Hermione paced back and forth in her office in front of her desk while a wide-eyed Vivian inspected her office door. Magic sparked from the obscure nature ward Hermione had learned in the country of Comoros while traveling for work.
Both witches ignored the demands to open the door from the other side.
"This is fascinating," Vivian murmured, waving her wand at the door and reading the information scrolling past. "It's not drawing power from your magic, it's tapping into the environment. Bloody hell, no wonder Croaker was practically salivating when you agreed to come work here."
"It's not as useful as it seems, but it's going to serve its purpose here," Hermione said, watching the ward flare as it reacted to Harry Potter, trying to rip it down. "That won't work on this ward!" She said louder and the gold threads of his magic retreated.
"Open the door, Harmony."
"Oh, that's not my name, Henry."
A lower feminine voice on the other side said, "You lied about your name? Wait until Mum hears about this."
"Don't be a telltale, Zinny," Harry said sharply from closer to the other side of the closed door.
"I don't know. Maybe I'd feel more charitable if I had more bacon in me. My bacon levels are dangerously low."
Hermione glanced at Vivian with her eyebrows raised questioningly and the other woman shrugged not commenting on the Potter siblings, before going back to study the pattern of magic engulfing the door. "It has some similarity to a blood ward, but I didn't see you use any blood?"
"No, I didn't." Hermione didn't offer any more information. Her job was figuring out how magic worked, and breaking down spells, she more than most people knew that the effectiveness of some spells had an inverse relationship with how many people knew them. This particular ward would be completely useless if it was more commonly known, which was why it had fallen out of favor and been forgotten by most witches and wizards.
They both heard low furious whispers before the sound of retreating footsteps. They waited a few more minutes before Vivian finally spoke. "So. It's none of my business of course, but I heard the most entertaining tale while we rode up the lift, about Harry being quite upset about losing a muggle after a very hot date night."
Hermione looked down at her red and gold nails. The gold color did look suspiciously similar to the color of Harry's magic as he had tried to take down her ward. His favorite bloody colors? What were the chances? Impossible. Improbable.
Merlin.
Hermione's mind started feverishly making connections. Zinnia Potter. Harry Potter.
James Potter.
Lily Potter! She had almost gone into magical maladies because of Dr. Potter's work. Harry's father, James Potter, practically ran the Ministry even though he wasn't the Minister of Magic.
Hermione had managed to have a one-night stand with the son of one of the most famous families in bloody England! She wobbled over to her chair and sat down with a thump.
Vivian walked over and patted her shoulder consoling. "I'm sure it will blow over eventually."
Hermione groaned and covered her face giving herself several seconds to mope before straightening up and throwing back her shoulders. She would just have to have a firm, adult talk with one Auror Harry Potter and let him know that she wasn't interested in any type of office romance and apologize for running and not being an adult about things.
Sure.
She could do that.
Hot green eyes flashed into her mind, and a shiver went down her back.
She could do that next week.
That was a much better plan. "Do you think they're still out there?" Hermione asked Vivian.
"Well, I don't think he would be hiding behind some pillar waiting for you to open your door like some wanna-be mugger," Then Vivian doubtfully qualified her statement thinking of Zinny's tale. "Well, he wouldn't normally.
Hermione stood up and moved closer to the door, listening intently before breaking the ward and using her body to block Vivian from seeing how she did it.
"Sharing is caring," Vivian told her behind her a little disgruntled as she watched the ward fall.
"I think I've already managed to overshare enough for my first day here," Hermione replied as she cautiously opened the door and looked up and down the bare corridor. She turned back to Vivian, "It looks like he–"
"I have never in all my years had someone behave so unprofessionally as to throw all their forms over the railing!" Hermione jumped and whipped back around to see a bright red envelope screeching at her in the nasal voice of Hagatha Hargreeves. "We will need additional copies to replace those that you carelessly tossed and consequently there will be lost paperwork forms! This is now considered highly urgent and I may have to speak to Mr. Croaker if they are not on my desk with all possible haste!"
The letter burst into flames with a snap of magic, and then Hermione ducked as an extremely large package barreled toward her. It missed her and Vivian luckily before thudding into her back office wall with a loud bang.
Before Hermione could speak another red envelope zipped toward her and she flinched before she noticed the coloring was much darker. It came to rest floating at her eyeline.
Absently she observed the red of the envelope matched her nails, before pulling out an expensive piece of parchment with a short note.
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Hermione Granger,
I think we have some things we should discuss. Please give me the pleasure of your company for lunch? Or dinner? Or five minutes alone?
