harry?" Hermione asked in almost a shriek.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "He kept wanting to call me Lord Gryffindor, so I had to strike a deal in order for him to call me Harry."

Hermione sighed deeply while her head shook back and forth in amazement.

Harry squinted a bit, as if trying to solve a puzzle. He had seen this look on Hermione's face before, but couldn't quite place it...Lockhart!

"School-girl crush on the Prime Minister?" he asked nonchalantly.

Hermione's cheeks flushed red. "No, of course not," she quickly replied.

Harry smiled, and used the conversational pause to finish off his bowl of soup. And to force Hermione's hand, because there was something behind that reply...

"Well, not any more, at least," she sheepishly admitted. "Half the girls in my primary school class had crushes on him...I mean, he was young, and handsome, and articulate..."

Harry patted her arm. "Your secret's safe with me."

"Prat!"

Harry snorted, then noted, "Funny that you didn't seem all that giddy when we were introduced at Ascot."

"Probably a bit too nervous about riding in the Queen's landau, your show and the Dementors," Hermione explained. She then looked at her watch and stood, throwing her serviette on the table. "Not much time...my hair's still a mess, I need to change, and brush my teeth, and..."

Harry followed her into their bedroom's walk-in-closet for a look into the full-length mirror. He grabbed her from behind and looked over her shoulder as Hermione flattened the front of her skirt with her hands. "It's so much easier in the wizarding world when robes cover everything...are you sure that I look good in this outfit?" she asked

Harry smiled as he angled around her shoulder for a kiss.

"I'd rather that you were wearing only a smile and your Art Club badge."

Hermione shusshed him and pushed him away. He stumbled a bit and fell against the closet wall with a "thump."

"Quiet, Harry" Hermione admonished. "You'll wake up mum and dad next door."

Harry grinned and asked, "Who says that they're still sleeping?"

"Why do you say that?" Hermione replied. "Did they leave while I was in the library?"

"Erm, no," said Harry. "I'm quite sure that they're still in there."

"But I haven't heard them," Hermione noted.

As if on cue, they heard a mumbled comment and a short giggle coming through the wall that separated the two bedrooms.

Hermione's look of shock reflected well in the full-length mirror. "Did I just hear my mum giggle?" she whispered.

Harry snorted, and then said, "Guess I should been more thorough and cast a silencing spell on all of the guest bedroom's walls."

"You mean you heard more than...more than that?"

With arched eyebrows, Harry asked, "Do you really want me to answer that question?"

"Erm, no,..not really."

Harry nodded as he grabbed Hermione's hand and led her out of the master bedroom.

"You know, your mum and dad have been brilliant this past month. We're lucky to have them around."

"Yes, I know that, it's just that sometimes they seem to forget that we are around."

"Well old habits might be hard to break...it's not like you've been home much the past six years."

"Old habits?" Hermione said. "Too much information, I think."

"Speaking of too much information," Harry said, changing the subject, "are you still fretting about the magical secrecy laws?"

"Shouldn't I be?"

Harry shook his head. "Relax, Hermione, we've got things all lined up...you wrote the report for me, I gave the report to the Queen, and then she decided to give it to the Prime Minister. I was technically the only person that broke the secrecy laws, except that I didn't because that's my job as Queen's Wizard."

“You know, we never did get around to meeting with a wizard barrister to discuss all of this."

Harry nodded. "You're right, we haven't, and we probably should...have a meeting time in mind?"

"Sure," Hermione replied with a bit of sarcasm, "I'll just shoe-horn it in between meeting the Ministers, harvesting the basilisk, setting up the Summer Institute and horcrux hunting."

Harry smiled as he reached over and grabbed Hermione's hand. "Hey, I'm supposed to be the one overwhelmed with the enormity of my task, not you," he noted. "Buck up, Hermione...it certainly could be a lot worse."

"You think so?"

"I'm certain of it," Harry replied. "Without the Prince's help and everything since, I might still have been alone on Privet Drive with my Aunt and Uncle, with another month's time ahead before I could legally do magic."

Hermione smiled. "It does sound like a rather bleak alternative universe, doesn't it?"

Harry looked around the suite, gave Hermione's hand another squeeze, and said, "All in all, I'm becoming very fond of present circumstances." He then noted, "We still have the name of the barrister that Mr. Weasley recommended...maybe we can owl and see if he'd consider making housecalls?"

Hermione nodded as she returned the squeeze. "Sounds like a plan...so long as he doesn't come calling while my parents are..."

"Hey!" Harry interrupted, "were you just about to make smutty comment?"

Hermione smirked. "Maybe."

Harry smiled as he leaned back in his chair. "Amazing," he concluded. "This universe is getting better by the minute."

+++

Harry and Hermione only had a few minutes to talk with the Prince of Wales during the drive from the Palace to 10 Downing Street. The Prince was along as the Crown's representative, and to facilitate any discussion on the role of Queen's Wizard.

The Prince handed each of them a two-page document and said, "Here's a brief work-up on meeting participants. Besides the P.M. there will be the Home Secretary Michael Duluth, Sir Walter Hibbing from MI-5 and Sir David Eveleth, who heads MI-6."

Harry looked down at the page, which had small head shots and brief biographies of the three men. "They're all card-carrying muggles, right?"

"Erm...as far as you know," the Prince replied. “Mind the Home Secretary...he's a bit mugglish, and a rather outspoken critic of the Royal Family."

"Really?"

The Prince nodded. "Hates the peerage in general...grew up in one of the rougher parts of Manchester, and rails against anything that smacks of privilege."

Harry nodded, then noted, "So he's the reason why you've suggested we avoid using our titles, and play down my financial resources?"

"Exactly," the Prince replied. "We need to give him every reason to listen to what you have to say."

Harry frowned. "And just what will we be discussing that would make it so vitally important that they listen to us?"

The Prince paused, before giving Harry a rather rueful grin. "Life, The Universe, and Everything."

This response didn't do much to ease the two teen-ager's nerves, despite its cheekiness.

Upon their arrival, the Palace's car drove through the opened wrought-iron gate that blocked off the small cul-de-sac. Tourists clamored to see who might be stepping through what the P.M.'s very own web site calls "the most famous door in the world." They weren't disappointed when the Prince of Wales exited the vehicle. A cheer rang out and camera shutters clicked as the Prince turned, took a few steps towards the crowd, and waved. He had hoped that this gesture might focus attention away from Harry and Hermione as they quietly stepped out and made straight for the building's entrance. These hopes were quickly dashed, however, as squeals of recognition rang out.

"It's the Queen's Wizard!"

"Oh, my he's so dashing in that suit!"

"And even more handsome, in person!"

Fleet Street photographers and television cameramen on permanent stake-out for these sorts of arrivals called out for Harry to stop long enough for a proper photograph. Harry rolled his eyes, but figured that it would be best to comply. He winked at Hermione as he grabbed her hand and spun around for a joint wave.

"There's that bird he was with at Ascot!"

"She's so lucky!"

"Oi, Mr. Wizard, leave her and marry me!" shouted one teen-aged girl, to the delight of the assembled crowd.

"Forget that," a male voice cried out. "Leave him and I'll show you some real magic, miss!"

The fake grin that Harry had plastered onto his face for the cameras turned real with that response. Luckily, the door opened and they were shown through the front entrance without hearing any more competition for Hermione's heart.

"Oh, Merlin," Hermione exclaimed as they settled themselves in the front entryway. "How much did you pay that bloke to say that, Harry?"

Harry snorted. "Pish-posh, Hermione," he replied in a singsong voice. "Your beauty provides every reason for equal-opportunity ogling." He then turned and addressed a rather bemused-looking Royal. "No disrespect intended, Your Highness."

"None taken, Harry," the Prince replied. "I can assure you that I am quite used to be upstaged when traveling in the company of a beautiful woman."

Hermione blushed at the comparison as they were shown through a pair of not-quite-as-famous white French doors and into the ground floor proper.

"Looks bigger than what I expected from the web site," she admitted.

Harry smiled as they were shown to small reception room adjacent to the P.M.'s office. Kingsley Shacklebolt was there, dressed in a three-piece muggle suit and openly flirting with a pretty aide who sat behind a desk.

“Looking good, Mr. Shacklebolt,” Harry called out.

Kingsley reluctantly turned his attention away from the Minister's aide. “You look almost as snappy yourself, Harry…or are we Lord Gryffindor today?”

Harry grinned. "Just Harry, thanks."

Shacklebolt nodded as he shook Harry's hand, and greeted Hermione and the Prince. That the Prince responded by calling the Auror by name suggested that it wasn't the first time the two had met.

“Do try and stay out of trouble in there,” Kingsley asked.

“Don't I always?” Harry replied a smile. “Oh, and Shack, let's not have any Weasley products extending underneath the doorway, right?”

“Of course, Harry,” the Auror replied, with a shocked “who me?” expression on his face.

Just then the room door opened and the Prime Minister himself welcomed the Prince, Harry and Hermione into his office. He gave both the Prince and Harry a firm handshake, quietly welcoming Harry by first name. The Queen's Wizard wished he had better peripheral vision when the P.M. added an elbow grab to the handshake he gave Hermione.

Two members of the house staff followed behind the three in order to clear away the remnants of a working lunch. The P.M. waited for these staffers to clear out before introducing the two teens as "Agents Granger and Potter."

The MI-5 and MI-6 chiefs smiled in recognition; while neither had met Harry and Hermione face-to-face, their photographs had been included in the dossiers built in advance of their appointment as MI agents. Both men stood and gave warm handshakes. In contrast, the Home Secretary's tepid handshake seemed designed to minimize (to the greatest extent possible) the amount of skin contact.

“Thank you for joining us this afternoon,” the Prime Minister said, as he walked behind his dest and took a seat.

“Erm, thank you for the invitation, Prime Minister,” Harry replied. “If I might ask, would you mind if we magically secure the room?”

“You, secure the room?” asked the Home Secretary incredulously. “Where do you think you are, boy?”

“I suspect, Mr. Duluth,” said the Prince, “that Agent Potter is talking about ensuring that the magical protections he set in place last week are still functioning.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Harry quickly added, “although our scans will also detect mug-...erm...mundane eavesdropping devices.”

“Oh, well…” the P.M. replied, “Mr. Shacklebolt swept the room an hour ago, but please, feel free.”

“Thank you, Prime Minister,” Hermione replied, as she and Harry removed both wands and mobiles from their pockets. “Would everyone please power down their mobiles, laptops and other electrical devices?” she asked.

There was only a little bit of grumbling as the shut down chimes of computers and mobiles sounded out. Once getting nods from everyone in the room, and ascertaining that nobody was wearing a pacemaker, Harry and Hermione cast a series of heavy-duty silencing spells on every wall, the ceiling and floor. They also checked the shrouding of the magical portrait, as well as the de-activated floo connection. After giving everyone the “all-clear” to power-up their various electronics, Harry and Hermione took a seat in front of the P.M.'s desk.

"That looked like a rather thorough sweep," the MI-5 Chief noted. "But was it completely necessary? It was my understanding that the protective walls..erm...wards?...yes, the protective wards you set up last week kept magic out."

Hermione nodded. "The anti-apparation wards are still in place, as are the magical sensor barriers and the block against floo travel put on the fireplace." She then added a caveat. "But that doesn't mean that a wizard couldn't have walked through the barriers, and then found a way inside the building so that they could eavesdrop."

The P.M. frowned. "Do you two have reason to doubt Mr. Shacklebolt's discretion?" he asked.

Harry shook his head. "I've known Auror Shacklebolt for a couple of years, now. Although he is a Ministry employee, he's also been invoved with the Order for some time, and I have no reason not to trust him."

The P.M. nodded, as the Home Secretary flipped through a stack of papers in front of him. "Order?" he finally asked with a scowl. "Are you talking about your so-called Order of Arthur, or that vigilante group mentioned in your briefing documents?"

It was Hermione's turn to frown as she replied, "He was a member of The Order of the Phoenix, Mr. Home Secretary, and I'd like to think of them more as an NGO than a vigilante group."

"Ah yes," the MI-6 Chief interrupted. "That brings up a question raised when I read your brief...which, by the way, was quite brilliant, Agent Granger...I'm glad to have you aboard."

"Don't get too territorial, there, Sir David," the MI-5 Chief chided. "She's just as much an MI-5 asset as yours."

As Hermione blushed at the compliment, Harry politely noted that correct chain-of-command for the briefing documents, saying that for their purposes Hermione was working for him.

"And that technicality is necessary to keep your noses clean with respect to magical secrecy laws?" the P.M. asked.

"Yes, Prime Minister."

"No need to worry," the MI-6 chief noted, "All of this is covered under the Official Secrets Act, and none of us are about to reveal your actions to the wizard police."

Harry nodded and gave the chief a grim smile. "Unfortunately, Sir David, good intentions aren't always good enough when you want to keep secrets from the wizarding world."

Both security chiefs frowned. "And why is that, Agent Potter?" the MI-5 Chief asked.

"Some wizards can read minds, Sir Walter," Harry explained, "and there is a effective magical truth serum called veritaserum."

"Mind readers?" the Home Secretary asked with alarm. "Should we be worrying that you are reading our minds right now?" he asked. Then, not quite under his breath, he muttered, "Not that we'd be able to trust that you'd tell us the truth."

Harry took in a sharp breath, and Hermione thought it prudent to reach over and grab hold of his hand while he silently counted to ten.

"Sir," Hermione replied, "You needn't worry that either of us are traipsing through your mind right now. Legimency is a difficult art to master. I can't do it, and even if I could there are ethical issues involved with invading someone else's mind without permission."

The Home Secretary nodded, then turned his gaze towards Harry. "Do you have the ability?"

Harry nodded. "I have been studying the technique for the past month. As Hermione indicated, it is a difficult subject, and so far the best I can do is read some hidden emotions and the occasional surface thought."

The Home Secretary sat back in his chair and asked, "For what purposes are you attempting to become a mind reader?"

Harry replied coolly, "So that the mental defenses of Hermione and my colleagues can be tested and improved upon."

The MI-6 chief asked what type of mental defenses existed, and whether it would be possible for non-magical people to learn them. Harry and Hermione then spent a few minutes describing mediation as a useful technique for anyone, with the caveat that it would be hard for a muggle to completely occlude his or her mind from even a moderately competent legimens. The Home Secretary then tried to steer the conversation back towards his concerns.

"In the section describing the different political and military groupings within your world, this Order of the Phoenix was identified as having an 'unknown status'...why can't you tell us what this group is doing at present time?"

Hermione paused for a moment, then turned to Harry and offered him the chance to respond. He replied, "Neither Hermione or I were part of that organization. They have likely gone to ground, as their organization was probably compromised by the same spy that murdered Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Yes," said the Home Secretary, rather cooly, "There was mention of more than one case of divided loyalties in the briefing document." He then stared directly at Harry and said, "It gave me pause to wonder exactly where your loyalties lie."

Harry's brow furrowed. He once again silently counted to ten as static electricity seemed to build within the room. Finally, he said, "With all due respect, sir, I take my sworn fealty to Her Royal Majesty quite seriously."

"It is one thing to say you are loyal to the Queen, young man..." the Home Secretary countered.

"On that point you are wrong, sir," Harry coolly exclaimed. "When it comes to a sworn oath, a wizard's word is everything."

The Prime Minister tried to wrestle back control of the meeting. "I believe that any questions of where Agent Potter's loyalties lie were put to rest at Ascot," he concluded. "Wonderful job there, by the way," he noted as an aside to Harry. "Most spectacular battle that I never saw."

"That's my point exactly," the Home Secretary said, "We don't know that he was fighting against anything real...it could have been a complete fabrication."

"That's quite enough, Duluth," the P.M. said firmly. "I'll tolerate no more of this tripe from you."

"It's not tripe, it's the truth, and if you're too blinded by whiz-bangs and Royals to see it, then Lord God help us all." He then stood and announced, "I, for one, have heard all I need to hear."

As the Home Secretary reached down to retrieve his briefcase the P.M. turned towards the Prince and pointedly asked, "Your Highness, given present circumstances have you an opinion on how Her Royal Majesty might view my use of royal prerogative?"

The Prince smiled. "In this situation, I am quite confident that your powers of patronage would not be challenged by the Queen."

"Very well, then," the P.M. replied. He then turned back towards the Home Secretary and said, "Duluth, I can no longer afford your narrow-mindedness within my Cabinet. Consider yourself sacked."

The Home Secretary's face turned a brilliant shade of red (Harry couldn't decide if it was due to anger, embarrassment, or the fact that the man was holding his breath). As he stormed out the office door, Harry could see the edges of the Prime Minister's lips curl up slightly.

There was nothing "slight" about the grins on the faces of the two intelligence chiefs.

"Splendid play, old man," the MI-6 chief told the P.M.

"Well done indeed, Prime Minister," the MI-5 chief added.

The P.M. nodded gravely. "I'm sorry that you had to see that," he said to Harry and Hermione. "He was a right pain even before he was briefed in on the wizarding world, and it's only gotten worse since then. Coming face-to-face with a witch and wizard obviously sent him over the edge."

Harry nodded. "I'm sorry, sir, for causing such a mess for you."

The Prime Minister smiled. "No worries, Harry...he'll go sulking back to Parliament and whine behind my back during the Labor conferences, but he was already doing that."

"At least he can't go to the papers," the Prince noted.

The MI-6 chief nodded in agreement. "Not without violating the Official Secrets Act, and even then he runs the risk of looking the fool for taking a principled stand against the Queen's Wizard and magic use."

"Almost worth using one of those memory charms on him," the MI-5 chief noted.

"Almost, but not nearly close enough," the P.M. concluded. "That was, after all, one of the chief complaints to be lodged during my meeting with the Minister of Magic."

The MI-5 chief nodded, and then tapped his knuckles down on his copy of Hermione's briefing document. "So based on this report, do you think it's time to convene a War Cabinet, Prime Minister?"

The P.M. thought for a moment. "Not right now, Sir Walter," he replied. "That would mean bringing in the opposition leader, and briefing in a few others on the wizarding world. I'm leaning towards a crisis committee...at least until we've cleared up some issues with the Ministry of Magic." His eyes then narrowed a bit, and he said, "We'll have to reschedule that meeting, however...I suddenly have a Home Secretary to replace." He then rang up his Chief of Staff and instructed him to have a press release worked up, and to set up an emergency Cabinet meeting for later that day.

After ending the call, the P.M. turned his attentions back to his guests. "I am afraid that we no longer have time to fully address our meeting agenda, other than to say that the report was top-notch."

"Thank you, Prime Minister," Hermione replied with a blush.

"I have to say, though, that I was a bit disappointed that you didn't make any recommendations on how the Ministry of Magic could be changed for the better...for example, whether we should work to have Scrimgeour sacked."

Harry nodded. "The Queen didn't give us that particular charge, and neither Hermione nor I thought it to be our place to offer unsolicited advice to Her Royal Majesty and her government."

The P.M. nodded. "Well, then, perhaps I'll have to tweak your charges," the Prime Minister replied. He then turned towards the intelligence chiefs and added, "Unless either of two have any objections."

The heads of MI-5 and MI-6 shook their heads. "You are obviously in their chain of command, Prime Minister," the MI-6 chief explained.

The P.M.'s eyes lit up. "I am, aren't I," he replied.

The Prince cleared his throat. "Her Royal Highness might take issue should you lay claim to too much of Her Royal Wizard's time."

The P.M. nodded. "What if I arranged to have Agent Granger reassigned to my office?"

Hermione let out an audible "eep!" as the Prince smiled. "Her Royal Highness is quite fond of Dame Hermione, but has no formal claim on her time. That said, I think that the question should be posed to Agent Granger and the Queen's Wizard."

The MI-5 chief concurred. "Their primary assignment as MI-5 3/4 agents is to continue what they were doing to battle Voldemort and protect the Realm and its citizenry."

The P.M. nodded. He then asked, "Agent Granger, I have need of a Senior Advisor for all issues involving magic and the wizarding world. I also am keenly interested in how other muggle governments interact with their magical communities, and would like to appoint a Special Envoy to the greater wizarding world. Would you be interested in either or both of these posts, so long as they didn't interfere with your primary mission?"

Hermione sat gobsmacked, doing the fish-out-of-water thing with her lips, before replying. "I'm honored that you'd consider me, but I'm not sure that I'm the best candidate, and not sure about how we could work the secrecy laws, for that matter."

"Don't be so modest, Agent Granger," the P.M. replied. "Can you think of any other person in the realm that knows the muggle and wizarding worlds as well as you do?"

"I'm sure that there's somebody older that does..."

"And would you imagine that this hypothetical person would hold top-secret security clearances, a close working and personal relationship with the Queen's Wizard, and the resources available to you as a member of the Order of Arthur?"

Hermione snorted at the rhetorical question. "No, I imagine not." She then asked Harry what he thought.

Harry gave her a bright smile, and said, "I think it's a brilliant idea." He then turned to the P.M. and asked, "As a Senior Advisor and Special Envoy, would she have a desk here at 10 Downing Street?"

As Hermione gasped and swatted Harry on the arm for his presumption, the P.M. smiled. "We're a bit cramped for space, but I think that I might be able to pull a few strings."

He then stood up from his desk, causing everyone else to do the same. He then asked, "Agent Granger, have you had a proper tour of the building yet?"

"Erm, no Prime Minister, not that I..."

The P.M. walked around the desk and grabbed Hermione lightly by the elbow as he gestured towards the door. "No, no, I think a bit of a look about would be appropriate...you and I can scout out suitable desk space for my newest Senior Advisor."

"Erm..um...whatever you say, Prime Minister,"

The P.M. turned to Harry and the Prince. "Would you two like to join us? I'll have at least a few minutes before all Hell breaks loose with the Home Secretary situation."

Harry smiled as the Prince gave him a hand gesture indicating that it was his decision to make.

"No, that's quite alright, Prime Minister," Harry replied. He then turned to Hermione. "Why don't you go along and just pop back to the Palace when you're done? I'll go and get an owl off to that barrister."

Hermione smiled brilliantly. She wanted to give him a proper snog, but decided in present company to limit her affections to a gentle hand squeeze. "Okay, Harry, just call if you need me."

And with that, the meeting concluded. The Prince asked the P.M. if they might linger in his office long enough to sample his collection of single malts. The P.M. readily agreed, then escorted Hermione out for her tour and introductions to his staff. Once the door closed, the Prince walked over to a sideboard and poured out four glasses of scotch. As he distributed them he said, "Well, that went better than expected." He then raised his glass and offered a toast.

"Gentlemen, to Dame Hermione's bright future within these walls, and to the former Home Secretary's less-than-luminous future outside of them."

"Hear, Hear," the MI-6 chief said, as they each sipped from their tumblers. Harry thought about tossing his glass into the fireplace, but thought better of it.

+++

In bed that night, Hermione finally remembered to ask what was discussed whilst she was on her tour.

"Well," Harry said with a smile, "we shared a toast to your potential posting, and then Sir Walter asked Sir David whether he thought they had just lost a future MI-5 3/4 Chief to the Prime Minister's Staff."

"No, he didn't!"

"He most certainly did."

"So what did Sir David say?"

Harry's smile grew. "He said it was more likely that they lost a future Prime Minister, rather than a P.M.'s staffer."

"No, he didn't!"

"Really he did...and then the Prince asked whether he was thinking muggle Prime Minister, or Minister of Magic."

Hermione pulled the top sheet over her head in embarrassment. "Oh, Merlin!"

"Yeah, and they asked me what I thought."

"Oh, Harry," she cried out, still covered, "Don't tell me you went along with that nonsense."

"Okay, I won't tell you then," Harry replied brightly.

After a moment's silence, Hermione pulled the sheet down in frustration. "So tell me what you said."

Harry pulled Hermione into a comforting embrace. "I told them that I'd be proud of you whatever your career path was, and that it wouldn't matter to me if you were one or the other or both, so long as it didn't require you to leave behind what I thought was an even more important posting."

"What?" Hermione asked with surprise. "What are you on about, Harry?...what position would be more important that Prime Minister or Minister of Magic?"

Harry grinned

"Lady Gryffindor."

Hermione gave Harry a look of shock. "Please don't tell me that they asked you that same question, or that you gave them that same answer."

"Okay, I won't tell you that they asked me that very same question, or that I gave them that very same answer."

Hermione tried (and almost succeeded) to push Harry off of the bed. "Oh, you prat...tell me!"

"Why Hermione?" Harry asked innocently, "Would you have been embarrassed if I really did say that?"

She was about to answer when she remembered being in a very similar situation.

"Why Harry, are you back on your Slytherin passive-aggressive path of finding out the answer to a question that you don't dare ask outright?"

Harry smiled as he crawled back towards Hermione. "Maybe," he said, as he ran a hand up her leg.

Hermione swatted Harry's hand away before stating her opinion on Harry's tactics.

"Gillyweed, Mr. Potter…gillyweed."

-->

Muggle Summer

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 45: Openings and Closings

Wednesday, July 4, 7:35am
Buckingham Palace, London

The fact that Harry Potter was dressed and ready before Hermione was spoke volumes about just how nervous she was about her first official day on the job at 10 Downing Street.

“Can I do anything to help?” he asked as he walked into the walk-in closet of their Buck Master Bedroom. He found her facing the full-length mirror, dressed in a tailored two-piece suit, black hold-ups, and low-heeled pumps.

Hermione used her hands to pull her hair away from each side of her face. A moment later, she turned and asked, “Which earrings, Harry?”

Harry cocked his head to one side and squinted, first at the gold hoop in her left ear, then the pearl that dangled from her right. After a moment of consideration, he replied, “Erm..they both look nice.”

“I said, which earrings, Harry.”

Harry smiled as he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Hermione’s waist. She tried to push him away with the admonishment, “Wrinkles!”

Harry snorted, and only pulled her closer as he placed his nose within nuzzling distance of the pearl and softly replied, “Ironing Charm.”

While Hermione was protesting that there wasn’t time to recharm her clothes, Harry stepped back, gently held each of her ear lobes in his hands, and asked, “Perhaps you might want to consider ‘none of the above’?”

He then answered Hermione’s confused expression by retrieving a small box from his trouser pocket. Inside was a pair of flawless three-quarter carat diamond earrings.

Hermione’s eyes lit up as she quelled a frown of frustration by biting on her bottom lip. “Oh, Harry,” she said as she pulled him into a hug. “Thank you…you shouldn’t have.”

“Why not?” he replied. “It’s only fitting that you look your best on your first day.”

A chuckle came from her lips as Hermione quickly swapped out her mismatched pair of earrings for the diamonds and placed the rejects back into her jewelry box with their mates. She turned back towards the mirror and let out a sigh.

“Harry, they’re brilliant, but I’m working undercover,” she noted.“Not too many interns could afford to be wearing earrings as nice as these.”

“Oh, sorry,” Harry said, as he wrapped his arms her and pulled her back into a firm embrace. “Maybe I can chew them down in size?” he asked, as he tried to determine whether diamonds have any taste.

Hermione swatted his hands away from her waist and craned her neck away from Harry’s kisses. “Stop, Harry…this is exactly why I blocked out extra snagging time in our schedules last night.”

When a wand snapped out from Hermione’s arm holster Harry thought she might be trying to back her brush-off with a hexing. He quickly backed away, which gave her plenty of room to cast a weak reducing spell that shrank the gemstones down to a much more modest size.

“You know,” Harry said, “I also bought a smaller pair if you wanted the stones to be that size.”

Hermione smiled through the mirror. “Oh, no, these are fine,” she replied, as she viewed her handiwork. “I rather like knowing that they are larger in real life.”

“Even if they look the same?”

Hermione nodded. “It’s like wearing expensive lingerie,” she explained. “They’re just as functional as plain-Jane knickers, but a girl just feels better knowing that she’s hiding something luxurious under her outfit.”

“Is that so?” Harry replied with a smirk. “Anything like a bloke getting excited at the thought of his girl going commando’, even if he can’t see it for himself?”

Hermione smiled, having discovered a way to thank Harry for his thoughtful gift. After making one final check in the mirror, she accio’ed her briefcase, then used her free hand to pull Harry’s head into a crushing kiss. Tearing her lips away from his, she bit down lightly on his left ear lobe, and then whispered sweetly into his ear.

“I don’t know if it’s the same thing,” she replied. “But maybe you can tell me when I get home tonight.”

Harry was too shocked to provide a witty retort, and by the time that his tongue had regained functionality Hermione had reached inside her jacket to activate her badge. With her mum “on the phone,” he didn’t dare say anything as she made a silent adjustment to her wardrobe. Mother and daughter chatted just long enough for Hermione to get the all-clear to badge-jump.

She disappeared. Her knickers didn’t.

+++

Hermione reappeared in Windsor Castle, inside the ground floor Round Tower apartment that her parents now called home. A few minutes later, she got a call from Harry on her mobile while she was walking with her parents to the Royal Mess.

“Hi, Harry.”

“Erm, Hermione…did you forget something that you’ll need for the day?”

Hermione smiled coyly. “No, I don’t think so…oh, and I just wanted to say thanks again for your thoughtful gift this morning.”

“Erm…you’re welcome,” Harry replied. “I have to say that your thank-you gift has wreaked havoc with my thoughts.”

“That was my intention,” Hermione said.

“Want to hear just what kind of thoughts I’ve been having?”

“Maybe later,” Hermione replied. “I’m with mum and dad right now.”

“Really?” Harry asked. “Well, if that’s the case, then I’ll let you go. Good luck, sweetheart…I know you’ll knock them dead.”

“Thanks, Harry.”

“Oh, and just so you know, I’ve got your little gift in my coat pocket, in case you need them back sometime during the day.”

“Erm, no…Harry…that’s quite alright.”

“Hey, no problem, Hermione,” Harry replied. “I never realized it, but if you fold them just right they make a rather dashing pocket square….the red silk even matches my tie.”

“Harry…don’t you even think….wait, don’t tell me that you’re serious.”

“Maybe,” said Harry, rather cheekily. “Are you going to tell me that you’re seriously considering not wearing knickers to work today?”

“Maybe.”

“Merlin, Hermione…I mean…not even going to fire a ‘notice-me-not’ charm up your skirt?”

“Oh! Harry…you are quite the perver…erm, perfect boyfriend.”

Harry laughed. “Didn’t want to say ‘pervert’ within earshot of your parents, Hermione?”

“No, not really.”

“Well fortunately, I don’t have that problem…nobody here to hear me go on and on about exactly where the skinny part of this thong was just a few minutes ago.”

Hermione mouthed a silent curse as she pocketed her mobile.

“Something wrong?” Emily Granger asked.

“No,” Hermione replied, “Harry’s just providing some therapeutic distraction….aren’t you Harry.”

“Only looking out for you, my dear.”

“Yeah, right, Harry…talk to you later.”

Once she pocketed her mobile her father asked, “A distraction from this big surprise you want to tell us about?”

“Erm…maybe,” Hermione said with a grin. She waited until they had been seated for breakfast and had their orders taken before elaborating.

Roger and Emily Granger had worked a second shift from 3pm until 11pm on the day previous, so there hadn’t been a chance for Hermione to tell them about her visit to 10 Downing Street. They were thrilled when she stated that she had provisionally accepted both postings as Senior Advisor and Special Envoy. One of the first questions they asked was about her age…while Roger and Emily were quite certain that she would be up for the job, they wondered what the muggle public, the press, or her co-workers would think about a teen-ager advising the Prime Minister. Hermione assured her parents that they had already thought of that issue, and come up with a work-around.

Hermione’s working relationship with the Prime Minister was to be a tightly-held secret, and revealed only on a need-to-know basis. Roger and Emily were on the “need-to-know” list as Art Club members, as there might come a time when they’d be called on to badge-jump to the Prime Minister’s defense using Hermione’s badge as an anchor. She would be working undercover as a summer intern, and assigned to the office of the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff. Hermione would still be a bit young for the job, as almost every intern came to the Prime Minister’s office after university. But the age difference wasn’t that great, and MI 5 ¾ had worked up a plausible backstory.

“So what kind of intriguing history have they manufactured for you, sweetheart?” her father asked.

“Oh, nothing too sexy,” Hermione replied. “My mum and dad are expats working in the States, and I did all my schooling over there. Apparently, I was some sort of child prodigy that entered uni at thirteen.”

“Well that part’s not far off the mark,” Roger proudly boasted.

