* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART FOUR

Brave New World

Chapter 66: Time is Ticking

"Why didn't you tell us that you were a Marquiss?"

Harry shrugged, "I didn't think it was a big deal. I'm so happy that all three of those laws were-"

"I'm sorry, can you just rewind?" Theo asked in disbelief, "You didn't think it was a big deal?"

Neville snickered, "I told him that when he told me four days ago."

"You told him?"

"He's my Auror partner and my best friend," Harry snorted, "You two tell each other everything."

"Still," Theo grumbled, "You're a fucking Marquiss."

"At least Daphne will get the title she wanted when she was dating me," Draco said with a roll of his eyes.

"But you're a Viscount," Harry frowned.

"That's because I'm the Black heir now. If I had taken the Malfoy seat, I would have been Marquiss Malfoy," Draco said with a sigh.

"Is this the first time you've regretted changing your name?" Neville asked, shooting his friend an amused look.

"Yeah…a little bit," Draco whined, "I'm just a Viscount now."

"Just a Viscount," Neville scoffed, "You're an ungrateful arse."

"It sucks though," Theo said, joining Draco in his misery, "And also, how do the Abbotts have a castle? I want a castle, Draco."

"Sorry, Theo, I'm not buying you a castle," Draco snorted.

Harry chuckled too, and the air felt light-hearted again. He lowered his voice and murmured to Neville, "He's really pissed off that I'm a Marquiss, isn't he?"

Neville grinned, "Oh yeah."

"How much more pissed off do you reckon they'll be when they find out you're being made an Earl as soon as the deeds for Longbottom House are all checked and accounted for?" Harry asked his best friend in a whisper.

Neville just smirked and said, "I'm sure they'll be thrilled for me, Harry!"

"Hey! How was your first time on the Wizengamot?"

"Enlightening," Harry said, he kissed Daphne lightly, "Is Teddy asleep?"

"Yeah, I didn't know how late you would be, so I put him down half an hour ago," Daphne said, "There's pasta in the pot. Do you want me to reheat it for you?"

"Don't worry, I'll do it," Harry said as he walked to the stove, "Have you decided who's going to take your seat yet?"

"No, Astoria and I are waiting for Dad to get better before we have that debate," Daphne said, "But enough about me. Are you going to tell me what happened tonight?"

"Well, Kingsley put forward a few new laws for consideration," Harry said as he stirred the pasta in the pot.

"Uh-huh, which ones?" Daphne asked eagerly.

Harry smiled at her, "Lupin's Law. To give werewolves the same rights as witches and wizards. They still have to register, but it's more so that they can be caught if a violent crime is committed. Like how we keep the fingerprints of all known criminals on file."

"Was it passed?" Daphne asked.

"It was passed," Harry grinned, "We needed 13 votes to pass it, and we just managed it. We thought it was going to be right on the mark, then Slughorn was our 14th person."

"That is a surprise," Daphne said, "It's against a lot of his family policies."

"But Remus was his friend, and that was enough," Harry said, "Kevin Brown put up a big fuss when it was passed because of what happened to Lavender."

"It was awful what happened to her, but Greyback is an exception. Most werewolves are good people."

"That was what Percy told him," Harry admitted. He spooned some pasta into a bowl and pushed himself up onto the kitchen counter.

"So what other motions were raised?" Daphne asked eagerly.

Harry laughed, "You're really into politics, babe."

"I'm really into reforming this shithole Voldemort created," Daphne said with a raised eyebrow, "So what else happened?"

"The second law raised was for Veritaserum Vetting. The small print was that every ministry member had to undergo it or, if they refused, be released from their contract. And that all new members must undergo it prior to being appointed."

"I bet that wasn't a landslide," Daphne said, "I know a lot of people thinks it's ethically wrong, the Cauldwells for one."

"To be fair, Sorenson didn't have much choice," Harry shrugged, "Same as Belinda Zabini. They work in the DMLE. It would look suspicious if they didn't."

"So the law got passed then?" Daphne asked in surprise.

"Yep, 19 votes to 6," Harry chirped.

"Really?" Daphne asked, hopefully.

"Really," Harry said, "There's going to be a big walkout from the Auror department. Kingsley thinks more of them are dirty than clean."

"I could believe it," Daphne admitted.

"The best one was the last one," Harry said honestly, "Theo actually cried, and he wasn't the only one. Have you seen Theo cry before?"

"On occasion," Daphne frowned, "But not very often. Go on…"

"It was called Almina's Law," Harry said.

Daphne's hand flew to her mouth, "Really?" she asked as tears shone in her eyes.

Harry nodded, "I'm sorry, sometimes I forget that she was your aunt."

