Author's Note:
Reviews and Comments: To Covley Hatake: Theo definitely deserves a sexy fairy prince and yes, Umbridge definitely got what she deserved! Thank you! To SilverMidas: Nope, Finn was much younger than Theo thought (and definitely younger than 30). Macmillan definitely deserved to be locked in a nightmare for a few hours. Thank you! To FluffyGirl623: Yes, Prince Finn is young and sexy and yes, Theo is going to get the love and romance he deserves! Getting rid of Umbitch was fun! Thank you! To CrazyWithABook: Thank you! To AnonymousHufflepuffWriter: Thank you! To scrappy8: Our girl did switch the cups and I am also so happy for Theo! Thank you! To Star90: Thank you! Harry and Ginny have just started dating and there was a lot of other things going on, but yes, there will be lots more of them as a couple. Thank you! To speedsONEandONLY: I feel your squeals lol! To notthatchhavi: There is a model on my tumblr of Finn. Witch Weekly really doesn't care if Harry is dating someone, unless he's married, he's available lol. Yes, Theo has a fairy prince! Thank you! To Emeralds and Rubies: Yes, it was fun to finally introduce the dashing Finn and have him sweep Theo off of his feet. There will be more Hinny fluff soon as well. Thank you!
To notthatchhavi: Thank you for liking my version of Draco. I love showing him as sassy and smart and an asshole, but still very loyal to his friends. Finn is young and very smitten with Theo. I loved having Theo be the one rescued, a fun twist on the girl always being rescued. Thank you! I like the model Heath Hutchins as my version of Finn, his likeness is on my tumblr. Thank you! To Melinda the Proud Bookworm: Aww, thank you for being so happy you could cry! Thank you! To Leaf Ranger: Yes, Macmillan's bullshit has finally come to an end and Theo's future is looking more secure. Yes, Umbitch is finally gone! A celebration is in order! Thank you! To boothbonesrule: Thank you very much! To coloredwords: Having Harry lose it seemed too predictable. He's known Ginny longer and I love the idea that he knows when to step in and knows when to let her fight her own battles. Thank you! To Pieter Baines: Thank you! It is good to finally see Umbitch and Macmillan get their comeuppance. Thank you! To wheezing-reader: That's fair, when things are looking up it does tend to mean things are going to go downhill again. I'm glad I didn't disappoint you with making Finn a sexy fae prince that Theo "could sink his teeth into." He definitely deserves that. I did think it was justice. Thank you! To diannedight: Thank you! Finn is pretty amazing and Theo does deserve a chance at happiness. Yes, Macmillan and Umbitch both belong in Azkaban! Ron and Hermione will be together eventually. As for updating twice a week, no sorry, with my new beta it's cut back to once a week. Thank you!
To Diana: We will see more of Hinny soon. As to killing off Ginny, no. This is a Hinny story, why would I kill either one of them? Thank you. To supersandman86: Yes, I thought it was obvious Finn was going to be younger and aww, Feo, great ship name! Yes, we get to see Umbitch get what she deserves and also McTithead (great name). You think they will be broken out of Azkaban though at some point? Interesting. As to the battle at the Ministry, I do have plans yes. You will have to wait and see. You think Sirius will still fall through the veil, but he'll return a week or two later like in the Beginning Series? Interesting. Thank you! To alix33: Finn is definitely pressing charges on Ciara's behalf! Thank you! To dreamingthoughtless: LOL! Thank you so much for saying you would love to be the damsel in distress if Finn was your prince Charming — you and me both! I love that you had to stop reading because you were so excited! Thank you! I'm so glad that Theo is your absolute favourite character, I do love him too and I love seeing other people love him. Yes, Umbitch is finally gone and so is Ernie and he definitely deserves worse than prison. Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy where Finn and Theo's story takes them. Thank you! To Queen Raja: Theo did finally find his prince! Thank you! To pix25: Yes, Theo is finally free! Thank you! To Wolf's Scream: The professors are following Ministry protocol by giving Umbridge power so banning her couldn't happen right away. Ernie definitely deserved expulsion and other things, but he does have to be tried. Asking Theo to give evidence will be hard for him, but he's strong. Thank you! To AKBookGirl: Thank you! I'm glad that Theo has become such a favourite character as he's one of mine. Yes, Finn is young and he wants a relationship with Theo and Theo deserves a chance to be happy and romanced. Thank you! To LifeonEarth: You didn't know you wanted Theo to have a fairy prince, but everyone is so happy that he does! Thank you very much!
To midnitewanderer: Yes, Finn to your man's rescue! Thank you for being so exicted and yes, we all knew he was going to be freaking hot and close to Theo's age lol. I'm glad everyone liked Finn, I've been waiting and waiting for that reveal! Thank you! To Steelcode: The Bitch and Fucker are gone — what great names for them! LOL. Thank you! To Tmrpotterhead250: Thank you so much for taking the time to drop a chapter. Theo definitely deserves to get his revenge and I think seeing Macmillan get arrested after being rescued by a fae prince is a good start. Thank you for already loving Theo and Finn. Thank you for saying you adore my writing as my "stories are so detailed and well written." Thank you very much! To xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you! To christyannb94: Finn did not know that Theo was gay, though he suspected from some of things Theo told him and from Ciara and when they met, the chemistry was undeniable. And no, Ginny is not going to get jealous, Harry and Finn are different and Harry treats her well, besides, I think Theo deserves a little pampering! We will see more about Seamus and Dean very soon! Ron and Hermione might have their heads stuck a bit longer I'm afraid. Thank you! To Krazyasibe: Thank you! It's nice to know I can surprise people sometimes! Thank you! To Ofglitterandgiggles: Wow, 209 chapters in a week — thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! To Saz J: Thank you for saying it's the best chapter ever! Thank you! To purplevictory: No Charlie for Theo, I'm afraid, I just liked it as a running joke. He's a bit old for him lol. Theo does deserve a fairy tale ending and I have lots of plans for him in the future. As to anyone on the horizon for Charlie, I do have some plans for him as well, but you'll have to wait and see. Thank you!
To KhaleesiGinny: Yes, Macmillan the arse called Ginny a whore and he's lucky he only received a stinging hex! Yes, Finn rescued Theo! I'm so glad you're so happy! Tonks getting to arrest Umbridge was very important to me. Thank you for loving my portrayal of Snape as a good head of house while still being a git. It's a fine line lol. Thank you! To HinnyMe: Yes, Umbridge is finally gone! Thank you for loving the chapter and for loving seeing a sexy fairy prince rescue Theo. Yes, Theo will be happy… for now. 😉 Thank you! To CF: Thank you for saying this chapter was epic. Haha, yes I did get rid of both Umbitch and MacTool. I'm glad that when Finn slammed Ernie against the wall, you screamed in joy. He definitely deserved it. Thanks for loving Ginny swapping the teacups! Thank you! To Guest: Thank you for saying Finn is amazing! Thank you! To MinervaMcGee: Yes, Ernie finally got what was coming to him. Ha, Umbitch falling into the swamp on her way out would have been funny. Thank you! To jadely31: Yes, lots of loose ends I was working to tie up. Thanks for loving Theo finding love. Thank you! To HGRHfan35: Thanks for catching up! Yes, you were right about Finn and yes, Theo is very lucky to have found a prince charming who can kiss like that! Thank you! To pottermum: Thank you! I'm glad it was a surprise! Yes, Theo got the title and the hot guy and it was deserved. Thank you! To Pavk9918: Thank you, a 10/10 is always nice, but as to finishing the chapter faster than a shot of vodka, I can't really help you there LOL. Thank you! To xXQueenofDragonsXx: Aww, I love that you immediately shipped Finn and Theo as soon as Finn was revealed to be young. Thank you!
