Chapter 19

Rose coloured light pouring in through the wide, sitting room window woke Hermione the next morning. Blinking thickly, she shifted, pressing her still tired eyes against George's bare chest and yawned. When she peeked up at his face, seeing that he looked to be sleeping peacefully, she smiled and relaxed back against him. As the house was miraculously still quiet, she ran her fingers over his now solid shoulder and let her eyes flutter closed.

It had been a long night, just like she'd known it would be. After their conversation, they'd kissed a bit longer until the pain in his shoulder became constant and nearly unbearable. Unable to do anything else for him, Hermione had kicked off her shoes and laid down beside him. The physical and magical closeness seemed to give him some relief but neither of them had gotten much sleep.

Relishing the warmth of him and the even rise and fall of his chest, Hermione tried to banish thoughts of all the things they would have to deal with that day. Before Molly had come to tell her that George was awake, she and Fabian had been checking the wards. What they'd found had made her so angry she had felt dangerously close to a burst of uncontrolled magic. It had been a welcome distraction to pour all of her focus into George.

"Do you think I could get a pain potion with breakfast, love?"

Dropping a kiss on his chest, she leaned up to smile at him. He smiled too, squinting down at her as he ran his free hand through her hair. "Let me check your shoulder first." She pulled her wand from her back pocket and sat up. "How does it feel?"

"Better. The squishy bits are sore but that awful deep bone pain is gone finally."

"Hmm." She scrubbed the last of the sleep from her eyes as she read the diagnostic charm. "The bones are done. Everything grew back together correctly." Canceling the charm, she banished his sling, frowning slightly. "I wish I could say you're good as new but…"

Flexing his left arm, wincing slightly, he sat up too. "Well, the bones are." He rolled his shoulder once. "And I can live with the scars, Hermione." Reaching up, he ran a knuckle along her jaw and looked thoughtfully at her lips. "But I think I really might die, right this very moment if you don't kiss me again."

She scoffed in amusement. "Be serious, George."

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Oh I am. Completely serious."

"Well…" Hermione leaned closer. "After I worked so hard to keep you around yesterday, it'd be a shame to lose you now when I could save you so easily."

His smirk widened. "That's good to hear."

Hermione brushed her lips against his in a chaste kiss that he deepened, sliding his hand along her cheek and pulling her closer. The same absurd happiness she'd felt the first time, and every time after, overwhelmed her. Carding her fingers through his hair, she knew that despite any misgivings about their relative safety, this had been the right decision. Eventually pulling apart, he tipped his forehead against hers and sighed. "I love you, Hermione. I only wish it hadn't taken me almost dying to tell you."

Tracing her fingers along the scars from his shoulder and across his chest, she kissed the corner of his mouth. "We were both being a little silly." She looked up into his brown eyes, so close to her own. "I love you too, George."

He smiled softly and made to lean in for another kiss when they were interrupted by a black and white blur leaping between them and a gleeful shriek of "Jasper!"

Snatching up her cat in surprise, Hermione looked up in time to see George scooping a sleep rumpled Percy into his lap.

"Jasper sleep me!"

Vaguely confused at the sudden change in direction her morning had taken, Hermione smiled at Percy and petted her now purring cat. "Oh? Did he?"

"Yes!" He bounced with excitement and leaned forward to pat Jasper but ended up face first in his side, snuggling the patient animal. "Kitty soft!"

George snorted. "I'd thought at first this one might be like Crookshanks. But they couldn't be more different."

Arching a brow, she smirked at him as she feathered her fingers through Percy's fine red hair. "I don't know what you're talking about. Crooks was a lovely boy." An idea struck her. "In fact… you won't have an icky old rat this time round will you Perce? Would you like a cat someday as well when you're a big boy and go off to Hogwarts?"

His bright blue eyes gawked up at her. "Hoggy! Jasper go Hoggy!"

Her chuckle became a full out laugh when she looked across the sofa at George, but his incredulous stare melted into laughter as well. "Anything would be better than a creepy murderer pretending to be a rodent."

