Chapter Ten

It Begins…

Harry woke to see the first rays of sunlight filtering through the curtains in his room. He smiled to himself at the warm weight that was holding him down. His thoughts drifted back to the previous night and how Hermione had made it clear without any words that she was not shy at all. He closed his eyes and he took a deep breath taking in the scent of her hair. He lifted his arm from behind his head and laid it on her back. His heart felt like it suddenly went into over drive when he realized that her shirt was missing, which also produced other interesting reactions.

Hermione stirred at the sudden noise that she heard in Harry's chest. His heart sounded like thunder in her ears. She lifted her head to see what had him so worked up. It was then she realized his hand was on her back, but there was nothing between his hand and her back. Her eyes slowly opened and they flicked down to see that her shirt was indeed missing. She lifted her head and looked up at Harry. His face was red and his slight grin made her smile.

"Morning Harry," she said. He looked down at her and his eyes flicked back up.

"Good morning. Er, Mione, um, where is your shirt?" he asked. She glanced at the foot of the bed to see it had gotten tangled up with the sheets. Her eyes traveled back up his chest and she knew she was almost completely on top of him. Her face flushed a bit, but she didn't move.

"Hmmm, it must have been warm in here last night, I hope you don't mind," she said. He answered her by tightening his hold on her and he stared into her deep brown eyes.

"Of course not, Hermione," he said while his heart continued to hammer away. "It was just a surprise, that's all. It was a nice surprise, mind you."

She smiled and laid her head back down on his chest. The passed the next half hour just holding onto each other while Harry traced small circles on her back. She sighed with contentment as they just laid there. She started to get up to use the bathroom, and she heard his disappointed sigh. She put on her robe and went into the bathroom. A few minutes later she went back into the room and saw that Harry was still lying down. She grinned and tossed her robe off again and slid back into the bed and took up her previous position.

"You know, Mione, you are driving me crazy," Harry said with a grin. She smiled and shifted her position so she was completely on top of him. Harry groaned as she leaned down and she snogged him senseless. When she sat back up, Harry had a dazed grin on his face. She slipped off of him and lay back down. The next move was his to make. She had made her intentions clear, but she wanted Harry to be ready and to initiate the next step. They both jumped when there was a knock on the door.

"Harry Potter sir, would you and the mistress like breakfast in bed this morning?" Dobby asked from behind the door. Hermione hastily covered herself with the sheet and nodded to Harry.

"That would be great Dobby, and forget the rule this morning, that way I can stay here," Harry said. He heard Dobby squeak with happiness. Harry shook his head with a grin and they waited for about ten minutes. Dobby came into the room hovering two trays of a delicious looking breakfast spread. Dobby bowed low and exited the room with a soft pop.

Hermione put her robe back on and they talked over breakfast. They planned the schedule of the first Order meeting and Hermione would run it by Ron later that morning. Harry was going to his vault for some things he needed while she was working on that. He needed some of his supplies to start working on the new sword. He had decided to keep the original one for practicing with. Harry picked up his copy of the Daily Prophet and groaned at the headline.

Harry Potter Returns!!

Harry Potter has returned to the wizarding world after a four year absence. It seems that The Boy Who Lived has arrived just in the nick of time again. He was reported to have been dining with a friend of his during his Hogwarts years, Hermione Granger.

According to statements from eyewitnesses, the pair had been just leaving when a group of wizards in Death Eater robes attacked a large gathering of muggles in London. His heroic effort saved many lives and was also said to have dueled Albus Dumbledore's murderer, Severus Snape.

Not much is known about where Mr. Potter has been for the last few years, but many have offered their theories on what he has been doing. Some say he was just taking his chance to explore the world, while others he was learning the Dark Arts.

"I saw what he did to Mr. Snape, and there is no way that spell would be used for anything but dark magic," one eyewitness said, refusing to be identified. However, John Edwards, who works in the Ministry as a senior aide to the Minister, said this: "Mr. Potter displayed a tremendous amount of courage to draw that murderer off of me and my little girl. I refuse to put any credence in the theory that Mr. Potter has gone dark on us." Sadly Mr. Edward's wife was killed in the attack, but thanks to Mr. Potter, the rest of the Edwards family will continue on.

