Changes

alayneni

Rating: PG13
Genres: Humor, Suspense
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 6
Published: 24/07/2007
Last Updated: 19/01/2012
Status: in_progress

It's been seven years since Harry left England with Ron and Ginny. They've returned to find that things haven't turned out the way they expected. This was written before DH. Warning: The story is very suspenseful!

Chapters

1. Prologue

2. Welcome Home

3. The Weasley Kids

4. Malfoy Manor

5. It's Not Possible

6. The Order

7. The Death of Arthur Weasley

8. Cleaning

9. Trust

10. Steele

11. The Head of Harry Potter

12. Understanding

13. Disagreements

14. New Beginnings and Unfortunate Endings

15. Funeral

1. Prologue

An: This was written before the release of DH and I have up to eight chapters posted at FF.net. I hope you enjoy the story. The prologue is short but I'll post the next chapter shortly. This story follows all of Portkey's ships.

CHANGES

Prologue

Harry, Ron and Ginny stood at the entrance to the burrow. It had been seven years since they were last there and from appearances nothing much had changed. It looked exactly the same, which was a bit unnerving because though they hoped it would be the same, realistically, it should have changed. Ginny anxiously knocked on the front door while Ron and Harry nervously stood behind her. Ginny wasn't supposed to come with him when he left seven years ago but she refused to let him go. Ron knew his mom was probably most upset with him for taking Ginny along. She was the only Weasley girl and his parents adored her.

Harry too was anxious. The Weasley's were like family to him. He wasn't sure if they would just accept him back after he picked up and left with their two youngest children. The war had been disastrous. There was so much pain and suffering during both during and after the war. Everywhere Harry turned he saw it. It reached to the point where he couldn't stand it. He had to leave. Ron volunteered to go with him but Harry initially refused they offer. After a long discussion Harry eventually caved and agreed to let Ron accompany him. The night they had prepared to leave, Ginny appeared fully packed and ready to go with them.

The war had been very exhausting on both sides with Harry's side eventually winning. The Weasley's were one of the luckiest families, as all of their children survived the war. The final battle occurred at Hogwarts and the castle received a great deal of damage. In fact, up until six months after the war, when they left, the castle was still closed due to rebuilding efforts. The new Hogwarts was one of the things Harry wanted to see. He also wondered who the new professors were as the majority of the professors died trying to save the castle. Professors Vector, Sinstra, Sprout, Slughorn, Trewlany, Madame Pompfrey, Madame Hooch, Hagrid and Headmistress McGonagall all died that day. They had heard a rumour when they were passing through Egypt that Professor Flitwick was the current headmaster of Hogwarts.

The hunt for the horcruxes had been very exhausting on them. Ron and Hermione had followed him every step of the way. The visit to Godric's Hollow had been very emotional and Harry had no clue how he managed to deal with it. He knew now that he was older he would like to go there again. He was hoping to make the journey again with Ron and Hermione. He remembered that when he saw his parents' graves he had collapsed in a fit of tears. He knew somewhere his head had ended up in Hermione's lap and she was gently stroking his hair while she whispered soothing words to him. She gave him the courage to go on. He knew he had a lot to thank his best friend for. In the last seven years he had more than expressed his thanks to Ron for all the times Ron saved him but his one regret was that he had yet to thank Hermione.

Both he and Ron had left Hermione behind. They hadn't told her they were leaving but they owled her a note after they were far enough away. Hermione had been spending time with her parents and the last thing he wanted to do was take Hermione away from her parents. She had already devoted too much time to him and he wanted her to have a life free of his problems. He honestly hadn't expected to be gone so long. In his quick note to her he said he would be leaving for a short time to clear his head and he promised he would be back soon. To guarantee his return, he left Hedwig in her care. He remembered telling Hedwig to look after Hermione for him. He was hoping she wouldn't be too upset with him. Seven years could be considered a short time since wizards often had a long life. At least, he was hoping she would take this view.

Harry was broken out of his thoughts by loud footsteps behind the door. He mentally braced himself for Mrs. Weasley's greeting but the sight that greeted him was the last thing he ever expected to see at the Burrow.

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2. Welcome Home

An: Thank you for the lovely reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter. This was written before DH so don't be too upset if things stated are not consistent with DH.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 1 - Welcome Home

Harry, Ron and Ginny froze for a second before they decided to draw their wands. They were slow on the draw though, since it had been so long since they had to react to a situation. They each had a bet on who would answer the door. Ginny thought for sure it would be their mom. Harry said he thought it might be one of the grandkids. When they left Fleur had just given birth to a baby girl, Nathalie. Ron said he thought it might be one of the twins. Never had they expected it to be him.

The moment's hesitation was enough time for him to disarm them and summon their wands. He stood there smirking at them and enjoyed revelling in the moment.

“Famous Harry Potter comes back to visit and is disarmed in less than a second. One would think you would be able to put up a better fight than that Potter?”

“Malfoy! What are you doing here?” Harry sneered as he looked at his wand clasped in Malfoy's left hand.

“Draco!” A women's voice called out from further inside the Burrow interrupting the standoff. “Draco Lucius Malfoy, you get back here this instant!” The female screeched at the top of her lungs. Neither of them recognized the voice and Harry could swear he saw a flicker of fear pass over Draco's face.

“There you are! I hope you don't think you are getting out of his house through that door.” The woman stated angrily.

In response Draco opened the door wider for her to see the three people at the door. She was tall with short red hair that stopped at her shoulders. She had freckles on her face and beautiful green eyes. Her skin was slightly tan and she had a great figure. She narrowed her eyes at them and glanced briefly back into the Burrow and then back at them. Harry could see a spark of recognition in her eyes.

“Oh my god Draco is that.” She said in an astonished voice.

“Yes.” Draco said nonchalantly before he decided to do a formal introduction.

“Arianne meet Harry James Potter, Ronald Bilius Weasley and Ginerva Molly Weasley.” Draco said a bit too smugly as he waved their wands carelessly through the air. He enjoyed watching them squirm.

“Oh Molly's going to be so thrilled. I will go floo her right away.” Arianne said enthusiastically looking at Draco

“She's busy today.” Draco reminded her in a know it all tone that sounded eerily of Hermione.

“Right,” the redhead head said giving him a confused look. “What about the others? Where's Percy?” Harry looked incredulously between the redhead and Draco. He couldn't understand why Malfoy was in the Burrow with that woman and why they were acting so normal.

“Hogwarts,” Draco replied

“Charlie?”

“Work”

“Fred and George?”

“Hogwarts”

“So what are we going to do?” Arianne asked exasperatedly.

“Invite them in?” Draco said with a shrug.

“This is my house you can't be debating over whether or not to invite me in!” Ron said angrily as he decided to barge straight in with Ginny rounding up behind him. Both took the opportunity of Draco's distraction with Arianne to retrieve their wands from him. Once inside the house Ron trained his wand on Draco and Ginny pointed hers at the mysterious woman. Harry grabbed his wand from Malfoy and quickly cast a binding hex on him so he would be unable to move his arms and legs.

“Who are you?” Ginny asked as she glared at the female intruder.

“Didn't I just tell you her name is Arriane. Jeez Weasel, you would think after all these years you would have at least a little bit more intelligence.” Draco sneered at Ginny.

“Don't talk to my sister like that.” Ron shouted at him. Ron's ears had gone bright red and his face was slowly turning colour to match his hair.

“Settle down guys. I'm your sister in law, Ginny.” Arianne replied with a happy smile on her face. She had no fear that Ginny would hex her. Molly had always described her only daughter as a caring girl and Arianne couldn't imagine Ginny hexing her over nothing.

Ron and Ginny both turned to the other completely confused. They had been gone for seven years. They realised that their brothers must have married but they never expected to meet one of their brother's wives like this.

“Potter you going to release me or what?” Draco asked as he broke the confused atmosphere that had settled on the Burrow.

“Malfoy, I don't know what is going on here but before the end of the day I will wipe that smug smile off your face.” Harry threatened.

“Release him. Let's go to the kitchen for some tea and we can explain everything. I imagine it's been quite a shock for you.” Arianne said warmly.

-*-

Harry noted that nothing much had changed in the burrow as he, Ron and Ginny made their way to the kitchen. Once they entered the kitchen, they did notice that the table that once sat nine, now sat twice as many. Again, they should have expected that the family would have expanded when their brothers got married but actually encountering these small changes still affected them. Ginny briefly glanced up to where the clock should have been but was disappointed to see it gone.

Arianne busily set about making tea and told them they could sit anywhere. The three of them sat together on one side of the table and Draco sat opposite them. Arianne levitated the tea pot along with the cups and saucers to the table.

“Draco, you think we could make this into a surprise for Molly? I can just picture it now. If we can get everyone here it would be perfect.” Arianne said enthusiastically as she sat down next to Draco.

“Sorry to burst your bubble Ari but not everyone comes to the burrow and I think something like this is best left to be discovered naturally. Molly will be here in a few hours to check up on me. She'll find out then.” Draco said confidently.

Arianne gasped. “I almost forgot.” Draco groaned. He had given himself away. He glanced at the door and started deciding on the best escape route. It was a skill Snape had taught him.

“Draco, don't you dare.” Arianne said as she followed his line of sight to the door. “I promised Molly I would take care of you and I will. Now open up and take this potion. It's just a drop.” Arianne said summoning the potion and a dropper into her hand.

“If it's just a drop, let's see you take it!” Draco replied as he stubbornly crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Don't make me hex you!” Arianne said threateningly

“Ha! You couldn't hex an elephant if it were standing right in front of you!” Draco replied superiorly.

“I could hex him.” Both Harry and Ron volunteered happily.

“Draco stop being so stubborn and take the medicine.” Arianne said ignoring the comment from Harry and Ron.

Like a little child, Draco turned his back to her and clasped his hands over his ears saying he couldn't hear her. Arianne giggled at his antics and Ginny looked horrified at Draco.

“That may have worked for Louis but you are an adult Draco. I don't care how bad your childhood was you can't behave like a child with me.” Arianne said seriously.

“I'm not taking that blasted medicine ok.” Draco replied stubbornly.

“Listen here mister, either you take it or I will call Hermione and Luna to shove it down your throat!” Arianne threatened.

Harry had been ignoring their little spat and patiently waited for them to get to the part of the conversation that involved their presence at the Burrow. However, the mention of Hermione's name caused Harry to listen more intently to their idle chit chat. Throughout his seven years of travelling it was Hermione's presence that he missed the most. There were so many things he saw or did that he wanted to share with her. It was Hermione that brought him back to London.

“Mione and Luna are at work!” Draco teased with a broad smile.

Harry frowned at what Draco called Hermione. She hated nicknames and she would never let him or Ron call her anything but Hermione.

“Maybe not but I'm sure if I floo them they would be more than happy to come and help.” Arianne said with an evil smile.

“Uh, not to interrupt the lovely argument but I would be more than happy to shove that whole vile down his throat.” Ron said menacingly.

Arriane jumped a bit when Ron spoke. It appeared as if she had completely forgotten their presence. A wicked smile came to her face.

“No” Draco said fearfully.

“Either you take the medicine or I enlist the help of your brothers and sister.” Arianne said with a rather large smile.

“I am not his brother and Ginny and Harry definitely are not his brother or sister!” an enraged Ron stated.

“Well Draco?” Arianne asked as she held the medicine up again. She had completely ignored Ron's comment.

“As the movie said, catch me if you can!” and Draco was gone with a soft pop.

“That insufferable git! Hear my words Draco, I will get that medicine down your throat before Molly comes back if I have to tie you down and give it to you? Arianne screamed loudly into the house.

“Why are you screaming? He's gone. Isn't that good?” Ginny asked. She was beginning to think the woman in front of her wasn't all there in the head.

“He's still in the burrow. He wouldn't have left. He wouldn't dare defy Molly like that.” Arianne said as she appeared to talk more to herself than them.

“What is going on here?” Harry asked in a firm tone. He had had enough of the strange woman's ramblings.

“I'm so sorry. I know I haven't been the best hostess but Molly entrusted this task to me and I have to prove to her that I can do it. She told him he was to stay in the burrow all day. He wouldn't have gone against her wishes. If only she had told him he was supposed to take his medicine. I can't believe the one thing she has ever asked me to do and I can't do it. Why must Draco be so difficult! I don't know how Hermione and Luna can put up with him!” Arianne rambled on but Harry noted the reference to Hermione and Luna. She grabbed three more droppers and gave one each to Harry, Ron and Ginny.

Harry looked incredulously at the woman. She still hadn't answered his question! How hard was it to answer a simple question? She was really beginning to gnaw at the small amount of patients he had left.

“What are these for?” Ron questioned looking at the tiny dropper she handed him. Ron had thought of a very good word to describe his so called sister-in-law would be neurotic! No wonder his mother didn't trust her to do things very often.

“These are droppers. He only needs a drop of the medication. We have to hunt him down and force him to take it. We'll need to split up. I suggest one person cover the kitchen, one person the bedrooms, oh, I guess I should do the bedrooms. We don't want the babies to wake up. One person should go to the attic and I think one person in the garden. That should do it.” She said as she listed off the places on her hand.

“Hold up a second, why are we running around the house after Draco?” Ginny asked

“Draco's got the flu. He has to take this medicine or it will just get worse. But being Draco he doesn't want to take the medicine. He'd rather suffer with the flu. Which would be fine really, except the last time he had it, he gave it to everyone and trust me you don't ever want to see Hermione sick?” Arianne shuddered at the thought of a sick Hermione.

Ron had in fact seen a sick Hermione once and he knew that he definitely did not want to experience that again.

“Why do we have to split up?” Ginny asked innocently.

Arianne explained that the wards had recently been improved and Draco was one of the few people that could apparate within the burrow. If all four of them confronted him he would just apparate somewhere else. She reasoned if one person confronted him and he did apparate, there was a high possibility that he would apparate right in front one of them. She continued rambling until she decided they had wasted enough time. On the way out they could hear her mumbling continuously to herself.

“Is it me or does she need to be taken to Arkam Asylum?” Ron asked. He had become quite the Batman fan recently.

“Definitely mental,” Harry agreed shaking his head.

“I think we're missing something really big.” Ginny said thoughtfully.

“Big is an understatement Gin. I feel like I'm a complete stranger here.” Ron frustratingly stated.

“The big question is why is the ferret in the Burrow on Mom's orders?” Ginny asked confused.

“At least now we know why we couldn't apparate straight here. Though I wonder why they would have needed to change the wards.” Harry said as he began to ponder the issue of the wards.

He remembered during the war Mr. Weasley had placed strong protection wards on the Burrow. They got through the entire war without a single incident. He couldn't understand why they would need to redo the wards now.

“Besides the whole crazy persona, she seems pretty nice. You think we should help her?” Ginny asked

“On the bright side, it does mean getting rough with the Ferret.” Ron stated eagerly.

“Well, since you put it like that, I'm definitely in.” Harry said with a wicked gleam in his eye.

“Do you think we could trust her?” Ginny asked. She had been pondering how trustworthy she was the minute she saw her with Malfoy.

“I guess but we'll keep a close eye on her. Malfoy did say that your mother would be stopping by soon. We could wait until then.” Harry replied as he analysed the situation. He started to think of different torture scenarios he could use on Malfoy.

“Ok, Harry, you got the attic and Ron gets the garden. I will stay down here.” Ginny said with a broad smile as she pulled out a magazine out of her bag and started reading it on the table.

Harry and Ron both groaned as they headed to their particular assignments. Harry had many ideas about how they would be greeted and to be honest, none of them included the Ferret and a neurotic sister-in-law.

There were two main themes to the fantasized welcome home. One in which the Weasley's were angry at them and the other where they were elated that they had finally returned. Each fantasy was a little different. The differences were usually the person who told them to get lost or welcome back.

Harry got the feeling that they missed out a lot in the last seven years and they had a huge amount of catching up to do.

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3. The Weasley Kids

An: Thank you for the reviews. This chapter introduces all of the Weasely children and I didn't want it to get too long and confusing so that's basically all this chapter does. Sorry.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 2 - The Weasley Kids

Harry was very frustrated. His first day back and he spent it running after the Ferret in the attic. To make matters worse the Ghoul was throwing things at him. Granted the initial idea of throwing hexes at Malfoy was very appealing but the actuality of the situation was very frustrating. Malfoy was a lot faster at avoiding hexes than he remembered. He hadn't been able to get a hex within six inches of him and he was supposed to be sick! Another disturbing thought was that a sick Malfoy appeared to be in better physical condition than Harry.

Harry may have been gone for the last seven years but he by no means let his physical condition decline. He was happy to be alive. He wasn't going to become lazy and let his body waste away. He had picked up many muggle sports such as football, cricket, rugby and even tennis. He managed to get Ron into football. Both he and Ron had started playing with a club in Australia. They played for a full season and did quite well. The club didn't want to see them go. But they had spent enough time in Australia and planned on moving on to explore more of the world.

He could hear Ron cursing outside as Draco ran Ron around the garden. He figured Ron had it worse. Draco must have run Ron up and down that garden at least twenty times. There was so much room for him to outmanoeuvre Ron.

Ron's very loud noises woke the children and a very annoyed Arianne appeared in the garden with a series of children running after Malfoy as well. It was a game to them. “Catch Uncle Drake” they screamed as they ran after him. The children's presence made it increasingly harder for Ron to get to Malfoy but Harry did make a curious observation. Malfoy was genuinely smiling and laughing as the children pursued him.

“Now that the children are up he'll stick to the garden only. He won't disappoint them.” Ariane said as she came up to get him.

“Malfoy with children, shouldn't there be a huge parental warning on that?” Harry stated disgustedly.

“Warning, nonsense Draco is their favourite uncle. Those children would do anything to please their uncle Drake” Ariane replied in a light tone as they descended the stairs to the living room where Ginny had moved to. She was seated quite content reading the latest edition of Witch Weekly on the sofa. She had missed reading the magazine and decided to catch up on what the latest fashions were. Ginny looked up at them and then out at a frustrated Ron.

“The girl with the blond hair is Nathalie?” Ginny questioned Arianne. The girl playing outside was easily the eldest kid and with her long blonde hair, she was a mini replica for Fleur.

“Yes.” Arianne said as they watched Ron fall face first in the dirt as he tripped over some invisible object.

“Are they all our nieces and nephews?” Ginny asked curiously.

“Yes, the little boy with red hair, oh what am I saying all the boys have red hair, the little boy in the blue shirt is Thomas and the boy in the purple shirt is Jonathan. They're both Bill's. The two in the red shirts are Gerd and Forge.” Ariane explained

“Gerd and Forge?” Harry questioned.

“That's not their real names but they adopted it after hearing their fathers being called that one day. They won't answer unless you call them Gerd and Forge.” Arianne said

“I take it ones Fred's and other is George's?” Ginny asked with a smile

“Yeap. Those two off to the side plotting are Charlie's twins Michael and Mikaela. Now you really got to watch out for those two. Molly has categorized them as worse than Fred and George.” Arianne said seriously.

“Mikaela? A girl.” Harry asked

“Yes a girl, the second girl to be born in this generation. But don't tell her that. She likes to be considered part of the guys. For a long time we have been trying to convince her to grow her hair but she keeps finding all sorts of ways to cut it short. She is amazingly resourceful!”

“And last but not least are the two sleeping babies upstairs. One is George's second son and the other is Percy's. Molly has been after Penelope for a long time to give her a grandkid. She finally gave birth last month.”

Ron came inside with a disgusted look on his face. “I give up! I keep tripping over some damned invisible rock.”

Arianne laughed. “That's a good example of the mischief the twins could get up to.”

“Fred and George?” Ron asked with a confused look on his face.

“No M&M,” Arianne replied.

“You have M&M's?” Ron asked excitedly. He had grown accustomed to a variety of muggle sweets.

“What are M&M's? Hermione keeps mentioning it in relation to the twins but for the life of me I don't understand?” Arianne asked

“It's a muggle sweet.” Harry explained simply.

“I guess it was one of those moments where I had to be there.” Arianne said sadly.

“You haven't been part of the family long?” Ron questioned.

“I don't think I've ever become part of the family.” Arianne admitted making the others fell very uncomfortable. She decided to broach another topic more relevant to their arrival.

“Ron there is stuff you should know before your mother gets here. Draco is an accepted part of this family. Your mother totes on him as if he were another son. You better get used to treating him like a brother.” Ariane said as she called the children inside with Draco.

“I will do no such thing.” Ron roared fiercely as he looked to Ginny and Harry to support him on this matter.

Ron was utterly disgusted by the thought of having to treat him like a brother. Things between them at Hogwarts had never been `brotherly' and they were in fact bitter enemies. Even though he helped them through the war there was still bad blood between them. Ron still hated him very much and he knew Harry and Ginny shared similar views.

Draco came in with a squealing Thomas in his arms as he mercilessly tickled the poor boy. The rest of the children giggled and Draco put him down and made a fake run at the other children causing them to scream and scamper instantly.

An idea occurred to Arianne and she turned to Nathalie.

“Nathalie would you like to see you Uncle Drake be brave?” Arianne said in a soft kind voice.

The girls pale eyes light up and she looked very much like Fleur.

“Draco,” Arianne said with a sickly sweet voice, “Nathalie wants to see a brave uncle, why don't you take a drop of this potion I have here.”

Draco stopped chasing Michael and turned around to glare at Arianne. All of the kids stop to look up at him with adoring eyes.

“Don't listen to Aunty Arianne.” Draco said in a kind voice to the kids.

“Take the potion uncle, pleassssseeeee.” Nathalie said begged with her eyes focused solely on him. Harry could tell that even though she was one eighth Veela, she would have the ability to attract men and use them as she wished. Harry knew that Arianne purposely chose Nathalie so that she would convince Draco to take the potion.

Draco groaned and snatched the dropper out of Arianne's hand. He gave her the most threatening look before taking the drop. Draco's face immediately contorted into disgust and he ran straight to the kitchen.

“Good thing I hid all the firewhiskey.” Arianne said with a smug smile as she watched the children run behind him thinking they had started to play catch again.

A very unsatisfied Draco barged back into the living room the children at his heels.

“Now behave, I don't want Elliot or Cole waking up.” Arianne said sternly. Harry got the impression that she speaking more to Draco than anyone else in the room.

The children all looked up at her with sheepish faces.

“I have some good news for you. Your Uncle Ron, Aunt Ginerva and Uncle Harry have returned!” Arianne squeaked happily. Ginny flinched at the use of her full name and the children all peered at them innocently.

“Can Uncle Drake come back out to play?” Gerd and Forge asked after they lost interest in the new arrivals.

“No Draco is sick and can't play with you today” said a stern voice from the doorway.

It was a very familiar voice and a voice the three of them had yearned to hear.

Mrs. Weasley shrieked when she realised who was seated on the sofa and she immediately moved towards them and enveloped them in a huge Weasley hug.

“My babies! My Babies!” She kept repeating over and over.

They were overjoyed at seeing her but at the same time they hadn't planned on dying of suffocation.

“Mum … breathe … can't” Ron tried to rasp out.

“Molly, I think he is trying to say he can't breathe.” Arianne said interrupting Mrs. Weasley's moment.

“Oh dears, I'm so sorry, it's just been so long since I saw you. Come now, stand up and let me get a good look at each of you.” Molly said as she moved back to observe her children.

Ginny stood first and did a little fancy twirl for her mother. The children giggled at her antics and Mrs. Weasley sent them up to their rooms to play. Reluctantly they turned on their heels and headed to their rooms. As soon as the first door closed, two crying babies were heard and Arianne volunteered to check on them.

“Ah my baby girl is looking all grown up.” Molly said when she turned back to look at Ginny. She felt a stray tear flow down her cheek and as she brushed it away quickly.

Ginny put her hands on her hips and replied “Mom, I'm not a baby anymore!” Mrs. Weasley tutted at her reply and turned her gaze to Ron.

He stood next to her and he easily looked down on her. Molly started to cry harder. Ron had grown into a handsome man. He was now her tallest son and Molly felt extremely proud of him.

Molly looked at Harry who stood next. He was just an inch shorter than Ron but just as handsome with his jet black hair and piercing green eyes. He was thin with a healthy dose of muscle on his frame. An overwhelmed Mrs. Weasley hugged them all again.

“What have you been eating? You boys could do with a little more food in you.” Molly asked through tears as she forced herself some space on the coach between Ron and Ginny.

“We travelled all over the world mum. It was fantastic.” Ginny said as her face lit up with excitement at the thought of all the adventures they had to tell.

“We learned so much and I have so much muggle stuff to show dad!” Ron said enthusiastically.

At the mention of his father, a dark look passed over Mrs. Weasley's face. She quickly pushed it aside and went on. “So are you married?” She asked Ginny.

“No mom, I'm not married.” Ginny said exasperatedly.

“But surely you and Harry… you have been gone seven years!” Molly said astonished at her daughter's revelation.

“Mrs. Weasely,” Harry started before he was interrupted by her.

“I told you before you left to call me mum!” She said crossly.

“Mum, Ginny and I are no longer together. We realised a few years ago that we just weren't meant to be.” Harry replied softly.

“So none of you are married yet?” Molly asked with a slight frown.

“Nope mum, sorry.” Ron replied happily.

“Children these days, I was married and had Bill by the time I was your age. Oh well, I'll just add you to my marriage list.” Molly said as she summoned a piece of parchment and a quill and started scribbling away.

Harry was almost afraid to ask, “Marriage list?” He got out in a whimper.

“Oh don't worry. It isn't that bad. Ask Draco he has been on the list for the last two years.” Molly said as she fidgeted with her daughter's hair.

“Mum speaking of Draco, what is he doing here?” Ron said in as calm a tone as he could muster. For as long as he could remember the only tone anyone could ever use with his mother was a calm tone. Nobody ever shouted at his mother and not regret it.

Molly paused for a minute contemplating what to say. “Why don't we discuss this over dinner? I can invite the whole family over. You have plenty of people to meet. I gather you already met most of the children. We'll have dinner at the manor.” Mrs. Weasley bustled over to the fire place and in a few short minutes three elves emerged from the fire place. Harry immediately recognized them as Dobby, Winky and Kreacher!”

Dobby's big green eyes lit up as soon as he recognized Harry.

“Harry Potter has returned! Oh how Dobby has missed Harry Potter.” He said as he threw his tiny body at him.

“Dobby there is no time for pleasantries. I need the entire Manor set up for a grand feast tonight. My children have returned and I want to celebrate. I need you to invite all the usual people.” Mrs Weasley said to the elf. “I'll be there shortly to help with the preparations. Now off you go.” She said excitedly.

The three elves disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“Manor?” Ginny questioned

“Yes.” Molly said not offering Ginny any explanation.

Harry and Ron both observed the smirk on Draco's face.

“Mum surely you don't mean.” Ron sputtered

“Malfoy Manor?” Harry finished fearfully.

“The one and only” Draco said with a smug smile.

Instant memories popped into Harry's head. It had been just after they discovered that Draco had been working for the side of the light that he revealed that there was a book on the destruction of horcruxes in the Malfoy library. Harry distinctly remembered telling Malfoy that he would never ever in his entire life time set foot in that manor. Draco had eventually retrieved the book with Hermione and Tonks.

Draco obviously remembered the exchange for his smile couldn't be any wider. Harry felt like hexing that smile off his face and the fleeting thought of not going, passed through his head, but then he didn't want to disappoint Mrs. Weasley. She seemed so happy that they were back. He had a few questions to ask though. Number one on the list concerned a certain smug ferret. Harry also noticed the look on Mrs. Weasley's face as well as the anxiousness from Draco room when Ron mentioned Mr. Weasley. Could Mr. Weasley be angry with them? Would he not be pleased that they returned?

This was something he realised he would find out soon enough.

In a few minutes Mrs. Weasley was gone and Arianne had returned downstairs. Percy soon came tumbling out of the fireplace and Draco wasn't ashamed to let at a hearty laugh at the sight. Percy gave them a kirt nod before he headed upstairs for his baby boy. A few minutes later he came down the stairs with a small bundle in his arms that he was gently rocking and softly humming a lullaby to. As he reached the bottom of the stairs he thanked Arianne for baby sitting and then left through the floo network.

Soon after Percy's arrival a tall girl with brown curly hair arrived at the Burrow. Arianne greeted her warmly and she instantly took to teasing a sick Draco. He detested being teased and instantly redirected her attention to the new returnees.

“So you three are the reason for tonight's feast. You know I have been trying to lose that last set of pounds I put on from Michael and Mikaela.” The girl said

“Oh hush child. You're as thin as the day you married Charlie.” Arianne replied

“That's my point exactly. I needed to lose five pounds then and I still need to lose five pounds now.”

“If you want to lose five pounds Sam, try running around with these kids all day!” Draco exclaimed

Sam frowned, “I thought you were sick!”

Draco groaned and placed his head in his hands.

“I don't have much time for your male ego Draco. Charlie is coming home late today and I need to get the twins ready for tonight.” Sam said as she moved towards the steps. Once she was there she called out at the bottom of the stairs and two red heads came running down the stairs towards the fireplace.

“Did you say good bye to Aunty Arianne and Uncle Draco?” Sam said to her children as they flew passed her

“No,” they both chorused

Sam crossed her arms over chest and stared sternly at her children. “Well I'm waiting and don't forget to thank them for babysitting you.”

Harry watched as the children reluctantly walked up to Arianne and hugged her goodbye before moving on to do the same thing with Draco.

“Don't worry I'll see you later at the manor. We can play all sorts of tricks on Aunty Hermione and Aunty Luna.” Draco said with a twinkle in his grey eyes.

The kids faces lit up and they ran back to their mother. Sam moved to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo powder but before going she looked at the sofa where the three of them were seated. “Don't worry formal introductions will be done tonight.” “Westbrook” She shouted and familiar green flames erupted around them before they disappeared.

The next person to grace the burrow with her presence was Katie Bell.

“Hey Ari. I'm in a huge rush. I came to collect Cole. Can you please floo Edward to the shop in Hogsmeade and Danny to the shop in Diagon Alley?” Katie said as she headed straight to the staircase.

They next heard the sound of a baby crying and Katie emerged on the staircase cooing to her baby boy. She glanced over at Arianne and apologized for the noise then explained that she had to prepare for tonight as well as run a few errands for her mom. She threw a smile over at the sofa and then disappeared through the front door.

“Danny and Edward?” Harry querried as he couldn't remember Arianne mentioned those names before.

“Gerd and Forge,” Arianne replied simply before she levelled her gaze at Draco. “Can I leave you to behave while I take Gerd and Forge to the shops? I'll only be gone five minutes?”

Draco gave her an incredulous look and Arianne took that as a yes and disappeared upstairs for a few minutes before returning with coloured skin and rainbow hair. Draco laughed when he saw her but was soon silenced by her glare.

“Come on you two. I'll have your father's undo whatever it is you just did to me!” Arianne said sternly as she marched them to the fireplace and disappeared again. As soon as she was gone there was a roar of laughter from Draco followed by three children running down the stairs.

“We got her good uncle Draco!” Bill's eldest son, Thomas said.

Ginny observed Draco with the kids and a strange though occurred to her. Malfoy would make a good father. Ginny promptly pushed the thought away with memories of a self-righteous, arrogant, selfish, pompous Malfoy. Those qualities did not make a good father. She had always imagined Harry being the father of her children but things between them didn't work out and they both agreed that friendship was the only option for them.

She soon found herself staring at the platinum blond as he played with her niece and nephews. There was something very different about him and it scared her. She found herself being attracted to him. He had a light in his eyes, he never had before and the smile he gave those kids was so sexy. Her eyes started moving over his body, starting with his face and then drifting lower. She studied his broad chest and briefly wondered what he would look like shirtless. She could see his taunt muscles moving below his shirt as he used his want to summon a bottle of firewhiskey to him now that Arianne had left. She wondered what it would be like to run her hands over his chest and down the six-pack she believed was hiding under his robe. As her eyes reached the top of his pants she forced her self to stop looking and a voice in her head that sounded a lot like Ron's admonished her for checking out Malfoy. She didn't want to think about what she would have thought if she let her eyes travel further south along his body. She suddenly found that she was very hot and started to fan herself with the Witch Weekly that was on her lap.

Ginny didn't know what to make of the situation. She had been there a few hours and besides the warm welcome from her mother she felt unwelcome. Though she never got along with Percy, she was hoping for a least a welcome back from him. That strange woman, Sam, didn't really say anything to them besides the little bit about formal introductions and Katie barely threw a glance in their direction. She was beginning to feel like an intruder in the house that she grew up in.

An: Stay tuned for the dinner at the Manor. I promise Hermione and Luna will finally make an appearance.

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4. Malfoy Manor

An: Thanks for the reviews. I'm curious has anyone seen the show the Naked Chef? The guy on that reminds me a lot of Ron!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 3 - Malfoy Manor

Ginny and Harry made the mistake of offering to help Arianne prepare the kids for dinner since Bill was working late and decided to floo straight to the Manor. Harry unsuccessfully tried to convince the two boys in front of him to have a bath. He had a large bump on the back of his head that he had earned from slipping on a bar of soap while chasing the boys around the bathroom. He had a sneaking suspicion that the boys had something to do with that.

After he recovered from his fall he realised that the Thomas had opened the bathroom door and both boys ran outside. He chased them down the corridor and skidded on some water which had mysteriously appeared out of thin air. He landed on his butt and went sliding, spread-eagle style, into a table leg, which resulted in some serious pain to a very sensitive area of his body. He hoped it wouldn't affect his ability of have children later on in life.

Ginny wasn't making out any better with Nathalie. She did obey her when it came to taking a bath but she refused to wear what was on the bed for her. She kicked up a huge fuss and also refused to let Ginny comb her long flowing hair. Her attitude vaguely reminded Ginny of Fleur and she wondered where the older witch was? Wasn't it her job to see about her children?