“Daddy!” Hermione exclaimed. She then went on to note that she supposedly just graduated from Duke University with a degree in political science, and will doing the internship while she decides whether to study law at Oxford or Cambridge.

“Duke?” Emily asked. “Any particular reason why they chose that school for you?”

“It’s the best known American university that wasn’t attended by anyone presently working in the Prime Minister’s office,” Hermione explained. “That reduces the risk of me getting tripped up by somebody who actually studied at that school.”

Emily nodded in understanding. “So, then, how is it that our college graduate suddenly found herself working for the Prime Minister?”

“Oh, in the usual manner,” Hermione replied. “Personal connections.”

“Really?” Roger asked. “Of what sort?”

Hermione smiled. “Why, didn’t you know that the Prime Minister is a close friend of the family?”

“Erm…no.”

“Oh, yes,” said Hermione. “We see him nearly every time he visits the States. So I have to remember to call the Prime Minister T-t-t-Tony once in a while.”

Roger shook his head. “Afraid to call your childhood crush by his first name, sweetie?”

“Dad, no!” Hermione shot back. “It’s just that, well..to call the Prime Minister by his given name...”

“It’s just a name, dear,” her mum replied. “Just like Voldemort, right?”

“Erm…right…just like Voldemort,” said Hermione. “So, if you ever visit the office you’ll have to call him T-Tony as well.”

“Right.”

“And I no longer have a schoolgirl crush on him, I’ll have you know,” Hermione noted. “In fact, it was Tony that introduced me to the Queen’s Wizard,”

“Really? Then let me guess,” said Emily. “Since you’re so close to the Prime Minister…”

“It’s Tony, mum…Tony.”

“Erm..right…since your on a first name basis with the P.M. you won’t have to do all of the menial tasks that interns are assigned to complete?”

“Right in one, mum,” Hermione replied. “Probably won’t make me any friends amongst the other interns, but there had to be a reason for an irregular work schedule, and independent research projects that involve a lot of travel.”

Roger snorted, then asked, “So are you going to be spoiled by a nice office with a view, then?”

Hermione shook her head. “That would be a bit too much,” she explained. “There’s only a couple of offices besides the P.M.’s…erm…Tony’s that have windows, and the interns are assigned tiny workstations down in the basement.”

“Oh, I see,” said Roger. “So how do you plan on maintaining your cover with so little privacy?”

Hermione smiled. “They also assigned me a broom closet.”

“A broom closet?”

“Yes, a broom closet. It’s a bit cramped, but it’s on the main level and has four hard walls and a door.”

“And just what do you plan on accomplishing within a broom closet, dear?” her mum asked.

“Oh, nothing too naughty,” Hermione replied with a smile. “Fred and George are going to stop by for a visit sometime today and help me do a little interior decorating.”

“Fred and George?” asked Roger. “Oh…imagine that they might know a few room expansion charms?”

Hermione gave her dad a wink. “Don’t tell Tony, but I think that by the time they’re through I’ll have a bigger office than he does.”

The Grangers laughed at Hermione’s joke, and added their own comments about taking care not to be seen entering or leaving her broom closet with the Prime Minister.

“So what else are you planning on doing today, dear?” her mum asked.

“Well,” Hermione replied, “I may be asked to brief in the new Home Secretary on the wizarding world. I gather you heard about Duluth being sacked?”

Roger gave his daughter a knowing grin. “Yes, the story was in all of the papers this morning,” he replied. “Although I have to say that my eye was drawn more towards the other headline story of the day.”

“Oh, no…don’t tell me…”

Roger nodded as he rose from their table and walked over towards a stack of the morning dailies. Pulling four different ones from the pile, he returned to his wife and daughter and spread them out on the table.

Hermione pulled a tabloid towards her and grimaced at a page-covering photograph of Harry and her standing in front of 10 Downing Street. The headline over their heads read, “Abracadabra!” with the underlying subtitle “P.M. Seeks Magical Cure for Sagging Poll Numbers.”

“Oh, Merlin,” Hermione lamented. “Did The Sun have to put me on the front page?”

“Would you rather they made you a Page Three Girl?” Emily asked.

“Erm, no,” Hermione replied with a blush in her cheeks. She looked over the other dailies and asked, “The Mirror, the Times, even the Guardian? Is there a newspaper that didn’t publish a picture of Harry and me on the front page?”

Emily patted her daughter’s arm. “I’m sure that there were a few on the Continent that didn’t dear.”

“Oh, Merlin help me!”

Roger Granger shook his head in amazement. “You know, it is amazing…the publicity you and Harry get, the company you keep, and the ease at which you move within the circles of power and privilege…”

Hermione gave her father a rather cross look, then let out a sigh. “Guess I never really thought about it before,” she admitted. “After all, the wizarding community is rather small, so it never seemed all that strange to be rubbing elbows with the Minister of Magic and other top officials at the Ministry. Especially being Harry’s friend and all…he’s the one that’s had a rough go of it.”

“What about that awful story during fourth year?” her mum asked.

Hermione snorted. “Well, that one turned out to be almost accurate, in the end, didn’t it?” she asked. “But I never had it as bad as Harry…he’s always struggled with the unwanted fame and notoriety.”

Mrs. Granger smiled, “So now you can better empathize with Harry?”

“More like commiserate,” said Hermione. After a moment, though her expression brightened, and she asked “Can I have that copy of the Times, Dad? I want to clip out that photograph.”

Roger looked over his shoulder at the unread stacks of newspapers. “Erm…don’t see why not, sweetheart,” Roger replied. “Starting a scrapbook, then?”

Hermione shook her head. “I’m afraid that some Royal staffers have already been assigned that task. I have a simpler plan in mind for that picture.”

“What’s that, dear?”

Hermione gave her parents a conspiratorial smile.

“Posting it off to the Dursleys in Romania.”

+++

8:40am
Prescott’s Bank, London

Had he been given a choice, Harry Potter would have rather gone on with the meeting of the Prime Minister and Minister of Magic, just to get it off of his planner “To Do” list. Not that the replacement of a major cabinet minister wasn’t a good enough reason mind you…and he had to admit that upsetting Scrimgeour and his lackeys with the delay was a nice consolation prize. It also opened up a large block of time in his schedule, and allowed him to book a meeting with the wizard barrister who had come so highly recommended.

The early hour appointment reflected the barrister’s busy schedule, while the meeting location reflected an agenda that went beyond magical secrecy laws. It also gave Harry an excuse to dig Sirius’s spell-shrunk motorbike out of his rucksack and take it for a spin.

He had arrived at Prescott’s a good twenty minutes before his scheduled appointment…had the morning traffic been any less congested he might have considered riding around the City for a few more minutes. As the bank didn’t open to the public until nine, he had been directed to a side door, where a uniform guard was waiting to greet him. Less than a minute later, Harry found himself downstairs within the expansive office of the bank’s president.

“Good morning, Lord Gryffindor, please have a seat,” said the president.

“Thank you, Mr. Jenkins, but please, call me Harry.”

The elderly bank executive smiled. “As you wish, Harry. Would you like some tea?”

Harry nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

It didn’t escape Harry’s attention that the bank president knew exactly how he took his tea without asking. As Jenkins handed Harry his cup and saucer he asked, “So how is the weather upstairs…rain still holding off?”

“Erm, yes,” Harry replied, as he took in the obvious fact that a basement-level room wouldn’t have windows (at least within a muggle building). “Pardon me for asking, but I’m surprised that your office isn’t up on the bank’s top floor.”

Jenkins smiled as he returned to his seat behind his desk. “In any other muggle bank I dare say you’d be right. But given our bank’s ownership, well….a basement-level location makes it easier for some of our Directors to pop in and out without bringing attention to themselves.”

Harry nodded. “Makes sense,” he replied. “I’m sorry that I’m a bit early for the meeting…I could wait upstairs in the lobby so as not to inconvenience you.”

“Not a problem at all, Lord, erm…Harry,” the bank president replied. “Your request for meeting space yesterday reminded me to review our commitment to provide you with our highest levels of service. As such, I was just going over your accounts.”

Harry sighed. “You know, I really should object to all of the special treatment, but as I’m sure that you’re acting on Ragnok’s instructions, I’ll just have to accept it and offer my thanks.”

The bank director gave Harry a warm smile. “You are welcome, Harry. I hope you realize, though, that given the extent of your holdings that you would still be receiving this level of service.”

“By the bank’s president, himself, Mr. Jenkins?”

“Actually, that could have been the case,” Jenkins replied. “There are only a handful of senior account managers that are both aware of the wizarding world and capable enough to handle active portfolios as large as yours. As a result, I’m much more involved in client services than the president of a typical muggle bank.”

“So you manage the accounts of other wealthy wizards, then?” Harry asked.

Jenkins nodded.

“Anyone that I know?” Harry asked with a grin.

The bank president chuckled. “Confidentiality rules prevent me from answering that question, Harry. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no, I understand,” Harry replied. He paused for a moment to flesh out a thought that had popped into his head, and then asked, “Is it hard to keep track of the rules and regulations of both the muggle and wizarding worlds, Mr. Jenkins?”

The bank president shook his head. “Despite the fact that Prescott’s is goblin-owned, it is chartered under the Bank of England, and operates completely under the muggle government’s rules and regulations.”

“So my money in this bank is managed separately from the galleons in my Gringott’s vaults?”

The bank president nodded as he took a sip of his tea.

Harry then said, “So if I got into trouble with the Ministry of Magic, and it ordered my accounts frozen or tried to confiscate them…”

“We would not be bound by that order,” the president replied. He added, “I daresay that Gringott’s would also take a dim view of complying with that order under present circumstances.”

Harry frowned. “So, if a convicted Death Eater had his accounts frozen or confiscated by the Ministry of Magic, and the goblins did comply with that order, then he or she could still get money from accounts they may have in your bank?”

The bank president coughed a bit, then confirmed for Harry that was indeed the case.

“So, Mr. Jenkins, what would it take to have a Death Eater’s muggle accounts frozen?” Harry asked.

“The order would have to come from Her Majesty’s Government,” the president replied.

Harry nodded. “Is there any sort of cooperation between governments, so that the Ministry of Magic could ask the muggle government for its help in this kind of situation?”

Jenkins nodded as he finished off his tea. “The possibility exists, but I’m not aware of that kind of request ever having been made. Frankly, I doubt that the Ministry would ever dream of a pure-blooded Death Eater sullying himself enough to use the muggle banking system.”

Harry’s eyes narrowed. “But without violating your confidentiality rules, would it be fair to say that the Ministry ought to be having those kinds of dreams?”

The bank president thought for a moment, then smiled. “Yes, Harry, I think I can say that the Ministry’s dreams have always been a bit too unimaginative.”

Harry nodded as a clock chime struck the hour. A few seconds later, the bank president’s telephone rang, and he informed Harry that a Mr. Abrams had arrived and asked for him.

As Jenkins walked Harry upstairs to an empty conference room, he said, “I understand that Mr. Abrams is one of the very best barristers in the wizarding world.”

Harry replied, “He came highly recommended, but I’m glad to hear you say that as well.”

The bank president then said, “Forgive me if it is not my place to ask, but have you set your affairs in order in case, well…”

Harry gave his host a rueful grin. “No worries, Mr. Jenkins. Given your advisory status it wasn’t out of place.” He added, “Making sure I have a ironclad will is actually high up on the list of services I’m hoping to have a barrister provide.”

Jenkins nodded as he guided Harry to the doorway of his meeting room. “Well, if there is anything else I can do either during or after your meeting, please let me know.”

Harry shook the bank president’s hand, and replied, “Thank you, Mr. Jenkins. I can assure you that you have already been a big help this morning.”

The bank executive nodded, as Harry turned and introduced himself to the wizard who, within a few minute’s time, would become the head of Clan Potter’s legal staff.

+++

11:40am
10 Downing Street, London

Hermione Granger was in the middle of a transfiguration spell when her Art Club badge lit up with a call from Harry. She abandoned the effort mid-incantation and immediately activated her badge.

“Harry, is something wrong?”

“Erm, everything’s fine…sorry Hermione,” Harry repled. “I know we said mobiles for non-emergency calls but I haven’t been able to reach you that way for some time.”

“Oh, guess I have been doing a fair bit of active magic,” she replied.

“Where?”

“I’m in a broom closet with Fred and George.”

“The Weasley Twins, eh?” Harry asked. “Do I need to send a prefect patrol over there?”

“Very funny, Harry,” Hermione replied. “I do believe that I told you they had volunteered to help set up my new office.”

“Yes, yes…just messing with a bit,” Harry replied. “So how has the first few hours gone, then?”

“Brilliant, for the most part,” Hermione replied. “Bit of resentment from the other interns, like I feared.”

“Well that’s too bad…any chance that you can join me for lunch?”

“Well, erm, I’m sorry, Harry, but my new boss already asked me,” Hermione replied. “And then I’ve got meetings all afternoon.”

“Oh, well, that’s alright,” Harry replied. “Just thought I’d check.”

“I’m sorry, Harry, really.”

“No, Hermione, it’s fine,” Harry insisted. “I’ve still got you for dinners and late-night snacks, right?”

“Absolutely.”

Harry smiled into his badge, wondering if Hermione knew what he wanted to see on his menu that night. But he put those randy thoughts aside and focused on business.

“So the new barrister is going to work out rather nicely, I think.”

“Really? In all of the ways that you were hoping?”

“Uh-huh,” Harry replied. “I told him to make his legal research on the secrecy laws his top priority, by the way…he thinks he might have an answer by tomorrow.”

“That soon?” asked Hermione. “That seems awfully fast if he plans on doing a thorough job of it.”

“I thought so too,” said Harry, “but he assured me that he had a bit of magic up his sleeve.”

“Well, he is a wizard barrister, I guess.”

“Oh, and another thing,” said Harry. “Right before that meeting I had the chance to talk with Prescott’s president.”

“Mr. Jenkins?”

“That’s the one,” Harry replied. “It was a very interesting conversation…he danced around his confidentiality requirements well enough to let me know that there are Death Eaters withdrawing funds from their muggle bank accounts.”

“Rather ironic, isn’t it?” said Hermione.

“Yes, indeed,” said Harry. “Anyway, the point is that while the Ministry of Magic has frozen the Gringott’s accounts of all of the Death Eaters who escaped from Azkaban, those orders don’t affect any money they might have in muggle banks.”

“And the Ministry hasn’t asked the muggle government to follow their lead?”

“Not according to Mr. Jenkins,” Harry replied. “So, I was wondering if…”

Hermione quickly agreed. ““I’ll ask about it during lunch.”

+++

9:30pm
567 Fulham Road
Fulham, London SW7

It was all Lucius Malfoy could do not to hex the muggle bird that was ahead of him in line to use the ATM machine. Humiliating enough to have to dirty his hands with the muggle bank cards and confounding money boxes, but to have to wait for the privilege?

The money run had been nasty part of his daily routine ever since the Ministry of Magic had frozen his Gringott’s accounts. The Dark Lord hadn’t cared much for his excuses for the first missed “donation” to their cause, and shown his displeasure quite emphatically. His initial response was to rob a muggle bank, but those prats had put some sort of exploding blue ink bomb in the bag of pounds that they’d made off with, and the black-market money changers had refused to convert the notes into galleons. And that brought about the next round of expressed displeasure from his master…after their devastating defeat at the Ministry of Magic, Voldemort had ordered his remaining forces to go to ground, and to not draw attention to themselves.

Apparently, robbing a muggle bank at wand point whilst wearing their Death Eater costumes was considered attention-getting.

And so, the elder Malfoy was forced to tap into his own muggle accounts. He knew that Prescott’s was goblin-owned, and hadn’t been willing to risk walking into the bank and withdrawing funds in person. ATM machines were the only reasonable recourse. He could have given his bank card to someone else to get the funds, but there were trust issues, not to mention his reluctance to reveal to anyone his dependence on a muggle machine.

The woman in front of him finally completed her button pushing and walked away with her cash in hand. Lucius approached the machine (confidently leaving his crib sheet of written instructions in his pocket), pushed his card into the slot, and punched in his secret code. When he got to the withdrawal screen he hit “other,” then punched in a request for 350 pounds (a daily withdrawal limit that forced him to repeat this process all too frequently).

Malfoy then stood impatiently while the ATM informed him that it was “completing the requested transaction.” He had done this enough times to know what came next…the “thump-thump-thump” sound of notes being counted out, just before the little door opened out and gave him his money.

“I wonder how spitefully low the exchange rate will be tonight,” he thought to himself. Suddenly, he heard a low growling, grinding noise coming from a different part of the machine. He looked up and read “We are unable to release funds from your account at this time. Please contact your bank for more information.”

“What!” he shouted, pounding on the side of the machine.

His raised voice and actions drew the attention of a bobby who just happened to be driving down the street in his squad car. The Metropolitan Police officer stopped, rolled down his window, and asked the predictable question.

“Well, well, well, what’s all this then?”

Malfoy whipped around, ready to raise his wand, before realizing just who he would be aiming it.

“My apologies, officer,” he finally drawled. “There seems to be a problem with this machine…it won’t give me my money.”

“Really?” the bobby asked. “Well, that happens sometimes when you don’t have the funds to draw against.”

“But you don’t understand, officer, I have more than a million quid in that account.”

The bobby squinted at Malfoy.. “Is that so, sir?” he asked. Recalling his pre-shift notice that arrest warrants had been issued and bank accounts frozen for a number of suspected terrorists, he added, “Perhaps if you give me your name and account information, we can clear this matter up?”

Malfoy startled a bit at the suggestion. “Erm, no officer, that won’t be necessary. I’ll visit the bank in the morning. Must be some sort of clerical issue.”

The police officer nodded as he looked the Death Eater over quite carefully. Malfoy was dressed in a tailored suit and tie, but was under a glamour spell that made him look nothing like the photographs that had been circulated around with the notice.

A radio call came into his squad car, announcing that a group of hooligans was pestering some tourists just down the road. The bobby decided that there wasn’t enough in front of him to justify not responding to that call.

“Take care, then sir,” he said, just before driving off.

Malfoy let out a deep breath, realizing just how close he had come to creating a little more attention to himself. With a string of curse words seldom heard in the wizarding world (much less muggle London), he turned back to the machine, hoping to at least retrieve his bank card.

The machine had no intentions of giving it back.

Muggle Summer

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 46: Another Bad Day for Lucius Malfoy

Thursday, July 5, 10:15am
Hampstead Gardens, London

Harry Potter cursed his poor planning at the sound of multiple arrivals

“Merlin’s balls! Multiple pops in an alley-way half-block down the street…knew we should have taken time to set up the anti-app wards!”

“Language, Harry and save it for the after-action,” Hermione advised through her muggle com gear. As she was inside the building that Harry had been guarding, she asked, “Are they inside or outside the perimeter?”

“Outside.”

“Enough time to clear the street and call for help, then.”

“Agreed.”

Harry looked about at the half-dozen muggle police officers that were milling about and ordered, “Get off the street and inside, the lot of you!”

“What for, Guv’nor?” asked one of the older constables (who was clearly not used to taking orders from a teenager).

Harry let out breath in frustration as he ran up to the officer and shoved his semi-authentic MI-5 identification badge up into his face.

“Because I’m the ranking officer on the scene and I bloody-well say so, you git!”

The police officer took a step back, quickly apologized, and then took it upon himself to ensure that Harry’s orders were carried out. Harry then took cover behind a post box, and looked across the street towards Hermione’s father. Despite the situation, he couldn’t help but smile at what he saw.

Roger Granger had already established a defensive position behind a police car and donned his dragonhide vest, shield-charmed headgear and “wizardvision” goggles. His mini-Uzi rested on his thigh (shoulder stock open and finger on trigger) while he carefully arranged a small collection of Weasley products in a line down beside his feet.

“Roger, Emily...are you with me?” Harry asked into his radio.

Roger looked up and smiled. “Locked and loaded, Harry,” he replied.

“My husband, Secret Agent Rambo,” lamented Emily, as she took in the scene from her perch. “All set here, Harry,” she added.

“Good…switching over to badge-phone now,” Harry replied. He quickly activated his Art Club badge’s “party line” and announced, “Listen up, folks…Harry here with an update…we’ve got nine…no, ten unidentified wizards in muggle clothing that just apparated outside our notice-me-not line. Prepare to back-up.”

Too many people replying at once made it impossible for Harry to make anything out.

“One at a time,” said Harry. “Remus, you first.”

“Are they friendlies?”

“Probably not,” snarked Harry, “but that doesn’t mean they aren’t from the Ministry.”

“Where did they arrive, and what are they doing right now?” asked Tonks.

Harry looked down the street and announced, “The apparated into an alleyway, and tried to make their way towards our position before they hit our defensive perimeter. Right now they’re…they’re talking with the muggle police who’ve got the street blocked off on their side.

“Talking?” asked Tonks. “Harry, what kind of magic have you guys used in the last few minutes?”

“I used a detection spell and Finite Encantatum five minutes ago,” Hermione replied.

“Doesn’t sound like it would warrant sending out an Oblviator squad,” Tonks replied. “Harry do you want me with you, or should I go to the Ministry and see what they’re up to?”

Harry paused and said, “Well, since they haven’t drawn wands yet…go to the Ministry, Tonks.”

“Will do, boss.” Tonks replied.

“Ron…found out anything yet?”

“Erm, hold on, Harry,” Ron replied, from his office within the Ministry of Magic. In the intervening seconds Harry ordered Fred and George to badge-jump to Emily Granger’s roof-top position with a bag full of their toys.

“Harry,” said Ron, once he got back on, “Neville’s here with word that MSO detected use of an Imperious curse forty-five minutes ago, about a mile from your location.

“Well that makes sense, given what I’ve found here,” said Hermione.

“MLE dispatched Mad-Eye and an Auror team to investigate,” Ron added.

“Mad-Eye?” asked Harry. He quickly looked back down the street and asked, “Roger, is there more there than what meets the eye?”

Hermione’s dad peeked around the corner of the police car and compared what he could see with his bare eyes against the view fed to his goggles from a helmet-mounted camera.

“Same-same,” he announced (using the code phrase that indicated that he didn’t electronically “see” any disguised, disillusioned, or invisible wizards).

“Same here,” said Emily.

“Auror teams have five, not nine or ten, and Moody’s not one of them,” Harry reasoned. He was just about to order a nasty welcome for their guests when another series of pops was heard coming from the opposite direction.

“More muggle-dressed company,” Harry announced, as a second group of wizards appeared from an alleyway.

“Five of them,” called out Fred from the rooftop. “And…the blond hair bloke with a limp is one-eyed and uglier than he seems.”

“Really?” asked Harry. “How do you think we should greet him, Fred?”

“Harry…play nice,” warned Hermione.

The Queen’s Wizard sighed. “Yes, dear…Roger, stand down, pick up, and move to Emily’s position.”

Harry joined the other Art Clubbers on the roof, scribbled out a quick note, and called for Hedwig (who had been perched on a nearby lamppost). With the message attached to her leg, Harry gave her a quick pet and soft-spoken command.

Fifteen seconds later, a rather distinctive owl swooped down and landed on a newspaper box right next to where Mad-Eye Moody was standing. The retired Auror turned towards her (while his magical eye remained locked onto the building’s entrance) and took the offered message.

+-+-+-

Dear Moody,

CONSTANT VIGILENCE!

We had the situation under control before you guys showed up.

We also have the drop on you and your men.

Meet me in two minutes inside the donut shop just to your right if you want an explanation.

If you want a live-fire training exercise, walk through the notice-me-not charms and climb up onto one of the parked cars…you’ll have a better view of Fred and George’s inventory in action.

Hugs and kisses,

The-Boy-Who-Swamped

+-+-+-

The retired Auror looked up along the rooflines on each side of the street and let out a deep laugh that carried down the street. He really wanted to see Harry in action, but as he glanced down both ends of the street he saw at least fifty different muggles that would need to be obliviated if he pushed for a fight.

“Another day,” he thought to himself. He turned and began barking at the other Aurors, berating them for not immediately recognizing the perimeter warding. Sending both teams of Ministry personnel back to the office with a cryptic comment about an ongoing Unspeakable operation, he stepped inside the restaurant.

After a quick threat assessment he sat down at the counter and asked a waitress for a cup of tea.

“Well,” he said to himself, “At least this time the Boy picked a meeting place that has both types of plumbing.”

+++

Later that afternoon, Hermione Granger attended a meeting in the Prime Minister’s office, along with the new Home Secretary, both the MI-5 and MI-6 Chiefs, and a recording secretary. The only agenda item was that morning’s action.

The MI-5 Chief began by reciting known facts. At 9:30am that morning, a Mrs. Evelyn Hawthorne, a thirty-four year old mother of three from Hampstead Garden, calmly walked into a NatWest branch on Golders Green Road and, after patiently waiting her turn at a teller’s window, attempted to rob the bank at gun point. The bank teller, after wetting his trousers, made the startling observation that the gun being held to his face had a plug solid barrel. He alertly called for help, and bank security apprehended the woman before she could exit the building.

The Yard investigators that arrived at the scene were puzzled by the fact that the suspect made no attempt to hide her face, or wear a disguise. While there had been other criminals that had displayed this kind of brazenness/stupidity, none that they could recall had done so and chosen to rob their own personal bank. In addition, the “gun” she had used turned out to be a solid piece of metal, with no working parts (much less bullets).

But perhaps most puzzling was her freely offered (and unique) motive:

“Because a very nice man asked me to.”

Mrs. Hawthorne had no criminal record, and was described by her neighbors as an intelligent, polite and outgoing person who frequently volunteered her time at church. She had no apparent financial issues, and obviously didn’t fit any of the standard profiles.

On the day previous, MI-5 ¾ had made arrangements with Scotland Yard to be immediately notified of any bank robbery attempts, particularly those involving criminals dressed in odd clothing or black robes and white masks. While the woman’s clothing was relatively normal (if a bit dated), the other facts in the case warranted a phone call, and within thirty minutes of the attempt MI-5 ¾ arrived on scene and took command of the scene.

When the MI-5 Chief reached this point in the story, he asked Hermione to pick it up from there. With both her original and revised notes in front of her, she stood and said,

“The facts as they were first relayed to us suggested the possibility that Mrs. Hawthorne had been magically coerced into the attempt. This, by the way, has been confirmed by sources within the Ministry of Magic. On the chance that the wizard or witch responsible might still be at or near the scene I immediately apparated to the site.”

“Apparated?” asked the new Home Secretary.

“Erm…I used magic to travel near-instantaneously from my office here at 10 Downing Street to the crime scene. Once there I anchored the badge-jump of Agent Potter and two other MI-5 ¾ agents.”

“Badge-jump?”

“A different means of magical transportation that allows the twelve Order of Arthur members to come to the aid of each other.”

“Were you in need of aid?”

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. “Had there been Death Eaters in the area, then yes. But as a practical matter, it’s much easier to badge travel to a location that you’ve never been to before, and the two agents were muggles, and therefore unable to apparate.”

“But you didn’t badge-travel, right?” asked the Home Secretary.

“Erm, no, I apparated. It’s not impossible to apparate using only a coordinate set, just more difficult.”

“Let her get on with the story, Mr. Chisholm,” asked the MI-6 chief.

Hermione waited for an exchange of stares between the two men before continuing. “My three colleagues immediately established a perimeter around and above the bank entrance while I entered to examine Mrs. Hawthorne’s weapon. Diagnostic spells indicated that there was magical residue on the object, so I used Finite Encantatum and discovered that the gun was, in fact, a transfigured stainless steel fork.”

“What did you say you did?” the Home Secretary asked.

Hermione smiled. “I cast Finite Encantatum…it’s a magical spell that stops currently operating spell effects. For example, I used it during yesterday’s briefing to end the demonstration you demanded as proof that magic exists.”

“Pity, that,” the Prime Minister interjected (rather jovially). “I thought that flying pig of yours was doing a rather nice job singing Gilbert and Sullivan.”

“Thank you,” Hermione replied with a smile.

“Would you be able to do the same sort of trick with a fork?” asked a skeptical Home Secretary.

Hermione looked towards the Prime Minister for guidance. After getting a nod of approval she drew her wand. Not seeing a fork in the immediate area, she looked down at the Prime Minister’s desk and asked, “Would that stapler do?”

When the Home Secretary gave a noncommittal shrug Hermione gathered her thoughts and then cast her spell. The others in the room marveled as the stapler slowly melted, morphed and reformed into a handgun. Once Hermione lowered her wand and gave an all-clear, the MI-5 Chief reached over for a closer look.

“A P226?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.”

Finding what appeared to be the magazine release, he popped open the box and examined the individual bullets as he handed the gun over to his colleague. Letting out a low whistle he then asked, “And .357 cartridges, as well?”

“Erm…that was what I was aiming for, sir.”

The MI-5 Chief passed the cartridge over to his colleague, who reloaded it and began playing with the release.

“Will this handgun fire, Agent Granger?” he asked.

Hermione chewed on her lower lip. “I’m not sure, sir, and quite frankly wouldn’t want to be the one to find out.”

The MI-6 Chief looked up and smiled as he carefully placed the handgun back onto the desk. “Perhaps, then, it might be more useful in its original state?”

Hermione nodded as she raised her wand and cancelled out the transfiguration.

The Prime Minister, who had been almost beaming with enthusiasm at this display, asked, “Dame Hermione, why is it that your transfigured handgun was so much more realistic than the one used at the crime scene?”

Hermione’s ears turned a bit red, and she paused before responding. “There are probably a couple of different reasons why, sir. First, it’s easier to transfigure objects that are similar in size, weight and material.”

“And the stapler was closer in weight and size to a handgun?”

“Yes, sir,” Hermione replied. “Second, it’s much easier to get a realistic transfiguration if you are familiar with the target object.”

The Home Secretary smiled. “And just how would a pretty young lady such as yourself be familiar with a gun like that?”

This time, it was towards the MI Chiefs that Hermione turned for a visual cue. When they both smiled and nodded, she slowly reached inside her jacket, carefully pulled out a weapon, and said, “I am authorized to carry the exact same handgun.”

Surprised, the Home Secretary asked, “Mind if I take a look?”

Hermione shrugged her shoulders, then checked the safety, popped open the cartridge, and handed both pieces across the desk. The Home Secretary, who was well versed in military weaponry, took particular interest in the bullets.

“These aren’t standard issue, are they Miss Granger?”

“Erm, no sir,” Hermione replied. “Custom-made silver points.”

The Home Secretary frowned. “That’s quite a weapon, why not something smaller?”

“Because, sir, lycanthropes have thick hides.”

“Lycanthropes?” asked the Home Secretary.

“Werewolves, you idio…erm, Mr. Chisholm,” said the MI-5 Chief (remembering that he did, in fact, report to the Home Secretary). He then turned to Hermione and asked, “Agent Granger, what inferences can be made if firearm familiarity was the main factor for Mrs. Hawthorne’s play gun?”

Hermione nodded. “That would suggest that the wizard who transfigured the fork didn’t know much about muggle firearms.”

“Should we be surprised?”

“Not really, sir, unless it was a muggle-born witch or wizard who cast the spell.”

“And Death Eaters tend not to be muggle-borns, correct?”

“That would be an understatement, sir,” Hermione replied.

The Home Secretary returned the gun and magazine box to Hermione. After reloading the magazine, she slipped the gun back inside her jacket. This action caught the Home Secretary’s attention (if forced to confess, he would have admitted that his eyes had been drawn to a hint of Hermione’s cleavage).

“Agent Granger, how is it that you can carry that hefty gun under your jacket without giving your tailor fits?”

Hermione (after once again gaining silent permission) opened up her jacket. As if there was a gun-sized cavity within her chest, she reached into the one eighth-inch thick magical holster that lay flat against her shirt and smoothly pulled her weapon.

“Magic,” she replied with a smile.

The Prime Minister once again berated the Home Secretary for getting Hermione’s story off-track, and asked her to continue. Hermione told them that a few minutes after she examined the toy weapon the first team of Aurors arrived at the scene. It only took a few more minutes for her to summarize their actions from that point up to Harry’s meeting with Mad-Eye.

“Once Agent Potter explained what had happened to Retired Auror Moody, the three of us made a visual and magical sweep of the area for potential magical threats. Finding none, we returned situational control to the Yard and left to write-up our reports.”

