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Beta: Roman's Sundial

Chapter Forty-Four: The Twenty-Sixth of November

Hermione Granger – Present Day

June 6, 2000

"Good morning, Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy," said Umbridge, as Hermione and Draco took a seat in front of her desk.

"Good morning," Hermione replied. Her strategy going in to this meeting was to be polite but stern; she knew the laws and knew that there was nothing that Umbridge could do to them. However, testing the waters wasn't something that she wanted to do at this time.

"Well, I have received the report from Mr. Potter that you have been dismissed from the Dobwig Association," said Umbridge, referring to the letter on her desk.

"It's only a temporary leave," said Draco.

"Maybe so, Mr. Malfoy, but if someone like Mr. Potter agrees that she should no longer represent a Department in the Ministry of Magic, that says something, doesn't it?"

"It says that the Ministry's focus isn't where it should be."

"Is that so, Mr. Malfoy? You and Ms. Granger were found at the scene of a crime; I would say that the Ministry's focus is exactly where it should be."

"It's fine," Hermione said quietly to Draco, before turning to Umbridge. "What can we do for you, Dolores?"

"For one, you could address me correctly!"

"Oh, my apologies, I could have sworn that your given name was Dolores!" Hermione had forgotten her plan of being polite; her hatred for Umbridge was just too strong.

"You should address me as Ms. Umbridge!"

"Oh, come on now, Dolores, we are past that by now, aren't we? I mean, you did try to murder Harry and I back in our fifth year, I think that puts us past calling you Ms. Umbridge."

"These accusations are preposterous!" spat Umbridge, her toad-like face as pink as everything in her office. "We are here to discuss Mr. Malfoy and your crime!"

"What crime?" asked Hermione sweetly.

"Casting the Dark Mark!" Umbridge was flustered and Hermione was pleased; clearly this hadn't been Umbridge's plan.

"We didn't cast the Dark Mark, so I suppose we are done here," said Hermione, standing.

"Sit down, Ms. Granger! Not only were you and Mr. Malfoy found at the scene of the crime, but several deaths were reported afterwards, making the pair of you more guilty!"

"I don't understand," said Hermione, trying to look confused. "We were witnessed by several Ministry Officials, were we not?"

"Yes you were!" smile Umbridge, pleased that Hermione was starting to admit it.

"Well then, we have several witnesses, and liable ones at that, that can confirm that we in fact did not commit any murders, seeing as though we were in the forest clearing with them."

Draco smiled. "And those Ministry Officials agreed that we did not cast the Dark Mark, so, good day, Dolores." Hermione laughed out loud at Draco's use of Umbridge's first name.

"There is one more crime!" Umbridge nearly screamed, her pink face now beet red. "Both of you were naked in a public place; that is indecent exposure, that is!"

Hermione could not control her laughter. "That's a muggle law, Dolores; it does not apply to us."

"It applies to you, Ms. Granger, considering you're a mud-"

"The correct term is Muggle-born," Hermione said, cutting her off before she could say the ugly word that she wanted to use. She also placed her hand lightly on Draco, letting him know that it was okay and that he should not react.

"Muggle-born or not, Hermione is a witch, therefore, she follows wizarding law," Draco said, desperately trying to control his temper. "I believe we are done here; we will see ourselves out."

"Oh, just one more thing, Mr. Malfoy," replied Umbridge, her voice dangerously cheerful now. "There's one teensy little detail we overlooked that I just need some clarification on." She held up her thumb and forefinger to exemplify how small she meant, and flashed them the largest grin she could muster. "Your Ritual Knot…"

"We've been through this already," Hermione sighed.

"Yes, of course, Dear! Just one little thing that I overlooked and just needed to clarify… For the records, of course!"

"Yes, of course," Draco replied, rolling his eyes. "What is it?"

"Ms. Granger's parents!"

"What about them?" Hermione asked.

"Your father would have had to have been present for the ceremony," Umbridge replied.

"He was," said Draco quickly.

