Title: Code of the Griffin
Author: Knife Hand
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.
Summary: From a war ravaged future, someone is sent back in time to change the course of the war.
A/N: The comment has been made that because Hermione is a Duchess she should be referred to as 'Your Grace' not 'Lady'. She is only a Duchess in the Muggle world, as far as the Wizarding world is concerned she is Ruling Lady of the House of Gryffindor.
Ron, Marie St Clair and Samantha Skinner stood outside the portrait that led into the Ravenclaw tower, standing off to one side, awaiting Fleur Delacour to emerge. They were all dressed in BDU's, Marie and Sam with their Assault Rifles, both M-16's, while Ron only was armed with his sidearm. The portrait opened and a few Ravenclaws and two Baubuxton students emerged and headed down to Breakfast, the portrait closing behind them. A few minutes later the portrait opened again and Fleur emerged, accompanied by five other Baubuxton students, and flanked by Luna and Michelle.
"Sergeant Lovegood." Ron said, with a salute. "You are relieved."
"Sergeant Weasley, we stand relieved." Luna replied, returning the salute.
"Champion Delacour." Ron said to Fleur as Luna and Michelle moved off to Breakfast. "We are here to escort you to Breakfast."
"Is this really necessary?" Fleur asked.
"Sir, we have had at least one known Death Eater, who should have been in Azkaban, who was masquerading as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. As a Champion you are a potential target. The Order is responsible for your safety. We would prefer you were not exposed to any more danger than is inherent in the Tournament." Ron explained.
With a slight sigh, Fleur nodded. Ron fell into step beside while the two female Order members fell in one pace behind.
The Major looked out the window as the Jeep pulled up outside and three figures got out, the Driver was one his own and stayed in the jeep. He moved to the conference table, sitting next to Agent 009. Sergeant Waters was waiting outside and escorted the guests in.
"Sir." Waters said as he led in the three Order of the Griffin command staff in. "Grand Marshall Granger, Lieutenant Diggory and Staff Sergeant Potter."
The three Order members sat down across from the Major and 009, with Sergeant Waters sitting next to the Major. The Major saw the instant recognition in Hermione's eyes when she looked at Agent 009 and Himself and that look in Harry's saying that he recognises them but could not quite place them.
"This is the Major in charge of joint operations with The Order, and Agent 009 of MI6." Waters introduced.
"Let's get down to business." Hermione began. "Do you want to start, Dad? Or would you Mum?"
Hermione stared at the Major and Agent 009. Major Peter Granger and Agent Jane Granger smiled at their daughter. Peter saw the confusion in Cedric's face and the light go on in Harry's mind.
"Your Dad's an SAS Major and your Mum's a 00? That explains a lot." Harry said.
Hermione's arm shot out and gave Harry a light punch on the arm. The move seemed like a reflex, something that Hermione was barely aware of but seemed to be affectionate. A brief look of annoyance passed over Harry's face then disappeared almost immediately.
"Back to business. What's the operation?" Hermione asked.
"There is an operation, but first there will be an integration training program, so that both The Regiment and The Order can learn common tactical doctrines." Major Granger replied.
Hermione sat alone at the large oaken desk in the replica of her old quarters in the "Might of the Fallen", the floor to ceiling shelves of books behind her. She had let the Grand Marshall part of her recede. She was just a teenage girl who had found out that her parents were absolutely nothing like she had thought. She flipped through the photo album on the desk. Christmas Photos of Hermione and Harry with her parents. Wedding photos of her father leading her down the isle and candid shots of her with her mother and Harry and her father.
Of course there were no photos of the most tragic event involving her parents. The memory came unbidden of that night. The phone call, the abandoned meal, the frantic drive to the hospital. A truck had hit her parents car, Peter Granger had died instantly, however Jane Granger had survived, for a time at least. For four days Hermione had sat by her unconscious mother's body, the sheets not forming a proper outline, laying low where Jane's missing right arm and leg should have been. Harry had been by her side, when he was not off taking care of funeral arrangement or getting coffee or changes of clothes for Hermione.
Three days later she stood at the grave side of both her parents, Harry standing close at her side, arm around her shoulder, as the rain fell drenching the cemetery. The water drenched them, unlike the scattering of other mourners they did not have an umbrella, and they let it wash away Hermione's tears. Three weeks later it would be their fourth wedding anniversary.
