The train was steadily pulling away from Hogsmead when their compartment door finally opened.
"Well look what the cat dragged in," Susan smirked as Hermione began stowing Crookshanks' basket.
Her cousin's tie was only draped around her neck and her school shirt wasn't tucked in. She looked exhausted and her hair was loose around her in a black, curly cloud.
"Oh, shut up," Hermione complained, apparently too tired to put any real venom into her voice. Considering venomous was often her default setting, that spoke volumes.
"We thought you'd be meeting us at the station in London," Susan said over the noise of their brother cackling himself hoarse in the background.
"We thought about that," Fred admitted, disillusioning himself. Susan let out a small scream and threw her book at him. "But we figured we'd never manage to pull it off."
"Really?" George dropped his spell and passed the book back. "Call yourself a witch, Susie?"
Harry finally seemed to be calming down and managed to ask, "Worried about Dad?" as he gasped for breath.
"Remus and Amelia, more like," George pulled Hermione down into his lap as he spoke. "I'm not trying to fool more than one Marauder in a day."
Harry frowned at his sister who was falling asleep on George's shoulder. "Why are you so tired, Mione?"
"Moving swiftly on," Fred cast around desperately for a topic and landed on Susan who sniggered at him. "Where's your lovely girlfriend this morning?" He gestured to the empty seat next to her.
"Yeah, how long has that been going on?" George added.
To their credit, they seemed genuinely interested, which did make Susan smile. Sometimes she forgot that the Twins were their friends too, not just Hermione's boyfriends.
"Officially, a few months now." She admitted, "She's going to come by in a bit. Wanted to spend some time with the other 'puffs,"
"And your girlfriend?" Fred turned to Harry who immediately stopped scowling and started smiling like an idiot. Personally, Fred hoped he never looked that thick when thinking about Hermione.
"She's hunting for Nergalid's on the train."
"What's a…"
"Don't," Hermione mumbled.
"Right." They turned towards Draco and visibly hesitated. "Should we even ask?"
At this Hermione lifted her head and frowned at her cousin, giving him a once over to make sure he was okay. He rolled his eyes at her overprotective antics.
"Nott?" Was all she said.
"Staying at Hogwarts for Christmas," Draco murmured, turning the page in his potions textbook. "Professor Snape realised that as Nott is still underage and has no current guardian, he was required to stay at school."
Which explained what Draco had been up to last night.
The rest of the journey was cramped but quiet. Once Hannah and Luna arrived, space was in short supply, but Hermione continued napping on George's shoulder and Luna seemed quite happy to curl up in Harry's lap and read the latest issue of the Quibbler.
Backwards.
The Twins were hidden under Harry's invisibility cloak from the witch who ran the trolley but also paid for everyone's lunch to say thank you. The afternoon's exploding snap tournament resulted in the loss of Luna's Quibbler and half of Hannah's eyebrow. As the train huffed into King's Cross Station, they vanished the sweet wrappers and roused Hermione and Draco, both of whom had fallen asleep.
"Mind if we borrow your cloak again?" George asked as his brother helped Hermione with her trunk.
"Ha!" Harry smirked. "No chance."
"What really?" The Twins scowled at him, before realising he was utterly serious and performing disillusionment charms on each other. As they faded into the background Susan leaned forward to whisper in her cousin's ear.
"I take it you're not going to tell them Aurors can notice those?"
"Oh, no," Harry hissed back. "Besides this is my only chance of getting Luna past Dad without him interrogating her."
Susan admitted he was probably right and realised that if she was smart, she'd be able to do the same with her girlfriend. She quickly moved to help Hannah with her trunk.
It was a large party that disembarked from the train. They were immediately greeted by an amused Amelia and Sirius, who was wearing the harried and confused expression of someone who had been holding an extended conversation with Xenophelious Lovegood.
"Oh, thank Merlin," He hissed as his children approached. Lovegood didn't seem to notice his relief, too busy hugging Luna. Sirius looked over each of his children and Harry watched in glee as his eyes narrowed on the space behind Hermione.
"Who is that?"
"Errr…." George managed. That was the last thing Harry heard as he was waved over by Luna to be introduced to her father.
By the time Sirius had finished thoroughly embarrassing both the Twins and Hermione, the Lovegoods and the Abbots had left the station, much to Harry and Susan's relief.
"C'mon," Amelia firmly took Sirius' hand and began dragging him towards the exit, "Leave the Twins alone. I've been on my feet all day…"
If Harry was a betting man (And Susan's wallet could attest that he was) he would suspect his mother of exploiting her pregnancy to distract his father. As Sirius helped his (in no way frail) wife from the station, the Twins kissed Hermione quickly and disappeared before anyone could remember they'd been there.
The drive back to Potter Manor was mostly occupied with Amelia complaining about the state of the Ministry and Sirius' increasingly elaborate offers to burn the whole place down. Utterly used to such conversations, the four teenagers snoozed quietly in the back of the Ministry car and revelled in the joy of family.
Potter Manor was blazing with light and warmth. It reminded her of the first visit Hermione had made, half frozen on her broom. The only major change appeared to be the flock of Hippogriffs roaming the grounds. Sirius and Amelia had been arguing about them. Hermione could tell by the way both of them pointedly pretended they couldn't see the large creatures. As they disembarked from the car the oak front door opened silently, exposing the silhouette of a man.
He was thin, ragged and nervous as he watched them approach.
"Dad!" Hermione was first to break rank and charged at Remus who looked panicked before he realised she was trying to hug him. He staggered back into the light of the hall as she hit him. It took a second but he relaxed and hugged her back.
"They're going to be mad," Sirius mimicked, in a high-pitched voice as he started levitating trunks in, "They're never going to forgive me, Padfoot."
