AN- Feel like I should have an Authors Note. The chapter looks weird with out one at the top...
()()()
"Urgh." Ginny shook off the snow that had fallen on her head and shoulders as she'd sloughed through the snow with Ron when they arrived back at the castle. It was nice that they didn't have to take the train, but Harry had been able to Floo directly into the castle, that would have been much more favorable then going to the Twins flat and then walking all the way from Hogsmeade. Warming charms only did so much and even with her new coat the wind had a bite today.
Ron was beside her stamping off the snow from his boots in the entrance hall before they ascended the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. "If it's like this on Wednesday, I don't know if I want to have Quidditch practice." he complained.
"And if the kitchens were outside, would you give up food?" She asked in jest, knowing that it didn't matter the weather, there were two things that Ron would never skip out on; Quidditch and food.
He didn't respond, but she could hear his half hearted eye roll. Ron seemed to be a little bit more like himself the last few days. He'd reached out to Hermione and finally accepted that he had to move on. Whether that resolve would still be there when he was in the same space as Hermione again time would tell, but Harry had confided in her that Ron was interested in a few other girls too, which was good.
The castle was eerily quiet since the majority of students weren't back for another hour or two and Ginny was hoping to soak up some prime real estate in front of the fire in the common room with Harry before everyone got back.
They came through the portrait hole and saw only two others sitting at tables and finishing up their last-minute assignments. They looked like third or fourth years. Ginny gave them a friendly wave and headed up to her dorm to drop off her luggage before going in search of her boyfriend.
The girl's dorm room was easily the cleanest she'd ever seen it, and there wasn't any lingering smell of nail polish or perfume that came from Lavender and Parvati. Usually their beauty products didn't smell too bad, she herself liked it when they used vanilla scented things with a hit of a spice she couldn't quite nail down, but ultimately, she'd resorted to using a freshening charm around her bed to fall asleep to when the smells were too much. Hermione had helped her out with that trick the second night she'd stayed in the dorm.
It looked wrong just how clean the room was. Ginny preferred the 'lived in' quality that came from her messy dorm mates. Even Hermione had some clutter that usually built up on her night stand. As it was, the room seemed cold.
She opened the trunk at the foot of her bed and pulled her shrunken luggage out of her coat pocket and enlarged it, tucking her clothes and books away properly before removing her coat, pulling on a jumper and heading back down to find Harry. It was still just the two in the common room as she reached the balconied landing, so she continued up to the boy's dorm.
Ron was reclining on his bed with his trunk open and a Quidditch magazine, but no Harry in sight. "He isn't here." Ron told her unnecessarily.
"But his stuff is?" She asked, heading over to his trunk and making sure it was his new one, not his old one, and running a finger along the lid. "Guess I'll go try to track him down then." She resolved. "Leave you alone with your... magazine." She grinned as her brother blushed. The publication he'd been holding was much too thick for a Quidditch magazine only, she'd bet good money he had a porno mag tucked between the pages.
She skipped down the stairs with a humorous smile on her face. She'd accidentally walked in on far too many 'situations' her brothers had been in over the years. It was close quarters at the Burrow, but she tried not to tease them about it anymore than she had just done with Ron. They'd all been clearly embarrassed, and you got what you gave in the Weasley household. If she ragged on them about their private business it meant that she'd have her personal hygiene products messed with or something similar, and that would be embarrassing.
It was mid-afternoon now, so Harry might be visiting with Remus. It was as good a place as anywhere to start, so she headed for her DADA class.
It was nice to know that Harry and Sirius were getting along. Harry had seemed to be really comfortable at Sirius' house. And knowing Harry's history now, him having a proper guardian and one as fun as Sirius was made her happy. Harry deserved a loving parent type figure.
She herself hadn't spoken much to Sirius over the holidays. They'd gone to the Potter country house, and he seemed alright with her, having hugged it out after her idiotic move of writing in that Diary. But Sirius had been caught up reliving his teen years as they'd moved through that beautiful house, and she was there for support for Harry more than anything.
It had been such a beautiful home, and not at all what she'd pictured the generations of Potters living in. They'd been well off, and prominent in the Wizarding world, but the house in comparison to the grandeur behind their name was ridiculously simple.
Simple and perfect.
She was eager to go back when the weather was nice and explore the grounds. It was on a few acre's and she imagined there was more than woods beyond the manicured grounds. Perhaps she could convince Harry to invite her and their friends out for a weekend around his birthday. There were certainly enough rooms for everyone to stay in.
"Hello?" She knocked on the partially open door of the DADA classroom.
"Ginny!" Her professor greeted her happily from the front of the classroom. "You made it back a little earlier than the rest."
"I did. Ron and I came through the Floo to Hogsmeade instead of taking the train." She told him making her way to the first row of desks. "I was trying to find Harry, he wasn't in the tower." She explained.
"Kitchens maybe?" He offered. "He got back a few hours ago, but we only chatted for a minute before he went to get settled."
She nodded. "Did you have a good holiday?" She asked. She saw him twice after Christmas, but that was brief, and she'd been hung over that second time.
"I did, thank you. Yourself?" He smiled.
"It was great. Heard you had a good time at the New Year's get together." She intimated wryly, Sirius and Harry having told her about it. At his unimpressed expression she dropped her teasing. "Fine, fine. Spoil my fun. Professor." She gathered that he would prefer a stricter student/professor type banter when in the school.
