Author's Notes:
To the anonymous people who have been leaving hateful comments on the past few chapters:
I get it, you don't like my writing or the plot of my story, and you don't ship Draco/Hermione. Do you follow my story just so that within an hour of me uploading a new chapter, you can anonymously tell me I deserve to be bullied for writing a 'trashy' story? I don't know why you take my existence and the existence of my story so personally; just stop wasting your time on me, and instead spend it finding a story you would actually like to read with a ship you actually enjoy.
To the people who leave positive comments or quietly enjoy each new chapter:
Here is Chapter 132 for you!
I thoroughly appreciate reading your encouragements, and they motivate me to keep writing. I'm not going to stop writing this story until it is finished, so don't worry about hateful comments dissuading me from continuing. I delete them, so they are
Love DW
Enjoy x
"He's running late," Hermione checks her watch for the fifth time in as many minutes. "It's nearly quarter-past seven; he was supposed to be here at seven."
"He'll be here; he promised," Harry assures her.
Hermione blows the steam off the top of her cup of tea. Harry and Ginny have spent the past two months renovating 12 Grimmauld Place. Their house was almost unrecognisable from the dark and dingy place they had lived during the Summer between their fourth and fifth year. Although the kitchen has always felt more homely than the rest of the house, therefore, the one piece of furniture Harry had kept is the long wooden dining table and long benches, where they had gathered on many occasions over the years with family and friends.
The long-awaited knock at the front door has Harry jumping out of his seat, "I'll get that." He rushes out of the kitchen.
Hermione listens as Harry opens the front door, welcoming their friend into his house, then guiding him down the corridor into the kitchen where Hermione is sat waiting.
Dennis' eyes widen upon seeing Hermione, "I didn't know you were going to be here," he admits.
"You absolutely idiot, Dennis," Hermione stands.
Dennis glances at Harry, "You told her?" He asks, but Harry shrugs, stepping away, not wanting to stand in Hermione's way, not when she's this angry. "I'm sorry?" He turns back to Hermione.
"What were you thinking, joining the Death Eaters?" She asks, voice remaining relatively calm, which sends a shiver down Dennis' spine.
"My main thought was killing the bastard who killed Colin," Dennis defends himself.
"You really think Heres is going to give you the name? As soon as you stop being useful to them, Heres will probably kill you themselves." Hermione states. "Which begs the question, what use do you have?"
"I can gather information from the Ministry," Dennis explains.
"How, you don't work within the Ministry?" Hermione frowns.
"I deliver the Daily Prophet to the majority of the departments within the Ministry," Dennis points out. "I'm non-assuming; they don't notice me walking around, so they speak freely around me. When the Heads aren't at their desks, I leave the paper on top of piles of confidential parchments that they leave just lying around. I am handy to Heres," Dennis finishes.
"You're a Muggleborn, Dennis. Do you not have any self-respect? Not too long ago, they would have murdered you on the spot for just existing. That's what they did to Colin," Hermione snaps at him.
"Don't talk about Colin like that," Dennis argues back.
"What would Colin think of you right now? You've joined the people who killed him, and you're talking about them like they won't turn around and kill you." She continues.
"Only Heres knows each individual's identity. I am Picus. The others only know me as the Griffin. They know I'm a Gryffindor, but that's it." Dennis tries to explain.
"Is throwing your life away really worth a name?" Hermione asks.
"Yes," Dennis confirms.
"Fine, you get his name, and you kill the Death Eater who killed Colin, then what? You spend the rest of your life in Azkaban?" She suggests.
"Heres said the Wizengamot would go lightly on me for killing a Death Eater. I'd get ten years, maximum."
"I get the impression that Heres doesn't know what it's like to spend a year in Azkaban, never mind ten."
"Do you?" Dennis asks, becoming frustrated.
"I've seen the effects Azkaban had on Lucius Malfoy after a year," Hermione answers. "He was a completely different person. Someone like you wouldn't last a month in a place like that. They'll lock you away in a dark, cold cell, and the only communication you get is when your meals are brought to you. You're left with only your own thoughts for entertainment."
"Okay, I think this meeting is getting away from us," Harry finally interrupts them. "Can we sit down?" He gestures at the table, and Dennis and Hermione oblige. "Right, Dennis and I have already spoken about the idiocy of his decision to join the Death Eaters, but there's nothing we can really do about that now; he can't exactly leave the Death Eaters."