"Shut up, Dad," Harry complained, joining his sister in hugging a now rather teary-eyed werewolf.
Susan didn't move forward, just folded her arms and glowered at her honorary uncle from the front step.
"Susan?" Remus asked, some of his earlier nerves creeping back over his face. Of all of the kids Remus had helped raise, Susan was the most difficult to work around sometimes. Harry was stubborn but was also fairly easygoing. Hermione was a very angry person, but would usually burn herself out quite quickly, especially for the family. Susan on the other hand...
The young witch lifted her chin.
"What are your intentions with my Aunt?" Her voice was so cold it was like ice, misting the air in front of her. Amelia, for the first time, saw her sister-in-law in her niece. Cecilia Avery had earned respect at Hogwarts for her cold exterior that saw braver first years calling her the Ice Queen of Ravenclaw Tower. Mostly Susan took after her more affable father, Edgar.
Remus went very pale and swallowed. He looked desperately to Amelia and Sirius but they made absolutely no move to save him from the Hufflepuff Inquisitorial Squad. Amelia was quite happy to let this play out the way it would.
"Um…" He managed.
That didn't seem to appease the redhead.
"Are you going to marry her?" Susan demanded, tapping one foot. Remus rocked back on his heels, clutching at the door frame to hold him upright.
"Hey!" Sirius complained. "You can't marry my wife!" His best friend looked incredibly relieved until Sirius continued. "You've got to marry me first!"
Remus went from pale to corpse-like.
"Yeah!" Harry joined in, grinning broadly as he rounded on Remus. "What are your intentions towards my father?"
Hermione, the only one who hadn't moved away from Remus, felt the way he was suddenly swaying.
"Oi!" She snapped at Harry, who jumped, not expecting her to turn on him. "What are your father's intentions toward my father?"
Amelia abandoned any attempt at seriousness as she began to cackle.
Sirius smirked.
"What are my intentions towards Remus?" He asked, wrapping one arm around his laughing wife. "Utterly unfit for the ears of children."
As one, Harry, Susan and Hermione retched loudly and began to yell at Sirius, even as Remus went bright red and hid his face in his hands.
"I hate this family," Draco complained to himself and stormed off to find his mother. No one seemed to notice.
"It's nice to have the house full again," Amelia admitted, idly stroking her baby bump.
"It's nice to see the kids acting so…"
"Like kids?" Amelia supplied dryly. "I know what you mean."
Sirius wouldn't trade his traumatised, bizarre mixture of offspring for anything, but sometimes he wished they hadn't had to grow up so fast. Or so hard. He hoped the next ones would have it easier.
"Did you see the Twins?" He crowed, reliving the expression of panic on the young men's faces. "I thought they were going to bolt!"
"Ah, someone should have told them that part of Auror training is noticing disillusionment charms." She smiled to herself, listening to the distant sounds of a full house settling down for the night. She could hear Harry and Susan arguing in the distance, Draco and Narcissa heading quietly to bed, Hermione's cackling laughter as she refereed her siblings. "Can't believe we're going to have another one. Aren't we a bit old for a newborn?"
"I think I'm only a little older than Hermione's parents when they had her," Sirius frowned at the ceiling. "And James' parents were older than both of us. Nearly fifty when they had James."
"Really?" Amelia hadn't known that. There was a lot she didn't know about James Potter.
"James was their "little miracle," Remus muttered sleepily from the other side of the bed. "Which went straight to his head, of course."
"Arrogant prick," Sirius added fondly.
There was a long, somewhat awkward pause. There was a lot they were leaving unspoken. Stupid, Amelia knew, especially with the state of the world, but none of them wanted to disturb what little peace they had. Besides most of the issues themselves had nothing to do with Amelia. Sometimes she burned with questions, her Auror curiosity wanting to pick and prod. Where had it all gone wrong? Had they planned a life together? Had they been too caught up in the war? Why did Sirius both love and loathe the Potters? Why did Remus look at Sirius like being in the same room as him caused him physical pain?
"What do we think about godparents?" Amelia asked the room at large, breaking the tension.
"Can't be me," Remus admitted, sounding quite happy about this. "New regulations, remember?"
"Of course it can't be you," Sirius complained, waving a hand above them in the dim light. "You're the father."
There was an irritated growl from somewhere to Amelia's left, that Sirius responded to in kind.
"I was thinking about Kingsley." She cut through their canine nonsense. The growling stopped and both wizards propped themselves up to look at her.
"Shacklebolt?" Sirius frowned, "Why?"
"He's a good wizard, an excellent Auror..." Her reasons for guardians were always going to be slightly more practical.
"He followed you when we left the Order," Remus supplied, looking thoughtful.
"His big sister has a Wizengamot seat," Amelia added, "And he's a friend. I trust him. My other suggestion was Moody."
"Mad-Eye!" Sirius shrieked, looking horrified at the thought of Alisdair Moody being left in charge of an infant.
"Shacklebolt it is then," Remus chuckled. "What about a godmother?"
Amelia didn't know enough witches to have many close friends beyond family.
"One of the kids?" She suggested.
"Susan will already be their Head of House,"
"So will Hermione," Remus added and was promptly ignored.
"Besides, they're all going to be siblings anyway," Sirius frowned, thinking it over. "Emmaline Vance?"
"She's dead," Amelia murmured and met Sirius's eyes with a sad but resigned expression. "Death Eaters, last week. The Ministry ruled it as suspicious circumstances. The funeral is in the new year,"
"Fuck,"
In the awful silence that followed, Amelia just made out her husband whispering hushed prayers for a gentle repose, rest and quiet passing.
"Do we know any other witches?" Remus asked eventually.
"Well, there's Narcissa and Andy, but both of them have sworn they're too old to deal with young children." Sirius yawned, "The same goes for Minerva."