"Miss Weasley." Came the Headmasters voice from the doorway behind her.
"Headmaster." She greeted, turning around and seeing the old man there.
"Ginevra here was just looking for Harry." Professor Lupin stated, sounding more like a question as to whether the Headmaster had come across him.
"I believe you may find him somewhere around the seventh floor." Dumbledore offered.
Professor Lupin sighed. "Ah, of course."
Ginny looked between the two of them in confusion, there was nothing on the seventh floor that she knew of that would draw Harry there. Taking that as a sign that the two men were gently requesting her to leave so they could discuss work she gave them a nod and headed for the door, closing it behind her.
Getting to the seventh floor required her to head back up to Gryffindor Tower and as she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady she saw it was open, and the unmistakable derriere of her beau swinging it open to enter the common room.
"Hey there Sailor." She called saucily as she rushed up the stairs to him.
He spun around at her call with his eyebrows up, no doubt thrown by her choice of flirtation. His face relaxed into a serene smile as she approached though. "Ginny." He said softly as she reached him, and he pulled her into his arms.
She pulled back from his hug and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I've been looking for you."
"Ahem!" The Fat Lady cleared her throat in annoyance.
"Sorry." Harry sighed to the portrait and guided them both back out into the corridor so the portrait could close. "Come on." He took Ginny's hand. "I have to show you something!" He beamed excitedly.
"Something on the seventh floor?" She asked with a smile.
"How did you know that?" He asked incredulously.
"Dumbledore mentioned it?" She posed as a question, looking for explanation.
"Right." Harry looked put out. "Well. I'll explain that once we get there."
She followed along, her hand in his, amused and interested. He led her just one floor up the stairs and down a bare stretch of corridor.
"Okay." He stopped. "Just. Wait right here." He pulled his hand from hers and paced back and forth until a door appeared out of the stone.
"What?" She started. "Oh!" Realization dawned on her. Sirius, the Headmaster and Professor Lupin must have found one of the items they were looking for in this hidden room, and Sirius had told Harry where it was.
Harry reached for the handle and waved her forward to come through the door with him. Whatever she had expected to find on the other side of the door it wasn't this. A smaller version of the Gryffindor common room. It was cozy and warm. "What?" Now she was just confused.
"This is the Room of Requirement." Harry told her proudly. "It can turn into almost anything you want!"
Her eyes went wide. "Anything?"
"Yeah! And look." He closed his eyes a moment and a tea service appeared on the table beside him.
Ginny's jaw dropped. "What! That's amazing." She went over to the table and picked up a scone, making sure it was real. "Have you just been up here playing in this room all afternoon?" She asked with a giggle, picturing Harry like a kid on Christmas morning making wishes. She had to narrow her eyes at him when a blush crept up his neck and he turned slightly bashful.
"I've tried a few things." He admitted. "It can't recreate the outside though, tried that, but it seems to be able to do anything that's indoors."
"Well." She looked over to the couch in front of the fireplace. "This is the perfect place to kick back and relax." She went over and pulled her jumper off settling down into the cushions, Harry joined her, and she snuggled up against him. They exchanged a few more kisses and then settled in against each other to just enjoy being able to be alone together again.
Ginny had been drifting off as she stared at the fire, Harry twirling a lock of her hair around between his fingers. It had been a nice companionable silence. "This is where I kissed you for the first time." Harry said absentmindedly some time later.
"I remember." She smiled. "You'd been quite the bumbling fool before that."
"Hey!" He protested half-heartedly. "Give me a break, I couldn't help that I got all nervous and flustered around you. It's your fault really."
Ginny snickered. "How is it my fault?"
He turned his head to nuzzle his nose against her hair. "You would just be standing so close and looking all perfect, with that smile you have and smelling so good."
"Oh yes, I was so cruel." She gave him her best mock understanding. "I'm kind of glad you were like that though. Helped me work up the nerve to make a move." She told him honestly.
"What?"
"Well, after that bonding session in the Prefects bathroom I wasn't sure what was going on in your head. You'd essentially bolted away from me." She explained with a pout.
Harry started laughing. "Oh, Ginny! I only bolted because I desperately needed a wank!" He told her unabashedly. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to hide that fact from everyone? You were in a bikini!"
"Oh really?" She asked in intrigue and got up on her knees to sit facing him. "Do you do that a lot thinking about me?"
He gave a swallow and had an uncertain look in his eye but nodded.
She couldn't help the proud feeling going through her. Yes, she'd felt his erections against her from early on, but to know that she fueled him when it was just himself too it made her feel so desired and powerful. It was a wonderful feeling. "And after our first kiss, did you happen to go back to your dorm room and think of a different ending to that evening?" She asked boldly.
Harry stared intently into her eyes, his iris' growing darker slightly, and he slowly nodded.
And idea coming into her head, Ginny grinned at him and grabbed for her wand that she'd set down on the coffee table, turning it on herself to transfigure her clothes into the sleep shirt and shorts she'd been wearing that night. "Was my hair down?" She asked him as seductively as she could manage. He shook his head, watching her with wide eyes. She pulled her hair up and tied it into a loose bun. "Like this?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah." He looked down at her chest and smiled tracing the line under her cleavage with his thumb. "I remember being grateful that you were wearing a bra." He said and leaned over to kiss her neck. "But then you started stretching." He said softly.
