Lammy appeared in front of them as they strolled the fourth floor corridor, hand in hand, on their way to their apartment.
"Lammy!" Harry scooped her into a hug and then stood back up. "What's up?"
"Miss Daphne asked Wolly to tell you she'd like to meet with you as soon as possible, but Wolly doesn't know his way around Hogwarts, so I came. What shall I tell Miss Daphne?"
"Please tell her we'll meet her in class four F on the fourth floor at half -five." Hermione answered. "That gives her half an hour to get here and stow her belongings and such. Thank you for relaying the messages, Lammy." Hermione smiled and gave Lammy a hug as well.
"It's my pleasure, Missus." Lammy smiled warmly and vanished again.
"So I guess now we have a date with Daphne. Nev will be steaming jealous." Harry chuckled.
"In your dreams." Hermione scoffed.
Harry laughed. "As a matter of fact, no. Neville's, yes. Mine, no."
"Neville has dreams about Daphne and us?" Hermione's face twisted in distaste.
Harry laughed even harder. "No, about Daphne. Well maybe, I don't know. That's gross and I would never ask, but I'm going to guess no and keep guessing no." He shuddered and grimaced with his tongue out.
Hermione smiled at his discomfort. "Yeah, that." She agreed, and took his hand again. "I'm going to start on the study and revision schedule when we get in, did you have anything planned?"
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'm going to use your wonderful gift and start work on an expansion for where the shower is, make a real bathroom. I'll have to plot out the arrays for the expansion, design the space, and then test whether they'll interfere with the castle as it is. If not, the rest is easy."
"I love it when you talk sexy like that." She purred and looked at him through lowered lashes.
"You'll love my next project then. I'm not telling you about it though. If I do, we'll get nothing done at all."
"Now I want to know!" She mock-pouted.
"How do you keep a Witch in suspense?" He asked, then ran off down the hall as he laughed to himself.
"You'd better run!" She shouted after him. "Prat!"
He waited for her in the study room, and she slapped his shoulder when he was in reach, which made him chuckle again.
She changed the password when they were in the hidden corridor, and as soon as the brick door was closed and they were alone in their space, she pushed him against the wall and melted onto him with a welcome home snog.
He accepted her and wrapped his arms around her, and when she'd had enough of a snog, he brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her again, gently. "I love being with you, Hermione. You make me happy just by being near."
She lay her head on his chest and snuggled into him. "Mmmm. I love you too Harry. I can't imagine being without you anymore."
He kissed her head. "Good thing you don't have to then. You're stuck with me forever."
"I'm glad you can still say that after meeting my parents." She whispered. "I'm so sorry about that."
Harry took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm sorry too. I tried to be open minded and not judge. I really did. I thought maybe they just loved you in their own way, you know? Mother's love isn't the same as Maisie's, after all."
Her arms tightened around him. "I'm sure there's some kind of justification inside them somewhere, but I don't think it's the same as love. I'm not even sure they ever actually loved each other. They're just... agreeable."
"I'll give you all the love you can handle, my chocolate sweetheart. Now and always."
"Promise you'll kick my arse if I ever start becoming like them too."
"To the moon." He held her tighter as well. "Same goes for me."
"Deal."
She kissed him again, and let go to sit at the dinner table. She pulled out her bookbag and began a new schedule. Harry sat across from her and pulled his trunk out of his pocket to get his new enchanting book out, and began to plot out the runic arrays that would expand the space needed for a new bathroom.
Hermione's wand chimed at twenty after five, and they made their way to four F under Disillusionment. They dropped the invisibility when they were safely inside the classroom, and Harry sat at one of the desks. Despite the presence of twenty-four unoccupied desks, Hermione sat on him.
Daphne arrived exactly on time, and carefully closed the door behind her, drew her wand and sealed the door, then made sure they wouldn't be overheard. When that was done, she walked over to Hermione and pulled her into a hug.
"Neville told me at the ball. I can't believe you would do such a thing for me!" Daphne said excitedly.
"Which thing exactly?" Hermione asked.
"Agreeing to be my political conquests - not really of course, but that's what everyone in Slytherin will believe. It will take a couple of weeks and a few subtle rumours, but after that it should be okay to wave to each other at dinner and such. After that... well, everyone knows Duncan is unpredictable. Thank you so much for thinking of it, both of you." Daphne curtsied in front of Harry.
"I realize you'll still have to act distant in public, as well. Still, it will give us an excuse to spend free time together, and that's the important part." Hermione said.
Daphne grinned as she contemplated spending time with friends. "I can't wait."
Hermione smiled a bit sadly then. "It's almost a shame we're leaving Hogwarts at the end of this term."
"School is only a few years," Harry said, "It's not like we're moving to the moon."
"We can still stay in touch I hope?" Hermione asked hopefully. "See each other on holidays and such?"
"I would like that very much, thank you." Daphne said with a small smile, and turned to the door, but looked back at them. "See you in class."
"See you in class, Daphne." Hermione smiled back.
When Daphne had gone and they were sure they were alone, Harry kissed Hermione's cheek. "Don't take this the wrong way, but she reminds me of you when you first realized you could have friends."
She smiled at him, then shot a worried glance at the door. "No, I understand. In some ways she has it worse than I ever did. At least I could disappear, lick my wounds. She has to be unaffected in public. All the time. She can't even cry properly."
"Can't cry properly? How do you mean?" Harry frowned.
"When we were getting ready and Luna and I broached the subject of being friends, she looked like she was about to cry, same as I did, but instead her mask slipped on. She said she wasn't allowed to cry because crying was unattractive."
Harry sighed and raked his clawed hand through his hair angrily. "Sometimes I really hate being a pinkskin."
"All we can do is be her friends and encourage her to be healthy. Let her know that her upbringing was wrong and it's okay to be who she is. The way you did for me." She grabbed both his wrists and wrapped his arms around her.
"As long as you don't fall for her the way I fell for you." Harry quirked one corner of his mouth in a sardonic grin and rested his forehead against hers.
She chuckled and kissed his nose. "No chance."
"Puis-je avoir les croissants, s'il vous plait?" Neville asked Fleur.
"Mais oui!" She smiled and handed him a plate of croissants.
"Did you figure the egg out yet?" Harry asked Cedric quietly.
"No, not yet." Cedric sighed, but then brightened. "Had other things on my mind over the holidays."
Harry chuckled. "That makes four of us. Good holidays then?"
Cedric smiled back. "Brilliant."
"Good, I like it when friends are happy." Harry took a bite of his breakfast and ate with a smile.
"Are we friends then?" Cedric raised an eyebrow.
"I count Fleur as one," He said after he swallowed, "so whether you like it or not..."
Cedric laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Fair enough."
"You're finished the end of this term, right? You're in seventh year?"
Cedric nodded. "Yeah, I need to start applying for positions soon."
"Good luck. If there's -" Harry was interrupted by a small flock of owls as it descended on breakfast. At the Ravenclaw table, one stopped in front of Fleur, Cedric, Neville, Luna, and Arielle. Each owl carried a large brown envelope addressed to them. Elsewhere, similar packages were delivered to certain people at each table.
"Qu'est-ce que c'est?" Arielle asked as she reflexively fed the owl a fingerful of sausage. She looked up the table and spotted the others opening their envelopes.
"I can see you grinning at each other." Luna accused Harry and Hermione. "What did you do?"
"Nothing we didn't do for ourselves." Hermione replied, without bothering to hide her grin.
"Aww, c'est merveilleux!" Fleur exclaimed as she pulled the pictures from the envelope and watched them. The elves had done a fantastic job of photography, and Harry and Hermione had made sure they knew how grateful they were for their help.
"These are amazing, thank you." Neville whispered to Harry, "I can scarcely believe it's me dancing with her like that. Evidence of a dream come true, that is."
"You make a great couple." Harry whispered back.
"'Ow did you make zees?" Arielle asked, amazed at the different angles and moments captured. "We are all danser en meme temps! Look, you are 'ere en zis photo, et la, et la." She pointed at Harry and Hermione dancing in the background of several of the pictures.
"We had some help." Hermione said. "There were some very interesting pictures taken that night, but we won't be showing any of those until le chantage commence." She grinned and winked at Arielle. Arielle blushed scarlet. Cedric and Fleur took no notice, they had their heads together as they compared photos.
Hermione looked at Harry with a smile, but whatever she had been about to say died on her lips as she spotted McGonagall headed in their direction. Harry noticed the change on her face just as she whispered "Heads up."
