Just as Sirius had predicted, the next few weeks were indeed very busy. Funeral preparations and the sorting of wills took up most of their time, both tasks complicated by the fact that Hermione's father was – by the Muggle authorities, at least – still considered missing as opposed to deceased. Given what they'd found at the scene and whom they were dealing with, Sirius was positive that Bob Granger was dead, but they had no acceptable explanation for the police, and so they struggled. The only good that came of all the back-and-forth was the satisfaction of Draco's curiosity – while Harry and Sirius met with one Gringotts goblin to go over Lily's will, Draco met with another to discuss the Malfoy vault. The sight awaiting him when the goblin pushed open the vault's door was incredible – Ginny's guess that he could buy all of England really wasn't all that far-fetched – but it was the conversation with the goblin afterwards that Draco found to be the most interesting. Upon Lucius Malfoy's selection of a Black family engagement ring for his bride-to-be, Draco's paternal grandparents had presented the couple with their own gift – a piece of jewelry. It seemed that the choice had been made in utmost secrecy, as the Gringotts records didn't even specify what type of jewelry the gift was – the goblin with whom Draco spoke was only able to tell him that the piece had been in the family for centuries and that it was kept, not at the bank, but at Malfoy Manor. This only intrigued Draco more – the fact that the piece was such a secret suggested that it was either exceptionally old, exceptionally valuable, or exceptionally dangerous.
The morning of the funeral dawned bright and sunny, almost as if it were mocking the mourners. Sirius and the teenagers donned their best clothes and headed to the service, where they were greeted by a small number of family members and close friends. They fidgeted their way through the first part of the funeral, during which the man presiding over it spoke generically about the two deceased women – his monotone didn't help, and Harry was horrified to find himself almost nodding off in the middle of his own mother's funeral. Finally, the man stepped down, and the attendees began filing up to the caskets, both of which were covered in sweet-smelling flowers. Sirius, Harry, Draco, and Hermione hung back, purposely placing themselves at the end of the line rather than the front – they wanted to say goodbye properly, and it felt better to do so in private.
"I love you, Mum," Harry said as he stood before Lily's casket, her smiling picture resting atop it, "I love you, and I miss you. We all do." He bowed his head and bit his lip, offering the photo a watery smile before stepping aside for Draco, who rested a hand on the casket and stared at Lily's image for a long moment.
"You saved my life in more ways than one," he said quietly. "You gave me a family, and I can never, ever repay you for that – thank you." He touched his fingers to his lips and blew the photo a soft kiss, the whisper of an 'I love you' accompanying the gesture. Next to him, Hermione faced her own mother's casket.
"I don't even know what to say," she whispered. "There's so much more to be said, so much more to be done. You're not supposed to be gone…but you are. You gave me so much, Mum, and you're so much more than this picture and this bunch of flowers. You're the dentist with a secret sweet tooth and the best cake recipes in all the world. You're the gardener who painstakingly tended the little patches of flowers every year and proudly displayed the results in vases on the kitchen table. You're the woman who put up with your husband's mad obsession with those nature documentaries and the resulting fact that your daughter knew more about elephants and hippos at age five than most adults. You're the one who was going to teach me to drive because Daddy was too scared to think about his little girl like that. You're…" Hermione broke off and choked on a sob. "You're my mum…God, Mum, I miss you so much." She turned to Lily's casket then, tears running down her face.
"And you…you gave me the most precious gift, Mrs. Potter – see, all those years of you insisting I call you Lily and it never took. Blame Mum's lessons in manners, I suppose." Hermione gave a nervous little laugh and stepped forward so that she stood between Harry and Draco. "You taught me about the Wizarding world and gave me your boys – I love them with everything I am, and I wish I could tell you just one more time how much that means to me." Draco and Harry both wrapped a comforting arm around Hermione's waist as she copied Draco's earlier gesture and blew each casket a kiss. Still entwined, the three left the funeral parlor, unable to face the smiling photos any longer.
A week after the funeral, Hermione came into the Potter-Black living room, an envelope clutched in her hands.
"What's that?" Harry asked, spotting the envelope.
"The tickets to Boston," Hermione replied quietly. She pulled them out and showed him.
"I'd forgotten all about them, to be honest," Harry said as he stared at them, the details of the trip marching smartly across the papers in black ink.
"They were in my mum's desk." Hermione paused, and then said, "I want to go."
"What?" Harry asked, sounding shocked. Draco and Sirius looked up at the outburst.
"I want to go to Boston," Hermione repeated. "You probably think I'm mental, but…don't you see, Harry? We have to find those rings, we have to, and this might be our only chance to find out anything about Ravenclaw's!"
"Hermione," Sirius said cautiously, "Is that really the best idea? After…well…"
"It's because of everything that's happened that I really want to go," Hermione replied, her tone quiet yet fierce. "The Death Eaters…they took away my m-mum and dad, Padfoot. I can't let them win. I just c-can't." Hermione shuddered and a few traitorous tears slipped from her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.
"But there are only three tickets," Draco said softly, gesturing to the pieces of paper Hermione still held in her hand. "Who's going to go with you?"
