A/N: Sorry for the delay; I was ill in RL, and got behind on my RL work. I'm caught up now. I do try to post at least once a week when I'm working on a story, FYI.

Ch. 12: Housekeeeping

Somewhere in London, a group of mundane-born wizards and witches met to discuss the latest Ministry decree.

"I still don't understand why the Ministry reversed itself," one dark-haired gentleman muttered in an American accent. "We've been banking on their discriminatory practices for years. What's changed now?"

Mildred Montiface sniffed. "Harry Potter showed up. His bond-mate is a mundane, and he threw an absolute fit when I asked for his blood."

"Reeaaally," the American said, drawing the word out into several syllables. "Why hasn't he shown up before?"

Mildred shrugged. "Nobody's seen him around the Ministry in years."

A gentle-looking blond with a faint French accent leaned forward over her tea. "Where has he been?"

"No one seems to know," Mildred said, dismissively. "The Prophet is making a huge stink over the fact that he hasn't been seen, actually."

The American looked pensive. "And he has a mundane bond mate? How did that happen?"

Mildred picked up her own tea. "No one knows that, either; the bonding was registered as a flash document, which means it was a spontaneous magical event. But we have no details. The formal filing he did yesterday just confirmed the bonding."

"Interesting," the American said. "But Harry Potter...isn't he a Pureblood? I mean, I assumed as much because of the whole Chosen One thing."

Mildred perked up. "Actually, it depends upon how you define Pureblood. He has two magical parents, but his mother was mundane born. The rumor is that he was raised by his mundane relatives."

"Why hasn't he been approached?" the American asked, shrewdly.

Mildred looked gobsmacked. "He's the Ministry's poster boy!"

"Who hasn't been seen in the Ministry in years?" The blond scoffed. "I think you've missed something there, petite."

Mildred chewed on her lip. "I guess I assumed he'd back the Ministry."

A figure from the shadows near the fireplace spoke quietly. "And why would he?" The voice, male, resonated with sarcasm. "They only declared him 'Undesirable Number One' and tried to have him killed in the last war."

"But that was before he took down He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" Mildred exclaimed. "And he's friends with the Minister."

"And again, I point out, he hasn't been seen in the Ministry for years, has yet to make a public statement about his own bonding, hasn't set foot in the magical public spaces, as far as we know, in the same amount of time," the shadowed voice pointed out. "I think we can count on the idea that he is NOT the Ministry's poster boy."

"And, in fact, if what you say is true, Mildred, he was able to reverse a longstanding Ministry practice with one phone call yesterday," the American said. "A practice, might I add, that we were using to our advantage to recruit."

"I think it safe to say that he is not on general good terms with the Ministry of Magic," the shadowed man said calmly.

"Do you think I should approach him?" Mildred asked. "I wouldn't even know where to start."

The figure in the shadows shrugged. "Try Hermione."

The American snorted. "She's been turning us down for years. All about effecting change from within, that one."

"Not interested in taking over the mundane world, either," the bond murmured. "Not a power-hungry bone in her body."

"But she is on good terms with Mr. Potter," the shadowed figure said. "They've been friends since they were in Hogwarts. It wouldn't hurt to approach her to see if we could broker a meeting."

Mildred set her tea down. "Well, I'll try. Maybe I'll try to set it up as an apology meeting. You have no idea how angry Harry was this afternoon. I thought he would pull the Ministry down around my ears!"

"Is he capable of that?" the American asked, skeptically.

"More than," the shadowed figure answered. "Rumor is that he's the most powerful wizard in the world, and if he was on our side …"

"Many of our plans could come to fruition much more quickly," the blond mused.

Mildred nodded, though she remained skeptical. "We have to find him, first."

IMBM

Feeling lazy, Harry drew a hand down his bondmate's naked back, just wanting to touch. James leaned closer, and they both sighed.

"Out of your system yet?" James drawled quietly, eyes closed.

