Anniversary
"Moma hop hop. Moma, 'Oseff go hop wiv 'Awy."
"Yes Joseph we will go play with Harry," Juliet answered her two-year-old son. She lifted her boy up and walked over to the fireplace so they could floo.
"Heya Joseff buddy," Harry said as they arrived. He looked up at Juliet. "You staying for a bit or…?" It was Juliet and Sirius' anniversary, and he had promised to look after Joseph while they went to dinner and just had some alone time.
"A little while," Juliet said. "Sirius wanted to prepare something and he didn't want me to know what it was."
Harry chuckled. "Maybe you could start running now," he said.
Juliet laughed.
They headed outside and over to a nearby park.
"Hop hop," Joseph said.
"No buddy it's a swing. It only goes hop when Sirius gives you too much speed," Harry said. He put Joseph in a swing and pulled at it. As he let go Joseph squealed in happiness.
"How is work going?" Juliet asked.
Harry shrugged. "We have a lot to do, but I don't mind," he said. "People want their properties protected. Boss says that business has gone up drastically in the past couple of years."
Juliet nodded slowly. "People are more worried than they used to," she said. "I can't blame them. With the stuff, we are working on right now protecting their properties might not be enough."
"At least it is something and as long as they hire us they get exactly what they pay for. I'm worried about these half shady people that try to offer the same service, but definitely doesn't have the experience needed to place the protections they promise," Harry said.
"We can't do anything about that. We need the ministry to check on those things," Juliet said.
"I'll mention it to Draco. Maybe his father can do something about it," Harry said.
"You still on and off?" Juliet asked.
Harry shook his head. "We stopped that a while ago. It wasn't healthy for either of us besides he's getting married. He has to continue the family name after all," he said with a shrug. "It wasn't like we counted on being a couple. He has been courting Astoria for almost a year now," he said.
"'igher. 'igher," Joseph called.
Harry focused his attention back on his godson. "Dora and Teddy are coming over later," he said casually.
"That's nice," Juliet said.
"Teddy. Teddy. Teddy," Joseph chanted. He really liked his cousin. They didn't bother adding the extra steps. It was more complicated than it was worth.
Juliet checked her watch. "I should get going." She smiled at Joseph. "I'm going now. Harry will take care of you until tomorrow. Have fun. I love you. Bye-bye." She waved at Joseph who waved back. "Bye-bye momma," he said.
Juliet headed back to Harry's apartment and took the floo back home.
Harry and Joseff played on the swings until Dora and Teddy arrived. Then they moved over to the sandbox so the boys could play together. Remus was off with Argo's pack. The full moon was that night.
The boys played until they collapsed from exhaustion.
"You can stay here tonight," Harry said. "It's better than trying to take him home now."
Dora nodded. "Thank you, Harry," she said. He prepped for her in the guest room, and they went to bed.
…
"Uncle Hawy, can I wash a movie?" Teddy asked the following morning.
"Sure, what do you want to watch?" Harry responded. It was early and he knew Dora wasn't a morning person. Teddy and Joseph could spend a bit of time in front of the TV. It would give him some time to get ready for the day.
"Wobin Hood," Teddy said.
Harry got the movie started and made sure the boys were comfortable before heading off to take a shower. As he entered the kitchen afterwards to get some coffee going for Dora, the doorbell rang. He walked over to the door and opened it. "Katie?" he said somewhat surprised. She was carrying quite a lot of stuff. "Can I crash here for a bit?" she asked.
Harry moved aside and let her inside. "I have Dora, Teddy and Joseff here right now, but Dora and Teddy are going to head to Andromeda's place later and Sirius or Juliet will come and pick up Joseff sometime after lunch. Their anniversary was yesterday," he said.
Katie breathed out in relief. "Thank you," she said.
"Trouble with… What's his name? Robert?" Harry asked.
Katie huffed. "Bastard's been cheating on me," she growled. She sat down by the kitchen table.
"Coffee?" Harry asked.
