Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the 'Harry Potter' universe, nor do I own any of the lyric bits that I use to enhance the story.

A/N: Here's another appallingly short update, (only about 5700 words.) We learn quite a few things in this chapter, and we get to see what Hermione had in mind for a birthday gift for Harry. As you'll be able to tell by the end of this chapter, things are quickly coming to a head. Enjoy!

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Chapter 43: Kotone's Wildest Dream

I know I felt like this before,
but now I'm feeling it even more
because it came from you.

Oh my life is changing everyday,
in every possible way.
Though my dreams, it's never quite as it seems,
'cause you're a dream to me,
Dream to me.

Excerpt from the song, "Dreams" by the band, The Cranberries.

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Hermione spent the rest of the morning quietly cleaning the dust out of the beach house. She was amazed that there wasn't anything else wrong with the house, considering the climate and the total lack of upkeep for well over a decade and a half. There was no mold or mildew on any of the interior floors or walls. Even the metal hinges of the doors and cabinets showed no signs of rust or tarnish, something which she would have expected would exist due to the humidity of the locale.

After stopping at noontime for a quick sandwich, Hermione tackled the outside of the house, which actually did show the house's age. She could only imagine how many storms and hurricanes the house withstood over the years. Still, it took no more than several cleaning charms to restore the house to its original pristine condition. She even borrowed Harry's broom to reach the roof, where she cleared the debris from the gutters and scourgefied the wide, glass skylight over the loft. She quickly found that it probably wasn't the wisest thing for her to do.

As the years of grime and debris was magically wiped away from the skylight, she had a magnificent overhead view of Harry sleeping on the bed, stretched out in all of his naked glory. Hermione's breath hitched as her eyes focused on his obviously engorged manhood. She sat on the broom mesmerized as she watched it rhythmically twitch and pulse with life. She already knew that boys sometimes became 'excited' as they slept, so she wasn't at all surprised to see him in that state.

What did surprise her was her own body's involuntary reaction to the sight of Harry sprawled out on his back. She fidgeted uncomfortably on the broomstick, both thankful for, and cursing at, the cotton pad that cushioned her womanhood from the hard wooden shaft between her legs. Her eyes lost focus slightly and an involuntary moan escaped her as she squirmed forward against the shaft of the Firebolt.

Hermione's breath quickened and her eyes began to slowly close, only to snap wide open a moment later as she realized what she was doing. She quickly guided the broom down to the front door and hastily dismounted, still with a brilliant flush to her face and neck.

She carried the broom inside and was about to set it back where she found it when she noticed a dark, crimson stain on the handle where she was sitting. She looked down at herself and saw the blood staining the area of her crotch. She scourgefied both the broom handle and her denim shorts before rushing into the bathroom.

Sure enough, she found that the pad she had placed there hours earlier was completely soaked, and that she was still bleeding rather heavily. She conjured a small hand mirror and hiked one leg up onto the sink. Holding the mirror in one hand as she opened herself up with the other, she closely inspected herself. She wasn't surprised when she found that her hymen had certainly torn. She had been very careful while using tampons over the years, but knew that the thin membrane couldn't withstand the intrusion by Harry's sizable manhood. However, she was surprised to find that the blood wasn't from her torn hymen.

As Hermione sat on the toilet, she briefly considered that there might be some sort of internal damage, which she seriously doubted was the case. Yes, there was pain when they made love, but she had actually expected it to be much worse that it was, judging from the stories that were passed around by the other more experienced girls in Gryffindor tower. There was all this blood… and the cramping… but… but she already had her period over a week before! How could she be having it again so soon?