Harry, being on his last nerve, casted a full body bind on each of the little devils and bathe them himself. He then levitated them to their bedroom and charmed the clothes on to the kids. Before he released the hex, he told the two boys to behave or else they would have far worse than that. Ginny arrived at the door and admonished Harry for using magic on the kids.

“But Gin, they wouldn't listen! What was I supposed to do, try and reason with the sprogs?” Harry asked exasperatedly.

“That's exactly what you should have done. Look at Nathalie here, all dressed up and looking pretty. I reasoned with her!” Ginny explained to a now embarrassed Harry. What Ginny neglected to mention, was that she told Nathalie, either she wore the dress or she would have a polka dot face for the rest of her life.

“I actually wanted children but after this experience maybe I'm better off without them.” Harry said as he sat down on the edge of Thomas's bed. This room brought back many memories. It was Ron's old room and Harry remembered the many times that he had stayed there.

Flashback

“Ron you're not coming with me.” Harry stated dangerously.

“Mate, you just defeated Voldemort five months ago. I'm not going to go let you wonder around the world by yourself.” R on said

“That's right I defeated Voldemort! I can take care of myself without you.”Harry replied angrily.

“Harry, you are in no state to take care of yourself. You get angry easily and you keep having accidents!” Ron pointed out to Harry calmly.

“I'll be fine” Harry said defiantly.

“I wouldn't be a good friend if I let you do this alone. You said you wanted us to live our lives now. Well I want to live my life with my best mate in it. You already decided that Hermione was better off with her parents. If you are not going to take her at least let me accompany you. If you get homesick, you at least have me” Ron pleaded.

“No Ron.” Harry said firmly before he left their room to go down to breakfast.

Harry remembered he and Ron had that same fight all month long before he finally caved. Now, seven years later, he was happy that Ron came along. It made wherever he went feel a little bit like home though there was always something missing.

-*-

Ginny and Harry came downstairs to find Ron comfortably seated on the sofa snacking on a treacle tart that he had found in the kitchen. Arianne came down shortly afterwards with the three children in tow.

“Thank you so much for helping me. I haven't been able to get any time to myself since Jonathan was born.” Arianne said gratefully. She had dressed up in yellow robes that looked absolutely gorgeous on her.

“I bought these six months ago and I'm finally getting a chance to wear them. I guess I should thank you for coming back.” Arianne continued to ramble on.

“Arianne, can we go now?” Thomas asked impatiently.

“Of course.” She said as she turned to Ron. “There's a special connection between here and the Manor. Just say Manor and you'll go straight through.”

She handed Floo powder to Nathalie, then to Thomas before she picked up Jonathan and grabbed a handful for herself. Green flames emerged from the fireplace and one by one they soon disappeared.

“You guys ever wonder why Fleur hasn't shown up or why no one has talked about Dad?” Ron asked suddenly.

“Yes, I've been wondering that same thing but Dad's probably working hard at the Ministry. You know how he is.” Ginny said logically.

“It just feels different. It doesn't feel like it used to.” Ron said.

They both nodded. The Burrow didn't have that warm friendly feeling that it used to have.

“Let's get a move on it. We won't find any answers standing around here.” Harry stated as he grabbed a handful of floo powder and disappeared in green flames.

Having spent seven years travelling the world as a Muggle, Harry had never mastered floo landings and as he had during his first years at Hogwarts, he landed very ungraceful on the cold marble floor. He slowly started to get up but was then abruptly thrust back on to the ground by Ginny who landed on top of him. She scrambled off of him in time to avoid Ron coming through the fireplace. However, Harry wasn't fast enough and his face was thrust once again into the floor.

“Thanks for the soft landing mate.” Ron said cheerfully and he got up.

Harry scowled at Ron as he stood and started brushing off the soot that he was now covered with.

“Young man, be careful where you brush that!” A high-pitched shrill voice said. “I don't want to get soot all over my new robe.”

Harry turned his attention towards a tall thin woman with long straight black hair and cold black eyes, who was standing in the doorway. She was dressed in black robes that contrasted with her very pale skin and Harry wondered how on earth she could tell if she got soot on her jet black robes. She approached them in long determined strides which caused her robes to billow behind her in a very Snape like manor.

“Come along, you are the last to arrive.” The woman said as she turned around and walked through the doorway she was standing in.

“Ok, that was very freaky. She reminded me of Snape.” Ginny said as a chill went down her back at the thought of him.

Harry took the brief opportunity to scan the room. They appeared to be in a large off white circular room, with many oval exits. The room was bare with the exception of a chair that was positioned in the middle of the room. This was quite the opposite to the grand picture Draco had always painted of Malfoy Manor. Harry had been expecting to see lavish decorations, gold ornings, paintings of previous Malfoys, expensive furniture and a few house elves slaving away to make sure everything was perfect. He never expected anything this bare.

“Mate, which door did she go through?” Ron asked as he scratched the side of his head. The room had many doors and it was quite tricky to figure out which door she went through if you weren't paying attention since besides the fireplace everything else looked the same. Fortunately, Harry had marked his bearings by the fireplace and knew she went through the fifth door on the right.

“This way,” Harry indicated as he set off towards the door but paused a few feet away. “There's a ward up.”

“Yeah, I can feel it” Ginny said as she walked up next to Harry.

“Is it dangerous?” Ron asked. He had never been good at detecting and disabling wards. That had always been Harry's field.

“Not sure. Never felt anything like it.” Harry replied as he scanned the ward.

Harry tentatively stepped forward and looked through the exit to the next room which appeared to be as bland as this one. He stopped an inch from the ward and felt it pull him forward. That was strange since most wards were to keep people out not pull them in. Once the urge became too strong, he stepped through the ward.

He felt a very strong disorienting feeling at first followed by a sharp pain. He felt as if he was being turned inside out. He landed flat on the floor and a bucket was promptly place in front of him. He wasted no time in filling the bucket with the contents of his stomach. Harry felt a brief nudge to move over and realised the he had been joined by Ginny. Another nudge later and Ron joined them around the bucket. As the nauseous feeling subsided, Harry realised there were two voices talking over them, a male and a female voice. He felt a dread in the pit of his stomach as he recognized the male voice. It belonged to a man he thought had died during the war.

“It looks like Potter is finally recovering.” Snape sneered.

The woman from earlier looked down at him.

“You'll get used to it eventually.” She said as she glanced over at Ginny and Ron.

“Well get off the floor boy. We don't have all day.” Snape stated impatiently.

“Don't be so harsh Professor,” came a dreamy voice from the doorway.

Harry's attention was immediately drawn to it. It was the first time he realised that the room he was in was much different to what he saw through the doorway. This room was decorated grandly with many pictures and expensive decorations. There were mouldings around the windows and plush sofas. On the floor was a very expensive Moroccan rug which depicted a grand castle in the dessert.

A tall thin woman was moving towards him. She had dirty blonde hair and large blue eyes. Harry vaguely thought she looked familiar. What stuck Harry as odd was that she was wearing muggle clothing, a simple black jeans and a blue cardigan with the letter L on it. It was only when he saw her bracelet made of bottle corks did he realise who it was.

“Luna?” Ginny said as she was trying to stand.

“Hello Ginny.” Luna said as she warmly embraced Ginny.

“They're ready, Professor.” Luna said addressing the woman next to Snape.

“Let's get along then.” She said as she thrust a potion into Harry's hand and ordered him to drink it.

Harry looked down at the murky brown liquid with lumps of green stuff floating in it. He immediately felt like using the bucket again.

“It's best to drink it and not stare.” Luna advised serenely as she watched the woman give Ginny and Ron, who were still on the floor, potions as well.

“Is this safe?” Ginny asked uncertainly as she eyed a particularly large lump in her potion.

“Yes, though it has been know to occasionally affect a mugwy.” Luna replied.

“Why do we have to take it?” Ron asked horrified.

“The Manor is an ancient house and much magic flows through it. This potion will prevent the Manor from causing you any harm.” Luna explained.

Ginny was the first to give it try. Luna had been a good friend and she never led her wrong. She put the vile to her lips and had to suppress the gab reflex as the most horrible tasting potion slid down her throat. She could feel those green blobs as they moved down her oesophagus.

“Yuck, that has to be the worse potion ever developed.” Ginny exclaimed, as she looked around frantically for something to get that yucky taste out of her mouth.

Luna handed her a chocolate frog, which she promptly grabbed and shoved down her throat. Luna revealed two more frogs as she patiently waited for Ron and Harry to swallow theirs.

“We don't have all day.” The woman exclaimed impatiently.

“Go on ahead, Professor, take Ginny, I'll wait on these two.” Luna said calmly.

“Come along Ginerva, you have a lot of catching up to do!” the woman said as both she and Snape left with their robes billowing behind them in a similar manner.

“That was even freakier than before.” Ron commented.

“I think it's endearing.” Luna said as she watched them with a longing in her eye. She wanted something similar to what they had.

“Endearing?” Ginny questioned.

Luna nodded. “You better follow them or you might get lost in the manor.” Luna said as she gave Ginny a slight nudge forward. She reluctantly followed her former potions professor through the manor.

Luna levelled her gaze at Harry. “Don't expect her to be happy to see you.”

“Huh?” Ron said as he stood up and straightened his robes.

“I see in seven years you haven't matured much Ronald.” Luna said as she turned her gaze to the tall redhead.

“What! You barely know me and you accuse me of not maturing.” Ron said outraged that Luna could insult him like that.

“Drink your potion.” Luna instructed as she decided to have a seat. She suspected Ron might be a while.

“I refuse to drink this brown guck.” Ron said as he held the potion away from him.

“Harry, are you going to drink yours?” Luna asked studying Harry with her large blue eyes.

Harry felt strangely comforted by Luna's presence but he knew someone had to go follow Ginny since she left by herself with Snape! Harry lifted the vile to his mouth and downed it in one go.

“Awful doesn't even begin to describe that.” Harry said eagerly grabbed the chocolate frog that Luna had offered him earlier.

“Ronald, your turn.” Luna said giving him another piercing gaze.

Ron crossed the arms in front of his chest in defiance.

“Oh honestly Ron, it's just a potion. Drink the damn thing!” huffed a girl with brown wavy hair.

Their attention was drawn to a tall thin witch with beautiful brown eyes who stood at the doorway. Harry instantly recognized her but his throat suddenly went dry and everything he had rehearsed to say to her, was stuck and refused to come out. She was wearing a short black skirt that stopped mid thigh and a red cardigan with a gold letter H on it. He watched as she headed to the warded door. She hadn't so much as glanced at him since he realised that she was there.

“Where are you going?” Luna inquired with a concerned look on her face.

“One of the wards at Westbrook was tripped. I'm going to pop across to fix it.” Hermione replied

“Be careful.” Luna replied

“As always!” Hermione said as she threw Luna a smile before she walked through the ward.

Harry watched as she walked gracefully through the ward without faltering. She sat down in the chair and then disappeared. He was about to ask a question about that chair when Luna held her hand up to stop him.

“Drink up Ron, your brothers are anxious to see you!” Luna said a bit impatiently.

Harry looked sharply at Ron and he got the message. He held the vile up and imagined he was doing a tequila shot. In one shot it was all gone.

“Follow me” Luna said as she got up from the sofa and headed out the door.

Ron was making all sorts of odd looking faces as he dealt with the after effects of the potion which Luna seemed to be ignoring.

“Aren't you going to give him his chocolate frog?” Harry asked concerned for his best mate.

“What chocolate frog?” Luna asked as she took the extra frog and bit the head off and in a few moments there was no frog left.

Harry had to suppress the chuckle that threatened to escape his mouth as Ron looked aghast at Luna's actions.

“This way,” Luna said as she made another turn in the maze of corridors they had been walking through. Harry got the feeling that she was deliberately leading them around to confuse them.

“You know your way through here well.” Harry commented as he studied the different halls they walked through.

“I should. I live here.” Luna responded with a wry smile.

“Are you and Draco married?” Harry inquired disgustedly.

“No, we're just friends and you're going to have to learn to like Draco.” Luna told them point blank.

“Why don't you live with your dad anymore?” Harry inquired curiously.

“Well ever since Moll” Luna stopped talking mid sentence. She wasn't supposed to tell them what she was about to say. They would find out soon anyway.

“Here we are.” Luna said as she stopped in front of two grand white double doors that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. The doors were trimmed with gold and had a complicated pattern running down the surface. Two gold door handles protruded from the door.

“And where is this? Harry inquired.

“The dinning hall,” Luna explained.

“What are we waiting for?” Ron said angrily from behind Luna. He still had that awful taste in his mouth, though it was gradually receding.

“Are you sure you're ready for this?” Luna asked.

“You make it sound like it is some life changing event.” Harry said

“Oh it is, it definitely is.” Luna replied as she reached forward and opened both doors.

The room was very crowded and the first person to greet them was Remus Lupin who pulled Harry into a tight embrace. They were soon surrounded by a mass of red heads, all enthusiastically welcoming them back. They laughed and joked and twins looked for wedding rings and then warned them about the marriage list. Bill told Harry that he didn't have to marry Ginny to be part of the family. He would always have a place with them regardless of what he did.

Mrs. Weasley called for order and asked everyone to take a seat at the table. She sent a house elf to call Tonks and the children to eat. Harry observed that there was a smaller table set up at the side that he assumed was for the children. Mrs. Weasley ushered them to chairs and sat them down next to each other at one end of the table. Harry was in between Ron and Ginny and Mrs. Weasley sat the end of that side.

Ron looked around the room for his father but didn't see him. He saw Lupin, Snape, the woman from earlier, Arianne, Katie, Alicia, Penelope, Sam, his brothers, Luna and Draco all seated round the table but not his father. At the head of the table where his father should have been sat an old man with grey hair that Ron vaguely recognized.

“Where is dad?” Ron asked his mother.

An uncomfortable silence settled on the room as all eyes turned towards Mrs. Weasley.

“Ron, your father isn't with us any longer.” Mrs Weasley said softly to her youngest son.

“What do you mean he isn't with us?” Ron asked angrily

“He's gone on to the next great adventure.” Molly said with a tear in her eye.

“Ron,” Bill said as he came up behind Ron and placed his hand on his shoulder.

“What?” Ron asked feeling the sense of panic building within him.

“He died three years ago.” Bill said as comfortingly as he could.

Ron felt like the world had been pulled out from under him. His father was dead. This was not possible. His father was a healthy, vibrant man when he left. The war had been over for six months and everyone was safe. How could he be dead?

“No, no, no, that can't be right.” Ron said in disbelief.

Ron broke down completely and he felt the arms of his brother hugging him.

Harry was the first to speak. “How?”

“He had to be killed.” Charlie said sadly.

“Who did it?” Ron asked murderously forgetting that Charlie's words implied that there was more to the situation than what Ron comprehended.

“Hermione,” Mrs. Weasley answered with a sob.

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5. It's Not Possible

An: Thank you for all your reviews. I'm afraid the question everyone wants answered isn't answered in this chapter but I've given loads of other information. Please remember this was written before DH came out as there are many differences in this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 4 - It's Not Possible!

Harry felt as if someone had just punched him in the gut. The words Mrs. Weasley had sobbed were not possible. Mr. Weasley couldn't be dead; Hermione wasn't capable of murder.

“No it's not possible.” Harry insisted firmly.

“Harry dear, things have changed since you were gone.” Mrs Weasley said softly to him.

Harry clenched his fists, how many more times were they going to say things had changed. It had been seven bloody years, of course things had changed and Harry was beginning to get very annoyed with them. Why couldn't they just tell him how things changed instead of playing it out like a bad soap opera?

“Dad wanted her to do it.” Bill explained as he released Ron from the tight hug he had held him in.

“She was only acting on his wishes. There were no other options.” Charlie interjected as he stared at a theoretical spot on the wall.

Mrs. Weasley conjured a handkerchief and raised it to her teary eyes. The old man from the other end of the table stood and walked briskly over to her. He knelt besides her and pulled her into a hug. She willingly collapsed into his arms and Ron watched horrified as the man placed a gentle kiss on his mother's temple.

“Get your hands off my mother!” Ron shouted as he angrily stood and sent his chair flying back into Bill, causing his brother to double in over in pain.

“Ron, I know you just found out about your father but I've moved on. I couldn't stay the way I was before and one of his last wishes was for me to be happy and I've found peace with Sol.” Mrs Weasley explained to her youngest son.

“I can't believe this! Dad is dead and mom is shagging a stranger!” Ron screamed harshly at his mother before storming out of the room and slamming the door on the way out.

“You break it, you pay for it!” Draco called out and both Katie and Alicia scolded him for his insensitive behaviour.

Ginny was too stunned to speak and barely registered her mother's revelation about her new relationship. She was still trying to process that she would never be able to see her father again. She would never get to experience the father daughter hugs that she missed so much but most importantly of all, she would never be able to tell him how much she loved him and how thankful she was to him for the way he raised her.

“I told you, you spoiled him Molly.” Severus commented smugly.

“Darling, Ronald is definitely his mother's son. Molly had a similar problem when Bill moved on with Arianne.” the witch next to Snape commented.

“I'll talk to Ron.” Bill volunteered after he had recovered from the chair, though he did think it would leave a nasty bruise. As the oldest he had taken up his father's role and often helped his mother with difficult decisions. He understood his brother's reaction and he was determined to help him deal with his grief.

“The Weasel could be anywhere, use the locator spell to find him.” Draco advised casually from his seat at the other end of the dinning table.

Fourteen pairs of eyes glared at him for the offending term and Draco innocently held up his arms in defence. “Sorry old habits die hard!”

Bill exited the room and quickly cast the spell to find Ron. He chuckled to himself when the answer was revealed. Out of 225 rooms in Malfoy Manor, Ron had successfully found the kitchen! Bill thought his brother must have been born with some sort of internal instinct to locate the kitchen in any house. He had to have one since he managed to make it through 11 different corridors and several turns to the kitchen.

Luna moved over to the seat that Ron had vacated and handed Ginny a glass of a brownish milky substance. She lifted the glass to her nose and sniffed before taking a small tentative sip as the awful potion from earlier still lingered in her mind.

“Baileys,” Ginny questioned.

Luna nodded, “Good for the soul.”

“I thought that was chicken soup?” Harry questioned as he had been listening to what the blonde was saying.

“Nope not the right ingredients.” Luna replied cryptically as she embraced Ginny.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. Luna had always been a little strange in school but he had no clue the girl knew about muggle alcohol. Ginny didn't care what Luna was on about, it was the support that she was offering that mattered and she relaxed into the embrace and let the tears that had been threatening fall. Luna rubbed her back comfortingly and extended a hand to Harry, indicating that he was welcomed in the hug as well. Harry declined as he was never one to cry openly.

The sombre mood was interrupted by an explosion of loud noise as several redheaded children came running through the door and immediately headed to the smaller table that Harry had correctly assumed was for them. The adult that was with them was trying desperately to discourage them from running and as expected one child fell and the room was immediately filled with loud piercing screams.

“Wotcher, Forge.” Tonks said as she bent down and picked up the small boy.

“I'm Gerd!” The child screamed.

“Sorry Gerd.” Tonks apologized.

“No I'm Forge!” The child screamed back and Tonks gave a helpless look at Katie and Alicia.

“Behave Danny,” Alicia lightly scolded her son.

“Nymphadora, you should be able to tell them apart by now.” Fred commented

“They aren't identical!” George said reiterating his twin's point.

Tonks glared at them and then placed the child down at the table next to Gerd before taking a seat at that table as well.

Jonathan started teasing Forge causing the children to erupt in laughter and happiness seemed to permeate the room chasing away what ever sadness had lingered there before.

“I came here tonight to celebrate the return of my children and that's exactly what I'm going to do. There will be no more sad thoughts for the rest of the night.” Mrs Weasley stated firmly as he watched the smiles on her grandchildren's faces.

Harry knew that was the end of the conversation and he would have to wait till tomorrow to get the answers to the questions that were plaguing his mind. There was one particular question he needed an answer to but that person seemed to be avoiding him at all costs.

A lavish dinner appeared on both tables and Harry noted that the Weasley appetite had been passed on to the new generation. The house elves had outdone themselves. There were a variety of roasts, potatoes, vegetables and salads. A shepherd's pie appeared in front of Harry and as he moved to load his plate with food, Mrs. Weasley seemed to come to her senses and remembered that not everyone was at the table so she insisted that they wait for the missing family members to return.

“But they're eating,” Fred said pointing to his son at the children's table.

Mrs. Weasley glared at her son and no further protest was heard from anyone.

Harry glanced at Tonks and was very pleased to see that she looked extremely happy; it made him feel a bit better to know at least something had gone right while he was gone. Today she was sporting short silver hair that matched the small boy who was seated next to her. He wondered if Draco had fathered a child but the facial features weren't similar to Draco at all.

Ginny's mood seemed to improve as well and she took the opportunity to survey the ball room. It was a grand as she had imagined it would be. There were elaborate paintings on the wall, large candelabras with fancy ironwork floating above the tables, a plush green carpet with silver trimming near the wall, the tables legs were carved to represent serpents and the back of each chair had two serpents intertwined. Everyone around the table seemed to be comfortable with the obvious Slytherin references and Ginny felt a shudder go through her as she thought of Nagini. She quickly cast the memory aside and moved on to pleasanter thoughts.

“Where's Fleur?” Ginny asked Luna as she had noticed that the beautiful blond had not showed up yet.

“Fleur died five years ago, shortly after the birth of Thomas. Bill was devastated, Thomas was 2 months old and Nathalie was entering her terrible twos. He completely shut down and he started visiting the pub daily. He wouldn't go home till late, if at all. Percy and Charlie had to remove him from a few pubs by force. Sam had just had the twins at the time and she volunteered to take care of Thomas till Bill could get back on his feet. Nathalie spent a lot of time with Percy and Penelope; She's extremely close to him now. Draco eventually got Bill into a special program for wizards addicted to firewhiskey.” Luna explained quietly to them as she didn't want to upset Molly further.

“Draco?” Ginny questioned.

“Is that so surprising?” Luna asked

“Actually, yes.” Harry answered.

“Bill met Arianne at the clinic and they bonded over similar experiences. Six months later they were married and a year and a half later she gave birth to Jonathan Arthur Weasley.” Luna said with a smile. “But Molly and Arianne never got along. She couldn't understand how Bill could move on so soon. She was concerned for her grandchildren and with Arianne's alcohol history, she wandered if she were a suitable mother to raise her grandchildren.”

“How did Fleur die?” Harry questioned.

“A daring robbery at Gringotts; Fleur had gone to retrieve some galleons to buy gifts for Michael and Mikaela's naming ceremony. She was just walking out of her vault when a stray redactor curse hit her chest. She didn't have a chance.” Luna said sadly.

There was a short moment of silence as Harry and Ginny both absorbed what had been said before Draco disturbed them. “Luna, find out what's taking Hermione so blasted long!” There were echoes of agreement from the twins who were eyeing a particularly large roast in the centre of the table.

Luna nodded while gracefully getting off Ron's chair and strolled casually towards the door. She passed Bill and Ron as they made their way back to the table. Ron looked as though he had calmed down quite a bit but he still had a sombre look on his face.

“I believe introductions are in order!” The old man said “Who wants the honour of going first.”

The witch seated next to Snape jumped at the chance to go first.

“I'm Victoria Snape, I teach Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.” She arrogantly said. “Severus has resumed his post as the Potions Master and as a result, we live at Hogwarts.”

If it were physically possible for Harry's jaw to hit the floor it would have. Snape had actually found a woman willing to marry him. The greasy haired git didn't just manage to get a woman but he got a beautiful one too.

“Samantha Weasley, I'm married to Charlie. I believe you met our twins earlier. We live at Westbrook. Charlie works in the department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and I work in the misuse of Muggle artefacts division.” She said with a huge smile.

“You know me already, Arianne Weasley. Bill, the children and I, all live at the Burrow. Bill still works at Gringotts as a curse breaker and I'm a housewife. I also do the baby sitting when Molly is unavailable.”

“There's no need to introduce us, is there Alicia?” Katie said. Alicia shook her head in agreement before adding, “But Fred and I live above the shop in Daigon Alley and Katie and George live above the shop in Hogsmeade. Katie and I both work at the shops.”

“I suppose you remember me also, Percy and I live at Minister's Row. Percy is still an assistant to the Minister and I work as an assistant to the Wizengamot.” Penelope explained.

“I think that's everyone” The old man said.

“What about you?” Ron said a bit harshly

“You don't recognize me. Well, I was hit with an aging spell recently but everyone here has been telling me that I look fine.” He said as he glared at everyone one at the table.

“Sol you look fine. Ron was just a bit young when he met you. Forgive him if he doesn't recognize you.” Molly said

“Ron knows you?” Ginny asked

“Yes he does. You know me as well, Ginerva. I'm Luna's father, Sol Lovegood.”

Ron wanted to ask more questions about this `relationship' he had with his mother but he was stopped by the return of Luna and Hermione.

Charlie stood from his seat with a questioning glance at Hermione.

“Everything's fine but….” Hermione said leaving the but hanging in the air and staring directly at Charlie's twins. Both children dropped slowly down in their chairs till you couldn't see them. The children knew that they could only joke so far with Aunty Hermione and once you passed that limit, there was no force on earth that could save you from her wrath.

Charlie reclaimed his next to Samantha and Hermione and Luna sat on either side of Draco. There was a silent exchange of words between Draco and Hermione before Bill announced that it was time for a toast. The twins rolled their eyes and started slowly using their wand to move the roast closer to them.

Bill stood and made an elaborate toast to Ron, Ginny and Harry. Charlie decided to go next followed by the rest of the Weasley boys. The twins had the table in fits of laughter and Mrs. Weasley had to threaten them before they decided to end their toast. Once the twins had regained their seats, they were further disappointed to find that their mother had summoned the roast up the table and placed it in front of Ron, who had no objections at all.

Harry looked down the table at Hermione and was disappointed to find that she was busy in a conversation with Percy and Penelope. She had yet to say anything to him and Luna's words echoed through his brain, “Don't expect her to be happy to see you.”

A snowy white owl that Harry immediately recognized as Hedwig, flew through the window and delivered a purple letter to Hermione. She accepted the letter and offered her some of her food. He was happy to see she was still alive and looked very healthy. Hedwig looked down the table at him and then turned away and nipped at Hermione's fingers affectionately before flying away. Harry figured he deserved it for leaving her behind. She had always been a moody owl.

“Harry darling, is something wrong?” Molly inquired from her end of the table.

“Oh no nothing at all,” Harry said as he returned his gaze to his food.

It pained him that Hermione seemed so distant and he wondered if he had damaged their friendship beyond repair. It occurred to him that while he desperately tried to make the right decision by leaving Hermione behind seven years ago maybe he had made a serious error.

Flashback

Harry apparated into the Granger's back yard, it had been one month since the war ended and Hermione had gone home to spend time with her parents. She hadn't seen them at all last year when they were hunting for the horcruxes. He walked to the back door and gently knocked.

He was greatly surprised when a teary eyed Mrs. Granger answered the door. Harry immediately thought something had happened to Hermione. His heart dropped into his stomach, his eyes started getting watery and it was very difficult to breath. Mrs. Granger invited him in and he saw Hermione in the living room crying in Mr. Granger's arms. She looked healthy and Harry could see no visible wounds.

She looked up from her father's arms, “Harry,” she muttered softly.

Harry looked around confused. If Hermione was fine, why were they crying?

Mr. Granger must have sensed Harry's confusion and he answered the unspoken question. “I have cancer.”

Those three words hit Harry like a rock. Harry wasn't close to Mr. Granger at all but he knew how much Hermione loved her father. After Mr. Granger found out the details of the war he didn't get along too well with him or Ron but he knew what this news would do to Hermione.

“I guess I should go then.” Harry said. He figured they needed some time alone to sort his out and Harry didn't want to intrude upon their privacy.

She nodded as Harry walked away and apparated back to the Burrow.

Harry remembered the following months had been very miserable for Hermione. Even though Harry was depressed he tried to cheer her up but he failed miserably each time. Mr. Granger had gone in for surgery the week before they left. When he emerged, the surgeon had said it was successful and Mr. Granger was recovering well. That was the first time he saw Hermione smile and it wasn't due to him. The next step for her father was chemotherapy and Hermione was determined to be there for her father.

When Harry first toyed with the idea of leaving, he wanted to consult Hermione. He had tried to get a hold of her but she was too busy accompanying her father to the doctor. Harry decided that her family needed her more than he did. He didn't want to burden her with his problems. She had, had enough of that for seven years and it was time for her to stop make sacrifices for his sake.

The day he gave into Ron's request to join him, he almost reconsidered asking her to come. He had apparated into her back yard and was about to walk to the door when he saw her through the window. Her father had been released from the hospital and she was waiting on him hand and foot. He was lying on the sofa and Hermione was sitting on the love seat. She was smiling and laughing. They both appeared happy and Harry realised at that point, she belonged there and not with him on some insane quest to find peace. He left that very night.

Harry was beginning to regret the decision that he had spent hours toiling over. How did he always manage to mess things up?

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6. The Order

An: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. I sort of finally answered the question, though it's not a very satisfying answer but hey, I got to keep the mystery right?

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 5 - The Order

Ron was angrily stabbing away at his chicken or whatever type of meat it was. He wasn't sure; he just loaded his plate with food. He was hoping that eating might give him a temporary escape from this nightmare reality he had returned to.

He had a hard time digesting the fact that his father was gone and Malfoy was the family's new best friend. To make matters worse, he was feeling extremely guilty about Fleur as he had once again put his foot in his mouth and accused his brother of being insensitive to his pain since his brother had a nice half veela wife to take care of him. It was then that Bill had informed him about Fleur's death and his subsequent firewhiskey problem. Ron felt like the biggest idiot in the world and he repeatedly berated himself for letting his jealousy of his brother's successes dictate his life.

He also refrained from glancing at his mother's end of the table. His parents had been in a happy loving marriage for over half a century, how could she have moved on so quickly? Bill had told him that he had moved on with Arianne and that he was happy again. His last piece of advice for Ron was that their mother also deserved to be happy and if Sol could make her happy, they should be happy to because that's what their father would have wanted.

Unable to glance at his mother's end of the table, he decided to look up at the other end and found Hermione and Draco in a whispered conversation. His stomach turned. How could she stand to sit next to that vile creature? It hurt him to see his ex-girlfriend chatting so easily with Malfoy. Since that direction didn't hold any pleasant thoughts he was left with staring across the table at Charlie's wife and he racked his brain to remember what her name was. He knew it began with a S and he thought back through the previous introductions.

“So Sam, how did you and Charlie meet?” Ron asked trying to strike up a conversation with her.

“We met through your dad. We both shared a common interest in Muggle Artefacts and he invited me over for a family picnic. Charlie was here and we hit it off right away.” She said with a fond smile.

“So let me guess after a whirlwind romance, my brother decided to propose on a romantic evening and after a big Weasley wedding you were married!” Ron said casually as he stuffed some mash potatoes in his mouth.

“Ron, this is real life not some romance novel, my relationship with Charlie is nothing like what you described.” Sam replied evenly.

Ron looked at her confused. He couldn't picture Charlie doing anything different.

“Like any normal couple Ron, we have our problems. Though some of our problems were the size of dragons, as Charlie likes to put it, but we do have our problems.” Sam said with a wry smile.

“Problems, what could be wrong?” Ron said. They looked perfectly fine to him. The twins seemed happy and they got along with everyone unlike what the problem Arianne had said she was having.

“Let's see, Molly thinks I trapped her son because I got pregnant before we got married. Charlie proposed to me while I was pregnant and I turned him down deciding that we should live together first and then decide later if we should get married. Naturally, your mother disliked that option and when I had volunteered to take care of Thomas while Bill was dealing with his loss, I swear she almost had a heart attack. We only officially married about 5 months ago in a very small wedding, nothing like what you experienced when Bill got married the first time.” Sam stated offhandedly before she realised that she had mention Bill's tragedy and tried to back track but Ron indicated that he already knew.

Ron felt like a bigger idiot now for believing that his brothers had it easy and only his life was difficult. He found it hard to believe that Charlie got her pregnant before they were married and he could only imagine his mother's reaction. Ginny always lectured him and Harry about the use of the contraceptive charms reminding them that their mom wouldn't like it if they returned unmarried with grandchildren.

Ron was spared any more guilty thoughts when the doors opened and three men walked in. He barely recognized them as Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas and he was surprised by how different they looked. His last memories of them were when he was in the hospital recovering from the war. He had no clue what happened to them after his hospital stay.

“You're late.” Hermione admonished in her usual bossy tone and Harry couldn't help but smile at hearing the Hermione he knew.

“Blame Neville.” Seamus responded as he headed over to Hermione where three empty seats had magically appeared.

“It's not my fault, Cheryl got a little upset and we had a fight.” Neville said casually as he joined Seamus.

“She finally ended things.” Dean informed the table.

“About time!” was the general consensus from the dining room table which elicited a deadly glare from Neville.

“She wasn't that bad.” Neville said defending his ex-girlfriend.

“Neville, she was a nightmare.” Hermione said as she nibbled on a carrot stick.

“No Grawp is a nightmare.” Neville corrected her as anyone who had ever had any interactions with the giant would know that he could be quite temperamental.

“Where is Grawp?” Hermione asked as she glanced around the ballroom.

“He's a giant Hermione, he isn't that hard to miss!” Seamus said sarcastically.

“You weren't there the time Draco put a disillusion charm on Grawp!” Hermione responded pointing a finger a Seamus. Draco let out a hearty laugh at the memory and Hermione scowled at him.

“Grawp is preparing the lesson for tomorrow. I swear he is worse than Hagrid. You should see the creatures he has behind the hut!” Neville said answering Hermione's question.

“But all the students love him.” Hermione declared delightfully.

