A/N

Regarding Harry and Occlumency: Perhaps it hadn't been clear enough in the last chapter; but Harry doesn't have problems with Occlumency. He is making great progress (too great for Dumbledore's liking), but in my opinion he's more talented in the area of Legilimency (something you often read in stories). Hermione, with her very ordered mind, is an extremely talented Occlumens (but a bad Legilimens) while Daphne has years more of teaching behind her (and is more sensitive, not powerful).

About money: I reduced the numbers I had used until now for the dowry of Astoria. As far as I know the "official" conversion rate "Galleon to Dollar/Euro" is around 1:5-7. But with the prices used in the books (around 10g for a wand, 700g for a vacation to Egypt with the whole Weasley family and 1,000g to open the WWW shop) I assume a higher rate would be more appropriate, one I've seen in other stories. So I'll use a rate of 1:20-25 in the future.

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Interlude

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The Burrow – 22nd of December

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Lowly humming to herself, Molly was preparing the house for the arrival of her kids. With Bill and Charlie returning for Christmas from Egypt and Rumania, and her four younger kids having a two-week-break, these days certainly belonged to the most stressful in the year. Too bad that Charlie wouldn't be at home for more than a few days. He had agreed to visit the Delacour family on Boxing Day, but at least he would be here for the Christmas celebration. The rest of the family would spend the whole winter break at home and she'll really need the time to fix some matters. The last months had been a real mess, especially regarding the events around Ron and Ginny.

Was it too much to ask that her two youngest obeyed her orders, simple as they were? Befriend Harry, stay close to him, prevent others from bonding with him, and especially push away every 'suitable' girl. It was so simple but no, they had to cause a disaster of epic proportions.

Ron was no longer a friend of Harry.

Ginny not only failed to become his girlfriend, she also followed her dumb brother into Harry-lessness. And on her way she had to alienate every single housemate and teacher.

And to cap it all: not only had Neville Longbottom been able to replace Ron as Harry's best mate and Hermione apparently chosen to be Neville's girlfriend instead of waiting for Ron to make his move. No, they had also allowed that Greengrass slut to encroach on poor Harry. The poor, naïve boy, he simply knew too little about girls to defend himself against such a poisonous snake. She had certainly used Amortentia on him; otherwise there was no way that he could prefer that bitch to her sweet Ginevra.

Poor Ginny, Molly mused. She must be crushed.

If only she had listened to her mother last summer and prepared a love potion. It would have been only in their best interest, only to give Harry a small push in the right direction. She had done the same with Arthur more than twenty years ago and how well it had ended. Long after stopping to administer the potion, he was still with her. Seven children were proof of their love and that she had been right in doing so.

And Ginny could have had the same. Last summer she had rejected the idea, had even reacted slightly irritated as Molly told her about the beginning of the marriage between her and Arthur. She had told her the story to prove her point but Ginny was simply too young, too naïve to understand. Perhaps now she would agree, now that she had seen the deviousness of the snake.

At the time when she heard about the whole affair, heard that Harry had chosen Daphne to be his date to the Yule Ball and even refused to speak with Ginny anymore, she had been furious. For a few days she even had regretted that she had ever made a deal with Dumbledore to draw Harry into her family. But now, after a bit of time to cool down, she saw reason again. Someone like Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, simply had to stay in a family of the Light. He couldn't be allowed to stay with a family like the Greengrasses, supporters of the Darkness. It would send a false message to everyone. Harry in the clutches of Lucius Malfoy, Molly shuddered.

No, they simply had to work harder. She would send Harry his yearly jumper. Perhaps she should do the same with Hermione; perhaps not all was lost about her. The girl had always been gullible enough, especially regarding Minerva and Albus, the two teachers she trusted the most. With Hermione's assistance it would be far easier to convince Harry that Daphne was the wrong girl at his side.

She had only another seven months until his fifteenth birthday, another seven months until the Goblins would start to harass the boy with information about his inheritance. Molly Weasley had a work to do: She had to convince her daughter to use every possible means, and she had to make some plans with Albus on how to influence the boy and drive the snakes away. It was time to take the gloves off.

