Epilogue Chapter Four: Presto

Disclaimer: None of the Characters from the Harry Potter books belong to me, they belong to JK Rowling.

Harry and Draco stared at the door to Draco's parent's bedroom as it slowly slid open. The two acted immediately; Harry raced to hide behind a nearby tall wardrobe, pressing his body to the dark wood and peeping around it.

To Harry's surprise, Draco did not hide. Instead he stood and began walking toward the door. When little servant ambled inside, her cleaning supplies in hand, the Slytherin moved quickly forward.

The little servant coward in fear upon seeing her former, and now disowned, master coming toward her. She wasn't sure why Draco had been blackballed from the house, however, considering what the occupants of the house had been up to over the years, she figured it had to have been something extremely horrendous for them to have ousted him.

The little servant dropped her supplies and her eyes grew wide. She seemed too frightened to do more than stare in horror as Draco approached. A small, strangled cry left her throat when Draco pulled out his wand and aimed it at her heart.

'No!' cried Harry, suddenly racing from his place behind the wardrobe.

But he was too late, Draco issued a curse at the little elf and she emitted a gurgled scream as the light moved with zinging precision through her body. Her little eyes moved to the back of her head as her torso slowly folded and fell heavily to the ground.

'No!' Harry uttered again, his tone heavy with distress as he moved to kneel over the fallen servant.

'Move, Harry,' Draco commanded, his voice demanding and urgent.

Harry looked up and met the determined grey eyes, 'there was no need to-'

'Move aside, Harry, I have only stunned her-'

'That was no stunning curse, I saw-'

'It was a dark stunning curse, Harry,' Draco yelled in a whispered tone, 'move out of the way, I have to wipe her memory or it will all be for naught.'

Harry continued to stare at his boyfriend with uncertainty, but he slowly began to rise.

Draco moved forward and pressed Harry firmly aside, aiming his wand at the servant again. Waving his wand over the body of the elf, he quickly performed a short incantation.

The servant's body jerked several times and then lay still as a corpse on the ground.

Harry frowned deeply, studying the servant, 'she's got no life energy,' he accused, moving toward the still body.

'She's fine and we need to get out of here, now.'

'She has no energy about her, Draco, she is-'

'That is how the curse works,' the Slytherin replied tersely, 'it makes one appear dead, but it is necessary in order to use the incantation that wipes her memory, now come on.'

Harry stared at the immobile body with misgiving and resisted when Draco began pulling at his arm.

'Harry, unless I am mistaken, the wards that my father placed on the house, long before Snape did any manipulating, are not breakable and in that case there will be a warning of what has happened here. We have to go, now!' Draco's tone sounded almost angry.

Harry stood slowly and regarded Draco with a rather dark glance, but began to follow the Slytherin as he moved quickly from the bedroom.

The two ran along the long hallway and gained Draco's bedroom at the same time they heard footsteps racing up the stairway from below.

Draco grabbed Harry's arm and quickly guided him toward the balcony window. Sliding through, Draco closed the door behind them and sent a concept to Harry indicating they should change forms.

The two took on their animagus forms and flew upward onto the roof of the home. Harry used his innate power to defeat the ward Snape had placed around the home and the two flew through, into the darkening sky.

Hermione sat with her hands in her lap feeling like an intruder in the home where she had been living for the past few months.

Blake's mother had arrived and she had made it very clear from the moment that she stepped foot in the house that Hermione was unwelcome.

Blaise sat next to Hermione on a small divan in the front parlor of the Zabini home, facing his mother. She had arrived a short time before and after settling in had immediately asked to meet with the two of them.

Hermione had expected the worst, but when the first words out of his mother's mouth after a brief introduction had been 'so you are the young woman who wishes to marry my son,' Hermione began to fear that the meeting would far exceed her expectations.

Blaise had responded at once, 'she is the woman I have decided to marry, mother, and thankfully, she has agreed to do so.'

Blaise's mother had largely ignored her son's little speech and training her eyes on Hermione moved right to the topic most important to her, 'word has it that your parents were both Muggles,' she remarked, her tone scornful and derogatory.

Hermione nodded her head briefly, 'neither of them are wizards, Mrs.-' Hermione hesitated, unsure what to call Blaise's mother; he had introduced her as 'my mum'.

'Mrs. Childes,' supplied the lady of the house.

'Gulius Childes was her last husband,' Blaise interjected, looking at Hermione, 'the eighth husband and the eighth to have died; he was bitten by a rare animal while he and my mum were on their honeymoon.'