"Well, of course he was, Mr. Malfoy, otherwise the Ritual Knot would have been fake and you both would have broken quite a handful of laws!" Umbridge giggled as she stared between the two. "Surely you both would never have done such a crazy thing!"

"No, we wouldn't have," Hermione replied. "He was present."

"Wonderful!" Umbridge squealed. "Then I shall just require a statement from him. Friday works well for me; shall I come to your dwelling, or would you rather meet elsewhere?"

"You can't," Hermione said quickly, before she could process what was going on.

"What do you mean? Of course I can! Muggle or not, he has a magical child, which, therefore, gives the Ministry permission to question him about said child! Now, shall we meet at your dwelling or is there something you wish to tell me?"

"You misunderstood my fiancée," Draco said quickly. "You cannot meet with him Friday as he is out of the country, and as a muggle, he is not required to return early for anything Ministry related."

"Unless the trip is longer than six months time, which in that case, he must! I shall prepare the paperwork-"

"No need," Draco interjected. "He is returning in five months time."

"In five months?"

"Yes," Hermione confirmed.

"How convenient," Umbridge said, her grin faltering.

"We can contact you when he arrives," said Draco, but Umbridge shook her head.

"The appointment will be made now." She grabbed a nearby calendar and counted five months ahead. "The twenty-second of December at two o'clock in the afternoon. We shall meet at Malfoy Manor then; it makes sense for the two families to get accustomed to one another, wouldn't you agree?"

"We'll see you then," Draco said, as he grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her out of the office. The pair apparated back to Hermione and Ron's cottage in complete silence.

"Draco, what are we going to do?" Hermione finally said, collapsing onto her couch. "My parents have no idea who I am; Healer Martus and I have yet to find a cure!"

"We'll figure it out," Draco said quietly, sitting beside her. "We always do."

"How does she know?" Hermione yelled angrily. "She knows that they don't know me, but how?"

"She probably doesn't know."

"Yes she does or she would never have tried to set up a meeting with them. If my parents knew I was their daughter, they would have lied for me and she can't use magic on them to determine if they are lying or not since they are muggles. No, Draco, she knows, but how?"

"How do they find out anything?" Draco asked bitterly. "The bad guys are always one step ahead."

Gellert Grindelwald – Present Day

June 13, 2000

"Ah, good morning, Pius," said Gellert, looking up from his Daily Prophet as his follower walked in.

"Good morning, my Lord," Pius replied. "Anything new to report?" he asked, nodding towards the Prophet.

"A few deaths last night, but nothing that you wouldn't know about, is there?"

"The full moon is in three days so I'll probably stop until after that, now."

"You need to be careful with Greyback; he does not care who he throws under the bus."

"But the Ministry already knows that I work for you," replied Thicknesse.

"And certain people from the Ministry have converted Greyback before. For the right price, don't think that he won't go back to them with you being dragged behind him."

"You think he would?"

"You can't trust many people in this world, Pius. Did you not at least learn that from your last leader?" Gellert didn't wait for a reply as he raised the Prophet once again. "Any owls arrive for me yet?" he asked from behind his paper.

"No, my Lord; are you expecting one?"

"One of these days," he replied. Suddenly, he heard a tap at the window, and he saw from over his paper that there was an owl waiting at the window. "Excellent!" he exclaimed, as Thicknesse grabbed the scroll from the owl and walked it over to Gellert. "Thank you, Pius." He accepted the scroll from him, unrolled it, and silently read the message to himself:

The twenty-sixth of November at six o'clock in the evening

Gellert laughed loudly. "Finally!" he exclaimed.

"Finally what, my Lord?" asked Thicknesse.

"Finally, Pius, my plan to be the Master of Death will fall into place."

Ginny Weasley – Present Day

November 26, 2000

Ginny was sitting around the kitchen table at the Burrow, along with Harry, Ron, Jessica, George, Angelina, and Hermione. Her mother was over by the oven, preparing tonight's dinner. Her relationship with her mother still hadn't gotten any better, but she still attended the weekly dinners that her mother hosted. Since the Order meetings seemed to always happen on the weekends, the dinners changed from Sundays to any available day of the week. This week, it happened to be a Wednesday. "Where's Draco?" Ginny asked Hermione. They had gotten used to him following Hermione wherever she went.