"I'm not leaving until I get that name," Dennis reminds them.
"Let's forget about that for a moment," Harry sighs, trying desperately to move the meeting along. "We need to know what information you're able to give us?"
"I can give you all the codenames, I can tell you their plan and aims, I can tell you what they've done already," Dennis starts to list.
"Codenames, start there," Hermione interrupts. "Who is Excipio and Cotidio? They were mentioned in the Prophecy. I always want to know what you know about that."
"Excipio is the welcomer; she meets new recruits and introduces them to the rest of the Death Eaters. My theory is that she's a seamstress or costume designer because she provides us with our cloaks and designs out masks." Dennis explains, and Hermione scribbles down notes in a notepad.
"What about Cotidio?"
"He most definitely works for the Daily Prophet, I don't know at what level, but Heres is proud we've got them under our command. It's how we were able to get the Prophecy in there." Dennis states.
"Tell me about the Prophecy?"
"Anquiro, Scrutor and Viator were sent on a mission by Heres not long after the Marriage Ceremony to find Professor Trelawney. Apparently, she's the only seer that Heres trusts. It took them a while, but they finally found her in Germany. She was waiting with the Prophecy. She handed it over then apparated away. We've been unable to find her since, but we're still searching." Dennis finishes.
"Those three names, who are they?" Hermione asks in full researcher mode.
"Anquiro is a recent graduate; his initiation was to deliver a message to you at the Lake District," Dennis admits. "His purpose is searching for lost people and things."
"How recent of a graduate?"
"July 2000," he answers her questions.
Hermione pales, "I would have taught him. He sat in my lessons knowing everything that he knows, knowing that he had threatened my family and me, and he sat there like nothing had happened."
"I'm pretty sure he was a nervous wreck the entire time," Dennis scoffs. "He's always jittery at meetings, but he's really good at his tasks." Hermione glares at Dennis. "Scrutor is our examiner; she's good at identifying objects. Then there's Viator, the traveller. She's rarely in Britain. She's our expertise in foreign lands."
Hermione nods, finishing her notes and turning to Harry, "Is there anything you want to ask?"
"Do you know if there are any other Death Eater moles in the Ministry?" Harry questions, fearing the answer.
"Nefas and Umbra work in the Department of Mysteries; I don't know much more about them, and Bestia works in the Department of Magical Creatures." He admits. "There are other moles, though. Cura works in St Mungo's. He was the one who told Heres about Scorpius' birth." Dennis mentions. "Then there is Civitas in MACUSA and Gallico in the French Ministry."
"MACUSA has been infiltrated?" Hermione repeats. President Harris seemed so on top of everything going on with the British government and her plan to take down Kingsley Shacklebolt that she assumed she would be aware if there was a mole within MACUSA.
"Yes, Gallico told us that the ICW was working with MACUSA to take down the Minister, so Heres visited someone high up in MACUSA and managed to convince them to join." Dennis further explains.
Hermione notes this new information, wondering how she should inform President Harris that she has a mole within her government.
"Can you tell us what the aim is of this new Death Eater Movement?" Harry asks. "Heres said that their motives have evolved past Voldemort's plan to simply rule the wizarding world and rid it of those who he believed didn't deserve it."
"Like Muggleborns," Hermione points out.
"Hermione, please," Harry sighs. "You mentioned that they want to remove Kingsley Shacklebolt from his position; why is that?"
"I think Heres has a very personal vendetta against the Minister. They might let Muggleborns into the movement now, but I'm not stupid," he glances at Hermione. "They still call us Mudbloods; their beliefs haven't drastically changed. I think Heres was personally affected somehow by the Marriage Decree, probably through his child. Heres was definitely a Death Eater under Voldemort. So, when he came up with the idea to take down the Minister, why not use a group that is already renown for hating the Ministry?" Dennis shrugs. "That's my theory, anyway."
"It's a good theory," Harry nods, "But there were over three-hundred people eligible for the Marriage Decree that a lot of family members to suspect."
"It's a start, though, right?" Dennis asks. "I haven't risked my life to bring you useless information."
"It's useful, Dennis," Harry assures him. "We can work with this, but it's going to take a while to comprise a list of all those who were present at the Marriage Ceremony and other family members that may have taken offence at the Marriage Decree."