"Yes please," Katie said. He served up a cup and sat down next to her. "So what are you planning now?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," Katie said with a sigh. "I think I'd like to leave Britain for a bit. Get some fresh air elsewhere."
"You could always check with Juliet. If nothing else she has the contacts," Harry said.
Katie nodded slowly. "We'll see," she said and then she paused for a moment. "Either way I'll be out of your hair in a few days," she said after a while.
"Katie what are you doing here at this time?" a drowsy Nymphadora Lupin asked as she entered the kitchen. Harry poured her a cup of coffee and she sat down. "I thought you and Harry were over."
"That doesn't mean we quit being friends," Harry said, and Katie explained why she was there.
"Oh, I see," Dora said. She sipped her coffee slowly.
The three adults sat quietly around the table for a while. Harry looked into the living room. Joseph had fallen asleep in Teddy's lap. He smiled. He was glad that they got along as well as they did despite the age difference.
Dora yawned and stood up. She wandered into the living room and kissed Teddy's hair. "Movie over soon dear?" she asked.
"Soon," Teddy said.
"Good, we need to go home so mommy can get cleaned up. Grandpa and Granny are expecting us for lunch," Dora said.
"Okay mommy," Teddy said.
Dora returned to the kitchen. She rinsed her coffee cup and placed it on the counter. "Remus said he would stick around the camp for a few days extra this time. Something about children being bitten again. Seems there is another Fenrir Grayback out there," she informed Harry.
"That's no good," Harry said. "I hope the Alphas find the culprit quickly this time."
"Me too," Dora said.
"Uncle Hawy can you take Joseff?" Teddy called from the living room.
"Coming," Harry said before heading in there. Joseph woke up when he lifted him and he sat on Harry's hip as he came back into the kitchen.
Dora and Teddy said their goodbyes before heading home.
Katie smiled softly as Harry sat down by the table with Joseph. He was so fantastic with his godsons. Sometimes she wished it had worked out between them just because she was convinced he'd make a great father. Then she remembered all the lonely nights. Harry was the kind of person who got absorbed in his job. She had spent week after week alone when they had been together just because he had been called out of the country to apply wards somewhere. He was really bad at sending messages, but he would always try to make up for it when he got back. She sighed. His godsons came first though. If the Blacks or Lupins needed help he would help them no matter what his plans had been beforehand. Juliet had caught on to that rather quickly, though, so it hadn't really been an issue. It just hadn't been what she had wanted.
An hour and a half later Juliet showed up to pick up Joseph. She spent a bit of time with Katie talking about different possibilities for work. She needed to know what Katie was after before she could have a look around. It took her a couple of days but she found a job as the assistant to a Transfiguration Master who needed help. Katie had always really enjoyed Transfiguration so she was happy to take the job. The best part was that the Master lived on Crete.
True to her word Katie left Harry's apartment only four days after getting there. Not that Harry noticed. He had left for Vancouver, Canada a few days prior. They wanted extra protection on some important building over there and had demanded the best. Harry didn't get back to Britain for weeks.
…
"I was almost worried you weren't going to make it," Harry said as he rose from the café table he had been sitting by. He hugged Hermione before they sat back down.
"I wouldn't miss the anniversary," Hermione said. She smiled. It had been seven years. Seven years since Harry had been kidnapped from his Aunt and Uncle's house by her sister. Leaving had changed so much for the better.
"Shame Ron couldn't come," Harry said.
"It is a bit hard to just leave an undercover job to go have tea with your old pals," Hermione pointed out. "At least Juliet says he is alright."
"I miss him," Harry said.
"Me too."
"Who would have thought that he would go on to do undercover work."
"Remember Mrs Weasley's reaction?"
Harry nodded. That had been an eventful day. To say Molly had been displeased would be an understatement. She had been livid, but Ron hadn't budged. He was going to work for Juliet and that was it.
"At least his boss cares about him," Harry said.
"She'd move an ocean to save him if he ever ended up in trouble," Hermione said. "Though I would prefer it if she didn't right now."
