The 31st dawned dark and cloudy, threatening rain more with each passing hour. At the crack of dawn, Shepard was already up, dressed casually with her anachronistic pistol concealed in a thigh holster as she waited near the apparition point of her home. At precisely 05:45 the air blurred for a second with a rainbow swirl, before an armoured company of goblins appeared before her.
"Good, morning Canin," Shepard said, coming to attention.
"And to you Shepard," Canin replied. "Is everything ready?"
"The caterers will arrive to begin setting the food at 11:00, the guest should be arriving at around 10," Shepard confirmed. "I will be leaving to collect the VIP at 07:30."
"Then we'll set ourselves up. Do you think two watching the door will be sufficient?"
"I was thinking three," Shepard replied. "One visible and two invisible. I was also going to suggest at least two invisible watching each room, with the rest of you maintaining command and control from this room."
"I couldn't have planned it better myself," Cabin replied with satisfaction. "Bloodaxe, you, Attenix and Poryf here at the door," the captain barked. Private Bloodaxe, whose position in the company had certainly improved with Shepard's rising prominence, saluted in acknowledgement of the prime posting for this mission. Two more goblins dressed in black from head go toe also saluted, before seeming to melt into the shadows. As the company's infiltration specialists, this was also a great honour for them to be the first line of defense. The rest of the company moved into the penthouse, taking their assigns places at Canin's and Shepard's command. At the end, Canin, Goremaw and the remaining goblins settled into the panic room, tapping into the surveillance system and familiarizing themselves with the communications capabilities therein.
From their London hideout, Rookwood and Bellatrix Lestrange butted heads over the plan of attack.
"I say we just go in their and kill everyone, starting at the bottom and working our way up," Bella said with a pout.
"Which is an excellent way of letting our target escape and earning the Dark Lord's displeasure," Rookwood countered. "Besides, most of them will only be muggles on the lower floors, not even sporting really."
"In the old days, we wouldn't care about that," Bella said petulantly.
"Well these aren't the old days anymore Bella," Rokwood thundered. "Times have changed, and so must we if we are to succeed. Which means no rampage this time. This is an assassination, which means we go to the target the fastest way possible and kill who we are meant to kill first, then go on a rampage if we're still up for it."
The last comment cheered the insane witch, for she had been terribly bored during her recovery, something she didn't do well at all. She'd been practically bouncing after she was cleared to join this particular outing, and couldn't wait to be out there again, killing in Voldemort's name. Rookwood cleared his throat to get her attention again, since she had been letting it wander around.
"We have received information about the location of our target," he said to the assembled Death Eaters. "The gathering will be at a London residence, hidden among the muggles. Thankfully, our contacts in the Ministry have found information about a newly-registered dwelling, including apparition coordinates. Fredericks, you will be in a building nearby with an omnoculars. Once all the primary and secondary targets are in place, you will send a signal and then we will all apparate in and begin. Understood?" There were murmurs of agreement from all of them, and Bella nodded before her short attention span sent her mind drifting away once again.
Shepard arrived at Grimmauld Place at 8am, knocking on the door. She was greeted cordially by Dobby, whose manner had certainly become less manic since bonding with House Black through elf escorted her to a drawing room on the ground floor to wait while Harri and Sirius came down.
"Happy birthday Harri," Shepard said as the teen entered. The ravenette jumped forward to give the older woman a hug.
"It's good to see you again Tink," Harri said with a smile. Unseen over her shoulder, Shepard shared a conspiratorial look with Sirius.
"So, ready to head out?" Sheaprd asked as she broke the hug.
"Yeah," Harri said, indicating the handbag hanging from her shoulder.
"Excellent," Shepard replied as she began heading to the front door. Another look to Sirius went over Harri's head as they reached to door and the cab waiting in the culdesac.
"So, gotten anything for your birthday so far?" Shepard asked after the cab began driving.
"A few things," Harri replied. "Sirius got me a prank kit filled with all kinds of odds and ends, he must have worked with the Twins to stock it so well. Hermione sent me some books," the teen admitted with a slight blush. Shepard looked sidelong at her teenaged companion and smirked.