"Thankfully, we've got a man on the inside who can help us," Hermione mentions. "Alexander is one of your agents, right?"
"Yeah, I'll speak to him about it this afternoon," he checks his watch. "I have to leave in five minutes. Work is going to be chaotic today, so I can't risk being late." Harry states.
"Is there anything else you want to tell us?" Hermione asks Dennis.
"The three Death Eaters you have left after yesterday's escape are Timore, Aucupo, and Initio," Dennis admits. "Timore is from the old movement; he never stops bragging about it. He gets pleasure from terrifying people, specifically muggles. He was at the uprising in Derbyshire; he probably planned it all. Timore, Pavor, Ferio, Caedo and Lanius are the ones who kill, they were all there last night, and I can guarantee they will be at the head of any Death Eater uprising." He continues.
"Shit," Harry slams his fist on the table. "I let them all escape, the worst ones, shit." He angrily rubs his stubbled chin.
"Lanius was the one who killed that American girl, Tabitha Penn. She took Tabitha's scarf as a trophy." Dennis keeps talking. "Initio is the one who plans the initiations for each new recruit. She's sadistic; she usually is paired with Procor, the interrogator, for missions because she likes watching his work. I'm pretty sure they're fucking too."
"Alright, stop, that's enough," Harry waves his hand at Dennis. "I've heard enough; I'm going to work." He mutters. "Hermione, can I have those notes?"
Hermione quickly duplicates the notes she has made throughout their meeting, passing a copy over to Harry.
"If you don't want to be locked in, you should leave now," he states, heading for the front door.
Dennis quickly follows after, but Hermione calls down the corridor that she'll take his floo home. Harry shouts back that he'll see her tomorrow for the first New Order meeting. The three of them go their separate ways, feeling somewhat like they've accomplished something that morning.
Draco finds himself wandering a darkened corridor, deep below the foyer of the Ministry of Magic, searching for the office door of his friend Theo Nott. Scorpius is sat in his pram, playing with a toothing ring as Draco's eyes scan each door nameplate they pass. Draco would have preferred not bringing his son down to the criminal law floor of the Ministryoor. Still, when their only other option was Hermione taking him to her meeting with Dennis Creevey, a Death Eater, he decided he wanted his son where he could keep him safe himself.
When he finds Theo's office, he knocks on his friend's plain black office door, reading the gold nameplate, which advertises him as a 'criminal law student'. The door slowly opens, revealing an exhausted looking Theo with spectacles on the end of his nose.
"Draco!" He exclaims, instinctively standing taller and snatching the glasses off his face. "Come in, excuse the mess." He beckons his friend inside.
"How long have you needed those?" Draco asks, motioning to his face.
Theo sighs, "Since our fifth year," he admits.
Theo's office is small. There's barely enough space for his desk and a chair on either side. Still, Theo manages to have a coat rack, a filing cabinet and a chest squashed inside.
"How can I help you, Draco?" Theo asks, sitting down on his side of his desk and offering him the opposite chair.
"No doubt you've heard about Alphard Vale, the Head Auror?" Draco asks.
"Heard about, it's all anyone's talking about," Theo groans. "Everyone down here is wondering who's going to get the prosecuting job, and I hope to Merlin it isn't us." He admits, and Draco smiles awkwardly in response. "No, you need me to make sure my boss is the prosecutor?"
"Yes, I'm sorry, Theo, but we obviously can't trust Shacklebolt as Chief Warlock to sentence his Head Auror fairly, or even at all. We can't allow Vale's actions to go unpunished," Draco states. "We need someone we can trust on our side, and I trust you."
"Thank you, Draco, that means a lot," Theo smiles. "I'll see what I can do. Obviously, my boss is going for it, but if there's a way that I can convince the other firms to drop out, I'll figure it out." He assures him. "I'll need a copy of these case files Potter has made on Vale, so I can get a head start."
"I'll get them for you. Thank you, Theo," Draco stands. "Keep me informed."
Theo agrees, walking him out of his office and bidding him goodbye.
"That was easy, wasn't it, Scorpius?" He whispers to his son, who babbles back in answer. "I know; we should try and get home before Mum and make some pie for dessert." Draco continues to talk to Scorpius as they retrace their steps to the lift, travel up to the floo floor, and floo home to an empty house.
