Disclaimer: My house belongs to the bank, my work belongs to my boss and my money is always confiscated by my wife. And Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling... Damn...

Rocking the boat

By DerLaCroix

Chapter 7: Declaring the rules

***June 30th, 1996, Grimmauld place, mid afternoon***

Finally, the little group of Remus, Tonks, Harry and Hermione were left on their own. They moved into Black Manor's drawing room to discuss the events to follow.

"First, we must get you out of the Dursleys in a way which Dumbledore can't negate," said Tonks, cutting straight to the chase as always. "I have a proposal for you, now that we've confirmed that you are the heir to Lord Black, and thus Lord presumptive or 'Prince' Black until you reach majority. To get you away from the Dursleys, we need a guardian for that year, one with a better claim than Dumbledore, preferably family."

"Good plan, Tonks, but it ignores the tiny problem that I don't have any family left." Harry quipped.

"Don't talk like that to your aunt, Harry Potter-Black!" Remus chastised a dumbfounded Harry while the witches laughed at him.

"Yes, Harry, since you are a Black now, too, I could adopt you and have legal precedence over Dumbledore. Family has priority over Headmaster or Supreme Mugwump."

Some unshed tears were shining in Harry's eyes as she told him that.

"You would do that for me?"

"Of course, Sirius spoke the world of you, and I think you are a great guy. Pity I like my men a bit older, so no worries, Hermione." She shot a wink at Hermione, and turned back to Harry.

"If you want, we could file the papers as soon as we have the Dursleys give you up. Would you want - ooof!"

A happy Harry launching himself at her and hugging her for all he was worth ande the answered to that question quite clear. Of course, being Tonks, that led to both of them falling off the couch in a tangle of limbs. Only after some rolling around and some failed attempts to untie their limbs were they able to separate themselves again.

"At least I had quick roll with you before it would become incest," Tonks laughed while Remus lifted her back onto her feet.

"Stuff it, auntie!" Harry grumbled good-naturedly. "Ok, how do we get the Dursleys to accept? Wandpoint?" He secretly hoped that he would get permission to do that.

"Nope. If we did that, it would be objectionable at court. We ask, and then we bribe. Bribing only carries a fine and is not enough to lodge an appeal. And just to be clear on that, according to the family tree, I'm your niece, old man," Tonks said as she stuck her tongue out at Harry.

"Pity. From where do we take the money? I only have about twenty thousand gallons in my vault. Is that enough?"

In terms of money, Harry was still very naïve. He never had any money to himself, only a few galleons pocket money at school. Mrs. Weasley always handled his school purchases. All he knew about money was that his school expenses account - for 7 years of schooling - contained about 20 000 gallons the last time he had heard a number.

A combined snort answered his question. Everyone in the room just gaped at him, as if he had just said to 'only' have a million in his cookie jar. In some way, he just had.

"If you only try to buy the house, you will be fine, Harry," Hermione said while patting his back. It took all that she had to not break down in laughter as she saw his confused face. Since no one else had recovered enough to clarify the issue, she took mercy on him and explained it to him.

"That's about five hundred or more thousand Pounds worth. It should suffice, especially since I believe the Dursleys will be as glad to part ways as you are. And no, it wouldn't matter to me if you were poor. But being rich makes living a bit easier, and who am I to mope over a rich boyfriend?" she added, in a perfect Lavender Brown imitation.

Instead of laughing, Harry's expression turned into one of even more confusion.

"But that is my school vault! Why would I have such a large amount available?"

Looking around, he saw people laughing, and frowned at them.

"Don't pout, Harry. It's just too funny… The heir to a well-off family… and adopted heir to one of the richest is asking why he has obscene amounts of pocket money? Classic - Sirius would never let you hear the end of this," Remus said between gales of laughter.

That laughter died when Harry started looking angry. As soon as his hair started flying in an unseen wind while small sparks discharged in the air around him, there was silence. In spite of the obvious danger, Hermione was brave enough to cling to him, cooing softly in his ear, while Remus and Tonks tried to apologize hastily.

Soon the pyrotechnics died down, and as soon as Harry seemed to have calmed down, they tried again to apologize, only to be waved off by Harry, who still held Hermione in his lap.

"Don't. I wasn't angry at you. I was angry that no one ever told me."

Remus nodded sadly. "Dumbledore; it all comes back to Dumbledore. I still can't believe what he's done. Seems like whenever we turn around, there's another lie to be discovered. We need to be quick. Best we empty your vault today and stack it in here so he can't use it against us. We might be able to get some from the Black vault, too, depending on the access clause in the will. All we need is your key and a signed request to have the Black key sent to you. We should do this before we visit the Dursleys, just in case."