"Narcissa is younger than me!" Amelia complained and then paused. "There is…"
"No!" Remus complained.
"She'll drop the baby!" Sirius insisted. "She once dropped Harry out a window!"
"She can't walk down a flight of stairs!" Remus added.
Amelia rolled her eyes.
"Firstly, he bounced. Secondly, I doubt she'd manage to do that twice. She won't drop the baby and it's not like we've got any better suggestions." She ran her fingers through Sirius' hair. "You should have more faith in Tonks, she's not a kid anymore."
As if the entire family had silently agreed to a truce, there was no mention of prophecy, soulmates, Death Eaters or the burgeoning war. Everyone kept firmly to safe topics like the baby, Christmas or when Sirius would stop singing carols about Hippogriffs. Because of that, Hermione had hoped that Christmas Eve would be a quiet kind of day, where she could get some rest and do something other than revise. That hope was dashed when her father dragged her out of bed at six in the morning. Clearly, he'd decided that because Amelia had woken him up on her way to work, everyone else should suffer too.
The bastard.
Sirius conjured two hoops out of fallen branches and tossed them a few metres apart in the snow.
"Dad?"
They were outside of the wards, not by much, but enough to make both of them uncomfortable. He'd bundled them up in cloaks but refused to say anything more when he'd shoved her outside. She watched him sleepily, wishing he'd let her have breakfast. Judging by the slightly manic look in his eyes, it was better not to push him this morning.
He strode into one hoop, snapped out "Watch!" and spun on the spot, vanishing in a whirl of black wool. He reappeared in the other hoop with a crack.
"Your turn!"
Hermione stared at him blankly.
"Dad, we don't start apparition lessons until next term." He glowered at her and she raised her hands in submission. "I don't know how to apparate!"
He stomped over to her irritably, pulling her into the first hoop and turning her to look at the other one.
"Destination, that hoop over there. That's where you're going. Deliberation, think about that hoop. Focus on it. Determination, you are going to land in that hoop. And then...we turn!" He spun with her and they appeared in the other hoop. Hermione staggered at the sudden landing. "Now! You do it!"
Four hours later a frustrated, cold and dizzy Hermione followed her adopted father back in through the driving rain that had started not long after they'd begun. Both stormed off to different ends of the house.
The rest of Christmas Eve was spent decorating the house and helping Sirius and Remus paint Harry's old nursery. Susan put her foot down about an entirely red and gold colour scheme, pointing out that the Bones' family hadn't had a Gryffindor in seven generations, regardless of who the father was. Harry announced that as it was his house he should get to choose and he wanted orange. Amelia was busy at work and wasn't available to offer her opinion. Narcissa suggested green, which Sirius protested vehemently about. It would have descended into anarchy had Remus not, quietly enough to only be picked up by Sirius' more acute canine hearing, muttered that turquoise had been his mother's favourite colour. Which ended all further arguments.
"Dad, why do we have a herd of Hippogriffs?" Hermione asked, hoping to distract him from Christmas Morning's apparition lesson.
Sirius scratched at his ear as he leaned heavily on his cane. It was one of his more dog-like habits.
"I thought a bit of extra security wouldn't hurt. I'm not as...quick as I was before the attack," Hermione didn't say anything but she didn't need to. They both knew the nerve damage had made him clumsier than he had been. His days as a master duelist were long behind him, and he knew it. "And Hippogriffs are loyal. If you're good to them, they'll be good to you."
"Where did you even get twelve Hippogriffs?" Hermione watched a beautiful grey and speckled black one wheel overhead, what looked like a gnome hanging from its mouth. She hadn't known Potter Manor had gnomes.
"Oh, the Scamander family breeds them," He explained, as though that helped. "Have for generations. Old Newton was happy to help and his husband was happy to be rid of some of them. Apparently, he keeps letting them into the house. They've been shoring up their estate. Lucky I saw them before they secluded entirely really."
"Are they going into hiding?"
"A lot of families can see which way the wind is blowing. Those that can, are leaving. Amy's been encouraging as many muggleborn Aurors to take posts overseas as she can. I spoke to Vishwas last week, you go to school with his nieces, I think? The Patils?" Hermione nodded. "He's taking as many of his family back to India as he can until this all blows over. His brother won't go because of the girls, wants them to finish their education. The Scamanders have made it through Grindelwald and the last war. They've got a few valleys down in Wales that they're making unplottable. Chances are the Death Eaters will leave them be. They're purebloods and they've got so many dangerous creatures in their sanctuary, it would be a big risk taking them on."
"Are we…" Hermione paused to think for a second. "Is there anyone...If it really is going to come to a war…"
Sirius gave her a pitying look. She knew better. She could see what it was going to come to.
"Andromeda doesn't want to fight, but she's a healer so that's not new. I offered to get Narcissa somewhere safe but she's refusing to go. If nothing else the more adults we have here the safer the baby will be when it comes. We've set up safe houses, which will be next week's job for you. Minerva's going to add you to the Broch up north, in case it's ever needed. She wants you as Secret Keeper."
"She's staying at Hogwarts," Sirius didn't look surprised at this news and Hermione realised Minerva must have informed him already. "She says she won't abandon the students. But...The Death Eaters know she's my mum…."
"Minerva is an accomplished witch," Sirius soothed. "She made it through the last war…"
Hermione tried hard not to think about the two adopted uncles she'd never met or the fact her mother was in her late seventies.
"Now...back to apparition."
The unspoken truce was broken on Boxing Day. Sirius seemed to have let Hermione have the day off from Apparition training, which she was thankful for. She suspected it was because he was hungover from Christmas Dinner. So she really didn't appreciate being awoken early on the 26th.
