The seven were led to a small, well-appointed conference room by their sexy waitress, all the girls worried they were about to get in trouble.

"You can't be serious…" a raven-haired, dread-locked, woman in her thirties was saying into a phone. She cradled the receiver and smiled at her guests, "Please… sit," she said warmly as she motioned to the chairs around the table; "and please, stop looking so worried… you're not in any trouble… even if I do know four of you are under the age of eighteen and shouldn't be in my club in the first place," she teased.

"Can I ask what this about then?" asked Hermione.

"Of course, Miss Granger," the woman replied genially; "My name is Cosima Cormier, but my friends call me CC… I hope, by the time you leave, you will, at least, consider me that."

"Cormier?" Fleur said thoughtfully; "Any relation to Delphine Cormier?"

"She is my wife," CC answered with a smile.

"Professor Cormier teaches 'Charms' at Beauxbatons, but I had no idea…" Fleur started.

"She is married to Muggle?" CC provided.

"I was going to say 'woman'," Fleur replied with a smile; "I had the biggest crush on her…" she confided with a blush.

"She is quite fond of you as well," CC admitted; "Delphine was quite impressed with how you handled your dragon in the first task," the redness in Fleur's cheeks deepened at the compliment.

"So your wife is one of Fleur's former Professors which explains how you know who we are, but surely, you didn't bring us here to exchange compliments."

"No, Miss Granger, I did not," CC replied as she passed a thick manila envelope to her. "Jean-Philippe is an old… friend… when he told me you, Miss Delacour, your fiancées and a British Auror would be paying my club a visit, I knew I had to meet you."

Hermione had opened the envelope as CC had explained, frowning slightly at its contents. It appeared to be the manifesto of a covert French organization made up of Muggles, Squibs, Witches and Wizards… all of them working together to protect all of France's citizens.

"I don't understand," Hermione said quietly as she passed the papers to Nym.

"Please, Miss Granger, do not play coy with me," CC replied with a smirk; "I had intended to give that information to your Auror friend, but I can see now that you're clearly the one in charge…"

"That doesn't explain why you felt the need to share this with us," Fleur pressed in an attempt to take the focus off Hermione.

"Madame Maxime is aware of my wife's involvement with my group and informed us of your Dark Lord's return," CC replied, finally, it seemed, getting to her point; "We'd like to offer our assistance…"

"Thank you, but…"

"Please, Miss Granger, just because our group is predominantly non-magical, do not underestimate us. Many, like JP, are ex-military."

"It's not a matter of underestimating you or your people," Hermione replied with a sigh; "I was raised by Muggle parents and I know, better than some, just what they are capable of," she shook her head; "It's hard enough trying to protect those we care about… we wouldn't be able to guarantee you or your group's safety."

"I didn't realize I had asked you to," CC replied, a touch defensively.

"I know that," Hermione replied dismissively; "however, one of our main goals is to see that Tom can't cause as much damage as he did last time and part of that is keeping casualties to a minimum… it's not that we don't want or need your help, but that we're trying to not endanger people unnecessarily."

"An admirable goal," CC conceded, then considered Hermione a moment; "You know your Rita Skeeter mis-translated Voldemort's name?"

"It wasn't a mistake," Hermione replied with a smirk; "I know it is more accurately translated as 'flight from death'."

"You're behind her latest articles?" CC laughed; "I should have known… they are definitely her style, but they have been more intelligent of late…" she shook her head; "Just who are you, Miss Granger?"

"An O.W.L. student at Hogwarts?" Hermione offered.

"Don't forget Triwizard Tournament winner," teased Ginny.

"I try to," Hermione joked, kissed Ginny's temple, then looked back to CC; "Can you tell us what the deal is with the Eiffel Tower?"

"So that was you yesterday," CC chuckled; "The Tower showed a large spike in magic yesterday afternoon and a smaller one again last night…"

"Last night?" Cissy interrupted, an edge to her voice.

"Ginny and I paid a late night visit so we could talk privately," Hermione explained apologetically.

"Well, it was at that… whatever wards you placed were impenetrable," CC said with admiration; "Can you explain how a sixteen year old is capable of that?"

