A/N: Thank you as ever for reading and reviewing and being generally lovely people. This chapter is again a bit shorter and should set us up for Ch10-11, which are going to be action-packed to say the least. The first bit of the chapter takes place five days after the last chapter, and the second bit takes place one week after the first bit. I have to say this isn't exactly my favorite chapter, as it's mostly filler between the last few and the next few, but hopefully you'll all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I can't even afford new tennis shoes.

"I am a bit surprised to see you this morning, dear," Mrs. Weasley said as she set a cup of tea on the table in front of Hermione. "If you'd have popped round a bit earlier, I could have fed you a spot of breakfast."

"That's alright, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione replied. "I just had the day off and figured I might see if you were up for discussing the last of the wedding plans."

"Well, of course!" Mrs. Weasley enthused. "You've got the whole day off, then?"

"Yes," Hermione said, "I just decided yesterday that I'd take my personal day today, otherwise I'd have given you more notice. It's been a bit of a stressful week."

"Of course, dear. And you know you're welcome here anytime. We're family, and that means thick or thin," Mrs. Weasley replied sympathetically as she took a seat across from Hermione at the small kitchen table. "But I understand the right people are in custody now?"

"I think so," Hermione said slowly. "They're still working hard trying to get everything pieced together before the trials, though, and there are a few gaps to be filled in yet. Ron's had to work late the last few nights."

"And so soon before the wedding, too," Mrs. Weasley lamented. "I do hope it all gets sorted out before then."

"So do I," Hermione replied honestly.

"Only three weeks now, can you believe it? Your mum seems quite excited," Mrs. Weasley commented. "We've been corresponding, you know."

"She mentioned as much," Hermione said.

"And she's told me your father's coming around a bit," Mrs. Weasley added tentatively.

"Yes, he is," Hermione replied. "We've talked about it, like adults this time, and it's helped a lot. He and Ron had a bit of a chat for the first time when we were there last weekend as well, and I think it put his mind at rest to realize I really am marrying a good man."

"Does he still think it's a bit fast?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her tone a little cryptic.

"I think so," Hermione said thoughtfully, biting her lip. "So does my mum, though."

"Well, so do I," Mrs. Weasley admitted frankly. "I have to say, Hermione, I was honestly a bit concerned when I realized you and Ron had only been together a year."

"But you've been so supportive," Hermione furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Well, yes," Mrs. Weasley acknowledged. "I got married quite young too, you know, and look at Arthur and me. Thirty years and seven children later, not to mention two wars and more heartbreak than anyone ought to see, and we're still just as in love as the day we were bonded. More so, actually."

Hermione smiled. "You and Mr. Weasley really are made for each other."

"And so are you and Ron," Mrs. Weasley said kindly. "You make my son incredibly happy, Hermione, and it's been obvious that was the case since the two of you were about fifteen."

"If only it had been obvious to us," Hermione replied with a laugh.

"Well, you came around," Mrs. Weasley chortled. "The two of you have already been to hell and back. You'll be able to handle anything life throws at you, dear."

"That's what we think, too," Hermione said, suddenly feeling rather shy. "It's a bit scary, you know, but it's mostly the good kind of scary."

"The best things in life always are," Mrs. Weasley said wisely. "But when you've got the right person at your side, it's not so bad at all."

"No, it's not," Hermione agreed with a smile. "And there's nobody else I'd want to be with, for any of it."

Mrs. Weasley's grin grew wider. "Of course not, dear. But…I was wondering…if I could ask…when did the two of you start dating?"

"Well, officially it was last July," Hermione replied.

"Officially?" Mrs. Weasley asked casually. "How do you mean, officially?"

"Well, that was when we said as much," Hermione answered, shifting a little in her seat as she spoke. "It's hard to pinpoint, otherwise, because it had been such a long time coming."

"I see," Mrs. Weasley replied. "I have to say, I was a bit surprised to realize my Ronnie wanted to make such a huge commitment so quickly," she added with a laugh.

"So was I," Hermione confided. "But that's how I knew he was sure about it, you know? That it's what he really wants, I mean."

"Absolutely," Mrs. Weasley nodded. "And besides, as much as I was surprised, it's not as though I didn't know the two of you had been out looking at flats over Christmas."

