Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.
Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.
1999 AKA The Year Everyone Worked Their Butts Off & Sirius Met His Match
By February of 1999, everyone from the Order had settled into a post-war routine and the wizarding world was beginning to get back on its feet, stronger and much less corrupt than before. Hermione had penned the first few chapters of her book and they were currently being proof-read by Bill, Remus and Severus to ensure accuracy. She had also bought a flat with Bill, which they had paid for with the large rewards all members of the Order and the D.A. had been given for their stellar contributions to the war effort. Molly Weasley had pursed her lips a little at the idea of them living together before marriage, but considering that they were engaged and obviously besotted with each other, she remained quiet on the matter, only occasionally speaking of their impropriety.
Hermione loved the flat, which was of course a good thing considering she worked from home and spent all her time in there. It was a wizarding flat in the wizarding area of outer London, magically expanded so there was plenty of room for the huge office and library Hermione insisted on. Everyone had gained much amusement from those rooms, laughing about how Hermione would insist on so many books even after she had left Hogwarts. The flat was often overflowing with visitors and Hermione found herself visited by at least two or three Order members daily, meaning that life was never dull - especially when the twins decided to show up. Bill had no problems with their flat being used as a social club, glad it gave Hermione company during the day when he worked, as long as they left most evenings so he could have some 'alone' time with his fiancée.
Harry, Draco, Blaise, Ron and Ginny were being battered and exhausted by Auror and Quidditch training respectively, though they all seemed to love their jobs with the enthusiasm Hermione used to show for her schoolwork. Neville was greatly enjoying his apprenticeship with Professor Sprout, despite Severus' surliness at "having to cope with bloody Longbottom as a colleague." From the little Luna could reveal, it sounded as if she was greatly interested in her Unspeakable work and Hermione was glad - that sort of work suited Luna, who was incredibly intelligent, but also a little different to most witches and wizards. She fit right in with the other Unspeakables.
Remus, Tonks and Teddy were happily situated in a beautiful cottage, where Hermione visited as much as possible in order to spend time with her two good friends and her little godson. Teddy was a happy, intelligent little boy and amused everyone with his metamorphmagus abilities, reminding Hermione of the time that seemed so long ago, when she and Ginny had begged Tonks to show them their favourite funny noses at Grimmauld Place. Hermione was glad Teddy and any future Order children would be able to grow up in a world without war and, with the way reforms were going, with reduced, perhaps even destroyed, prejudices.
Bill was relishing being back at work as a curse breaker for Gringotts, though he had toned his adventures down a little so he was never away from Hermione for more than a few days. His mother had been delighted, she'd never liked it when he'd spent weeks or months stationed in a foreign country and constantly thanked Hermione for keeping her eldest son at home - no one liked to be separated much after the war. Hermione was just happy that Bill was around a lot. She remembered the days running up to the battle, where they'd both been so busy they'd barely had a chance to see each other - those had been some of the hardest days of the war for her, unsure whether she would survive and without the comfort Bill offered.
Kingsley was fast becoming one of the most popular Ministers for Magic in the past five hundred years - Fudge had been terrible and while Scrimgeour had been decent, he'd been too interested in manipulating Harry and trying to discover what Dumbledore was up to. Kingsley was open, honest, approachable, not to mention he had experience of war and government through his Auror position, membership of the Order of the Phoenix and role in the war. Dumbledore was still Headmaster of Hogwarts, though the school had a much better relationship with the Ministry now Kingsley was in charge - there would be no more disasters like Umbridge again.
Remus, Tonks and Arthur were doing brilliant work in the Ministry and the new organisation meant that the Ministry would hopefully be secure for years to come. Death eater activity was virtually non-existent thanks to the work of the Aurors and the public was finally starting to feel safe again. Sirius had taken his familial position on the Wizengamot, one he had never been able to take before due to his status as a fugitive and his hatred for his family. He was very outspoken in his disagreement with pure-blood bigotry and campaigned fiercely for the rights of half-breeds like werewolves. His passionate speeches had already won over a large amount of the previously traditional and stubborn Wizengamot.
Speaking of Sirius, Hermione had reason to believe that he had perhaps met a woman who had caught his fancy. She'd noticed that Sirius had stopped being seen with a different woman each night, something he had done ever since his pardon gave him the freedom to do so. He was also out of Grimmauld Place a lot more than normal, which was strange considering Wizengamot meetings only took up a few hours four days a week. Hermione, being her intelligent self, soon concluded that there must be a woman in Sirius' life and that it must be serious (forgive the pun) if he wasn't telling anyone - in one of their late night chats, Sirius had confided that while he boasted to the high heavens about conquests who mattered little, he remained silent on those who really mattered to him.
Hermione had yet to learn the name of the mysterious witch that had so entranced Sirius, but she had seen a flash of long raven locks swish out of view when she had visited Grimmauld Place one time and had also heard the same silvery laugh a few times. She'd asked Sirius about the identity of the witch who had so captivated him a few times, but he always denied the existence of such a woman or steered the conversation away from her - Hermione was getting quite restless with the desire to meet the witch Sirius was keeping secret. When she'd finally gotten Sirius to admit that yes, he was seeing a witch, yes it was serious and no, there was no pun intended, all he would say was that Hermione and the rest of the Order would get to meet her soon enough.