Hermione returns home with a handful of notes that need rewriting and organising coherently. She heads straight to their shared office, ready to get started before Draco returns from his meeting with Theo Nott, only to find her husband and son huddled over a kitchen counter.
Silently, she tiptoes over, peering around Draco to watch Scorpius messily mash a bowl full of cherries, blueberries and blackcurrant with his wooden spoon.
"This looks like fun," Hermione says, gaining their attention.
Draco jumps in surprise while Scorpius squeal excitedly. "We're making a pie," Draco explains.
"Well, I won't interrupt for too long," she presses a kiss to her husband. "I've got some work to do."
"Are you okay, though? It can't have been an easy meeting," Draco asks her.
She shakes her head, "It was awful, but we got plenty of useful information from Dennis."
"Go on then; the sooner you get your work done, the sooner you can eat this delicious pie," he teases her.
"Oh, you know just the right words to make me feel better," she jokes, pressing a final kiss to his cheek before going into their office.
Hermione lays her notes out on her desk, copying them down neater and making a list of the codenames Dennis had told them about. She can think more clearly once they're in alphabetic order, and she casts her memories back to anyone whose codename connects to their job, behaviour or personality. She ends up making separate lists of individuals the codenames match. After the betrayal she feels from Dennis, someone she considered a friend, no one else is safe. Although, she deliberates for over five minutes before writing Luna's name down with a note beside stating 'traveller?'. She highly doubted Luna, of all people, would be a Death Eater. Still, she didn't want her opinion of someone to lead the New Order away from everyone. Thankfully, Luna was still away travelling, so the rest of the main New Order group could persuade Hermione otherwise. She makes copies of every piece of parchment, placing them in order and adding a paperclip to keep them together. She was looking forward to their meeting, now that they had plenty of information from Dennis to pass on to everyone.
In a nod to tradition, and the meetings of the previous Order of the Phoenix, the New Order planned to assemble at 12 Grimmauld Place, in the extensive ground floor library, where Harry had placed a large oval table, specifically for the purpose of these meetings.
Since Ginny had removed herself from the main seven, in favour of allowing Harry to be present and feedback, she took James to visit her mother. Not long after she left by floo, Arthur had arrived.
"How are you doing, son?" Arthur asks, lowering himself into an armchair while they await the arrival of the five others who will be joining them soon.
"I don't know how the previous Order managed to cope," Harry admits. "With the arrest of Vale, I've been working fifteen hours a day, then I'm constantly thinking about this meeting and what information I have to feedback. I think Ginny's pissed at me for missing dinner last night, but it can't be helped." He sighs.
"Once Vale has been sentenced, everything with smooth out and routine will return, until the next big issue," Arthur tries to reassure him. "It's not easy, being in the Order. It takes a lot of mental and emotional effort, but knowing you're doing so for the greater good does help." He finishes.
"That sounds like something Dumbledore once said," Harry smiles.
"I'm not very profound, so It probably was something I picked up from Albus," Arthur chuckles.
The fireplace lights up before Ron and George step through, one after the other, having just closed up the shop.
"How long do you think this meeting is going to run on for?" Ron asks, a sugar quill hanging from his lips. "I'm starving, and Pansy is cooking lasagne for dinner." He adds.
"It'll take however long it needs to take, Ron," Arthur gently chides his son.
A knock at the front door sends Harry out of the room to greet whoever has decided to walk to the meeting rather than floo in.
"He looks stressed," Ron comments once his best friend has left the room.
"He is stressed, idiot," George whacks him on the back of the head with the parchment he had brought to feedback to the group.
Thankfully, before Ron can throw himself at his brother in a session of rough play, the fireplace lights up once more with the arrival of Hermione and then Draco.
"Are we all here?" Hermione asks, the briefcase she uses to carry students' homework in her hands, but is currently full of parchment to distribute to the rest of the New Order.
"Harry is at the front door," George comments.
"Percy's here," Harry calls. "The meeting can start in the library." He adds.
The five of them still in the living room make their way into the library, where Harry has set out seven glasses with a jug of water; there were plenty of ink pots, quills and parchment for anyone to take notes if they hadn't remembered to bring their own supplies.
Once seated around the oval table, Harry glances at Hermione for her to take charge, "I may have provided the venue, but you and Draco are the unofficial leaders of the group, being in communication with MACUSA." Harry sits down.