"What on earth are you talking about? Killer rodents?" Gideon leaned over the back of the sofa, a pleasant but confused smile on his face. His Oxford sleeves were rolled up and he held a mug of tea in one hand, obviously only recently risen himself.

George craned his head to see who else was around. When he saw it was just the four of them he explained. "Remember how we told you the war ended the first time? The traitor that gave up the Potters, well he was a rat animagus. After he blew up a bunch of muggles, he transformed and then somehow ended up here. Kept him around as the family familiar till 1993."

Face contorting briefly in comical disgust, Gideon shook the thought away and leaned toward his nephew. "Don't worry Percy, Uncle Gideon will buy you and your brothers a nice kneazle-cat someday." He shuddered dramatically. "But I'll be testing every animal I ever own to make sure they're animals from now on."

Shaking her head in amusement, Hermione scratched Jasper behind the ears the way he liked. "How did he even get here?" She looked up at a still disturbed looking Gideon. "Are you responsible?"

"Ah…" Taking a sip of his tea and seeming to put aside thoughts of man-rats, Gideon smiled a little sheepishly. "Yeah. When Fabian and I went home last night to get you two some fresh clothes and feed him… well he seemed awfully distressed. Poor bugger. Figured, why not bring him along? He sniffed around at the pair of you but you were asleep by then so he ran upstairs and slept with the boys." He sighed. "Smart animal, he is. They were all more than a little shaken up. Don't think they had been able to settle till he got here."

The anger she'd successfully been ignoring so far flared at the reminder. "That shouldn't have happened. It didn't before."

"Hermione?" Forcing a smile, she met George's concerned frown.

"I don't want to talk about it now." She hugged Percy once before both he and Jasper slid from the sofa to run off somewhere together. "Once I do I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself. Best wait till Molly and Arthur are up so we only have to say it once."

His face clouded with some of the anger she felt. "You checked the wards last night, didn't you? Was it what we thought?" When she only hung her head, sighing heavily, George pulled her into his arms. "Bastard."

"Would you be terribly upset with me if I stormed his office by myself?"

He snorted. "As if you'd be alone."

"To change the subject so neither of us do something stupid so early in the morning…" Gideon half sat on the back of the sofa and smirked down at them. "I'm assuming from the snogging that the pair of you worked out whatever nonsense it was that was keeping you from shagging already?"

He fell to the floor with a loud thud, both Hermione and George shoving him from his perch for his impertinence.

Some hours later, after the rest of the family had made it downstairs and everyone had eaten, they were finally ready to discuss the wards. Molly had sent the boys out into the garden with Jasper and strict instructions not to venture further. She stayed by the window, anxiously watching them play as everyone else sat down at the table.

"I could tell from how you were acting when I came to get you that it wasn't good." Molly didn't take her eyes off the boys as she addressed Hermione. "What happened? How did they even get in?"

Fabian answered for her. "It was Dumbledore, Molly. When he was here, he altered the wards."

She did turn around then, staring at her brother as if he'd grown another head. "Dumbledore? Don't be ridiculous! What reason would he possibly have to do that to us? He's the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, the leader of the Light."

Hermione squeezed George's hand and sighed. "He may be playing General against the Dark Lord, Molly, but he's no paragon of virtue, trust me."

She shook her head and turned back to the window, arms folded around herself as she focused on the boys. Holding up a hand as if to diffuse the situation, Arthur spoke up next. "How do you know it was him? What had been done to the wards anyways?"

Running his hand along the uneven wood of the table, Fabian explained, his voice strained as he held back his anger. "Well first and most obviously, the ward to keep out anyone with the Dark Mark had been disabled. Then the general warding had been weakened, accounting for how Greyback got in. It was clever, really. Managing to do all that without alerting you, Arthur." He looked up and met his brother-in-law's eyes. "Only a wizard or witch exceptionally skilled in warding and arithmancy could have done it."