"No," Hermione replied evenly; "and you still haven't explained why…"

"There's magic built into the Eiffel Tower?" CC concluded; "In time of war it can be magically powered to protect all of France, however it takes a great deal of magic to do so," she shook her head; "When the idea was first proposed, the majority of the French magical population didn't feel it necessary to help try to protect the non-magical population as well and refused to lend their magical energy. So instead it has sat as nothing more than a tourist attraction since it was built, collecting trace amounts of magic for the last hundred years."

"Is that why you've named your group, 'Tour Eiffel Elite?" asked Luna.

"It is," CC confirmed.

"How, exactly, do you know my cousin and how did you become involved with the 'Elite'?" Helen asked.

"My family was part of the group who founded the Elite," CC replied proudly; "JP joined shortly after you moved to France with your family."

"And the Elite's purpose?" asked Fleur.

"At first it was created to defend against Grindlewald and his followers as they realized the threat he posed to all people, not just magicals," CC explained; "They, however, found themselves also defending against the more immediate threat of Hitler and his army. Later, after they were both defeated and Voldemort came along we remained ready in case the conflict jumped the water and came to our shores…"

"I'm impressed," Hermione commented thoughtfully as she again flipped through the papers CC had given her; "Has the Elite been watching over us while we've been in Paris?"

"Yes and you have met several of them," CC replied, smiling at their surprise; "Most of the shops you have visited are owned by members of the Elite, as well as, Celeste, who you met earlier today."

"But why would you do that?" Hermione pressed.

"Because JP asked us to," CC replied simply. "But I have taken far more of your time than I had intended," she said as she stood; "Please, enjoy the rest of your evening and, of course, all drinks are on the house…"

"That isn't…" Fleur started.

"Necessary?" CC interrupted with a laugh; "With the amount of money the five of you have been spending?" she shook her head; "It's not charity, I assure you, but a thank you from me personally. Upstairs we have several floors of hotel rooms that we keep for out-of-town guests and for our more inebriated patrons, but tonight, after your little display, each one has already been rented out for the night…"

"I think," Hermione said as she looked to the others; "that we'll call it a night…"

"I apologize if I've caused you to cut your night short," CC said sadly.

"No," Helen replied; "We had planned on an early night anyway…" she said, a hand on Cissy's belly in explanation.

"Oh," CC said with a smile; "when are you due, Mrs Malfoy?"

Cissy's smile tightened; "It's Miss Black, for now anyway…"

"I'm sorry, I meant no disrespect," CC offered.

"None taken," Cissy replied; "I'm due in January, but as few people are aware of that, we'd like to keep that private until after our wedding…" she said, lacing her finger's Helen's.

"When Jeff found out about Posh's death, he offered me a divorce so Cissy and I can get formally get married right away;" Helen replied; "We will still be sharing the Greengrass estate with him, our daughters and his boyfriend;" she smiled; "Jeff is actually working up the nerve to propose to him so we can have a double wedding."

"Congratulations," CC said happily as she offered Helen her hand.

"Aunt Cissy," Nym said as she went to give her a hug; "I'm so happy for you…"

"We only just found out," Helen replied as she accepted a hug from Nym as well; "Jeff and I only got married for our mutual protection… he's the only son of a Pureblood family and, to his parents, being gay and still having a child wasn't an option they would support… his family name, however, was enough to offer me protection from Posh and his ilk."

"So it's purely a marriage of convenience then?" asked Ginny.

"In a manner of speaking," Helen admitted; "but we do care about each other a great deal and we are great friends…" she paused when she noticed Cissy trying to stifle a yawn; "We really should be heading home…"

"Of course, of course," CC said with a smile; "Please, anytime you're in Paris you must pay us another visit…" she said as she led them back to the club.

When they reached it, however, a curious thing happened. It seemed those closest to the door to the back of house had been waiting and watching for their return and began to applaud, almost every single patron quickly following suit as the girls all blushed deeply. Hermione smiled and bowed dramatically, the others following her lead and causing the applause to get louder than the music as many of the women began yelling their appreciation.

All but Cissy and Helen were still blushing when they reached JP and the waiting limo, Helen walking up to him and smacking him in the back of the head without preamble or explanation before getting into the car.