As soon as that was said, Harry grew quiet, which was bothering Hermione. She pushed a bit away and asked him what was going on.

"You know how I left there. I don't expect a friendly welcome back, and even more, I don't want any. I just hope that I can keep my temper in check and that I don't hurt them badly. It might be best if I don't see them at all."

"In fact, that is a very good idea," Tonks noted. "The best would be if you both stay here. Remy and I are more than capable of negotiating the terms, and if only half of what I heard and fear is true, your absence would certainly help, if only by sparing me from having to clean up after you. Cleaning up after my own hexes is ok, but you're old enough to not need me as a housekeeper anymore, young man!" she told them, while morphing her face into McGonagall's.

Later, while the adults were away on their errands, Harry and Hermione found themselves with some time on their hands before retiring to sleep. Hermione led the way straight into the library, of course, but sat with Harry on one of the couches there, instead of browsing the shelves.

"Harry, please promise me that Ron will never learn of what I am going to do next!" she pleaded, and after a grin and nod from Harry, she dug into her bag and produced a well-worn paperback novel, small and only a thumb thick. She then handed it to a visibly disappointed Harry. Noticing his small frown, she giggled happily, and gave him a peck on the cheek, too.

A bit mollified, Harry inspected the book closer, and promptly stifled a laugh, which turned into a painful snort.

"Secret indeed! The Corsair's Captive! If Ron ever knew about this, you'd never hear the end of it, no matter how long you lived. He would try to have it engraved into your tomb just to keep the knowledge alive!"

Slightly embarrassed, Hermione giggled again, a sound which Harry had begun to love. Who would have known that Hermione could be that girly sometimes? He was smiling at her, and she shot him a dazzling smile in return before responding.

"Yes, I thought akin those same lines, so please keep it secret. This is, in fact, my favourite story, and I thought that if you read it, you would know what I want. That way I wouldn't have to explain it, and trust me, that book is much fun," she said, blushing at the last sentence.

Harry took a short peek into the middle, and with a squeak, slammed the book shut again, staring at Hermione, who ducked her head and made an effort to resemble a brown-haired tomato.

"You don't expect me to read that stuff in here, with you around, don't you?" Harry asked, his voice still squeaky.

"Well you don't need to, but I thought you might, because if you had any questions, I could help you." Hermione offered, trying to put on an innocent face, but failing most spectacularly.

Harry cleared his throat and looked at the girl in his lap, noticing that her eyes were sparkling with mischief. She was teasing him! He decided to let out his inner prankster to get his own revenge - after all, it had worked quite well the previous time. 'Why not try again?' he thought to himself. She was simply trying to goad him anyway and two could play at that game, couldn't they? As he contemplated his revenge, he was struck by the realization that before this summer and the events surrounding it, he would have been too nervous to do anything like this. Yes, without that, the scenario would be much different.

'Hell yes, Hermione wouldn't be curled up on my lap for one, and if she tried, I would probably have bolted out of the room, and been half way to Ireland by now,' he thought with a chuckle. Somehow though, since he had left the Dursleys and participated in the ritual, he noticed he had become bolder and more assertive. He was more sure of himself now - so sure that it was bordering on recklessness, sometimes. With that thought in mind, he leaned forward and placed his mouth near Hermione's ear, parting his mouth to whisper.

"What if I decide that you should help me with the results?" he prompted, his lips ghosting over her ear, earning a squeak from her while she tried to burrow her face in the crook of his arm. Grinning broadly, he watched as Hermione's complexion altered from red to white and back a few times.

Finally, he couldn't bottle up his laughter anymore. Hermione harrumphed and sat up, swatting his arm repeatedly with both hands, before succumbing to laughter, too.

After they had calmed down, Hermione grew pensive for a moment, and then serious. Taking Harry's hands in hers, she took a deep breath and addressed him, looking straight into his eyes.

"Actually, if you ordered me to do so in the right way, I might – mind you I said might - be inclined to do it, but I'm fairly certain that neither of us is ready for that to happen right now." Her cheeks were still a little pink from earlier and he couldn't help but think it was cute.

Harry could only nod as he looked at her. Deep inside he knew that their relationship had progressed nicely, but they hadn't reached that point just yet. Though given the speed at which they had advanced, it might be sooner than most people would think, but not yet.

"You're right; we aren't ready. I'm sorry, I didn't want you to think I might push you into doing something you don't want to do!" he responded in a small voice, which earned him a big hug and a peck on the cheek. Harry couldn't help but sigh in relief as the last of the built up tension left him - he would never forgive himself if he drove her away by being stupid.

"You never would, Harry. And even if you tried, I would draw a line at the things I'm not ready for yet. We just play a game, and I will only play along with things I want to do, remember? And be informed that I very much like this new, assertive Harry you've become since the ritual. I never knew you could be such a rascal!"