"Fuck off, Dad!"
"I'm not Dad," A soft voice whispered.
Hermione cracked one eye open and frowned at the figure in a white nightgown hovering over her.
"Susie?" She managed, sleepily. Susan shivered and Hermione lifted the covers, inviting her sister in. She regretted it when Susan's cold feet touched hers though. "Blimey, you're cold. How long have you been standing there?"
"I couldn't sleep."
Hermione was almost back to sleep again, she'd been having a very confusing dream about Christmas Pudding Bludgers that was almost certainly Fred's fault when Susan said,
"I learned something at Slughorn's Party." Hermione sighed and tried to bury herself in pillows. "He knows something about You-Know-Who and Horcruxes."
There was a moment of soft silence broken only by Hermione's sigh.
"We'll tell Dads and Amelia," She promised, patting her sister sleepily. "It'll be okay."
"The Twins are here!" Harry announced unnecessarily as he passed them in the hall. Harry seemed to be heading straight back to bed, judging by the pyjamas and the mug of coffee he was cradling.
"I know that!" Hermione yelled back from somewhere else in the house. Fred Blinked for a second and grinned as he realised she was trying to decide what to wear. "OI!" She roared.
"I do not want to know," Harry muttered, ascending the stairs.
Boxing Day was bright and clear this year, although there was a heavy layer of frost on the ground which they'd tramped in through from the apparition point. Sirius had invited them for Christmas Day, but they'd politely declined to spend it at The Burrow. Hermione had declined her invitation to spend Christmas at the Weasley's which they couldn't blame her for. They had accepted the offer to join the Black's for Boxing Day, however. Which meant that Hermione had been forced to accept the invitation for New Year's Eve.
"Oh, good!" Amelia beamed at them as she stuck her head out of the dining room, "Breakfast is ready, boys!"
They followed the off-duty Auror and took a seat at the half-empty table to wait for their girlfriend. Amelia seemed to be one of the few up, with Narcissa Black nodding elegantly to them from the end of the table where she was reading the Prophet. The fact that they not only knew but were on speaking terms with the former Mrs Malfoy made them both slightly nervous.
"I don't know how you can read that drivel," Amelia complained, helping herself to a pancake.
"It helps to be informed," Narcissa murmured, raising an eyebrow at the sugar Amelia was spooning onto her breakfast with extreme focus.
"How have you been?" George asked, relaxing in the close proximity of the bond. Both of them removed their bracelets, enjoying the freedom from the slightly itchy prickle the glamour caused.
Amelia shrugged, looking tired but happy in leggings and a shirt George suspected might belong to Remus. It was a spectacularly boring check print.
"The Ministry in shambles," She admitted, cutting her pancake into precise pieces. "But we're finally making inroads on shoring up the holes in Azkaban. Removing the Dementors isn't popular but we obviously can't rely on them anymore. Not after last year's escape."
"They meant about the baby," Hermione murmured as she slipped into the room. She was relaxed as well, only wearing her signet ring and torc, which she never removed, so her bond marks were on prominent display under her t-shirt. George thought he could see them shimmer in the morning light. She kissed them both on the cheek, before settling between them.
"Oh!" Amelia looked down as though she'd forgotten about it. "That's fine. I'm not used to lugging the extra weight around. Real problem is at work. No one's worked out why I've stopped doing fieldwork yet."
"She's only told the family," Hermione explained when George frowned at her. "And the Minister for Magic."
"Sexist prick," Amelia muttered, finally starting to eat her breakfast.
The delicate peace of the morning was broken by a large black dog that bounded into the room, one leg folded up as it ran. It dropped the bundle it was holding in Amelia's lap, licked the side of her face and then leaned up on the table to steal some bacon before it sped off again.
The Head Auror sighed and stared at the three of them.
"I married that man," She admitted ruefully.
"At least people don't think you're related to him," Hermione complained, clearly annoyed about something.
The bundle turned out to be Amelia's jumper, which she put on despite the dog slobber.
"As you're here, lads." Amelia continued, obviously pretending the rest of the room wasn't judging her immensely, "I was wondering if the three of you could help me with some wards. I've got Shacklebolt and Tonks coming around later and I was hoping we could do some duelling as well."
"Has Dalitso's grandson offered for her?" Narcissa piped up, eyes narrowed.
"Who's…."
"Dalitso Shacklebolt," Amelia explained to Hermione. "One of the greatest sorceresses to come out of the Lusaka Circle in Zambia in decades. She's excellent friends with Augusta Longbottom." She added, which George took to mean the woman was very old, very powerful and very scary. "I still remember the time she eviscerated Abraxas Malfoy. Didn't even have to draw her wand." She sighed as though recalling a fond memory. "But no, Kingsley has not made an offer."
"Sirius should do something about that," Narcissa murmured, turning the page in her paper.
"Sirius wouldn't dare," Amelia corrected flatly. "They've only been dating for a few months, leave them be."
"That has to be one of the most beautiful pieces of magic I've ever seen," Amelia muttered to Sirius. Who, in the way of husbands everywhere nodded to show he wasn't listening.
Warding wasn't taught at Hogwarts, but Hermione and the Twins had clearly been doing their own research. Which, if Amelia thought about it for too long was rather depressing, so she tried not to. Unlike traditional warding where spells were layered on top of each other, the Bond allowed them to braid three spells together, making the entire matrix of wards stronger in the process.
"I'm trying hard to shut off the Auror part of my brain," She added, safe in the knowledge he wasn't paying attention. "The bit that says they're probably the greatest weapon we have in the war. That says I should use them to our advantage, to go on the offensive. But…" She sighed. "But there is a part of me that can't stop seeing them as children. As all of them as children. Hell Tonks was a little girl when I first met her. Shacklebolt isn't much older than her. Isn't there someone else who can…"
"I think I know how to teach Hermione Apparition!" Sirius announced suddenly.