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Arthur was deep in thoughts. The good mood of his wife was troubling him. She had no reason to be like this and her former rage had been far more convincing and in a way more reassuring. Good mood was a sign of bad plans, he reasoned.

It had been very disturbing to watch how Molly had tried to influence Ginny, and how his sweet daughter had changed over the years, her former Harry-crush growing into a full-fledged obsession. This whole affair around Harry's tomcat was only the most obvious sign of Ginny's inner turmoil.

Yes, he would like to see Harry as his son-in-law, Arthur admitted to himself. He really liked the boy, even if he found Molly's exaggerated cuddling not very funny, her "I love you like a son" a bit premature. And marrying him would at least allow Ginny to live in luxury. Knowing the boy, Arthur was certain that the whole family would benefit from such a union. But it should be the choice of Ginny and Harry, not of someone else. Molly had always been far too supportive in the whole matter and from the beginning, hearing the first stories about how Ron became friend with Harry, Arthur had the impression that somehow Dumbledore had been meddling.

Arthur sighed. At least Charlie will be here. Together they should be able to protect Ginny from the influence of her mother. Charlie had always been her favourite brother, able to convince her when she was unwilling to follow her parents' wishes. And not all was hopeless. Ginny's last letters, especially the one she had written last night while Harry was still dancing with Daphne at the Ball, had been promising – depressed but promising. They showed a girl that was struggling with her emotions and begging for help.

He loved her. And he would help her – even against Molly.

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Grimmauld Place 12 – 22nd of December

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"A few more weeks to go with proper meals and you'll look like a real wizard again," Remus grinned while he watched Sirius eat his breakfast. His friend had come to Grimmauld Place for a few days to spend Christmas with Remus and a small number of other members of the Order. He had been eating and resting most of the time, and slowly gained back his usual appearance. Only the eyes still betrayed the experience of Azkaban. Sirius would have preferred to avoid most of them and their constant harassing to join the Order again, but with Harry away from Hogwarts there was no reason to spend the next two weeks in the cold caves near Hogsmeade. At least the Weasleys wouldn't be here.

Even with the Polyjuice Potions he'd got from Agatha Pinegrew he had to be careful and was running around as a black dog most of the time. Her house elf Ciddy had started to complement his diet with some healthier things but he still appreciated the idea of some hot meals and to share a single malt whiskey in the Black library with Remus.

"And that coming from someone who had to buy his first proper suit not a month ago," Sirius deadpanned. He was meaning well and Remus knew it. Sirius hadn't been the only one to enjoy an appropriate diet and Remus' had been augmented with a number of potions, Wolfsbane the most important but not the only one. Remus had only accepted the valuable potion after Agatha – tired of hours of discussions – drew her last joker. Inviting Minerva to join their cosy little chat it hadn't taken long to convince the Werewolf – if only to protect his ears from the double harassing.

Tonks had needed all her charm to convince him that accepting all of this was the correct thing to do. At least Remus seemed oblivious so far that Roxanne and Sirius were trying to set him up with the beautiful and vivid Auror. They wanted to see Remus happy again, and Tonks could be the solution to his pain. Unbeknownst to her Agatha had spoken with Amelia Bones about Tonks and her affiliation to the Order. Amelia promised to stay back at least for a while and to allow them some time to convince Tonks that she couldn't serve two masters – the DMLE and the Order – for long. Dumbledore would demand, sooner than later, something from her, something against the law; something that would force Amelia to evict the smart witch with her unique talent. She would regret to do this and hoped that Sirius would be successful in time.

The most important point in Sirius' reasoning to convince Remus that it was okay to accept clothes, meals and money, had been their contract negotiated by Agatha Pinegrew. In that contract Sirius and Remus had agreed to start a small business. In the beginning Sirius would give the money and Remus would do most of the work. Later – Sirius hoped – they would be able to work side by side.

