Disclaimer. HP belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling

Chapter 20

Draco had been holding her in silence for several minutes when they heard a disturbance coming from just down the hall. Deciding to see what the commotion was all about, they reluctantly stood from their embrace and exited their shared office.

The group that had left nearly an hour ago had obviously returned, as several aurors were bustling about. Harry was visible; talking angrily with Ron and Mr. Weasley. Everyone in view looked annoyed which tipped them off that things had obviously not gone well on their trip to Krum's Bulgarian home.

Hermione led the way swiftly to her best friends sides. "How'd it go?" She asked though she already knew the answer to her next question. "Was anyone still there?"

"Of course not!" Harry responded angrily, though she knew it wasn't at her but at the situation. "They obviously knew we were onto them. They emptied the place of anything important and moved on to somewhere else! They used Krum as a patsy so they could get away again."

"Well I'm still glad he was caught." Draco added trying to reassure his partner that the night hadn't been a total waste. "At least Hermione is safe from him."

"I know." Harry said trying in vain to calm himself down. "And I am really relieved about that. I just worry about what Bellatrix is up to. She's way more dangerous to way more people than he was."

"We'll catch her Harry, of that I have no doubt." Arthur said trying to help reassure him. "Luck was not on our side tonight, but she is bound to come out of hiding at some point. And my bet is on sooner rather than later."

"I bet she will too and that's what I'm scared of!" Harry exclaimed. It was clear to everyone in the area that he was thinking about what she had done at the ministry three years ago. "Who will we find dead at her hands when she resurfaces?"

"You need to calm down Harry." Hermione tried to reason with him. "I know you are frustrated but we need to stay in our right minds if we are going to catch her before that happens."

"I know." He rubbed his face with one hand. "I'm just worried she's going to go after one of you, or even worse; after Teddy. I can't lose anyone else to her Hermione. She took Sirius, I won't let her take anyone else from me."

"I'm glad to see you taking the situation so seriously." The minister had joined them half way through Harry's rant, followed by Ginny and Mrs. Weasley. "That is the kind of dedication we need right now. Which brings me to why I am here. I think this situation has surpassed just the Aurors office. I would like to round up what's left of The Order of the Phoenix and call a new meeting. They will all be targets now that all of the Lestranges are likely back in England. I will personally sleep better at night if I know we have more allies in the loop."

This finally seemed to get through to Harry. "Good idea minister. The renovations at Grimmauld Place just concluded on Friday. It's ready for habitation now. We can use it again if you'd like."

"Thank you Harry, that is the most logical place for us to hold meetings. Let's get a new fidelius charm in place and set an Order meeting for Wednesday evening." He tipped his hat to the group. "Now let's all try to get a good rest in to clear our heads until then why don't we." And he left without another word.

"Does this mean we are on the brink of another war?" Ron asked.

"If Shacklebolt is gathering up The Order again we must be." Harry answered him.

"I think it's more of a precaution." Hermione added. "But we could be. Especially if they can bring themselves back from the dead everytime we take one of them out."

"That's not something I really want to think about right now." Harry sighed.

"I think it's best we listened to Kingsley and got some rest. We can deal with the fallout tomorrow." Molly spoke up. "With all of the commotion today I noticed no one was able to get much of a lunch or dinner today. Why don't we all head back to the Burrow for a good home cooked meal before heading to bed. I'm sure we will all rest much better after we have been fed up a bit."

"Oh thank goodness!" Ron exclaimed excitedly. "I thought my stomach was about to eat itself."

After everyone agreed that though they were very tired, they were also quite hungry as well. So the group headed to The Burrow for Molly's quick to cook creamy onion soup and some irish soda bread. Ron was not the only one excited for his mother's cooking as they all flooed over to the Weasley family home.

One by one they exited the fireplace only to end up with shocked faces at the sight that greeted them. One by one they gasped as their eyes took in the damage. One by one they all read the message left on the walls in what looked like blood.

You'll Be Next Blood Traitors

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The Weasleys had moved into Grimmauld Place immediately. It was obvious by the way the home had been destroyed that Bellatrix was behind the break-in. Molly's trusty clock had been defaced by putting large red X's over everyone's faces; with an old dagger left behind directly in the middle of Molly's.

To make sure everyone was safe, they gathered their belongings and fled to the most noble and ancient house of Black. It turned out Harry had upgraded it so well that it no longer looked ancient, but cozy and slightly modern. Old Walburga Black might have screamed her loudest ever if she could see what Harry had it turned into. Luckily for everyone who would be living there, he'd foreseen this and had her removed. Her permanent sticking charm may have worked on the wall itself, but that didn't stop the construction workers from cutting the wall out entirely and leaving a more open concept entryway.

As a precaution, Percy and George moved in as well. They were not only local, but lived in easy to get to places. Everybody knew that George lived above the joke shop, and Percy's apartment building would not be difficult to find either. Charlie was tucked safely at the dragon reserve in Romania where there was more than enough security, and Bill and Fleur were still at the fidelius protected Shell Cottage on the coast.

At precisely six o'clock in the evening on Wednesday June 26th, The Order of the Phoenix gathered at 12 Grimmauld Place in order to discuss the impending danger that the wizarding world was still up against. Kingsley addressed them as a group in the overly large dining room to inform everyone of Bellatrix's threat and return. They were informed of the horcruxes and the new and easier way to use them that Voldemort had created before his demise.