Daphne cleared her throat, "A law against domestic abuse?"

"Spousal abuse, more specifically," Harry corrected, "Frankly, it's disgusting that it wasn't illegal before now. But from now on, if someone is being subjected to domestic abuse, they can report it to the ministry, and they will immediately be taken to a safe house, given protection, and their partner will be arrested."

"Almina's Law," Daphne said softly, "Merlin…how many women could that have helped?"

"Think about how many women it will help."

Daphne nodded, and Harry said, "And I'm sorry if this is too bold of me, but…I know you don't talk to your Uncle Julian, but that law touched him. He voted against Lupin's Law and Veritaserum Vetting, but he made a point of standing up and saying 'aye' very loudly when we were passing Almina's Law."

"She was his sister," Daphne said. She cleared her throat, "Regardless of how badly he has messed up his life, I'm sure he still misses her."

Harry nodded as he surveyed his fiancé.

"It sounds like you made a real difference tonight," She said.

"It wasn't just me," Harry said honestly, "This new Wizengamot is what our country needs, Daph. There is so much young blood, and it's exciting!" he shoved some pasta in his mouth, "I mean, of course, there are still the traditionalist pricks like Smith and Fawley, but I reckon there are more young people than old."

Daphne nodded thoughtfully, "I do approve of some of the new families they invited to take the abolished seats. I mean the Zabini's for a start, they are a very prominent family, and the Weasley should never have had their seat taken from them."

Harry swallowed his mouthful, "Giving the Jones a seat was inspired. Their politics fall in line with ours far more than they do with the likes of your uncle."

"You said it a long time ago, Harry, and now it's happening."

Harry smiled brightly at her, "Change is coming, baby."

"It certainly is," Daphne said proudly.

"So what did you girls want to discuss?" Cygnus asked cheerfully as he sat with Teddy on his knee. He was doing much better. He could sit up now and get out of bed for short stints at a time.

"I'm sorry if it's a controversial subject," Daphne began, "But it's about the Wizengamot seat."

"Ah," Cygnus realised, "The debate for who represents the family?"

Daphne nodded, "Now, I would like to put forward the argument that it ought to be me. I fought in the war, I saw both sides, and because of that, I can be impartial-"

"No," Cygnus cut in.

"No?" Daphne asked with quiet anger.

"No," Cygnus reiterated, "It can't be you. You are marrying Harry Potter, and he is the only Marquiss on the Wizengamot. That seat is powerful, and therefore one of the most respected. If Harry has to go away on a mission, you, as his wife, will have to take his seat by proxy. In that case, who would represent the Greengrass seat?"

Daphne opened her mouth to argue, but Cygnus continued, "And then there is the matter of you and your husband both having seats on the Wizengamot. That's a slippery road if you ever disagree on a policy; that's why it isn't the done thing. I mean, look at Cauldwell and Nott; Sorenson sits on the Cauldwell seat because it would be a conflict of interests if Sadie were to sit in the Wizengamot with Theodore."

"As much as I think you would be great for the seat, Daphne, he has a point," Astoria admitted.

Daphne sighed, "Fine, so you think Astoria should take the seat, then?"

"No," Cygnus said again.

"No?" Astoria asked with a frown, "You trusted me with the business Father. Why would you not trust me with the Wizengamot seat?"

"It is not through lack of trust," Cygnus promised, "I propose that I take the seat temporarily. Astoria, you are swamped with the business, but once it is back on track again and things have settled down, the seat is yours."

Astoria nodded slowly, "I can agree to those terms."

"So can I, I suppose," Daphne muttered.

"Why do you object to me taking the family seat so much, Daphne?" Cygnus asked curiously.

"Because new reforms are being pushed through Father," Daphne said irritably, "Reforms that myself, Harry and our friends feel passionate about, but they are not the reforms that you would vote for, which means Harry has just lost an ally on the Wizengamot."

Cygnus raised an eyebrow at her, "Tell me of these reforms, and I will tell you how I would vote. You may be surprised."

Daphne crossed her arms and stared him down, "Lupin's Law. Giving werewolves the same rights as witches and wizards so long as they register in the case of a violent crime being committed."

"I would vote to pass that reform. Werewolves are stronger than the average person, and if they could legally be employed, I could recruit them as an industrious workforce for Greengrass Industries," Cygnus replied, "Perhaps that is not the reason why you would vote to pass the law. Still, the result is the same, is it not?"

Daphne narrowed her eyes at him, "Veritaserum Vetting in the ministry. Every existing member and all new staff members must be vetted under veritaserum."

"I would pass that reform too. The ministry would be more functional if it were clean. If there were less dirty Aurors, we would have a more secure DMLE, which means that if anything were to happen to those I loved, it would be investigated correctly," Cygnus replied.

