Chapter One

The beating of Ron's heart could be heard all around the living room, he was certain of it. Either that or the feeling of it against his chest was so overwhelming that it was the only thing he could think about.

It had been a long time since something like this has happened to him, and maybe that was the worst of it; he had gotten to used to a certain level of normalcy that feeling like this again was much more terrifying. And it meant so many things that Ron couldn't even begin to comprehend what would come next.

"Are you alright, Weasley?"

The voice was familiar, but Ron had to think hard to identify it. It wasn't Harry's or Hermione's, who were the first people Ron thought of when his eyes landed on that…that thing.

No, this was someone he had met more recently. After the war. After becoming an auror.

Auror. That was it! This was another auror. Perhaps Berkley? No, Berkley had stayed outside to guard the perimeter. Only one other auror had gone inside with him; the Head Auror Willsburg.

Ron tried his hardest to remove his eyes from the object in front of him, and when he finally did, everything came into focus again; the house they were in, the ugly furniture of the living room, the stench of a dead body, or two to be more precise, and then Willsburg. He was standing next to Ron, his dark eyes big with worry as he stared at him.

"I'm fine," Ron said shaking his head a bit too much to be convincing. He felt the cold sweat dripping down his face.

"So," Willsburg began in a grave voice that made Ron remember how real this all was. "It is what we thought, isn't it?"

Ron nodded and closed his eyes, thinking that if he were to see it again, he might be sick. Funny how the most dreadful thing in the room wasn't the two dead bodies on the carpet, but the mundane object between them.

"It's a horcrux."

.

Hermione's legs were burning as she climbed up the stairs as fast as she could, trying to reach the Auror's offices at the same time as Ron; she didn't want to leave him waiting.

She could have taken the elevator, but that always took forever with all the stops. Besides, her own office was only five floors below Ron's, she could easily climb up five flights of stairs without getting winded up, right?

When she got there, panting and clutching folders to her chest, she made a pledge to read one book less a week and work on exercising.

She knocked on the office out of residual politeness, but she was already through the other side before Ron could tell her to come in. He was sitting behind his desk, both hands on the armrests as he looked up at her with a pale-greenish face.

"Oh, Ron!" she exclaimed as she rushed over to him, dropping her folders on top of his desk and crouching down next to him, taking one of his hands in hers and looking worriedly into his face. "I'm so glad you called me first! Tell me everything."

Ron sighed and put his other hand over hers. "It was awful, Hermione. I can't even begin to tell you what I felt when...I mean it was…"

"I know, I can imagine, and I'm pretty terrified myself right now, but we need to think this through because there's no way…" She shook her head. She didn't even want to say it out loud. It was impossible. "There's got to be an explanation."

Ron grimaced. "I don't see how this isn't related to him."

Hermione got to her feet and walked around the desk to sit on the other side. "Tell me everything, Ron. I need to see the report, and the pictures. Are there any witnesses?"

Ron shook his head as he pushed open folder towards Hermione. "Everything's here. I don't even know what else to add."

Hermione bit her lip. Ron looked devastated, as if they had just told him someone in his family had died. She reached and took a memo paper and wrote an order for two strong teas to be delivered to Ron's office as soon as possible. She tapped the paper with her wand and it folded itself into an airplane and flew away. She began reading the report.

It was more gruesome than she had imagined. Two rotting bodies, both apparently having died at roughly the same time, but one having suffered the Avada while the other bled out through a horrid hole in the chest. Sitting on the carpet between them, a small music box, which after further consideration was confirmed to be a…

"How did you know it was definitely a horcrux?" she asked, looking closely at the picture of the tiny mahogany box.

Ron flinched at the word. "It was very obvious. I could feel it beating inside, it was the most alive thing in that room." He stopped and leaned forward, his blue eyes widening slightly in even deeper desperation. "And Hermione, it's even worse than before, because I had never felt such a strong presence from the other ones, but this...it was as if it could sense me and even wanted to speak to me but...couldn't."

Hermione started feeling sick.

"It… It can't be him, Ron."

Ron got to his feet, agitated. "And why not? He is the only reason we even know what horcruxes are." Ron looked like the word physically pained him. "He's the only wizard in history to have created so many. Who's to say he couldn't have made a few more?"