More on Harry Potter's history, Page 11

Details of the King Street Battle, Page 9

Harry tossed the paper down and withdrew into a pensive mood, thinking about the Edwards family. Hermione picked up on this and reached out to take his hand. He squeezed her hand and smiled. They finished breakfast and dressed themselves for the day. Harry grabbed his bottomless and weightlessly charmed backpack for his supplies. Hermione grabbed her notes and prepared to go and talk to Ron about the Order meeting. They parted after a long kiss and apparated to different areas.

Harry arrived at Gringott's and marched through the large front doors. He waited in line for the next goblin. When he reached the counter, Harry bowed low and greeted the goblin. The goblin was a bit shocked that a wizard would bow to him, and snapped his fingers to summon Griphook, who had been the keeper of Harry's vault since it had been requested by Harry.

Together they rode down to Potter family vault while Griphook gave Harry the latest update on his finances and earnings from investments. Harry had wisely let most of the investments his parents had done continue, while he had put some money into a rising broom manufacturing company, and a few other similar businesses. His fortune had increased by almost a quarter of the total amount due to the success of his investments.

When they reached the vault, Harry put his hand against the door and the enormous vault door creaked and groaned open. Harry quickly went inside and started to gather the needed materials to make the sword. He grabbed a large sack of rough diamonds, a small pouch with a few aquamarines, and some of his metal mixture he had made for the original sword. The metal was still in a liquid form since once it cooled, it was very strong and would not be malleable. He picked up a gold bar so he could use the material to decorate the hilt and a large piece of leather for the grip. Meanwhile Griphook was watching what Harry took so he could update the notes for Harry's account.

Harry looked around for anything else he would need. When he saw the red velvet box on a table with other family heirlooms, he hesitated. He reached out and opened the box to see a pair of platinum bands with diamonds, rubies, and topazes laid in a beautiful pattern around the bands. He knew that his parents would approve of him using their wedding rings, but he didn't know if Hermione would want to marry him. Harry didn't think that Hermione would be ready for that, but he took them anyways and put them in his bag in a secure pocket. He finally placed a shrunken grinding stone to sharpen the sword and a set of blacksmithing tools into his pack. He was glad he bought the bag with the charms on it; otherwise the weight of the bag would have squashed him.

Harry and Griphook arrived back into the lobby about an hour later. Harry turned to Griphook and bowed.

"May your pockets always be filled with gold and your battles always be victorious," Harry said formally. Griphook took Harry's hand and shook it and bowed back. Harry departed the lobby, leaving astonished wizards and witches who had never thought to be courteous to goblins.

Harry arrived home to see Hermione rushing out the door. She called back over her shoulder as she ran saying she had to get some work done at the Ministry. She had forgotten that it was a Monday, and she had to get to work. She blew him a kiss and ran for the apparition point. He smiled to himself and shook his head.

He took the pack down to the basement and started to setup his workshop. The first thing he needed to do was to slowly heat the diamonds so they did not fracture. That would be a couple of weeks before they were soft enough to incorporate into the sword. He managed to get that going well enough, and ventured back upstairs to join Dobby for lunch. They chatted amiably Harry had to deal with some good natured ribbing from Dobby about Hermione. The teasing was stopped after Harry conjured a water balloon and it exploded on Dobby. A few hours later they were still tussling about when they were stopped by an amused sigh. They looked up to see Hermione grinning at the two of them.

Dobby and Harry looked at each other and grinned mischievously. Hermione's smile faltered, as she knew that this would not be very pleasant. She turned to run but she was tackled by Harry and Dobby and they set to tickling the stuffing out of her. They all flopped down on the floor twenty minutes later panting for air. Dobby recovered first and Harry followed him into the kitchen to work on dinner. Hermione went to the practice room to get the sword to see if she could figure out what went wrong with Harry's enchantment.