Daphne ignored Astoria's amused smile and said, "Almina's Law. Domestic abuse to be punishable with time in Azkaban like every other violent crime. And those who are being abused would be given protection by the ministry from the moment it was reported."

"I would pass that one too. Arranged marriages are dangerous. When people are forced to marry and have children with people they don't love, people get hurt, and children get hurt. If your mother had not been forced into an arranged marriage with me, she would not have had an affair, and she may not have tried to kill me. You could argue that what she did, was a form of domestic abuse."

Astoria nodded, "That is a fair point."

"So you see, Daphne, my moral compass is not as far out of line with yours as you may think," Cygnus said gently.

Daphne sighed, "Fine. Then I guess I'm happy with you representing the seat, but please don't get into any fights with Harry over reforms."

Cygnus smiled at her, "Deal."

When Harry stepped into the drawing-room of number 11 Grimmauld Place, he called out, "Sadie! Are you decent? I've brought ice cream!"

"I'm in the kitchen!" A muffled voice came back.

Harry jogged down the stairs and grinned when he saw her, "Are you attempting to bake?"

"I'm bored!" Sadie complained, "I'm so bloody bored, and I tried to write the book about Snape, but I have writer's block, and I'm just so bored!"

Harry laughed, "Well, I might have a way of solving that," he said, motioning to something under his arm.

Sadie frowned, "What is that?"

"It's a project that I need your help with," Harry said with a wide smile, "And I brought you peanut butter ice cream."

"Oh, I love you," Sadie said, grabbing the tub from him and taking a couple of spoons out of the drawer. She threw one to Harry, who caught it deftly.

"Sit down, and explain," Sadie demanded, pointing the spoon at him as if it were a wand.

Harry chuckled and sat down across from her, "How is your knowledge of the spells required to enchant magical portraits?"

Sadie frowned, "Are we talking a basic magical portrait that is a likeness of the person? Like the Fat Lady, who doesn't really know who she was in life but has retained some of her subjects key phrases?"

"No," Harry admitted, "That would be too easy, and you know I don't like to do things the easy way."

"So you're talking about a sentient magical portrait with the memories and personality of the person?" Sadie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah…"

"The ones that are super hard to create, which is why only the Headmasters portraits in Hogwarts are like that?" Sadie added.

"That's the ones, yeah," Harry agreed.

"Do I need to give you the 'talk' about the dangers of that and how it can drive the best people insane to get someone they love back when that person isn't really back? Or are you well enough acquainted with the Tale of the Three Brothers to get the gist?" She asked, then she shoved a spoon of ice cream into her mouth.

"Pregnancy has made you sassy," Harry snorted, "And a bit bitchy."

Sadie shook her head and swallowed her mouthful, "Nope, I've always been like this. I just haven't felt comfortable enough around you to be myself until now."

"Well, in that case…I'm honoured but also slightly offended."

"Story of your life," Sadie retorted.

Harry barked out a laugh, "I see why Theo married you now."

She hit him on the arm with her spoon, "Oi!"

"Ouch!"

"So you didn't see why he had married me before?" Sadie quipped.

"Yeah, okay, sorry," Harry said as he rubbed his arm, "So the magical portrait? If it's super difficult, does that mean you can't do it?"

"No, of course, I can do it," Sadie said with a roll of her eyes, "But I am interested to know why you didn't ask Lilly. She's smarter than me, and you guys are closer."

"For the record, I don't think she's smarter than you," Harry said, "But there is a reason why it needs to be you. It's your memories that are going to be required to make this work, yours and Theo's, and Draco's."

Sadie smiled sadly, "I get it now."

"What?" Harry asked.

"Why she keeps you around," Sadie admitted as she pulled the cover away from the portrait, "Underneath that clueless façade, you really do understand her."

Harry bit his lip, "And this is the point where I point out how terrible a future husband I am and tell you that it wasn't my idea; it was Lilly's. She noticed how much Daphne was missing her and asked me about getting a portrait. I just put the idea into motion."

Sadie gazed down at the portrait of Tracey, "It's a perfect likeness," she said as tears shone in her eyes.

Harry nodded and grabbed Sadie's hand, "Are you going to be okay doing this? I don't want to upset you."

"No, I'm not crying because I'm sad," Sadie admitted, "I'm crying because I know how happy this is going to make Daphne, and for the record, you aren't a terrible future husband. You're a good one because you listened to her best friend, and you heeded her advice."

Harry got to his feet and hugged Sadie, "Does it bother you? That she and Lilly are so close?"