Her brow furrowed in thought for only a few heartbeats before the realization struck her. The same thing happened back in their third year at Hogwarts while she was using her time turner. Her periods had come along much quicker, usually almost a week before she had expected it, and that was only from repeating a few hours a day… well, somewhat more than just a few…

Hermione stepped into the relatively cold spray in shower stall and started doing some quick calculations in her head. She counted the hours that she had spent in her 'state' since her last period. She added all the time she spent on the beach trying unsuccessfully to rid Harry of Voldemort's soul shard, all of the hours during the ritual that she lay near death, but still in her state, while Harry watched over her, and all of the time she spent staring at herself in the bathroom mirror, as well as the other, shorter times when she only entered her state for a few moments.

She came to the startling conclusion that, while in her accelerated state for less than a day in total, she had spent almost three weeks in 'real' time. Now she knew how she recovered from the sunburn so quickly… her body actually was speeding up through time!

Then another shocking realization struck her. If she had aged almost three weeks in less than a day's time, and Kotone had been in and out of her state for, she assumed, most of her life… if she was almost eleven years old chronologically, then exactly how old was Kotone in real time? As she thought about it, that must have been how Kotone was able to heal herself so quickly and how she could recover so much of her spent energy in such a short amount of time… and how she could starve herself in only a few days of 'real' time. Hermione also realized that, for the longest time, Kotone never spoke aloud to anyone. Every time she communicated, it was with that connection that she makes when entering her accelerated state! That alone could have added years to her life, depending on how often she used it and for how long.

Hermione didn't fail to notice the thick, white patch of pubic hair the little half-witch was sporting, nor did she miss the pair of breasts that she had. Kotone's breasts weren't especially large, especially for someone of her slight physique, but they were obviously fully developed. When Hermione first saw them, she initially thought that it was some odd, inherent trait of Kotone being a half-breed… now she wasn't so sure. Hermione stepped from the shower, quickly dried herself.

Hermione walked to the counter and picked up her wand. She slowly ran the tip from the top of her breastbone, down between her breasts and over her stomach to rest just above her pubic bone while incanting, "Aetasaevum."

She felt a slight shiver pass across her body, accompanied by a mild tingling sensation where her wand traced the line over her torso. She then held her wand upright and passed it in front of her in a slow arc. Glowing figures hung suspended in the air that read, 'Eighteen Years, One Month, Twenty-two Days, Three Minutes, Sixteen Seconds.' A few seconds later, the writing faded and then disappeared from view altogether.

Hermione blew a breath out through her nose as she muddled over the implications. By using the time-turner, and by entering her state, she had unnaturally aged almost five months beyond her chronological time. 'How much older was Kotone?' was the thought permeating her mind.

Another notion suddenly came to mind… Harry had been in his state a few times, and even Ron was in his for almost an hour, maybe more if he had tried his ability since leaving Grimmauld Place.

Hermione charmed her clothes clean once again, and then secured a fresh pad to her knickers before she finished dressing herself. She then made her way up the stairs to the loft where Harry was still sleeping. She froze once again at the sight of his naked form still stretched out on the covers.

"Oh my!" she whispered to herself as thoughts of their earlier coupling came unbidden into her mind, and the effect of those thoughts sent a fresh wave of desire coursing through her. Hermione wanted nothing more than to strip off the clothes that she had just put on, climb onto the bed with him, and start doing things that would certainly awaken him in very short order.

After a few slow, deep breaths she was able to push down those urges and concentrate on the task at hand. She drew her wand and ran it down the length of his torso while using the age revealing charm. Harry only stirred slightly as she softly incanted the spell. Her wand arced through the air again to reveal the glowing figures, 'Seventeen Years, Five Hours, Seven Minutes, Twelve Seconds.'

A broad grin appeared on Hermione's face as she counted back the hours to find that Harry had actually turned seventeen while they were having sex for the first time. She suddenly thought that that particular gift was possibly the best birthday present she could ever give him.

It took Hermione a minute to tear herself away from staring at Harry. She knew full well what had come over both of them when the bond was repaired. She suspected that what had happened might occur… the sudden rush of the full intensity of the love that had been repressed for so long. The physical yearning had been making itself known gradually since Ginny dispelled the bloodline preservation ritual, but with the bond repaired, both their emotional love and the physical yearning hit them both full-force. The smile she was wearing grew as she thought about the threat she made to Harry… she was serious… she would have vanished his trousers without a second thought.