"What?" he asked as he rubbed his head, all the his passengers glaring at him as they walked past him.

"Consider yourself lucky," Cissy added, her voice betraying her anger.

"You didn't have a good time?" he asked, confused at the glares he was receiving.

"We were," Hermione replied before getting into the car, the look she gave him making him blanch.

"I'm sorry, I…" he stammered.

Nym, the last to enter the car, fixed him with a stare so fierce he actually took a step back.

"Save it," she warned.

What JP didn't know was that, while they were indeed annoyed with him, their anger, apart from Helen, was largely an act. His cousin, however, was livid. Although she and Cissy had never explained why the girls were so important, he had known they had done everything possible to see that they had a good time. He had, effectively, ruined their night when it seemed they were finally starting to enjoy themselves. While they understood his motivation, he should have known better than to allow his 'friend' to ambush them like that.

When JP took his seat behind the wheel Helen smacked him in the back of the head again; "And that's for not telling me about the Elite in the first place," she explained before hitting him again; "Put up the partition and don't even try to talk to me until I've had at least three glasses of wine."

JP nodded and did as he was told. He might not fully understand what he had done that was so wrong, but he knew better than to argue with seven angry women. His wife was bad enough on her own and she didn't have magic at her disposal.

As soon as the partition closed and several silencing charms were placed, they broke out in laughter.

"Oh god… the look on his face…" Ginny stammered.

"Trust me, he's more frightened of his wife at the moment," Helen joked. "Sure, she seems gentle, sweet and kind, but get her angry?" she shook her head; "They both knew how important this trip was to us, even if we never explained why…"

"He was just trying to help," Hermione said with a sigh.

"Can I ask why you changed your mind about marrying Jeffrey?" Ginny asked.

"There were a few legal loopholes Posh could have exploited to get custody of Draco and up to half his money back," Cissy replied; "Marrying Jeffy would have protected us both as I, and everything I own, would effectively become his."

"But Posh broke the contract first," said Luna.

"Yes, but he did so unknowingly," answered Cissy; "My affair and pregnancy were pre-meditated."

"But why didn't he say something?" asked Fleur.

"He was trying to save face," Hermione offered and received Cissy's nod. "He knew Tom was coming back… knew he would probably be freed eventually. I think, once his 'friends' had control of the Ministry he would have pushed his own agenda."

"That isn't going to happen," Nym stated; "Every single marked man who has entered the Ministry since Tom fell the first time has been monitored. The moment Tom shows his ugly face they will be taken into custody and questioned."

"Perhaps, Hermione, it's time for your next article?" Helen suggested.

"What did you have in mind?" asked Hermione.

"The truth behind why my family and I left Britain… give you an excuse to publicize Posh's death?" Helen offered.

"That would lead nicely into announcing that I, and the other school governors, have agreed to the proposed changes for Hogwarts for the coming year," Cissy smiled at their confusion; "With Posh dead there was an opening on the board. They offered it to Sirius first, but he didn't want it. It would have gone to Bella next, but she's in jail… it should have been offered to Andi but unfortunately her marriage to Ted made her ineligible… so they asked me…"

"That's where you both disappeared last week?" surmised Fleur.

"It was," Cissy said with a nod; "Your proposals were accepted unanimously… several of the older Pureblood families even commented how excited their children were."

"I wonder if they'd be singing another tune if Tom had already made an appearance," Luna commented.

"Probably… it's why we forced them through now," Cissy replied.

The car slowed as they pulled up to the house.

"Let me have a word with JP?" Hermione requested before exiting the car.

"Maybe Ginny should stay with you?" Luna suggested. She could still feel Hermione's lingering anger and worried she might lose her temper.

Cissy and Helen got out first, followed by Nym, Fleur and Luna, each of them glaring at JP as they passed him. Helen and Cissy turned at the front door before entering, Helen calling to them; "A drink before you all head to bed?"