She shivered at his tone and the feel of his breath on her skin. His hand came to her side, grazing up to cup her breast while he kissed his way up her neck. "I remember giving you a back rub." She whispered, it coming out breathier than she'd meant.
"You said I was 'so hard'." He chuckled. "And I was." He confirmed, whispering it in her ear.
Ginny bit her lip and moved to straddle him, now feeling that hardness against her inner thigh and shifting so it was placed perfectly against her center. She kissed him deeply, gently delving her tongue into his mouth just a bit and pulling back to suck on his lower lip lightly. "Was this what you'd been hoping for that night?" She asked, rocking against him.
His hands came to grasp and knead her bum as he ground slowly and deliberately against her. "Yes." He managed. "But those shorts of yours worked their way to the side." His finger dipped low behind her and she shivered as it ran along her slit.
"My clothes stayed on?" She asked curiously.
"Of course." He grinned at her, looking deep into her eyes while their lower selves continued their movements. "See, you are a quality girl." He came forward and nipped at her neck again, licking the spot he'd nipped in slow circles before pulling back again. "Quality girls don't get naked after one evening of snogs."
"Oh, but they do pull their knickers aside for a discrete dicking, do they?" She bit her lip and grinned, rocking herself more intently against him.
He huffed out a single chuckle that turned to a groan, closing his eyes and resting his head back. "Only for the right guy, and only if he plays his cards right."
Ginny hummed. "Definitely the right guy. And you're holding all the cards." Her hand came between them and she undid his button, unzipping his fly before he helped her out by pushing his erection through the flap in his boxers. She moved her shorts to the side and lowered herself onto him with a satisfied groan. That initially feeling of being filled making her feel light headed and satisfied all at the same time, it was still a rather foreign feeling as they hadn't been having sex long. "Oh, so good." She sighed and started up her rocking movements again.
Harry's hands ran up and down her thighs, gripping her and encouraging her movements while he thrust upwards as much as his position allowed.
"Is this what you pictured?" She asked in a husky voice as she slid him in and out of her in rhythm with her racing heart. "Me riding you on the couch in the common room?"
"Uh, yes." He groaned. "In the classiest way possible." He gave a crooked smile.
"Right." She panted. "Because I'm a 'quality' girl."
"No." He moved his hands to grip her hips. "Because you're my quality girl." Harry captured her lips for a deep kiss.
She rested her forehead against his as she gripped the back of the couch for more leverage. "Yes. Yours."
This position was becoming a work out for her thighs, but the feeling of restriction created from her clothing the way her shorts were bunching along her bum and her clit on the other side were overpowering the discomfort. It was hot! If they'd done this the first night they'd kissed it would have been so wrong. So wrong for him to have been this deep inside her. Wrong for her to have gotten so wet for him.
Oh, but now it was so right.
So right that her muscles were beginning their dance of contracting tighter around him as that pressure that felt so right was building inside her. So right that she was going to cum around his dick that was so hard inside her.
She cried out her finish and kept moving on top of him as the waves of pleasure subsided.
Ginny sighed as the last vestiges of her orgasm left her, then felt the discomfort of her leg muscles tap at her brain, letting her know that she couldn't keep this up much longer. Harry wasn't there yet though. Adjusting herself into a slightly wider stance she attached herself to his lips and switched their rhythm. Small movements up and down in time with how she was kissing him. Two small kisses, and one deep one. From the guttural groan he gave her, this was a tactic worth repeating. Two small up and down movements, one nearly complete unsheathing before coming down on him again.
His arms came around her, hugging her tight to his chest while she tried to keep up the movements. She could tell he was close. He was almost whimpering against her mouth until he finally let go with a groan, his arms loosening and giving her her range of motion back. She rode out his finish proudly before finally stopping and sitting still.
"Something like that?" She asked smugly.
"Exactly." He sighed with his eyes closed an a big smile on his face.
()()()
Hermione stood in front of the Gargoyle that led to the Headmasters office. She was standing in the same spot she had been standing for the past ten minutes. She'd taken the train back to school and shared a compartment with Neville. They'd been sharing stories from their holiday and he introduced her properly to his girlfriend Luna Lovegood before the two of them found somewhere private.
If anything was going to pull her head out of the Tom Riddle mystery that had been cycling through her brain for days and weeks on end, it was Luna Lovegood. And after reading so many issues of the Quibbler, she really shouldn't have expected anything less, she'd known about her of course, but never been in her prolonged presence or shared in conversation with her before. Because while Luna was a sweet girl, and rather shrewd, her verbalization of fantastical theories and blunt approach to conversations was disarming. She'd actually turned to Neville at one point and said they should find somewhere good to snog before everywhere was taken and it'd be rude to do it in front of her.
Luna didn't seem to understand the word 'discrete'.
Hermione had ridden the rest of the way alone, save for one patrol, going over her notes again. She was going to ask Headmaster Dumbledore for access to his school records. And she would need to tell him why.
She held a copy of young Tom Riddle's theorized childhood told from her perspective based on her findings from his Orphanage and Primary School records. She'd whipped it all together Friday evening and Saturday, telling her parents she'd been working on an extra credit project. It was rough, but it was a start.
"Have you figured out your wording, Miss Granger?" Came a pleasant voice behind her.
Hermione jumped and spun around to see her Headmaster was behind her, waiting patiently. "Headmaster! I- I was just coming to see you." She managed in a squeak.
"I gathered that. However, you seemed to be having trouble moving forward from this spot. If you like I could go into my office and wait for you there?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye.
