A/N: Welcome new readers! Welcome back old ones!
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Harry was given a warm welcome by Sirius and Lupin early next morning in the form of a hearty syrup soaked breakfast. Ron arrived the day after and finally the Gryffindor Trio were sitting together just talking.
"…. and so I claimed my familial magic and it helped heal me…" Hermione finished
"Woah! Claiming it before your come of age, that's rare… I don't think I've ever really heard of anyone do it… " Ron said
"Before Tuesday, I hadn't even heard of familial magic…" Harry said "Hang on… weren't you telling me Bill showed you something? When was that?"
"Oh… right…" Hermione said worried "I'll tell you, but you have to promise, you can't get mad…" Hermione said
"Why would I get mad?" Harry asked
"Just promise…" Hermione insisted
"Fine… I promise" Harry said
"And you too…" She said looking at Ron
"Fine whatever…" Ron said
"So remember how Malfoy was lending me tomes to get me off the house-elf crusade?" Hermione said
Harry and Ron shrugged as if to say the beginning of her love story was hardly important
"So he got upset one day and mentioned Familial magic, but he couldn't explain it very we'll see and I had been writing to Bill all year, talking about career options etc and so when he came to visit you during the Final task, we kinda took a detour to the Quiddtich pitch…. Via…. The henge…" Hermione finished
"Oh…" Harry said, the memory of that day still sour
"I'm really sorry Harry I should have been been there…" Hermione gushed
"No… it's fine… it's not like you could have done anything…. Besides… you were there when I got out… you've always been there for me 'mione, like a sister and …I can't fault you of all people for being curious…." Harry said
Ron was still processing everything and then finally he said "So when you and Bill came to pitch running towards Harry, you were coming from the Henge?" He asked
"Yes Ron…" Hermione said patiently
"Blimey, Bills never even taken me to the Henge… Arse…" Ron said to no-one in particular and the three of them laughed
"So 'Mione, how's the Ferret?" Harry asked poking her playfully
Instantly Hermione's smile vanished and a sadness came over her….
"'Mione? What happened? Did Malfoy do something? Should we kick his arse when we see him?" Ron Asked seriously
"No… I…. " She sighed "I don't know…. We were writing to each other in the diary you know and then one day, nothing, he didn't write back… it's been weeks and then I saw him at Manor and he called on Dobby to save me… Luna said he let her curse him..I don't know… I just wished I knew how he was…. He looked so pale and so sick… I'm just worried about him…"
Harry put and arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a side hug. "Don't worry too much about him… He's tough… He kept his cool didn't he, didn't identify you… he probably hates himself right now for the pain you went through… "
"If he's still alive…" Ron mumbled
"Ron!" Harry and Hermione said in unison as Hermione's eyes teared up
"I'm joking… Jeez…. He'll be fine Mione… relax…" Ron said lying down on the carpet they were sitting on
Lupin watched from the door of the living room as the three friends spoke. He was suddenly reminded of the marauders sitting in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. He smiled and thought to himself "Don't worry James, we'll take good care of your boy…"
—
Dumbledore was sitting in his office deep in thought about Hermione Granger. "Why on earth did she think she was related to Tom Riddle?" He pulled the memory from his mind and watched it in the pensive over and over again. It had been taken unwillingly, but it seemed like young Mr. Malfoy and Blaize Zabini had made some unlikely friends. All these kids were throwing surprise wrenches in his plan. It was exhausting. "In any case, at least Sulghorn likes the boy. I suppose he'll be able to get the memory after all…" He thought as he put the pensive away. As he was closing the cupboard he saw a vial, an old vial he had forgotten about. He stared at it for a long time, the label on it read 'The memories of Morfin Gaunt'. Then suddenly he reached out and picked it up "Could it be?" He said to himself before emptying the vial into the pensive and diving face first into it
—
"Where is he Minerva?" Molly asked at the next meeting of the Order "Where is Dumbledore?"
"He's presently at Hogwarts preparing for the next year… We've had to make some staffing changes…"Minerva said tired of the excuses she was being asked to make for the headmaster
"This is bullshit!" Sirius said angrily "Since we have found out about the Hrocurxes he has not even made an attempt to speak with us? What is he planning? Because I will not have him slaughter my godson for his grand plans!"
"No one wants to see Harry dead Sirius…" Lupin said calmly
"Exactly! He's more than just a boy, he's a symbol of hope for the magical community…" Mad Eye said seriously
"He's just a 16 year old boy, who should be busy playing Qudditich and falling in love…" Tonks said softly looking at Lupin who refused to look in her direction
"Where is Snape then?!" Sirius asked yelling over Tonks "He should know Dumbledore's plans!"
