A/N: Sorry for the long wait everyone. I had a bit of a time trying to get this chapter correct. But the good new is, after this chapter, the story is pretty much planned and ready to write. So the future updates should be quite a bit faster now.

Enjoy!

Chapter Fifteen

The Board is Set…

Harry, Hermione, and Ron arrived at headquarters first, and began to setup everything that was needed. They were using 12 Grimmauld Place as their headquarters, especially since Remus still owned the house after he had inherited it from Sirius' will.

The first part of the meeting would be back at the Leaky Cauldron for the roster portion of the meeting. Harry had given Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, a sizeable sum of money to reserve the pub for a few hours, so they would not be interrupted. Harry left to get his two people he wanted in the order while Hermione left to get her boss at the Department of Mysteries. Ron went to get Sharon, so she could officially join the Order. Harry had left to get John Edwards, mainly because he was another person that was high up in the ministry, as well as a well justified cause to support them. The other person he went to retrieve was a person he had met while traveling for the past few years.

Everyone started to come into the pub around half six. They setup the parchment that Hermione had made for the roster, charmed only to be read by the three of them, as well as the spell that would reveal spies. The meeting was to start at seven. When everyone had signed the new roster, they would move the meeting to the proper location. There was some pleasant conversation, while Tom setup some drinks for the gathering. When seven rolled around, Harry cleared his throat loudly and everyone settled down to listen.

"Thank you for coming," Harry said. "You all know why you are here. The biggest threat any of us have ever faced, Voldemort, has returned." Harry was pleased to see only two or three people still flinched a bit, while the majority of the crowd simply listened.

"It's good to see that most of us have remembered what Albus said about fearing a name," Harry said with a grin. A few people chuckled a bit, and Harry pressed on. "Before we get to anything more involved, we need everyone to sign the parchment here. Those of you in the DA while at Hogwarts know the drill. Those of you that don't, this parchment will serve as a binding agreement that you will never betray the Order. If you do not sign this, the door is that way. There will be no exceptions to this. The parchment will see through glamour charms, polyjuice, metamorphagus powers, and everything else you can think of."

Harry stepped down and picked up the quill next to the roster. He signed his name under one of the three spots for the leaders. He stepped to the side and Hermione signed in the next spot. Ron quickly signed his name and then the others started to line up. John Edwards was the first in line and he signed his name proudly. He stepped to the side and motioned Harry over to him. Hermione and Ron nodded while they watched the signatures filling up the parchment, their wands close to their hands just in case.

"Mr. Potter," John said quietly. "I have a big favor to ask of you. Please hear me out before you say anything." Harry nodded for him to continue.

"Please, Mr. Edwards, call me Harry," he said. John grinned and nodded.

"Only if you call me John."

"Done," Harry said. "What can I do for you?"

"Harry, as you know from that night, Crystal is all I have left. I lost the rest of my family the last time Voldemort was alive. I have a huge request for you," John said. "If I don't survive this war, would you take in my daughter?"

Harry bowed his head. 'What kind of a world do we live in that someone has to make plans like this?' he thought to himself.

"I – " Harry started to say, but he was interrupted by an explosion of angry voices and cries of disbelief. Harry quickly ran back to the line and stopped short at the sight before him. He stared angrily at the person that was now pertified while leaning over to sign the parchment.

"Well, that was unexpected," Harry growled. He looked down to the surprised form of Cho Chang. "Of all the people…" Harry shook his head. "Tonks, have you signed yet?"

"Yes I have, Harry," she said. Harry grinned.

"Good, would you be so kind as to obliviate her and drop her off somewhere?"

"Done, and done," Tonks said with a smile. Harry grinned and knew that Cho would probably be dropped off in Leeds or somewhere just as seedy. Tonks gripped Cho's arm and they disappeared with a pop.

"As you all can see, this parchment catches you before you can damage the group at all. Now that you all have seen that, please continue," Harry said. He was still mulling over the question John Edwards had raised to him. He knew that he could take care of the little girl financially, but he had no idea on how to raise a child. Hermione noticed Harry's furrowed brow.

"Harry? What's wrong?" she asked. He shook his head and mouthed the word 'later'. She nodded and they continued to watch the roster fill up.

The last person finished their signature around eight. Hermione counted the signatures and then counted people and was pleased to report that the numbers matched. Harry nodded approvingly, and he gathered up the rest of the things they had brought with. Hermione made the portkeys to Grimmauld Place so the meeting could continue. Remus stood up on one of the tables so he could get everyone's attention. He said the address out loud since he was the secret keeper, and everyone nodded that they heard him. Harry was the last one out of the pub, waiting for a minute so that the previous group could get out of the portkey arrival zone they had set up.

ooo

Harry arrived at the house and he quickly walked to the front door. He entered and everyone quieted down in a second. He froze in mid-stride and eyed everyone.

"What?" Harry asked cautiously. "Do I have something on my face?"