"No," Sadie admitted, pulling away from Harry and wiping her eyes, "Because it's not forever. Things push people apart and pull them together again. I know there will come a time when I've got babies, and she's got a toddler, and we'll be closer again. In that time, Hermione and Lilly will get closer as the two child-less ones. Everything changes in our lives all the time, and we turn to different people at different times."

Harry smiled, "That's very wise of you."

Sadie shrugged, "Do you have a timescale on this? It might take me a couple of weeks to work out how to do the more difficult spells."

"I need it for Christmas," Harry said. It was a bit of a white lie, but he didn't want Sadie to guess the date of their surprise wedding, "So that gives you over a month. Is that okay?"

"That's fine," Sadie replied honestly.

Harry walked towards the door, "Hey, Sadie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question about Daphne?" Harry asked, "It's been on my mind for a little while."

Sadie surveyed him with interest, "Go on."

"Does she always kiss her best friend? Is that a thing or something?"

Sadie laughed at that and nodded, "Yeah, and she'll do it whenever she's drunk, so get used to it."

Harry shook his head in amusement.

"She's always been very flexible in her sexuality, not to mention confident and over-amorous," Sadie said with an amused smile, "And she just likes kissing girls, I guess."

Harry chuckled, "If that's the worst I've got to put up with, I'm sure I'll manage. Thanks, Sadie."

"Don't mention it," Sadie returned.

Ginny had been expecting it for a while. She and Blanche both knew that there was something between them, they couldn't ignore the chemistry forever, and now that Ginny was no longer pregnant with her brothers baby, she knew it was only a matter of time until Blanche made the first move. That thought both excited her and terrified her at the same time.

She was in the kitchen early one Monday morning, Hope was still asleep, but Ginny had woken up when Blaise got up to have his pre-work shower.

As Ginny stood with a cup of coffee, looking out of the window at the rising sun, she was so lost in thought that she didn't notice that somebody else had walked into the kitchen. Not until two arms snaked around her and a chin rested on her shoulder, "You look positively flawless this morning."

Ginny set her coffee down on the worktop and spun herself around in Blanche's arms, "Flawless?" she quipped, "I gave birth less than a month ago."

"You would never know," Blanche said softly.

Ginny caught the older woman's eye, "So we do flirting and hugging in the middle of the kitchen of your family home now, do we?"

"I don't know, do we?" Blanche asked smoothly.

Ginny bit back a smile but said no more.

"I can think of something I'd rather do in the middle of the kitchen," Blanche added, and she cast her eyes down to Ginny's lips.

Ginny's cheeks flushed, but when Blanche smirked at her, her eyes gleaming playfully, Ginny couldn't help herself. She snaked her arms around Blanche's waist and pulled her closer, tilting her head up to meet Blanche's lips.

Blanche didn't hang around either; they had both beaten around the bush for months already. She pulled Ginny against her and ran her tongue along Ginny's lip, making the younger girls mouth open with a soft, "Oh."

The last time Ginny had kissed a girl was back in the war when Daphne had dragged her into that broom cupboard, but she had always suspected that the reason guys didn't compare was because she was more into girls than them.

Kissing Blanche cemented that fact. It wasn't a fight for control or a battle of wills like it had often been when she kissed Blaise. It was sweet relief, Blanche moved her hands to the sides of Ginny's face and kissed her deeply, and Ginny melted into the kiss.

She could have stayed there for hours, if it wasn't for the interruption.

"Morning, Gin. Where's my court tie? I have a big case today."

Ginny pulled away from Blanche and looked at Blaise with red cheeks, "What?" she squeaked.

"My court tie," Blaise explained as he looked in the washing basket, "One of the elves didn't wash it, did they? I was sure I left it on the back of this chair."

"The…uh…the shiny black one?" Ginny asked.

"Yes," Blaise said, "Have you seen it?"

"It's on the back of the door," Ginny said, motioning to the door with a frown.

"Ah, thank you," Blaise said. He grabbed the tie from the door and said, "I'm running a little late, but we can discuss Blanche moving into the house with us when I get home, okay?"

"Uh…" Ginny floundered.

Blaise took a few steps towards her and kissed her lightly, "I love you. Hope was just stirring when I came downstairs, so you might want to check on her. Have a good day at training, Blanche."

Without another word, he swept out of the kitchen, and Ginny looked at Blanche in disbelief.

Blanche bit back an amused smile, "I did tell you that he lives up to his name."

Ginny shook her head in disbelief, "I'm…I'm just going to go and get Hope. See you tonight."

"See you tonight," Blanche said, perhaps a little too suggestively as she grabbed her coat and disappeared out of the house after Blaise.

Harry and his friends were more than a little wary when they found out that a new class was being introduced on Monday morning. They were getting into November now, and the workload was only increasing.