Amelia sighed.
"Of course, dear."
"Dad, we're meant to be duelling!"
An azure shield effortlessly deflected the stunning spell Sirius sent at Fred. Hermione had no idea which one of them had cast.
"Oh, yeah," Sirius drawled, conjuring the dreaded hoops. "You three really need to practise."
The three of them glared at him.
"Right, lads. You probably know that Hermione needs to pass her Apparition test before she goes back to school." The Twins, who'd been woken up by the sheer force of Hermione's rage at her father several times this week, nodded. "But she's been struggling…"
"It's been four days!" Hermione roared.
"And we don't have time!" Sirius bellowed back, eyes dark and fearful.
The two Blacks squared off against each other before Hermione scowled and looked away.
"Sirius," George tried to placate him. "It took us months to learn…"
The elder Black smirked.
"Yes, but you two are going to help." He positioned one twin in each circle. "Hermione needs something to focus on and luckily for us…she's got a connection that will do the trick." He shoved Hermione into the first hoop, Fred steadying her automatically. "You need to get to…" Sirius squinted, "...The other one…" George rolled his eyes. "Without touching the floor."
It took twenty minutes, in which time all Hermione managed was a particularly good jump, before Sirius lost his temper again.
"No, no, no…" He stepped between the circles, scowling at Hermione. "You need to use your bond. What does…Shut your eyes." Reluctantly, she did so. "Can you feel them?"
"Yes," Hermione admitted reluctantly. She scowled, looking through Fred's eyes. The back of her hair really was in a state.
A wet ball of slush hit her in the side of the face and she opened her eyes again.
"Focus!" Sirius snapped.
Irritably Hermione wiped the muddy snow off.
"There were stones in that," She complained.
"And there will be stones in the next one!" Sirius hissed venomously, using his wand to heft another snowball. The Twins shifted uncomfortably, unwilling to step between them unless it looked like they'd hurt each other. "Hermione, you need to get this, sweetheart. I need to know you can get yourself out of danger!"
For a long moment, the two stared at each other before she softened and sighed.
"Dad…"
"Nope!" Sirius whirled away. "No feelings. Focus, Hermione! Use your bond."
Fred rubbed her shoulder as she calmed herself and lifted her wand again. Her eyes closed again and this time, instead of looking through her bondmates eyes, she looked deeper. The bond was strong and thrumming with magical energy. If she reached along it she could feel the bond to George, that connection that flowed from her hand to his. She could even feel his hand in hers…if she could just pull on it…
CRACK
Hermione's eyes snapped open and she smiled as her vision was filled with the worn orange of George's shirt. She looked around and her smile waned as she realised she was still in the hoop with Fred. Sirius was shaking his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as he muttered,
"Apparate yourself, Hermione!" He gestured George back to his hoop. "I didn't even know you could apparate other people. Again!"
It took hours and the sun was low in the sky by the time Hermione could reliably pull herself along the bond to George's side. But she had the feeling of apparating down and that was what Sirius had been looking for. When he finally declared an end, the three of them collapsed into the snow, exhausted as the Black Patriarch stormed back inside.
"Your father,"
"Is nuts." The twins complained.
Hermione chuckled.
"You're just figuring that out?" She let Fred help her up. "Black's are mad."
For all Hermione's irritation and anger at her father, she understood where he was coming from. The mood was growing grimmer by the day. Every night Amelia staggered in with a list of the missing or dead. Sirius' allies in the Wizengamot were growing thinner by the day and more of his letters were being returned unopened. The wizarding world was choosing sides and a lot of them weren't choosing the same side as the Blacks. Sirius could feel the walls closing in around him and he wasn't a man who coped with being trapped well. He was afraid, deathly so, that when the fight came for his family he wouldn't be enough to stop it.
Unlike the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius' more relaxed Black family gatherings had no age limit. None of the adults saw any sense in leaving their children out of it.
"We are not starting a mafia," Amelia complained, as the last of the dinner things were cleared away and the table began to fill with notebooks and maps. "I'm the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Sirius!"
Her husband, who had been making the case for a magical racketeering ring, shrugged.
"You don't have to join," He said easily.
Amelia gave him a long look, before clearly deciding that that wasn't the hill she wanted to die on. "You had something to tell us, Susie?"
Somewhat nervously, Susan put down her tea cup and looked around the table. They were almost crowded tonight. Among the usual Black, Bones and Malfoy families were Professor Flitwick and McGonagal, the Twins, Kingsley, Bill and Fleur. The last two were visiting on the understanding that Molly would not find out.
"Well, I was talking to Professor Slughorn at his Christmas Party. I wanted to see if any of his guests knew anything about Horcruxes. He reacted suspiciously when I brought the subject up in front of him. I thought he was going to faint when I mentioned Tom Riddle."
"He was teaching at Hogwarts when Tom attended," Narcissa noted delicately. "He would have been his Head of House."
"Would he have shared something that important with his teacher?" Remus seemed doubtful.
"By all reports," Minerva sighed, "He was an excellent student at Hogwarts. Charismatic and intelligent. Exactly the kind of student that Horace likes surrounding himself with. If there was a teacher at Hogwarts that Tom thought he could trust, it may well have been him."
"But would he honestly hand the key to his destruction to a notoriously loud-mouthed man?" Andromeda demanded. "Sluggy was awful for gossip when I was at Hogwarts, I can't imagine that was new."
"Why did Dumbledore hire him back?" Amelia asked Minerva. "He can't have been the only applicant."