"Sure..." Hermione replied with a smile, then turned back to JP her expression again severe. "Don't," she stated; "We appreciate all you and your friends have tried to do over the last few days, but it wasn't needed," she held her hand up to stop him from interrupting; "No… you should have just been upfront about your ulterior motives rather than let your friend ambush us the minute we finally started to relax," she shook her head sadly; "You may not know everything that's going on, but surely you've seen just how hard that is for us to do…"

"Please," she finally let him interrupt; "I didn't know Cosima would approach you let alone derail your evening. Cosima Cormier is more than just a member of the Elite, she is our leader… please, if she is offering you our help, you should consider it…"

"If the time comes that we need it, trust me, we won't hesitate to ask," Ginny replied.

"But not before then," Hermione added; "The fewer people involved in this conflict means the fewer people hurt…"

"I really am sorry, Miss Granger," he said, returning to the formality of using her surname as evidence of the depth of his regret and his respect for her; "I only wanted to help," he shook his head and motioned towards the house. "I saw Helen when she and her family first arrived here… she was… I don't know another word to describe it… broken," he sighed; "Thanks, in part to you, she is finally whole again… can you blame me for wanting to punish the man at the source of her pain?"

"You'll have to get in line," Hermione joked, smiling for the first time since they'd started talking; "It's getting quite long, mind…"

They joined the others for a nightcap, but they could tell Hermione was restless. Even after a joint and several glasses of wine, she still had energy to burn so, when she suggested a walk before bed, they readily agreed.

"You took it pretty easy on JP," Ginny commented as she laced her fingers Hermione's.

"I didn't see the point," Hermione replied with a shrug; "He didn't know CC was going to approach us." Hermione took Nym's hand with her free one and laced their fingers; "Nym… what aren't you telling us?"

"There was another Order meeting just before I left," Nym admitted warily, Hermione had only just started to calm down and she was loathe to set her off again. "We had a chat about Cissy joining the Order," she smiled; "Never thought I'd see the day when Severus and Sirius would be united in something," she sighed; "Your father is on his way to meet up with Hagrid and Madame Maxime before they reach the Giants… H?" Nym said, concerned as Hermione had stopped dead, clutched her head then dropped to her knees. "What's happening?" she asked, panicked, as she looked to the others.

Hermione shook her head, which she immediately regretted as he pain tripled and caused her to vomit violently.

"Why aren't you helping her?" Nym pleaded.

"I'm trying," Ginny replied, rubbing Hermione's back as she continued to dry heave.

Finally, her body stilled, but she kept a hand clutched to her head as she stuck her other hand out, her backpack appearing and opening on it's own almost immediately. She dropped it on the ground as her quills and a large stack of parchments flew out. One by one she quickly filled each of her six quills with the new information flooding her mind. With each one the pain began to ebb, as if, somehow, the information itself was what was causing her the pain. Ginny massaged her neck as Hermione began to gently rock, trying to hold it together as she waited for the quills to empty and relieve of her of the now horrifying images she was seeing. She closed her eyes, trying to block them out as she waited. Trying to keep herself from throwing up again as she realized how truly depraved Tom Riddle had been while a student at Hogwarts, his exploits rivaling those they found in Slytherin's journal. New anger finally calmed her as the first quill came to stop and she filled it, and the rest, again. How could her father, or the other teachers, not have known what was happening right under their noses? Why wasn't it stopped? At some point during the process she had felt a second hand join Ginny's, a wave of calm slowly taking over, as Luna rubbed circles on her back. She sighed in relief as she set the last one upon the parchment, her mind now free to put all she had learned in very strong mental box at the back of her mind. She looked up and saw her fear mirrored in both Fleur and Nym's face as they had been reading the parchments as they collected them.

"What the hell?" Nym asked fearfully as she appeared to be fighting the urge to follow Hermione's example and begin vomiting.

"Sun?" Ginny said then kissed her temple; "You okay?"

"Physically… I will be," she slowly shook her head, grateful that the ache was a dull throb; "Mentally? That's going to take a lot…"

"Again I ask, 'what the hell?'" Nym repeated as she helped Hermione stand.

Hermione rubbed her face with her hands as she tried to make sense of it all.

"I think," she sighed; "When dear-old-dad passed me his ability to perform a Patronus… he was hiding something else," she pointed to the stack of parchments in Fleur's hands; "You'll notice there are parts that are highlighted, that's information we've found out since then," she took the stack from Fleur; "He was hiding something… he still is," she rolled the parchments and put them in her bag; "but whatever it is he's only worried Tom will find out about it…" she laughed as she closed her bag; "he used everything he'd learned about Tom to block me from anything else… he was afraid I might try to take more and he wouldn't be able to stop me…"

"But why now?" Ginny asked, "Why didn't it come back along with the rest of your memories?"

