Word Count: 4092

Another birthday, another chapter. I can't believe how long I've been writing this. I've almost finished it and once I go through it and write the final draft, we'll be back to a weekly posting.

~o0o~

A week after her duel with Hamish, Hermione, Fleur, and Draco took a portkey to France. They were all in disguise just to be safe and had arranged a codeword with Sirius upon arrival. Hermione had dyed her locs black and used makeup to contour her face into something more masculine. She wore a contact over her star eye to make it appear normal. Magic was fuzzy through it, but she wasn't completely blind. Fleur had polyjuiced as Blaise but still dressed as female presenting. Draco's platinum hair had been dyed brown and he was wearing thick glasses and lifts in his shoes to change his height.

They ended up in Jura, but Fleur was able to direct them towards her village so Hermione could apparate them there. They stepped out onto the cobblestone street and kept their pace. Fleur took the lead. The memories of this place. Hermione nudged her.

"Hm?"

Hermione grinned, rolled her shoulders, and toss-tossed her hair. Fleur snorted and elbowed her, then her face twisted up. It was strange seeing Blaise's stony expression turn into something that heartbreaking.

"I miss him," she said. "I hope… wherever he is… he's alright."

"Same."

They wove through the streets. It wasn't terribly large even though it was in a pocket dimension of Versailles, but it was still about a fifteen minute walk to get to Fleur's house. Hermione realized she had never been there. She was sure that Bastien and Apolline had wanted to invite Cedric all those years ago, but didn't. It was too sudden a meeting, too strange and sad a circumstance. The homes here were beautiful. Straight out of a fairytale. She could see some were opulent like the palace that hid them while others were a simpler provincial. Fleur's home fell into the latter category.

Hermione tapped her shoulder and waved her hand over her face.

"Ah, merci." Fleur tapped her wand to her chest and cancelled the spell. Blaise's clothes fit her just fine. She winced only a little as her scars returned. Taking a deep breath, she unlocked the door with her key and entered. "Maman! Papa! I am home!"

The place was lovingly decorated with beautiful things. The wallpaper in the living area was a soft pink shell pattern with white wood panels on the lower half. The couches and chairs were stylish and old, but plush. It looked to be a house generations in the making.

Though there was only one person home and they were upstairs.

"Allô?" Fleur called louder.

Footsteps thudded overhead and down the wooden steps. Bill swung around the bannister and lit up.

"Fleur!" He raced across the room and lifted her off her feet, spinning her around. "Oh, I missed you, darling."

He kissed her soundly, carding his fingers through her hair.

"This is original provincial furniture," Draco muttered, examining the closest chair. "Do you know what people these days would buy this for? It's in excellent condition, too."

Hermione tapped his arm and gestured to her forearm.

"It hurt when we landed," he said. "But it's alright now. When are Potter and the Weasel showing up?"

"They're still at school," said Bill. "My mum and Apolline are at Sirius' now having tea with him and Remus."

"L-U-P is here?" Hermione asked, furrowing her brow.

"Er, yeah, he got outed," said Bill, making a face. "Actually, there's a lot I oughta fill you in on. Sirius didn't want to tell you too much. Let you focus on healing and such. Why don't I make us some tea?"

"You sit down, I will make the tea, William," said Fleur.

"Alright, but hold on a moment, I have something important to do first."

"Oh? And what is that?"

He drew her back in and kissed her once again. When they parted, Fleur giggled and buried her blushing face into his shoulder.

"Don't go away for five months again," he murmured. "It was agony being apart from you."

While they went off to the kitchen to "make tea", Hermione wandered around the room, looking at the photos on the walls. There were plenty from Bastien's side and Apolline's side. She stopped by the fireplace and got a fire going to stave off the chill seeping into the room before looking at the pictures there as well. There was one of three girls in Beauxbatons uniforms. She recognized them. There was stocky Belphoebe with her dark eyes and wavy, black hair and Apolline, tall, pale, and statuesque, both were laughing at something the shortest of the lot was saying. That could only be Luna's mother, they had the same narrow, elfish features, though this woman had brown hair and olive skin. Cedric called her Aunt Dee, but Hermione wasn't sure if that was a nickname. Dee and Luna had the same smile and had the same way of gesticulating while they spoke.

