Chapter 52

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or NCIS or any of their characters. I do however own this story, I wrote it and I do NOT give permission for anyone to post it anywhere else. If you want to share it post a link.

Ron was complaining as they left Rose at Molly's on Friday night. Hermione was cursing that she hadn't finished work early enough to drop the baby off before Ron got home and praying that he'd stick to complaining and not order her to stay at his mother's before she could get him alone to explain.

"Why do we have to go out for dinner, Mione. Mum's cooking my favourite foods."

"There's plenty for you both if you'd like to stay" Molly said beaming.

"Sorry Molly but we already have plans" Hermione said tightening her hold on Ron and dragging him out the door. As soon as they were far enough out of the wards she side-along apparated them both to the ministry apparition point.

"What are we doing here?" Ron asked crossly.

"Meeting Auror Robbards to collect something we need" Hermione replied dismissively.

"And you couldn't have done your errand while I was at work?" Ron grumbled.

"No I couldn't, Robbards needs to give this directly to you" Hermione said trying to get him to co-operate without telling him why.

Luckily, when they arrived on the right floor they were shown straight into Robbards office.

"Take a seat" Robbards said.

"What's going on?" Ron demanded.

"Take a seat and I will explain" Robbards said. Once they were seated he activated the sticking charms on the chairs to slow the hot-headed man down. "I have a message from Potter and if certain conditions are met, a portkey for you to visit him."

"Is Harry okay?" Ron asked anxiously. "When is he coming home?"

"He's fine, but his assignment has been extended, He was in town meeting with us and he wants to see the two of you before he goes back to work" Robbards replied.

"Where is he then?" Ron demanded looking around.

"There are a few conditions I need you to complete before I can give you the portkey. You can either swear an oath or surrender your wand and any weapons you might have on your person" Robbards explained.

"What the hell!" Ron shouted trying to stand up.

"Ron, do you want to see Harry or not?" Hermione asked. "Auror Robbards, it might help if Ronald could read the oath you want him to make."

Robbards handed it over and Hermione read it through before pulling out her wand and making the vow. "I vow not to harm through my actions or my orders to Harry James Potter or anyone I meet while meeting with Harry James Potter. So mote it be."

She handed the card to Ron. Make the vow Ron or I'll go and have dinner with Harry by myself and you can go home and have dinner with your parents" she ordered.

"I'm not vowing that" Ron said flatly.

"Then you are willing to be disarmed before you go to visit Potter?" Robbards asked pulling out his wand.

"What no!" Ron protested.

"You have three choices, you make the oath, you are disarmed before I give you the portkey or your wife goes to visit her friend without you" Robbards repeated.

"Harry's my friend too" Ron declared.

"And yet you don't want to see him" Robbards pointed out.

"Of course I want to see him" Ron yelled.

"Then take the oath or let me disarm you, your choice" Robbards said firmly.

"Why should I have to. He's my friend" Ron retorted angrily.

"Because that's the only way you're going to get your hands on this portkey" Robbards replied. "Mr Potter himself set the conditions."

"Why doesn't he trust me?" Ron said hurt.

"He doesn't trust your temper. You did assault him before he left the country" Hermione pointed out.

"That was different, he…"

"Ginny told you he'd got her pregnant and you believed the lie instead of trusting your best friend, the thing is, Harry has no idea what lies Ginny's been telling about him lately" Hermione replied.

"But…"

Hermione could see that Ron would argue all night or until Robbards lost his patience and kicked them out without giving them the portkey. She pulled out her wand, pointing it at Ron and cast "Expelliarmus", disarming him before handing her own wand to Robbards.

Robbards quickly cast a magical item revealing spell over both of them before removing a couple of WWW items from Ron and handing them the portkey. "The password is old friends".

"Thanks, Ron said pocketing the portkey and preparing to leave the room. He was prevented by the guards.

"You need to leave from here" Robbards said.

Ron looked like he wanted to argue but Hermione grabbed the portkey out of his pocket, forced his hand on it and activated it. Moments later they arrived at a house in the countryside.

"Where are we?" Ron asked.