Harry had been right: Remus not only needed money but also some real work. It couldn't be the usual night watch job – one of the few a werewolf was able to snatch in these days – but something appropriate to an intelligent and well-educated wizard like him. They would offer their services to examine family heirlooms; detect and break curses on them. In the beginning they would need some help and the Goblins had been willing to cooperate. They had demanded a ridiculous share for their willingness to lean Curse-breaker Bill Weasley – he would return to England for a while in January – but as Sirius was more interested in the work itself, he was okay with that part.

The more important and time-consuming part would be their freelance work as family librarians. Many pureblood families had extensive but often ill-cared family libraries. Remus would examine them, catalogue the content and offer to repair damaged books. In the beginning it would be difficult to get jobs from the really important families. They wouldn't trust a werewolf. But that would change – so Sirius hoped – when he was able to work openly again. The name Black would open doors that would stay closed to a Lupin. Until then they had to be content with the smaller families.

"The house is much better this way – brighter." Sirius bit into his apple. He really enjoyed what Remus had done with the house since October. The kitchen, the library and a few other rooms had been repapered in brighter colours, dark ceilings and carpets replaced with friendlier ones. Even a few windows had been newly created or enlarged to allow more sunlight to permeate the house.

"A few rooms are still closed. I'm waiting for Bill. Together we should be able to clear them too. That leaves only that bloody portrait of your mother."

Sirius groaned. The portrait, he nearly forgot that one. Perhaps Harry had an idea what to do – or Hermione. She was even cleverer than Remus, reminded him much of Lily. It was no wonder that Harry was so close to her. "We'll find a solution."

"Until then I should be finished with Potter Manor."

Sirius nodded. Potter Manor had been the residence of James' parents. It had been used for the last decade as the main base and meeting place of the Order. He knew that Remus had started to work on the Potter library. It was their first official working order. Harry had insisted on drafting a real contract about it, to pay for the work and they would even get a recommendation afterwards, a recommendation from the Scion of House Potter. The second contract was already in sight: Agatha wanted them to examine the Pinegrew library. And, unknown to Remus, a few of Agatha's colleagues already had shown interest. The next year at least was fully stretched.

"What's on your mind, Remus?"

"I'm not sure," Remus sighed. "The Potter library… there are some… gaps."

Sirius frowned: "Gaps?"

"Yeah, gaps," Remus responded thoughtfully. "You know… books I know that had been there before, books that belonged to James father… old books."

"Do you think he sold them… to pay the upkeep?"

Remus had already told Sirius that Dumbledore had heavy-heartedly started to sell some things from Potter Manor, mostly furnishings and paintings from unused rooms. His explanation had been to pay the upkeep of the manor. It sounded reasonable enough so far, but Sirius intended to pay the Manor a visit in the near future and have a look.

"I hope not. Books are important, family books are priceless. We should speak with Harry about it. Perhaps he should accept Agatha's offer." Agatha had offered to collect the books from Black, Potter and Pinegrew Manor to start a common library. Sirius had been unsure about it in the beginning but after weeks of thinking he was more agreeable to the idea. Remus, who had been a Dumbledore-man for a long time because of the Headmaster's support twenty years ago, was still more hesitant towards the Pinegrew family. But apparently this whole 'vanished books affair' was troubling him.

"We'll speak with him."

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Malfoy Manor Library – 22nd of December

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"This attack was unacceptable," Lucius fumed, and not for the first time since Severus had reached Malfoy Manor. The Potions Master leaned back and allowed his friend to blow off his steam a bit more.

"This prat, how could he? The girl quasi belongs to my family, Sev. She'll be Draco's sister-in-law in a few years."

"You weren't concerned about her welfare like this when her father was proposing his silly plan to finance Astoria's engagement with Draco." Severus belonged to the small circle of persons who knew about Cyrus Greengrass and the real reason of Lucius acceptance of the proposal one year ago. And even he only knew about it because he had been able to see through the lies his friend had concocted to placate his wife. This knowledge had given his already low opinion of Cyrus Greengrass another blow.