Mrs. Childes spoke up immediately, 'yes, pity, such a nice man too.'

'I'm sorry,' mumbled Hermione, not quite knowing what to say.

'It is of little importance,' Mrs. Childes said, her eyes darkening, 'it happened sometime ago and his legacy remains in my heart.'

'And his fortune in your pocket,' Blaise said jovially as if he were discussing something pleasant.

Mrs. Childes frowned at her son, 'it is not kind of you to trivialize my poor luck or the fate of Gilius.' She trained her eyes upon Hermione once again, 'you realize of course that Blaise comes from a long line of pureblood wizards, untainted by even the scent of a half-blood?'

Hermione stared at Mrs. Childes, but did not respond.

'Quite a daunting thought, isn't it dear?' Mrs. Childes said smugly, 'It is something that our family is very proud of.' She wrinkled her brow slightly, 'you understand of course why I am not altogether keen on seeing the two of you marry.'

'Mum, it is all decided; Hermione and I are getting married. If you want to disown me or whatever, just get on with it. I have no intention of sitting here while you attempt to torture my future wife into changing her mind.'

Mrs. Childes stood, 'I was hoping,' she remarked candidly, her eyes still trained on Hermione, 'that Ms. Granger would show a little more regard for your heritage than you apparently do, however, if that is not to be the case then yes, I am afraid I will have no choice but to blacken your name from the family records.'

Blaise stood up, 'we will gather our things and go then. Hermione's parents would be happy to have us I am sure.'

Hermione looked quickly at Blaise; she had told her parents about him, but had said nothing of visiting. However, he was quite right, they would welcome them.

'Blaise,' Mrs. Childes implored, sitting down again, her face a vision of sorrow, 'please do not be obstinate about this; you know good and well I would never oust you from the family…or your home. I just-'

'Then you will have to come to grips with the idea that Hermione is to be your daughter in law. That is all there is to it mum.'

Mrs. Childes met Hermione's eyes, 'you have to understand, I have nothing against you precisely; I am sure you are a very fine person. But our family-'

However Blaise had no intention of allowing her to go on, 'mum, enough,' he said, not unkindly.

Mrs. Childes looked at her son, her demeanor one of stubborn unhappiness, 'leave me,' she demanded.

Blaise grinned and held a hand out toward Hermione, 'we will be upstairs in our bedroom.'

Hermione took Blaise's hand and moved with him upstairs, confusion riding across her features.

Blaise stopped midway up the large staircase and pulled Hermione into his embrace, 'what you just witnessed is my mum's version of giving her approval for our marriage.'

Hermione looked at Blaise with some amazement lurking in her eyes, 'approval?'

'Quite,' Blaise began chuckling, 'you will come to know her over time. While we won't live here, I hope that we can visit often. She's a perfectly horrid creature, but she's my mum and even after all she has done, I still love her. And I am all she has.'

Hermione's expression was wary, 'well I don't mind visiting…as long as she doesn't have any rare animals about…'

Blaise threw back his head and laughed and then his mirth filled eyes met hers, 'still want to marry into a Slytherin household? This is only the tip of the iceberg; there are more skeletons in our closets than there are residing in the local Muggle cemetery.'

Hermione smiled ruefully and placed a hand against her face, 'I love you, Blaise, but I have a feeling that loving you is going to mean a lot more than I previously anticipated.'

Blaise's smile faded and his eyes intensified, 'I didn't mean to make light of all of this, Hermione. I understand it is a very serious consideration for you. I come from a very old tradition Slytherin family. While I cannot count as many death eaters among them as say, Draco can within his family, there are very few among them who have not dabbled in the world of darkness.'

'Well I knew you were a Slytherin, Blaise.'

'Being a Slytherin has little to do with it in one sense and everything in another. There are many Slytherin families, some of them even pureblood, who have never and would never consider dabbling in the dark arts. Slytherin house is like any other, made up of all types of people, some on the good side, some on the bad.'

Hermione nodded, 'I know that.'

'Admittedly, there are more wizards from Slytherin house on the bad side than any other house. When dark arts and evil are about, you will generally find that at least one of our house members is involved, independent of whoever else is implicated.'

'I know that too.'

Blaise grinned a little ruefully, 'my family, the Zabini line and the Monteblanc line - my mother's family, well they tend to lean toward the bad side, if you know what I mean.'

Hermione nodded again, her expression unfathomable.

Blaise dropped his eyes, 'if you have reconsidered, Hermione, I really do understand. It is very likely you had no idea what you were getting yourself into here.'

