Author's Note: I know I haven't posted anything in a very long time, but I wrote this for the hghpficexchange over on LiveJournal. The prompt came from lily_pearl.
This is my first attempt at AU and I guess you could say it's the result of reading a lot of Agatha Christie and David Weber's Honor Harrington series.
Thank you many times over to my beta Anndee Granger.
Disclaimer: No money is being collected, no infringement intended upon the creative property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, or Warner Brothers. If I was JKR, I would not have an unfinished house with a huge mortgage.
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MERLIN Moon Base, Year 2209
As the Muggle governments had reached beyond the bounds of Earth, the Wizarding World had made their own move to keep up. Over the past 200 years, the International Statute of Secrecy had slowly broken down; yet there will still secrets kept, some out of habit and others out of necessity.
"Harry Potter, Auror Code 73179, requesting landing at MERLIN Moonbase."
"Permission granted, Auror Potter, proceed to Bay 19."
With the ease of having made many standard landings like this in his service with the Aurors, Harry landed with his mind still focused on the meeting that he had just come from, before returning to the base. Forcibly putting a pause to those thoughts, he set the ship down and began the post-flight checklist-nothing was important enough to avoid making sure the ship was completely shut down. As a rookie, Harry had been careless once and the verbal lashing he received from Shacklebolt was enough to ensure he never made the same mistake again.
A shock of ginger hair topping a lanky frame was waiting for Harry as he strode out of the ship.
"Have fun visiting the girlfriend, Harry?" joked Ron Weasley, Harry's partner and friend from their school days. He grabbed one of Harry's bags as they proceeded out the hangar doors that formed the boundary for the No-Magic zone. Working out the boundary between the two areas-allowing Muggle technology-had been the work of a team of the best and brightest of the Wizarding World, including the woman Harry had been meeting with, Hermione Granger.
Harry glanced back at Ron, and shook his head, smiling. As if there was anything between him and Hermione, as if there could be anything between them. Sure, they had been friends since their school days and people had talked, as some people like to do, but nothing had ever happened. She was an amazing witch-brilliant, good-looking, and had a determination to succeed that had landed her in an influential position in Auror intelligence.
"Ron, why haven't given up that old joke? It was just a casual meeting." Harry glanced significantly around them. Though he knew and trusted most of the people on the base, it was never wise to discuss certain matters in the open, where anyone could hear. "How about you help me unpack and we can discuss your latest theory on my lack of love life then?"
Laughing, Ron followed Harry through the various checkpoints and corridors, exchanging casual greetings to some of the others who were stationed on the moon base. They finally reached the hallway where they were both assigned rooms and Harry paused outside his door, placing his hand on a plate and silently casting the spell to open the room. Each occupant personally keyed their doors to their own magical signature and a specific spell of their choosing. A simple Alohomora would not even begin to have an effect on these doors.
Once the doors had been closed, a sweep ran for any devices that did not belong and the suite was made Imperturbable, Harry finally turned to his friend and said, "You're definitely going to want to hear what the intelligence office had to say and Hermione, herself, should be here in four standard hours. The threat is real, Ron."
"Merlin," whispered Ron, rocking back on his heels. "Do we know a target yet?"
"It'll be either here or the nearby British base as far as they know. The team was waiting for some last reports to come in about the latest group of Death Eater wannabes," replied Harry, wiping his hand across his face and then absentmindedly beginning to rub at his scar. It had been a tense few days as ideas were tossed around and a rudimentary plan formed before his return to the base.
"And what the bloody hell is Hermione coming here for? She's no field agent; she'll get herself hurt and it'd just be great publicity for the Minister to try to stick his nose in our business up here."
"I think you've forgotten how stubborn she is when she gets her mind on something. Plus, she's been a lot of help in the past and I know you two don't always get along that great, but-"
"It's not my fault she's a bossy know-it-all," retorted Ron.
Harry just sighed. "Let me get changed quick, and then we'll go report in. It's nearly dinner and I'm sure we have a long night ahead of us." Sighing, Harry closed the door on Ron and his mind drifted back to his own attempts to dissuade Hermione. Had he really tried as hard as he could have? Was it possible that he gave in easier than he should have, just because he wanted her close? Sure, there were number of smart, attractive witches stationed on the base, but Hermione was…special. Really, there was no other word to describe her, he mused as he grabbed a clean uniform out of the drawer. He had been thrilled to be chosen as the delegate to meet with her team back in London. Even if she saw him as only a colleague and an old friend, being around her was a pleasure, both personal and professional. She always had a new perspective, a well-thought out point to make, and he enjoyed how she challenged him to go beyond what was expected of him.