Harry Potter
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"Five minutes, eh?" Vivian asked from over her shoulder and Hermione clutched the note close to her chest. "So are you going to meet up with him?"
"Yes."
"Oh, that's goo-" Vivian started.
"Next week."
Vivian paused. "Oh." She nibbled her lip for a second. "Have you um heard of the Potters?"
"Of course." Hermione huffed.
"Okay then." Vivian paused as if debating saying anything else then shook her head. It was none of her business and her coworker was about to learn a bit about the stubbornness of Potters. "Let me help you clean up this mess, then we can go through some of the projects we are currently tackling."
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Hermione confidently threw back her messy black hair and strode into the ministry building. Several people she didn't know waved to her and she smiled cheerfully and waved back.
"Hey Z, I didn't know you were coming in today. Lunch date with Tori again?" A redheaded Auror called out.
"Yes," Hermione replied not slowing down her stride as she ducked into the lift.
"Oh wait up, I'll walk with you. I wanted to–"
"No." Hermione pressed the button for the lift door to close.
The redhead stopped looking a little flummoxed. "Huh? Are you mad at me?"
Hermione smashed repeatedly, praying to Merlin for the door to close faster before the redheaded Auror got his wits about him.
The door to the lift slid closed obnoxiously slowly, and just as she was about to be home free a voice called from the other side of the enormous lobby.
"Ron, you git, that's not Zinnia!"
Hermione's eyes darted to the far side of the Ministry lobby and Harry was striding forward with a smirking Zinnia trailing behind him.
Bollocks. She waved her arm, letting the disillusionment fall, and the redhead's blue eyes widened as he muttered to himself before sprinting towards the lift trying to catch it but it banged shut finally in his face. A rush of gleeful amusement made Hermione laugh.
She could just barely hear them on the other side as the lift started to rise. "I didn't think she would disillusion herself! And as Z? How was I supposed to know?"
Harry Potter had wrecked her plans for her muggle dating excursion by turning out to be a hot Auror and now he wanted to wreck her scheduling. All she wanted was a week was that really too much to ask?
Well, not that Hermione had told him that. Her heart sped up as the arrow at the top of the doors approached the fifth floor—there should be more than enough time before he made it up to the fifth floor for her to get to her office. And she had a devious backup plan just in case.
As soon as the door began to creak open she sent an enchanted missive arrowing down the corridor while she sprinted to her office door.
Unbelievably a familiar authoritative voice called out from the far side of the fifth floor. Had he gone up the steps that quickly? Bloody cheaters. "Stop!" Harry called out and Hermione almost obeyed despite herself. That law enforcement voice was no joke, she thought with a shiver. "Merlin! Hermione, don't make me chase you!"
She looked back to see Harry running like he was an Olympic sprinter behind her. She was a desk person, not an athlete! How was she supposed to reasonably compete with the expectation of winning if he persisted in such athleticism? Further back Zinnia Potter snapped a picture before texting furiously while the redhead stood next to her looking dumbfounded.
"Then don't chase me!"
"Then stop running!"
"I have work! I am busy! Don't you have some dark wizards to take to Azkaban!" She yelled back aggravated, before turning when she heard the woosh of a spell. She ducked and the spell sped passed her cheek as her –one-night stand– coworker– erstwhile lover– something— chased her.
"I just want five bloody minutes is that so much to ask?!" Harry stopped when he realized she was going to make it into her office first, going to a kneeling position on the floor, placing his hands against the floor. "Fine. We'll do this the hard way. Ron!"
"On it, mate," Ron called assuming the same position further back.
Hermione looked back and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the powerful spell suddenly rushing forward like spilled water out from under the two Aurors, speeding forward dramatically along the corridor. She had seen something similar in France when there had been riots over new regulations concerning anyone who had more than one-tenth veela in their bloodlines.
It was a powerful law enforcement crowd control spell that affected anyone within range of the spell, which was typically about fifty feet or so, although this one seemed to be stretching more than that as it rushed towards her conservative low pumps.
Hermione faced forward just in time to avoid crashing into Hagatha who had just emerged from a doorway to her right. She dodged the older woman who was already screwing up her face to unleash her usual bile and jumped just before the spell would have hit her feet, grabbing onto the paneling above the closest doorframe.
Her arms burned as she hung there avoiding the enchanted sparkling blue floor. Her heels fell off her stocking feet hitting the floor with a thunk.
The look on Hagatha's face, as she realized she had been frozen in place, was truly terrifying. "Boy, I don't care who your father is, you are getting banned from this floor!" Hagatha roared her feet frozen in place. Her grey hair seemed to stretch higher like some incarnation of Medusa's snakes. "CROAKER!"