"No." She blushed. "I just have a request and, well, yes I was going over the best way to ask."
"And what have you come up with?" He asked with a gentle incline of his head.
"Would you allow me access to previous student records for a research project I am working on?" She spewed out.
"Previous student records?" He repeated. "May I ask what this research project is? Or whom it is in particular that you are seeking the records of?"
Hermione looked up and down the halls, unsure if this would be the best place to say his name. There wasn't anyone else wandering about, and most didn't know his real name anyway. She cleared her throat. "Tom Riddle." She nearly whispered, glancing down at the hem of her Headmasters robes when she said it.
He said nothing and her eyes darted up to his face. He didn't look overly surprised. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation in my office." Dumbledore walked around her and towards the gargoyle. "Hob Nob". The gargoyle moved aside, and Hermione followed in behind him.
Once he was seated behind his desk Hermione launched into her reason. She told him about how it all started, with she and her friends trying to help Harry learn about the last war, then about her visiting the Ministry over the holidays and finding out who You-Know-Who actually was. She told him about visiting the Muggle facilities and discovering his parentage and early life, now she was looking for his Hogwarts school records to discover that portion of his life.
"To what end?" The Headmaster asked her finally.
"To. To get the information readily available. So that the public will know how it is that one man with these horrible ideals managed to rise to power like he did. So, people won't be afraid of him anymore!" She exclaimed as though it was obvious.
"And to profit off of it?" He pried.
"What?!" She asked loudly, immediately offended at the insinuation that she was just out for a juicy and illustrious story, like Rita Skeeter. "This isn't just because I could potentially sell the story. It is because this awful man has been gone for fifteen years and people are still afraid to say the name Voldemort. Which, by the way, is an anagram from his given name. Did you know?"
He responded with a raise of his eyebrows. His gaze held her eyes intently for a moment before he inclined his head. "Just his school records then? Nothing else?"
"Um. Well." She had an innate need to know everything. She felt like she was someone that could be trusted, and she was already doing all this research on Tom Riddle, if there was something else going on with him that Sirius and Harry knew, and Ginny apparently, then she wanted to know too. Sirius had said that if Headmaster Dumbledore gave his consent that she could know what it was Harry clued into when Sirius mentioned Borgin and Burkes and 'acquiring items'. "About his formative years, after Hogwarts, there- I'm good at research, and if you were trying to track down items that may have belonged to him for some reason, perhaps I could help.
There was a slight uptick to the corner of his mouth causing his mustache bristles to twitch in humor. "I understand that Mister Potter and Mister Black may have inadvertently hinted something of that effect to you."
"They told you?" She blushed.
"No. I do know of your friendship with Mister Potter and as I have been working with his new guardian on this project over the holidays, one can draw conclusions."
She nodded. "It's just that. Well. I would like to be able to have a fully rounded history of him."
"So, you can let the masses know." He implored. "And does a veritable 'how to' guide for becoming a feared Dark Lord sound like a good idea?"
"It wouldn't be a 'how to' guide." She argued forcibly. "It would humanize him. People are still afraid to say his name. That is ridiculous! It is a made-up name. No one is afraid to say Adolf Hitler, and he was equally a political terrorist attempting genocide. But muggles all know his history, and they have learned from his mistakes. There is compassion now, an understanding of wrong doing. I would be searching to do the same thing for Tom Riddle, so the people aren't afraid anymore."
"Miss Granger." He raised a lazy hand in front of him in an attempt to calm her down. "The difference is that Adolf Hitler was a muggle. One that committed suicide due to his failure. Tom Riddle was a wizard, who still has followers out there that may come after the, I'm sorry, young Muggleborn witch 'slandering' his name."
"I could write it anonymously." She argued. "I'm not looking to do this to make money." She reiterated then paused, rapidly thinking through the reasons why the Headmaster would be against this. He had been the one to defeat Grindiwald, who had been equally a tyrant and yet there was a publication out about him that Albus Dumbledore had given an interview for. There hadn't been a lot of information provided by him for the book, but he had willingly given it, so why would he be so against this unless Tom Riddle still posed some kind of threat.
"You don't believe he's gone." She stated in surprise, chills running up her arms. As she waited for him to deny that she was horrified to see nothing about his expression was telling her that the assumption was incorrect. "But." She thought back to all the articles she'd read about the night that Harry had killed him, there hadn't been any reports of the body, but she'd assumed the Ministry had taken him away immediately. Apparently, that wasn't the case. She leaned forward resting her elbows on her knees. "Oh." Was all she could manage.
"Miss Granger." The Headmaster said in a gently warning voice.
"I understand." She stopped him from giving her any kind of patronizing explanation. "You believe he is still out there. That he survived somehow." She swallowed and looked back up at him. "But how?"
"That is something that a few of us are currently working on. And I would appreciate it if you didn't share this with anyone, nor your discoveries thus far about his youth."
She felt a stab to her gut with that. "You don't deem me trustworthy?"
"It is a 'need to know' situation we are dealing with, and until we have all the facts." He raised his hands in an open gesture.
"Harry and Sirius Black were 'need to know'?" She asked quizzically. "Ginny was 'need to know'?" Hermione pressed.
Something about his expression tightened momentarily when she mentioned Ginny knowing, but it flashed across his face then was gone. He continued, "Miss Granger, please understand that this is volatile information and until I know more, you cannot."
"So, you won't let me see his school file." She asked him straight.