Hermione looked up at Blaise and a small smile began forming on her lips, 'I know exactly what I am getting into. I believe it is time that we begin a little balancing of the Zabini line.'

Blaise looked at Hermione a little warily.

Hermione's smile grew, 'I don't intend to change you, Blaise, if that is what you are thinking. I only intend to be your wife and if you accept me, you have to understand that I come from a long line of Muggles, all of whom were intellectual, upstanding and for the most part, virtuous.'

Blaise's mouth tumbled into a genuine smile and he bent to kiss Hermione sweetly. He edged from their kiss, still holding her lightly in his embrace and met her chocolate, brown eyes, 'I cannot even begin to imagine what our life will be like, but I know one thing, it's going to be a hell of a ride.'

Hermione began laughing lightly and Blaise joined her.

When their laughter died down Hermione bit her lip and looked up at Blaise hesitantly.

'What is it, love?' he asked mildly.

Hermione sighed a little, 'well this is not how or when I had planned to tell you. It is maybe the worst time because you will think that it plays into my decision. But it does not Blaise and I want that to be entirely clear.'

Blaise furrowed his brow, 'ok, it is entirely clear that it does not play into to your decision. But precisely what are we talking about?'

A small smile began peeping about her mouth, 'the Zabini-Granger line. I think you may have to deal with it's formation a little sooner than you expected.'

Blaise's eyes went wide and he stared at her with dawning realization, 'you are pregnant?' he finally uttered, twelve different flavors of amazement pulsation through his words.

Hermione nodded, biting her lip again.

Blaise's mouth opened then closed again as he stared down on his bride to be.

Mrs. Childes was pulling out a few dusty family volumes from the bookshelf, each of which she intended that her prospective daughter in law study with her in grave detail. If a Muggle was going to weasel her way into the family, she was going to be molded into a proper Zabini wife.

However, one of the large volumes was suddenly startled out of her hands and fell heavily to the ground, when a loud, very excited and happy sounding 'Woot' reverberated from the stairwell. Mrs. Childes stooped to retrieve the volume, wondering what could have made her son suddenly so ecstatic.

Harry and Draco flew toward London and Harry directed them to an abandoned alley. The two landed, returned to human form and Draco quickly began walking from the alley.

Harry jogged a little to keek up, walking silently by Draco's side for a few moments before placing a heavy hand on the Slytherin's shoulder.

Draco stopped walking and regarded his boyfriend with irritation.

Harry glared back at him, his eyes full of accusation and disgust.

'Harry,' Draco said, his tone slightly exasperated, 'I told you that I would be doing things that you would not approve of and dark magic was precisely what I was talking about.'

Harry nodded curtly, 'and I agreed that it might be necessary. I just don't believe that the little house elf presented that big of a threat to us. Apparently you did though."

Draco sighed, shaking his head, 'she would have sounded an alarm – I had to wipe her memory.'

'But you used that curse to knock her out first and it left her without life energy.'

'The incantation I used to wipe her memory requires it.'

'Obliviate doesn't require it," Harry said accusingly, 'and you get the same result'.

'Obliviate can be touchy,' Draco responded, 'it may cause someone to forget the event you wish them to, but if you get it just wrong, a person can forget much more besides – I've experienced that in the past. The incantation is much more specific, much more certain. The only difference is that she'll be groggy for a few seconds when she wakes up.'

Harry continued to stare at his boyfriend, but his eyes were unfocused and Draco noted that the anger seemed to be fading from them. When Harry spoke, his voice was soft, 'I would like to learn it.'

That was the last thing Draco expected to hear, 'you would?'

Harry nodded, 'you see, this is the problem. The ministry is so adamant against our use of the dark arts that they keep most of the information from us. I didn't know what I was looking at back there.

Draco's looked slightly amused.

Harry didn't seem to notice. 'There are times,' he continued 'when those incantations or even some of the so-called dark objects can be used to help fight the very evil the ministry is trying to avoid.'

Draco nodded, 'which is why so many are fighting for exploration of the dark arts,' his tone was thoughtful, 'it isn't so much the curse, hex or incantation, but the purpose that is important; there are two sides to every coin.'

The Slytherin turned to begin walking once more, but Harry stayed his progress. Grasping the Slytherin's shoulders he spun him so they were facing and leaned forward to press a meaningful kiss on his lips. 'I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions.'

Draco grinned, 'yes, I still love you,' he said playfully, grabbing Harry's chin with his palm and pulling it toward him again, 'maybe even more,' he said softly before reinitiating their kiss.