"Let me guess, books that get classed as 'romantic fantasy' that are just thinly-veiled smut?" Shepard asked innocently.
"And Ron got me some signed seeker gloves," Harri continued, ignoring the premise of Tink's question. That fact that her blush got stronger as she did only answered Shepard's question all the more firmly. The two of them talked for the duration of the short trip as they came back to Royal Crescent.
"Did you forget something?" Harri asked as Shepard got out of the cab.
"Nope, my present for you is right here," the blonde replied as she paid the driver. Harri scrambled out of the back seat and looked askance at Shepard.
"Trust me, you're going to love it," Tink said with a mischievous smile. Harri followed along cautiously as Shepard walked confidently through the lobby and to the elevators, taking the normal ones instead of her private one. Once the teen had joined her, Shepard pressed the button for the third floor, which was labelled as pool, gym and spa. Shepard lead the way through the third floor until they reached the reception desk for the spa.
"Good morning, I'm here for the appointment for two for Shepard," she said with a smile to the receptionist. She was a mid-twenties looking redhead whose name tag revealed her to be Valery.
"You must be the birthday girl then," Valery said to Harri with a smile. "I wish I had a cousin like yours when I turned sixteen."
"What?" Harri said, not following what was happening.
"Surprise," Shepard said, smile never dimming. "I've booked the two of us a pamper package for your birthday. Manicure, pedicure, facial and body scrub and finishing up with a massage." Harri just looked between Valery and Shepard for a moment, before Shepard laughed and pulled the teenager behind her as they went into the spa.
With Shepard and Harri out of the house, the second part of the party preparation could begin at Grimmauld. Being largely responsible for its organization, Hermione arrived first by side-along apparition with Tonks, followed a moment later by Remus bringing Dan Granger, this being one of his days off. They were met in the den by Sirius, who insisted on one last run-through of the plan.
"I don't know why you're suddenly so worried about it," Remus remarked.
"This is the first birthday of Harri's I've been to since she was one, I just want to be sure its a good one," Sirius insisted.
"Alright, its his house so let's humour him," Hermione said finally.
"Per the invitations, everyone should be here by 9:30," the brunette teen laid out, mostly for Dan's benefit.
"They'll be coming by apparition?" he asked.
"Only some," Tonks answered. "Most of the school-aged people haven't been certified for it yet, so most of them will travel by Floo."
"That fireplace method you told me about," Dan said to his daughter. Hermione nodded at his correct recollection.
"Once we're all here, we'll walk to Ms Shepard's apartment and wait for her to bring Harri up between 10:30 and 11," she added for Dan.
"Well then, shall I get some tea served to pass the time until the other guests arrive?" Sirius asked, to approving responses.
In the building across from 450 on Royal, the junior Death Eater known only as Fredericks watched lazily through his omnoculars at the penthouse apartment he'd been told to watch. He had to admit, when he'd been approached in the bar in Dusseldorf, he'd expected more. More what he wasn't exactly certain of. More pride, more respect, more women. He could certainly use more pay, given the pittance he was receiving compared to the treasure he'd been promised. Come to think of it, he'd never been promised treasure either, just a charismatic man would bought him drinks for the evening and spoke to him at length.
Still, it was in the warm and paid something, which was better than what he'd had going for him before, with his outspoken views on pureblood supremacy in Germany. A country where the magical community mirrored the mundane in its almost rabid wish to be seen as completely different after the horrific defeat in 1945. So here he was, amateurishly spying on an apartment. Not that it was very exciting either. The occupant, a woman of attractive Scandinavian heritage if Fredericks was any judge, had spent a few hours cleaning and preparing, before heading out. He'd reported that, but Rookwood didn't seem to be interested. He was told only to report if the target, some teenage girl he had a wizarding picture of, made an entrance. He was told also to be in the lookout for some other teenagers as well.
It was all empty for the moment, and had been for newly an hour now. Fredericks wondered if there was time to go down and investigate the pastries in the cafe on the corner.
