30 | BATTLE STRATEGY
For the first time in months, Hermione woke up feeling warm. Usually, she woke in the middle of the night in a panic or would find herself curled up in a fetal position at the crack of dawn. But this time, her eyes fluttered open to welcoming rays of sunshine. Glancing back, she drank in the sight of Sirius sleeping peacefully while holding her in a secure cocoon. Now that she thought about it, she always slept peacefully with Sirius- even back in her first days in this time when he'd merely sit at her feet in his dog form to chase the nightmares away.
She gently extracted herself from his hold, slipping out of bed.
While she enjoyed being in his arms, she was always restless in the mornings. Setting about to find Sirius' stash of coffee, Hermione let her curiosity take hold as she carefully studied the scattered photo frames on the walls on the way to the kitchen. None of them had Peter in them anymore. But nearly all of them had the Marauders. She liked that about Sirius; he was so fiercely loyal to his own. Even though he was sometimes childish and hot-headed, there was a burning intensity about the way he cared. Hermione snorted to herself as she realized he almost reminded her of Ron in that sense.
It was marveling how drastically life had changed. For years she'd thought she was destined to be with her best friend. Sometimes the loss of her old life still snuck up on her during lonely nights of pondering where she might have been if they hadn't gotten dragged to Malfoy Manor that fateful night. Yet, when she sat at breakfast with the Potters and Harry and Neville, the self-pity faded into a comfortable sense of belonging. Sure this wasn't what she'd planned for, even though Hermione Granger always had a plan. But it was hardly the worst price to pay for all the good it's done.
Hermione was humming to herself as she poured hot water from the kettle she'd set, not even detecting the wizard leaning against the far wall as he smiled at her.
"Oh, MERLIN," Hermione jumped in surprise as she turned with her cup of coffee. "Sirius!"
"Morning," he smirked, not at all apologetic.
"You're lucky you didn't make me spill my coffee," Hermione glowered, setting her cup on the counter.
He raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Worth it."
Sirius wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist, his head settling comfortably on her shoulder. "Why are you up so early? Did you have a nightmare?"
"This is late for me."
"Hermione, it's 7 am!"
"I slept really well," she turned her head to look at him. "Probably partially because of you," she admitted. "Usually, I wake around five and have a hard time getting back to sleep."
Sirius groaned, burying his head into the crook of her neck. "The atrocity!" He mumbled into her skin. He detached himself from her with a soft pinch to the waist. "We're going to have to teach you how to have a proper lay-in."
She watched him over her cup of coffee as he set about making a cup for himself. "I'd like that," she responded softly. She didn't quite know how to be in a relationship- especially this one, where everything was so complicated from the beginning.
Sirius glanced over, noticing the slight hesitance in her words. "Oh, don't you worry," he warned her. "We have plenty to learn about each other. For example: if you ever try and get me out of bed before I'm ready, I'll likely vanish you to the Black Lake."
Hermione raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Well... just know I'll do the same if you ever snatch a book out of my hand."
He nodded with the utmost seriousness for a moment before breaking into rich, melodic chuckles that made her heart warm. "I might get a trip to the Black Lake then because I'm not sure I can promise that. You almost always have your nose stuck in them!"
"I'm not even that bad anymore!" Hermione insisted with an indignant huff. "You should've seen me at Hogwarts!"
"I wish I had," Sirius smiled affectionately. "You'll have to show me more memories. The good ones."
"Soon," Hermione agreed. "Once this is all over," she added pensively. "Once my life stops feeling like this constant continuation of a limbo doomed never to end."
"Maybe sooner than we expected, what with that meeting Dumbledore called for today," Sirius pointed out meaningfully.
"What?" Hermione asked dumbly.
"The meeting? Dumbledore announced we were going to have a- Honestly, witch, did you hear a single thing he said last night?"
"Not really," she admitted sheepishly.
"Why?" Sirius smirked. "Was I too distracting?"
"NO," Hermione insisted, flushing in embarrassment. "I was a bit caught up over the fact that we could both turn into felons if you got caught for creating a blood bond!"
"Not under this ministry," Sirius scoffed.
"What's the meeting for?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Strategizing." Sirius' lips turned up into a satisfied smile. "For the final battle."
~o~O~o~
By noon the very same day, the most active of the Order had reassembled, this time at headquarters. Hermione and Sirius had stopped by Potter Manor before going to the meeting- Hermione had insisted. She'd been out all night, which was horribly unlike her, to begin with. And after the last time she saw the Potters, she didn't want them thinking she'd gone and killed their child's godfather.