To TheOneWithWritersBlock: Thank you! To FriedChickenNisha: Things are looking up for Theo! Thank you! To Greaterthan84: Finn is young! Thank you! To FriendlyNeighbourhoodCatDemon: Thank you! To Pegg7: Yes, you were right, Finn and Theo are going to be a couple. We will hear more about Umbitch and Macmillan's punishments. Thanks for loving my Ginny. Thank you! To Sister_Says_Go: Yes, the prince is gay and young so I'm so happy you approve of him and Theo. I love Theo so much and want him to have someone special! Thank you! To UmiTheForce: I wanted Finn to be falling for him and to get the chance to rescue him. Theo deserves to be swept off his feet in my opinion. Thank you for catching up. Theo deserves to be pampered and cared for! Thank you saying my story is "well written and has a very engaging and creative plot that is full of surprises." Thank you! To StacieJ72: Thank you so much for your kind words, that is what I am trying to do, to focus on the things in HP that were glossed over even though my love for the books is so vast already, I wanted the chance to expand on them! Thank you very much! Thank you for saying that I've helped you fall in love with reading again, what a lovely compliment! That is exactly what I am trying to do, write the words that I wish had been written, focus on the things that were glossed over (even though I love the books so much I am greedy and wanted more). Thank you for your kind words. To PurpleLotus: I wanted Ginny to get the truth potion, to see that it was dangerous and be the one to get the opportunity to inadvertently take her down. Having Fred and George as brothers most definitely paid off! Thank you!
To CapriciousAngel: Thank you for saying this chapter was so satisfying! They deserved to be taken down and thank you for saying I did it in such perfect ways! Thank you very much! I do think my writing has improved since I started writing fanfiction 15 years ago. Thank you! To Nina: I'm sorry/not sorry that my story took you away from studying, thank you! I'm so happy to hear you adore Zee and love her and Sirius together. Yes, Harry and Ginny will be exploring more, don't you worry. Thank you! To Fanfrick: How do I write so much? I have no idea, honestly. It just keeps coming. Thank you!
My posting schedule: Once a week.
As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!
CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND TEN:
The One Where Theo is Courted and
Dean Admits He's in Love
Theo signed himself out with Professor Snape before he headed into the village of Hogsmeade. He had just taken his seat in a back booth in The Three Broomsticks when Finn slid onto the bench next to him, making his breath hitch in surprise. He hadn't even seen the fae come in.
"Hi," he breathed, wondering if Finn could see his heart beating out of his chest.
Finn smiled. If it was possible, the man was even more beautiful than he'd been yesterday. Theo had partially convinced himself that he'd imagined the whole thing until the flowers had arrived at breakfast. He not only looked even better than Theo remembered, but his eyes, the colour of a fresh spring meadow, were staring right at him, as if into his very soul.
"Hi," Finn said as he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to Theo's, interrupting his thoughts. "Did you get the flowers?"
Theo blushed. "They were beautiful. I didn't… thank you."
Finn reached out, gently brushing his thumb over Theo's cheek. "I thought you deserved something to make you smile."
Theo did smile, letting out a slow breath. "You make me nervous," he admitted.
Finn's eyebrow rose in surprise as he dropped his hand. "I apologize."
Theo shook his head. "No, I didn't… good nervous. I think."
The fae's lips curved. "Oh. Well, I'll take that then."
Theo was quiet as he stared into Finn's eyes for a moment. "So, how does this work exactly?"
"How does what work?"
"You and… me?" Theo asked nervously.
Finn smiled, his voice lowering. "Well, I guess that depends on how you want it to work. I like you, Theo."
"Why?" Theo asked before he could stop himself. "I mean… you don't know me, not really."
"I hope to know you better," Finn admitted. "But what I do know, I like. We have been exchanging letters for a few months now."
"Why did you write to me?" Theo asked.
Finn's green eyes met his for a long moment before he spoke, making Theo's stomach clench nervously. "I originally wrote to you because I was mildly curious about the older boy who befriended my niece. I wanted to thank you and then you wrote back and you seemed so flummoxed that I would thank you. It intrigued me. I had to respond and then we began corresponding and I realized that I liked you. You were interesting, and I could see that you cared for Ciara. You told me about your friends and I felt like I was starting to know you."
"I felt like I was starting to know you, too," Theo admitted. "But you're not at all like how I imagined."
"Oh?"
"I thought that you were like thirty, maybe forty and… you never told me that you were only eighteen!"
"You never asked," Finn said simply. "When you told me about the trouble your friend was in, I suspected that there was more to the story, but I didn't know you well enough to be sure. Ciara came home and she showed me photos of her and her friends and when I saw the one of you and her by the tree in the Slytherin common room… I wanted to look into those eyes myself and see if I was merely infatuated with the bloke who wrote to me, or if there was a real attraction there."
"And?" Theo breathed.
Finn's lips curved. "When you wrote to me telling me about meeting your lawyer in Hogsmeade, I thought that I would pop by and introduce myself. It would give me a chance to add my weight to the reference that I had already written for you and be an excuse to meet you in person… but then you wrote about that foul woman punishing Ciara. I spoke to my father and he asked around in the Wizengamot and learned that Lord Black was the best person to speak to. He informed me of their process in trying to get Umbridge removed and I insisted on being present. When I got word that it was the same day, I thought that I would try to meet you in person first. I had just arrived in front of the pub when I heard your cry out in the alley. I didn't realize that it was you until I offered you my hand."
Theo blushed. "You're the most beautiful man that I've ever seen."
Finn reached out to gently run his fingers through Theo's unruly dark hair. "I looked into your eyes and I realized that the attraction I felt was very real."
Theo stared back into Finn's beautiful green eyes for a moment before he caught himself. "Thank you for what you did for me. The letter… Ernie… I can never repay you — but as Lord Norfolk, if there is anything that I can do to —"
Finn's fingers covered his lips, silencing him. "What you can do for me, Lord Norfolk, is allow me the honour of being your boyfriend?"
Theo bit his bottom lip. "I-I'd like that."
"But it's not a payment," Finn stated. "It would only be because you want to be my boyfriend, not because you feel that you owe me something. But because you want to be with me. Do you… want to be with me?"
"Yes," Theo blurted out, kissing the fingers still resting over his lips. "I've never had a real boyfriend before, just… flings."
Finn smiled slowly. "I'd love to be your first."
Theo felt like his face was on fire as his cheeks heated all over again at the connotation of Finn's words. He shifted closer to him so that they were shoulder to shoulder and then he dropped his gaze to those soft lips. He stared for a moment, before he shifted his eyes up to meet the green ones.
Then he leaned in and pressed his lips to his.
It was the most amazing feeling. He'd never before kissed anyone who made him feel things. It wasn't sweet like with Connor, or an excuse to get off like with David, this was… more. His heart sped up as his lips moved over his, sighing when Finn's tongue drifted into his mouth and met his in slow, languid strokes that made him purr. The man made him purr, he thought, and he moved closer.
Finn placed his hands on his hips and Theo slid his arms around Finn's neck as they kissed for the longest time before he finally pulled away: Breathless, hot, and bothered, and anxious to kiss him again.
"Does that answer your question?"
Finn only stared at him, dipping his head to kiss him softly. "Let's order some lunch and then I want to know everything there is to know about Theodore Thaddeus Nott, including how he learned to kiss like that."
Theo grinned at him, moving back to rest himself against the bench of the booth. "Only if you tell me everything about growing up in a royal court."
Finn linked his fingers with his and smiled. "My life is open to you."
And Theo felt his heart rate speed up again as those spring meadow-coloured eyes locked on his. He had never felt more special in his entire life.
~ ASC ~
Dean broke up with Natalie as the cold winds of February swept in. She'd taken it well, telling him that she understood, but he still felt bad about it. He knew that he needed to make a decision and it worried him that he already had. He and Seamus hadn't spoken about what he'd said since that night over the holiday. Seamus hadn't questioned him — hadn't mentioned the kiss or the words said — and hadn't so much as hinted at anything other than friendship.
Dean was torn.
He had dreams about Seamus kissing him, about Seamus on his knees, bent over a table, spread out across his bed... and he always woke with his cock in his hand. But he didn't say anything to his friend.
He didn't dare admit his words aloud.
Dean couldn't stop reliving that conversation. I won't hide again, Seamus had said. Dean accepted that but — was he ready to stop hiding? He wasn't sure. Did he care what people thought of him? Sure, he did. But he cared about Seamus more.
He woke after another randy dream, his hands on his cock, and he pumped himself automatically, gasping slightly when he came. He cleaned himself off, listening to the sounds of his dorm mates snores before he jumped out of bed and went to the toilet. He washed his face and hands and then re-cleaned his teeth, before he just decided to shower. Afterwards, he put on clean pyjama bottoms and headed back to his bed before he turned mid-walk and slid over to Seamus'.