"Pregnant again?" Harry asked. He knew the couple had been talking of getting another kid. Sirius always looked a little wild-eyed when he brought it up.
Hermione nodded. "Not that it will stop her if she feels she has to intervene," she said. She leaned back in her chair. "Are you off again soon or will you be staying around home for a while? " she asked.
"I'll stick around," Harry said. "Draco wants his best man to help with his side of the wedding plans."
"Isn't that a little inappropriate?" Hermione asked.
Harry grimaced. "Maybe, but then again she is well aware of our previous relationship. She knows why it ended too, and we aren't all that interested in starting it up again," he said. "It wasn't healthy."
"I'm glad you both realized that," Hermione said.
Harry chuckled. "Yeah the fights we had were bad," he said. "I still have scars."
Hermione shook her head. She remembered one time when Harry had shown up at her place after one of those fights. His entire back was full of rips. It had looked gruesome. That the two of them could stay friends was beyond her. Then again they had both received help from mind-healers after they broke up.
They hadn't been the only ones that had needed help from mind-healers. She had needed it too. It had taken years for her to work through her emotions in regards to Bellatrix and how she had killed her. Meeting Dora's mother hadn't made that any easier. At a quick glance, the two women had been identical. Now Hermione didn't see that at all anymore. The sisters were so different. She sighed. She was glad it was all over. She was glad they could all live normal lives. Thanks to how Juliet had handled things there were no heroes. The only ones who were spoken of as such were the ones who had died in the battle.
"So you are going to help Draco plan his wedding?" Hermione asked after a moment of silence.
"With what little he is allowed to put his nose in," Harry said. "Mostly I'm just moral support so he doesn't get cold feet."
Hermione rolled her eyes. That sounded like it was going to end up a disaster. She hoped they didn't mess up too badly.
…
Juliet chuckled as she lifted little Victorie off the floor. Bill and Fleur were celebrating their anniversary and Molly was taking care of their girls. Juliet had come over with Joseff just so that he and Victorie could play.
Percy was at work and Penelope, his wife, was eight months pregnant. Juliet had figured that another set of hands couldn't hurt. Molly had recovered fairly well after Arthur's death. She wasn't as sad anymore, but it was clear to anyone with eyes that she missed her husband. Percy had done a solid and moved in with her into the newly built house that Juliet had replaced the destroyed Burrow with. He had gotten her through the worst of it and then as she got a little better he had started dating his Hogwarts sweetheart Penelope again. They had married and she had moved in two years prior. Percy had given up his career to save his mother. Not that he had a bad job. With the contacts he had, he actually made quite a fair amount of money in his current position.
Suddenly as Joseph and Victorie played a phone rang. Juliet pulled up a mobile phone from a pocket and answered. Her face turned grim as she spoke to the person on the other end. "Can I leave Joseph here?" she asked. "Something has come up. They need me back at base."
"Is it Ronald?" Molly asked worriedly.
Juliet's face turned grim. "It could be," she said. "I didn't get enough details to tell for certain. I'll call Hermione. She'll pick Joseph up later." She didn't stay to answer any more questions. Whatever was going on, she was needed.
"Report!" was the first order out of her mouth as she arrived at the Villa. Several different people started talking at once. "Jonathan give me the highlights," she demanded. He was the one who had called her. He most likely understood the situation better than the rest of them. It irritated her that most of her best were out in the field.
"Lark went dark a few hours ago. We can't locate him. The Alphas have lost contact with their informant. I have asked Zephie to get back to me as soon as possible," Jonathan said.
Juliet's eyes closed. "Do we have anything to go on?" she asked.
Jonathan shook his head. His phone pinged and he checked it. "Informant is fine," he said. His eyebrows narrowed. "They feel something isn't right. They are going to question under serum."
The room was quiet. If the Alpha informant had sold out their inside man they needed to act immediately.