"He didn't apply," Minerva admitted grimly. "We've never struggled for applicants to other positions, just Defence. There were many other more qualified, younger wizards and witches. Slughorn was on the run. Dumbledore found him and he realised that he wasn't hiding well. He agreed to come back to Hogwarts in exchange for protection."
There was a pause as the table digested that.
"The question is," Susan said at last. "Is he just frightened, or does he genuinely know something that Voldytort might want to kill him over?"
Sirius' chair thumped back onto all four feet and he rested his hands on the table, eyeing his niece.
"Do you think you can find out?"
For a moment Susan seemed to pale under all the attention before her spine straightened and she considered the question seriously. She nodded.
"Yes. I think I can."
Any frivolity brought about by the holidays was quickly lost as the family buried themselves in preparation. Sirius dragged Hermione around every property the Blacks owned, in case they ever needed a safe house, adding her to the wards. Amelia drafted escape routes and codewords, trying to plan for every contingency. It was hard to say what put greater strain on them, the tireless work of planning, the unnerving feeling of a net closing in around them or the worry that nothing they did was going to be enough.
"It's a little ruinous," Minerva apologised.
Hermione wrapped her cloak around her tightly as the wind tugged at the fabric, trying to pull it away. Minerva didn't seem bothered by the weather, leaning on her staff.
"It genuinely is a broch," Hermione admitted, surprised. Minerva looked at her and she shrugged. "We did a project on iron age civilisations in primary school." She'd been briefly enamoured with the topic, enough that she could recognise that this structure was old. Incredibly old.
It had been altered slightly, over the years, but the base structure, a round cairn-shaped building of stone, was original.
Minera thumped the door with her staff and it swung open, creaking obnoxiously. The wind dropped as they stepped inside. There was a corridor that ran the diameter of the broch, with a second stone wall protecting the interior room. The entire building was designed to survive a siege. The inside was lined with stone shelves and a centre fire pit sprang to life when Minerva stepped inside. The iron bed frame complete with a mattress looked entirely out of place, as did the silver cauldron that was propped up against one wall.
"Traditionally the family have used it as a hideout," Minerva explained. "I think one of the witches who married into Ross brought it with her and they repaired it. No one has spent any real time in here the last century."
Eyeing the large spotty spider that was dangling from the ceiling, Hermione could believe that.
"Unfortunately that means the wards are old as well." Minerva rested her staff against a wall, drawing a small silver blade from her pocket.
"Bugger," Hermione muttered. She presented her left hand now littered with small cuts. The Black properties Sirius had been adding her to didn't have warding schemes anywhere as old as this one. They were just bloodthirsty.
The lodestone glowed as Minerva dripped her blood onto it, muttering under her breath as she did so. There was a wash of soft green light and Hermione blinked looking around herself with new eyes.
What had been largely bare rock before, was now densely decorated with fading patterns and swirls of colours. Bunches of dried herbs hung across the ceiling and the heat from the fire, which had felt cloying and smokey became warm and welcoming.
Magical houses, Hermione was learning, were unfriendly to people they didn't know. Since she'd been added to the wards, Grimmauld had started presenting her with slippers every time she visited. It was more than a little creepy, particularly as no one knew where the slippers were coming from. It should be said that Sirius didn't receive the same treatment. Apparently, the house had never forgiven him for leaving it empty for years. It was trying to convince Hermione to move in.
"We'll have to wait until the Twins are free to do the Fidelius Charm," Minerva looked around her critically. "Are they coming this evening?"
The Fidelis had been an unwelcome discovery. When they'd attempted to make Hermione Secret Keeper for Grimmauld, they'd learned that the charm wouldn't take unless they included the Twins. Apparently, the Soulbond made secret-keeping charms impossible between the three of them. This had been bad news as three Secret Keepers were a hell of a lot more of a risk than one.
"Did you ever stay here?" Hermione brushed her fingers over the paintings. If she wasn't mistaken these were hearth spells, a lost form of enchantment.
"Only once," Minerva laughed a little. "Auror mission gone wrong. Spent a few days holed up here with…" She glanced at her daughter. "Well, it doesn't matter. I got your exam results, you know."
Hermione scowled.
"There was nothing to be ashamed of there," Hermione's four Acceptable and two Exceed Expectations, were something of a sore subject at the moment. "The fact you passed at all is impressive." Some of those Acceptable had been barely scraping it, but Minerva didn't mention that.
"What happens if I fail the real ones?" The question had been lingering in her mind all day. "Do I have to come back for seventh year?"
Minerva sighed.
"Not necessarily. You can sit them independently. Resits aren't unheard of. And NEWTs aren't a requirement for an Apprenticeship if that's still something you're interested in. You worked hard Hermione." Her daughter didn't reply. Apparently, she believed her mocks had been made easier than the real thing. "Come along. You're going to apparate us back."
"Do I have to?"
"Do you want to explain to your father…"
"Fine!"
Hermione had spent most of the meeting watching her brother. Harry hadn't spoken up much, except to tentatively suggest someone keep an eye on Xenophelius Lovegood. He stayed quiet through Remus' explanation of what a Horcrux was, and how they could be dealt with. The Twins had talked about their own experience with one, and he'd nodded along. He just seemed to be wilting in his chair as the discussion went on. When Sirius had finally drawn it to a close, the Twins stepped aside to let Hermione chase after her brother.
"I don't like it when you're quiet," She called.
Harry paused in the doorway to his bedroom and shrugged.
"Sometimes I'm quiet." He murmured.
She took his hand and pulled him away towards the fireplace.
"C'mon. Let's go somewhere."
Somewhere turned out to be a small cottage in the Welsh countryside. The gingham curtains and the claw marks made it unmistakably the original residence of the Lupin family.
"Is that Uncle Remi as a baby?" Harry picked up a cracked and dusty frame. "His eyes were huge!"