Dean pulled the bed curtains aside and saw his friend sleeping soundly, blankets pulled up to his chin. Dean grinned and sat on the side of the bed. Seamus' eyes fluttered open at the movement.
"Mate?" he murmured, half-asleep. "You okay?"
"I'm great," he whispered back. "Budge over."
Seamus, still half-asleep, did as his friend asked and only stared at him as he lay on his side so that Dean could crawl into the bed next to him. "What's going on?"
Dean covered himself with the blankets, turning on his side to face his friend. "I don't want to hide either."
Seamus raised an eyebrow, still looking half-asleep. "Who're we hiding from?"
"No," Dean said, smiling at his best friend. "I don't want to hide. I'm attracted to women, Seam, and maybe I always will be, but… no one has ever attracted me like you do."
Seamus' eyes widened. "Oh. You mean —?"
Dean's gaze dropped to his lips. "I wish that you'd let me kiss you."
"Natalie..."
"We're over, you know that. She's already started dating a sixth year. I broke up with her the day before Umbridge was arrested."
"And you waited over a week to tell me that you wanted to kiss me?"
Dean grinned. "Yeah... I didn't want to give you any reason to doubt me."
Seamus shifted closer. Dean smiled as he felt his friend's half-hard cock pressing against his. "So what are you waiting for?"
Dean licked his lips and then he leaned in and gently pressed his mouth to Seamus' for a soft, chaste kiss. He pulled away, his eyes on his friend, before he placed a second chaste kiss on his lips.
Seamus' eyes twinkled at him. "Me mam kisses better than that."
Dean snorted and crushed his lips to Seamus', hard and bruising, his tongue slipping into that mouth. He groaned when he realized that his friend was kissing him back. Seamus' mouth met his over and over and the lick of heat that coursed through his body told him that he had made the right choice. Kissing had never been this good before.
Seamus let his hands slide over Dean's back. He'd fancied Dean since pretty much his first wank, but he'd never seriously considered that his friend could like him back. He'd fantasized of course, hoped for it, but since the holiday when he'd realized his friend was watching him wank, he'd wondered. Dean's lips were soft and hard under his at the same time and his skin was smooth, soft… he wanted to touch more. He tore his mouth away to move down his friend's throat, sucking hard on his pulse point, and Dean moaned. Seamus let his tongue glide over his throat up to nip at his ear before he kissed him softly.
He could feel how hard Dean was against him and it made him feel powerful. But he wasn't going to rush this. They had started this whole thing three steps behind and he wasn't going to let his friend rush into it. Seamus peppered soft kisses along Dean's collarbone, grinding his cock against his friend's in slow purposeful movements designed to make them both crazy before he pulled away.
Dean's wide beautiful mouth was swollen from his, and Seamus reached out to run his thumb over the thick bottom lip. His cock twitched when Dean sucked it into his mouth. Seamus pulled his thumb free and cupped his friend's cheek.
"Go on back to bed, Dean."
Dean frowned. "What?"
"Go on back to bed," Seamus repeated.
Dean's dark eyes looked sad before he masked it. "You... don't want me?"
"No, I want you too much," Seamus told him, as Dean's eyes flashed in desire. "So go back to your own bed because this thing that we're doing — I'm in. I'm all in, and we're going to take things slowly."
Dean nodded. Slow, sure, that made sense, he thought. "Right… slow."
Seamus kissed him chastely. "Goodnight, Dean."
Dean slid out from under the blankets and watched as Seamus merely rolled over to face the other way and he grinned. "Seam?"
"Hmm?"
"Me too. In. I'm all in — that is."
Seamus turned to grin at him. "Good. We'll talk more about it tomorrow, yeah?"
Dean nodded and padded back to his own bed. For the first time in longer than he could remember, he felt completely relaxed. He looked forward to talking to his friend. His boyfriend, he thought with a jolt of surprise, and he closed his eyes, a smile on his face.
~ ASC ~
Neville sat in the library, his books opened around him at the table. Ron and Hermione had just left for patrol and Neville was a little thankful for it. He wasn't sure if it was the fact that Harry and Ginny were finally together that he noticed it more, but Ron and Hermione were a lot more snippy as of late. Lately, they were bickering more than usual, and without Harry and Ginny around as a buffer, it seemed to be getting more and more intense. He usually found their banter rather amusing, but sometimes they gave him a headache.
He smiled when Luna took a seat next to him. "Hi, Luna."
"Hello, Neville," she said. "You look lost in thought. Have the Nargles found you?"
Neville shook his head. "Nah, no Nargles. Just thinking about stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
He shrugged, his eyes roaming around the library. "Stuff."
Luna watched him for a moment before she turned to see where his gaze was. "That Susan Bones is quite pretty. Her hair is rather orange in comparison to Ginny's crimson locks, but she's pretty."
"Er, yeah," Neville said, his eyes still looking at the table across from theirs where Susan was studying with Hannah, Mandy, Padma, and Su. "Pretty."
Luna smiled. "You should ask her out."
"Sus-Susan?" Neville stuttered.
"If you'd like."
He thought about his goal at the beginning of the school year: To work up the courage to ask a girl out. His palms began to sweat. He looked at Susan's hair before his eyes drifted over Hannah's honey-gold braid, then to Mandy's brown curls and to Padma's dark waves. Finally, he landed on Su's straight black locks and he shook his head.
"Er, no."
"Are you afraid that she'll say no?"
"Um, I don't like Susan like that. She's... kind of mean," he admitted.
Luna smiled. "I'm glad. I've never been very fond of her myself. She's very two-faced. I was worried when I thought that you were staring at her."
"Luna, we should go on a date," Neville blurted, his face flushing.
Luna stared at him. "That would be lovely — but neither of us is interested in the other romantically."
Neville sighed. He hated that Luna was right about that. "We could be."
She reached out to touch his cheek. "Go over there and ask her out, Neville. Use that Gryffindor courage that I know you're hiding."
"I told you, I'm not interested in Susan."
Luna smiled. "And we both know that I'm not talking about Susan."
He blushed and stared down at his Charms book. He couldn't do what his friend asked. She had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who sh'd been dating since the Yule Ball last year.
"She's Kevin's girlfriend."
Luna's eyes twinkled. "Ah-ha! So you do admit it!"
Neville blushed. "If you knew that I fancied her already, why did you go on about Susan?"
"To take the mickey," she said, resting her chin on her hands. "So, now what?"
"Now, I sit here and do my homework."
Luna squeezed his shoulder as she stood up. "Okay. But I think that you should at least go over and say hi."
He watched her leave, his eyes on his work for the longest time before he moved to the table of girls and cleared his throat.
The five of them looked up at him.
"Hi, Neville," Hannah said, kindly.
He stared into her blue eyes for a moment. "Hi, Hannah," he said quickly before he tore his gaze away and locked eyes with Su Li. The words tumbled out of him in a panic before he'd thought them through. "Su, would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me in two weeks?"
Su's mouth opened in surprise. "Er, no."
Neville felt his face flush, but he nodded as relief coursed through him. "All right then."
He marched back to his own table and back to his books in self-annoyance. Su Li was one of the best looking girls in their year. Of course she wouldn't want to go with him. He wasn't even sure why he'd asked her. No, he did know, he thought. He wanted to see if he was brave enough to do it, and the girl he wanted to ask wasn't available; so he'd asked the first girl he made eye contact with.
"Can you believe HE asked me?" Su exclaimed, not bothering to lower her voice as she interrupted Neville's thoughts. "I mean, he's a bit of a loser, isn't he? I could do so much better."
"I think he's sweet," Hannah said as Neville tried to pretend like he couldn't hear them.
"Don't let Kevin hear you say that," Susan warned. "You know how jealous he gets!"
Mandy smiled. "I think that you should have been nicer to him, Su. It took a lot of courage for him to ask you out, and you were kind of a bitch."
"Well, not all of us are lucky enough to have a Hogsmeade date with Anthony Goldstein!"
Mandy blushed. "I still can't believe that he asked me to go with him the Saturday after Valentine's Day!"