"A muggle holiday let in Cornwall" Hadrian replied. "It's ours for the weekend" he added not telling them that they'd be gone within minutes of Ron and Hermione leaving.

"Harry" Hermione screeched tackling/hugging him. Then stepping back as her memories of seeing him during the week were returned to her. "You obliviated me?" she asked faintly. "You interrogated me and obliviated me?"

"Robbards did" Hadrian replied. "You tried to cast a tracking spell on me, did cast one on Tim and followed us into the middle of an investigation. I didn't want to risk you going home and telling Ron or Molly where to find me and having a big row attracting everyone's attention to the fact we were law enforcement, enabling the thief to get away."

Hermione noticed Tim standing off to the side and wondered what he was doing there. Hadrian saw her looking and turned and smiled at Tim.

"This is my partner Tim, Tim these are my best school friends Hermione Weasley nee Granger and Ron Weasley" Hadrian introduced them knowing that both Ron and Hermione would assume he meant Auror partner. He didn't want to outright lie to his friends but didn't want to cause an argument straight away either.

"Hello Tim" Hermione said pleasantly.

"Hermione, Hadrian's told me a lot about the two of you" Tim replied.

"He's never mentioned you" Ron replied obnoxiously.

"He hasn't spent much time in England in the last few years so I'm not surprised he had better things to talk about when he caught up with you" Tim replied not taking offence.

"You were working on the computers the other day. Are you muggleborn?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione in the rest of the world it is considered unpardonably rude to ask a person their blood status" Hadrian snapped. "It is totally irrelevant anyway."

"Oh I'm sorry" Hermione apologised.

"That's okay, Hades explained how different things are here" Tim replied.

"Why do you call him Hades?" Hermione asked.

"It's a nickname just like Harry is. He doesn't want to be called Harry in his new country so we either use his full name or I call him Hades."

"What do you mean Harry's a nickname? It's his name" Ron said belligerently.

"Actually, it isn't" Hadrian replied. "It's the name that the Daily Prophet called me when they reported my parents' deaths that Halloween and everyone assumed it was my name."

"What do you mean when you say blood status is irrelevant?" Hermione asked.

"You know yourself that it isn't a good predictor of magical strength or intelligence" Hadrian replied. "It's only in Britain and to a lesser extent in Europe that they favour the purebloods. Discrimination is illegal in most countries Hermione and while a lot of people know that someone could be muggleborn if they don't know their family they're not allowed to ask or discriminate."

"How do they prevent it?" Hermione asked.

"Applicants for Auror and Healing training or magical universities are accepted purely on their NEWT scores the way non-magical universities do" Hadrian said. "Private masters can accept an apprentice on such things as family relationships but there is a minimum level that even your own family members would have to meet to be accepted for an accredited mastery. There are no where near as many purebloods either as there's no pureblood elite culture or betrothal agreements. In fact, it's actively discouraged in a lot of places because marrying relatives increases the rate of squib births. I work with over a hundred Aurors and I have never heard any of them identify themselves as a pureblood. It just is irrelevant."

"Did you find out who was stealing from PGC?" Hermione asked.

"Tim did. It was the Dursleys" Hadrian replied dryly.

"Those bastards!" Ron yelled angrily. "You should have them locked up for life. Or at least let the twins prank them for you."

"Surely you're not going to let them get away with this as well?" Hermione asked.

"Couldn't even if I wanted to. The goblins were already involved in the investigation" Hadrian replied.

"Are you going to have to come back for the trial?" Hermione asked hopefully.

Hadrian shook his head. "There won't be a trial. Not the sort you mean. The goblins reviewed the evidence and they found it sufficient to take further. They arrested the Dursleys this afternoon and used truth potions to determine who was responsible. Vernon and Dudley were both sentenced to one hundred and two hundred years respectively. Dudley is cleaning up after the dragons but because of Vernon's employment in a drill company, he'll be on one of the mining teams. Petunia got ten years because even though she wasn't involved in the theft she benefited and they proved she did know they were stealing from me and didn't do anything to prevent the theft.

"Do you know what she'll be doing?" Hermione asked.

"No" Hadrian replied. "And I don't particularly care."

