Description: A woman flees her past with help from a close relation and takes to the high seas. Meanwhile, a young man takes on the challenge of his business, lordship and … a season at the hands of the courtiers.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Characters of the Harry Potter Franchise™. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers®. If I had written Harry Potter the Epilogue would have been burned before it ever left my house.

Chapter 3

One Week Later

The Burrow

Ottery St. Catchpole, England

Hot dishes flew around the kitchen at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley ran about the kitchen testing each dish to be served at dinner and adding to the Weasley-Lovegood wedding list. Her son Ronald Weasley was marrying Luna Lovegood, a long time friend of the Trio's. The Weasley wedding list went on for many feet of parchment. These parchments lay across the Burrow in piles, covering several tables and desks.

"Everyone to the table dinner is ready!" shouted Molly Weasley, the family matriarch. In a rush of bright red hair, various members of the Weasley family rushed into the dining room at the Burrow.

If one were to look about the modest room they would notice only two heads of blonde hair, the rest were all a fiery red. The dinner started quietly as each person put food on their plate. Then began the madness, flurries of conversation flew across the room.

"So Harry went to the Caribbean…"

"I was in Diagon Ally the other day and so the best…"

"When my father came to visit he was telling me about a crumple-horned snorkack that he found in his printing press…"

For a second all of the conversation stopped and all eyes were on Luna. She blinked before turning to Mrs. Weasley:

"I was thinking that my bridesmaids could wear lavender…"

"Luna, darling, that sounds like a beautiful idea."

The men sighed and turned away from the wedding talk. Ron knew it was going to be a long few months.

Nicholas Granger stepped onto English soil for the first time in 4 months. As usual there were clouds in the sky, and they threatened to burst and spill torrents of rain at any moment. The young man sighed walking away from his ship. He looked through the crowd; a tall dark skinned man was approaching him from the left side.

"Good morning Kingsley."

"Nicholas," Said Kingsley Shacklebolt, shaking Nicholas' outstretched hand. "How were New York and Paris, my friend?"

"Beautiful as always, but we will have plenty of time to chit chat later. I need to hear your reports. Shall we step into the Dragon's Nest for a drink?"

"Of course, I have plenty of time."

The two men made their way through the already thinning crowd towards the pub, the Dragon's Nest. It was just off the wharf, which made it popular amongst sailors. Little did they know it was owned by wizards and many of those "exotic" liquors were quite simply wizard specialties.

Kingsley and Nicholas entered the pub. The dark pub was crowded with sailors, muggle and wizard alike. Sitting at the bar were a few men dressed in the Uniform of the East India Company soldiers. Nicholas and Kingsley sat down at the bar just a few stools down from the Company men.

"So Nicholas how was New York?"

"It was cold and there was a lot of snow, while I was there. Paris was much more enjoyable. But, I took on a couple of new clients in New York. A few pirates from the Caribbean came onto my accounts as well. They brought a few items of interest for me to place in vaults here in England"

"Did they now? Were there any pieces of magical nature?"

"No. They just hold high value and need to be placed in my Gringotts vault." Nicholas took a sip of his ale.

"I will retrieve them from the ship later tonight."

"Has there been any news of my dear sister of late, Kingsley?"

"Actually, there has…"Kingsley said looking down at the bar. He looked up once again and looked past Nicholas towards the Company soldiers. They were paying no attention to the businessmen next to them. "I last heard about her crews' raid on a Spanish Galleon. They pulled in a great plunder. I know from some of the men on her crew, their ships have just returned to England, sans your dear sister."

"They returned without Hermione."

"Yes."

"Was she mutinied? Is she dead? Where is my sister, Kingsley?"

"She was not mutinied and she is not dead. But Nicholas it is not my place to say where she is or whom she is with. I think you should wait to hear from your sister."

"KINGSLEY YOU MUST TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!!!" Nicholas said heatedly. The entire pub quieted to a lull as many patrons turned to stare at the irate businessman.