Soon enough turned out to be at Harry's nineteenth Birthday party, held at the Burrow on July 31st. Sirius was, as always, the last to arrive and when he did he certainly made an entrance worthy of his Black heritage. So far, the highlights of the party had been Ginny showing off her beautiful new engagement ring to the gushing females and her beaming mother, Harry being saved the death glares from her brothers since it was his Birthday and Draco turning up with Astoria Greengrass as his date. The latter had been a bit of a worry until they discovered that while Astoria's family was as pure as they come and almost as wealthy as the Malfoys, they also placed little stock in blood purity and had stayed firmly out of the war. Hermione, Ginny, Tonks and Luna all found her to be an engaging, intelligent girl and they were pleased for Draco.
Of course, all this was blown out of the water by the arrival of Sirius and a gorgeous, raven haired woman who appeared to be in her early thirties. The party went entirely silent, even the twins remained quiet as they all took in a smirking Sirius and his beautiful companion, who was smiling shyly at them all.
Sirius, never one to blunder and stumble through things, grinned at his friends, "I'd like you all to meet Madeline Derrick, my girlfriend."
His words seemed to be what was needed to end the silence and both Remus and Harry were in the lead to congratulate Sirius. The women; Hermione, Luna, Ginny, Tonks, Narcissa, Astoria, Maria Zabini, Molly and Hannah (who had come with Neville) all encircled Madeline, welcoming her and asking her a whole host of questions about herself. Hermione watched happily as the woman visibly relaxed, glad of the acceptance she was receiving. Hermione nodded to herself, this woman wasn't a bimbo and she seemed clever enough to keep up with Sirius - a perfect match.
While Remus, Harry, Tonks and Narcissa regaled Madeline, or Maddie as she had insisted they call her, with amusing stories of Sirius' youth, the marauders and his refusal to ever really grow up, Hermione went over to talk to the man being discussed so avidly. "She seems great Sirius," she told him softly, leaning over to greet him with a hug, "I'm so glad you've found someone special, I was beginning to think you'd be a playboy bachelor for the rest of your life."
Sirius gave a mock pout, "you wound me Mione, there is nothing wrong with playing the field a little. Still, I'm glad I've found Maddie, she's everything I'd ever want in a woman - probably the only one apart from you who can really put me in my place."
Hermione laughed, "I like her already, you can be such a child sometimes that you need someone to boss you about. I know you've been teaching Teddy all about pranking and the poor boy is only a bit over a year old. I won't have you corrupting my little godson," she said with a smile.
Sirius gave a bark of laughter, "Mione, are you forgetting who I am - Padfoot, one of the great Marauders and a prank genius - to Teddy I will always be the uncle who lets him get away with everything and teaches him all he needs to know about pranking. Still, Moony might help, despite he occasional 'holier than thou' demeanour, he always came up with our best ideas, he just never got caught."
Hermione grinned, she could certainly believe that about Remus, while he was one of the most responsible men she knew, he was also one of the sneakiest when he wished to be.
She shook her head, smiling at Sirius, "well, moving away from discussions of your mischievous childhood, I am very happy for you Sirius, but rest assured that if she hurts you I will ensure that she pays dearly for it."
Sirius nodded, "I'll pass on the message, despite the fact that I'll look pathetic for having a nineteen year old girl protecting me - then again, you are rather petrifying when you want to be - still, I doubt she'll hurt me, it's looking long-term I think," he told her with a bright smile.
Hermione grinned and gave him another hug and went over to chat to Kingsley.
The summer gradually changed to autumn and Hermione watched with a little sadness as the sun became less common and in its place came high winds and cool weather. Still, with no summer activities, she found she had more time to get down to planning her wedding to Bill, which would take place the next summer. They were going to have it at the Burrow, a plan which had delighted Mrs Weasley and moved her to tears. Unfortunately, that was about the only thing they had definitely decided, though Molly had insisted on doing to catering and Hermione left it in her capable hands - no one cooked quite like Mrs Weasley. As for the other details, Hermione still had about nine months to get things done and she was planning to go shopping with the girls for wedding and bridesmaid dresses in a few months, when there were New Year sales on.
By November, Hermione had finished the final draft of her book, Defensive Spell Work for Battle, and it was currently being published. Flourish and Blotts, the main book store chain in the wizarding world, would begin to stock it in early December and expected it to be a big hit. While the war was over, fights and skirmishes would always be around and who better to learn battle techniques from but one third of the Golden Trio. Hermione was both excited and apprehensive about the launch of the book, though all her friends assured her that they just knew it would be a big hit, making her feel a lot better. Despite her incredible intelligence, Hermione's fear had always been failure, as shown by her boggart in third year - Professor McGonagall informing her that she had failed everything - and she worried terribly that she wouldn't succeed
In the end, she need not have worried; pre-order sales were huge and all Flourish and Blotts ran out of her book within two days. She was most definitely a big hit.
Thanks to The Sexy Muggle Librarian for the review of the first chapter, it was very much appreciated.
The next chapter, in which we explore the happenings of the year 2000 and an awful lot of weddings, will be up in a week or two.