The Prime Minister thanked Hermione, then asked for her opinion on what had happened. She told them that, based on the gathered evidence, she believed that a Death Eater cast an Imperious spell on Mrs. Hawthorne, gave her the fake weapon, and then ordered her to rob the bank, with intentions to have her turn the money over to him. She then linked this to that morning’s report that three separate attempts had been made to access frozen Death Eater bank accounts using ATM machines. Finally, she concluded that the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort were low on funds and needed some cash.

“Why didn’t they try to rob a wizard bank?” the Prime Minister asked.

Hermione smiled. “They probably thought their chances were better on our side, as there has never been a successful theft from a wizard bank,” she replied.

“Why is that?”

Hermione paused, and decided to risk a little cheekiness. “Probably has something to do with the guard trolls and dragons.”

When the Prime Minister wondered out loud why more wizards hadn’t tried to steal from muggle banks, Hermione noted that there had been one successful attempt (that, unfortunately, they only had learned about that morning). She also added that Agent Potter was presently meeting with his contacts within the Ministry of Magic, as he had voiced the exact same question.

The new Home Secretary, who had been aware of the wizarding world for all of a day, asked Hermione, “Why do wizards need money in the first place? Can’t they conjure up their own food, clothes and lodging?”

Hermione nodded, and replied, “Magic does go a long way, Mr. Home Secretary.” She used utility bills as the prime example, with wizard households using magic to replace electricity, magic to heat and cool their homes…even for water and sewer service. She told them that transportation costs were minimal; most wizard buildings were connected to the floo network, which only has a small monthly subscription fee, and floo powder was pretty cheap.

“Just how cheap?” asked the Home Secretary.

“Erm…don’t know actual costs, since I’m not a homeowner, but I do know that it only costs five sickles to use a public floo.”

“Five sickles? How much is that?”

Hermione paused. “Well, the current exchange rate is about five pounds to the galleon, and there are seventeen sickles to a galleon and twenty-nine knuts to a sickle, but then there are also conversion fees based on transaction amounts, and other factors…”

“Maybe it would be easier to compare it to something used in both worlds?” suggested the Prime Minister

“Oh, well, that makes sense,” Hermione replied. “Let’s see…with five sickles you could either buy a pint of ale at the Leaky Cauldron, or a triple-scoop ice cream cone at Fortescue’s.”

“Ah, beer,” the MI-6 Chief noted, “the universal currency.”

“And just how far can you travel for the price of a pint?” asked the Prime Minister.

“It’s a flat fee,” Hermione replied. “You can travel anywhere within the domestic floo network”

“So you could commute to work from Edinburgh to London for just a few quid?”

Hermione nodded. “Less, actually, if you were using your private connection rather than a public one.”

“Amazing,” said the Home Secretary.

“So I’ve found most of what I’ve learned of the wizarding world to be,” noted the Prime Minister. He then said, “Which brings us back to the original question…why do wizards need to work, and why would Death Eaters need to rob banks?”

Hermione paused, then cast her eyes downward as she admitted, “I’m sorry, Mr. Home Secretary, but I’ll need to get back to you if you want a definitive answer. Economics isn’t an elective at Hogwarts, and not a subject that I have studied.”

The Home Secretary frowned. “Seems like a relatively simple question, Agent Granger.”

The Prime Minister scowled a bit at his newest Minister before turning to give Hermione a reassuring smile. “My apologies, Dame Hermione. I’m afraid that Sir Edmund and the rest of us must take care to remember that you are not just a teen-aged student, but one that has only been part of the wizarding world for, what…five years?”

“Six, Mr. Prime Minister.” Hermione replied quietly.

“Right, then,” the Prime Minister said. “Perhaps you can tell us something about what wizards do spend their money on, besides ice cream and beer.”

Hermione looked up and nodded, as she paused just long enough to put together what she hoped was a coherent response. “The shops in Diagon Ally generally sell books, robes, magical objects and animals, and potions ingredients. Only the most powerful witches and wizards can conjur meals that has any nutritional content, so I guess that they also have to buy their own food.”

“Let’s start with that list, then,” the MI-6 Chief said. “What sorts of magical objects would these terrorists be interested in buying?”

Hermione was starting to respond when an idea struck. “Excuse, me gentlemen, but I just realized that I know a few people who are much better positioned to answer that question. Would you like me to see if they are available?”

“Who are they, and how long would it take for them to join us?”

“They are rather successful businessmen with a shop in Diagon Alley.” Hermione turned to the MI chiefs and added, “It’s the Weasley twins…you might have heard about their visit to headquarters?”

Four eyebrows arched up as the MI-5 and MI-6 Chiefs sat back a bit in their chairs. The MI-6 Chief then replied, “So long as they promise not to blow anything up or turn us into canaries…”

The MI-5 Chief added, and turned towards the Prime Minister. “Fred and George Weasley are wizards and Order of Arthur members that have been collaborating with MI- 5¾’s Q Branch…quite brilliant, and relatively harmless, so long as Dame Hermione keeps them on a short leash.”

Hermione smiled. “That I will. They also can be with us presently, if you wished.”

The Home Secretary sported a puzzled look. “I thought I read somewhere that this building was protected from wizards popping up out of nowhere.”

Hermione nodded, then replied, “Mr. Home Secretary, I designed, installed and control the protective wards. I can change them to allow certain people to apparate in and out.” She then unbuttoned her suit jacket to reveal the badge that was fixed to the inside lining. “But to answer more directly, as members of the Order of Arthur, Fred and George can by-pass anti-apparition wards by badge-jumping.”

The Prime Minister looked around the table, and seeing no objections gave Hermione a curt nod. After a brief badge-call and assurances that he’d play nice, Fred Weasley badge-jumped into the meeting, wearing dragonhide gloves and an apron that were both covered in a thick green fluid. The noxious clouds of gas coming off of this liquid was sufficient to set off the room’s smoke detectors and automatic sprinklers.

“Fred!” Hermione exclaimed as she quickly pulled out her wand. “Get rid of that goo!”

As he was protected by a bubblehead charm, the look of shock on the Weasley Twin’s face was readily visible. He immediately badge-jumped back to the shop, leaving Hermione behind to deal with the mess. She cast a bubble-head charm on herself, then banished the visible cloud of gas that was left behind. She then turned to cast bubble-heads on the Prime Minister and others, only to discover that they had taken matters into their own muggle hands and were all wearing emergency full-face respirators.

At that moment Kingsley Shacklebolt and two muggle security agents burst into the room with weapons drawn. The Auror quickly assessed the situation, then used a freezing-spell to ice over the sprinkler system’s output. He then told the muggle agents to see that the sprinkers were shut-down; once they left, he helped Hermione magically dry out the office and its occupants.

After many apologies and assurances that Fred really was on their side (Auror Shacklebolt offered his recommendation somewhat tentatively), Hermione asked a contrite Order of Arthur member to return to the meeting room, this time wearing regular robes (as much as lime green and yellow checkered robes could be considered “regular). When the MI-5 Chief asked for an explanation, Fred said that he had been working on an experimental potion that would allow someone to see through glamour charms and disillusionment spells.

The MI-6 Chief thought for a moment, and then asked, “So you are trying to create a magical potion to do what we non-magicals can already do with our camera equipment?”

“Erm, yes, I guess so,” said a rather bemused wizard. Fred in turn, asked what the gas masks were for, and was impressed with the their utility as “replacements” for magic.

“I dare say this shows just how much there is to know about each other worlds,” commented the Prime Minister.

Giving Fred a curt expression, the Home Secretary added, “As well as the dangers involved in moving from one world to the other.”

Hermione took this comment as a stinging rebuke and looked down at her folded hands. “Once again, I apologize, Mr. Home Secretary,” she said. “But please don’t blame Fred for the accident. I was the one who asked him here to help me.”

“Dame Hermione, again, you are too self-critical,” the Prime Minister gently chided. “I for one, recognize and appreciate the willingness of you and your magical colleagues to provide assistance to Her Majesty’s Government. You are trying to chart an unknown course between our two worlds, and there are bound to be bumps along the way.”

“Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister,” Hermione replied.

“It’s Tony, right?” he asked, using some of the charm that helped make him such a brilliant politician.

“Yes, Mr., erm…Tony.”

Fred then was asked to give an off-the-cuff lesson not just on wizard world economics, but on the very nature of magic itself. He explained that potion ingredients couldn’t be magically created, and needed to be either grown, caught or gathered. Similarly, most magical objects like wands and brooms could only be created by skilled craftsmen, using proprietary or complex spells developed over lengthy apprenticeships. This dove-tailed into a description of the Weasley’s business ventures, and in particular their now booming business selling shield-charmed cloaks and hats. Hermione explained that there were large variations in magical skill and power with the wizard population, and that the reasons for the Weasley Twins’ financial success lie more in their wizarding skills than their business acumen.

The Home Secretary took all this in, and then asked, “So, Agent Granger, in terms of power and ability, just how would you rank yourself and the other magicals working for us?”

As Hermione stuttered, Fred answered for her. “Hermione here would be way too modest to answer properly, so let me say that she is, far and away, the brightest witch in our generation.”

“Oh, Fred, stop it,” Hermione chided.

“It’s true, and you know it, Hermione,” Fred replied. He then turned to the others and asked, “Do any of you have any idea on just how unique the warding is for this building?”

When nobody chose to respond, Fred continued, “They are without a doubt the best you can buy right now, and I should know because we just paid a cauldron full of galleons to have them installed on our shop.”

“Fred?” Hermione asked. “Why did you pay the goblins to…”

“Because we needed to pay them so that they could pay you,” Fred replied with a smile. For the others’ benefits he explained that Hermione had invented attenuated wards, and had licensed the goblins to sell and install them within the wizarding world. He then asked,

“Just how much did you charge to ward this building and the Queen’s property?”

Hermione shrugged. “Nothing…just part of our jobs.”

Fred nodded. “Thought so,” he said.

The MI-6 Chief asked what the cost would have been.

Fred did some mental math, then replied, “Well, I only know about this building, Windsor, Buckingham and Cumberland. Assuming the goblins gave you the preferred customer discount, roughly two-hundred and fifty thousand Galleons.”

“More than a million pounds sterling?” asked a skeptical Home Secretary.

Hermione chewed on her lip for a moment, and then reluctantly nodded.

“And that’s just a bit of her brilliance,” Fred claimed. “Let’s see, who else…of course there’s Harry.”

“You mean the Queen’s Wizard?” asked the Home Secretary.

“Yes, as well Lord Gryffindor,” added the MI-6 chief.

“And an MI agent,” said the MI-5 chief.

“Not to mention Clan Chief, Patriarch, Tri-Wizard Champion and Teen Witches Weekly’s ‘Most Snoggable Wizard’ three years running,” said Fred (causing Hermione to blush a bit).

“So he has a lot of titles,” said the Home Secretary. “Is he a leader? Can he fight?”

Hermione’s firm grip on Fred’s elbow was needed to keep the rather irate Weasley from drawing his wand. “Can he fight?” Fred bellowed. “Can he fight?” he said again, this time with more amazement in his voice.

“Harry successfully fought and rescued Hermione from a troll his first year of school. At the time, he was eleven years old, four-foot nothing and five stone only if he was wearing really wet robes. Second year he saved my sister’s life by killing a forty-foot basilisk with a sword. Third year he was casting a Patronus spell, fourth year he fought a dragon, dueled the Dark Lord to a draw, fifth year he led Hermione, my brother and sister, and three other teens in a successful fight against a dozen of the most powerful Death Eaters alive, and then Voldemort again, and….Hermione have I missed any Dark Creatures?”

Hermione smiled. “You mean besides Umbridge?”

Fred and Hermione shared a laugh (in spite of themselves), as the Prime Minister spoke up.

“Mr. Chisholm,” he said with a clipped tone of voice. “You should know that this issue was raised by the previous Home Secretary, just a few moments before he was sacked. Both Her Majesty and I have every confidence in Dame Hermione, Lord Gryffindor and their colleagues.” He paused for effect, then snarked, “Although we might have cause to reconsider Mr. Weasley and his green goo.”

As Hermione snorted quietly to herself, the Prime Minister continued. “You have been briefed on the Battle of Ascot, as well as the actions by Treasury yesterday that no doubt led to this morning’s events. They have earned their titles and our trust, and if you aren’t on board then let me know now so that I can go shopping for another Home Secretary.”

Home Secretary Chisholm sat back and sucked in a breath. “No need, Mr. Prime Minister, and I apologize…I was only looking for information.” He then apologized to Fred and Hermione and contritely added, “I guess the notion that we have teenagers running this operation shouldn’t be any more surprising than the finding out about the wizarding world itself.”

Hermione replied with a nod and slight smile. “No worries, sir.”

“Right, we’ve beaten this dead horse enough,” said the Prime Minister. “Dame Hermione, would it be possible for you to look into possible motives for these robberies and report back? I’m also interested in any protective measures that we can use to guard muggle financial institutions from magical attack”

“Of course, Mr. Prime Minister,” Hermione replied. “Should I start right away, or am I needed for the balance of the meeting?”

The Prime Minister looked down at his agenda. “No, I think that we’ve got things covered here.” He then looked up and gave Hermione a warm smile. “And if something does come up, I do have your mobile number on speed dial.”

Hermione choked down an “eep!” and reminded the Prime Minister to call Wally or Steve is she was “out of range.”

Deciding that Gringott’s might be the best place to conduct her research, she called Harry, asked him to meet her at the Twins’s shop, then badge-jumped with Fred back to Diagon Ally. As soon as they arrived, Fred asked why the Prime Minister rode horses, and what was to be gained by beating dead ones.

5:00pm
Gringott’s, Diagon Ally

After listening to Clan Chief Potter and his Consort describe the day’s events, Ragnok the Goblin sat back in his office chair and placed his fingertips together in thought.

“These are troubling events,” he decided, “with implications for both of your enemies.”

“Both, Clan Chief?” Harry asked.

The Goblin Chief smiled a toothy smile. “Well, perhaps it is more appropriate to identify the current wizard government as your adversary.”

Harry nodded, and then said, “As I consider Head Auror Robards more friend than enemy, I was surprised to find him so reluctant to discuss this morning’s attempted bank robbery.”

“As well he should, my friend,” Ragnok replied. “It might have led to a discussion on why the Ministry of Magic failed to report the somewhat more successful robbery two weeks ago.”

Having gone far past the point where Hermione had to worry about directly addressing the Goblin chief, she asked, “May I ask how you know about that robbery, as well as why and to whom the Ministry needed to report?”

The Goblin replied, “We have learned that on the day following that bank robbery, an attempt was made to exchange the stolen and soiled pound notes for Galleons at a money changers in Knockturn Ally.”

“Soiled?” asked Harry.

The Goblin nodded. “The bag of money that was handed over to the thieves had an exploding pack of blue ink within it.”

Harry asked, “Why didn’t the Death Eater just Scourgify the money?”

Ragnok smiled an even larger and toothier smile. “They no doubt tried, but the ink is derived from a goblin dye that is magically resistant.”

Hermione nodded. “So the Goblin nation helps the muggle financial industry to protect their assets.”

Nodding, the Goblin replied, “We help them protect not only their assets, but also our own. We are heavily invested in the muggle world, as the Ministry of Magic bars goblins from investing in wizard business.”

“That makes sense,” Harry replied. “If I might ask, did you act on this information?”

“Indirectly,” Ragnok replied. “Voldemort was sent a message warning him not to make future attempts against muggle banks.”

“Might I ask what type of message?”

“A goblin howler, delivered inside the mouth of the severed head of the money changer that the Death Eaters tried to do business with.”

While Hermione was taken aback, Harry whistled, and had to confess just a bit of admiration for the directness of approach. Neither asked how the Goblins delivered the message, respecting their ally’s need to keep certain secrets to himself.

“Guess this morning shows he didn’t think too much about the warning,” Harry noted.

“Indeed,” Ragnok replied. “The Grand Goblin Council currently debating how to develop a warning that he will be forced to heed.”

Harry nodded, then asked, “And you said that the Ministry is required to report this type of theft?”

Ragnok nodded. “By treaty they must report any attempt by a wizard to steal from a muggle bank within their borders. It must be made less than three days of its occurrence, whether it is successful or not.”

“Whom do they report to?”

“The International Confederation of Wizards,” Ragnok replied.

“Because of secrecy concerns?” Hermione asked.

“Exactly,” said the goblin. “It is one of the key indicators that a wizard government is failing to police its own citizenry, and to uphold their joint obligation to preserve the magical world’s secrets.”

Harry thought for a moment, and then asked, “That’s because the muggles would be keen to figure out just how their banks were being robbed, right?”

Hermione nodded. “And there would be enough c-mugs out there to provide answers.” She then asked Ragnok, “Are there sanctions involved?”

Ragnok nodded. “More than three attempts within a one-year period is cause for international intervention.”

“You mean other wizard governments would take control of the Ministry?” asked Harry.

“Not necessarily,” Ragnok replied. “First would come a intensive audit of Ministry practices and personnel. Only if that audit showed more than a tolerable amount of corruption, or if the robbery attempts continued, would the Ministry lose its authority to rule.”

“I can see why the Ministry might be tempted to underreport, then,” said Harry. He then asked, “How often does this sort of intervention happen?”

“Rarely” said the Goblin. “We goblins have Gringott’s branches in nearly every wizard country, and our warnings are usually enough to keep the criminal elements in line.”

Harry nodded, and then asked “So what do you suggest we do?”

Ragnok paused for a moment, and then replied, “Tell the muggle Prime Minister that the goblins are working on the problem, and warn them that there may be some changes at the Ministry of Magic in the near future.”

Harry and Hermione stood and offered their thanks for Ragnok’s valuable time. Just before they left his office, Hermione remembered her assignment from the Prime Minister.

“One last question, Clan Chief?”

“Of course.”

“Do you have any idea why Voldemort is so desperate for cash?”

Ragnok smiled. “We understand that since the attack on the Ministry there has been a run on, and resulting extreme shortage of, certain types of potion ingredients.”

“Which types of potion ingredients?” Harry asked.

The goblin replied with a toothy grin.

“Those typically required for the healing of battlefield wounds.”

+++

10:30pm
Soho, London

If glamour charms could accurately reflect the underlying condition of the wizard that wore them, then Lucius Malfoy would have looked like a mess as he walked the streets of muggle London.

The failed robbery attempt was a complete and utter disaster. He thought that he had covered all contingencies, having used a generic black-market wand to ensnare his muggle accomplice, then sped off in a muggle taxi before the Ministry could track down his use of the Unforgivable. He knew that muggles like to rob their own banks, so what was the risk that his involvement would be detected? Apparently more than he had anticipated, as he watched the foiled attempt from a safe distance.

Now, a charitable man might have forgiven Lucius, and blamed his poorly thought-out plans on the lingering effects of too many Cruciatus.curses, held too long.

But his Lord was neither a man, nor forgiving.

The best he could hope for was that the Ministry’s self-protection skills would kick in, and that it would once again fail to report the robbery attempt. It was too much to hope that the Goblins wouldn’t find out, though, which is why he now found need to provide ransom not just for his life, but for those of his wife and son.

In retrospect, he should have raided his emergency funds from the start, and depleted the cache before attempting more risky means of satisfying his Master. But emergency funds were just that…for emergencies, and so long as that infernal money machine was spitting out pound notes he had been fine.

A hundred thousand galleons in gold, fifty thousand pounds sterling, two dozen large uncut diamonds and an assortment of precious jewelry were waiting for him in a place that only he could recall visiting once he left. Lucius sighed, and once more wished that he could have escaped his Master’s reach, and that he could hide in the safety of his Patriarchal suite. But the Dark Lord’s reach was far, and his mark most insistent when it burned in need of his attendance.

As he approached The Rookery, the elder Malfoy recalled far happier visits, when the streets of Soho were filled with muggle wenches, and those he could make so against their will. He briefly considered seeking more of that kind of company, before realizing that he would be too tired to enjoy a warmer bed. Malfoy was, in fact, too tired to notice that he was being watched as he entered the building and took the lift up to his private floor. Not that he would have cared, having come to rely upon the anonymity of his glamour charm.

A quick lift trip was followed by a quick meal and reassuring check that his stash was still there for the taking. Deciding that a good night’s sleep in a warm bed was worth the risk of delaying his return to Voldemort, he shed his clothes and crawled under the silk sheets of his four-poster bed.

His sleep was more fitful than good.

His dreams would have been worse, though, had he been aware of the calls that had gone out and the plans that were being made on the city streets below.

Muggle Summer

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 47: Muggle v. Malfoy

Friday , July 6, 5:45am
87 Shaftesbury Avenue
Soho, London

It was with great reluctance that Lucius Malfoy rose from bed and prepared for the day. He bathed, shaved, then dressed in his finest robes (still confident that his glamour charm would hide his attire under the image of a muggle business suit). The Malfoy Patriarch then emptied his emergency cache of money into an ever-expandable bag (that had been left in his safe for just that purpose) and tied it to his belt.

Lucius called for a house-elf to fill the dining room table with a rich assortment of breakfast foods. As he sat there, eating what he hoped was not a last meal, he considered his muggle transportation options for the trip to Salisbury. It would have been so much easier (and quicker) to apparate, but after the disaster at the Ministry, he could no longer trust that the records of his magical transit would be ignored or lost before acted upon.

The thought of that debacle and its aftermath gave Lucius one more opportunity to curse Mulciber's parents for foregoing the contraceptive charm on the night that the idiot Death Eater was conceived. Couldn't have thought to suggest that the Dark Lord order a few of their spies to maintain cover, just in case his plan to take over the Ministry failed, could he? Mulciber, the smart guy from Ravenclaw, with his brilliant scheme that would have vaulted him to the front of the Inner Circle's pecking order had it succeeded. Of course, the Slytherins he was trying to climb over on the way up the corporate ladder would have been cunning enough to plan for a worst case. Unfortunately, though, those same Slytherins were too busy angling amongst themselves for post-victory power…because there was no reason why their undercover operatives shouldn't have been able to hand them the keys to the Ministry of Magic.

But now they were all gone…Edgecombe at Floo, Richards and his crew at MSO, Reg in the Minister's office….all of them. For more than two years Death Eaters had apparated, floo'ed and hurled Unforgivables with the confidence that (so long as they weren't too blatant) their undercover colleagues would watch their backs and cover their tracks at the Ministry. But now, the Dark Lord and those who had escaped the battle had to assume that almost every swish of their wands could be detected and tracked down by those who wished them harm.

This was the reason why Voldemort had ordered his minions to go to ground, and to avoid the use of magic at all costs (at least until they could determine just how vulnerable they really were). This was also the reason why so many survivors of the battle were still injured and in pain; as the “no-magic” order included healing spells, magical potions were the only safe recourse. This had made Snape even more pompous and insufferable, and forced the Death Eaters to forage for potion supplies and gather the funds to pay for them.

And sent Malfoy down the path that had led to where he was presently.

Lucius longed for the good old days (i.e. six weeks previous), when healing spells would have been hidden by the unplottable location of their hide-out. But the goblins had (amazingly) decided to cooperate with the Ministry of Magic and their “seized assets” orders. Reasoning that the Ministry couldn't seize Death Eater assets that they couldn't find, Gringott's had gone to great lengths (and great expense) to collapse the wards that made any piece of real estate owned by a sanctioned land owner unplottable. Fortunately, the crash of these wards was a spectacularly loud event, and Voldemort and his followers had been given enough warning time to leave their suddenly plottable location before the MLE came snooping about.

Efforts to find a suitable hideaway owned by an unsanctioned and unmarked pure-blood sympathizer had been unsuccessful; Malfoy was certain that at least one such place existed, but suspected that knowledge of just who owned that place and where it was located was a secret guarded by a Fidelius charm. As a result, they had been forced to scatter about the countryside, and to stay in locations where their use of magic could be tracked.

About the only silver lining to the sharp downgrade in living conditions was that Voldemort also had to abide by the “no-magic” rule (as best as his own temper would allow). There had only been an occasional lapse into application of the Cruciatus, and each time this happened they'd been forced to quickly move their base of operations to less pleasant locations. Given the conditions of the basement Voldemort now inhabited, Malfoy doubted that he'd be cursed again for his failure, or summoned to that cursing by the Dark Mark's burn….not that there weren't mundane ways for Voldemort to show his displeasure (particularly with MacNair and his axe still around).

Feeling the heft of the money bag tied to his belt, Malfoy decided that he could afford to hire a taxi for the two-hour trip to his Master's lair. He rose from the table, used the loo and combed his hair one last time before taking the lift down to the lobby. He brushed by the house-elf concierge and his wishes that Lucius “have a nice day,” and strode out onto the street with a swaggering demeanor that was bolstered (at least for the moment) by the cash that he now carried.

The sidewalk and street were relatively deserted, but not oddly so given the hour and location. He took note of his surroundings only long enough to determine that there wasn't a taxi cab within hailing distance, then turned towards Piccadilly Circus, where he no doubt would have better success. As luck would have it (or so he thought), a car for hire turned onto the street and made it's way towards him not fifteen seconds into his brisk walk. When he hailed it down, the elderly male driver rolled down his window, tipped his hat, and asked,

“Where to, Guv'nor?”

“Salisbury.”

“Salisbury as in Salisbury Avenue, Guv'nor?”

“No, you fool…Salisbury as in Wiltshire.”

“Oh, well, where do you want to go in Salisbury?”

“I'll have more than enough time to tell you along the way.”

“Fair enough, Guv'nor…you do know it will be a steep fare…sure you wouldn't rather I take you to Waterloo Station?”

“Yes, I am aware of the cost, and no, I'd rather enjoy my own company, thank you.”

The driver paused as “he” made use of her peripheral vision. She then smiled, and said, “Well if it's solitude you want, Guv'nor, we can help.”

Malfoy had just enough time to wonder about the driver's choice of pronouns before he was struck in the back by two darts attached to fifteen feet of wire. A split second later, 50,000 volts of electrical energy traveled down that wire and overwhelmed Malfoy's central nervous system. Dazed, confused, and stripped of all neuro-muscular control, Lucius dropped to the pavement in a heap.

Secret Agent Wally shouted the all-clear once his TASER gun had fully discharged. By that point, Ron and Harry had already leapt from their hiding places and made their way to the taxi. The two teen-aged wizards quickly opened the car's rear door and stuffed the still-trembling body into the back seat. They then climbed inside and sat on top of Malfoy's body as a still-disguised Tonks slid over to the passenger seat. Wally jumped behind the wheel and sped away, leaving Hermione and her parents behind to explain away the questions of potential eyewitnesses. Fortunately, their governmental ID's were enough to avoid the need for memory charms.

As soon as Wally turned the corner, Tonks reached into the glovebox and handed Harry a syringe full of muggle sedative (which stopped Lucius's squirming just as well as any magical stunner). She then crouched down in her seat and covered herself with Harry's invisibility cloak. Five minutes later, Wally pulled the taxi into the delivery bay of an unused warehouse.

Once the garage doors closed, Harry and Ron quickly dragged their prisoner's body out of the taxi and into the back of a waiting lorry. They stripped Malfoy's body bare, bound him in muggle handcuffs and ankle chains and had Tonks cover his body with the invisibility cloak. Ron then stuffed the clothes, the money bag, and Malfoy's wand into Harry's expandable rucksack and badge-jumped to Windsor Castle. Meanwhile, Wally and Steve had used their Art Club badges to trade places (Steve had remained at the Palace with the Queen), and Tonks changed her physical appearance from an elderly taxi driver to a gangly teenaged boy. Steve and Tonks then jumped into the lorry's cab, and drove back out onto the street as Harry held the bay doors open. Harry then closed the garage doors, drew his wand, and shrank the taxicab down to the size of a child's toy.

Other than the badge-jumps, it was the first bit of detectible magic that they had used all morning.

Harry pocketed the car and, after double-checking the area, used Sir Evan's anchor point to join Ron within the Round Tower. Thirty minutes later, Steve and Tonks arrived at Windsor Castle in the lorry, carrying with them the first prisoner to be held in the Castle for more than three hundred years.

+++

Thirty minutes later, Emily Granger was washing up after her all-night vigil when she heard her husband enter their ground-floor apartment.

“Honey,” Roger called out, “do you know where my surgery kit is?”

“Erm, it's in one of those boxes we've got stored in the tent, dear, why?”

A minute later Roger entered the bathroom holding his kit in one hand and a large pair of dental pliers in the other. “Thanks dear…the kids need some help with the prisoner.”

“Really?” his wife asked. “What kind of help?”

“They just found another portkey.”

“But I thought the plan was for them to do the strip search in town?” Emily asked.

“They did,” Roger replied. “But then they decided to get out their magical dowsing rods to do a body cavity search.”

Emily squirmed at the thought. “And they needed to use those rods instead of their wands?”

Roger snorted. “Yeah, Harry said he draws the line at sticking his wand up troll nostrils.”

Emily squirmed some more and asked, “So they found something that requires dental tools to extract?”

“Erm, well, actually yes,” Roger replied.

“So how would an evil wizard keep a portkey stuck up his...?”

“Relax, Emily…wrong body cavity.”

“What?”

“Hermione says Mr. Evil Wizard had one of his molars charmed as a voice-activated portkey.”

“Oh, well, then…I guess your kit would come in handy.” Emily then glanced into her husband's bag and noticed something missing. “Not planning on using Novocain, Dear?”

Roger gave Emily a hard look. “This Malfoy is good friends with the wizard that tried to cut Hermione down in the Department of Mysteries.”

Mrs. Granger nodded. “I didn't think so.”

+++

11:30am
Somewhere Hidden in Wiltshire

Voldemort knew better than to ignore the latest message from Gringott's. Not willing to risk another semi-public dressing down, he ordered his followers (save for Nagini) to leave him alone in his ersatz basement-level chamber.

This new message was wrapped in a manner more boring, but less bloody, than the last. Within the cardboard box was a small red gemstone. Having seen these types of missives before, Voldemort placed the stone down on top of a low table and touched the top facet with his wand tip. A translucent purplish beam of light sprung from the crystal and resolved into a pensieve-like monochromatic image of a dozen goblins, facing him from behind a wide table.

“Hear now, Voldemort, nee Riddle, the recorded words and the ruling of the Grand Goblin Council!” cried out the image sitting at the table's center.

Voldemort scowled at the cheek of these goblins to order him around. Unfortunately, having recently lost three-fourths of his wizard minions to death, injury or capture, scowling was about all that he could do to them.

“You and yours have ignored our previous warning, and dared destruction of the veil of secrecy that protects the magical world,” said the goblin. “Your minion Lucius Malfoy attempted another robbery of a muggle bank, this time through use of an Imperious Curse.”

“Bugger!” Voldemort muttered to himself, “That insolent idiot!”

“We await word on the extent of damage before passing final judgment,” the goblin continued. “In the interim, we require Lucius Malfoy's head on a stake, to be placed in front of Gringott's Diagon Ally branch as warning to those whose actions risk ruin for our world. Do this before the sun rises on the morrow, or your warning will be made much worse.”

The image sputtered out, leaving the Dark Lord alone with his thoughts.

“Rookwood!” he shouted.

The sound of clumping footsteps traveled through the basement as the former Unspeakable climbed down the stairs to attend his Master.

“Yes, My Lord.”

“I have need to summon Malfoy.”

“Yes, My Lord, you wish me to bring the car around, then?”

Voldemort scowled at the inconvenience.

“Yes, Rookwood.”

+++

The area around the village of Avebury had one of the highest ambient magical energy levels within all of Britain. The stone circle, of course, had something to do with this; back in its heyday the ancient megalith was almost as effective as a wizard's wand when it came to focus. Avebury's megalith was neither as large nor as powerful as Stonehenge, of course, but it also wasn't as popular with tourists (both muggle and magical). This made it an ideal location (particularly when the weather was dark and stormy) for the discrete wizard who wished their spell use to be lost in the background.

Augustus Rookwood had been an Auror before being recruited by the Department of Mysteries, and had been trained to drive muggle automobiles. As one of the few Death Eaters with this skill (and the only one within Voldemort's Inner Circle) he had been pressed into service as the Dark Lord's personal driver once apparition became traceable. It was therefore his job to ferry his Master from their current hide-out to Avebury. It would have been a better job if he'd been able to find a magically-resistant car with more headroom, but such was his current lot in life.