She was called to dinner and they sat down to a lovely roast duck with all the trimmings. The conversation shifted several times until Hermione asked Dobby about Winky. His ears drooped a bit and he lowered his head.

"Winky is not doing so well. With Dobby not there to keep her company, she has become like she was during Harry's great contest. Winky drinks too many butterbeers and has stopped working again. Dobby misses Winky," Dobby said in his squeaky voice. His tennis ball like eyes welled with tears, and he began to cry loudly. Hermione looked over at Harry and he shrugged.

"I tried to get her here with Dobby, Mione, but she refuses to be paid. She just won't do it," Harry said. "Winky is an old fashioned house elf and she outright refuses anything that associates her with being a free house elf. If I could have gotten her here without bonding her to me the traditional way, I would have. I just didn't because I knew you would kill me for it." Hermione nodded, and let out a small sigh.

"You're right Harry I would have been angry with you, but that was before I heard the whole situation," she said. Harry looked at her questioningly. "What I am saying Harry is that since you have tried every other way, maybe you should take her in so she is happy."

Harry let his jaw hit the floor to hear Hermione supporting taking in Winky the traditional way. He shook himself and got his bearings again. He gazed and Hermione with a new perspective and it added another reason why he loved her so much. She was willing to put her staunch dislike of the way house elves were bound to a person like a slave to make sure an elf would be happy. She had changed a bit from her views in their fourth year to the wonderful woman she was now.

"I will take care of it tomorrow then," Harry said. Hermione nodded her approval and they got up from the table to clean up. Dobby was so overjoyed at having Winky there that he banished Harry from the kitchen to clean up, saying it was a thank you present for saving Winky. Harry shrugged and walked back to his practice room. He noticed the sword was missing, so he grabbed another to run through a training round. He heard the door to the room open and Hermione appeared in some workout clothes.

"Harry, I want to learn what you know. Could you help me?" she asked. Harry frowned a bit, not liking the fact she would know things that would put her in situations that she could get hurt or killed. She saw his frown and her eyes flashed for a second. "Now listen here, Harry. I know what you are thinking about and you will stop it. I joined the Order to fight, and every advantage you could teach me will help me survive. I will not sit on the sidelines watching you run off to battle. I refuse to sit and wait to see if the man I love with all of my heart will make it back or not. If you run off to a battle, I will be right there with you watching your back."

Harry looked over at her and fought down a grin. 'Merlin is she beautiful when she gets angry!' he thought to himself. He raised his hands in defeat and traded his sword for a wooden practice sword. He handed an extra one to Hermione and he slowly walked her through the initial forms and stances. After an hour, he felt she had learned quite a bit. She was sore from head to toe, but she was thankful Harry did not put up a fight about what she had said. They finished with a slow and friendly battle to test her on what she learned. Hermione was moving a bit slower due to her sore muscles, but she performed the best she could.

Harry was impressed on how fast she was learning the basics. He ended the mock fight with a quick flick of his wrist and sent the wooden sword across the room. Hermione was amazed on how natural he made this out to be. She groaned when he said she would have to train everyday. They made their way to the bedroom. Hermione went into the bathroom to put on a one piece swimsuit and made her way down to the hot tub Harry had by his pool. He met her down there after he changed and slipped in behind her. He started to rub her shoulders and eventually her whole back. She was so relaxed from the warm water and the massage that Harry gave her; he had to make sure she didn't slip under the surface of the water. After about forty minutes, he made her get out despite her protests. They sat on the edge when Hermione spoke up.

"Harry, I forgot to mention earlier as we were occupied with other subjects. But Ron is going on a raid tonight. They got a lead on a cell of a few Death Eaters. Ron has a force of about fifteen put together to do the raid. I just thought you should know," she said while she leaned against him.