"That doesn't prove it was Dumbledore… He's not the only one that could have done it surely…"

"He's not." Hermione shook her head. "I could have done it, or Fabian. It would have to have been done from inside the wards at one of the ward stones. The reason we know it was him…" She had to pause to control her rapidly flaring anger. The audacity of the man, putting the children in danger… "We know it was him because we found an alert charm. It was connected to the deactivated Dark Mark ward. So when Death Eaters crossed what pitiable wards were left, he would know right away."

Unable to hold back any longer, George exploded beside her. "That bloody fucking bastard!" He pushed up from the table and paced once in a circle before he could even speak again. "Do you mean to tell me that Dumbledore not only intentionally put them at risk—five bloody children—by taking down the wards, but he knew…" He paused long enough to take a breath. "He bloody knew exactly when those animals crossed the wards and he waited more than half an hour to send anyone? To what? Clean up?"

Molly was crying quietly by the window, and Arthur had bowed his head over his hands. Gideon looked like he wanted to yell as well but George was doing enough for everyone.

"I asked Kingsley what Dumbledore had told them when he'd sent them. He said that Dumbledore told them there had been an attack at the Burrow and they were to see if anyone had been hurt. He… Dumbledore knew he'd likely sent them too late. I want to believe he didn't know who they sent… that he didn't know about Greyback but… really would it have mattered? The Dark Mark hanging in the sky and the whole family slaughtered. If we hadn't been here…"

When Arthur finally spoke, his voice was so deadly calm Hermione was almost frightened. "So, Dumbledore poked holes in our wards and then when we were attacked, rather than send help right away he sent three Order members to bury my dead children?"

Fabian sniffed and shifted in his seat. "It seems that way, Arthur."

"Does anyone have any ideas as to why?"

She wiped at angry tears, her only outlet lest she destroy the room with a burst of magic. "He wants us. George and me. We've told him we want no part of working with him but he keeps pushing… I'm so sorry Arthur."

George, still fuming, had heard enough. "I'm going to kill him. I mean it, I…"

"George!" Arthur's voice, so rarely ever raised, was stern. "Son… sit down." Stunned for more than one reason, George pulled out the seat beside Hermione and obeyed. "If you pop off to Hogwarts right now Dumbledore will be the one doing the killing. We can't react irrationally. Even if all of us went together, if it suited him as it evidently does, he still would likely come out on top."

For several long moments, no one spoke as Arthur gathered his thoughts. He folded and unfolded his hands, stared down the table at George and then Hermione. Finally, he stood and joined his wife by the window. "There there Molly." He handed her a kerchief from his pocket and rubbed her shoulders.

"I don't understand, Arthur… he's the headmaster of Hogwarts! He's meant to care about children, protect them… I don't understand why he would do this to us…"

"It's going to be ok, Mollywobbles. Why don't you go check the twins, I can see you need to."

Nodding as she dabbed at her eyes, Molly went upstairs to hold her babies like he'd suggested. After she was gone, Arthur rested his hands on the back of a chair and sighed. "Fabian, can you contact the Order and organize a meeting without Dumbledore?"

"I don't know… I'll contact Kingsley. He probably could. Gid and I are just soldiers, not important enough to get everyone together." He tapped his fingers on the table in thought. "What are you thinking, Arthur?"

"Did you already fix the warding or is this traceable trigger still intact?"

Beginning to catch on, Fabian narrowed his eyes. "We fixed the wards so it would be safe here but left the trigger. I didn't want to alert Dumbledore that we'd caught him." He stood and drew his wand. "I'll contact Kings now, get him here." Before he left the room, he paused, eyeing Hermione. "I think you should consider telling him what you two are working on, part of it at least. If we go down this road it's going to come out and it's definitely something you want to be sharing, not be caught out on."

Catching George's eye, he frowned slightly before taking her hand and nodding. Arthur looked at her with trepidation. "What is he talking about? What have the pair of you gotten into?"