The Death Eater parallel-parked his Cooper Mini after a twenty-minute drive, and then scouted the area on foot whilst wearing a “notice-me-not” charmed cloak. Not finding any security threats, he returned to the car and gave his similarly-dressed Master the all-clear. After Voldemort climbed out of the passenger seat of the automobile the two wizards walked thorough the driving rain into the center of the circle, where Rookwood bared his left arm for the Dark Lord's use. As Voldemort dug the tip of his wand into the Dark Mark, he cast the summoning spell that focused on a single Death Eater, rather a blanket summons that called all who were marked.

Rookwood could tell by the scowl in his Master's voice that Lucius Malfoy wasn't going to be making a social call.

+++

1:00pm
Round Tower, Windsor Castle

Malfoy's Dark Mark had been burning for more than hour by the time the sedative that Harry had injected wore off. It was by no means a nice way to regain consciousness.

Metal manacles stopped Lucius's attempt to grab his Mark with his right hand, and leg irons kept him from running to find relief. He cried out from the pain that came from both arm and mouth, only to find his cries muffled by bloody cotton gauzing. After another painful cry (this time it was more a cry of alarm), Lucius used his tongue to confirm that his mouth was short a few molars; a quick failed apparition attempt then confirmed his fears that his escape routes were rather limited.

Malfoy collapsed back down to the ground, and fought through the painful throbbing in his arm and lower jaw to assess his surroundings. He was dressed in muggle clothing and held in a windowless stone-walled cell. His muggle arm and leg manacles were chained to the wall, and a tunic-clad house-elf was carefully watching him with arms crossed over his chest.

“Dobby!” Malfoy mumbled through the gauzing. “Get me out of here.”

“Bad Wizard forgets he gave Dobby clothes. Dobby is Free Elf, now,” the house-elf replied. Dobby then popped out of the cell, leaving Lucius to consider just how much more pain he could take from his Dark Mark.

A minute later Malfoy heard the jingling of keys, and the door to his cell opened. Harry Potter then confirmed Malfoy's worst fears by entering the cell with a wand in his hand and evil smile on his face.

“Good afternoon, Lucius, did you have a nice little kip?”

Malfoy's cursing was muffled by the cotton.

“Oh, sorry,” said Harry, “Let's see if the bleeding has stopped.” He aimed his wand at Malfoy's mouth and banished the bloodied gauze. “It that better?”

Lucius decided on the silent treatment, so that he could focus all of what energy he had on pain management.

Harry snorted, then asked. “Say, is there a reason why your Dark Mark is all splotchy and purplish?”

Malfoy said nothing in response, other than “I want to see my solicitor.”

“Oh really?” Harry asked. “Do you have a muggle solicitor?”

“Why would I need one of those?” Malfoy spat out.

“Because you were captured by muggles, using muggle means,” replied Harry. “And despite the fact that you're being watched over by a house-elf and prevented by wards from apparating away, you are being detained at the muggle Queen's Pleasure.”

Malfoy's attempt at witty repartee was hampered by the need to spit out the mouthful of blood that had gathered.

“Oh, sorry about the dentistry,” Harry replied. “Wouldn't do any good for you to use that portkey, would it?”

“That would depend on your perspective, Potter.”

Harry smiled and gave Malfoy a polite round of applause. “Oh, well done, Lucius, that was almost as snarky as Snape.”

Malfoy instinctively knew it would be pointless to try and take a swing at Harry, but made the attempt anyway. He quickly wished that he hadn't moved his left arm.

Harry's smile grew even more evil as he noticed Malfoy's pain. “Quite a predicament you appear to be in, Lucius…your Master wants you to visit him, doesn't he?”

“Of course, you insolent brat,” Malfoy spat back.

“How much longer before the burning drives you mad?”

Malfoy stayed silent.

“Oh come, now, Lucius…I might be able to help if you were a little more candid.”

Malfoy glared at Harry. “You'll get nothing from me, and the Mark will kill me before I talk.”

Harry chuckled. “Oh, that's nothing we didn't already know. Based on what Dobby has told us, we're quite certain that you are resistant to Veritaserum, and that we couldn't trust a word that you said.” He then cocked his head and asked, “But are you that willing to die for your Master?”

“Doesn't look like you are going to give a choice,” Malfoy shot back.

“Ah, but there's where you are wrong,” Harry replied. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a long strip of fabric, and, after a Petrificus Totalus spell ensured Malfoy's cooperation, wrapped the fabric around his upper left arm. A second reach into Harry's rucksack produced a foot-long piece of wooden dowel, the end of which Harry tied into the knot of fabric.

“I know you don't think too much of muggles,” Harry said during this process, “but I think you would be amazed at just how smart they are. For instance, did you know that muggles have discovered a way to remove a Death Eater's dark mark?”

Harry stepped back once he finished wrapping what was now a loose tourniquet and admired his handiwork. He then cancelled the petrification spell, and reached into his rucksack for a hacksaw.

Malfoy drew in his breath at the sight.

“It'rather brutal, I'll admit,” said Harry, “but if the choice is death or the sound of one hand clapping….”

“What!” Malfoy shouted. “You're really going to cut my arm off?”

“Oh, no, no, no, Lucius,” Harry replied (his smile never having left his face). “You should remember that you are in muggle custody….muggles don't do that sort of thing to their prisoners…it would be cruel and unusual punishment.”

As a fresh wave of pain shot up from his Dark Mark, Malfoy spat out, “Then what are you going to do with that saw?”

Harry smiled. “Why, give it to you, of course.”

He made good on his word and levitated the hacksaw into Malfoy's grip.

Harry then noted, “Just because I can't lop off your arm to save your life doesn't mean that you can't help yourself.”

As he used his wand to magically lengthen the chain that held Malfoy's right arm, Harry said, “So what do you think, Malfoy, do you have what it takes? Do you have the same kind of courage that a muggle would display in your situation?”

“That's ridiculous,” Malfoy stammered. “No muggle would be strong enough to cut off his own arm.”

“Ah, but there's where you are wrong,” Harry replied with a smile. “A couple of years ago over in the States, a muggle hiker out on his own in the wilderness got his arm trapped between some rock. Waited days for help, but nobody came. So rather than die of dehydration, the muggle cut off his own arm.”

“Preposterous.”

“No, it's the truth,” Harry replied. “Of course, all he had was a pocket knife for the job…that hacksaw should cut through bone way faster.”

Malfoy looked down at his throbbing Dark Mark, and then over at the saw held in his right hand.

Harry interrupted his decision-making process. “But maybe you need a role-model closer to home?” he asked.

When he caught Malfoy's eye again, Harry simply said, “Pettigrew.”

Lucius's eyes went wide at the thought. He asked, “Not planning on giving me any pain potion?”

Harry shook his head and clucked. “Sorry, Lucius, but you might have heard…there's a run on healing potions these days.”

He then made his way to the door. Just before leaving, he turned and said slyly, “Besides, Lucius…Wormtail didn't need any pain potion when he cut off his hand in order to summon his Master. Do you really need any to avoid your Master's summons?”

The jail door slammed shut, leaving Malfoy alone with his choices.

Outside, Harry let out a deep sigh and cast a reinforcing Silencio on the cell door and walls. He said a silent prayer that Hermione wasn't there to hear his little speech, afraid that she might think he was turning too Slytherin.

Sir Evan came up to the door and asked, “So how long do you think he'll last?”

“I don't know,” Harry replied. “Depends on how much pain he's learned to tolerate under his Master's care.”

When Harry shuttered at more thought of what he'd just done, a small set of arms appeared and wrapped themselves around his leg. “No worries, Harry Potter, sir,” said Dobby. “You are a great wizard. Bad Master doesn't deserve your help keeping him alive.”

“Yes, I know, Dobby, but thanks,” Harry replied. He then paused, and asked, “Dobby, thank you so much for coming to help me today.”

“Dobby is honored to help the great Harry Potter, sir” the house-elf replied.

Harry smiled and asked, “Dobby, my friend, would you be willing to help me with another task?”

Dobby's eye's went wide. “The great wizard Harry Potter calls Dobby, friend?”

“Oh, of course, Dobby…because you are.”

Dobby's eyes watered and he burst out into tears as he once again hugged Harry's leg. “Dobby would do anything for his great friend Harry Potter, sir.”

Harry smiled as he crouched down to Dobby's eye-level. “Dobby, there's a couple of very good reasons why we need your former master alive, and that means that somebody has to watch over him to make sure he doesn't bleed to death. I don't think that I'm strong enough to watch him cut off his own arm…would you be willing?”

While Dobby's command of the Queen's English was limited, his sense of poetic justice was anything but… as a Malfoy house-elf, Dobby had lost count of the number of times he had been forced to physically punish himself. The house-elf gave Harry a face-splitting smile and nodded his head vigorously. “Dobby would like to help.”

Harry smiled and patted Dobby's arm. “I thought you might be willing.” He then reached into his rucksack and produced a pair of omnioculars.

“And while you're there, would you also be willing to record the event?” Harry asked as he handed the glasses to the house-elf. “We should make sure that Malfoy's master knows just how truly loyal he is.”

Dobby smiled, nodded his head, and then popped away to his vigil.

+++

1:30pm
10 Downing Street, London

Having spent his lunch hour practicing the use of quill and ink, the Prime Minister was able to manufacture a splotch-free signature upon the official letter that Hermione had prepared. As she dusted the page and rolled up it up for a wax seal, he asked, “Are we prepared for the consequences should the Ministry not act upon this notification?”

Hermione nodded. “I believe so, sir. The goblins are confident that any intervening international body would be better than what's there now, and we do have the support of quite a few junior staff at the Ministry.”

“Are we prepared, then, if the Ministry does act in self-preservation?”

Hermione smiled. “As I noted in my briefing document, Harry and I believe there to be significant gains for the muggle world in either event.”

It was the Prime Minister's turn to smile. “Well let's send this off straight away, then.”

Hermione nodded, wrote an address on the outside of the message, then turned her attention to the newest full-time resident at 10 Downing Street.

“Beckham, we've got some work for you.”

A large male Great Horned Owl swooped down from his perch in the corner of the Prime Minister's office and silently landed on his desk. Hermione showed the Prime Minister how to attach his message to the owl's outstretched leg, then opened the window.

“We're not expecting an immediate response, Beckham,” Hermione said, “so you can fly back straight away from your delivery.”

The owl bobbed its head up and down, and then gracefully flew out the window.

+++

3:30pm
The Round Tower
Windsor Castle

Harry was up in his Round Tower quarters reading an advanced charms textbook when Dobby suddenly appeared with a pop.

“Come quick, Mr. Harry Potter, sir. The Bad Master is all bloody and has fainted dead away.”

Harry quickly called for Roger Granger's help. Harry ran down the stairs as Roger ran up, and they met in the middle in front of Malfoy's cell. They entered a blood-splattered cell and found Lucius's severed arm on the floor, while blood spurted through an opened artery where that arm used to be attached.

“Bloody fool didn't tighten the tourniquet!” Roger yelled, as he ran to tighten the knot with the wooden rod. Harry, thinking that he may have forgotten to show Malfoy how the muggle first aid device worked, used a freezing spell on the stump to staunch the flow of blood. He then took in the Death Eater's deathly pail complexion, and asked Dobby to retrieve some blood replenishing potions. The house-elf immediately popped away to an adjacent cell, which had been converted into a magical dispensary of sorts. He returned with three bottles of potion, which Harry quickly forced down the Death Eater's throat.

Not sure whether he had reacted correctly, or in enough time, Harry badge-called for Tonk's help. The young Auror jumped to Harry's location, and after a quick assessment cast a spell that fully cauterized Malfoy's wound.

After ensuring that their prisoner would survive, Tonks asked Harry what had happened. He quickly recapped his conversation with Lucius, then reached down to the floor and retrieved the omnioculars from where Dobby had dropped them.

“Bloody harsh,” Tonks said, after she reviewed the recorded images. “He was using the saw to try and cut through his manacles, and didn't switch over until the Dark Mark was all bloody and oozing…want to look?”

Harry and Roger both politely declined. Harry did, however, suggest the name of someone who might be interested in the images, and asked if Tonks would deliver a recording of the image. The metamorph smiled as she used her wand to get an image dump.

“Harry, I can't decide whether this is the greatest prank you've ever pulled, or your most Slytherin stunt.”

Harry gave her his best “sweet and innocent” look. “What?” he asked. “Don't you think that the public has a right to know?”

Tonks shook her head. “Don't ever let me get on your bad side, Harry,” she said. She then used a quick party-line badge-call to find an Art Clubber not currently located within an anti-apparition zone. The best she could find was the back of the Weasley Twins's joke shop. She jumped, then slipped out the back door just far enough to apparate away to her final destination.

-->

Muggle Summer

A/N: Well, the last chapter certainly was the most controversial to date. On the one hand, some folks thought Harry was turning Dark (or at least Dark Gray) with his “Jigsaw” homage (it really was Max Max that inspired me, by the way), while others complained that I had emasculated Voldemort and the DE’s. Detailed responses to these topics will probably play out in the next few chapters. Like this one.

Finally, while there are song lyrics in this chapter, they’re lifted from a poem written in 1804 that is clearly in the public domain

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 48: Golden Bows and Silver Platters

Friday , July 6, 4:30pm
St. George’s Chapel
Windsor Castle

With forty-five minutes to go before Evening Service, the Dean of St. George’s Chapel made his way out beyond the choir screen for a brief scan of the neve. The last of the afternoon public tours had made their way through the area, and he often made it a point to ensure that the worship area wasn’t too heavily trodden upon. There were, of course, chapel staff with these responsibilities, and he did trust them, but…the afternoon sun was lovely this time of year, when its rays filtered through the stained-glass windows above the chapel entrance, and it was a good excuse to escape (if but for a moment) the ever-present financial concerns that came with the upkeep and use of a six-hundred year old building.

As he made his way up the central aisle he spotted a familiar face that was obviously out of sorts. After a glance at his watch let him know that he had a few minutes to spare, the clergyman strode down to the last pew, and slid over to take a seat next to the Queen’s Wizard.

“I would ask how you were this fine afternoon, Lord Gryffindor,” the Dean said, “but I’m afraid that the answer to that question is readily apparent.”

Harry snorted. “It has been a rather bad day at the office, Dean Conner, and please, just Harry, alright?”

The vicar nodded. “You seem to be carrying a heavy burden…is there anything you want to share with me, Harry?”

The Queen’s Wizard shook his head. “Thanks for asking, Dean, but I really can’t talk about it.”

The vicar paused for a few moments before replying. “You know, Harry, anything we discussed would be just between us.”

“I know, sir, but there are, erm…official reasons why I can’t say anything.”

The clergyman nodded. “Perhaps there is somebody else, then, with the proper clearances…Dame Hermione, perhaps?”

Harry shook his head. “No…I mean yes, she is somebody I could talk with, but I’m afraid that it wouldn’t help.”

“Why is that, son?”

“Because I already know what she would say.”

“But she seems so…how can you know for certain what she would say?”

Harry snorted. “Do you know that saying about letting your conscious be your guide?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Well, when my conscious talks inside my head, it sounds more like Hermione than Jiminy Cricket.”

“I see,” the Dean replied. “So something has happened, something that you obviously feel bad about, and you don’t think that she would approve.”

Harry nodded.

The clergyman sighed. “Harry, when you and Dame Hermione first came to me a few weeks ago, I was struck by just how responsible you both were. Focused and mature beyond your years…when combined with the Queen’s confidence I was intrigued enough to make a few polite inquiries.”

Harry swiveled his around to give the vicar a look of concern.

“Nothing too insistent, mind you,” the dean said, as he placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “You see, a good shepherd must know his flock.”

“Erm…sure,” Harry replied. “And what did you discover from your inquiries?”

“Besides the fact that you and Dame Hermione are deeply committed to both each other and to the Queen’s service?”

When Harry smiled, the vicar patted his thigh.

“I learned that you both ride in chariots of fire.”

When Harry’s blank expression told Dean Conner that he didn’t understand the reference, a thought sprung to mind. He stood and said, “Harry, you are welcomed to stay here and reflect, but you should know that our evening service starts in a few minutes.”

Harry stood. “Oh, well…don’t want to cause a disturbance.”

“No worries, Harry,” the clergyman said. “I know of a place with a bit more privacy.” Looking down the side aisle, he called over one of his acolytes.

“Paul,” he asked, “would you please bring my young friend here to the Royal Closet?”

Once the white robed assistant had led Harry off towards the front of the Chapel the vicar moved to an anteroom and made two mobile calls.

The first was to a Castle resident who knew a few things about warrior’s guilt.

The second was to his choral director, with a last-minute music request.

+++

A few minutes later, Harry’s thoughts were interrupted by a question.

“Mind if we join you, Harry?”

Harry looked up and gave Sir Evan and Roger Granger a feint smile as they quietly sat on the ends of the low bench that Harry had been using.

“So you two know the Dean, then?” Harry asked.

Sir Evan nodded. “We’ve crossed paths a few times…imagine it comes with living and working here now.” He then took a look at the immediate surroundings and said, “This has to be the fanciest closet in the world.”

Harry nodded once more, as organ music began to play from below.

The “Royal Closet” was a private, inward-facing enclosed balcony that sat just above the Chapel’s choir. Built by Henry VIII so that his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, could watch the Order of the Garter ceremonies, its stained glass windows were set in dark wooden frames, and displayed heraldic motifs and coats of arms. The private viewing area provided the three men the opportunity to talk quietly without bothering other worshipers.

Harry asked about their prisoner’s condition as the organist began the introit. Roger told Harry that Malfoy’s condition was stable, and that he was still unconscious. Dobby was keeping watch. They then sat quietly, until the chapel choir filed in and the organ began to play a familiar hymn….familiar to Harry not because his Aunt and Uncle had taken him to church, but due to the fact that Hermione’s dad had shared with Harry his love for classic muggle comedy.

“Mr. Granger,” Harry asked, “why are they playing a Monty Python song in church?”

Roger chuckled as Sir Evan looked at Harry with confusion.

“I think the question should be why they played a church song on Monty Python.”

Harry’s follow-up question got nipped by Roger’s hand signal, allowing the first lines of the hymn to be heard clearly:

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?

Sir Even found a hymnal and flipped to the right page as Harry head the choristers sing about building the city of Jerusalem in England (which Harry considered strange, because knew for certain that that city was located in Israel). But then he heard calls for golden bows and arrows and spears, and then something about a chariot of fire…

And that caught Harry’s attention fully for the last verse:

I will not cease from Mental Fight
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England’s green and pleasant Land.

Harry looked down into the chapel as Dean Conner broke away from the processional and took his seat across from their vantage point. The vicar quite clearly looked up towards the Royal Closet gave the three men a small smile and nod of recognition.

“So he knows?” Harry asked quietly.

Roger evenly replied, “In general terms, yes.”

“Sending me a message, then?”

“Perhaps,” Sir Evan replied.

“And what do you think that message is?”

The eldest Art Clubber paused for a moment before replying.

“Probably that war is hell, and that a just war sometimes forces good men to do bad things, and that they aren’t any less worthy of being loved for it.”

Harry processed the response before chuckling. “Is that today’s lesson, then?”

Sir Evan shook his head. “No, Sir Harry, it’s what Albus Dumbledore told me some sixty years ago.”

“Dumbledore told you that?” Harry asked with surprise.

Sir Evan shrugged his shoulders. “We were behind enemy lines, no real options for taking prisoners…”

“Albus ‘Always-give-them-another-chance’ Dumbledore didn’t give quarter?” Harry asked incredulously.

When Sir Evan shrugged his shoulders again and nodded, Harry pressed for details. He got none, with the war veteren explaining that his exploits with Dumbledore were either too painful to talk about, or something he had promised never to talk about.

Or both.

A few minutes of silence passed while Harry tried to process this new information. He had just started to wonder whether Dumbledore had considered his horrible childhood at the Dursley’s one of those “bad things” that he had been forced to do whilst fighting a just war when Hermione’s dad tried a different tack.

“You know, you weren’t the only one there at the time, Harry,” he noted.

“Yes, but it was mostly my idea and I was the ranking officer,” Harry replied. “The blood’s on my hands.”

Sir Even then said, “After you left Tonks came back with the Ministry’s file on Lucius Malfoy.”

“Why did she do that?” Harry asked.

“So that we could better understand that Malfoy deserved worse than what you offered him.”

Harry shook his head. “The ends don’t justify the means.”

Sir Evan waited a few seconds before repeating. “War is hell, and a just war sometimes forces good men to do bad things…Harry you gave the man an option to live…that’s far more than he would have done if roles had been reversed.”

Harry shook his head. “But we’re supposed to be better than they are.”

Sir Evan shook his head. “But Harry, war is hell, and a just war…”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Harry said.

Roger then asked, “So looking back, what would you have done differently? What could you have done differently?”

Having thought about these questions for more than hour, Harry had a quick response.

“We could have given him an anesthetic…we could have had his arm surgically removed...I could have done less taunting, and enjoyed the taunting less…”

“Did you enjoy it, Harry? It doesn’t look like you’re happy about that now.”

Harry thought for a moment, and then replied, “I enjoyed having the upper hand, for once…but I didn’t enjoy all that blood.”

“And you cared enough to take the quick actions necessary to save his life, correct?”

“Yes but for our own purposes,” Harry shot back. “If we didn’t need him alive I might have just let him bleed out.”

“Really?”

“Well, I…I don’t know.”

Sir Evan nodded. “Let’s say you decided to lop off his arm before the pain got too intense. How exactly would you explain that to a muggle board of inquiry investigating maltreatment of a prisoner?”

Harry hemmed and hawed. “Well, I guess we didn’t have proof that the summons would kill him, even knowing that Voldemort would call for him after the goblins delivered their ultimatum.”

“So you gave the prisoner a choice. Could have been a little less painful for him, and a cleaner cut made, but we certainly couldn’t provide him with a sharper weapon, could we?”

“Suppose not.”

“So then, quit beating yourself up, young man,” Sir Evan ordered. “You gave the prisoner the chance to make his own choices. You could have done better with the tourniquet, but you saved his life and now you learn from your mistakes. Carry on, boy.”

“Not so simple, I think,” Harry replied. “We still have the guinea pig armor issue to deal with.”

Roger sighed and nodded his head. “You know, Harry, there was a day when common criminals could reduce their prison sentences by voluntarily serving as test subjects for experimental medicines.”

Harry thought for a moment, and then said, “I’m sure that your daughter would tell us that given their status those prisoners couldn’t do anything on a truly voluntary basis.”

“Rubbish,” Sir Evan replied. “Give him a range of options, and so long as not volunteering doesn’t make his punishment any more severe than it would have been…”

“And that just gets us to a different problem,” Harry replied. “There’s no capital punishment in muggle Britain, and we don’t trust the Ministry to keep him locked up if we turned him over.”

Sir Evan thought for a moment, and then asked, “Do your goblin friends have any qualms about offing their prisoners?”

Harry’s eyes brightened at the thought. “I don’t think that they’re shy at all about that sort of thing.”

Roger then asked, “Is there any way to strip Malfoy of his magic?”

Harry frowned. “I don’t think so, at least not with any spell or ritual I’m aware of.”

“Okay, so you can’t take his magic…can’t you make him forget how to use it?”

Harry gave Hermione’s dad a wide-eyed look, wondering if he would have been sorted into Slytherin had he been born with magic.

“I never thought of that before,” Harry replied. “Sounds brilliant, but I’ll have to ask Hermione.”

With a nod the two older men stood, and as Roger patted Harry on the shoulder he said, “You do that, then, Harry…but not before you ask her for a good hug, okay?”

Harry nodded. The two older men then told him that they were returning to the Tower. Harry said that he would be along in a bit, as he wanted to wait and ask Dean Conner a question after the service. Roger and Sir Evan nodded, then walked out of the small alcove.

Not five seconds later, Harry felt another familiar presence enter the room, and a moment later the familiar presence was replaced by a familiar set of arms that wrapped themselves tightly around Harry’s chest.

“Your dad just give you a call?”

Hermione’s vocal confirmation was lost as her lips pressed up against the nape of Harry’s neck. Rather than ask again, he reached around and guided her down towards a seat next to him. Harry then wrapped his arm tightly around Hermione’s waist. As she rested her head on his shoulder, the two quietly sat for the balance of the service.

Once the service ended, they made their way downstairs, and asked for a few minutes of Dean Conner’s time. He quickly agreed, and led him to his office. Once there confessions were made, loving affirmations were provided, and the details of “just war” doctrine were discussed. Particular attention was paid to Augustine directives on the treatment of prisoners and the administration of mercy, especially when the vanquished were no longer a threat to peace.

Harry and Hermione returned to the Round Tower hand in hand, with borrowed treatises by St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, and homework assignments to be completed before a scheduled follow-up meeting.

+++

6:30pm, Round Tower

As Fred and George Weasley helped engineers from MI- 5 ¾’s Q Branch set up a test fire range in the false-story just below the Round Tower’s roof, Harry and Hermione reviewed contract language with their vanquished prisoner.

“So, let’s review then, Lucius,” said Harry.

“Your first option is a life-sentence to be served in a muggle detention facility. We’d have to help them keep you incarcerated, so we would necessarily obliviate every single memory you have about the wizarding world, and how to perform magic…including apparition. The muggles will then send you to a secret military prison on the island of Diego Garcia…it’s in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and more than a thousand miles away from land, so you’d have problems leaving even if you did remember how to apparate.”

Hermione jumped in, adding, “There would be opportunities for a reduced sentence…down to only ten-years if you voluntarily drop your mental shields and allow us unfettered access to your memories. We also would guarantee you reasonably pleasant living conditions.”

“At least when compared to Azkaban,” said Harry. “But mind the fact that you would be released from prison into the muggle world, and without your memories of magic, you’d be somewhere in between an ignorant squib and a muggle.”

Taking note of the prisoner’s scowls, Hermione decided keep things moving.

“Under the second option, you start by publicly denouncing Voldemort…we’re thinking a press conference on the front steps of Gringott’s. We’d announce it in the papers to make sure you get a good-sized crowd to talk to. Several hours before that, though, we’d break your wand and you would swear a wizard’s oath to answer any question that we ask of you truthfully, completely, and without intent to deceive. And then you’d talk. After the press conference, we’d turn you over to the Ministry of Magic.”

“Without a knut to my name, one-armed and with a death sentence hanging over my head?” asked Malfoy rhetorically.

“Well, the first two for sure, but we wouldn’t have any say in how the Ministry dealt with you,” Hermione replied.

“Moving on,” said Harry, “Option three is simple…we hand you over to the goblins.”

“Again,” said Malfoy, “I would be without a knut to my name, one-armed and have a death sentence hanging over my head.”

“With goblins, I’d have to agree with you on all three points,” Harry admitted.

“Let’s get to the last option, then,” Malfoy snarled.

“Ah, yes, Option four,” Harry replied. “You agree to be a test subject for body armor that we believe may be resistant to the killing curse. We get three shots, and will try not to kill you outright. If the armor works, you will be released from our custody tonight and dropped off exactly where we picked you up this morning. Your memories of the entire day’s events would be erased by magical means. Your wand stays with us, but you’d get your money bag back, and we’d make no effort to capture you for three days.”

“And if the armor doesn’t protect me, you’ll swear a wizard’s oath to send Draco the money bag, along with an extra million galleons thrown into it?”

“Erm, yes…maybe you could give us his delivery address in advance?” Harry asked.

“Not on your life, Potter.”

“Ah. Oh well, can’t blame me for trying, can you?” Harry asked. “So, what do you think, Lucius?”

Malfoy squinted hard at Harry, but bit off a retort so that he could focus on the options as they were presented to him. Betraying his Master then living as a muggle for the rest of his life was right out. Under the second option he would likely be AK’ed on the steps of Gringott’s before he had the chance to complete his first sentence. Or, if the Ministry did protect him long enough to take him into custody, he probably would be summarily thrown through the Veil.

The third option was right out as well. A painful, humiliating death was a certainty, and the best he could hope was they he’d become a martyr in the next Goblin War.

And martyrdom wasn’t something that the Malfoy Family cared to be remembered for.

The final option was the only one that gave him a chance of survival, and it was obvious that his captors wanted him to choose it so as to test their bloody armor. As if anything could block the killing curse. But he had to admit that the muggles had proven themselves resourceful, at least with the Boy’s help…they obviously thought themselves above testing on their own muggle prisoners.

Then there was the question on whether the boy could even cast the killing curse successfully. He had seen Bellatrix’s memories of the night they were captured in the Department of Mysteries, and knew that Potter didn’t have it in him to successfully cast a Cruciatus, much less an AK. But assuming he did, or they found somebody else…what if their armor worked? He could sit out the rest of the war in his Rookery flat, beyond the reach of the Dark Lord, the Ministry, and Potter. And if the armor didn’t work…well he’d be dead, but it would be painless, the Malfoy name wouldn’t be tarnished, and his incompetent son stood a chance of living long enough to sire a worthier heir.

He looked up at Harry and Hermione with disgust, and said, “The last option.” He then spent ten minutes signing a stack of release forms and “hold harmless” agreements.

“Well, then,” Harry said, “anything else we could do to help you enjoy your stay?”

Lucius sent his “scowl scale” to eleven and let loose. “Would it be too much to ask for a decent last meal?” he asked.

Harry smiled as he conjured a table and chair. “Dobby?” he asked.

A moment later his friend arrived.

“Yes, Harry Potter, sir, what can I do to help?”

“Would you please prepare your former Master’s favorite meal for him?”

Dobby didn’t look too happy about the request, but trusted Harry enough to pop away, only to return a few moments later with a bottle of wine and a steak dinner.

“Good-looking filet, there, Dobby,” Harry said. As the house-elf swelled with pride, Harry turned towards their prisoner and decided to test-drive a bit of mercy.

“Sorry about the emergency dental work, Lucius,” Harry said. “Couldn’t have you slip away from us, but given things…sure you don’t want something softer to eat?”

“I’ll manage,” Malfoy shot back.

“You know,” Harry said, “with a bit of help we could probably transfigure a partial set of muggle dentures for you.”

“Muggle replacement teeth?” Malfoy asked.

“Erm..yes.”

“I’d rather eat soup the rest of my life.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t say we didn’t offer.” He then turned and asked Dobby for one final favor.

“Of course, Harry Potter, sir, what can Dobby do?”

Harry let one of his slightly evil smiles slip out.

“Grab a knife…Lefty is going to need some help cutting his meat.”

+++

11:30pm
Soho, London

They waited until the theater crowds had left the street to push Lucius Malfoy out of the back of an unmarked van right in front of the Rookery. Had his memories not been swiped of the day’s events, he would have been wondering how in Merlin’s name muggles had invented body armor that had saved him from Alistair Moody’s killing curses.

In between wondering just how he had lost both an arm and a wand.

He realized that he had been memory charmed, and had lost knowledge of what had happened that day. The knowledge of just how dire his predicament had been the night previous had been retained, however. So it was all he could do not to immediately rush inside the Rookery. Instead, Malfoy took a walk, and used the cover of darkness to get lost within the crowds of Piccadilly Circus, before doubling back to his Rookery flat.

His movements were stealthy enough to have shaken off anyone who might have been following him. The walk did nothing, however, to stop digital and magical cameras from recording his return from their fixed vantage points right across the street.

+++

Saturday, July 7, 7:30am
Somewhere Hidden in Wiltshire

Voldemort thought that the goblin council’s latest demands were outrageous, but realized that they could have been worse:

“For failure to properly restrain your minions, and to provide us with Lucius Malfoy’s head, the Grand Goblin Council has served notice to the leaders of every non-human sentient species that any assistance they or their own provide you and your Death Eaters will be considered an act of war against the Goblin Nation. In addition, with this message we serve notice that you and your minions are prohibited from use of the Morsmorde spell, or the casting of the Dark Mark, within the visible range of muggles. Should you ignore this edict, the Goblin Nation will openly declare war against you. And yes, we know that this will likely spark another all-out war between goblins and wizards.”

Attached to this notice was a second note, informing Voldemort that Malfoy’s head might cause the council to rethink their decisions. The goblins were then kind enough to provide Voldemort with the most likely location of Malfoy’s head.

The crystal that had encased the holographic goblin edict disintegrated before Voldemort had the opportunity to show it to anyone else. He was therefore forced to give a summary when he called in a few of his inner circle for their opinions on the matter.