"Mister MacFusty, the Headmaster would like to see you in his office after breakfast." Professor McGonagall said as she paused behind him.
"Thank you Professor." Harry replied. She nodded and continued on her way.
"No picnic without rain, no good deed unpunished." Hermione muttered bitterly. "Wonder what he wants this time."
"Only one way to find out." Harry kissed her cheek. "Have you had enough breakfast or can Dumbledore wait?"
"Doesn't matter." She sighed. "That's done my appetite in. I'm surprised he managed to wait a whole week after holidays."
Harry chuckled. "This is the first Saturday. Was probably waiting for the first ray of sunshine to crap on."
"No doubt." She flashed a smile at him. "Best get it over with then, we have to be in Brussels for two o'clock."
They wished the group a good day, and left the table.
"Can't wait to be done with this place." Hermione said softly as she slipped her hand into his.
"Me either." He squeezed her hand reassuringly.
The statue rotated out of the way as they approached, but unlike every other time either of them had been to the Headmaster's office, the door at the top of the stairs remained shut. Harry looked at Hermione and shrugged.
"Maybe he isn't in." He said hopefully.
"And maybe he's playing stupid games." Hermione frowned and knocked on the door.
They waited a moment, and no voice called out, and the door remained shut.
Hermione sighed. "Well, he can wait then. We don't have time for this." She turned to go, and the door swung inward silently.
"Duncan, my boy! Come in, come in. You should've knocked." Dumbledore's happy grandfather mask was on in full force.
Harry looked at Hermione, and each set of eyes conveyed annoyed exasperation.
"What was it you wanted to see me about, Headmaster?" Harry asked. He didn't bother to sit down.
"Take a seat, Duncan, relax." Dumbledore steepled his fingers patiently.
"I'm fine." He remained standing.
"Lemon Drop?" Dumbledore indicated the bowl on the desk.
"No thank you." Harry clasped his hands behind his back.
"Very well. I suppose you're wondering why I asked you here." Dumbledore's doddering exterior betrayed no hint of a smile.
"That was the meaning behind my use of the words 'what did you want to see me about', yes." Harry said calmly as they waited for Dumbledore to get to the point.
Hermione schooled her face as she tried to keep the grin she felt at Harry's riposte from showing. What was the old bastard doing? It was like he was deliberately poking Harry to make him angry. She hoped Harry had realized it too.
"Mm." Dumbledore nodded. "I understand neither of you have been sleeping in your beds." He said gravely, and turned his gaze to Hermione. "Miss Granger for quite some time." He paused a moment to let that sink in.
"No," Harry corrected, "We don't sleep in your beds. The beds we sleep in do in fact belong to us."
"Be that as it may, Mister MacFusty, it is nevertheless required for you to sleep in your dorms. I'm afraid I have no choice but to expel you Miss Granger. I'm afraid your magic is to be bound this afternoon and your wand snapped. I'm sorry, my dear."
Hermione started to laugh.
Dumbledore was not amused by it. "What praytell is so amusing? Do you not understand the gravity of what is to befall you?"
Hermione wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. "What is to befall me. Priceless!" She chuckled for a moment longer. "To answer your question Headmaster - yes, I know exactly what's going to happen to me. It's you fishing in the dark, employing childish tricks in a feeble attempt to anger Duncan and me, as though neither of us know the laws. We both know exactly what you can and can't do, Headmaster. Watching you flounder while trying to project an air of authority is beyond hilarious." She felt Harry begin to Resonate, so she did the same.
"Now see here!" Dumbledore rose from his seat, grandfatherly act dropped like a hot stone. "Not even that bloody chicken dared to disrespect me so." Dumbledore's eyes narrowed and his expression became resolute. His wand was in his hand then, and he flicked it at Harry. Hermione reached out with her magic and took it from him as he did. Whatever he had cast at Harry splashed against the wall behind them with a fizzle sound as Harry nimbly twisted out of the way.
Hermione noticed the paintings of previous headmasters were all intently watching and listening, so she covered them all with thick black parchment. Then she cast a silence shell around the three of them.
Harry sighed and went to stand in front of Dumbledore. "I had really hoped for better, Headmaster. Not only was Hermione right about everything she said, you then made a classically sexist mistake and tried to take me out first, when Hermione is far more dangerous."
"So it's to be violence then." Dumbledore glowered at them. "In my own office."
"No, Headmaster," Harry made a distasteful face, "That wouldn't be fair or civilized. No, I will simply give you what you gave me, and we will see how your mental defenses hold up. I'm tired of your meddling in affairs that don't concern you – affairs FAR beyond your purview, I might add. More importantly, I want to know if it was you who put my name in the cup. Are you ready?"
Dumbledore scoffed. "I have been practicing Occlumency for a hundred years, boy. Do your worst."
Harry smiled like a shark, and it sent shivers up Hermione's spine.
"As you say." Harry nodded, then looked Dumbledore in the eyes. The old man went rigid instantly. Hermione saw his eyes widen and fear seeped out of his expression just like the sweat that began to seep out of his skin.
Harry's probing thoughts pushed against Dumbledore's shield as he took his time and looked for a weakness. Dumbledore offered him several roads into his mind, but Harry knew that defense, he knew the roads led nowhere and were designed to get him lost. He instead swept the entire vision aside. Dumbledore offered him a castle - a Hogwarts replica, complete with a moat and soldiers and other defenses. This too was swept aside. Each defense that Harry swept aside saw Dumbledore's breathing get faster and shallower. Harry realized the poor man didn't know he hadn't even begun his attack yet.
"We only have a couple of hours before we have to leave, Duncan." Hermione reminded him.
"Right. Sorry. Was looking for a tender spot, but I have to hand it to him, the whole thing seems solid. I guess any spot is as good as another."
Harry calmly gathered his Will and focused it into a spike, then rammed it into Dumbledore's mind. The shell around it cracked like sugarglass, and crumbled. Decades' worth of memories flooded his mind. His guilt over turning Tom into Voldemort - even greater than his guilt over murdering his own sister. His careful planning around Trelawney's interview. His triumph at turning Snape against Tom while simultaneously ridding himself of two Order members who threatened his command. His careful planning of Harry's entire life-to-be. His anger at the idiot muggle who had fucked it all up. The neverending accusatory questions from Frank and Alice that forced their removal. His scramble to recover when Harry hadn't shown up first year or second or third. His current plan to wind him up and point him at Tom.
Harry saw everything.
"Duncan, what's wrong?" Hermione's concerned voice asked. He realized he was on the verge of transforming, and growled as he yanked his power back from the precipice. He left Dumbledore's mind, and smashed his fist into his face.
Dumbledore dropped like a sack of bricks.
Harry put his hands on his own knees and tried to breathe. The air inside him felt hot. He felt too big for his skin. He needed to grow. He needed to breathe, to roar, to smash the puny - Hermione put her hands on his jaw and made him look up at her.
"What is it? What's wrong?" She asked. Her warm chocolate cinnamon eyes begged him to stay with her.
"Hurts." He gasped. "Want to... kill him so bad... it hurts. Give me... give me a minute."
"You're scaring me, Harry. Talk to me. Please." Hermione's face warped with concern.
Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing. He put everything he'd taken from Dumbledore in a box inside his mind, and that released the immediate pressure to end him.
"Okay, I think I'm okay for the moment. I'll have to go through all that mess later and organize it before you read it from me." He stood up and pulled her into a hug. "I'll share it all in a bit, I need to Obliviate him first so we were never here."
"No. You're not calm, you'll erase him. I'll do it. Sit." She helped him into a chair and set Dumbledore's wand down on his desk, then went to kneel beside his prone form. His face was broken, there was no other way to describe it. Blood pooled on the floor as it streamed from his nose and mouth. She watched him as he lay there, revulsion warred with glee inside her. The need to heal him warred with her desire to hit him again. She glanced over at Harry, and it focused her. He sat leaned back in the chair, both hands held his head as though to try to keep it from bursting. It was his eyes though... they were in turns haunted and hungry, pained and berserk.
She blew an angry breath out through her nose and reached out with her power. Little by little, spell by spell, Dumbledore's face rebuilt itself under her will. "Brackium Emendo" to repair the skull, "Conrigo" to stitch the torn muscle and skin back into a contiguous whole. She stunned him when she was nearly finished, in case he woke too soon. She vanished the blood from his face and clothes and beard, then the pool of it from the floor. She lifted him back into his chair and arranged him as though he was just taking a nap.
