Author's Note: I do not own any of the characters within, all intellectual property blah blah blah. Positive reviews will be appreciated, constructive criticism will be thanked. This is my first HP fanfic. It includes some moderately graphic scenes of smut and battles. Questions, comments, and concerns will be directed to the appropriate place.

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Chapter 4

Harry and Hermione sat in Kingsley's office. They had relived Harry's encounter with Ginny through Kingsley's pensive, as well as Hermione's with the Minister. Harry heard the conversation echo in his mind.

"Minister, what's this all about?"

"Miss Granger, I can honestly say I don't know. I can easily guess, though." He paused. "They are setting Ronald up to run against me for Minister."

"What? That would never work!"

Shacklebolt laughed. "Miss Granger, you may perhaps be naïve in politics. Mr. Weasley has several things in his favor. He fought beside you and Mr. Potter during the war, standing true to friendship and in opposition of the Dark Lord. His family, while pureblood, is friendly to muggle-born and he can moderate the hard line of the Malfoy family."

"But that's what I can't figure out, Minister. None of us have ever been friendly with Malfoy, and certainly never friendly to his pure-blood message. I can't believe that Ron would turn so radically."

Shacklebolt shrugged. "We may not know why or how, but it does appear that they have aligned for some purpose."

Harry shook his head. Ron and Draco were definitely up to something. Could the rumors be true- had they become lovers? At this point, it seemed the most logical reason for the change.

"Could they have Imperius'd Ron & Ginny?"

"Who can tell?" Shacklebolt replied. "We will just have to wait and see what they do next."

They thanked Kingsley and returned home. The days passed quickly between as Harry and Hermione grew increasingly passionate and exercised longer and longer bouts of lovemaking. It was common for them to spend an entire night each week in the throes of passion, not resting between sundown and sunup. Harry submitted further to Hermione's sexual domination, and she relished the control. Harry had taken to calling her Mistress Potter, and she extended her dominion outside of the bedroom. Harry regularly found himself bound, his body being used to pleasure Hermione, before begging for release and climax. Throughout it all, their love deepened, their connecting tattoos deepened, and yet the still never set a date for their wedding.

Halloween seemed to be a time when bad things happened around Harry. He was reminded of his parents' death, the troll attack in his first year at Hogwarts, and more. Halloween had been when the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, and when his name appeared in the Goblet of Fire. So it was not surprising that Harry approached the holiday with some trepidation. The morning of October 31 began as routine as any other, but by lunchtime Hermione seemed restless.

"Harry, let's go out for dinner," Hermione suggested.

Harry smiled. "Sounds great to me- I'm getting tired of seeing this same room day after day." He sauntered up to Hermione. "But I must say, the scenery is lovely," he teased, running his eyes up and down over her figure.

Hermione had the good graces to blush, and then swatted his arm playfully. "You dirty boy! I may have to spank you later!"

"Promises, promises," Harry laughed. They decided on dinner at a muggle Italian restaurant so they could share a big bowl of pasta.

Hermione seemed to sense Harry's mood regarding the holiday. "Don't worry, Harry. It's just another holiday; nothing bad is going to happen. We'll spend it like any other muggle couple, away from magic and the troubles of our world."

"That sounds delightful," Harry agreed. "I've got to get past this hang-up; I mean it's not like something bad happens every year at Halloween. When was the last time we had a problem on Halloween? The tournament?"

"Exactly!" Hermione nodded authoritatively. "We'll go at it the muggle way, we both know how to celebrate it."

Harry laughed. "Too bad we can't go trick-or-treating!"

Hermione grinned wickedly. "I have some candy you may like…"

"Do tell!" Harry reached out and pulled Hermione to him.

"Nah-ah-ahhh, you'll have to wait until after dinner!" She pushed him away playfully. They dressed and headed for Diagon Alley- any time they were out and about, Harry insisted on visiting Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. As usual, George was cordial, but seemed too busy to chat. It saddened Harry to see the twin so solitary, and adding to it was the current friction with Ron. On the way out of the store, George stopped them and tossed Harry a package.

"'Tis my newest creation- a miniature quidditch pitch, complete with teams and everything!" George tried to smile. "Thought you might like to see it before I put them out for sale."

"Thank you!" Harry beamed. The crowd bustled around him, preventing him from talking any more. George nodded and turned to return to the till.