"I can," Su said and the five of them giggled. "He's tall and so peng."
"Neville's tall," Mandy pointed out.
Su rolled her eyes. "I don't date losers, Mandy."
"He's the future Earl of Cumbria though," Susan said matter of factly. "He'll be a rich loser."
"Susan!" Hannah exclaimed. "What a terrible thing to say!"
Neville put his books away as he felt Su Li look over at him. He left the library before he could hear any more, his cheeks heating in embarrassment. He tried to leave normally, but by the time he made it to the stairs, his heart was racing and his breathing was uneven.
This was where Remus found him five minutes later amidst a panic attack.
"Hey, hey!" Remus exclaimed, putting an arm around Neville.
He led him to his office, closed the door, and sat him in the chair, pushing his head down between his legs.
"Breathe in… breathe out. Breathe in… breathe out. Yes, just like that," he encouraged.
It was almost another five minutes before Neville managed to calm himself. Once his heart rate slowed down, he stared at his hands, too embarrassed to look up. Remus was kneeling in front of him, guiding his breath.
"You want to talk about it, Nev?"
Neville swallowed, keeping his eyes on his hands. "I'm a loser."
"Hey! You absolutely are not," Remus declared darkly. "I don't want to hear you say that about yourself again!"
"I am. No one wants to go on a date with me."
"Ah," Remus said as if everything suddenly made sense to him. "Who did you ask?"
"Su Li."
"And do you fancy her?"
Neville shrugged. "I guess. She's one of the most popular girls in our year."
"She is," Remus said slowly. "But do you fancy her? Do you see yourself with her?"
"No," Neville admitted. "But then Susan Bones said something about me being the Earl of Cumbria so it didn't matter if I was a loser because I'd be a rich loser. Do you think that's true, Remus? Will girls only want to go out with me because of who I might be?"
Remus stared at him for a moment. "Some of them might, but I think that you're smart enough to tell the difference."
Neville raised his head a little. "Gran's always telling me how smart my dad was and how brave and handsome and strong... girls liked him."
"They did," Remus told him. "But I also knew your dad when we were in school. He was two years ahead of us and I remember that girls didn't like him so much when he was your age either. In fact, I believe he never even went on a date until sixth year."
"Really?"
Remus nodded. "I remember because he said something and Jamie made a big speech about how Frank was an inspiration to us all. It led to him asking out Lily, and she obviously shot him down — but James continued to boast about how if Frank could go on his first date in sixth year, it meant that he still had a chance with Lily. We were in fourth year at the time."
Neville smiled. "Oh."
"If you're not confident in yourself, how can you expect others to be? It took me a long time to understand that," Remus admitted. "I know it hurts, but try not to let people like Su Li get to you."
"Thanks, Remus."
Remus smiled at him. "You're welcome. Do you want me to find Harry for you?"
Neville shook his head. "No, I'm all right."
When Remus pulled him into a hug, he accepted it gratefully before he said goodbye and decided to make his way back up to Gryffindor Tower. He had just turned the corner towards the portrait hole when he saw Hannah and Mandy standing outside of it.
Hannah immediately waved at him. "Hi, Neville."
"Hi, Hannah. Hi, Mandy," Neville replied in kind.
Hannah smiled at him. "We just wanted to apologize for Su and Suzy. They were rude and it was uncalled for."
Neville shrugged as if it hadn't bothered him. "It's okay."
"No, it's not! If she didn't want to go with you, that's fine, but she could have been nicer. Any girl would be lucky to go with you!" Hannah exclaimed.
Neville's eyes met hers and he felt the back of his neck heating. "You think so?"
"Yes," Hannah answered, blushing.
Mandy smiled kindly at him. "You're a sweet bloke, Neville. You'll find the right girl one day. Don't let Su's words get to you."
They waved goodbye and headed out. Neville watched them go, his heart racing when Hannah turned back to look at him. He couldn't help but smile as he watched them leave. Remus was right. He needed confidence, and he was suddenly feeling quite confident in himself.
Neville whistled as he let himself into the portrait hole. Things were looking up.
~ ASC ~
Lucius was sitting in the parlour of Selwyn Manor in Croatia when Thaddeus threw a statue across the room, shattering the ceramic in a thousand pieces against the mantle of the fireplace. He jumped in surprise, but only raised an eyebrow when Abraxas stepped into the room.
"Excuse Thad, he's throwing a tantrum," Lucius said dryly, his eyes on his father.
"I blame you for this, Lucius!" Thad declared, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You're the reason my son has turned against me!"
Lucius only raised an eyebrow again. "How am I to blame? You thought that it was a great idea to pass everything to your son. I only supported your decision."
"HE'S BLOODY WELL LOCKED ME OUT! OF EVERYTHING! I DO NOT EVEN HAVE ACCESS TO MY OWN HOME!"
Lucius shrugged, feeling a little thrill of pride flicker through him. "Maybe you should have been a better father then, so he'd support you."
"You bloody tosser!" Thad exclaimed. "How can he do this to me? Less than two weeks he's had the Norfolk name and he's removed me entirely!"
"What did the Dark Lord say when you told him?"
Thad paled. "I haven't told him yet."
"Which is wise," Abraxas said as he moved to the cabinet to pour himself a drink. "There's a new lead on that Melusine Seer and he took off with Bella, Rudy, and Crouch. When he returns, you will have to tell him, Thaddeus. The Nott wealth is not a small bit to lose and he won't be pleased. After your screw-up in France with that agent…"
Thad turned so white he looked sick. "I can fix it!"
"How?" Lucius asked him. "The Dark Lord is not going to be pleased when he learns that you no longer have access to Norfolk, Thad. What about your house in France?"
Thad shook his head, his eyes furious again. "He's locked me out completely. I can't even find it on a map and my Floo access and Apparition access have been removed."
"He's magically sealed away every piece of the Nott Estate from you?" Lucius asked, not hiding the pride in his voice. "He's a smart lad. He's the Marquess of Norfolk now, not you — which means that the Ministry is on his side on top of it. You, on the other hand, are on their most wanted list after all."
Thad glared at him. "I'll figure something out!"
Lucius only stared at him. "Did you check your personal vault?"
Thad's pale cheeks flushed. He stormed out of the room as Lucius turned to his father.
"Theo's a smart young man, so my guess is that he took everything from Thad's personal vault as well."
Abraxas sipped his drink slowly. "The Dark Lord will not be pleased. You seem proud of him."
"Of Theo? I am," Lucius said rather defiantly. "Theo has shifted all of the power to himself, and good for him. It may not be a good thing for Thad, Father — but you have to admit, it was a smart move on Theo's part. He's an intelligent young man."
Abraxas only pursed his lips. "Your encouragement of Theodore Nott is not surprising, but he seems to be rather shutting his father out, isn't he?"
"That's not my concern; I'm not his father."
Abraxas only stared at him cooly. "I heard rumours that he's not only cut his father out of the estate, but that he's started a relationship with a fae. A male fae."
"Has he?" Lucius asked, careful to keep his voice bored.
"Lucius, I think that it's time to get word to Draco that Theo needs to smarten up. I won't have my grandson consorting with that sort of person."
"What sort of person is that, Father?"
"A blood traitor who would not only turn his back on his father but lower himself to be with a disgusting creature like a fae," Abraxas spat out. "A male fae at that… he is the last heir to an important aristocratic family. If he wants to waste his time playing with cock, he can do so — after he has married a pureblood witch and provided an heir. He needs to get his act together. Draco needs to put him back on the right track or he will be dealt with accordingly."
"Theo and Draco have always been like brothers," Lucius told him. "Draco is going to support Theo in whatever he chooses. I raised him to treat Theo as such."
Abraxas merely gave his son a cool glance. "Yes, they have been like brothers and I've always supported that. Theodore is a Nott, of strong pureblood stock — just like the Malfoys. A brotherly relationship was smart to encourage between them, but Cain killed Abel, did he not?"
Lucius only stared at his father as he left the room, his heart pounding in his chest and Abraxas' words echoing in his mind making his stomach clench uneasily. He didn't like where his father's thoughts were. He didn't like them one bit.
