Sunday, June 30th, 1994
The following morning, after a wonderful night's rest in her comfortable new bed, Hermione Granger stepped out of her bedroom and crept down the hall toward Harry's room. She opened the door slightly and peered inside. She smiled when she found Harry still asleep, snuggled into his blankets. He looked so peaceful and adorable when he was asleep. No worries about anything while in the safety of his slumber. She wondered if he was dreaming of anything. Perhaps he was dreaming something similar to what happened the previous evening.
Hermione blushed as her mind began to wander back to the previous evening. She had decided in the middle of her shower to try something new in her relationship with Harry. Even then, it took her a good amount of that Gryffindor courage to decide to straddle Harry and remove her pyjama top revealing her breasts to him. Even more courage to let him touch and fondle her. She had been quite worried about what he would think of her breasts. They were only Full B's at the moment, and would grow nearly another full cup size by the time she turned eighteen.
She also knew Harry had seen breasts before – during the summer before the Horcrux hunt, Ginny had bragged to her that Harry had seen her breasts. Hermione had to control her jealousy, at the time, that Ginny had gotten to a point in her relationship with Harry before their breakup to become that intimate with him. She had never told Ginny about her feelings for Harry. She knew it would only cause issues between them, and back then, Ginny had been her best girlfriend, almost like a little sister.
When she saw Harry's expression the moment he first saw her breasts, Hermione had known she shouldn't have worried at all. He thought she was beautiful. His compliment had almost made her reach her high point at that moment! Hermione blushed as she thought of the moment she did reach her orgasm. She still couldn't believe Harry was able to do that to her, just by playing with her breasts! It made her feel confident that she would be able to please him in the future. And it made her love him even more.
Hermione silently closed Harry's door, turned and started making her way through the second floor corridors. As she passed Tonks' room, she could hear the older witch moving around – obviously she was getting dressed for the day.
Hermione smiled when she thought about the half-hour she had spent with Tonks the previous night. Tonks might behave more like a tomboy than a young lady, but she knew her way around beauty techniques, especially when it came to charms! She had been quite impressed when Tonks had been able to successfully turn her bush of wild hair into a smooth, short and beautiful length, simple enough for a ponytail – all with scissors and her wand. Hermione had asked her how she was so good at it, since she could change her hair into anything in a blink of an eye. Tonks replied that she learned a lot of beauty techniques in woman's magazines she read while trying to get ideas for different appearances.
Hermione wondered if she should use that technique, now that she would be something similar to a Metamorphmagus for a few hours at a time, all thanks to the Metamorph Jewelry.
She continued down the corridor, not stopping at all when she passed the library. She had other things she needed to be doing that day. She could not distract herself with random books that had nothing to do with her current mission. They could wait for later. Besides, as Harry had said the previous night, she had her whole life to explore the library.
She made her way to the main floor of the Manor and soon arrived at the Event Room, where she found Remus sitting alone at the small circular table. He was eating breakfast, while reading a book and jotting down notes. His talent at multitasking reminded Hermione of herself.
"Good morning, Remus," Hermione said, as she sat down at the table.
"Greetings," Remus said, smiling over his book.
"What are you reading?" Hermione asked.
"Reeducating myself in the art of Warding and Protective Enchantments," Remus said. "Something I haven't thought about since Seventh Year at Hogwarts. I'm trying to figure out the common Wards we might run into at the Death Eater residences. I want to try to apply the Wards to the Greenhouse out back and have the house-elves overcharge them. I'm wondering if they're going to have to overcharge each ward, or if they can do it all at once. Or both, in some cases. For example, the Alarm Charms need to be taken out first so we don't alert the residents. Also, I'm hoping to come upon some type of advanced silencing technique, so that when the Wards do get destroyed, it doesn't make a sound loud enough to wake anyone."
"I wish I could be of some assistance," Hermione said, "But I skipped my Seventh Year to hunt for the Horcruxes."
"Bet that wasn't the easiest decision to make," Remus said, smiling wryly.
"I cried myself to sleep the night I made that decision," Hermione said, in a joking manner, "I did hope I'd be able to make up my Seventh Year the following year, but obviously, things happened differently. And here we are."