Her smile slowly fell from her face as she reached the bottom of the stairs and headed for the front door. She didn't feel anger… maybe disappointment that Kotone didn't trust them enough to inform them of her true age, if she even aged faster in her state at all. Jealousy never entered her mind as she thought of all the times that Harry had carried her on his side. Even she had carried the little witch around, and she knew there was nothing physical or sexual about it… the girl just needed to be carried. Still, Hermione had a few questions that needed some answers.

When she was outside on the Firebolt earlier, she didn't notice if Kotone was still playing down on the beach. She stepped out onto the sand and scanned the shoreline, seeing no sign of the little girl, save for her mask sitting on the kimono-robe that was pooled near the waterline. She walked to the items and picked them up as her eyes scanned across the surf.

It only took her a moment to figure out how to find Kotone. Hermione looked up into the expansive, cloudless sky and assumed her state. The change in her perception was dramatically different outdoors and in full daylight than it was in the weak illumination of the bathroom. In her eyes, the bright sun seemed to dim to an intensity just slightly brighter than the full moon. The baby-blue sky seemed to darken to a medium violet, which contrasted with the high cirrus clouds that she could now see as they had been washed out by the daylight. Her eyes dropped to look out over the ocean that was now coloured a deep forest green with sage-tinted whitecaps topping the undulating waves. The dark fog that was rolling out from around the silky black dress that she was now wearing spread out to about twenty feet around her, all but obscuring the now brown-tinted sand that, until then, appeared white.

Although everything around her appeared darker, her senses seemed heightened to a state she had never experienced before. The sound of the surf was crashing loudly in her ears, but she could still hear the cries of the distant sea birds as they glided on the thermals over the water. She turned to look at the foliage surrounding the house, and could sense the presence of every snake and lizard… she could almost swear that she heard the multitude of insects as they scurried or flew across and through the flora. She also thought that she heard singing in the distance, but the other sounds around her made it impossible for her to tell for sure.

Her eyes shifted towards the lagoon, and it was there that she saw the towering, angelic figure of Kotone's soul, standing motionless on the far side of the sheltered pool near the waterfall. She stared at it for a short time, unable to get over how much her form actually did resemble an angel.

Hermione dispelled her state, and her perception of her surroundings shifted immediately back to the bright sun, blue sky and white sand. She walked through the ferns and fronds towards the lagoon, intent on finding the little girl. She found a narrow path that seemed to lead around the lagoon. Following the path, crossed a small wooden bridge that spanned the outlet from the lagoon to the ocean, and a minute later she arrived at the base of the waterfall. After another minute of fruitless searching, she was ready to enter her state again to find Kotone, but then she noticed through the falling cascade of water, the little half-witch sitting in the lotus position on a large rock directly under the falls.

It was difficult for Hermione to tell, but Kotone seemed to have her eyes closed as she sat motionless amidst the water that was falling directly onto her from about twenty feet up. As Hermione neared, she could just make out above the hissing of the falling water, the low grunts and growls of Kotone's deep voice as she sang some dirge-like song in a language that certainly didn't sound like Japanese.

"Kotone?" called out Hermione, she hoped loud enough to be heard over the crashing water.

Apparently, Kotone did hear, because her eyes flew open and locked onto Hermione's through the water and the cloud of mist. Kotone's song continued.

Hermione felt herself freeze as she was forced into her state along with Kotone, but instead of her senses heightening, her surroundings disappeared into darkness, leaving Kotone's violet eyes as the only thing in her perception. She then heard the little girl's ethereal, echoing voice drift through her mind while the song continued in the background. Hermione could then understand the words that the little half-Oni was singing in the pleasant, accented voice that was heard through her connection. Although her singing now held a mellifluous lilt, it was still in the language she couldn't identify, but the message of the song was painfully clear… loneliness and loss, pain and hopelessness. The power and emotion behind her singing gave Hermione pause, almost making her forget the reason she was there.