~ ASC ~
Hermione tapped her fingers on the table in the library in a steady drumming sound, her eyes on the page before her. She was supposed to be using this time to start revising, but she couldn't concentrate. She drummed her fingers again and Ron's hand covered hers, sending butterflies through her stomach.
"Stop that," he told her.
"Sorry," she said automatically, tugging her hand away and folding it in her lap.
Ron rested his head on his hand to peer at her; she ignored the shivers his touch sent up her body. "What's up?"
"What?"
"You. What's going on? You haven't taken in a single word from that page in at least ten minutes. Where's your mind at? Right, Nev?"
Neville looked up from the textbook in front of him, his eyes blinking into focus. "Huh?"
Hermione bit her lip, turning to look at Neville's slacked expression before she whispered to them, her eyes on Ron. "I've been thinking about You Know Who."
Ron raised his brow in question. "Not what I expected. Go on."
Hermione let out a slow breath, tearing her gaze from Ron's blue eyes to look over at Neville. "I know that we're supposed to be thinking of places where he could have hid the you-know-what — and I know that's important and all — but I've been thinking about him and his followers as of late."
"What about them?" Neville asked, sucking on the back of the Sugar Quill in his hand.
"It's just… we know that they follow him and worship him and listen to everything he says, yet he put a mark on their body… a permanent mark that connects them to him whenever he wants. How does one influence someone strong enough to do that — let alone an entire group of people?"
"'Cause he's a nutter?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Not the word I was thinking of, Ron. Think about it. He not only convinced all of these witches and wizards to believe in him and his cause, but to mark their bodies in this ugly skull and snake tattoo so that they can be summoned to him when he calls as if they are servants — or worse, slaves."
Ron nodded. "It's no different than house elves, really. He's bound them to him and he is their master. His followers are the house elves, so to speak… wait, that doesn't make sense," he added, looking at Neville for help.
Neville shrugged. "No, it works in the context. The Death Eaters are essentially the slaves of You Know Who. He controls them to a great extent — what they do, how they do it, why they do it, when they do it — he is their lord and master."
"But house elves binding themselves to their masters or mistresses doesn't leave a permanent mark," Hermione stated. "Dobby told Harry it just makes them better helpers."
"From a strategic viewpoint, it's rather ingenious of him," Ron told her. "All he has to do is touch one arm from one person who has the mark and he can contact all of them at once. He can tell them where to go, what to do… he can amass his entire army in a matter of minutes and have them appear wherever he chooses. That mark is dangerous for that very reason. The defence system that the Ministry is putting together — it has a lot of potential, sure, but how are they going to get everyone in place when they're needed when he only has to make one move? He may be a nutter, but he's smart as well."
Hermione frowned at that. "How did he do it?"
Ron tilted his head to look at her. "How did he do what? The mark?"
"It has to be a Protean Charm of some kind, right?"
Neville licked sugar off of his lips. "It sounds like it must be something of the sort."
Ron scratched the cut on his chin from where he'd nicked himself shaving that morning. "I would say a Protean Charm mixed with some form of communication charm, and clearly there's a hex component to it. Didn't Harry say that Snape mentioned it faded and darkened based on You Know Who's strength? I got the impression it's painful as well, and I reckon he would've wanted to use that to his advantage when he inked them with his mark. To have the ability to make them feel pain when they don't follow orders or something."
"Ron, you're brilliant!" She leaned in and kissed his cheek, surprising him, before she grabbed her books and hurried from the library.
Neville stared at Ron. "Why are you brilliant exactly?"
"No bloody clue," Ron admitted, his eyes on her bum as she hurried out.
"And where is she going?"
"When in doubt, she goes to the library — and when her brain works a mile a minute, she goes to discuss theory with a professor," Ron said, shaking his head. "My bet is on Flitwick since she mentioned the Protean Charm."
Neville grinned and put his Sugar Quill back in his mouth. "Does that mean we can stop doing our homework?"
Ron closed his Potions book and grinned. "Definitely. Want to head back to the common room and play a game of chess?"
"What about Hermione?"
Ron shrugged as he packed up his books. "Once that brilliant mind of hers connects the dots, she'll find us."
Neville closed his books as well. "Sometimes I think that she's a little mad as well."
Ron nodded. "Sometimes, but her madness always results in brilliance."
Neville made a sound of agreement as he led the way out of the library with Ron on his heels.
~ ASC ~
The sun was setting off the coast of Marseille, reflecting in the water like diamonds. Bartemius Crouch Jr stood outside, the wind rippling through his sandy hair as he watched the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea, and he thought about what his next move was. He'd been here for almost a week, searching for clues and finally, finally they had found him.
The man in question was living in a cave off the coast. Crouch had watched in amazement as the man had stepped into the sea; his legs had transformed into the sea green tail of a merman, and he had disappeared beneath the water only to return an hour later. Then, the tail had vanished; he'd sprouted legs once more before journeying back to the cave.
Crouch had only been too happy to tell his master of his discovery.
Crouch headed back into the cottage they were occupying, moving into the back room and closing the door behind him to lean against it. His eyes gleamed in delight as he watched the Dark Lord throw the Melusine man at Crouch's feet. Crouch couldn't resist giving him a swift kick to the ribs as the man rolled across the floor, blood streaming from his broken nose. The Dark Lord had been torturing him for over an hour and the man lay half transformed in his merman tail, the other half of him a human leg. The Cruciatus Curse had caused a partial transformation, and the pain of it had stopped him from being able to choose one form. Crouch watched the man try to compose himself as the tail disappeared again.
"Bart, I want answers. Do your best work for me."
Crouch's face gleamed at the Dark Lord's words, bowing reverently. "It would be my honour, my Lord."
Ever since he'd killed his father, he'd been itching to get out and play. But with the Ministry looking for him, he had been confined. With the Dark Lord's return, Crouch had eagerly helped torture the prisoners of Azkaban into joining their cause, but true torture... he hadn't had the opportunity since he'd skinned his father alive. He licked his lips, his tongue trailing over his bottom lip before he picked up the merman and shoved him into the chair before him. The chains around the chair immediately jumped back onto the merman's wrists and ankles.
Crouch trailed his wand almost lovingly down the man's cheek, over his throat, and smiled. "You'll talk for me, won't you, dearie?"
Bellatrix let out a sigh. "Get on with it, Bart. You know that I've been dying to see you at work."
Crouch glared at her from over his shoulder. "You watched me with my father."
She smiled. "I did. And when you licked the blood from your fingers I knew where your heart truly lay — and people thought I initiated the torture of the Longbottoms."
He smirked. "Well, you did do your fair share."
"Rudy and I were willing to talk, Bart, but then you used the Cruciatus on the woman and oh, the sound of her screams... it was inspiring."
Crouch grinned maliciously. "I thought you and your man were going to start shagging right there if the Aurors hadn't shown up."
Bellatrix smirked. "We would have. You know how randy that makes me. But now... your father was a real piece of work."
"I enjoyed torturing him. I could have kept him alive longer, but his heart wasn't in it anymore," Crouch admitted sadly. "I wanted him to feel like he had some small chance of surviving it and when he gave up, well, it did rather take the fun out of it."
"Is that why you cut off his prick?"
Crouch licked his lips. "No, I cut off his cock and shoved it down his prick throat because it was oddly satisfying."
He turned back to the Melusine and smiled. "Now, as a part fish, what is best to get you started?" He waved his wand and the area surrounding the merman's chair began to fill with hot desert sand. "Sand is dry, the opposite of the water you crave," he said as if he was lecturing a class. "I wonder what will happen if you're denied water."
The merman began to struggle in the binds of his chair as the sand piled higher, caressing his legs, covering his thighs and rising. The Death Eater stopped his wand just as the sand settled at the merman's chin.
"Now, that's not too bad," Crouch said, putting his hand on his waist. "Ooh, I forgot! If you're going to be trapped in desert sand, you need to have some friends!"
The merman's eyes widened as Bellatrix cackled gleefully. Crouch waved his wand again and the sand began to shift. Scorpions emerged in the sand, burrowing deeper into the pile as the rattling of snakes slithered around him. One of the scorpions made it to the top of the pile, crawling over his cheek; the merman screamed.