"To what end?"
She sat up straight. "I can see how knowledge like this is dangerous. A mass panic would break out if people knew he was still alive out there somewhere, but that isn't going to stop me from trying to learn as much about him as possible. Making him human instead of some entity unto himself can only serve to help. And if, one day, he does come back and start his reign of terror again, then I have no qualms about letting everyone know that he is prejudiced against himself, and it would be better to share that information before he tries to come back to power, not after."
The headmaster considered her for a moment.
"The early life of this generations most evil dictator, nothing about the evil he did to get there, just about his genealogy and school life." Hermione stated.
"An interesting idea."
"So... yes?" She asked hopefully.
He left his gaze on her as the gears in his brain worked through the possible ramifications of her proposal.
"Look. I already have everything I would need to know about his life before Hogwarts. I know where he worked after Hogwarts. I know that he was Slytherin, Head Boy, and received accommodation for 'Services to the School' that was in fact given for erroneously accusing Hagrid of being responsible for a monster that killed a girl. Oh!" Her eyes went wide. "Moaning Myrtle! How did I not see that before?" She looked into the middle distance, eyes wide, as she re read the article in her head about Myrtle Warren. It had been years since she accidentally used Moaning Myrtle's toilet and had nearly forgotten about the young girl ghost. She shook her head. "What I'm saying is" She pressed. "I know some of what he did while at school here, and I would like to know more that has solid evidence of what he was like, not just hear-say from people whose memories of him are subjective. So please." She pressed in a steady tone. "May I see his school file?"
"You make a valid point." He conceded. "I will ask that you give me some time to think this over."
"How much time?" She asked cautiously. She'd gone to rather extreme lengths to procure his information from the Muggles, she didn't want to resort to using the same methods here where she could easily be implicated, she might attempt it if she had to but coming to the Headmaster and getting it through approved methods was preferable.
"One week."
"One week?" She repeated hopefully. That wasn't too long. "Okay. Thank you." She allowed herself a relieved smile and rose from her seat.
"And Miss Granger?" He asked. "I would very much like to read what you have written about him."
She felt the glow on her cheeks. It had been a lot of work compiling everything she had so far, and it was interesting. Having someone as revered as Albus Dumbledore interested in reading something she'd come up with would be a point of pride, particularly if he approved of it. "I would be happy to show you a polished draft, once I have one."
()()()
Amelia fell to her side, head landing on the pillow and lay still save for the great heaving breaths that her blood was demanding. She really needed to get more exercise and increase her stamina. He did too actually. The way he'd crashed after they'd done it at her flat last weekend showed her just how much it had taken it out of him. Neither of them were twenty any more.
"That was so good." He drawled out, only half conscious and panting.
"Nice to know if all else fails I'm still good at sex." She smiled with her eyes closed savoring the last bit of euphoria from her orgasm which was ebbing away rapidly as her body relaxed.
She'd only popped over fifteen minutes ago, but they'd gotten right to business. She'd wanted to discuss actual business with him though but pushed it aside in favor of fulfilling some needs that sprung up at the sight of him. And the feel of him. The things he could do with his hands and mouth made her so wanton.
As they lay there recovering her mind wandered back to her to-do list. She'd worked so hard to get where she was, and now that she was a Department Head, she had to work just as hard to not be proclaimed incompetent and ousted. Having a never ending to do list dancing through her head had become a side effect of her climb up the Ministerial ladder. Now she couldn't shut it off, even when in bed having just ravaged a very sexy man.
"I have to talk to you about something." She told Sirius once her heart rate was back approaching normal.
"Is it how much you like those knickers I got you? Because talking about that might get me ready for another round in a mere moment." He purred at her, rolling onto his side and pulling her against him.
She leaned toward him and gave him a kiss on his neck before sitting up and pulling the bed covers around herself. "No. It's about that Deed."
He gave a small groan. "Urgh, it's about your work."
"It's about your Godson." She clarified. She'd tried not to talk about her job with him, but it was what occupied the majority of her life. Her only priorities for so long had only been her job, her family, her sleep. That is all there had been for several years. By the time she'd agreed to see him romantically she'd been years overdue for a shag. "The wording of it, and the date. It would have been Dumbledore that made it, correct?"
Sirius reluctantly sat up, fluffing the pillows up behind him to lean against the headboard. "Yes, Dumbledore was the one that dumped him off there. And before you say anything more, I've already laid into him about choosing them for Harry instead of the Longbottom's or Weasleys or even my cousin Andromeda. Now that I've met Dora properly, I think Harry would have loved it there."
"Did Harry's parents know any of them well?" She asked, wondering if the Dursleys would have ever been considered a backup choice if Sirius was unable to take their child.
"They knew Frank and Alice Longbottom. I believe Augusta would have taken Harry in if she was asked, even though she had Neville too. I believe that two children their age would have been easier actually. Then they would have had at least each other to play with and entertain. As for if they knew Andromeda or the Weasley's; Lily and Andromeda knew each other pretty well, but I was just spewing out names of good wizarding families that would have taken him in without hesitation." He sighed. "I'm sure there were worse guardians out there for him, but still. The poor kid suffered through a lot living there."
Amelia nodded. "I read the records that Hayley and Tonks found." It had been heart breaking to see his health records and notes home from his teachers, the address on his school letter was awful all on on its own as well. "But. The thing I don't quite understand is how Dumbledore would have known to bribe them to take Harry in, and how that wouldn't have been a red flag."