"Hopefully this time there will be no reason to drop out of Hogwarts," Remus said, smiling.
"Fingers crossed," Hermione said; she glanced at his breakfast, and realized it was a beef steak, a bit on the rare side – then she realized why it was his breakfast. "Remus? When is the full moon?"
"Tomorrow," Remus said, smiling grimly, "Don't worry. I'm already preparing myself. Sirius surprised me with a supply of Wolfsbane a couple nights ago, enough for this cycle. Had my first dose yesterday, and I'll take my second this afternoon and third tomorrow. I still can't believe I messed up so badly earlier this month. I know better than that."
"With everything we know Dumbledore has done," Hermione said, "Do you think it is possible he compelled you to forget to take the potion?"
"I don't know," Remus said, sighing, "My mental capabilities are tougher than usual. Actually, I think Severus Snape is to blame more for this one. He delivered the last potion rather late. I was out on the Grounds doing my rounds, and had full intention on taking the Potion when everything happened. I had the Marauder's Map with me, so I had been searching for students, and had seen you, Harry and Ron out and about. I suppose I thought I could escort you in, and still have time to take my Potion before heading out to the Shrieking Shack. Now I know it was a mistake, and it will never happen again."
"Where are you transforming?" Hermione asked, "Is there a place here on the Grounds?"
"No," Remus said, "I'm going back to my old haunt – my parents' old cottage. The cottage was attacked and burned to the ground during the Great War. My parents were dead by then. But the cellar I transformed and stayed in during the full moon survived. It will be the first time in many, many years that Sirius and I get to run together. I wouldn't call what happened earlier this month a Full Moon Run like we used to do."
"I was thinking of something last night when Harry was showing me his family's Grimoire," Hermione said, "Did the Marauders learn how to become an Animagus by reading stuff in the Grimoire?"
"You would think so, since James showed us so much in that book," Remus said, "But no, it wasn't in there. At least not then. James wrote out the process in full detail in the Grimoire when he finally took possession of it. He thought his future children might use it to learn the process." He sighed, wistfully, "Actually he hoped he would be the one to teach his children."
"Would you and Sirius teach Harry and I how to become Animagi?" Hermione asked.
Remus smiled. "I'll tell you what. Right now you and Harry are both focused on this end-game mission of yours with defeating Voldemort, and this summer is pretty busy as it is. How about next summer, if you're successful with your plan, Sirius and I can teach you and Harry then. And I suppose his other future wives could join us if they wish. I'm not saying you'll complete the process by the time next summer ends. I'd be astounded if you did, actually. But it will give you something to work on, since next summer may not be as eventful as this one."
"Alright," Hermione said, nodding, "I can agree with that."
Harry and Tonks both walked into the Event Room a moment later and sat down at the table, then greeted Remus and Hermione. Harry had his Grimoire with him. Hermione smiled when Harry kissed on the cheek in extra greeting. She blushed lightly when she noticed Remus smiling mischievously as he watched them.
Remus cleared his throat. "So now that Harry is here, I suppose I should mention something. Thought I would clear things up a bit. I went by your room last night, Harry, simply to check and see if you had settled in well. And – well – the door was closed and magically locked and muffled. And Hermione was nowhere to be found elsewhere in the house."
Hermione squeaked and tried to keep her cheeks from blushing. Harry was staring at his book, and had a small smile on his face. Tonks was studying the two of them carefully with an odd smile.
"It's not what you think!" Hermione said, embarrassed that her voice sounded so high, then she cleared her throat. "Well, I suppose it was. But not exactly."
"What was that my Dad asked me the first time I fooled around with a boy?" Tonks said, talking out loud to herself. "Something American. Definitely Muggle. Oh, yes! Baseball term... what base did the two of you get to last night?"
Harry coughed, and glanced at Hermione out of the corner of his eyes.
"Ah... Second?" Hermione said, trying to remember the Baseball metaphor for intimacy.
"Way to go, Harry!" Tonks said, grinning; she snickered when Harry blushed, then she turned to Remus, "Do you know what means, Remus, or do I have to try to come up with the correct Quidditch metaphor? I might be wrong, though. My mother is a Healer, she didn't use Quidditch metaphors with me."
"My sympathies," Hermione said, "My mum was the same way. Twice."