"Good morning, recruits!" Carter chirped.

Not many people classed a Monday morning as good, but she still led every early morning class with this opener.

"Welcome to Muggle Relations," Carter continued as she paced the room, "In this class, you are going to learn all about muggles. We are not going to tell you how to talk to them and leave it there. We are going to teach you how to blend in because there will be times when you must go into the muggle world undercover, and we can't have you breaking the statute of secrecy, can we?"

They all shook their heads.

"There will be times when you need to co-operate directly with muggle law enforcement. You will also be sent out on clean-up missions. Being able to blend in and communicate with muggles is, therefore, essential."

Draco felt like rolling his eyes, "This class is ridiculous."

Harry and Neville snorted.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry whispered.

"I thought your 'riddikulus' pun in third year was witty," Theo whispered.

"You're just stroking his ego," Neville sniggered.

"As long as that's the only thing he's stroking in public," Harry chuckled.

"Boys!" Carter exclaimed, "Eyes front!"

They all looked over at the Senior Auror.

"I could spend this class talking at you," Carter said, "Or I could throw you into the simulation room to see how much, or how little you know about muggle culture."

Harry grinned over at Neville. He loved tasks that involved the simulation room because he found lessons boring. Neville looked a little more apprehensive because he didn't have an excellent track record with speaking to muggles.

Theo, on the other hand, …well, he was probably fucked given how badly he had screwed up muggle studies at school. It was perhaps for that reason that he looked so bloody ecstatic about the idea.

"Great," Draco muttered under his breath.

"You will be assessed on how you do on an individual basis, so if you all let the two half-bloods do the work for you, we will know," Carter added.

Harry and Emily, the two half-bloods in question, shared an amused look.

"We're also pulling your Trainee Healer into this one to see how she copes without a wand," Carter explained, "Because that's the big one here, you're going in unarmed."

The purebloods eyes widened, "Unarmed?"

"No wands," Carter said, "Because how do you explain a wand if you are captured or arrested? The answer is, you can't. So we can't risk it."

"But we can still use wandless magic?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Mr Potter, but most people are not as adept with it as you are," Carter said with an amused smile, "Most of us can use it to shut doors, turn lights on or generally perform very basic spells."

Harry shrugged and said with a smile, "I've had the brightest witch of her age training me up since I was about 14."

He saw a small, proud smile on Draco's face.

Carter smiled, "I see. Are we ready to head down to the simulation room then?"

When they stepped into the simulation room, three of them took control of the situation because they had been raised in the muggle world.

"Okay, so before we go in there," Lilly said, pointing at the police building up ahead, "We all need to change."

"Into?"

"Detective clothing," Lilly answered, "And we can't use transfiguration, so we'll need to find another way."

"We do have this bag," Neville reminded her, "Carter said it would have useful things in it."

Lilly nodded and opened it, "Perfect," she said. Then she threw clothes at them all and instructed them to slip into an alley and change. When they all emerged, they looked very smart.

"Right, now what?" Draco asked.

"We solve a crime while looking fabulous?" Theo said, "I am loving this trenchcoat."

Emily rolled her eyes, "We go inside and say we're the detectives that the police asked for, then they give us the breakdown of the case."

Harry nodded, "Come on, guys."

They all traipsed into the building, and when they emerged half an hour later, Theo's first question was, "What did he mean when he said homemade bomb?"

"A bomb that somebody made at home," Harry answered quietly.

"And it's dangerous?" Draco asked.

"They are often filled with shrapnel, so when they explode, tiny shards of metal fly everywhere," Emily answered, "They are lethal."

"Just look at some of the horrific bombings in Ireland during the troubles," Lilly agreed.

"Yeah, we need to find it, quickly," Harry concluded, "And we need to do that without wands or four-point charms, or diagnostic charms. Any ideas?"

The purebloods all looked completely lost without their wands, so Harry figured it would be down to him, Emily and Lilly to finish this task.

"Right," Harry said, "Lil, you're a Londoner. If you want to cause maximum damage, where do you put a bomb?"

Lilly frowned, "One of two places. Either somewhere crowded like Trafalgar Square or…in the underground and time it for the commuter train."

Harry looked at the large clock on the police station's wall, "It's 7 am."

"Underground it is then," Emily said.

Harry shook his head, "You're right, Lilly, it has something to do with commuters, but I don't think it's the underground. Every time we have a simulation like this, they base it on actual events."

Lilly frowned, "Like the attacks on the train stations," she realised.

"Exactly. Do you remember when a bomb went off at Victoria Station and killed a bunch of people the year we started Hogwarts?"

Emily nodded, "My dad was an Arson Auror, and a group of them volunteered to help the Muggles. It was an IRA attack."