"Mm." Harry hummed. "Probably." He cleared his throat and rolled over to stretch out on his back and take stock of his well-used body. "Feels good to feel so bad." He grinned, thinking about it.

James snorted, eyes staying shut. "That it does, my love, that it does." He conducted a long, slow stretch of his own, rolling to lay on his back beside his bonded. "What time do we have to report to M?"

"We were supposed to do it after we dropped Claire at the Ministry, but, well…"

James nodded solemnly. "I had to protect the free world from your magical wrath by shagging you into next week."

"Something like that," Harry acknowledged, grinning. "Thank you for your service, 007."

"Anytime, Q."

A lazy hot shower later, the pair were up and dressed. Q confirmed M was available to see them, and they left for MI6, taking Bond's Aston Martin just for the change of pace. They stopped for sandwiches on the way, having eaten nothing at home, and needing the fuel after their afternoon. Dusk had settled into full night by the time the pair reported in.

M looked up from his desk to see his Quartermaster and agent ready to settle into their spots across from his desk. "Ah, good to see you, Q, 007. Report?"

They filled him in on the events at the Ministry, and Q wrapped up with a suggestion. "It seems possible that there's a campaign to get me back into the public eye as myself," he pointed out. "It might be a benefit to the mission if I were to let them succeed."

M leaned back in his chair, thoughtful. "Draw them out, perhaps?"

"It's a thought," Q acknowledged. "007 and I are having a bonding party sort of thing. A friend is hosting it. Her idea was that I'd give the public enough to get them to back off me for a while again, but what if we don't stop there?"

"Use yourself as bait, Q?" James asked, thinking about it.

Q shrugged. "Maybe. It's fairly well known that my mother was mundane born. I've never been approached by anyone asking for my help to take over the world … let me rephrase. Since the end of Voldemort, I've not been approached to help take over the world."

M didn't smile, but from the quirk up at the end of his lips, he wasn't far off from one. "With great power comes great responsibility," he intoned.

Q rolled his eyes. "I'm not Spiderman, but yes, the idea holds. One reason for my service to the whole of Britain, not just to magical England. And a way to keep myself in check."

"Could you, if you chose, take us all over?" M asked curiously.

"Not going to happen, so it's a moot question," Q evaded.

M noted the evasion, let it stand, and vowed to give Q no reason to question his choice. "Work up a plan, then. We're waiting for 006's final report. He had a meeting today with the head of the Austin company that should be going on about now. R is overseeing it, with Felix as back up. But the data do suggest a threat that needs to be dealt with. We need to find the leaders, Q."

"I have a few ideas on that, sir. One is to let me myself be bait, possibly recruited. Another is to talk to my old friend, Hermione Granger. She's Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but she's also a mundane born. She told me that there have been attempts to recruit her over the years that she's not taken seriously, and our suspect in custody said under truth serum that Hermione knows who knows where the group meets in London. I plan to talk with her tonight."

"Proceed, then, Q, 007." M cleared his throat. "And on another matter. HR wants me to remind you to fill out your next-of-kind status forms and other details, as well as register your domestic partnership."

James raised an eyebrow. "How on earth did they come to know about that?"

"Apparently, there's gossip. I did not confirm or deny the partnership, but HR rightly points out that if something were to happen to either one of you, and that such a partnership existed, without the proper paperwork, neither of you could legally be informed. Given the nature of our work …" M trailed off.

Q got it. "The danger we're in on a regular basis." He looked over at James. "Shall we file more paperwork, dear?"

James grinned at him. "May as well, darling. Though half your minions will be crushed with the weight of disappointment at the fact you're off the market."

Q snorted. "And the other half will cry over you."

M shook his head and sighed. "What does your partnership mean for your mission status, 007?"

Q and James looked at each other, and Q nudged him. James looked at Q for a long moment, then answered. "If possible, I'd like to avoid the honeypot missions, M. If a mission should appear to be going in that direction, we'll handle it, but I'd rather not be assigned missions with seduction as the overt goal."