"So you noticed, then?"

"Honestly, Harry!" she laughed. "That morning I awoke in your arms, I could sense your presence! Ever since, you've been radiating confidence. Everyone senses it."

Harry paused a moment to remember that morning. His first thought was how he missed the feeling of waking up beside her. That was really nice. Banishing that thought for the moment, he reflected a bit about the changes the ritual brought.

"Yes, it's like, well, somehow being whole again. All my life, there was this constant fatigue, this pressure on me which I now know was just that ward. Now, I'm feeling like I could do everything; It's amazing, and it's you I have to thank for it," he said, while squeezing her hand and then lifting it to his mouth for a gentle kiss, making her smile softly at him.

"You're welcome."

After some moments of comfortable silence, Harry looked at the book and then back at Hermione. Taking a deep breath, he asked the most pressing question on his mind.

"You said we need to talk, I think now would be fine. What exactly do you expect me to do in our relationship? Like I said, I do not want to push you, but since you expect me to push you to a certain degree, I'm a bit confused, you know?"

"Oh! Right, that might be a bit confusing for a boy, being dense and all," she grinned, to which Harry reacted as any mature man would have: He poked his tongue at her. Hermione gracefully poked her own at him and continued.

"Well, basically you can do whatever you want. Since you aren't that experienced and are just not the type to rush things, I do not believe that you'll try to take advantage of me."

Feeling very relieved by seeing Harry nod at that statement, she continued, "and I am certainly ok with almost everything you want, as long as clothes stay on, at least for now. In my opinion we have been dating for years already, and I know you pretty well, so we don't need that awkward dating phase, anyway."

"Agreed!" Harry laughed. "It would certainly be weird to somehow 'start dating' officially. You're right; we already have eaten nearly every meal together and hung around each other for so long, that basic dating can be checked off that list of yours."

"Also, since we already talk even about sex, I can't see how much more open we could get. Just be creative and bold, and I'll tell you if it's too much, okay?" Hermione added.

"Right in one!" Harry laughed, but suddenly got serious. "But if I happen to cross a line, tell me! You know, with you wanting me to force you to do stuff, misunderstandings might occur. I wouldn't like to cause a fight between us over this," he said, sounding worried.

Hermione gave him a bright smile for his attitude. Honestly, how could she not? "Yes, that might be the case. Especially once we get friskier," she said deep in thought, not noticing Harry blushing brightly at that statement. "The usual convention is to have a code word which means to stop immediately. "

"How about 'Hogwarts'?" Harry jokingly asked.

"Nope, I certainly do not want a word that ends with 'warts' anywhere near my love-life!" Hermione scolded her very naïve or just kidding boyfriend, laughing, "How about something that is 'in play', so it isn't that interruptive. You know, I might want you to keep going, only taking it slightly easier on me. How about 'Have Mercy'? That way, I can plead and play all I want, but if I plead for mercy, you know to stop. But still, I believe it will take a while before something like that will be needed."

"Ok, fine with me," a red-faced Harry answered, "but in my current state, I'd probably agree to everything you propose," he laughed.

"Also, I could try to give you subtle hints. Like saying 'Oh please, don't do that!' or something?" she said, waggling her eyebrows at him.

Harry laughed out loud. "You want to use subtle hints on a boy? Gee, I feel honoured that you believe I might get them." he quipped.

Hermione flicked her hair back and snuggled into his side. "I think with proper motivation, even boys can be trained." she said in a breathy voice, while walking her fingers up his arm, completely capturing his attention.

"Well, I certainly am motivated now," Harry softly said, placing a soft kiss on her head, making her laugh and wiggle against him. "And this book?"

"Basically, if you read the book, you will certainly have an idea of what I like; most of my fantasies derive more or less directly from that book."

"Oh, so it's a manual!" Harry laughed. "Great! Every girl should come with one. So, you're showing me the ropes, aren't you?"

Hermione gave in to giggles. "I do believe we should wait a little before we try that, don't you think?"

"Minx!" Harry quipped while fighting his blush, and leafed through a few pages. After a few seconds of reading, he gave a whistle. He got one question in mind. He silently pondered if he should be that bold, but since she had encouraged him to be, he caught her attention and shot her a diabolical grin. "So, pray tell, how many times have you rubbed off to this book?"

"Harry!" she gasped, shocked.

Harry was enjoying this new game of teasing. "I asked you a question…" - he shuffled a few pages, looking up something - "… wench!"

Hermione closed her eyes and shuddered, then dropped her head in shame, whispering something unintelligible.

Harry was certainly not letting her off the hook that easily. "Full sentence, audible, and look me in the eyes while talking to me," he demanded.

