Three days after they arrived Bill and Sean went by the temporary stable and discussed the final details of the plan for Harry. "You go on ahead," Sean said, "I've got to feed the horses and I could use a little training before I turn in for the night."
"You remember where your room is?" Bill asked, Sean nodded in response. "Then good night," Bill said.
"Good night" Sean responded.
Bill came into the Burrow to find his parents, Lupin, Tonks, and to his surprise Hermione Granger, standing in the main room, and from the look of things they were waiting for him. While Bill knew that some Order Members would be coming over a few days before the wedding to hear the final stages of his plan and meet his Muggle friend who was so essential to it, he wasn't expecting Hermione. From the look he was getting from her and his parents, who knew nothing of Sean's profession or role in the plan, he knew there was some kind of issue budding.
"I'm sure that there is something that you want to ask me," Bill said immediately not wanting to dance around whatever the issue was, "so ask away."
The group looked at Molly; obviously they figured that the mother was the best one to begin. "We know that you have been through a lot Bill," Molly began "and we are all very happy for your marriage and that Sean could be here for it." Molly stopped, feeling a little awkward and not knowing how to continue. She decided that the direct approach would be best and just blurted out what she was thinking.
"We are all concerned about Harry after what happened at Hogwarts, and we realize that he needs help at this point in his life…but we need to know who exactly Sean is and why he's here." Bill had shared his plan for Harry with Lupin since he had known Harry personally and had been a great help to him, and he figured that the rest of them now knew that Sean would be involved with Harry in some way.
"I first met Sean when he came to Gringotts with Dumbledore as a representative of the Order of St. George when Dumbledore came to set up a fund for that organization."
"You mean he is in the Order of St. George?" Tonks said with undisguised surprise and a hint of awe. "I thought that organization was some sort of myth," she then blurted out.
"Sean is a Knight of the Order of St. George, and they like to keep that mystique about them," Bill began, "with the Muggles simply refusing to believe in demons and such and the magical world, with the exception of Dumbledore, ignoring them, that's pretty much what they have become…a myth."
"What is the Order of St. George?" Hermione asked with a mixture of curiosity and demand.
"I am sure that you are familiar with the legend of St. George and the Dragon" Bill said already knowing the answer. Hermione nodded and Bill took that as a sign to continue. "Well, after he killed the dragon, religious authorities asked George to begin training other Knights to fight wicked dragons in order to keep the kingdom and world safe. As time went by it became an exclusive order, and as more demonic creatures began to surface, the training evolved and the Knights began to specialize in specific creatures."
"And this Sean," Hermione began, "what does he specialize in?"
"He is the best vampire hunter in more than a century" Bill stated.
"So what does all this have to do with Harry?" Lupin asked.
"I never said any of this had anything to do with Harry," Bill stated, "I was merely answering mum's question about the best man."
"So he's only here for the wedding?" Mrs. Weasley asked searchingly.
"Not entirely," Bill said, "but it's Order of the Phoenix business, so I will have to ask you to leave Hermione."
"What makes you think this doesn't concern me!" Hermione protested. "I have just as much or more at stake in this whole war than anyone else, and I can help…and if this concerns Harry there is no way that I don't want to know about it!" Bill and the other Order members were taken aback by Hermione's sudden boldness, but Bill relented.
"We respect all that you have done in helping Harry and the effort against Voldemort," Bill started, "and no one will dispute that you are the brightest witch of your age. But the fact of the matter is that you aren't old enough to grasp the severity of the situation and that much of what I am about to say is information that absolutely cannot leave the Order of the Phoenix."
"With all due respect," Lupin interjected "I invited Miss Granger here for this meeting. She was very insistent on knowing everything that has to do with Harry now that he is unprotected." Lupin paused at this, it reminded him of the recent tragedies of Sirius and Dumbledore and the fact that Harry had enjoyed protection up until this point, and now he didn't even have that anymore. "She could," Lupin continued referring to Hermione "also be able to help us in a variety of ways…she is the brightest witch of her age."
"I don't care about the Order…either Order," Hermione began with an increasingly quiet tone of mingled sadness and passion, "I only care about…about Harry, I don't want anything to happen to him." There was a silence, and then Bill began to comprehend the heart of the matter.
"You've become very fond of him haven't you?" Bill said with compassion in his voice.
