The Unbreakable Vow

by Ash Darklighter

Strange lights are seen across a deserted country lane. The wizarding world is calling him home.

27. Chapter 27

The Unbreakable Vow 27

by

Ash Darklighter

It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. I am also grateful for all the people who have read and reviewed this story.

My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.

Bill let himself into the Burrow and made his way once again to his father's old desk. Tapping the desk with his wand, he murmured the password, "eckeltricity," and with a faint squeak, the bottom drawer slid open. "Yes," he whispered gleefully. This looked to be promising. It did help to know exactly what he was looking for and where it should be. As his hand closed over a stiff roll of creamy parchment, he heard a voice behind him asking, "Bill what are you doing with that? Can I be of any help?"

"Hermione," he said, without turning around. "I didn't know anyone was home." Bill had thought that The Burrow was still empty. "I was looking for some spare parchment as I need to send some Head-of-House-Weasley letters to the Wizengamot," he explained stiffly, inwardly wincing at what must be the most transparent lie ever to come out of his mouth. "Dad used to keep the really good stuff hidden in this drawer."

"Oh."

"It didn't really work. We all knew where he hid things and what the password was." Bill turned around, the rolled up parchment still held in his grasp. "I think this is a spare piece of parchment and just what I need..."

Hermione's eyes narrowed with recognition at the roll of creamy paper in his hands. "No, it's not a spare anything. That's Ginny's marriage contract."

Bill pretended to look surprised while stifling his hiss of satisfaction. "Is it?"

"The parchment is of the very best quality," Hermione explained confidently. "There is only one wizarding company producing such fine parchment today. The Ministry uses it for all their official documents and the wealthiest families..."

"Like the Malfoys." Bill's fingers moved to the green and silver ribbon. He supposed that she would know such things, being Percy's assistant at the Ministry and also being present when the contract had been presented. "The goblins, on the other hand, use a much heavier grade of parchment."

"Yes." Hermione shifted nervously from one foot to the other as if she was afraid of even mentioning their name. "They use it for their everyday correspondence. The ribbon around the document is in Slytherin colours, charmed to remain so without fading or fraying. Lucius Malfoy's family crest is primarily in Slytherin colours and has been charmed into the parchment itself. The document is a work of art with miniature scenes representing a happy and fruitful marriage and in any other house would be displayed for all to admire..."

"Work of art, Merlin's..." Bill's lips tightened over the words he was about to say as he unceremoniously pulled the offending piece of silk from the parchment. He unrolled it carefully and then frowned. "This can't be the marriage contract," he stated, his eyebrows arching towards his hairline.

"I can assure you that it is," Hermione returned primly. "I recognise the actual document itself and I can remember putting it in that drawer. Ginny wanted nothing to do with it, so I tidied it away where it would be safe." She sniffed. "None of the other scrolls in the drawer are tied with Slytherin colours."

Bill had to admit that she had a point because the bottom of the drawer was littered with scraps of fraying material, mainly in faded reds and washed-out golds. But this time, the brightest witch of her generation was wrong. "No, Hermione." He held it up so that she could see it. "It can't be the contract. This piece of parchment is completely blank."

"What! But it can't be. I would swear that this is Ginny's contract. How could that have happened?" Hermione couldn't believe it. Everything fit. The colour of the ribbon, the quality of the parchment and the fact that she'd placed it in the drawer herself. "That's very strange." She whipped out her wand and cast a revealing spell. The parchment remained exactly the same. "I would have sworn on my magic..." Her eyes narrowed.

"That means I can use this piece after all. Good." He offered up a cheerfully false smile as he rolled it up and clumsily tied the ribbon, hoping that Hermione couldn't see through him. "As you said, it's the best quality and that's just what I need." He placed the parchment into a pocket in his cloak. Bill exhaled in disappointment as he closed the drawer with a quick flick of his wand. He would have to come back and do another search. It could be anywhere in the house. One thing that could be said about The Burrow was its homely cluttered disorganisation and he wouldn't have it any other way. However, it made finding things very difficult. He discounted the idea that the twins might have moved it.

"I must have a look for Ginny's contract," Hermione muttered worriedly. "It won't look good for the family if it's been lost. We could be fined."

"There are other copies though," said Bill casually.

"Lodged with the Ministry and the offering family, yes. But we don't want to admit to losing the primary copy. It's nothing less than a slur on the family name." She lunged towards the desk only to have Bill hold her back.

"Careful, Hermione." Bill steadied the young witch. "This desk is not the most stable piece of furniture in this house."

"I put it there myself." Hermione's last sentence came out as a wail. "If it's not there – then where is it?"

"Would anyone else in the family have moved it?"

Hermione bit her lip. "No. I don't think anyone else cared what happened to it and after Ginny disappeared..."

"It will turn up," he said comfortingly. "It's not as if Ginny needs it right now. I'll come over some time and help you look for it but now I need to get back to Fleur."

"Of course." She sent a penetrating stare at the desk as if she could see through it. "I'll have a look for the contract later. I can't do it now as have a meeting with Dumbledore this afternoon."

"An Order meeting?" Bill asked quietly.

"Not really. It's for research. The Order will be told our findings at tomorrow's meeting – if we find anything."

"Findings about what?"

"Not entirely sure but I think it will have something to do with the search for Harry. I think Dumbledore has an idea of where to begin looking."