Discussions on how to combat the current war lasted almost two hours before they called it a night. Mundugus Fletcher, though grudgingly allowed back after his theft nearly two years ago, had been invited to attend the meeting as well. He agreed to mingle with some unfavorable people in Knockturn Alley to see if he could find more hidden death eater locations.

One by one, the order members made their exit from the not as old as it used to be House of Black. The minister himself had just closed the front door behind him, leaving all the Weasley's, Harry, Hermione, Draco and Andromeda Tonks alone. Ginny had stayed upstairs during the meeting to babysit a currently blue haired Teddy. They had just come down to join everyone while the toddler sang C is for cookie along with his favorite cookie monster toy that had also come from a garage sale.

"If anyone deserves the dementor's kiss it's my sister." Andromeda whispered so her grandson couldn't hear it.

Draco snapped his head up at those words and glared at the women who resembled his crazy Aunt. He had thought she looked like her earlier, but had forgotten his mother had a second sister. As soon as she had referred to Bellatrix as her sister, he suddenly realized who she was.

The older women caught the way he was looking at her and stopped paying attention to the conversation she had previously been having with Molly. It was obvious she had just made the connection to who he was as well.

Molly, realizing that this must be the first time she was meeting her nephew, took the hint and backed away to let them have the conversation she figured was a long time coming.

"You're Draco Malfoy." Andromeda stated, coming a little closer to him.

He looked around hoping Hermione would be there for support, but she was off talking with her best friends instead and hadn't noticed that he was in need.

"I am." He confirmed. "And you're my aunt."

"Narcissa is well I take it?" Andromeda asked while trying to sound callous.

"She is. Though I think she is a bit lonely." He informed her.

"Good." He could hear the hurt in her voice even though she was attempting to hide it. "So you have taken up with the Granger girl?"

"I have."

"I'm glad the apple fell far from the tree with you." She seemed pleased. "Takes courage for a Slytherin to date a muggleborn. I should know."

"I heard." He said. "My mother told me all about it. She misses you alot just so you know."

"She's had years since our parents died to think for herself." Andromeda replied sadly. "If she really missed me she would have paid me a visit long before now."

Draco opened his mouth to tell her that his mother had wanted to many times but couldn't muster up the courage, but she cut him off before he could.

"I really must get Teddy home and put to bed." She placed one hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "But it was nice to finally meet my only nephew."

"You too." He nodded slowly before turning to find Hermione.

She had moved from her spot by Harry and Ron, and was instead just coming out of the loo; adjusting her robes as she walked. He stared at her with a smile; thinking it was cute how she had worn witches robes to the order meeting instead of her usual blouse and skirt she donned at the office. It was probably a good thing though, as he always caught himself undressing her with his eyes when she wore those fitted skirts and button up tops.

"Are you ready to head back to the manor yet?" He asked as he approached her.

"Definitely." She smiled as she threaded her fingers through his.

They bid everyone goodnight and Hermione even gave Teddy a big hug and kiss goodnight before they found themselves on the front stoop of number twelve. The door had barely clicked shut behind them before Hermione had him backed up against it.

"I've got a surprise for you." She whispered before claiming his lips in a kiss, her body pressing him a little further into the door.

"I think you've already surprised me a little." He said as he pulled her closer and touched his tongue to her upper lip as the kissing became more heated. "But don't let that stop you from what you obviously have planned."

Even though he usually liked to be the one in control, he let her have it this time. She had gripped the back of his neck to keep his head in place and she was now dominating his lips with hers. She was nibbling his bottom lip so seductively that he was having trouble not lifting her up so he could grind against her core. If the surprise wasn't sexual in nature he knew he'd be up half the night wanking in the shower after this.

As she continued the assault on his mouth, he vaguely could hear his aunt and Teddy approaching from the other side of the door. Realizing that they were probably headed to the very stoop he was currently making out on, he decided it was time to take this back to his bedroom where they couldn't be interrupted.

"Hermione." He whispered between kisses. "As much as I love this we should probably take this somewhere a bit more private don't you think?"

"You're right." She agreed breathlessly. "Take me home Draco."

He took a deep breath to calm himself enough to apparate them to his bedroom. The way she had been kissing him had given him an instant erection that he was sure wouldn't be going away anytime soon; and so worried he'd splinch them if he apparated too hastily he took a moment to calm himself.

Luckily, he was able to get them there in one piece before his aunt could find them getting frisky on The Order's front stoop.

Unluckily, there was already a very pissy looking Pansy Parkinson waiting on his bed; causing said erection to disappear faster than it had shown up.

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A/N: It's been a long time since I have written a chapter for this story, which saddens me mostly because I was only about ten chapters away from completing it when I got pregnant. I've had chapter breakdowns written for over a year now and still lost motivation and found it to be the hardest to pick back up. I'd prefer to get this done by the end of the year, but with three other stories that I want to continue to update I don't see that happening. Instead I am giving myself the realistic goal of completing this by June 15th 2019(the three year anniversary of the first chapter posting). That gives me ten months to write ten chapters. Let's see if I can do it!