“I hate to break up your little conversation but is Grawp teaching at Hogwarts?” Ginny asked curiously.

“Yes, Grawp took over both Hagrid's position as game keeper and teacher. He's a good teacher and surprisingly gentle with the students. There were a lot of concerns about how he would treat the students considering the rough qualities that are associated with giants but he's been nothing but fantastic.” Neville explained.

“That wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that not a single student would dare step out of line in his class.” Seamus interjected.

“He's a good teacher, he isn't crazy like Wood.” Neville retorted defending his friend.

“Wood is teaching at Hogwart's too?” Harry asked astonished. He couldn't quite picture Wood teaching. He could get a bit too obsessive when he focused on something.

“Yeah, he took Madame Hooch's position.” Dean explained. “His injury from the war prevented him from playing professional Quidditch so Flitwick offered him the position at Hogwarts and needles to say Wood jumped at the opportunity to get on a broom.”

“More like flew at it.” Harry heard Hermione mumble under her breath and he could tell she still wasn't fond of Quidditch.

“So what do you do now?” Harry said directing the question to Dean.

“I work in spell reversal.” Dean said proudly. “You wouldn't believe the type of things wizards accidentally do with magic.”

“I work with the Ministry as an Auror. I'm officially Hermione's partner, though I think sometimes she forgets that.” Seamus said as he threw and accusing glance over at Hermione.

She rolled her eyes at him. “I can't help it if you are too slow to keep up!”

This was the first bit of information about Hermione that Harry had gathered and he carefully locked it away in his brain for review later.

“What about you Neville?” Ginny asked with a polite smile.

“Isn't it obvious!” Seamus said.

“She asked me not you.” Neville retorted.

“Oh, attitude Neville, maybe if you had a bit more you might have been able to ditch Cheryl earlier.” Seamus replied.

“He works as the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts.” Dean said interrupting the verbal spat between Neville and Seamus, leaving both wizards glaring at each other.

“Everyone is here, let's get down to business.” Severus said firmly.

“Yes, you are quite right Severus.” Molly said as she stood up from her seat and signalled to Tonks.

Tonks stood, “Let's go play upstairs.” She said cheerfully and soon they were all gone.

“I would like to call to order the monthly meeting of the Order of the Phoenix.” Molly said as Fawkes appeared in a burst of flames. He circled round the room before landing next to Harry. Fawkes sang a welcoming melody and then flew towards Mrs. Weasley where he stayed.

“The order still exists?” Ron blurted out.

“Yes, three months after Fleur's death, we officially restarted the order.” Bill explained.

“But why? Voldemort was gone.” Harry said darkly reminding Ron and Ginny of their first few months travelling with Harry.

“Voldemort wasn't the only threat to the Wizarding world Harry.” Remus said kindly.

“There's another dark lord?” Ginny questioned worriedly.

“No, but Voldemort left a huge mess for us to clean up.” Sam said.

“Mess?” Ron questioned.

“There have been many wizards that haven't been able to recover from the physiological effects of the war. I believe you remember how strongly the war could affect a person's emotional state.” Remus said

Harry nodded. He had been through it.

“Quite a few wizards have gone mad but the problem lies with the wizards that hid in the muggle world. They picked up very bad habits and brought it back into our world.” Molly said

Draco snorted, he disagreed with Mrs. Weasley's assessment. “The real problem is the remaining Death Eaters who started organizations similar to muggle organized crime communities.”

Ginny looked at Draco as if he were speaking Mermish.

“Basically,” Neville said, drawing Ginny's attention to him. “The Death Eaters have formed their versions of the Mafia. There are several other gangs including the Wizarding Yakuza!”

Ginny stared at Neville. He had certainly grown into a handsome man. He still had the round face and Ginny could see a slight potbelly through his robes but his eyes held a certain kindness that Ginny found intensely attractive. Seamus wasn't bad looking either and Ginny could tell he was as toned as Draco was. Seamus's Irish accent was still strong and she briefly remembered her friend Lizzie who loved Irish guys.

She had met her in South Africa. Lizzie was an AIDS activist and was working on reducing the HIV rate in South Africa. They became friends quickly and Ginny soon discovered Lizzie's thing for Irish guys.

“We can debate the ills of the English wizarding society all night but the point is no one was prepared for the aftermath of the war.” Sol said wisely.

“Quite right,” Molly said as she turned her gaze to her children, “ The point of tonight was to celebrate the return of my children and welcome them back to the Order.”

“They will need to take the vow, Molly.” Severus said sternly causing Mrs. Weasley to fidget a bit before continuing.

“Yes, … well, … we'll get to that later. Let's just rejoice in the fact that they have been returned to us safely.” Mrs. Weasley said as she raised her glass to toast to her children.

The glasses were raised and Snape again opened his mouth to make a comment but Molly quickly cut him off.

“That's all there is on the agenda for today's meeting. I officially declare this month's meeting closed!” Mrs. Weasley said in a rush. Fawkes rose into the air and disappeared in a similar fashion to the way he arrived.

“It's getting late and everyone has work tomorrow.” Mrs. Weasley said firmly giving the cue for everyone to leave.

Bill and Arianne rose from the table first and after a quick goodbye left to collect their children. The other adults soon followed in a similar fashion and pretty soon the dinning hall was empty except for Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Seamus, Dean, Luna and Draco.

Harry sighed, Hermione had fled the room as if it were on fire. She volunteered to help Sam with the twins and Sam didn't look too pleased at all. As Harry got up to leave with Mrs. Weasley he was told that he, Ron and Ginny were to stay at the Manor until they figured out how to reintroduce them to the Wizarding community in England.

Needless to say they weren't thrilled with the idea of sleeping at Malfoy Manor but they had no other option. There were strong anti-apparition wards up and they couldn't remember the way back to the floo chamber. There was some sort of magic blocking portkeys so that wasn't an option either. They were stuck there and had to make do with the options they had.

The table had dramatically shrunk and everyone was seated close together. Ron mysteriously found himself seated next to Luna and after a moment or two of trying to figure out how that happened, he decided to stop trying and just attempt to enjoy the rest of the night. Seamus and Dean had started up a game of exploding snap and soon everyone joined in.

Even though Harry had a huge dinner he still felt a bit peckish and asked Luna for directions to the kitchen. Luna volunteered to accompany him but before leaving she threw a cautionary look at Draco to warn him to behave himself with Ron. She took the lead and Harry followed behind her.

“Why isn't Hermione happy to see me?” Harry asked Luna.

“It isn't that she doesn't want to be, she can't.” Luna replied cryptically.

“That makes no sense Luna.” Harry pointed out.

“Harry, ever since you've known Hermione she's always put her friend's welfare above her own.” Luna tried to explain as they turned left down a corridor lined with pictures of previous Mrs. Malfoy's.

Harry nodded, there was no disputing the lengths to which Hermione would go to keep her friends safe.

“I don't see what that has to do with anything?” Harry replied.

“How can one be happy for a friend when they've foolishly put their life in jeopardy? Oh look, the door to the kitchen.” Luna said as she pointed to a small door that reminded Harry of the entrance to his old room under the staircase in the Dursely's house.

“You can't expect me to fit through that?” Harry asked surprised.

Luna nodded and walked up the door. The closer she got the larger the door became until she could safely walk through it without bending.

“It's one of the charms we had to add to the Manor. The Malfoy's never visited the kitchen and thus left the door the size of a house elf.” Luna said as she opened the door and walked into the kitchen.

Harry walked forward and the door moved upwards to accommodate for his taller frame. He walked through the doorway and was instantly greeted by Dobby throwing himself at his feet.

“Oh the great Harry Potter, how Dobby has missed you.” he said as he clung to Harry's feet.

“Ah Dobby this really isn't necessary, I was just wondering if I could get an apple to munch on.” Harry said as he was wondering if it would be rude to shake him off his leg but a mental picture of Hermione admonishing for such an action popped into his head and he opted to stay still.

“An apple, of course Harry Potter can get an apple. Harry Potter can get anything he likes.” Dobby said as he summoned a tray full of apples.

Harry looked at the tray that contained every type of apple imaginable and randomly picked one as he wanted to make a hasty exit away from the excited elf. He headed back to the door that hey had come through but was stopped by Luna.

“That's the wrong way.” She said in a far away voice.

“But we just came from that direction.” Harry replied.

“I know but it's still the wrong way.” Luna said

Harry looked at her questioningly.

“The Malfoy's were paranoid about the Ministry raiding their house and thus they designed the interior to make it extremely difficult for an outsider to move within the Manor without an escort.” Luna explained.

“Some of the corridors shift position and some of the doors aren't real, the corridor outside just shifted. There are multiple doors that take you to the same room. The dinning hall has 23 doors that open into it. The kitchen has only one as the Malfoy's never anticipated needing to enter the kitchen.” Luna continued

Harry stared at her.

“If you think that's bad you should see upstairs. It's designed as a maze to make it extremely difficult to get to the master bedroom. I have only seen the door to it once when I first got here. I was lost and happened upon it. It's not a nice part of the house to be in. It's still sealed shut.” Luna said

“Sealed shut?” Harry questioned

“Yes Lucius sealed it before the final battle. We don't know how to open it but we aren't in any rush to find out either. We don't spend much time upstairs. I think Molly asked you guys to stay here in hopes that you might help us clean out most of the bedrooms.” Luna said as she stopped in front of a door that appeared in the wall opposite to the one that they had come through.

“She wants us to help you clean this place!” Harry said disgusted at the thought of cleaning.

“Yes.” Luna replied as she moved her hand to the doorknob.

“Wait, what you said earlier about being in jeopardy.” Harry asked.

“That remains to be seen but you need to give her time. She's been put in some very precarious and difficult positions lately and the Auror office has been overworking her. She's barely had time to register the consequences of your return and I don't think she's stopped to think what it means to her.” Luna paused and appeared to be contemplating her next words carefully.

“It was extremely hard when you left. She had no one to turn to. You picked the worse possible day to leave. Mr. Granger died that day.” Luna said sadly.

Harry's heart stopped beating for a second. He wasn't sure how much bad news he could take in one night.

“B bbbutt he was fine when I left.” Harry said

“It was complicated. She was a mess Harry. Her view on life has become a bit jaded since then.” Luna said as she turned the door handle and walked into the empty corridor.

Harry stared out the door at her and she tilted her head for him to follow her. He absently walked behind her as he tried to calm the turmoil of emotions he was going through. His gut had told him got come back long ago and recently the feeling to return home had been increasing steadily but it wasn't until that dream that he knew he needed to return. He cursed himself for ignoring his instincts. This was all his fault.

Luna stopped by a plain white door and Harry noted it was different to the grand door she had lead him to. This must be one of the twenty six that she had referred to earlier. They casually entered through the door and Ginny immediately called them over.

“You wouldn't believe some of the things Dean has had to deal with.” Ginny said with a huge smile from her seat between Seamus and Dean.

Harry just nodded, he seemed to be incapable of happy feelings at the moment and wondered if there was a dementor lurking somewhere around.

“As nice as this little reunion has been I can't pretend anymore. I need to know.” Ron said seriously.

“Why did Hermione kill my father?”

“He was dying.” Draco answered coldly.

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7. The Death of Arthur Weasley

An: Sorry I didn't update last week, I had to make too many changes to this chapter and I wasn't satisfied with it. I hope you are all satisfied with the explanation for Arthur's death. Please let me know if I left out some details.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 6 - The Death of Arthur Weasley

The atmosphere in the dinning room was tense and uncomfortable causing Luna to feel as if there were a hundred dementors sucking her happiness away. A pit of dread had developed in her stomach and unhappy memories flashed unbidden through her mind. Feelings of guilt and betrayal predominated and Luna struggled to fight the urge to cry.

Ron did have a right to an explanation about Arthur but she couldn't discuss what had happened. It was her fault he was dead and she couldn't look Ron and Ginny in the eye and explain that she had set the events in motion that caused Hermione to do the unthinkable.

“Oh wow, would you look at the time.” Dean exclaimed as he had sensed the sudden coldness that descended upon the room. He definitely didn't want to be in the room for this conversation. He knew the story already and he knew first hand how unstable Luna could become when Arthur was mentioned.

“The time?” Seamus questioned, it still felt rather early to him and he had a few funny stories about Hermione that he had been dying to share with Harry and Ron.

“Yes the time!” Neville echoed as he sprung to his feet and looked at the clock on the far end of the room. He too felt that his presence wasn't required and he was still recovering from the nasty hex he had accidentally received the last time Arthur had been mentioned.

“Yes, it's time to go.” Dean reiterated as he grabbed Seamus by the collar and forced him to stand. Neville grabbed Seamus's arm and together they both forced the clueless wizard out of the room.

Draco was steering at the exit to the dinning room and wondering how long before someone asked what Arthur had been dying from, it would be at that moment that he would make his run for the door and hopefully emerged on the other side unscathed. He had finally gotten his hair to return to it's usual sexiness and he wasn't looking forward to having a repeat of last time.

“But why would she have to kill him if he was dying?” Ginny asked. It made absolutely no sense to her, if her father was dying why not let him die naturally. She couldn't imagine her father asking Hermione to end his life. She somehow thought that would be cowardly and her father was a brave man.

Draco groaned, did the witch just have to go and make things worse! “Weasel that … Ow that hurt.” He cried as Luna elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

“Be nice.” Luna instructed serenely seizing the opportunity to think about her self imposed task to improve Draco's manners.

“Ginny,” Draco said carefully while glancing out of the corner of his eye to make sure no elbows were coming his way again. “It's late and that is a very long and painful topic for some us. It's best if we discuss that topic tomorrow with everyone present.”

“Tomorrow, I want answers now.” Ron demanded as he slammed his fist down on the table in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see both Ginny and Luna flinch at his physical display.

“And you will get them Ronald,” Luna said as she placed her hand gently on his, “but not today. It has been a long day and I'm really tired. I just don't have the energy to revisit that part of my past yet.”

“What do you have to do with the death of my father?” Ron snapped angrily at her waiting for her to answer his question but he was immediately distracted as the children's table exploded and sent wooden splinters flying through the room. A quick protego from Draco protected all of them.

“A lot Ronald, a lot.” Luna whispered sadly as the feelings of guilt returned tenfold and the tears that had threatened before started to flow freely down her cheeks.

Draco reached over and gently squeezed Luna's free hand, besides his actions with the children, it was the first sign of tenderness that Harry had seen Draco display to another adult. Luna's eyes had begun to glisten over and he saw her return Draco's squeeze.

“Dobby,” Draco bellowed at the top of his lungs.

“Yes Mister Draco?” Dobby answered as he appeared on the table in front of Draco. He made no comment about the state of the room and carried on as if it were normal to find splinters scattered throughout the room.

“Show our guests to their rooms.” Draco said as he rose from his seat.

Dobby cleared his throat garnering Draco's attention.

“Yes Dobby,” Draco said as he looked curiously at the elf. Even though Dobby was standing on the dinning room table he was still at least a foot shorter than Draco and he had to look down at him.

“Master's girlfriend is waiting in his bedroom sir.” Dobby said with an evil twinkle in his eye.

“Bedroom?” Draco asked in a panic tone.

Luna giggled, Dobby never failed to improve her mood.

“Miss Luna told me to be nice to your lady friends and Ms. Spellfire requested to be let into your bedroom.” Dobby said innocently.

“You've been spending too much time with Luna.” Draco reprimanded as he pointed his left index finger accusingly at the elf in front of him.

“Draco, go attend to your business. I'll help Dobby get them settled in.” Luna said with a dreamy smile on her face, all traces of her previous mood gone.

“Dobby is at your service Mistress.” Dobby said as he bowed dramatically in front of her eliciting another soft giggle from her.

Draco reluctantly turned around and headed to the door. On the way out, you could hear bits of what he was angrily mumbling to himself. “Crazy witches, wizard get some peace, wants, needs…..”

“Let's head upstairs.” Luna said with a cherry smile on her face.

Harry was amazed at her dramatic transformation, the tears that had marred her mood were completely gone and there was no trace of the path they had taken down her cheeks. He supposed a glamour spell could be responsible but he hadn't seen her use her wand at all.

Dobby enthusiastically lead the way out of the dinning room through another series of turns till they came to a large staircase. In Ginny's opinion it was quite creepy. The handrail on either side of the staircase was a large serpent with a head that reminded her eerily of the basilisk from her first year. She did however note, that the tail of the snake was similar to the rattlesnakes they saw when they travelled through the US.

At the top of the staircase was a large circular landing that had two seemingly straight corridors on opposite sides. The wall in front of them was filled with sleeping portraits of witches and wizards they assumed were more past Malfoys.

Ron peered down the seemingly straight corridor.

“It's charmed to appear straight.” Luna said with a dry laugh. “The two corridors are supposed to be magically connected but I've never been able to enter on one side and leave on the other.”

“This is one giant maze.” Ginny repeated in admiration as she looked down the corridor with awe in her eyes.

“Ginny,” Ron warned, during their travels Ginny had grown to love mazes and he knew, at the earliest possible time, Ginny would try to figure this one out. Harry on the other hand was very hesitant when it came towards mazes as it was an eerie reminder of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

“Ginny, you can explore tomorrow, but if you do, please take Dobby or Mindy with you so you can apparate out if you get lost.” Luna said.

“If,” Ginny said cockily.

“Dobby, which rooms will they be using?” Luna asked ignoring Ginny's comment.

Dobby's face lit up with a huge smile “Dobby thinks that Harry Potter should stay next to Miss Hermione's room.”

“Hermione lives here?” Harry blurted out anxiously.

“No Miss Hermione only stays occasionally but still Dobby keeps Miss Hermione's room just the way she likes it.” Dobby said flashing Harry a smile only Dobby could pull off.

“Oh,” Harry replied as all hope that he could talk to Hermione tonight faded.

“Where will I stay Dobby?” Ginny inquired curiously.

“Miss Ginerva will be staying in the room next to Mister Draco's.” He explained.

“Ginny,” she corrected as she always preferred the nick name to her full name.

“What about me?” Ron asked

“Harry Potter's friend will be staying downstairs.”

“Downstairs, why is Ron staying downstairs?” Harry asked slightly alarmed that they would be splitting up in unfamiliar territory.

“Miss Hermione said she observed you're still very in much in love with food and Miss Hermione said to put you next to the kitchen so you won't get lost on your way there.” Dobby said proudly.

Ginny laughed, Hermione still seemed to know Ron very well. He had picked up a huge habit of midnight snacking during their travels and he particularly loved America where there were many food places that were open 24/7.

“Glad to see Hermione still thinks of me.” Ron mumbled sourly.

Harry tapped Ron on the back. “At least she thinks of you, mate”

With a sharp crack another house elf appeared in front of Ron.

“I am Mindy sir. Please follow me. Your room has been set up.” The tiny elf squeaked out.

Ron shrugged, said his good nights to everyone and followed the house elf downstairs.

“Would Harry Potter like to go into his room?” Dobby asked anxiously.

“Dobby, please just call me Harry.” Harry said

“But” Dobby tried to protest.

“No buts Dobby. It's Harry. Anything else will just be an insult to me.” Harry stated firmly.

“Dobby would never dream of insulting the Great Harry Pot.”

“Dobby” Harry said warningly.

“Yes Mister Harry.” Dobby said uncertainly.

“Uhh good,” Harry said figuring he won't be able to get Dobby to drop the Mister since he seemed to use it frequently.

“That would be all Dobby. We can find our way from here.” Luna said gently.

“Yes Miss Luna.” Dobby said before he disappeared.

“Follow me. We all live on the same side of the house. This first door here is to be avoided its filled with Boggarts. The door on the other side is one of those fake doors, it takes you outside. This door here,” Luna said as she indicated to the second door “is Draco's room. Your room is the next door Ginny.” Luna said as she pointed to the next door about 10 feet down the corridor. Ginny nodded.

Luna turned to the door opposite Draco's room. “This is my room. The next door down is Hermione's and the door after that will be your room Harry.”

“If you need anything during the night, call for Mindy, she is the night elf. Good night,” Luna said to both Harry and Ginny before entering her bedroom.

“Good night.” They both echoed.

“Good night Harry.” Ginny said as she entered her room leaving him standing in the corridor as she closed the door behind her.

Her room was beautifully decorated and the large king sized bed looked very inviting. Dobby must have remembered that she was in Gryffindor because he chose a red and gold colour scheme for the room. It was quite nice but Ginny wasn't that fond of the colours. It brought back too many memories of Hogwarts.

Ginny pulled a small trunk from her robes and placed it on the floor, she waved her wand in a series of movements and the trunk enlarged and the cover magically flew open to reveal all of her belongings. She summoned her nightgown as she had accumulated quite a bit of clothes over the years and Harry had advised her that it was always easier to `accio' things out of the trunk than to dig through it. She assumed the bathroom was through the door on her left and she decided on a quick shower before bed.

Harry entered his room and headed immediately to bed as he was both physically and mentally exhausted from the very long day. They had been in France before their arrival this morning in London. They were up before dawn and came across on the first train. Once in London, they tried to apparate to the burrow but ended up miles away from their destination. They had to take a train as close as they could and then walk the remaining five miles.

Harry closed his eyes and begged sleep to take him, but it wouldn't happen as he seemed to be haunted by Hermione's tired face. His mind was racing and wouldn't allow him to escape reality just yet. He knew he desperately needed to talk to her, to apologize but that wouldn't happen tonight and he needed to rest. Frustrated with his sudden insomnia, he opened his eyes and retrieved his glasses from the bed side table where he had tossed them earlier to survey the dark room. He could see the outline of furniture and he wandlessly lit the candles in the room to get a better look.

Dobby definitely knew his taste as the room was just to his liking. He looked at the wall and found pictures from his days at Hogwarts. There were pictures from 1st year straight up to the night before he defeated Voldemort.

“Dobby,” Harry called hoping that the elf wasn't asleep.

“Yes Harry Potter sir.” Dobby said enthusiastically.

Harry frowned at him. “What did I say Dobby.”

“Mister Harry,” Dobby said hesitantly.

“That's better.” Harry said as he gave the elf a small smile.

He returned his gaze back to the moving pictures on the wall. There was one muggle picture that was taken the night they stayed at Hermione's house when they were searching for the horcruxes. Harry wasn't too happy when the picture was taken as Draco was with them and Harry didn't trust him at all. Luna was also in the picture as she was on the run from the Ministry because of articles that her father had published in the Quibbler.

“Why are these pictures here?” Harry asked the elf.

“Miss Hermione put them here; she wanted you to feel at home.” Dobby said.

“Oh,” a guilty Harry mumbled as he hung his head in shame.

“Miss Hermione will be happy again now that you're back.” Dobby said cheerfully.

Harry's head snapped up, he found it hard to believe that Hermione's happiness had a lot to do with him. Her greeting wasn't as he had imagined in his head. She didn't run to him and hug him like she always did. She didn't throw a thousand questions at him about his journey but most importantly of all she didn't she kiss him on his cheek like she had started doing during the search for the Horcruxes.

“Dobby is there anyway I can speak to her tonight?” Harry asked hopefully.

“No,” Dobby stated simply.

Harry bowed his head in disappointment.

“Dobby did I make a mistake when I left?” Harry asked

“Harry Potter did what he needed to do.” Dobby replied wisely.

Harry didn't even bother to correct Dobby this time and he absently walked back to bed.

“Would Harry Po,” Dobby paused here and started again. “Would Mister Harry like some Dreamless Sleep Potion?” He asked softly

“Yes Dobby that would be great.” Harry said as he sat on the edge of his bed. He hadn't needed that potion in a very long time and it was quite sad that he needed it on his first night back.

A potion vile appeared on the bedside table and Harry drank it in one gulp. He lay back on the bed and stared at the picture in the centre which Draco had taken during their search for Hufflepuff's cup. It was of him and Hermione in a park somewhere. Hermione was seated on a swing and Harry was pushing her from behind. With each rise of the swing towards the camera Hermione had a brilliant smile. He looked at the way the wind raced through her hair as he ignored her pleas for him not to swing her too high. She was truly the only person that made him happy during those times. She always made him feel like he could take on the world and that whatever Voldemort threw at him, he could handle. Why was he such a fool to leave her behind?

It was with that very thought that Harry drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

-*-

Ron opened his eyes to the smell of breakfast lofting into his room. He briefly wondered where he was before the events of the day before came flooding into his mind causing a painful sadness to suddenly fill him. His father had died and he would never be able to tell him how much he admired and respected him. He had always wanted his father to be proud of him and he wanted to tell him of all the adventures he had experienced, but now that wasn't possible. He felt the need for revenge but how could he kill Hermione. She had been his best friend and the reason that all of them were alive today seeking revenge from her would be wrong.

His entire family seemed fine with the death of their father. How could they not be angry with Hermione? He had wanted answers last night but the sudden explosion of the table had caused him to back off a bit. He knew he wasn't responsible for it and briefly thought that maybe Harry had been angry but one look at him confirmed it wasn't him. He perhaps wondered if it was Luna who had lost control of her magic and if that was the reason for his friends' sudden exit but he needed answers and he was going to make damn sure he got them today.

Sunlight was poring in through the window revealing the bright orange walls and orange bedspread. Ron realised his room must be on the east side of the manor and that he overslept as the sun appeared to be pretty high in the sky.

Mindy had created a door from Ron's bedroom straight into the kitchen and he had taken advantage of it last night for a bedtime snack. He was about to make himself a double-layered ham sandwich when she appeared out of nowhere and started putting together a meal for him. After a little while, he was able to explain to the tiny elf that all he wanted was a quick sandwich and the elf finally conceded and made him his sandwich.

He had tried to ask the elf several questions but each time the elf would annoyingly refer him to Mister Draco. He eventually got Mindy to talk about herself. He found out that she had been recruited to the Manor to take care of Malfoy when he was an infant. She boasted at how she had helped raise Mister Draco and what a wonderful person he had turned out to be. Ron had to try very hard to hold back the snide comment that threatened to erupt from his mouth.

Ron jumped out of bed and headed straight to the bathroom. After a quick shower and shave, Ron was dressed and ready for breakfast. He entered the kitchen to find Ginny seated at the table talking casually with Luna. Ginny and Luna both had plates full of ham, sausage, scrambled eggs and two slices of buttered toast.

“Morning,” Ginny said cheerfully.

“What are you so happy about?” Ron asked grouchily as he took the seat next to his sister.

“Luna's been filling me in on all the gossip I missed while we were gone.” Ginny said.

Luna smiled warmly at Ron.

“What would Wheezy like for breakfast?” Dobby asked as he appeared on the table in front of Ron.

Ron cringed at Dobby's name for him. Would he ever learn to call him Ron or Mister Ron?

“He'll have what I'm having.” Ginny said answering for Ron.

“I can choose for myself.” Ron said defensively.

“Trust me, I'm saving you a lot of time and effort. It took me an hour and a half to get my breakfast. Dobby wanted to make all sorts of grand dishes that I had never even heard of.” Ginny said as she raised a fork of full scrambled eggs to her mouth.

“Ok Dobby, get me what she has?” Ron said, he couldn't wait an hour and a half for breakfast, his tummy was grumbling now. A plate of food appeared in front of Ron and he wasted no time in getting started.

“Where is Harry?” Ron asked Ginny with his mouth full of sausage.

“According to Dobby and I quote” Ginny said throwing her hands in the air to form quotation marks, “Mister Harry is sleepy, leave Mister Harry sleep.” Ginny said with a voice very similar to Dobby's. “Or at least it went something like that.”

“Ginny don't make fun of Dobby.” Luna reprimanded her friend lightly.

A loud argument could be heard on the other side of the door and Ron vaguely recognized one of the voices as Seamus's. The other he would know anywhere.

“Seamus it was quite obvious, how could you not understand?” Hermione asked exasperatedly.

“Hermione, not everyone is a super genius like you!” Seamus replied angrily.

“Oh for crying out loud, it was common sense.” Hermione replied as she took a seat next to Luna leaving Seamus to take the last available seat next to Ron around the circular table.

“What seems to be the problem today?” Luna asked as she looked between Seamus and Hermione with a wry smile. Her tone conveyed that this was a regular occurrence.

Hermione was about to open her mouth to explain when Draco waltzed into the kitchen. “Finnigan, how much of a dunder head can you be?” Draco spat out at him.

“See, he agrees with me.” Hermione said in a superior tone to Seamus.

“Malfoy always agrees with you. You can argue the sky is purple and Malfoy would agree with you.” Seamus replied angrily.

Luna was about to put in her two cents but Seamus cut her off

“And don't you start Luna. I don't want to hear about what the Quibbler has discovered recently.” Seamus said as Draco magically expanded the table to sit between Hermione and Luna.

Food magically appeared on the table and Hermione, Seamus and Draco started helping themselves.

“Thanks Dobby.” Hermione said with an appreciative smile while loading her plate with scalloped potatoes.

“Lunch?” Ron questioned as he looked at the clock on the wall revealing that it was 11:30am. “Isn't it a bit early for Lunch?”

“Ron, I've been up since 4am this morning, it is definitely lunch time!” Hermione said as she continued to help herself to some stew chicken.

Seamus happily helped himself to huge portions of corned beef while occasionally stopping to glare in Hermione's direction.

“Why do all Gryffindor males eat as if they have never seen food?” Draco asked as he looked between Seamus and Ron.

Seamus and Ron both glared at Draco across the table and Harry chose this moment to sleepily walk into the kitchen guided by Kreacher, who worked occasionally at the Manor when help was needed. The dreamless sleep potion Dobby had given him must have been extra strong because it usually only lasted a few hours but this time he was out for a good eight hours. His body was happy for the rest but his mind was still in turmoil. He saw Hermione at the table and tried to calm his raging emotions. A space was made next to Ron and Ginny for him and Harry eagerly joined them. Ginny ordered for Harry and he too was soon indulging in breakfast.

“It's lunch already.” Harry asked as he observed Hermione's plate.

Hermione snorted and Harry figured he had just blown a very good opportunity to talk to her but was surprised when she looked up at him and appeared to be contemplating what to say.

“I brought Hedwig's cage for you. Dobby will put it in your room for you though I must warn you Hedwing hasn't been in it for over six years.” Hermione said softly.

“Thank you for taking care of her for me.” Harry said sincerely.

“She was a bit moody at times but I enjoyed her company.” Hermione said as she chewed her bottom lip.

“You can keep her if you want.” Harry offered sensing Hermione was a bit sad about returning Hedwig.

“No she's yours, I'm sure she'll warm up to you soon.” Hermione responded. “Besides, Crookshanks is happy to have the house to himself again.”

“How is Crookshanks?” Harry asked as he remembered Hermione's orange fur ball.

“He's good.” Hermione replied happily as it was starting to feel like old times again.

“Hermione, why did you have to kill my father?” Ron asked bluntly interrupting Harry and Hermione's conversation.

“Didn't you discuss that last night?” Seamus said as he lifted his head from his food and was met with a death glare from Ron. “I guess not.” He commented before he returned his gaze back to his food.

The coldness that they experienced in the ballroom descended again on the kitchen and Hermione squeezed Luna's hand.

“He asked me to kill him Ron.” She said as she swallowed the lump that had suddenly blocked her throat. Mr. Weasley was the first person she had ever killed and she did it very unwillingly.

“Yes I heard that before but I want to know why?” Ron said irritably he couldn't picture his father ever asking someone to kill him. He wasn't the suicidal type.

“He was infected, Ronald. If he had died naturally, it would have meant the death of every human being on earth.” Luna said softly as a layer of moisture could be seen in her eyes.

“Infected with what?” Ginny asked, her eyes had misted over too and she wasn't sure if she just wanted to accept her father's death or get all the details like Ron.

“A magical virus,” Seamus stated calmly and three of the saucers on the table shattered. He seemed to be the only one that wasn't reacting in some sort of emotional way to this situation.

“A what?” Ron questioned.

“Your father was infected with a magically altered version of the Ebola virus that once fully incubated in its host, would be highly contagious and dangerous.” Draco said with a slight hint of sadness in his voice. Mr. Weasley had shown Draco what it was like to really have a father and he taught him the value of love. Draco was quite surprised to discover that he missed him greatly after he was gone.

“Why would someone want to alter the Ebola virus?” Harry asked as he couldn't comprehend what they were saying.

“His name was Nicholas Prince, a distant cousin to Severus. He had chosen to hide in the muggle world during the war. He had become an animal activist and hated the way muggles treated animals. When the war finished and he returned to the wizarding world, he found that he hated the way the wizards treated animals as well. I first met him on a trip to Estonia to classify a new magical species of Flobberworm that had been found there.” Luna reminisced and Hermione gave her a hug and an encouraging look to continue.

“We soon became friends and I shared with him the stories that my father had told me. He was as intrigued as I had been and he joined me on some of my expeditions. It was I that took him to Africa, where he first learned about the virus. He had been infected with it while we were searching for the African Skrewt. Fortunately, the local magical community had discovered a magical cure for it and after fighting the virus for a week he recovered physically but his mind wasn't the same after that.” Luna said sadly as she clung to Hermione for support.

“He was bonkers!” Seamus interjected at that point.

“He told me he wanted to research a cure for muggles and I set him up with a lab.” Luna revealed.

“You couldn't have known.” Hermione said, “I didn't even realise what he was doing until it was too late.”

“To cut to the chase,” Seamus interrupted, “Nick was crazy and he wanted humans dead!”

Hermione ignored Seamus and continued the explanation, “He magically altered the virus so the wizard cure wouldn't work. He also added a long incubation process so he could actively test the virus in muggle orphanages without infecting himself. The first few versions weren't that virulent but the last version had wiped out an entire orphanage and any emergency response crew that didn't wear hazmat suits. By the time I figured out what was going on it was too late. He had already infected Arthur and over a hundred other hosts with the virus and like all other villains felt the need to confess to who ever would listen. Apparently, he felt that humans had destroyed the planet and caused all manner of creature to hide from our destructive tendencies and as result determined we were the scourge of the earth and needed to be removed. He left us no choice but to destroy all the hosts of the virus before it became virulent.”