She used layers as she wove new memories for him, a core to replace the real memory, then gentle layers to smooth the crisp, vivid new memory into the background, to make it seamless, and to permanently erase the last half hour should anyone tamper with her work.
"Come on, we need to get ready to leave." She pulled Harry to his feet and pushed him out the door, then revived Dumbledore as she closed the door behind them.
Covered by her nondetections, she carried Harry to their apartment and set him on the bed.
"Meditate." She told him. "Get your head together. Don't worry about anything, I'll get us to Brussels on time. Get yourself sorted, Harry. I love you."
He grunted and nodded once, then lay back and closed his eyes.
He opened the box that contained Dumbledore's memories and dove in. It took some time to sort the memories chronologically and it was tedious to do, but once that was done he left most of them in the Dumbledore box. Most of them were personal and irrelevant and he had no wish to ever see them. Some of them though, particularly the ones that concerned Tom Marvolo Riddle and himself, he strung into a coherent timeline, ready to share with Hermione. At least when she read him she would know where he came from and what had happened to him. That was something.
When he opened his eyes, he was wearing different clothes and seated in an office. Hermione faced him with her wand out.
"Oh!" She smiled. "Good timing, I was just about to sting you awake."
Harry frowned as he looked at the position of her wand. She sat beside him with her wand sideways in her lap, pointed toward his lap. "Sting me... where exactly?"
She chuckled and leaned close to whisper in his ear. "Right on the tip of your..." She kissed his earlobe. "Nose. I'm not that cruel, Harry."
He chuckled and kissed her. "I'd still love you anyway. I might be a trifle upset, but I'd still love you. This is Academie de Magie?"
"It is. Are you alright now?" She slipped her hand into his.
"I am, thanks. I organized the mess into a chronology and edited the irrelevant and disgusting bits. Soon as we're done here you can read it. Not until we're alone though, you're going to go completely mental."
Her brows touched each other and set her eyes on fire.
"Yeah, it's that bad. Snape is a marked Death Eater."
Her eyebrows clenched even further, and her lips pressed together in thought.
"Excusez-moi, etes-vous Mackfoostees?"
Hermione turned to look at the woman who faced them, and spoke in French. "Yes, that's us."
"Oh good." She smiled at them, and held her hand out to Hermione. "I'm Emmeline, I'll be your guide today."
Harry switched to French and shook her hand as well. "Thank you." He said.
"My pleasure. If you'll follow me, we'll start with the classrooms."
The classrooms were much the same as Hogwarts, but nicer. Better maintained, cleaner, more stylish, but not really any different. Harry tried to pay attention as much as possible, but his mind was on Vold - Tom, and the threat he still posed. The war was not over, and Tom had been in the bloody school during Hermione's first year. That alone made him angry and anxious, but he also reviewed what he now knew he had to do.
Hermione squeezed his hand occasionally to get him to pay attention during important bits, but she could tell he wasn't really there. Hermione roused him enough to thank Emmeline when the tour was finished, and he quietly thanked Hermione as well, he would have to rely on her experience when they were deciding whether or not to attend.
"Take us to the clearing where we spoke with Langelet please. That way you can blow things up and it won't damage much."
Hermione frowned all the way to the Apparation point, but remained focused enough to get them there without splinching either of them. The forbidden forest was dark, even in a clearing at four-thirty in the afternoon. Harry could hear things moving among the trees, but was less worried about what they might be than Hermione's impending wrath.
He hugged her for a moment when they arrived, then held her at arms' length.
"Hurry up Harry, I'm dying of curiosity here." She said in an exasperated tone.
He flashed a smile at her, then nodded. "Ready." He pushed everything he'd arranged to the forefront of his mind, and hid the rest behind a shield. He could feel her absorb everything he'd prepared, and then gently withdraw from his mind. It took her a few seconds to process everything.
"Slapped a FUCKING BABY?!?" Her voice rose in pitch as the wind kicked up around her and flames sprouted from her back like firey wings. "SLAPPED A FUCKING BABY!!!" She screamed at the trees across the clearing. Several of them sheared clean through and fell.
"AND FUCKING DUMBLEDORE!!!" She roared. Several more trees exploded and wood splinters the size of javelins rocketed through the forest.
"FUCKING SNAPE!!" Craters blossomed in the clearing as explosions detonated rock and dirt alike.
"FUCKING RIDDLE!!" Viscous blue liquid showered everything off to the left as something that once lived vaporized.
"FUCKING!!!" Blazing white and wintergreen rage lanced through the forest and set it burning.
"KILL!!!" Harry spotted a pack of trolls as it turned and ran away from them as fast as their legs could go.
"YOU!!!" Trees that had already fallen and were on fire exploded and sent burning splinters into other trees.
"ALL!!!" Her final concussive blast flattened every tree around them for hundreds of meters, as though some unimaginably vast fist had descended from the sky and punched them flat.
She turned to look at him then, as tears streamed from her eyes. Her mouth opened to say something, but her eyes rolled up and she collapsed bonelessly into his arms.
He kissed her cheek and set her gently on the ground. "You're so beautiful." He whispered. He made sure all the fires were out and the forest wasn't about to burn down. When that was done, he picked her up, carried her inside and put her to bed. She would be hungry when she woke, so he also stopped into the kitchens for a couple of steaks.
Wings folded tight to her body, she swam. Her massive tail swung lazily back and forth as she arrowed through the water and enjoyed the feeling. Her mate swam next to her, she could feel his presence - powerful, reliable, desirable. They would have beautiful, powerful Young, and part of her ached for that. She knew there was plenty of time before that to enjoy being alone with him, so she let their Young stay in the future a while yet.
She breached the surface and took a breath, but it smelled foul. Something rotted and wrong floated on the wind. Rage and power welled up within her as she turned toward the wind, to find the source of corruption. It came from her Nest and her Mate - something diseased and hateful clung to him as he fought it.
She dove again and swam toward her Nest like a missile. She would show whatever dared befoul her Nest the limitless depths of her rage. She surfaced again, ready to breathe oblivion, but she no longer swam. She was not in the water, she was nowhere near her island or her Nest. Instead, she lay upon another of those strange, soft animal-hoards. Her Mate was near, she could smell him. He had prepared meat for her.
She rolled off the too-soft pinkskin thing and crossed the Nest to him. She nuzzled his head and purred.
"You care for my needs, Hidden Colours. I am grateful." She hissed.
"Always." He purred and nuzzled her in return. "Eat, you are hungry."
"I am." She picked up a piece of meat, and brought it to her waiting maw, only to discover something strange had happened to her talons. "What is this?" She asked him. He did not seem to think anything was amiss, he was calm, so whatever it was it was not cause for alarm... was it?
"You mean your talons?" He cocked his head slightly.
"They are soft... fleshy... like a pinkskin."
He laughed. "We are both pinkskins, my Mate. We are both Svurtr as well. You used too much power and required sleep, the pinkskin part of you is still there. You are normally a pinkskin, just as I am. See me."
She looked at him again, and he was dark, glistening with power, but... soft at the same time. She tried to focus her eyes just on his shell, and he resolved into a pinkskin. Her browridges fell and she hissed in surprise.
"Be at peace, my Mate. It is not so strange. Your name is Hermione. My name is Harry. Do you not recall?"
How could such a thing...? She focused on the babbling sounds he made with his mouth, and they were familiar... There was something... She had stalked him as a ghost. Kept him safe from other females. Desired him. He had saved her. Changed her. Loved her.
"Harry?" She said in English.
"There you are. I know you feel strange, I've been there. Eat the steak, and lie back down, you'll feel better I promise you." He replied in English as well.
"I do feel strange. Confused. What happened?"
"If I tell you you'll remember and get angry again instead of eating and resting. Eat. Rest. I'll tell you when you wake."
She growled at him, annoyed at his presumption.
"And before you give me any shit and start calling me 'male' again, I'm your Mate, beautiful. I have your best interests in my mind and heart, so just leave off and eat."
She frowned at him and ate the steak. The flavour of it electrified her tongue and took her mind away from the annoying male. She took the plate from him and stuffed her mouth full, and only chewed enough to get it down her neck. When the plate was empty, she shoved it back at him and he took it with both hands. She grabbed his front and snogged his annoyingly hot smug grin, then dropped him and climbed back on the overly-soft resting place.
He crossed the Nest to nuzzle her gently while he purred. He kissed her forehead and left to let her rest.
She woke later to find his naked body cradling her own, warm and comforting. She nuzzled deeper into him and relaxed with a sigh.
