A/N: I am so sorry I have left you all hanging for a little while. I really did need a break and then we went away and quite frankly writing this big a thing requires a mammoth effort. Hopefully I can jump start my momentum and we can get going again. I have no clue where we're going but hopefully Hermione can work it out soon lol
Thank you to all who have stuck around with me while I figure it out. Much love x
-0-
The exit onto the grounds was unremarkable but as they rounded the corner to join the others, a hush descended over the group. All eyes turned to them and Hermione, for the first time in a long time, felt rather uncomfortable.
If it wasn't for Minerva's hand in hers, she might have stopped, but the gentle squeeze and a whispered word of love made it less oppressive and she followed in Minerva's wake to join the others on the huge blanket laid out under the sun.
"Hermione -"
Harry was the first one to move. He stood and with an unasked question on his face, received a nod from Minerva. Hermione almost pulled away until she understood what he was trying to do. His arms wrapped tightly around her neck and he held on as she reciprocated.
"Thought we'd lost you," he muttered. "I'm really glad you're okay."
She accepted a hug from Ginny and then Ron and quite a few people patted her on the back until she was jostled all the way up to Albus. He stared for a long time before he chuckled and cupped her cheek.
"I would not have wished it on you ever, my dear, but thank you once again, for saving my life."
She grinned at him and let go of the worry as he held her gently. He smelled of Sherbet lemons and some sort of spicy aftershave and Hermione hid her face in his shoulder and allowed a tear to fall. She hadn't said anything and she didn't need to as Minerva joined them and accepted a kiss on the cheek from Albus and drew her away.
"Now," Minerva said as an announcement. "Who is hungry?"
The tension eased as the laughter increased. Hermione watched, even as Minerva piled her plate high. Her family, such as it was, seemed so small in moments and then, when they were all together in one place, she realised just how large it was. Molly was fussing over Arthur, who looked no worse for wear after the adventure he had. Moody was sat on a chair, like a lord of old but he absolutely accepted a plate from Molly when it was offered as well.
It was only as she looked at him that his magical eye shot straight to her and she frowned.
"Didn't I -"
"I found it," Albus said gently as he joined them. They nodded to Moody in apology for speaking about him in full view, but then went back to the conversation. "When Minerva disappeared with you, it was left spinning on the ground. I pocketed it just before I joined the others and we escaped."
"What happened to the Aurors?"
"Most fought to the end, some surrendered. I -" He swallowed and looked a little wobbly. "I am unsure what happened to those in particular."
"So we are alone in this, then?"
"Not completely, Leannan," Minerva said soothingly. "You are collecting magical creatures left and right, with the right leverage, we have a world full of magical users that love freedom as much as the next person. If it comes to it, we will recruit from those around us."
"Creatures?" Albus smiled as he looked at her.
Hermione regaled him with tales of the Selkie, and the dragons. She left out the parts that were only for them and did not feel bad about that at all. Minerva agreed with her in her head but did not interrupt. She kept piling food on Hermione's plate until it was comically large and Hermione had to interrupt her conversation to take Minerva's hand and kiss the palm of it.
"Thank you," she chuckled. "I am fine."
"Eat," Minerva nodded to the plate and then also chuckled at the ridiculousness of it. "You have done a lot in the last few days. You need to replenish your energy."
"No doubt," Hermione sighed.
She felt a soft hand on her head and smiled up at Lucia as she joined them with Amalle. They didn't speak, there was no real need, but Amalle squeezed her shoulder before sitting beside Minerva and engaging her in conversation about the Castle. Lucia, it seemed, had an ulterior motive as Albus turned away to talk to Severus and Narcissa.
"Is she really alright with me looking like this?"
"Yes," Hermione soothed easily. "It is not on you to accommodate her past; she would be the first to tell you so."
"And yet she is dear to me and I would save her the pain that my very face causes her."
"You are as noble, to a fault, as she is. Stop it," she chuckled. "In time, it will ease -"
You are right, I suppose.