"Oh," Hermione said, blushing. "We didn't realize anyone knew about that."

"Ron left a couple of the listings in his bedroom here," Mrs. Weasley explained with a kind smile.

"We thought it might bother you," Hermione admitted embarrassedly.

"Oh, nonsense," Mrs. Weasley replied, batting a hand as though to throw off Hermione's concerns. "I'm not naïve enough to disregard what the lot of you get up to when you're not under my roof. You're adults, and it's your decision - so long as you're being careful about it, of course. There are far more important things to be getting on with, anyway."

Hermione smiled slightly, willing the color in her cheeks to dissipate. "Thank you," she said awkwardly, for lack of any other response.

"Of course, dear," Mrs. Weasley replied matter-of-factly. "Far be it from me to keep one of my children from being happy."

Hermione couldn't help but cast her mind back to the times the elder woman had vehemently objected not only to Bill's relationship with Fleur, but to the twins' desire to start a joke shop - but Mrs. Weasley seemed to anticipate her line of thought.

"Like I said, it all seems a bit silly, especially given all that's happened," she continued. "But perhaps that's the disconnect between you and your parents."

"You mean that they weren't here for the war," Hermione said knowingly. "I think that's part of it."

"Probably a large part," Mrs. Weasley pointed out. "Take it from me, dear, no one likes to know their children are suffering, whether it be during or after the fact. Harry and Ron in particular were there for you in a way your parents couldn't be during the worst time in any of your lives. It's difficult for a parent to accept."

"Was it difficult for you?" Hermione asked, frowning a little. "I'm sorry if that's a bit personal, but-"

"Of course it was," Mrs. Weasley interrupted. "It breaks my heart, to say the least, all of it does. I've spent my life trying to protect my children from everything that can hurt them, and to realize that I couldn't…I knew it wasn't my fault, of course, but it didn't stop me feeling as though I'd failed. It's hard to explain, but you'll understand better when you and Ron have children. Though I must say, I hope you don't ever have to understand it in the way I have."

Both women's eyes trailed, then, to the picture of Fred that adorned the wall, situated right next to the family clock. "I think I understand," Hermione said slowly. "As well as I can, anyway."

"Well, I believe that's part of where your parents are coming from," Mrs. Weasley said kindly. "There's a gap there, you see, and they realized far too late that they couldn't protect you. In fact, you had to protect them. It's quite a lot for anyone to come to terms with, really, and the news of an engagement must have come as a bit of a shock on top of it all."

"I understand," Hermione repeated. "It was just hard to feel bad for them, you know, when they were pushing back so firmly."

"Absolutely," Mrs. Weasley acknowledged. "But you're moving past that now, yes?"

"We are," Hermione confirmed with a small smile. "Like I said before, I think they realize now that it's not just anybody; it's Ron."

Mrs. Weasley laughed good-naturedly. "Well, he's certainly never been just anybody, my Ronnie. I think he got lost in the scuffle a bit at times, but he's always been something special. Headstrong and stubborn, even from a young age, wearing his emotions on his sleeve and trying to carve out his own place in the world. He was always the strategist too, of course, whether it was avoiding the twins or skiving off chores or manipulating the chess board. He was seven years old when he beat Arthur for the first time, you know. And he's always been fiercely loyal, of course - a family trait, I daresay, but it's really quite exceptional in Ron."

"It is," Hermione agreed with a smile. "Ron is the best man I know."

"And you know the savior of the Wizarding World," Mrs. Weasley observed with a wry smile. "I'd always wondered, you know, whether Ron would wind up in Harry's shadow. I think he felt as much at times."

"He did," Hermione replied shortly, her mind drifting briefly to the things Ron had told her about Riddle's locket. "But in the end, of course, Harry's his best friend, and that was more important to him than anything else."

"Of course," Mrs. Weasley said.

"And he's doing so well in the Auror department," Hermione continued, overwhelmed with the urge to protect her fiancé - though she knew he needed no protection from his own mother, who loved him unconditionally, she couldn't help but explain further. "I think there were people there, at the beginning, who thought he was only in it because he was Harry's mate, but it couldn't be further from the truth. He's really making a mark for himself, and it's been so good for him. He's always had the potential."

