Chapter Five

Meetings with Old Friends

"Open the door, Mommy!" Emily said frantically.

Hermione hesitated for a moment and glanced at Harry. He grinned slightly and shrugged. Hermione hesitated for another moment and with a slight feeling of dread got to her feet, Emily by this time was nearly running circles around her as she dragged her feet to the door. She heard Harry rise from his chair and follow her.

"Please let there be no trouble." She muttered to herself. She didn't know how badly Harry and Ron's relationship had degenerated. The last she knew was that they couldn't stand to be in the same room together. It was far worse between the two of them than it was between Harry and Dumbledore. The closest of friends, now not quiet enemies, but still it was a bad thing to have them in the same place at the same time.

The door seemed to suddenly appear before her and Hermione reached out for the letch, muttering once more for everything to be okay. She opened the door and a tall red headed figure was standing on the steps. His face brightened when he saw Hermione, a flash of white teeth and bright eyes.

Hermione could not help but notice how well he was dressed, clean and pressed robes of a dark blue color. In one hand he carried a small bouquet of flowers, which he presented to her with a flourish.

"Good Morning, Hermione." Ron said brightly. "Sorry I'm early, but you know me." He grinned.

Hermione smiled back slowly, accepting the flowers and levitating them toward a shelf. "Good Morning, Ron." She said, a bit stiffly.

"Uncle Ronny!" Emily screeched, squirming past Hermione's legs and then tackling Ron with the ferocity of a child. Ron laughed, catching the little girl and swinging her up into the air. She squealed in delight. "Again!" She cried.

"Oof." Ron grunted, setting down the girl. "You're getting bigger and bigger every time I see you. Soon you'll be bigger than I am." He joked and Emily nodded excitedly at the thought of standing over six feet tall. Ron smiled at Hermione again. "You guys ready for a fun filled adventurous day?"

Hermione plastered on a smile, nodding.

"Uncle Ronny, do you know what?" Emily asked, tugging on Ron's robes.

"What?" Ron asked indulgently.

"Harry Potter is here." Emily announced, smiling hugely.

Ron stiffened and stared at Hermione. She could already see the anger and jealousy burning in his eyes, but it was all washed out with a flare of hate. "Is it true?" He asked, his voice low and rough.

"Yeah. I'm here." Harry said slipping past Hermione. He looked Ron up and down and grinned. "How's it going, friend?" He stuck out his hand.

Ron glared at him and then roughly slapped away his extended hand. "What are you doing here?" He demanded, clenching his fists. Emily stared wide-eyed at the two. Ron used his full height, towering over Harry, his face flushing with anger and his eyes flashing like lightning.

"Just visiting." Harry said casually, seemingly unaffected by Ron's stance. He seemed completely calm, as if the hate and the anger radiating from Ron meant nothing. Harry glanced to Hermione and smiled, a tight small smile. He then turned away from Ron, facing the morning sun and taking a deep breath of morning air. "Beautiful day isn't it? It's always a beautiful morning after it rains."

Hermione just stood back and watched. She didn't know what to do, should she intervene before anything unwanted happened? She took hold of Emily's hand and held onto her. She couldn't think of anything to say that would ease the hate and the anger that they both felt for one another.

It had been a long and hard road, but she knew it was up to them to heal what ever lay between them. She had done all she could and none of it made one difference.

"Visiting?" Ron growled, his eyes boring holes into Harry's back. If looks could kill, Hermione thought. Ron turned to Hermione, the anger was still there, but the hate seemed to vanish at the sight of her. "Is it true?" His voice was low.

Hermione nodded. "He came by last night." She said.

"Last night." Ron muttered, shaking his head and stepping back. He glared at Harry again,. Hermione saw his face begin to flush and his fists clench tighter.

"Nothing happened. He just dropped by looking for a place to stay the night." Hermione added hastily.

"How have you been, Ron? It's been what? Six years since I last saw you?" Harry asked, facing Ron again.

"What are you doing here?" Ron snapped, his face was turning a brilliant red with barely contained anger.