The Death Eaters had been much more willing to offer candid assessments now that their Master couldn’t hurl unforgivables willy-nilly. Rookwood started by giving the goblins credit for their cunning, noting their actions could be considered justifiable by those worried about preserving the secrets of the wizarding world. Bellatrix disagreed, arguing that the Morsmorde spell was the only way that the Ministry idiots knew they had a mess to clean up after some muggle hunting. Rookwood then suggested that was the whole point, and that the goblins wanted to halt all wizard attacks against muggles. When Wormtail asked why goblins would want to protect muggles, the elder Nott explained that goblins were barred from investing in the wizarding world, so they had to invest in muggle banks and businesses. Unexplained magical attacks on muggles provoked panic, and panic was bad for business.

They then spent a few minutes arguing over how the Ministry of Magic would respond if the goblins did attack them. The consensus was that the Ministry would reluctantly agree to a temporary truce with the Death Eaters, so that a united wizard front could be presented against the enemy. Nearly all of the Death Eaters had attended Hogwarts, and been taught History of Magic by Binns (in both living and ghostly forms). And if Binns taught you anything, he taught you about the Goblin Wars. There was ample historical precedent for warring wizard factions to cooperate just long enough to beat back assaults by other sentient species.

Finally, MacNair asked how the werewolves would react to the goblin council’s edict, and whether it would affect their plans for that night’s full moon. Voldemort expressed his confidence that the werewolves would be loyal to him, and would be furious at the thought of being ordered around by the goblins. The Death Eaters actually chuckled when their Master joked about needing to make sure that Greyback and his pack didn’t change their minds, and attack Gringott’s rather than their primary targets.

Voldemort then dismissed everyone but Rookwood with orders to proceed with their established plans for that night. The Dark Lord then told him what he had withheld from the others…that the goblins still wanted Malfoy dead, and had been kind enough to tell them where he was hiding.

The former Unspeakable wasn’t very surprised when his Master gave him the street address of the Rookery. He knew about the building, and knew the names of some of the Patriarchs who owned flats there. The Rookwood Patriarch was one of those owners, and the whispered stories about the games Grandfather played there were closely kept family secrets.

He already knew that Malfoy was a Rookery Patriarch. It also didn’t surprise him when his Master changed his assignment for the night’s attacks. There’d be one less wizard creating illegal portkeys while the diversions were taking place, but Voldemort had made Karkaroff’s capture, torture, and death a warning to all - nobody can ignore their Master’s summons.

And with Malfoy dead….Rookwood pondered the new Inner Circle pecking order as he packed the boot of his Cooper. But as Legimens was one of the very few spells that could be cast without being detected, he waited until he was on the road and well away from his Master before daring to ponder far more dangerous thoughts…thoughts about surviving in a world without Voldemort.

Muggle Summer

A/N: This chapter starts us down what will be another very long day (both to describe and to live through). It's a little short, but I wanted to keep the updates going on this story even as I try to finish up Gladiator. This break also keeps the fluffy/funny parts separate from the action/adventure parts to come. A special thanks to chemprof for offering his opinions and reassurances on the first part of this chapter.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 49: Pensieved Longings and Plugged-up Loos

Saturday , July 7, 6:00am
Queen's Wizard's Quarters
Buckingham Palace, London

Harry Potter's internal alarm clock ignored the previous night's decision to turn off its electronic counterpart and pulled the Queen's Wizard into consciousness a good three hours before he wanted. Harry sighed as he glanced at the electronic alarm, careful not to disturb Hermione from her present position (head on his chest, arm and leg draped over his torso). He smiled as she snuggled against him, and pulled the covers up just enough to make the warm cocoon complete.

Harry knew that he ought to try to go back to sleep; they had pulled an all-nighter preparing for Malfoy's capture and relied too much on caffeine and pepper-up the day before. But with Hermione cuddled up against him in their warm safe bed, he found it impossible to push away all of the memories, thoughts and fears that came with having Hermione as his girlfriend/consort. Most of those thoughts were the type that old men cling to and cherish as they look back upon their lives…their first “more-than-just-friends” kiss, their first shared bath, their first snag…

Harry chuckled at the term he had invented. It was wonderfully ambiguous term that aptly described their current physical relationship. Hermione and he still joked about the “three date rule,” but neither of them had felt ready to take that final step. At least not just yet. They had tried to talk about “it” and when “it” should occur, but never really reached any conclusions. While neither had any serious moral objections to premarital shagging, they both thought there was something romantic and special about saving that act for a wedding night. Which brought out thoughts of weddings and engagements, and whether they were too young and had been a couple for too short a time to be even thinking about it. That was a related, and no less important, can of worms.

And then there were the Grangers. Living under the same roof as your girlfriend's parents could have been very intimidating, but they had been amazingly supportive and trusting, right from the start. Almost too trusting, Harry thought…her dad had essentially given him permission to share a bed with his daughter on Privet Drive (almost asked Harry to, if you interpreted that conversation a certain way). And once they moved to the Round Tower and stayed either there or at Buckingham? Complete acceptance.

Last night had been a good example. The four of them had ridden in the van that had dumped Malfoy in front of the Rookery just before midnight. After hanging around for an hour to make sure Lucius did not do something unexpected, they called it a night. Rather than drive back to Windsor, or wake Sir Evan for a badge-jump, Hermione's parents asked if they could crash at “his” place at the Palace. It was taken “as read” that the Granger's would stay in the guest bedroom while Hermione and he shared the master. Mrs. Granger even gave them a goodnight kiss and orders to “sleep tight” before they turned in for the night.

Harry sighed, realizing that with Mr. And Mrs. Granger sleeping next door that Hermione would want to be cautious that morning, which was too bad, since he was definitely in the mood for some fun. Not fair really, since her parents didn't seem to always share that concern. He smiled as he recalled the “bedroom wall” incident, and that got him thinking about silencing spells, and their walk-in closet, and Hermione's knickers, and the time she left them behind…

He snorted at the thought of what Ron and his friends would think if he were the type to kiss and tell (or given that he was a teen-aged male, “shag and brag”). Harry doubted that anyone would be surprised that Hermione was still a virgin, but if they knew just how comfortable she'd become around him without clothing, or how randy she romped within her comfort zone, their toes would probably curl.

The day she went commando was a prime example. First day on the job working for the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street and she does that? Worse still, she let Harry know she was doing it? It was all he could do not to jump her as soon as she got back from work. But she resisted, and told him that he needed to wait until after they watched a memory of her first day.

Since that was the day she had arranged for the Death Eater bank accounts to be frozen, Harry had expected that she'd be showing him the pensieved memory of her meeting with the Chief Cashier of the Bank of England. But instead, she surprised him with a string of seemingly random events (for example, her introduction to another staff member, a walk up the stairs, her first sit behind her new desk, and a shared lunch with the Chief-of-Staff). Harry wasn't able to piece together the puzzle once they'd been pulled out of the pensieve, so it was up to Hermione to explain. Each of the scenes were situations where visual proof of her commando status was available, if only somebody had been properly positioned and had known to look. She then gave Harry a wide smile and asked if he wanted to review the memory again.

Harry never would have thought that almost-shagging could be so much fun. And hot. And satisfying.

The memory of reviewing that memory was enough to distract his full bladder and give him a different reason to be aroused. It was while he was trying to quietly take care of this “problem” that Hermione woke up.

“What are you doing, Harry?” she asked, using her very best sleepy-sexy-coy voice.

He froze.

“Erm…thinking of you,” Harry replied with embarrassment. He then recovered quickly enough to ask, “Want to help?”

Hermione groaned. “Oh, I'm sorry, Harry, but now's not…I'm feeling a bit off.”

Harry thought for a moment and then nodded. “Sorry, I should have remembered that it wasn't a good time of the month.”

That comment caused Hermione to wake up in a hurry. “What?” she asked. “How did you know…I mean…we weren't that intimate a month ago, were we?”

Harry chuckled. “No we weren't.”

“Then how?”

“Well, I could say it was the only logical reason why you wore a nightgown and the most conservative pair of knickers to bed last night.”

“You could, but that's not it, huh?”

Harry shook his head. “The fact is, I've, erm…I've known the timing of your monthly cycles for a couple of years now.”

“What?”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Looking somewhat aghast, Hermione replied, “What reason would you have had for knowing that sort of thing about me…before now?”

Harry chuckled. “Hermione, it wasn't information that I went out searching for, it's just something I came to know over time.” He pulled her into a hug, kissed her temple, and added, “Might have something to do with the fact that for the past six years I've shared most of my classes, all of my meals and most of my free time with you.”

“And just what did you do with this knowledge, Mr. Potter?”

“Besides knowing when to make extra efforts to keep Ron from annoying you?”

Hermione scowled playfully as she pushed his shoulder away. “Yes, you git.”

Harry shook his head and smiled. “Dunno…don't think I ever made a point of it…maybe gave you a bit more room, and bit my tongue a bit more…”

With her face covered with her hands, she sighed, “Merlin, Harry…we are such the old couple.”

“Don't say that, Hermione,” Harry asked. “It'll mean we can't enjoy our youthful wild sides.”

“Why?” Hermione asked. “Can't you have wild sides when you get older?”

Harry snickered. “Well I suppose so, if we use your parents as example.” He then made it a point to look towards the guest bedroom. “Which reminds me, did you cast a silencing spell on their walls last night?”

Hermione threw her pillow at Harry's head. “Oh, you are terrible.” She then grabbed her wand from the nightstand, threw off the covers and said, “I'm going to take a shower.”

Harry gave her a pained look. “What, and leave me here all excited?”

Hermione snorted. “I thought you were supposed to be the understanding boyfriend sensitive to his girlfriend's condition?”

“I am,” Harry protested. “But as you can see, my, erm…“condition” here…”

Hermione laughed …he really was cute, and thoughtful, and amazing. But that didn't change just how icky she felt right then.

An idea sprung to mind.

“Hold that thought, but don't hold anything else just yet,” she ordered.

Not waiting for a response, she left the bedroom, only to return a half-minute later with the pensieve.

“I've got another memory for you,” she coyly said, as she set the rune-covered bowl onto the bed.

Harry gave her a confused look.

Hermione smiled and explained, “It's something I didn't show you from commando day.”

“Really?” Harry said with interest. “And just what will I see?”

She smiled. “Me, alone in my new office, while I…what were you doing just now, when I woke up?”

“Erm… thinking of you?”

“Ah, yes. I was in my office, thinking of you.”

Harry's eyes lit up as he rushed to the bathroom for some necessary business. He returned with a rather wanton look of anticipation on his face as Hermione placed the memory thread into the bowl.

Harry was about to dive in when he reached over and grabbed her hand.

“Would you like to join me?”

Hermione tilted her head in thought. “You want me to watch myself?”

Harry shrugged. “You could always watch me while I watch the memory of you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And just what will I see while I watch you?”

Harry grinned. “More thinking, I imagine.”

Hermione frowned a bit. “I'm still feeling off, Harry.”

Harry nodded. “I know, but maybe…maybe when you leave your body behind and mentally jump into the pensieve, you might not feel so bad?”

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. “I've never thought about that before…are you suggesting that I could project an avatar that would feel different from how I'm feeling right now?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “One way to find out…why don't you idealize how you would like to be feeling right before you jump?”

“Okay,” Hermione replied.

“Oh, and maybe your avatar wouldn't have to be wearing the same clothes?”

Hermione smiled as she raised her night-gown high enough to expose her knickers. “What, you don't like my mollypants?”

Harry's face pruned up and he shivered. “Oi, Hermione, that's not an image I want in my head right now.”

“Well, then,” she replied. “we best be making sure something better is in its place.” And after a clearly formed thought was in her head, she dived into the pensieve.

They emerged fifteen minutes later with proof that avatars didn't need clothing and didn't get cramps.

+++

9:30am
19 Pennywell Road, Bristol

As he navigated a roundabout a few blocks away from the Bristol safe house, Augustus Rookwood let out a sigh of relief.. The fuel indicator needle had been hovering dangerously over “E” for the past thirty kilometers, and he'd not had enough muggle cash to stop for a refill. Now that he had made it that far, the Death Eaters at the safe house would have more than enough muggle funds to fill his Cooper's petrol tank (so long as they hadn't wasted it on take-away meals and muggle beer).

The thought of what he would find at the safe house on Pennywell Road was enough to raise his stress levels all on its own. The somewhat shabby row house was one of the four Death Eater hide-outs within the muggle world that was under his control and command. While Rookwood would have liked to think that this responsibility was a reflection of the Dark Lord's trust, he was smart enough to know that it had more to do with his automobile, and the fact that he understood the muggle world better than any other Death Eater.

Few knew his dirty little secret, and fewer still could reconcile that knowledge with his pure-blooded bigotry and disdain for the muggle world. As an Auror during the start of the First War, he had volunteered for “muggle training” at his Master's command, and quickly moved up the ranks within the Oblivator Squads responsible for mopping-up after Death Eater attacks. Rookwood's cunning and expertise when it came to sanitizing muggle incidents led to his recruitment by the Unspeakable Department. They had their own ideas on muggle training, and it involved throwing its recruits off the deep end and seeing if they could swim.

For the first six months as an Unspeakable he lived without using his wand. He held a job as a low-level bureaucrat within the muggle government, inhabited a muggle flat, and lived as muggles lived. It was horrible, but instructive, and good preparation for his Unspeakable Department assignment as an intelligence agent, responsible for following the actions of the muggle government and its military. He held this post through the end of the First War, and even managed to hold on to it when it became necessary to use the Imperius Curse defense to keep him from Azkaban Prison.

Rookwood's relative ease within the muggle world had proven itself vital to Voldemort in the days immediately after their defeat that previous month. It was his knowledge that kept the four muggle safe houses secret, and at least semi-inhabitable. This was no small feat, given that the thirty to forty Death Eaters that were hiding in these locations started with almost no clues on how muggle things worked. He had been forced to become an instructor of “Remedial Muggle Studies,” with practical lessons on everything from train schedules to the proper use of soap. Learn quick or starve was proper motivation for most, and three of the four safe houses were now able to operate mostly on their own. But then there was Bristol…the house where all of the stupid ones stayed.

It seemed like he was there every other day fixing one crisis or another. And still they hadn't learned. It was that very reason why he was driving there that day…while the other Death Eaters could be trusted to use muggle trains and buses to get to their assigned posts by nightfall, Rookwood would be ferrying this crew to their spots by himself, traveling three at a time in his Cooper.

The former Unspeakable got his hopes up as he drove past the safe house, for its exterior displayed no obvious signs of something being off. But then he turned into the alleyway behind the house, and came upon a wizard in Death Eater robes who was relieving himself against the back of the building.

He swore, quickly parked the car, and looked up and down the street to see if there was any immediate threats. Seeing none, he leapt out and began to berate He-who-Had-no-Brains.

“Oy, Carrow, what in Merlin's name are you doing?”

Amycus Carrow jerked his head in surprise, throwing his aim off enough to get his left shoe wet. “Sorry, guv'nor,” the Death Eater replied, “I'll be right there.”

“Put it away, you idiot, and get inside!”

“Right, guv'nor, almost done, guv'nor.”

Rookwood grabbed Amycus by the hood (at least the fool had left his mask inside), and pulled him up the back stairs as he tried to fasten his fly. A slight, but noticeable odor of excrement greeted him as he crossed the threshold into the house's kitchen. He slammed the younger Carrow down onto a kitchen chair and continued his dressing down.

“You sorry excuse for a wizard, what made you think it was okay to empty your bladder in a public alleyway?”

“I checked nobody was looking first,” Amycus explained.

“And the chance that somebody would come upon you with your wand out…somebody, like say, erm…me?”

“Didn't have a choice, guv'nor,” the Death Eater explained. “That muggle toilet isn't working.”

Rookwood rolled his eyes and let out a deep sigh. Two minutes and he already had a headache on his hands. Reflexively, he opened a kitchen cabinet door and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. It was his own special stash, protected by the “childproof” cap that worked just as well against wizards. After popping a couple of pills into his hand, he pulled the least-dirty glass off of the shelf and filled it with water. The hand-written signs that he had posted on the sink and basin stood as silent testament to his plight…one sign distinguished between hot and cold faucets, a second sign gave instructions on how to turn each faucet on and off, and a third stated “To get water that is neither hot nor cold, open both faucets at the same time.”

Rookwood swallowed the muggle medicine, turned back to Amycus Carrow, and asked, “So what is wrong with the toilet?”

“Dunno', guv'nor,” the Death Eater replied. “We push the handle, just like you showed us, but the water just overflows and the turds don't disappear.”

Augustus shook his head, and wondered whether there was time enough to hold a lesson on the proper use of a muggle plunger.

“And just what did you try and flush down the toilet, then?”

“Dunno, guv'nor,” Carrow replied. “Nobody will admit to having stuffed it up.”

“Of course not,” Rookwood replied. He wondered whether this was the sort of thing that would justify a Cruciatus had they not been so easily tracked.

“And wearing your robes, what's that about?”

“Erm…only thing I've got that has cleaning charms applied to `em. Me sis says me muggle clothes are a bit too ripe to be worn in public.”

“So you figured that you'd draw less attention to yourself by wearing your Death Eater robes?” Rookwood shouted. “Didn't I show you how to use the washing machine?”

“Erm, yeah, you did, gov'nor, but that stopped working a couple of days ago as well.”

The former Unspeakable rubbed his temples, trying to ease the throbbing pain within his head. He then said (almost too quiet for Carrow's liking, “Gather up the others, I've come to take you to your posts for tonight's attacks.”

Amycus nodded. “Erm, any chance you can look to the toilet, guv'nor?”

Rookwood shook his head. “We'll have to leave it. It'll take me all morning to make the rounds, and then I have my own places to be.”

“Right, guv'nor.”

“Oh, and Amycus,” the former Unspeakable said, “Slight change of plans. You and your dear sister will be with me tonight.”

“Why's that, guv'nor?” Carrow asked.

“Because,” Rookwood replied coldly, “we need to be making a social call in London.”

+++

A/N (postscript): Lady Starlight has already pointed out in a review of “Sweat of a Gladiator” that you bring your body with you when you jump into a canon pensieve. I much prefer my AU pensieve, and the idea that there's some type of mental projection involved in which a viewer leaves their unconscious body behind (easier to explain things like the ability to breathe while inside the memory).

-->

Muggle Summer

A/N: Sorry for the break. With summer over and my post-DH depression at least partially overcome, I am happy to announce that I'm writing again.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 50: The Basilisk Harvest

Saturday , July 7, 10:00am
Three Broomsticks, Hogsmeade

Ron's anchor point caught Harry and Hermione by surprise. Hermione badge-called Remus to inform him that they had arrived safely while Harry caught Ron's attention.

“Ron?”

“Yes Harry.”

“Any particular reason why you picked this spot for our jump?”

“Oh, well…it was empty, and I, erm… I wanted to prank Hermione for anchoring that jump into the women's lav at that muggle restaurant a few weeks back.”

“Erm…okay,” Harry replied tentatively.

“Ron?”

“Yes Hermione.”

“Wouldn't the prank have been more effective if this were the Wizard's lav, rather than the Witch's?”

“Well…sure,” Ron replied. “It's just that the men's loo was a little smelly, and so…”

“Ron?”

“Yes Harry.”

“When have you ever worried about smells in a loo?”

A toilet flushed before Ron could reply. A stall door opened and Luna walked out with a smile on her face.

“Good morning, Harry, Hermione,” she said brightly. She then leaned over and gave Ron a peck on the cheek as she made her way to the wash basin.

“Thanks for waiting, Ronnikins,” she chirped. “Anyone else need to go?”

“Erm, I'm good,” Harry said with a smirk and a sidelong glance towards Ron.

“Me too,” added Hermione, with a shake of her head.

“Right, then…we're off?” Ron asked, hoping to get out of this embarrassing situation as quickly as possible.

“Sure,” Harry said. “Oh…wait.” He reached into his knapsack and retrieved two packages. Handing one to both Ron and Luna he explained that they were the latest style of Clan Potter robes.

Luna smiled as she opened the package and held the dark maroon robe out in front of her. “They're lovely,” she said, as she unfastened her old robes and let them drop to the ground. This left Luna clad in nothing more than sandals and a pair of bright red knickers, emblazoned in front with a gold crown, below which in big gold letters and all-caps was “WEASLEY.”

“Bloody hell!” Ron exclaimed, as he stepped forward to cover his girlfriend in an embrace.

Harry dropped his eyes and began to inspect the lavatory floor. “Hey Ron, looks like you picked the right place to anchor our jump after all,” he snarked.

“Erm, Luna…you do know that you can apply cooling charms to your robes, right?” Hermione asked.

Luna shrugged her shoulders as she pushed Ron away and casually pulled the new robes over her head. “Of course,” she replied, as she ran her hands down the front of her new outfit. When her fingers got caught within a hidden seam Luna squealed in delight.

“You remembered!” she exclaimed. Luna ripped open the Velcro fastenings of a horizontal flap, exposing both her belly button and a fair bit of surrounding skin.

Harry looked up at the blonde-haired witch and smiled. “Well, we can't allow for any nargle nesting within Clan Potter, can we?”

Luna shook her head and turned to her boyfriend, who had just pulled his new robe over his muggle t-shirt and jeans.

“Oh, good, you did the same bit of tailoring for Ronald,” she observed. Luna then reached out and ripped open his robe's stomach flap. Without warning she pulled out her wand and exposed his belly with a bit of magical cropping.

“What'cha do that for, Luna?” Ron asked.

Luna paid no mind as she bent down and stuck her tongue into Ron's navel. She twirled it around for a few seconds (causing Ron to flinch and complain about being ticklish), then announced that she had completed her nargle inspection.

“Are we good to go, then?” Hermione asked.

Luna nodded. “Unless we have time for me to manually check for ants in Ronny's pants.”

“Erm, how about later, luv?” Ron asked meekly.

His girlfriend looked up at him and smiled. “Okay, but only if you promise to inspect me as well.”

Ron's face grew even redder as Harry declared, “To much information!” He then showed Ron and Luna how to activate the mild notice-me-not charms that had been applied to the new robes. This allowed Ron to exit the woman's lavatory without becoming any more embarrassed than he already was.

+++

Luna had expressed an interest in the basilisk harvest, so they had met at the Three Broomsticks so that she (and Ron) could use the floo connection. Harry and Hermione could have just jumped directly into Hogwarts using Remus as an anchor, but there was safety in numbers, and the fifteen minute walk gave the two couples time to catch up. Luna spent most of that time talking about her Ministry internship. Her reward for being Harry's friend (and Slug Club party date) had been a menial posting within the centralized mailroom.

For ten hours a day, five days a week, Luna's job was to date spell incoming mail and route it to the correct Ministry department. The only spell she was permitted to use was the flying memo incantation. Over the past few days, she had been successfully exploring just how much intent could influence this charm. As a result, rather than sending out simple airplanes, Luna was now creating flying origami swans, owls, and hippogriffs. Harry suggested that she turn the messages into paper thestrals, which would only be visible if the recipient had seen someone using common sense.

They found Horace Slughorn waiting for them at the gates of Hogwarts, intent on maximizing opportunities for fawning and face time with the Queen's Wizard and Potter Clan Chief. While Harry really wanted to turn the “notice-me-not” charm on high, he followed Hermione's lead and deactivated his robe warding. The Potions professor greeted everyone warmly, then proceeded to virtually ignore the others as he bent Harry's ear on the way to the second floor lavatory.

Remus was waiting for them with a small wooden cage in his hand and a large snake coiled at his feet.

“Good morning, Remus,” Harry said cheerfully as he shook the werewolf's hand. “How are you feeling?”

“A bit wolfish around the edges,” Remus admitted.

“I take it that the potion will be ready by tonight?” Harry asked, as he turned an eye towards Slughorn.

“Oh, of course, Clan Chief Potter,” the potions master replied quickly. “I've got the cauldron on its final simmer.”

“Good,” Harry replied. He then squatted down and hissed a Parseltongue greeting towards the snake.

While the two were conversing, Ron asked Hermione why there was a large snake in the lavatory.

“Harry got tired of jumping back and forth just to open the Chamber for them,” Hermione explained. “So he summoned the snake and struck a deal for its services.”

“What kind of services?”

Harry looked back over his shoulders towards Ron. “Horace and his buddy on the other side of the entrance can use snake speak to open and close the Chamber when I'm not here.”

“How does the snake know when to open the door?”

Remus held up the small cage, displaying a unusually large rat inside the bars.

“The toll is one rodent per entrance.”

Ron frowned. “Isn't that a bit too easy for just anyone who wants to go in?”

Harry chuckled. “It's only easy if the bad guys know Horace's unusual tastes.” He nodded towards the cage that Remus was holding and explained, “We imported prairie dogs from Latin America…turns out Horace and his mate have a thing for Mexican food.”

The snake bobbed its head up and down, flicked his forked tongue towards the cage and announced, “I'ssss likesss itsss sss-spicy.”

Harry laughed as he translated the snake's comments to the others. He then politely asked Horace to open the Chamber entrance. The snake complied, then coiled under one of the adjacent wash basins with his early lunch.

The goblins had modified the sloped pipe that connected the lavatory to the Chamber with an eye towards comfort. The pipe interior was charmed to glow luminescent green, and alcoves had been dug into either side of the pipehead. Small carpets were piled on one side of the pipe, facing an ersatz toll booth from which a now sleeping snake could be enticed to open the entrance from the inside.

Remus showed the others how to lie down on one of the carpets and gave them the code phrase to start the ride. He said that the carpets were linked somehow, so as to avoid head-on collisions. Hermione smiled, and commented just how much it resembled a muggle water park's tube slide. Remus then excused himself, citing the need to rest before nightfall.

The trip down the pipe was uneventful, save for Luna's impromptu decision to jump on top of her boyfriend and demonstrate that two could ride at the same time. The carpets took them well beyond the base of the pipe and ferried them laterally through the tunnels. They cruised past the cleared rock slide and stopped directly in front of the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. The head of the goblin engineering team was there waiting to give them a tour.

“Irongrip,” Harry said, as he reached for the goblin's hand. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us this morning.”

“No thanks are necessary, Clan Chief Potter,” the goblin replied, “as we have business to complete now that our exploration efforts are complete.”

Harry shook his head. “You know that I trust you to equitably divide the findings, Irongrip.”

The goblin smiled. “Yes, Clan Chief, yet we must still pay respect to certain protocols, true?”

Harry nodded. “If you say so.”

The goblin engineer smiled, and then led the small group into the Chamber proper. The cavernous area looked the same to Harry as it had during his first trip, save for a ladder propped up against the statue's opened mouth and the wire fencing that surrounded the basilisk carcass. Slughorn's eyes fell immediately upon the dead basilisk, while the others took just a few moments to admire the architecture.

“Blimey, Harry,” Ron exclaimed, as he walked up towards the fence. “This is what I missed tangling with Second Year?”

Harry snorted. “Doesn't look as big now that I've grown a bit myself.”

The others chided Harry for his modesty as they marveled at the size of the giant serpent. Hermione buried her face into Harry's chest, expressing words of wonder and regret that she hadn't been by his side during that fight. Harry reassured Hermione that he wouldn't have had any idea what he was up against had it not been for the parchment message in her petrified hand.

When Ron commented that the basilisk didn't smell, and was amazingly well-preserved given the amount of time since its death, Slughorn informed them that basilisk flesh was so poisonous that maggots and other microscopic carrion wouldn't go near it. Hermione then noted that the basilisk flesh should have dried out even if nothing chose to eat it. When Slughorn nodded in agreement, the goblin jumped in and told Hermione that they had found some magic that might explain the preservation. Hermione and Slughorn acknowledged Irongrip somewhat absently, their minds distracted by the potential price and horcrux-killing potency of fresh basilisk venom.

Harry suggested that they continue the tour and begin the harvest after lunch. The goblin engineer then led the group to one side of the statue, where a secret door had been discovered and unsealed. This doorway led into a small apartment that housed a small library filled with ancient works on Dark Magic. Hermione let out a predictable squee as she ran to the bookshelves and began reading the titles. When Harry warned her to be careful, Irongrip reassured them that each book had been checked for wards and curses. The only charm that they had found on the books was one that prevented them from being taken from the room. The goblin told Harry that there a chance that this charm could be removed, but at serious risk to destroying the books in the process. Hermione's head jerked back towards Harry when she heard this, and gave him a look that reinforced his opinion that the books could be left well enough alone until Hermione had taken a closer look.

Once the living area was fully explored the goblin took them up the ladder, through the statue's mouth, and into the basilisk's lair. The rough-hewn area was surprisingly clean and sparsely appointed. As the witches and wizards lit their wand tips they spied two large bowls…one filled with water, the other filled with bleached animal skeletons.

Hermione smiled. “I wondered how a sixty-foot basilisk could survive for a thousand years with only a few mice to eat.” Irongrip nodded, not surprised that the Clan Chief's Consort had identified the bowls' purposes.

“These bowls have strong ever-full charms applied to them so that Slytherin's pet would always have something to eat and drink.

Ron furrowed his eyebrows as he looked more closely at the skeletons. “What are those, dogs?”

“We believe that they are non-magical deer,” the goblin replied.

“So whenever the basilisk pulled some dinner out of this bowl another deer was magically summoned?”

“Correct, Clan Champion.”

“Would love to have a smaller one of these filled with mum's cooking,” he replied with awe.

Slughorn asked about the ever-full bowl of water, speculating that it could have provided enough water in the Chamber's air to keep the basilisk carcass fresh. The goblin agreed with that idea.

At that point Ron took another look around the lair and asked, “So if the basilisk ate deer for dinner, where are all of the table scraps?”

The goblin gestured towards a small pit in a corner of the room. “That hole in the floor has a banishing charm applied to its base.”

“Really?” Ron asked. “I suppose that the basilisk was potty-trained as well, and used that pit as a loo?”

The goblin showed his teeth in a broad smile when Hermione snarked, “Ronald, not all sentients are slobs.”

Taking a glance down at his watch, Harry politely asked Irongrip if this was the extent of the tour. The goblin nodded, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the two large gemstones that they had pried from the Chamber's door.

“The two bowls and these two stones are all of the treasure that we found, Clan Chief, unless you care to argue that the bowls are Slytherin relics.”

Harry snorted in response. “Unless they're autographed by the wizard himself, their yours for the taking, Irongrip, and I'm sorry that your efforts failed to yield more than this.”

It was the goblin's turn to snort. “Do not worry, Clan Chief…these bowls are rare, and more valuable than you might think.”

“What, somebody has another basilisk that they need to feed?” Ron asked.

The goblin shook his head. “No, but Gringott's does employ protective devices with rather large appetites.”

“The dragons down in the caverns,” Harry concluded.

Irongrip nodded. “Right now they dine from ever-full bowls of beef and mutton…they will be very happy to have an expanded menu.”

After agreeing to a fair-market value to the gemstones and bowls for the purposes of Harry's finder's fee, the goblin led them back down to the hidden quarters where they ate a picnic lunch prepared by the Palace. Irongrip then gathered the bowls and left for Gringott's while the others headed back towards the basilisk. After donning protective clothing from head to toe and getting a stern safety lecture from Slughorn, the five witches and wizards got on with the messy task at hand.

1:30pm, The Rookery, London

Augustus Rookwood turned onto Shaftesbury Avenue and smiled. He could finally give a different answer to the one of the two questions that had been asked a dozen different times from the back seat.

“Are we there, yet?”

The former Unspeakable sighed. “Yes, Amycus, we are here.”

“Can we eat, now?”

“No, business first,” the Death Eater said firmly.

“But there's a pub right over there…take but a minute to pop in for a pint and some pie…”

“He said shut it!” his sister screeched from the front passenger seat.

“Fine,” the younger Carrow sibling mumbled.

Rookwood slowed down just a bit as they passed the front entrance to The Rookery. There wasn't anyone in front of the building. The blare of a car horn from behind encouraged the Death Eater to move on. It then took him close to thirty minutes to find a parking space within a mile of their target.

Rookwood sported a near-continuous scowl as they made their way back towards The Rookery by foot. The younger Carrow's hunger complaints were building on what had already been a horrid day. It had taken all morning to shuttle the safe house's other occupants to their assigned starting points for the night's attack, followed by a long drive into London with the Carrows. The only stop they had made was at a discount clothing store to replace Amycus and Alecto's muggle clothing. Their mismatched outfits had reeked to the point of gagging (which was saying something given the noisome tortures that Rookwood had participated in over the years). Without sufficient time or funds to dress them properly, Rookwood had been forced to purchase brightly colored casual wear for the two. They were quite a contrast to Rookwood's smartly tailored three-piece suit, but at least they were clean and internally consistent.