"I have to be honest, Hermione. I think you've got something to do with that," Mrs. Weasley said with a smile. "Not to say it's not of his own merit, of course, because it absolutely is, but I think you've helped him to believe in himself in a way that he might not have been able to on his own."

Hermione nodded and blushed. "He's done the same for me," she admitted quietly, thinking of the warm feeling she got whenever Ron encouraged her or supported her.

Mrs. Weasley beamed and reached out to take Hermione's hand. "You know I love you as my own daughter, dear, and I'm simply ecstatic to make it official."

Hermione had to choke back tears as she replied, "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. You-you've really been like a second mum to me, these past years."

"It's in my nature, you might say," Mrs. Weasley chuckled, and the two women shared a moment of contemplative silence before they once more began to plan the event that would take place in three weeks' time - the event that would make Hermione yet another Mrs. Weasley.

-000-

"There's nothing, absolutely nothing!" Ron moaned as he threw himself into his desk chair and buried his face in his hands.

"Be a bit more melodramatic, will you?" Harry deadpanned as he leafed through the latest stack of paperwork.

"It's been two weeks," Ron pointed out exasperatedly. "Two weeks, and nothing about that fucking meeting."

"It's bothering me, too," Harry sighed, putting his self-inking quill away and stretching in his seat. "I just don't understand how that group's made itself so untraceable. How the hell could there be nothing in any of the women's residences? Not even the masks!"

"Well, Bulstrode and Greengrass will have got rid of them after the raid," Ron pointed out fairly. "Assuming they ever had them at all, if you listen to Isaac."

"He's got a point," Harry acknowledged, "but I don't there's any way the two are unrelated."

"I won't argue you on that," Ron replied. "We thought Death Eaters the second we got the letter. There's no way it's a coincidence."

"Then why are there no traces of the group?" Harry asked, frustrated. "It just doesn't make sense, when we've got so much evidence against the three of them after the searches."

"You don't have to tell me," Ron said. "It just means they're organized, doesn't it? And given what Bulstrode said about Hermione…"

"She's safe," Harry cut in, though he didn't sound utterly convinced himself. "Security's been doubled, yeah?"

"S'pose so," Ron replied. Before either of them could continue, Isaac appeared in front of Harry's desk.

"Have you lot got the last of the paperwork for the week?" he asked briskly. "DMLE needs it now."

"It's right here," Harry said, shoving the large stack of parchment into Isaac's waiting hands. "We're all set for the trial, then?"

"Seems that way," Isaac replied. "It'll be a bit of a relief to have them behind bars, yeah?"

"A bit," Ron said shortly.

Isaac sighed. "Look, Weasley, I know it seems they were working for somebody-"

"Of course they were," Ron cut in. "It's obvious, isn't it?"

Isaac looked around warily before answering: "Yeah, I'd say so. We've got to hope something comes out in trial, I suppose, because you know as well as I do that there's no trace of anyone else's involvement."

"But we all know nothing's going to come out in trial!" Harry cried. "Merlin, it's almost enough to make me wish Veritaserum was legal."

"Almost being the key word there," Isaac said wisely. "I know it's frustrating, and doubly so when someone you care about's been threatened, but we're doing all we can within the boundaries of the law."

"I have to say, it was all a bit easier when we disregarded the rules," Harry quipped.

Isaac snorted. "As a point of interest, Potter, have the goblins let you back into Gringotts yet?"

"Grudgingly," Harry admitted. "But we got what we needed, didn't we?"

"Dunno. Not all of us were privy to the full story," Isaac replied.

Just then, Harris, one of the senior supervisors, dropped by their section of desks. "You got the papers for the lawyers, Parker?" he asked gruffly. "Thanks. And Weasley, I think it's your fiancée that's waiting out in the lobby."

"Oh yeah!" Ron scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping over himself in his haste to get outside. Hermione was sitting in one of the chairs, reading through a stack of paperwork nearly as thick as that which Harris had just collected. "Hey, love," he greeted her.

"Hello," Hermione said pleasantly, looking up from her work to smile at him briefly before making a note on the parchment and stuffing it into her briefcase. "Are you ready to go?"