He hadn't thought of that. He should have known better than to underestimate Albus Dumbledore. Perhaps, Harry needed to forgive Hermione and Ron for whatever he was holding against them. They would need Hermione's brain and Ron's strategic skills to counteract Dumbledore's plans. Harry wouldn't fall in neatly with what everyone wanted any more but having the Order on their side could only be good. "Grimmauld Place?" Bill asked, getting to his feet.

"Yes. But you'll be sent word as to the time." Her face lit up in an excited smile. "Harry's safe and if Snape's memories are to be believed, he's well and now that we know that, we can find him. He should be home with those of us that love him." Her face showed concern. "He wasn't well when he left us."

"How do you know that?" Bill's voice tightened.

"He wouldn't have left us otherwise," she said simply, as if it was the most logical explanation in the world. "But I know Harry. He hadn't looked well...or happy all year."

"Shut up in a house he hated and with a madman constantly trying to kill him - are you surprised?" asked Bill in disbelief. Sometimes Hermione was too much even for him.

Hermione pressed her lips together before reluctantly answering, "No."

"Right." Bill adjusted the clasp of his cloak.

There was the sound of the door opening and a voice called out, "Hermione!"

"We're in here," she called back. "Ron must have finished quicker than he thought he would. I didn't expect him for another hour."

The youngest of the male Weasleys wandered into the room. "Oh, hello, Bill. I didn't know you were here. Where's Mum?"

Hermione smiled warmly in greeting her fiancé. "I don't think Molly's here, Ron."

"She's not. Mum's gone out to lunch," Bill stated quietly.

"Mum has?" Ron looked surprised. "That doesn't happen often... Not since Dad... Where's she gone?"

"Shell Cottage," Bill lied quickly. "Do you want me to give her a message" Ron shook his head. "I'm heading back there now. You don't want to be late for a meal a pregnant Veela has slaved over. Fleur can be very...fierce."

Ron chuckled and jerked his head towards Hermione. "The female of the species...I quite understand."

"Bill..." Hermione said slowly, "now that we've found Harry..."

"You've found him?" Bill shouted in alarm. "You didn't say that you'd found him. You said you were helping with the research. When did you discover his whereabouts? Has the charm..." Bill closed his mouth with a snap. Of course the charm hadn't failed. There was no Pettigrew amongst this family. That's if you ignored Percy, who wouldn't have been included in such a secret. "Where is he?"

"Hermione, you didn't tell me that Harry had been found." Ron's voice was almost a whisper. "He's actually been found. When do we go..."

"Please, be quiet, both of you!" she shouted. "I'm sorry, Ron...Bill. I phrased it wrong. We haven't actually found him..." she muttered awkwardly, flushing. "But surely, it's only a matter of time before we do. We know he's alive and You-know-who has returned. It's a race against the clock because they're linked together – it's Harry's scar," she said in a whisper. "Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard apart from...You-know-who and once we..." she tailed off.

"I guess you're right," Bill murmured. He could guess what Hermione might be helping Dumbledore with this afternoon. They were fighting against the odds to keep the Potter family safe. Eventually Harry and Ginny would be found. The Fidelius would probably not mask Harry's special connection to Voldemort. It was definitely something that they had to consider.

"Do you think Harry knows where Ginny is?" Ron asked.

"I can't answer that," replied Bill. "Only Harry can."

"Somebody must know where he is," Hermione declared fervently. "Harry couldn't live a life totally devoid of human company. He must work with people and he has to interact with others to get food and other necessities."

"Do you want a sandwich?" Ron wearily muttered to his brother as if he'd been on the receiving end of Hermione's hypotheses several times already. "I'm making one for me and Hermione..."

"Not if I'm lunching with Fleur and Mum," Bill answered. "Fleur always makes too much and if I don't turn up soon she will be getting anxious..." He was about to say more when there was a rumble in the grate and Fred and George stepped from the fireplace.

"Bill!" called Fred. "Any luck? How are..."

Bill swivelled sharply around, his wand at the ready, and silently incanted a spell. "Fred, George," he said warningly as George began to flap his hands. "I was just speaking with Ron and Hermione before I returned home. You could have caught me there. Fleur and the baby are fine." Another deft twist of his wrist saw the silencing charm removed, all hopefully without Hermione and Ron being any-the-wiser. Bill Weasley was a powerful and accomplished wizard. "They're going to Hogwarts to help Dumbledore with something."

"Locating Harry by looking at Snape's memories," said Ron.

"You can do that?" asked George.

"Well..." Ron shrugged. "I don't know. We might find some clues. I'm not saying that we'll actually find a bit of parchment with Harry's address on it."

The expression in Fred's eyes as he glanced at Bill was unusually serious. "It's possible but surely..."

Bill's mouth firmed and he gave a minute shake of his head.

Hermione shot the twins and Bill a suspicious look. Something had happened between them that she'd missed. Fred had been about to say something and Bill had stopped him. "What were you going to say, Fred?" she asked sweetly.

Fred immediately chuckled and clapped Bill hard on the shoulder. "I was about to ask how my sister-in-law and my niece or nephew-to-be are faring?"

"Very well." Bill smirked. "I'm joining them all for lunch. Do you want to come?"

"We'd love to but we have to get back to the shop," answered George with the right amount of regret. "We left Lee in charge but we have a couple of experiments simmering over a hot fire in a slow cauldron."

"Later?"

George smirked and winked. "If the cauldron survives."

"Talking of experiments," said Hermione snippily. "What happened to my mobile phone?"

"Ah!" said Fred carefully. "The jury is still out on that one. It's under..."