"What time is he going for the raid?" Harry asked. Hermione looked at the wall clock and she said he would be leaving within the hour. Harry nodded and started to get up. Hermione followed him and they managed to make it back upstairs to the bedroom. She started to get her things together for a shower, knowing that Harry would most likely decline her invitation again. She started for the bathroom when Harry spoke up.

"What, no invitation tonight?" he said with a twinkle in his eye. She raised an eyebrow at his sarcasm and smirked. Something in the way he said it, hinted that she should ask him again. She decided to try a new tactic.

"Well, I've tried to ask before, but the 'Great Harry Potter' is too much of a wimp to actually take me up on it. Imagine, the man who killed Voldemort is afraid of the woman he loves," she said with a challenging tone in her voice. Harry just grinned and blushed. "And since I already know you will still decline it, I won't even ask." She looked at him and he was still grinning. She rolled her eyes and huffed. "Honestly! Fine, as you wish. Harry would you like to join me for a shower tonight?"

"Sure! I'd love to!" Harry said. Her jaw hit the floor. She was so sure that he would decline again, but there he was, stripping off his clothes and walking into the bathroom. Her eyes followed him in shock. He reached the bathroom and turned around grinning at her.

"Are you coming?" he asked cheekily. Hermione's eyes traveled over his perfectly sculpted body and she rushed into the bathroom with him. After their shower, which had turned into mostly a snogging session, they went to bed. Hermione had ignored the shirt, as Harry did not seem to mind it that morning. They held on to each other and drifted off to sleep.

ooo

Ron and his team of Aurors were finishing up getting their gear on when the time for the raid was upon them. He checked each of his team member's gear to make sure all of the protective charms and spells were in place. He sent a nod to Kingsley Shacklebolt, signaling they were ready. Kingsley spoke up to the entire strike force.

"Listen up!" His voice boomed throughout the briefing room. Everyone snapped to attention and focused on him. "This is to be a small raid. According to our information, there are only five to six Death Eaters there at your target. Neutralize them and bring back as many as you can for questioning. Understood?"

The entire force answered in unison that they were ready. Kingsley nodded at Ron, and the force filed out of the briefing room. They arrived in the entryway of the ministry building to take a portkey to the target area. They all grabbed the portkey behind their back and their wands at the ready, so all of the angles were covered. Ron counted down for the activation, and after a few moments, the strike force was on its way.

They all landed with ease and they fanned out to find some cover. Ron made some hand signals, and a three man squad ducked to the right and disappeared around a corner. The rest of them divided into two groups and used a standard cover and move formation. After about fifteen minutes, the two groups on the ground saw the small Death Eater group entering a warehouse. Ron looked around the area. The wind was not even blowing in the slightest. The whole area was blanketed in shadows which made for a very eerie setting. The shipping crates would provide decent cover and they were scattered all over. But something was off about the situation, the whole area just felt dead. The felling left his skin crawling and he noticed that the others felt the same thing.

He made a decision to keep the raid as planned, even though his instincts told him different. He heard a metal can fall somewhere, and his head whipped in the direction it came from. After he watched for a moment, a stray cat came out and started to rummage around, making a bit of noise. Ron made a few signals with his hands and the two groups took up optimum positions for defensive firing. They were about to move in when Ron heard a dull thump behind them. He motioned for everyone to freeze. He turned around to see a robed figure lying in a twisted heap about twenty yards behind them. He silently crept back to see who it was. He reached over, turned the body over and to his horror; it was Joseph Forester, one of his snipers. Another thump ten yards away signaled that they had been setup. He raised his wand and fired off a bang with red sparks.

The air was suddenly sizzling with spells flying back and forth. The Aurors were outnumbered three to one. Ron yelled for his force to use whatever spells were necessary. The Aurors shifted tactics and the deadly spell started flying. They had begun to pull out when Ron was hit from behind with a cutting curse. His dragon hide armor took the most of it, but a bit of the spell went through his armor and left a large gash on his left side. Ron grunted but whirled around to see his attacker. 'It can't be!' he screamed in his mind. His team had been betrayed from within. The third sniper, Corey Jorgensen was the traitor. He took aim again, but the rest of the team had caught on. He was hit by nine stunners at once, and he was sent flying off of the roof he was standing on.