"Because he didn't block this memory," she replied with a shake of her head, relieved when it no longer ached; "I think I blocked it from myself," she frowned and pinched the bridge of her nose; "I've been using the information all along," she chuckled dryly; "predicting his actions, manipulating him," she started walking back towards the house. "C'mon, I suddenly feel the need for a very hot shower…"

"Can I ask why writing it out helped?" asked Nym.

"It's the way my mind works," Hermione said with a shrug; "I can remember every minute of every day since I was six, then add everything I've read in that time and learned?"

"That's a lot of information," Nym provided.

"Exactly," Hermione agreed; "I've had to learn how to compartmentalize everything so I can deal with it. Writing it out or, more accurately, siphoning all my thoughts about one subject into my quills makes it easier to do that," she smiled and kissed Ginny's forehead when they reached the bedroom; "You guys look that stuff over while I take a shower…"

"You okay to be alone?" Ginny asked, concerned as Hermione was still looking pale.

She rested her forehead against Ginny's and sighed; "I won't be long," she assured her then kissed her softly; "I just… I need a few minutes alone…" she looked to the couch to see that Fleur, Luna and Nym were already reading the parchments. "I think, around page six or seven, you'll understand why I was throwing up…"

"I'm coming to check on you if you're not out in fifteen minutes…" Ginny informed her.

"Deal…" she smiled, kissed her again, then retreated to sanctuary of the shower.

She turned the water on then slowly undressed, smiling as her eyes fell on her new piercing. She took the jewelry between her fingers and moved it back and forth through the hole, a wave of arousal almost buckling her knees. She smiled, they'd be playing with each others piercings all night and it was driving her crazy.

She ducked beneath the shower and let the warm water wash away her tension. The last few days with Nym among them had been wonderful and frustrating. Every time she and Ginny lost themselves in each other they found themselves considering going past the point of no return. She sighed as she felt another wave of desire wash over her. She shook her head and sat down at the bottom of the wall, her head in her hands. "Why can't it just be sex?" she thought. It was difficult enough fighting their hormones, but it was their magic that was complicating things. They'd been on high alert the whole time they were in Paris and their magic was reacting to the perceived threat. In its attempt to protect them it was doing the only thing it could… urging them to complete their bond and achieve their full potential. The more they fought it, the harder it became.

She stood with new resolve, washed herself quickly and used a few charms to trim certain private areas in preparation for what she had planned next.

Ginny had joined the others on the couch, each of them growing more concerned with every word. If Tom was capable of such horrors when he was their age… well, they finally fully understood why Severus was so worried.

They had barely finished reading when Hermione returned from her shower. They all went to hug her, a hug which quickly became more.

"Stop…" Hermione finally said, all of them in various states of undress.

"What?" Nym asked.

"Why?" added Ginny.

"Because this isn't the way…" Hermione said, unsure of how to explain.

"I'm sorry?" asked Luna.

"You're all worried about me, yes?" Hermione asked and received their nods. "This, how we feel right now? We're being driven by our need to protect each other… our magic's need to bond because it's the best way for it to do that…" she shook her head; "if we don't stop now, we won't be able to… as much as we all love being together like this, this isn't how any of us want our first times," she kissed Ginny softly. "I already meant every word of that song… since I'm already breaking two of the promises I made you last summer...'

"Sun?" Ginny started, totally confused.

"Nym? When are you heading back to Britain?" Hermione asked.

"I was supposed to head back tomorrow night, but I don't really have to be back until Monday morning… why?" Nym replied.

"Because, after dinner tomorrow we're all going to the cottage," Hermione announced, smiling at their looks of surprise.

"Why wait at all? Let's go now…" Ginny countered.

"No… we need to say goodbye to the Delacours and gather our…" Hermione trailed off at the look that crossed Fleur's face; "Something wrong?" she asked her.