Remus looked very amused. "I believe I know what that means. Don't worry, kids. I'm not here to scold you for anything you might do. I'm not your parents. Did Sirius, myself, or another male role model talk to you about magical contraception in the previous timeline, Harry?"
"Molly made Arthur do it the summer before fourth year in the last timeline, whilst I was at the Burrow," Harry said, "I clearly remember it, thanks. Not that I have had to use it yet."
"'Yet' is the keyword," Tonks said; then she grinned as she looked past Harry and Hermione, "Sirius! There you are. You missed quite the conversation, cousin. Blackmail material!"
"Does this have anything to do with those few minutes in which Harry's bedroom door had a Muffliato Charm on it?" Sirius asked, as he sat down at the table.
Hermione groaned and buried her head in her hands.
"Ah, so that would have been your spell-work," Sirius said, "Future note, Hermione. Apply the Muffliato to the curtains of the bed – ah, crap. The beds here don't have those. Well, conjure curtains and apply the charms."
"Or just magically lock the doors, which you apparently did," Tonks said.
"Never stopped Sirius," Remus said.
"I was young and mostly immature back then!" Sirius said, "So... how far did you get, Harry? I know Muggle baseball metaphors! My one girlfriend, who was not a one-night stand, aside from Amy was a Muggleborn, just to piss off my parents, and baseball metaphors for sex was just one of the many things she taught me! So which one was it?"
"Second base," Tonks said.
"Good man!" Sirius said, grinning. "Godfather duty time. Been given the Sex Talk, kid?"
"Yes," Harry muttered.
"Know the Contraceptive Charms?" Sirius said.
"Yes," Harry muttered.
"There you go then," Sirius said, "Do it yourself. Don't rely on the girl to have done the charm herself, or have taken a Contraceptive Draught."
"I take offense to that!" Tonks said, and Hermione nodded her head in agreement.
"No offense meant!" Sirius said, "I'm just saying that advice prevented a lot of pups being sired by this dog."
"Odd visual images, Sirius," Hermione said, "Thanks."
"Okay, then, change of subject," Harry said, "Remus, you'll be happy to know that I have finished my homework."
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Already? Hermione helped you, didn't she?"
"Did you really think I had never heard of the Index Charm?" Hermione asked.
"Ah," Remus said, "I had momentarily forgotten I was working with the smartest witch of her age."
"Yes, well, next time you'll remember that," Harry said, then tapped his wand on the cover of the Grimoire, "Indicum Metamorph."
A few moments later, the book was open to the Metamorph Jewelry page.
"I assume this was what you were talking about?" Harry asked.
"Indeed," Remus said, "I figured we'll need at least two pieces of jewelry a piece, to last us six hours a night, since they last for three hours a piece.. Hermione, you'll have the easiest choice. You can simply wear two earrings, and we can enchant them both. My best bet would be to buy some costume jewelry. As long as it is gold or silver – no, it wouldn't affect me, it isn't pure silver – it can be enchanted. Well, then I suppose we should take a shopping trip to get the supplies. After breakfast, so we can begin training this afternoon."
"Good plan," Sirius said, "Speaking of shopping, I spoke to Dobby earlier. He was looking for you, Harry, but you were asleep. He purchased five mannequins from St. Mungo's last night, and was able to get them for fifty galleons a piece. A deal, since the training mannequins usually go for one-hundred a piece. I guess he got a discount because they were technically used. They're currently in the basement. When we go by the Apothecary, to buy ingredients for the Metamorph Jewelry, we can also get some ingredients for the fake blood used in the mannequins."
Hermione grimaced. "Once again, I'm too hungry to lose my appetite."
Harry chuckled and called for Melina. The elf appeared and delivered breakfast for those who hadn't eaten yet.
Life at the Manor became quite busy once the group returned from Diagon Alley. At the marketplace, they had purchased several Potions ingredients as well as some costume jewelry that was much cheaper than normal jewelry, but still passable for the Metamorph Jewelry enchantment.
In the Manor's basement, Remus and Sirius built a Potions Laboratory on Sunday afternoon. There, they started brewing the Metamorphmagus Jewelry Potion, and the fake blood Potion for the mannequins.