Harry and Ginny sat in shock and Ron thought this sounded like a bad joke.

“It's no joke Ron.” Hermione admonished as she finished up the last of her explanation.

“How did you know what I was thinking?” Ron said defensively.

Hermione shrugged. “It was written all over your face. We used to be rather good friends Ron, or in seven years, have you forgotten what our friendship was like?”

Ron was about to retort when Harry kicked him under the table. That last thing he wanted was a fight with Hermione.

Hermione's cell phone began to ring and Harry recognized the tone as Fur Elise.

“Hi” Hermione said as she answered the phone.

After a while he saw Hermione's face light up in a big smile. She still had the same radiant smile that he remembered from Hogwarts.

“Sure we can make it. Ok I'll let him know, bye” Hermione said

“What did you get us into?” Draco said with narrowed eyes.

“Just another one of my mom's parties. She says she's found the perfect girl for you Draco.” Hermione said sweetly as she winked her eye at him.

Draco groaned. “Not another blind date.”

Luna giggled as he sour mood had magically vanished again. “Any date for us?”

“As a matter of fact Luna, we get to go single!” Hermione boasted happily.

“That's not fair. I'm calling your mom now.” Draco said as he pulled out his blackberry.

“Hello, Mrs .. ah yes, sure. Ok. Yeah, we'll be there on time. Ok. Yes I'll do it. Ok bye.” Draco said as he dismally put down the phone “Why don't you ever stop me when I try to call your mom.”

“Cause it's fun watching you get into trouble?” Hermione teased playfully.

Draco glared at her.

“So spit it out this time. What does she want you to do?” Hermione said

“You're just going to have to ask your mom!” Draco said as he turned away from her and faced Ginny instead.

“So Ginerva, got any boyfriends?” Draco asked casually.

“Ginny,” She hissed at him.

“Leave my sister alone ferret face!” Ron exclaimed.

“Who's up for some house cleaning?” Neville said in a cheery voice as he came through the door. “Oh am I interrupting something?” he asked panicked as he saw the tears in the girls face and an angry Ron and Draco.

-->

8. Cleaning

An: I got the chapter done on time for today!!!

Dislcaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 7

Neville stood awkwardly at the door. He cursed his ability for having the worse timing. Why couldn't he have been one of those guys that always appeared at the right time? No, instead he was the clumsy guy that always appeared at the wrong time and usually toppled something over in the process. Even the prophecy passed him over in favour of Harry.

“Neville, come on in. We were about to start cleaning. I think we should start with the room under the drawing room. I think I heard some noises coming from there the other night.” Draco said thoughtfully.

“I told you, what you heard was Nargles mating.” Luna said as she finished up the last of her breakfast.

Draco was about to dispute the existence for Nargles when a loud beeping noise went off causing everyone to quickly cover their ears from the piercing noise.

Seamus hurriedly reached into his robes and pulled out a black oblong stone. He tapped it once with his wand and the noise abruptly stopped.

“Must that thing be so bloodly loud?” Draco muttered angrily.

“I still don't understand how you two do covert opps with that stone.” Neville stated as he looked intently at it.

“What is that?” Ginny asked as she looked disdainfully at the offending object.

“It's a communicator stone. It allows Kingsley to call us when we're needed.” Hermione stated a professor's tone.

“More like summon his slaves.” Seamus added grudgingly.

Hermione calmly reached into her robes and pulled out a similar stone and tapped it once with her wand.

“How come yours doesn't make that sound?” Harry asked as he noted Hermione's graceful movements.

“Because this one vibrates like a cell phone, Seamus slept through a page once and Kingsley personally set his stone to wail like a Banshee. He hasn't slept through one page since, but we got to get going, I'll be damned if Cormac beats us.” Hermione explained calmly to Harry before yanking a reluctant Seamus out of his seat and heading towards the door.

“Do you need any help?” Harry asked curiously. He didn't want her to go just yet.

Hermione turned around and examined Harry's features. His warm green eyes held a lot of concern for her well being and she knew he sincerely wanted to come with her. She also knew he was a stubborn hero and he might get himself killed. Suddenly, she had a flash back to her recurrent nightmare of the last few months and a pale Harry looked up at her with cold dead eyes. She shook herself from that disturbing picture; she would not allow that to happen.

“No,” Hermione said firmly leaving no room for argument.

“I wonder what's wrong?” Neville said as he took Seamus's vacated seat.

“Can't be anything to bad or the order would have alerted everyone.” Draco pointed out.

Dobby appeared at the table and all the dishes disappeared and were replaced with cleaning utensils. He presented them with a list of places that he and Mrs. Weasley believed were the first places that should be cleaned. They had come to the decision that they wanted to completely clean downstairs so they didn't have to worry if an order member wondered into the wrong door. He explained that Mrs. Weasley would join them as soon as she finished babysitting her grandchildren.

Luna and Ron were assigned to the `dark' room under the drawing room. Harry, Draco and Neville were assigned to Lucius's study and Ginny was assigned to the Kitchen storeroom.

The `dark' room had been the first placed cleaned when the Manor had become the headquarters of the order but recently, it became obvious that they might have missed something. Lucius's study had never been touched, as the wards were too strong to break though. Neville had recently come up with an ingenious idea to break through the wards and he was hoping it would be successful. The kitchen storeroom however posed a difficult problem. Food was disappearing from the storeroom and the house elves didn't know why. The elves insisted that there was dark magic behind the disappearance of the food and they wanted the problem solved. Mindy refused to enter the storeroom anymore and Dobby was forced to do most of the cooking.

With a some encouragement from Dobby and a threatening howler from Mrs. Weasley the reluctant group started with their chores for the day.

-*-

Luna and Ron stood in the drawing room of Malfoy Manor. Ron remembered in second year when he and Harry had used Polyjuice potion to disguise themselves as Crab and Goyle to enter Slytherin house, Draco had revealed this secret room to them. Ron had immediately written his father and the Ministry raided it shortly afterwards.

Luna drew her wand and performed a complicated series of movements astounding Ron that she was capable of such strong magic.

“What you thought it would be easy to open a well hidden secret door?” She queried in a sarcastic tone.

“Ahh no,” Ron said reluctant to reveal that he had thought so little of her. “Shouldn't the Order have removed this?” Ron asked trying to take his mind off of Luna.

“Why? It's a great hiding spot and the wards around it are very complicated. We had Kinglsey wipe all records of the Ministry's raid here, so only a few people know of its existence.” Luna explained seriously.

“Oh” was all the reply Ron could muster as he was again shocked that Luna could be serious about something.

The furniture in the drawing room all levitated and the floor disappeared below them. Ron realised that they were now standing on the first step of a staircase that lead down a dark corridor. Ron gulped.

Luna put her wand away and calmly started to descend the stairs.

“Wait.” Ron called out in a slight panic as his mind imagined giant spiders jumping out at him from the dark.

She stopped and turned to face him. Ron felt as though her blue eyes were looking straight through him.

“Shouldn't we be cautious? I thought I heard Malfoy say there was something down here.” Ron said as he looked uneasily behind her.

“Not yet, when we reach the bottom. It's a long way down and there's a charm at the bottom to prevent things from leaving. You wouldn't believe some of the things that Lucius kept down there.” Luna said as she resumed her calm descent down the stairs.

Regardless of what Luna said Ron drew his wand and lit it before heading cautiously down the stairs. It was indeed a rather long staircase and Ron hated that his wand only lit a few feet in front of him and he couldn't see the end of the staircase. Luna occasionally stepped out of range of his light and Ron hurried to keep up with her. He dared not glance behind him as he could only imagine what he would see. Suddenly Luna paused and Ron stopped ready to throw the first hex that came to mind.

“There's a bend here that leads into the room.” Luna said as she turned her blue eyes on him. The wand light added a slight twinkle to Luna's eyes and Ron thought she had gone stark raving mad. The stairs went straight ahead and there were two solid walls on each side. What bend could she be talking about?

“Just follow me Scully.” Luna said with a humours tone and Ron wondered if she could possibly be referring to the muggle TV show “The X Files”.

Ron watched as she descended two more stairs before disappearing into the wall to the left. Ron almost dropped his wand in shock as he heard Luna's disembodied voice telling him that the wall was charmed to look as though the staircase continued straight and the entrance was charmed to look as the wall. It was kind of disturbing to hear Luna's airy voice and not see her.

“Ron are you going to stand there and catch Pixies in your mouth or are you going to follow me?” Luna said in an annoyingly calm voice.

Ron closed his mouth sucked in his gut. “I'm not catching Pixies.” Ron said angrily as he descended the two stairs and turned right, hitting a solid brick wall.

“Bloody Hell,” Ron exclaimed as he rubbed his nose.

Luna giggled softly, “Left Ron,” she said in a reproachful voice

Ron turned around and glared at the left wall. He put his hand up and edged forward slowly watching as his hand disappeared through the wall. When his hand had disappeared up to his elbow, Ron took the final step to move his entire body through the wall. He felt a cold shiver pass through his body as he emerged into a black room lined with shelves, unusual instruments and a foul stench that made Ron want to puke.

“I thought you said you cleaned this placed!” Ron exclaimed sourly as he held his free hand to his nose.

“We did but as we stated before, we missed something.” Luna said with her usual calm voice as she peered around the dark room.

“Why is it so dark and what is that?” Ron asked pointing to the shelf nearest to him where a white ball hovered in the air.

“Iapetus Malfoy, Draco's great grandfather, apparently enjoyed dark colours and painted this place black. He had charmed the paint to help hide this room from prying eyes. The paint won't come off for another hundred years and nobody has the time to try and get it off the walls, besides its great if you're in a depressing mood.” Luna said as she begun to walk further into the room.

Ron got the distinct feeling that Luna spent a great deal of time in this room and he wondered if it was related to the disturbing mood swings he had witnessed from her earlier. He couldn't tell the dimensions of the room and he realised that the further Luna headed into the room the less he could see of her. If she ventured to far he would lose her completely and Ron instantly fell in step behind her.

“How are we supposed to find anything in here?” Ron asked.

“Rhea Malfoy, Iapetus's wife organized things magically. Call for what you want and it will come to you.” Luna explained.

“But if we don't know what we want how can we call for it?” Ron asked.

“Usually if you give a very close description the item will come to you.” Luna replied nonchalantly.

Ron had the instant image of an acromantula the size of Aragog being summoned to him.

“How big is this room? Couldn't we just search through it?” Ron asked opting for an option that would have unknown objects flying at him.

“It isn't very big, probably as big as the standard Quidditch small.” Luna said.

Ron understood but he disagreed with a Quidditch pitch not being very big. Ron was beginning to shiver as the cold air cut through his shirt and caused unwanted goose bumps.

“Aren't you cold?” Ron asked as he wrapped his hands around himself.

“The cold is nice, it matches what I feel inside.” She glanced at Ron and felt sympathetic for him. “We have no time for heating spells, Phymsies are attracted to heat.”

Ron groaned, Luna sure hadn't changed much since Hogwarts. She still had her weird ideas and her odd quirks.

A slow rumbling noise erupted through the room and Ron turned quickly in the direction of the noise. He raised his wand and blood red eyes were staring at him from a distance away.

“This isn't good.” Luna said with a slight fear in a voice that really caused Ron to re-evaluate the situation.

Blood was rushing through his system and he could feel a slight panic that he hadn't felt since the war, threatening to break out. He actually felt like hexing her for being stuck there and his active imagination pictured him being eaten alive by a large spider with huge red eyes.

He felt Luna slide her hand into his and she slowly tugged him back towards what he hoped was the entrance. Ron kept his eyes trained on the creature as Luna steered them away. He became increasingly alarmed as the eyes slowly disappeared into the darkness in front of him.

“Can we go a bit faster?” Ron whispered when he couldn't see the eyes anymore.

Luna slowed down and told Ron to be ready in case it attacked. That response did nothing for Ron's nerves and he imagined a horde of spiders converging on them from each side.

After a few heart-wrenching moments they were out on the stairwell and Ron was yelling at Luna at the top his lungs.

“Are you trying to kill us? I asked you to speed up and you slow down. That thing could have attacked at any moment.”

“Did it?” Luna asked back to her calm reserved self.

“Did it what?” Ron snapped at her.

“Attack,”

“No but that's not the point.” Ron said angrily.

“That is the point Ronald. If you had turned and ran out of there as fast as you could it would have attacked. That creature was a bloodhound. It senses fear. In fact it prays on it. If you had turned and ran it would have pounced on you in no time. The fact that we left calmly and slowly meant we weren't suitable prey and it ignored us.” Luna explained irritably.

“Bloodhound, it wasn't a spider?” Ron asked as he scratched his neck embarrassed.

“Most spiders have eight eyes Ronald.” Luna said as she rolled her eyes at him.

A slight colour tinted Ron's face and the tips of his ears. After Ron got over his initial embarrassment he was able to clear his mind and focus on the task at hand. He found it much easier to think now that he knew he wasn't dealing with a spider. “How did one of those get in there?”

“Now that's the million galleon question.” Luna said as she started the ascent back up the stairs towards the pinprick of light that they could see in the distance.

-*-

Harry reluctantly stood besides Draco as Neville placed a thorny plant in front of the door to the study. The wards were set to attack anything that wasn't Lucius. Once the wards were tripped, the door was locked and the windows were shut. The anti-apparition ward around the study increased in strength and nothing was allowed in until Lucius reset the wards himself. Naturally, the wards haven't been reset for the last seven years and study had been locked to everyone.

Neville's idea was to use the plant to distract the ward. Once attacked the plant would shoot its thorns at its attacker. What was special about these thorns, were that as soon as they left the mother plant, a new plant would shoot from the thorn. Thus, eventually the attacker would be over loaded with multiple plants. It was a chain reaction that could overwhelm even the most trained wizard. Neville was hoping that the multitude of plants would cause the wards to use most of its energy in attacking the plant. Once all the magical energy was used on the dealing with the plant, they were going to attempt to unlock and open the door from a safe distance. If the door opened, they were going to run through the mass of plants and wards and hopefully make it into the office unscathed.

Harry hoped the wards were only applied to the outside of the office and once inside they could disable it from the inside out. Draco was sure inside had more protection but he didn't believe it would be in the form of a ward. He thought it would be something subtler to trick the intruder into doing something deadly.

The wards, as predicted, had started attacking the plant and pretty soon there was a jungle of plants in front of them. It required Harry, Draco and Neville to combine their magic to open the door. They now had to negotiate their way through the melee in front of them to get into the study.

Draco turned to Neville just before he sprinted forward, “Stay here, I want these plants gone by the time I get out.”

Neville was about to argue but Draco had already run forward trying unsuccessfully to avoid the spray of thorns with Harry reluctantly following behind. Neville was left by himself staring at the mass of plants in front of him. The plant was still multiplying and he was reluctant to move them. If the wards did extend to inside the study he was sure they would still need the plants distraction. He decided it was better to leave the plant there until the wards were down. He struggled to transfigure a few pieces of furniture to act as a physical barrier so the plants would not wander through the house if the wards came down and he wasn't around. Once that was done, he decided to check on the others progress in the house.

-*-

Ginny had been sitting in the storeroom for the last half an hour and still had no clue what to do. She had done a preliminary scan and found not traces of dark magic. She then asked Dobby for a list of all the missing items as well as the approximate date and time of disappearance. The parchment Dobby gave her was at least twenty feet long.

She was hoping that there might be some pattern to it but some items weren't noticed missing until they were looking for them. Toad's eye was a very precious ingredient in some beauty potions. The last time it was checked was some time last year and nobody noticed it was missing until earlier this year. Ginny could not find a pattern for the date and times things disappeared. She then studied the items to see if they were items for a particular potion or recipe but Ginny didn't know of anything that required that amount of ingredients.

Ginny stared at the storeroom again. It was definitely bigger than she had originally thought. It was the length of the great hall at Hogwarts and each wall was lined with various ingredients. As Ginny looked along each shelf she realised that the majority of the ingredients she didn't recognize.

“How're you doing?” said a quiet voice from the doorway.

Ginny spun around and came face to face with Neville, who was leaning casually at the storeroom entrance. His hands were crossed in front of him and it only served to emphasize his small potbelly.

“Fine,” Ginny mumbled.

“Any signs of our thief yet?” Neville said as he moved from the entranceway towards her.

“I have no clue what's going on. I checked for signs of dark magic, I looked over the list of stuff taken, I looked at the time taken and I can't seem to find a pattern to anything.” Ginny said exasperatedly.

“Well you seem to be as stumped as we are.” Neville said as he surveyed the large storeroom causing Ginny to follow his gaze.

“What is all this?” Ginny asked indicating to the mass of ingredients on the shelves.

“The cooking ingredients are up front on the first few shelves. After that is healing ingredients, then ingredients for some of the draughts, then for some nasty potions and so on and last is the alcohol.” Neville said pointing to the back of the room.

“How can you tell where they start and stop?” Ginny asked

“You see the slight difference in colour along the vertical support shelving?” Neville asked

Ginny looked closer and she could indeed see a colour difference between different sections.

“Good, that's how you tell the difference.” Neville said as he walked to the back of the storeroom.

“Where are you going?” Ginny asked

“For some firewhiskey, I'm going to need it to clean up that mass of plants outside the study.” Neville said as he almost reached the back shelf.

“I didn't think you were the firewhiskey type.” Ginny stated with a small smile as she followed him.

“I wasn't, blame this on Dean and Seamus.” Neville said as he picked up a bottle and poured himself a small amount in a shot glass he had picked up from the kitchen. He downed it in one gulp and offered the bottle to Ginny but she refused. He resealed the bottle and placed it back on the shelf.

“Was that wise?” Ginny asked indicating to the drink he just took.

“Not really but the burning keeps you alert. I better get back, Draco and Harry hopefully have that ward down by now and I can get that plant out of there.” Neville said as he started walking back to the exit.

“You left Harry with Draco?” Ginny said in a very concerned voice.

“Relax, they're fine. Draco can take care of himself.” Neville said as he shrugged it off.

“Why is everyone so relaxed around Draco? He is a Slytherin.” Ginny pointed out.

“Ginny, you're probably not going to believe this but with his parents out of his life Draco has changed quite a bit. We've been a good influence on him and I think if you give him a chance you might like the new Draco.” Neville said looking her squarely in the eye.

“I'm impressed. You never had this much confidence before.” Ginny commented as they both walked towards the door.

“Thanks, I've been working on it.” Neville said with a cute smile that made Ginny wobble slightly on her feet.

“You ok?” He asked with concern in his voice.

“Yeah, must be the dust in here.” Ginny said as she walked ahead of him to hide the slight blush that appeared on her cheeks.

Neville looked around confused, Dobby kept the storeroom spotless. He smirked as his eyes roved Ginny's body in front of him. She certainly had kept her lean figure and she still carried that air of confidence about her. She had gone to the yule ball with him in his fourth year but nothing happened after that. He wondered if he could make things happen this time.

“I'm going to head back to the study and deal with that plant. You can come and help if you want. Nothing much seems to be happening here.” Neville said charmingly.

Ginny looked into the empty room. There was nothing there. She certainly wasn't accomplishing anything just sitting in the storeroom so she decided to accompany Neville.

As soon as the door closed a soft yellow glow appeared in the storeroom and once the glow subsided five more items were missing.

-*-

Harry and Draco paused when they entered the study and immediately looked around for any attacking objects. Once they were satisfied that they were safe both Harry and Draco stopped to remove the thorns they had been bombarded with. Draco used his wand to remove them and incinerated them as soon as they cleared his skin. Harry was standing scowling at Draco.

“Potter, the thorns of that plant multiply or did you not notice that! Kill it now before I have a horde of those plants in this office.” Draco spat nastily at him.

“Listen Malfoy, let's get a couple things straight, shall we.” Harry said ignoring Draco's advice. “One I'm not your friend, so don't speak to me as if I am. Two I don't trust you so don't pretend to be trustworthy and three OW!” Harry exclaimed as pain burst through his arm.

One of the thorns on Harry's arm had started growing and it was trying to put roots into him. Harry brushed it off quickly but he was soon in enormous pain as multiple thorns wanted to root into him. He was soon frantically trying to get rid of the terrible plant but he realised with horror that as he threw the growing plant off it would start coming back to him.

Draco watched the scene with a huge smirk, “It likes you.”

Harry followed Draco and used his wand to destroy them but by the time he finished he was exhausted and in pain. He was going to sit down but Draco discouraged him as they didn't know if the chairs were jinxed. Harry decided to take Draco's advice this time and remain standing.

“Now Potter, lets get a few things straight,” Draco said with that annoying smile of his. “One, I am not your friend nor will I ever pretend to be. Two, I don't trust you. Who knows how long you'll be here before you get bored and leave and Three, I saw you watching Hermione, hurt her again and your dead.” Draco finished in a threatening tone.

Harry was about to retort but Draco cut him off.

“Now that that's finished, let's get that ward down.” Draco said as he pointed his wand towards the door.

It took both of them so dissemble the ward and just as they finished removing the last bit of magic they heard a loud noise followed by Ron Weasley screaming at the top of his voice.

“Why did that sound like one of the twins' pranks.” Draco said suspiciously.

“What ever it was it pissed Ron off.” Harry said as he focused on his friend's distressed voice.

“The ward is down, we'll come back later. I sure hope Neville moved that damn plant.” Draco grumbled as he opened the door to be greeted with a crowded hallway full of plants and no way to get out. Draco slammed the door shut and turned to Harry.

“We're going to have to burn our way out Potter.” Draco said “You ready.”

Harry nodded and they were both out the door in a flash.

-*-

Ron was covered in red fur and a tail the he disliked intensely. He was screaming madly at the twins but they ignored him. Instead they prodded and poked him and recorded his reaction on parchment they held in their hands.

“I'm not some wizard to experiment on!” Ron screamed as they circled him.

“Hmm slight blood pressure rise,” Observed Fred or was it George. Ron was too angry to tell his brothers apart.

“What is going on in here?” Draco said as he entered the kitchen with Harry.

“Nothing,” Fred and George chorused together.

Draco couldn't with hold his laugh nor did he try when he saw Ron. Harry on the other hand tried very hard to suppress his laugh and ended up clearing his throat in a very suspicious manner.

“Undo this now.” Ron demanded

“Subject objects to state.” George said in a clinical voice.

“Gee, I wonder why?” Ron screamed at him.

Luna, Ginny and Neville were there when the twins first tricked Ron into shaking their hands which were coated with a special liquid that triggered hair growth. It was absorbed through the skin and moved quickly through the body.

“What are you guys doing here?” Draco asked pointedly.

“Isn't it obvious!” They declared as they pointed at Ron.

Draco levelled them with a steely gaze eerily reminiscent of the late Lucius Malfoy. The look sent shivers up Ginny's spine as it reminded her of the time Lucius had captured her during the war.

“We booked out the club in Hogsmeade for a private Weasley party. We need to celebrate their return without the party poopers,” Fred said.

“The whole club is reserved to us and we made sure that nobody would be there except us. It's perfectly safe from them. Nobody will see them.” George said.

“And your wives?” Luna asked

“Will be told later today.” They assured Luna

“And your mom” Draco asked

“Will discover when she has all the children to baby sit!” They responded.

Draco snorted. “This is going to be entertaining,” he mumbled only loud enough for Harry to hear.

“Good, start getting ready, tonight's going to be a blast.” Fred and George said as they left the room.

“Wait,” cried Ron as he ran out of the room after them but it was too late as they had already disappeared down the corridor.

“It'll wear off soon.” Luna assured him kindly.

“How can you be so sure?” He spat at her.

“Because it lasted two hours on Draco.” Neville said with the hint of a smile of his face.

Draco glared at him for reminding him of the terrible experience. Malfoy's weren't hairy creatures and to suddenly be inundated with hair was quite a traumatic experience for him.

“He made the cutest polar bear.” Luna reminisced fondly.

“Enough talk, Neville needs to pick up the burnt remains of his plants!” Draco sneered at him.

“You burnt them all!” Neville asked horrified.

“They were in the way.” Draco replied in a haughty tone.

“But that was my only one. They're extremely rare and hard to find.” Neville declared.

“How could they be rare?” Harry asked knowing how that plant had reproduced hundreds of smaller ones in minutes.

“Nobody ever attacks them, so they don't reproduce.” Neville explained

“Oh” Harry said as the answer made sense. Now that he knew what would happen he sure as hell would not be picking a fight with that plant any time soon.

“Relax Neville, The original is still there, I left it untouched for you.” Draco revealed.

A huge smile broke out on Neville's face. “Thanks, you had me there for a second. You're spending too much time with the twins.”

“Well, what you're waiting for go clean up the mess.” Draco demanded.

Neville rolled his eyes and exited the room.

Draco turned to Luna, “What was in the dark room?”

Luna fidgeted for a bit knowing that Draco wouldn't take the answer very well, “A Blooodhound.”

Draco's face drained of all colour, he was deathly afraid of bloodhounds. He had been attacked when he was four and generally stayed away from the creatures.

“That wasn't there before.” Draco stated firmly.

“I know someone must have put it there recently.” Luna said

“Who would put a blookhound …” Draco stopped halfway through as the answer came to his head. He frowned and left Luna in the room with a red monkey, Ginny and Harry.

An: Hermione will be back in the next chapter. Don't worry.

-->

9. Trust

An: Sorry for the long wait. I hope you like this chapter. There is an H/hr scene in it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 8 - Trust

Draco barrelled into the kitchen with his wand gripped tightly in his hand. His face was flushed and his eyes held a dangerous glint.

“Flitwick said to bring them along.” Draco said indicating to Harry, Ginny and Ron.

“Draco, can't this wait till later?” Luna asked calmly.

“No she put her blasted Bloodhound down there. She knows I hate them. Flitwick says her last class finishes in half an hour. We're going to settle this.” Draco said angrily as the vein at the side of his neck throbbed.

“But,” Luna tried to protest.

“Let's go. The fireplace is this way.” Draco said as he headed out the door.

Harry looked curiously over at Luna. She sighed and got off her seat.

“Someone has to go with him before he does something stupid.” Luna said. “You all better come as well. Professor Flitwick actually does want to see you.”

“Where are we going?” Ginny asked.

Luna turned around, she thought it was quite obvious. “Hogwarts.”

An uncomfortable silence came across the room. The last time Harry had been at Hogwarts was the final battle. He hadn't been back since and he was hoping it would be a bit longer before he had to return there. He took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for the visit.

They followed Luna out the door through a series of turns to the circular room. The second time passing through the ward wasn't as bad as the first and only Ron felt the urgent need to throw up. Luna conjured a bucket for Ron and after a few minutes they were flooing to Hogwarts.

They emerged in the Headmaster's office in Hogwarts. Harry was half expecting to see Dumbledore behind the desk but the sight that greeted him was another painful reminder of everything that had happened. Professor Flitwick had indeed made the office his own and the only familiar objects in the room were the pictures of the previous headmasters. Harry searched for the one picture that he wanted to talk to and was greatly disappointed to find it empty.

“Welcome, Welcome.” Professor Flictwick said from behind his desk. He had a special desk made for him to match his height. In front of his desk were two normal size chairs that looked quite comfortable.

Draco had already left and headed straight to the staff room. Luna cheerfully greeted the new headmaster and promised that no damage would be done to the school or the students there in before she headed towards the spiral staircase that Harry knew so well.

“Please sit. We have a lot to discuss.” Flitwick said as he conjured an extra chair for Ginny to sit in.

“It's good to have you back Mr. Potter, and you to Mr. Weasley and Ms. Weasley.” Flitwick said cheerfully.

Harry took a seat followed by Ginny and Ron. As Harry sat in the chair, it slowly started transforming into a cushioned recliner.

“The chairs are charmed to change into whatever the user wishes to sit in. It's quite interesting to see what people like, particularly my students.” Flitwick revealed.

Harry looked uncomfortably at Ginny and wished for a different type of chair and it instantly changed into the stool he used to sit in when he was in class. Ginny decided to keep her massage chair but Ron decided to changes his futon to a stool similar to Harry's.

“You three have had quite an adventure. Let's see” Flitfick said as he summoned three thick files to his desk. “Greece, Colombia, Egypt, Brazil, Australia and the list goes on.”

“How do you know where we've been?” Ron asked slightly alarmed.

Flitwick looked directly at Ron with a gaze that reminded Harry eerily of Dumbledore and he briefly wondered if Flitwick was also a skilled Legilmens.

“We've been tracking you since you left.” He said honestly. “We were a bit concerned especially in the beginning with a few of those incidents you had.”

Ron turned bright red at the mention of the incidents. In the beginning muggle customs were very alien to him and he often made embarrassing mistakes. There were a few times that he used magic and they did their best to cover it up. Harry always thought the stories they made up were a bit weak but now he knew the truth. Someone from the magical world had been covering for them.

“How did you find us?” Ginny asked voicing the question that was on all of their minds.

“Miss Granger, of course, you really didn't think you'd be able to hide from her? She also came up with some very innovative ways of tracking you.” Flitwick said.

“Hermione knew where we were?” Harry asked in shock. He couldn't believe he knew where they were the entire time and never let them know. He always imagined himself running into her by accident and he was absolutely sure she would have screamed her head off at him. This Hermione certainly wasn't the Hermione he knew before the war.

“Yes she was aware of where you were. It was very difficult for her but eventually she decided that everything happens for a reason and there was some reason why she was not involved in the next leg of your adventure. Very wise of her, at times she reminds me of Albus. Honestly, I don't know how we would have made out had Hermione joined you on your journey. I truly think she's satisfied with the way things have turned out.” Flitwick said honestly.

“Did our parents know?” Ron asked hesitantly.

“Yes, your father was very proud of you Ron, especially after the incident in Africa with the poachers. That required a lot of bravery to stand up for those innocent creatures. I believe it even bought a tear to Hermione's eye.” Flitwick said proudly.

Early in their seven year journey, Harry had expressed an interest in going on an African Safari. They travelled to Nairobi where they settled down for some time. It was on a trip to Mount Kilamanjaro in north eastern Tanzania that they encountered three poachers chasing a herd of elephants on the plains that surrounded Kilamanjaro. Ron bravely pulled their vehicle up in front of the poachers and requested that they stop their actions immediately or they would call the appropriate authority. The poachers responded by shooting at them. Ron, with the help of a little magic, managed to disable them and they turned the poachers in. There was a bit of a celebration and Ron got his name in the local newspapers. He was quite the hero among the animal rights activists and Harry remembered that he was quite popular with the women as well.

“Why didn't you notify us when daddy ....” Ginny tried to ask but found it extremely difficult to convey the fact that her father had died.

“At the time you were in a monastery in Tibet, your mother felt it best not to burden you with the news. She was having a hard enough time convincing Fred and George that revenge wasn't the answer.” He told them.

“But how did you track us. We were very careful.” Harry pressed.

“How is not important. What's important is why two days ago you packed up everything in Taiwan and then made a beeline to England. This wasn't a planned visit Harry. Did you have a premonition?” Flitwick asked in a steady voice.

“Premonition?” Ron and Ginny exclaimed.

“I see you two aren't aware of the premonition Mr. Potter had before his fight with Voldemort.” Flitwick said.

“What premonition Harry?” Ron asked as he turned his attention towards his best mate.

Harry bowed his head. He hadn't told anybody but Hermione and Remus.

“A few months before the final battle I had this reoccurring dream. I was at Hogwarts. I died.” Harry said as he stopped to clear the mysterious lump that had formed in his throat. It was still difficult to talk about the final battle.

“The point is Harry was able to use this dream to defeat Voldemort.” A familiar voice said from a portrait on the wall, spearing Harry the ordeal of revealing a few personal details he had kept private for so long.

Harry spun around and came face to face with the portrait of Albus Dumbledore. He was smiling sympathetically at Harry and his eyes seemed to convey that he already knew why Harry had come back.

“How did this dream help you?” Ginny asked Harry.

“Hermione did some research and reluctantly concluded that it was some type of premonition. She really didn't like the idea of a premonition so she thought on some subconscious level my mind was trying to visualize how the final battle would proceed and it was showing me in my dreams. She was convinced my fate could be changed and that I should learn from the mistakes I made in my dream and not repeat them in the final battle. Every night before I went to sleep she would suggest alternatives to try. With each attempt the dream changed slightly but it always had the same result. It wasn't until the final battle that I finally understood what it was that I had to do.” Harry said

“She told me she was helping you with your occlumency before you went to sleep.” Ron said a bit frostily. He had been dating Hermione at the time and he had been insecure about the time she spent with Harry at nights. She told him that he need not worry about their relationship but then she broke up with him a month before the final battle. He was beginning to wonder if Harry's premonition had something to do with it.

“She did that too.” Harry said defending Hermione.

“So Mr. Potter, did you have a premonition?” Flitwick asked getting back to the point of the conversation. He was not interested in rehashing the past. The present was what mattered and if there was a new threat that needed to be dealt with, he needed to know it now.

Harry nodded sadly.

“We're waiting Harry.” Dumbledore reminded him from his view on the wall. There was a grunt of agreement from the rest of the portraits.

“I saw Hermione die.” Harry said coldly.

There was absolutely no reaction from the current headmaster or the portraits.

“I see, are their any other details you could supply for example when, where, how?” Flitwick asked.

“It was snowing so it must have been winter, I don't know where but she was shot through the heart.” Harry revealed.

Flitwick steepled his fingers in front of him and thought for a while.

“A muggle weapon, interesting. That would mean it would be connected to one of the muggle/wizard cases. Winter starts in three months we have a lot of work to do if we are to prevent this tragedy.” He said firmly as he looked at the paintings on the wall causing a few to scamper from their paintings and head to some unknown destination.