"I heard my parents arguing before we left for Paris," Fleur said as she backed away from them, Luna taking her in her arms. "My father..." she shook her head; "He told my mother that he would withdraw his permission for us to get married and would accept one of the many marriage offers he's received for me... he'd force me to not leave France..." she smiled; "my mother warned him... she could take him for everything he has just because he mentioned a marriage contract... it was part of their own, he agreed to never force any female children he had into marriage..."

"So what do you want us to do Fleur? Tonight or tomorrow?" Hermione asked.

Fleur took Luna's face in her hands, searching her eyes before asking; "What do you want to do, Moon?"

"Let's go..." she smiled, "We've so many battles left to fight I'm happy to concede defeat in this one... I'm tired of fighting this, Bee..."

"My feelings exactly, Lu..." Hermione said and went to kiss her temple; "We'll have the cottage to ourselves for a few days... time together without limits..." she smiled as Ginny came to kiss her neck; "I'm not saying we should rush things..."

"But it'll be nice to just go with it..." Nym finished.

"So we're decided then?" Hermione asked, smiling when they all nodded eagerly. She summoned all of her and Ginny's things directly to her backpack; "Once you're packed head to the Chateau and get your stuff together," she reached for Ginny's hand and laced their fingers; "We'll go let Cissy and Helen know what's going on," she looked to Nym; "Can you let our guard know where we're heading?" Nym nodded. "We'll be along shortly."

"Sun? Are you sure about this?" Ginny asked.

"More so by the minute," she replied; "We'll have the cottage to ourselves for at least a few days and Fleur can avoid an argument with her father..." she kissed Ginny softly; "I'm so tired of fighting this..." she kissed her neck; "I've wanted this since the moment I kissed you... haven't we earned this?"

"We really have," Ginny agreed with a smile.

"Nym?" Hermione said, turning to find her smiling, but looking a little lost. "Are you coming with us?"

"I don't know..."

Hermione walked over to her and took her face in her hands.

"Since day one there has been one thing I've hated about all this... you being alone," Hermione kissed her softly; "We have a bedroom set aside for you at Hogwarts," she smiled; "We can't promise there won't be nights when you're sleeping alone..."

"But at least you won't really be alone," Ginny concluded.

"Come to the cottage with us," Fleur implored.

"No..." Nym smiled; "tonight should be about the four of you..." she ran her fingers across Hermione's forehead; "besides... if I'm going to be staying at Hogwarts," she blushed as Hermione grinned; "even just part of the time... I need to pack a few things..."

"We don't go back to school for over a month," Ginny countered.

"True," Nym replied and kissed Ginny's nose; "But the last three days with you four..." she reached for Luna and Fleur, hugging all four of them as she felt tears in eyes; "they've been the happiest, if not most confusing, days of my life..." she looked to Hermione; "I can't... I don't want to be separated from you guys for very long ever again..."

"How about this then..." Hermione said; "We need to talk to Luna's dad and Remus... preferably tomorrow... maybe have them both come to the cottage for dinner?" she suggested.

"Nym and I can go talk to Remus in the morning," Fleur offered; "Give the three of you some time alone?"

"And then in the afternoon Fleur can come with me to talk to my dad," Luna suggested; "Give you three some time..."

"Or... I could go with Luna and give Hermione and Nym some time alone..." Ginny added.

Hermione looked between them, then looked back to Nym.

"I think... if it's all right with Nym," she kissed Nym softly; "I'd like Ginny to be with us... maybe start off just the two of us... then have her join?"

"I'd like that," Nym replied, her voice deep.

"Are you sure you're okay to be alone tonight?" Hermione asked Nym.

"Stop..." Nym said, her fingers over Hermione's lips; "I love you all... I do... I know how much this all means to you... please, don't worry about me... you have earned this and the right to fully enjoy it... okay? You guys happy makes me happy..."

"We love you too, Nym..." Ginny answered as they all engulfed her in a hug.

"Are you kidding me?" Nym laughed; "I thought I'd still be waiting for months... by this time tomorrow?" she blushed.

"All right... let's get moving... it's already late..." Hermione said as she stepped away from the others. "Bring the journals? I want to finish reading them and I'd feel safer if they were at the cottage," Fleur nodded. They all shared brief kisses. Now that the decision to stop kidding themselves and just give in to it had been made, they all felt calmer. With any luck they'd be making love before sunrise.