"I don't think I've ever seen a female goblin" Hermione commented.

"I'm not sure if you could tell under the armour they wear" Hadrian said laughing.

"Of course they're not female. The guards are warriors" Ron argued.

"Ron your wife, your sister and your mother all fought in the final battle. I would say they're warriors too" Hadrian replied. "And there's plenty of female Aurors."

"Yeah but they're fierce and scary" Ron replied.

"You used to say Hermione was brilliant but scary" Hadrian said amused. "And I think even Voldemort himself would have been afraid of one of your mum's rants if he couldn't use magic to protect himself from it."

Hermione laughed and Ron glared at her.

"You've got to admit your mum's scary. I've seen all your brothers try to avoid one of her talking to's" Hermione said.

"But the goblin guards are ugly" Ron exclaimed making the others laugh again.

"To us, but I'm sure Hermione thinks male goblins are ugly compared to you too Ron" Tim suggested.

"It's impossible to apply modern western standards of beauty to another culture."

Ron looked confused and wanted to argue but a pointed glare from Hermione made him change the subject.

"So are you seeing anyone?" Ron asked.

"Why are you asking?" Hadrian replied.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked confused.

"Yes I'm seeing someone seriously and no I am never going to be interested in dating or marrying your sister" Hadrian said firmly.

"She'll be disappointed to hear that" Hermione said.

"She shouldn't be surprised though. I was quite clear with my intentions before I left. Nothing has changed" Hadrian reminded his friends.

"What's this girl got that Ginny doesn't have?" Ron asked slightly upset.

"I don't think you want me to answer that" Hadrian said.

"Why not?" Ron was starting to get angry now.

"You're not going to like the answer" Hadrian warned him.

"No seriously, why is this girl so much better than my sister. Ginny made some mistakes but she was just young. You ought to give her a second chance."

"The ability to listen and compromise so we spend our time together doing things we both enjoy, the ability to make me fall in love without spells or potions. The ability to fit in in the non-magical world. I could go on" Hadrian replied.

Ron started to get up. "Sit down Ron. You know I'm telling the truth" Harry said tiredly.

"What is she like?" Hermione asked.

"Is she the muggle you told me about last time I saw you?"

"Yeah but he's not a muggle, his parents refused to send him to a magical school and chose to have his magic bound" Hadrian said bracing for the explosion.

Like expected, Hermione realised what Hadrian had said before her husband did. She gasped and looked questioningly back and forth between Harry and Tim. Harry caught her glances and nodded.

Hermione smiled slightly.

"He? You're dating a bloke?" Ron asked appalled.

"Yeah Ron, I'm in love with a man" Hadrian said calmly.

"You can't be" Ron said blankly. He shoved back from the table grabbing Hermione and then the portkey. It didn't activate and he stormed towards the door.

Harry stunned him in the back and Hermione turned to glare at him. "Are you going to obliviate him too?" she asked still angry about what must have happened when she'd gone looking for Harry the other day. Even if his explanation made sense, she thought he should have just explained the situation and trusted her.

"It's up to you. I really don't care who knows, anyone who stopped wanting to know me over this isn't worth knowing anyway. But Ron's never going to let you speak to me again if I don't. Is that what you want?" Hadrian asked harshly.

Hermione looked heartbroken at the thought. "You're my only true friend" she said.

"Then don't stop me from obliviating him. I can obliviate you too if you think it will help" Hadrian said quietly.

"Do you want some extra time to decide?" Tim asked.

Hadrian nodded and drew her away from Ron and next to Tim who looped the time-turner chain around their necks flipping the device twice.

Hadrian led her into the kitchen diner pushed her into the easy chair in the corner. "Rest Hermione, you look tired" he said starting to prepare them all a snack since dinner now wouldn't be for another couple of hours.

"You don't trust me" Hermione said noticing that Harry and his partner were watching her closely.

"I don't trust Ron while he's so angry and with the marriage vows you've got he could easily use you as a weapon" Hadrian replied.

Hermione shuddered at the realisation. Hadrian was right not to trust her, she couldn't trust herself while Ron had that much power over her.