Harry finished getting dressed and hurried out to meet Ron, trying to push thoughts of Hermione out of his head in order to prepare for the meeting.
They made their way to the Head Auror's offices and were soon joined by several other ranking Aurors, enough to make a switch to the protected conference room. Food and drink were passed out and Harry made his report, confirming suspicions that many had had for months that Dark activity was quietly increasing. Life in the Wizarding World had been quiet for a long time, enough for some sectors to become complacent. Others, such as this group of Aurors and the team Hermione worked with back on Earth, simply became tenser as they knew that the other side would never stop scheming and the longer they waited, the more terrible the consequences would be for everyone.
"Without an exact target, there is little else we can do, unless Hermione brings us more intel, Potter." The Head Auror, Kingsley Shacklebolt, shook his head. Long hours of discussion and trying to plan for every eventuality had left them all tired and frustrated. "You all know what to do, now pass the word. Harry, Ron, I expect you two to meet Hermione and her team when they land and get her up to speed. Back at 08:00 everyone!"
Harry and Ron grabbed their stuff and made their way out of the conference room as quickly as possible.
"I thought that was going to go on forever!" Ron moaned as they hurried along the corridors towards the landing bay.
"C'mon, Ron, you won't regret all these preparations if we're the ones getting attacked," replied Harry, stepping through the doorway into the overlook for the landing bay. He could not wait until Hermione-and her team-landed safely, not that he was sure the moon base was any safer than London for her. They had always been friends, but maybe his new awareness of her was due to all the tension lately and the way she had so deftly handled it during his time back in London. Now she was coming here, he could not help but think that her arrival would be the end of the tensions that had been building for months. An end to tensions might not be a happy event. Harry was not sure why he was worrying so much about Hermione. She could certainly take care of herself and she had proved that more than once, but still, something could happen. When had he become so protective of her? If she were hurt-
"Here's the ship, Harry." Ron nudged him and they both turned to watch the carrier vessel dock without incident, the doors closing above the ship and atmosphere beginning to balance. "Well, guess we should go make sure they don't get held up…"
The guys headed out of the observation room and down the corridor. The passageway had just opened when-
BOOM!
Harry and Ron were both knocked off their feet and the walls shook with the force of the blast. Momentarily stunned, it took Harry a moment to get to his feet and continue to the door where Hermione should have come through.
"C'mon, Ron," the hoarse whisper came out and Ron groaned as he rolled over and slowly followed Harry to the door.
"Hurry, Terry, this way!" Hermione Granger burst through the door, half-dragging Terry Boot, one of her intelligence team members. They were both mussed up, blood seeping out of several cuts. Terry was the worse-looking of the pair, even if not for the obviously broken arm, he appeared on the edge of panic, which was not surprising considering that his main job was to sit at a desk and analyze reports from field agents, not be in the field himself. Hermione on the other hand was obviously determined to move forward and not let something like an explosion get in the way of her completing her mission to bring vital information to the moon base.
"Hermione!" called Harry, the force of his relief at seeing her alive and mostly unharmed caught him off guard. He rushed over to her, Ron stumbling behind him, and caught her hand. Squeezing it, he pulled out his wand and quickly scanned them both, in case she was worse off than she appeared. He could not remember how many times she had pushed herself further than she should have and nearly done herself grave injury because she would not pause to take care of herself. Satisfied that she was really ok, he met her eyes, and could not bear to ask the obvious question.
"What about the rest of the team?" asked Ron, heading past Hermione and Terry to the door.
"They're dead. All of them. Help me with Terry. He needs to get to the infirmary." Hermione's face was blank, as if she could not allow herself to deal with the human tragedy at the risk of losing her composure completely.
Running steps were heard behind them as the on-duty Aurors and Healers made their way to the accident scene.
"They'll get this area locked down and take care of Terry, Hermione. Let's get you out of here." Harry began to pull her to the side, before any of the officers could waylay her for questioning. "Ron, handle this please."
After passing Terry off to Ron, Harry wrapped his arm around her, with a little thrill shooting through him at the contact. He began to lead her back to the conference room where he and Ron had spent the last few hours.
"Thank you, Harry…oh Merlin-they're all gone. I mean, we were expecting an attack, but here? When we've only just arrived?" Hermione began to walk faster as her agitation grew. "I thought we would have time to prepare. What have you been doing since I saw you? Honestly, how could this happen?" She stopped in the middle of the corridor, turning to Harry with her eyes blazing.