"It's bloody amazing," Harry mumbled at the dinner table, looking into the globe as two teams darted back and forth across the pitch. Hermione smiled and agreed. "It's too small, but I can't help trying to find the snitch," Harry laughed, tearing his eyes away from the gift and putting it away.

"It is very nice. I expect George will do well with that one," Hermione nodded. They ate slowly, savoring the chicken parmesan and wine. After dessert, they strolled downtown London, enjoying the activity of the city. Finally, Hermione pulled on Harry's hand. "I think it's time to go home," she whispered warmly. Harry nodded eagerly and they found a remote spot in order to Apparate home. Finally, Harry had a Halloween with wonderfully pleasant memories.

The calendar continued to roll onward, and Christmas began to loom on the horizon. Their Christmas celebrations were well planned out, and the couple split their time between Potter Mansion and Grimmauld Place during the holidays. Hermione read up on house elf customs, and she and Harry were planning a celebration with Blinky and Kreacher. Hermione had also begun to consider a job at the Ministry, and was pushing Harry to consider a position at Hogwarts. They were at Grimmauld Place one evening a few weeks before Christmas. Harry felt the familiar tickling emanating from his tattoo and was slipping out of his clothes expectantly when Kreacher appeared and announced the presence of a visitor at the door. Reluctantly, he and Hermione dressed and greeted their guest in the study.

They were surprised to find Ginny huddled in the study, hungrily sipping a mug of coco. "I'm terribly sorry to intrude," she shivered, "but I don't know where else to go." Harry ordered a full meal prepared for her and they sat quietly while she ate, oblivious to her surroundings.

"Please, before you do anything, perform a finite incantatum to help insure my honesty," she implored. Surprised, Hermione quickly complied. Ginny managed a weak smile then returned to her meal.

"Ginny, what's going on?" Harry finally asked.

Ginny laughed. "That's a long story." She sighed and looked at Harry. "Where to start? After our breakup, we thought things would be fine- Ron still had you and your friendships. When did you two actually start snogging?"

Hermione blushed. "Our first kiss was… Right after you two broke up. But it didn't get serious for some time after that."

Ginny nodded. "No harm to me, but Ron knew something was wonky between you. Honestly, finding out that you were shagging sent him barking mad." Her eyes betrayed her feelings, though. Harry could read the sadness and disappointment behind her mask of indifference.

A tear dropped down Hermione's cheek and Harry sighed. "We never meant to hurt anyone," he told Ginny.

Ginny nodded again and touched his hand. "I know. He didn't, though." She looked at Hermione. "You were the one thing that Harry couldn't claim over him. Fame, fortune, skill, Ron believed that he could never compare to The Boy Who Lived. When he got together with you, it was something that Harry'd never done. Something special."

Hermione nodded. "He told me he always felt inferior with us."

"Anyway, after your breakup, he went mental. Disappeared. Even I don't know what he did while he was gone." Ginny laughed bitterly. "Did you read the rumors? 'Weasley and Malfoy- lovers?' Utter drivel!" She smiled slyly. "Well, mostly drivel. They did get the Weasley part right, they just guessed the wrong Weasley."

Harry gasped. "You?!"

Ginny managed to cackle. "Me! I was Ron's introduction to Draco and his friends. They hit it off smashingly once Ron proved his hatred for you, Harry. Of course, you know that Lucius and Narcissa died under 'mysterious' circumstances soon after the war, so Draco was Lord Malfoy now. Ron went from one powerful friend, to another."

Harry frowned. "What happened to Lucius and Narcissa? The papers never gave any details."

Ginny shrugged. "Draco never said. It could be that the dark mark he had drove him mad. Or Draco began to fancy being Lord Malfoy and started slipping a potion into his brandy. Either way, he went nutters during the school year and began slicing the both of them to pieces." She shivered. "The muggle way. No magic spells."

Hermione blanched, then encouraged Ginny to continue. "So after you introduced Draco and Ron…?"

Ginny paused and sipped her tea. "We stayed together after that- Ron and Draco studied the Dark Arts, while I entertained 'Lord Malfoy' in other ways…" She wrinkled her brow. "His tastes are quite… Exotic… I soon lost interest in Draco, and his social circle offered no better choices." Ginny sighed and looked at Harry. "It was then that they began to use me as a test subject. Draco convinced Ron that I still held feelings for you, so Ron didn't find it too difficult to put me under the Imperius curse. I stole most of our newfound wealth, by the way- Imperius'd the whole time, and they made sure that I remembered it. We were all shocked at how adept Ron became in the dark arts." She shivered. "I'm glad he never pointed the cruciatas curse at me. He nearly killed a man with that spell- went on for nearly a day. In the end, Ron didn't kill him, but the poor fool went barking mad and threw himself out of a window."