Harry slung an elbow onto Draco's shoulder as they began walking toward the Ministry again. They walked in silence until they reached the busy city center and then broke apart as they entered the crowded avenue.

'I know the castle in Surrey referred to in the letters my father wrote, Harry,' Draco said as they moved together toward the Ministry. 'It belongs to distant cousins of mine; I am certain it is what is referred to in the letters. Voldemort's son, Mamus Julien must be using it for his headquarters.'

'Marcus,' supplied Harry.

'Eh?' Draco regarded his boyfriend in some confusion.

'Marcus Julien is the name that was written in the letters.'

'Oh,' Draco shook his head and smirked a little, 'that just does not sound like the name of an evil lord, Marcus Julien.'

'Marcus Julien Riddle….I admit it does not exactly strike fear into one's heart. However, Tom Riddle isn't so awe inspiring either. Perhaps his son will choose a new name as his father did, some sort of anagram.'

'Well the word 'scum' is in there,' Draco said grinning, 'in any case,' he continued, amusement fading from his features, 'I gather from what my father said that he is using the castle and if so, I can take us directly to it.'

Harry nodded, a little frown marring his forehead.

Upon arriving at the Ministry, Harry and Draco went immediately to Shacklebolt's office and asked to speak with him. The assistant left briefly and upon his return informed them that the Minister was engaged, but if they could wait, he could see them in a short while.

Harry nodded in agreement then pulled Draco out of the hearing of the assistant and began speaking softly, 'I was thinking, while we wait, we should go and apply to register ourselves as animagi.'

Draco frowned, 'what?'

'I found out that to become a registered animagi, all you have to do is show that you have a well founded purpose for becoming an animagus and that you have mastered the required spells. I don't think they will question either my purpose or ability and I will vouch for you as well.'

Draco looked skeptical, but Harry persisted, 'if all goes well and one properly attains the animagus form, they can be registered. It would be good for us, Draco; we would no longer have to hide our status.'

Draco's frown lifted a little, 'it is a good idea, however, we have no clue what the procedure entails; it could be that they do tests or something in advance. They may find out that we are already animagi and we would be screwed.'

'If that is the case, we will conveniently change our minds,' Harry said brightly, turning at the same moment to leave the Minister's antechamber.

As it turned out, Harry was correct; the ministry official did not question Harry's purpose or ability to effect the transformation. However, she indicated that the procedure was not overseen by the ministry, but rather by specific parties designated by the ministry to oversee such matters based on their proficiency in the transformation arts.

To the surprise of both Draco and Harry, Remus Lupin was listed as one of the overseers and Harry immediately asked if he could act on their behalf. The ministry official indicated that she would contact professor Lupin and if he agreed to act as their overseer, their application would be approved.

Harry was ecstatic; he could tell Lupin the truth and he was certain there would be no problem for them in the future. Draco trusted his boyfriend's judgment enough to feel good about the matter as well.

The two returned to the Ministers office and were a little annoyed to find that Shacklebolt was still not ready to see them. They sat on the chairs in the antechamber and began going over the information they had discovered in the letters and forming a tentative plan of action.

Shacklebolt was being remiss in his duties. It was not that he did not take the new evil threat seriously, he most certainly did; the damage Voldemort had done to the wizard and Muggle world alike had been catastrophic and he would do all in his power to avoid a repeat scenario.

However, his personal life had reached a daunting juncture and his private concerns rose above all else like a dark cloud blinding the sun. His entire problem could be reduced to two words: Severus Snape.

Snape sat before him in the comfortable chair he had conjured upon entering, staring at him with something akin to disgust written across his face. Although his face often carried disgust, it was rarely aimed at Kingsley.

To Snape, it seemed impossible that he had found love with the august person who sat before him. Kingsley was unendingly honorable and moral of character; two traits that were generally accompanied by a boring personality. Snape abhorred such people for the most part and consistently avoided them.

However, during the preceding months, the two had spent a great deal of time together and Snape had found, somewhat to his dismay, that the more he got to know Kingsley, the more he liked what he saw.

The new minister was far from boring and a budding love began to take shape in the professor's heart. It was not long before that budding love jettisoned into full blown devotion and Severus had to admit to himself, albeit reluctantly, that their being together was one of the most wonderful things that had ever happened to him in his life.

However, at the moment Snape was incensed with his lover. The two had been traveling consistently; Kingsley from London and Snape from Hogwarts, every weekend and occasionally during the week, in order to be together. Now, Kingsley was demanding that Snape do all of the traveling because he was 'up to his ears' in ministry business and would be unable to get away.