Hermione nods, standing to address the group, "As you are all aware, the main purpose of the New Order is the removal of Kingsley Shacklebolt from his position of Minister for Magic." The room nods in agreement. "However, I don't think I am incorrect in thinking a secondary purpose would be the extinguishing of the new Death Eater movement, especially since it has come to our attention that the rise of the new movement is directly related to Minister Shacklebolt's Marriage Decree." She completes her opening statement.
"How can you be so certain?" Arthur asks.
Harry raises to his feet once again, "After the events of Thursday night, a friend asked for a private talk, in which he divulged to me that he had joined the Death Eater movement to enact revenge from within."
"What idiot has joined them?" Ron scoffs.
"Who is it?" Percy frowns.
"I think the fewer people who know his identity, the more protected he will be against the Death Eaters," Hermione claims. "Harry and I met with him this morning; he was able to pass along a lot of precious information regarding the inner workings of the Death Eaters, including many of the codenames now being used under Heres." She removes the pile of parchment from her briefcase. "I am passing along the information that was passed on to us. Please pay close attention to the page with a list of code names and their origins, as well as a list of people who I believe match some aspect of the codenames."
There are a few minutes of silence as the group scan the parchments that Hermione has handed out.
"Wait, why is my wife on here?" Percy frowns, staring accusatively across at Hermione.
"I should have warned you all that a few familiar names have been included," Hermione states. "I'm sorry, Percy, but I wrote down the names of all people whose characteristics in some way matched the codename of a Death Eater. All I know of Audrey is that she works in the Department of Mysteries, of which we know two Death Eater's who also work within that department. Therefore, her name was included on the list." She defends her reasoning.
"My wife is not a Death Eater," Percy continues. "I think I would know if she were."
"Would you, though?" George interrupts. "She rarely interacts with any of our family; you've only met her family a few times in the two years you've been married. You're always complaining that you rarely see her. Honestly, I think Mum is waiting for the two years to be up so you can legally divorce and remarry someone else," George mentions.
Percy's jaw tightens, "That isn't going to happen."
"What, don't tell me you've fallen in love with her?" Ron insensitively asks.
"Of course not, but I found out two weeks ago that she's pregnant," Percy announces.
"Ah, congratulations, son," Arthur happily pats his son on the shoulder.
"Sorry, Perce, that's great news, though," George awkwardly apologises.
"Thanks, so I would appreciate it if her name was removed from these lists. These past two weeks, we've barely been out of each other's company, besides when I've been gathering information for this meeting." Percy explains.
Hermione, not wanting to cause an argument with her friend, agrees to removed Audrey's name from their suspect list, but keeps the name in the back of her mind, just in case.
"Luna's on here too!" Ron exclaims. "Are you serious? Luna?" He laughs.
"I know, but Viator is a female and is rarely in Britain; those were the words of our informant. You have to admit, it's a little suspicious." Hermione states. "But I am fully prepared to strike her name from the list if we can confirm that Luna has witnesses placing her elsewhere when certain events occurred."
Harry frowns, upset their friend has been accused. So he pulls out his case file, "We know all of the Death Eater's met in Beddgelert on the morning of the seventh of September. Was Luna even in the country that day?" He asks.
"Luna left Britain after her divorce from Blaise," Draco states. "She wasn't at your birthday picnic," he glances at Harry. "And she sent us a present for Scorpius, via owl, eight days after his birth. If she had been in the country, I'm sure it wouldn't have taken that long to receive her gift. Unless, of course, she planned to send the present late as a distraction, but I highly doubt that. From Blaise, I know they spent the majority of their marriage in each other's company. Before their divorce, she rarely left the country without Blaise, or would be with her father, so unless we are accusing Mr Lovegood of being a Death Eater, which I also find highly improbable, then I think Luna is innocent." He finishes.
"I think that solves that then," Percy states, drawing a line through Luna's name.
"Also, Luna has been accommodating with the Quibbler, both for the New Order meetings and our other ventures," Hermione glances at Draco. "I don't know why I didn't think about that. Luna has been absolved." She claims, also crossing her name out.
"Moving on from that, just keep your eyes and ears open for anything suspicion surrounding these people and others that you come across," Harry takes charge. "Draco, how was your meeting with Theo Nott?"