She woke again to find him gone. The room was bright, and she felt well rested. She sat up, and spotted him immediately at the dinner table, writing on parchment. He looked up when she moved, and left what he was doing to come to her. She held her arms out to him and he entered them with a smile.
"How do you feel?" He asked.
"I feel good, actually. I'd feel better if you were naked."
Harry whipped his T-shirt off and undid the buckle to his belt as she reached out to undo the button and zipper. His jeans and pants hit the floor and he bounded over her and under the covers while she giggled. She wrapped herself around him and ran her hands over his chest.
"Mmmm. Definitely better."
She rose up on one elbow and half-lay on top of him, breasts against his chest as she sought his mouth with hers. The taste of him, the feel of his lips and tongue started her engine running...
Then she remembered.
She pulled back from him, his lower lip between her teeth and a growl in her throat. He opened his eyes and frowned at her expression.
"What? What is it?" He asked, concern in his voice.
"Fucking Dumbledore." She said through clenched teeth. "I just remembered."
"And that's another moment he's ruined." Harry smiled and winked at her.
She kissed him again, with a promise for later. "Sorry."
"No worries, Hermione." He twirled her hair around one of his fingers. "As it happens I had some things I want us to do today, if you feel up to it - regarding the whole Dumbledore thing, I mean."
"I didn't sleep another two days this time did I?"
"No, it's Sunday, about quarter past nine." Harry clambered out of bed and began to dress again.
"Oh good. What are we doing then?"
"I made a list. Go shower, I'll get you some breakfast, and you can evaluate it while you eat."
She sat up as well, and pulled him to her by his hipbones to kiss his stomach before she stood and kissed his mouth.
"I love you, Harry." She said as she hugged him and held him.
"I love you too, Hermione. We'll get this shit taken care of, then get back to the important things."
She nodded, a look of determination in her eyes. "Damn right, we have studying to do. And other things." She grabbed his behind and squeezed with both hands.
He laughed and smacked her behind when she walked past him into their new bathroom with a satisfied smile on her lips.
He had a plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, pastries and fruit waiting for her when she was dressed.
"So let's see the list." She said between mouthfuls.
He smiled at her and handed it to her, then went back to what he was doing.
1. Neville's parents - It's reasonable to assume that St. Mungo's has done everything they can for them, so any spellwork we can try would likely have been done, and done better by the professionals. That said, they haven't tried living dragon blood. If we Resonate and feed them... seven drops? It might be enough to force them to heal themselves without changing them. Worth a shot.
2. Horcruxes - Dumbledore's conversations with Slughorn about Tom is enough to make him suspect that Tom made multiple horcruxes. We need to find out more about horcruxes and then start finding Tom's and destroying them. Thought we could check the restricted section today.
3. Dumbledore's plans - Do we simply thwart him? Hide you and Luna away so that they can't get to you? Or publically isolate me and make everyone think I hate both of you in order to keep you safe?
4. Death Eaters - Capture them and give them to Ministry for trial or kill them all? Can't bankroll Tom or hurt people if they're dead. Can't do either if they're in jail, but the ministry could confiscate their land and vaults if they go to trial, and I don't think that's much better than funding Tom.
5. Tom - Apparently I'm the only one who can kill him, but that means getting him to stay in one place. He's not stupid, he'll run if he's in danger. Need to research anti-apparition wards. Bonus: Apparently Death eaters already know them and have used them in the past. Should make researching them easier.
"That's a good start." She said when she'd finished reading. "Hop to St. Mungo's, then start searching through the restricted section?"
"That's what I was thinking." Harry nodded.
"The bit about Luna - you think he'd kill her if I wasn't available?"
"You know he would. He'll do whatever it takes to preserve his 'Greater Good'."
"True. Can't we just kill him now and be done with it?"
"Love to. We'll have to make it look like an accident though, well enough to fool Aurors. I don't think we have time to research Auror methods thoroughly enough to accomplish it within a reasonable time frame."
"Hm. Fair point. Why seven drops?"
"I used three on Darcy once after she got hurt by a grindylow. It was just enough to heal cuts and scrapes. Seven is the next magically significant number, and the Longbottom's damage is in their brains and nervous systems, so three likely wouldn't do the job. I don't want to risk any more than seven in case it starts changing them."
"So we have a reasonable suspicion it will work, good. Let's go then, I want to get cracking on the horcrux issue."
Dumbledore had visited the Longbottoms in the Janus Thickey ward a few times, so they knew their way there. Luckily Frank and Alice had a room to themselves, so Harry simply shut the door behind them and sealed it to prevent being disturbed.
Hermione cast a privacy shell around the four of them anyway, and Harry smiled at her.
"You do Frank, I'll do Alice?" She asked quietly.
"Seems appropriate, yeah." He kissed the side of her head and began to Resonate. "I think Neville favors his Mum a bit."
Hermione stopped and looked at both Frank and Alice. "Seems so. He's his dad around the eyes though."
"I think you're right. Hope this works, maybe we'll see them in the castle at some point."
"That would be nice." Hermione began to Resonate as well, and reached out to lay Alice's head back against a pillow with her mouth open. Alice showed no signs of cognizance at all, it was as though she were a living doll - poseable, but empty. It gave her an idea.
Harry did the same thing to Frank, then looked over at Hermione, who looked over at him. They nodded to each other once, and pushed their magics into their fingertips. They sliced their fingertips open with a spell, and each dripped seven drops of magic-infused blood onto the Longbottoms' tongues.
Each of their fingers bled a little more than seven drops, but they just stuck their fingers in their own mouths until the cuts had healed.
"We should go before they wake up, if they're going to." Hermione said softly.
Harry held out his hand to her, and they quietly left the Longbottoms' room.
Lammy appeared as they finished the day's homework and began review of the next day's material. She handed Harry a folded piece of parchment.
"Thanks, Lammy. How is your day?"
"Excellent, thank you." Lammy smiled. "After your letter to Mister Sirius this morning, we've been scouting the locations you told us about. Both places are filled with bad magic."
"You didn't go in, I hope? Everyone is safe?" Hermione asked.
"No, Missus. No-one went in. Everyone is safe."
"Good, thank you for that. Please carry our thanks to everyone else as well. We really appreciate your help, that's a whole day we don't have to take from our studies." Harry said with a grin.
"Happy to help." Lammy smiled back. "That's what friends are for." She disapparated.
"Well, we have a place to start then." Hermione sighed in relief. "Our meeting at Institut fur Magie is nine in the morning on Saturday. Shall we head there afterward?"
"Sounds like a date." He winked at her. His brain chose that moment to remind him that Valentine's day was less than two weeks away, and he resolved to make that a day Hermione wouldn't soon forget.
Hermione's face scrunched into a sour expression. "No. If you wanted to ask me on a date -"
"Would you go on a date with me? Please?"
Hermione flashed a hint of a smile and restrained it just as quickly, but Harry could see her eyes sparkle. "What kind of date?"
"Sightseeing? Shopping? Dinner and dancing? Something nice. A Proper Date date."
A hint of surprise showed in her eyes. "Very well, I accept. When?"
Harry did some mental calculation. "Twelve days from now."
She frowned. "I like the Valentine's date idea, but that's a long time to wait."
"Would you accept a Hogsmeade date this Sunday as a tide-me-over?"
She brightened. "I would."
He grinned at her. "Brilliant, thank you. I'll look forward to that." He closed his text and rose from his chair, then took his wand out and tapped it on the stone door.
"Where are you going?" Hermione frowned at him, and a tiny note of panic crept into her voice.
"I have some research to do, and before you get up, you can't come. It's for you, so you can't know about it. A couple of conversations, and I'll be back before you know it."
Hermione frowned and pouted at the same time. "Grr." She said.
He winked and blew her a kiss before he shut the door behind him. It was after dinner but before Astronomy class, so he reasoned that Fleur and Arielle would likely be in the Beauxbatons carriage, which was on the opposite side of the castle.
He walked through the halls toward four B, as the staircase there led almost straight down to the front hall. Unfortunately, as he passed their ersatz holding cell, he heard sobs from inside. He quietly opened the door and stuck his head inside.
Colin sat at one of the desks in the back of the room, head down on his arms as he cried.
Harry stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind him. "Don't mean to interrupt," He said softly, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Colin's head jerked up, his eyes wide and red, his cheeks dripped with tears. "Dammit." He swore under his breath. He took a deep breath and wiped his face, and tried to appear in control.
"I'll go if you prefer to be alone." Harry said.