"Where has this been all my life?" Harri asked after the manicure and pedicure had been done. She looked at her shiny nails and smooth pink skin in awe and wonder. Magic could do some amazing things, but the last hour had taught her that even though they didn't wave wands, manicurists performed their own kind of magic.
"Some things are all the better the first time, but trust me, this is something that's just as good every time," Tink said in a pleasurable moan.
"And there's more?" Harri asked. "I'm not sure I can take much more of this without melting."
"Trust me, melting is a perfectly acceptable response, and is in fact a compliment to their skills," Shepard said assuringly.
The first one to appear in the Grimmauld Place Floo fireplace was Luna, riding her school trunk like a pony. Hermione had been expecting her, and was in position to receive her. She moved forward to support the waifish blonde as she came to a stop, almost flung off the trunk by the sudden stop. The poor girl had been crying, and recently too if the red-rimmed eyes and flushed cheeks were any indication. Hermione didn't know it, but the red cheeks Luna was sporting were not only from crying as she was hugged by her friend. The brunette helped her friend out of the way, concerned for her. Luna hadn't explained why she needed a place to stay for August before Shepard had offered her place, and judging from her looks, it was pretty bad. Not that it looked like she had been in a fight or anything physical, but something emotional was tearing her up inside, that much was plain to see. Hermione promised herself she would be a supportive friend for Luna if she needed someone to talk to, like Shepard had done for them all at the end of term.
Remus was in the next room talking with Dan, both of them enjoying a normal conversation as they both had experience in the magical and muggle worlds, enough that talking on subjects didn't lose the other. When the obviously upset Luna was brought in with Hermione and her trunk, both of them went into protective mode, one because he was a father, the other because she was a former student, one of his favourites. She asked insightful questions in his class, and her essays had always made him smile.
"Something the matter?" Dan asked for both of them.
"Nothing I wish to talk about at the moment," Luna said with a sniffle. "I would appreciate it if someone would take my luggage, I don't wish to drag it around all day."
"I'll take it," Remus volunteered. "Where's it going?"
"Shepard is taking her for the rest of the summer," Hermione answered for Luna as the blonde sobbed quietly on her shoulder.
"Right, why don't I take it now," Remus replied, taking the trunk and apparating away to the coordinates Shepard had given him. In Grimmauld Place, father and daughter Granger shared a look of concern over the softly crying blonde's head. Dan jerked his head upwards but Hermione shook hers ever so slightly. Luna didn't need to be separated from people, just the opposite. A second gesture towards the kitchen was greeted with a nod.
"Luna, why so you and I go have a warm drink in the kitchen. How does a hot chocolate sound?" Hermione asked gently. She ignored the shake of head from Dan the dentist, who knew how much sugar a mug of the beverage could contain. He'd have been even more horrified if he knew how Dobby liked to make them.
"Hot chocolate sounds good, they ward off emotivores," Luna said with a small smile. Hermione made no comment in deference to Luna's current mental state. A moment later the two girls sat across from each other in the Black kitchen as Dobby happily prepared them two of his hot chocolates.
The happy little elf still had yet to moderate his cooking for nutrition as well as flavour, so they were not simple combinations of hot water, a dash of milk and cocoa powder. The mugs Hermione and Luna were presented with were mostly premium dark chocolate melted into sweetened cream, with little marshmallows floating on top. Whether it was just the magic of the drink, or Dobby had added a little something extra-magical to the brew, neither of the teens had enough brainpower to do anything except moan with semi-orgasmic bliss. In his corner of the kitchen, Dobby dusted his hands like a master chef and nodded at another job well done.
As Remus and Luna's trunk materialised inside the cloakroom of Shepard's penthouse, he had barely gotten his bearings before a cold steel blade pressed just under his chin.
"Who goes there!?" a goblin barked angrily.
"Remus Lupin," the werewolf replied carefully, mindful of the preternaturally sharp blade near his Adam's apple.
"Hold a moment," the goblin replied. The grip on the weapon was transferred to one hand while the other consulted a paper list. "You're early, but on the list. Why?"