One of the Aurors had caught a Death Eater, and instantly portkeyed back to headquarters when Ron yelled for a general retreat. All of the others left and Ron risked his life to return his two fallen comrades to their headquarters. He managed to do an alteration to each portkey and they both vanished. He was about to use his when a boot hit the back of his head. He crashed into the ground face first and felt his nose break. After a few moments of savage kicks from several Death Eaters, they abruptly stopped. Ron rolled over and groaned. They had broken several of his ribs, his left arm and leg, and someone had ground his right hand into the pavement cracking a couple of the bones in it. He was having trouble breathing, and his vision was darkening. His right arm was holding his ribs while his fingers were fiddling with the spell grenade that his brothers had made for him. It was charged up with one of Harry's signature reductor curses.

"Keep him awake," a high and cold voice said. Ron sucked in a deep breath when Voldemort walked up to him. "Ah, Ronald Weasley, I hope my followers have not been too damaging." Ron spit a mouthful of blood at Voldemort's robes, and hit the hem, usually where his followers kissed them. Voldemort simply chuckled. "Well, well! It seems you have grown up in the last four years. Tragic though, that you should die now, especially since you have come so far!

"So, now that you are bout to die, do you have anything you wish to say?" Voldemort said. After Ron just glared at him, Voldemort spoke up. "Come on! Where is that biting wit all of the Weasley's have, hmm?"

Voldemort signaled for his inner circle to leave and recover the injured. After a moment of glaring at each other, Ron heard a series of pops. The Death Eaters were leaving. Ron jerked his right arm and summoned his wand to himself. The wand flew into his injured left hand and Voldemort looked at his feet. The spell grenade had been released. Voldemort instantly disapparated and left his followers behind. Ron tapped his Order of the Phoenix ring with his wand, and raised a weak shield.

Ron's life flashed before his eyes as the spell grenade went off. His days being lazy with Harry, their friendship with Hermione, and the last thing he remembered seeing was Sharon's smiling face when the blast wave hit him and his world brutally slammed to black.

ooo

Harry and Hermione shot out of bed when they felt the Order's rings suddenly send a sharp pain up their arms. They dressed quickly, and Harry tore through the house to the armory. He grabbed a small set of dragon hide armor and set it out for Hermione to wear. She was only a moment behind him and she put on the armor quickly. He handed her a short sword and he grabbed his battle sword and they slung them over their backs.

They focused on the ring's signature and apparated to the location. When they arrived, debris was still falling all over. Harry gasped as he looked at the devastated area and recognized the blast pattern. The mangled bodies of about twelve Death Eaters were scattered about. Ron had set off the grenade that Harry had charged with a reductor curse the day before. It was to have been used as a last resort.

Harry frantically began to move the rubble trying to find Ron. Hermione was halfway across the yard when she heard Harry scream in rage and horror. She rushed to see Harry had pulled Ron onto his lap. Hermione's breath hitched in her throat when she looked at Ron. His face was unrecognizable from cuts and blood, and half of the bones in his body were at all the wrong angles. Harry's eyes were glowing green again, and Hermione rushed to his side. She put a calming hand on Harry's shoulder and she activated her emergency portkey that landed them right into the emergency room of St. Mungo's.

"HELP US! FOR MERLIN"S SAKE SOMEONE HELP US!" Harry screamed. Three healers rushed through the doorway and helped put Ron onto a stretcher and the got him inside. Hermione collapsed into Harry's arms and they stayed that way while they waited to see if their best friend would live or not.

A/N: My goodness!!! I re-read this and found MANY spelling errors. I have found all of them now I think, and fixed them up. I also added a bit more to the chapter to describe a setting a bit more. Thanks to Particle Accelerator for his review which brought a few things to my attention.

I know that some of my be upset at the turn of events, but don't lose faith yet…. It gets better….