Colin's face quivered with the tears he held back. His lips pressed together, but he shook his head. Harry crossed the room and sat next to him.
"Anything I can do to help?"
Colin barked a bitter laugh and wiped his nose. "Not unless you can magically move my family to a different country."
"That sounds serious."
"Promise you won't tell anyone?" Colin's eyes pleaded with him.
Harry shook his head. "I can't do that, I have no secrets from Hermione. I can promise I won't tell anyone but her though."
Colin nodded. "I can live with that." He sucked in a big breath and let it out. "It started at the Yule Ball. I asked Pansy to be my date -"
"Pansy Parkinson?" Harry's eyebrows raised.
Colin nodded. "Yeah. She's so pretty. I thought she'd laugh at me, but I didn't want to regret not asking later. She said yes, though. It was the best night of my life, and we didn't even get to dance. Halfway through dessert she just attacked me, started licking my tonsils, and dragged me out of the Great Hall."
"That's a bit of a surprise."
"You're not kidding. She stuffed me into a broom closet. I thought I was the luckiest guy in the world." Colin fingered something in his pocket that crinkled like paper as he remembered. Harry just waited for him to continue. His own experience in a broom closet had been incredible and incredibly embarrassing, so he had a great deal of sympathy.
"We... had sex." Colin said softly. "Like, six times. I should have known though, nothing that good happens to me. She moaned about how good she felt the whole time, and I -" He paused to breathe deeply and wipe his eyes again. "I thought that was it, she was the one for me."
"But?" Harry asked gently.
"She wouldn't talk to me when we got back to school. Wouldn't even look at me."
"Ouch."
Colin pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket then and handed it to Harry. "I got this at breakfast this morning."
Harry opened the semi-crumpled note.
You potioned me, you fucking shit-blood rapist. Well, you got what you wanted, and now I'm pregnant. Congratulations. When I tell my father he's going to kill your whole family.
"Wow." Harry breathed. "No hostility there at all. You didn't potion anyone, of course. Did you?"
"No! I would never!"
"I didn't think so. Had to ask. Brolly!"
Brolly appeared next to Harry, and Colin's spine jerked straight in surprise.
"Brolly, would you please ask the others who were at the Yule Ball if there was any sneakiness with potions?"
Brolly shook his head. "Don't need to, Mister Harry. Apart from the double Weasleys wot put firewhiskey in the punch, there was only one potion-related sneaky thing."
"What was it?"
Brolly nodded at Colin. "It were young master's date. She put potion in Miss Luna's Wayne's cup, so I switched cups with him and her what done it so she would drink her own potion."
"You protected Luna? Why didn't you tell us?" Harry frowned.
Brolly looked dismayed. "Mister and Missus were very busy, and when you weren't busy... I forgot. Sorry."
Harry put a hand on Brolly's shoulder. "It's okay, thank you for letting me know now. You're absolutely right, we were very busy. I can't be upset about that. You know how to write, don't you Brolly?"
Brolly nodded.
"Great. In the future if Hermione and I are busy, would you please write down what you have to tell us so we can read it as soon as we're not busy?"
Brolly nodded and smiled. "I can do that."
"Great, thanks mate. I won't keep you then, say hi to the others for us."
"I will." He nodded and vanished with a soft pop.
Colin looked at Harry, still not quite believing what just happened. "What... who...?"
"That's Brolly, he's a House Elf. He and a few like him took pictures for us at the Ball... And apparently used Pansy's own potion against her."
"So you're to thank for the photos."
"And the situation you're in, apparently."
Colin shook his head. "No. Pansy tried to do that to Wayne, so he would... hurt Luna. Pansy is to blame."
"I share some small portion then. Brolly could have just vanished the cup with the potion in it. Instead..."
"Well then it's Brolly's blame, not yours." Colin frowned.
"Brolly answers to me. He was there because I asked him to be. It's my responsibility. I'm sorry this happened, Colin, and I'll see what I can do to put it right. For right now though, we should get your family out of Britain. How many of you are there?"
"Just me, Dennis, and my dad. Mum passed a few years ago."
"Alright, I'm off to kidnap your dad then. Parkinson won't do anything to you or Dennis while you're here. I'll get your dad safe, then we'll have time to figure out something more permanent."
"Wait, kidnap my dad? He'd really kill my dad?"
"Without a second thought. He'll be safe at our house, though. There's plenty to read and good company. I'll be back in a bit."
Harry hurried from the classroom and back to their apartment. Hermione was still slightly put out until he told her he never made it where he'd intended to go. She listened as he explained the situation, and then agreed with his course of action.
"You go get his father, I'll go talk to Colin. He's still in four B?"
"Hope so, he was when I left there."
They kissed, just a quick peck, when they reached the stairs. Hermione headed to four B, Harry up the stairs to the Owlery. He had quietly gotten a picture of Colin's home from his mind, and as soon as he had flown beyond the school wards, he Apparated there. Colin shared a room with his brother, and Harry appeared between the two beds. He could hear the telly on in another room, so he headed in that direction. Mister Creevey sat on a threadbare sofa and watched telly while he ate a meat pie.
"Here now!" He shouted with his mouth full, "Who the bleedin' -" that was all he got out before Harry Petrified him.
"Sorry Mister Creevey, we don't have time to talk just now. I'm a friend of Colin's, I'm taking you to my place where you'll be safe. You're in a bit of danger just now." Harry said as he crossed the room and put his hand on Mister Creevey's shoulder. He Resonated, and Apparated them both to the Glen, then picked Mister Creevey up and carried him inside and wrote him into the Wards' guest book.
Mister Creevey crumpled when Harry removed the binding on him. "Crikey, you're a magical."
Harry held out his hand with a smile. "Duncan MacFusty. Pleasure to meet you, I'm a friend of Colin and Dennis."
Mister Creevey shook his hand. "Fenton Creevey. I think Dennis talked 'bout you a time or twelve."
Harry quietly cast Accio on the Assets Ledger, and tucked it under his arm when it arrived.
"Nice to meet you, Mister Creevey. I have to get back to school, I apologize for the disturbance. There's been a threat made on your life, that's why I brought you here. You'll be safe here. I'll bring Colin by tomorrow to explain everything, but you won't be able to leave here at least until then."
"That won't please the boss come sunup." He frowned.
"You may be leaving the country quite soon, Mister Creevey, so that's the least of your worries. Relax here, I don't think there's any real trouble you can get into here. There are other... magicals around as well, short strange-looking people. They're elves. They're wonderfully nice, and they're part of the family. If you need anything, just ask one of them.'
"I can't just skip work. I have to call in at least."
Harry nodded. "I understand. Polly!"
Polly appeared next to him.
"Polly, Mister Creevey needs a working cellular phone. Would you please visit Kneescythe and have him procure one, then bring it to Mister Creevey right away?"
Polly nodded. "Right away, Mister Harry. It's nice to see you home again." Polly hugged his waist and Disapparated.
"Cor, must be nice to be wicked posh."
"it's all new to me this year, but so far it's very handy." Harry grinned. "See you tomorrow, Mister Creevey." Harry stuck out his hand, and Mister Creevey shook it again, then Harry Apparated to the clearing in the forbidden forest and flew back to the Owlery.
Hermione and Colin were still in four B when he returned.
"Your dad's safe at our place. We'll take you to him tomorrow so you can explain what's going on." Harry informed Colin.
"Thank you both. At least my dad won't have to pay for my mistakes." Colin sagged with relief even though he still looked as though the world were about to end.
"Talk to you after breakfast then, yeah?" Harry put a hand on Colin's shoulder. Colin nodded, and left the room to head back to Gryffindor tower.
"So... that was a bit unexpected." Harry said.
"Part of me wants to go yell at Parkinson right now, stupid bint. She's getting what she deserves, but she's hurting Colin because of it."
"She was trying to hurt Luna. I want to go tear her apart. Instead I have to be somewhat kind to her, and it makes me angry." Harry clenched his fists.
"Me too. I'm glad you're looking at the big picture though. I know you could never harm a child, even hers." She smiled at him and put her hand on his, and he relaxed his fist to hold her hand.
"You're very calm, considering." He said as he blew a breath out his nose in frustration.
"Just keeping my anger where it belongs. Dumbledore. Death Eaters. Riddle." Hermione smiled like a shark.
"Pansy's father is a Death Eater."
"I know. We'll get to him. I don't want to make a mistake that will send him and others like him into hiding. We'll figure out some way to get them all in one place at one time and then just burn them all."
He touched his forehead to hers. "Queen of Hunters." He smiled.