"I'm here delivering this trunk for Luna Lovegood, as I understand she will be staying here for the rest of the summer," Remus explained.
The goblin considered this information for a moment, before reluctantly sheathing his weapon.
"Very well, one of the bedrooms has been prepared for the guest in question. Wait here until a guide can take you," the goblin said gruffly. Remus unconsciously rubbed his throat as he stared down at the short, but heavily armed soldier.
"I wasn't aware that Gringotts customers could hire private security," the former teacher ventured casually.
"They can't," came the terse reply. "Shepard is a special case," he added, not clarifying anything. Remus considered this information carefully, wondering how much Dumbledore knew of the strange blonde woman's dealings with the traditionally subterranean race.
He wasn't left to his thoughts for long, as another goblin in functional, yet very clean armour came up to him.
"I won't apologise for Bloodaxe, he did exactly what was expected of him," the new goblin began in a polite tone of voice. "However, I recognize what this must look like, and will apologise for the inconvenience. I'm afraid that it's usually the price to be paid for security."
"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," Remus said.
"Indeed I do Mr Lupin," the goblin replied. "You may call me call me the Captain. If you will please follow me, a room has been prepared for Miss Lovegood at Shepard's request." The goblin moved away, prompting Remus to pick up Luna's trunk and follow. As he did, he took note of the house, and couldn't help but be impressed at the size and tastefully restrained décor. After a moment, he realised that the Captain had stopped outside a door. He opened it to find a guest bedroom in neutral yellows, and placed the trunk at the foot of the bed.
On coming out of the room, the goblin closed the door behind him.
"I trust you can make your own way out," the Captain said as he began to walk away. Remus considered saying something, but then remembered that goblins had different social constructs and measures of rudeness, and made his way back to the entrance and apparition point. It was considered rude to just apparate anywhere into or out of a residence with a dedicated apparition point after all.
Across the street, Fredericks the Death Eater scrambled to remember the communication spell as he fumbled for his wand. He'd just seen one of the few adult targets on his list, though only one adult male. He looked like he might have been talking to someone, though that may have just been the fact he was bent over as he lugged around a school trunk. He was already apparating away by the time Fredericks had wand and brain aligned, so he gave it up and slumped down into the uncomfortable chair. He checked his watch and rolled his eyes as he realised he'd been doing this for hours now, and that was the most excitement he'd seen. If things didn't improve, he was going to seriously reconsider going somewhere else.
As their facial session came to an end, Tink and Harri were led into one of the massage rooms. Once inside, they were met by Vitoria, Shepard's preferred massage therapist.
"Good morning," the Brazillian greeted them, before looking over at the ravenette teen. "I know Shepard quite well by now, so I can guess you're Harri, the teenaged cousin." Harri just nodded, remembering the cousin routine from the day she and Tink went to the races. "Happy birthday then. Now, do you want your present now, or later?" Harri looked between Tink and Vitoria in confusion, and Tink realised Vitoria assumed she'd told Harri about the massage lessons Vitoria had agreed to give the teen.
"Later," Tink said to the older woman. "Right now, we're just here for the relaxation massage."
"Ah, very good. Now, I'll leave you two to get undressed and get comfortable on the table, then I'll be back with my colleague."
As Vitoria left the room, Harri turned to Shepard with trepidation.
"Undressed?" Harri asked uncertainly.
"Just down to your briefs," Shepard said reassuringly. "Its a lot better, trust me."
"I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with this anymore," Harri replied in a soft, shy tone.
"Why not?" Shepard asked with concern.
"I... don't like how I look," Harri managed to choke out.
"Oh, I see," Shepard replied thoughtfully. "Would it help if I did it first"?
"How would that possibly help?" Harri asked hotly, her cheeks flaming.
"By showing you that no matter how bad you think you are, mine's definitely worse."