Lily and James had merely watched them with knowing glances, offering nothing but smirking assurances that they were glad they'd worked things out.
Going back to headquarters had been a bit of a reality check, but it was both daunting and exhilarating all at once. They were almost at the flashpoint- this could indeed be over soon. The room was buzzing with anticipation that reflected the nervous hopes of every member within the room.
"ALL RIGHT QUIET!" Moody exclaimed, drawing all their attention back.
"Right then," Dumbledore began in his comforting, relaxed tone. "As you already know, we've made impressive strides these past months- from regaining Potter Manor, to destroying the Nott stronghold. Truly, the progress is impeccable!"
"We've gathered here today because we just received new intel from Hestia, who's been positioned at the ministry, that the Death Eaters' main forces might have moved to Malfoy Manor."
Narcissa, who stood calmly by her cousin Andromeda and her family, seemed to startle in surprise. Everyone glanced at her questioningly.
"I- I suppose that's possible," she stammered. "They'd already breached the wards on the night I escaped. I suppose they could find a way to seize the manor now that Lucius and I are no longer there. Especially if the Dark Lord himself put his mind to it."
"And we should take you at your word because?" Kingsley asked suspiciously.
His concern sparked a small wave of mirroring murmurs through the crowded room as others assessed the Malfoy matriarch in suspicion. Hermione felt Sirius tense beside her. He'd felt so guilty about abandoning his family because of how Regulus turned out, so now he was particularly sensitive to his remaining cousins. As he opened his mouth to defend her, a loud voice boomed over the whispers.
"You all can take your baseless accusations and shove them up your arse! It's where all the other shit belongs," Fabian spoke clearly, shifting a few steps until he was standing beside the Black sisters.
"Fabian!" Molly hissed from across the room.
Hermione's jaw dropped in absolute shock. Fabian had always been the more level-headed and diplomatic of the twins, whereas Gideon was typically the more brutish 'do-as-I-please' one.
"It's true," he insisted, glowering at the shocked room. "We wouldn't have even been able to get into Nott Estate without her intel, much less overthrow it."
"Correct, Mr. Prewett," Dumbledore said indulgently, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Mrs. Malfoy's loyalties are not what's under question here."
As the others seemed to accept Dumbledore's word reluctantly, Narcissa watched the intimidatingly broad back of the one Fabian Prewett. She hadn't even thought he'd liked her, much less like her enough to stand up to the rest of the Order! She didn't come from a world where you stuck your neck out for others. She herself had failed to act when her very own sister got ousted from the family! Yet here he was, valiantly defending her.
'Must be a Gryffindor thing,' she convinced herself. 'Recklessly brave- the lot of them. Stupidly so.'
"If Voldemort has holed himself up in Malfoy Manor, we can end this whole thing with one swift attack," Moody said gruffly.
"That we can," Dumbledore agreed. "But we need to prepare."
"Who's fighting?" Fabian asked.
"When do we attack?" Gideon echoed simultaneously.
To everyone's surprise, Dumbledore looked to Marlene McKinnon, who stood by herself. Her parents weren't technically active Order members, and ever since the whole ordeal with Sirius, she'd tended to steer clear of them as a group.
"I'd have to check the numbers," she shrugged cautiously. "We need better estimates of their numbers, and perhaps a layout of the manor."
"I can help with that," Narcissa spoke up clearly.
"Perfect," Dumbledore encouraged. "Mrs. Malfoy, Ms. McKinnon, is one of our best strategists, so you'll be in good hands."
Hermione leaned over to Lily, nudging her discretely. "I didn't know Marlene had such an important job," she whispered.
"She doesn't like to talk about her work much, she's not allowed to discuss most of it anyway," Lily responded. "But she's always been scarily sharp. Brilliant at arithmancy and astronomy. Dumbledore had her train with the centaurs to learn their practices of divination- thought the stars were more reliable than crystal balls."
"Minnie and I can help her come up with a better estimate for when to attack, can't we?"
The entire room went silent the moment the words left Moody's words. Sirius snorted, and James seemed to choke on the air, coughing until Lily had to pat his back. Professor McGonagall turned her head slowly, glaring at Moody with a seething temper.
"Yes, we shall, Alastor."
Everyone seemed to hold their breath for the moment she'd transform and attack Moody, but the moment never came. But Hermione could tell from the indignant fire in her eyes that Moody would likely get his penance when he least expected it.
