AN – I own nothing!

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Chapter 25

Severus stood against the wall, arms crossed at one side of the living room. His usual scowl was on his face. Most of the members of the Order had arrived, except for Remus, Albus, Tonks, Kingsley, Arthur and Minerva. He knew they were about to arrive shortly. Everyone else in front of him were already debating and arguing over the King's press conference.

His thumb traced the shape of his wedding band beneath his breast pocket. He thought and felt Hermione. Even though he was so far from her, he could still feel her emotions. He hoped that the other six would arrive soon so that they could start, and he could leave sooner.

"What in bloody hell is going on?" Sirius Black asked out loud as the other six finally arrived. He stood up from the arm chair and walked directly in front of Albus, deliberately needing an answer right away. "When the fuck did we start working with the King? And is this some bloody trick or something?"

Everyone else in the room started to ask their own set of questions.

"Please, everyone, quiet," Albus demanded.

"Do you know of anything?" Molly whispered to Arthur who walked to her. All she received was a shake of his head.

"This is no trick of sorts," Albus informed everyone as he glanced at Sirius. "We will be working hand in hand with King Richard himself. We all should be happy to see that our King has returned. We now have more people fighting with us."

"Who are his spies?" Moody asked. "Can they be trusted?"

"And since when did he have a grandchild? Male or female?" Molly asked.

Albus nodded. "I have met them all. For now, I cannot tell you who his granddaughter is. All I can tell you is that she is of age, and is married—happily," he answered and saw Severus stand like a hawk from the corner of his eye. "And the King's spies have been under the Dark Lord's nose the whole time, unknown to him."

Gasps filled the room. Names of Death Eaters ran through their brains one by one. Who were they?

"Who?" Hagrid asked.

"Lucius Malfoy," Kingsley answered.

"What?" almost everyone exclaimed in the room.

"This is some kind of joke!" Sirius exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief.

Albus raised his hand, and waited for the room to be silent yet again. "When the school year starts, young Mr. Malfoy will be able to spy as well when he takes the Mark. The Malfoys have always been spies for the King since the beginning. They have always fought for the light."

"Bullshit!" Sirius said.

Albus looked at Sirius with steel blue eyes, telling him to shut up. "Aren't you happy to know that your cousins now are all on our side?"

Sirius shook his head and slumped back in his chair. Lucius wasn't his cousin. It was Narcissa that once carried the same last name as he did. When the two got together, he always thought that it was Lucius has had brainwashed her in ways. Narcissa was beautiful and intelligent. She deserved better than that platinum blonde bastard. Now he didn't know what to think of the man.

"Now aren't we all going to congratulate Kingsley here?" Albus smiled as he started to applaud. Everyone else followed suit, except for Severus who remained still.

"Thank you everyone," Kingsley said.

"Once again we have someone within the inner circle." Albus said. "We we all know the Dark Lord's every move. The Malfoys know of this location and will deliver whatever news we need."

"That arsehole tried to kill me!" Severus hissed about Lucius. He was faking that he knew nothing, and was just as clueless like the others.

Albus gave him a small smile. "He probably would have if he really was a true follower. Apparently not, which is why you are standing here."

Severus didn't say anything and just scowled. The plan was that he knew nothing so that his relationship with Hermione wouldn't be exposed. If it was exposed, people would question why. They couldn't let the complete truth leak out to protect her.

Molly frowned as everything slowly registered in her head. She then asked, "What about the young ones? What do we tell them?"

"It is best that we don't tell them information that they do not need to know yet," Albus answered. "We cannot allow the risk of it slipping from their mouths. Their Slytherin peers may find out, and the Malfoys might be discovered. We cannot let Draco have his cover blown with his family."

Sirius looked at Remus as he had a few times moments ago. He noticed that Remus had been silent the entire time, and he seemed somewhat calm, and unsurprised. "You bloody hell knew!" Sirius bellowed as he stood up and pointed a finger at his friend.

Remus raised his arms up. "No comment," he simply said.

"Fucking wolf!" Sirius hissed, and walked out of the living, stomping madly to the kitchen.

Remus excused himself and followed after Sirius. Did the man really have to be so explosive over everything?

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"Sirius, don't be an arse," Remus said as he walked in. He saw Sirius pull out a glass of whiskey, and pour some of it in a glass.

Sirius shook his head and gulped the contents of the glass in one go. "How long have you known?" he asked as he felt the warmth of the liquor burn his throat.

"Not forever if that's what you think," Remus answered as he stood next to the kitchen island. It was the only thing separating the two.

"What else is there to know?" Sirius asked.

Remus shook his head. "Don't make me Sirius, because you can't. I took an oath."

Sirius slammed his glass down on the island. Screw oaths! If only he didn't take the oath, then Remus could have spilled the beans. He hated them, but knew there was nothing he could do about it.

"Harry has to know," Sirius said in a calmer tone.

"I don't know," Remus said. "I'll have to ask. It isn't my decision to make."

"Then whose? King Richard's? Albus or the freaking Princess and her Prince husband that we know nothing of?" Sirius asked raising his voice yet again. "Harry is a big part of this war Remus. He has to know. If not, he might just cut off Malfoy's head without even knowing his damn errors."

"Fine Sirius. Like I said, I'll ask."

"But I'll be the one to tell him."

"With me that is," Remus added.

"Fine," Sirius agreed.

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Severus walked into the suite silently. He came back later than planned. Molly Weasley had cooked dinner for everyone. For the nth time in his life, the damned witch forced him to stay and eat before leaving.

The first thing he noticed when he walked in, was Hermione curled up, sitting on the couch, in front of the fireplace. As he walked towards her, he noticed that she was holding something on her lap, and was fast asleep, her head on the back of the couch. Without a sound, he took off his robes, and vest, and later kicked off his boots, and shed off his socks.

He knelt in front of the couch, and looked closely at what she was holding. It was a photo album, with the label reading "Family Trips." Slowly, he slipped the album from her grasp, not waking her, and set it on the coffee table.

"I'm back Little One," Severus said softly into her ear, tucking her curls behind her ear. He felt Hermione shift and heard her murmur. He firmly planted a kiss on her lips, and then pulled away. "I'm back."

"Severus!" Hermione murmured as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled herself closer to him, and felt his arms wrap around her. She missed him so much, and just needed his touch for now. Even when her grandfather stopped by to check on her, she didn't say much, and simply said she wanted her husband.

"I missed you too," he said into her hair. "Did you eat dinner?"

Hermione shook her head. "I wanted to eat with you, so I waited."

"You didn't have to," Severus said and kissed her temple. He didn't want to tell her that he already ate. He felt guilty and didn't want to break her heart. "I'll go down to the kitchens and see what they have left." As he stood up, Severus felt Hermione wrap her arms around him tighter, and not let him go. Her legs wrapped around his waist. Instantly, he had an arm around her waist and bottom, not wanting them to tip over.

"Not letting you go this time," Hermione said as she placed her head on his shoulder.

"Fair enough," Severus said. He wouldn't have it any other way.

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AN – Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As always, Sirius had to act hot headed. Should Harry know about the Malfoys? Review!