Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related names and places are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner and have been used without permission.  No copyright infringement is intended.

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Hermione and Ginny stood gaping at the picture.  "What is she doing in New York of all places? Hermione, do you think she is on some sort of mission?"

Hermione tore her eyes from the picture to face Ginny.  "I don't know.  If she is, what would she be doing in America?  Voldemort isn't trying to take over here."

"Yeah... but...there are witches and wizards here.  Maybe Dumbledore is afraid he would try to gather some followers from here.  You-Know-Who probably wants as many people on his side as possible."

"That could be true. But I really can't see Voldemort needing to gather foreign wizards..."  Hermione began to pace the room.

"Well, that's what Dumbledore's doing.  I mean he's got Charlie trying to round up some supporters for our side in Romania."  Ginny fell silent for a second and thought.  Suddenly she snapped her fingers and Hermione gave a jump.  "Hermione, you don't think she was sent here because of us do you?  I mean, like our own guard!  Kind of like what Dumbledore did to Harry last summer!"

Hermione bit her lip.  "Maybe, but I don't see Dumbledore sending a guard just for you and me.  I mean, we're nothing special, not like Harry. Oh Ginny, you know what I mean.  It's not as if we have a big role to play in this war.  And besides I think that someone would have told us if we were going to have a guard watching over us."

"Well, no one told Harry he was to have a guard."  Ginny fell silent and then laughed. "Maybe Mum got all worried and begged Dumbledore to send someone to watch out for us.  Seems like the sort of thing she would do."

Hermione thought about this for a minute. Then a sudden idea hit her and she grabbed the abandoned play program from her bed.  Frantically she flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for.  "Look!  'Nicole Bombeck came to New York when she was 19 years old.  Les Miserables is Ms. Bombeck's 13th Broadway musical...'  Ginny, she's been here for years.  But..."

Ginny looked bewildered.  "Does it say how old she is right now?"

Hermione scanned the rest of the page.  "No, but I'm guessing she has to be close to my parents age.  Somewhere around forty at least."

"Then she had to have been here right in the middle of the first war against You-Know-Who!"  Ginny sat down on her bed and stared at the cover of the program in Hermione's hand. "Then she certainly isn't here as our guard.  Maybe she's someone else's."

"Maybe, but do you ever remember seeing her at Grimmauld Place?  I don't; and we've met all of the other members of the current Order. Maybe..."  Suddenly Hermione's eyebrows contracted and she whispered, "Like Peter..."

Ginny's head snapped up.  "You think she could be a traitor, like Peter?"  The two seemed to be on the same wavelength now.  "Maybe she's working for Voldemort instead of against him.  But like you said, why would she be in America?  Does Voldemort really want American wizards?"

"Maybe she isn't gathering followers.  Maybe there is something here..."  Hermione groaned and smacked her forehead.  "I hate this!"

"What?  You hate what?"  Ginny was alarmed at her best friend's outburst.

"Why do we always have to stumble across this stuff?  I swear; I wish for at least one month we all could just have a completely normal life!"

Ginny gave a small smile. "Hermione, we will never have a normal life.  It's just goes along with living in the magical world, I guess.  And of course, being friends with Harry Potter doesn't help matters much."

"I know; it just seems like sometimes... Oh, I don't know.  I'm sorry Gin.  I just get frustrated at times.  Well, what are we going to do about this?  I can't really see any logical explanation for a member of the Order being here."

"Neither can I.  I think we should ask someone though.  We'll have to wait until we get back to London though.  We don't have an owl, and even if we did it couldn't make it all the way to London and back before we leave."  Ginny watched as Hermione stood very straight suddenly.  Hermione grabbed her suitcase and threw it on top of her bed.

"I've got the very thing!  I knew it would come in useful!"  Hermione slung her clothing around the room and finally pulled out a small mirror.  She held it out for Ginny to see.

"Hermione, I don't think this is anytime to be vain!  We've got more important problems!"  It was Ginny's turn for a pinch.  "Hey, what was that for?"

"For being a prat!  This is one of the Order's two-way communication mirrors."

Ginny's mouth fell open and she looked hurt. "How did you get one of those?  I begged mum for one and she told me no.  Why did you get one?"

Hermione looked sheepish.  "I nicked Mundungus's when he wasn't looking.  Your mum just thought he had lost it and she went over the edge.  I sort of felt bad about doing it, but I didn't want to be in the same situation as last year.  I didn't like not being able to communicate with anyone outside of Hogwarts.  I didn't actually think I would ever really have to use it, though."

"So, who do you think we should contact?  It can't be Mum or Dad.  They would flip if they knew we were getting involved with Order business."  Ginny put her head in her hand trying to think.  "What about Tonks?"

"No, she wasn't in the Order the last time.  She probably wouldn't know who the woman is."  Hermione took a seat next to Ginny.  "I've got it!"  She yelled so loudly that Ginny fell off the edge of the bed in surprise. "Professor Lupin!  He would know and I'm pretty sure we wouldn't get yelled at."

Ginny nodded, climbing back onto her seat.  She glanced at the clock and grabbed Hermione's arm.  "Herm, it's after 10 o'clock here!  That means it's..."  She thought for a moment. "...after 3 am in London. There's no way Professor Lupin will be awake now.  No, we should probably wait until tomorrow."

Hermione glanced out of the window. "Oh Ginny, it's a full moon too.  We'll have to wait at least a few days.  I don't want to, but I think Professor Lupin is our best shot." 