Next to the photo was a picture of a baby that was definitely not Fleur nor Gabby. This baby had a swatch of dark hair and his smile was so big, his eyes crinkled almost shut. He stretched his hands towards the camera and kicked his little feet. Cedric. Belphoebe had sent her former loves a picture of her infant son and they had put it up.

Beside that was a picture that looked a bit tattered around the edges. Like it had been hidden away for a long time and was just now allowed to be out. Perhaps because that was the case. It was at a park. Belphoebe, Apolline, and Bastien were cuddled together. Apolline was the tallest of all of them, her long legs stretched out; Bastien, short and as pudgy then as he was now, was leaning against her shoulder with a soft smile, his free hand stroking Belphoebe's hair while her head rested in Apolline's lap. They looked happy. And yet Belphoebe gave up that happiness to what? Save her home? Marry a boy she used to know?

Guess nobody would really know her reasons. What happened happened and there was no changing it.

Hermione sat down next to Draco on the couch. It wasn't as comfortable as it looked. That was okay. She never really stayed sitting for long anyway.

Bill and Fleur entered with a tea tray and sandwiches, both slightly flushed.

"Right," said Bill. "How have you been, Nia?"

She hissed through her teeth and helped herself to tea.

"There have been incidents," said Fleur.

"Oh, sorry to hear," he breathed deeply. "Plenty of incidents going around lately."

He filled them in. Some she knew. Some she didn't. It was better to have everything out in the open so there was no room for confusion.

When she left, there was quite a bit of chaos. Fudge had been apprehended and families scattered. Fred and George stayed behind in England despite begging and pleading from their mother. They wanted to keep their shop open. They had Death Eater wannabes coming into their shop once a week as an intimidation tactic, but Bill voiced that for a reason he couldn't explain he wasn't worried about them. Bill himself was on a temporary transfer to the Gringotts in France until he was married and had been staying with Bastien and Apolline since July.

She knew Sirius, Remus, and Mrs. Weasley were coparenting Harry, Ron, and Ginny at this point. They had documents, temporary citizenship to France, and a house big enough for everyone. Percy, though years graduated, was continuing his education through Beauxbatons' adult program. Studying to be a Healer of all things. He claimed he couldn't stand being a puppet for the Minister any longer, that Scrimgeour was careful not to make him privy to any more information than he needed to have, so he wasn't useful as a spy anyway.

There was a huge ruckus when it turned out every magical eleven-year-old in Britain got a letter to Beauxbatons along with a visit from the Deputy Head. Some parents put their foot down and sent their children to Hogwarts anyway. Madame Maxime played innocent, claiming that the names showed up in the Book of Acceptance. She didn't mention that she had Hogwarts' book of acceptance and they had no proof she had it because the door containing the book of admittance at Hogwarts wouldn't open. The Muggle-Borns at least were safe until the following summer. Their families were told the situation and were reasoned that it was like sending children to the country or America during World War II. There were talks of a summer program to keep them safe, but Bill thought it was more likely that since there were so few of them they would be more likely to have a family in one of the surrounding countries take one or two in.

Where Hogwarts was concerned, an anonymous letter had been sent to the Daily Prophet outing Professor Lupin as a werewolf, which led to a massive inquiry on all Hogwarts Professors. There were new changes and the government instated suitable teachers to fill the vacant positions of History of Magic, Muggle Studies, and Defense Against the Dark Arts (code for: Death Eater plants). As far as Bill knew, the rest of the staff stayed to protect the remaining students from danger. Professor Lupin moved to France with Sirius and was reaching out to werewolf communities in the area about S.A.M.B. It turned out, they were approached by followers of both Greyback and Voldemort to join the cause, but had declined due to catching wind of an organization that actually wanted to help and had visible (even though small) results.