"Theo's boss is Graham Goldman, and he's already placed his bid for the role of prosecutor," he begins. "However, most other law firms are also placing their bids. Theo has agreed to try and convince the other firms to withdraw their bids, which I have full faith he with achieve. Theo can be very convincing when he needs to be." Draco continues. "He has asked for a copy of Harry's case file." He finishes.
Harry rummages through the pile of parchments in front of him, finally pulling out a large folder, which he duplicates and pushes across the table to Draco, "That's everything I gathered over the past five months against Alphard Vale. A few copies are floating around, including with Minister Shacklebolt. He never asked me to keep the case file for myself, so I'm hopeful he's not planning on burying the Vale trial and will actually sentence him correctly." Harry admits.
"That's why we need Theo and Goldman's firm to prosecute," Draco mentions. "When Theo decided to become a lawyer, turning his back on his father, the Nott name, and everything they stood for, he chose maybe the strictest and most virtuous law firms. If we get Goldman's firm to prosecute Vale, we can almost guarantee he'll spend the rest of his life in Azkaban." He finishes.
Harry nods, having known previously about the upstanding morals of Goldman's firm, "Keep us posted on any further information on that front."
George knocks his knuckles on the table, "Can I just say before we go any further that none of my people, my agents or whatever, had any information for me." He states once everyone's attention is brought to him.
"Me neither," adds Percy, crossing his arms. "Since my agents are old Order members and my brothers, who aren't even in the country." He mumbles.
Everyone ignores Percy's comments, choosing to move on.
"I have information," Arthur announces, and all heads turn to him. "I met with Elias Woodward for coffee this morning," he begins.
"About Elias, Arthur," Harry quickly interrupts, "He was speaking very openly about the New Order at the War Anniversary Dinner. Could you maybe have a word with him and remind him that this is a secret group?"
"Of course," Arthur sighs. "Elias is the Head of the Department for Education, and he told me that for the past few months, he's been working closely working with the Minister on the way to better keep tabs on Hogwarts. They've come up with a new department within the Department for Education called the DES, the Department for Educational Standards."
"Department for Educational Standards?" Hermione repeats with a frown.
"Yes, the new department will conduct inspections within Hogwarts. The official purpose is to ensure our children are receiving the best education that Hogwarts can offer. Still, Elias told me the Minister wants to control the information that professors are giving to students. He thinks the professors are brainwashing the students, especially after last year's seventh-year student joined in with our protest." Arthur finishes his feedback.
"When will the inspections begin?" Draco questions.
"The DES will be announced with a decree in September, so I guess at the beginning of the next academic year," Arthur suggests.
Draco and Hermione lock eyes, "Just in time for us to return after family leave," Hermione points out. "That cannot be coincidental."
"Of course, it isn't," Draco shakes his head.
"Elias made sure to write into the decree that inspections can only be conducted during the school hours, which is eight in the morning until ten-past four in the afternoon," Arthur adds.
"So, they'll only be inspecting our lessons?" Hermione asks.
"Yes, and I believe there will only be one inspection a month unless professors are marked below an Acceptable," Arthur nods.
"Let's not be positive yet," Draco warns. "No matter how good a professor we are, they can always find the slightest thing to mark us down on; this is the Ministry we're talking about. Remember Umbridge?" He points out.
Everyone around the table nods their heads in agreement; the Ministry would stop at nothing to make life more difficult for those they deemed a threat. Umbridge had down that to Dumbledore and the professors for Minister Fudge. Now it seems Minister Shacklebolt was doing it to Hermione and Draco.
"I shall inform Minerva and the professors so everyone can prepare for the start of the next academic year," Hermione makes a note.
"Does Minerva even know about the New Order?" Arthur asks.
"No, she wasn't too fond of us informing the seventh-year students last year about our plan to protest at the anniversary dinner, so I'm not sure she would have been so pleased to hear I wanted her professors to join a New Order to take down Kingsley," Hermione admits.
"You will need to tell her soon," Arthur tells her. "Sooner rather than later, she will not be impressed to find out you've gone behind her back by talking to the other professors." He adds, having known Minerva longer than the rest of the current group.
"I'll tell her on Monday," Hermione promises.
"Alright, any further business before we adjourn?" Harry asks the table.
"Yes, just a quick one," Arthur raises a hand. "Kingsley has been planning the Marriage Decree Anniversary dinner for a few months, and I've heard invitations will be going out on Monday. It's optional, and I've heard the rule of seven restrictions will be lifted for five hours on the night so everyone can gather at the Ministry, similar to Thursday afternoon." Arthur continues.