Whether Snape agreed with that or not, it irked him greatly that Kingsley appeared to be taking a very low view of his importance at Hogwarts and in his opinion, of his person.

The two had never verbalized their feelings for one another and Snape had begun to feel that Kingsley didn't view their relationship in quite the same way he did.

When Harry and Draco had arrived and Shacklebolt's assistant indicated they wished to see him, the Minister had asked the man to tell them to wait. He then turned his attention back to his boyfriend.

'The fact is Severus, you are merely being ornery about this. You know very well that arranging my schedule is nearly impossible with all that is going on now. I have to be available nearly twenty-four seven.'

'I understand your predicament, Kingsley,' Snape said evilly, 'but you do not seem to take my position into consideration at all. I too am a very busy man.'

'Of course you are, I know that. But if we are to continue to see one another, then one of us is going to have to make a concession. Now I ask you to be reasonable, should that person be me? I am here trying to protect the entire wizard world against this new impending evil, while you are merely giving lessons against the dark arts to children-'

'Yes, you are far more important of a man than your lowly professor friend. By all means it should be me who concedes.' Snape' tone was sarcastic and his eyes indicated what exactly he thought of Kingsley's opinion.

Shacklebolt sighed, 'I don't see why you are being so obstinate about this, Severus. It is a little thing. You can come here just on the weekends, or every other weekend if that is more suitable-'

'Or never,' Snape interjected childishly.

Kingsley ran a hand over his face, 'Severus.'

'That is what you would like is it not? You would like for us to cut our acquaintance. I am a big boy Kingsley; there is no need for all of this dissembling. If you want out, you merely have to-'

Kingsley slammed his hands onto his desk, 'I don't want out Severus,' he said angrily, his eyes shooting sparks, 'I merely want you to be reasonable, you are acting like a little child as if you don't believe how…much…'

The Minister's voice petered out and suddenly his face took on a hint of amusement, 'is that what this is all about, Severus?'

'What what is all about?' Severus responded curtly.

'You think I want out. You don't realize how much you have come to mean to me; how devoted I am to you.'

It was exactly what Snape had thought, but the 'pretty words' were horrible to his ears. He did not like to think of himself as a lovelorn dolt, even if it were true.

'I hadn't really given it any thought at all before now,' Snape lied cleanly, 'however, now that you bring it up, I admit it sounds about right.'

Kingsley stood up and moved around his desk and knelt before Snape.

Snape looked horrified.

Kingsley started laughing, 'I know how much you hate what you refer to as romantic hogwash, and that is why I have avoided boring you with such displays.'

He pulled one of Snape's hands between his, 'but you should know, Severus, that I love you very much and there is nothing that I won't do in the end to prove that to you.'

Snape's face took on an uncharacteristic look of uncertainty.

The Minister continued, 'what I really want is for us to live together, Severus. I would love to have you in my home and sharing my bed every night. We would have to be discrete, but it would be worth it to me. You see, I love you very much; I have for a very long time, and that is never going to change.'

Snape's eyes intensified for a moment, but then he seemed to get a hold of himself, 'get up, Kingsley. It is not becoming of the Minister of Magic to kneel on the floor groveling like some twelve-year old boy, green behind the ears and stricken with love sickness.'

Kingsley began to laugh. He knew his Snape well and he understood that he had provided the reassurance that Snape had desired, but had been too proud to ask for. He stood and yanked the professor up from his seat by the hands and pulled him, rather harshly, into his embrace.

Snape didn't resist, although his face looked as if the idea of hugging the Minister in his office was repugnant to him.

Kingsley ignored Snape's expression, as he generally did and instead pressed his lips gently onto the thin, but willing lips of his lover.

The two remained so engaged for quite sometime before Snape finally pulled his lips away and stared up into his lover's sparkling eyes.

'I imagine that I can get away on the weekends,' he said stubbornly, 'and I suppose I can live in London during the summer, if I can find suitable lodgings complete with a laboratory.'

Kingsley's smile was grand, 'I shall at once commence building the most fabulous laboratory known to man kind at my home, and I would appreciate it very much if you could direct every aspect of its construction."

Something very much like a smile worked its way onto the professor's face, 'indeed,' he uttered.

Kingsley kissed his lover briefly again before happily moving back to his chair, 'we had better see Harry and Draco now; they have been waiting for an ungodly amount of time.'

Snape's smile turned a little wicked as he gave a brief nod in agreement.