Meanwhile, in a separate section of the basement, Harry and Hermione set up two of the mannequins – The other three mannequins would be filled with the fake blood Potion and used for the situation training - and resumed their knife-throwing training, practicing distance and speed. Unlike their normal training, Harry and Hermione were now using the actual throwing knives they had purchased at the sporting goods store, instead of their pocket knives. Remus had been watching them during their training from afar while working at the Potions Lab. After several minutes of watching Harry and Hermione have to retrieve their knives when they threw them, Remus called for them to stop.
"Notice something we're doing wrong?" Hermione asked.
"Your accuracy, distance and speed are excellent, I will give you that," Remus said, "However, every time you throw your knife, you have to retrieve it by hand."
"So then we should summon them?" Harry asked.
"Yes, but not with your wand," Remus said, "The point in using your knives is if your wand gets disarmed. Correct?"
"Or close combat when spells could become too dangerous," Hermione said.
"Well, if you don't have your wand, you can't summon your knife very easily, now can you?" Remus asked, "Fortunately, I have another idea."
Remus conjured a wooden block, then picked up one of the Potions knives and began carving into it. Then he took a quill and wrote something on his hand. He levitated the block then sent it floating across the basement and placed it on the center of the floor. He then set his wand down and walked away from it. He held out his hand, then closed his eyes. Suddenly, his hand began to sparkle, and the wooden block flew across the basement and settled into hand.
"Bloody hell," Harry gasped, "How did you do that?"
"Wandless magic?" Hermione guessed.
"No," Remus said, as he walked over to Harry and Hermione, "Though some might see it as wandless magic."
He showed them the block and his hand. Carved into the block was a runic symbol. Written on his hand in ink was the same symbol.
"Runic magic!" Hermione gasped.
"Indeed," Remus said, "This is a summoning rune. It is taught to you in Ancient Runes in your seventh year. But it is a bit more complex then that. You have to vision the object coming toward you in your mind's eye. And it can only work on the object which has the runic symbol on it."
"Mind's eye?" Harry asked, "Isn't that Divination talk?"
Remus smiled and shook his head. "Professor Trelawney might tell you that the mind's eye is merely used for Divination. But in literal talk, it is just picturing something in your mind. In this case, your knife, coming toward you and into your hand."
"Ah, won't that be dangerous?" Harry asked, "I mean... a knife flying through the air back toward us. It could stab us."
"True," Remus conceded, nodding, "Which is why you need to practice. First, you'll practice with objects like this block. Then once you've mastered that, we can move to the knives. I can enchant the knives to blunt them. It won't actually harm the knives, but they won't harm you either. Once you're able to catch the knives at a speed that could be useful in combat, then, and only then will we sharpen the knives again. I doubt you'll be able to master that all today. So that is what you'll work on when we're not doing situation training."
Remus instructed the young couple on how to draw the runic symbol on their palms, and carve it onto the object. They would have to draw the symbol on their palms every single time they wanted to use the knives, so Remus made sure they understood how to do it. Over the next few hours, whilst they were waiting for the Metamorphmagus Jewelry Potion to brew, Harry and Hermione practiced the runic Summoning, as they attempted to summon the wooden blocks. By the time the Potion was finished, they were able to summon the blocks at various speeds and distances. Remus was thrilled with their progress, and said they could move onto blunt knives the following day, after their first session of situation training.
Once the Potion was done, Harry, Hermione, Sirius and Remus each placed two pieces of jewelry in bowls filled with the Potion. Hermione had two earrings, Harry had a ring and a necklace, Sirius had a ring and an earring, and Remus had a ring, and a bracelet. Once the jewelry was soaked in the Potion for the required time, Remus taught them how to perform the incantation. He wished for them to do the incantations for their own jewelry, deciding it was a good 'teachable moment.' Shocking both of them, Harry and Hermione were able to get the incantations correct the very first time. Their jewelry turned several colors before returning to its normal form – exactly what the instructions in the Grimoire had said.
Harry and Hermione were rather disappointed when Remus told them they couldn't try the jewelry immediately. They needed to think about what disguises they would use, and advised them on using something original, and not copying off of someone they knew at Hogwarts or in their own lives. So for the remainder of Sunday, Harry and Hermione focused on both coming up with disguises, as well as working on more strategies for their situation training.