"Which fits the description of the bomb they gave us."

"So what do we do? Head to Victoria Station and hope we're right?"

"There were two bombs, though," Lilly said.

Emily nodded, "But the one at Paddington went off early; it went off at 4 am, remember? Then the Victoria one went off at about half 7."

"Right, I'm calling it," Harry said, "Executive level decision, we're going to Victoria Station. Come on, let's use this alleyway to apparate there."

They all followed Harry because, in this situation, he seemed to know more than the rest of them put together. When they emerged in the back of the station, Draco asked in a whisper, "How are we going to find it?"

"I have a suspicion," Harry admitted, "The IRA were like the Death Eaters, Draco. They had things that they did, signature things."

"Like the dark mark?"

Harry nodded, "They tended to hide bombs in bins, so usually I would say do a diagnostic charm on every bin in this place, but we don't have wands."

"So we're going to have to search every bin?" Blanche asked distastefully.

"Yeah," Harry said, "We are and-"

"-we need to be careful," Lilly finished, "Bombs often have anti-handling devices on them, and the IRA bombs often used tilt switches."

"Which means?" Ophelia asked.

"You tilt the bomb or lift it, and it explodes," Lilly answered.

"I hate this case," Theo remarked.

"I'm sure the muggle police back in 1991 did too," Harry said simply, "Let's split up into four groups and check every bin in here. Okay?"

They all nodded, "Everyone in their Auror pairs, and Lilly, you're with Draco and Theo-"

"But-"

"No buts, you're his fiancé, and your one of my best friends," Harry said calmly, "It's harder for us to be objective."

Lilly didn't look happy about it, but she walked over to Draco and Theo anyway.

"Are there any communication devices in there?" Harry asked Blanche.

"There are these bracelets?"

Harry nodded, "Everyone, put one on and if I'm right…" he pressed the only button on the metal wristband and said, "Hey everyone."

The ring of light around the button flashed on every other wristband then Harry's words came out of them.

"Great. If you find it, call us to your location immediately and do not try and defuse the bomb, you especially Theo."

"Got it," Theo said.

"Right then, team, let's move out."

In the end, they didn't find the bomb; the bomb found them.

More specifically, Draco, Theo and Lilly were knocked out, and when they came to their senses, one of them had a bomb attached to them.

"Oh no…"

"Please tell me that's not a bomb!" Theo exclaimed as he looked down.

"Okay," Lilly said calmly, "It's a kitten. It's an adorable, exploding kitten."

"Not helping, Lilly!"

Draco swallowed and said, "I hate to make a bad situation worse, but is that a timer?"

Lilly nodded and pressed the button on her communication bracelet, "Guys, Theo has the bomb attached to him, and it's gonna blow in five minutes. We're locked in a storage room at the back of the station."

"Well…" Draco said, "There are worse ways to die. At least we won't have to get hugged by Voldemort."

Lilly snorted.

"And if we're going to get blown to pieces, at least we'll die together," Draco added.

Theo rolled his eyes, "Mate, stop taking the piss."

Draco grinned, "We're in the basic simulation room, Theo. If that bomb goes off, all that happens is we fail."

"And I never let you in the muggle world on your own," Lilly muttered.

"You got captured too!"

"I'm a Healer; you're the Aurors!" Lilly objected, "You're meant to protect me."

"She makes a good point, Draco," Theo said.

Draco rolled his eyes in response, and at that point, the cavalry arrived.

"It's always you, isn't it, Theo?" Harry asked with a shake of his head.

"It's a change from it always being me," Neville muttered.

Blanche frowned at the device, "I'm no muggle bomb expert, but it looks basic."

"It is basic," Harry said.

"Couldn't you do the old 'cut the wire' trick that they do in all the action movies then?" Neville asked.

Harry shook his head, but before he could explain why, Emily jumped in, "Even basic bombs have anti-tamper devices on them. If we touch the wrong thing, the bomb could explode."

"It's homemade, which also makes it more temperamental," Harry added

"So what are you going to do?" Theo asked.

Harry smirked, "The one thing that I can do. I can't handle it or tamper with it in a muggle way, but muggle terrorists don't magic-proof bombs, Theo."

"We don't have wands, dumbass," Maxwell cut in.

Everyone looked at him in disbelief, "Did you just call Harry Potter a dumbass?" Blanche asked.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Maxwell argued, "You were a Slytherin too."

"Yes, but I have a lot of appreciation for what Harry Potter has done," Blanche said firmly, "Chiefly saving Ginny Weasley in her first year at school because otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to snog her brains out this morning."

Harry snorted in amusement at that.

Maxwell made a face, "Oh yes, I forgot that your family had unconventional relationships with blood traitors."