"In the meantime," Dumbledore continued without pause. "Hestia, Kingsley, and Arthur- keep your ears to the ground in the following days. We need to know any information circulating the ministry at once."
They nodded briefly.
"Moody, you'd best continue training with your Aurors. Have Hermione and Severus join you."
While most people had accepted Snape's role by now, some still rolled their eyes at the lone wizard standing in the far corner by himself. Not even Mary McDonald could be seen at his side today.
"All Aurors?" James asked, hopefully. "Does that mean I can return to work?"
Hermione felt Lily tense beside her.
"If you'd like, yes," Dumbledore said carefully. "It's likely this will be the last battle, and I won't tell you not to fight."
"What about the rest of us?" Marlene spoke up, drawing their attention from a beaming James Potter. "I know we're not all Aurors, but I refuse to simply sit by for the last battle."
"You can fight if you choose," Dumbledore said. "We'll likely need as many wands as we can get."
"If ye want, ye can train with me and the others," Moody assured gruffly.
"And in the meantime," McGonagall spoke up. "We should be rebuilding our potions stocks. We don't know how bad things will get when the day finally comes. We need to prepare for the worst."
"I can start working on that," Lily spoke up clearly.
"But Lily," James argued. "You're- you-"
"I'm what?" She turned to him with an impatient glare. If he were allowed out to fight as an Auror even despite the price on their heads, he certainly wouldn't be stopping her from doing her part to make sure he wouldn't die.
"You're pregnant," James tried to reason with her.
"Not far enough along that brewing is dangerous," she maintained stubbornly.
"I can help her," Mary spoke up.
"Me too!" Narcissa declared.
"I suppose that settles it," Dumbledore said with an excited clap, bringing their meeting to a close.
"And everyone remember-" Moody barked at them.
Hermione rolled her eyes, already knowing what was coming. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE! We know."
Moody's eyes narrowed sternly, and he turned away, muttering to himself. 'Teach 'em for a few weeks, and they think they know everything!'
Sirius nudged her, looking down at her, impressed. "I don't think anyone's talked back to Moody and gotten away with it."
Hermione rolled her eyes again. "Wait until the Weasley twins grow up- they're worse than the Prewetts! I'd recon even worse than you Marauders!"
"Take that back!" Sirius demanded indignantly.
~o~O~o~
The Prewetts were debriefing with Moody when Marlene walked over to them. Gideon caught sight of her first, going still as she joined them.
"Ah, McKinnon, good," Moody said. "We'll need to talk to Minerva and Blacks soon- preferably today."
"You mean Mrs. Malfoy?" She asked curiously.
"Eh, still a Black. But I need to check on something- I'll be back in a moment. In the meantime, get acquainted with the Prewetts. With such little time before this all blows up in our faces, they'll be helping me train those who aren't already."
Marlene glanced at them hesitantly as Moody walked away. "So which twin is training me? Or is it both of you?" She tried to joke.
Fabian raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I believe my less handsome brother has already claimed that honor. If you'll excuse me, I need to check in with Andromeda."
Gideon glared at his identical twin as he quickly made his excuses to leave. Before he knew it, he was left alone with Marlene, who was watching him curiously.
"Uh... thank you," she spoke up. "For lending my family your flat. I'm trying to find and secure some other place as soon as I can, and I think I've found something reasonable. I should be able to get us out by-"
"Just stay there," Gideon interrupted her sternly.
". . . Pardon?"
"It's not safe with everything coming to a head so quickly, and the wards on my flat are better than whatever you can manage to put up in such short notice. So just stay until it's all over."
"Gideon, that's very generous of you, but I couldn't."
"You can, and you will. It's the safest choice for your family, and you know it." His eyes burned into her.
"I'm sure we'll manage just fine," Marlene gulped.
"Dammit, just take the offer. I'm staying with my twin anyway, who's been tragically single his entire life. You're not putting anyone out."
Marlene considered his stubborn set eyes for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Thank you," she said quietly.
Gideon gave her a brief nod. It was far more of a relief to him knowing they'd be safe within the wards of his flat.
"So... when exactly does this training happen?" She asked curiously. "I'll probably spend daytimes working on strategizing the logistics of the attack."
"Do you have to fight?" He asked abruptly.
Marlene seemed taken aback. "It's the final battle- of course, I have to fight."