Crouch smiled. "That's better!" He turned to Bellatrix and offered his arm. "Should we break for tea while this scum tries to remember what he knows?"
A snake slithered over the merman's head, the rattling tail tickling the man's ear as he continued to scream in panic.
"Should we at least silence him?"
Crouch scoffed, shaking his head. "No. That sound is music to my ears."
The Dark Lord nodded at them when they entered the other room where he sat, his eyes gleaming at the sound of the screams. "Has he told you about the Guardian yet?"
Crouch shook his head. "Not yet. But I'm leaving him alone with his thoughts while we have tea. I bet he'll have something to say by the time we return."
The Dark Lord's lips curved into a cruel smile. "You have such promise, Bart. I look forward to seeing what you come up with next. Bella, why don't you make us some tea before we take off? I think it's time we leave Bart here to work on his art."
Bellatrix pouted. "My Lord, I wanted to watch…"
The Dark Lord chuckled. "Ah, always the eager student. Get the tea and you can stay with Bart. Rudy and I will head back to Selwyn Manor. I hope it won't take too long to find my answers?"
Crouch shook his head. "If he knows anything my Lord, I will know it within a few days. I can promise you that."
"Good. I expect answers, Bart. I am tired of Dumbledore's little army getting in my way and I want answers. He is the seer that we've been looking for — of that I'm certain — and he knows who the Guardian is. He knows how to access the prophecy and I want to know what he knows. I need to know what he knows."
"And if he doesn't have the answers, my Lord?"
Voldemort stared at Crouch, his red eyes narrowed in anger. "Then you can keep him alive as long as you wish to play, but when you're done with him, I want his head at my feet."
The smile that covered Crouch's face was lit with madness. "That won't be a problem."
Bellatrix served the tea as the merman screamed from the next room. Crouch took a ginger biscuit from the tray as the screams grew louder and smiled at Bellatrix.
"The sunset is lovely here, isn't it?"
Bellatrix cackled, taking a seat and crossing her legs. "Charming."
The sound of the screaming grew more panicked as the man choked on his sobs. Crouch turned to look into the doorway of the next room where he could see the merman as a dozen snakes wrapped themselves around his face.
"Well, I don't even think I'll have time to finish my tea. Pity, it looks so lovely." He waved his wand; the snakes and scorpions vanished as the merman panted, his eyes wide in shock and horror, his face littered in tiny bites.
Crouch stood up and walked across the room to where the merman was still engulfed in sand. "Don't worry. They may bite, but I can assure you, they weren't poisonous. I need you to stick around a little longer, and poison would simply be too easy."
He shoved the ginger biscuit into the merman's mouth and patted him on the head.
"Now, let's start from the beginning. You are a Seer, and not just any seer — but the son of a mermaid named Attina, who is well known to be the first aquatic seer in three centuries. True or false?"
The man only stared at him.
Crouch pursed his lips. "Dearie, I am asking nicely for a reason. If you give me something, I will give you something. Would you like some water perhaps? Or another biscuit? But if you give me nothing, well…" He trailed his wand over the sand and it vanished, leaving the merman chained to the floor and chair before Crouch's wand glided lovingly over the man's left arm.
At first nothing seemed to happen, but then as the wand moved down the shoulder back to the wrist, the skin began to peel like a potato and the merman screamed.
Crouch smirked. "I can assure you, this won't be quick. Are you the son of Attina? True or false?"
The thin line of peeled skin flicked off his wrist as a light trickle of blood dripped down his arm. The merman's wide panicked eyes met Crouch's.
"True! It's true! Please — please, stop!"
Crouch turned and smiled at the Dark Lord. "I think we're getting somewhere, my Lord."
Bellatrix clapped as if she'd just witnessed a spectacular performance as Voldemort picked up his tea cup to take a sip. "Peel another layer off, Bart."
Crouch turned his wand back to the merman, his eyes gleaming in pleasure as he peeled another line of skin while the man screamed. The happy little whistle that went along with his work made Voldemort smile.
Nothing made Crouch prouder.
~ ASC ~
Ron and Hermione walked in companionable silence through the corridors as they covered their patrol for the evening. Ron kept sneaking looks to try to figure out what she was thinking. She seemed to be lost in thought since she'd called him brilliant the afternoon before, and she'd spent most of the last twenty-four hours making notes and muttering to herself.
Ron found it fascinating.
One of his favourite things to do was to watch Hermione's mind work. The way she chewed her bottom lip into her mouth. The way she curled her finger around that one dark curl by her left eye. The way she'd sit up straight and bounce in excitement when she figured something out. The way her eyes danced with knowledge as if she'd just learned some big secret… she fascinated him. He just wished that he could figure out what she was thinking.
She moved in front of him with just enough space to allow his gaze to drop to her bum. He couldn't get much of a glimpse under her robes, but the knowledge of that plump arse made him carefully shift his own robes. It had almost been three months since they'd shared that kiss, and although neither had mentioned it again, Ron couldn't stop thinking about it.
He couldn't stop remembering how she felt in his arms — all wrapped around him and wet from the bath. He couldn't get it out of his mind. He woke from fevered dreams where she came to him in the middle of the night, claimed that she needed him and then rode him until dawn. He'd wake rock hard with his hand wrapped around his cock, or he'd wake because the dream had been so good he'd come in his sleep. Ron could still remember what she tasted like, and he'd never hungered for anything more than he did for her lips.
She stopped in her tracks and he almost walked into her, too intent on trying to glimpse her bum to pay attention to where he was going.
Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you doing?"
"Sorry, daydreaming," he said hurrying alongside of her.
"Ron, do you still have those fake Galleons that the twins made?"
Ron looked at her in surprise. "Pretty sure, yeah. I think they're on my night table. Why?"
"I think I have an idea — well your idea, really."
"I doubt that it was my idea," he told her.
"In a roundabout way, yes," she said. "Let's check out this last corridor and then I need to see them."
Ron nodded, curious now. He could see that she looked excited and her cheeks flushed a bit in anticipation. They finished their patrol and headed back to Gryffindor Tower before Hermione followed Ron up to his dorm. She'd only taken a few steps when she heard the telltale sound of male groans.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Silencing charms!"
"Sorry!" Seamus called out, sticking his head out of his bed curtains. His hair was tousled from Dean's hands and Hermione couldn't stop the smile as she saw Dean kiss his neck. "Hey, Hermione. Silencio!"
The curtain closed again and it was silent.
"Um, they do that a lot?"
Ron turned back to look at her. "Snog each other senseless? All the bloody time. We're all happy they finally got their act together, but not seeing them suck each other's faces or hear them would be great. They really need to remember silencing charms. I don't want to listen to two people snogging, especially when I'm trying to sleep. Thankfully, it's only been snogging."
She chuckled and sat on his bed as he rifled through the stuff on his night table.
"Ah-ha!" He scooped up the five coins and dropped them into her hand. "Fred said that they're just your basic joke item of fake money. They don't do anything, and you can tell they're fake because it says WWW on the head."
Hermione nodded. "I don't need them to be worth anything, so them being fake is actually better."
Ron only lifted his brow as Hermione turned to sit cross legged on his bed, revealing a bit of thigh as her robes parted and her skirt rode up. He hardened and carefully shifted so that she wouldn't notice.
"Sit across from me."
He did as she asked and watched as she placed the five coins in the middle of his bed between them. She picked up one.
"This is going to be the main coin."
Ron nodded as if he understood, but he really had no idea what was going through her brain.
Hermione let out slow breath. "I think that if I perform a combination of the Protean Charm and that communication charm that Sirius did on the mirrors, I think that it can work like a beacon or a pager the way you thought that the Dark Mark worked."
"What's pager?"
"A Muggle device for contacting people — it's not important."
"How are you going to combine the charms?" Ron asked.
She blew her hair out of her eyes. "I think that if I do the communication charm first and then add in the Protean Charm and then double the communication charm, it can work. Then of course I'll need to do a déjà vu charm on the others and of course add in the notification charms."
Ron only nodded. He could see that her eyes were dancing in excitement over the prospect of it. She was looking to somehow create the concept of the Dark Mark on the coins; it intrigued him, but he still wasn't entirely following where she was going with it or what the purpose behind it was.