With that Shepard shed her robe, revealing the plain sports bra and matching briefs she had worn under the soft robe. As she did, Harri noticed for the first time just how many scars the older woman had. There was a large, ugly fang mark on her leg, much worse than her basilisk bite. There were surgical scars across her torse and shoulder, mixed in with bullet holes, burns and stabs, all healed over. Harri watched with morbid fascination as the bra and briefs were expertly and efficiently removed, revealing more scars on her breasts, ass and even just above her smooth-skinned pussy. Harri looked on with a little jealousy, unaware of the availability and variety of genetic modifications available to the body-hair conscious woman of the 22nd century.
Shepard followed Harri's gaze to the scar alarming close to her privates.
"That was a reminder that if I bring a gun to a swordfight, use it," Shepard explained. "Pretty tough reminder that one, I'll never have children of my own because of it. Got the guy who did it though, so that's something. So, I've shown you mine, I doubt you can top it, so spill, and none of that prudish 20th century nonsense, alright?" Harri swallowed nervously, nodded and took off her own robe, as well as the short and singlet underneath until she was in her underwear. Her body was tall and thin, athletic but not particularly curvy. Her breasts would fill an A cup, and her hips and rear were not particularly flared, but far from flat. There were a few scars on her body, besides the famous one on her forehead, but after seeing the extent of Tink's scarring, she felt a lot less self-conscious.
"You've got a great body Harri, absolutely nothing to be shy about," Tink said reassuringly as she lay face-down on the massage table.
"I don't like the fact that my boobs are so small," Harri replied awkwardly as she removed her bra, her briefs staying steadfastly on. She lay down on the second table, following the blonde's example.
"Small boobs are nothing to be ashamed of Harri," Tink replied, turning her head to speak to the teen's face. "It's just an accident of genetics. Hell, I knew plenty of women in my time who wanted smaller ones."
"What about hair... down there," Harri asked awkwardly, her cheeks pink as she jerked her head to indicate what she meant.
"Well, I went through a treatment to remove it permanently in my early twenties; partly personal choice, partly for service requirements, and I don't have the stuff I'd need to give you the same thing. I could probably make you a nifty little device that would work similarly though. Anyway, we can talk about this later," Tink said as Vitoria and her colleague returned.
"You do like to show off, don't you?" Vitoria said with a small smile at once again finding Shepard naked on the table. Most of her normal clients liked to keep their underwear on, even for full-body sessions, but she had never met someone who was so comfortable being naked around near-complete strangers. She'd felt the woman's muscles and wouldn't like to see anyone who'd tried to come up against her, but there was an attitude of relaxation and carefree nonchalance about nudity that seemed unusual, though only in a good way.
"What can I say, when you've got something to be proud of, why hide it?" Tink replied.
"Can't argue with that," Vitoria answered. "Shepard, I'll be your masseuse today. My colleague Andrea here will see to your cousin."
"Pleased to meet you both," Andrea greeted them.
"Hi," Harri said timidly, her confidence draining now that there were more people in the room.
A few minutes later Harri had no mental room for shyness as Andrea worked a whole new kind of magic on the teen's body.
As the rest of the guests began arriving at Grimmauld, Hermione managed to coax Luna into company. It helped that a lot of the people coming to Harri's party were in the DA the previous year, and so were able to hold a conversation with the blonde teen. Hermione felt a little bad about it, but the party needed organising if they were to do it properly. She left Luna with Katie and Tonks to wait for the Weasleys, who true to form were running late. Hermione moved to the drawing room to make sure that Sirius and Remus were ready to leave soon.
"You're sure?" she heard Sirius ask as she entered.
"Of course I'm sure," Remus replied. "There are some benefits to my condition, heightened senses being one. You can't fool this nose," he added, tapping the organ in question for emphasis. Sirius shook his head in response.
"Every time I think I've figured her out, she does something like this," Black said incredulously.
"Well obviously you haven't gotten the message yet that women are meant to be unknowable," Hermione said as she sat down. "So, what and whom are we talking about?" she asked the two men.
"Shepard is the whom," Sirius supplied.
"The what is the fact that when I went to deliver Miss Lovegood's trunk, I was met by the very unexpected goblin security contingent," Remus continued.
"Well, the goblin part is unexpected, but she did say she was hiring security for the party," Hermione replied. When Sirius and Remus gave her 'please explain' looks, she elaborated. "She made some very good points, though I had just expected she'd hire some hitwizards or the like."