"Calm down Nicholas. She will be back in England in the next two days." Kingsley said as he got up. He dropped money on the bar to pay for his drinks. "Until next time Mr. Granger," Kingsley said tipping his hat to the young man and sweeping out of the pub.

Nicholas sat at the bar silently finishing his drink, before leaving the pub as well.

Luna Lovegood sat on the bottom steps on the stairs in the foyer of the Ash Estate, home of her fiancé, Ronald Weasley. Luna rose from the stairs and started down the hall towards the kitchen. She walked slowly down the hall stopping to glance at each painting or to touch the frame. Luna reached the kitchen, where Ron was lighting candles. She stared at his red hair. It seemed to shine brighter in the candlelight. She walked behind Ron and wrapped her arms around his waist, his hands went to sit atop hers.

"My love, I apologize for the behavior of my family at dinner this evening," Ron said in a whisper.

"Oh Ronald, it is fine, I am not offended." Luna sighed and pulled her arms from around his waist and turned to the window above the wash basin. " I just … I just wish…"

"What do you wish my darling?"

" I wish they didn't treat me as though I was… I don't know… insane"

"You're not insane, Luna" Ron said walking up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders. He placed a light kiss on the back of her neck. "My family is quite judgmental sometimes. They look upon every wizard as their equal unless they have some kind of quirk in their personality. It's not so much a trait my father or Fred and George carry, as my mother is the worst of them all."

"Ronald, I love you, no matter what your mother thinks."

"As do I Luna." Ron turned her towards him. He looked deep into her blue eyes. She looked away from him, shyly. "Oh Luna, you look down before no one."

He lifted her chin and took her lips with his.

The couple separated and Ron took her hand. He led her past all of the portraits to the very stairs she had sat on. He led her carefully up the stairs and down the hall to his bedroom. She paused at the door and looked over her shoulder.

She smiled and then followed her fiancé.

Nicholas Granger walked into his study at Silver Gate. His frustration was evident on his face. His pirate sister was not among any of the crews assembled downstairs. He slammed the door behind him, shutting out the noise drifting up from the foyer.

"Damn it!!!" he shouted.

Nicholas stalked over to the windows on the opposite side of the office and threw them open. The wind blew gently across his ever-reddening face. He leaned against the window sill and sighed.

'Where the hell could she possibly be?' he thought staring out into the night. He stood at the window watching the trees uninterrupted for a few hours until small gray owl came flying toward him. Nicholas stepped away from the window allowing the owl to fly into the window and land on his desk. Nicholas walked up to the owl and untied the letter from his leg. The owl shook its feathers and flew to the perch next to Nicholas' desk, waiting for a treat.

Nicholas opened a drawer and pulled out a letter opener. He glanced quickly at the red M emblazoned seal, before opening the letter.

It was addressed to his sister.

Dear Miss Granger,

I have been trying to reach you for many months now. It is imperative that you avoid the waters of the Caribbean. The East India Trading Company is leaving its base in Singapore. It has been rumored they are making waves toward the Caribbean. My dear friend, avoid those waters at all costs. It is imperative that all members of the court remain safe, in case the song is sung. Please keep from the Caribbean; it is for the greater good of our race.

My best as always My Lady,
Mae Se Gin

Nicholas folded up the letter and threw it on his desk. Nicholas rubbed his hand across his forehead. There was a quiet knock on the door, and a young servant entered the office.

"Mr. Granger, I-I'm sorry to disturb you but- but"

"What is it, Thomas?"

"I'm sorry sir, but the men downstairs are making quite a raucous…and-"

"Just give them more rum and send them on their way as their carriages arrive."

"Yes, sir." Thomas paused, before turning back to his master. "Sir, there is also a tall, white bearded man in the foyer. He wants to see Ms. Granger."

Nicholas slammed his hands on his desk in frustration. He let his head fall towards his chest, before looking up at Thomas again.

"Thomas, please show my visitor into the formal parlor and serve him whatever he wishes to drink."

"Yes sir." Thomas said, before bowing out of the room.

Nicolas watched Thomas close the door before he let his shoulders sag.