Another shiver ran through Hermione as she straightened her pose and turned to face him. Her face was a bright red as she locked her eyes on his and she actually needed two attempts before her voice didn't fail her.

"I have masturbated easily a hundred times while reading that book," she finally stated in a very breathy voice that made Harry want to adjust his trousers.

After a short pause, she cheekily added, "You got that thing down pat, Harry, if everything does come as easily to you like that did, I'll be a lucky woman."

After looking casually at his watch, Harry told her in a bland tone "And for that cheek, we'll make it one hundred and one times," making her jump and gasp at his boldness.

"Dobby!" he called out, which completely confused Hermione.

As soon as the tiny creature arrived, he addressed Dobby, ignoring Hermione completely.

"Dobby? Which is one my room?"

"Master Harry, Sir is being sleeping in the Master's suite, first floor, last door to the right, Sir!" Dobby replied.

"Good, please give Miss Granger a room which shares a wall with my bedroom, and make it so that every little sound from her room can be heard in my room, but nowhere else. Please escort her up to her room now; she has some errands to do while I retire to my rooms for some light reading."

Waiting for a nod from the elf, he turned facing Hermione, and indicated her to follow Dobby, which she actually did, her face brightly lit. Dobby didn't ask a thing, he was just overjoyed to be of assistance.

A minute later, Harry stood and went to his room, which was basically an extra flat within the house, and prepared himself for the night. When he finally settled into bed and started reading his 'Hermione manual', a soft, laboured breathing began to emanate from the wall to his right.

Although the surroundings got increasingly distracting as time progressed, that evening's read was certainly the best of his whole life.

*** July 1st, Grimmauld Place, early morning ***

A very happy Harry walked down the stairs, heading to the kitchen for breakfast. As he entered the kitchen, he found Remus, Tonks and Hermione already seated there. Casually strolling by, he gently hugged Hermione and gave her a kiss on the temple, whispering a good morning into her ear, making her eyes bulge out and blush brightly. After greeting the others, he sat down next to her, helping himself to a huge breakfast courtesy of Dobby.

Tonks took a look at the size of his breakfast and at Hermione's rather full plate and began teasing.

"Any explanation for why you both feel ravenous this morning?"

"Growing teenagers?" Harry replied. "Sorry Tonks, no juicy gossip just yet."

"Really? Remy, what does your nose think?"

"Sorry Tonks, but no gossip this morning. I can smell them both on each other, but could be explained away by the fact that they're practically joined at the hip wherever they go. What are you expecting me to detect? If they were doing it a few minutes ago, then I could have smelt it on them, but come on – if they really did it, you could tell by their stupid grins anyway," the old werewolf quipped, prompting the two teens to turn a little pink.

Exhaling her held breath, Hermione quickly changed the topic. "Something new in the Prophet, Tonks?"

"I'll get a new boss, but I already knew that. Madam Bones is said to need at least half a year to completely recover from the failed attack at her home yesterday; some ads, some politics, oh, there had been a fire in one vault at Gringotts, but they state that there had been no loss of value, documents or life. And yes, that's the order in which the goblins do value things," she added as Hermione wrinkled her nose.

After Tonks had recounted a few more things from the paper, Harry inquired about the Dursleys. The way the adults went quiet did not encourage him at all.

"Well, we tried to do make them sign the adoption papers. They wanted to, really, but they couldn't," Tonks tiptoed around the topic.

"Let me guess, Dumbledore?" Harry sighed and dropped his head into his hands.

"Yes. He has them charmed so they can't give you up for adoption. Can you believe that? Anybody else would have a ticket straight to Azkaban for messing up muggle heads, but to try to have anything stick to him, it's like he's impervioused. I think I should start avoiding the man before I can't resist the urge to hex him anymore," she hissed, getting more and more enraged as she talked.

"Can't you just finite them?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Sorry, luv, but it's a bit harder than that. And I would not like to tinker with any spell in their brains put there by Dumbledore. They should resemble something more than a vegetable if they have to sign any valid legal document." Tonks said, which made Harry wonder how much difference actually was between Dudley and a vegetable, and the transfiguration steps needed to make that change happen.

"But we did get their written permission for you to stay with us for this and the next year's summer, so we do have the next best thing." Remus tried to calm him, while Hermione was rubbing Harry's neck with one hand.

"And how does that help?" he asked, trying not to melt under Hermione's caress.

"Basically, with that permission slip, if we get caught, we won't be arrested as kidnappers," Tonks answered, "So it does help against Dumbledore. Speaking of him, Hermione, your parents have told us that they will move in here this afternoon and bring your stuff with them. Since they had already taken vacation for the next four weeks, they won't be missed, anyway. Which brings us to the best part of today, Hermione: we'll go shopping with Harry!"