Harry recoiled from her accusations, and then opened his mouth to retort, but did not get a chance as she had taken a deep breath and hurried off again. Harry had to rush to keep up.
"I think this is only the beginning, Hermione," Harry reasoned as he caught up with her. "I don't know why they tipped their hand, but they failed to kill you and I think the next attack will be far worse and soon." As if the loss of eight lives were not enough, how many more would die before they could put a stop to the attacks?
They reached the conference room without further incident and Kingsley was waiting for them. "Please accept my condolences for you team, Hermione," he said as they came through the door.
She paused, only for a moment, then responded, "Thank you, sir. I'm glad that at least Terry and I were to make it through. Hopefully, we can prevent further tragedy."
Kingsley nodded solemnly, then continued, "I don't mean to be callous, but we need the information you brought so we can try to prevent a second attack."
"Of course, sir," Hermione responded, moving away from Harry to take the place Kingsley had designated at the front of the room.
"Ever since the defeat of Voldemort many years ago, we have kept our attentions on those who we suspected had supported him during that time, yet were unable to prove a connection." Hermione gestured as she spoke, keeping her composure over the loss of her team. "Those who had a taste of such power certainly would not be satisfied with a normal life and would certainly try something again. And so, we have been expecting a resurgence in violence for years, but have never been able to pinpoint when and where. Until now. Somehow, they have infiltrated this base's security and I fear the next attack will come at any time and will hit a vital system here on the base."
Harry stood back during her speech, admiring her strength, yet worrying about her as well. She certainly would not stay out of the action, whenever it began. It would be easier to stand down a rampaging hippogriff than to convince Hermione that she should stay safe. Then again, would anywhere on this base be safe? Harry paused in this line of thinking and chided himself, after all, he certainly was no stranger to taking risks. If anything, he tended to find himself in dangerous situations quite regularly. She certainly could take care of herself and had proven that in many situations in the past. So, why was he worrying so much?
Harry's thoughts were abruptly broken off as klaxons began to sound and Ron came running into the room.
"Communications have been attacked and there's fighting near the weapons center!" Ron gasped, trying to catch his breath as the gathered senior Aurors began to move towards the door.
"Stop!" Kingsley said, his voice magically amplified to fill the room. "Potter, Weasley, take two others with you and head to the weapons center. The rest of you go to your stations and make sure that these perpetrators cannot escape this time. They will likely try to steal a ship to make it off the base."
The Aurors scattered and Harry soon realized that Hermione was following Ron and himself, just as he knew she would.
"What are you doing, Hermione?" Ron shouted. "Leave this to us; we're the ones trained for it."
"I think I know how to defend myself, Ronald Weasley," Hermione replied, her breathing heavy as she followed the quick pace set by Harry.
"Both of you, quit it!" Harry shouted over his shoulder, not surprised that their bickering would start at such an inconvenient time. "She's saved both of our arses more than once when we were younger, and is she just supposed to sit and do nothing?"
"Well, thank you Har-" she was cut off when all three flung themselves to the ground as the wall to their left exploded outwards, flinging chunks hard enough to bounce off the wall on the opposite side. The charmed wall lights went out, having been broken in the explosion.
They came up to a crouch, facing outwards from each other, wands seeking a target and a chill settled over their senses as they felt anti-Apparition wards surrounding them. A small movement in the shadows of the corridor ahead and Harry began firing Bludgeoning Curses in the general area of the motion, while Ron maintained a shield against counterattacks..
"Diffindo! Reducto!" shouted Hermione as dark-clothed attackers started firing towards them down them from a side corridor they had just passed by. Hermione ducked as a green curse sailed overhead, trying to shelter behind some of the rubble.
Hearing a few sickening thuds from behind him, Harry and Ron then switched to where Hermione was firing. Harry ignored the Cutting Charm that sliced a shallow gash on his thigh, and brought down the last attacker with a Piercing Charm through the head.
Breathing heavily, they all remain crouched for a minute, their wands never stopping while blood continued to run from a myriad of scrapes and cuts.
They glanced at each other, a look of mutual understanding that they had to get out of there and fast; but before Harry could report in, reinforcements arrived for their attackers from both sides. In a matter of moments, they had several broken bones and deep lacerations.
"Back this way!" Harry shouted, half-crawling, half-dragging Hermione, while Ron covered them both, into the shattered a room whose wall had blown open to get a reprieve from the barrage.