"Think you might be able to give a S.A.M.B. presentation while you're here?" Bill asked. "Not to convince the werewolves to fight for us, but more to convince them to reject You-Know-Who entirely."

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. Hard without my voice."

"Fair point. I think the leader wants to meet you anyway."

Things were growing tense. The International Confederation of Wizards was still convinced that Voldemort was England's problem and refused to send any sort of backup to deal with the problem, despite the representative for the Dominican Republic stating that Death Eaters had been lurking around and threatening people in their country. It was frustrating, but unsurprising.

After all, when it came to fascists, history had a habit of saying, "They never attacked us, why should we attack them? They're that country's problem."

And then things would go up shit's creek and when everyone realized it was a threat to them only then would they act.

Viktor and Esperanza were creating some concern by citizens at least, by speaking out against Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Condemning them, spreading their misdeeds, getting people worried. Still the governments were all "there are no Death Eaters here. War isn't on our doorstep. It's someone else's problem."

There didn't seem to be any point in appealing. Hermione doubted her own status as a two-time Order of Merlin recipient and Grand Sorceress title would give her the respect she needed to be taken seriously. She just had to hope that it all would remain the U.K.'s problem until she could take him out. If he spread out to other countries… there might not be much else they could do.

Bill claimed he was keeping his ear out for mysterious artifacts. He was able to assuage Hermione of one fear. If Voldemort did want to move his horcruxes, he would be unable to through Gringotts. The vampires and wixen that ran the other major wizarding vaults refused to take on dark artifacts and horcruxes would be too great a liability. If someone tried, they would forfeit the item and it would be turned over to the proper authorities and the account would close. She doubted Voldemort would know of any other safe place to keep it, so she would return to England after the wedding to continue her horcrux hunt. Frankly, she doubted he would entrust the movement with anymore of his followers after what happened to the diary.

"Things aren't good," said Bill. "Mad-Eye has been attacked a few times. He and a few other Order Members are coming here under the pretense of the wedding, but we're going to talk about our best course of action."

"Should probably let Nia decide," said Draco. "She's been doing more to defeat Our Good Friend this past year than anyone else has done in fifty."

"No argument there," said Bill. "I know Kingsley and Mad-Eye will at least listen." He tipped his head. "You're Draco Malfoy, aren't you? Why are you here anyway?"

"Me and Duckie are B.F.F.," said Hermione.

Draco scowled at her. "You can't even talk and yet I know you're calling me Duckie!"

She twitched an eyebrow and he rolled his eyes.

"She saved my life when Hogwarts was attacked," he said. "They had orders to kill me for refusing to join them. Greyback was going to tear my throat out, Nia saved my life. I owe her a debt. Some days, I think I ought to have let him."

Hermione stuck out her tongue.

"Ah," said Bill. "Well, anyhow, you're welcome to attend the wedding. Bastien owns that hotel in town, so we'll be using it to house the guests. The majority will only be here for three or four days, but we've got people coming in throughout the month."

"Nia and I will take time to finalize the wedding plans," said Fleur. "We still need to find a band who will play our song. Esperanza and Viktor will arrive at the end of next week. And I expanded the guest list to include my new friends."

"New friends?" said Bill, slipping his arms around her. "You'll have to tell me all about them."

"We'll let you catch up," Hermione wrote. "Where's Sirius' house?"

"Just down the street," said Bill. "When you leave, go left. Red door."

"Thank you." Hermione rose to her feet. "Duckie, will you stay or go?"

He scratched his cheek and frowned. "I'm tired… but I would rather get the greetings out of the way. If I avoid him, he might prank me or something."

It wouldn't be out of character. Harry mentioned once that Sirius pulled the shaving cream trick on him and that he had bought some things from Fred and George to "liven up the house."

They headed back out into the cold. Like many magical towns (hybrid or no) there were weather charms that kept the weather… not perfect, but perfect for the season. Rainy springs, snowy winters, beautiful, hot summers, crisp falls. But then… wizards were all about the instant gratification.