“I agree Filius but the first step would be to re-introduce these three to the wizarding world.” Dumbledore suggested. He was one of the few portraits that had remained in the office.

“Yes Albus, you're right.” Flitwick agreed.

“Have you three given any thought to what you want to do?” Dumbledore asked them.

Before they could answer the door opened and Professor Snape came storming in.

“Before you discuss anything with them they have to take the vow! I will not have the safety of the order compromised again.” Snape stated angrily.

“Severus, we understand your concerns but I assure you they are no threat to the order.” Flitwick said calmly.

“They must take the vow. All members have taken the vow. You can not show favouritism towards them just because they are Molly's children.” Snape sneered in his usual manner.

“What vow are you talking about?” Ginny asked.

“Have you ever heard of an unbreakable vow?” Snape asked as he narrowed his black eyes at her.

“That's what you and Narcissa Malfoy did.” Ron stated.

“This is similar but not as deadly. You take a vow that bounds you to the order and prevents you from revealing details of the order to outsiders. The vow also forces you to be true to the goals of the order so you cannot pledge to help the Wizarding world and then leave it. The vow would not allow that.” Snape said stressing the last part to Harry.

“Severus, they will take the vow in time but there are others things that need to be dealt with immediately.” Dumbledore said

“If you're referring to Draco, I believe Vicky is doing a nice job of honing his defence skills.” Snape said proudly.

Flitwick waved his wand and a map of the castle appeared on the wall. It was similar to the Marauder's map but it carried greater detail. There were parts of the castle displayed that Harry never knew existed. He was greatly surprised to discover that the headmaster had such a map.

Dumbledore laughed a light happy laugh. “Harry you look very much like your father when he saw this map for the first time. You honestly didn't think that your father and his friends were the first persons to develop a map of Hogwarts?”

Harry didn't know how to answer. He never really gave any thought as to if the teachers had such a map. He did however think to ask one question. “It you had this map why didn't you ever punish us for all the times we were out after curfew?”

“That was Filch's job and he did enjoy catching students. I didn't want to take the fun away from him. Everyone has their own journey in life and I dared not interfere in that. This map was created for one purpose, the safety of the school and it is only to be used for that purpose.” Dumbledore said

“So it was created by the founders?” Ginny asked

“Very good question Ms. Weasley but the founders didn't create this. It was created many centuries afterwards and it has been added to by the various headmasters.” Flitwick waved his wand and numerous different initials were added to the map. “Those initials belong to the Headmasters who added that piece of the map. I myself haven't found anything to add yet but I'm sure I will. Hogwarts has many secrets.”

Harry looked at the map and smiled as he saw AD where the Room of Requirement was. AD was also written on the Chamber of Secrets and it served as a sombre reminder of what Harry had gone through. There were hundreds of dots on the map and Harry took special notes of the places he had yet to visit.

“It appears their duel is over. I think I'll head down to the hospital wing and see if I can broker some sort of peace deal. I believe you have a class in five minutes Severus and as I can see most of your class is assembled in the dungeons except for a few stranglers” Flitwick said pointing at the map. “You wouldn't want to be late now would you?”

Snape's face soured and he reminded the headmaster that things weren't over yet before he left with the familiar billowing of his robes.

“You three can feel free to explore for a while. Draco will be here at least another hour.” Flitwick said as he stood from his small chair and left.

Harry, Ron and Ginny stood and Harry indicated to them to go ahead of him. He wanted a private word with Dumbledore. They consented and left Harry alone in the room.

“What's the matter Harry?” Dumbledore asked.

“Did I do the right thing?” Harry blurted out.

“It is not for me to say what is right or what is wrong. What is important in life is that you learn from you mistakes.” Dumbledore said kindly.

“Are you saying it was a mistake to leave?” Harry asked as he bowed his head to stare at a spot on the floor

“I'm not saying anything but I can offer one piece of advice Harry. Follow your heart. If you were truly happy travelling, then continue to do that but if your heart is calling you here, then you'll never be happy anywhere else. I must go now. Ms. Granger is requesting a consultation.” Dumbledore said a bit distracted.

Harry's head snapped up at the sound of Hermione's name and Dumbledore's blue eyes met his. “In time, Harry. In time.”

Dumbledore's portrait was left empty and Harry found he wasn't very comfortable in the office anymore. He decided to explore the new areas of Hogwarts that he had just learned existed.

-*-

Ron had left Ginny by the lake to raid the kitchen. He had missed Hogwart's cooking and was anxious to get some decent pumpkin pie. He moved through the familiar corridors to the portrait of the bowl of fruit. He tickled the pear and was instantly let into the bustling kitchen. The house elves were busy preparing the evening meal and only those nearest to him stopped. They looked at him with big eyes before they offered him a variety of food. Ron took a treacle tart off of the first plate offered to him and instantly felt guilty. They had travelled the globe and Ron had seen many injustices. He finally understood Hermione's SPEW. The house elves didn't deserve the treatment they were given. Ron reached into his robes and pulled out a galleon. He offered it to the house elf he had taken the treacle tart from.

“No sir. I am paid enough already. Cloud doesn't need anymore.” The house elf insisted as he bowed and moved away.

Ron smiled. Hermione had stuck to SPEW. He wondered if other house elves were paid and how much the ones at Hogwarts were paid. Knowing how little Dobby accepted for work he was sure paying the house elves had not put a dent in the Hogwart's budget.

-*-

Ginny sat silently under a tree by the lake as she remembered the many times she came out there. The happiest she had been was with Harry but their relationship was not meant to last.

“Mind if I join you?” Neville asked

“Sure. I thought we left you back at the house.” Ginny said as Neville sat down besides her.

Neville snickered. “Susan needed me to get some moss out of the lake for one of the potions Draco needs to take.”

“You have to go in there?” Ginny said pointing to the lake.

“Not really the moss stays near the surface. If you go after it, then it will sink away. The trick is to use your wand to light the surface of the water. The moss will come to it and you can just pluck it out of the water.” Neville said in a professor like tone.

“Interesting,” Ginny replied

“Nah not really,” Neville replied honestly.

Ginny laughed.

“You've changed Neville. You used to agree with everything I said.” Ginny said with a slight smile.

“I guess I finally found my Gryffindor parts.” Neville boasted proudly.

“You always had it Neville.” Ginny corrected.

Neville baulked at the idea. “I don't think I was very Gryffindor when I was tripping over my own robes.”

“You were always too hard on yourself Neville. You were there when it mattered and that's all that counts. You never let us down.” Ginny said softly.

“You sound like Hermione. She likes to remind me of that whenever I feel like wallowing in self pity not that I do it that often anymore.” Neville said lightly

They sat in silence for a while before Ginny decided to break it “Shouldn't you be getting that moss?”

“Nah not yet, Draco can wait. I'm sure he can cope with a little bit of pain.” Neville said happily.

“Why does everyone trust Draco? He's from Slytherin.” Ginny asked curiously. It had really been bothering her.

“Ah the old Slytherin argument, Draco has the brain of a Slytherin but the heart of Gryffindor. Don't ever tell him I said that. Draco's whole problem is he thinks too much with that Slytherin head and never listens to his heart.” Neville said.

“But..” Ginny tried to argue.

“Despite Draco's attitude problem, he has proven himself many times to the order. He came up with the idea of the vow and was the first person to take it. I won't say he's not capable of betrayal because we all are but I would trust him with my life. Do you know why Draco and Hermione are so close?” Neville asked her.

“I just got back, how am I supposed to know that?” Ginny asked exasperatedly.

“Good point. After the war Draco did six months in Azkaban for his crimes. He should have served a life sentence for his use of an unforgivable but because of his help in defeating Voldemort, the Minister gave him six months. He got out a few days after you guys left and moved into the Leaky Cauldron.”

“The Leaky Cauldron?” Ginny asked

“That's another long story but when you visit your mother ask her about the initial cleaning of the manor” Neville said with a cocky smile.

Ginny nodded.

“Now, where was I, ah yes, Draco moved into the Leaky Cauldron and had been living there for about two weeks before he was approached by Corneilus Barteby.”

“Who?” Ginny asked with a look of bewilderment on her pretty face.

“A minor criminal, his name isn't important but what he tried to do is. He wanted to align himself with Malfoy and use his business influences to further Barteby's criminal enterprises. Draco fresh out of prison, was not eager to return to Azkaban and being Draco he insulted the man first then rejected his offer. Barteby didn't take that lightly and ordered his henchmen to kill Draco. Now, the MLE's had been following Barteby for the last month but the Aurors got involved when he ordered Draco's death.” He explained while she keenly listened.

“Draco bumped into a very depressed Hermione in Knockturn Alley. Barteby's gang attacked at this point disabling Draco first. On instinct Hermione reacted and with the help of the Aurors, who were pretty close by, they were able to apprehend them. Hermione had now saved Draco's life twice, if you count the time during the war, and in return he brought her out of her depression. The incident also gave Hermione a purpose in life, something she thought she was lacking. She decided to become an Auror to help people and do some good in the Wizarding world. Draco decided to use his business influence for good but he has a side business that attracts a lot of dark activity.” Neville explained carefully.

Ginny looked alarmed at the mention of the side activity. “Don't worry the side activity is run by the order. It's a way of finding out what's going on in the criminal world. It gets Draco into trouble sometimes but it's never been anything we couldn't handle.” He said with a sexy smirk.

“What ever happened to Barteby?” she asked

“The wizards refused to testify against Barteby so there was no case. He runs a restaurant in Diagon Alley. I would stay away if I were you. He has a grudge to grind against Hermione and he would definitely jump at the opportunity to use you to do it.” Neville advised.

Ginny made a mental note to avoid the restaurant. “What's the name of the restaurant?”

“You'll know it when you see it.” Neville said with a twinkle in his eyes. “I better get going. I have a class to teach in ten minutes and I need to get this moss to Susan. See you around Ginny.” He said with another heart stopping smile.

Ginny felt herself blush. She discovered that she liked the person that Neville turned into and she was looking forward to the next time she saw him. She watched him stick his wand in the lake and then bend over to grab the moss. Despite his pot belly, his rear end looked rather nice and Neville turned around to find Ginny staring at him. She blushed again and waved at him before he headed back to Hogwarts.

Ginny sat there for a while before a young girl, who looked eerily like Cho Chang, came to inform her that she was to return to the Headmaster's office. Ginny thanked the girl and joined her for the walk back to Hogwarts. She could see the girl peering at her out of the corner of her eye and she knew the girl was just bursting to ask her a question. Fortunately for Ginny, Professor Snape had ordered the girl to keep quiet and her fear of Professor Snape was the only thing stopping her from asking Ginny the million questions on her mind.

-*-

Harry walked calmly along the seventh floor corridor that lead to the Room of Requirement. He had walked this path many times in his fifth year and he wondered how many students used the room these days.

“Harry Potter!” an angry voice called out after him causing him to spin on the spot.

“Hermione!” Harry said surprised by her sudden appearance.

“Don't play innocent. Phineaus told me why you came back!” She said as she got closer. Her cheeks were red and she was slightly out of breadth making Harry assume she had run around the castle looking for him.

“Hermione,” Harry said calmly as he reached to take her hand but she pulled it away from him.

“I'm a big girl Harry. I don't need you here.” She said angrily.

“I'm not going anywhere.” Harry said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. He needed to have a word with Phineaus. He had always been under the impression that what happened in the headmaster's office was confidential.

“You were fine leaving the first time!” Hermione pointed out.

“I'm sorry about that. I just needed time to think.” Harry replied softly.

“Seven bloody years!” Hermione shouted at him.

“I may have taken a bit too much time but I'm back and I'm not going anywhere.” Harry told her firmly. He held her fiery gaze but what surprised him most was the fear that he saw in her eyes. Her eyes used to hold so much warmth and he remembered the comfort he had drawn from them on the many nights that she had forced him to practice his occlumency.

“I want you to leave Harry. You don't belong here.” Hermione told him breaking his gaze. He had always been able to read her better than anyone else.

“I don't believe that.” Harry responded as he reached his hand up to her chin and gently turned her head to face him.

“It's true. You're better off elsewhere. Trust me on this.” Hermione pleaded holding his gaze.

“I'm right where I belong. You and I both know that.” Harry repeated. “I don't know why it took me so long to realise that but as I talked with Dumbledore I realised why I wasn't happy.”

“You have to leave.” Hermione insisted.

“Why do I have to leave Hermione?” Harry asked. He couldn't understand why she was so insistent on it.

She cast him one angry glare and then walked away from him. He watched her walk away from him just as she did seven years ago. They had been right there in that same corridor when he had confessed to her that he thought it was hopeless and he was meant to die in the final battle. She had been quite upset with him. They argued for a long while and somehow he ended up kissing her. It had been the most passionate kiss that he had ever experienced but he soon broke it as thoughts of Ron filled his mind. Hermione stormed off and he thought he had ruined his friendship with her. He was quite surprised to discover from Neville later that night that she and Ron had broken up.

He stood there for a few more minutes. Normally he would let Hermione cool off but he wasn't sure anymore. He didn't know if to chase after her or to leave her be. He knew she was hiding something from him but he didn't know what. She had always known things before him and she would usually share them but the fear that he had seen in her eyes scared him. Whatever she was hiding from him, it was very important.

-*-

Luna had been sent to retrieve Ron from the kitchen. She arrived at the correct portrait and fondly tickled the pear. The door swung open and she walked into the kitchen to find Ron with an apron marked `kiss the cook' on. “What are you doing?”

“Learning to cook pumpkin pie!” Ron exclaimed happily.

Luna didn't want to sound like a dumb blonde but she had to ask “Why?”

“It's the one thing muggles can't cook correctly. I really craved this.” Ron said as he waved his flour covered wand around.

“And people think I'm crazy.” Luna muttered under her breathe.

“What was that?” Ron asked

“We're ready to go.” Luna said politely.

Ron's face fell, “already?”

“Yes now clean up let's go.” Luna said firmly. She felt like a mother talking to a six year old.

Ron gave her a puppy dog face but she insisted it was time to go and he reluctantly cleaned up and followed her out the door. They followed a series of corridors up to the headmaster's office. Suddenly, out of no where, Harry emerged from behind a suit of armour.

“Jeez mate, you scared me.” Ron said slightly peeved.

“Sorry.” Harry said with an apologetic face.

They walked in silence until they reached the gargoyles that guarded the entrance to the headmaster's office.

“Short feet,” Luna said and the gargoyles jump aside.

Harry and Ron both turned to each other with bemused faces. They followed Luna up the spiral staircase until they entered the office. The last thing they ever expected to see was Hermione and Ginny in the middle of a duel.

-->

10. Steele

An: As promised a chapter before Christmas! This story has now officially caught up to the ff.net version. I'm halfway through the next chapter and I'm hoping to get it out by New Year's. Oh, there's a cliffy at the end of this chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 9 - Steele

Harry watched in horror as Hermione goaded Ginny to throw a hex at her. He could tell she was till mad from their earlier argument and she appeared to be taking it out on Ginny. He stepped forward to interfere with the duel but Flitwick signalled for him to stop. Luna whispered softly that they didn't have to worry. They watched as Ginny threw a curse that Hermione easily avoided and it absorbed into a shield that surrounded the duelling witches.

“This is going to be so boring.” Draco said as he yawned from one of Flitwick's chairs which had transformed into a soft leather recliner for him. He looked a little paler than usual and there were a few nasty bumps on his face. He certainly had come out on the losing end of his duel.

“Ginerva, your skills are a bit rusty.” Hermione teased as she circled the redhead witch.

Ginny's frustration grew and she threw three successive curses but failed to hit Hermione.

“It's a good thing no warlock attacked you while you were away. You'd be dead.” Hermione continued to taunt.

“You can't compare me to that!” Draco said pointing at Ginny.

“Actually, Ginny's slightly better than you.” Hermione told him without taking her eyes off of her opponent.

He instantly sat up at her revelation and Ginny stopped to laugh at the horrified look on Draco's face. Hermione chose that opportunity to strike and before Ginny even realised it, everything went black. The next thing she knew she was waking up on one of Professor Flitwick's chairs.

“I think I've proven my point.” Hermione said confidently.

“Which was?” Ron asked angrily from his sister's side. He and Harry had rushed to her when she fell. Ron easily scooped up his baby sister and placed her in the chair next to Draco.

“You need to practice your defence skills. If you're reintroduced to the wizarding world there would be several wizards interested in proving themselves. The Iron Wizards would be particularly interested in Harry.” Hermione explained nonchalantly as she eyed on of the portraits on the wall.

“I agree, the three of them and Draco should take lessons from Severus and Victoria starting tomorrow evening.” Professor Flitwick stated evenly.

“I don't need defence lessons.” Harry and Draco both growled.

“Maybe not Mr. Potter but at least you should know what you're dealing with and I don't think I need to point out the beating Victoria gave you today Draco.” Professor Flitwick said reasonably.

Both wizards were far from happy with the headmasters' request.

“I don't need any frelling lessons.” Draco whined. Ginny noted the reference to the muggle television show Farscape and she briefly wondered when he started watching muggle TV.

Hermione glared at Draco. “Either you take lessons from Victoria or I'll duel you every day until you improve!” she barked reminding Harry vaguely of Kingsley Shacklebolt when she gave orders.

“What time were those lessons again?” Draco asked innocently as he looked at Professor Flitwick.

“I hate to interrupt the beginning of their lessons but I suggest that they start on Monday. Tomorrow is Mrs. Granger's party and Sunday is lunch at the Burrow. If the lessons need to begin immediately I'm sure Hermione and I could do a complete review with them tonight before Monday.” Luna said serenely.

“Very well, but we must decide how to re-introduce them to the wizarding world.” Dumbledore said from his portrait on the wall.

“What makes you think they're staying?” Hermione asked acidly.

“We're staying.” Harry answered, his gaze fixed firmly on Hermione's back. He wished she would turn around and talk to him.

A flurry of white wings flew through the open window and landed near Hermione.

“Hedwig!” Harry exclaimed happy to see his owl. She achknowledged him this time as Hermione took the letter that was fixed to her talons. He hoped that if Hedwig could warm up to him that Hermione would as well.

“Can't they ever do anything without me!” Hermione said in frustration as she crumpled the letter through it in the fireplace. “I have to go. Seamus is in St. Mungos.”

“Is it serious?” Luna asked fearfully.

Hermione shrugged.

“I'm sure he'll be fine.” Draco reassured from his place on the recliner.

“Ms. Granger, please be careful. I fear that there is more going on than meets the eye.” Flitwick said to his former student. She nodded before grabbing a handful of floo powder and leaving.

Silence prevailed before Victoria Snape strolled gracefully into the office with three books tucked under her arm. She sneered at Draco before pleasantly greeting Luna.

“I've brought these books for you.” She said as she looked at Ginny, Ron and Harry.

“They list all the common defence spells as well as the new modern spells that have popped up. I expect for you to know every spell in here before our first lesson. ” She explained in a kind lecturing voice that annoyed Ron.

“There has been a slight change of plans.” Draco spat at her. “We start on Monday.”

She threw an angry look at Flitwick. “He is the Malfoy heir. He should be much better than he currently is. A few of his new associates will be testing his duelling skills and he needs to pass the test.”

“Oh we're back to that again. It's Croney, there's no way I could fail.” Draco said confidently.

“I would like to be 100% sure that this deal goes through. Draco, sometimes I don't think you fully comprehend what's at stake. This deal will give us insights into the plans of various criminal organizations. Your father was…”

“Stop comparing me to my father! I am not like him nor do I aspire to be anything like him.” Draco screamed angrily as he stood from his chair and hobbled over to the fire place. He reached for the floo powder, called out Malfoy Manor and disappeared in the green flames that appeared around him.

“That boy needs to learn to control his anger. He could learn a few things from you Luna.” Victoria said as she watched the empty fireplace.

“You could stop referring to his father.” Luna advised.

“His father had a few good aspects. Regardless of what he did, he was a good business man and he could use his wand impressively.” Victoria said defending the man she had once had a school yard crush on.

“I hope she's referring to the wand he brought at Olivanders.” Ron said under his breath to Harry who quickly stifled a laugh as Victoria Snape's head had snapped in his direction. She scowled at him and Harry was very happy that he was not in her defence class.

“It deeply upsets him to be compared to Lucius. If you ever want to be a proper Godmother to him, you need to put aside your thoughts on his father.” Luna told her softly.

Victoria held her head high and gave everyone a curt nod before leaving. Her departure brought Neville's arrival and Ginny found she was quite happy to see him again. “Filius, I need to take these herbs to St. Mungos immediately. I've asked Severus to keep an eye on my second year class.” He explained quickly. As he walked into the fireplace he turned around to face Ginny, winking quickly at her before the Green Flames erupted around him. Ginny found her stomach doing butterflies and she could feel a warm flush on her face.

“We should leave as well. Thank you for your time headmaster.” Luna said politely.

Harry thanked him as well for letting them explore the school and soon they were all gone.

“Albus,” the short headmaster said to the portrait on the wall after his guests departed. “I fear what's to come.”

-*-

Harry stood in the centre of a large room in Malfoy Manor. It was a training room where the Malfoy line practiced their magical abilities. It was shielded from the Ministry and young heirs could practice magic without fear of being caught violating the under age magic rule. Generations of Malfoys had learned dark magic in this room and Draco had revealed that he himself spent hours during the summer practicing under his father's tutelage.

Luna was trying to assess if their skills were still adequate. She thought that Ginny had slowed down quite a bit and Ron didn't think fast enough to block hexes but she was satisfied that they hadn't let their skills degrade completely.

She was now facing Harry's and she wondered if she could defeat him. They did the customary openings and Harry immediately started throwing a string of hexes at her. She put up a shield faster than Harry expected and replied with some similar spells. He easily avoided her spells as he had remained in excellent physical condition. He tried a few unusual spells that he had learned during the war but Luna successfully evaded him. Luna conjured a frog and it distracted Harry long enough for her to do a complicated wand movement. When Harry realised that the frog was a distraction the spell had already been thrown at him and he knew he couldn't avoid it. Instead he tried to shield but it didn't work. He watched horrified as the spell penetrated his shield and struck him in his left shoulder. He felt no pain but his left shoulder went completely numb. A slightly out of breath Luna stopped to observe his reaction. He tried to undo the spell but any use of magic on the area caused extreme pain.

“Harry you're as good as you ever were.” Luna said proudly “But as we suspected the newer spells that you are unfamiliar with are difficult for you to handle. This is an example of one. The numbness in itself isn't threatening but the spell can not be blocked by conventional means and any attempt to remove it by magic causes severe pain. At this point in a duel you are completely incapacitated.” Luna explained.

“But I can still use my wand to fight.” Harry argued.

“Try it.” Draco dared him with a smirk. He loved seeing Potter incapacitated.

Harry raised his wand and attempted a spell only to feel a sharp pain in his shoulder.

“The spell is sensitive to magic. Once you try to use magic it will trigger a painful reaction in your body.” Luna explained.

“He could always fight the muggle way.” Ron offered.

“This spell was invented by a muggleborn to prevent physical attack from muggles. It wasn't until it was used upon a magical person did the entire effect of the spell present itself. The pain is an unforeseen side effect that's been misused by the criminal underworld. Try to walk towards me Harry.” Luna said.

Harry tried to walk forward but with every step he felt more parts of his body growing numb. He felt as though each one of his feet had a fifty pound weight on it and just trying to move an inch required a lot of energy. Eventually, he reached the point where he could no longer move his feet and this left him in an unbalanced position causing him to fall over stiffly to the floor.

“How could a person create such a spell?” Ginny asked horrified as she ran to assist him on the floor.

“The motivation to create spells comes quite naturally when you have a desire that needs to be met.” Hermione said as she walked gracefully into the room..

Harry was immobilized on the floor and he couldn't see her. He tried to strain his eyes to glance side wards but she was behind him. He could hear her footsteps on the floor and he knew she was walking towards him. He sensed her walk around him and he was horrified by how exhausted she looked. He truly felt she needed a break and it was in that though that he decided what he was going to do now that he had returned. He watched helplessly as she surveyed his body and judging by the sudden burst of pain he felt, he assumed that Hermione had used magic to examine him as well.

She bent down and whispered in his ear, “Forget that thought and leave. This should be proof enough.”

She stood and surveyed the room before commenting “Creevey's spell is quite amazing.”

“Colin Creevey?” Ron asked astonished as he remembered the annoying boy that always took pictures.

“No, the younger brother, Dennis, apparently he used to be bullied as a child and well into adulthood. He formulated the spell to keep bullies away from him and he managed to make it difficult for the Ministry to track.” Draco explained in a disinterested tone.

“How is Seamus?” Luna asked suddenly.

“Stable but he'll be at St. Mungos a while.” Hermione said gravely as Draco came over to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“What happened?” Draco asked curiously.

“He doesn't remember.” She responded.

“Did you try reading his mind?” Luna asked.

“He's too fragile for that right now and the healers don't think he's mentally prepared to relive what happened yet.” She said as she yawned tiredly. It had been a very long day for her.

Hermione's cell phone rang with a different tone than the one Harry had heard earlier. She hastily pulled the offending object from her robes and promptly answered it.

“Yes Cole.” an irritated Hermione called into her phone. She listened to the person on the other end of the line while Draco groaned and gestured wildly for her to hang up but she responded to Draco by turning her back on him and Harry was glad to know that he wasn't the only one that received that treatment.

“I'm sorry but I can't help. Seamus is in the hospital and I have to finish working this case before I take on another.” Hermione explained. There was a pause as she listened to the person on the other end of the line before she started speaking again. “The Aurors are all busy. I understand that it's important and I know many lives are at risk but we can't spare anyone right now.”

There was a pause again before an angry Hermione started screaming into the phone. ”Don't give me that lecture Cole! You out of all people should understand how much I regard life!”

She cast an angry eye at Harry on the floor, who had been straining to watch her as she spoke on the phone and an idea occurred to her. If he wanted to do this maybe this would scare him off a bit. “I could send some one else. I promise they have the skill of an Auror and they are very familiar with Muggle ways. You won't be able to tell that he's a wizard. He'll be in your office shortly but before you go, can you find out who imported a large portion of leopard eye for me?”

Hermione gave a small chuckle and closed the phone. She glared at Draco.

“I warned you not to talk to him. You always end up angry.” Draco replied haughtily.

Hermione chose to ignore Draco's comment and she pulled a vile, full with purple liquid, from her robes. She reached down and gently cradled Harry's head with one hand as she used the other to pour the contents of the vile slowly into his mouth. She had to be careful that he didn't' drown on it. She gave him a few seconds before she pulled out her wand. After a brief consultation with Luna about where the spell struck Harry she placed her wand on his left shoulder. In a matter of seconds, feeling started returning to his muscles and he realised that he had strained a few of them trying to move. She helped him to sit up and then looked straight into his eyes. She seemed to be weighing what she was about to say to him.

“Harry,” she said uncertainly. “I know it's been a while,” she continued implying they had never talked earlier, “but the Aurors are over worked right now and MI5 needs a wizard to assist with a case they're working on. I can't send Draco in his current condition and I want Luna to duel some more with Ron and Ginny. I know you're thinking about this and this would be a good opportunity for you to see what the easy cases are like.”

“I'll go.” Harry said interrupting her. He had to prove to her that he could do this and that she was wrong about whatever reason she felt it was that he needed to leave. There was also the other aspect that he could had never say no to her which was part of the reason why he never told her he was leaving. She would have asked him to stay and he would have stayed for her.

She summoned a candle holder and turned it into a portkey. She then asked to borrow Luna's cell phone.

“This is Luna's phone. My number's on speed dial as well as Draco's and the twins. If you need anything call. This portkey will take you directly to Agent Coal Steele's office. He will brief you from there.” Hermione said as she handed him the portkey and watched him disappear.

“What did you ask him to do?” Ron asked alarmed as Harry disappeared.

“He'll be fine. This isn't nearly as dangerous as taking on Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Besides it'll give him a good idea of what he's missed while you've been gone.” Hermione said cryptically.

She yawned again and Dobby appeared by her side.

“Mistress Hermione is tired.” he said knowingly.

“Yes Dobby.” she said giving the elf a kind smile.

“Dobby has prepared your room.” he said with bright eyes.

“Thanks Dobby, I'll go upstairs and take a quick rest.” She said as she didn't want to hurt the elf's feelings.

“Good night miss.” Dobby said as he hugged her leg tightly.

Hermione carefully extricated the elf from around her leg and departed the training room. As soon as she was out of hearing range Draco spoke. “Did you get it Dobby?”

Dobby turned around and displayed Hermione's cell phone in his hand. “Miss Hermione will be able to sleep without interruption.” He said proudly.

“Pass it here Dobby.” Draco said holding out his hand but he was sorely disappointed when the elf defiantly gave the cell phone to Luna instead of him.

“Dobby!” Draco exclaimed only to have the elf stick his tongue out at Draco and disappear.

Luna and Ginny both burst into fits of laughter while Ron stood in wonder at the elf's actions.

“He learned that from Hermione!” Luna commented once the laughter had calmed down a bit.

-*-

Harry arrived in an ordinary office with a desk, a computer and framed certificates on the wall.

“Ah you've arrived,” A tall man with dark hair and piercing blue eyes said as he came through the door. He closed the it quickly behind him and sat at his desk. He picked up the phone and asked someone called Lisa to make sure he wasn't disturbed. Once that was done he closely examined Harry.

“You're the wizard she sent?” he asked.

“I suppose you're agent Steele.” Harry asked cooly.

“Agent Cole Steele, you can call me Steele.” He said as he extended his hand for Harry to shake.

“Harry,” he said as he met the extended hand and shook it firmly adding a little extra pressure for good measure. The man didn't flinch away but made sure to squeeze back equally hard.

“Please take a seat.” Agent Steele said pointing to the nice leather chair in front of his desk.

“Are you an MLE?” he asked as he steepled his fingers in front of him.

“No,” Harry replied shortly.

The agent gave him a curious look.

“Spell Reversal?” he inquired further

“No,” Harry said tonelessly.

“Misuse of Muggle Artefacts?”

“No,”

“What the hell do you do?” The agent asked slightly frustrated that Hermione should send him someone so inexperienced.

“You know quite a bit about the magical world?” Harry asked evading the question.

“You don't trust me?” the agent responded realising that Harry was avoiding answering the question.

“I don't know you.” Harry replied seriously.

“True,” Steele said reasonably.

“Why am I here?” Harry asked as he was tired of the few pleasantries that were exchanged.

“There is a warehouse in Liverpool that we suspect is developing a dangerous new drug and we would like you to take a look around the warehouse and determine if you see anything out of the ordinary.” The agent explained.

“What does this warehouse have to do with the magical world?” Harry asked like a true Auror.

“Previous agents that were assigned to penetrate the warehouse returned either dead or not remembering why they were sent there in the first place.” The agent explained seriously as he handed Harry a thick file folder that he pulled out of his top drawer.

“I understand,” Harry said as he took the file folder from the agent. He started to flip through it quickly. During his tenure as a DEA agent he had become quite adept with reading files and internalising the important data.

“As you are aware, Aurors were asked to investigate these cases since the disaster in Notting Hill.”

Harry pretended to know and made a mental note to ask Hermione about the Notting Hill incident.

“Do you know how to use one of these?” Agent Steele said placing a gun on the table in front of Harry.

“Yes,” he replied without batting an eyelash. He had become quite familiar with muggle weapons during his travels.

“Prove it,” the agent challenged, indicating to the gun in front of them.

Harry took the gun and easily checked to see if it is was loaded. It was and he asked where he should aim while taking the safety off. The agent seemed to be satisfied with the knowledge of the weapon that Harry had displayed.

“I have to check. The last four Aurors shot themselves accidentally. “Agent Steele said with a chuckle.

“Why do I need a gun? I'm perfectly capable of using my wand.” Harry asked as he placed the gun carefully back on the table.

“All agents going into the field are required to carry one.” Agent Steele explained.

“But I'm not an agent, am I?” Harry pointed out.

“For this mission you are. Same as if I were to work with the Aurors on a case I'm afforded all the privileges of Aurors.”Agent Steele explained.

“Any guards,” Harry inquired as he tried to determine how dangerous this assignment would be and why Hermione felt he should do this.

“We don't know.” Agent Steele said honestly.

A sudden thought occurred to Harry, “How are we getting to Liverpool?”

“We are in Liverpool.” Agent Steele said sardonically as fought the urge to curse the newbie Hermione sent him. “Your portkey took you to our field office here. The warehouse is two blocks down.” Steele further explained

Harry listened intently as agent Steele gave a detailed description of how to find the warehouse. He also detailed the positions of agents on standby, should he need any assistance.

Ten minutes later, after reading the mission brief, Harry was casually walking down the street. He felt himself pass through a few security wards and knew that who ever was in charge of that warehouse now knew he was coming. He glanced at the windows to the building to see if anyone was looking at him but the glass was pitch black. He tried to look casual and stopped in front of the bakery opposite the warehouse. He went in and purchased a croissant. The girl at the cashier smiled at him as she gave him his purchase and he choose to sit at the window and look out at the warehouse.

He couldn't determine if there were any guards around and he realised trying to get into the building would not be a good idea as yet. He glanced at the side of the building and a ditch filled with white foam caught his attention. He finished up his croissant and crossed the road quickly. He reached the side of the warehouse and stared curiously at the foam. He had never seen anything quite like it before.

Suddenly, an engine started at the side of the warehouse and foam started pouring out through a pipe above him. Harry got the impression that he had seen this before. A sinking feeling settled in his gut and he knew from experience that this was not a good sign.

-*-

Draco was impressed as Ginny forced Luna to duck and shield various spells. She had improved considerably in the last hour and Draco strongly felt with a few more practices she would be as good as Luna. Ron, as usual, was proving to be quite difficult.