"Just visiting." Harry responded. Harry stepped back a pace or two and looked at the three of them. Ron still standing near the door, Hermione holding Emily at the door. He smiled sadly for a moment. "Yeah this looks right." He said to himself.

Hermione felt a wave of embarrassment and she didn't know why. It felt like she were caught cheating red handed, but this couldn't be considered cheating. Harry had left her five years before and not once had he tried contacting her. She had moved on with her life. She wasn't doing anything wrong. Hermione nodded to herself and squared her shoulders, staring back at Harry defiantly.

She was expecting something from him. she didn't know why, maybe his anger or jealousy that she was dating again. What she didn't expect was for him to laugh. Ron glanced at Hermione, his face still flushed, not from anger, but embarrassment.

Harry cleared his throat. "I hope you kids have fun whatever you're doing. I'm not here to interrupt your lives, I just came to see how everyone was doing." Harry said, Hermione felt a sudden feeling that she wasn't going to see Harry anymore. He grinned at them.

Harry walked over to Emily, pulling out a small necklace. "This is for you. It's a picture of your grandparents. They were Aurors and they were good people, ask your mum about them someday." He said, ruffling her hair. Emily just stared down at the locket in her hands, not knowing what to say to the unexpected gift. Harry stood up again and grinned at them all, Hermione didn't know why but he seemed sadden about something. "Well, I have people to see and things to do." He up-ended Dumbledore's letter, dropping the metal disk into his palm, and then vanished.

There was silence in the wake of his leaving. Ron was still staring at the spot he had vanished from and Hermione was trying to sort out the feelings that swarmed her. She looked down at Emily and saw her staring at the moving pictures of Harry's parents. She blinked back tears, she had given him that locket when he had been accepted for Auror Training.

"Well, that's a grand way to start the day." Ron said, sighing.

Hermione could only nod. He had left her again and again he hadn't said goodbye. She felt like crying.

XXXX

Harry didn't like seeing Dumbledore. It made him feel like a child, like he was still in school. He stood silently upon the rising staircase, the gargoyles had greeted him friendly enough, but Harry felt an unwanted feeling of nervousness. He sighed, running his hands through his hair. Dumbledore could have at least chosen a better place to meet, somewhere other than his office in the middle of Hogwarts. A place where they could be on almost equal terms with the Headmaster, instead of somewhere where Dumbledore held all the cards and could do what he willed.

Harry shook his head, Dumbledore may be scheming, but so far he wasn't out for him, yet. Harry grinned at that. Maybe one day he'd cross that line Dumbledore had in his mind and become a hindrance rather than a help in making the world a better place. For some reason that calmed Harry down. He straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath, just as the stairs stopped at Dumbledore's office.

"You've failed." Dumbledore said, his voice low.

Harry was ready for a quick quip, but it died on his lips. He may have hated Dumbledore, despised his actions, but those words tore though him. Harry grunted as if it had been a physical blow, but he shook it off. He was stronger than this, but some part of him felt sadden by the fact that he had failed his old mentor.

"He still lives." Dumbledore continued. Harry sat upon a chair before his desk, suddenly feeling exactly like a student, being brought to Dumbledore's office for sage advice and comfort.

Harry closed his eyes, and tried to hold back the wave of memories. The fear, the yelling, the frantic fighting, and the dead. So many dead. He pulled off his glasses and harshly rubbed his eyes. They felt gritty and a sudden weariness flooded him.

"I tried my best." Harry said. He had no excuses. Dumbledore was right in that he had failed. For the first time in five years he hadn't been able to carry out what he began. For the first time in five years he met someone stronger than he was.

"He still lives." Dumbledore said again.

"You think I don't know that?" Harry snapped.

Dumbledore peered at him over his half moon glasses, his eyes calm and almost fatherly. "What went wrong?" He asked.

"Everything." Harry said. "I lost three people. One who'll never see again and another who'll probably die by tonight."

"What happened?" Dumbledore asked.

"He was stronger than we thought." Harry said.

"Impossible." Dumbledore said.