'Why the hell has all of this been left to me? My bloody sister goes gallivanting across the Atlantic and comes back with tens of thousands of pounds of gold from god knows where…'

Outside of his window the wind blew and the weather seemed to shift towards a storm. Nicholas straightened out his jacket and buttoned up his shirt. Nicholas took a small sip of his brandy before walking out of the door and down the stairs to the foyer.

At the bottom of the stairs stood a tall old man with a long silver beard and twinkling blue eyes.

It was about two o'clock in the morning when Nicholas' silver haired guest finally left Silver Gate. The information he shared with Nicholas was trivial at best. The man gave him no indications as to where his sister was.

'What a strange fellow' Nicholas thought to himself.

The night was not over for Nicholas yet. He still had to make sure all of his sisters "employees" were able to summon carriages to get to…well, wherever it is they all had to go. Then he would take a carriage to the Granger Family Estate to be there for breakfast that morning.

'So much to do so little time'

And with that thought Nicholas continued his duties.

The young, aloof Elizabeth Granger quietly closed the garden gate behind her. It was dawn. As she quietly stole back towards the Granger estate, Elizabeth heard the clatter of horses coming up the manor drive. She stopped. The clatter stopped.

' Bloody Hell, I'm going to be so dead if someone catches me' she thought , her mind circling in a panicked whirl.

Elizabeth grabbed her skirts and ran as fast her feet would carry towards the Manor. Soon she was at the kitchen door. She wrenched it open and ran headlong into a rather solid object. She fell back onto the kitchen floor and looked up. The object she had run into was her older brother, Nicholas.

Nicholas reached down to help his sister off of the floor.

" What are you doing out at this hour, Elizabeth?" he asked with a bit of smirk playing across his lips.

"I..I was out in the garden. I just couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about Hermione. When will she be back?"

"I don't know Lizzie. She has been rather…busy of late. But I did receive a letter from her for you while I was in New York." Nicholas told her, pulling a sealed letter from the pocket of his overcoat.

"oh, do let me have it now!" Elizabeth exclaimed reaching for the letter. But Nicholas held it out of her grasp.

"You can have the letter if you tell me where you were before I arrived."

"I told you I was out in the garden." She replied nervously.

"I would believe that excuse as soon as I would believe Hermione is sleeping upstairs in her bedroom, I will ask you again. Where were you before I arrived?"

Elizabeth took a moment to study her brothers face. He looked tired and weary. She saw no traces of anger on his face.

"I guess it would be best if I told you the truth…"

"Yes it would be"

"Well… I-I. You know, Nicholas, my affairs are absolutely none of your concern."

"Oh really" he answered, the smirk disappearing from his countenance.

"Yes, as my brother I feel it would be improper to share with you."

"Elizabeth, as your older brother, it is my duty to ensure my sisters remain virtuous. Now, Hermione… she ran away from society. You are running away from propriety which is quite different." Nicholas had never had to scold any of his sisters before, but Lizzie was being out of hand, her very precarious position in society rested on her virtue. "Here is your letter; I hope your sister gives you some advice as to how to conduct yourself. Hermione wrote to you more words in that letter than she has spoken to me, or written to me for that matter, in the last year. Please Lizzie remember my warning for mother's sake, she could not bear to lose another daughter"

And with that Nicholas left the kitchen to rest before breakfast.

Elizabeth rushed up the kitchen stairs and raced down the hall to her bedroom. She missed her sister dearly and couldn't wait to read her letter.

She ripped open the envelope and pulled out a lengthy letter. Elizabeth settled into her bed to read her sister's long epistle.

My Dearest Elizabeth,

I am sure Nicholas will have told you I am returning to England. I do hope I will get to see you it has been a long time and I have so much to tell you, for letters simply do not do the stories justice….

End of Chapter.

I am soo so sorry. this chapter has been up on antoher site for 8 months! i apologize i thought i had posted it here as well. I am begining to work on the ff once again. i am heading to college in the fall so i really wan to do as much work on this story over the summer as possible. Please review and thanks for sticking with me. :)

Tom now Servant of the Night