Hermione came out of her memories, tears rolling down her cheeks. She slammed the photo album closed and stood up from the desk. She half ran, half stumbled to the large bunk and fell onto it, balling her eyes out. Crying for all the losses she had experience. The loss of her parents, her friends, her Harry. The loss of the innocent belief of the simple lives of her parents. Even the loss of the Stars. All the worlds out there, both the civilised and developed worlds and the wild worlds, full of wonder and danger.
Harry sat at the desk in his private quarters off the Gryffindor Common room, going over the stacks of paperwork. The first stack, the smallest, was simple Hogwarts Schoolwork assignments due in the next few weeks. The second was House Potter estate status reports and upkeep expenses. The third was lists of active House Potter negotiations. Most of the second and third piles were administered by proxies but he still had to review them to keep abreast of the house finances but there were still a few he needed authorise personally.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes before grabbing another document from the third stack, this one about a complicated, multi-tiered negotiation with a group of Australian companies. He studied the document and eventually penned an amendment to a few of the sections, which he sealed and set in a stack of envelopes in his out tray to be sent out by post owl in the morning.
Hedwig hooted sleepily on her perch, causing Harry to look up, and then glance across at the clock. It was after midnight and he had been working solidly since seven. He stood from the chair and stretched, his back cracking in a number of places and a ripple running up and down his spine as knots in his muscles tensed and then released in succession, causing first a sharp intake of breath and the a long, slow relived sigh. He made his way into the small bedroom that was attached to the Lord's office and collapsed onto the bed.
While he enjoyed and was committed to the Order, it was still another factor to add onto his exceedingly full plate, with both his School work and his House Potter responsibilities. And tonight was a night off for Order duties. Tomorrow evening he would be duty officer and would have to deal with and issues that came up. And of course the Order duties would be taking up more and more time given what they had learnt in the briefing with their SAS liaisons, Hermione's Parents.
Then there was the whole mess with the Grand Marshall, or was it Lady Granger, or perhaps just his friend Hermione. There were just so many sides to his Best Friend that sometimes it seemed like you were suddenly talking to a different person in the middle of a conversation. And his feelings towards her. Respect for his commanding officer, friendship for the girl who would sit and study with him, and a muddy wash of emotions he could not explain, not even to himself but especially not to Ron who would undoubtedly take the piss, whenever Hermione seemed to know things about him that he did not even know about himself. Like the Banana Crepes.
The first time he had ever had Banana Crepes, at a restaurant with Sirius, Remus and her Parents the previous summer, she had said they were his favourite when she had ordered them off the menu, and when they had arrived he had discovered a gastronomic experience he had never imagined and they had indeed become his favourite desert. It was not the fact that she knew things about him, Hermione was from the future after all and that was to be expected, but there were lots of little things which made him wonder how close they had been in the future. Slight adjustments to his cutlery in the Great Hall that seemed a reflex action, the straitening of his school tie of a morning.
Had something happened to him in the future? She had said he had been a lot of pain in his future, that he had been married and that he had died in her arms. Had he at some point become an invalid, forcing his friend to take care of him? Maybe a mental breakdown? He could not let himself become a burden to Hermione again. Not this time.
With determination not to drag Hermione down with his flaws, sleep finally claimed Harry.
"How is R&D coming?" Asked the middle aged man at the head of conference table.
"Progressing on schedule as we had discussed last week." The female head of R&D replied. "There have been no delays. Project Gamma Six is producing some interesting results as outlined in the report."
One could easily have mistaken it for a board meeting or Senior Management meeting for any medium sized corporation. The man at the head of the table nodded before turning to a severe looking middle aged man with buzz cut hair.
"And how is the training progressing, Gerald?" The man asked.
"Very well, Master. We have begun to replenish the losses we sustained at the World Cup last month with new recruits. We have had two cadet classes graduate in the last month and have started to develop tactics to counter Her organisation."
"Good." The Master replied. "And what about on the foreign front?"
"We have feelers out." A young woman near the foot of the table said. "We have identified possible allies a wide range of European Countries and America. We have eliminated a number of groups based either on differing attitudes, lack of influence or excessively high profiles that draw too much of the wrong kind of attention. It is all detailed in my report."
"Thank you Sarah. Gerald, Sarah we will look at training and foreign integration in the meeting next Tuesday. Everyone else, we will meet again in two weeks." The Master said, closing the folder in front of him and raising from the table.
TBC…