He was pacing up and down his office, staring blankly down at his feet.

Hermione stood up too. "We saw him die! It wasn't like the time his curse backfired on Harry and his body was destroyed but his soul remained! This time there was a body!"

"So? He might have found a way!" Ron looked at her then, his eyes wide with fear. "That's the thing, Hermione, we don't know. Magic shifts and changes, and maybe there are things we don't understand yet but will make sense later. Isn't that what happened when we were young?"

Hermione rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Yes, but we were children then. We understand a lot more now. Besides, it's been nine years since we saw him die, Ron. How come he didn't show any signs of still being alive before?"

"I have no idea. I know nothing about this makes sense, but it's the only explanation isn't it?" Ron sat back down in his chair and reached for a memo papers. "We need to tell Harry."

"Wait!" Hermione stopped Ron, her hand over his. "We can't tell Harry!"

Ron frowned. "Why not?"

Hermione felt a tightness in her chest just thinking about seeing the fear in Harry's eyes when hearing this information. "Do you realize what this will do to him? And besides, if this was truly Voldemort," Hermione stopped when she realized how long it'd been since she said that name. Ron flinched. "Don't you think Harry would have felt something?"

Ron shook his head and Hermione realized what he was about to say before he said it. She hadn't really thought about that.

"Harry's not a horcrux anymore. Any connection he had with the old horcruxes is gone."

"Don't say 'old horcruxes' as if you're certain this is a new one of his. We don't know that yet," Hermione said. There was a knock on the door that startled her, but Ron called out to come in before she could do anything.

The door flung open and two cups of tea floated into the office and landed on Ron's desk. She sat down again and took one of the cups in her hands as she looked at the pictures of the scene again. Ron was quiet.

"If there are two bodies, why is there only one horcrux? And why leave it behind?" She didn't look up and Ron didn't answer. There had to be something they were missing. She shuffled through the pictures. "Was there a book left behind? Or instructions of some kind?"

She looked up to see Ron shake his head. "The house looked nearly abandoned, only the empty furniture left behind."

Hermione made another effort to look at the disgustingly graphic photo of the man with the hole in his chest. "I think for now our safest bet is to assume that the horcrux belongs to one of these men."

"What? How is that our safest bet? If the horcrux was theirs, how come they're dead? And believe me, we checked." Ron shuddered before taking a sip from his tea.

Hermione shrugged weakly. "I'm not sure. But if one of them did it, it has to be this one." She pointed at the picture of the man who bled to death. "You need to kill with the Avada for the making of a horcrux."

Ron's face got somehow greener. "I still can't believe you know how to make a horcrux."

"It was a necessary sacrifice," she said with a half smile. She was personally in charge of making sure that all information about horcruxes was properly classified and secure, and while checking books for that information she learned a little more than she had wanted to.

"Anyway," she continued. "We'll have to go with that, even if we don't know how this person died afterwards. We can't just claim Voldemort's back without any substantial proof."

Ron looked at her, his blue eyes searching her face with resignation. "Fine. But we can't rule it out either, and we need to tell Harry."

Hermione nodded. She knew they'd have to tell him, and if she was him she wouldn't want to be excluded from something like this, but if she could spare him the pain even a little bit, she would. "We will. As soon as we can prove that this horcrux isn't his."

Ron sighed. "Too bad we can't do DNA testing on souls right?"

Hermione's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Right. But there might be something we can do."

.

Harry couldn't believe the mess he was in. His eyes stung from lack of sleep, his throat was so sore he had barely spoken a word since yesterday, and he was pretty sure his hand was going to fall off.

Some idiot down in Interior had messed of the dates of the two new wizarding schools opening in the next few months and Harry was left to handle the mess. The amount of paperwork was indescribable, and that was nothing next to the number of meetings he'd been having and still needed to have.

It was his biggest project yet, and more importantly, it was the one he had cared about the most. Opening two new magical schools was something unheard of before, as Hogwarts had been the one and only school for witches and wizards in the country for millennia, but after the war the number of magical babies started to increase rapidly, and with a new government and fresh set of values, marrying Muggles was not only allowed but encouraged. According to a study conducted by the Magical Population departement, they were expecting an unprecedented increase in magical births.