M nodded. "It shouldn't be a problem." He sat back, and added, dryly, "We do have eight other agents who are more than capable."

James smiled briefly. "If it becomes an issue, we might need to negotiate my status as a double-oh, M."

"Understood. Q, your thoughts?"

Q cleared his throat. "As I'm not normally in the field at all, I have no problem with not going on honeypot missions."

James laughed out loud, and M raised his eyebrows as far as they could go. "I was referring to your position as James' partner, Q."

"I know, sir," Q hesitated. "Frankly, I'd prefer he didn't, but if it's between seduction and death, I'd prefer he'd seduce. Magic might not like it, but I'd prefer him alive."

M nodded and relaxed. "A fair assessment. Keep me apprised on all counts as needed."

"Yes, sir." "Yes, sir."

IMBM

The lone HR staffer available handed them a stack of forms. "Off you go, then," she chirped cheerfully. "Have them back as soon as you can."

"Isn't this process electronic now?" Q asked.

The staffer shook her perky head. "Too easy to hack and change if it's in a system. We file these in actual paper form, with your signatures, as hard copy backups in locked file cabinets. I'll input the data into our dedicated terminal, as well, but this way, if something goes sideways with the tech, you're still covered."

Q, the magical mystery hacker, grinned at her. "Well done." James rolled his eyes, and the pair sat in the lobby, filling out forms designating each other as medical proxies, next-of-kin, and beneficiaries for the varied and sundry perks that went along with risking their lives every day for Queen and country. Q signed the last one with a flourish, then checked his watch. "I'll need to stop by the branch and check in with R, and then we just have time to head over to Ron and Hermione's before they're off to bed."

James finished the last section of his form. "I need to check my gear in, as well, which I presume I'll do with R?"

"You presume correctly, with the change in status," Q confirmed. "I'll still make toys for you, but someone else needs to check them in and out, in order to maintain the equipment inventory fairly."

James signed his last form, too. "That's that, then. You're now legally the most important person in my life."

"Mine, too, coincidentally," Q said with a smirk. He collected James' forms, and stepped back to the HR desk to hand them over to the perky clerk. "Here you are, then," he said.

"Thank you, gentlemen!" She riffled through them. "All looks in order. I'll get them input right away."

"Thanks."

IMBM

Half an hour later, the pair got back into the Aston Martin for the drive back to Q's, the better to apparate from there. The drive to Ottery St. Catchpole, where the Granger-Weasley house abutted the property of the Weasley home, was too long to take without magic.

"Should have thought that one through," Q said ruefully as he buckled his seatbelt.

"Yes, well, we were blissed out, and I, for one, wanted to drive our baby here," James replied. "Won't be long and we can get ourselves situated."

Q reached over to lay a hand on James' thigh, and smiled contentedly as his partner sailed through traffic to park in his garage spot. They got out, with James locking up, and stepped into a shadowed, warded corner of the garage that Q used especially for this purpose. Q stepped into James' space, put his arms around him, and twisted.

They disappeared without a sound.

IMBM

Molly Weasley went over the party lists again. Tent? Check. Formal invitations? Check. Pre-Invitations to offer a heads up and a selection of possible dates? Sent. Decorations? Check. Flowers and streamers in blues and greens and would decorate the tent and the grounds, and were ready to go up with one spell. Food? Planned, ordered, and prepared, held in magical stasis and ready to roll at a moment's notice. Music? Check, with a four-piece string section on standby and a mundane stereo system as back-up.

Now, if only the grooms would check in with her, she'd be set.

IMBM

Alec's meeting that afternoon had gone off without a hitch, his cover well-established, and he'd picked up a definite sultry vibe from the admin who'd showed him around the place.

If needed, he had an in.

Meanwhile, he'd enjoy Texas until he was recalled.