"That was something completely different," Lucius growled. "If Cyrus appreciates his social career more than the life of his daughter, who am I to criticize him?" Always the pragmatist, Severus mused.

"It is doubtful that Narcissa would share your opinion. You know how important parental love is in her mind and heart. The pure idea to kill his own child…"

Lucius stared at his friend, his eyes narrowed: "Draco is not Daphne. And you'll not tell Cissy about this little side contract."

Severus sighed but bowed slightly: "If you wish." While Lucius rambled on and on about Theodore Nott and his attack on the Greengrass girl, Severus pondered about Cissy. It was a very bad idea to underestimate a Black sister. Andromeda had bravely revolted against her whole family and Bellatrix had been – righteously – the most feared follower of the Dark Lord. Some of their blood was flowing in their youngest sibling too. That Lucius wasn't able or willing to understand this, was only proof of Miss Greengrass argument about his lack of intelligence some weeks ago.

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The lesson hadn't been a very special one. He had deduced some points from the Gryffindors, especially the Granger girl, and allowed Draco to help his awful stupid cronies Crabbe and Goyle. The sole surprise had been Bulstrode's improvement since Halloween with the help of Parkinson. She still wasn't a prodigy in potions, but even valued fairly she would be able to reach an "A" in between, leaning towards an "E".

Neville Longbottom had shown better nerves in the class but was still fidgety with Snape breathing in his neck. And he had shown a new, more reckless and less patient side when Snape ridiculed Granger now. Another quarrel – Severus was unable to remember the concrete item – erupted, but after some heated exchanges Daphne Greengrass had the nerve to interject:

"It is totally unfair how you treat them, Professor. You know exactly that Granger is far better than anybody else here. And Neville would be okay without your constant harassing. He's more able than half of the other Gryffindors, not to mention Crap and Coil."

Some sniggers erupted even among the Slytherins, but Severus Snape only glared at the imprudent girl. "I'll see you this evening for detention, Miss Greengrass."

"Yeah, yeah, detention, I know, it is your only answer to anything. I shouldn't have expected more, silly me, from someone who is friends with a dork like Lucius Malfoy."

Draco started to stand up but a single gesture of Snape stopped him. "Yes he is my friend, you're correct. But you know: your father is his close friend too."

His smirk turned into a frown as he heard her response: "You've just vindicated my argument about intelligence and being friends with a Malfoy."

.

Naturally he had extended the detention and deduced some points – from his own house, Severus cringed. But she had been correct about his behaviour towards Longbottom and Granger. Her comment about her father had only shown the deep trench between her and her mother on one side and Cyrus and Astoria on the other. Severus didn't share Lucius opinion about winning Potter to their cause through the Greengrass girl. Perhaps it would only push Roxanne and Daphne away even more. And Cyrus Greengrass alone wasn't much of an asset all alone.

"All was going according to our plan," Lucius mumbled.

To your plan perhaps, Severus pondered.

"Draco told me that Potter went to the Ball with Greengrass as a date, not like siblings. He saw them snogging."

I saw that too, Severus groaned. I nearly vomited, thinking about James Potter… and Lily.

"We have to act. There can't be a repetition of the matter."

"You know how obstinate Nott senior is," Severus remarked. "Remember how he ignored your orders at the Quidditch finals. We didn't want to hurt anybody but no: He and this mental acrobat Smith had to try to kill some Muggleborn – and the Granger girl for good measure. With a father like that, how do you intend to stop his stupid son? The other two are no problem. Their parents are unimportant and should understand that a transfer to Durmstrang would be in order before Lady Agatha Pinegrew hears about the incident. But Nott… ?"

"He paid dearly for his incompetence and defiance. I heard he'll return for Christmas with his new hand, something magically crafted in Germany. Perhaps Smith learned, but I'm not very confident about it."