Hermione sat thinking. "If you don't obliviate me and he notices somethings up he'll ask me about it won't he? And I'll have to tell him the truth?" she asked as Hadrian brought over her food.

"Yes, but if I obliviate both of you you're more likely to notice than he is and you would still probably tell him" Hadrian said.

"Not if you order us not to notice as you obliviate us" Hermione suggested.

"I'd have to get Robbards to do it. I haven't had much practice obliviating" Hadrian replied.

"I don't want to be obliviated" Hermione decided. "But I understand that you need to obliviate Ron, I won't try to stop you."

"Thanks Hermione" Hadrian said grinning.

"Are you two really Auror partners?" Hermione asked.

"No Tim works in a different branch of law enforcement than I do though we have had one joint case so far" Hadrian replied.

"And are you a serious couple?" Hermione asked.

"We're married" Tim replied.

"So, does that mean he knows about..." Hermione trailed off not sure how to ask without telling Tim what Hadrian might not want him to know.

"He knows pretty much everything about my life Hermione" Hadrian replied smiling. "But if you're asking about the curse I was hit with shortly before leaving Britain, yes. That's how we found out that he'd had his magic bound and wasn't a muggle" Hadrian said wryly.

"You fell pregnant? How far along are you?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Our daughter is almost five months old" Hadrian replied. "We call her Rosie but her real name is Rose. You didn't tell me about your baby so I didn't know you'd also called her Rose."

Hermione laughed. "We that will be interesting when they go to Hogwarts" she said.

Hadrian and Tim didn't tell her that their Rosie was likely to go to Salem institute instead of Hogwarts.

"Are you moving back to England. I know you sold Grimmauld Place to a developer which was a good idea. I looked through it when the flats went up for lease, they've done a lovely job, you wouldn't know the place it looks so cheerful and homelike."

"I know, Quincy showed me the photo's, it's a PGC building now Hermione" Hadrian replied. "Try and sleep Hermione you really do look exhausted. Hannah told us about you brewing the potions for Fred and George."

"Hannah Longbottom?" Hermione asked appalled. "Oh God, if she knows then everyone will know by the end of the weekend. Ron will be furious that the twins and I tricked him like that."

"Hannah's known since July" Tim said. "I know she's a bit of a gossip but she told Hades because she was worried about you. She thinks that Ron is being unreasonable about letting you work and that it's a huge joke against him that you earn the money he's being paid. But I'm sure she wouldn't tell anyone that would tell Ron."

"Sleep Hermione, and stop worrying. I'll wake you when it's time" Hadrian ordered. "Do you want a potion?"

"No thanks" Hermione said yawning.

"How much has Hermione changed since the wedding?" Tim asked, watching the sleeping woman.

"I almost don't recognise her, physically or behaviourally" Hadrian replied. "The old Hermione was all about individuals' rights and logical arguments, she just about assaulted Ginny when she found out the little witch was potioning me and now she seems to think it wasn't serious at all."

Tim frowned. "Could her memories have been altered?" he asked.

"No, she still seems to remember the incidents" Hadrian replied thoughtfully. "She could have been told to stop fussing about the potions and to encourage me to take Ginny back though. She would have had to obey if Ron told her to."

"But she didn't tell you that when you questioned her" Tim reminded him.

"No but we didn't ask her why she thought I should forgive Ginny for potioning me, only why she was trying to persuade me to get back with her" Hadrian said thoughtfully, thinking back through their interrogation.

"You mean that her husband can tell her what to think?" Tim said looking sick.

"I'm not sure, he can certainly order her to take a particular side of an argument and she would but whether that would cause her to actually agree with him or just to behave as if she did, I don't know" Hadrian replied. "I've got to try to help her somehow."

Tim nodded, he couldn't imagine leaving anyone in the situation Hermione found herself in and though he didn't yet have any reason to like the woman who Hadrian referred to mostly as a former friend, he was prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt and hope if they could find a way to allow her to make her own choices in life she would become the friend Hadrian remembered.

-o0o-

Tim and Hadrian heard noises in the other room indicating the Weasleys had arrived and Hadrian gently woke Hermione. "You've just arrived. I thought you might like a minute to clean up."