Sirius frowned at her, looking depressed. "There were blood wards around the house because of Petunia Dursley. He claimed that it was that protection for Harry that he was seeking."
"He just went ahead and decided that? Took over your roll as guardian before that whole business with Peter came about?" She asked incredulously.
"There's more behind the scene's stuff going on there. But essentially, yes." He admitted.
She just stared at him. Dumbledore was an impressive wizard and had been a just Headmaster, but for him to have taken the reigns when it came to Harry Potter's well being, clearly that hadn't been something he should have been in charge of. She wanted to ask Dumbledore what had given him the right, but that wasn't her place. Her meeting with Harry had been confidential, only Harry or Sirius could bring it up with Dumbledore. But it was so frustrating, and she wanted to make sure that that didn't happen to any other orphaned children.
It wouldn't be too much to set up something with the Auror Department to have them check in on magical children once every other year or so and make sure that their health and welfare were in check. The Magical births were recorded, not with addresses, but they would be easy enough to track down. The hardest part would be getting it approved by the Wizengamut. She'd need to prove that it was a necessity, or in everyone's best interest. It shouldn't only apply to orphaned children either. The Muggles had something for this, so it had precedent.
"I'm just going to go and get something from the kitchen while you're doing... whatever you're doing." Sirius shook his head and got up from the bed, pulling on his jeans. "You know." He paused before leaving the room. "I appreciate you being concerned for Harry's welfare and all, but if you could not be thinking of work while we're in bed together?" He said it to her nicely enough but closed the door with a little more force than necessary.
Amelia winced.
She was very invested in her job, but if Sirius had been in bed with her and his mind had immediately switched over to motorcycles and effectively ignoring her in preference, she'd get annoyed too. And this wasn't the first time she'd gotten stuck in a work loop in her mind when they were together.
()()()
As daunting as this problem was it was also rather nice to have a challenge. Four years now of teaching the same subject, the lesson plans were already written, and the essays were becoming monotonous. He'd almost wanted to use the stair method of grading at this point.
That gave him a chuckle, remembering when he heard of that approach from a Muggle professor he'd met at a pub by a bookstore he'd used to work at in his mid-twenties. The old man had been teaching the same psychology course at Leeds for over a decade and simply took all of the papers turned in by his students and tossed them up the stairs. Whichever stair they settled on dictated their grade.
It wasn't ethical, but it would be time saving.
It was the first evening back after students returned from their holidays, with their assignments. These essays all had the same text quoted in them. His method he'd resorted to didn't even have him reading through the entirety of the essays he received. He simply measured the parchment handed in and cast a spell to highlight certain words he was looking for. It wasn't lazy, it was efficient.
Essays were so boring.
But now. Now he had a project to work on. Two actually.
And it was so nice to get his brain working again. How it is that Minerva had taught the same subject for over thirty years he didn't know. It was no wonder she had that pursed look on her face. It must have been decades since she'd seen an original outlook on Transfiguration cross her desk. She must be bored as all give out.
Now that there was a proper Dark Arts research project for him it was getting his gears going again. The reason for it might be quite daunting, but now that he had his friend back and his relationship with Harry was going so great, he himself was feeling more energetic and capable than he had in a long time.
In fact, doing the research to find out a method of pulling the Horcruxes out of the objects they were being contained in was reminding him of his school days when he, James and Sirius were creating the Marauders Map and searching the castle for the secret rooms and passwords. It was a challenge, but doable with enough time and the right tools. Because there had to be a way to pull the pieces of soul out of the objects. There was a way to put them in, so the opposite must be true.
That was project number one; Removing and destroying the pieces of Voldemort's soul. Project two would prove to be so much more difficult.
It was when he talked to Harry on Christmas, when they were alone together, that he started thinking about it. If Voldemort was out there, then he would be in wraith form. He was disembodied the night he tried to kill Harry, Remus knew that for sure. And he now knew that Quirinus Quirrell had been playing host to the wraith until five years ago. It was most likely that Quirrell began playing host while he had been in Albania.
They now knew that Albania had been where Lady Grey had hidden the Diadem, so perhaps there was something about Albania that had drawn him back there for the third time. And if he was, then they would need to find some way of containing him if they could track him down. Him, It, Remus wasn't sure just what to classify the wraith. Containment of one would be difficult, particularly if there were to try and transport it to a secure location once/if they did capture what was left of him.
Wards could be placed around a spirit or a wraith to stop it from leaving a certain area, that was how Wizard kind had managed to contain poltergeists to a particular area and minimize the mayhem they could cause. But if he was in Albania then they would want to have the ability to transport him back to Britain, and probably lock him up in his own special reinforced room in the Department of Mysteries until they could figure out how to destroy him for good.
Remus had a book on wraiths he was reading his way through for some little tidbit of information that might be helpful, and another book on wards that was waiting for him when there was a knock at his door. He quickly disillusioned his far wall with his research thus far and marked the page in his book.
"Come in." He let his feet down from the desk as the door opened.
He'd been expecting it would be a student handing in a late assignment, seeing Nymphadora Tonks walk in sporting a tight outfit beneath her opened trench coat and long dark hair pulled up into a ponytail with purple ends had him frozen in his seat. She'd been quite flirty with him on New Year's Eve and had popped up in a few suggestive day dreams he'd had since, but surely she'd just been trying to get a raise out of him, it had just been a game of hers to see how flustered she could get him. But here she was in his office wearing a low-cut top and a saucy expression.