"Development," finished George. "Or it could be inside the slow cauldron," he said thoughtfully. "Did you Gred...?"

"No, Forge, old bean. I wouldn't deliberately drop Hermione's mobile fun into a slowly bubbling cauldron. I wouldn't even do it accidentally."

"I want it back in one piece," Hermione threatened. "Or else I will employ my rapidly expanding repertoire of curses to bear in your direction."

Fred and George looked at one another and gave a nod. The message had been received and understood. They glanced at Bill, giving him another discreet nod indicating that they would be in touch, and then stepped back into the fireplace with a shout of "Weasley Wizard Wheezes."

"Those two get worse and worse. I don't pretend to even guess what they're on about." Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "What was that all about?"

"What?" asked Bill irritably. He gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head. "Oh, nothing. It's Fred and George. When do we ever know what they're on about? Look, guys, I'd better get back to Fleur."

"You'll be at the Order meeting tomorrow?" asked Hermione quickly.

"Of course. We both will." Bill hesitated, realising that he couldn't just walk outside and apparate to Shielhill. He'd have to floo to Shell Cottage first to avoid suspicion. Why couldn't he just tell Ron and Hermione that he knew where Harry and Ginny were? It would save an awful lot of time and angst but he suspected that Harry had to work through certain things before he would trust them all once more. Bill gave Hermione another nod and grabbed some powder from the pot on the mantelpiece. "Shell Cottage." And with a flash of green flame, he disappeared. Five minutes later he walked into the Sheilhill Cottage kitchen to find everyone sitting exactly where he had left them.

"Any luck?" Harry asked, unknowingly echoing Fred's question.

Bill shrugged. "I'm not sure." He pulled the parchment from the pocket of his robe. "I was going through the bottom drawer when Hermione walked in on me. "I said that I needed a nice piece of parchment for an important letter and that Dad had kept spare pieces of quality parchment in that particular drawer. Normally, she would be on to me in an instant but I think her mind is taken up with searching for you, Harry." He held it out. "She identified this as being your marriage contract, Ginny."

"Hermione's not often wrong," said Molly. "So, if she said it was the marriage contract, then it was."

"She's usually right enough," said Bill thoughtfully. "Hermione is a smart witch. She and Ron are heading to Hogwarts this afternoon to aid the headmaster in searching through Snape's memories. He must think that she might pick up on something that others would overlook."

"We knew this would happen," Harry stated thoughtfully. "Hermione likes nothing better than this sort of challenge."

"You should tell her, Harry," urged Molly. "Both her, Ron and Albus..." She broke off looking confused and a little distressed. "I don't understand why you are keeping this from them."

"Molly...Mum..." Harry's eyes sought those of his wife. He wasn't too sure why he was doing this either but deep down, he'd felt betrayed by his friends and his one-time mentor and part of him wanted to let them wait until he was certain that they had the safety protocols established and he could get their unconditional support. No one was perfect but Harry had been hurt so many times. Trust came hard for him now.

"Mum, we're being careful and we will tell them...soon. But our first priority is our son. We have to protect Jamie and because of that, we are keeping things a secret for a bit longer." Ginny gave the rolled and beribboned parchment a long look as if she could see inside it. "It looks like the damned thing. But I wouldn't be entirely certain. Remember, I wanted nothing to do with it and didn't touch it at all. I'm not even going to touch it now...just in case."

Bill grinned. "Wise."

Harry stood up. "It's the contract," he declared. "It has to be."

"That's what Hermione thought and I agreed with her." Bill pulled off the Slytherin ribbon with a flourish and tossed it into the centre of the table. "However..." He began unrolling the parchment. "This one is completely blank. There's not a lot of magic active in this piece of parchment."

"So it is. I would swear..." Harry closed his eyes and tried to remember what the contract had looked like. "Where's the fruit bowl, Gin?"

His wife chuckled. "In the display cabinet behind you."

"What do you need a fruit bowl for?" asked Bill. "Apart from fruit, that is?"

Harry grinned and brought out the Pensieve. "We took this with us when we left. Ginny thought it would look nice with fruit in it."

"She what!" Bill's eyebrows rose in horror as he took in the nature of the artefact and then looked at his smirking sister. "Ginny, that's a Pensieve."

"Yes, but it looks like a fruit bowl. We've never actually put fruit in the Pensieve...mainly because we didn't know if the fruit had memories or would react adversely to the magic. But we did think about it."

"I've heard a lot of strange things." Bill rolled his eyes. "I forget sometimes that you are related closely to Fred and George until you remind me. 'Fruit have memories' indeed."

"I remember that you are related to Percy, and forget that you were Hogwarts head boy and managed to get twelve OWLs," Ginny retorted smartly.

Harry placed the tip of his wand at his temple and drew out the thin silvery strand of memory and deposited it in the Pensieve. "Bill...Fleur?"

"Merci, Harry." Fleur glanced at her husband and then dipped her head into the memory, emerging a couple of minutes later. "Go ahead, Bill. Molly, I think you should also have a look. It does look like the same one." She pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment and then smiled. "Could I examine the parchment, Harry?"

He nodded. "Of course you can."

With a quick flick of her wand, Fleur had the opened scroll hovering in the air in front of her. "Lumos," she said. "Mmm...interesting."

"Hermione tried a revealing spell," Bill told his wife.

"And it didn't work, did it?" the French witch stated briskly. "Could you do a Lumos spell directly behind the parchment?"