"Thanks Harry" Hermione said following his directions to the bathroom.

"You should obliviate him, you're better at the spell than I am" Hadrian said to Hermione as they prepared to enter the room as soon as they heard themselves leave.

"I can't" Hermione said baldly. She would have hexed Ron senseless by now if her vows hadn't prevented it.

Harry obliviated Ron of the last conversation after talking about the goblin women. Then hauled him back into his chair and they all took their places before he enervated him.

"So are you seeing anyone?" Ron asked again.

"Why are you asking?" Hadrian replied.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked confused.

"Yes I'm seeing someone seriously and no I am never going to be interested in dating or marrying your sister" Hadrian said firmly.

"She'll be disappointed to hear that" Hermione said. "But I can't say I'm surprised after what she did."

"She shouldn't be surprised either. I was quite clear with my intentions before I left. Nothing has changed" Hadrian reminded his friends. "I cannot and will not trust a witch who was prepared to potion me into a life I didn't want."

"Ginny made a mistake" Ron protested.

"Ginny used mind altering potions, which is a criminal offence. The only reason I didn't have her prosecuted was for the sake of the rest of your family but that doesn't change the fact that I feel she assaulted me" Hadrian said bluntly. "I still have nightmares about what might have happened if I hadn't been injured enough for the healer to do a comprehensive scan before the wedding."

Ron couldn't argue against that and silence fell for a few moments as they enjoyed their meal.

"When are we going to meet your girlfriend?" Ron asked. "I need to check her out if you think the goblins are attractive."

"I don't have a girlfriend. I'm married" Hadrian replied dryly. "And I didn't say I found female goblins attractive just that male goblins favoured female goblins over female humans."

"Why didn't you invite us to the wedding?" Ron asked.

"When can we meet her?" Hermione asked.

"Probably never" Hadrian replied.

"What? Why not?" Hermione asked acting affronted.

"Because I just tried to tell you and Ron about them and introduce them already this evening and he reacted so badly I had to obliviate both of you for my family's safety" Hadrian sad bluntly.

"Why obliviate me because of Ron's behaviour. That's not fair Harry" Hermione argued, acting angry so Ron wouldn't realise she had agreed to keep the secret.

"Because you vowed to obey him which means you have to tell him anything he demands to know. So you can't know anything that he can't know" Hadrian explained in a tone he would use to explain things to Teddy for the tenth time. They had to make this believable or Hermione would suffer.

So you'll never trust me again?" Hermione asked in a small voice, genuinely heartbroken at the thought of permanently losing her best friend. She needed Ron to hear this so he knew he couldn't use her to manipulate her friend that way.

"I would like to Hermione but so long as Ron is bound and determined to encourage or manipulate me to be with his sister whether I want to be or not and your marriage vows won't let you say no to his orders I can't trust either of you" Hadrian said sadly.

Tim though thought of something. "Couldn't they use the ceremony we used to add more vows?" he asked.

"What do you mean more vows?" Hadrian asked curiously.

"I'm already trapped by the vows I made why would I want to make more?" Hermione replied.

"To even things up. Perhaps Ron could vow to consider your opinions and try not to make decisions he knew would make you unhappy, to respect your friendships, give you the choice of how many more children you bear and how far apart you want them, hell even to give you the right to say 'not tonight dear, I have a headache'" Tim explained.

"And to forsake all others and support you in sickness and in health like you vowed" Hadrian added."

Hermione smiled and looked thoughtful, mentally planning what she would ask Ron to vow."

"Why should I agree to this?" Ron asked.

"Why wouldn't you want to make things more even in your relationship if you love your wife?" Tim asked.

"Because the only other way I can think of to free Hermione of your abuse is to kill you" Hadrian said bluntly.

"I don't abuse my wife. I've never hit Hermione" Ron protested.

"I'm glad to hear it" Hadrian replied dryly. "But there are more forms of abuse than physical. You are deliberately making Hermione isolated and miserable by not letting her return to the job she loved, and because she can't tell anyone that she spends most of her day brewing potions for the twins because of your stupid misplaced pride, she's offending people who ask her to visit them and wearing herself out trying to cope with the potions, the housework and the baby without the help she needs."