"Harry."
His shoulders slumped and he made a low mournful noise.
"Can you just leave it, Mi?"
Hermione watched him drift around the old cottage. Her brother, despite being the carbon copy of Sirius, showed more and more of Lily Evans as he got older. Her empathy, her desire to help, to protect. Her strength. Right now though, Harry just looked defeated.
"Would you leave me?" She asked, knowing the answer would always be no. His hair was loose and he shoved it back out of his face as he struggled to find words. The scar on his forehead was red and painful, as though he'd been picking at it.
"What if the only way this ends is with me dead?"
Hermione blinked at him, somewhat stunned. Sensing he had the floor Harry rushed to continue.
"Look, Remus said it himself. Only deadly injury can kill a Horcrux. It's going to take the killing curse to force this thing out of me. I seriously doubt I can survive it twice. Mum's the only reason I survived it the first time." His eyes were serious and so very sad. "And you know, what's worse is I think Dad and Uncle Remus know. I think they know and they won't let themselves admit it. I think they'd burn through every last option just to see if there was any other chance. Hermione, I can't let them do that!"
Her mouth was hanging open and she could feel the Twins' hands in hers as they gave her their support. She flexed her fingers and the ghostly feeling vanished.
"What, you just want them to give up on you?" She demanded. "They're never going to do that!"
"I know!" Harry rounded on her. "I know," He added, quieter. "They all love me. So much. You love me so much I know you'd burn Voldetort alive if you could. But say it comes down to the line and the stupid bit of his soul in me is the last bit that's keeping him powerful...they would let him stay in power until they found another way." He paused to let her refute it, but she wasn't sure he was wrong. "What if people die or get hurt while we're waiting? What if I could end it quickly and it would save everyone?"
She grit her teeth, leaning against the damp wall.
"You sound like Dumbledore." Hermione accused and he winced. "That's what he wanted, isn't it? Someone who'd give everything for everyone else."
"Isn't that noble?"
"Isn't that stupid?" She retorted. "Harry, if I'm not fighting for you, what am I fighting for? You're worth it, to me."
"I'm not worth it, to me." He sighed. "And if people died because of me…I'm not sure I can live with that 'Mione. So," Harry drew in a shaky breath. "I need you to promise something."
Hermione was certain that whatever it was, she wasn't going to like it.
"What?"
He took her hand, fingers rubbing over the scarred letters.
"I need you to promise that if it comes down to everyone or me… you don't choose me." Hermione thought back to that potential future she'd seen in the Department of Mysteries. The witch she'd become without the Twins. What kind of woman would she become without Harry? "Hermione. I need you to promise me."
"What about…"
"Susan would never agree to this," Harry smiled at her gently. "You know that. It needs to be you."
"Harry…"
"Will you promise me?"
New Year's Eve dawned without much fanfare, but somehow all of Hermione's holidays had vanished in a flood of preparation, planning and worry. She'd almost completely forgotten about her invitation to the Burrow.
"Ready?"
Hermione looked up at Fred and scowled.
"The last time I was here your mother tried to marry us off. No, I am not ready." She took a deep breath, ignored Fred's sniggering and pulled a smile onto her face. The Twins frowned at her doubtfully. "Better?"
"You look like someone just hexed you," George noted.
The smile vanished as she glared at them.
"Thanks ever so," She settled on a more neutral expression and George shrugged.
"Well depressed is better than jinxed," He neatly avoided the foot she kicked out to trip him and kept walking towards the Burrow. "It's just till midnight. Besides with these two there, mum won't even notice you."
They all turned to look at Bill and Fleur who shrugged.
"Unfortunately true," Bill noted, swinging the hand he was holding with Fleur. His fiancee seemed to be doing her own preparations, taking several deep breaths and shaking out her long blonde hair. Hermione took a moment to envy how pretty Fleur looked even after a full shift at Gringotts. "Mum's got a folder."
Fred and George shuddered.
The party passed mostly without incident. There were enough Order members there to act as a buffer and Hermione spent a pleasant hour talking to Professor Flitwick about Enchanting Masteries. Unfortunately, it looked like most of those who took on Apprentices were based in Europe and Hermione didn't think she could move to the continent right now, even if she did pass her exams.
"Can I have a word?" Molly appeared without warning behind Hermione and ushered her charms professor off before she could say a word. Hermione looked desperately around for the Twins but was fairly certain they'd vanished outside with Bill and Charlie to set up fireworks.
"Mrs Weasley," Hermione greeted nervously. She didn't think she'd been alone with the woman since her fifth year. The older witch smiled at her, wringing her hands.
"Molly, dear. Listen, I know we've not always seen eye to eye…" Hermione pointedly didn't say why that was. "But I was wondering if I could talk to you about the boys?"
Feeling a little cornered, Hermione waved her on.
"I know Sirius and I have our differences and I know you're determined to get involved in all of this…" She held up a hand to stop Hermione's protests, "I'm not going to argue about that right now. This…This is about the Twins." She looked around the room and seemed to shrink slightly. "I remember the original Order. I was a young mother when I joined. Arthur and I were so certain that it was the right thing to do. And it was," She hastened to add when Hermione stared at her. "It was. But we didn't realise the cost it would come at. We didn't realise how many we were going to lose. I lost my brothers, Hermione." She paused to blink back tears. "So, I'm asking you to look after my sons. Fred and George love you and they'll follow you anywhere. Look out for them. Take care of yourself too. I can't imagine what they'd do without you." She hugged Hermione tightly, without warning. "For what it's worth, I am so happy you three found each other."
She rushed off as quickly as she'd arrived leaving a stunned Hermione behind her.