"Don't you have to go to work or something?" Harry asked, hoping to be spared that experience.

"No way, lover boy, I am scheduled for night shift today, so I have the whole day to help you out," she grinned at him, while Remus and Hermione chuckled.

Soon, breakfast was finished and the teens were sent up to dress for Diagon Alley. On the way back down, they met again, and Hermione was still grinning at Harry's predicament.

Of course, the new Harry was having none of that. "Still grinning from last night Hermione? I was under the impression that the only thing you overachieved in was your homework assignments; apparently I was wrong. I had only ordered for you do it once, didn't I?"

"Oh hush, you. I don't think you minded me getting carried away, as I know you were listening and counting apparently. You're just grumpy that you are in for a long shopping trip at our mercy," She responded, laughing at him.

Harry waited until they reached the top of the staircase before he pulled her into a tight hug and whispered into her ear. "That's where you're wrong love; I don't think I'm at your mercy. And just to prove that, if we spend more than an hour trying on clothes in any of the stores without getting a break, you'll go and find something to try on. We can test and see if you can increase your counter in the changing rooms, understand?" He nearly smirked at the shiver that shook through her body, resisting the temptation to tease her more.

With that, he separated from her and rushed down the stairs, yelling, "Coming yet, Hermione?" when she still stood up there, flushed and unbelieving. What kind of monster had she created?

Around 6 o'clock, the clothes hunters returned in triumph. Each of them carried two bags full of shrunken clothes, the first real wardrobe Harry had ever owned. Of course, he had insisted that Hermione get herself some things as well, especially dresses and swimwear, but most of it was his. The teens were in a brilliant mood, though Tonks was sulking.

They were greeted by the Grangers and Remus, who immediately noticed Tonks's mood.

"What's up? Was Harry that defiant?" Henry chuckled.

"If only! He was a picture-perfect model, no matter how long he had to try stuff, he never said one word, but Hermione continuously insisted on changing shops or having lunch breaks. She was adamant about it, even when Harry was agreeable to staying a bit longer at one shop." She complained, while Harry and Hermione exchanged a quick look, the first grinning broadly, the other blushing.

Margret raised an eyebrow at her daughter, and, deciding to ask later, left her suspicions unvoiced for now.

"Everything went fine with your move?" Harry asked.

"Just great, with Dobby and Winky, we had the house cleared out in a heartbeat. Those two are a gift from heaven." Margret gushed, while Henry noted that they would have come handy when they had moved in.

"Do you need some storage space for the furniture or is it shrunk?" Harry offered, but Henry waved off.

"Oh, no, we left most of it where it is. It wouldn't fit here and it's not that valuable. We just took the clothes, the important family stuff, and the valuable or keepsake things. We left the rest. It doesn't matter if something happens to that; it's well insured."

"Did you get everything?" Margret inquired, pointing at the bags. "That seems very little to me. I thought you were out for a full wardrobe?"

"Oh, it's more than it seems. The things in these bags are shrunk as much as your stuff. There are at least twenty of every article Harry needs in there, I take my shopping seriously," Tonks reassured Margret.

"It's a pity we couldn't go to Ollivander's to replace my wand. Or maybe repair my old one - I miss it. Even more since it was the only brother wand to Voldemort's," Harry moped.

"I told you that doesn't work; you can't just replace a core. The wand is gone. We can frame it for your wall if you like, but it's better you use it to delude others. And it's really disturbing how you whine about the brother wands - why do you want to have something in common with him, of all people?" Tonks inquired with a disgusted face.

"With brother wands, I have the protection the Priori Incantatem effect when I fight him," Harry informed her.

"Why would a wand echo help you against Voldemort?" Tonks laughed at him.

"Because when we duelled at his resurrection, the brother wands locked up and kept him from hexing me - the golden dome also kept the Death Eaters away from us," Harry hotly replied. Instead of acknowledging her ignorance, Tonks looked at him with concern.

"Are you feeling fine? Maybe we overdid the shopping a bit - the poor boy is talking in riddles. Maybe we should have waited a bit longer before we let you out of bed," she said, and Margret tried to feel his forehead.

Harry batted her hand away angrily. "I am fine. Don't you know that brother wands can't be used to fight against each other?" he said, but everybody just looked at him in confusion, even Hermione.

"And how would that work?"

Tonks raised an eyebrow at him. "Who told you that kibosh? That's the most insane thing I ever heard!" she said, and Harry rose to his defence, but slumped when he remembered the source.

"Think about it for a moment. My wand has a dragon heartstring," Tonks said, to which Hermione added a "Mine, too."