"I think you're missing some vital information Hermione," Remus said in his 'teacher voice'. Hermione straightened her back a little out of instinct. "Since the armistice at the end of the last Goblin War, there hasn't been a goblin above ground outside Gringotts. Despite the tensions that I suspect even you have picked up on, there hasn't been a verified conflict between humans and goblins since the 1700s. Mostly because they don't come above ground, and we don't go below it."
"That Shepard has managed to get goblins to provide her security means she has something, and I don't know what it might be, but it got the goblins to give her services that no wizard has ever gotten in living memory. If word gets out about it, she is going to find herself a target of everyone who wants leverage on them, good and bad," Sirius said sombrely.
"Shepard can take care of herself, or have you forgotten she fought off Voldemort recently?" Hermione asked.
"I have no doubt of that," Sirius responded. "I'm just saying that she's opening a whole new can of worms with this."
They were interrupted by the sound of incoming guests on the Floo, the raucous laughter and sheer number of voices confirmed that the Weasley family had finally arrived. The three of them moved into the receiving room in order to get everyone moving. Sirius moved almost automatically towards the Twins, no doubt to talk shop prankster to prankster. Remus was joined by Tonks and Luna, while Hermione prepared to raise her voice a little.
"Thank you for coming everyone, and thank you for following instructions and dressing passably Muggle," she said in her best teacher tone. "We'll be going on a walk to the party location, because believe it or not, its faster than going by car."
"What about Harri?" Ron asked. Hermione just rolled her eyes at him and his typical misunderstandings.
"She'll meet us there, because this is meant to be a surprise party Ron."
"Oh yeah, right," the boy said, covering his embarasment with a yawn.
"If there are no other questions?" Hermione asked. A general shaking of heads indicated there wasn't, so the brunette lead them through the house and into London's summer day. As they walked along at a leisurely pace, Ginny looked at her mother, jinking her head at Hermione. Molly gave a subtle nod of approval as she nudged Ron again. Being a teen right in the throes of hormones, he was of course being distracted by the sights of pretty girls and young women in summer dresses, short skirts and jeans, and needed to be prodded occasionally lest he stop to ogle. Ginny took it as permission and made her way to the front of the group where Hermione was leading them.
"Oh, hi Ginny," she said as the redhead came up beside her.
"Hey Hermione," Ginny replied. "Uh... I need to talk to you later."
"Why not now, it's a nice day for pleasant conversations," Hermione rejoined.
"This isn't a conversation I want in public," Ginny said softly. "Its private," she added, hoping Hermione understood the implication she was going for. Hermione looked over to the younger woman and saw a look that reminded her very strongly of Harri at the end of term. Embarrassment, but with a need to talk about it with someone overwhelming it.
"Alright, we'll talk about it later tonight, when its just us girls," Hermione said, patting Ginny's shoulder.
"Thanks," Ginny said with a shy smile.
Twenty five minutes after leaving Grimmauld Place, they arrived at 450 on Royal, Shepard's home. Hermione led them through the automatic door with only a few of the magically-inclined among them looking warily at it. The teen waved at the concierge, who recognized her from the several occasions she and the new owner of the penthouse consulted with him on a party, and he waved back. Hermione led the group to the private elevator before realising that they would need to make two trips in order to get everyone up. As the door opened, Hermione turned to the group to address them.
"Alright everyone, looks like there'll be two trips. Remus and Tonks will take the first one, and the rest will come with me."
Remus and Tonks duly filed into the elevator with half of the guests. As they went up, Remus leaned over to whisper in the metamorph's ear.
"Whatever you do, do not draw your wand," he said softly.
"What are you talking about?" Tonks asked in reply. She got her answer when the elevator doors opened and Private Bloodaxe was waiting for them, though not as antagonistically as when Remus had turned up earlier.
"Good morning everyone," the goblin said cordially. "If you would all please give me your names so I can check them against the guest list, we can all have a wonderful day and I won't have to go around cutting off significant bits."