He heard a snort from Ron and everyone laughed. Harry relaxed and shut the door so the meeting could get started. Everyone assembled in the expansive basement that had been setup with enough chairs for everyone. Harry stood up in front and looked over everyone. He fidgeted nervously, as he had never taken on this big of a role before. Sure, he had been the point person for the last big battle at Hogwarts, but he never considered himself the leader at that time. Hermione nodded at him and smiled. Ron gave him a grin to encourage him.

"Welcome to the new Order of the Phoenix," Harry started. He took a deep breath and pressed on. "Today things change. As you all know, Voldemort is back, and we are the main group to lead the fight against him. I plan to take our pledge to the Minister of Magic to make our group legitimate. Now that was the easy section of my speech.

"Tonight we take on a new direction. We are no longer a reactive group. Last time around we only took action if one of ours were threatened. Now, we take the fight to the Death Eaters. We need to gather some information first, but if you run across someone who you know is a Death Eater, you are to take them in. If you suspect them to be one, contact someone who has the information handy. What I am saying is, use whatever means are necessary to neutralize your opponent. If the Death Eater is killed in the course of the fight, so be it." There were a few gasps of surprise to his remark.

"I know some of you might disagree to this course of action. But you all know I have seen first hand what they can do to others if given the chance. Of course, I would like to see them stunned and stand trial. But if you are left no choice and it comes down to it, make sure they are never able to hurt anyone ever again."

"We all knew Albus' beliefs. Always try to give them a second chance. But that had been constantly been proven to be a useless way of doing things, especially when the ones that had the second chance at life tried to kill us again. That ends now."

There were several people muttering in the crowd as Harry gazed over the group. He noticed a few disbelieving stares, but the majority were simply assimilating the information. Harry was broken out of his thoughts by Amos Diggory.

"Why should we listen to you?" he said. "I know you are a great fighter Harry, but someone else should be leading the Order, not a young man with limited experience." Harry was about to answer when an angry John Edwards yelled at Amos.

"Amos! After what Harry did for your son by bringing his body back and risking himself to do that, how could you ask that?" John asked heatedly. "I saw first hand what Harry is capable of. I saw him leap in front of me and take the cruciatus curse to save me and my daughter. I saw him withstand it like it was nothing. I'd follow him to hell and back if he asked me to." John turned to face the rest of the Order. "I know that most of you have been friends, colleagues, or even been saved by Harry. We all know what he is capable of. We all know how much he cares for everyone here. I for one agree with the new direction he is talking about."

There were several yells of agreement from every end of the room. Amos had the decency to look a bit ashamed at his outburst. Everyone agreed with the new direction they were taking. With that section of business out of the way, they turned to more mundane matters, such as getting a bit more information and assigning tasks to people who could gather intelligence.

"Now that we have assignments setup, does anyone have anything they want to report?" Harry asked. He saw a hand in the back and the person stood up. "What do you have, Mr.?"

"Joel Cornell, Mr. Potter. There have been discrete yet urgent inquiries for highly skilled potion masters. It seems that your assault on Severus has most likely taken him out of the picture. It also seems that they need some restorative potions for Voldemort himself. Is there anything that anyone has heard that could have injured him that severely?" Joel asked the room.

Everyone's eyes fell on Harry, making him shift nervously. Hermione bit her lip and Ron looked a bit nervous as well.

"I don't know, since my link with him is gone," Harry said. There was a general uproar at this statement. Hermione raised her wand and set off a loud bang that got everyone's attention. "Thanks, Hermione. As I said, my link with Voldemort is gone, but in severing it, it seems I may have dealt a heavy blow to him. The good side of this is he cannot get into my head anymore."

"What did you do to sever the link?" Molly Weasley asked. "I mean they tried when you were in school, and they never succeeded."

"I know, Molly, but something else was able to do it," Harry said. Hermione reached over and took his hand as a show of support. "I must ask everyone to swear an oath that what I am about to say is to never be repeated."

Everyone readily agreed and Hermione made sure that everyone said the oath. Harry went on to explain his enchanting skills and how he created the Edge of the Light. He explained the abilities and properties of the weapon and everyone was amazed at the implications. He pulled the sword from its scabbard and everyone got to see the weapon that was supposed to have the power to neutralize Voldemort. He then explained what happened during the Diagon Alley battle, and how he ended up using the sword on himself. He did not say anything about his decreased power though, just to be safe.

"Well, Harry," Kingsley Shacklebolt said. "It looks like a fine sword, but can you wield it properly?" Harry looked over and saw the challenging look on Kingsley's face.

"Care to find out, Kingsley?" Harry said with a grin. The rules were agreed on, and spells had been put on the blades to keep them from killing each other. Kingsley pulled out a light broadsword from the scabbard on his back. They warmed up a bit and Harry pulled off his black button down shirt. Hermione blushed at his saucy grin he shot at her when he caught her looking at him. Hermione called them to the center of the room, while everyone else backed up to give them some room.

"Alright you two, make sure you don't kill each other," she said.

"Yes mum," Harry said cheekily. Hermione huffed and sent him a mock glare.

"Begin!" she yelled.