Sirius' new house was at the end of the lane. It was similar to the ones on the street, but had a Gryffindor red door and had parts that looked added on. No doubt to prepare for multiple people staying there. Perhaps he intended for it to be a secondary base in case things went south (no pun intended). Either way, it was the biggest house on the street. Of course, Sirius was heir to the entire Black fortune. He was probably a billionaire. That would be handy. Having a rich person back their rebellion. He was more than happy to do it of course. And Harry was of age, he had access to the entire Potter fortune.

They wouldn't starve, at least.

Hermione tapped out the secret knock.

Remus answered, furrowed his brow, then blinked in surprise. He frowned and drew his wand. Hermione turned her notebook around where she scrawled out: Wolfie McWerewolf.

"Ah, Nia. And Draco, too. Come on in."

The décor was similar to how it was at Grimmauld Place and the furniture was comfort over style. Through the living room she could see the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley stood at the stove, sauteing vegetables for a stew, the smoke from the cooking onions filling the room. Sirius was leaned back against the counter, conversing with her while she worked.

"Look who it is, Sirius," said Remus.

Sirius looked at them. "Two random young men?"

Good to know the disguises worked. Hermione brought out the contact case and removed the one covering her star eye, much to the disgust of the adults in the room. It really was weird to put it in and out since it covered her whole eye. It wasn't comfortable in the slightest, but it couldn't be undone by a revealing charm. She removed her gloves to show off her splints and hung up her cloak.

"Nia!" Sirius crossed the room to hug her. "Good to see you experimenting with androgynous looks."

"It's a disguise so we wouldn't be recognized," said Draco, removing the glasses and his hat.

"So it's true then," said Sirius, looking at him. "You're bound by the Honor Code."

"Yes. It's going to be a long thirty years."

"Don't worry, Duckie, Nia is merciful."

Draco swatted at him and scowled.

"You know, you should have asked security questions before entering," said Remus. "What if we weren't who we said we were?"

"Nia can see magic, can't she?" said Draco. "So she'd be able to tell if you were fakes."

Hermione nodded and sat down at the kitchen table feeling exhausted. That jump took a lot out of her.

"Mrow!" Crookshanks ran into the room and climbed up her leg onto her lap.

Hermione smiled and held him tightly, burying her face into his fur.

"What's the matter, Nia, cat got your tongue?" Sirius teased.

"Oh, she can't speak," said Draco. "You'd think I would get a moment's peace with that, but she's never short of something to say."

"Suffer," said Hermione, underling the word twice.

Sirius and Remus sat down at the table as well.

"Have you been filled in on everything?" Remus asked.

"Yes. Bill told us."

"How's Cissy, Draco?" asked Mrs. Weasley, looking slightly distressed at talks of the impending war. "Your mother."

Draco made a face as if he couldn't believe a Weasley was asking after his mother. "She's fine. She's happy where she is."

Never mind the meltdown she had when Draco had to leave.

"That's good. Perhaps I'll visit her after the new year."

"So, what's the plan for now?" asked Sirius.

They waited patiently while she wrote out her answer. Part of her wished the dicta-quill could pick up her thoughts, but then decided that was just a sitcom plot waiting to happen. She slid her notebook over to Draco for him to read aloud.

"For now, we focus on the wedding. Until other Order members arrive, we can't plan, scheme, or really talk in depth about what's going to happen. When they arrive, we will have a meeting, but until then, keep calm and carry on. I'm going to continue my training and hope that word doesn't get out that I'm here. Since the last one, I haven't had any Death Eaters come after me demanding my head, but I can't discount a hitman in the future. It seems Our Good Friend believes without me, you will fail."

"I mean," said Draco. "You are powerful. I hope you realize how painful that is for me to admit, but you are. With all you've done, it's hard to believe Potter is the Chosen One. You're sure there's no prophecy regarding you?"