"Yes," Hermione answered in a tense whisper, "Yes, I have been for some time now." Bill paused, this was definitely something that he didn't expect, and it complicated things. He figured that since Harry and Ginny were no longer an item, that he wouldn't have to worry about any sort of "girlfriend factor" in the plan.
Bill looked to Lupin for help in this matter, Lupin was the highest-ranking Order member present, but he had a suspicion that he had already stated his case and would not be wavering. This however was a complication that Bill had not foreseen, but there was too much at risk to go back on the plan now.
"Okay," Bill said, "but you must understand that this does not leave this room, with the exception of McGonagall, Kingsley, and Moody we have the whole of the leadership of the Order of the Phoenix here in this room." Hermione couldn't help but notice how Bill was being very take charge in this situation; it was as if he was the one running the order and not McGonagall.
"Go on Bill," Lupin said "but first you may want to fill in Miss Granger about what we know so far." Bill then showed Hermione the intercepted parchment, to which Hermione gasped and began to cry in fear and dread.
"They want to kill him right there in front of all of Hogwarts!" she gasped, "We have to do something."
"You are very right Hermione," Lupin stated with compassion in his voice in an attempt to comfort her.
Lupin began, "After we intercepted this communiqué, we realized that we had to act, we also realized that with this information we had a great opportunity to lure out Voldemort and his forces for one final battle and end all of this." Lupin stopped to gage Hermione's reaction to all this, and she seemed to be taking it well, so he continued. "We also realized that we would need to keep Harry safe and away from danger, but at the same time not let on that we knew about Voldemort's plan. It was Bill who came up with the only plan we could think of. He proposed hiding Harry within the Order of St. George, a Muggle group, with an old friend of his who would train him to fight You-Know-Who in a way that he would never expect."
"And what way is that," Hermione asked with worry in her voice and trembling from crying.
"He is going to fight Voldemort by incorporating Muggle fighting with magic. Voldemort knows nothing of Muggle combat because he is too prideful of his own abilities with magic, as are all Death Eaters."
"And what makes you think that this Sean person is capable of helping Harry?" Hermione asked, her voice fraught with concern.
"I can explain that," Bill said "Sean is a highly trained, heavily experienced, and incomparably skilled vampire hunter" he stated with a no-nonsense tone, "he is proficient in various forms of martial arts, he is an expert tracker, and he is familiar with the magical world…including the dark arts. There is no one else in the entire world more qualified than Sean for this assignment, wizard, Muggle, or otherwise" Bill finished, and by the tone of his voice it was obvious that he felt strongly about all this.
"But he has never fought against wizards before" Hermione added.
"Sean and a few other members of the Order of St. George were allowed by the Orders of St. George and the Phoenix to train with Dumbledore during last summer as to how to combat a wizard, but he has yet to fight one face to face in a life or death situation." Bill admitted the last part grudgingly but with a tone that still displayed complete confidence in his friend.
"Do you trust him?" Hermione asked still shaken from the prospect of Harry being most likely abducted and tortured before being murdered before the Hogwarts student body.
"I would trust Sean with my life, with my Fleur, and with my first-born child, and would never look back on it." Bill ended with a defiant tone that showed his honesty and absolute resolution in the matter.
"Then I will too," she said with a low voice, "just let me know how I can help."
"Do you know any spells to heal bruises and broken bones or to repair glasses" a male voice with a thick Irish accent said. They all turned to see Sean standing in the doorway with his arms folded over his chest and dressed in dark-blue jeans and a dark-colored button down shirt. "Because if he is going to be ready to face Voldemort by the end of the summer, his training will have to be very demanding and we won't have time to allow bones and bruises to heal, or glasses to be mended."
Hermione nodded and took a good look at the stranger standing in the doorway, she knew that it had to be Sean; he had an aura about him that said warrior and she could see the crucifix around his neck. "Then I will need you to teach him to perform these on himself, there is no magical hospital wing where we are going."
"I will gladly help with that," Hermione said with a little nervousness, she was the brightest witch in her age and had put two and two together about Harry needing to know how to fix broken bones. "But would you be willing to do me a favor?" she asked Sean.
"And what might that be?" Sean asked.
"Well…" Hermione began, hoping that Sean would agree to do what she was asking.