"Hello Professor." She winked and grinned at him. "Like what you've done with your office." She took in the walls.
Remus blinked at her a few times before pulling his eyes away and looking around him. He hadn't done anything to this space. It had a desk, a filing cabinet and a chalk board. There was nothing personal about the office at all, aside from the window it gave off the impression of being in a dungeon. He'd just never thought to make it look any other way.
"Um. What. What brings you here?" He managed, then sat up straight. "Is it Auror business?"
She came into the office properly and sat at the seat across from him. "It is actually." She told him slowly.
As she adjusted in the seat to make herself comfortable, he couldn't help noticing that her breasts were quite a bit larger than they had been last week. His brow furrowed slightly at that. Did she think she had to use her Metamorphmagus skills to make herself more attractive to men? She'd looked lovely in her dress with her brown hair at her parents. Surely that must have been the real her, her mum and dad would have called her out on any changes she made.
"Remember how I talked about implementing a shadowing program with the Auror department with Harry?" Dora started off.
"Right!" He did remember. "I thought that would be a great idea. There are far too many kids that come out of their Career Counseling sessions with the Auror Program in mind and don't think about all the downsides of the job."
"There are. And giving these kids a realistic idea of what being an Auror entails will save the Ministry and the Auror Program Instructors a lot of head ache. There are only five of us from my year that are still Auror's and we started out with fifteen making it to Junior Auror's." She nodded. "I've submitted an official request to Amelia Bones and she approves of the idea and will be submitting it to the Wizengamut for final approval."
"That's fantastic!" He was impressed really. It normally took the Ministry forever to get anything going. When she brought it up with Harry he was sure it was a pipe dream. "That was a quick turn around."
"Well, it hasn't received the final approval yet, but hopefully we'll have it at the end of this month after their next meeting." She leaned forward and rested her elbows on his desk with her arms crossed. "I was hoping you might come with me to talk to Dumbledore about it and get his support."
He was doing his best not to look at her chest. She was essentially showcasing herself for him, and he didn't understand if she was doing it intentionally. She was a decade younger than him and attractive, if she was flirting with him, then why?
"I can certainly accompany you in that meeting." He nodded.
"Great!" She stood up. "He's expecting us in ten minutes. It's still early too, how about you accompany me to the Three Broomsticks after while I grab some dinner and a pint? We can talk more about it."
Remus managed an affirmative sounding response, but he couldn't figure out her game.
Dumbledore had thought it was a wonderful idea, and one that shouldn't be limited to just the Auror department either. There were several career paths out there that should allow job shadowing before requiring a committed training process and he had a few ideas for who to contact to implement this program in the various sectors throughout the Ministry and St. Mungo's and the like.
It had been a relatively short meeting and Remus found himself sitting across from Dora at a booth in the Three Broomsticks only 45 minutes after she'd arrived in his office. It wasn't at all how he'd thought his evening would go, and he was still utterly confused by her behavior. She'd been making a few suggestive comments that he wasn't quite sure whether he was supposed to be laughing at them or returning them.
When she got up to use the loo he gave a look around the pub to see if there might be a bloke that was a comparable amount of attractive to her and in her age range. His brain telling him that she might just be using him to make someone jealous. But there were only a handful of others' there, and most were older couples save for one heavily cloaked man in his mid-forties with a scraggly beard.
It just didn't make any sense.
He was having a great time with her. She was funny and made a few insightful jokes. She'd also listened intently to his stories of his school years with his mates and asked thoughtful questions. If this were a date, then he'd have to say that it was going very well. He just wasn't sure what the hell was going on, and it was getting on in the evening.
"Time for one more drink?" She asked when she arrived back at the booth and pushed their empty shared plate to the side where Rosmerta could easily reach it.
"Erm." He checked the clock and then looked back at her. This had been a very enjoyable, yet confusing, evening and truthfully, he wasn't ready to head back to the castle and brood over what the hell had just happened. "Yes. I think I should switch to tea." He raised his hand to flag down Rosmerta.
"Oh, go on. Make it a Hot Toddy at least." Her eyes sparkled a bit as she suggested it.
"Trying to get me drunk?" He chuckled and joked.
She shrugged. "Might help you loosen up a bit."
His eyebrows went up. "You think I need loosening up?"
"Yes." She told him easily enough. "You're tense. It took you two drinks before you were able to respond verbally to one of my lewd comments instead of just looking uncomfortable."
'Oh'. He thought. 'So, this is a 'friends' thing.' "Well, it's been a long time since I've had the company of someone other than Hogwarts Professors." He started. "They aren't the most crass of drinking companions." He grinned. "And I haven't had Sirius back long enough to revert back to my old ways."
She tilted her head and grinned. "You mean you and Severus Snape down regularly swap witticisms over the uninspired shagging locations for students throughout the school?"
Remus snorted and felt himself unwinding a little more at her calling out. "No, trust me. We have monthly meetings and have to share the names of students that have been caught. It gets old really quick."
"Well, as a former gallivanting youth through those halls yourself I'm sure you have some experience with the best spots to hole up with someone so you don't get caught."
Rosemerta made it over to them and Dora ordered them both Hot Toddies before Remus could open his mouth, but he didn't object.
"I wish some of the students would try and get a little more creative about it. At least then it would be somewhat of a challenge. There are so many more comfortable places to get up to that business rather than a broom cupboard." He shook his head.