"See? Ollivander once said that he makes close to five hundred wands out of a single heart. This would mean that my wand would be useless against hundreds of others! And unicorn hair is nearly as bad, since there are only few of them. And while I heard stories about wands locking up occasionally, I've never seen anything like it," Tonks told him. "What exactly happened to make the wands lock up?" she asked as an afterthought?

"Our spells hit each other."

"Ok, that causes the weirdest effects, for sure," Tonks agreed. "I remember the time I hit someone with a jelly legs jinx while someone else petrified him. We needed a mop to get the poor sod to St. Mungo's to have the mess reversed. What spells connected, and how? Maybe we can reconstruct the events."

"My expelliarmus connected head-on with his killing curse," Harry replied.

"Ooookay. In that case, I believe we'll forego a simulation," Tonks chuckled, "but enough of this. I'm starving, and the elves are just waiting for a chance to stuff us to the gills!" she started and turned to leave for the kitchen, but stopped when Hermione started talking.

"Sorry, but that doesn't add up," she said, her forehead wrinkled in concentration. "If Tonks was right, your wand was already broken back then, so there wouldn't be any core left to interact."

"You're right," Harry blurted out as something else hit him. "And remember the Quidditch World Cup? Crouch stole my wand and could cast the mark with it. And his dad could cast priori incantatem on it. It still worked back then, so your theory got just shot out of the water, Tonks," he concluded with a smirk at his minder.

"Bite me, luv!" Tonks huffed at him. "Then you probably burnt it out during the wand lockup thing you told us about," she told him with a sneer, turning again to leave, but Harry held her back once more.

"But when the Dementors attacked me and Dudley last summer, the ministry was still able to track me casting the Patronus spell, so it must still have been okay back then," he told her. A second later, his face lit up in a huge smile. "Come to think of it, I did my first wandless magic back then – I lit my wand with a lumos while I was searching for it!" he told them, and Hermione used the opportunity to hug Harry. Any opportunity to do so must be used, she thought.

"Arrgh!" Tonks yelled, stomping her foot as her hair colour started cycling wildly. "Can't you nitpickers leave well enough alone? Fine! How about this: When Harry defended the Dementor swarm, he nearly burnt his wand out, but it still worked a bit. He had to start compensating with wandless magic to keep up in class, but it worked well enough for Crouch to use it and leave an echo. There was still an core left, so it interacted with Voldemort's wand. Then, when you used it to chase off the two Dementors in Surrey, you burnt out the rest, or maybe you did that during the Battle of the Ministry!" she yelled at the group, advancing at them while waving her finger at them repeatedly, which made them instinctively yield ground and back into the wall as the irate witch ranted at them.

"Satisfied? Or shall I go to Ollivander and ask him for forensic research into when the wand got broken? It's ruined; you can cast wandless, and everybody is happy - now let me get dinner!" she yelled at the group, which was shrinking into the wall as she towered over them, her hair morphed into a writhing mass of snakes. With an angry screech of frustration, Tonks abruptly turned around and stomped off into the kitchen, where two scared yells and the sound of breaking cutlery sounded, followed by Tonks screeching again.

The kids and Margret turned at each other and gulped in unison. That woman could be scary when she wanted to.

During the lunch feast that Dobby and Winky had created, Tonks slowly calmed down and the talk continued for a bit about what everyone had bought and how the day was spent, before the teens made their escape.

While Harry went to put away his new stuff, Hermione left for the library. Margret, of course, followed.

"Hi there; would it bother you if I join you for a chat?" She asked after closing the door behind her, and noticed Hermione tensing like a rabbit at the sight of a snake.

Chuckling, she addressed the frightened teen. "Come on, I've told you that I do agree with you being a couple and I trust both of you to be responsible, whatever you decide to do, all right? I am quite sure he did something to you, didn't he?"

"You know that it is slightly awkward talking about this with you?" Hermione asked, leaving the shelf she had been perusing and sat on the couch, her mother joining her.

"Hey, we always talked about the potential happenings and mechanics of a relationship; why can't I ask about a real one?" her mother joked.

"Well, it is a bit more… well, real now, not so theoretical."

Margret snorted. "As was my love life when you asked questions about it. So come on, what did he do?" She asked, bouncing on the sofa.

"You know, you sound like a gossip girl at school when you do that," Hermione laughed, before finally delving into gossiping, herself.

"I never knew that he would catch on that fast. He surprised me. There I was, just teasing him about stuff, and suddenly, he was giving me orders. Let's just say he is a natural at commanding. For some reason he just knows how to give orders the way it makes me tingle inside. He's got this presence now, an almost dominating aura ever since the wards collapsed. He was intense before, but now, now it's nearly overwhelming." She finished speaking, not realizing the breathy tone she had used towards the end.