As the teenagers gave their names to the most polite goblin most had ever met, Tonks pulled Remus aside by his ear.
"At what point were you going to tell me that there were going to be goblins providing security?" she hissed angrily.
"I swear I only found out this morning," Remus protested. Tonks glared at him, and gave his ear an extra twist to display her displeasure before releasing him.
"You do realize I'm going to have to report this, right?" Tonks stated more than asked.
"I know, but can it at least wait until after the party?" Remus asked in reply. Tonks glared at him for a moment, and he responded by putting on his best puppy dog pout. The only person he knew with a better one was Harri, though Sirius could put on a decent one as well. It wasn't long until Tonks crumbled in the face of it.
"Fine, since I'm technically on my day off, I can wait until my next shift. But this better not bite me in the ass Wolfy, or you can forget biting me there, or anywhere else, for at least a week."
Hermione arrived with the second half of the guests before any more discussion of their sex life could be potentially overheard. She submitted her name along with the rest of the guests, though Molly Weasley did so with considerable hesitation. Once they were all marked off by the uncharacteristically polite goblin, the brunette teen led them all into the main dining room, the one with the amazing view of the London skyline.
"Alright everyone, Harri and our host should be here within half an hour. Any gifts can be left on the table over there, the bathroom is down this corridor on the left, and our host has asked that we try not to sticky-beak around the bedrooms. As you can see, drinks are already set up over by the wall, lunch and cake will be delivered later, so when the caterers arrive please don't do anything magical. Other than that, relax and enjoy yourselves."
Across the road, Fredericks could hardly believe his luck. Through his omnoculars he could clearly make out fifteen people, at least eight of them secondary targets on the list he had. It looked like they were here for a party of some kind, which made sense given he was told that today was the primary target's birthday. He looked carefully, zooming in on each face to make sure that the primary target wasn't among them. He could almost taste his excitement as he readied his wand. It was only a matter of time now until the fun could begin.
After they showered off the remains of the massage oil, Harri dressed first and entered Shepard's dressing area just as the older blonde finished strapping her holster to her thigh and then attached the gun to it. Shepard put her leg down as she heard the curtain, and the way her clothes fell into place it was almost impossible to see the concealed weapon.
"Why do you have a gun?" Harri asked.
"Why do you have your wand?" Shepard countered. Harri looked at her as if she had just asked why the sky was blue.
"In case I need it in an emergency," Harri said plainly.
"There's your answer then," Tink replied. "My gun is my equivalent of your wand. Its not something I ever want to use, but if the situation ever arises, I'm prepared."
Harri considered this silently as they made their way back to the elevator. As they went upwards, she thought about taking a trip to Diagon Alley to see if she could find any wand holsters. They had to be safe than sleeves or pockets at any rate. As the elevator opened, Shepard exited first and gestured to Bloodaxe who made himself hidden from Harri's sight as the two of them entered Shepard's home. Harri sensed something was slightly off before she was stunned.
"SURPRISE!" came the shout from fifteen voices as the two of them entered the room. Harri was floored as she saw all of her friends their waiting for her.
In the front were the close friends who had joined her at the Ministry: Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Luna and Neville. Arrayed around this central bunch were the Weasley Twins and Molly, Katie, Alicia and Angelina from the Gryffindor quidditch team, Sirius, Remus and Tonks. Slightly off to the side of the Gryffindor bunch were Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff with Dan Granger.
"What are you all doing here?" Harri asked incredulously.
"Did you really think we'd let you turn sixteen without a sweet sixteen party, especially after what you did for mine?" Hermione asked.
"No, but this is..." Harri began, and couldn't find the words to finish.
"I think the word you're looking for is brilliant," Ron supplied.
"Yeah, that'll do for now I suppose," Harri replied, still awed at the turnout.
"Primary target in sight, majority of secondary targets also on location," Fredericks said as he sent the communication spell he'd been given.
"Return to staging area and prepare for combat," he received a moment later. Glad to move out of this Muggle-ridden place, Fredericks quickly disapparated and reappeared at the staging area where the calm Rookwood, the insane Lestrange woman and a half-dozen recruits similar to himself, from continental Europe, were waiting.