"You three can't all go," Sirius interrupted quietly. The teenagers' heads all turned to look at him where he lay on the couch.
"Why not?" Harry asked.
"Harry, after such a blatant attack, do you really think I can let you three go off on your own, especially to another country?" Sirius asked, his expression pained. "Merlin, if this were any normal circumstance, I'd gladly let you go off on a vacation – you're old enough and you certainly deserve it – but I can't. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to you."
"It's ok, Padfoot," Hermione said softly, going over and wrapping her arms around him comfortingly. "I understand."
"But then what do we do?" Draco asked, sounding frustrated. "Lotte's right – we can't just give up."
"And we won't," Sirius agreed. "There's an Order meeting tomorrow night, and I'll make sure this is on the agenda. If we can get somebody from the Order to go with you, that would be best."
"But that's not the only place we need to go," Harry said.
"Pardon?"
"Remember what we talked about at Easter? Mum…Mum suggested that we go to Godric's Hollow, to talk to Bathilda Bagshot, and she said that she wrote her and got her permission to visit. And Draco still needs to go to Malfoy Manor." Sirius sighed.
"You three can never keep things easy, can you?" he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Alright – I'll make sure we talk about all of it tomorrow. S'pose I'd best go owl Dumbledore then."
Sirius actually did them one better and got permission from Dumbledore for the three teenagers to attend the Order meeting – or at least, the parts of it pertaining to their needs; the headmaster kindly but firmly refused to let them sit in on the whole thing, as they were all still underage. On the appointed night, they found themselves in the basement kitchen of Grimmauld Place with a number of Order members, including the most recent recruits of the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan. Mrs. Weasley served them all a scrumptious beef stew, and Dumbledore began the meeting.
"As you all are no doubt aware, we have guests this evening," he said. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Miss Granger – welcome. Unless I am very much mistaken, you have something you wish to bring to the Order's attention tonight?"
"We do, sir," Harry replied, standing up from his seat halfway down the table. "Three years ago, the Sorting Hat spoke a prophecy, which we believe pertains to Voldemort and our plans to bring him down. The prophecy spoke of a legend, one known as the Legend of the Founders' Rings." With Dumbledore's permission, Harry, Draco, and Hermione had decided to tell the Order everything they knew about the legend, and they explained it all as best they could.
"Hermione's parents purchased three tickets to the United States for the express purpose of visiting the Salem Witches' Institute," Harry said. "That school was founded by descendants of Rowena Ravenclaw, and we believe they might be able to help us locate her ring. We would also like to go to Godric's Hollow to speak with Bathilda Bagshot, the author of A History of Magic, to see if she can help us as well."
"That sounds like a good start," Mr. Weasley said approvingly, and several others nodded. "What exactly did you need from us, Harry?"
"Chaperones," Sirius replied. "The three of them certainly can't go traipsing off to America by themselves, and I wouldn't be surprised if Voldemort expects Harry to turn up in Godric's Hollow at some point."
"I'm game," Tonks said at once. "When do we leave?" Hermione shot the pink-haired witch a grateful smile.
"Before we decide that, I'd like to add something," Draco cut in quickly. He was a bit nervous that the Order wasn't going to like what he had to say.
"Go on, then," Mr. Weasley said with a nod. Draco took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.
"I need to go to Malfoy Manor."
Just as he'd suspected, there was an immediate outburst at his words.
"Malfoy Manor?"
"Voldemort's former headquarters?"
"Oh, you can't mean that-"
"Enough," Dumbledore interjected firmly. "Mr. Black speaks the truth – he must go to Malfoy Manor, and soon."
"Albus," Mrs. Weasley protested. "That place can't possibly be safe! He's just a boy!"
"He must go, Molly," Dumbledore said. "Lucius Malfoy is dead, and so the property has rightfully passed to his son and heir. Draco must go to reset the wards and claim what is his – if he does not, the estate remains accessible to all who are authorized under the current wards, and given the value of both the estate and what it contains, we cannot afford to let that happen."
"What do you mean, 'what it contains'?" Lee Jordan asked.
"I would not be surprised if Malfoy Manor still contains a number of Dark artifacts," Dumbledore said. "With so many Death Eaters on the loose, it would be most unwise to allow them access to the house – and, of course, I don't think Mr. Black would appreciate his possessions being stolen, at any rate," he added, his blue eyes twinkling in Draco's direction.
"Can we spare three people?" Kingsley asked.
"Three?" Mrs. Weasley questioned.
"Yes, three – the best course of action would be to complete all three of these trips in as little time as possible so we can keep Voldemort's forces as unaware as possible. Young Draco needs to reset his wards as soon as he can, and unless I heard wrong, I believe Miss Granger said her tickets are for a specific date in the very near future?" Kingsley looked to Hermione for confirmation, and she nodded.
"The departure date is this Saturday," she said.
"Then I propose we coordinate arrivals and departures around those tickets," Kingsley said calmly.
"I'll go with Hermione," Tonks said. "I'm not on assignment at the moment, and I've never been to America – sounds like fun."