The next few days at Potter Manor, were busy and exciting for Harry and Hermione as they went through situation training. They also learned quite a lot. On Monday, Harry and Hermione learned that the strategies they thought were excellent and nearly infallible, weren't so infallible at all.
Remus and Sirius had decided that the situational training should be in steps. The first step was maneuvering through the house and corridors, making sure every room they encountered was empty. Once they could stealthily maneuver through the house and reach their destination, then they would move on to the next step.
The very first time Harry and Hermione tried to sneak through Potter Manor, while they were sneaking through the bottom floor, making sure any rooms they passed were empty, before they would head for the second floor, they learned they had already made mistakes fairly quickly. Dobby – who had been instructed to listen for any possible signs of an 'intruder' in the house; he was rather confused when he learned Harry and Hermione should be seen as intruders – had caught the young pair almost immediately.
They had thought that the Invisibility Cloak and Disillusionment Charms would work, but had forgotten they could still be heard. It wasn't until they were caught for the third time in a row, that Hermione realized what they had done wrong. She told Harry to apply the Muffliato Charm to his shoes, and did the same herself. The idea had worked, and both Remus and Sirius were quite impressed when they had made it to their destination. The Marauders congratulated Harry and Hermione for thinking of a perfect way to get by house-elves.
Harry and Hermione had a lot of fun deciding on disguises. Because their targets were mostly purebloods, they knew it was a rare chance that any of their targets would recognize Muggle movie characters. Hermione had come up with the brilliant idea of using human characters from Disney animated movies. The problem was that Harry had never watched the movies, and Potter Manor was too magical to allow electronics like televisions and video players. So, Hermione had requested to go to a Muggle bookstore, Monday afternoon, where she picked out several children's stories that were basically Disney movies in book-form. Harry and Hermione picked out various characters for their disguises. Harry chose Aladdin, Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid, and the human form of the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Hermione chose Jasmine, Ariel, and Belle.
Whenever they weren't assisting Harry and Hermione with their situation training, Remus and Sirius were training the house-elves to overcharge wards. They had put together several wards on the greenhouse, and had the house-elves overcharge them. Because these wards weren't connected to the wards around Potter Manor, the overcharged wards did not damage the others. It took a total of three days before Remus and Sirius were satisfied that the house-elves could overcharge the wards with enough power to destroy them. They also were happy to learn that they could split the house-elves into two teams, so they could work on two locations at once. The only downside was it took five elves a bit longer to overcharge wards than it did with ten. Remus and Sirius had debated whether using ten at once, then sending them to a different location. They decided against it, unless they became desperate.
Friday, July 4th, 1994
The fourth of July. Across the pond, the citizens of the United States of America were celebrating Independence Day. At Potter Manor, in Northampton, Harry and Hermione hoped they would have something to celebrate by the end of the day. Today was their last scheduled day of situation training. It was now or never. They needed to impress Remus and Sirius, or they would have to agree to put off their assassination missions for another week.
It was their first session of the morning. Harry and Hermione were disguised as Prince Eric and Ariel from The Little Mermaid. They had just made their way to the second floor of Potter Manor, having avoided detection by house-elves thanks to their muffled footsteps. They were currently sneaking through the corridor, tip-toeing along the walls. When they reached a fork in the corridor, Harry stopped Hermione, and peered around the corner. He could hear no footsteps, nor see any signs of mannequins, representing a random, unplanned target walking through the corridor to or from a bathroom.
He motioned for Hermione to move forward, and pointed his wand down the hallway, in case something or someone appeared. Hermione started to slowly walk her way down the corridor and Harry followed behind her, looking over his shoulder for anyone behind him. When they made it to the target bedroom, they stood along the wall on either side of the door. Hermione waved her wand along the doorway, then gave a thumbs-up signal, meaning there were no locking or protective enchantments on the door. Harry stood at the door and pointed his wand forward, while Hermione opened the door.