Even as the distant-sounding song continued, she heard Kotone clearly through the connection, 'Hello, Washi-chan. I am very pleased that your bond with Shishi-sama has been restored.'

'Kotone, why are you sitting underwater?' asked Hermione through the connection.

'I am almost finished,' Kotone said somewhat evasively, 'I will come back to house very soon. Please not to worry.'

'Finished with what?'

It took a few moments for Kotone to answer. Hermione could almost hear the sigh in her ethereal voice, 'I am purifying… to release the negative so that only the positive remain. It must be done now.'

Hermione couldn't tell how, but she knew that there was much more going on than what Kotone was letting on. Realizing that she would get no more information on that particular subject, she asked what she had come to find out.

'Kotone, how old are you?'

The ethereal background singing abruptly stopped. Without a pause, Kotone answered a little too quickly, 'I am ten, and will be eleven next month. I was born on August Sixteenth, in the year Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five.'

'Yes, I know that chronologically, you are ten, and will be eleven next month… how old are you physically?'

Kotone didn't answer for what seemed a very long time. Hermione was just about to 'speak' again, but Kotone must have sensed it because the connection between them was abruptly and forcefully ended. Hermione was still reeling from having her state released so quickly when she saw Kotone step out from under the rush of water.

Even though the little half-demon was soaking wet, Hermione still saw the tears from her downcast eyes as she haltingly said in her normal, grating voice, "I… I do not know… how old."

Hermione tried not to sound angry as she handed Kotone her mask and robe and said, "But you do know that you are older than ten… much older…"

After shrugging on the kimono-robe and affixing the mask on her face, Kotone bowed her head and simply nodded while saying, "Maybe older in body, but in my state, I cannot move… I cannot experience life beyond my own thoughts. I may be physically older, but I am still just a child… How can one mature when one spends months paralyzed and alone?"

Hermione looked shocked at the revelation. She knew that others were unable to move when Kotone connected with them, but never really realized that she couldn't move, either. Not that she ever tried dancing while in her state, Hermione was aware that she could move… nothing ever gave her the impression that she wasn't supposed to be able to, really. She looked at the younger, albeit not by much, witch and said, "But I can move in my state, just not when my form leaves my body, of course, but I can move my head and look around."

"Yes, both you and Brother Lion can move and act… I cannot… only think, and sometimes talk if I speak very, very slowly."

Hermione knelt in front of the young half-witch and opened the front of her kimono-robe. After awkwardly indicating that Kotone should remove the wand that was nestled between her breasts, she took her own wand and traced it down the girl's body while incanting, "Aetasaevum."

As Hermione passed her wand through the air, the glowing words appeared, 'Sixteen Years, Nine Months, Twenty-Seven Days, Two Minutes, Fifty-One Seconds.'

"You're only two months away from being seventeen," said Hermione in a disbelieving whisper.

Kotone was hugging the robe around her self as the tears kept falling. She looked up at Hermione with her teary, violet eyes and said in a voice that sounded very small, "You are going to tell Brother Lion…" she paused a moment as a sob involuntarily escaped her, "Will he understand? Will he send me to Ministry again? Will he still want me? Will he still love me?"

Hermione could see the despair in her leaking eyes. Kotone's body was shivering, even in the warm tropical air, obviously in the throes of a panic attack. She could understand the half-demon's dilemma, being so young and so old at the same time, if even you could consider sixteen as old. She was physically almost Harry's age, but she was still the lost, frightened little girl they had met at King's Cross Station a month and a half before.

Hermione couldn't stand to see the anguish that was so plainly showing in Kotone's eyes. She reached out and wrapped her arms around the little half-witch, who responded by throwing her own arms around Hermione and began crying into her chest in earnest.