Severus nodded. He had heard about Smith senior and his extended vacation to the Black Forest, too. Apparently the magical clock makers had been able to invent something to replace the lost hand. He expected the silly Hufflepuff to be still fuming. His son already tried something and he would do it again. Severus had no doubts that Smith junior had been the one behind the poisoning of Granger. Luckily she survived, thanks to the Greengrass girl. Despite his antipathy he would hate to lose such a mind to a dumb act of revenge.

Severus poured some Firewhiskey into the tumblers of Lucius and him. The Pinegrew ladies had been furious about the poisoning attack. How would they react to this last incident? Should Roxanne or – Merlin help – Agatha ever get to know about Cyrus' plans, the Greengrass Head of the House would certainly be dead within hours – perhaps days if he was running fast enough.

Had it been right to tell Cissy, Severus mused? He had told her this summer, the sole reason that he was so easily able and willing to obey Lucius' wishes about staying silent in the future. He had expected some furious reaction, a kind of magical explosion. But she had surprised him – again. She had stayed silent. She had pondered. And she had started to change. Severus knew about the letters, the letters Cissy had written to her sister Andromeda. She was only one step away from openly acknowledging her sister. It would be… interesting to observe.

Lucius frowned deeply, gulping down some Firewhiskey again. It was way too early for alcohol like that but he needed it now for his nerves. "You'll have to convince him somehow, Severus. We can't allow him to endanger our plans: Even more important than getting hold of the Potter boy ourselves is to separate him from the Old Man. Agatha and Roxanne may not be our closest allies, but they despise him nearly as much as we do. With Potter as his flag ship the Old Man would be able to sway many more to the Order's side. Convince the Nott stripling to behave, Sev. And if he's unable to see reason… Hogwarts is a dangerous place, much can happen until the summer break."

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Pinegrew Manor – 22nd of December

"I'll be back in three days for the Christmas Celebration. I'll have a Ball to attend on Boxing Day but after that I should be here for the rest of the winter break."

The melodic lilt of her Spanish guest had a calming effect on Roxanne Greengrass. She dearly loved her Aunt, felt far more secure with her around. More than one Pinegrew-Lady-Tradition had its roots with her influence and Roxanne had no doubt that her life was much more secure through Anne's Occlumency lessons.

"I'm sure Daphne and Astoria will be happy to see you again. They missed you dearly last summer." Roxanne didn't know for sure what exactly had been the reason for Anne's silence over the summer months. Something had happened in Spain, something that demanded her full attention. But the trouble had apparently been tamed and she was now willing to spend more time with her English kinfolk again.

"I would like to see them, too. I'm curious about Daphne's progress. I've spoken with Agatha about starting to train her in Legilimency while she'll continue with the others in Occlumency. This way they should be better able to use the months till summer for training."

"But be careful, please. Daphne has much on her mind in the moment, with the tournament and her… you know, Harry." Roxanne smiled as she thought about the last letters of her daughters. Especially Astoria had been quite detailed about the improving relationship between the teenagers. "I don't want to overextend them. They're still teenagers."

"I'll be careful," Anne agreed. "But I have to know, I have to see, not only Daphne but the others too. Harry naturally I have to examine, as he'll belong to the family. And Daphne has asked me to introduce Hermione too, together with her, when Daphne turns fifteen."

Roxanne frowned. She knew about the plans to introduce her daughter into the Congregation, it was tradition for the Pinegrew women, even before Anne's marriage into the family. But the Granger girl… she had never thought about that. In a way it made sense.

"She's catholic and quite talented as far as I heard," Anne explained. "If the rumours are correct about her abilities and especially her character, she'll be a fine addition to the Congregation."

"Miss Granger had been a very good influence to Daphne. Their friendship is strong. And she is very close to Harry. Perhaps you're right; perhaps we could introduce all three on Daphne's birthday. Let's see what you think of her after you spent some days with her. I'm quite sure you'll be impressed."

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A/N

Aunt Anne and the Congregation will play a greater part in the sequel to this story. The last paragraph is partly meant as a hint and joint to later shared secrets. For this story it is only important that Anne is a very talented Occlumens and an even more skilled Legilimens.