Bill complied. He knew that he had married a wonderfully clever witch and she obviously had an idea that they hadn't yet considered. The Gringotts' goblins had not employed Fleur because she was beautiful – they didn't care for such nonsense. She had been a Tri-wizard champion, too.

"Aha!" Fleur exclaimed after another quick flick of her wand.

"What?" Harry and Ginny asked.

"Can you see it?" Fleur was pointing her wand at the parchment. "It's difficult to make out but it is there."

"I can't see anything," murmured Molly. "But then, my eyes are not what they were."

"Adjust the angle of your wand, Bill," Fleur instructed, "so that it's shining directly behind the parchment. Look closer, Belle-mère. Now can you see anything?"

Molly squinted at the creamy paper and then gave a soft gasp. "I can make out very faint markings on the paper - as if something was there before."

"Bill," murmured Fleur. "What does the Malfoy Crest look like?"

Bill made a face and tapped a finger against his lips. "It's green and silver...Slytherin colours..."

"Now there's a surprise," Ginny said darkly.

"Hush, Ginny," Fleur muttered, flicking silent spells at the parchment with her wand. "The colours have long faded but some inks are more resistant to time and magic and that is all that remains. Fortunately, because I have Veela blood in my veins, I can see more..."

"Faded!" Harry exclaimed. "So it is the contract."

"Oui, I am almost certain that this was a document of some kind. This parchment is steeped in magic or it was once. I could also point out that no wizard that I know would ever wrap a piece of blank parchment in a green and silver ribbon – or any sort of ribbon for that matter. Can you remember exactly what the Malfoy crest looked like, Bill?" Again, she waved her wand over the hovering scroll, glaring at it as if she was threatening an inanimate object into giving up its secrets.

Bill frowned. "It's one of the old family crests – the Malfoy's are one of the oldest wizarding families still in existence – like the Potters, the Dumbledore's and the Weasleys. I remember seeing it on some Gringotts documents - a design on a shield with a dragon, or a serpent of some sort, and crossed wands, I think. To be honest, I never paid too much attention to it."

"Bill, as the head of the House Weasley you should know all this," Molly remarked quietly. "You're a pureblood wizard..."

"So," her son replied unrepentantly, his gaze fixed upon his wife. "This whole blood thing is what got the wizarding world into such a mess in the first place. I don't care which wizard has the purest blood and normally neither do you, Mum."

"I know." Molly sighed. "And I don't care. You know I didn't mean for it to sound like it did but even as 'blood-traitors' we should be aware of our history and culture. Especially now, so that we will not make the same mistakes as we did before. You are a pureblood wizard from a family that cares nothing for such status and I'm glad. Your father would say the same. You know how he was about anything Muggle but he would want you to know your wizarding history. Some of these family crests are true works of art."

Fleur cleared her throat. "I can almost make out the shape of what could be the serpent...or dragon," she announced. "It's impossible to say for sure. The colours have gone and nothing I can do will bring them back. However..." She ran her wand over the parchment one last time. "I have drawn the last vestiges of the ink to the surface but it's merely a history of what once was there. Regarder."

Harry, Bill and Ginny moved behind Fleur's shoulder and peered at the parchment. What had been a blank, creamy parchment now boasted faint grey squiggles which once might have been elegant penmanship.

"I can't get it any clearer than that," she admitted. "But you can just about make out the name Malfoy...here," she indicated the place on the parchment, "and Weasley...there."

Ginny looked at Harry in alarm. "You've made it legible?"

"Hardly," Fleur dismissed airily.

"If we can see it then I'm bound by it," Ginny declared. "I'm not marrying Malfoy. I can't as I'm already married." She glared at the rest of the occupants of the kitchen. "I'm not endangering my son's life."

"Calme, ma petite," Fleur soothed. "It will fade again. These are temporary charms and for a reason ma mère never explained to me, something the Veela can do."

"What happens now?" asked Ginny.

Fleur flicked her wrist and the scroll immediately rolled itself up – the ribbon wrapping around it and ending up with a flourishing bow. "I take it to the goblins and see if it is still active, which I doubt."

"We could see my name," Ginny muttered. "My name linked to that arrogant, death-eating pri..."

"Ginevra Molly...Potter!" Molly exclaimed. "Don't finish that sentence."

"I didn't," Ginny retorted sulkily. "You cut me off before I could."

"Not that I don't agree with the sentiment," Molly admitted, with a shame-faced smile. "But I didn't bring you up to use such language and you don't want to set a bad example for the little one."

"No, he has Harry for that," Ginny shot back.

"I like that," Harry said mildly. "Why do I always have to get the blame? Talking of the little one...I think he should be retrieved or we'll never get him to sleep tonight."

"Which means that his poor parents won't get any sleep," muttered Ginny.

Molly opened her mouth and then closed it again, looking uncertain.

Harry's mood dipped. This wasn't the take-charge Molly Weasley he and Ginny had left behind five years ago and although it was difficult to see, he could understand why she was like this. She'd been seriously ill in St. Mungos for several months after the attack in which she'd also lost her husband. Her daughter had run away to avoid a marriage to a Death Eater and one of her sons had voluntarily chosen the Ministry over his family.

Molly's confidence had been severely shaken and even after five years had not totally reappeared. Harry wanted to see the strong woman he'd known return. They were all going to need her to help hold them together in the very near future.

"Ginny..." he said quietly. He'd guessed that Molly wanted to be the one to awaken her grandson but had been afraid to ask.

But he needn't have worried. His wonderful wife had it covered.