"Oh no, you don't," Blanche barked.

"Guys! I have a bomb on me!" Theo reminded them.

"I know, Theo," Harry said, "I'll get to that in a minute."

"But it's a bomb, Harry!"

"Yeah, I know, so stay still and be quiet, okay?" Harry remarked. He glared at Maxwell, "You, shut up and stopped being a prejudiced twat. Blanche, I'm very happy for you and Ginny, but could you refrain from wandlessly hexing Harper in front of the very active bomb that is attached to Theo?"

Blanche glared at Harper but took a step back.

"Harry, there's less than a minute on the bomb!"

"I know," Harry said. He turned around and thrust his hand in Theo's direction, "Impedimenta!"

The timer on the bomb stopped, and Harry stepped forward and uttered a banishing charm, placing his hands on Theo's shoulders. The bomb vest disappeared, and Harry smiled, "Right, some poor deer in the Forest of Dean is about to shit himself when that goes off in the deepest lake I could think of, but we're all good!"

At that point, the simulation faded away, leaving them in a white room. They looked up at the window expectantly as Carter and Sheppard peered out at them.

"Well done for causing a conspiracy theory in the Forest of Dean," Sheppard said sarcastically, "The muggles would have been banging on about aliens for longer than they did after Roswell."

Harry smirked, "Better than blowing up a muggle train station though, isn't it?"

"It is," Carter agreed, "Potter, Wilde, Moon, congratulations. You've passed Muggle Relations with flying colours, and you don't need to worry about attending the next three classes. As for the rest of you…."

"We're useless?" Theo suggested,

"You are not very well-educated on the muggle world," Carter said diplomatically, "But we have three classes to fix that. I will come along on the next one with you to give you some pointers."

"Does this mean we get a free period now?" Harry asked eagerly.

"You and Wilde do," Carter agreed, "Unfortunately, you don't, Moon. Frasier is a stickler for the rules, and she views it as an extra hour for you to spend in the hospital wing."

"Of course she does," Lilly chuckled.

"Well done though guys, I was impressed with your knowledge. Particularly with how well you all remembered the 1991 attack," Carter said with a smile, "Now run along to your next class and Black?"

Draco looked up, "Yes?"

"Perhaps you and Nott ought to get Miss Granger to give you some tips before next weeks class?"

"Yeah," Theo said, looking at Draco in amusement, "That might be a good idea, right?"

"Yeah," Draco agreed sheepishly, "We will, ma'am."

"Hey Princess, how was your day?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "What do you want?" she asked as she looked up from her book.

Theo was hovering in the doorway of the library with Draco.

"We need a favour," Draco admitted.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at them, "Okay?"

"We sort of failed a test today," Draco said sheepishly, "Rather badly, actually."

"Was it about muggles?" Hermione asked.

"How did you know?" Theo asked in disbelief.

"Because you two are typical purebloods, and despite being with me for a year now, Draco, you are still useless every time you come out with me and a muggle relative or friend," Hermione said simply. She crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Come in and sit down. I don't like it when you hover."

"She's getting bossy," Theo said, grinning at Draco, "We're going into full-blown bossy Granger mode."

Draco bit back an amused smile, and Hermione hit Theo over the head with her book, "If you want my help, shut up and explain."

"We have this new class called Muggle Relations-"

Hermione snorted.

"Yeah, it went about as badly as you probably expected it to," Theo admitted grudgingly.

"Theo got a bomb attached to him," Draco said, "Harry diffused it and blew up a lake in the Forest of Dean."

Hermione shook her head, "What is it with him and that forest?"

"You must have made it memorable," Theo teased, "Ouch!"

"Shut up then, you idiot," Draco laughed as his best friend nursed his sore head.

Hermione brandished the book at him, and Theo said, "Oi, would you stop that? It's book abuse! You can't just damage a beautiful copy of The Tale of Beedle the Bard like that!"

Hermione laughed, "Sometimes, I think I'm with the wrong Slytherin."

"Oh yeah, I think that all the time," Theo said sincerely, "I think why the fuck didn't I pick Draco all those years ago?"

This time Draco hit him on the head with a book, and Theo looked beyond affronted, "You are meant to love me! She just puts up with me because you love me!"

Hermione bit her lip in amusement as they began to bicker.

"Right, enough!" She said eventually.

Both men turned to look at her as she got to her feet.

"Come, Draco."

Theo snorted in amusement as Draco got to his feet, "That's more about your sex life than I ever needed to know."

"Fuck you, Theo."

"Where are we going, Princess?"

"To watch some television," Hermione said, shooting a smirk over her shoulder, "But pay attention because there will be a pop quiz at the end."