In reality the Minister's behavior was completely neglectful in light of the circumstances. When Harry and Draco were finally seated in his office, his mind turned once more to the business at hand and his demeanor sobered dramatically.

'Things are progressing much as they did in the past,' Shacklebolt began ominously, 'I have spoken with the Muggle prime minister and it appears that a rash of unexplained tornados, earthquakes and thunderstorms have been racking cities all over England. There have been many injuries, although luckily no deaths to date.

Shacklebolt locked his fingers together and rested his palms on the desk before him, 'however, based on the past, it is only a matter of time before these catastrophes start to spread, both in venom and in breadth to other parts of the world.'

Harry nodded; he hadn't expected to see Snape and was beginning to wonder exactly what role Snape played at the ministry. It seemed as though every time he visited the minister Snape was about.

'I hadn't realized so much was happening already,' Harry said slowly, 'although it is obvious that the new dark lord intends to work quickly."

'Just this morning, right here in Hogsmeade-' began Shacklebolt.

'We know all about that,' Harry cut in.

'Ah, well then as you can see, he has begun.'

Harry nodded, 'we have begun as well. We were able to get into Draco's home and we do have a little more information we think.'

Shacklebolt and Snape listened as Harry began and then Draco finished recounting what they had discovered.

'More of your extensive family at work I see,' Snape commented dryly when Draco finished.

Draco didn't seem at all bothered by Snape's sarcasm; he appeared to be in complete agreement and merely nodded.

However, Snape's comment pissed Harry off; he wasn't certain why it had, after all, it was entirely true. 'What matters,' Harry said a little arrogantly, 'is that we have a lead and Draco and I want to head out for the castle first thing tomorrow and discover what we can.'

'I think that's a good idea,' Shacklebolt responded slowly, 'do you have an exact plan worked out?'

'Well just a tentative one, but I plan to call a meeting of the Order for tonight. I hope to go over the plan in more detail, but I believe we must act fast.'

Snape uttered a small grunt.

Kingsley glanced quickly at his boyfriend and then back to Harry, 'there is something else you should know. The Aurors managed to get some information out of the two Hogsmeade captives and it would appear that something has been planned for tomorrow; something big from what we have been able to ascertain, although we do not know exactly what.'

'You have no idea at all?' Draco responded, a little surprised that they had been unable to coax more out of the prisoners.

'None. The two are fairly tightlipped and we've only had them here a short while. Nonetheless we have stepped up security here at the ministry and if the two of you are going to move tomorrow, I would ask that you take special precautions. It would not hurt to have a few more individuals with you.'

Harry frowned a little, 'during the war I found that the fewer people I had with me the better. I was planning to ask Ron, Hermione and Blaise to travel with us to Surrey, but more than that would likely be too many. Even then, I don't think all of us trampling up to the castle would be wise, Draco and I were planning to go to the headquarters alone.'

The Minister's frown matched Harry's, 'I was thinking perhaps some of the Aurors could join you.'

Harry shook his head, 'in my experience, working with large numbers in this type of situation is more trouble than help.'

Shacklebolt shook his head a little ruefully, 'well I made the same complaint when we were up against Voldemort and the Order agreed with me,' the Minister paused to cock a knowing brow at Harry, 'you didn't agree of course and as we found out then, there was little point in our demanding that you comply; you ignored us completely.'

Harry flushed a little, 'it was for the best, sir.'

'Kingsley, please call me Kingsley.'

'Kingsley,' Harry repeated.

'Well you were quite correct in the end and so I shall not try and force compliance this time, a lot of good that did us anyway,' the Minister finished ruefully.

'Perhaps a sharp whip would be helpful,' Snape interjected.

Harry's head flashed around to face Snape, 'is he just here to provide wise cracks or what?' he murmured derisively.

Draco smothered a small laugh with his fist.

Kingsley gave Snape a rather hard glance, 'Severus has been invaluable to me on this end,' he cleared his throat and retrained his eyes on Harry, 'his sarcasm however is not without some merit. The mission you are about to embark on is likely to be very dangerous and working in numbers could prove to give you the upper hand.'

At Harry's deep frown the Minister continued, 'nonetheless, if Ron, Hermione and Blaise will join you, perhaps that will be sufficient."

Harry's tone flowed with a little heat, 'I will speak with them tonight. Blaise and Hermione should come to the meeting; I am not certain about Ron, but I will speak to him either way.'

Shacklebolt nodded, 'very well, keep me posted.'

Harry nodded and began to rise.