Ginny held out her hand. "Come on, Mum. You and I will deal with Jamie. He can be a bit grouchy when he wakes up from a nap. He's like his father in that respect."

"Hey!" Harry protested, as his wife and mother-in-law disappeared from the kitchen and could be heard climbing the stairs. "I'm sitting right here and I'm protesting such a vicious slur on my spotless character for the second time in as many minutes."

Ginny's face appeared back around the door. "It's true and you know it. Remember darling, I can use my wand once more - just as well as you can and for some spells...I can do it better. Bat Bogey Hex, anyone?" Cheekily, she blew him a kiss and tucked back out of sight.

Harry sighed with appreciation. "I just love that witch."

Bill chuckled lightly and looked at his wife. "What do you want to do now, Fleur?"

"I want to take this to the goblins." She indicated the rolled up piece of parchment. "They are Harry's point of contact between the magical and the Muggle world and seem to be happy to help protect him."

"Ginny and I couldn't have survived exile for this long without them. We owe them nothing short of a life debt. It was all Sirius's idea to ask the goblins for help. He wanted me to have a bolt-hole away from..." Harry sighed. "My destiny...whatever you want to call it. This is far from over. Voldemort has returned and will come after me. I know what to expect. I just don't want him to get Ginny and Jamie along the way."

"We'll head back to Gringott's now and return for Mum later," Bill decided. "She'll want a bit of time to play with her grandson. I can't really believe it that my little sister has a child of her own."

"Soon Jamie will have a cousin and a brother or sister," Harry said contentedly. "Ginny says 'it's a brother'."

"Is she right?"

Harry held up his hands. "I don't know but she was right the first time. I don't know very much about pregnant witches but they connect with the child that they're carrying on a level Muggle women will never understand. I don't care if it is a boy or a girl. I just want it to be healthy and Ginny to be strong. If she says it's a boy, then it is."

"Bill, the clock hands are spinning away from us," murmured Fleur, "and we have no access to a time-turner."

"True," he said, glancing at his watch. "We'd better get going. One of us will return for Mum later."

Harry nodded. "Make it after Jamie's bedtime. Molly is having far too much fun enjoying the surprise of being a grandmother. It would be really unfair of me to send her home early. I want my children to know their only remaining grandparent. I'm not letting Voldemort ruin that for us. She'll be fine."

"More than fine." Bill swirled his travelling cloak around his shoulders. "This is the best thing that's happened to our family since Dad died. The Weasleys...and the Potters will survive this coming conflict."

"It is coming, isn't it, Bill?" Harry gazed steadily towards the older wizard.

Bill sighed and gave a reluctant nod. "I think so."

"We want our children to grow up in peace and I'll do anything to ensure that it happens," Harry vowed steadily.

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Hogwarts wasn't the same now that she was an adult, Hermione decided as she and Ron strolled hand in hand up to the castle. It was still as beautiful, still as jaw-droppingly amazing but there was a feeling that her time there had passed. "It always seems funny being here now," she noted thoughtfully.

"It's school and we're adults. Adults don't go to school," Ron said matter-of-factly.

Hermione pulled her book bag higher up over her shoulder. "Some adults do. I could have gone to university if I'd wanted to."

"You want to study more?" Ron's voice was incredulous.

"Ronald, there's nothing wrong with wanting to learn," Hermione snapped. "We should never stop learning. Life should be a continual learning experience..."

Ron grinned as she predictably rose to the bait. "I was just teasing you, Hermione."

"Oh!" she muttered looking cross. "I like to research things - you know that - and I would have liked to have gone to university."

"Then why are you still working for the Ministry?" Ron asked. "You could still go. Surely the brightest witch of her age can't be happy working for my git of a brother."

"I'm there because Dumbledore wants me there. I can't help the Order otherwise. One day, though."

"Percy's nothing but a jumped up quill-sharpener," Ron retorted. "He betrayed our family..."

Hermione could see by the set of Ron's jaw how much Percy's actions had hurt him. "It's better to have me working at the Ministry to keep an eye on him. Percy's not evil..."

"He is."

Hermione shook her head. "No, he's not. He wouldn't fight for V...V...Voldemort." She finished the dark lord's name in a whisper. "His main sin is his ambition. I've been thinking long and hard about this over the past few years. In his own twisted way, Percy thought he was doing the best thing for Ginny when he arranged her marriage contract."

Ron snorted. "The best thing for himself, you mean."

"Percy sees it very differently to us. He secures Ginny to a wealthy, politically powerful family which will keep her safe but also keep that pure-blooded connection going which will guarantee Percy an entry into the social circles he sees as necessary to his advancement." Hermione gave him a look as they climbed the steps into the entrance hall to find Mad-Eye Moody waiting for them. "Think about it, Ron," she said urgently. "That's Percy's strategy. I won't work for him forever, thank Merlin. You have to start learning what makes wizards tick – you could be such a big help to the Order."

"Couldn't you work for the Order and go to University? You shouldn't have to put your life on hold for Dumbledore."

Hermione looked really pained. "Harry did. Every summer he returned to those awful relatives of his – every single summer. He was alone and unhappy. We, at least, were with our families and who did Harry have? No one. I think the real reason Harry left was because Dumbledore wanted him to return to Privet Drive."

"Hermione..." Ron began and then stopped. He had to admit that she had a point but he suspected that Harry had really left for Ginny's sake. Ron straightened his shoulders. He knew what made wizards tick.

"He was a prisoner in his own home – remember the fuss that was made when he went to the chemist? Sirius had more freedom as a wanted criminal on the run than Harry had." Hermione took a deep breath and pointed ahead. "Moody's waiting for us."