He watched as she moved to perform the spells, her wand waving in the complex movements as the magic worked its way over the coin with a glow. Then she repeated the magic on the other coins, making them glow blue, before she handed the first coin back to Ron.
"Talk to it. Tell it a date and time and location."
Ron held the coin face up in his hand. "Nine thirty, fifth year Gryffindor boys dorm, February ninth."
He watched as the edge of the coin lit up in blinding blue, showing his exact words. The coin vibrated and heated in his hand and then he saw blue flash across the other coins. Hermione squealed happily.
"It worked!"
She held the other coins up to him to show the edges reflecting the same words he had etched onto his coin.
"Hermione, you are completely brilliant. That's NEWT level work, that is!"
She blushed and squealed again as Harry and Neville came into the dorm.
Harry raised his eyebrow at them. "What's so exciting?"
"Ron made this comment about how You Know Who can call his followers to him whenever he wants with the Dark Mark, and it got me thinking that if something happens, we need to have our own warning system in place!" Hermione exclaimed all in one breath.
Harry nodded, taking a seat on his friend's bed. "Well, we can use Patronuses for that."
"But not everyone can produce them," Hermione said matter of factly. "So, I thought if we use the idea of the Dark Mark, the way that You Know Who did — but made it so that it was an object and not you know — evil… if could work."
Ron held up the coin. "She performed NEWT level work on this. What do you think?"
Harry examined the coin, passing one to Neville as Ron explained what Hermione did and how it worked.
"You should bring this to Uncle Rem," Harry told them. "He'll be impressed, and he can show the Ministry and suggest it for the defence system; that way if something happens, everyone will be on board."
Hermione beamed at him. "You think that it will work?"
"Yeah, yeah I do, and so do you," Harry told her making her grin.
Hermione threw her arms around Harry. "I just can't believe it worked! Think if everyone carried this around… if there was an attack, we could easily get everyone together where they were supposed to be!"
Harry squeezed her tight before he let go. "Always working that brilliant mind of yours, like Ron said. This is great work and you have to take it to Uncle Remus."
"We have Defence Against the Dark Arts tomorrow afternoon," Ron pointed out.
Hermione grinned at him, thrusting the coins into Ron's hands. "You hold onto these. We can catch him during lunch."
Ron smiled. "Sure."
Hermione jumped to her feet, kissing Harry, Neville, and Ron each on the cheek before she wished them goodnight and hurried out of their dorm.
Neville turned to look at his friends. "Sometimes the way her mind works… I mean, did she just take You Know Who's Dark Mark and make it not evil?"
Ron grinned, shoving the fake coins into the drawer of his night table. "She's absolutely brilliant is what she is."
"Ever think if she teamed up with You Know Who we'd be totally fucked?" Neville asked.
Harry and Ron exchanged grins and Ron answered.
"That's why we thank Merlin every day that she's on our side."
~ ASC ~
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville met Remus in the Defence Against the Arts classroom just before lunch the next day. He was putting assignments in his new messenger bag as the eraser magically cleansed the blackboard behind him. He only looked up briefly as they entered.
"Hello, you four," Remus said, closing his bag. "What do I owe the pleasure?"
Harry gestured to Hermione. "We're just here for the ride."
Hermione blushed and elbowed Ron who dug out the coins, placing them on the desk in front of Remus. Remus picked one up, examining it. "Fake Galleons?"
Ron shrugged. "Fred and George made them. It was George's idea to create this area of Muggle Magic tricks for people like dad who are Muggle crazy. Part of it was to create fake money to trick people, and then he had this whole idea where if you find yourself tricked with the fake Galleon, you can bring it into the shop and are rewarded with something. I don't think they've worked that out yet, but something free for sure."
Remus nodded. "That's interesting. Those two are incredibly brilliant. But why are you showing them to me?"
"Hermione altered them like You Know Who's Dark Mark," Ron told him.
Remus stared at the four of them. "I don't follow."
Hermione let out a slow breath before she began to explain how she was questioning the Dark Mark and how it worked and what it represented. "He uses it to summon his followers and he branded them with it."
"Accepting the mark is part of joining him," Remus told her.
"I know, but it was something that Ron said about how if something were to happen and he attacked, or we needed help — we don't have a mark that can magically send over our entire army to assist us the way that he can."
Remus frowned at that. "The way that he can?"
"Professor, if the Dark Mark works the way that Harry says it does, he only needs to touch it on the arm of one person, and all of his followers are immediately notified of his message," Ron explained.
"He can summon them at his will, remember?" Harry reminded him.
"And Hermione had this idea that we need to be able to do that," Neville said. "She thought that we should have our own Dark Mark variation."
"It was actually Ron that gave me the idea," Hermione said quickly. "He said that it was probably a mixture of a Protean Charm with a communication charm and some form of hex involved to make them feel pain and it got me thinking. He ingrained his mark into the flesh of his servants, but that was his choice. It's not dark magic. I went and spoke to Professor Flitwick about combining charms and creating a beacon of our own and it got me thinking about how we could use coins that people could carry around — because as good as a Patronus is, you said it yourself in Defence Club, Professor — not everyone can produce them. Not to mention that they are tied to a person's emotions and if someone is too scared or too worried, they might not have the energy to think up a happy enough thought to send one."
Ron picked up the main coin. It differentiated from the others by having a thin red stripe down the centre of the golden coin. "Hermione charmed this one as the main outpost. I'm calling it the Commander Coin. Whoever has this coin needs only to communicate the location, time, and date needed and it will reiterate the information to what I named the Soldier Coins. Like this."
Ron brought the coin to his lips and whispered, "February tenth, Three Broomsticks, four pm."
The edge of the coin flashed blue and then within seconds, the Solider Coins began to flash blue and vibrate.
"They heat at the touch too in case someone doesn't feel the vibration, they'll feel the heat of it to let them know a message is being sent," Ron explained.
Remus stared as a slow grin formed on his face. "This is incredible work," he said honestly. "How did you make it heat and vibrate?"
Hermione blushed. "I combined the déjà vu charm with a notification jinx. The Muggles have these devices called pagers where if you telephone it, it will beep and let them know a quick message or phone number to access and I was thinking along the same lines. Professor Flitwick helped me organize my thoughts on how to crossbreed charms and well… it just sort of happened."
Remus smiled. "Forty points to Gryffindor, and twenty to you, Ron. This is wonderful work and an absolutely brilliant way of thinking. I will show these to Sirius tonight and have him present them to the commanders for use in the defence units. This could really change things, Hermione."
"Professor, I didn't really do anything…" Ron blustered.
Remus scooped the coins up and placed them in his messenger bag. "From what Hermione said, you inspired her and broke down the uses of the Dark Mark. It's that kind of strategic thinking that helps create something like this. You deserve every point, Ron."
Ron blushed. "Er, thanks."
"I will make sure that the Ministry knows who created these as well," Remus told him.
"Maybe you could mark the coins with it, like a patent," Harry suggested. "Something that tells them it was created by Ron and Hermione."
Neville nodded from next to him. "The GWCS — Granger-Weasley Communication System!"
"I like that," Harry said, looking at his father. "A very Marauder-esque name. If the Ministry of Magic is going to use their idea, they should be credited with it."
"On that I agree," Remus told them. "Neville, that's a great name! Harry's right — it's something that Sirius and James would have come up with. If it's all right with Ron and Hermione, I'd like to suggest it when I talk to Sirius tonight."
Hermione's cheeks were flushed pink and she snuck a look at Ron who looked completely dumbfounded. "Anything we can do to help, Professor Lupin."
Ron nodded. "Er, yeah, what she said."
Harry chuckled. "Good, GWCS it is. Now can we please go to lunch, I'm starving?"
~ ASC ~
Sirius stepped into Remus and Tonks' cottage later on that evening, leaving his boots at the door as Tonks stuck her head out of the bedroom.
"There's beer in the fridge, Rem and I are running late."
Sirius nodded and helped himself to a pint before he took a seat in the armchair by the fire. Tonks came out a moment later dressed in purple tights and one of Remus' big grey sweaters. Her toes were bare and painted a dark purple as she plopped down onto the sofa.
"Sorry, I got held up at the Ministry and Remus sent word that he's running a bit behind."