"Actually, I don't know," Hermione answered. "He said he needed to travel for his mother and that he would be back shortly."

"That doesn't seem odd to you?" Harry asked her.

"Honestly, Harry, sometimes it's best not to ask questions when it involves his mother! Where's all your other brothers, though?" she asked Ginny, changing the topic.

"Percy and Audrey are still on honeymoon," she started.

"Still?" asked Angelina. "Their wedding was in May!"

"Yes but Percy swears that they just couldn't take time off at the Ministry then. They were just far too busy!" she laughed. "So they actually didn't leave until a few days ago and I'm sure it's because Audrey made him leave."

"She's got her hands full, that's for sure," said Ron.

"Bill and Fleur should be coming by soon," continued Ginny. "And Charlie is in Romania; apparently they've discovered a new breed of dragons, so he can't leave for awhile."

"I wonder if the new breed is actually a woman!" snickered George.

"As if!" Ginny snorted. "Charlie would marry one of his dragons if he could! Ouch!" she said, grabbing her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked her.

Ginny nodded. "This little one is getting much stronger now."

"How much longer is it now, Ginny?" asked Angelina.

"The Healers are speculating that the baby will be born early to mid February."

"So you're about six months," said Jessica, counting. "Do you know what you're having?"

"Not until the baby is born!" Ginny laughed.

"Oh, in my world we have technology that allows us to find out if it's a boy or a girl by this time."

"Teknologee?" asked Ron.

"It's like they can take a picture inside of you," explained Hermione.

"No thanks," replied Ginny. "I'll wait for February!"

"Do you have names picked out yet?" Angelina asked excitedly.

Ginny smiled. "We've only just agreed last night!"

"Ooh, tell us!" squealed Hermione.

"Well, if it's a girl, we agreed on naming her Lily, after Harry's Mum."

"That's really sweet," said Jessica. Clearly, Ron had filled her in at some point about Harry's past.

"And if it's a boy?" asked Ron.

"Well, I thought we would pick someone from our side," she said to her brother. "I wanted to name him after Dad."

"But I thought it would be weird to call both my son and father-in-law Arthur," said Harry.

"So we agreed on Archie," Ginny said smiling. "It's a form of Dad's name, for Dad."

"I think it's sweet," said Jessica.

"How did you come up with Amelia?" Ginny asked her.

"Kind of similar to what you did with Archie," she replied. "My mom's name is Amy."

Harry looked at his watch. "Ten to six," he said out loud. "We usually start dinner by now, don't we?"

"Arthur is still at the Ministry," said Molly, hearing Harry's question but not looking at him as she replied. "There was a rather urgent meeting at the Ministry; the heads of every department had to attend."

"That doesn't make sense," said Harry. "I'm the head of the Dobwig Association and I wasn't informed of any meeting."

"Perhaps the Dobwig Association wasn't needed," said Molly bitterly. "Arthur's department must hold more importance."

"Where's the meeting, Molly?" asked Hermione, trying to divert the argument that was starting to brew.

"Just outside of the Ministry, actually. They were going over safety protocols if I'm not mistaken."

"Outside of the Ministry? But that isn't safe at all! They are all exposed!"

"Hermione?" questioned Ron. "What are you getting at?"

"Arthur always takes the Floo to work so that he can never be intercepted; that was taught to him and many others by the Ministry! Why then, would they hold an unsafe meeting outside of the Ministry, right in the open?"

It was quiet for a few moments while everyone thought about what Hermione had just said, until Harry gasped. "Hermione, it's a trap!"

Vernon Dursley – The Past

November 6, 1986

"Potter!" said Vernon, as he entered Harry's room.

"Hello, Uncle Vernon," said Harry, as he sat crossed legged on the ground, playing with a miniature figurine.