"We have plenty of wands, despite what Dumbledore said," he implored her. "It's too risky, and you really don't need to-"
"Look here, Gideon Prewett," Marlene spoke in a low but outraged tone. "Everyone in this room takes a risk every day. I will not stand aside and let everyone else fight when I could be helping." She was so bloody tired of people assuming she was an airhead or a ditz. "I may not be trained like an Auror, but I'm not inept at combative magic."
"But, you're already helping!" He implored. "You're the brains behind all our attacks! We can't risk losing you in battle."
So he didn't think she was thick? Then what?
"Which is why I haven't ever fought up to this point. But if this is the final battle, it won't matter if I outlive it if we lose."
"Marlene-"
"Gideon, I'm not the same scared little girl you remember from Hogwarts!"
Her outburst caught him by surprise. She heard a low, frustrated growl before he stepped up to her- barely a few inches away.
"Believe me, I know," he bit out in a low tone, his eyes smoldering in frustration and something else she couldn't quite place.
Before she had the chance to reply, he was already stalking away.
~o~O~o~
James had no luck convincing Lily not to keep brewing. Being the sharp man he was, he knew he could hardly reprimand her for wanting to do her part when he was practically leaping to get back in the fight. He knew it was a risk, but he was going stir crazy!
Lily had gone off to speak to Mary, still annoyed with her husband's recklessness. Merlin, she missed the days he'd wished to be a professional Quidditch player. Sure, it gave him a big head, but she could live with that. She hated not knowing when her husband would come back every time he went on a mission- or even if he'd return. But the looming war right after their graduation from Hogwarts had given them little choice in the matter. If anything, her being muggleborne only cemented his decision to join Sirius in Auror training and pass up the numerous invitations to tryouts he'd received from professional Quidditch leagues.
"We should make a list of how much we want of every potion," Mary said. "Narcissa might be beneficial. If we know who our opponents are, we know which spells they're likely to use and which potions we'll need the most of."
"That's a good idea," Lily nodded.
"Would you ladies need an additional hand?" A deep voice interrupted.
"Severus!" Lily greeted enthusiastically, not noticing the way Mary stiffened, looking away.
"I have a potions lab we can use- already fully stocked."
"Perhaps," Lily nodded. "As long as someone can watch the kids, I'm sure I'm allowed out if my husband is too."
"McDonald," Snape greeted experimentally.
"Snape," she nodded half-heartedly. "I should go. . . check-in with McGonagall. I'll owl you, Lily."
As Mary walked away, muttering her abysmal excuses, Lily watched in confusion until she saw Severus watching her leave guiltily.
"Oh no," she groaned. "What did you do?"
"What makes you think I did anything?" Snape sniffed in an aloof manner.
"Please, Severus. It's me you're talking to. You always get pissy when you've done something wrong. Like you're mad someone's upset with you. So out with it! What have you done?"
"I might've told Granger what Black did," he admitted.
Lily sighed deeply. "I'd wondered how Hermione found out. . . You're lucky they worked it out!"
"It's not my problem if they didn't," he sniffed disdainfully.
"But why is Mary angry about it? She's not close to either of them."
"I don't think she is angry about that."
"So...?" Lily coaxed.
"She might've mentioned something about how she was attacked in her sixth year."
"Oh, I remember that!" Lily grimaced. "It was horrible! Remus, James, and Sirius wouldn't let me go anywhere without one of them for months- and I still hated James back then!"
"Yes, well, apparently, when Mulciber was running his mouth about getting expelled for it, I told him at least he got to out with a laugh."
"You didn't," she gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.
"I didn't mean it! I didn't even know her back then! I was just trying to get an in with the Death Eaters."
"You have to apologize!" Lily insisted sternly.
Snape grumbled, mumbling about how he'd hardly know how to apologize for something he'd said half-heartedly back when he didn't even know the witch.
"Oh please," Lily scoffed. " I know you know how to apologize. I seem to remember you camping out in front of the Gryffindor common room to try and apologize to me!"
"And look what good that did me," he said darkly.
Lily sighed. "I was too stubborn to accept your apology back then. But Mary's better than that! I doubt you'll even need to grovel . . . much."
"Really reassuring, Lily," Snape sneered dryly.
"You got yourself into this mess," she smirked.
~o~O~o~
It's Official!
There are only 10 fully outlined chapters remaining to this story (including multiple, in-depth epilogues)! So close!
Now that finals are over, I've set a schedule for myself. I'll be publishing twice a week *fingers crossed* until this story is finished. Feel free to bug me if I don't do as I say lol, I have no good excuses now.
How do you guys like it? Which pairings/scenarios do you want to see more of?
Yours Truly,
adharyn