The two swordsmen rushed each other and there was a loud clang as the swords met. Harry deflected a strong vertical slash that came from above him and rolled to the side while swiping at Kingsley's legs. Kingsley jumped to avoid the attack and they set out in an elaborate fight filled with breathtaking moves. Harry started to over power Kingsley, to which Kingsley responded with a spell. Harry deftly ducked the spell and used his blade to deflect the next two silent curses that followed. Harry's eyes narrowed and he started moving so quickly that Kingsley had to stop casting just to keep up parrying the blows that were raining down on him.

Hermione smiled when Harry went on the offensive. She loved watching him fight with a sword. Harry was in his element. This was what he had been passionate about during the last four years. No mater what he had been doing, no matter where he was, he had always loved learning the ways of a swordsman. Kingsley was a worthy opponent, but he made one little mistake and Harry took advantage of it. He swung his blade around and came down with the force of a sledge hammer and Kingsley's blade was snapped in two. Kingsley looked up in shock and saw Harry holding his sword in a position that made him yield.

Everyone started applauding for Harry and he reached his hand down to help Kingsley up from the floor.

"Sorry about your sword," Harry said sheepishly. "I can repair it, or I can make a new blade if you want." Kingsley smiled and nodded.

"Well, it's a good thing I keep my family sword at home locked up," he said with a laugh. "If you could, make me a new one. I'd love to see what you come up with. By the way, what is that blade made from?"

"Oh the usual," Harry said with a grin. "You know, titanium and diamond mixture. The basics, I guess."

Kingsley gaped like a fish for a few moments, before Tonks and Ron led him off to sit down. Hermione ran her hand over his chest when he turned to her, and he saw a very strange look in her eyes.

"Hermione? Are you ok?" Harry asked. Hermione blinked a few times and blushed a bit.

"I'm fine, Harry," she said breathlessly. She looked up at him and she gave him a look that promised him a deeper explanation when they were alone later.

The meeting broke up soon afterwards, and Harry promised Kingsley his new sword in a few days. After the meeting was finished, Harry and Hermione apparated to Ron's house for dinner where they spent the next few hours talking and eating. They covered many subjects, and then Ron brought up the wedding.

"Harry, we want to have the wedding very soon, especially since it looks like things will be busy for a while soon. We were hoping to set it up for next weekend," Ron said. "We are going to have the wedding at the Burrow, and Bill has already set the wards up that bars anyone with a dark mark from stepping onto the grounds."

Harry sat back and looked over at his best friend. He had come a long way from the boy that once was termed to have 'the emotional range of a teaspoon'. He was amazed at how mature he had become. Harry liked the fact they had already had the wards fixed, but he was going to ask that the Order provide a security force as well to be at the ceremony. Hermione was already writing the letter when he leaned over to ask her to do that exact thing. He shook his head and Ron snorted.

"That sounds good, Ron," Harry said. "What colors do you want me in?"

"Midnight blue and wine are the colors we selected," Sharon said. "Hermione, do you feel up to being one of the bride's maids?" Hermione smiled.

"Of course!" she said. "When do you need me to get fitted for the dress?

"Well, tomorrow if you could," Sharon said. "Madam Malkin said she had it ready for you to try on tomorrow."

"I'll be there!" Hermione said excitedly. Harry and Hermione finished their glasses of wine that they had been sipping for a while and they stood to leave. Well, if we have to get this done in the next few days, we should be off. We have a busy day tomorrow."

She gave Ron and Sharon each a hug goodbye and stepped back for Harry to say goodnight. He kissed Sharon's cheek and gave her a quick hug. Ron reached out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry pulled him into a hug as well. They said goodnight and apparated to the edge of Harry's wards.

The walk up to the house was done in silence, but Harry kept noticing that Hermione was acting strangely. She kept glancing at him with hungry eyes. He thought he knew what she was thinking, but he wasn't about to spoil the mood. They reached the front door, and as soon as it closed, Hermione pounced on him. Her kisses grew more and more passionate as they made their way to the bedroom. Harry managed to break away for a moment.

"Hermione," he gasped. "Let me come up for air! Plus, I need a shower after the fight I had with Kingsley."

"I thought you'd never ask," she said as she hurriedly started to unbutton her shirt. He grinned and started to undress as well. They managed to get into the shower and things just heated up from there. After a steamy shower that was not just because of the hot water, they managed to get back to the bedroom. He suddenly pulled away for a moment and looked into her eyes.

"Hermione," Harry started to say. He looked down and blushed a bit. "I, er, have never, well, you know…" She smiled down at him. She leaned down and put her lips next to his ear, her breath sending an excited shiver down his spine.

"It's ok Harry," she whispered into his ear. "Neither have I…"

Harry closed his eyes as their kiss deepened and the lights went out.

ooo

Harry woke up a while later and smiled. He tightened his arm and pulled her closer to himself. He kissed the top of her head and breathed in her scent, letting it take over his senses. He loved her so much. His life seemed almost complete with her in it. He just had a couple of loose ends to tie up so he could live a life as normal as he could make it.