Hermione's visit to the Ministry to sit her apparition test was short and efficient. With Amelia Bones glaring over your shoulder a lot of bureaucracy seemed to disappear and they rushed her through, probably in an attempt to get the Head of Magical Law Enforcement out of their offices as quickly as possible, even if it was New Year's Day.
The train back to Hogwarts was tense and quiet. I remember looking at them during the feast and now I realise how many plates they were spinning. How many promises and schemes each child was carrying. I had my duties to the Order, my work to carry out. But if I had only asked, tried to help. But maybe it was already too late at that point.
"Have you had any luck?"
There was a clatter as Theodore Nott dropped the textbook he'd been holding and took several side steps to put the wardrobe behind him like he could hide it from Draco behind his lanky frame.
He looked exhausted, as though he'd spent the entire holiday without sleep. "I don't...Black…" He shut his mouth and stopped pretending. "How did you know?"
Draco removed his robes and folded them neatly over the back of a chair. He busied himself unbuttoning his cuffs and rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. The air of relaxation, as though he wasn't concerned in the slightest. Setting the scene, his mother called it.
"Flint. Those obnoxious Twins my cousin is so enamoured with shoved him in it once. Good idea to move it from the Room of Requirement. It was becoming a little suspicious to keep finding you up there." He looked around the secluded disused classroom, hidden down a corridor not far from the Headmaster's Tower. He suspected Nott's conscience was showing through there. It was dusty and full of the usual old chairs and decrepit blackboards. The grubby wardrobe wouldn't stand out if Nott wasn't trying to hide it from view. "We'll have better luck here."
For a long moment, it looked as though Nott might refuse, one hand twitching towards his wand. But he was exhausted and on the verge of delirium.
"Why?" He asked, voice hoarse from disuse.
Draco, busy looking over the runic arrays that had been sketched haphazardly onto parchment, barely looked up.
"Because I don't want your death on my conscience?" He offered idly. There was a scoff and then the persistent jab of Nott's Black Walnut wand pressing into his neck. Nott always could move unnaturally quickly and quietly when he wanted to.
Draco looked down at it and then back up at its owner. He smirked. "You can't do this alone,"
For once it wasn't a taunt. It was just a fact.
"And what's more," Draco carefully removed the wand from his throat, spinning it in his fingers and offering it back to Nott. "You don't want to do it."
The older boy snatched the wand away, running a hand through his black hair. For a moment Draco could see the shadow of his mother, who'd frequently been frustrated by her stoic and cold husband.
"You know what I'm trying to do? There are..." His jaw worked silently. "There are children in this castle, Black. They won't stop with… I have to…"
Right then it became obvious to Draco that Nott would never be able to fulfil his orders. He'd be cut down by his own side for becoming weak or spellbound until he was a shadow of himself, little more than a puppet. His resolve solidified.
"Come on," He gestured to the scattered notes. "Show me what you've tried so far…"
Outside the door, Hermione started winding up the Extendable Ear. They'd heard more than enough. Harry was glaring at the ground looking extremely unhappy. Which wasn't unusual for Harry at the moment.
"Come on," She took his hand and led him away from their cousin. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing."
"That," Harry complained, "Is exactly what I'm afraid of."
Susan wasn't expecting it. No one would. Or maybe a Slytherin would have but she was a Hufflepuff and expecting the worst wasn't something she was set up to do. She'd been walking to the library when Evelyn Thistlewit had chased her down to ask if she'd heard the news.
She hadn't.
Somehow she made her way to the Hufflepuff Common Room, the awful silence of shocked students letting the words bounce around her head.
"...attacked leaving the Ministry...The killing curse…A Dark Mark…"
Hannah was sitting motionless on her bed as Professor Sprout packed her trunk. It wasn't taking long. They'd only been back four days.
"Han…" Susan managed.
Hannah looked up at her and all of her worst fears were confirmed.
"She wrote to me this morning," She whispered, lips bloodless as she held up a crumpled letter. "Wanted my help planning a trip for dad. She was going to get her hair cut after work."
Slowly, Susan approached her, reaching out for her hand. Hannah jerked it away. They barely noticed Pomona slipping out of the room.
"I'm so…"
Hannah cut across her, fixing her with a fearful stare.
"Why her?" She demanded. "She wasn't powerful or important. We're not allies with Dumbledore. Dad doesn't get involved with politics. For Merlin's sake, she worked in Magical Games and Sports! She was in charge of merchandising!" Hannah got to her feet and slammed the lid of her trunk closed, furiously clicking the latches closed. "You know, people have been warning me? All year. You've got to be careful." She mimicked in a cruel tone Susan had never heard before. "That family are trouble. And I ignored them! Because I was at Hogwarts. With Dumbledore. What could they do to me here?" She swung her cloak on.
"Hannah," Susan begged, desperately trying not to come to the same conclusion. "Please…"
Hannah rounded on her. She seemed to have aged since breakfast when everything had been fine. When they'd been planning a date to Hogsmead.
"My mother is dead. Not because she did anything, not because she was a muggleborn. She is dead because I was dating you." The malice and hatred in that word were worlds away from the sweetness of this morning. "She is dead because of you and your stupid family. You got her killed." She picked up her trunk. "And I will never forgive you for that."
Susan felt frozen. She wanted to say all muggleborns were in danger. That her family hadn't asked to be on the wrong side. She wanted to apologise but what good would that do? She opened her mouth as Hannah swept by her but nothing came out.
"Dad's pulling me from school. I won't be back." She paused by the door. "I never want to see or hear from you again."
Hours later Hermione, summoned by some anxious Hufflepuff prefects, found Susan. She had collapsed, sobbing, on top of every piece of clothing, quill or scrap of paper she had ever lent to Hannah Abbott. It had been piled neatly on the end of her bed.
A/N
Slightly longer than ten minutes :)