"Why can't we go now, I want to have some fun!" wide-eyed woman screeched.
"Give them some time to enjoy themselves, then we can have our fun," Rookwood said forcefully. "Thirty minutes should be enough, besides, doesn't anticipation make it all the sweeter?"
As Harri greeted everyone in person, Shepard left the room. Her first point was to discreetly check in with Canin in the control room.
"All quiet?" Shepard asked.
"Aside from Mr Lupin delivering Miss Lovegood's trunk while you were out, nothing unexpected. We have noticed some magic coming from nearby, but the orientation and distance suggests it was from a different building. The last detection was a disapparition, so it may just be coincidence. All my men have been alerted and will be on higher readiness, just in case."
"Suspicious, but as you say, it may be coincidence. If that's all, I'll call the caterers and have them deliver the cake and lunch. Hopefully, that will be the last of the authorized entrants so we can focus on proper security." Canin nodded in silent agreement.
Shepard slipped out of the panic-cum-control room and into the hall, using one of the phones to call down to the restaurant to send up the food. Ten minutes later, Shepard was waiting for them in the elevator reception room as the car arrived. Two well-dressed young men pushed the trolleys, one piled high with warm and cold party food, the other conveying a large red cake, complete with candles. Shepard led them through some of the smaller rooms to the kitchen, avoiding the party in progress and any magic that might be happening, despite warnings. She watched as the two of them quickly set out the food onto the kitchen benches, before packing up their trolleys.
"Gentlemen, if you'll assist me with this cake, I'll send you on your way," Shepard said. They nodded in agreement, the two of them lifting the cake between them.
Shepard led them into the dining room, making sure to check the room first to ensure it was Muggle-friendly. Upon seeing that friendship was the only magic being exercised she burst into the room, the cake-laden men a few steps behind. There was a general cheer for the cake as it was placed on the table, before one of the bearers pulled a matchbox from a pocket to light the candles.
"Make a wish Harri," the raven-haired teen heard as she stared into the flickering flames. She started around at people in the room, all of whom had made a positive impact on her life since they'd entered it. Her eyes fell last on a freckled face framed by flame-red hair. Two sets of cheeks began to blush, but the ravenette closed her eyes and made her wish before either could notice. Harri opened her eyes, took a deep breath and blew, extinguishing all the candles in a single breath. There was a cheer as the vapor trails reached towards the ceiling, and Harri was handed the cake cutter.
Shepard took this as her cue to escort the restaurant employees back to the elevator. She handed both of them 20 pound notes as a tip, earning her thankful smiles. In the dining room, Harri hit the bottom with her first slice, and caved to the calls from the audience to kiss the nearest guy. In this case, it turned to be Remus, who gracefully turned to allow Harri to give him a peck on the cheek. Even such an innocent kiss received a few wolf whistles, notably from Sirius, Fred, George and Tonks. Harri and Remus just rolled their eyes and ignored them as Harri continued dividing the cake.
As the doors to the elevator closed, Shepard turned around just in time to see a dozen clouds of black mist appear in the anteroom, before with a dozen distinctive cracks they coalesced into the black-robed Death Eaters. The nearest to Shepard was the only one who had forgone the silver-and-bone skull mask, her black hair flying out as wildy as the manic look in her violet eyes. Tink got a moment to see the madwoman's pupils contract with recognition, before the near-banshee screeched.
"You!" Bellatrix shrieked as awareness of her location and adversary filtered through her mind. Her wand was already flying upwards to curse as Shepard reacted.
Shepard fell to her knees under the first curse as she powered her biotic barrier up to full strength with a gesture of her arm. The kneeling position allowed her to pull out her futuristic pistol from its concealed inner thigh holster as she shouted.
"LOCKDOWN!" Shepard called out, raising her weapon once again.
A/N: This one was mostly done already, hence you're all getting it early. My life is getting better now, so please ignore the last author's note.
Please leave some reviews about the story, I live for them!
And yes, another cliffhanger. I'll probably have a few of them in this story.