"Love? Are you sure about this?" Ginny asked again as they went to talk to Cissy and Helen, she could hardly believe they were going to do this... run off in the middle of the night?

"Yes..." she kissed her temple; "Luna was right... we have so much left to fight," Hermione stopped and put her hand over Ginny's heart; "I'm tired of fighting this... what we feel, want and need..." she kissed Ginny softly; "Are you ready?"

"You know that I am," she replied and kissed her; "maybe I feel a little guilty about running off like this..."

"Don't love," Hermione sighed; "If tonight proved nothing else, it's that the only way we're really going to get a break from all this is to take a break..." she opened the back door to the patio and found Cissy and Helen curled up in a chair.

"You're on your way then?" Cissy asked, Hermione nodded, both she and Ginny surprised by the question.

"Is this because of my idiot cousin?" Helen asked.

"Not really," Hermione replied with a shrug; "but it did make us realize the only way we're going to get some time alone is if we go to the cottage now..." she shook her head; "my parents will be there by next weekend... we'd rather..."

"Not have your first time with them around?" Cissy teased.

"Oh, c'mon," Helen said, her tone light; "the five you almost caused an orgy at the club tonight... why do you think we're still awake?"

"We hoped you'd at least say goodbye," Cissy explained.

"This isn't goodbye," Hermione replied.

"We'll see you in a couple of weeks at the wedding," Ginny reminded them.

"We wouldn't dream of missing it," Cissy replied as she got up to hug them.

"The three, well, I guess the four of you, have become more to us than just friends... you know that right?" Hermione asked.

"We do... which is why we're not trying to stop you," Cissy replied fondly; "The five of you deserve all the love and happiness you can enjoy..." she smiled; "We're actually a little impressed you've waited this long..." she teased.

...

Fleur, Luna and Nym apparated directly to Fleur's bedroom at the Chateau, hoping they could avoid both Fleur's parents and her little sister. Fleur left Nym and Luna to pack their things while she snuck up to the library to grab the Sisters' journals. When she got there, however, she found a surprise- her mother with Gabrielle asleep in her lap, the journal describing when the Sisters had found Fleur open in her lap.

"You're going to the cottage then?" Lynne asked quietly, trying to not wake the young girl in her lap as Gabrielle was already upset by her sister's leaving.

"Maman... I heard you arguing with Pere, he wouldn't really try to make good on his threat, would he?" Fleur asked as she sat down on the couch next to her mother and sister.

"He can not," Lynne replied firmly; "Your grandmother worried when I decided to marry a human, that he would not respect our daughters' destiny if it came to pass... that is why I made him sign the marriage contract," she sighed; "I don't think he ever really believed it..." she shook her head and took Fleur's hand; "If he tries to push he will be left with nothing... including your sister and I."

"You would do that? For me?"

"Fleur..." Lynne sighed; "I have watched you suffer in silence your whole life... you are finally the woman you were always meant to be... I'm so proud of you."

"Are you still coming to the wedding?"

"Your sister and I, will... your father?" she shook her head sadly again; "I don't think he'll accept that you are leaving until you are gone," Lynne squeezed her hand; "But he is not your concern... what is important is your happiness..."

"Merci, Maman," Fleur replied as she hugged her; "Give Gabby my love..." she added then kissed her forehead.

Fleur double checked that she had all the journals before locking the chest they had always been stored in, then shrunk it before putting it in her pocket.

Lynne gently moved the sleeping girl from her lap and stood to give her eldest a daughter a proper hug before she left.

"Be safe, child," Lynne said quietly into her ear; "but, more importantly, be happy..."

A/N: Sorry for ending the chapter here, but as the girls have been waiting for this night for a long time, (as have all of you), I felt it deserves its own chapter. But I figure, since it's a full two weeks sooner than they were supposed to, that you'll forgive me ;-)

Tip of the nib to Mylon, I wasn't going to make anything of the Eiffel Tower until he suggested it. Since it worked with what I already had planned I decided to work it in.

It's been a year since I first started this epic journey. Thanks to all those who have been there since the start. Your reviews, pm's and support mean the world to me.