Draco's ego was still wounded after suffering his embarrassing defeat to Victoria earlier in the day. He had learned never to challenge an experienced witch to a duel while still recovering from the flu. Madame Bones had scolded him properly for that and she added some extra potions for him to take. He didn't know what was in the new ones but it tasted worst than the ones before. As a result of his current medical condition, Luna asked him to go through the new spells with Ron. Draco was currently so frustrated with Ron and his lack of attention that he felt like getting a hammer and hammering the information into his head.

“For the last time Weasley, its flick, flick, flick, swish, not swish, swish, swish, flick.” Draco said exasperatedly as he tried to explain the last four movements of the spell that Luna had used on Harry.

“Whatever Malfoy, when's Harry going to get back?” Ron asked frustrated. He refused to learn anything from a Malfoy.

Draco was about to retort in his usual Malfoy manor when his house elf, Mindy, appeared between Ron and Draco and handed Draco a letter. The scrawl was unfamiliar to him and he questioned the elf about the letter. She explained that it was delivered a few minutes earlier by a large black owl with an usual mark on its feathers.

“Primus” Draco muttered.

He quickly scanned the letter for harmful magic and then tore it open. Ron watched as all colour drained from Malfoy's already pale face. He pulled out his cell phone and pressed the number 1. The speed dial immediately activated and he anxiously hoped the person on the other end would answer and after six rings the voice mail picked up. Draco angrily shut his cell phone and shoved it in his robes.

“Luna, wake Hermione up we have a problem.” Draco said gravely as he handed her the note.

Luna glanced at it and couldn't help but gasp.

Mr. Malfoy,

There will be an auction tonight at midnight for the head of one Mr. Harry Potter. If you're interested, go to Daigon Alley and you'll be given further details.

Primus

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11. The Head of Harry Potter

An: I'm very sorry for the long delay with this chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 10 - The Head of Harry Potter

Hermione was walking briskly down a familiar corridor in Hogwarts with both Harry and Ron and it felt like old times. She felt oddly free but as she caught sight of her reflection in a suit of armour, her red robes reminded her that she was there on business. They had received a lead about Primus that took them to Hogwarts. She didn't want Ron and Harry coming with her but they had insisted on joining her since they both indicated that they would be joining the Auror forces soon. She had never been able to stop them from doing something they were determined to do.

They made their way towards the room of requirement where the door in the wall was clearly visible. Hermione reached forward and slowly opened the door while the other two followed behind her. The room was exactly the way it was for the DA and a cloaked figure stood to the front where Harry used to stand when he taught them.

“It's about time,” The figure sneered.

“What do you want?” Harry demanded as he stepped in front of Hermione. They knew the voice but Hermione couldn't remember who it was.

Other cloaked figures entered the room and surrounded them. The three of them huddled together in the centre of large circle with their wands drawn.

Primus broke into the circle and laughed. “This is the end Granger, Avada Kadavra!”

The green jet of light shot out of the wand and headed straight at her and she watched in horror as Harry forcibly stepped in front of her and the light penetrated his chest.

The figure laughed and other Aurors came rushing into the room but Hermione ignored the commotion going on around her.

“Harry no.” she said with tears leaking through her eyes as she cradled Harry's dead frame in her arms. “Don't leave me. You just came back. You can't leave again.”

Hermione woke up poring with sweat and immediately looked around the room. She was in the Manor. She'd been having that nightmare for weeks and she could never remember any other details of the dream other than Harry's death. She breathed a sigh of relief that he was probably eating dinner downstairs but the memories of her sending him to run an errand for Cole popped back into her head. A fear that Hermione hadn't known since the days of Voldemort came over and she ran out of her room and straight into Luna.

-*-

Draco walked around a deserted Daigon alley and cursed his luck. He was having a very bad day, first the bloodhound, then the duel with Victoria and now being given the responsibility of saving Potter. He was still recovering from the flu as well and he had no clue what he was supposed to be looking for. Primus could have been a bit more specific in that note.

He passed by Barteby's Bagels and glanced at the menu board and immediately realised that this was where he was supposed to be. He wasn't surprised to find that Barteby was involved with Primus. Didn't all low life know each other these days? He walked inside and headed to the counter.

“One Potter special,” Draco sneered at the poor witch behind the counter.

“Yyyyesss ssssiirrr,” She stammered as she handed him an envelope from under the counter.

Draco grabbed the envelope from her and ripped it open.

“Midnight,” Draco said as he looked at the only word that was written on the parchment.

He flipped it over but found nothing else. A voice that sounded eerily like Hermione's echoed in his head telling him to use a revealing spell. He whipped out his wand and tried everything he could think of but nothing happened.

A tall witch with strawberry blonde hair entered the restaurant and Draco knew for sure that today was his day of penance. Priscilla Parkinson, Pansy's younger sister who Draco had had a tryst with a few years ago, had just walked in. This was no coincidence.

“Hello Draco,” She cooed.

“Priscilla,” Draco said courteously.

“I've been wondering, that new girl of yours doesn't look like she could do much. If you're ever interested in rekindling what we had,” She said as she handed him her business card for Parkinson's Imports and Exports.

“I'll keep that in mind.” Draco replied back with a sexy smirk. Flirting with other witches was part of his image and was always expected of him.

He felt a sharp pain on his foot and politely excused himself to sit down at a table in the back that had a very good view of the rest of the shop as well as the alley outside.

“What does it say?” a voice said to him.

“I thought you were to keep out of my way.” Draco hissed softly.

“You were flirting with her while the life of my best mate hangs in the balance.” Ron argued while under the invisible cloak as he took the seat opposite Draco.

“You better move, here she comes again.” Draco said as he turned his face away so she wouldn't see his lips moving.

“Well Draco, it seems we're both here for the same business.” Priscilla said displaying her note with the same word as she sat down opposite him.

“Interesting, I hope this doesn't mean we have to wait here until midnight?” Draco said indicating to their surroundings.

“I know,” she said as she wrinkled her nose in disgust. “We could find somewhere else to wait that's more suitable to our tastes.”

“I heard your sister is in town.” Draco said trying to change the topic as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Priscilla's leg had somehow found its way under his robe.

“She was quite excited to come as well but Primus's note was addressed to me so I left her home. I hope the note he sent was accurate. I would hate for it to be a forgery. I've already picked out the perfect spot for Potter's head on my mantle.” She said as she moved her foot higher up his leg.

“Primus isn't known for idle forgery.” Draco pointed out as he gently tried to bat her annoying foot away with his hand.

They had discussed this in detail back at the manor. They were positive that Harry was still alive as there had been quite a few fakes over the years and Primus would need to prove that he was the real Harry Potter and not a fake.

“It could be a portkey that activates at midnight?” Priscilla said as she fiddled with the note in her hand. “Primus did that once before on a business deal we had a while back.”

Draco arched an eyebrow at her. “Did you meet him?”

She scoffed at him. “Nobody meets Primus. We both know that.”

“I would like to find out his identity. I like to know who I'm doing business with.” Draco replied.

“What makes you think Primus is a he?” She questioned coyly as she continued to use her foot to play with him.

The order had been after Primus for the last year and a half but the question about Primus's gender had never popped out and the Order had automatically assumed the male gender. Primus had been responsible for some of the most daring criminal enterprises that had happened over the last 2 years. His organization was like a phantom and nobody apprehended, had any clue about other parts of the organization.

“Looks like Flint is interested in this as well.” Draco said as he watched Marcus Flint receive the same envelope from the stifled witch.

“It appears that this might be attracting a crowd.” She commented as she deftly moved her foot around Draco's hand and moved further up his leg in search of her goal.

“Priscilla!” Flint said as he came over to greet her. “I've been wondering if there were any pureblood witches left around here?”

“There're quite a few of us, you're just not moving in the right circles.” She answered him as Draco stopped her foot again.

“And what circle might that be?” Draco asked as she piqued his curiosity and to his relief she retracted her foot.

“I believe I have another appointment now. I'll see you at midnight.” She blew a kiss at Draco and left. Flint wasted no time following behind her.

“You think she's right?” a soft voice said.

“Right about what?” Draco asked the invisible voice.

“The note, it's a portkey.” Ron explained.

“Could be,” Draco replied half interested as he was still pondering what circles Priscilla had been referring to. As far as he knew, he and Flint were in every important circle there was.

“Head back to the Manor. I'll meet you there.” Draco said as he stood abruptly and left the shop.

“You don't order me around!” Ron replied

“Then do what you want.” Draco said as he stormed out of the bakery and barely missed a goblin.

The Goblin was hurrying up the road towards Gringotts where Priscilla Parkinson was impatiently waiting. He decided to make a last minute moderation to the plan and headed towards Priscilla where the Goblin was hurriedly opening the doors to the wizarding bank.

“The things I have to do for Potter.” Draco muttered softly to himself.

Half an hour later he had returned to the Manor to find an anxious Luna waiting for him. “Where have you been? Ron returned half an hour ago!” Luna said in a worried voice.

Draco held her hands and looked into her eyes. “Everything will be fine. Just concentrate on getting to Harry and I'll worry about myself.”

“No, we take care of each other because no one else will.” Luna said firmly and walked away to the practice room to ensure Severus hadn't killed Ron yet.

-*-

“Did you find him?” Draco asked Hermione as he casually strolled into the game room. Both Ginny and Victoria glared at the wizard as he entered.

“The tracker says he's at King's Cross.” Hermione explained cooly.

She had used the tracker to locate Harry while Draco and Ron had gone to Diagon Alley. They had tried to floo Kingsley as soon as they received the note but there was no response and Hermione had been forced to send Hedwig with an encrypted letter instead. Luna contacted Severus and both he and Victoria had arrived at the Manor within five minutes.

Ginny inquired about the tracking device that was on Harry and Hermione told her that a GPS locator had been placed in the miniature wooden carved Otter that Harry always had on him. Ginny nodded. Harry have never once relinquished the Otter and had it on a bracelet on his left hand. She remembered when Harry first found it, a month after they left. They were in Sea World at the time because Harry had wanted to see the theme parks in Florida and after watching one of the shows he had mysteriously found it on a table and refused to part with it. She had always thought that he seemed obsessed with the little piece of wood.

“How did you get Harry to let you go with him?” Hermione asked as she looked up at from her laptop breaking Ginny's thought train.

Ginny smiled, “I borrowed one of your ideas.”

“My ideas?” Hermione repeated ignoring the urge to wipe the smile off of Ginny's face.

“With the DA, the jinx on the list,” the red head witch elaborated. “I made Harry use a piece of parchment to write a farewell note to mother. I had jinxed it so that he had to take me with him. Once he signed it, it sealed the jinx. He took me along because he didn't want to walk around looking like a toad.” she finished proudly.

“I always wondered, I mean I understood that you two were going out but I didn't think he would willingly take you away from your family.” Hermione responded.

“I had let him hunt the horcruxes by himself, I wasn't going to sit back again and wait.” she told her.

“I don't really think you `let' him, Ginny. There was no stopping him.” Hermione responded trying to erase the delusion Ginny seemed to be under.

Ginny scowled at her. “I could have asked him to stay.”

“But he wouldn't have. Both you and I know that. If you were really concerned you would have come with us.” The brunette responded hotly.

“I couldn't, my parents wouldn't let me.” She responded fiercely.

“That never stopped me!” An irate Hermione pointed out.

“You were of age!”

“Not in the muggle world!”

“Ladies, can we get back to work or would you rather let your friend die while you decide who's angrier.” Victoria said calmly and both girls glared at her.

“Where is my darling husband when I need him?” Victoria said as she glanced around the room and by some strange coincidence he came barging in with Ron trailing behind him.

“Mr. Weasley, you are still a weak student. Your brothers are by far, better than you.”

“I haven't used magic for seven years.” Ron replied red faced.

“Did you not use your brain either?” Snape sneered back at him before he greeted his wife with a soft peck on her white cheek.

“Wotcher!” Tonks said as she appeared in the room with saffron coloured hair and looked at the angry faces. “Guess no one's happy to see me then.”

“Is the team assembled?” Severus asked getting straight to business.

“Yes but Kingsley got the owl and he wasn't happy,” Tonks informed the room.

“Let's go then.” Severus ordered and everyone except Draco and Ron left the Manor bounded for King's Cross.

-*-

Victoria Snape strolled through King's Cross going out of her way to avoid the muggles. They were quite annoying with their high scented perfumes and loud music. School had already started and platform Nine and Three Quarters was closed off.

She glanced at her watch. The arrow head would direct her straight to Harry. She looked around the mass of people and knew that her back up was around there somewhere. She had to rely on Ginny and Tonks which annoyed her even more than the Muggles. Besides her training with Luna today, Ginny hadn't practiced magic in seven years and Tonks was extremely clumsy. She saw a muggle trip over a newspaper and wondered how Tonks even became an Auror.

She wished Severus was with her but he was a very recognizable figure in Wizarding England. Only her students would know her and she doubted that anyone she went to school with would recognize her. Severus certainly didn't when she returned three years ago.

She would have preferred that Hermione assist in the rescue but that stupid muggle Steele requested a formal Auror raid on the warehouse in Liverpool and Kingsley approved it, hoping it would be a distraction for the rescue.

Hermione was in for a serious lecture, the nerve of her sending Potter on an Auror mission. Victoria couldn't understand what the witch was thinking or maybe she hadn't been thinking. She was severely over worked over the last few days and Potter returning seemed to stress her out more than normal. Victoria stopped in front of a muggle train and peered at the stupid watch. It pointed her straight to a wall between platforms seven and eight.

She saw a woman rolling one of those cases on wheels that muggles used to carry clothes when the travelled and Victoria subtly used her wand to banish the object in the direction of the wall. The case disappeared through the wall and the poor man carrying the case looked around confused as to where it had disappeared to and started shouting “Thief, thief!”

“Stupid Muggle,” she muttered as she walked past the distraught man.

“That was cruel.” Ginny said as she appeared next to her.

“Oh you saw that, maybe there's hope for you still.” Victoria commented dryly.

“What do we do now?” Tonks asked as she `accidentally' bounced into them reading the newspaper.

“Why don't you accidentally trip over that again and fall through that wall?” Victoria said sarcastically.

“No need to be mean.” Tonks sulked.

“But that is an idea.” Ginny said. “What if you went in there after your suitcase?”

“My soot what?” Tonks asked.

“The thing Victoria sent through the barrier. You could go in looking for it and let us know if its all clear.” Ginny said.

“Definitely hope for you.” Victoria said with a wicked smile.

-*-

Two guards sat crouched on two stools that were too small for their massive frames. In between them was a small table on which they were playing exploding snap.

“If we get caught the boss won't be happy.”

“Would you rather sit and stare at that blank wall.”

“No, but…”

THUNK

Both guards jumped up with their wands drawn in the direction of the sound.

“It's just one of those stupid cases muggles seem to lose.” One guard said as he put his wand away. “Just throw it on the stack with the others.”

The other guard levitated the suitcase into a corner piled with suitcases and they both returned to their game of exploding snap only to be interrupted by the sound of three muggle females.

“You see, I told you I saw the sootcake disappear through the wall!” A tall blonde woman said.

“I can't believe it.”A redhead said with an accent as she looked around. “This is like magic.”

Both guards looked at each other. This was the third time this month that muggles had accidentally fallen through the barrier. They had once asked their boss about putting up muggle repelling wards but their boss grew angry and the vein in the side of his head started to throb and they never asked again. It was the boss's lady friend that explained to them that they couldn't put up the ward because it would repel all the muggles from the entire station and that would draw Ministry attention and you couldn't attract the Ministry to your secret hide out. They liked her after that. They did jobs here and there for her for free though the last one was kind of dangerous.

“Where is the sookchase?” the brunette asked as she carefully looked around the room.

“I don't know. How about we ask these nice gentlemen here?” The redhead said with a sweet smile.

She bravely walked over to them and pushed her chest out just a bit to emphasize her visible cleavage. “Have you seen our suitcase?” She asked sweetly sticking out her bottom lip just a bit even though their eyes won't looking at her lips.

“Ah,” both wizards muttered as they looked at her cleavage. It was the last thing they saw before the world went blank.

“Stupid wizards!” Victoria commented. “Thank Merlin my Sevy is different.”

“Sevy?” Ginny mouthed at Tonks.

“What are you two standing staring at each other for? We have a wizard to save!” Victoria said as she strode confidently into the open passageway behind the guards.

“Sevy?” Ginny said softly to Tonks.

“Don't ask and don't ever tell Snape you know his pet name.” Tonks advised.

Ginny nodded and then had to hold back a laugh as Tonks tripped over her foot.

“Sorry,” Tonks said to her.

“What are you two doing back there?” Victoria hissed from further up the corridor.

“Nothing,” Ginny called out softly as she quickly helped Tonks up and followed Victoria swiftly down the passageway.

-*-

Harry Potter was seated; at least he knew that much because there was a mask over his face and ear muffs on his ears so other than his body position that was all he knew. His hands were bound behind the chair and his legs were tied to it. He had no idea how long it had been since he had been knocked out. He was quiet disappointed that he got himself into this position. He could only imagine what Hermione was thinking and how he had successfully proven her right.

He sensed other people in the room and knew at least one person was moving towards him. He felt a hand on his head and suddenly he could hear and see again but he didn't expect to see Ginny looking down at him.

“Where's Hermione?” He asked immediately.

“Nice to see you to Harry,” She said dryly as she used her wand to untie the ropes that bound his hands while Tonks worked on his feet and Victoria stood guard.

They were quite surprised to discover that there were very few guards present and they could only assume that this wasn't the place of the auction. Primus must have been very confident that this location was a secret and if it weren't for Harry's tracker it would have been. Ginny guessed from the amount of luggage at the entrance, this place had been in use for well over three years.

“I need to see Hermione. Where is she?” Harry asked desperately.

“She's at the warehouse.” Tonks replied.

Harry's face drained of colour. “I have to get there.”

“Harry, we have to get you back to the manor.” Ginny told him firmly.

“You don't understand..” He said standing once they had finished untying him.

“Then explain it to me.” She told him.

“Lets go, it's almost midnight, they'll be coming to get him soon.” Victoria commanded.

“We can't apparate though.” Ginny said

“Thank you for pointing out the obvious Ms. Weasley, now shut up and follow me!” Victoria said as she turned around sharply causing her black robes to billow behind her like her husbands.

-*-

Hermione and Cole were seated in front the coffee shop drinking some tea as they prepared to raid the warehouse across the road. It was decided to raid it five minutes before the supposed auction to create another distraction for Harry's rescue. If Victoria failed to retrieve him, it would be up to Draco and Ron and she only hoped that they could put aside their differences for Harry's sake.

They received the signal to go ahead through their earpieces and they both crossed the street. She used her wand to temporarily lower the muggle repelling ward to allow Cole and the others inside the area. The air became chilly and lights started disappearing around them and Hermione tried to recall her happiest memories. She waved her wand and said the words Expecto Patronum but nothing happened. This was her worst spell. Harry had always teased her about it. She just wanted to think that her otter was a bit shy at times but now was definitely not the time for her otter to be behaving badly. The Dementors were getting closer and all she could hear in her head was the voice of Arthur Weasley begging her to kill him.

A silvery lynx appeared just in time and chased the Dementors away. She sighed in relief and was thankful that Kingsley was her back up tonight.

“Still having trouble with that spell?” Cole asked casually.

“You felt them this time?” Hermione asked curiously. Non magical persons don't usually notice Dementors.

“Not really, I recognized your wand movements.” He replied. He had seen her attempt that spell quite a few times.

“I'll take the back, you go round the front.” She told him as she refocused her mind on the mission.

He nodded and she made her way along the side of the building, pass the machine blowing white foam on to the ground. She wrinkled her brow in disgust and wondered why wizards also had to involve themselves in pollution. It was a proven fact that the more polluted the Earth got, the more it affected magic. Magic was a part of the Earth and if the Earth was not healthy then there would be disruptions in magic. It was impossible to use magic in the vicinity of nuclear power plants and toxic waste. She was about to clean up the waste when she heard a gun cock behind her.

“Drop the wand!” A gruff voice said to her.

“It's just a stick.” Hermione said trying to play dumb.

“I ain't stupid lady, I know what you are.” He said to her. “Now drop it.”

Hermione dropped it hoping she would be able to use wandless magic to disable him.

“I don't know what you're talking about. I'm an environmental inspector; I was just using the stick to sample the white stuff on the ground.” She said to him calmly as she turned around to face a tall muscular man.

“If you were an inspector, you would have turned around and left like the last five who came.” The guard pointed out proving that he wasn't just another stupid muggle.

“I can't be bribed.” She countered quickly, knowing full well he was referring to the muggle repelling ward.

“Orders are orders.” He said as his finger started to squeeze the trigger.

Hermione tried to gather her magic to attack him but before she could the man slumped to ground in front of her and Harry appeared behind him.

“Happy to see me?” he asked with a cocky girn.

“Are you crazy Harry!” Hermione said walking up to him.

“What? Me, crazy, that guy was about to kill you.” Harry pointed at the unconscious man on the floor.

“I can handle myself and have you forgotten that we are in this position because of you.” She stated angrily.

“This is the place Hermione. This is the place I saw you die. Whatever you were going to try, it wasn't going to work. That bullet was going to go through your heart and you were going to bleed out here in this foam.” Harry yelled loudly at her.

“So you say but you don't have to save everyone Harry!” Hermione replied.

“Why are you being so stubborn!” He screamed.

“Granger, Potter, be quiet. We are trying to raid a warehouse.” Kingsley said as he appeared beside them.

“It's empty; all the NOISE must have chased them away.” Cole said as he rounded the corner and glared at Harry.

“It's not my fault.” Harry retorted.

“Gee, I didn't hear anybody else yelling at the top of their lungs!” Cole stated angrily.

“Cole there's no need to be angry. We're working the case from the wizarding side and we hope to have a breakthrough soon.” Hermione said calmly.

“I've heard that line enough times.” Cole said as he walked away.

“Cole,” Hermione said as she began to walk after him but was stopped by Harry's hand.

“We need to talk.” He told her firmly.

-*-

It was five minutes to midnight and Ron was twiddling the invitation in his hands as Draco paced non-stop in front of the large fireplace. They had no idea what was going on with Harry or the warehouse and they could only hope that things would go according to plan.

“Would you stop pacing?” Ron asked irritably as he eyed Draco in front of the fireplace.

“No,” Draco replied shortly as he continued to pace.

“Do you want to go over the plan again?” Ron asked anxiously.

“What's there to go over? I do nothing but bid on Potter's head. You have to ensure that I have enough Galleons.” Draco replied as he glanced at the clock on the wall. “We better get ready. Get under the cloak”

Draco stopped his pacing and moved over by Ron, who had quickly grabbed the cloak and placed it over himself. Draco held on to his side of the invitation and in a matter of seconds they both felt a strong tug behind their navel and they landed in a lavishly decorated room with a beautiful balcony that hung out over a cliff. The first thing they both noticed on the floor was a blood stained Lupin.

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12. Understanding

An: I'm back! Here's the new chapter. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 11 - Understanding

Harry's eyes bored into Hermione's as she stared defiantly back.

“I have to talk to Cole.” She insisted as she wrung her hand free from Harry.

“Bullshit. You're going to talk to me now. You've ducked and avoided me since I've been back and I want to know why.” Harry stated fiercely.

“I've been busy.” Hermione replied nonchalantly as she tried to step past him but he blocked her way with his muscular frame.

“I deserve an answer.” he insisted as he reached for her hand again.

“You deserve an answer?” Hermione said in disbelief as she moved her hands out of his reach.

Harry ignored her astonishment and continued on with his rant. “How could you even stand to look at the Ferret after the way he treated you in school. Everything is so messed up. I feel like you prefer his company to mine.”

Hermione looked him straight in the eye, “Maybe I do prefer Draco to you. Now leave us alone. You've found your answers. England is not the place for you.” She turned her back to him and looked down at the foam on the floor. She pulled out her wand and started to clean up the mess. She seemed to resort to cleaning when she was upset and now seemed like a good time as any to help the environment.

Harry watched her in silence. She'd been so distant since he came back and he really missed the closeness they once shared but he could still tell when she was hiding something. At Hogwarts he would usually wait for Hermione to tell him what was going on but something in his gut told him he couldn't wait this time. He needed to force it out of her. He needed to break down those brick walls she had built during his absence but he knew from experience that a direct assault would not work. He needed to be tactful and thankfully he had learnt a few things while he was gone.

“Hermione, how did Luna and Ginny find me?” Harry inquired changing the subject.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and gave him a small smile. The memory floated through her mind as she remembered the Otter that Harry had received in Orlando. She had been given that Otter by her father before she started her sixth year at Hogwarts. She had told him all about her Patronus after their fifth year. She was quite proud that she had been able to complete the spell. Her father understood that it was a spell designed for protection and he gave the wooden Otter to her as an early birthday president. She always received her birthday present before she went off to Hogwarts. Hermione understood what her father was trying to tell her. He would always be there protecting her no matter what.

A tear slid down her cheek and she felt that familiar pain course through her. She missed him greatly. She wiped furiously at her face now and tried to refocus her thoughts before she lost control of her emotions and turned into a water fountain in front of Harry. If she remembered correctly he always felt uncomfortable being in the company of a crying woman.

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace. He felt her tense and then she slowly relaxed into him. Her hair smelled of vanilla and Harry closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. She placed her hand over his and gently tugged at the Otter that she knew was securely on his wrist.

“I got it in Orlando. It reminded me of you.” Harry whispered into her ear.

“I know. I gave it to you.” The brunette replied softly as her hand idly traced the outline of the Otter on his left wrist.

Harry's mouth opened and closed but no sound came out.

“My dad gave it to me. I never showed you guys.” She said fondly.

Harry knew to keep his mouth shut and let her talk but she stopped there. Fortunately, those few lines were enough to tell him what he wanted to know.

“What are you protecting me from?” Harry asked as he unconsciously held her closer to him.

“Me, protect the Great Harry Potter.” She said with a mocking laugh.

“Hermione, you have never been able to lie to me and you still can't. Drop the act and tell me what's wrong.” He whispered softly in her left ear.

She remained silent and Harry cursed her stubborn streak.

“I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I thought I was doing the right thing. I didn't want to make you choose between your parents and me.” He confessed.

She turned in his arms and looked up at his apologetic gaze.

“Harry, there was no choice. My parents understood. I was your friend and I promised I would be there for you.” She told him.

“Was?” Harry questioned her past tense.

Her gaze dropped to the floor. “I still am your friend Harry. That's why you need to trust me. England is not the place for you.”

“Why?” Harry asked as he reached up with his right hand and gently brought her face back up to meet his eyes.

“I don't want you to die Harry.” Hermione said as a lonely tear escaped her watery eyes.

Harry gently brushed the tear away with his thumb. “I'm not afraid of death.”

“Har,”

“It's my decision not yours. I've been thinking since I've been back. Things haven't turned out the way I thought they would have. I was a fool. I thought I could solve my problems by running away from them but I can't. Whatever it is you want me to run away from won't solve the problem. Everyone knows I'm back now. I won't be surprised if tomorrows Prophet has some ridiculous headline about me.” he stated.

“You're right about the prophet. That's about the only thing that hasn't changed in seven years!” She knew now that there was no way that Harry was leaving England. He was determined to stay now and she needed to accept that fact that he was back in her life. Her priority now would be to find Primus and prevent her re-occurring nightmare from happening.

“We should probably get back to the Manor. We'll have to discuss damage control for your return. You've been keyed into the wards now and should be able to apparate to the manor. See you there.” She said with a smile tugging at her lips.

Harry nodded and watched her walk away from him. She turned around and glanced at him before she disappeared with a sharp crack. The raven haired man felt someone's gaze on him and scanned the area. Even in the dark he could see Cole watching him carefully from the bakery across the road. Harry gave him his best glare before a loud crack was heard and he disappeared.

As soon as Harry disappeared a person lifted an invisibility cloak and entered the warehouse. He reported to Kingsley that his search of the exterior revealed nothing and he was ordered back to headquarters. He exited the building and saw the muggles across the street. They were becoming quite troublesome and something would have to be done about them.

He apparated but didn't land in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic, instead he landed in the middle of a vast field with rolling hills in the distance. After getting his bearing he slowly walked to the right of the field. He paused for a second and exhaled before heading forward. He felt as though ice cold water had been thrown on him and his body responded with a violent shiver. He inhaled once he saw an elaborate mansion appear in front of him.

He walked forward but before he could knock the front door was flung open and a very terrified looking girl spoke to him.

“What happened? Is the bitch dead?” she asked him immediately.

“Potter interfered. She had been tracking him and I assumed had him freed just before the raid started.” He said as he entered the house and shut the door behind him. He reached for the blanket that was at the door and tucked it around him.

“'But the fools told me that they checked for magical charms. The boss is really upset. They were both supposed to be dead by now.” She said as she let her eyes drift fearfully upstairs.

“It wasn't magical. The muggleborn used a muggle tracker. I don't even think Potter realised he had it on him.” He said as his eyes drifted to the room upstairs.

“Wartman and Cringley are dead.” The girl told him.

The man nodded his head. They had been guarding Potter. The hideout at King's Cross had been very convenient and now that it had been discovered the plans would have to be modified. He approached the stairs and the girl gripped on to his arm.

“Be careful.” She said

“Don't worry darling. I'm still of value to the boss.” He said before he walked up the stairs and disappeared through the door leaving the scared girl at the bottom of the stairs praying that she didn't see any flashes of green from the room.

-*-

Hermione's and Luna's smiling faces greeted Harry when he arrived in the Manor and he was greatly disappointed to find that he was in the same white oval room.

“Why the winklytoad face Harry?” Luna inquired.

Harry blinked twice and noticed Hermione shaking her head fervently behind Luna. He got the message. Don't ask.

“Nothing Luna, where's Ginny?” Harry said shaking his head. He needed to have a few more conversations with Hermione but he knew he couldn't push her too much. He would accept the ground he made today and then try to push for more tomorrow.

“She's in the dining hall with Neville.” Luna stated as she headed for the exit.

“Neville?” Harry frowned as he followed behind her. He didn't want to get lost.

“He was working on cleaning up the mess you guys made earlier.” Luna informed him as she stepped through the ward that guarded the entrance to the rest of the Manor.

Hermione giggled softly before she stepped through. Harry mentally prepared himself and wondered if Luna had her bucket ready. This time was just as bad as the first time and Harry found himself face first in a cold steel bucket while Hermione laughed away.

“And what do you find so funny.” Harry said giving her the sternest glare he could muster once his stomach had calmed.

“Sleep deprivation.” Luna said to explain Hermione's strange behaviour.

Hermione offered Harry a hand up and he accepted it.

“You better get some sleep then.” Harry said to her.

She shrugged and followed Luna out the door towards the dinning hall. Harry followed closely behind never taking his eyes off of Hermione as Luna briefed her on how they retrieved Harry. Soon they were in the dinning hall filled with Ginny's laughter.

“Neville stop it!” she said.

“I'm serious. My students really did that.” Neville said as he watched her intently.

“I don't believe you.” She huffed as she crossed her hands in front of her chest.

“They're cute together.” Harry heard Hermione tell Luna. From the way her head had cocked to the side he could tell that she was studying the interaction between the two.

“It won't last.” Luna replied sadly.

“Don't say that Luna. We don't know that what you saw would come true.” Hermione reassured.

“If you truly believed that you wouldn't be pushing Harry away.” Luna responded.

Hermione quickly glanced back to him and surprised to find him right behind her. From the look on his face, she knew he heard Luna's comment. She could tell he was about to ask a question and she quickly turned and called out to Neville. He smiled at her and asked her to confirm that he was telling Ginny the truth. She sat down next to Neville and glasses of water appeared on the table in front of her.

Harry sat down opposite her and Luna sat next to Ginny.

“I still don't believe you.” The red head insisted.

“I don't know what else to say to convince you Ginny.” Neville responded.

“So got everything cleaned up Neville?” Hermione asked him.

“Of course, I even got samples for my seventh year Herbology class.” He said flashing her a pearly white smile. She rolled her eyes at him and a yawn escaped her.

“Go get some sleepy. Fred and George's party is tomorrow and you definitely want to be awake for that.”

“What are they're parties like?” Ginny asked curiously.

“A nightmare!” responded the other two girls around the table.

“I should probably get some sleep. Nev, can you do me a favour and request an Order meeting for tomorrow there're several issues that need to be discussed.” She said as she stretched in her chair.

She picked up her glass to finish off her water just as Luna asked “Why don't you go curl up with Harry?”

Water came tumbling out of Hermione's mouth and all over Harry as he arched an eyebrow at Luna's comment.

“Oh dear this can get a bit confusing.” The blonde said as she looked at Harry.

“I didn't realise that I could be confusing.” He stated.

“Hermione has a big black bear with green eyes that a previous boyfriend won for her in a fair. She curls up with it every time she goes to sleep. Her mom called it Harry and the name stuck.” Luna elaborated while Hermione's cheeks had a pinkish tinge to them.

“Previous boyfriend?” Harry asked. It was meant to be a tease but the thought of Hermione dating hadn't settled very well with him. He wondered how Ron would react to this bit of news. Ginny appeared to be thinking along the same lines when she sprung from her seat shouting Ron's name.

“Where is he?” Harry asked.

Neville explained to him that Ron accompanied Draco to the bid. Harry found it quite interesting that they were bidding for his head and wondered what sort of price he would fetch. Needless to say Hermione didn't appreciate his thoughts on the topic.

“Was it a good idea to send Ron with Draco?” Harry questioned.

“Who else was supposed to go with him?” Hermione replied icily.

“I wasn't questioning your judgement Mione. I was just wondering if Ron would kill Draco.” He said slipping back into his old ways of calling her by the nickname he gave her in seventh year.

“Ha, Draco would sooner kill Ron.” She responded confidently.