"Who gets the third ticket?" Fred asked. "I don't know much about Muggle transportation, but I was under the impression that it's expensive – it seems a shame to waste it."
"Ginny," Tonks replied immediately.
"Ginny's not in the Order!" Mrs. Weasley protested. "Why would you suggest Ginny?"
"On the contrary, Molly, I think it's an excellent idea," Lupin said. "Haven't you been saying for the last few weeks that Ginny's constantly badgering you to let her be involved in some way? She can't join the Order yet, but I don't see why she can't go with Hermione and Tonks – they are going to a school, after all; I'm sure the trip will be quite educational." The trio had to keep themselves from laughing at that particular tactic, but Hermione was inwardly crossing her fingers – if Harry and Draco couldn't go with her, Ginny was definitely her next choice.
"Think of it as a girls' trip," Mr. Weasley suggested. "Besides, we've already got one Order member going – seems a bit foolish to send another if we don't have to."
"Oh, alright," Mrs. Weasley sighed. "If nothing else, it will get Ginny out from underfoot for a while." Hermione rushed forward and hugged the older woman.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "It means a lot to me that you're letting Ginny come with us." Mrs. Weasley still looked worried, but her gaze softened as she looked at Hermione – the Order, of course, all knew what had happened in Surrey, and many had attended the funeral.
It didn't take long for them to iron out the rest of the details – Sirius would take Harry to Godric's Hollow while Lupin accompanied Draco to Malfoy Manor, and they would all meet up at Hogwarts the day after Hermione's group returned to England.
"Why Hogwarts?" Tonks asked. "Why wouldn't we all just come back to Grimmauld Place?"
"If you succeed in finding any of the rings, it would be best to get them to Hogwarts as soon as possible," Dumbledore replied. "While the security here is excellent, Hogwarts is by far the safest place for them." Nobody could argue with that, and Dumbledore agreed to arrange special Portkeys that would transport each group directly to his office on the appointed day.
The next few days passed in a whirlwind of activity. Nobody was quite sure how they managed it, but the Order obtained Muggle passports for both Ginny and Tonks by Thursday afternoon, a feat they'd thought impossible given that the task usually took weeks – or even months – to complete through the normal channels. The three young women spent that day shopping for summer wear in Muggle London while Hermione answered dozens of questions for a very eager Ginny. They'd all been out of the country before – Hermione had gone to France, Ginny to Egypt, and Tonks to Ireland – but Hermione was the only one who had been on a plane, and Ginny had hardly ever ventured into the Muggle world at all, so Hermione was kept busy getting the redhead up to speed. Finally, everything was ready, and all that was left to do was wait. By the time the group arrived at Heathrow Airport on Saturday afternoon, Hermione thought Ginny was going to burst from excitement.
Hermione sucked in a long breath when the time came for them to part. Since the holidays began, she, Harry, and Draco hadn't left each other's company unless absolutely necessary – they'd even dragged a mattress downstairs and magically enlarged it so that they could all sleep together, their need for comfort high since the attack. Now, they were going to be apart for over a week. She hugged Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, and Sirius goodbye before turning to Harry and throwing her arms around him.
"I'll miss you," she said as she hugged him.
"I'll miss you too, Maya," Harry replied, gently stroking her hair. "We'll be together soon, I promise." Hermione squeezed him a little tighter in response, then slowly released him and stood on her toes to give him a sisterly kiss on the cheek.
"Be safe," she said softly. Harry nodded, and Hermione turned to Draco.
"Dragon…" Her arms wrapped around his neck while his slid to her waist.
"Find that ring, Lotte," Draco replied. "Find that ring and bring it back home to Hogwarts where it belongs. If anyone can do it, it's you." He leaned forward until their foreheads touched, and the two stood like that for a long moment. Hermione then broke the tableau and cupped Draco's face in her hands, pulling him close and kissing him fiercely.
"Please be careful," Hermione said when the kiss ended, hating the fact that she was nearly begging. "I know you have to go to the manor, but please…"
"Constant vigilance?" Draco suggested in an attempt to cheer her up. He was rewarded with a small smile and an incredulous laugh as Hermione shook her head at him.
"Yes," she whispered. "Constant vigilance." It was Draco who closed the gap this time, and they exchanged fond smiles when they finally broke apart.
"I love you."
"Always."
The couple gently disengaged from one another – not far away, Ginny did the same with Harry – and the three young women picked up their bags and headed towards their gate, turning back to blow their companions one last kiss before they disappeared from view.
A/N: Happy Marathon Monday! Yup, it's a holiday around here today, so in honor of the occasion, I give you chapter 2 on Monday instead of the usual Wednesday (see Justin, I kept my promise! Ha) Up next are their travels - the next several chapters take place simultaneously, & I am hard at work on them so I can get them to you as soon as possible. We have this whole week off, lots of writing time. Draco's Malfoy Manor chapters are already done, & I'm really excited to share them with you!
A big thanks to all of you who've continued following this tale in any way - I really appreciate it!
JKR owns all things Potter, I just play. Please R&R, & enjoy! :)