"I'm not going to tell Harry," said Hermione softly, "but you should. You should give him a bit more credit. He loves you like a daughter, Kotone… and I doubt that your 'situation' would change that in the slightest. I'll leave it up to you… still, I'm trusting you to do the right thing."

Kotone was silent for a long time as she stayed in Hermione's embrace, her stillness only punctuated by the occasional sniffle. Hermione didn't mind, it was the least she could do for the distressed little girl.

After a while, Kotone pulled out of the hug, then looked to the ground as she softly said, "You saved my life, you know… twice now, in fact."

Hermione stared at the girl in stunned silence, trying to remember a time that she had saved her from mortal peril, but was at a loss. Did she mean at the orphanage? Harry was the one to save her there.

"In the healer's place was first time, when you came for visit. I was going to die to protect my Brother Lion… If you did not come just then… I… I was so weak…"

Hermione was shocked, not just at the idea of her saving the girl's life by reviving Harry when she did, but that Kotone would have given her life for someone that she had only met once. She was shaken out of her thoughts when Kotone continued.

"The second time in the learning house… the castle… They were taking me back to Ministry, back to be tortured like before. When you found me, I was telling man to kill me. I could not go back to torture place. Death was preferable. Again, you saved my life."

Hermione did remember seeing the images that Kotone had shown to Harry in the bathtub. She couldn't feel the pain or the hopelessness, but she did witness the torture. She couldn't really blame the little half-witch for not wanting to return there, but to kill herself, albeit indirectly? She then realized that Kotone's ordeal there must have been worse, or had gone on much longer than she let on. No wonder she was afraid that Harry might not want her and send her back into the Ministry's hands.

"Kotone, you have to tell him about yourself soon, and I promise you that whatever happens, he won't send you back to the ministry. He would never do that to you. Just remember what I said, have a little faith in him, and trust me when I say that he will still love you, no matter what."

Kotone nodded dejectedly as she took Hermione's hand and allowed herself to be led back to the house, not lifting her eyes from the path they were following. Soon they were walking through the doorway into the now spotless living room. When Kotone looked around curiously, Hermione put a finger to her lips, then pointed up above them to the loft and whispered, "Sleeping."

Kotone silently nodded, and then made a bee line for the polar bearskin rug in front of the fireplace. A few moments later, she was curled up on the soft fur, fast asleep.

Hermione, who was feeling strangely drained after hearing Kotone's lamenting song and then discovering her little secret, looked longingly up to the loft. She wanted to go up and maybe catch a short kip, but knew that the chances of her being able to sleep after she got there, especially with Harry in his currently unclothed state, were practically nil.

With a sigh, she walked over to the sofa and stretched out upon the cushions. With one last look at the sadly frowning lips on Kotone's mask, she closed her eyes and tried to relax her mind in hopes of catching a nap until Harry awoke on his own.

Hermione had no idea how long she was asleep when a loud, thundering crash, followed by a terrified, high-pitched squeal snapped her out of her slumber. In a heartbeat, she was on her feet with her wand in her hand. She didn't realize it, but she had instinctively entered her state before her feet touched the floor.

Hermione had her wand trained on a pair of tangled bodies, one belonging to the frightened Kotone, who was staring wide-eyed at the other lanky, azure-haired woman who was sprawled haphazardly on top of her and retching onto the floor.

Tonks wiped a string of bile from her mouth on the sleeve of her auror robes, and then said, "Cor! Right poor job, that…Where the bloody Hell am… BLOODY HELL!"

Tonks had just lifted her watery gaze from the mess on the floor to see the transformed Hermione standing in front of her in what appeared to be a very intimidating pose.

Hermione wore an amused expression as she vanished the sick from the floor and then lowered her hand to help Tonks up. The auror stared up at her for more than a few moments before she realized exactly who she was looking at. Tonks shook her head and reached out for the proffered hand.