"If there was, I would know by now," said Hermione. "And I wouldn't have been expelled. Probably."

"Well, Harry served his purpose, didn't he?" said Sirius. "The horcrux inside him was removed and destroyed. He's no longer bonded to You-Know-Who. He doesn't have to fight. I can keep him safe."

Somehow, Hermione doubted Harry would be alright with hiding away no matter how much Sirius wanted to protect him. He might not have done a whole lot, but he was still a seeker of justice and wouldn't rest easy knowing he could help. Plus, there was the whole 'only he and Voldemort can kill each other' line. She wondered if his connection was truly severed. Or perhaps it was more metaphorical? Neither can live while the other survives. One would have to kill the other to achieve inner peace. In a way. Maybe? She didn't know, but she hoped he was receiving good training at Beauxbatons. He hadn't written her much, but he did mention he was a member of the dueling team.

Sirius scowled at the lack of reassurance and looked down at his black painted nails. "That boy is his parents, through and through. Mad-Eye, Kingsley, and a few others will arrive in a couple weeks. What should we do until then?"

"Train, research, I want more tattoos."

He smiled. "I think I can arrange that last one. You two look dead on your feet. Why don't you get some rest?" His smile grew teasing. "One bed or two?"

"It's bad enough I have to be her servant!" Draco squawked. "I am not sharing a room with her, much less a bed!"

"Ah, young love," said Remus. "That brings back memories."

"We aren't in love!" He looked at her for help and waited for her to write her response.

"You should color your hair darker next time," she said and he yelled out in aggravation.

Hermione had zero romantic inclinations towards Draco. Even if she did somehow find his pasty, pinched face attractive, she couldn't quite forget how he tormented her and likely would have continued had he not been brought down a peg. Still, if she protested the teasing, it would only get worse.

"I need my own space," she said. "Is Kreacher here?"

"No, he pitched a fit, so I put him in charge of upkeeping Grimmauld Place while we're away," said Sirius.

"It is still a base," said Remus. "Snape was removed so we're keeping it open to the rest of the Order as a safe house. Let me show you to your rooms. We actually have one made up just for you, Nia. We renovated and added quite a bit after hiring your cousins. The rooms aren't terribly large, but everything is manageable. It is all temporary anyway, isn't it?"

That was true. Remus showed Draco a guest bedroom on the first level. It was a bit bigger than her dorm at Castelobruxo, though it had a full-sized bed and a reading chair in the corner. Hermione set Crookshanks down and gave Draco his luggage before following Remus upstairs. Her space was on the third level.

"Sirius and I have a living space upstairs," said Remus. "Feel free to go wherever you like. Our library is fully stocked and we have a mirror to watch movies on, though, we aren't sure how to set them up without your help. Do you need anything else?"

Hermione shook her head and smiled sadly. He was outed. She suspected Snape had something to do with that. She took his hand and squeezed it.

"Don't worry about me," he said. "I might not work at Hogwarts anymore, but it was the longest career I've ever had. It would have come out sooner or later and well… I might have left anyway. If I were found out by the Death Eaters they planted… they might have tried to use me to hurt others."

True.

"I'll fetch you when dinner is ready. For now, get some rest."

When he was gone and her door was shut and locked, Hermione shed the rest of her layers and unpacked. She would be here a month, she could make it a home in the meantime. She needed to complete her go bag in the event that she needed to go on the run. Blaise had worked with her on it at the Hearthstone. It was a cross between her purse and the tents wizards tended to use for camping. A living space, all in a backpack. She didn't really plan to use it, but it was more for her peace of mind.

Taking a deep breath, she laid down on top of the duvet and closed her eyes. Crookshanks curled up next to her and purred. She needed to keep it together. Maybe she couldn't speak when she was playing this role. She needed a new character. She'd gone through several this past year alone. Guess she was wrong before. She was a phenomenal actress. If she couldn't be her usual, frantic, overbearing self, then fine. She was going to be someone new.

She just had to decide who she was going to be.