"Don't make me jealous, Hermione, he's waaay to young for me," Margret laughed, before getting serious. "What orders? Did he push you?"

Hermione blushed and decided that honesty was the better side of valor, lest her mother assume foul play.

"Oh no, he didn't. Although I hinted that I would have played along, he just tried to embarrass me, tease me. I gave him a novel to read, and suddenly he was asking me about masturbation, and when I got cheeky in my embarrassment, he sent me to my room to increase the counter, if you understand. And he had Dobby make the walls between our rooms transparent to sound!" she told her mum, her blush giving away that she probably had given Harry quite a show.

At this point, Margret chuckled, wearing a big smile. "Very inventive, I certainly have to talk to Henry about such stuff. With magic, we might learn a few new tricks. And what about the shopping trip? I know you're not usually such a diva."

"You wouldn't believe me; I teased him about a lengthy trip, and he just told me that in case of any session lasting longer than one hour, I was to increase the counter in a changing booth. There was no way that I'd do that, yet," she cheekily added, "but I didn't want to chicken out and let him win," Hermione whispered, which made Margret guffaw.

"He's a keeper, be sure of that, Hermione. Any other guy would have tried to have you on your knees before him by now, yet he's just teasing you. And such a devious mind; are you happy?"

Hermione's smile was answer enough, and soon both women were engrossed in a vivisectional discussion of their current love lives.

*** High Barnet, July 2nd, early evening. ***

Dumbledore rang the doorbell a second time, with still no response.

The cars were sitting under that nice pergola that they obviously used as a garage, so he assumed the Grangers were at home. He was aware that they shouldn't be on vacation just yet. He took care to know everything about his students, especially those connected to Mr. Potter.

Still, no one was answering the doorbell. Finally, he drew his wand and unlocked the door. Quietly searching the house, he found three things of importance. First, the kitchen resembled a potions lab; second, no one was home; and third, the wardrobes were empty, and the empty spaces on shelves, walls and furniture made him assume that framed photographs and many books had been removed.

They had bailed.

He let loose of a frustrated sigh. He had been busy the last two days. First, there had been an attempt to assassinate Director Bones, which failed since the Death Eaters weren't able to overpower the wards quickly enough and had been forced to retreat when Auror help arrived. Director Bones was injured and had to resign from her post, and Rufus Scrimgeour, an Auror, was named her successor.

A muggle bridge in London had also been destroyed, and only the fact that the Death Eaters were repelled at the Bones residence and vast amounts of gold helped Fudge to stay in office, if only by a hair's breadth. But to get this gold, Fudge had most of the incarcerated Death Eaters from the Ministry raid pardoned with flimsy stories explaining their actions away. Once again, he asked himself why he had allowed that man to get in office.

And then he had his special mission to fulfil. A sad look at his withered right hand reminded him of the price. Since Severus was forced to treat the now withering Lord Voldemort, he already had a bunch of complicated potions at hand. By that lucky coincidence alone, Severus was able to stop the decay. His hand would never be the same, nor would his health, but there was no point in bemoaning a spilled cauldron.

Because of all those problems, he had relied on the other Order members to conduct the search properly. 'But I forgot that most of them would not be able to find their own heads without a summoning charm', he chided himself.

Apart from Moody, most of the Order members were only useful as sources of intel. Moody - while no help with any search because he spent most of his time inventing pass phrases, dead letter drops, and looking for potential traps - was fine to have in a fight, at least.

When Albus had asked them casually if they had asked the Grangers about Harry, they told him that they didn't because Ron had told them that if Harry were to contact anyone, it would be him. And of course they believed that little prick and his illusions of grandeur, as Severus stated.

The Weasleys, annoying as they were, were his most devoted followers. Apart from the twins and maybe Ginevra, the girl, they were firmly under his control.

'It's astonishing how many favours you can accumulate with a bit of help here and a kind word there,' he chuckled.

Still, they were not the sharpest tools in his shed, but normally they sufficed. Usually, but not this time. With another, disappointed sigh and a soft crack, he disappeared from the home as if he had never been there.

*** Hogwarts Castle, July 3rd, early morning ***

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, " Albus Brian Percival Wulfric Dumbledore intoned, trying to bring a semblance of order to the current attendance.

Of course, Molly and his teachers were present, as were Remus and Alastor, and the two youngest Weasleys, since Molly wouldn't leave them alone without supervision. Of course, she had first inquired if there were any things about the war to be discussed, for her children needed to be spared such knowledge. Sometimes, that woman made him want to scream. A part of him felt sad at the thought that Ms. Vance wouldn't ever join them again. She had been a victim of a Death Eater attack the same day as Madam Bones.