The former Unspeakable finally gave in to his companion's badgering and found a place to eat lunch. He wasn't surprised when the Carrows confidently stepped up to the counter and rattled off their orders; given the amount of fast-food wrappings that had littered the Bristol safe house it was clearly one part of the muggle world that the two had embraced. The only hurdle to overcome was Amycus's outrage at finding the same toy in his Happy Meal that he'd collected the week before.

The restaurant was only a few minutes walk from the Rookery. As soon as they were within sight of the building, Rookwood pulled the other two to the side of the walkway, surreptitiously removed a rune stone from his pocket, and traced the runic character with his wand tip. He gripped the stone tightly and whispered an incantation. A sharp pain erupted inside Rookwood's head that spread out like twin daggers cutting out towards his eyes. He silently endured a few moments of excruciating torture before the pain subsided and he reopened his eyes.

The vision stone was one of the artifacts that Rookwood had managed to liberate from the Department of Mysteries before being outed as a Death Eater. It provided a limited form of mage sight that revealed and identified the more common types of protective wards. While Rookwood knew several diagnostic spells that could provide the same kind of information far less painfully, the stone's magic didn't trip the Ministry's magical sensors, and was therefore much more useful when one wanted to do a bit of quiet surveillance.

With this rune sight active the former Unspeakable paid close notice as they walked towards the Rookery. The anti-apparition charm was slightly off color, indicating that it was the variant that allowed certain people keyed into the ward to bypass it. There was a portkey suppression ward in place that appeared to be similarly modified, as well as standard muggle repelling charms. Within the repelling ward, though, was something that Rookwood had never seen before.

His curiosity piqued, he stopped a half-block short of the front entrance and ordered Amycus to walk inside. It took a bit of arm-twisting from his sister, but the Death Eater finally agreed and made his way up to the front steps of the building. With Rookwood's rune sight active he watched as a separate repelling ward that he had earlier missed enveloped Amycus, only to magically push him away from the entranceway. The Death Eater spun on his heals, and with a look of confusion on his face started to walk down the street away from the other two.

Rookwood swore quietly, then sent Carrow's sister off to retrieve him. He followed behind at a slower pace. As he passed by a building that was under reconstruction Rookwood stopped by a bin of construction debris and picked up a hand-sized fragment of brick. He held the stone close to his side, trying to draw as little attention as possible as he tossed it up the stairs and into Rookery's front entrance.

The wards didn't bother to spit the brick fragment back out.

With a nod of recognition and an idea formed in his head, the former Unspeakable continued his stroll down the street. While it wouldn't have taken much effort to catch the Carrows, Rookwood maintained his rather sedate pace. So long as he could keep the other two Death Eaters within his sight, he was going to enjoy this bit of idiot-free solitude.

+++

Harry Potter was busy magically scraping off bits of flesh from the underside of the basilisk hide when he felt his Art Club badge vibrate. Not wanting to say too much in front of Slughorn, he turned towards Hermione, who was elbow deep in basilisk gizzard, and gave her a questioning look with a finger pointed towards his chest. She shook her head, indicating that her badge hadn't been activated. Harry nodded, and announced that he needed to take a break. It took a good five minutes for his protective clothing to be scourgified and decontaminated to the point where he could strip down and gain access to his badge. Making his way to the hidden living area, Harry took note that it was Mrs. Granger calling him.

“Harry,” she said after their greetings, “we've got something you should take a look at down here at the Rookery.”

“Lucius decide to go on a walk-about?” Harry asked.

“No, we had somebody trying to make an unauthorized entrance into the building, and then a minute later somebody decided to throw a brick up the stairs as they walked by.”

“Really?” Harry asked. “Were they glamoured?”

“No, but the first bloke was wearing a cap low on his face, and the second one was sporting a rather nasty hairpiece.”

“So maybe muggle disguises…anything else you notice about them?”

“Just that a woman went chasing after the first guy once he left the front entrance, yelling out the name Amycus.”

Harry covered his badge so that his swearing wouldn't reach Mrs. Granger's ears. He then told Emily that he'd join her in a few minutes, and made his way back into the Chamber.

“Got some Queen's Wizardry to attend to, I'm afraid,” he announced. Ron and Hermione looked up with alarm. “Nothing immediate…just checking up on a few new visitors on Shaftesbury.”

“Sure you don't need our help?” Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head. “Not right now…how much longer before we're done here?”

Slughorn looked up from his work and said that it would only be a few more hours. Harry nodded, and asked Hermione to ring him up once they were finished. Giving wide berth to the basilisk body hot zone, Harry made his way out of the Chamber and badge-jumped to London.

3:30pm, Smithfield Market, Central London

Severus Snape stepped onto the curb with a thin wallet and thick scowl. Hiring the taxi had been an expensive but necessary luxury, given the lack of meeting place directions and his unfamiliarity with the area. His Death Eater comrades hadn't been any help, not that he was surprised…whether Light or Dark, wizards and witches had avoided this part of Central London for centuries. This was perhaps due to the fact that Smithfield had been, over the years, a favorite spot for muggles to burn witches, behead heretics, and boil counterfeiters in oil.

The Potions Master looked up and down the street for before walking into the “Stake and Ale,” a working-man's pub whose signage played up its name and the local history with an image of a pointy-hat witch within flames. The strong contrast between sunny street and darkened interior forced Snape to squint. As his eyes adjusted his nose took in strong scents of tobacco, beer, and raw meat, which he soon attributed to the burly patrons…meatpackers and butchers whose clothing still bore the stains and smells that came from working just down the street within the largest wholesale meat market in the world.

Snape scanned the room, then walked up to the bar in front of a portly, ham-fisted barmaid who was filling stout into a marginally clean glass.

“Right with you, love,” she said with a smile.

The barmaid dropped the full pint glass in front of a patron and deflected a ribald comment as she took a few coins from the pile in front of him. After ringing up the sale, she returned to the wizard and asked, “What can I get you, luv?”

Calling upon the self-restraint typically reserved for Dark Lords and First Years, Severus grimaced as he stated the pre-arranged recognition code.

“Do you serve warm milk?”

The request brought jeers from up and down the bar. The barmaid waited for the crowd to settle down before leaning over the bar towards Snape. Almost nose-to-nose with him she reached up and cupped her ample bosom with both hands.

“Aye, I do…will it be the left teat, or right?”

The approving roar of laughter from the other patrons drowned out Snape's response, so that only the barmaid heard his reply.

“Madame,” he drawled, “won't there be more of a selection tonight?”

The cheeky reply caught the barmaid by surprise. She couldn't help but laugh as she nodded towards a small table at the back of the pub, then told her co-worker that she was going on break for a bit. There being little concern for hired help drinking on the job, the woman brought two pints of ale with her as she walked out from behind the bar and took a seat across from the Potions Master.

“Sorry for the bit of fun…this one's on the house,” she said, placing the two glasses side-by-side in the center of the table. Snape looked at the glasses with suspicion, selected one, and placed his nose to the thin head.

“A bit cautious, eh wizard?” the woman asked, as she grabbed the other pint glass and brought it to her lips.

“Madame, it is the only way to live these days,” Snape replied, before taking a draw from his own glass.

“The name's Maggie,” the woman replied. “Though most around here call me Mother.”

“I see little need for informality,” the Potions Master stated. He looked back towards the bar and asked, “Are you certain this is a secure location?”

“Of course,” the barmaid replied. “You're likely the only wizard within a mile of this place, and a few of those blokes at the bar are my boys.”

Snape stared at the woman for a minute, before gazing back towards the bar. “Will they be in any condition to run with you tonight?”

Mother Maggie chuckled. “They'd need to be swimming in beer for them to notice once they transform. No worries, wizard…they'll follow the Pack's Alpha bitch.”

Severus frowned as he pulled a stoppered vial out from an inside coat pocket. “And with this wolfsbane, there'll be no reason for you not to follow our Lord's, lead, correct?”

The barmaid snorted as she pocketed the vial. “I'd follow my Pack-leader to my death, if he asked me. So long as Fenrir follows your wizard master, you can count on me.”

Snape sneered. “Were it my decision all of your Pack would be on wolfsbane and keeping their wits about them.”

“What makes you think they'd be so willing to kill were that the case?” Maggie asked. “Few within the Pack are as aggressive during the rest of the month.”

The Potions Master cast an appraising eye across the table. The woman before him struck him as closer in kind to Molly Weasley than Greyback. “I take it that you lack that…reticence?”

Maggie leered. “Wouldn't be Fenrir's Alpha if I didn't.”

“And just how was it that Greyback chose a muggle for his Alpha?”

The barmaid laughed. “Made the choice easy for him, wizard. I either killed or covered every other witch and bitch in the Pack.”

“Indeed?”

“Wasn't all that hard,” Maggie said sarcastically. “Their magic's no help when the moon is full…it's the muscle that carries over into the night, and the lot of `em are weak-kneed daisies when their wolf isn't with `em.”

Snape paused, then retorted, “Yes, well…just remember that others and I will be in the Alley as well...we won't hesitate to cut you down if you or yours stray from your assigned tasks.”

The woman gave a Snape-worthy scowl as she rose from the table. “Don't tempt me, wizard.”

Snape snarled. “You are certain of your target, then?”

Maggie snorted. “Yes, yes…look for the Diagon Alley shop with three big W's over the entrance...”

“…and focus on anyone with red hair,” Snape added. “You have a secure entry point, I assume?”

Fenrir's Alpha nodded. “We'll be there,” she replied. “Did you drop enough breadcrumbs to ensure you'll find the way back yourself, wizard?”

Snape nodded. Considering his mission accomplished, and the need to continue the banter diminished, he took a long sip from his glass. “The potion must be consumed no more than thirty minutes before tonight's sunset.” He left before allowing the werewolf to reply.

It took a minute for his eyes to readjust to the daylight, and for him to get his bearings. Not that he really needed to…he'd be apparting into Diagon Alley that night. And if the werewolves did their jobs right, the Ministry would be too busy to care.

-->

Muggle Summer

A/N: A gentle reminder that this story takes place in the year 2006. Thanks to chemprof for his professional opinions on silver chemistry.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 51: Bad Moon Rising

Saturday , July 7, 4:00pm
Thames House, Millbank, London

Harry Potter badge-jumped from a hastily arranged meeting at Gringott’s to a hastily arranged meeting at MI-5 headquarters. Having arrived in an otherwise empty conference room, he pulled his anchor point into an embrace.

“Time and place, Mr. Potter,” Hermione chided, as she grabbed the front of his Clan Potter robe. “We need to get you changed and through the checkpoint.”

“What, this isn’t where we’re meeting?”

Hermione shook her head. “No, we’re just outside the first security point.”

Harry muttered to himself as shed his wizard attire and rummaged through his rucksack for his suit jacket.

“And don’t forget your muggle holster,” said Hermione. “We’ll have to show them our handguns.”

Harry nodded. “So why couldn’t I just jump into the meeting room?”

“The Home Secretary claimed it might mess with the electronics.”

Harry sighed as he looped his arms through his leather shoulder harness and switched his pistol from its magical holster to its muggle counterpart. “More like the time-wasting idiot doesn’t like the idea of us popping past all of his security layers.”

“Harry, you can’t call the Home Secretary an idiot.”

“How about ‘Right Honorable Idiot,’ then?”

“Stop it,” Hermione chided. She then noticed Harry’s rucksack and said, “Merlin, your bag is going to raise havoc with the x-ray machine.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Well, we can’t have that….Dobby?”

The house elf appeared near-instantly. “Yes, Harry Potter, sir?”

“Will you hold my rucksack for a few minutes?”

Dobby nodded vigorously. “Of course Dobby can do that for the great Harry Potter, sir.”

Harry and Hermione emptied their pockets of magical metallic objects and placed them into Harry’s sack, along with his sword and their wands (just to be safe). Dobby popped away as Harry buttoned his coat.

“I hate these muggle holsters,” Harry commented, as he fiddled with the straps. “They break the line of this jacket something terrible.”

Hermione chuckled and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go, Agent Clotheshound.”

One of the Home Secretary’s aides was waiting for them on the other side of the security barrier, which kept Harry from immediately retrieving his rucksack.

Hermione whispered as they walked down the hall behind the aide, “Don't you need to use the Men’s before we get there?”

Harry shook his head.

“Are you sure?” Hermione asked, as she mimed some wand movement.

Harry’s eyes lit up, then narrowed as a devious-looking expression came over his face.

“We don’t want to keep the Home Secretary waiting, do we?”

His girlfriend’s eyes grew wide as she quietly said, “But I really think….”

The off-key tune that Harry began to softly whistle made it clear that Harry had other thoughts in mind.

Harry and Hermione were shown into a conference room with floor-to-ceiling windows on one wall, a bank of video displays on the other, and laptops stationed in front of each conference room chair. The MI-5 chief and Home Secretary were there, while the Prime Minister and MI-6 chief were patched in from remote locations.

Hermione gave Harry a quick primer as he took a seat. “There’s cameras built into the top of each computer screen,” she said quietly. “Just talk to the laptop as if you were talking to the P.M. and MI-6 chief.”

Harry nodded, then stood back up. “Excuse me, gentlemen.”

“What is it?” the irritated Home Secretary asked.

“Just need to retrieve our…..”

“Harry, no!” Hermione exclaimed, but not before he had called for his favorite House-Elf.

Dobby popped onto the conference room table directly in front of Harry. The Home Secretary cried out in shock at his first sight of a non-human sentient.

“Yes, Harry Potter, sir?” the House-Elf asked timidly, as he looked around the room.

“Don’t worry, Dobby, they all know about magic,” Harry said with reassurance.

“Oh, Dobby knows all about that, Harry Potter, sir,” the House-Elf replied. “They wouldn’t be able to see me if they didn’t….I have your bag right here, Harry Potter, sir.”

“Thanks, Dobby, you’re the best,” Harry replied with a smile.

“Agent Potter, exactly what is going on?” the Home Secretary demanded.

Harry gave Hermione a wink as he looked up and smiled. “Oh, I’m sorry, where are my manners?” He reached out and said, “Here, Dobby, have a seat.”

Harry lifted the House-Elf off the table and set him down onto a chair. With Harry’s encouragement, Dobby sat up on his knees so that he could peer over the table’s edge and into the laptop’s camera. Harry grinned as the image of his wide-eyed, pointy-eared devotee joined the Prime Minister’s on the video display. Dobby ducked down at the sight of his own face.

“Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to my good friend Dobby,” Harry announced, as he pulled the House-Elf back up. “Dobby, this is the muggle Prime Minister, Home Secretary Chisholm, and Director Generals Hibbing and Eveleth.”

“Harry,” Hermione said, with a bit of admonishment in her voice. She grabbed the House-Elf’s arm in reassurance. “Don’t worry, Dobby,” she said, “you’re safe here.”

“Oh, I’m always safe next to the great wizard Harry Potter, Miss ‘Mione,” Dobby replied. Having noticed that his chair moved when he shifted his weight, he spun his char around in a circle and cried out in delight.

“Harry Potter, sir, the moving portraits, and this chair… I can’t see the magic within it?”

Harry laughed at the comparison between portraits and video displays and leaned down to whisper into Dobby’s ear. “It’s hard for me to see muggle magic too.”

Hermione gave an impromptu primer on House-Elves and their role within wizarding society whilst Harry retrieved their wands and other objects from his rucksack. The Home Secretary and MI-5 chief found it difficult to divide their attention between Dobby and the seemingly bottomless pack, particularly when Harry withdrew his sword.

The Q&A on House-Elf slavery was interrupted when Hermione caught Harry pulling a candy out of his bag.

“Fancy a toffee, Mr. Home Secretary?”

“Harry…behave.”

“Yes, dear, erm…I mean…yes, Agent Granger,” Harry replied. Taking this cue, Harry thanked Dobby for his help and the House-Elf popped away.

Hermione had already briefed the Prime Minister on the Death Eater sighting in front of the Rookery, as well as Lucius Malfoy and the nature of The Rookery itself. Harry’s job, then, was to report on his just completed meeting with Ragnok. The goblin told Harry that the Grand Council had told Voldemort where Malfoy was hiding. This had come as a surprise to Harry, although it explained why Rookwood and the Carrows had been seen scouting out the site.

“Sending messages to the enemy,” the Home Secretary muttered. “Making unilateral decisions without bothering to consult…are you sure that these goblins are your allies Potter?”

Harry tried to hide his contempt as Hermione diplomatically asked, “Mr. Home Secretary, is Her Majesty’s government unfamiliar with close allies that act unilaterally, or are less than forthright on certain matters that affect key bilateral relationships?”

The Prime Minister chuckled. “She’s got you there, Chisholm…Agent Potter, if you would continue?”

Harry nodded, then noted that Ragnok was convinced that no harm could come to muggles, as the building was warded against magical attack or entry, and had fire suppression charms applied to the exterior. When he mentioned that Rookwood had thrown a rock through the front entrance, Ragnok had replied that the wards protected any magically-aided physical attacks.

Harry spent fifteen minutes answering questions following his report. They were split between clarifications and confrontations; most of the rancor would have gone away had the Home Secretary bothered to read the reports provided to him.

With the Prime Minister insisting that proactive actions were more important than after action assessments, they moved on to their options.

“Just because we spied three of these wizard terrorists walking down the street…where’s the need to do anything, particularly if they’re hell-bent on killing one of their own?” asked the Home Secretary.

“With due respect, Home Secretary,” answered the MI-5 Chief, “they may have been a scouting party for a much larger force, and there’s more than a half-dozen theatres on Shaftesbury alone. With Piccadilly just down the road, and it being a Saturday night…”

“Exactly my point,” argued the Home Secretary. “They’ll have to cancel performances if we clear out the area. Think of the revenue they’ll lose.”

“They’d lose far more if Sir Harry is right and there’s an attack that kills off a few dozen tourists,” argued the MI-6 Chief.

“And what if he’s wrong?”

The Prime Minister stated, “Chisholm, after Ascot the Queen’s Wizard could issue a dozen false alarms and still be on the positive side of the ledger.”

“So you say.”

“Exactly,” the Prime Minister replied. “And as I’m the one spending my weekend at Chequers and not you, I dare say that’s good enough.”

With that decision quite emphatically made, a plausible mechanism was quickly developed to evacuate the area surrounding the Rookery, both to limit injuries and minimize the need for obliviator squads. They then argued over cooperating with the Auror Department. The initial position was for no Ministry of Magic involvement, before Harry and Hermione convinced the others that going it alone would likely reveal the extent of MI-5 ¾’s knowledge and operations both to the Death Eaters and the Ministry of Magic.

“You trust the Head Auror, don’t you Harry?” the Prime Minister asked. “Why don’t you arrange for a meeting, and set something up with him?”

“Yes sir,” Harry replied. He scribbled out a quick message, then turned to the tinted exterior windows and scowled.

“Don’t suppose you can open these?” he asked.

When the MI-5 chief shook his head, Harry sighed and rummaged through his rucksack. Finding his portable hole, he tossed it up against the floor-to-ceiling windows. A rush of air came through the opening, upsetting the piles of paper stacked on the table.

“Now see here, Agent Potter!” the Home Secretary yelled.

Harry ignored him as he called out for his familiar. A few seconds later Hedwig glided gracefully through the hole and took a perch on top of Harry’s laptop display.

“What in blazes?” the Home Secretary demanded.

No mind was paid to this ranting as Harry ran his fingers through Hedwig’s feathers, then carefully tied his message to her leg.

“Another good friend of yours?” the MI-5 chief asked.

Harry nodded. “Hedwig was my first real friend, weren’t you girl?”

His familiar bobbed her head up and down.

“Take this to Head Auror Robards straight away,” he instructed. “You know the safe place, right?”

Hedwig bobbed her head again, then turned and launched herself back through the window hole. As Harry walked over to retrieve his portable hole with a touch of his wand, the Home Secretary snarked, “So do you have any other creatures at your beck and call, Potter?”

Harry fumed, wanting desperately to hex the nitwit politician, but managed to hold his tongue with the support of Hermione’s comforting grasp of his arm. Unfortunately, he didn’t think to return the favor.

“Dobby is a sentient magical being, and no more of a creature than you are…sir,” Hermione scolded.

“Agent Granger, I’ll have you mind your impertinence!” he yelled.

“And I’ll have you mind your boorish bigotry, Chisholm,” the Prime Minister demanded. He then calmly added, “Agent Potter, once this immediate crisis is past I think we would all enjoy an opportunity to spend some more time with your magical friends…wouldn’t we Chisholm?”

The Home Secretary managed a curt nod in reply.

Harry smiled. “Dobby will be thrilled, though we’ll be hard pressed not to have him cook for the occasion.”

“Wonderful,” the Prime Minister replied. “I’ll be returning presently to 10 Downing Street. Agent Potter, would it be possible to secure the services of one of your Order of Arthur members this evening? I dare say that we would benefit from Dame Hermione’s input as a member of my crisis committee.”

Harry smiled as Hermione let out a surprised “Eeep!”

“Hermione need not gain my permission, sir,” Harry replied. “And as our employer and Prime Minister, we are all at your command.”

“Brilliant,” the Prime Minister replied.

“But Harry…who will be watching your back?” Hermione whispered.

“No worries, Hermione, you and all the others are just a badge-jump away.”

“Are you sure?”

Harry forgot where he was and kissed Hermione’s forehead.

“Absolutely.”

+++

5:30pm, Soho, London

Rookwood had run out of ways to unobtrusively kill time before the attack. It had to be fate’s payback for not doing his pure-blooded duty to procreate.

Riding up the escalators at Marks and Spencers had held the siblings’ interest before Amycus got caught trying to peek up of the skirt of a woman riding down. Lasted almost an hour at Trafalgar Square feeding pigeons, before Alecto caused a stir arguing with a birdseed-selling hag. And then there was the cinema, where he had failed miserably in his attempts to keep the Carrows from yelling at the screen as if the characters could hear them. Running out of options and money, the senior Death Eater had resorted to driving around London; while it didn’t make his colleagues any less annoying, it minimized the amount of attention that they drew to themselves.

Traffic was rather heavy as the former Unspeakable made his way back towards the Rookery, and came to a complete stop about a quarter-mile away from the spot he’d selected as a staging ground for their assault. Rookwood began to worry when he heard sirens up ahead, and reached over to change the radio station for the news.

“Oy, I was listening to that show,” Alecto complained.

“Like you plan on gardening any time soon,” her brother snapped.

Just then Rookwood dialed into an ongoing radio newscast.

“…details provided as soon as practical. To repeat the hour’s top story, Metropolitan Police have evacuated a portion of London’s West End after an unattended motorcar was discovered loaded with cans of petrol. The shut down of Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus to Charing Cross Road has led to the cancellation of the night’s theatrical performances at venues within the affected area...”

The former Unspeakable swore loudly.

“What’s the matter, Rookwood?” Amycus asked from the back seat. “You were planning on taking us to a show as well?”

“No, fool,” Rookwood snarled. “The muggles have blocked off the streets around Malfoy’s building… somebody might have tipped off the Aurors.” He didn’t vocalize his opinion that the goblins were no doubt playing both sides.

“So what do we do now?” Alecto demanded.

Augustus let out a deep sigh as he pulled his small vehicle in a tight U-turn. Pulling away from the stalled traffic, he replied, “We move on to Plan B.”

“What’s Plan B?”

“The other plan, of course.”

“Oh. So what does ‘B’ stand for?”

Rookwood sighed. He was tempted to say “Im-B-cile”, but doubted that the idiots would get the joke. And so he went with a coincidental truth.

“B stands for broomsticks.”

+++

While Augustus Rookwood searched for a parking garage, Harry and Wally walked into the muggle street entrance of the Leaky Cauldron with a wheeled trunk in tow. An Auror was stationed just inside the door next to a sign announcing that the street entrance was closed until further notice. The Queen’s Wizard gave the Auror the proper password, then walked up to the bar.

“Afternoon, Tom, I’d like to introduce you to Wally. He’s a friend of mine.”

“Nice to meet you, Tom.”

“Nice to meet you Wally,” the bartender replied. “You two share muggle tailors or something?”

Harry snorted as he looked down at his bright yellow jacket, bullet-proof vest (the AK-resistant variety was still in its production stage), and dark combat fatigues.

“It’s all part of the problems that the Muggles are having down the street…sorry that we had to shut down that entrance.”

“No matter, Harry… hardly anyone’s come through that side all summer.”

Harry nodded as he placed a small bag of galleons onto the bar. “Well, here’s enough to cover any business that you might be losing.” When Tom raised an eyebrow and tried to push the pile back he added, “Consider it an advance on food and drink for the Aurors who might pass by here tonight.”

“Might not be enough, then, if you want to give Mad-Eye an open tab,” the toothless bartender replied. “Speakin’ of which…he’s waiting for you in the back room.”

“Thanks Tom,” Harry replied. He shook the bartender’s hand and wheeled his trunk to one of the Leaky Cauldron’s private rooms. The door opened just as Harry tried to knock, and a wand tip was jammed up close to his face.

“Where were you when I was stuffed inside a box?”

“Which time?” Harry asked with smirk. “My fourth year, when Barty Crouch Jr. passed as your double, or last month, when we fought Dementors on the infield of Ascot?”

Mad-Eye squinted at Harry with his one good eye, then turned his attention to Wally.

“You!” he exclaimed. “What in Merlin’s name can I ask you?”

Wally looked at the reinstated Auror and winked. "Well, you could ask me out for a drink…The Stag’s got two-for-one appetizers after nine tonight.”

Mad-Eye sputtered and took a couple of steps back, allowing Harry and Wally to enter the room.

“Don’t think you need to challenge me, Potter?” Moody asked.

Harry shook his head and quipped, “Only the real Mad-Eye Moody would get all flustered at the thought of drinks with Wally at The Stag.”

The reinstated Auror accepted Harry’s logic with a scowl, then introduced his four-person Auror team, who were sitting around a table dressed in battle robes.

“Potter?” one asked incredulously. “And a muggle? What are they doing here?”

“Pipe down,” Mad-Eye barked, as he added a couple more layers of sound-proof spell work to the door and walls. “He’s here because the Head Auror asked him. The muggles have spotted some Death Eaters, and Wally, here…for better or worse…is their go-between with the Auror Department.”

“Erm…thanks for that kind introduction,” said Wally. He opened the trunk and helped Harry pass out briefing documents and maps.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” Wally said, as he fished a card from his wallet. “My name is Agent Wall, and I am a card-carrying muggle employed by Her Majesty’s Government. At approximately 1:45pm this afternoon, muggle police officers used these pictures to identify Augustus Rookwood, Alecto Carrow and her brother Amycus on a street located a few blocks away from here.”

“Really?” someone asked. “And how would muggles know what they looked like?”

Harry replied, “One of things I’ve done as Queen’s Wizard is make sure that the muggle police have photographs of all wanted Death Eaters.” He then added, “It’s not the first time that the muggles have been asked to help the Auror Department.”

“Sure it’s them, then?”

Harry nodded. “You can see in the muggle photographs that they tried to disguise themselves a bit, but the witch called out to her brother, and Amycus is a pretty rare given name in the muggle world.”

“So they were spotted walking down the street,” said another Auror. “Are they still there?”

Harry shook his head. “They seemed to be paying attention to one of the addresses on this street. It’s a wizard building with active wards, so the muggles don’t know anything about what’s inside.”

Mad-Eye jumped in. “Those three will be back sometime, and they’ve spooked the muggles enough for them to create a fake emergency and clear out all of the muggle neighbors.”

Wally nodded, and pointed out the established perimeter on the map. He told the group that the only people that should be within the zone were muggle security forces. He then passed out some garishly-colored clothing that would paradoxically allow the wizards to blend in.

“Might as well paint a target on your back,” Mad-Eye muttered, as he held a neon-yellow sleeveless jacket up for closer inspection.

“These tabards will identify you as authorized private security personnel,” Wally explained. “Your presence within the secured zone won’t be questioned with these on.”

“What do you mean private security forces?” an Auror asked.

“Certain shops and buildings have their own security forces independent of the government,” Wally explained.

“Like the trolls inside Gringott’s?”

Mad-Eye said, “That’s right, you lot are trolls tonight…explains why I picked you ugly bastards.”

Harry thought the laughter that followed this slur was a good sign that these Aurors had worked together before, and trusted Moody to lead them.

“What’s with the heraldry?” another Auror asked, as he inspected the Queen’s arms emblazoned on one breast and a red griffon on the other.

Wally pointed to the griffin on one of the vests and replied, “The muggle governmental program that has private security forces supporting the Yard during terrorist events is called Project Griffin.”

“Muggles know about griffin, then?”

Harry shook his head. “Just as imaginary story tale creatures. As for the other side, well that’s where each of private businesses puts their logo.”

“And since nobody knows any better, you gentlemen will be inserted within the evacuated area as security guards for the target building, saying that it belongs to the muggle Queen.”

One of the Aurors nodded, then asked, “Rules of engagement?”

“Kill’em before they kill you,” Moody replied simply.

Wally added, “We’ll do our best to keep the area free of muggle spectators. The streets are barricaded, and we’ve even built three-story tall screens to keep the gawkers from getting an eyeful. That said, the less fireworks you cause, and the less you wave your wands about, the easier it will be for us to preserve the wizarding world’s secrets.”

“Speaking of which,” Harry said, “I understand that there might be other card-carrying muggles working in the area, so I don’t want anyone to be obliviated without first asking for identification and clearing it with Mad-Eye or me, understood?”

There were head nods all around. Harry inspected the jackets and Wally offered fashion tips as the Aurors transfigured their robes. The combined group then left the pub to scout out observation posts with views of the Rookery. They didn’t notice (or at least didn’t make mention of) the Armored Personnel Vehicle that pulled up behind them as they turned onto Shaftesbury Avenue, or the MI-5 ¾ agents that piled out to establish an armed guard post directly across from the entrance to the wizarding world.

+++

10:00pm
Broadstreet Pedestrian Mall
Reading, Berkshire

Marcus Flint let out a little cheer when he heard Big Ben chime the hour on the radio station. That he heard the bells rather than a BBC report that the clock had been damaged meant that the attack was still on. It also meant that he could take the annoyingly uncomfortable ear buds out and ditch the muggle electronic device.

Flint pulled out his wand and with little concern for witnesses yelled “Imperio!” The curse hit an attractive muggle woman in the back, and she fell completely under his control. At Marcus’s suggestion, she pulled her wallet out her purse and handed it over with a smile, a grope, and an open-mouthed kiss.

Cursing the fact that he didn’t have time to offer her more “suggestions,” the Death Eater direct-sight apparated down the street to an outdoor restaurant. His “Accio billfolds” and “Accio wallets” spells were powerful enough to rip through the trouser pockets and handbags of the bistro’s dinner patrons; a quickly conjured shield kept Marcus from being pelted by the leather goods. He gathered the wallets and billfolds into an empty rucksack, then fired a Reducto at an enraged diner. Flint apparated away before the dead man’s body hit the ground.

The Death Eater reappeared two blocks further down the street, where moviegoers were exiting a cinema and flooding into the sidewalk. He cast repeated clothes banishing and knee-reversal hexes at them, thinking it quite funny when the same muggle was afflicted by both spells. Wishing to leave the scene with a bang, Incendio spells were sent towards two different parked cars, setting them aflame.

Two and one-half minutes after hurling his first spell, the Death Eater left the chaos he had created and disapparated to a preplanned rally point.

+++

News of the attacks in Reading and several other cities reached Harry and Mad-Eye at the same time (by mobile phone and Patronus respectively).

“We’ve been called back to base,” Mad-Eye told Harry, as they conferred within their observation post. “Expect we’ll be chasing down Death Eaters and their damage all night.”

Harry nodded. “You realize that it could just be a diversion.”

The reinstated Auror replied, “Aye, but I also realize that you’ve got armed muggles watching us watch that building…expect you can handle yourselves if Rookwood does show?”

Harry nodded, thinking about where the other Art Club members were and whether they could be called on in a pitch.

“Take care, then, Mad-Eye, and…”

“Constant Vigilance!” they shouted at each other, before Moody disappeared.

Harry called for his MI-5 ¾ colleagues to return to the forward locations that they’d vacated in advance of the Aurors. He then badge-called Hermione, who was with the Prime Minister, and asked her to mobilize the Clan Air Force. Checking in with the other Art Clubbers, he worried about Hermione’s mum and dad, who were guarding the Leaky Cauldron exit. He then looked towards the Rookery, and the setting sun behind it. All too soon he’d need to break out his night vision goggles, and worry about those creatures that roamed only at night.