Draco, having said little, stood as well, but he turned to face Snape before leaving, 'round two to Harry,' he said with amusement in his tone.

Snape's visage turned sour, but a moment later he surprised everyone present with his response.

'Be careful, Draco,' he said, his tone quite serious.

The mirth left Draco's face and he nodded, his eyes sending a silent message of understanding.

The meeting of the Order at the Burrows was very brief; Harry outlined his plan, by then quite well-formed, and not one member of the Order disagreed with him. They asked a few questions, but most had come to understand that Harry had his own ideas about fighting evil lords and he had proven that he was extremely capable of doing so without their input or interference.

Blaise and Hermione had attended and to the surprise of everyone, so had Ron. Harry was a little uncomfortable when he saw that Ginny too was present for the meeting.

Afterward, Harry and Draco approached Blaise and Hermione and they moved away from the Order members and into the kitchen. Harry then told them that he would like their assistance.

Hermione immediately pledged her aid and Blaise just as quickly remarked that she wasn't going to lift a finger to help.

Harry looked at Blaise with some surprise; he had never seemed to be against Hermione's participation in adventures before, even the dangerous ones. Draco too was somewhat taken aback because Blaise was one of the least controlling people he knew. His comment seemed quite out of character.

However, Blaise cleared up everyone's confusion quickly enough, 'she's pregnant and I don't want her to risk the life of our little one…no matter how little it is.'

'Pregnant?' Harry smiled broadly noting the happiness that had swept across Hermione's face, 'that is great, you two,' he said as he moved to give Hermione a small hug.

'Congrats,' Draco said, smiling at his old housemate, it was apparent to him that Blaise was thrilled with the news, even if he appeared to be taking it in stride. 'Just in time for the wedding,' he added jokingly.

Blaise grinned.

When Harry released Hermione from their hug she immediately began protesting, 'I am only a little over a month pregnant. There is no reason I cannot help.'

'I have to agree with Blaise,' Draco said, eyeing Hermione's stomach, 'this will likely be very dangerous and any spell that is cast on you, no matter how small, can have a residual effect on the baby. Remember who we are dealing with here.'

'I didn't mean that I planned to go running after the Dark Lord,' Hermione said pragmatically, 'I can assist from here at the Burrows.'

'That would be great, Hermione, we will need people here to help assimilate the information we gather,' Harry said softly.

'Sounds fun,' Hermione replied dryly, 'at least I would be doing something.

'You will be able to help sufficiently from here, the rest of us will do the chasing bit,' Blaise said a little sternly.

Harry looked at Blaise, 'actually, my plan, as I said inside is for Draco and I to go to the castle alone. However, I wanted a couple of others with us to set up a sort of home base in Surrey if that is where this Marcus Julien has his headquarters. Perhaps you and Ron could do it; that is if you don't mind.'

Blaise nodded, 'whatever you need.'

'Thanks,' Harry said a little distractedly. His eyes had fallen on Ginny, seated in at the kitchen table staring at a mug she held. 'I'll be back,' Harry mumbled as he slowly began moving toward the table.

Harry heard Draco start speaking to Blaise and Hermione, but the words eluded him; his heart had started to beat rather rapidly as he approached his old girlfriend.

'Ginny,' he said gently when he gained the table.

Ginny looked up inquiringly, her expression rather bland.

'May I sit a moment?'

Ginny nodded and trained her eyes once more on her mug.

'Ginny,' Harry repeated and waited until she met his eyes before he continued, 'I – well I wanted to apologize for not telling you about Draco and I immediately. I should have, right away.'

'You certainly should have,' Ginny said, her little voice steeped in emotion.

'I never wanted to hurt you, Ginny, I hope you believe that.'

Ginny looked up once more and her eyes held a good amount of animosity, 'really? I didn't think that you gave it much thought at all.'

'Of course I did,' Harry lied, 'I just…didn't know how to approach you. It wasn't easy for me.'

The truth was that Harry had not given Ginny much thought at all since he'd gotten together with Draco. That momentous change in his life had brought him more happiness than he had ever experienced before and had wiped almost everything else from his mind.

'Well saying nothing was not the way to go about it, Harry,' Ginny said smartly, 'I realize that it would be difficult for you to tell me about your new…relationship, considering it was with Draco Malfoy, someone who spent the better part of his life making yours miserable,' Ginny paused and looked at her mug once more, 'and of course the fact that you are…gay.'

'That's just it Ginny, I didn't know that I was gay.'

Ginny peeped up at him again, her expression somewhat disbelieving.