"In the muggle world wives have a right to say no to their husband's amorous advances" Tim said.

"In our world, using her need to obey you to have sex when she doesn't want it, would be considered rape.

"And trying to get her pregnant when you knew she didn't want to have a baby yet is also a form of abuse and rape because Hermione wouldn't have consented to unprotected sex" Hadrian added.

"We don't live in the muggle world" Ron replied defensively.

"Hermione grew up in that world, with those beliefs. It doesn't matter what you think, if Hermione feels like she's being raped then it is rape" Tim stated firmly."

"Ron the way you force Hermione to do whatever you think she should is just as bad as holding her under the imperius curse. The only reason it's legal is that she made the vow herself and it's too late to check if she was under the influence of any spells or potions at the time. Abusing her wedding vows like this makes you a dark wizard" Hadrian added severely. "If anyone other than my best mate had done that to Hermione you or I would have killed them by now."

Ron looked shaken. "What would I have to vow?" he asked.

"That's up to Hermione" Hadrian replied. "You should think carefully about what you want and try to figure out what the side effects would be. We'll be back in a couple of weeks to help you set up the ritual. You do need to vow something yourself for it to work but they could just be the things you vowed last time and want to keep. You understand that this won't take the place of your original wedding vows but re-vowing the same thing might increase your need to follow it."

"Will you send me the details of the ceremony, what we need to say?" Hermione asked.

"That's the best part of this ceremony, there are no set words or vows. It's ritual sex magic so you can promise whatever you want and only what you want to" Hadrian replied.

"But it's illegal" Hermione protested.

"It's illegal in Britain. If that worries you then we can portkey you to one of my properties in another country where it is legal" Hadrian offered.

"And Ron, if you order Hermione not to go through with this or to tell me that she doesn't want to do it then I will find out. This is to be entirely Hermione's decision or you will regret it" Hadrian threatened his old school mate. "I'm going to get Hermione out of the mess she's in one way or another and from what I can see, this is the best way to do it from both of you."

"Can I see what vows you made?" Hermione asked.

"You can, but remember that we approached our marriage from a relationship of total equality and that was important to us, these are the only vows we have made to each other and we both made exactly the same ones, they reflect exactly how we feel about each other, they may not be right for you and Ron."

A/N: Thank you to Gottahavemyncis, Locket1, buterflypuss, julschristine975, Rori Potter, Raven4821, Kourtney Uzu Yato, dobbys-stinger, xDarklightx, BeepKeeper, lilly-flower15, Fallow53 (Guest), aknight86, Lientjuhh, MageVicky, charm13insomnia, Firehedgehog, DarkRavie, meiscof, Serpent91, acherongoddess, reckless13, Silvermane1, Reader Ethiriel, Village-Mystic, DS2010, serenityselena, Guest, Maben00, jgood27, kimbarn30, mother oracle, Saebelzahnkaninchen, Jedi Princess Lucky, Asfaala, TheNobodyWriter, james1823, Dark Kate, TigerStar1099, Redribin, lovehpfiction, Nicol, bianka17, ancalimesh, Hiro88, Articx-Frost, StarsInHerHair, Gigaeule88, Ashlin3, swapsu7, Claddagh, VictorianRosie, greenwings33, Redcats34, MayaHikari, wolf-shinigami, RyderrRalph, FirePheonixStar, Mucina, sujulove, Doc. K-9, KIMMIRII, Caithlinn13, sayomi-chan, malucobanana, Susan92, Animen'animallover183694, Quicksilver2011, DoctorLover88, , Lacus01, The Wandmaker, Chalithra, Hiro88, momoa1fla, madnessdownunder2, ladymozart1982, Sakura Lisel, marshmallowsgirl, mountredoubt and AvalonWay for your support.

A/N2: I have most of the vows I want them to make sorted but I welcome any ideas on vows Ron and Hermione could ask the other to make, particularly vows that are spiteful or ill thought out that Tim and Hadrian will veto.