Vernon took a deep breath before speaking. He needed the boy to understand what he wanted, and so he needed to say it in a way that a five-year-old would understand. He sat on the edge of Harry's bed, and began. "Potter, er, Harry, you're five now, right? So, you're old enough to understand things."

"I think so, Uncle Vernon."

"Good, good, then let me explain something to you. Your Aunt Petunia only wanted one baby, and so, she got Dudley, your cousin." Harry said nothing, but instead looked at his uncle with a confused look. "So, when your parents died, she was given you, Harry, and of course she took you in, being her sister's son and all, but she didn't want to take care of another child. Do you understand?"

Harry frowned. "Aunt Petunia doesn't want me?"

"Very good, Harry!" Vernon exclaimed, pleased that Harry was catching on. "But you see, Harry, she's taken care of you regardless, because she is such a good person. Don't you think you should thank her?"

"Yes," said Harry, nodding his head.

"But if we tell your Aunt Petunia that you're sorry, then she'll feel bad for not wanting you, and you don't want her to feel bad after everything she has done for you, do you?"

"I guess not."

"So, what should you do?"

"I don't know," said Harry quietly.

"Well, I have just the idea that can help you."

"Okay."

Vernon smiled. "Harry, you need to show Petunia that you don't need her help anymore. You're a big boy, you're five! Start doing things on your own; learn to clean, learn to cook!"

"How will I learn?"

"You'll figure it out."

"Okay, and that would make Aunt Petunia happy?"

"Oh yes! But she won't look happy; it's all part of her pretending!"

"Okay."

"Now, one more thing, Harry. Remember how I said that your Aunt Petunia only wanted Dudley?" Harry nodded. "So, I think we should let Dudley have all the toys! And I think he should have your room, too!"

"But where would I sleep?"

Vernon thought for a moment. "There's a cupboard under the stairs, Harry; you would fit nicely there."

Harry looked around his room sadly. "I guess so, if it would make Aunt Petunia happy."

"Oh, it really would! Now come along!"

"Can I keep this?" Harry asked, holding up his figurine. "Please Uncle Vernon, it's only one and it's my favorite!"

"Oh, very well," Vernon responded. "But you mustn't ask for anything else!"

"I won't Uncle Vernon, thanks!" Vernon and Harry walked together to the cupboard under the stairs. Harry waited while Vernon fetched him some blankets and a pillow. "There you are, Harry! You're doing a very good thing! And remember, Aunt Petunia can never know!"

"What should I tell her?" he asked his Uncle.

"That you want nothing from her."

"But that isn't true!"

"Well, make it true, boy!"

"Okay," responded Harry sadly. Harry sat down in his new room in the cupboard under the stairs, and Vernon shut the door. At last, Vernon thought, his life would be put back on track.

Author's Notes: I have been incredibly excited about getting into what we are about to get into, which is why I couldn't wait until the weekend to give you all your next chapter! I have nothing to say about this chapter as I don't want to give anything away!

On to some reviews: First to a "guest" who said my story feels like canon and wishes that it was.. Thank you so very much! That is seriously one of the highest forms of gratitude that I could receive and you seriously made my day! I take pride in trying to keep it consistent with Rowling's style of writing so truly that means the world to me! To "Gunnarfiles" - I am also new to reading fanfiction as well. It took me forever to get into it and when I finally did, I actually only read two Harry Potter fics before deciding to write my own. Thank you for choosing mine as one of your firsts! To "Kiger-neko" - I know that you aren't a fan of Dramione, but I appreciate you hanging around. I use Dramione to bring out Draco's character, but as I said in the last chapter's notes, once a Malfoy, always a Malfoy. Also, this will be canon to the epilogue, so that should also give you some insight to what will eventually happen!

On a final note, Happy September the first! (in real life!) I hope you all made it King's Cross safely as the train left at 11:00am on the dot! If not, perhaps you can find another Ford Anglia hanging around outside!

Thank you so much as always, I'm enjoying sharing this with all of you! Please continue to review - it makes my day!