“I wouldn't dismiss Ron so easily.” Ginny said defending her brother.

“50 galleons Draco kicks Ron's butt.” The brunette blurted out.

“You're on.” Ginny replied.

“A bet Ms. Granger, Draco has really corrupted you over the years.” Harry teased.

“Maybe but I don't pass up an opportunity to make easy money.” She told him.

“Put me in for 100 on Ron.” He said.

“200 for a draw.” Luna said with a twinkle in her eye.

“50 on Draco as well.” Neville said.

There was a sudden pop and a house elf appeared. “Master Draco has returned.”

All parties smirked at the coming pay out.

-->

13. Disagreements

An: A new chapter! Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 12 - Disagreements

Hermione yawned and headed up the grand staircase in Malfoy manor, maybe this time she might get a decent night's sleep, though night had already passed and they were in the early hours of the morning. The brunette witch had left the others at the hospital with Remus and came back to the Manor to inform Draco that he would survive. She had found the wizard she had been looking for pacing anxiously in the kitchen while the house elves all watched their master go back and forth. She thought Misty and Dobby looked quite adorable as their heads turned and their eyes never broke contact with the Slytherin wizard.

She remembered the guilty look that had come across his face when she saw him and she instantly gathered the wizard in her arms and reminded him that everything would be fine. She could feel the tension drain out of him as she told him Remus would survive as he was not seriously injured and she lightly teased him that he should learn some healing spells. She felt some moisture on her shoulder and she knew that the Slytherin was not crying because of Remus but because of incidents in the past that he had inadvertently been responsible for. She was beginning to wonder if the cold, insensitive Draco was better than the one that had grown a conscious in the last seven years.

For Draco, finding Remus bloodied and beaten was a repeat of an incident that had happened six years ago after he got out of Azkaban but the only difference was that that person hadn't survived. He had been staying at the Leaky Cauldron with his old cell mate from Azkaban, Phoso Crumpet. Crumpet was a kind old wizard who had been accused of stealing secret documents from the Ministry during the war with Voldemort. He had claimed that he was under the influence of the imperius curse but a closer examination of his bank account at Gringotts revealed that he had been paid off by Lucius Malfoy and had been receiving payments for years. Phoso had not missed the irony that Malfoy's son was his cell mate.

Lucius had threatened the life of Crumpet's granddaughter if he couldn't provide them with top secret documents. Scared, the old man did the only thing he thought he could, he agreed. When he was caught, he was disappointed to discover that the Imperius curse defence only worked if you had powerful connections and he was sentenced to life in Azkaban.

The older wizard had helped the young Malfoy adjust to prison life. Considering Draco was extremely spoilt, there were so many shocks for him. Phoso had shared his food with him and given him advice on how to keep the Dementors away. They had talked a lot and when Draco was being released he pulled some strings so that Crumpet could be released with him. When Barteby had first made the initial offer to Malfoy it had been very tempting for him to fall back into his old criminal ways. It was actually Crumpet that had reminded Draco how hard life was in Azkaban and that he should do everything possible to avoid living with those Dementors again.

Draco wisely said no and continued about fixing his life. A fortnight after the initial confrontation, he had received a message to meet Barteby in Knockturn Alley. The Blonde would have ignored the letter if it hadn't come with Crumpet's family ring. Draco immediately headed out. Somewhere along his journey to the alley, Hermione had spotted him and assuming he was up to no good followed him into the alley.

Draco had arrived in time to see four men using the cruciatus curse on his new friend. Phoso was bleeding severely from the side and his features were barely recognizable because of the heavy bruising he had on his face. Crumpet had pleaded with him to leave and not to give in to their request. He had told him that his life wasn't worth the rest of Draco's. Malfoy felt truly helpless. Crumpet's life was in his hands and after all the older wizard had done for him it felt very wrong to leave him to die. The young Malfoy drew his wand and decided to fight. They left the bleeding Crumpet on the ground and the four wizards turned their wrath on Draco. The poor Slytherin was no match for them.

Hermione observed the scene from a safe distance and could hardly believe that Malfoy was standing up for someone. She joined the fight without a second's hesitation. Due to her superior duelling skills the four men were soon subdued and Aurors were called to the scene. Unfortunately, Crumpet had not survived the night and she remembered the ghostly look on Draco's face when he had been told that Phoso had moved on to the next great adventure. She felt something tug at her heart and an overwhelming compulsion to comfort Draco. She took him by the arm and lead him into the muggle world. He hadn't even protested. He was introduced to his first cappuccino. She had expected him to call her a mudblood but he hadn't. Instead they spent the night talking.

That day had been a turning point in Draco's life and the start of the change that caused Draco to be the man he was today. Hermione knew it wasn't because of her, or Luna or the Weasleys that he changed. It was for Crumpet and the kindness that the man had showed him despite his history. He had been the only one willing to look past the Malfoy name and try to see the scared boy that resided inside.

It had also been a turning point in her life as well. Crumpet had a point about sacrificing his life so Draco would have a good shot at living his. She could apply that to her life. Harry had left so he wouldn't drown Hermione in his sorrows. It was time to accept that fact and move on. She had joined the Aurors the next day.

Draco brought her out of her thoughts by reminding her that she hadn't slept in a long time and that if she wanted to look her best she needed to get some sleep. She agreed with him and she now found herself curled up next to “Harry”. Luna's suggestion was exactly what she needed and in a matter of seconds she drifted off in to what she hoped would be a wonderful dream.

-*-

St. Mungo's waiting room

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna and Tonks sat patiently waiting for Remus's latest results. They had been told as soon as they arrived that his condition wasn't life threatening and Tonks wasted no time in sending Hermione home. The healers had been attending to Remus for the past two hours and Tonks busied herself questioning Harry on his travels. She had discovered that he had spent 2 years as a DEA undercover agent in Colombia and one year working with Interpol in Austria.

“Harry with so much muggle experience I'm sure you can become an Auror quickly. We're really swamped. A new class is supposed to graduate in three months. I can talk to the trainers and see if I can get you and Ron in, that is, if that's still what you guys want to do.” Tonks offered sincerely.

“Definitely,” Ron replied with a large smile.

“I don't think I could do anything else.” Harry responded.

“Though there would be one drawback.” Luna pointed out as she knew that Tonks never really thought her ideas all the way through.

“What's that?” Ron asked curiously.

“How would you feel being ordered around by Hermione?” Luna said as she levelled her gaze at Harry.

“Oh that's not unusual, she bossed me around all seven years at Hogwarts.” The red headed stated cheerfully.

Luna's gaze never wavered from Harry and he knew what she was trying to tell him. It wouldn't be the same as Hogwarts. He wouldn't be the leader anymore. Hermione would be in charge and it would be her lead he had to follow even if he didn't like her orders.

“I can do it.” The raven haired wizard stated with a determined look on his face.

“So it's true. You are back.” Cho said as she eyed Harry Potter.

“Cho,” Harry said with surprise.

“You heard pretty quickly.” Tonks commented suspiciously.

“You're a healer now?” Harry asked ignoring Tonk's comment.

“Yes, it seemed like the right thing to do.” Cho replied with a wry smile.

“How is Remus?” Tonks said abruptly stopping the small talk between Harry and Cho.

The Healer's face turned serious as she looked at the Auror in front of her.

“He suffered quite a few broken bones and a lot of muscle damage. Nothing life threatening, but he will be here for a while, especially with the full moon in three days. We aren't sure how the transformation will affect his injuries but we are hoping to have most of them healed by then.”

Tonks nodded solemnly. “Can I see him?”

“Yes, but only one visitor at a time. He's still pretty weak. He's in room 3 on this floor.” She gave Harry one final look before she departed.

Tonks wasted no time in going to see Remus and Harry was soon left with the company of his thoughts.

“Cho looked hot Harry. Mind if I date her?” Ron blurted out suddenly.

“Why are you asking me?” he said as he stared at Ron.

“Well, you did sort of have that thing with her in Hogwarts.” The red head pointed out causing Harry to remember his awful experience on Valentines day with Cho.

“Ron, I don't care who you date but I really don't know how you could be thinking of something like that now!” Harry commented.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Ron replied angrily.

“Guys, now is not the time for a fight. Tonks will need our support over the next few days.” Ginny pointed out.

“Have you decided what you want to do yet?” Luna said as her piercing gaze looked through Ginny.

“I haven't really given it any thought. I never wanted to be an Auror but I do want to do something to help.” The red head witch replied honestly.

Luna processed Ginny words and a thought occurred to her.

“Do you want to work at the Prophet?” the blonde asked.

“Uh, I don't know. I worked for a beauty magazine once and I enjoyed that but I don't think the Prophet would have the same feel.” She said as her perfectly shaped eyebrows creased in the centre of her forehead.

“You could propose a beauty column. I'm sure it will be a welcomed change away from some the news the Prophet offers today. You might also be able to convince some of the writers not to be to hard on the Aurors, particularly Hermione. Marietta Edgecomb loves to run Hermione's name through the mud.” Luna revealed as she discreetly cast the muffliato spell.

“That little sneak, works for the prophet now?” Ron interrupted.

“Yes, she's the real reason I think Ginny should get a job there. Cho will tell you she's an excellent reporter, always getting the scoop on big issues, like the death of a high ranking Ministry official last month but what we really want to know is who her sources are?” Luna explained.

“So you want me to snoop around?” Ginny asked excitedly.

“No,” Luna replied firmly. “I want you to work there and keep track of who Marietta meets. If we can find her source, we might be able to find Primus but under no circumstances should you `snoop'.” Luna emphasised. Mrs. Weasley didn't deserve to lose her only daughter especially considering that she had been gone for the last seven years.

Ginny's features fell. “That sounds boring.”

“It's an idea and it's your decision what you want to do. I was merely suggesting a potential option.” Luna stated.

Tonk soon returned and announced that she would spend the night there with Remus and that they could return home.

-*-

Ginny sat in the kitchen at Malfoy Manor with the Daily Prophet in front of her. She had read the magazine from front to back, something she had never done before in her life. Of course written across the front page was an article about the return of England's Hero, Harry Potter, with a very good picture of him in St. Mungos. Ginny wondered who took the picture. She didn't remember any cameras the night before. The article had been written by Marieta Edgecomb and the witch had lambasted the Auror department and Magical Law Enforcement for the current crime situation. She went on to theorise that Harry's return was a good sign and that he had returned to save England again. Other reporters had also commented on England's hero and Ginny thought it quite pathetic the way they idolised Harry. She wondered if she had been that bad when she was in Hogwarts.

Luna was right about a beauty column improving the newspaper. It was filled with dreary, depressing stories and she had had to force herself to read it all the way through. Many ideas had occurred to her on how to improve the paper and she quickly started scribbling her ideas down with a quill. She had most of the evening to herself as Harry and Ron had gone to Hermione's mother's party. Ginny didn't really know Mrs. Granger so she didn't feel comfortable going. She knew they would be back at around 10pm since they had to attend the party that the twins were throwing in their honor.

“May I ask what's got you so busy?” a voice disturbed her from the doorway.

Ginny looked up and was met with warm brown eyes.

“Neville, what brings you here?” she asked.

“The twins' party, I told Luna I would meet her here.” He told her from the doorway.

Ginny felt a bit disappointed when Neville mentioned Luna.

“Come have a seat. So you're going to the party with Luna?” She queried as she watched him walk to the seat next to her. His hair was neatly combed and he wore a loose navy blue shirt that hid his round tummy nicely and it look really sexy on him. His complimenting black pants just added to his overall appeal.

“Yeah, Luna and I have an arrangement.” He explained.

“An arrangement?” The redhead queried with an arched eyebrow.

“Not like that!” Neville responded.

“You'll have to elaborate Mr. Longbottom.” Ginny said in a prim voice.

The Herbology Professor sighed. “You have a mischievous streak just like the twins.”

“Glad you noticed, now spill the beans on you and Luna.” Ginny said dryly.

“Luna has, well, she's not quite, no that's not the word. She's, well not exactly, but” He stammered looking for the right words to describe the situation.

“Spit it out Neville.” Ginny said impatiently as her fingers started tapping away on the glass table.

“She's afraid of men.” Neville blurted out. “No that came out wrong as well. She's afraid of making the same mistake she made with Nicholas.”

Silence descended the room as Ginny realised he was talking about the wizard that had created the virus that caused the death of her father. When Neville sensed she was comfortable he continued with his explanation.

“She likes me to approve of her dates. I was the only person that didn't like Nicholas and she feels that it was because on some unconscious level, I realised what he was truly capable of.” He explained softly to her.

“So you're her lie detector then.” Ginny surmised with a sense of relief.

“In a way yes.” He replied after analysing what she had suggested.

“But wouldn't that affect your dating life.” The youngest Weasley asked curiously.

“What dating life! Who wants to data a Professor of Herbology at Hogwarts?” he said in a Professor like tone.

“Neville! Don't put yourself down. You might be surprised how many witches might be turned on by the fact that you're a Professor.” She told him.

Neville's face blushed a bit and she could see that he was still a bit shy despite the confidence that he had shown her earlier.

“Would you be one of those witches?” He asked taking a risk he hoped would pay off.

Ginny started twirling a strand of her hair around her index finger. “That depends Professor, will you punish me if my skirt is too short?” she flirted with him.

“Well, Ms. Weasley that depends on how short the skirt is.” Neville said as leaned towards her. He glanced at her red lips and back up at her brown eyes.

“Professor, I think its short enough for a private detention with you.” She said as her eyes glanced at his lips.

“My office, tomorrow night at 8?” Neville instructed now inches away from her face.

“Sounds perfect.” She replied before he closed the remaining distance and kissed her firmly on the lips.

-*-

Mrs. Granger's house

Ron looked around the living room of Mrs. Granger's house and felt very uncomfortable. Most of the people at her party were in their late forties to mid fifties. It was a gathering of single persons who had either divorced or lost a spouse. Despite the fact that some of these women were in excellent shape, Ron was a bit put off by the fact that they were old enough to be his mother. Needless to say, he was quite popular at the party though. These older women appeared to be quite enamoured with him and his pocket was full of phone numbers. He wondered why it couldn't be this easy with women his own age.

Mrs. Knight was currently engaging him in a conversation about the stolen suitcases that had been mysteriously returned to the police at King's Cross. Of course, Ron knew the real story behind that but the woman kept prattling on about the thief and the untouched suitcases.

He glanced at the stairs and saw Harry sneaking upstairs. He immediately excused himself from his present company and desperately started to make his way towards the stairs as well. His eyes quickly darted around the room for Hermione and saw her heading into the kitchen with an empty tray of appetizers. Luna was busy in the corner talking with one of the neighbours and Mrs. Granger had busied herself flirting with a lawyer she had met recently. The coast was clear.

Ron made a quick glance around the room when he reached the base of the stairs and in two seconds flat sprinted up to Hermione's room. He quickly opened the door and darted inside.

“What's the score?” He asked as he sat on the couch next to Harry.

“Australia has 30 more runs to make off of two and a half overs.” Harry told him.

“Go Australia!” Ron shouted.

“Shut up. Are you trying to get Hermione up here.” A man with sandy brown hair asked.

“No.” Ron said sheepishly.

There had been only one other guy their age there. His name was Dray Crumpet and he was the son of a co-worker of Mrs. Granger. Like Ron, Dray was popular at these parties and he received repeat invites regularly. He couldn't turn Mrs. Granger down as she was a very important friend of his family and he agreed to endure these events. He said it wasn't that bad because half way through the night he could sneak into Hermione's room and watch sports on her large screen TV. Ron had had a hard time believing that Hermione would have a TV in her room instead of a bookshelf full of books on some obscure area of magic but he was pleasantly surprised to find both the TV and a couch already positioned in the room.

The door opened and the girls came in glaring at the boys.

“A little help would be nice?” Hermione stated as she tapped her foot impatiently.

“The match is almost finished.” Dray pleaded with adorable blue eyes.

“What's the score?” the brown-haired witch asked as she glanced at the top left hand side of the screen.

“Australia need 27 runs off two overs to win.” Ron told her eagerly.

“You sound like you support Australia.” Luna observed.

“I do.” He stated proudly.

“You should be supporting England!” Hermione pointed out indignantly as she forced a space for herself between Harry and Dray. Luna was satisfied with a spot on Ron's lap much to Ron's chagrin.

“Stop drooling.” Dray said to Hermione when the screen showed a close up of England's all rounder Kevin Petersen.

“I am not drooling. I'm simply admiring.” She admonished him.

“Since when are you into sports?” Harry asked curiously.

“She's not really into sports, more the sportsmen.” Luna teased as she enjoyed her current seat.

“Luna!” Hermione cried indignantly.

“Shhhh,” everyone said to her.

A few minutes later the door opened again and an angry Mrs. Granger entered the room. She grabbed the remote and switched the TV off to loud protests from all five.

“I don't care if the match is almost finished.” The older woman told them angrily.

“But it's the world cup and England has to win to.” Dray started to complain but was stopped with a firm glare from Mrs. Granger.

“There is a full tray of chicken wings in the kitchen that needs to be served Hermione. Luna, please refill some of the wine glasses, some people are beginning to sober up to quickly. Ron, Mrs. Lazary is looking for you, Harry, Mrs. Crimply would like to continue talking to you about China and Dray, Mrs. Patrick would like to set you up with her daughter. Now get going!” She ordered sternly and all five left the room quickly.

-*-

A few hours later in Mrs. Granger's kitchen

“My feet are sore.” Hermione complained as she propped her feet up on the chair next to her.

“I smell like wine.” Luna said from the sink as she sniffed her white blouse which had a large red stain on it.

“Well, I have a date with Samantha Patrick.” Dray informed them and Hermione and Luna both winced.

“I have a date with Mrs. Lazary.” Ron said trying to top the three that went before him.

They all looked at Harry next who lifted Hermione's feet off of the chair and sat down, placing her feet gently on his lap.

“What I had a good night.” Harry replied.

“The night isn't over yet. There's still that twins party to go to.” Dray said as he took a seat around the table.

Harry and Ron looked astonished at Dray.

“You know the twins.” Ron asked.

Dray smirked at Ron and Harry thought that smirk was strangely familiar. Hermione was also suspiciously snickering with Luna.

“Why do I get the feeling that there's something you're not telling me Ms. Granger.” Harry said as he tickled the base of her foot.

“Harry, stop please.” Hermione pleaded as she tried to pull her foot away from him.

“Not until you tell me. You've been glancing suspiciously at us all night.” He said as he continued his assault on her foot.

“I'll tell you just stop please.” She begged of him.

Harry's hand stopped his ministrations on her foot and she paused to look at her watch.

“Any second now,” She said as her eyes stared at Dray.

Harry averted his gaze and soon found that Dray's face was changing. His eyes had gone from blue to grey and his hair was turning a platinum blonde colour. His chin had become pointed and Harry was now looking at the face of Draco Malfoy. There was a bright flash and hysterical laughter from the girls.

“Let me see.” Luna said as she held out her hand for the camera.

Hermione gave it to her and laughter poured from Luna's small frame.

“Ron looks so adorable.” The blonde witch cooed.

“Did you see Harry's face? He looks as though the world has ended!” Hermione told her friend.

From Harry's perspective the world had ended. He liked Dray. The man had appeared to be funny and nice, most definitely not Draco Malfoy. How could he have gotten along with Draco Malfoy all night? He should have known though. Draco was supposed to be there and he hadn't seen him, that and the fact that the name should have been a dead give away. How could he have overlooked the obvious?

“You tricked us!” Ron accused Malfoy.

“If you're too dense to realise it was me, that's your problem.” Draco drawled out.

“Dray please. You were getting along so well.” Hermione pointed out.

“It's not my fault. I just thought that they would have realised at some point during the night, unless this means I'm a fabulous actor. Maybe I should go to Hollywood?” Draco boasted.

“That's the last time I ever let you convince me to buy you a television!” Hermione responded to him.

Harry's mouth opened and closed like a fish. He had so many questions, namely how Draco could act as a muggle so well. He hadn't made a single mistake that would have lead Harry to believe he was a wizard.

“Surely Potter you couldn't expect me to show up as myself. The Draco Malfoy in a muggle house! You never know whose around which is why I should get going.” Draco said as he glanced out of the windows uncomfortably.

The girls nodded and handed Draco his portkey which he used immediately. Hermione grabbed a bag with some clothes in it and said good bye to her mother. They all held on to the second portkey which was one of Crookshanks collar and pretty soon they were back at the Manor.

Harry and Ron both groaned at having to pass through the wards and Hermione mercilessly pushed them through. Luna was again waiting with a smirking Draco.

“Maybe you should get some grubbly root from the kitchen to settle your stomach Ron.” Luna told him as they walked through the corridors.

The redhead wizard stared blankly at her.

“That sounds like a good idea. We'll go get changed and you take him to the kitchen.” Hermione said as she winked at Luna.

Luna grabbed Ron's hand and led him in the opposite direction to the others. They soon entered the kitchen and found Ginny on top of Neville's lap in a passionate kiss.

“What the hell is going on here!” Ron yelled at the top of his lungs causing Neville to break the kiss with Ginny.

“Uh..” the poor wizard stammered to the angry Ron.

“What does it look like Ronald?” Ginny glared at her older brother. She was a grown woman, why did her brother always have to do this when she was interested in a man.

The two siblings glared at each other before Ron broke the stare and headed upstairs.

Luna smiled at Ginny, “That certainly helped to settle his stomach.”

The red head looked confused for a minute before a light chuckle escaped her lips.

“Lets go get changed. We'll be back soon Nev.” Ginny called out blowing a kiss to her new boyfriend.

-*-

The Broomstick

The music was extremely loud as the seven entered the club. It was unbelievably crowded and Harry wondered if Fred and George had invited the entire wizarding world. The club was decorated with various Weasley products and Harry couldn't help but wonder if the twins were also using this as a promotional activity for their new party range of products.

Ginny took the first opportunity to break free of the group with Neville and the newly formed couple found a nice dark corner where she hoped her brothers wouldn't find her but with six brothers to hide from she should have brewed herself some lucky potion because her chances were slim to none.

For obvious reasons Draco had decided against attending the celebration and invited his girlfriend out to dinner instead. Hermione and Luna had been a bit disappointed but they understood, his image had to be maintained. They soon broke away as a horde of people surrounded Harry with warm welcomes. Ron managed to stair his way out of crowd to the bar with a gorgeous witch on each arm leaving poor Harry to fend for himself.

An hour later Harry found himself tucked away on a sofa set that Hermione had conjured in the back of the club. He had quickly managed to greet everyone and protect himself from further onslaughts by talking with Fred and George who were more than happy to show Harry their new range of products. His fans were weary of the twin's new inventions as one witch who had tried to approach Harry had a rather nasty encounter with the twins' indoor fireworks and as a result they gave them a wide berth. Only the Weasleys and a few of his Hogwarts friends had been allowed close enough to him. He enjoyed talking with the twins and he really had hoped that magical England would stop idolising him but with the reactions tonight, it might be a while before that happened.

“Let's dance!” Luna said bravely as she grabbed Ron's hand to pull him on to the dance floor. Luna had `accidentally' dropped a couple drops of the twins new nosebleed drops in the drinks Ron had brought for his two `friends', leaving him without female company.

“I don't dance.” Ron replied as he resisted her pull.

“Ron,” Luna pleaded.

“Why don't you take Harry? He likes to dance.” Ron said trying to get her attention of him.

“But I don't want to dance with Harry, the finchworms might attack us. However, if I dance with you, we would be safe.” Luna begged.

“Ron go and dance.” Hermione instructed him.

“You're not my mother.” He angrily told her.

“No but I'm sure I can get her here for you.” The brunette responded quickly.

Ron reluctantly agreed and followed the happy blonde onto the dance floor.

“She still likes him?” Harry asked as he eyed the couple. Luna was actively explaining to Ron how to dance in time to the music.

“Of course, they would be a perfect couple, if Ron wasn't so bull headed.” Hermione responded as she smiled at the out of time couple.

Harry mused over his thoughts before standing and holding his hand out to her. With a small smile she accepted and Harry tried to find an appropriate spot on the dance floor. They danced in silence for a while before Harry decided to talk to her.

“You know I missed you.” Harry told her sincerely as a slow song started to play and he pulled her a bit closer to him.

“I know.” She replied as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“I'm sorry that I hurt you.” He continued.

Hermione placed her index finger on his mouth. “I don't want to fight Harry. Lets just pick up where we left off Harry. I'm your best friend Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of this generation.” She said flashing him a dazzling smile.

“I'm your best friend Harry Potter and apparently England's Hero who's going to save you from the current crime wave!” Harry said in a fake super hero voice eliciting a chuckle from his dance partner.

“But seriously, Tonks offered to get me in the training program with the current set of Aurors that graduate in three months.” He said as he felt her tense in his arms.

“Harry that may not be such a good idea.” Hermione started.

“Mione, lets just agree to disagree on this one. You've stated that you're vehemently against this and I've pretty much continued like normal and started doing it.” Harry replied.

“Nothing unusual there.” Hermione pointed out.

“True, it's beginning to feel like I never left.” Harry said with a small smile.

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14. New Beginnings and Unfortunate Endings

An: Very sorry for the extremely long break.

Chapter 13 - New Beginnings and Unfortunate Endings

3 months later

Ginny finished up the last touches on her article and submitted it to her editor before quickly gathering up her stuff to prepare for the rest of the night. She had been hired a month ago to work as a gossip reporter for the Daily Prophet. The editor had liked her proposal to improve the image and popularity of the Prophet, as the paper had lost quite a number of readers over the years. Tonight, her brother and Harry would be receiving their formal appointments as Aurors after completing the last three months of training, so not only will she be there as family, she would also be writing any gossip from the event.

Both boys had been placed in an accelerated Auror program since both had law enforcement experience in the muggle world. There had been many nights that her brother had come home too tired to eat and both she and Luna sometimes had to take him to his room. Harry seemed to be slightly better off but he still had fallen asleep on the sofa a couple of times. They had both earned their graduation and Ron seemed especially proud of himself.

Ginny also took the opportunity to spend time with her other brothers, nieces and nephews. She had to admit she adored every single one and she had already gone on several shopping trips for them. Her brothers complained that she was spoiling their children but she said it was her privilege as their only Weasley aunt.

Living at Malfoy Manor had been nothing like she had expected. She was actually enjoying it and had been prone to referring to the place as home. Officially, the wizarding world had been told that they were living in an apartment in London and only family and the Order knew where they really were. Quite a few witches at work had been trying to pry the information from her. Mainly, they were interested in Harry and if he was still single. There were, one or two that did ask about Ron.

Draco wasn't around much, though she had a few embarrassing moments where she saw him half dressed coming from the pool at the back of the Manor. She had to admit he had the perfect chest but the smirk he threw her when he caught her looking was completely annoying. It's wasn't her fault that his chest was on display for all to see. When his girlfriend came over, everyone avoided them as the Order didn't want his current fling to know what was going on in the Manor. From the little glimpses she got of his girlfriend, she concluded that she was a galleon grabbing witch and she was strangely disappointed in Draco's taste. She found her mother abhorred the girlfriend and had been itching to teach her a lesson on how a witch should treat her wizard.

Ginny also enjoyed the fact that Luna lived in the Manor with her. Having spent the last seven years with Ron and Harry, it felt nice to have a female housemate. They would sit down at nights after Luna got back from the Quibbler and do their hair or nails or just talk. Hermione would occasionally come over and they would give her a much needed make over. Seamus was out of St. Mungos and Hermione seemed to be on the job 24/7. She pitied poor Seamus and she wondered how he could possibly keep up with the witch.

Her relationship with Neville was going fantastic. She didn't think she had ever had such a successful relationship. He just made it easy. She loved surprising him at Hogwarts. There were nights that she had spent out there just talking to him. He respected her opinion on matters and often let her have her way. They had once been caught snogging in a broom closet by the current Headgirl of Hogwarts. The poor girl had fainted on the spot and Ginny had to take her to the hospital wing. Needless to say Professor Flitwick wasn't too happy with his teacher and former student's reckless behaviour.

Her next big assignment was The Minister of Magic's annual ball tomorrow at the Ministry. She couldn't wait to dress up as it had been ages since he had been able to wear formal dress robes. She had been looking forward to this event since her editor handed her two tickets and instructed her to go and come back with the biggest scoop she could find. Marietta Edgecomb had been very upset that Ginny had gotten the assignment over her. Ginny and been subtly trying to find out who her co-worker's source was but the girl had iron-clad lips which was quite contrary to what the little sneak did in Hogwarts. Maybe Hermione's jinx taught the girl a lesson about keeping secrets a secret.

Ginny took one last look at her desk to make sure everything was in order before she headed out. She would be meeting her mother and family in the Ministry Atrium twenty minutes before the graduation ceremony was to start. Unfortunately, Neville couldn't come as he had a late herbology class to teach to his NEWT students but she was sure she would have a good time anyway.

-*-

Auror - graduation

Hermione sat in the audience as Harry and Ron received their Auror certificate. She was sitting next to Seamus in the current Aurors section. Despite the fact that she didn't want them to choose this as a career, she couldn't help but beam with pride as the Minister of Magic congratulated them on their appointments.

Their first assignment would be security detail at the Minister's annual ball the next day. The new recruits were badly needed and there were a lot of requests by senior Aurors to have Harry Potter as their partner. Naturally, as new recruits Harry and Ron couldn't be paired with each other and probably would have to wait a few years before they could. She already had Seamus and she would not drop him in favour of her raven-haired or red-haired friend. She didn't envy Kingsley with having to make this decision. Whatever he did, he risked upsetting quite a bit of people with the appointment of Harry's partner.

The Minister naturally made a show of posing with Harry for pictures and even tried to get a picture with her, Harry and Ron. She was surprised with how easy her friends accepted the Minister's request and later found out that they had learned a long time ago that no matter where they went, politicians would always be politicians.

She made her way around the room greeting everyone. Luna was there representing the Quibbler and Draco was there with Natalie Spellfire, also known as Draco's girlfriend or as Draco sometimes puts it The Witch from Hell. Her tall lean figure, long flowing blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes were what had originally attracted Draco to her. It was her connections to the wizarding black market and possible link to Primus that kept their relationship going. She made sure she stayed as far away from them as possible. She had had a little spat with Spellfire a few years before and she didn't feel like repeating that.

Seamus pinched her side and she turned to face him.

“What do you think of that witch over there?” Seamus said pointing to a brunette witch in violet robes.

“She's married to the Minister's cousin.” Hermione responded blandly.

“Really, why are all the good witches taken?” he whined.

“Luna's available,” Hermione chirped.

“For the last time Hermione, it would never work.” The wizard replied.

“You could always try my muggle friend?” she suggested.

Seamus glared at her.

“Oh grow up Seamus!” Hermione said as she walked away from the wizard.

She spotted Mrs. Weasley gathering her children and grandchildren for a picture and she realised it was time to leave. Maybe she would visit Cole and see if he came up with any leads on the warehouse incident. She ducked behind a tall wizard and safely executed her exit plan.

Back inside, Harry was stuck between Fred and George while he waited for Luna to find Hermione to take a family picture. After five minutes Luna came back empty handed.

“Smart witch!” Fred commented.

“She always gets away from this torture.” George commented. “We should learn from her.”

“Torture?” Harry questioned.

“It's now beginning young grasshopper.” Fred said.

“Enjoy!” George mocked.

45 minutes later Harry was fed up of being squashed, sat upon and stepped upon. He had held so many different positions and been moved around so much he was ready to scream at Molly Weasley. The picture was never perfect. Someone was not looking at the camera, someone, namely Fred or George, was making obscene gestures, one of the children wasn't in the right spot, the heights were all wrong, they should line up according to age then they shouldn't. She could not make up her mind and for a picture that moved Harry didn't see the problem because eventually everyone would have looked at the camera at one point. There was hope that the torture was ending soon though because the roast that Mrs. Weasley left cooking for the celebratory dinner would be finished in five minutes and Mrs. Weasley never burnt her food.

By the time they disbursed most of the Aurors and guest had left. Kinglsey however was still there with two envelopes in his hand. He called Harry and Ron over and handed each an envelope.

“These are your Auror partners. Report for duty 8am tomorrow to discuss the security detail for the Minister tomorrow. Now get a good night's rest.”

In a flash, Kingsley was gone and they were both looking at the plain white envelopes with their names neatly written on the front of the envelope.

“Think one of us got Hermione?” Ron asked hopefully.

“I would think by now, you would know Hermione well enough to know she would not leaving Seamus hanging.” The raven-haired wizard told his best friend.

“Yes but this was not her decision and Kingsley is capable of anything.” Ron pointed out.

“There's only one way to know mate.” Harry said holding up the white envelope.

“On three,” Ron asked.

“Yeah,”

“ One,”

“ Two,”

“ Three,”

“What this can't be bloody right!” Ron exclaimed shaking his piece of paper in horror.

Harry on the other hand was laughing. Ron grabbed Harry's paper from him and quickly read on the writing on it.

“What! That's not bloody fair! Why do you get Tonks?” Ron sulked.

Harry shrugged. “Kinglsey thought is best?”

“Who did you get? It can't be that bad.” Harry said.

“It is that bad.” Ron replied and handed Harry his paper.

Harry read the name and did a double take. “She's allowed to be an Auror.”

“Apparently, they let just anybody in these days.” Ron replied sourly.

“Ron, Harry, you coming?” Ginny called out from the exit.

“Yeah” Harry called out and he patted Ron on the back sympathetically and headed towards the exit.

“Why is it always me!” Ron commented towards the heavens before he followed Harry to the exit.

-*-

The dinner had gone very well and Ron ate enough to make up for any meals he may have missed while he was training. The morning however, was not going so well. He had overslept and Draco was pleased to wake him up with a bucket of ice cold water that he had conjured over Ron's bed. Ron sent a stunner at Draco but was surprised when he countered him easily and walked out of the room taunting him that Weasleys could never be better than Malfoys.