And as much as Harry loved Hogwarts, as Head of the Depart of Magical Education, Harry couldn't ignore the fact that it was very inconvenient to have only one school, especially if it was so far away from the city. So the new schools will be in London and Cambridge, and they wouldn't work as boarding schools like Hogwarts.

Of course, mixing the dates has wreaked havoc in all the planning they'd been doing for months; from construction to registrations, from school curriculum to staff, even from book shopping to angry parents.

Thankfully, his day wouldn't end in such a terrible note because his last meeting was with the Junior Undersecretary of the Department of Magical Law, or better known to him as Hermione.

She walked into his office looking- for lack of a better word as Harry's brain wasn't functioning very well at the moment- like an inferi. Her eyes were bloodshot with dark bags under, her skin didn't have its usual healthy glow, and her posture almost made Harry want to admonish her the way she usually did to him.

"What a shit-storm, eh?" he said with a weak smile when she sat across from him.

"Mm?" Hermione was staring off into space, as if she hadn't even noticed Harry was there. Then she snapped back to reality, her eyes widening as they landed on him. "Oh, yes. Truly unbelievable."

Harry frowned. Even under the worst gubernamental screw ups Hermione was sharp and efficient, and usually too angry to be so overwhelmed.

"Are you feeling alright?" Harry asked her. "I know we've postponed this meeting twice already but if you want-"

"No," Hermione interrupted while shaking her head. "No, let's get this over with. So Kingsley tells me that there are rumors about suing the Ministry?"

Harry nodded and pushed some papers towards Hermione. "The mixup meant that some materials for the Cambridge school were taken downtown because that was supposed to be built first, and even though the blueprints didn't match the building site there, they tried to start construction anyway and some workers were hurt on what's technically government property. They're blaming it on us."

Hermione rolled her eyes so fast Harry was sure it hurt, and effectively she winced right after. "That's the stupidest thing I've heard all week. They are supposed to have strict codes of security, no matter where or what they're building with. And the head engineer must have realized the mistake before even a brick was put into place." Hermione rose from the chair, looking a bit maniac, her wild hair looming around her as if cackling with electricity. "They don't have a case and if they continue pursuing it, I'm going to destroy them."

Harry felt a shiver run down his spine. "Merlin Hermione, what's going on? One second you're completely out of it and the next you're ready to slaughter the Planning Department."

She slumped her shoulders, apparently understanding how far she had gone. "I just can't believe we have to deal with these idiotic problems."

"It comes with the job," Harry shrugged. "Bureaucratic mess is what you and I signed up for. Ron's the one who's got the exciting job."

"I guess you're right," Hermione said as she slumped back in the chair and closed her eyes. "I'm just so tired."

Harry smiled sympathetically. "I'd give you a massage if I wasn't so tired myself."

Hermione gave him a grateful look and then threw her head back to the headrest and relaxed with her eyes closed. Harry hated seeing Hermione so tired, and even though it had happened about a thousand times, he didn't think he'd ever get used to it.

For a moment he felt completely at peace, as neither of them moved or made any noise and simply basked in each other's comfortable company. The rise and fall of Hermione's chest had soothed Harry's nerves (and despite what he might say out loud he was glad she was ready to slit throats to solve his problems) and it was miraculous how with only a few minutes of rest, she was already looking better, the tension on her shoulders gone and the lines on her forehead diminishing to normal levels.

Hermione opened her eyes and straightened up suddenly, making Harry jump. He hadn't realized how much he had been staring.

"Well, back to work," she said and stood up. "Ginny's game is tomorrow. You're coming, right?"

Harry tried not to look as though he would much rather sleep in late on his only free day instead of attending a morning quidditch match, but he probably failed because Hermione's lips twitched.

"Fuck this, Harry. It wasn't you who screwed up, so leave early today, have a well-deserved sleep, and I'll see you tomorrow in the pitch." She smiled in that way she usually did when she was delighting herself in breaking the rules. Harry felt a familiar and warm appreciation for her.