+++

Men and women entered the small blind alleyway within Knockturn Alley in ones and twos, all linked by fate and choice to the Pack, and to the Alpha bitch that emerged from a hidden passageway to the muggle world.

Maggie smiled as she surveyed the small crowd. The wolf within each person was strong enough to acknowledge her dominance, and their eyes were all cast downward. The Alpha took particular joy at the sight of the former Alpha, whose neck still bore the scratch marks from her previous efforts to regain dominance.

Maggie lifted the witch’s chin with her hand and said, “Hello there, luv, fancy another go?”

The Beta shook her head.

“Sure, then?” Maggie asked. “You see, it’s just that we’ve a busy night…no time for me to cover you.” A nasty idea came into Molly’s head, and she added, “Unless we do it now?”

The Alpha suddenly twisted the Beta’s head around and violently threw her down onto all fours. Molly then jumped down onto the witch’s back and ground her skirt-covered hips into the witch’s backside. The others joined her in a bit of raucus laughter, but Molly didn’t belabor the point. After only a few seconds she stood and pulled the other woman back up to her feet.

“Tonight,” Molly announced, “we run in two packs. Our Alpha is in Devonshire with the others. You will be following my lead. As you can see from our starting point, we have a rather target-rich environment.”

Maggie waited for a few laughs and comments to pass before continuing. “Our Alpha and I have wolfsbane in our blood, so that our Pack can run where the Dark Lord wishes us to roam. Don’t even think of straying from my tail, or I’ll hamstring you myself. Any questions?”

When nobody replied, Maggie nodded and began to unbutton her blouse. “Right then, time for ‘Kibbles ‘n Bits’.”

The others followed her lead and stripped off their clothing, showing little concern for modesty. The clothes, wands, and other possessions were stuffed into satchels and quietly gathered by a few unafflicted friends and spouses…a Pack auxiliary, of sorts, that would watch over these personal effects and redistribute them in the morning.

The sight of a dozen naked men and women casually chatting and comparing scars and body art was unnerving to the witches and wizards that passed by the darkened side-alley. Smart enough to put two and two together, they quickly spread the word and cleared off the streets. While a few trusted the security of spell-reinforced doorways, the vast majority of Knockturn Alley’s residents decided that there were better places to be that night, and utilized the floo network for an uncoordinated mass exodus. In doing so, they unwittingly aided the coordinated efforts of dozens of Death Eater sympathizers, who began flooing en masse from one location to another just as the sun set.

+++

Rookwood welcomed nightfall on the top level of a South Bank car park. The former Unspeakable grinned as he drew his wand and casually cast a stinging hex towards Amycus Carrow.

“Bloody Hell!” the Death Eater cried. “What was that for?”

“Been wanting to do that all day,” Rookwood said with a smile. “Now draw your wands and get to work.”

They used shrinking and featherlight charms to convert their Mini and three other parked cars into pocket-sized miniatures. Each grabbed a miniature car (with Rookwood also grabbing the Cooper) and disapparated.

The three Death Eaters reappeared in Diagon Alley, just outside of Quality Quidditch Supplies. The scene was chaotic…people were running about, stray spells were flying, and the air was thick with smoke. Looking down the street, Rookwood could just barely make out the Apothecary and Potions Supply where Snape’s team of Death Eaters were busy looting and terrorizing. They walked inside the shop, where a team of Death Eaters was busy bundling brooms while the shop owner was held at wand point.

The former Unspeakable was forced to duck as a green-colored spell shot towards him. “Hold your fire, you muggle-loving fools!” he cried out.

“Rookwood?” the crew chief asked.

“Of course I’m Rookwood.”

“Sorry,” the Death Eater said. “I didn’t recognize you without your mask on.”

Augustus began wondering whether it was his lot in life to babysit all of the stupid Dark Wizards as he approached the crew chief.

“Report!”

“Mission going according to plan,” the Death Eater said. “Except that the owner here won’t deactivate the anti-theft wards on his brooms.”

Rookwood rolled his eyes. “And so, what’s the Death Eater standard operating procedure for this situation?”

“Erm…”

“Merlin, are you a Dark wizard or not?” Rookwood walked up to the shop owner, pointed his wand and said Imperio!

“Oh, right, forgot we could do that now.”

Rookwood didn’t have time to snark back at the idiot. He commanded the shop owner to remove the anti-theft charms on three of his fastest brooms while he gave further instructions to his colleagues.

“You’ve got your portkey maker working?”

The crew chief nodded and pointed towards a corner of the store where a single wizard was busy creating portkeys to various destinations from a stack of quidditch gloves.

“Don’t bother bringing the shop owner along if you need to leave before he’s finished,” Augustus said. “We can’t have him casting his spells once we’ve arrived at the safe houses.”

The crew chief nodded. “Where are you off to then?”

Rookwood lost his patience and cast a Crucio on the crew chief. He only held it for a few seconds before encouraging the Death Eater to remember his place and worry about his own mission. He then took the three brooms and looked for his colleagues.

“Amycus, what in Merlin’s name are you doing?”

“Always wanted some of these,” the Death Eater replied sheepishly, a box of snitches in his hand.

“Leave the bloody things, take these brooms, grab your useless sister, and follow my lead…we’ve got to move on.”

The younger Carrow reluctantly dropped the box, picked up the brooms and threw one towards his sister. The three then flew out of the front entrance and up into the night.

+++

Fred and George were watching the Death Eater attacks from the rooftop of their shop when their Art Club badges lit up.

“Emergency Alert,” Wally cried out. “Visual contact with werewolves running in Diagon Alley, heading towards the Twin’s Shop…Fred, George, do you copy?”

The Twins froze, and briefly traded looks of panic before their training kicked in. Fred ran towards the stairs while George leaned out over the roof and replied, “Copy that Wally, we’ve got ten or twelve heading up the street.”

“What’s your status?” Wally asked.

“I’m on the rooftop. George just ran downstairs to set out our welcome mat. Katie and Alicia have been trying to get mobilize with the CAF, but someone’s cast an anti-app ward and the floo network is down.”

“Understood,” said Harry. “Fred, get everybody up on the roof, and don’t be afraid to call for help.”

George cut in. “Roger that, Clan Chief, we’re…”

The rest of her response was lost as the building shook with a loud “BANG!”

“Upstairs, now!” George cried out to the girls, as he barreled up the stairs and into the first floor apartment.

Fred called down from the roof hatch, “Oi…grab the brooms on the way up.”

George yelled back his acknowledgement as he pointed his wand towards the apartment door. With the sound of howls and crashes traveling up the stairwell, he quickly threw up a few sealing wards, then ran down the hallway and into the apartment’s two bedrooms.

“So, brother, where’s your broomstick?” George yelled.

“Check under my bed,” Fred yelled back.

“Found it,” George replied, as he stepped back into the hallway. He ran towards the base of the stairs, then noticed that it had gone quiet below him.

“Reckon our traps got them all?” he asked, as he walked up the stairs.

“Would be nice to think so,” Fred replied. They then heard a series of loud howls.

“Then again….” George yelled, as he rushed up towards his twin and helped him secure the roof hatch.

“I guess it’s too much to hope that they stay down there and finish off our dinner?” Fred asked.

George nodded. “Don’t think we cooked the steaks rare enough.”

+++

The Beta had hung well back within the pack as the Alpha led them down the Alley and into Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. She had watched with reluctant admiration as the Alpha broke down the doorway, only to turn on a sickle and gloat when some sort of trap was sprung and the floors transformed into alligator-infested swamps. She and three others stopped short of the entrance and watched as their brothers and sisters battled the muddy reptiles, and was beginning to think about jumping into the fray for her share when a silvery mist appeared within the shop that caused her to cough violently and back away from the door.

The werewolf’s nostrils burned from inhaling the colloidal silver solution that had been sprayed from ceiling-mounted sprinkler heads as a light mist... to the point where she could no longer pick up the Alpha’s scent. Sensing her chance, she turned to the other three pack-members and quickly asserted her dominance (as they too had experienced an impaired sense of smell). Deciding that there were better places to hunt, the Beta led the other three werewolves on a dead run down Diagon Alley.

The Auror that had been guarding the muggle entrance to the Leaky Cauldron chose a particularly bad time to poke his head into the Alley. The Beta werewolf smelled him through the thick clouds of smoke and struck with a leap of more than twenty feet. She viciously ripped out the Auror’s throat, then scampered inside the abandoned pub.

The Beta ferreted out the muggle exit by the faint smell of prey and she crashed the door with her Pack mates close behind. Her momentum carried the werewolf not just through the door, but across the sidewalk and into the street, where she slid into the side of a vehicle. Almost instantly the werewolf felt the sting of a bullet as it struck her thigh. With a snarl and surge of energy she bolted down the street, somehow managing to avoid a hail of bullets.

Her Pack-mates weren’t as lucky. Roger and Emma Granger’s high-velocity silver bullets struck their canine skulls in precise groups of three, and they fell before they could cross the street.

Hermione’s parents kept their semi-automatic rifles trained on the carcasses, though if truth be told it was due more to their shock than training. A cry from the site commander shook them out of the moment, and they followed his orders to climb into the car and chase after the escaped werewolf.

+++

Harry Potter struggled to maintain his composure as the reports of Death Eater attacks came in from both his Art Club badge and MI –5 ¾ earpiece. It seemed as if the only place that had yet to be hit was the Rookery – the one location where they had anticipated a strike that evening.

Tonks had reported that the Death Eaters were busy in Hogsmeade, St. Mungo’s and at least three different places within Diagon Alley. She had been ordered by the Auror Department to hold at Hogwarts in case the Hogsmeade attack was expanded. Fred and George were, at the moment, trapped within their shop with Katie and Alicia. Ron and his family had used his mum’s medical emergency portkey to escape from the Burrow just before it was overrun by werewolves.

Like Fred and George, Ron had chosen not to badge-jump and leave behind those with less viable means of escape. Not that his wand wasn’t needed where he was now…the portkey had dumped Ron, Ginny, their parents, Bill and Fleur right into the middle of a fire fight at the wizarding hospital’s admittance desk. Harry hadn’t heard from them in the last couple of minutes, and was beginning to worry.

Hermione rang his badge-phone. “Harry,” she said, ”we’ve got a report of possible Dementor activity in Inverness from one of our muggle-borns,” she said.

“Blast!” he exclaimed. They got hold of Tonks, who reported that the Aurors had gotten a similar report, but were stretched too thinly to respond.

“Stretched too thinly?” Harry snorted. “Let me guess, half the force is out obliviating muggles while the other half is guarding the Ministry, which is presently not under attack.”

“Actually, it sounds like a bit more than half are still at the Ministry,” Tonks replied.

“Right, I’ve got to go,” Harry concluded. He called Wally, arranged to have Sir Evan badge-jump to the Rookery as a potential anchor, then apparated up to the Scottish Highlands (ignoring his lack of licensure and conventional wisdom on distance limitations for wizard apparition).

+++

In the stairwell below the Twins’ defensive positions, Fenrir’s Alpha gathered what strength she had left, and considered her options, and her sorry state.

The alligators had been an annoyance. While not a threat, these reptiles did take time to dispatch, and then to digest (as her Pack found them to be rather tasty). But then the room began to fill with a cloud of poisonous gas. She had managed to hold her breath long enough to find a stairwell filled with sweet air. The werewolf then vomited up a bit of alligator meat.

Once she was done retching, she look back into the room and howled in dismay. Those that had followed her into the shop had all fallen prey to the gas cloud.

The Alpha’s lament was quickly followed by an angry howl for revenge, and she bounded up the stairs. The door at the head of the stairs resisted her initial attack, but splintered on the second and smashed opened on the third. She leapt into the apartment above the shop and took a moment to seek out her prey. The werewolf reflexively sniffed for human scents, only to wince as air rushed into her silver-damaged nasal passages. Although the apartment was empty, there were recent scent trails everywhere, with one leading up another set of stairs.

The werewolf howled in recognition, leapt up the stairs and slammed into the closed roof hatch. The hatch held, and she bounced backwards halfway down the stairs. She gathered herself, and prepared for a second assault.

On the other side, Fred and George looked at each other with alarm.

“Think it’s time to ask for help?” asked George.

“I think it’s time we learn how to create portkeys,” Fred replied.

George nodded, activated his badge, and yelled the Order of Arthur’s ancient rallying cry.

“CLARENCE!”

+++

Hermione Granger heard the cry from her station within the Emergency Command Centre deep underneath 10 Downing Street. The Prime Minister and his senior security ministers heard it as well, as she was presently huddled with them in front of video displays showing the carnage at different attack points.

“Mr. Prime Minister?” she said anxiously as she drew both pistol and wand.

The leader of Great Britain turned to towards her and gave a curt nod.

“Go Hermione.”

She disappeared almost before the permission had left the Prime Minister’s lips.

She reappeared just in time to fire her service revolver towards a werewolf.

+++

The Alpha fell into a pool of her own blood. Lacking the strength to raise her head, the last blurry images registered by her lupine brain came through cockeyed:

A woman holding a smoking gun in her trembling hand…

Four others trying to console the woman….

An old man who appeared out of thin air and cautiously walked towards the Alpha with a gun in his hand…

That gun being raised towards her head….

A trigger being pulled.

+++

Sir Evan of Eastleigh didn’t need to look down as he reloaded his service revolver with silver slugs. This allowed him to keep his eyes on the beast as he cautiously walked backwards towards Hermione and the others.

“Alright, there Dame Hermione?” he asked.

Hermione only sniffed as she followed Sir Evan’s lead and loaded a full clip into her handgun.

“How many shots?” he asked.

Hermione dumped the old clip out into her hand.

“Five left, seven fired,” she replied, half wondering why he had asked.

“Hermione?” Fred asked. “What do we do now?”

The Weasley Twin’s question brought Hermione back to reality.

“One of you should badge-jump to Tonks…she’s still at Hogwarts. Sir Evan and I will stay back in case…”

“Is Hogwarts under attack?” Fred asked.

Hermione shook her head. “Ask the Headmistress to make a portkey. Once you get one, use us as an anchor and return. Then Alicia and Katie can portkey to Hogwarts and apparate out from there.”

“What about us, then?” asked George.

Hermione softy replied. “Harry is off hunting Dementors by himself in Inverness.”

“Right, then, Fred you get the portkey and I’ll go help Harry now.”

Fred disagreed, which forced a quick game of rock-parchment-wand. George got his way, so it was Fred that called Tonks to arrange badge-transit to Hogwarts.

Sir Evan wrapped an arm around Hermione’s shoulder as the Twins kissed the girls and disappeared into the night.

“Sir Evan,” she said, “thanks for finishing the job.”

The elderly knight nodded. “We’ll have a talk over tea when this is done, right?”

Hermione looked at Sir Evan with an empty stare and nodded.

“You should get back to Prime Minister,” Sir Evan said.

Hermione looked around.

“Sure you’d be okay here by yourself?”

Sir Even grinned as he nodded his head towards Alicia and Katie and waggled his eyebrows. “But I wouldn’t be by myself, would I? Me and two lovely ladies, up on a roof…”

Hermione snorted. “Always the frisky one, aren’t you Sir Evan?”

The elderly knight smiled “’Tis the secret to a long and happy life.”

Hermione pursed her lips into an almost-smile as she thought about Harry’s morning trip into her naughty memories. “Well if that’s the case, then Harry will live to be 300.”

“There you go,” Sir Evan said, glad to see that she had begun to break out of her shock. “Now go give the Prime Minister my regards.”

Hermione nodded, thanked him again for his help, then badge-jumped away.

As soon as he was gone, Sir Evan turned serious. “We need to clean up the site,” he told Katie and Alicia. “Eight shell casings and eight slugs. I don’t want any evidence lying about that anyone used a gun here tonight, right?”

The two witches nodded, understanding the implications of Hermione firing a muggle gun, even if it was against a werewolf. They used Accio spells to retrieve the bullet fragments, going so far as to magically extract the bloody slugs from the werewolf’s body. Katie then lightened the corpse and transfigured it into a small book, which Sir Evan placed inside his coat pocket. Alicia then followed up by banishing the blood and repairing the roof hatch.

+++

Sir Evan’s actions within Diagon Alley kept him from spotting broomstick-riding Death Eaters as they hovered in a small group above The Rookery.

“So what floor is it, Guv’nor?” Amycus called out.

Rookwood replied. “I don’t know, but I’d guess it’s one of the two apartments that are still lit up.”

“So which one do we hit?” Alecto cackled.

Rookwood paused, then said, “We go after the top one first. If Malfoy’s not there, we’ll just use Reducto’s to smash our way through the floors, layer by layer.”

That decision made, the three enacted the next stage of Plan B. The Death Eaters flew at top speed towards the target apartment’s balcony, threw the miniaturized cars towards it, then canceled the shrinking and featherlight charms. Tightly banked turns kept the three out of harm’s way, as the full-sized vehicles, now propelled only by inertia and gravity, struck the building at close to 150 km/hr.

Were it not for the fact that they were muggle-hating wizards, Harry would later imagine they had been inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Terminator 1.

The impacts blew large portions of the structure inward, and left the three cars with their boots hanging free and unsupported. Rookwood circled back around, then led the other two through the widest opening and into the flat. They dismounted their brooms and picked their way through the apartment, looking to see if they’d gotten lucky and killed Malfoy in the crash. The only sign of life (or former life) was in a bedroom, where the ceiling had collapsed and buried someone in their bed. As only a foot was visible underneath the pile of rubble, the former Unspeakable ordered the other two to help him levitate debris off of the pile.

+++

“I don’t care what you think about what you are seeing,” Wally barked into the radio. “Just tell me, in plain terms, what’s happening inside that building.”

The spotter shook his head as he lifted his binoculars back up to his eyes.

“The three people who were flying around on…well they look like old broomsticks…anyway they are now inside the apartment, pointing sticks at a pile of rubble. Big chunks are floating up off to the side. It’s like the people are telling the debris where to go with their sticks.”

“Thank you, Sergeant,” Wally calmly replied. “Do the three people match our profiles?”

Both the spotter and his gun-wielding partner looked down at the photographs fixed to the wall of their rooftop perch. They checked their glasses and scope and nodded.

“Affirmative,” the spotter announced.

“Target acquisition?”

This time it was the sniper that replied. “Spotty…I’ve got clear head shots at two hundred metres, except the bits and pieces of building floating about.”

“Roger that,” Wally replied. “Hold for instructions.”

The MI-5 ¾ agent pulled out his earpiece and activated his Art Club badge.

“Hermione…you back there with the Prime Minister yet?”

“Yes Wally, go ahead.”

“It looks like Rookwood and the others flew to the Rookery on broomsticks and hurled three cars into the side of the building. They’re presently within the twentieth floor apartment, moving debris from a pile. I’ve got a sniper team in position with an occasional clear shot. What do we do?”

“Hold on, Wally.”

Agent Granger turned off her Art Club badge and looked around the table.

“Are you even contemplating assassination?” the Home Secretary asked.

“No,” the Prime Minister calmly replied, “but only because authorizing lethal force is anything but an assassination in this instance.” He turned towards his MI-5 Chief and asked, “What’s the latest casualty estimate?”

“Still coming in, sir…attacks in a dozen locations across the country, at least eighty-seven dead, more than four-hundred wounded…”

The Prime Minister turned to Hermione.

“Death Eater attacks for certain, based on the reports. No robes, no Death Marks, but there’s magic involved. Also attacks within the wizarding community as well.”

“Any of our wizards on the scene?”

Hermione shook her head.

The Prime Minister nodded. “Get Agent Wall back on the phone, erm…badge.”

Hermione opened a line, then placed her badge on the table in front of the Prime Minister.

“Agent Wall,” he said, “Take out anything in that apartment that’s wielding a wand.”

As Wally acknowledged the order the Prime Minister called his personal secretary into the room.

“Shacklebolt, I assume that you can send confidential messages to the Minister of Magic?”

Kingsley nodded, as he took in the sight of Hermione Granger sitting at the muggle Prime Minister’s side.

“Then Auror Shacklebolt, would you please inform the Minister Scrimgeour that Her Majesty’s Government will have a card-carrying incident commander in charge of each of the areas where muggles were attacked tonight?” the Prime Minister asked. “And that a State of Emergency exists, such that any witch or wizard caught using a magical wand on our side of the fence will be arrested? You also might want to mention that those who resist arrest or point a wand towards a police officer will be shot.”

Shacklebolt grew as pale as his skin tone allowed. “Erm, does that include the Aurors, sir? I mean…some of the muggle casualties will likely involve hexes that need reversing.”

The Prime Minister pursed his lips and nodded. “Tell them, then, that their Aurors will be expected to work under our site commanders. They’ll get to keep their wands and can help out if they present their badges and use the proper recognition phrase.”

“Yes sir…and what should I tell them the recognition phrase is?”

The Prime Minister snorted. “Any suggestions, Agent Granger?”

Hermione bit her lower lip. “How about ‘I love muggles’?”

The Prime Minister smiled. “Yes…that will do nicely.”

+++

Rookwood had just determined that the wizard that had been crushed to death in his bed was not Lucius Malfoy when he heard a loud “CRACK!” and was splattered with Alecto Carrows’ blood and brains. He immediately fell to the floor and scanned the area for threats. A second shot that would have pierced Amycus’ forehead instead smashed into a piece of plaster that he’d been. A cloud of white dust settled down upon the two Death Eaters, creating a pinkish paste where it mixed with the blood.

Alecto’s brother cried out her name as Rookwood crawled over to inspect her body. There was a quarter-inch diameter hole just above her right eye and a six-inch diameter crater on the back of her skull.

“Muggles!” the former Unspeakable hissed, as if it were a curse word.

This changed everything, in his opinion. Not just that they had killed a Death Eather, but that they set the trap themselves or collaborated with the Aurors. He didn’t know which was worse, but did know that this vital information had to be shared with his Master. He shouted to Amycus. “We’ve got to get to the rally point now!”

“But my sister!”

“I’ve got hold of Alecto…I’ll side-along her.”

But nothing happened when they tried to disapparate.

“Wards against that,” Augustus stated. He looked around and decided that they’d need to fly out of the anti-apparition zone. Figuring that the shot had been fired through the broken windows, he crawled out of the room with a distraught Carrow right behind.

“What about my sister, though?”

Rookwood shouted, “We can’t carry her out on our brooms…we’ll come back full force and get our revenge then.”

The former Unspeakable dragged the other Death Eater along the ground to a window on the far side of the apartment. An Evansco spell took care of the glass and their broomsticks carried them out into the night…and into the sightlines of a second muggle sniper.

The shock of the Rookery’s wards stripping Amycus Carrow’s memory of where he had just been and what he had just done was shocking enough for him to lose his balance and fall from his broomstick. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as a rifle bullet passed through the air space formally occupied by his left temple.

Amycus’s cries as he fell from the sky were enough to clear Rookwood’s mind, and to focus on the immediate situation. He had no idea where he was, or why he was on a broomstick, but he did know that if he didn’t help Amycus that he’d be dead very soon. He pulled the broom into a steep dive and an intercepting course. But Amycus didn’t realize that help was on the way and decided to risk an emergency apparition just as Rookwood reached out from his broom and grabbed his shoulder.

There was a loud crack and most of Amycus Carrow disappeared, along with Rookwood’s left hand. The former Unspeakable howled in pain and at the stupidity of his underling, whose splinched right buttock was still free-falling towards the ground.

Rookwood pulled out of his dive, struggling to maintain control of the broom with one hand, and quickly considered where Amycus might have gone off too. Expecting the worst and hoping for the least worst, Rookwood concentrated on a destination and disapparated.

He reappeared in the still-smelly living room of the Bristol safe house.

“Amycus?” he bellowed.

While there was no verbal reply, the sound of moaning from upstairs suggested that he had guessed right. He ran up the stairs, pushed open a bedroom door and threw a whimpering Death Eater off of a bed.

“Where’s my bloody hand, you fool?” he demanded.

Amycus sobbed loudly as he pointed towards the bed.

Rookwood scowled as he spotted his splinched appendage within the soiled sheets. He grabbed it with his good hand and carried it over to a chest of drawers that was merely dusty. After placing it on the top of the chest and positioning his stump, he drew his wand and began to swish its tip over the breach. After a complex incantation and a bit of time, his hand was unsplinched.

The former Unspeakable strode back to the bed and yelled, “Get up you whimpering fool, we need to go now.”

“But why?” Amycus asked. “This is the safe house.”

“It’s no longer a safe house now that you’ve splinched yourself trying to apparate here.”

“But my bum!”

“You left it behind for the muggless to munch on, and there’s no going back.”

“But my sister!”

“Dunno where’s she’s gone to.”

Carrow paused, then lamented once more, “But my bum!”

“Oh, quit whining,” said Rookwood, as he turned a muggle alarm clock into a portkey. He grabbed Amycus’s hand and placed it on the clock, adding, “Maybe if you ask nicely the Dark Lord will fashion you a new bum made of silver.”

+++

Sunday, July 8, 2:30am
33 Sq. Briefing Room
RAF Benson, Oxfordshire

Harry, Fred and George badge-jumped from the battlefield directly into Hermione’s arms. It was rather crowded, but there were no admonishments about time or place. Hermione mentioned that Katie and Alicia were in the next room, then buried her face into Harry’s chest as the Twins dashed off to their own reunion.

After furtive physical reassurances that each was alive (if not completely well), Hermione pushed some Belgian chocolate into his hands and helped him slip off his fatigues.

“What’s with the beret and these insignias?” Harry asked, as he fingered the patches on his new clothing.

“The Clan Air Force was drummed into the British Army a few hours ago,” Hermione explained. “The P.M. was initially thinking RAF, but then somebody pulled rank and had you placed within The Parachute Regiment. This is their uniform.”

“Who could pull rank on the Prime Minister?” Harry asked.

“That would be my mum,” said a voice from behind Harry. He turned to see a smiling Prince of Wales, who was standing in the doorway and dressed in a drab olive military uniform. He entered the room and extended his hand to Harry.

“Glad to see you that you pulled through tonight, Lord Gryffindor,” he said warmly.

“Thank you, Your Royal Highness.”

“In this case, I think that ‘sir’ would be more appropriate.”

“Why is that…sir?”

“Ah, you see…Her Royal Majesty asked that your group be assigned to The Parachute Regiment as a favor to me, as I am its Colonel-in-Chief.”

Harry nodded, then asked, “Does that mean I now have a military commission?”

The Prince nodded. “Consider it a field appointment until the paper work comes through, Major Potter.”

“Major Potter?” Harry asked, as he inspected the rank slide affixed to his jacket. “Merlin, that’s another title.”

“You do seem to be outpacing me, don’t you,” the Prince replied with a smirk. “In this case, though, it is entirely appropriate for the leader of the Queen’s magical forces to hold that rank.”

“But there’s no need, is there…”

“Perhaps not for you,” the Prince stated, “but some within your group don’t have any formal ties to either government, correct? A military enlistment protects them from charges of vigilantism, and provides Her Majesty’s Government with the opportunity to sanction your efforts.”

Before Harry could protest any further Ron walked into the room, snapped to attention and gave a crisp military salute.

“Squadron’s assembled and ready for mission brief, sir,” he said sharply.

The Prince chuckled. “Well done, Captain Weasley…wherever did a wizard such as yourself learn about muggle military traditions?”

Ron shifted his eyes towards Hermione, then returned his eyes forward and replied, “Muggle video games, sir!”

Hermione snorted as Harry walked over and gave Ron a manly hug.

“Geroff,” Ron whined. “My ribs are still knitting back together.”

“Good to see you too, mate…everyone else alright, then?”

“Yeah, everyone pulled through somehow.”

“Sorry about your house,” said Harry.

“Yes, well, bricks and magic mortar can be replaced, right?” Ron asked.

“That’s for certain,” Hermione said, as she gave Ron’s shoulder a squeeze.

“Yes, well…shall we?” the Prince asked, as he held his arm out towards the door. Ron led them out into a small hallway, then into a briefing room filled men and women dressed in combat fatigues and red berets. At his call for attention everyone stood and saluted (some displaying that skill better than others).

“I don’t think I’m up for giving any speeches,” Harry quietly admitted to the Prince.

“Allow me, then, Major Potter,” the Prince replied. He then strode up to the podium and said, “Take your seats, Phoenix Teams…I dare say that after tonight’s action many of you deserve to be off your feet.”

As the audience sat Harry got a clear look at who was there. He was thrilled to see that every Phoenix Team member from Privet Drive was present (except, of course, for Brian, who was still convalescing).

“Just a quick word, as I know you have a hunt to attend to,” the Prince said. “Earlier tonight Tom Riddle and his Death Eater terrorists launched a well-coordinated and widespread attack against muggle Britain. For reasons that we will surely learn of in the days ahead, the Ministry of Magic provided a pitifully inadequate defense for our people, and in many ways acted counterproductively. We now know that hundreds have died or been kissed.”

“You are all well aware that Her Majesty’s Government has become increasingly active in the defense of its peoples from magical attacks, but after tonight it is clear that we need to step up to a whole new level. And any part of any good defense is a good offense. I therefore wish The Prince’s Own First Magical Squadron of The Parachute Regiment Godspeed on striking a blow against the Dark Lord and his minions.”

“And with that, I’ll turn it over to Captain Weasley.”

The Prince stepped to the side as Ron walked up to the podium and began to outline their mission.

Muggle Summer

Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.

Chapter 52: Cabinet Office Briefing Room A

Sunday, July 8, 3:00am
Brixton Metropolitan Police Station
Brixton Hill, London

Having yet again reached the bottom of her coffee cup, Police Inspector Kathryn Miller decided that it was time to stretch her legs and visit the station’s lunch room. The Community Support Officer who had been assigned the task of keeping water on the boil greeted her with a smile and a full pot of coffee.

“What’s this, then, Kate…number four?” she asked, as she filled the officer’s mug.

“It’s five, Helen…but on a night like this who’s counting?” she replied. “Cheers.”

The CSO nodded. “Heard rumors of terrible things...makes me wish I had something more useful to do.”

Inspector Miller smiled as she gave the elderly woman’s elbow a light squeeze. “With a full house of constables and the rest of the night ahead, I dare say you’ve got the most vital task in the station.”

Just then one of the inspector’s colleagues entered the room.

“Excuse me, Kathryn, but the Super wants to see you.”

Kate acknowledged the message, offered her thanks to the CSO, and walked down the hall to her boss’s office. She found him at his desk, reading an e-mail message on his computer display.

“You wished to see me, sir?”

Superintendent Dale Cartwright glanced up and nodded. “Close the door behind you and have a seat, Kate.”

“Yes, sir.”

The superintendent grabbed some output from a laser printer and pushed it across the desk for the Kathryn’s review.

“New orders, Inspector,” the station chief stated simply. “Or should I say, Chief Inspector?”

Kate looked down at the message and was shocked to see that she’d been given a full grade promotion and posted to the Home Secretary’s Office.

“Know of any reasons why my most junior police inspector has been promoted and ordered to immediately report to 10 Downing Street?”

There was a likely reason, based on the reports and notices that had crossed her desk that evening, but Kate chose not to share it.

“No logical reason, Sir,” she replied. “This is to take effect immediately, then?”

“Apparently so, Chief Inspector,” he replied sardonically. “Have one of your former staffers drive you …you’ve got a meeting to attend to, and I need all of my cars down here where the little people still work and live.”

“Yes, sir,” Kate replied. “Sir…I hope you don’t think that I’ve done something untoward to….”

The Superintendent shook his head. “No, no, Kate…I’ve got no reasons at all to think that. You’re a fine officer. It’s just rather…unprecedented.” He paused then added, “Although…after tonight what’s topsy and what’s turvey is anyone’s guess, eh?”

“Erm…yes, Sir.”

“Right…off you go, then, Chief Inspector...the Commissioner is expecting you."

"Right, Sir."

"Oh, and Kate," her former chief said with a smile. "Do let me know when the promotion ceremony is to be held.”