The blue enchantment disappeared with a low pop of sound as Harry stood his hands up placatingly. "Now Hagatha—"
"That's Mrs. Hargreaves to you! CROAKER!" She screamed like a banshee. "CROAKER!"
Hermione covered her mouth with her hand to stop the giggles that tried to escape as she let go of the door paneling dropping softly to the floor behind the confrontation and began to back away slowly trying to not draw Hagatha's attention. Harry sent her a sharp glance before turning back to Hagatha, his green eyes blazing. Hermione noticed also that Zinnia and the redhead had mysteriously disappeared from the corridor too.
Hermione dashed to her office, closing the door before casting her nature ward. She couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face as she went to sit down behind her desk, blindly staring down at her paperwork before picking up a quill.
She kind of liked London.
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Harry stewed at his parent's house after seventy-two hours of trying to talk to one exasperatingly slippery stubborn witch. He brooded on the couch his mind constructing more and more outlandish plans to corner Hermione Granger who, only because she had knowledge of some really unusual spells, was managing to avoid him.
One of the first things he was going to do was get the key to that environmental ward she relied on to keep him out of her office.
"Wand cookie?" Three-year-old Teddy crawled onto the sofa next to him offering his partially eaten mushy cookie to Harry.
Harry gently pushed the little arm that was holding a crumbling cookie dangerously close to smushing it into his shirt away. "No thank you, Teddy."
Harry's attempt was in vain though because Teddy clambered up closer touching his face with cookie hands. "Awe you sad?"
"Come here son and stop getting your godfather all cookie'd up, he might turn into a cookie monster." Sirius came and reached over the sofa for his son. He picked Teddy up and conjured two wipes, and threw one to Harry before cleaning his son's face.
"Thanks," Harry said a smile edging his mouth as he watched Teddy make an annoyed face as Sirius cleaned him
"Hawwy needs a cookie."
"Your godfather needs a broom ride more I think." Sirius shot a smile a Harry.
James wandered in with a thick stack of legislative proposals and took his glasses off rubbing his eyes. "I need a bloody ride."
From across the house, Lily yelled, "Watch your language around the baby, James!"
Harry laughed as his dad started searching for the listening charm his mum had placed somewhere in the room. A few minutes later James smirked clutching a candle as he walked away from them to start whispering to it in a low voice.
A few minutes later his mum yelled again, "James Potter, you behave! And yes I love you too!"
"Moony, we need cuddles!" Sirius called out, to Remus who was in the kitchen making tea.
"I can cuddle you, mate," James said turning back to them to sit on the sofa next to his son.
Sirius ignored James' offer turning back to Harry. "So is the expression on your face caused by the fake muggle woman I've been hearing about?"
"Frank told me that Croaker formally requested that no Aurors enter the fifth floor after the sticking charm incident," James said, referring to the Minister of Magic Frank Longbottom.
"I just need her to sit still for five bloody minutes!" Harry muttered unrepentant even after the chewing-out Robards, the current head of Magical Law Enforcement, had given him. "And can you believe it– she's got her knickers in a twist because I gave her a fake name– when she gave me a fake name too! The whole time! I asked her to use my real name within five minutes of entering my flat!"
Sirius's eyebrows rose and he asked meaningfully, "The whole time?"
"The whole time," Harry confirmed grimly, sinking into a brood again.
Remus hearing the last few bits of the conversation as he entered asked, "But why did you even give her a fake name in the first place?"
"Because–" Harry paused. "Because– well – it bloody made sense when I talked about it with Ron and Neville."
"Ah," Remus said meaningfully avoiding James or Sirius's eyes.
Teddy came to tug on Remus' shirt, reaching for the hot tea. "Some."
"I wonder why she lied though," James said speculatively.
"Who lied?" Zinnia asked coming through the door with her fiancee Fred Weasley.
"Harmony," Harry replied sarcastically still grumpy.
"Well, it was your first date right?"
"Yeah so?"
Zinnia raised her eyebrows like it was obvious. "What if you were a creeper?"
"What?"
"If she came and met you and you were a creeper then you wouldn't have her real name. It's just common sense."
"I can't imagine you lying about your name, ma filleule, you would kick any tosser to the curb." Sirius said to Zinnia snapping his fingers for emphasis.
Zinnia shrugged not bothering to explain further. Wizards were stubborn about certain things.
Fred looked at his wife and then broke in to change the subject. "Ron is a little bit behind us, he's bringing some of my mum's treacle tarts over for Harry."