She smiled back at him. "They infect our territory. They need to be purged." She said succinctly.
"Britain is our Territory now?" He asked with a grin.
"For now." She said primly. "I may want more later."
Harry laughed.
Wolly hated watching duty. The whole family hated watching duty, but it was Wolly's turn, so Wolly in particular hated it. Mister and Missus said it was important so it was important, but Wolly's heart broke for the poor elves forced to serve the Parkinson wizard. Luckily the Parkinson hadn't done anything all morning, so the poor elves didn't need to be near him. The Parkinson had done so little that morning that Wolly hadn't even had to write anything down. All he had on his page was:
Woke up. Ate breakfast. Used loo.
Thankfully they weren't required to watch when he was in the loo or bed or shower or anytime they might be disgusted.
The bad transport place flared green then, and a girl stepped out. She looked to be about Missus' age, but she wasn't tall or powerful like Missus. This girl shared some traits with the Parkinson, so Wolly thought she must be his daughter. He noted that down on his page.
"Father." The girl said in greeting. Wolly grinned and confirmed his suspicion on his page.
The Parkinson frowned at the girl. "Why are you here? You're meant to be securing Malfoy's brat."
"Something happened at the Yule Ball." The girl growled angrily.
"Something?"
"I was potioned."
"And?" He frowned, displeased at her lack of information.
"I'm pregnant."
He smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Not the way I was anticipating you securing the boy, but it definitely works. Well done."
"It wasn't Draco."
For a fat old man, Parkinson was on his feet in a flash. Even Wolly was surprised. "Who was it then?" He asked, his voice soft and dangerous.
The girl stood firm, still angry herself, but Wolly could see the fear behind it. "It was a nobody. Creevey. I want his whole family wiped out."
The fat old man laughed, and crossed the room to stand in front of the girl. "So you thought you would come to dear old Dad and demand I waste resources to murder a nobody because you FAILED YOUR ONLY TASK?!" The old man bellowed the last in her face. "You think you have any kind of chance to succeed now? You think Malfoy or his brat would even look at you now? You wasted yourself on a nobody, filled yourself with nobody spawn, and you think you still have use to me?" The Parkinson pulled out his wand and flicked it at the girl.
She doubled over and flew backward into the stony mantel. A long, strangled cry came from her throat as she wrapped her arms around herself and struggled to breathe. He flicked his wand again, and she sailed upward into the ceiling where the plaster cracked and rained down around her as she hit the floor. Muffled cracks echoed around the room when she hit the floor.
"I suppose it's my fault for waiting to see if you had any competence instead of just cleaning house when your stupid pig of a mother betrayed me. I'll need another breeder now, I suppose." He flicked the wand again, and blood sprayed from her face as she spun in circles where she lay on the floor in a ball. Her hands went to her face as she screamed in pain.
"Oh, there's an idea." The Parkinson said as his face brightened. "Everyone knows Lucius likes boys, maybe I'll just go straight to the source and bed Narcissa. I might not even have to trick her! Ha ha!"
He flicked the wand again and more muffled cracks came from her side as she slid across the floor into the far wall.
"I will anyway, of course. Prudence. Yes, I think that will be the best course. More servants for the Dark Lord, COMPETENT ones!" He yelled at her. "Alis!"
One of those poor, sad elves popped into the room next to the Parkinson.
"Go take that worthless filth to the ravine and dump it on its mother. Then CLEAN UP THIS MESS!!" The Parkinson kicked poor Alis clear across the room to land next to the broken, bleeding girl.
Wolly made sure he had all the screaming and talkings written down, then followed Alis as she dumped the girl down the side of a ravine to land on a pile of stinking trash. He watched for a long moment, but the girl didn't move. She still breathed, she still bled, but she did not get up. She didn't even try to get up. Wolly danced from foot to foot and wrung his hands. What to do? Watch, as he'd been instructed? Or help because he knew they liked to help? What would Mister and Missus do?
That thought told him what he wanted to know. Mister and Missus would help. They would take the girl to healers. Wolly took a deep breath, then appeared next to the girl and took her to the healing place for witches and wizards.
'Their' room held a warm glow as the fire crackled in the hearth. It was still configured as their training room, but the magical barriers on the walls, floor, and ceiling weren't visible. Only the thickly cushioned wide mats on the floor on the far side indicated that the room was used for anything other than pleasant conversation.
Luna entered the room and closed the door behind her, then crossed to the sofa across from the one Harry and Hermione snuggled on.
"What's up?" She asked them, "Lammy said you wanted to talk."
"We do." Harry smiled at her, "But we're also waiting for Nev. Hermione and I found out some things that are going to impact our lives, and we wanted to share."
"Is it a baby?" Luna perked up. "I hope it's a baby! Yay naked things! I can't wait to be an Auntie."
Hermione smiled and unconsciously put her hands on her stomach while Harry blushed deep red and studied the far wall.
"No, not a baby, Luna. Not yet. I'm only fifteen, you know." Hermione smiled at her. Luna's face drooped into disappointment, but the twinkle never left her eye.
Neville entered and closed the door behind him then. Hermione took out her wand and sealed and silenced the door, floor, ceiling, and walls while Neville walked over to hug Luna and sat next to her.
"Lammy said you wanted to talk?" He said after he was seated.
Harry nodded and sat up to face the other two. Hermione sat back down next to him, though she looked a little put out that her snuggle session was over.
"We have discovered a few things that will change the rest of this year, we think." Harry began.
"It's not a baby." Luna said with a frown.
"Thank Merlin for that." Neville whispered. "I'm too young to be an uncle."
"And thank you for that. I fully agree." Harry sighed and looked pointedly at Luna.
Luna pouted. "Ruin my fun."
"Plenty of time for that fun, I've not even been out of Britain yet." Hermione asserted. "We'll keep you informed, of course - actually, would either of you be opposed to being godparents eventually?"
Luna shot off the sofa and crashed into Hermione with "Yeee!" sound.
"As long as it isn't before I finish school I'm not opposed, no." Neville said while he eyed the rocking hug the girls shared.
"Believe me, it won't be that soon. It won't even be years after that. Hermione and I have school to finish, Masteries to earn, and the Wizengamot to learn before we even think about taking time off for kids. You'll likely be a father before I am, and that's good, you're the older brother, after all." Harry quirked a corner of his mouth at Neville, who grinned in return.
Luna sat next to Hermione and didn't really let go of her. "I can't wait to be a mum." She said, "I want to do all the things my mum did for me... I think it will feel like she's still here then." She added softly.
"Aww," Hermione hugged Luna to her again. "You're going to be the best mum, Luna. And I'm going to spoil her completely rotten."
Luna laughed and hugged her back. "Deal. You know I'm going to spoil all the baby Potters."
"Well that's something we agree on, then." Neville grinned.
"Traitor." Harry pouted. Neville's grin only grew sadistic.
"We need to find you a decent boy." Hermione decided with an extra hug. "Unfortunately, that will have to wait for a bit." She let go of Luna and looked around at Neville as well. "It turns out Voldemort isn't dead."
Silence owned the room for nearly a minute as that sentence penetrated their minds.
"You're sure." Neville said at last.
"Yes. I can't tell you how we found out because it wasn't strictly legal, and if you don't know you can't get in trouble for it. But... I trust that the information is true." Harry said sadly. "There's also a prophecy that says I'm the only one who can kill him."
"What?!" Neville sat up on the sofa, his face drawn in concern.
Luna just looked between Harry and Hermione.
"The prophecy says that Voldie will mark one of the children who might be the one to destroy him, and that will determine which child the prophecy is about." He reached up and pushed his long hair back from his forehead where it habitually hung, and made his scar visible.
"Merlin." Neville swore. "It's really going to be down to you to kill him then." He said softly.
'I don't mind that part, honestly." Harry said with a smile. "He and his followers are an infection in Britain. I'll be happy to cleanse the country before we bring children into it. I'm keen on peaceful coexistence, but they don't want that so they have to go."
"I'm glad you're taking it so well." Neville grimaced, "I feel like I'm going to sick up."
"Just breathe deeply, mate." Harry said as he popped off the sofa to get Neville a glass of water from the table against the far wall.
"Thanks." Neville said as he took it.
"You're very... calm... about killing dozens of people, Harry. It's a bit worrying if I'm honest." Luna told him as a frown creased her forehead.
"It's a necessity, First Friend. That's all. You know I've been killing to eat my entire life, this is no different. The reason it's a necessity is different, that's true, but otherwise it's the same. It needs doing, so you do it. That's all."