"Why is there always a pop quiz with her?" Theo muttered under his breath as they traipsed through the house a few steps behind Hermione.

"I don't know, but she did it to me after sex once," Draco whispered back.

"Did you get all of the questions right?" Theo sniggered.

"No, I got one wrong, and she bit me."

"I can hear you, you know?" Hermione called over her shoulder.

"Sorry, love."

"Sorry, Princess."

When Blaise and Blanche got home from work that night, they both stepped into the bedroom that Blaise and Ginny shared.

Ginny looked up as she rocked Hope in her arms, "Here we go."

"Do you expect a fight?" Blaise asked calmly.

"You walked in on me snogging your sister this morning," Ginny reminded her husband, "So there should be a fight."

Blaise shook his head, "No, I knew you and Blanche had feelings for each other. You made it very apparent."

"Did we?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, everyone knows," Blanche said calmly, "Even Harry knows."

"That's only because he's dating Daphne," Ginny snorted, "She's the observant one, not him."

"Oh, of course, she is," Blaise remarked. He sat down on the edge of the bed and rolled out a long scroll of parchment, "This is the floor plan for the house. It is modest-"

"Modest?" Ginny asked in surprise, "Blaise, you said it was a small country cottage."

"It is," Blaise said.

"No, it isn't," Ginny said, "This place has five bedrooms."

Blaise frowned, "That's small. Don't you think, Blanche?"

"Yes, but for a girl who grew up in a raggedy house with rooms that kept getting glued on?" Blanche pointed out.

"Ah, I see," Blaise said with a nod, "Well, in any case, there is a bedroom on the ground floor here which I thought could be mine."

"Don't you mean ours?" Ginny asked.

"No," Blaise replied, "The bedroom on the ground floor has a connecting door to the study, so I thought it would make sense for it to be mine. The room at the top of the house here would be better for you and Blanche."

"Me and…"

Ginny's head hurt, and Blanche grinned in amusement, "Did you think he was kidding this morning when he said he wanted to discuss me moving in?"

"Yeah…I did," Ginny admitted.

Blaise shook his head, "So, the room at the top of the house? Do you want it?"

"Uh, yeah. Of course, we do," Blanche answered for Ginny, "It has the biggest bathroom, not to mention the balcony."

"Hang on," Ginny cut in.

Blanche's face fell, "Oh…don't you want me to move in?"

"No," Ginny said. She put Hope down in her moses basket and walked over to Blanche, "No, of course, I do. I just don't know if that's the best room because it has a balcony, and that's where Hope will be sleeping. Isn't it?"

"Of course, you are feeding her. She would be better with you," Blaise answered.

"But we put wards up on the balcony, Gin," Blanche assured her, "They will only allow an adult onto the balcony. If Hope tried to crawl through, she'd get knocked back as if she had crawled into a glass door."

"Right," Ginny said, "So we're all going to move into the house then?"

"If you agree," Blaise said calmly.

"And you're okay with Blanche and I's arrangement?" Ginny asked her husband.

"Are you happy?" Blaise asked Ginny.

Ginny frowned, "Of course I am."

"Then I am happy," Blaise said calmly, "This suits me just fine. At the end of the day, Ginny, we have a child together and a lovely little family. At one point, I doubted I would ever have that. I am quite content with my own company and you know that I am very focused on my work."

Ginny nodded, "But does this mean you'll see other people too then?"

Blaise shook his head, "No, I don't particularly feel the need. I enjoy your company, but I can take or leave sex."

"I can't," Blanche said, shooting Ginny a suggestive look.

Ginny's cheeks flushed, and Blaise smiled in amusement, "Unlike my sister, who has quite the appetite for it. I am sure you two will get along just fine."

"This conversation just got weird," Blanche said, "So I'm going to go across the hall to my bedroom. Give me a yell if she's up all night again, Gin."

"Don't be silly, Blanche, you need to work in the morning."

"Ah, it's only a Tuesday," Blanche said offhandedly, "Don't worry about it."

Ginny smiled at her in amusement, "Alright. Goodnight, Blanche."

Blanche took a step forward and kissed Ginny lightly, "Night, Gin."

She reached into the moses basket and murmured, "Goodnight, Hope," then she slipped out of the room.

Ginny threw herself onto the bed and sighed.

"Are you okay with all that we discussed?" Blaise asked as he began to undress.

"No," Ginny muttered, "I feel like such a pureblood!"

"Ah well, between Blanche and I, we will make a proper pureblood of you yet," Blaise teased.

Ginny shot him an amused look and threw a pillow at him. Blaise cracked a genuine smile in response and disappeared into the bathroom adjoining their room.

* ~ TBC ~ *