"Red alert we need to get Lark now," Jonathan said suddenly and he activated the alarm. The whole Villa readied. Juliet got the floor plans of every building Ron might be in. She discarded some and directed agents to others. Something wasn't adding up though. She went through the latest information Ron had sent her again. Suddenly, she swore loudly. They had missed an entire part of the organization. She got up and ran downstairs. Jonathan had called people back from other missions and Melonni had just arrived. "Melonni with me," Juliet said sharply as she got downstairs. "Brown, Delacour follow us." A team of four would be enough, and she only wanted women. She gave Melonni the coordinates and a port-key was set. Within seconds they were gone.
They landed in a rather nice neighbourhood. The houses had large gardens that were well kept. Juliet located the house they were going for. "Brown, get in contact with local law…" she said and then she added, "no-mag." She directed the rest of them and quietly they got into the house. At first, it looked like any other house owned by a well to do family except it was too clean. Nothing was the least bit out of place. Either a neat freak lived there or there was something fishy going on. The latter was found true when they gained access to the basement. In a chair in the middle of the first room sat Ron. He looked like shit. Burn marks covered his chest and he was missing pieces of his fingers.
Gabrielle rushed forward and started healing what she could. "I'm going to need help," she said.
"I'll get a hold of Jonathan," Melonni said.
Juliet moved around the room carefully. They hadn't met anyone, but someone must have been in the room only moments before they got down there. She froze a lock and pulled it open. The stench that hit her was horrible. The sound of cars pulling in could be heard from above.
"Gabrielle stop," Juliet ordered.
The younger girl put her wand away. She hated it when they involved no-mag law. Even if she could understand why they did it. Juliet took command as the cops joined them. She was used to the routine, and she was the only one of them that spoke Polish. She identified herself and while they checked that up she pointed them towards the doors leading out of the room. One of the younger cops had to walk back out so he wouldn't puke on the crime scene. Several dead women lay in one of the rooms. In another was a mix between living and dead. Medics were called upon and the entire property searched.
Juliet sighed. It was going to take days to get this sorted out. Her priority was getting Ron back into their care so he could be healed properly. That took her several hours. Eventually, she could send Gabrielle and Lavender back to Britain with him as long as they got a statement from him when he was better.
It took another day and a half for Melonni and Juliet to make it back.
Harry and Hermione got word as soon as Ron was stable. The two of them headed to the Villa as quickly as they could.
"You look like shit mate," Harry said as he sat down by Ron's bedside.
"I thought you liked that," Ron said jokingly.
Harry rolled his eyes. "I hope you're done with these hero antics now," he said.
Ron chuckled and grimaced from the pain in his chest. "Juliet wants me to split her job with her," he said. "With her children, she can't be as much of a field marshal as she would like to. I'm seriously considering it."
"You should," Hermione said as she sat down. "Because you're not doing this again. I just spoke to Juliet. Oh, and you need to speak to the Polish Police as soon as you are well enough."
Ron sighed. He wasn't too keen on speaking to the cops. They never got anything done. He'd do what had to be done just to get the bastards he had been working for in jail. The top dogs were magical. At least they could get them without the legal system fucking them over.
"Out," Gabrielle ordered as she entered the room. "He needs to rest."
"Will do," Harry answered as he rose. He and Hermione headed out of the room. At least Ron was back now even if they would have preferred if he hadn't gotten injured.
In the next few days, Ron had a lot of visitors. His brothers and his mother. Everyone was glad to hear that he was staying. Even if Molly might have preferred that he left Juliet's employment entirely. She knew better than to try to convince him though. Last time she had done that he had gone undercover.
Things were starting to look up. Penelope delivered a healthy baby girl by the end of the month.
In October Juliet gave birth to little Lana.
Hermione had gotten back in contact with a quidditch-tired Viktor Krum and they had been exchanging letters for a while, building plans for a life together.
Harry eventually settled down with a nice woman he'd met through work, and Ron never actually settled down. He was married to his job just like Charlie. He was the one who eventually went on to take over the Alpha squad while Teddy Lupin grabbed the Betas.
Things were looking much better now that magical Britain had caught up with the rest of the world.