"That's fine for you, but I want to kill them all, including Dumbledore, for what they've done to you and your first family." Hermione growled.
"Okay, that's going to need explaining. I don't know about Neville, but I feel like there's story I'm missing here." Luna frowned.
"Yeah, I'm with you." Neville nodded at her.
Harry sighed. "Alright then, from the beginning."
Hermione relaxed onto his side as he began, and told Neville and Luna the entire story from the beginning - how Dumbledore had arranged for Snape to 'overhear' the prophecy, knowing he would immediately give it to Voldemort. How Dumbledore had known Voldemort since he was a student at Hogwarts, and what his real name was. Neville got up and paced up and down the room while his fists clenched and unclenched when they told him how his parents had been ambushed while on a mission for the Order that only Dumbledore had known about.
"Alright, I understand now, thank you." Luna said. "I feel quite cross myself after hearing all that." Her brows stayed knit and her eyes hard.
"So that's what we'll be doing most weekends, is looking for those 'items' Tom left behind. If we can find them all and destroy them..." Harry said.
"Then when he shows himself you can just cut his head off and that's the end of it." Neville finished.
"That's the plan." Hermione nodded. "Then we can get on with the important things."
"Honestly the hardest part so far has been not killing Dumbledore immediately." Harry frowned.
"I'm amazed you're as calm as you are." Neville glowered. "I want to kill him for pointing the Lestranges at my parents. They trusted that son of a -"
Wolly popped into the room in front of Harry and Hermione. His eyes were wide and he looked like he was afraid of them.
"Wolly? What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Iwasonwatchdutyanddoingeverythingfinebut -"
"Whoa, slow down, Wolly." Hermione said soothingly. "Take a breath, relax."
Wolly nodded fervently and only slowed a fraction. "I was on watch duty just watching like I was supposed to, but then a girl came from the green fire hole and the man was shouting and using the wand on her and made his poor elf dump her on a trash heap. I'm sorry, I know I should be on duty watching, but I thought 'what would Mister and Missus do?', so I took the girl to the healing place and came to tell you straight away."
Harry looked at Hermione, who looked at Harry. Then Harry turned back to Wolly.
"Wolly." He said. Wolly trembled and hung his head. "You did everything wonderfully. Thank you. That is exactly what we would do." They both reached out and hugged Wolly.
"Could I read your notes?" Hermione asked. Wolly gleefully handed her the small pad of parchment. "Thank you. Go on home and relax, you can tell everyone else they don't need to do watch duty anymore. Well done, Wolly." She smiled at him.
"Just for that, we'll have extra duties for you in the next little while." Harry clapped the elf on the shoulder lightly, and Wolly grinned hugely.
"Thank you Mister and Missus!" He squeaked, and Disapparated.
Hermione scanned his notes and swore under her breath. Harry read over her shoulder. When they were finished, she handed it to Luna, and Neville read over her shoulder.
"I'll go collect Colin, meet you at the front gates?" Harry asked Hermione. She nodded.
"Merlin's bloated barnacles." Neville swore.
"I hate Pansy, but this is actually making me feel sorry for her." Luna said sadly.
"I hate her too, but I know how it feels to have no-one." Hermione agreed.
"Let us know if we can do anything." Neville offered.
"You'll be the first, as always." Harry smiled in return.
Colin was doing homework in the Library when Harry found him and whispered "Grab your jacket, we have to go."
Colin started, then saw that it was Harry, and packed up his things. It took a few minutes to get back to the Gryffindor dorms so Colin could get his coat, but they made decent time. Hermione was only almost pacing back and forth in front of the gate when they arrived. She Resonated as they approached, and grabbed them both as soon as they were outside the wards.
"Whoa!" Colin exploded when they appeared outside St. Mungo's. "I never Apparated before, that was awesome!"
"Study Group will work on that later. Come on." Harry motioned him inside, and Colin recognized the place as a hospital.
"What's going on? Why are we at a hospital?" Colin frowned.
"Pansy was attacked." Harry told him before he walked in to talk to the Welcome Witch.
Colin's face hardened as he frowned. "I don't see why -"
"Her own father tried to kill her." Hermione said, tension in her voice.
Colin's face wavered between 'serves her right' and 'that's horrible' for a moment, then he took a deep breath and nodded. Hermione followed him inside.
"Third floor, intensive care." Harry said quietly when they caught up to him, and they trooped up the stairs to the third floor. Signs labeled the different wards, and it only took them a moment to find intensive care. There were only three people in intensive care, and Pansy was the only girl.
"I'm going to go ask how she is." Harry said quietly, and went up the hall toward the duty station.
Hermione stayed near Colin, as though she sensed he was both nervous and conflicted. He looked back at her and thanked her silently as they walked toward Pansy's bed.
She was unrecognizable.
Both her eyes were swollen shut, her nose and mouth were barely more than inflated rolls of skin. Jagged ruptures covered both her cheeks that slowly healed as potions were magically infused into her body. A wide wooden tube kept her lips apart to let her breathe, but her breathing was shallow and raspy.
"Merlin..." Colin whispered. "Her own father..." His face went slack and pale, his eyes filled with horror. The very air around the boy went still as the sight sank deep into his mind. He realized that she was the way she was for a reason, and that reason was not good.
Colin knew his father loved him. It was the foundation he stood on. What would he be like without that solid footing? Who would he be? Would he even know how wrong he was?
He saw her face again in his mind's eye as it had been at the Ball, and he recognized now the hardness in her eyes. He hadn't at the time, he had only enjoyed how it had softened as the night had progressed. He had been gobsmacked at her behaviour in the dark, and had been content to imagine the look in her eyes from the emotion in her voice. He had thought she had just really liked him, but that happiness had evaporated and left a residue of shame at his own conceit. Strangely, he discovered no regret along with the shame.
"The healers think she'll be fine in a few days." Harry said quietly. "If she hadn't gotten here as quickly as she did, it would have been worse. She's had a Dreamless Sleep potion, so she probably won't wake up until tomorrow. They had to regrow most of her bones."
To Hermione, he whispered "Remind me to give Wolly a medal, he saved her life."
"He did. Not sure it should be rewarded, though. We can discuss it later." She whispered back.
Colin stood at Pansy's side and held her hand. "The baby?" He asked.
"The healer said it should be fine. If it had been any bigger than it is, it might not have survived." Harry answered.
Colin found himself relieved and strangely happy. He looked up at Harry and Hermione. "I'm gonna be a dad." He said with a hint of a smile and a lot of shock. Then his face slowly fell into a frown. "I'm gonna be a dad..." He whispered. "I need to get my O.W.L.s done!" The whites of his eyes began to grow larger. "I need to find a job! Merlin's hairy underpants, I'm gonna be a dad!"
Harry's hand slipped around Hermione's, and she shot him a small smile.
"We can help get you set for your O.W.L.s, that was the purpose of Study Group anyway." Harry told Colin.
"Depending where you want to live, maybe your dad could help with you getting a job." Hermione offered. "If you want to stay in Britain -"
"No, if I can convince her to come to Australia I think that would be better. I'll never be able to repay you for getting Dad that job. Thank you again. I think Pansy... I think we have a lot of talking to do." Colin looked back to Pansy's slowly healing face. "I should have brought my bookbag, darn it."
"I'll bring it to you if you want." Harry offered.
Colin's eyebrows raised. "I... would appreciate that, thank you. I think I'd like to stay with her. Be here when she wakes."
"Like you were for me." Hermione whispered. Harry squeezed her hand gently.
"Anything else you want? School stuff? Change of clothes? Toothbrush?" Harry asked.
"Actually, all that would be brilliant. Why are you being so nice? You don't owe me anything." Colin said with a small shake of his head.
"He's not being nice." Hermione said with a smile. "He just is." She squeezed his hand back.
"We'll bring your bag to you and ask Wolly to hang around in case you need anything else, like a lift back to school."
Colin seemed to relax at that. "That's brilliant, thank you so much. First my dad, now me."
Harry smiled. "Like I said, I share some responsibility for the situation - so if I can help, you can be sure I will."
Colin smiled at that. "Thanks, Duncan. Thank you both."
Harry nodded. "Just call for Wolly if you need anything, hopefully we'll see you in a couple of days."
Colin nodded in return before Harry and Hermione turned and left the ward.
"You're thinking this will change Parkinson, aren't you?" Harry asked her when they got outside.