Ginny nodded in agreement.  "I don't think she is going to up and leave anytime soon.  She's been here this long."

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Reluctantly the girls waited a week.  The city was very hot during the middle of July, so they hid in every cool, shady spot they could find.  Almost always their conversation was regarding the mysterious woman.  Hermione had even talked her parents into allowing them to attend the play once again.  "Well, Gin isn't exactly used to this sort of thing.  She was really fascinated by it..."  The Granger's agreed and allowed the girls to watch another performance.

The real reason behind their wish was to take the picture along and make an up-close comparison. After the performance there was no doubt in either girl's mind that the woman on stage and the one in the picture were the same person.

On Friday of that week, the girls decided that it was the appropriate time to use the mirror.  They retreated to their room under the impression that they wanted to have a short afternoon nap.

"Alright it's 2 o'clock here, so it should be about 7 in London.  Let's just hope he's alone."  Hermione pulled the mirror form the desk drawer.

"He should be.  I think he usually does a bit of reading in his room after dinner.  At least he always did when we were there.  Are you sure he'll have his mirror on him?"

Hermione nodded. "They all carry their mirrors everywhere, just in case of an emergency. Alright here goes."  She lifted the mirror to her face and stared at her reflection for a few seconds.  "Professor Lupin?  Professor, can you hear me?"  She felt a little foolish talking to her reflection. She dropped the mirror when her face changed into Remus Lupin's.

"Hermione?  What are you doing?  How did you get a mirror?" 

Hermione gulped and Ginny leaned in to look in the mirror.

"And Ginny?  I thought you girls were on holiday?  What's going on?"  He looked very worried.  "Do you need to talk to Molly; let me get her."

Ginny's face went pale.  "No, no we wanted to talk to you.  Please don't say anything to my mum."

"Professor, well...you see..."  Hermione decided that this wasn't going to be as easy as she had imagined.  She stammered over words until Ginny interrupted.

"Professor, we were... wondering if you could answer a question." 

"Well I suppose that depends on the question.  But I would like you to answer my question first.  How did you come across a communication mirror?"  Lupin's facial expression was somewhere between humor and anger.

Hermione flushed and swallowed.  "I stole it from Mundungus."  Her words were barely audible.  To her surprise, Remus laughed.

"Well, that explains it.  I thought Molly was going to have him tarred and feathered for losing it.  Alright, now what was your question?"

Hermione tried to answer but her voice failed her again, so Ginny once again jumped in. "Well, Hermione and I were wondering if the Order had any members stationed in America."

Remus looked back at her suspiciously.  "Why do you ask?"

"Please just tell us if you do.  It's very important."  Ginny was in no mood now to be treated like a child.

"Well, no.  We don't need anyone there.  Everyone is pretty much occupied here.  Now why do you ask?"

Hermione and Ginny exchanged dark glances.  Hermione finally spoke to the face in the mirror.  "Professor, how fast can you get here to us?"

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The girls paced the floor waiting for Remus.  Half an hour after their initial conversation, he finally appeared in the room.  "Now, tell me what's going on."  He pulled a chair from the desk and placed it in front of the girls.

Ginny pulled the picture from the album and pointed to the woman. "Can you tell us who she is?"

Remus's face went very pale and he stared at the picture.  "Why?"

Hermione and Ginny glanced sideway at one another.  Ginny spoke first.  "Well, because we think...No, we know that we've seen her twice since we've been here."

The picture fell to the floor as Remus surveyed Ginny harshly.  "Impossible!  You couldn't have seen her here."

It was Hermione's turn to speak.  "But how do you know?  Here look at this."  She picked up the program and turned to the woman's picture.  She thrust the picture to him and bent to pick up the other picture. "Now, compare them.  They are the same person!"

Remus looked from one picture to the other.  "But...it can't be. There's no way..."

"Why can't it be her?"

Without taking his eyes from the pictures, he said "Because this woman died 17 years ago."  

Hermione and Ginny inhaled sharply. "But...it has to be her.  They look too much alike."  Ginny was confused.

"But who is she?  Please, Professor, tell us."  Hermione said.

Remus looked up from the pictures.  "The woman in this photo..." he pointed to the picture of the original Order, "...is Nicolette Lupin."

Ginny nearly fell off the bed again. "Lupin?  Was she your..."

"My sister.  She was a year younger than me.  She died during a mission, though."  He broke off and stared at the floor. "She was killed by Death-Eaters when she was 19.  Cole was in training to be an Auror.  She was undercover in Hogsmeade with Benjy Fenwick when Death-Eater's attacked them.  We never found her body though.  Just bits of her wand." He became silent and went to staring at the picture again.

Hermione dropped her gaze, but Ginny wasn't giving up.  "Professor, are you sure?  I mean, everyone thought Peter was dead for years.  I mean, you never found a body.  Was it possible that maybe...?"  She was cut off as Hermione elbowed her in the ribs.

"Ginny, I can't say it's impossible.  Are you sure that this is the same woman you saw?"

"Yes, and look at the profile with her picture.  It says she came to New York when she was 19. It just fits, doesn't it?"  Ginny was determined to make him see.

"But he saw her die.  He said he did.  It's why he left." Remus was now talking more to himself than the girls.

"Who saw it, Professor?"  Hermione was staring in bewilderment.

"Severus..."  Remus did not look up as the girls gasped.