"Hermione!" exclaimed the shocked auror as she rose from the floor, "You look wicked! That's quite some Halloween costume ya got there… I barely recognized ya…"

Hermione, still half-asleep, blinked a few times before glancing down at herself to see her nearly transparent, gauzy black gown and the roiling mass of dark fog that was surrounding her. Only then did she realize that she had transformed into her state, and what had shaken Tonks so profoundly. She then noticed the now distinct Yin-Yang, faint but recognizable not that she was looking for it, spinning slowly in her mind's eye. It was truly and quickly becoming a second nature to her.

As Hermione hastily dispelled her state, she glanced up to the magical, wire-framed clock above the fireplace. The suspended wrought hands pointed to the roman numerals encircling the face, the short, fat at the four, the long, thin at the eleven. She had been asleep for less than two hours. She then took in the condition of Tonks' appearance. Her disheveled auror robes were filthy and appeared to be singed in places, and her hair, while coloured a brilliant azure blue, was clearly very dirty. Bits of twigs and some other unidentifiable debris were sticking out, and it was obvious that it wasn't caused by what was assuredly a long, harrowing floo trip.

"Tonks! What are you doing here? You said that you'd get the papers tomorrow!"

With a wry grin, Tonks said, "Well, I was in the building anyway, under orders to finish sealing it before five o'clock… we were just securing the fourth level when you flooed. It just so happened that… and you didn't hear this from me… Arthur Weasley was just clearing his office… and him being the last acting Department Head left in the building, he was more than willing to scoot with me down to the records office. At first, he was saying it was impossible just then, but when we checked, the paperwork just flew through the patriarchal processor…"

At that point, Tonks looked meaningfully at Hermione and asked, "Are you sure that his birthday is tomorrow?"

Knowing exactly what was going on, and not wanting to reveal too much about the status of their respective powers, Hermione simply said, "Well, there may be a bit of an age differential… Harry had permission to use a time turner a few years back… that might skew his chronological age a bit…"

Tonks smiled, having every reason to accept the explanation, simply nodded thoughtfully before continuing, "It accepted him as the current head of the Potter and Black clans…" Tonks then withdrew a sheet of parchment from the pocket of her auror robes and said, "Once he signs this, its official… and tell him 'happy birthday' for me again. I've got to get back before things fall apart even more."

Hermione was only half paying attention to what Tonks was saying as she scanned down the magically produced, and magically binding, statement of adoption. Once it was signed, Harry would officially and permanently be Kotone's father, and Kotone Oota would be officially and permanently renamed Mistress Kotone Oota-Black-Potter… heir to the…

"Tonks, is this right?" asked Hermione hesitantly as she scanned down the document a second time, "This parchment states that Harry will assume all rights as the Oota Patriarch, including the Oota family assets… From what I understand, Kotone's assets were confiscated by one of her relatives many years ago."

Tonks turned from her giving the 'evil eye' to the fireplace, apparently none too keen on the return floo trip, and said, "Arthur did have a comment on that… It seems that a sister of Kotone's father, a Mrs. Motoko Izumi, knew full well that Kotone was alive, and even knew where she was. She purposely withheld the information at the estate hearings, leading the Japanese officials to believe that Kotone was dead along with her parents. According to Japanese Ministry regulations, Mrs. Izumi would have had no rights at all to the Oota family assets if it were known that Kotone was alive. Once that parchment is signed, all of the Oota money and properties become Harry's to do with as he pleases, no matter where they currently are or in whose possession they happen to be."

Both ladies were startled when a deep, choked sob came from the side of the fireplace. Hermione turned in time to see a white blur heading right for her, and an instant later, she was crushed in a surprisingly powerful hug.

"Washi-chan!" cried the now mask-less Kotone as she desperately embraced Hermione around her waist, then started mumbling unintelligible phrases in rapid Japanese as fat tears fell from her eyes.