"The rule was lifted?" George frowns. "I wish we had known; we could have gotten together at the Burrow."
"I only found out after the fact," Arthur admits. "My question is, how many of you are planning on attending your anniversary dinner?" He asks.
"Draco, we should host a party," Hermione abruptly suggests. "It's getting warmer, and we've got a massive garden where we can host our own anniversary dinner for anyone who doesn't want to attend the Ministry dinner," she adds.
"I'm fine with that," Draco agrees.
"Is this a certain event?" Percy asks. "It's a Saturday; I'll invite Bill and Fleur over."
"Yes, pass the invitation along to your agents. Everyone is welcome, including children." Hermione grins, excited to have something to look forward to in the upcoming month.
Over the next fifteen minutes, the meeting gradually comes to a close. People leave one by one as their conversations come to a natural end, leaving Hermione and Draco to help Harry tidy up after the meeting.
"I think this was a very effective meeting," Draco comments.
"I agree," Harry nods. "I didn't realise how many agents we had within the Ministry, far more than the Death Eaters could hope to have," he smiles. "It's all very positive at the moment, but this is the beginning of the New Order's actions; they're bound to be positive. I worry that the longer this goes on, the less new information we will gather. I know MACUSA are planning on this taking a few years to enact, but I would much rather get him out of power as soon as possible. The longer this takes, the riskier it becomes, and I fear some of our agents may leave out of fear of being caught out." Harry speaks the thoughts he had been worrying about for a few days.
Hermione nods thoughtfully, "I think MACUSA's timescale was a worst-case scenario; they want to make sure they've got enough evidence before the IWC arrest him. They need the charges against him to stick. If this flow of information continues, we should be able to get him out of power by this time next year, I'm sure of it." She states.
"That's wishful thinking," Draco mentions. "But there's no harm in being hopeful."
"Well, now I need to write up feedback notes to hand out to my agents." Harry sighs. "My work is never done." He sighs with exhaustion.
"If we don't see you in the upcoming weeks, we'll see you at ours for our anniversary dinner," Hermione hugs her friend tightly. "We'll send out invitations with timings once we know when the restrictions will be eased."
"Thanks for organising something, Hermione. It will be much needed and great to actually get together with everyone again." Harry smiles, guiding them to the floo.
Hermione and Draco floo back to their house, where they had left Scorpius napping under the care of Mitty, who they find sitting beside Scorpius' crib, knitting her charge a new jumper.
"Mitty, I don't think Scorpius needs a new jumper right now. It's getting warmer." Hermione states, checking on her sleeping baby.
"It for Christmas," Mitty holds up the design to show a reindeer with a red nose. "It a muggle tradition." She adds. "It is too big for Scorpius now, but he will grow."
Draco smiles, "Thanks Mitty, maybe you could gift it to him for Christmas."
"No, Mitty already know Scorpius' gift. This is for December," she continues knitting. "Mitty leave now?" She asks.
"Of course, we're back now." Hermione agrees. "Thank you for looking after him."
Mitty bows in appreciation, "Mitty loves Scorpius," is her response, assuring them that she would look after the baby any time they needed her.
"Shall we plan this party while we have a moment of peace? "Hermione suggests, nodding for Draco to follow her into their bedroom across the hall from Scorpius'.
They lounge across their bed with a pad of paper and a pen, jotting down their plans for guests, food and drinks, and creating an invitation design, until they hear Scorpius stir in his bedroom across the hall.
Draco goes to collect him, and Hermione can hear her son giggling upon seeing his father. Draco whispers something to Scorpius as he walks into their bedroom, gently plopping their son down in the middle of the bed. When he sees his mother, Scorpius struggles for a few moments to roll over, then kicks his feet in an attempt to crawl over to his mum. At eight months, Hermione is proud that their son is developing in line with typical baby milestones. She scoops her son up, pressing lots of kisses across his face, causing Scorpius to giggle, flapping his tiny fists around. Draco takes the opportunity to snap a picture of his wife and son; since it was usually Hermione taking the photos, they had few of their son with his mother. It had taken Draco fiddling with the camera for a few hours alone to figure out how to work it. Still, he'd finally figured it out, with the help of Alarte, and was looking forward to taking more pictures of his beautiful family.
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