"Look! I'm as clueless as you all are okay!" McGonagall said sternly "We don't have a plan and we don't have any direction… We know that Horcurxes need to be found and destroyed, Snape is trying to figure out the best way to find them… In the meantime, I think what we all need to do is gather resources and fighters, we know for sure there will be several skirmishes like there were last time and god forbid a battle… we need to be prepared for anything… Molly, what is status on recruitment?" McGonagall asked curtly
"The Diggory's are in… so is Xenophillus for obvious reasons…" Molly said sourly "I'm having a few of other families over for tea tomorrow, we shall see how it goes…"
"Lupin any word on the others?" McGonagall asked
"Voldemort has Fenrir and his pack, I have reach out to others who have been affected by him, most of the packs live in the forests and want nothing to do with the war. They say nothing changed for them after the last one, so how will taking a side make any difference now. I will be leaving again tomorrow and won't be back for a fortnight, I have a plan to make this time is more fruitful than the last…" He finished
"And what's that?" Sirius asked seriously
"… I might take a mate…" Lupin said firmly "… A powerful mate, preferably the leader's daughter… that will make the pack loyal to the cause…" By the time he finished Tonks had left the meeting as her eyes began to tear up
"No…" Sirius said flatly
"Lupin… we wouldn't want you to…" Molly began with compassion
"The choice is mine…" Lupin said looking at her seriously "No one is forcing this upon me…"
"No!" Sirius said firmly "Werewolf's mate for life! What do you plan to do after the war is over? Leave us and live in the forest with the pack?"
"If I have to…" Lupin said standing up and walking out
—
Tonks was holding back her tears in the foyer.
"Nymphadora …" Lupin said softly
"No… You do not get to Nymphadora me!" She whispered angrily
He held her from behind and she broke down in turning to hug him. He hair turning grey to match the sorrow she was feeling
"I'm sorry… I really am…" He muttered into her head "You can hate me for it… But it's really the best chance we've got"
"I want to hate you… I really do… but… I can't" She sniffed into his shirt
"I was never any good for you, it's not like we can live like a normal couple or start a family… It's not safe…"
"It's not impossible" She said looking into his eyes "Don't go… please… just stay…"
He kissed her and for a moment the world fell away. He knew it from the minute he'd taken a whiff of her, she was perfect and when she had reciprocated his feelings, it had been too good to true. It pained him more than he could explain to push her away and walk out the door.
Tonks crumpled to the floor crying. Hermione who had been watching from a distance came and sat by her. She handed her a handkerchief that Tonks accepted. For almost an hour they just sat there. Two girls who's hearts had been ripped apart by a war that hadn't even begun.
—
Draco and Blaise had been drinking soups and sleeping for three days since the escape of the girls. When Draco finally had the strength to actually sit up in bed, he pulled the diary he had under his pillow and looked at it. It had not gotten warm even once. He knew he had not been able to write to her for almost two weeks before she was captured, she had probably been waiting. He had no strength to write to her since that day either, he wondered if she was better off than he was. He hoped she was, after-all they had Dumbledore on their side right? He was the most powerful wizard of all, he had to have known what to do to save her.
It was another week before Draco started walking around again. The diary had still not gotten warm. He knew even if she had healed, there was nothing that was going to take away the cold look he had given her, or the fact that she had nearly bled to death in his house. In the ballroom of the damn west wing. The same wing in who's replica he had danced with her for the first time, he'd kissed her for the first time. Life was cruel, he knew that, but it felt like it was especially cruel to him. It was not like he'd known that a madman would come take residence in the wing that was to be his when he became lord of the manor.
—
Once Tonks had left, Hermione went back to her room and was grateful to Sirius that he had magically expanded Grimmauld Place so that she didn't have to share. She pulled out the Diary from her bag. She hadn't touched it once since the week when she had given up writing to him. She picked up a quill and wondered what to write. A drop of ink fell on it and then she wrote…
—
Draco was spiralling, he had felt unclean since he took the mark, he had felt unworthy of her. After the attack he knew he was bad for her. He wanted to be selfish, to keep her with him but if that meant a death sentence for her, he'd rather just die himself. He held the Diary to his heart wondering what choice to make when suddenly it grew warm. He was stunned for moment, he thought he had imagined it. Then it grew warm again. It was like Hermione herself had hugged him. A warmth seeped to his heart as he opened it to the bookmarked page hopefully
I miss you…. I hope you are safe….
The words had him tearing up. He limped to his desk picking up the self inking quill and writing back
I love you Hermione Granger. I love you. I love you. I LOVE YOU!
See you tomorrow!
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