"Oh, that's nice," James said, studiously avoiding looking at his son.
Harry groaned, leaning forward so his head was near his knees. He just wanted to sit here on the sofa and brood. "Oh, Merlin just let me stew in peace."
Fred Weasley counted under his breath, then spoke. "Want to play quidditch?"
"I do!" James volunteered first.
Zinnia laughed, "I think he was trying to cheer up Harry, Dad."
"It's a twofer. He can cheer me up too. Let's do experience versus inexperience."
"Oh you mean elderly versus fit?" Fred asked.
"Nah, I think he meant masters versus students." Sirius quipped.
Fred dramatically flipped his shaggy red hair making Zinnia giggle, "Beauty versus Age."
Harry saw Sirius' eyes narrow and jumped to his feet. "Alright! Alright! Let's get this show on the road than before it's your lot's bedtime."
Teddy said quietly sipping on the warm tea his Daddy Moony had given him, "Me like naps."
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Zinnia took out her mobile as it buzzed annoyingly in her purse:
Theo: so what do you think he did with the bra
Fred?:spank bank
Zinnia: gross don't say that with chats with me in it! that's my brother you knobs
Fred?: i treasure all your underthings Z
Zinnia: fred weasley you behave
Theo:very interesting to see your brother act this way though, reverting to form so to speak
Zinnia: whats that suppose to mean
Theo: I mean just look at all the potters, you and Fred will probably end up fielding a quidditch team
Zinnia: Look just because our whatever great aunt or some such did things (or freds parents) doesnt mean we are going to repeat it
Theo: maybe. Or maybe we are ignoring just how much magic actively influences our lives and its not just us using it to air out some blokes farts in the lift
Fred?: you're a bloody poet mate
Zinnia: Maybe the one of us that has gotten raided by law enforcement should stop obsessing about magical genealogy
Theo:(ﾟ∩ﾟ)
Theo: so about that bra...
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They tiptoed quietly through the heavily secured building. The air about them was filled with dark red and purple hues that made it hard to focus as they moved deeper into the labyrinth of corridors beneath the large building.
It amazed them sometimes how many witches and wizards refused to see what was beneath their very noses. They would not put up with it though, no one had the right to cause such wanton harm to innocent creatures.
They saw the change in the air first warning them of the guards approaching, a lighter green and blue color streaked through the darker red and purple hues. They quickly slipped into a shadowed corner, keeping their breathing easy, keeping their mind blank.
There is no one here.
There is no one here.
The guards passed by not even glancing in their direction. Still, they waited tensely to be sure. Once they judged enough time had passed they continued their slow creep towards the bowels of the labyrinth. It was on the deepest, most secure floor that the horrors were conducted.
They knew they had gotten to the right floor when the smell hit them. The sickenly rich scent of iron. The hand that gripped their wand trembled as emotions tried to overwhelm them.
Maybe they should have asked for help.
But even the magical world did not run on knowing and that is all they had.
The knowing.
A long-forgotten gift from a long-forgotten supposedly mythical species. They pulled the vials they had prepared carefully from their pocket, making sure they did not stir the volatile mixture within. Each vial was carefully suspended in the air near large support columns.
They were almost done when they heard a noise, the tiniest of whimpers and they froze in place. Their eyes darted around the large laboratory searching for the source. The small whimper came again as if it knew they were there looking, searching. As if the whimper was asking them for help.
Their heart sped up as they darted to the far side of the room, looking frantically around in the darkness for the light that had to be there. The reds and purples shifted for just a moment and they spotted it, silver and pure.
Those dark bastards had locked it in a lead-lined black safe, and they had almost killed it on accident not knowing it was there. They shuddered to think of the terrible possibility. They freed it carefully as it was in bad shape and clutched it close to their chest.
"It's going to be okay now. I promise." They pressed a kiss gently to the soft downy of its body. "No one is going to hurt you again."
They pointed their wand the vial suspended furthest from them. "Bombarda Maxima!"
The red spell streaked out crackling and bursting as it twisted through the laboratory, vials bursting and explosions rocking the very foundation of the building.
They wanted until the last minute and the roar of flames almost consumed them both. But just before the explosion barrelled into them, they clutched the portkey in their pocket and were yanked away.
Unseen the vials they had left behind snapped, boosted by the power of the spell they exploded with tremendous force in all directions. The explosion was such that muggles in the most distant parts of the city looked around in bewilderment as their houses shook.
They stood with it in their arms miles and miles away from the building that had just collapsed completely inward. The moonlight shone down upon them softly, and they slowly rocked the one they had managed to save.