"Will do. Thanks Hermione." Harry got to his feet too and walked around his desk to hug her. She smelled like strong coffee and that distinct combination of scents that Harry knew to be from the Ministry potion labs. "Have you been to the labs again?"

Hermione stiffened slightly in his arms. "Yes, I've been experimenting."

Harry laughed. "As if you don't have work enough already."

She chuckled as they broke apart and then she reached up and traced two fingers down Harry's cheek. "Are you planning in shaving any time soon?"

Harry shrugged. "Haven't really had time." He had been meaning to, though. He knew his stubble was getting quite long.

Hermione smiled. "Good. Don't." She walked away, closing the door behind her and leaving Harry with no option but to go back to work.

.

Ginny couldn't have asked for a more perfect match. The weather had been impeccable, their strategy worked like a charm, and all es friends and family had been there to watch.

Luna came running up to her, her impossibly long hair trailing behind her like the tail of a blonde (and recently pink) kite.

Neville was next, hugging Ginny so tightly she could hardly breathe.

"Thank you for coming," Ginny told them both. "I know you're really busy lately."

Luna smiled brilliantly. "I'm in town until noon, plenty of time to stop by."

"Luna, it's already noon," Neville said, looking slightly unnerved.

"Oh, is it?" She glanced straight up at the sun as Ginny gave Neville an amused look. "Well, I better go and try to get the next portkey. It was a good game Gin, not boring at all."

Ginny laughed. "Thank you." She hugged Luna again and kissed her cheek. "Have fun in Finland, love you!"

"I love you too!" Luna said chirpily as she hugged Neville as well. "You too Neville!"

Ginny and Neville waved goodbye to Luna as she ran out of the pitch.

"Sorry Gin, but I have to go too. Pomona is waiting for me to have lunch," Neville told her apologetically.

Ginny patted him on the shoulder. "I can't believe you call Professor Sprout 'Pomona'. " Ginny said. "But I'm really happy for you! Just call me the next time you can, alright?"

Neville nodded. "Will do. You were brilliant as always!"

Ginny smiled as Neville walked away, crossing paths with Harry, Hermione, and her family as they were arriving.

"Gotta run!" Neville waved at them before taking off.

George hugged Ginny first, lifting her off her feet and shaking her around like a puppet. "My little sister is making me rich! I put all my gallons on you destroying them and you lived up to it!"

Ginny hit him on the head. "Yes, I did it solely for your sake! Now put me down!"

He did, leaving Ginny free to receive hugs from all her brothers, even Charlie had managed to attend. Hermione and Harry followed.

"Oh dear, it was fantastic! We must celebrate tonight!" her mother said as she kissed Ginny twice on each cheek. "Aunt Tessie is coming to visit! We can have a celebration dinner with her!"

Ginny faked a smile. "Oh, great." She side-eyed her brothers, along with Harry and Hermione, who hid their mocking smiles.

"Too bad I have to go back." Charlie patted Ginny on the back rather hard. "Enjoy your celebration!"

"Ditto. Vicky's sick and Fleur needs me," Bill said with a tiny smile he couldn't get rid off.

"Try not looking so happy about next time," Ron whispered to him when their parents weren't listening.

When everyone had finished congratulating her and most of her family left with reminders to meet each other at the burrow later, Ginny turned to Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

"If we're going to be seeing Aunt Tessie tonight, we need to have a little celebration of our own first."

Ginny didn't even bother to shower before they headed to the bar, she merely changed into more comfortable clothes and they were off.

"And your seeker wasn't messing around, I think the only person with a dirtier mouth in that team is you," Harry shook his head in amusement before taking another sip of his beer.

Ginny barked a loud laugh. "Who do you think taught her?"

The four of them had been coming to this bar ever since Harry, Ron, and Hermione started working at the Ministry because it was conveniently close, but they still went even on off days. Sometimes other people tagged along, like George or Luna or Neville. Seamus and Dean made an appearance every once in a while too.

But Ginny still enjoyed herself when it was just them, specially after it stopped being a double date and they could simply be themselves without any pressure. Before that, there was a time when Ginny thought their friendship wouldn't make it, with her and Harry broken up and Ron and Hermione trying not to fight every single minute. Ginny barely spoke to the three of them when she went on tour with the Harpies the first time, and when she came back Ron and Hermione were already separated and happier than she had seen them in forever.