Harry stepped into the room, followed by Hermione. She remained at the door, in case anyone came in. Harry slowly walked forward and pointed to his target, a mannequin on the bed "sleeping". Harry could only see its head and neck. The rest of its body was covered by a blanket. Harry pointed his wand at the target and whispered "Stupefy!" Then he made a slicing maneuver with his wand, and muttered "Diffindo!". The "skin" on the mannequin's neck sliced open as fake blood began pouring from it.
"Congratulations," Remus Lupin said, as he appeared from under a Disillusionment Charm on the far side of the room. "You just killed an innocent."
Harry stared at Remus. "What?"
Remus pointed his wand at the bed, and the blanket floated away from the mannequin. Harry's eyes widened as he saw that the mannequin was the size of a child.
"Your target was Lucius Malfoy," Remus said, "You just killed Draco Malfoy. I believe we agreed that the children were to be left alone."
"I could clearly see the mannequin's face," Harry argued, "I think I would have known if it was Draco."
"What if his face was turned to the side?" Remus asked, "Or facing his pillow?"
"You told us the target was in this bedroom!" Hermione said.
"How can I possibly know where the targets sleep at night?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrows. "You don't know which bedroom holds your target. Your true target is actually down the corridor in a different bedroom."
"So Draco Malfoy is dead," Harry said, "I move on and kill his father."
"Harry!" Hermione scolded, "We agreed -"
"Casualty of war," Harry cut in.
"Maybe, maybe not," Hermione said, "But what if you mistook him for his father? What if you assumed you just killed Lucius? A few days later, we find Draco Malfoy was discovered dead with his throat slit, and Lucius Malfoy is alive and well?"
"And very very angry wanting to avenge his son," Remus said, "The point of this exercise was to make you aware that your target won't always be in the first bedroom you come to."
"Make sure the person we're about to kill is actually our target," Harry said.
"Correct," Remus said, "The good news is you were able to maneuver through the corridors correctly. Now, you just need to find your correct targets. Let's do this again."
Over the next few hours, Harry and Hermione continued the situational training. When their first piece of Metamorph Jewelry ran out of juice, they used their second piece. During the final test, Remus warned them that there would be a surprise they had not encountered yet through the entire week of training. Harry was sure either Remus, Sirius or Tonks was going to be waiting for them, awake and ready to duel, in case that situation happened. But this was not the case.
It didn't take long to realize what this surprise was. During their exploration of the first floor of the manor, in which they were clearing out the rooms, they encountered a mannequin "asleep" on a couch in the sitting room. Hermione used a Stunning spell, followed by a Diffindo to slit its throat. When neither Remus, Sirius, nor Tonks met with them to say they had succeeded in their mission, Hermione realized there was a second target in the house. So they continued searching, which led them to the second floor. Once again, they found what appeared to be a child mannequin in one of the bedrooms, and passed it up. They didn't find their other target until they reached Harry's bedroom. The mannequin was "asleep" on the bed.
Harry pointed his wand at the mannequin, Stunned it, then conjured a bubble-head charm over its head. Then he filled the bubble with water, to "drown" the target. When he noticed Hermione was about to celebrate, he shook his head and raised a finger to his mouth to silence her. Remus, Sirius, and Tonks had not come to tell them it was a success yet. Harry realized what he needed to do. He pointed his wand at the mannequin, and levitated it, the bubble still on its head. He levitated it over to the bathroom, and motioned to Hermione. She muffled the doorway so it wouldn't squeak – a squeaky door earlier that week had brought Dobby to them to tell them they had failed – and opened it. Harry guided the mannequin into the bathroom and placed into the hot tub, so that its whole body would be immersed under water. Then he filled the tub.
Harry grinned when he heard applause and turned around. Remus walked into the room, and Sirius and Tonks were behind him.
"Excellent work," Remus said, "I'd give you an O for that. First for realizing there were two targets, Hermione. And bonus points for making the victim appear to have died due to accidental drowning."
"Though if there really two targets," Sirius said, "You'd have to do something about the guy downstairs with his throat slit."
"We should discuss that," Tonks said, "What do we do with the bodies? Leave them for someone to find, or take them elsewhere."
"Who here knows how to do human to object transfigurations?" Harry asked; Remus, Sirius and Tonks raised their hands. "You could transfigure them into something like bones, or smaller items, and we can hide them."