"So I see."

Hermione headed towards the grizzled old Auror. "Mad-Eye."

"Constant vigilance," the grizzled old Auror declared, brandishing his wand at them as they approached the entrance to the headmaster's office. "Where was I found at the end of the Tri-wizard tournament?"

"Locked inside your seven-compartment trunk," answered Hermione briskly.

Moody's lips moved into what passed for a smile. "Albus is waiting for you in his office. The password is 'Skiving Snack boxes'."

"Fred and George will be so proud," grinned Ron. "Wait till I tell them that Dumbledore is using one of their products as a password."

Hermione just shook her head. "Skiving Snack boxes," she said dryly.

The gargoyle in front of the spiral staircase moved aside and Ron, Hermione and Moody stepped onto it and were carried upwards towards Dumbledore's office.

"Come in." The heavy wooden door swung open and they all saw a tired looking headmaster sitting at his desk. "Mr. Weasley...Miss Granger. Good of you to come to our aid on your day off."

"I thought the quicker we found Harry, the better."

"Quite true, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, smiling genially.

"You are sure that it was Harry?" Hermione asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "As sure as it is possible to be from the Pensieve memories. The man who found Snape knew who he was and also to send him here to Hogwarts rather than St. Mungos."

Moody snorted. "Potter's managed to elude us all for over five years. What makes you think he's going to suddenly just turn up?"

"Harry found Snape," said Ron. "He must have been keeping an eye on things over the past few years. Harry's a strong wizard and..."

Hermione glimpsed a trace of a shadow cross Dumbledore's face before she decided that she'd been mistaken. "Ron's right, Professor. It's too much of a coincidence that Harry just tripped over Professor Snape."

The headmaster's mouth firmed. "I do not think Harry would have joined Lord Voldemort."

"I wasn't saying that." Ron's face was aghast at the notion. "Harry would never do that. He hates the b...Sorry professor," he apologised.

"You were hinting at something similar only last week," Hermione accused Ron softly.

"I didn't mean it, Hermione. I was angry and opened my mouth without thinking." He looked a little shame-faced. "I do that a lot but Harry left us without telling us where he was going or why he ran away. The Harry I thought I knew would never have done that. He's my best mate... my brother-by-choice... and I miss him."

"He had his reasons, Mr. Weasley," said Dumbledore sadly. "And many of them, I am sorry to say, are because I made some very basic mistakes where Harry was concerned. I must take some of the blame myself. I lost the important detail because I was too busy looking at the bigger picture."

Mad-Eye coughed. "We're not here to apportion blame, Albus. We're here to see if we can find the boy. The longer we wait, the more time You-know-who has to build up his power. We cannot risk him finding the boy before we do."

"That goes without saying. Time is against us." Dumbledore flicked his wand and the cabinet containing his Pensieve swung open. "I have prepared the memories Severus was able to give me. Are you ready, Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley? Some of what you are about to witness is far from pleasant."

Ron swallowed audibly but appeared resolute. "We're ready." He glanced at Hermione who nodded at him. They bent their heads towards the silvery iridescent liquid and found themselves pulled swiftly into the memories.

Five minutes later they sat up, faces white, their hands trembling.

Dumbledore's face showed his sorrow and regret. "I wish I could have spared you such images but you had to see them to get as much information on our task as possible."

"No," Ron managed to say through trembling lips. "It was exactly what we...what I needed to see. I'll never complain about Snape again. He really was risking his life every time he joined the Death Eaters"

"Professor Snape," murmured Hermione.

"What?" Ron said.

"It's 'Professor Snape'," she said. Hermione turned her attention to her former headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore, I can't believe he's alive after experiencing...that."

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Neither can I, Miss Granger. A man's life can turn on the whim of fate. If Harry hadn't been there then Severus would have died. Of that there is no doubt."

"Can I view it again?" Ron asked.

"Why would you need to do that?" Hermione was appalled that Ron might be enjoying Snape's misfortune.

"I need to pay attention to what was happening around Snape. I thought you would have picked up on that, Hermione." Ron couldn't resist the chance to needle his fiancée. It wasn't often that he noticed something that she missed. "I'm not going back in there by choice."

Hermione's mouth dropped open into a small 'o' shape. She'd been so appalled by what was happening to Snape that she'd not paid attention to what was going on around him. "You're quite correct, Ron." She took a deep breath. "We need to take another look."

"Don't let yourself become distracted by what's happening," Ron advised. "Merlin, I don't like Snape but...well, no wonder he's the way he is. These people are truly evil and what the man had to go through was horrible. It's amazing how much detail is in these memories." He stuck his head into the Pensieve once more, again emerging five minutes later. "Hermione, I want you to check what's on the large table in the centre of the room. It could become important."

Hermione dutifully bent her head towards the Pensieve again. "They were throwing things on it and spitting on it," Hermione whispered. "But I couldn't see what it was. Snape blacks out almost immediately after. The next thing he's aware of is running for his life through dense woodland."

"I believe I can enlighten you," Moody declared. "It's a map of magical Britain. I've led various raids into the Malfoy family home." He scowled. "Never found anything either. If I was to go in tomorrow and old Lucius was entertaining You-know-who in the next room, I still wouldn't find anything. A few snaps of a house elf's fingers and everything would be gone."

"A map!" Ron was scribbling notes onto a piece of parchment. "Why would they be throwing things and spitting on a map?"