"You think I'd make that up? I lost three people!" Harry shouted, rising to his feet. "You weren't there, you didn't see the shit he managed to do, against seven of us." Harry slumped back in his chair. "God, they were trained and they were experienced. They were tough and good people and that bastard killed them as if they were nothing. We barely managed to escape as it was, that's where his little sidekick the Grim Lord stuck me."

Dumbledore was silent for a long moment. "Why did you go to Hermione's home?" He asked.

"What business is it to you?" Demanded Harry.

"You just lost a battle to this creature and you suddenly turn up at Hermione's house. I need to know." Dumbledore said.

Harry sighed. "I went there to say goodbye." He replied.

Dumbledore was silent.

"I've called in all my debts, all those that I know, and all those that are willing. They'll be here by tomorrow night. The others are making the preparations that are needed. For now we just have to wait, to wait for the reinforcements and for him to make the next move. We'll know where he is when he does, just look for the place with a sudden large amount of people disappearing." Harry said.

Dumbledore closed his eyes. "They need to come faster, this creature will be weakened after this battle. He'll seek to regain his strength and who knows how many people will die because of it."

"It can't be helped." Harry said. He knew he sounded cold blooded, but there were times when it was needed. There were times when you couldn't think about all the lives and families that would be destroyed by the simple action of being inactive, of waiting and biding your time. "The people I've called are coming in from across the globe, they can't just drop things and be here instantly. People will die, yes. But how many more will die if we don't bring enough force to bear against him and get defeated?"

"The Order must be reactivated. We must bring everything we can against this creature, all of the Order and all of the Aurors we have." Dumbledore said.

Harry sighed. "This'll be a bloody mess of a fight with the people I'm bringing, toss in the Order and the Aurors, it'll be a bloody nightmare. You're mixing people who've never seen one another or even know who's who. We'll be lucky if half of them don't kill one another from simple mistaken identity."

"What do you suggest then?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry almost bristled at the question, but then realized Dumbledore wasn't being condescending, only curious. Harry thought for a moment and quickly sketched out a plan, Dumbledore nodded. "That should ease up on the confusion and if we fail they'll be you to swoop in." Harry said.

"Your people will be in the heart of things, you'll be suffering heavy casualties from this attack."

Harry nodded. "It can't be helped. Plus the people I'm bringing will be like me. No real family ties, if they die they'll be few who'll miss them. It's better this way."

Dumbledore just watched Harry. Harry couldn't stand the sadness and pity that filled his eyes, he looked away.

"Christ." Harry muttered suddenly realizing something. "Hermione's gonna be in this attack to, isn't she." Dumbledore nodded. "Don't bring her in. I don't want her there."

"She's one of the strongest witches we have. She needs to be there." Dumbledore said.

"Like hell she does. You leave her where she is, with her daughter. You don't bring her into this mess. If we fail and die she'll find a way to carry on, if we win then she'll never have to know. She wasn't born for this kind of life, she's a thinker not a fighter." Harry said angrily. "People like us have a very bad tendency for people around us to die while we continue on. I don't want Hermione to be there, understood?"

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "What are you going to do now?"

"I had panned to spend the day with my daughter and Hermione." Harry said bitterly. Dumbledore only nodded again, saying nothing. "There are a couple of things that I need to take care of before things begin. Put my things in order and whatnot."

"Do you think it's going to be that bad?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry closed his eyes and sighed. "I think it'll be worst. You just keep your Aurors and Order ready, we'll do the main killing and dying, but its up to you to make sure that bastard doesn't come out alive." Harry got to his feet. "I'll send you an owl when we're ready to go."

"Wait." Dumbledore flicked his hand and bag appeared upon the desk. "Take this."

Harry looked down at the bag. "The mission's not over." He said.

"Call it paying up in front. I know what you do with this." Dumbledore said.

Harry nodded and grabbed the bag, swinging it over one shoulder and heading for the door. "I'll contact you by tomorrow." He said, before heading down the stairs.

Dumbledore watched the door for a moment and then sighed, dropping his head upon his desk and closing his eyes. He felt a wave of sadness, not for what Harry had become. He felt sadness for he saw something in Harry's eyes. He saw death.

Death had finally come for Harry and Dumbledore didn't know what he could do to prevent it.