'It's true,' Harry continued, his voice hesitant, 'and, Draco…he has changed a lot.'

Ginny rolled her eyes, 'that much is obvious.'

'I know it seems completely crazy, Ginny. I never even considered being with another guy, I don't think I ever would have if-'

'You know, Harry,' Ginny cut in, her eyes falling to her mug again, 'the fact that you have come to the realization that you are gay isn't that difficult for me to understand. Many people don't' figure things like that out until later in life. But what I can't understand is your being with him.' Ginny spit the last word out and looked to where Draco stood across the room.

Harry did not follow her glance, he knew very well to whom she referred. He also understood how surreal it must seem to her that he was now in love and desirous of spending the rest of his life with his ex-arch enemy.

'It was an odd set of circumstances, Ginny. We didn't get along for many years, but at the end of the war and afterwards, we had to depend on one another. We became friends and got to know one another better. There is so much more to Draco's character than what we knew of him at Hogwarts.'

'Undoubtedly,' Ginny murmured a little sarcastically.

'You don't know him,' Harry said, feeling defensive.

Ginny met his eyes, 'I know him well enough to make me wonder if I really knew you.'

Harry's emerald eyes filled with a little heat, 'you know me very well Ginny, and you know it.'

'The Harry I knew would never have ignored me after the war, no matter what changes had come over him.' Ginny spoke softly, but there was venom moving through her tone.

It was Harry's turn to drop his eyes, 'you're right, and I'm sorry, it is just that it was all so new for me. You know what my life was growing up; I had never experienced a close and loving relationship like I have found with Draco. Everything…'

Harry's voice petered out suddenly when he saw Ginny's expression turn to one of surprise and pain and he realized the full impact of his words.

'Ginny, I didn't mean to say that what you and I had-'

Ginny finished for him, 'was close or loving? Apparently it wasn't, at least not for you.' Her voice came out in a terse whispered tone, full of emotion and broke on the last word. She had dropped her head again, but not before he'd seen tears spring to her eyes.

'Ginny,' Harry said softly, his tone a little pleading. He wanted to put his arms around her and try and comfort her, but he was wise enough to realize that touching her would have just the opposite affect.

The two sat in silence for a few long moments before Ginny finally spoke again, 'I guess I was the biggest fool in the world.'

'No…you weren't foolish at all, Ginny. I adored you, you know that. I didn't mean to imply that our relationship wasn't close or loving; it was…it was very precious to me. I will always have a special place in my heart for you.'

Ginny met Harry's eyes again, looking as if she might become sick, 'a special place in your heart? Thank you, Harry. Just…just go away, please.'

'Ginny, I-'

'What is it you want from me, Harry? Forgiveness? My blessing? Well you may as well give up because you are not going to get either.'

'I actually wasn't seeking either,' Harry responded softly.

Ginny's brows moved slowly upward, 'really, then what is it that you want?'

'I just wanted to apologize. I didn't expect you would accept it or my relationship with Draco or even the fact that I am gay. I merely wanted you to know that I regret the way I dealt with things between us; you deserved much better and I feel awful about it.'

'Well you've told me,' Ginny said abruptly and her eyes dropped to contemplate her mug once more.

The coldness in Ginny's voice had the same effect on Harry as her loudly and shrilly denouncing him publicly would have had. He felt miserable and it didn't appear that things between them would be better any time soon.

'I hope one day you can forgive me, Ginny,' he said, not wanting to give up all hope of at least some type of reconciliation between them.

Ginny's tone remained cold, 'I am a member of the Order and I have pledged to help…and I will. But beyond that, I don't see any reason for you and me to speak to one another at all.'

It was clear to Harry that the conversation was over. He slowly arose from the table, suspecting that mending his relationship with Ginny might take years, decades or possibly never happen, but he was determined to keep trying. The love he had always felt for Ginny, although changed, still remained intact in his heart.

When Harry moved to rejoin the others, he noticed that Blaise and Hermione were no longer in the room. Draco was still present however, and he was, oddly enough, speaking with Ron.

Harry walked to stand next to Draco and caught only the last of what Ron was saying, but it was enough to make his already very beleaguered heart sink a little further.

'That is when Pansy told me that it was true, that she was in love with you,' Ron was saying in a miserable tone, 'she said that she always has and always will…and that there was nothing that would ever change that fact.'

Draco was looking at Ron speculatively, and Ron looked livid. Harry closed his eyes and ran a hand through his unruly locks. It appeared that he and Draco were dual handedly setting about the destruction of the Weasley family.