"I think I can answer that question, Mr. Weasley," said Dumbledore. "It's what we might refer to as a 'pureblood hunt'. Usually the wizards would portkey a Muggle to a desired location and hunt them. The map would be the starting point for the evening's entertainment."

Hermione was appalled. "I've never heard anything so abominable in my life."

"Indeed, Miss Granger," said the headmaster gravely. "The practise has been outlawed for many years but it is known to still occur in the highest pureblood circles. It has never been proved, of course – there are those in the ministry who will prevent such a practice from ever being documented - but it is strongly suspected to take place."

Ron looked up from his scribbling. "The map...did it take up the whole table?"

Moody's magical eye spun crazily in its socket. "I can't remember. Why?"

Ron frowned and sucked the end of his quill in thought. "It could give us a better idea of where to look. It won't be exact, but better than 'somewhere in the north of England or Scotland'. That's not particularly helpful."

"But it's the only thing we had before," murmured Hermione, "and it was better than nothing at all."

"Yes," said Ron. "But I think I can narrow it down." He glanced at Dumbledore. "With a little more information."

"I will ask Professor Snape," Dumbledore answered.

"How is he?" Hermione enquired carefully.

"He is still a very ill man, Miss Granger," Dumbledore admitted. "He's lucky to be alive. If Harry hadn't found him and sent him to Hogwarts..." He bent down to the floo and shouted for the mediwitch. "Poppy...Poppy. Is Severus able to answer a couple of questions?"

Ron and Hermione couldn't see the person on the other end but could faintly hear the voice of the mediwitch on the other end answer.

"He's much better today. Threatened to hex me more than once."

Dumbledore chuckled. "That, indeed, sounds more like the Severus we know and love. I'm coming though."

Ron's eyebrows disappeared up into his hairline. "Love!" he mouthed towards Hermione. The witch stifled her chuckle and returned her eyes to the book she was leafing through. Severus Snape would not be an easy man to love.

Five minutes later there was a rumble in the grate and Dumbledore returned to his office. "Severus was most helpful. He recalls seeing the map on a number of occasions. It apparently was enchanted to display the most prominent magical settlements of Britain and the location of the various Malfoy properties and Estates."

Ron shrugged. "I don't need to know that yet. I wouldn't expect Harry to be living near those. He's more likely to be avoiding them."

"Most astute of you, Mr. Weasley," agreed the headmaster. It was the conclusion he'd been able to make. Harry had returned to his Muggle roots and because of his lack of magic, the young man had been impossible to trace. "What exactly did you want to know?"

"I want to know the proportions of the map." Ron stood up, waving his hands about as he did so. "If the Death eaters were throwing things and spitting on this map, where did the projectiles land. It might not give us the exact location but it would be a hell of a lot nearer than anything else we've got. We could be hunting close to where the Death Eaters were chasing Snape instead of miles away."

The headmaster's blue eyes began to twinkle as a smile spread across his face. "I see where you are going with this and it's the best idea I have heard so far. Let's see what I can do." He flicked his wand over his desk and suddenly a long table appeared in its place. "That would be about the right size. Now..." he mumbled to himself. "Yes...I think that would do it." He twirled his wand in a complicated manner before jabbing it forwards at the table.

Ron and Hermione could only gaze in astonishment as a large three-dimensional map of the British Isles appeared, entirely covering the table.

"That's it, Albus," murmured Moody. "As far as I can tell, that map is identical to the one in Lucius Malfoy's study." He looked up from his examination of the table. "Why was I in old Lucius's study?" he snorted. "Another abortive Ministry raid. That man's more slippery than a whole lakeful of Merfolk. We never found anything."

"This one belongs to the school," said Dumbledore calmly. "I just called it down from the storage facility attached to the Room of Requirement."

"You can do that?" breathed Hermione.

Dumbledore laughed quietly "I am the headmaster. Hogwarts grants me several special privileges."

"Why did we never use this during classes?" Hermione asked. "It would have been a fascinating study."

Dumbledore's eyes brightened. "Do you know, Miss Granger, I don't know why we never use it. It's something the professors and I will have to consider for the next school year's curriculum."

"You could introduce a new subject into the curriculum," suggested Hermione enthusiastically. "Magical geography could be a very interesting subject and..."

"Hermione..." Ron glared at his fiancée. "Now is not the time for this."

"Of course. I wasn't thinking," the bushy-haired witch mumbled apologetically, looking crestfallen.

Ron sent her an apologetic look of his own. "I didn't mean that it was a bad idea. It's a good one but we have other things to concentrate on."

"I think you said, Albus, that it indicates areas of magical settlement?" At Dumbledore's nod, Moody produced his own wand and waved it over the map. Tiny twinkling lights appeared in several areas.

Hermione moved closer to the table, fascinated to see where all the towns and villages with magical places were. "Hogsmeade," she said pointing to one of the largest conglomerations of lights. "Dovetown..." to another.

"Ottery St. Catchpole," said Ron with a fond smile at his home village.

"Godric's Hollow," offered Dumbledore pointing his wand at a group of lights clustered in Wales close to the border with England. "Where Harry lived for the first year of his life."

"I hadn't realised there were so many settlements," said Hermione.

"The wizarding population is vastly outnumbered by the Muggle one, Miss Granger," declared the headmaster with a smile. "But there are more of us living together than you would think. Two or three families living in close proximity will register upon this map. It's a similar magic to the waiting list for Hogwarts."

"So Harry could be anywhere." Hermione looked upset.