"Just about," Ron replied, offering a hand to help her to her feet. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Not at all," Hermione said, rising up to her tiptoes to kiss him quickly on the lips. "I got a start my case for next week, anyway."

"This is the elves, still?" Ron asked with a grin.

"They've finally set the presentation for Tuesday," Hermione answered, beaming. "And about time, too, I was beginning to think they'd wrestle their way out of it, but somebody needs to listen!"

"They'll listen to you if they know what's right for them," Ron said with a laugh. "You'll put the work away for our date tonight though, yeah?"

"Of course," Hermione replied indignantly.

"I've just got to get my things. You can come in," Ron said hastily, before Hermione could become annoyed. She nodded and followed him back into the office, where Isaac and Harry were still talking at the latter's desk.

"Hey, Hermione!" Harry greeted her as she and Ron made their way to his desk.

"Hello, Harry," Hermione replied, then she looked between Isaac and Ron expectantly.

"Oh, yeah. This is Isaac Parker, one of the seniors we've been working with. And Isaac, this is the future Mrs. Hermione Weasley," Ron said proudly, ignoring Harry's slight eye-roll and reveling in the blush that spread across Hermione's cheeks.

"Pleasure," Isaac said as he shook Hermione's hand. "We've certainly heard a lot about you."

"Good things, I hope," Hermione said with a bit of a nervous laugh.

Harry snorted. "I've known you eight years and I still hear a lot of good things about you from Ron, Hermione - most of which I didn't want to hear, mind."

"Oh, ha," Ron said, scowling at his supposed best mate as he began to pack up his things for the weekend. "Now if you don't mind, we have a date."

Ron pointedly ignored Harry's muttered response, which suspiciously seemed to contain both the words "date" and "sister," and Hermione sighed heavily. "The testosterone in here is suffocating," she remarked.

Isaac laughed. "Were they like this in their school days as well?"

"Probably, but back then I was used to it," Hermione answered thoughtfully. "Generally Ginny's there now to balance it out."

"Oi, we're not so bad," Ron protested.

"No, you're not," Hermione admitted, laughing good-naturedly and reaching out to take Ron's hand as he approached her again, paperwork in tow. "We'll see you tomorrow then, Harry?"

"Yeah, but forget about the take-away. Ginny thinks the two of us ought to cook for you," Harry replied, wrinkling his nose a bit.

"Oh, that'll be nice!" Hermione gushed.

"So I've heard," Harry said flatly. His face so obviously gave away his preference for disgustingly greasy take-away food that Ron had to suppress a laugh.

"We'll see ya, mate," Ron said amusedly, but he and Hermione had hardly turned toward the door when they were interrupted by a clearly distraught Bryce, hurtling toward the group from the inner depths of the office.

"They've escaped," he panted out as he approached them, his voice deceptively calm in contrast to the anxiety that was painted across his face. "We dunno how, but the three of them are gone, and there's no trace."

"What?" Harry stood up, alarmed.

"That's not the worst of it. There's been an attack; the protection was breached. Last I heard it's a hostage situation, both victims alive. They sent Riley and Marlene straight away, they were on duty, and a bigger group's just gone out now. But if they got past whoever was guarding the house, they're dangerous. We're set to go with the third wave in five minutes," Bryce spoke very quickly.

"What do you mean, an attack?" Hermione asked very quietly. Her face was deathly pale. Bryce turned to face her for the first time since he'd arrived, seemingly just noticing her presence. His expression twisted horribly, and he didn't need to say the words for Ron to understand exactly what had happened. Ron felt his stomach drop; he caught Harry's eye and immediately wished he hadn't, for he was sure that the devastated, terrified expression he found on his best mate's face would be reflected on his own.

"Just stay right here, Hermione," Ron tried to say, but she ignored him, squeezing his hand so tightly he would have complained in any other circumstance.

"Who's been attacked?" she repeated, her voice louder this time, but shaking.

Bryce took a deep breath."I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. We need to go."

"Tell me!" Hermione insisted, her panicky voice rising an octave to a screech. "Just tell me exactly what's happened!"

"I'm so sorry," Bryce repeated after a beat of hesitation, his expression twisting even further, "but there's been an attack at your parents' home."

A/N: I promise I'll update soon.