By the time that Ron made it to breakfast Tonks and Harry had finished eating and Tonks was filling Harry in on everything he needed to know about the Minister's security detail.

“Morning Ron,” Tonks greeted the redhead happily to which he replied with a scowl.

“Ron be nice.” Luna scolded.

“How come you're still here?” Harry asked as he looked at the kitchen clock that read 8:30am.

“I ober blept.” He replied with his mouth full of sausage and eggs that he was trying to finish quickly before departing for the office.

“You better hurry along,” Tonks said. “Your partner is very anal about Aurors being late.”

He shoved the last of his breakfast in his mouth and headed to the fireplace.

“Be sure to swallow first Ron. You wouldn't want to end up in any unwanted places.” Luna said serenely.

He gave her a dirty look and exited the kitchen through the maze of corridors towards the fireplace. Once inside he collected some floo powder and left to start his new career at the Ministry.

Ron landed miserably on his ass and was then trampled over by two other wizards who were also late for work.

“I hate Floo.” Ron said as he got up and dusted himself off.

He briefly oriented himself and headed towards the Auror office, cursing Harry's luck all the way.

Inside the office, he was met with the sour face of his partner and Hermione who seemed to be trying to get his partner to keep her cool.

“You see Millicent, I told you he would be here soon.” She said.

“He's forty five minutes late. How can I rely on him in the field if he can't be on time to a little briefing? He's completely incompetent. I deserve a better partner that this.” She said crossing her arms in front of her torso.

Hermione rolled her eyes at her and wished Ron good luck before she stepped away. Ron stood there awarkedly as his partner fumed.

“For the record, I am not happy with this partnership!” Milicent stated coldly.

“That is one thing we agree on.” Ron replied.

“Bullstrode, Weasley, stop chatting and get your butts in here for the briefing now!” Kinglsey barked from a door down the corridor.

Millicent gave Ron a fierce glare as she walked off ahead leaving Ron with a sinking feeling that today might be the worst day of his life.

-*-

Minister's Ball

The grand ballroom of the Ministry was beautifully decorated with floating white candles and white and black streamers soaring through the air that occasionally intertwined with each other. A huge crystal chandelier the size of a small cottage hung from the centre of the high ceiling filtering the light into beautiful little rainbows throughout the room. The room was essentially a giant rectangle with a small square dance floor located in the middle under the chandelier. There were dozens of small round tables around the dance floor that was being used to rest glasses and plates full of appetizers. Against one of the long walls was a buffet and against the opposite one was a display of all the good work the Minister had accomplished over the last year. The end of the room that was opposite the entrance, displayed an elaborate fountain made of many basins at different elevations that had water jumping from one basin to another. The water would change colour and shape periodically.

Any person that wanted to consider themselves as important found a way to attend this event. Of course invitations were not easy to come by so very innovative methods were used to gain invitations. The actual invitations themselves were made by the Ministries strongest wizards and witches and had various levels of spell and copy protection on them. It was also rumoured that the unspeakables also used new magic on the invites to ensure there were no crashers. St. Mungos hated this time of year because the wards were filled with wannabe wizards that had serious injuries from trying to duplicate the spells to create their own invitation.

There was a list of standard names that were invited every year such as the heads of various departments in the Ministry, headmaster of Hogwarts, members of the Wizengamot, important magical families such as the Malfoy's and one reporter from each of the media houses. The Minister was also allowed a personal list of invitees. This list usually consisted of outstanding wizard and witches from the previous year. The year England won the Quidditch World Cup, the Minister invited the entire team to the event.

This year was not any different to the previous years. There were a few new faces that had made headlines during the year but other than that it was the same. Just below the Minister's grand display of his work, Ginny was blushing furiously as her mother talked with Neville about marriage and more grandchildren. Ginny had bought Neville as her guest and her mother had come with Mr. Lovegood, as his guest since the Quibbler was now a recognised newspaper. Ginny had just about had enough of her mother's rant though.

“Mother! Nev and I just started dating. Please don't marry us off yet! Besides, I think you have enough grandchildren to last you a little while.” the youngest Weasley protested to her mother.

“Don't be preposterous Ginny! When you're a grandmother you will understand. You can never have enough grandchildren.”Molly Weasley retorted.

Ginny spied Xenophilius heading towards them and she gave him a pleading look.

“Molly, Ruby Bullstrode thinks her grandchildren are going to be excellent wizards and that Rufus will fly away leaving Danny and Edward in his wake.” He said with a wink directed at Ginny. As predicted Molly immediately sought out Ruby in the ballroom to let her know that her grandchildren were going to be very skilled wizards as well.

“Thank you so much.” Ginny said grateful for the reprieve she had gotten.

“It's fine. Just have fun tonight.” He told them as he left in the direction Molly had gone.

Ginny turned to Neville to apologise about her mother but Neville insisted that it was fine and that his grandmother behaved in a similar way. It only proved how much Molly liked him and he was happy that he was being accepted into the family. He had been most hesitant about Ron's reaction and even Harry's considering Ginny's history with him but they seemed to have accepted him and Neville was hoping to take his relationship with Ginny to the next level. He slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her into his arms.

“Let's dance.” He whispered in her ear causing a shiver to go down her back.

Not trusting her voice Ginny nodded and let him carry her off to wherever it was he wanted to go.

Not all persons were there to enjoy themselves though. Hermione walked slowly around the ball looking for anything out of place. Most of the Aurors were there with a few on duty in the office in case something happened elsewhere. She was not surprised to find Ron and Millicent protecting the buffet; apparently they had been able to find some sort of common ground. She knew Tonks was around somewhere and Harry was surrounded by witches requesting his personal protection and Hermione decided that it was time to move Harry to a position outside, where it would, more than likely, be safer for him and he could also do his job without being harassed. As she moved through the crowd, she overheard a snippet of conversation that caused her to stop.

“Your plan worked! And here you were worried you would not become the next Mrs. Malfoy” a red head witch said

“How did you get passed the contraceptive potion?” a brunette asked curiously.

“Oh it was difficult. I had to slowly sneak small samples of the potion out every night and I had to pay quite a bit to get it analyzed properly to find a counter potion. I even had some herbs added that would boost fertility to ensure my success.” Natalie Spellfire boasted to her friends.

“How far along are you?”

“A month and a half”

“You haven't told him yet?”

“Tonight, I'll tell him and by tomorrow my new contact address will be Malfoy Manor.”

Hermione had drawn her wand ready to hex the witch into the next century for the pain she was about to cause Draco but the room broke out in screams as the expensive chandelier came crashing into the middle of the dance floor. Hermione was barely able to put a blocking shield around her to prevent the flying crystals and pieces of the chandelier from hitting her.

Hooded figures were emerging from the charmed fountains and the guests that had been nearest that side of the room were already unconscious on the floor. Different colour spells were flying between the intruders and the Aurors and Hermione found it difficult to ignore the cries for help from the wizards caught under the chandelier as she made her way towards the Minister's bodyguards. The priority would be to evacuate the Minister, then secure the site, then helped the injured.

Due to a rather large piece of the chandelier blocking the exit, Hermione didn't know how it got there but she could figure that out later, everyone was stuck in the room. The Minister's bodyguards, Ron and Millicent were currently holding off five hooded figures, who were using guests as shields, to advance safely towards the buffet. The buffet tables had been charmed to absorb spells and protect anyone that hid behind it. It was one of the safety measures that the Aurors put in place in case something like this happened. The bodyguards had obviously implemented the plan immediately but Hermione couldn't help but think the Minister was exactly where the intruders wanted him.

Hermione ducked behind the main body of the chandelier as a stunner came flying past her. It was difficult to reach to the minister and with the guests being used as shields, it was difficult to neutralise the threat. She soon felt a presence to her right and caught sight of a mop of messy raven hair and a pair of concerned emerald eyes giving her a quick look over for injuries. She couldn't explain it but her body felt completely safe knowing he was next to her and despite the chaos all around them, she knew she would be alright. This was a feeling she hadn't experienced since Hogwarts.

The wall behind the Minister started to rumble and Hermione immediately realised what was going to happen.

“Ron, grab the Minister and move! We'll cover you.” She shouted.

Without thinking twice Ron grabbed one of the Minister's hand and started heading for the door. On the other side of the Minister he noticed Millicent trying to run with them and protect them at the same time as well as the Minister's bodyguards. The other Aurors realised what was happening and immediately provided cover for their colleagues. Hermione levitated one of the tables and hovered it behind them to provide protection as they ran. When they reached the segment of the chandelier that was blocking the entrance. Ron recklessly blasted the object out of the way sending more debris through the room and leaving a cloud of dust in his wake as he also destroyed part of the wall around the entrance.

Once Ron was out the door and what she hoped was safely away she focused on securing the room. The hooded figures that were in the room seemed to have realised that their chance to kill the Minister was gone and they retreated to the same fountains that they had emerged from. The wall behind the buffet tables collapsed but whoever was there was gone.

When the silvery form of Ron's patronus arrived to indicate that both he and Minister were safe, a sudden wave of relief ran through the room. Kinglsey immediately took control of the situation and started delivering orders. One team was assigned to secure the fountains and take them for examination. Another team was ordered to investigate the destroyed wall. Tonks was assigned to get assistance from St. Mungos, Harry was told to get rid of the chandelier and Hermione, with her extensive knowledge of healing spells had to deal with the injured immediately.

Harry glanced at Hermione with a questioning look, which she immediately understood, `how do I get rid of this thing?'.

“Harry, levitate it, shrink it and put it with the fountains to be examined.” Hermione said as she rushed off towards the unconscious guests by the fountains while Harry shrunk the chandelier.

Once the chandelier was dealt with Harry started helping the wizards trapped underneath it. He recognised Draco's platinum blonde hair first. His foot had been caught under the chandelier and his ankle appeared to be broken. Their eyes locked and images of Hermione, Molly and Ginny flooded his mind. Harry had been totally unprepared for the legilimens spell and hadn't realised that Draco even knew how to cast it. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised that Draco knew the spell but casting it wordlessly and subtly was definitely a shock.

Harry did not make any attempt to use Occlumency to block him because he understood what he was asking. Harry immediately pulled up the memory of Hermione telling him what to do with the chandelier but he realised he had no clue where Ginny and Molly were and he tried to think of a big question mark in his head. Draco seemed to have understood and started searching the room. A slender witch pushed Harry aside and headed straight to Draco.

“Draco, sweety are you ok!”

“I'm fine Natalie. Let's leave these bumbling idiots to clean things up.” He said as he tried to stand and pretend to be uninterested in the whole situation but his calculating eyes never stopped searching the room. Draco leaned on her and started hopping out but stopped in front of Harry.

“You tell that idiot boss of yours that he'll have to pay to fix my foot.” He held his nose up in the air and continued on his way but was stopped by another Auror trying to question him about the incident. He couldn't help but smile when he heard Draco tell off the poor Auror. No one could ever guess that he worked for the order.

Harry continued helping the injured as there had been quite a few persons dancing and the amount injured was piling up. Many medics had arrived and Hermione summarised all that had happened. Wizards were being levitated to apparition points outside so the room was slowly being cleared of the injured. In the centre of the room only a few unconscious persons remained as Medics franticly worked to heal everyone.

Harry recognised two of the unconscious figures on the floor as Neville and Ginny. Neville was turned face down covering most of Ginny, as it appeared he tried to shelter her with his body. He called out to Hermione who was trying to calm a frantic Mrs. Weasley. Molly shouted for her baby and came storming over. Hermione was barely able to stop Molly from pulling Ginny to her, in case she injured Ginny further and shouted for some of the medics to help. She gently reached her hand under Neville's neck to check for a pulse before she would attempt to move him to get to Ginny. Her face went white and she looked up at Harry with sad eyes.

“He's dead.”

I hope you liked it. I rushed the end to be able to post today.

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15. Funeral

An: Very sorry for the extremely long wait.

Chapter 14 – Funeral

“He’s dead.”

Hermione’s voice seemed to echo around the room. Molly panicked and pushed even harder against Harry to get to her daughter. If Neville was dead did that mean that her daughter was gone as well? She needed to know if she was ok. A panic started building deep within her and all she could think about was getting to Ginny. The harder she tried to push Harry, the harder he pushed back. She couldn’t understand why he would keep her from her daughter.

The medics soon arrived and examined Neville reaching the same conclusion as Hermione. They then carefully rolled Neville off of Ginny, as they had to ensure that moving him would not cause further injury to the witch below him. Another medic removed his body so that the others had space to begin working on the redhead.

“She’s alive!” The medic said and the tense atmosphere seemed to lift just a little.

“My baby!” Molly cried in relief as she stopped struggling and let her full weight rest on Harry who was caught off guard by the quick change in her behaviour.

“She is unconscious and could have severe head injuries as well as some internal trauma. We’re taking her to St. Mungo’s now.”A medic informed them.

Molly quickly followed behind the medics and disappeared through the debris into the atrium. Both Harry and Hermione wanted to follow her but they knew they had a job to do. This would be Harry’s first crime scene as an Auror. All of the injured had been removed already and all that remained were shattered tables, debris from the walls and crystals from the once magnificent chandelier. Where would they even start in this mess?

“Auror Potter.” A small voice asked from behind him.

He turned around to find a witch in scarlet robes, a fellow auror. She must have been in her early forties as her hair was greying slightly and there were a few wrinkles on her face. He raked his brain to remember her name. She was in charge of the magic detection department. They operated a bit like forensic investigators in the muggle world.

“I need to take your statement about what happened now, while it’s still fresh in your mind. Everything you observed would be helpful. I need you to start from the moment you were assigned this mission.” She said.

“Why …” Harry opened his mouth to voice his opinion but the witch cut him off with a sigh.

“Auror Potter, this is obviously an inside job. In order to compile a full picture of the crime, I need to start from the moment this ball was conceptualised. Somewhere along the way, those fountains were included into the floo system and the sooner I can identify that moment, the sooner I can start to identify the leak. My staff and I need to interview over 100 persons involved. In the interest of time, it would be best if we do this now. Aurors can be quite difficult to track down.” The witch insisted.

Harry nodded and started recounting his day from the beginning. He glanced at Hermione and noticed she was talking to another Auror as well. When they were finished Kingsley approached them.

“Granger get some rest!” Kingsley ordered.

The witch opened her mouth to protest but he stopped her. “Potter, I’m ordering you to make sure she gets some sleep” When Harry gave him a very apprehensive look, because really, who could make Hermione do something she did not want to do, Kinglsey added, “Even if you have to tie her to you, you make sure she rests.”

“But..” the witch started again.

“No buts. You know Auror Mayweather is investigating. There is nothing you can do right now. We did not apprehend anyone to question and we have no leads at the moment. The best strategic move is for you to get rest and you know it.”

Hermione’s shoulders slumped and she dropped her gaze to the floor. She had lost that argument. “Come on Harry. Let’s get going.”

Harry nodded and followed Hermione out into the atrium.

“Where are we headed to?” Harry asked.

“St. Mungo’s of course,” was her quick reply before she disappeared.

Harry pictured his destination and soon he felt that familiar squeezing sensation and he was at his destination.

-*-

Luna was sipping tea in the kitchen as she anxiously awaited Ron’s arrival to find out how his first mission went. She knew he was nervous and he lacked confidence in his partner’s abilities. He was very uncomfortable working with a slytherin but if he wanted to do well he was going to have to get over that.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of her father. Being the lovely daughter that she was, she stood and kissed him on the cheek.

“Would you like some tea?” She offered kindly.

“I’m sorry Luna but I can’t stay long. I just came to give you the news.” He said solemnly.

Luna’s happiness evaporated immediately at her father’s tone. She knew that tone well, the tone of death. The tone her father had used countless of times when he informed her that they had lost someone in the order.

“Who?” was all she could ask. His eyes softened as he looked at his daughter.

“Neville,” He said sadly.

Luna’s hand shot out to steady herself against the chair as her whole world started to spin before her. Neville, her father had just said Neville. No, that was not possible. Neville was at the ball. He was safe at the ball. He was with Ginny and Harry and Ron and Hermione, how could something have happened. Her father could see her confusion and he started to explain about the attack.

Tears sprang to her eyes as he recounted what he had heard from Harry.

“I should go to St. Mungos,” Luna said hastily as she tried to walk past her father to get to the fireplace.

Her father stopped her and drew her into a hug. “No, it’s too crowded. There are many injured and twice as many family members waiting for news on loved ones. You probably couldn’t get in even if you used Harry’s cloak.”

Two other bodies joined the hug and Luna looked up to see Harry and Hermione. When would the time come that she they would not need to mourn the tragic loss of loved ones?

-*-

The next morning the atmosphere in the kitchen was quiet and depressing. By now, everyone had heard what had happened. Ginny was still resting in the hospital and had yet to wake up. The doctors said she was out of danger and her family was thankful for that but at the same time they dreaded telling her what had happened to Neville. They had agreed that Bill would break the news to her with Molly there to support her.

Ron had just arrived in the kitchen from the hospital and his stomach was growling for food but he just didn’t feel like eating. He felt guilty to be enjoying a meal at a time like this and he just paced around the kitchen while Luna and Harry watched him.

All of a sudden Draco’s voice drifted down the corridor and the three of them looked curiously at the door. Was he shouting? Suddenly the door swung violently open and Draco came barrelling into the kitchen with Hermione trailing behind him.

“I’m going to kill her! Dobby bring me the best poison we have. It needs to be untraceable.” Draco barked, his face the reddest anyone had ever seen.

“Draco, calm down,” Hermione pleaded.

“Calm down, is that all you can say. You were the one that guaranteed that this wouldn’t happen. You told me it was impossible.” He screamed at her frantically.

“Draco I..” she tried to respond.

“What you’re sorry, sorry does not cut it. The only way to fix this is to kill her.” The last remaining Malfoy insisted.

“Draco, be reasonable.” The brunette pleaded with her friend.

“This is reasonable. I could always torture her then kill her.” The platinum haired wizard pointed out.

He paced the floor like a caged animal while he waited for Dobby, who hesitantly went to fetch the poison.

“I should have asked Snape instead of you!” he screamed at the brown haired witch who flinched at his mention of Snape.

“Well if you feel Snape is so reliable, why don’t you go to him for a poison!” She shouted back without thinking.

“Maybe I will.” He said before he barged out the door.

Hermione dropped into the chair completely deflated.

“What was that about?” Harry asked.

“Natalie’s pregnant.”

“Oh no.” Luna gasped.

“It’s a good thing I found out before he did or I would be taking him to Azkaban again.” Hermione commented.

“How did you find out?”

“Overheard her talking last night. I’m thankful she hasn’t told him yet. If he had cracked like that with her it would have been a complete disaster.”

“What’s the big deal, so he knocked some witch up? He’s a Malfoy when has family meant anything to him. He’s always been so selfish. He is more concerned with himself than what’s going on around him.” Ron commented angrily.

“The Malfoy family pride is on the line. He would be the first one in recorded history to have a child outside of wedlock. She’s expecting him to propose once she gives him the news.” Hermione explained.

“Ron, he’s not as selfish as you think. Afterall, we are all living in his house. Why does it feel like everything is falling apart?” Luna cried..

In a very surprising moment, Ron covered Luna’s hand with his. “Everything will be fine. I promise you that. With Ron Weasley on the case, things will be back to normal in no time.”

That was the first time, Luna had smiled since the news of Neville’s death.

-*-

Draco emerged from the fireplace in Snape’s living quarters at Hogwarts to find that he was interrupting an intimate moment between his mentor and his wife on the sofa.

Victoria eyes snapped to the dust covered Draco. “This had better be life or death,” she threatened as the witch removed herself from her husband, grabbed her wand off the side table next to the sofa and summoned a robe from the bedroom to cover herself. Draco ignored her as he brushed the soot off of his robe.

“Don’t you ever clean your fireplace?” Draco snapped back at her.

The witch glared at him. “What is it this time? You do know that Snape and I have a life.”

“I would like to talk to him in private. This is none of your business.” Draco hissed completely unperturbed by the state in which he had found them.

Victoria raised her wand to hex him but Snape grabbed his wife’s hand.

“Let me handle this. Why don’t you wait for me in the bedroom,” he said smoothly.

“Fine, but I’m not doing this for you,” She said pointing at Draco. “I’m doing this because your father would want me to.”

Draco watched her walk away and then turned his attention to Snape. “She still has that ridiculous crush on my father?”

“Don’t mess with me Draco. What do you want?”

“A batch of your strongest poison that can’t be detected after death.”

Snape eyed the young wizard before him.

“In all the years that I taught you, did you learn nothing?” he asked.

“Just give it to me old man.”

“Don’t get rude with me, I can hex you back into the previous century.” Snape snapped.

“Just try, I’ve been practicing.” Draco spoke up bravely.

Faster than Draco could blink Snape had him disarmed and hanging upside down in the air. Snape sat down on the sofa and lowered Draco to eye level in front of him.

“Now that we are all settled, do you care to enlighten me what this is about?” he asked.

Draco crossed his arms on his chest stubbornly. “I need a poison.”

“Yes, I heard you the first time. Since you seem to be a bit slow today, why do you need the poison.”

“I want to poison someone.” Draco replied sullenly.

“Are you trying to make me mad enough to kill you?” Snape threatened.

Draco sighed. “Hermione failed. Natalie’s pregnant.”

“Oh, that’s all. I thought it was something more serious than that.”

“That’s all, that’s all you can say. This is serious. She’s pregnant, do you not understand, pregnant, as in going to have my child.” Draco responded angrily.

“I am well aware of what pregnant means. Victoria and I have been trying to have a child for a while now. This is something good Draco. You can continue the Malfoy line. Granted your child’s mother isn’t the best pick but your father would be satisfied that she’s a pure blood.”

Draco glowered at Snape at the reminder of what his father would have wanted.

“I think I will leave you here for a while to ponder what it means to be a father and the happiness you might find in taking care of a child.” Snape said as he abruptly turned and headed to his bedroom door.

Snape paused at the door way and then turned around. He transfigured his table into a long rope and levitated it up to Draco’s feet. He then tied one end of the rope around Draco’s feet and the other to ceiling.

“Just in case I can’t maintain you in the air while I’m busy with Victoria. Oh and bring me a sample of the potion you were using. I’ll figure out how this happened.” Snape said before turning around to attend to his wife’s needs.

-*-

Three days had passed since the incident at the Ministry. Ginny had woken up and had not talked to anyone since Bill had delivered the bad news about Neville. The Prophet had given her time off and she shut herself away in her room. Only Dobby had seen her when he took food to her room. She emerged today to go to Neville’s funeral. She knew she had to at least say goodbye. She had truly loved him and hoped that he would be the one that she would settle down with and have lots of children like her mother but that hope had been bitterly crushed.

She made her way straight to the floo chamber and ignored the concerned looks from her family. She would be meeting everyone in Flitwick’s office before heading to the Great Hall for the ceremony. As she dusted the soot off of her in the office, she was thankful that she had arrived before her mother. As much as she loved Molly, she didn’t want to be smothered today. She was sick and tired of people trying to ask her if she was ok. Of course she wasn’t ok. Neville had just died, did they really expect her to just pick up and move on so quickly. She glanced at the portraits on the wall and found that most of the previous headmasters were gone. She exited the office and made her way to the Great Hall. Her family should be able to find their way without her.

As Ginny walked through the hallways she realised that a part of her missed her days at Hogwarts, well at least the days that weren’t consumed with Voldemort. She had had a few friends in her year group and they used to sit in the common room and talk. She missed that. Maybe it was time to reconnect with some of her old friends and develop a life that didn’t revolve around Harry, the order and death. She had travelled the world and death still seemed to follow them. Maybe death could spare her from this pain and misery.

-*-

The Great Hall

All the students were gathered in the hall to pay tribute to Neville Longbottom, beloved Herbology Professor at Hogwarts and head of Gryffindor House. A beautiful picture of Neville in the greenhouse with his students stood on stage behind the teacher’s table. Neville moved about in the picture with a large smile on his face as he taught his students about different plants. Many of the students who were in that picture were crying at the memory.

It was a long ceremony. Prof. Flitwick was the first up to pay tribute to Neville. He gave a touching homage to his Herbology Professor, recounting fond memories while Neville was both a student and Professor at Hogwarts. Several other teachers followed Flitwick including both Grawp and Oliver Wood. A few of his outstanding students made short contributions, thanking Professor Longbottom for encouraging their love of Herbology and teaching them everything they knew about plants. Harry made a speech as well as a few of the Weasleys. Ginny chose to remain silent.

After the tribute, the cremation was held on the grounds. The Eulogy given by his grandmother, had everyone in tears. She had outlived all of her family and had nothing left. She mentioned to Remus that she would leave all of her belongings to The Order when it was her time to go because she knew that was what Neville would have wanted.

-*-

After the ceremony, Hermione spotted Snape talking with the new Ancient Runes teacher, Professor Adderwort and she decided it would be an excellent time to address a matter with Snape that had been troubling her.

“Can I talk with you a moment Professor?” She asked politely.

“Ah, Ms. Granger, I haven’t seen you in some time.” Snape sneered at her.

Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Snape’s act. “Please Professor, it would only take a moment and its Auror Granger now.”

“Excuse me, Lystra.” Snape said to his companion. “Let’s go to my office, that is, if you remember where it is Auror Granger.”

Hermione followed Snape through the familiar halls of Hogwarts until she reached his office. They entered quickly and Snape casted a spell on the door to prevent ease dropping. Hermione burst out laughing as soon as she knew no one could hear her. Snape gave her a piercing gaze.

“Now is not the time to find this funny.” The greasy haired wizard reprimanded her and she instantly sobered.

“What is this about? It couldn’t possibly have to do with the attack at the Ministry.” He commented.

“No it doesn’t. I assume you’ve heard about Draco.”

“Yes I did. He came to see me.”

Knowing Snape would not reveal the contents of his conversation with Draco, Hermione chose to move on. She handed him a piece of paper and he looked over the contents.

“This is quite a complex potion. Do you need help making it?” Snape asked to which he received a glare from the brunette witch.

“That is the potion that Draco was using to prevent Natalie from conceiving. I used a more complex potion because I wanted to avoid something like this happening. Not any potion maker could have deciphered those ingredients and found a way to counteract it.”

“Impressive, I see you were actually paying attention in my classes. I had feared that Potter and Weasley might have been a big distraction for you. There are two or three wizards that I know that are capable of this.” Snape said

“Who?” Hermione asked.

Snape levelled his gaze at her and appeared to be contemplating his words carefully.

“Let me handle this for you. It would be easier for me to find out and the pureblood community is aware that Narcissa had asked me to look after her son, so it would not be a surprise if I look for the potion master myself. After all, it would be assumed that I was the one that made this potion.”

Hermione opened her mouth to protest but Snape cut her off. “You should focus all your energies on the Ministry attack. That is the priority here.”

Hermione nodded her and turned to leave the office. As she opened the door, she commented loudly for any passerby’s to hear. “Thank you Professor for your unhelpful words.” before she slammed the door and stalked off.

Her mind was full of thoughts and she let her feet lead the way. Eventually she found herself standing in front of the area that lead to the Room of Requirement. Flashes of her dream ran through her mind. She was soon snapped out of staring by Nearly Headless Nick who had been sent to find her by Harry. She had completely forgotten that there was a meeting of the order that night and they needed to get back to the Manor to prepare.

-*-

The Order of the Phoenix

Molly called the meeting to order. It would be the first time that Harry and Ron would be attending a meeting since they took the vow to officially join. There were a lot more members here this time and Harry was mildly surprised to see a few more Slytherins. Ron’s partner was here and that seemed to ease Ron’s apprehension of working with her.

“I would like every member to give one minute of silence in honour of a fallen comrade Neville Longbottom.” Molly announced.

The silence was unsettling for Harry and he wondered how many times the order had done this before. He noticed a few more Aurors were here and he was glad that he could trust so many of his colleagues. The attack on the ball had shaken many people’s trust in Ministry officials as it was clearly and inside job.

“On to business, I believe Auror Mayweather is up first.” Molly announced

“Yes, thank you Molly. My department has discovered that the secretary to the Minister, Ms. Astoria Greengrass, sent a requisition to the magical procurement unit for magical fountains for the ball. Mr. Sparklewire at that division sent a memo back to Ms. Greengrass informing her that there were no distributors for the type of fountain that she required but that they could source a muggle fountain and charm it. Ms. Greenwater apparently agreed to that.” Auror Mayweather paused for a sip of water before continuing on.

“Mr. Sparklewire proceeded to source the fountains from a muggle decorating store. The fountains were procured the day of the ball and charmed in the ballroom before the event started. We have interviewed the wizards that charmed the fountains and at this point, we have no reason to hold them. We have therefore concluded that the fountains came already contacted to the floo system. I pass things on to Auror Granger now.”

“After Auror Mayweather discovered this information she brought it to me. Harry and I decided to pay the store a little visit as an engaged couple looking for decorations for our wedding. The store clerk recognised Harry and made a run for it. We were able to apprehend him. Aurors Bullstrode and Weasley were assigned to interrogate him while Harry and I investigated the store further. We discovered that the store had recently been purchased by one of Primus’s holding companies in the muggle world. Harry was able to get a list of the businesses owned under the holding company and we are currently investigating each one. We have informed our muggle counterparts of several businesses that are distributing drugs and weapons.”

Milicent Bullstrode stood at this point and started reporting on the interrogation. “The suspect refused to talk at first but after a few hours at Azkaban he was more than ready to talk. He claimed he needed a job and a wizard offered him the job as a clerk in the muggle store. He had been working at that store for a year and he said that many charmed objects have been sold from the store to muggles. I believe Auror Granger and Potter have a list of the clients that patronised the store. He was able to give us a description of the wizard that hired him. He knew him only as Magnus and he was the only wizard he dealt with.”

“Thank you for your report Aurors. I want all members to be on the lookout for suspicious activity and I want everyone to check their houses for items that might have listening charms on them. Percy as assistant to the Minister can you look into Ms. Greengrass?” Molly asked

“I know her, never thought she was involved in anything.” Percy responded.

“Be careful Percy. The Minister was most likely the target of the last attack. Even though the Aurors are providing more protection to the Minister, keep your eyes open.” Bill advised his younger brother.

“Since there is no other business to discuss, the meeting is adjourned. As usual Draco has generously provided some refreshments, please help yourself.” Molly announced.

Seamus made a beeline for Hermione. “Mione, I am so hurt! I’m injured for a short time and you go and get engaged to my replacement!”

She responded with a strong punch to his upper arm. “Bloody hell Hermione that hurt.”

“You know George,” Fred said coming up behind the two, “Whenever she responds with violence, we are usually right?” George agreed enthusiastically.

“So what’s it like snogging The Great Harry Potter then?” Tonks teased as well.

Hermione glared at everyone. “I should have kept my big mouth shut.”

“Oh come on Mione,” Harry said as he slung his arm around her shoulders. “It’s not that bad. I rather enjoy our time in the closet at headquarters.”

“Not you too Harry!” Hermione said trying to hide her blush in her hands.

“As long as you two stick to the closet you should be safe, I definitely don’t recommend Kingsley’s desk.” Ron said waggling his eyebrows at his two best friends.

“RON!!!!!!” Hermione shouted utterly horrified by his suggestion.

“That’s not a bad idea!” Harry said rubbing his chin as though he were deep in thought. A sharp elbow from Hermione quickly stopped his mocking.

Hermione wanting to change the topic decided to ask the twins about Ginny. That seemed to sober everyone up and remove the attention from her. Maybe her face could stop glowing red now.

Soon the refreshments were finished and members started to leave. Hermione decided to spend the night at the manor and she vehemently insisted to Ron, it was not to snog with Harry. In truth Hermione was staying to try and talk to Draco, he was avoiding her and she was hoping she could speak some sense into him. She watched Luna leave the room and knew she was going to try and approach Ginny who had not attended the meeting.

-*-

The next morning, Molly sat at the kitchen table looking at the sullen wizard in front of her. He was sitting with his hands crossed in front of his chest and a defiant look on his face. None of her children would dare show her this disrespect but this boy had not been raised like her sons.

“Draco Lucius Malfoy,” Molly stated sternly.

“Mother, don’t bother, he isn’t worth your time.” Ginny spat as she came through the door to the kitchen.

Both gave a surprised look at her sudden appearance. Before her mother could start up with her questions, Ginny stopped her.

“Mother I am fine. Neville died a week ago and I have stayed in this manor long enough. I’m ready to go to work and I’m ready to move out.”

“Oh, do you want to move in with me and Sol?” Molly asked hopefully.

“No mother, I want some space to myself.”

“But Ginny dear, I don’t think that’s the best thing for you right now. You need to be around family. Perhaps with Bill or with Charlie then?” Molly prodded further.

“The last thing I need right now is family. Every time I see one of you I’m reminded of everything Neville and I could have had but now will never have. I want the pain to go away. I need to heal and I don’t think I can do that with you or my brothers around.” Ginny explained sadly.

Molly wanted to protest, to tell her daughter that it was family that helped her survive when Arthur passed but Draco cut in.

“The apartment next to Natalie’s is vacant and Natalie is looking for someone to occupy it. Despite the Weasley’s low status among the pureblood families, she will rent it to you since only half bloods have shown an interest in it thus far.”

Molly disapproved of the idea right away and that was exactly why Ginny agreed to it.

-*-

Three cloaked wizards bowed before Primus.

“Were you able to get the Minister’s schedule?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I will not accept failure again. You were supposed to have killed the Minister at the ball. I expect him dead by the end of the week.”

The three nodded.

“And how is the other plan coming along?”

“It will be completed tonight master.”

“Excellent, by the time Granger realises what is going on, its going to be too late for her to save her precious friend this time.”