"As I said earlier, Hermione, I would guess that Harry would be avoiding wizarding places," Ron reminded her. "We would be better off concentrating on areas where there aren't any wizards at all."

"Not a great help, Ron," Hermione muttered as she stared at the map, hoping that it would miraculously just give up Harry's location." But there were large tracts of country where there were no magical habitations at all.

"If he'd been so easy to find, Hermione, we'd have found him long ago. The whole Order looked for him and found nothing. You reminded me that Harry was Muggle-raised. He would find it easy to fit in again." Ron moved to the head of the table. "From looking at the memories in the Pensieve, the disgusting bloke spitting on this map stood around about here."

"He was disgusting," agreed Hermione, shuddering.

"They're Death Eaters, Miss Granger," growled Moody. "What do you expect – tea and cakes? They enjoy what they do. What we saw there was nothing to the evil they can perpetrate."

Ron was carefully eyeing the map. "I'm not going to spit on this," he said, with a sideways glance at the headmaster. "But if I could give a little weight to some small paper balls and charm them to stay in place..."

Hermione waved her wand, murmured an incantation and several small crunched up pieces of paper appeared in Ron's hand.

"Thanks, Hermione." He gave her a warm smile.

Dumbledore and Moody watched as Ron began carefully throwing the little paper balls at the map.

"I'm trying to work out the trajectory that the spit-balls took and reproduce the flight as much as I can from seeing Professor Snape's memories," declared the redhead. "It won't be exact but it should get us pretty close. We can then send Order members to quickly check the area."

Hermione watched Ron with a critical eye. "Take a step more to the right," she said thoughtfully. "The globule of spit..." She shuddered. "How disgusting. The globule of spit landed a good two thirds up the table."

Moody and Dumbledore moved close to the table and gazed at Ron's experiments with curiosity. "Most of your 'missiles' have landed in the Eastern side of Scotland, north-west of Aberdeen," observed the headmaster.

Ron nodded, all his attention focused on the map. "One or two stray ones though."

"Anything beyond Inverness?" Moody asked rhetorically as he peered at the map, his magical eye spinning. "No. That certainly narrows it down, lad," he approved. "I suppose you can't get it any more precise than that?"

"Snape couldn't see the surface of the map," Ron said. "So I can't be any more accurate. I'm gauging this from his memories."

"Are you sure, Ron, that's the right area?" Hermione's voice was anxious. Five years and they finally had a place to begin looking. She couldn't face another wild hippogriff chase. Now that V...V... She sighed. Now that 'You-know-who' was back it was more imperative than ever that they find Harry.

"There's one other thing I'd like to try," Ron said. "I want you to throw the paper balls at the map, trying to get it in that particular area and I'll lie down and see if I can gauge things from Snape's perspective, poor bugger."

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed primly.

"Well, he is," Ron retorted unrepentantly.

"Go ahead, Mr. Weasley," instructed Albus, and Ron spread his lanky frame over the office floor. "I'll aim the...er missiles while you get comfortable." He flicked his wand and the tiny white balls of paper turned into shimmering drops of water that returned to their paper state as they landed on the map. "What do you think, Mr. Weasley – any improvement?"

"I presume Snape...I mean Professor Snape blacked out before they made the actual decision where to go on their 'hunting expedition'." Ron sat up. "I've already said that the memories don't show anything more helpful."

"Ron!" Hermione scowled at the red-headed man on the floor. "Professor Snape is lucky to be alive. Concentrate on what you are doing and we both might manage to be of some help to him."

"Alright, Hermione, keep your hair on. I was concentrating" He pulled himself up and assessed their results. "Still leaves us an awful lot of Scotland to search through."

"Better than all of Scotland and a large portion of Northern England, which is what we were looking at before," gritted Moody. "Albus – what do you want us to do?"

"We dispatch Order members to search woodland areas In Aberdeenshire and Moray." The headmaster looked troubled. "You do realise that we still might not recover Harry."

"And Ginny," interrupted Ron. "I'm sure Harry will know where she is."

"Alas, there's no guarantee of that, either. We do not have proof that they are together although I agree that it is likely. Wherever they are, together or apart, with the return of Voldemort they are in grave danger." Dumbledore took one last look at the map and with a wave of his wand, the desk was returned. "Alastor, if you could contact Hestia, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Bill Weasley and Dedalus Diggle for me please. Explain what we would like them to do. We cannot spare any more of the Order at the moment. It would be noted by certain parties and draw unnecessary attention to bear upon our activities."

"Will do," Moody said gruffly and stomped from the room.

"Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley – thank you for your help. It has truly been invaluable."

"Isn't there anything else we could do?" asked Hermione anxiously. "We could help the Order look for Harry. I have annual leave to take and..."

"You do more good, Miss Granger, by remaining in your current post. It's not what your heart desires but we value what you do. If you could continue to monitor both the wizarding and the Muggle Press for anything unusual."

"Th...thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Hermione gushed. "That means more to me than I can say."

"I could go with Bill," offered Ron. "I'm Harry's best friend. I used to know what he thought...at least..." His face fell. "I thought I did."

Dumbledore considered the young man. Ron was still immature on occasions but was, in his opinion, finally growing up. Bill would make sure he didn't do anything foolish. "I will speak to your brother, Mr. Weasley, and ask him if he will let you accompany him. But remember, you must keep this operation completely quiet. There can be no slipping of information to anyone no matter how angry they may make you."

Ron straightened himself proudly. "I give my word as a wizard."

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