Ron got off a few shots, one body dropping to the floor, before he was knocked unconscious by a stray piece of building material ricocheting from a missed spell.
"We could use some back-up!" Harry growled over the comm to the other Aurors in the vicinity.
Harry hid just inside the wall, sending the occasional shot out, blood running into his eyes knowing the team would be there momentarily. Over the commotion, he heard two metallic objects hit the ground.
"Bullocks," he moaned and both he and Hermione threw up hastily-conjured shields. The first blast and then the second hammered the shields with magical energy and splintered the roof above them. They both looked up in horror as the roof above them broke open.
"Harry, the shields!" screamed Hermione as she changed her shield from one to protect against spells to one that could hold the air in, if only for a moments. Harry quickly followed suit.
Four Aurors Apparated nearby, and only two survived as two were pulled out into space before the auto-defenses went into effect and a more permanent shield covered the opening.
Hermione and Harry gratefully let go of their shields, gasping to fill their lungs with oxygen. He looked over at her, pride and concern warring in his mind.
"Over here! Auror down!" Harry called as loudly as he was able.
One of the Aurors slapped an infirmary Portkey on Ron, who quickly disappeared. The other stayed back, his wand out, while he searched for the attackers.
"Ok, here's what we do next," Harry began, before pausing to cough. "You two head back the way you came and search out the attackers who came from that direction. Hermione and I are going to keep moving forwards." Before they had a chance to respond, Harry dragged Hermione to her feet and moved forwards, not wanting to stay in one place and risk being attacked again.
Hours later, they stumbled back into the conference room, having searched all over the moon base for the attackers.
"Report, Agent Potter," barked Shacklebolt as Harry made his way to a chair and some refreshments.
"Hermione figured out that they had landed outside the base and come across the surface, being let inside the facility by infiltrators waiting for them. We are willing to help with interrogations if need be, sir."
"No need. Get yourselves cleaned up and I will expect you on the case after six hours of downtime. Understand?"
They nodded, slumping into each other.
"Good, get out of here." Shacklebolt waved them away and went back to working on getting his moon base operational again.
Harry started the slow path back to his rooms, going several meters before realizing that Hermione was following him. "Umm… I can show you to the guest quarters…except that the infirmary has taken over those rooms and so..."
"Oh, yeah…" Hermione just stood there, the events of the past few hours temporarily overwhelming her normally quick mind.
"Here, you can use my rooms. I can find somewhere else, just bunk with Ron or something," muttered Harry, thinking that Ron's room was definitely not where he wanted to be at the moment. "This way."
They continued down the corridor, Harry catching Hermione when she stumbled and then keeping his arm around her, just in case. She did not seem to mind and he certainly was not going to stop in the meantime.
"It's just in here," Harry paused, going through the security procedures to get into his quarters. The door opened and he moved aside to let her through. "I guess I'll just see you in a few hours, ok? You should be able to find everything you need."
"Harry, it's ok. You can come in your own rooms. I don't think I could sleep right now anyways." Hermione stepped through the door and turned around, waiting for him to follow.
Almost tripping over his own feet, Harry followed her and the door slid shut behind him.
Hermione walked over to a couch and sunk down into it, her head in her hands. "So many dead," she murmured, "I'm here and there are so many…"
Harry came over and sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her. He was not sure how she would respond, but he needed to do something for this amazing woman who seemed on the verge of a breakdown. "We'll figure it out. I promise you, we won't let them go unpunished this time, or let them hurt anyone else."
"You promise?" she asked, lifting her head to meet his eyes.
"Of course." Harry gulped, "We'll do it together. You did wonderfully tonight, Hermione, better than some trained Aurors. There's no one else I would rather have by my side." Harry thought he sounded a bit silly, but it was the truth. Ron had gotten himself hurt, but Hermione had been by his side the whole time.
"I like the sound of that," replied Hermione. "But, watch out, I tend to be rather stubborn and not let go of a project once I've started on it."
"Oh, I think I can handle that," Harry responded, pulling her closer, wondering how far she would let him go and hoping things would not stop here. After all, she had wanted him in here with her and that was a good sign.
"Partners?" Hermione sat up and stuck out her hand towards him.
"Sure," responded Harry, a bit disappointed, but at least it was a start. After all, she certainly would not be leaving anytime soon and he was sure that things could only get better from here. After all, certainly the two of them working together could finally figure this mystery out and who knows what could happen in the meantime.