"Alright, I know it's difficult, but enough about me." Ginny finished off her beer and placed the empty bottle on the table. "What about you?" She looked at Hermione and Ron. "You've been awfully quiet."

Hermione had definitely not slept in weeks, because she was yawning in between each sip of beer. Ron, on the other hand, looked tired but in a slightly anxious way, sometimes flinching with the loud noises that usually happened in a bar.

"Come to think of it," Ginny considered before they had a chance to answer. "You two were the first to arrive at the match, and I saw you deep in whispered conversation before anyone else got there." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

For the first time since they got there, Ron and Hermione burst out laughing, Ron even dropping his head on the table and clutching his beer bottle for dear life. Harry and Ginny looked at each other, half surprised and half amused.

"God Ginny, I'm too tired to be laughing like this," Hermione said in between laughs, tears in her eyes.

"Imagine if your younger selves could see your reaction right now," Harry commented as he gathered the empty bottles to go for more.

Ron composed himself enough to speak. "I would smack my younger self on the back of the head. Repeatedly."

Harry left to get the drinks and Ginny tried to get a serious answer out of Ron and Hermione. "Come on, spill it. You've been tired before, but you're both clearly worried about something."

Ginny didn't miss the quick look the two of them shared before Hermione answered. "There's just this case that we're both involved in, and it's definitely keeping us up at night."

Ron nodded in agreement but didn't say anything.

"Okay. Well, have you asked Harry about it? He might have some ideas, you know." Ginny could already sense what kind on answer she would get to this, because it wasn't like his brother to act to strange in front of the three people he trusted the most.

"Well," Hermione said uncomfortably. "Harry doesn't know yet. He's got a lot on his plate with the new schools and everything. We don't want to inconvenience him now."

The way hermione was looking at Ginny held a lot of meaning, and Ginny was sure as hell not going to argue with Hermione of all people. She wouldn't tell Harry.

"Alright, but I'll just say this; just because Harry chose a boring desk job, it doesn't mean that he doesn't want to be included, and actually actively likes exciting and difficult cases. Specially if you ask him."

Ron's and Hermione's expressions softened, and while Ron looked incredibly guilty, Hermione smiled.

"You're right. We'll tell him, don't worry."

When Harry came back, bringing a new round of beers, they changed the conversation to Harry's new schools.

"I wish I had twenty more teachers like Neville." Harry sighed. "He has been working so hard with Sprout to get his certification in time for the opening."

"The world will always need more Nevilles," Ron agreed. There was a loud ring and Ron fumbled in his pockets to pull out the mobile phone that the entire Auror department had gotten the year before, after almost a decade of Hermione insisting. Ron's face paled considerably when he looked at the screen.

He got to his feet and left the bar, not even bothering to explain or look back. Ginny noticed Hermione looked worried.

"If the Education department gets into any more trouble, we're going to need some of those phones too," Harry said casually.

"It's not about trouble, Harry." Hermione looked like she was trying not to seem distressed, but her eyes were flicking between Harry and the door. "I've been saying it for years, everyone should have one."

It wasn't even a minute when Ron came back, looking distinctly greenish. Ginny had seen that look before, and her stomach dropped with uncomfortable dread.

They were all looking at him, even Harry sensing that something must be terribly wrong, but Ron only had eyes for Hermione, his voice trembling slightly when he spoke.

"They found another."

/Author's Notes: Hello friends! So let me start by saying that the idea for this fic just sprang on me about two weeks ago and I started writing it only last week, so this will be a WIP with no forseeable end date. I want to be very clear about this: If you don't like WIP's where you don't know when or how long the updates will take, don't read this. I'll upload the chapters as I write them, so it'll be totally inconsistent. That being said, I have the whole story planned and I know where I want to go so I'll finish it eventually (it's going to be long!)

If at any point you want more story and I'm taking too long with the new chapter, hit me up on tumblr (amaliabones) and we can talk about it and it will inspire me to write faster!

I hope you enjoy this story filled with mystery, slow burn (at least at first), and lots of gay romance. As one wise soul once said: "They're all gay. I don't even care. Try and stop me."/