"I have called you to this meeting as I have finally have found a hint to Mr. Potter's whereabouts."

As usual after mentioning Harry, he paused in his speech to let Severus voice his contempt and for the others to chide Severus. Of course, he could have reined him in, but it was better to have someone controversial in any organisation to create factions. If the members unified behind a cause, they might start questioning their leader.

"Now, now", he chided as the ruckus calmed down again. "Please, we need to stand united to face the evils that lie ahead. But back on topic, I have a rather strong suspicion that Mr Potter is currently hiding somewhere with the Granger family." As he finished, he concentrated on his legilimency, trying to assess the people in the room. Surprise was there, as was happiness, probably because Voldemort had not captured Harry. It always fascinated Dumbledore that despite being a very accomplished occlumens, Snape's anger at hearing the word 'Potter' seeped even through the man's normally iron defences.

For a split second, he felt a hint of fear and panic from someone in the room, and then an outburst from Ronald revealed the culprit. "He wouldn't! If he were to have contacted someone, it would have been me. He never would have gone to Hermione instead," he shouted, and Dumbledore felt a strange mixture of fear and jealousy from the teen. He didn't want do think about on whom that feeling was focused. Some things, he just didn't want to know - for now, at least. But considering the fight after the ball two years ago, he assumed that Mr. Weasley thought he had laid claim to Miss Granger.

"So it is paramount that we try to apprehend the Grangers, for wherever they are, Harry should not be far. If they are reluctant to cooperate, a small compulsion charm should suffice. Since they were to leave for a holiday later, I think we should focus on Heathrow Airport, while still watching Diagon Alley, in case Harry or the Grangers show up there."

With that, Albus had addressed his most pressing matter, and after a bit of chatting, the group broke up to start their individual days. In one instance, a person even started a new life. Remus had finally had enough. The nerve! Using compulsion charms on the Grangers to make them rat out Harry? That was the last nail in the coffin. He now was completely Harry's man.

AN:

Pfeil entered the lair to deliver his corrections to the Dark Lord Cliffy's latest plans. He found DerLaCroix sitting on a table, talking animatedly to embirsiphonelilathia about what to do with the next Chapter. As pfeil drew closer, he noticed that the girl was spasming every now and then.

He gave his newest parchment to the Lord, who instantly started to look over it, and waited patiently for the next task. DerLaCroix leaned over, and casually started asking some questions about a part of the text, while pfeil grew more and more concerned about the health of his co-beta.

Finally, he couldn't wait any longer and asked what the matter was.

"Oh, that's her new training collar," answered his Lord. "Every time she lusts after Snape, she gets an electric shock," he explained, turning a page.

*Brrrrrzzzzelll* "Yikes!"

Pfeil jumped as embirsiphonelilathia was thrown out of her chair by a shock that knocked her out and left her lying on the floor and smoking slightly.

"What the hell was that?" He yelled.

"Oh, that," DerLaCroix replied absentmindedly, "that happens every time she dares lust after Draco..."

The book exists, but I never read more than a few lines from various pages as I was laughing my ass off at the words while I browsed through it at the supermarket line. It was a book by Samara Fraser, and I changed/translated the title. I knew that there were some rather extreme scene in there, and I just invented my own content. I think I will buy it now, just to see if the scene I invented for a later chapter is tamer or more extreme than her scenes. But given the reviews at Amazon, I think I'm much tamer.

I think it's only fair to give her credit, since the short look into her book inspired me to write 'Rocking the boat'. (Along with a scene that happens in the original Book 6)

I'm going with Charlus potter as Harry's grandfather. It was said that James Potter was a late child, but if you take that Charlus was born in 1920, and had only one son, this son would be finished with Hogwarts around 1954 at the earliest. James Potter was the last Potter before Harry, and born 1960, so it must be him. So Harry is in fact a cousin to Sirius, and an uncle to Tonks and Draco.

Singled out minions:

jabarber69: And how should he have known that he doesn't need it anymore? He didn't even know that he did it!

Darkheart81/Blah/jd/ Keronshara: Did you really think I'd miss something obvious like that? Or my trusted betas? *surreptitiously cranks the voltage on embi's collar up a few notches*

To be honest, I missed the World Cup incident, but it was easy to add it into the plot. Thanks for the review; it would have been embarrassing if I actually had posted this chapter with that minor hole still in it.

You're welcome, oldgreyone. I'm glad we are on good terms again.

mwinter1: Yeah, he has a secret stash of blood hidden away, just in case the device that has worked fine for 15 years or so suddenly fails while Harry's running away. Standard procedure, isn't it?

deacondon: She throws a fit if someone calls her by her given name. How much more of a drama queen can you be?

Agouraki: Wow. Thanks. That's about the highest praise I can imagine.