"Ooh, idea!" Sirius said, "We could put them all in one building after all is said and done. Dead bodies everywhere. Death Eater meeting gone wrong."
"It could possibly work," Remus said, "We'll decide it before tomorrow night. Now, the elves will have dinner ready shortly. Your Metamorph jewelry will probably run out very soon. Place them somewhere so they can recharge. We'll take care of the mannequins."
Half-an-hour later, the five residents, permanent or temporary, of Potter Manor were seated around the dinner table dining on a delicious lasagna. They were discussing the training over the last week.
"Are the house-elves ready for tomorrow night?" Harry asked.
"Yes, they are," Remus said, "They know about our time-turner idea. One house-elf will remain here in case something happens while we're gone. The others will split into teams of five: Dobby leading one group, Melina leading the other. If we encounter very strong wards at a location, we'll simply bring all ten house-elves together."
"Sounds good," Harry said, "Another question. Why did we never train for the possibility that we might encounter a target that we have to duel?"
"Several reasons," Sirius said, "One, because I will always be with the two of you. We may split up at the location, but I'll be nearby. I doubt we'll find more than one or two targets at a location. Two with the Carrows, yes, and possibly others if they have decided to be room-mates after leaving Azkaban. So it will always be three on one or two. Most of the targets we will encounter are fairly weak due to Azkaban. I believe we'll be able to overwhelm them if it does end up in a duel."
"But that is a rarity in itself," Remus said, "We've trained the house-elves to be stealthy when they take down the wards, so they don't wake anyone up. And it will be the middle of the night. So more likely than not they'll be asleep."
"Also, dueling us wouldn't be exactly like dueling anyone else," Tonks said, "We might have different dueling styles than they do. If you were to fight with one mind-set, and they were to duel with another, it could mess you up."
"How well can you duel?" Remus asked.
"Well enough to survive," Harry said.
Hermione nodded.
"You two will always stick together while at these locations," Remus said, "You work better together. You trained that way all week. It is an excellent strategy. With Sirius nearby, you should be fine."
"I have a question, though it has nothing to do with our training," Hermione said, "Are any of you skilled in Legilimency?"
Remus and Tonks shook their heads.
"I used to be," Sirius said, "But I need to train myself again. Why?"
"As you know, Harry and I have been training our Occlumency," Hermione said, "But we need somebody to test it."
"Amelia could do it," Sirius said.
"Yes, but there is a chance she could find out our time-travel secret," Hermione said.
"Well," Sirius said, "You could always tell her about your secret. I trust her with my life. She'd keep it silent. You could explain it to her tomorrow. Though I would advise we tell her nothing about our upcoming mission, unless she confronts us about it. Then we explain why we did it. She would understand and likely congratulate us rather than arrest us."
"If we tell her tomorrow," Hermione said, looking at Harry, "We may have to tell Susan too. We can't just have a conversation with Amelia and expect Susan to go off alone in the Manor during our conversation. What do you think, Harry? She is your Betrothed. We could tell Daphne and Luna later, as well?"
"They don't know Occlumency, though," Harry said, "Dumbledore could snatch it from their minds."
"I'm quite sure Susan knows it well enough," Sirius said, "Amelia would have taught her just to protect herself."
"Then we can teach Daphne and Luna before we tell them," Hermione said.
Harry nodded. "Alright. We can tell them."
"Excellent," Sirius said, "We'll do that tomorrow during the planned brunch. Shame you'll miss it, Tonks."
"If you tell them anything I don't know about, I'll hex you," Tonks said, "Then get it out of you."
Harry grinned. "Yes, ma'am."
"Good," Tonks said, "My task is too important to skip anyway just to be here for a conversation like that."
"Are you ready for it?" Harry asked.
"Yep!" Tonks said, "While you've been training, I've been hard at work going over my plans. Unfortunately, I might have to Obliviate innocent people. Ah, well. Especially if I have to pose as Amelia to get into her office. Her secretary would tell Amelia later, and I'd be screwed!"
"Just be careful," Hermione said.
"Always am!" Tonks said, grinning.
The rest of dinner went peacefully. But everyone's minds were on their upcoming missions. Harry knew he would soon be responsible for ending several lives. And he knew that was something he couldn't train himself for; the mentality of taking a life.