"If her own father hadn't tried to kill her, I'd say no. She's spent her whole life as a pureblood and being told she's better than anyone else because of it. The fact that her father did try to kill her might show her how empty that is. She might understand. She might not. I hope she does for Colin's sake, but I want nothing to do with her either way. I see her laughing at me when I look at her."
"I'm waiting to see what happens as well. If she can change, if she does understand, then it may not be necessary to kill the adolescents themselves. At least not all of them. On the other hand, I want to kill her for laughing at you too."
Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her lips. "Enough about them. I want all your time, and all your attention." She smiled playfully.
"Good." He smiled back. "I love it when you want more." He nuzzled her neck.
She nuzzled him back. "Come on, we have to get things done before we can sneak off for the rest of the night."
Harry wrapped his arms around her as he Resonated, and took them back to school.
Neville stood dumbfounded, unable to move or speak or think as his eyes overflowed and made the world wavy. He felt his Gran's hand clamp around his shoulder as a strangled sob escaped her throat.
He'd had no idea why they'd been summoned to St. Mungo's, and neither had Gran. Naturally, they'd thought his parents had finally given up and died. Neville had spent the whole trip there being relieved and hating himself for it. Never once had the scene in front of him entered his mind.
"Nevvy?" The frail, too-thin woman asked as her hand went to cover her mouth.
Neville's spine rippled as the sound entered his brain. She had called him Nevvy. He'd forgotten. He'd forgotten the sound of her voice, too.
His mother took careful step after careful step until she was close enough, and threw her spindly arms around him.
"My boy." She sobbed quietly. He wrapped his arms around her gently as well and cradled her while her tears fell on his shirt. "I missed it all, Nevvy. I'm so sorry, sweetie. I'm so sorry."
"Mum..." Neville squeezed her as tightly as he thought he could without hurting her. He could feel her ribs and spine. "It's really you."
Alice smiled up at Neville through her tears and put her hand on his cheek. "It's both of us, son. You've grown up so handsome, just like your father."
His father shuffled over and hugged Gran. "Thanks for looking after Nev for us, Mum."
Gran just hugged his dad and didn't trust her voice.
"Are you coming home, Mum?" Neville asked. The thought of having his parents at home put a ball of energy in his chest and made him want to scream and dance and laugh.
Frank looked back into their room where two of the healers deliberated with their heads together. "Do we get to go home?" He asked them.
One of the healers, a thin man with a moustache, looked up at them. "Sorry, say again?"
"I asked if we get to go home." Frank repeated.
"Oh! Yes, sorry. You have your exercises and your potions, just keep up with both and you should be fine in a month or so."
"How?" His Gran asked the healer. "What happened?"
"That is a great question. If you ever find out do let me know, would you?" The healer said with a smile. "If we could replicate it, I'd be out of a job, and that would be wonderful."
"The best we have so far is 'Magic wanted them healed'. My advice would be to go enjoy life while you can. And come back next month for a check-up, so we can monitor your progress. Please." The other healer added. He too wore a kind smile.
"I could use a bath and a meal, and then I want to hear everything we've missed." Alice hugged Frank's mother and then took Neville's arm.
"I'll second that." Frank smiled at his wife. "You definitely need a bath."
"Frank!" Alice frowned and swatted his shoulder feebly.
Frank laughed and held his arm out for his mother, and they began the walk to the lobby. They had to stop and rest twice on the way, the stairs really took the energy out of them. For Neville, it was over far too soon. He had to get back to school, no matter how much he wanted to spend the next few weeks with his parents. He also had a sneaking suspicion he needed to talk to Harry and Hermione about his parents' sudden recovery.
They used the floo in the lobby. Neville went through first, and it was a good thing he had, he had to catch his parents as they came out. Thankfully, his daily training had made him stronger and faster, so he had no trouble catching them delicately.
Frank and Alice headed for their bedroom immediately, presumably to wash and dress properly, so Neville busied himself preparing a lunch.
Augusta followed him into the kitchen.
"Can I get you anything, Gran? Tea?"
"No thank you, Neville. Did you know?"
"Did I know?" He frowned. "About Mum and Dad you mean?" He shook his head. "I went in there today thinking I'd have to bury them this weekend."
She patted his arm, and hugged him when he turned. "I'm so happy for us, Neville. I've not been this happy since you were born."
"I still can't believe it either, Gran. It's like waking up after a nightmare." He took a deep breath and let it out, then smiled at Gran briefly before his mind took him to wondering if he should ask to be present at Dumbledore's death.
"That's it - right there. I know that look." Augusta stabbed a finger at him from the kitchen table. "You know something."
Neville scowled in exasperation. Never could keep anything from Gran. Nobody could.
"I know who's responsible for them being that way - and I don't mean the Lestranges. Any more than that isn't my secret to tell."
Augusta's eyes narrowed and her voice cracked like a whip. "Who?" She demanded.
"Who else could free the Lestranges? Who else could have told them where Mum and Dad would be? When I tell you, you'll wonder how you never put it together yourself. I think there might be a spell involved."
"Who was it, Neville?" She asked again, almost pleading.
"Dumbledore." He said. If he hadn't been looking right into her eyes he might have missed it, but there was a tiny flash of light that accompanied Gran's sharp intake of breath.
"Merlin's balls." She swore as her eyebrows collided. "You're right, I would never have even thought of his name. Can you prove it?"
Neville shook his head. "No. A schoolmate of mine who studies Legilimensy took it from Dumbledore's own memories. I know he's right, but there is no proof."
"Shit. Shit shit shit shit!" Augusta's whole face grew angrier and angrier with each curse, and she stared down at the tabletop as she slammed it with her fist.
"This schoolmate... do you know him well?" She asked after a moment, and her head swiveled to look at him.
Neville grinned. "I can honestly say he's my best mate."
"Good! How soon do you think you can get him here?"
That made Neville frown. As much as he would love to have Harry and Hermione visit, he knew they didn't have a lot of free time, especially now. He shrugged. "He and his wife are always really busy, but I can ask."
"His wife!?" Augusta's voice rose in disbelief.
Neville nodded. "Magic decided they were married before Christmas."
"Now I really want to meet them."
"Like I said, they're probably busy, but I'll ask. Lammy!"
Lammy appeared with a soft bang in front of Neville. "Hi Lammy, thanks for coming." He smiled at her.
"Hello Mister Neville, thanks for calling. I can do something for you, I hope?"
Augusta's eyes bulged as she took in Lammy's straight ears, pleated skirt and crisp white blouse.
"I'm hoping so, Lammy. I was hoping your Mister and Missus could join us here for a few minutes? My gran would like to meet them. Gran, this is Lammy, Lammy, my Gran."
Lammy turned and bowed to Augusta. "Lady Longbottom, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She turned back to Neville then. "I will go ask, Mister Neville, and be right back."
Lammy Disapparated with another soft pop.
"What was that?!" Gran demanded as soon as Lammy had gone.
"That's Lammy. She's part of their family. She used to be a normal House Elf, but when she bonded to them..."
"Now I really want to meet them."
"Oh fiddlesticks! I need to go add them to the Wards again!" Neville rushed into the main hall and quickly wrote Duncan and Hermione MacFusty into the ward book - this time as recurring guests.
Neville's parents entered the kitchen slowly and took a seat at the table across from Augusta, so Neville served them tea.
"How you liking school, Nev?" His dad asked after taking a sip. "You must have a girlfriend by now, right?"
"School's alright Dad, it's a bit of a hassle if I'm honest, but there isn't any better way to learn. And yes, I'm courting Daphne Greengrass. That conversation will have to wait though, as we're expecting guests any -"
Harry and Hermione appeared silently next to Neville.
"Oh! Hello." Frank said, surprised.
"Hello!" Harry replied. "Sorry Nev, I didn't think you were at home, or we'd have used the door." He turned back to Frank. "Nice to see you up and about, Lord and Lady Longbottom."
Alice smiled. "It's nice to be up and about, thank you."
"Dunc, Hermione, these are my parents Frank and Alice, and my grandmother Augusta. Family, this is Duncan and Hermione MacFusty, the best friends anyone could ever ask for."
Harry grinned at Neville. "Nev, you're so smooth. Save it for Daphne, mate." He bowed to Neville's family. "A pleasure to meet you all..." He stood up and looked to Hermione with one eyebrow raised.
She nodded back to him. "They're all clean. The whole place is clean."
"Thanks love. As I was saying, it's a pleasure to meet you all, This is my brilliant wife Hermione. My official name is Duncan MacFusty, as the MacFustys took me in, but you can all call me Harry, Harry Potter."