"Or the Astronomy Tower." She snickered.
"Yes!" He rolled his eyes. "I suppose teenagers must think it's romantic or something, but it isn't. It's bloody cold, and four other couples had the same idea."
"My favorite was the Prefects Bathroom." She stared off. "Dated a boy in my sixth year that was a seventh-year prefect." She sighed and gave him a grin. "Ah, first times."
"Your first time was in the Prefect's Bathroom?" He choked out, feeling a little uncomfortable again. This time it was due to a stirring in his trousers though when he pulled up the image of her in the bath ready and waiting for sex. He'd have very much preferred being able to get up from the booth with out the hard on that was threatening from this conversation.
Their drinks floated over to them and she took a sip and sighed, resting back in her seat and looking at him with hooded eyes. "Yes. Where was yours? At the castle as well?"
"Well. Yes, I would gather about 85% of Hogwarts students have their first time at the school, but most would opt for a bed at least."
"You mean in a dorm room with silencing spells, so your four other dorm mates don't overhear?" She challenged. "Wasn't quite interested in the possibility of getting caught sneaking out of the boy's dorm in the morning, thank you. Certainly not after my first time."
"Point there." He conceded, never having thought about it that way. "I suppose the Prefects Bathroom at least offered that bit of privacy." Then he gave a wince. "But why would you tell me that. Now every time I go in there, I'll-" He stopped himself from saying more.
"Think about me naked and panting?" She smirked. "Maybe that was my plan."
Remus just stared at her then, seeing her sitting in the booth, but also picturing her against the side of the bath, waiting with only her bare shoulders and the hint of her chest visible above the water to display her nakedness. He cleared his throat and took a sip of his drink. Hot Toddy was a good suggestion.
"So, if this program gets pushed through then I'll be meeting up with you again to set up a time that I could come and speak to the students about what they need to do to sign up." She changed the subject.
"Yes." He latched on. "And I can assist with arranging some weekend shadow sessions as well if they have permission to leave the school for them before summer."
They discussed a few more benefits to the program and all the different career paths they might be able to set up shadowing for until their drinks were done, and they made for the door.
"Well, I don't see a reason for this program to get rejected." He stated once they were outside the pub.
"Nor do I, so hopefully we'll be working together soon and have more opportunities to pretend that that is the reason we went out for drinks." She replied jovially.
"Yes. Wait, what?" He stilled in his habit of checking all his pockets once bundled up and outside and looked back up at her.
She took him by the collar of his coat and pulled his lips to hers before he had a chance to replay exactly what it was she had just said to him. His eyes closed of their own accord as her mouth moved against his, his hand instinctively going to the small of her back and pulling her closer. The smell of her invaded his senses she smelled of spring soap with a hint of vanilla, so subtle and so intoxicating.
It took him a moment to wrap his head around what was happening. She was kissing him. She was kissing him hard. This wasn't a casual peck, she was grasping him by the collar for fucks sake.
It had been so long since he'd felt the touch of a woman like this and the animal side of him was interested in asserting its dominance and causing him to take charge of the kiss. He pulled her tightly against him and walked them back to press her against the side of the building, lifting her slightly so she would wrap her legs around him while he gave her a bruising kiss.
His primal instincts were taking charge. He had worked so hard to suppress them over they years, but she felt so good, she smelled so good. And taste. His tongue invaded her mouth and he could taste the Hot Toddy she'd had.
Her moan of approval was all it took for him to rock his erection against her core. She gasped and pulled her head back, exposing her neck. He was so wildly aroused that he made that movement again and lowered his head to lick and suck at the skin there while her hand fisted in his hair.
"Remus." She tugged on his hair in an effort to pull him back from her, possibly to slow things down. He couldn't think clearly though. He could smell her arousal now. The animal was out of its cage and couldn't ignore it's needs. She tried again. "R-Remus."
He took her lips with his own again to silence her and kneaded her bottom with one hand while the other went to palm her chest. She squeaked against his mouth when he did so and that slightly distressed noise brought him back to himself enough to pull away.
She nearly fell to the snow-covered ground with how quickly he released her and backed away with wide eyes. "I. I'm sorry." He told her, horrified with how fast he let that get out of hand. "I think I may have had too much to drink." He kept backing away from her.
Dora righted herself and hugged her trench closed in front of her, but she didn't look frightened, just slightly ravaged and confused. "Remus, wait."
"No." He took another step back. "No. I think I'll head back to the castle now, and you should get home." He turned to walk away. "We'll be in touch, about. About the program." He mentally shook his head to clear his thoughts and try to focus on getting away. Her footsteps were crunching in the snow towards him though, so he Apparated to the Hogwarts gates and let out a sigh of relief that he could now only hear the wind through the trees.
That was too close.
It had happened before that he'd been with a woman and been a touch too rough with her. That relationship hadn't lasted, and he was sure it was because of that. She'd thought he was hiding the fact that he was into BDSM, when really it had just been the animal inside him just desperate to mate in the way animals do.
He walked back to the castle with his teeth clenched so hard that his jaw hurt, he was so angry with himself. She'd only kissed him, and he'd felt the need to push her up against a wall and take her right there.
On display.
He turned and made for the Owlery. He needed to apologize right away to her. That can't have been a pleasurable experience for her, no matter what her pheromones had been telling him, he couldn't have her being afraid to work with him.