Harry sighed. "I reckon he's got enough anger to fuel it, sure enough."

Ginny nodded. "He also began consulting with some other dark figures. I never saw who they were, and they never let me in on the meetings. Ron would come out of those meetings looking all peckish, though, and would have to stay in bed for days afterword. When he did recover, he seemed even stronger, even meaner."

"So what's their play, Ginny? Why bother going public at all?" Hermione quizzed.

Ginny shrugged. "They learned some from Voldemort. He got pretty far while staying in the shadows, but he subjugated the Ministry through deceit, murder, and fear. I believe that they want to start at the top and use popular support to institute their plans."

Harry leaned back. "So here we are. What are those plans?"

"I honestly don't know, Harry." Ginny looked into her teacup, perhaps trying to read the tea leaves. She smiled a bit wryly. "It's up to you to trust me or not."

Harry nodded, his eyes distant as he tried to figure out his old friend. "At least with Voldemort, we knew what his plans were."

Ginny stood. "It may be as innocent as simple politics, and they may be satisfied with controlling the Ministry. But I doubt it." Ginny made her way towards the door. "I've stayed long enough. I should go. I'll be at the Leaky Cauldron for a few days, if you want to find me. You two have loads to talk about, this way you won't have to worry about me spying on you or doing anything sinister."

"Bullocks! There's plenty of room here, Ginny, you are welcome to stay!" Harry insisted, with Hermione holding his hand and nodding.

Ginevra smiled wistfully, and reached up to caress Harry's face. "Oh how I wish things had turned out differently," she whispered. Harry felt a stab of jealousy pulse through his tattoo. Ginny smiled at them. "Despite what Ron thinks, and what I thought for a while, you two are the heroes of the story. You deserve each other." She turned and left before either could stop her.

Harry and Hermione stayed up late that night, discussing their surprising visitor and her news.

"I think that, for what she told us, she was being truthful," Harry said over breakfast.

"You think she didn't tell us everything?"

Harry laughed. "Course not. The big question is, whose side is she on?"

"We were close at school, but after the war and what happened with us, I wouldn't wager a guess as to that question," Hermione answered. "She could be feeding us baited information, either way though."

Harry's eyebrows raised in confusion. "Huh?"

Hermione sighed with her trademark frustration. "She could be working for them, and be giving us bad info, or she could be trying to get away from them but still have bad information, Harry."

Harry paused, considering what she'd said. "So a soldier or a pawn, is that what you're saying?"

"IF she's giving us bad information, then yeah soldier or pawn." Hermione answered. "But if she's being honest, well, I don't know."

Harry laughed. "We don't have enough information to figure it out yet. Want to do lunch at the Cauldron?" Hermione nodded and they prepared for a day in London. On a whim, Harry chose the Elder wand and packed his Invisibility cloak in a moleskin pouch. He also ensured that Death's Protection (what he'd taken to calling the runic tattoo he and Hermione had gotten) was effective.

Diagon Alley was busy with last-minute Christmas shoppers, but Harry made his way through into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. George acted cordially, but was too busy to talk. They bought a few items and headed to the Leaky Cauldron.

They found no sign of Ginny Weasley at the Cauldron. The tavern keeper directed them to a corner, where a dark figure sat shrouded in pipe smoke. Harry sat down cautiously, eyeing the stranger through the cloud.

"You seek the Weasley lass." The figure growled. His voice was deep, gravely, like rocks being ground into dust. The cloud of pipe smoke wreathed around him, almost obscuring his face behind the blue-grey cloud. He was big, hulking, and Harry could see a wiry, coarse beard bushing out over the man's face.

"Yes." Harry answered.

The figure blew a puff of smoke into the air. "Do not. You risk more than you know."

"For a friend, I'll risk it."

"Your skin will adorn the flags of your enemies. You meddle in affairs beyond your comprehension."

"So educate me," Harry spat back.

The figure laughed. The sound reminded Hermione of a car on a thick gravel road. "Your education will come soon, Boy Who Lived. Do not presume that holding the Elder wand grants you invincibility."

"Yeah, if you didn't know, the last one to wield it died by my hand."

"Foolish boy. The wand draws danger like honey. Power is amassing such that even the Elder wand will fail you. We will have our way with your world. There is nothing you can do to stop us."