"No problem," Sirius told her. "I didn't have any plans."
She chuckled, curling her legs up under her. "How's Zee?"
"Good," he said. "She sent word that she arrived in France this afternoon."
"Does she have a game plan?"
Sirius nodded. "Yeah, she does. She told me that she has some preliminary research to do first, but she believes that the Melusine village is still off the coast of the Chateau d'If. She's planning on making her way towards it tomorrow. She has to wait to make contact with the messenger."
"Yeah, from what I've heard, the Merpeople don't associate well with anyone who attempts to enter their villages without an invite. Diplomacy is big with them."
"As it should be," Sirius said. "I wouldn't want someone invading my home without my permission either."
Tonks nodded. "Where's she staying?"
"She'll be pitching a tent. She said that Lady Godiva will be forced to stay on the shore, but she's surrounded her area in privacy and protection charms so that no one will know she's there."
"But you're worried anyway."
Sirius gave her a sheepish smile. "After the way she was attacked in October, do you blame me?"
"To be honest, I'm surprised that you didn't go with her."
He shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to, but I think she would have hexed me if I mentioned it. It's her job, and I have to believe that she can take care of herself. No, scratch that — I know that she can take care of herself, I just have to stop worrying."
"You'll never stop worrying," Tonks said with a chuckle. "It doesn't mean you don't trust her to do her job safely."
"I know," Sirius said, taking a sip of his beer. "I just hope something comes out of this. She's gone all this way and we need to find out where exactly they stand."
"I don't know if they will stand with the Ministry, but they do respect Zee — or at least some of the chiefs do. If she can get even a few Merpeople willing to join the Aqua Protectors, I think it would help."
"Me too," Sirius admitted. "I'm not asking for miracles here, but a few Merpeople on board would definitely help turn the tide in the whole unity concept of the Ministry. The more magical creatures we get on board to be our allies, the better it is for us, for the government and of course, for helping us against Voldemort."
Tonks nodded. "Even if they still proclaim neutrality it will be something."
"Better than joining him, I suppose," he said, tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair. "You have guard duty coming up soon?"
"Yes, but I swapped with Bill and now won't be stationed until the Sunday after Valentine's Day. He wants to do something special for Fleur so I swapped days with him so that he could have the weekend to celebrate."
"I thought Sunday nights were out for you since you work on Mondays?"
She shrugged. "For one night I can bear it. Besides, it's not like I haven't pulled an all nighter before."
"Try to sneak at least a nap in. King will have your head if you're not a hundred and fifty percent at least."
"True. I'll be good. Monday mornings are always desk clearing to start off so if I need it, I can kip at my desk."
Sirius nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
The front door opened and Remus stepped in, shaking snow out of his hair. "Damn, it's really bloody coming down out there!"
"Calling for a good storm tonight," Sirius told him. "What held you up?"
Remus took off his coat and boots and sat on the couch next to his wife. She immediately shuffled over and tugged the blanket down around the two of them. Remus put his arm around her as he turned to Sirius.
"Talking to Harry and company, actually — then Rhiannon."
"Everyone okay?"
"Oh, yes, they're just fine," Remus assured him. "Well, I am a bit worried about Neville, but I think my talk with him the other day helped."
"What's wrong with Neville?" Sirius asked, frowning at his friend's words. Neville hadn't said anything in his last letter.
Tonks rested her head against her husband's shoulder. "Girls are being mean to him and he's such a sweetie!"
Remus shook his head. "It's not the girl thing, it's the little panic attack that followed."
"Augusta's hard on him," Sirius said. "She's loosened the reins a bit since I started helping him with Cumbria, but she keeps pushing him to be like Frank and he's not his father."
"No, he's not. That boy has more Alice in him," Remus agreed. "But one of the girls said something about him being a loser, but how it was okay since he's going to be rich later on. It made him start worrying that no one would like him for him and only want to be with him because of his wealth."
"Bollocks! Why are women such a gold-digging bitches?"
"I take offence to that," Tonks said, twining her fingers with Remus' fingers.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "I didn't say you."
"And do you think Zee's dating you for the money?"
"Tonks, you know exactly what I mean — and Merlin, no! If Zee was in it for the Black money, I think she would have had more to say on me giving most of it away to you a few years back."
Remus chuckled. "Anyway, he just had a little panic attack. I calmed him down and he said that he was fine and I've seen no signs otherwise. I don't know if he spoke to his friends about it or not, but I told him he should. I hope he does."
"So, if it wasn't Neville, what was it that held you up?"
"Well, Hermione and Ron worked out something rather brilliant if I do say so myself — and the four of them brought it to my attention just before lunch today. I flagged them down before dinner just to go over a few details before I told you about it." He tugged the coins from his pocket and placed them on the coffee table. "Communication coins, otherwise known as GWCS — Granger-Weasley Communication Systems — designed to send word to large groups."
Tonks' brow furrowed as she leaned forward to pick up a coin. "To send word?"
Remus nodded and quickly explained what they had done to the coins and how they worked as Sirius and Tonks each examined them closely.
"This is absolutely brilliant," Tonks stated, her eyes lighting up. "I can't believe that Hermione came up with them off of an idea that Ron had. She really is the brightest witch of her age! To think that Voldemort could have done something good like this instead of creating those ugly-ass tats to ink into the skin of the nutters who worship him!"
"I agree," Remus said, his eyes on his friend. "What do you think, Padfoot? You think Scrimgeour will go for them?"
"I think Tonks is right, it's a brilliant idea and I think Scrimgeour is definitely going to go for them. I'll talk to him about it this week and then maybe we can work something out with WWW about creating us a batch of special coins."
"Did you see their Headless Hats?" Remus asked him. "They've taken what I've taught them in Defence Club to a whole new level."
"The Shield Hats are the most impressive. I showed one to King and he ordered five hundred of them for the DMLE. It's surprising how many bureaucrats can't produce a decent shield charm," Sirius told him. "I have them working on cloaks of a similar sort. It seems like we can use the extra help in that department."
"It's mind boggling how many people can't produce a simple Shield Charm," Tonks said in amazement. "The Aurors are good, but Dad said that the officers in his department don't have the skills for shield charms and most are nothing more than a thin wisp that blocks low level stuns. The people without official training definitely don't have the skills."
Sirius nodded. "Well, we're working on increasing our spell repertoire in the Terra Troops and I assume in the other divisions as well. But the people who have volunteered are well aware of what they are going to be up against. Being able to defend themselves as well as others is a big part of that, but I think these coins would be a great addition in helping solidify the defence system."
"Agreed," Remus said, smiling at Tonks when she settled back comfortably against his shoulder. "One of the other reasons I was running behind is that I was talking to Rhiannon. I think that she's going to come to the next Defence Club meeting for my Advanced Defence Club and we're going to talk physical defence. I want to start with the broadsword." He jumped a little as his wife's hand rested over his groin beneath the blanket.
"Teach them how to sword fight?" Sirius asked.
"For starters. Rhiannon mentioned that the fae fight with swords and archery as much as magic. She's going to bring in some of the royal guard to help demonstrate."
"It's pretty incredible," Sirius told him. "You missed the demonstration last week. It's like they can move faster than we can and fight off anything that comes their way. The students are going to get a real kick out of that."
"I hope so," Remus said, giving his wife a look as her hand remained in the same spot. "It's going to be the session that falls the week after Valentine's Day or the one after."
Tonks grinned and kissed her husband's cheek. "He cancelled the one this Wednesday so that people can spend time with their significant others because he's a big mushy romantic."
Sirius chuckled. "Maybe he just wants to spend it with you."
"He's still a big mushy romantic," she teased.
"Will Zee be back?"
Sirius nodded. "She should be. She's hoping to be back no later than Monday. It all depends on whether or not they agree to talk to her."
"If anyone can get a bunch of crabby Merpeople to talk to the Ministry of Magic, it'll be Zee," Tonks said.
Sirius tended to believe his cousin was right. He just hoped that things went smoothly for her. He glanced at the clock. She was going to mirror-call him later tonight and tell him how her day progressed. He missed her terribly, and it had been less than twenty-four hours. He stood up to get himself another beer from the fridge.
Tonks was right, Zee had this.
Now they just had to wait and see what happened.