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "Well… I guess Molly told you about who we really are and where, or rather when, we're from." He nodded. "We have knowledge about the Dark Lord from the future and about a few of his people. One, in particular, worked for Dumbledore as a spy from 1979 until he died in that role in 1995. The thing is, what we know about the Dark Lord, Dumbledore won't find out for several years. And the way he used the knowledge…" She sighed. "So we decided to get to his spy first. What got him to change sides hasn't happened yet so I showed him my memories. He's a legilimens."

"Huh." Arthur exhaled the breath he'd been holding. "Well…" He looked around to Gideon who had been leaning quietly against the wall in the corner. "Have either you or your brother met this spy?"

Gideon shrugged. "Yeah. He seems trustworthy so far. Already been helpful too. They've got him working on something that will likely take till next summer but… after learning what they know—and no Arthur, the fewer people that know the better—I'm not convinced this will ever end without his help."

Nodding, Arthur sat down and summoned a mug but rather than setting the kettle to heat, a small bottle of Ogden's sailed to his open hand from a high cupboard. Hermione had never seen Arthur drink before, not even after Fred had died, but didn't think overmuch of the choice considering the circumstances. And, had the circumstances been different, she might have laughed at the comical shock on George's face when she glanced over at him.

"You're drinking! You never drink. Not even when... And Fred and I have snooped through every inch of this house, there's no way you'd have been able to keep that hidden."

Arthur smirked as he poured himself a few fingers of the alcohol and summoned another mug. "Guess I must start keeping it in my shed. Snooping troublemakers." He huffed a small laugh. "Thanks for the warning." He reached over, setting the other mug in front of George with a small, only slightly patronizing smile. "I've five boys, George. Someday, if you ever have children, you'll understand."

Staring down at the mug, George shook his head. "Mental." Without another thought, he picked it up and tossed it back, savoring the pleasant burn. Hermione nearly did laugh then, both at the absurdity and the reminder of Ron. There would be two more Weasley children yet, assuming nothing had changed. Perhaps they'd buy Arthur's next bottle when he found out about number six.

Fabian came back into the room a few minutes later but before he could update them, a familiar doe patronus burst into the room. The voice and language that came out of it were a strange contrast to the beautiful animal.

Bloody fucking hell woman! I've been trying to reach you via your charmed coin all buggering day! Are you even alive? If you don't respond to this I'll have to assume you're dead. There was a meeting last night. I heard about the attack at the Burrow. We need to bloody well talk. Honestly, what's the buggering point of the damn coins if you aren't going to check yours?

The doe vanished, leaving the room in stunned silence. Blinking stupidly for a full five seconds, Hermione pulled out her wand and summoned her coin from her blood stained jeans. As soon as it sailed into her hand she dropped it onto the table, it was so hot. "Shite!"

"That was your spy, I take it?"

"Yes…" Tilting the coin with her wand so she could read the message, she read each one out loud as she banished them.

"Are you alive… dark lord furious… better off dead… greyback claims kill… you used my SPELL… are you ALIVE… don't want to work for D… answer me… you better be alive…"

She looked up at George guiltily. He was blushing slightly, his knee bouncing rapidly against her leg. "Oops. Guess I should respond…"

George nodded. "What do you think he meant by, 'better off dead?' And why would the Dark Lord be upset?"

From the corner where he still sat, Gideon scoffed. "Obviously the Death Eaters we had last night were low level nobodies. I bet they were just the ones assigned to watch us. I promise if You Know Who knew all four of us were here, he'd have sent a lot more people. Their upjumped stupidity might have saved us this time."

"That only makes what Dumbledore did all the worse." Closing her eyes to focus on a happy memory instead of her fury, she struggled to get past thoughts of how bad things might have been. Then George slid his hand back around hers, twining their fingers and bringing her hand to his lips.

"It's alright love, we're all alright."

Memories of the night before came back to her: of him pointing out their bond and telling her he loved her, of them kissing that morning.

"Expecto Patronum."