Harry sighed and mumbled, "Why me?" The figure darkened, as if drawing the light into himself. Harry felt the power emanating from across the table, and casually cradled his wand in his hand.

The attack didn't come from the cloaked figure across the table. Harry sensed a presence to his side, and when he looked, he saw Malfoy's old bodyguard Goyle and a younger version of Crabbe. They threw curses and spells in rapid-fire, not even pausing to gauge their effectiveness. Harry had quickly cast a protective shield that easily withstood the surprisingly weak attack spells. Hermione returned fire with the Potter favorite expelliarmus, but the attackers ducked and weaved with practiced precision. Harry was forced to join in the attack but neither of them could land a blow on the slippery assailants.

A third attacker joined Crabbe and Goyle, then a fourth. Harry and Hermione were forced from the corner table and backed out the door. Their defensive shields held strong, but their attacks rarely met their mark. With a flash, Harry realized that he and Hermione were fighting true to their styles, and that Ron must have warned his new friends of their tendencies. When Harry changed tactics and used stronger, more dangerous spells, the tide of the battle turned.

"Change tactics!" He cried to Hermione, who succeeded in stunning Goyle as she separated from Harry. Crabbe dropped his wand and rushed for her, neatly sidestepping her instinctive jinxes. He'd almost reached her before Harry realized it. Magically, Hermione was nearly peerless; physically, she would be clearly overwhelmed by the hulking Crabbe.

"C'mere, you mudblood twit!" Crabbe growled and grabbed Hermione's wrist. She cried out in pain, quickly wrenching free and threw him back with everte statum. Outside in the snow, Harry pulled Hermione to him, almost as if to Apparate away, but the look of triumph on Crabbe's face made him pause. In that split-second, he noticed the dark shape crouching on a nearby rooftop. Hermione followed his eyes and silently cast a hover charm at the figure, which floated up for a moment before disappearing with a laugh. Suddenly, Ron's amplified voice boomed through the air.

"GET HER!" It appeared that Ron wanted Hermione captured, but Harry would have none of that. His defensive shield hardened and his attacks became vicious. Stuns were the least harmful spell he hurled at his attackers, who appeared in droves and were replaced as fast as they fell. Harry cast a firestorm, then used levicorpus to swing an attacker like a human-sized club at the ones unharmed by the fire. He hurled incarcerous at Crabbe, pulled him closer, then Apparated the three of them to the forest of Dean.

"Went somewhere unexpected," he gasped and pushed the unconscious Crabbe to the side.

"Should've gotten Goyle, he'd know more than Crabbe junior," Hermione frowned, standing and casting quick defensive spells on their location.

"We left him inside the Cauldron, and I wasn't going to take time to go back and grab him," Harry reminded her. Harry looked at Hermione meaningfully. "Set up?"

She nodded sadly. "It looks like it. We still don't know any more than we did." She sighed and turned to the young Crabbe. "Poor fool. He fought well but he never should have grabbed for me."

"Yeah, and it looks like you were the target," Harry scowled. "Okay, let's see what we can get out of him. You wouldn't happen to have any veritaserum on you, would you?"

Hermione laughed and shook her head. "Sorry, love. Have to interrogate him the old fashioned way."

The "interrogation" lasted nearly an hour, but the pair gained no new information. It appeared that the younger Crabbe was too far down the chain of command to have any useful knowledge. Hermione obliviated his memory of them and they left him to return home.

Harry called a meeting with Hermione, Dumbledore's portrait, and Death in attendance. As usual, Death's presence chilled the air and perfumed it with the stench of rotting flesh. "Okay so we need some work dueling. Apparently the other side has been practicing. We need to do so as well."

"You may hone your talents in mock battles with me, Master." Death hissed.

Harry had to laugh. "Death offers to help me at my dueling. To an outsider, that probably sounds shocking or scary, but I'll do it."

"Me too!" Hermione agreed instantly. "If they're coming after me, I want to be ready."

"Any clue why they went after Hermione?" Harry asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes and Dumbledore looked over his half moon spectacles. "My boy, do you really have to ask?"

"Well, revenge is so obvious I immediately threw it out," Harry stammered.

"Sometimes the simplest answer really is the best," Dumbledore replied.

Harry nodded and sighed. "Let's start that training tomorrow, Death." They went upstairs for a relaxing bath, then Harry and Hermione had a night of tender lovemaking.