“Of course, sir, thank you, sir,” Kate said absently, as she reread her orders. With her dismissal in hand, she grabbed her suit jacket from the back of her office chair and called out to one of her former staffers for a ride across the Thames.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

3:30am, RAF Benson
Oxfordshire

Once Captain Ron Weasley had completed his mission brief and dismissed the Phoenix Teams, Hermione and the Prince announced their need to return to London and Windsor, respectively. A RAF officer attached to the Prince led him towards his waiting helicopter, while Hermione gave Harry another strong hug and some tender kisses before disapparating back to 10 Downing Street.

Not having any other immediate battles to fight, Harry climbed into a transport vehicle that was to carry the others out to the two SA 330 Puma helicopters primed to carry them into battle. He made a point of sitting next to Hermione’s parents, whom he noted had carried rather grim expressions during the meeting.

“Alright, there, Mr. and Mrs. Granger?”

Emily, who was sitting to Harry’s left, started to put her arm around his shoulder. She stopped short, though, and asked, “Will I get in trouble if I give my commanding officer a hug?”

Harry shook his head dismissively and wrapped his own arm around her waist. “I’ll hex the person that tells me you would, Mrs. Granger.” He gave her a squeeze and said, “I heard about the werewolf attacks, and…I’m sorry that you’ve both been brought into all of this.”

Roger Granger, who was on his wife’s other side, leaned over and said, “Don’t worry about us, son…we were just glad we were in the right place at the right time with that silver ammunition.”

“Still,” Harry said, “I know how hard it is to deal with the first time you…”

“And we are sorry that someone as young as you has necessarily faced that situation as well,” said Emily. "How are you holding up, Harry?”

The Queen's Wizard shrugged. “So far all I’ve tangled with tonight is Dementors, and there’s no bad feelings watching my Patronus take them on. Quite the opposite, actually. Now Hermione, on the other hand…”

Roger nodded. “We know…we had a chance to talk with her before you arrived. Afraid that she’s on automatic pilot, and that it might all fall apart once she has a chance to catch her breath.”

“At least she didn’t see her werewolf transform back to human form,” added Emily, as she shuddered. “Makes me think about Remus, and how it could have been him.”

Harry nodded in understanding, even as he disagreed with her fears. “You two both need to realize that even though those werewolves weren’t in their right mind at the time…they did have a choice. Remus made sure he was tucked away safe before the sun set tonight, and so could have they.”

Roger and Emily replied with silence, as they thought about Harry’s words.

“Not that it makes it any easier,” Harry added.

By that time their transport vehicle had come to a full stop, and the Phoenix Team members jumped out of the back of the truck. The two helicopters were parked next to a hanger, within which were tables stacked with personal gear and various mission supplies. Harry shook his head in disbelief at the sight of his own pile of goodies, topped off with a aviator’s flight helmet with the nickname “Seeker” scripted across the top. As he swapped out his beret for the helmet, a muggle supply sergeant handed him a helmet customized for Hermione. Thanking the corpsman, Harry stuffed it into his never-full rucksack.

As the rest of the group donned their own flight helmets and stocked up on ammunition, Seamus Finnigan pulled Harry aside and asked for a moment of his time.

“What’s up, mate?” Harry asked

Seamus looked down at the insignias on his flight suit, then back to Harry. “Why did it have to be the bloody First Paras?” he asked quietly.

“What?”

“This army unit, Harry,” Seamus explained, waving towards the others. “Why did they put us in the First Battalion of The Parachute Regiment?”

“Erm, because the Prince is the Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment and I’m Queen’s Wizard, I suppose… what’s the problem?”

“Bloody Sunday,” Seamus said quietly. “They were the ones that killed the thirteen unarmed protesters in Derry on Bloody Sunday.”

“Northern Ireland?”

“Yeah…my Republican muggle dad would think it the same as me signing up with the Death Eaters.”

Harry nodded, finally understanding Seamus’s concerns. “Look,” he said quietly, “I don’t know much at all about muggle politics, but I don’t want to force anyone to do something they’re uncomfortable doing. Right now, I’m worried about getting to the werewolf pack that tried to kill the Weasleys tonight, and we could really use your wand out there.”

“Yeah, I know that Harry, it’s just…”

“They didn’t swear you into the Army while you were waiting for me, did they?”

Finnigan shook his head. “They said it was a field appointment, and that all the other official stuff would come later.”

“So you aren’t too far gone just yet,” Harry concluded. “Would it help if, before we go to much further down this road, I arranged a little chat with you and the Prince? Or maybe we all sit down with your mum and dad and explain things?”

Seamus looked appraisingly at Harry. “You could arrange a visit between the Prince of Wales and my parents?”

Harry shook his shoulders. “Don’t see why not, particularly if that’s what it would take to keep you with us.”

The Irish-born half-blood sighed, looked down again at the First Battalion insignia on his jacket, and nodded. “Thanks, Harry…dunno if it will help, but it means the world to me that you are making the effort.” He then pressed his hands down the length of his jacket, stood up straight, and gave the hanging edge of his beret a tug. “Let’s do this, then.”

Harry smiled and slapped his friend on the shoulder. “Thanks, mate, and be careful.”

“Be careful about what?”

“About showing your mature side too often. You’re scaring me.”

Finnigan laughed, and gave Harry a cheeky salute. “Yes sir, Major Queen’s Wizard, sir!”

The Queen’s Wizard mobile phone chirped, interrupting the retort that had been gelling in Harry’s mind. With a nod towards Seamus, he stepped away and took the call. After a terse conversation, he turned and scanned the group with a concerned expression.

“Ron and Fred, front and center,” he called out.

The two Weasley brothers broke off a conversation with George and his muggle co-pilot and strode with a purpose towards Harry. They shouted out “Sir!” and snapped their fingers in salute against their helmets (labeled “Keeper” and “Freater”.)

“Knock it off, you two,” Harry admonished. “A few stray Dementors are causing trouble again up North. Fred, you and I are off to Fort George.”

“Sure you wouldn’t rather have George go to Fort Fred?” Ron snarked.

“Very funny, 'Keeper'…just for that, you’re in charge.”

Ron nodded, then asked, “I’ll be flying solo, then?”

“Yeah,” replied Harry. He paused for a moment, then added, “You might want to go with one attack squadron of five, and put PT2 and PT3 in a scouting role. ‘Driller’ and ‘Painless’ are still a little shaken, and they have had the least time to train with the rest.”

“Makes sense,” said Ron. “Might take a bit longer, but that would allow me to fly topside and keep track of things.”

After exchanges hugs and crisp salutes made only partly in jest, Fred and Harry disapparated into the night, while Ron let the others in on the change in battle plans.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

10 Downing Street, London

Scotland Yard’s newest Chief Inspector was having a devil of a time getting past what were obviously SAS troopers guarding the Prime Minister’s residence.

“Yes, I know my badge says that I’m only an Inspector, but I assure you that I am the very same Kathryn Miller whose name is on your admittance list.”

“Sorry, ma’am, but you need to step away from the gate…”

“It’s alright boys, she’s with us,” said a voice from over the guards’ shoulders. The harried looking constable who made that statement pushed her way through the line of troops waving a plastic identification card in front of her. Once explanations were made about the very recent promotion, and the Prime Minister’s need to meet with the Chief Inspector straight away, Kathryn was allowed to pass through the gate.

“Constable Jenkins, mum…please to meet you.”

“Kate Miller, and thanks for the help…it’s been a nightmare getting through all of the security.”

“No worries, Chief Inspector,” the aide explained, as she handed Kate the identification card that bore her image and new rank. “I’ll need your old ID, ma’am.”

Kate nodded as she unclipped her old badge and offered it to the aide. She was then led unchallenged into the Prime Minister’s residence, nodding at the Met Police guards who saluted as she walked past them and down into the bowels of the building. Sir Robin Babbitt, the head of the Metropolitan Police Department, was waiting for her outside of a conference room whose opened doors were labeled “Cabinet Office Briefing Room A.”

“Ah, there you are Chief Inspector,” the man said. “Thank you for joining us on such short notice.”

“It is an honor, Commissioner Babbitt,” Kate replied, as she shook the offered hand. “I must say, a bit of a surprise, though.”

“That’s understandable, Chief Inspector,” the man replied with a smile. He waved inside the room and noted, “The meeting will start in a few minutes…you'll be sitting between the Home Secretary and myself.”

“Thank you...Sir,” Kate replied absently, as she gaped at the jaw-dropping array of titles printed on the name cards scattered around the table.

The Commissioner took note of the CI's expression. "They're all just like you and me, CI Miller...trousers and legs one at a time, and all that." Retrieving a small box from his pocket, he added, “Before I forget…”

Inside this box were two diamond-shaped pins, which he fixed to the shoulder straps on Kate's jacket. He gave her a salute, shook her hand, and said, "Congratulations, Chief Inspector."

"Thank you sir," Kate replied, as she turned her head to look at the sets of three diamonds on each shoulder that indicated her new rank. "Don't know that I deserve the honor..."

"Oh, you do," Sir Robin replied. "And you will by the time we've sorted through this mess, I'm sure of it."

Kate nodded stiffly as her stomach decided to twist another know. “Is there time for me to straighten my tie?”

The Met Commissioner smiled. “Down the hall, second door on the left, I think.”

“Thank you, sir.”

0o0o0o0o0o

The Chief Inspector was in front of a washbasin splashing cold water on her face when she heard a loo flush behind her. A few moments later a stall door opened and someone stepped out wearing a black jump suit and a gun strapped to her hip. The young woman. (still a teenager, perhaps?) was struggling a bit as she adjusted her black leather equipment belt and thigh packs. She was armed to the hilt, and would have fit right in with the SAS guards on the fence line. Except, the Chief Inspector noted, for a few accessories that were decidedly not standard military issue – a wooden wand strapped to a black leather arm holster, a silver dagger strapped to her leg, and a starbust-shaped brooch fixed above her left breast.

The woman looked up, and after a moment’s pause said, “Chief Inspector Miller, I presume?” She started to extend a hand, but thought better of it and made her way to the washbasin. “My name is Hermione Granger...I’m a Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister.”

The police inspector nodded. “Kate Miller,” she replied, as Hermione washed her hands. “Metropolitan Police Force, and now, apparently, the Home Office.”

“Yes, I know,” Hermione replied, as she dried her hands with a towel. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”

Kate nodded. The teenager was so serious, with her hair tied back severely and her eyes red and tired-looking. “You’re friends with Harry Potter, the Queen’s Wizard, right?” she blurted out.

When Hermione squinted her eyes Kate added, “Sorry for asking, but my daughter subscribes to a few magazines and, well…I’m trying to make sense out of my sudden promotion and summons to this meeting.”

Hermione seemed to accept the explanation. “No worries…and to answer your questions, Harry Potter is my boyfriend, and the fact that you are the Met’s senior-most card-carrying muggle officer did have much to do with your summons. Not so much with the promotion, mind you…from what Sir Robin says, he’s had his eye on you as you’ve moved up the ranks for some time.”

“Thank you, erm…Senior Advisor Granger.”

“Oh, please call me Hermione…at least in private,” the Senior Advisor asked. “Or Agent Granger, if need be…that’s what I’ve been using with this crowd.”

The Chief Inspector caught Hermione in a quick yawn.

“It’s been a very long night, hasn’t it?” she asked.

Hermione nodded, looking rather blankly at the mirror in front of her. Kate took in that expression combined it with a sidearm that was sitting a bit off in its holster, and reached a conclusion.

“You’ve been in the thick of it tonight, haven’t you?” she ventured.

Hermione’s eyes darted towards Kate’s. “Do I look that bad, or have you been chatting with someone?”

Kate snorted. “Sorry, you don’t look bad at all, it’s just…well, I thought I recognized the look of someone who has just come under fire.”

Hermione let out a small sigh. “I had the chance to skim through your resume, Chief Inspector…you’ve been there as well, right?”

Kate nodded. “Six years ago.” She took a step closer to Hermione and said, “If you need someone to talk to about, you know…unless you’ve already made arrangements...”

Hermione’s lips pursed into a tight smile. “Thanks for the offer…right now, it’s all I can do to keep things straight that are straight ahead of me, but maybe we can sit down for tea later on?”

The Chief Inspector smiled. “I’d like that, Agent Granger.” She then turned back towards the mirror and as she straightened her tie, asked, “As for what’s straight ahead, any hints on what I’ll be doing?”

Hermione snorted as she looked the Chief Inspector’s holster. “Let’s just say that we’ll need to check on our stock of nine-millimeter silver bullets before you go back out into the night.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Fort George, Moray Firth
Ardersier, Scotland

Harry and Fred apparated into a casement-turned-command post within what had, up until a few hours previous, been the mightiest stone fortification in the world never to have come under attack. Ernie MacMillian was there doling out broomsticks and assignments to a small queue of witches and wizards.

“Can’t cast a Patronus, eh?” they heard him ask a elderly wizard at the front of the line. He looked down at his map and said, “Well then, take a broom and cross the firth, aiming for the muggle lighthouse. Just past there are two campgrounds. Make sure they’re still clear of muggles, and check on the repelling wards set along the road to Fortrose. You see any Dementors, use your wand to cast red sparks up into the sky, then fly away from’em.”

“But what if the muggles see it?” the wizard asked.

“That’s the idea,” Ernie barked with annoyance. “The muggle Aurors will be looking to see where they need to evacuate. Now off with you!”

As the wizard headed towards an open window the soon-to-be Seventh Year Hufflepuff spied Fred and Harry.

“Found time to visit a tailors, eh?” he asked.

Harry looked down at his military fatigues and shook his head. “We got drafted into the British Army.”

“Well good,” Ernie replied. “Might make it easier for us to deal with the muggle soldiers upstairs.”

“So where’s the fire, Ernie?” Fred asked.

The Hufflepuff pointed at a spot on the map in front of him. “The town’s called Cromarty…northside of Black Isle, about seven miles north of here.”

“And there were three, you said?” asked Harry.

Ernie looked down at his wrist watch. “Yeah, as of ten minutes ago…there’s two ‘silver-misters’ keeping them at bay, but…”

“Understood,” Harry replied. He reached into a jacket pocket and retrieved a miniaturized Firebolt. Fred was just a heartbeat behind as he enlarged his own broom and yelled, “Up!”

“Rank before beauty, Lord G,” Fred said with a grin.

Harry snorted as he mounted his broom and flew out a window. Fred followed close behind, as they took a moment to orient themselves over the open water.

Fort George was a massive 18th Century fort built on a spit of land about eleven miles up the coast from the city of Inverness. The fort had been built on the east side of Moray Firth, at the point where the inlet opened up into what was essentially open sea.

Harry and George flew their broomsticks across the firth then turned north, following the cliff edges that formed the southern shore of a peninsula known as “Black Isle” After a few minutes of 80 mph flying they climbed up above the cliff face and turned west. As this part of the “isle” was less than two miles wide, it took almost no time for them to reach the opposite shoreline of Cromarty Firth. A cold sense of despair beckoning to the north was clear sign that they were on the right track.

They came upon two broom-riding wizards who were nervously patrolling the coast just north of the town of Cromarty. These two “silver-misters,” as Ernie had called them, had been able to cast weak Patronus spells, generating just enough silver mist to keep the small group of Dementors away from the inhabited parts of the Isle. The wizards directed Harry and Fred farther north towards the Isle’s end.

A mess was waiting for them.

The group of three Dementors had come upon a merchant oil tanker that had been bound for Inverness with a half-million barrels of fuel oil. Five minutes and a kissed-crew later, the now unmanned single-hulled ship had run aground and ruptured, spilling its cargo out into the sea.

A large oil slick was threatening the coastline by the time Fred and Harry had arrived on scene. The Dementors were still there, perhaps waiting for fresh souls to arrive on salvage and rescue ships. The two wizards cast Patronus spells on the fly, with Harry’s stag and Fred’s hawk using the brooms’ forward momentum to fly towards their targets at unheard of rates of speed.

Harry and Fred pulled up short of the ship with wands drawn, ready to conjur additional Patronuses as need be. But there was no need …after a brief battle the stag and hawk returned to the spell casters, with Prongs seemingly prancing atop the thick mat of oil. The conjurations bowed to the two wizards before dissolving into the darkness.

As they cautiously approached the ship, Fred asked, “So what’s all this then?”

“Oil,” Harry replied. “It’s what the muggle burn to heat their homes, and as fuel for their cars and airplanes.”

“Nasty black mess, isn’t it?”

Harry nodded as he looked down towards the see. “Strange thing, though…it’s as if you can see Prong’s hoof prints on top of the slick.”

Fred took a look and said, “Kind of a strange orange color, isn’t it?”

“Yeah…I’ll have to ask Hermione about it when we get back.”

A quick inspection of the ship revealed the smoking black cloaks of three “dead” Dementors and the soul-less shells of the entire ship’s crew. They tried to magically seal the breeched hull, only to watch it rupture again as the tide carried the ship back against the rocks. Without the magical strength required to push the tanker off of the rocks and back out to sea, the two found that the best they could do was banish the oil as it leaked from the ship. They called for both muggle and magical help managing the situation, then went back to the task of keeping the potential environmental threat from getting any worse.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Cabinet Office Briefing Room A
10 Downing Street, London

The Prime Minister of Great Britain reconvened the latest incarnation of the civil contingencies committee (better know the British public as COBRA) and made introductions for the few who, like Chief Inspector Miller, had just joined the group. The principal parties included the Home Secretary, the Defense Minister, both intelligence department chiefs, the Met Commissioner, Kate Miller and Secret Agents Wally and Hermione. Various aides and secretaries were seated behind their bosses, which made the fact that she was sitting at the big boys’ table seem all the more surreal for Kate. Both Kate and Wally were introduced as lead Investigators for the terrorist activity that had caused so much chaos across the country.

The Prime Minister then said, “I’m afraid that we’ve put Chief Inspector Miller at a severe disadvantage, as she has no doubt had little opportunity to review the tasks ahead of her. Am I right?”

“Yes, Prime Minister,” Kate replied.

“Right, so perhaps a quick review is in order,” he replied. “Chief Inspector Miller you should know two things. First, everything discussed here in this room is covered under the Official Secrets Act.”

“I understand, Mr. Prime Minister.”

“Yes, well as for the second key point…that fact that everyone in this room is cognizant of the existence of magic and the wizarding world. is, in and of itself, covered under the Act.”

Chief Inspector Miller sucked in a shallow breath as she glanced around the room. “Yes, sir, understood, sir,” she replied.

“Wonderful,” said the Prime Minister. “Now, Wally, if you would…”

“Yes, sir,” Wally replied, as he stood up and walked towards a large video display screen that displayed relevant graphics and photographic images as he provided his report.

“Early yesterday afternoon three Inner-Circle members of the Death Eater wizard terrorist organization, or WTO, were spotted milling about an apartment building on Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End. Intelligence reports indicated that the three were likely looking for a rogue Death Eater named Lucius Malfoy, who has taken up residence inside the building. Given the likelihood for a magical attack upon Mr. Malfoy a decision was made to evacuate the area under pretense of a fake car bomb. This extreme measure was undertaken in a desire to limit both civilian casualties and the need for wizarding police forces to attempt memory erasures on a massive scale.”

“Excuse me, Agent Wall..am I to understand that Aurors were notified and were on the scene?” Kate asked.

“Yes, Chief Inspector Miller,” Wally replied. “Unfortunately, the team of five Aurors were ordered away from the evacuation zone in response to the coordinated attacks at 2000 hours across the country.”

“They were all magical attacks, then?” Kate asked.

Wally nodded, showing a map with dots over the affected cities. “Twelve separate cities, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Reading, Bath, Southampton and Norwich. All of these incidents now appear to have been the work of lone attackers.” He then proceeded to provide updated causality statistics, and noted that Aurors at each of the scenes had completed their work reversing the magical injuries and repairing, to the extent practicable, the associated property damage.

“Has the issue of memory modification been resolved?” the Home Secretary asked.

Wally turned to Hermione, who replied, “Not as such, Mr. Home Secretary. Our incident commanders are still negotiating with the Obliviator Squads on the necessity and feasibility of preserving wizarding world secrets through mass memory erasures.”

“Do these oblivatiors have any authority to mess with the minds of the injured parties?” the Defense Minister asked.

“As a matter of practice, I’d have to say yes, sir,” Hermione replied. “It has been standard practice for hundreds of years, and justified under the home-rule authority provided the wizarding world by treaty.”

“But aside from the questionable ethics involved, does this memory erasure work?”

“If you’re asking whether memories can be magically erased or modified, the answer is yes,” Hermione replied. “As for whether the process is effective in keeping knowledge of the wizarding world away from the non-magical citizenry…well, that’s clearly a separate issue.”

“I’d say that based on the video coverage these events have already received the answer to that question is an emphatic no,” stated the MI-6 chief.

“It is doubtful that we’ll successfully resolve the issue until our wizarding world counterparts are engaged,” stated the Prime Minister. He turned to Hermione and asked, “Still no word from the Ministry of Magic?”

“None officially, Prime Minister,” Hermione replied. “We have, though, heard from reliable source inside the Minster’s office that they plan on stalling for as much time as possible before they reply to your inquiries.”

“For what purpose, do you think?”

“So that can make up a story, and endeavor to get said story straight,” the Home Secretary opined.

“Moving on, then., any new attacks or counterattacks to report on, Agent Granger?”

“Yes, sir,” Hermione replied. “TPOMS-1 is in transit to Dartmoor to address the Devonshire werewolf attacks, and there are still sporadic Dementor attacks outside of Inverness.”

“Which the Queen’s Wizard is handling in his elegantly efficient manner, I presume?” the Prime Minister asked with a smile.

“Yes, Prime Minister,” Hermione replied. “Agent Weasley and he are presently on Black Isle, containing a oil spill associated with an oil tanker that ran aground after an attack incapacitated its crew.”

“Which Weasley, Agent Granger…the one that tried to gas us?”

Hermione shared a smile with the MI-5 and MI-6 chiefs, despite the pressures they were all facing. “The very one, Mr. Home Secretary.”

“Better there than here, then,” the Home Secretary grumbled.

“Moving right along,” interrupted the Prime Minister, “what’s the latest on the flying cars?”

“I can answer that, Prime Minister,” the Met Commissioner replied. “Over the last hour we have learned that the three motor vehicles involved in the Shaftesbury building assault were stolen from a South London parking garage at 2005 hours. We have secured the CCTV images from the facility, and I have the relevant few seconds available for your review.”

The Met Commissioner nodded to Wally, who opened up a new MS-Powerpoint presentation on the laptop computer linked to the display. While Wally was doing this, the head of Scotland Yard stated, “Interviews with the vehicle owners established that they had parked adjacent to each other on the uppermost level of the facility. The last of the three vehicle owners to enter the garage positively identified the three Death Eaters suspects, placing them loitering on the rooftop at approximately 2018 hours. Here’s a rather grainy CCTV clip with that date stamp.”

Wally clicked on the flash presentation embedded within the MS-Powerpoint slide, showing Rookwood and the two Carrows leaning on the rooftop railing of the garage, looking north towards Big Ben and Westminster. Once that clip ended, he moved on to a second bit of video.

“This next clip comes from a few minutes past ten. From what Agent Granger tells me, it is somewhat miraculous that the camera remained operative with all of the magic being cast about.”

The next video clip played out, showing (from a distance) Rookwood hexing Amycus, then all three of them shrinking down four vehicles and pocketing them before disappearing from the rooftop.

“So they did that disappearing trick that Agent Granger’s been doing all night?” the Home Secretary asked.

Hermione sighed almost inaudibly then answered affirmatively.

“So four cars were stolen, but only three were used in the assault?”

“Yes Prime Minister,” the Met Commissioner replied. “The fourth vehicle appears to have owned by the suspects.” Wall clicked on the next slide, showing a static image of the Cooper Mini as it entered the garage. “The suspects drove the vehicle into the facility at 1745 hours.”

“It was a getaway car that they kept shrunk in their pockets, then?”

“That scenario is consistent with available facts, sir. We’ve running the license plate number now.”

“Good work, Sir Robin,” the Prime Minister stated. “Do keep us updated.”

“Yes sir,” he replied.

“On to the werewolf investigation, and Chief Inspector Miller’s assignment?”

“Yes, Prime Minister,” Hermione said. She stood, gave Kate a reassuring glance, than dove in.

“Apart from the already discussed attacks there were multiple incidents involving two small packs of werewolves. The timing is synchronous with the others, suggesting that they were linked in some way. One group of approximately fifteen werewolves attacked a wizarding household in Devonshire, just outside of Ottery St. Catchpole.”

“It was the family home of Sir Ronald and the Weasley Twins, correct?” asked the Prime Minister.

“Yes, sir,” Hermione replied. “Ron and five family members were successfully evacuated from the home before it was overrun by the pack. The werewolf pack then appears to have run towards Dartmoor National Park, stopping along the way to attack two muggle households. Three muggle civilians were killed in these two attacks.”

“So they are in Dartmoor’s woods, Agent Granger?”

“Yes, sir,” Hermione replied. “But perhaps the Defense Minister should…”

“Quite right, Agent Granger,” the Defense Minister replied. “A MI-5 ¾’s agent apparently tracked the progress of the werewolf pack from the Weasley residence to the forest.”

“Excuse my interruption, sir,” said Hermione, “but we should note that Luna Lovegood, the witch who tracked the werewolf pack by broomstick, is not employed by the government in any capacity that I am aware of.”

“At least not until we can get our hands on her,” the MI-5 chief noted, as he shared a wink with his MI-6 counterpart and Hermione.

“Merlin help Her Majesty’s Government,” Hermione muttered under her breath.

“Yes, well, as I was saying, this Ms. Lovegood reported the position of the pack to Agent Granger, who passed it along to the Defense forces. Surveillance and Apache attack helicopters were deployed to the area, and have managed to constrain the pack’s location to a one-square kilometer area. It is to this location that TPOMS-1 is transiting, via 33 Squadron Puma helicopters.” He looked at his watch, then added, “Their ETA is approximately fifteen minutes from now.”

CI Miller had worked hard at keeping quiet, but couldn’t help but ask, “I’m sorry, sir but what is TPOMS-1?”

“The Prince’s Own First Magical Squadron,” the Defense Minister said with a smile. “A mixed wizard-muggle broomstick-flying cavalry unit attached to The Parachute Regiment.”

Kate shook her head slightly as she tried to contain the chagrin on her face.

“You find that funny, Chief Inspector Miller?” the Home Secretary asked.

“No sir,” Kate quickly replied. “It’s just that…well, as you all seem to know, I’ve known about the wizarding world almost all of my life, but thought that I had to guard that secret with my life for fear of hurting my muggle-born wizard brother. Now, I find out that this wall of secrecy between the muggle and wizard worlds isn’t as strong as I’ve been told.”

“Quite all right,” the Prime Minister replied. “Many of us have had to deal with drastically changed perceptions of our world as well…Hermione, we need to move on to CI Miller’s assignment.”

“Right, sir,” Hermione replied, not as confident as she otherwise had been. “The second werewolf attack originated in Diagon Alley, the wizard quarter of London hidden behind Charing Cross Road. The primary target again appears to have been wizard-related, but sometime during the attack four of the werewolves split off and made it out onto Charing Cross Road. Security forces guarding the muggle side of this exit killed three of the werewolves and injured the fourth. They then proceeded to track down the fourth werewolf to a location four blocks away, and killed it before it could escape into the muggle population. Fortunately, and perhaps not coincidentally, the werewolf attack occurred within the evacuation zone created in response to the Shaftesbury Death Eater sightings.”

There was a pause, and then Kate asked, “How were our muggle security forces able to kill these werewolves?”

“Silver bullets,” Hermione replied. “Two of the agents involved in the incident were card-carrying muggles who knew that it was a full moon.”

Kate nodded. “So we have four dead werewolves…transformed back into human form, I presume?”

“Five actually,” Hermione said softly. “One of the werewolves that remained within Diagon Alley was felled and its body recovered as well.”

MI-6 Chief piped in, “Agent Granger, you are far too modest.” He turned to Chief Inspector Miller and proudly stated, “She put five slugs into the creature’s skull as it approached her at a dead run.”

Hermione looked down at her briefing papers. “Yes, sir…thank you sir.”

Sensing Hermione’s discomfort, the Met Commissioner said, “Chief Inspector, we’ve brought you on as lead investigator into the werewolf attacks both in London and Devon. We want to know who these people were, why they attacked, and who ordered them to do so. Your status as a card-carrying muggle will make it possible for you to liaison with the wizarding police forces that will no doubt also be involved.”

“Yes sir,” Kate replied. “I should say straight out, sir, that I know nothing about werewolves, other than that they really exist.”

“Quite all right, Chief Inspector,” her boss replied. “I’m told that we have some excellent tutors available to get you up to speed, and you’ll be working with someone that has, shall we say, first hand knowledge of the condition?”

Kate’s eyes went wide at the implications of this statement.

“No worries,” Wally quickly said, having taken in her concerns. “Remus Lupin might be a tad furry, but he’s on our side.”

“Time for a break, I think,” the Prime Minister concluded. “Some of us have another oversight meeting to attend to…we’ll reconvene in one hour.”

The committee members and their support staff all stood, with many scurrying off to get updates from their own departments. This gave Wally an opportunity to wrap Hermione into a one-armed hug, and offer words of support. It also gave the Prime Minister the opportunity to walk halfway around the table and quietly cut into his MI-6 Chief.

“Rather bad form calling attention to Agent Granger’s first kill, don’t you think?” he whispered.

The Director General cast a nervous glance towards Wally and Hermione before replying, “Yes, sir…sorry, sir.”

“I don’t think that I’m the one you should be apologizing to,” the Prime Minister said. “You seem to forget that for all of her brilliance and competence, Agent Granger is still a seventeen year old school girl whose parents are about to be sent into battle.”

The MI-6 chief nodded and let out a deep sigh.

“I do hope that you have counselors on hand that can offer her more than a teaspoon’s worth of empathy,” the Prime Minister stated.

“Yes, sir…should I bring them in now?”

The Prime Minister let out his own sigh as he shook his head. “Unfortunately, Agent Wall’s sympathetic shoulder will have to do until we’ve got Dartmoor and Inverness…”

The sudden and unexpected appearance of a broom-borne Queen’s Wizard above the conference room table kept the Prime Minister from finishing his statement.

“Bloody Hell,” the Home Secretary shouted,” as Harry inched the broom forward and down, so that he could pull Hermione into an embrace.

“Ah, I see Wally has called in reinforcements,” said the Prime Minister. He paused, and then added, “Not that it should keep you from begging forgiveness in the meantime.”

“I’ll get right on it, sir.”

The Prime Minister nodded, as Hermione whispered something into Harry’s ear. The Queen’s Wizard smiled, looked over his shoulder, and said, “Sorry for the interruption, Prime Minister.”

“Not a problem, Major,” the Prime Minister replied. “Here to offer an update on the Dementor situation, then?”

“Erm, yes sir,” Harry replied, a bit sheepishly. “No contact in the past few minutes, and my old Quidditch captain has shown up with his teammates from Puddlemere United with their brooms. So we’ve got broom patrols covering eighty miles of coastline…and Fred’s still up there in case we need to tangle with them again.”

“Good show, Major Potter,” the Defense Chief said.

“Yes indeed, Agent Potter,” chimed in the MI-5 chief, not wishing to be left out of the loop.

“Thank you, Sirs,” Harry replied.

“Harry, you can get off of your broomstick, now,” Hermione chided gently.

“Well, actually…” Harry replied. He turned back towards the Prime Minister and asked. “Would you mind if I borrow your Senior Advisor for a few minutes?”

The Prime Minister smiled. “Not at all, Harry.”

“Are you sure, sir?” Hermione asked, shifted glances between Harry and her boss.

“Get some fresh air, Hermione,” the Prime Minister said. “With Agent Wall here, we can contact you directly and there’s a secure travel link, right?”

Hermione was still hesitant, prompting Harry to ask, “You’re not afraid of the broom, are you Hermione? Because if you are, I’ve got just the thing…” He then opened his magical rucksack, and retrieved her personalized flight helmet.

Hermione frowned when she took the helmet into her hands. “And just who was it that decided on my nickname?”

Harry turned sheepishly towards the Prime Minister, who smiled and said, “It was a group decision, although I must confess to having originally suggested it.”

A curl came to Hermione’s lips as she loosened the ponytail holder just enough to allow the personalized helmet to fit on her head. “Well, I guess I can’t complain too much, then,” she said. “Thank you for the compliment.”

And with that issue decided upon, “Seeker” pulled “Chequers” up onto his broom, and the two badge-jumped into thin air.