Hermione didn't need to understand her words… the emotions behind them were crystal clear. She wore a huge grin as she hugged the little half-Oni in return while whispering to the top of her head, "I told you he loves you, and I'm sure he'll sign this, even after you tell him your little secret."

"And what little secret is that?"

All three girls turned in surprise to see Harry standing at the foot of the stairs to the loft wearing nothing but a curious smile and a bed sheet wrapped around him like a toga. He was looking between Hermione and Kotone expectantly.

Tonks eyed the sheet around Harry, then her gaze drifted to the slacks and underwear pooled on the floor beside the scraps of torn cloth that was once his shirt, A leering grin appeared on her face.

"Wotcher, Harry!" exclaimed Tonks brightly, "Happy birthday! I'd love to stay and chat about your 'activities,' but I really do have to get back. The inferi are already on the outskirts of London, and between the giants up north and the werewolves coming up from Devon, they'll need all of us…"

Tonks voice trailed off as she saw the shocked look on their collective faces, "You mean, you haven't heard what's going on?" Tonks looked around, as if for the first time since arriving, and said, "Where the Hell is this place, anyway?"

"We're not really sure," answered Hermione, "We figure somewhere near Bermuda… now what's this about inferi?"

Harry then spoke up, "I found out about the inferi this morning from Ben, but I thought that situation was under control… I didn't know anything about the giants or werewolves, though."

Tonks sighed as an uncharacteristically worried look overtook her face, "A few days ago, a large group of inferi started causing havoc near Clacton-on-Sea marching across the country towards London…"

Harry saw the horrified look on Hermione and quickly said, "I checked on your house while you were asleep… your parents are fine. The inferi passed north of St. Osyth."

Hermione looked visibly relieved as Tonks continued, "It seems the Death Eaters hijacked a muggle freighter from the port of Kohtla-Jarve in Estonia and loaded it up with the giants he recruited. They came ashore up by the highlands in Wick, and appear to be heading south towards Hogwarts, but we're getting conflicting reports from the aurors up there. The biggest problem we're going to have over the next few nights will be the full moon. It seems the werewolves have amassed in Exmouth and started moving throughout Devon."

Tonks gave Harry an apologetic look as she said, "We were just able to clear out the Burrow before it was destroyed… I'm sorry Harry, I know it was like home to ya."

"And the Lovegoods and Diggorys?" asked Harry concernedly, "I know that they live near Ottery St. Catchpole… are they safe, too?"

"They're fine," assured Tonks, "but I can't say the same for the muggles. Their police and military are going crazy, and there's nothin' we can do about it. It's just too big… we can't obliviate the entire country! The ministry operations and the Wizengamot have been moved to a secret location, even most of us aurors don't know where. It's a right disaster…"

Harry and Hermione looked meaningfully at each other, silently agreeing that the time had come to retrieve the horcruxes that they knew about. Time seemed to be quickly running out.

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Somewhere over the mid-Atlantic ocean, many miles away from any land, a small ball of brown feathers was frantically flapping his wings against the buffeting winds and the sheeting rain of the storm he was currently passing through. He was having a difficult time keeping homed in on his target. He thought that his target had changed once or twice during the morning, but with the inclement weather, he really couldn't be sure.

Suddenly, a massive winged beast… well, massive in comparison to him… flew past him with such velocity that it caused the poor Scops owl to tumble ass-over-teakettle before he was able to right himself to continue his trek. The owl recognized the beast as one of Gringotts' intercontinental delivery Mongbats, carring a sealed document container bearing the official Gringotts seal.

Pig let out a hoot of indignation… he could tell that the container was destined for the same wizard that he was looking for… and it never even offered to assist him with his own delivery.

He let out another resigned hoot as he grudgingly continued to fight against the rain and gale, in what was undoubtedly the worst delivery mission he ever had in his life.

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A/N: Fun Fact: I toyed with the idea of making Kotone *considerably* older, but stuck with my original idea and kept her underage and still a minor… but just barely.