I am always right, lover.
Minerva chuckled as she turned to reach for Lucia's hand.
"Today, I thought my soulmate had perished before my eyes. Nothing could take this good mood from me, if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named walked in through the gates himself. You look beautiful, Lucia, and my Leannan is correct. It is I, who must bend. You, I only wish happiness upon."
Even Hermione blinked at the difference but upon reflection, Minerva was exuding happiness and she looked around to find Poppy smiling secretively. She frowned as she met the woman's eyes and winked as she showed Hermione a little bottle, half-full of liquid. Hermione giggled despite a little squeeze in her gut, and looked back at Minerva to see her drink the last of her drink. She shook her head and looked back at Poppy as Minerva paused and looked down at her drink.
"POPPY!"
Those around them laughed as Minerva sent a stinging hex at the woman's thigh and groaned at being dosed with a Pepper-Up potion, even if it was only a drop or two.
"You were sitting there like a little rain cloud. Buck up, woman. We are in the sun, your woman is fine and sexy, and there is happiness all around us."
Minerva rolled her eyes and allowed Poppy's arms to rest on her shoulders as she was hugged from the back.
Hermione had not felt so carefree since she first started at Hogwarts, so long ago. She picked her way through the plate of food Minerva had left, until there was a contentment all around her from full bellies and bright sunshine. She looked at Albus and found him talking animatedly with Ginny and Harry and Ron and smiled as she lay back on the blanket. She wished she had a pair of sunglasses just to take the edge off and a pair was waved in her face by a beautiful pair of hands that she loved so much.
"Time for a nap, Leannan?"
"Would it be wrong to say yes?"
"No," Minerva chuckled. "I believe Arthur has already succumbed."
Hermione slipped on the glasses and found they were a little strong for real life but they did filter out the majority of the sun.
"These are a tad strong to be real glasses," she muttered as Minerva settled on her shoulder.
"I realised as soon as I had done it. A bit too much of a flourish, thanks to Poppy's meddling."
"Yeah, don't know how I feel about her dosing you without your permission."
"The effects will not last long," Amalle muttered as she too lay back against Lucia's side. "We were experimenting through the week with a few on Narcissa's behalf. She is a formidable woman."
"That's what Min said too," Hermione snorted as her side was pinched for being cheeky.
She lifted her glasses and looked over to where Severus and Narcissa were chatting quietly a little away from everyone else. They had often called him greasy but with the woman's affections aimed at him, it seemed to have made a little difference. His hair shone almost purple in the sun and he had it tied back at the base of his skull with a ribbon or tie of some sort. It was the first time she'd seen his whole face at one time.
"He looks like he did as a boy," Minerva chuckled as she sighed against Hermione's neck. "Or rather, what he would have looked like if he'd have had parents that weren't what they were."
"He's rather handsome, isn't he."
Minerva bristled and Hermione chuckled as she kissed her forehead.
"Not like you, love."
"I -" Minerva blinked as she leaned up on her elbow and stared. "You think me handsome?"
"You are both beautiful and handsome," Hermione blinked. "Ooh, but you, in a dark suit and a crisp white shirt? Open at the top and sleeves? Maybe a pair of braces to set off the colour of your eyes and a black tie undone around your neck?"
Minerva blinked at the vision in Hermione's head and Hermione laughed at the wonder.
"We'll experiment after the war, shall we? I can't see us fighting in Top & Tails."
"What a pair we would be," Minerva snorted as she settled. "We were going to discuss -"
"I know," Hermione sighed as she lay back again. "But I can't be arsed, can you? I think, let's enjoy the happiness and when it starts to rain again, we'll go back to the business of war."
Minerva snorted once more and snuggled into her neck, kissing the skin where her teeth had made a permanent indent. Hermione squeezed her gently, but could do nothing else as she sighed and fell asleep beneath the warm summer sun.
-0-
The sunshine had lulled the majority of them into quiet. Some of the menfolk were snoring away contentedly but Minerva couldn't settle, despite her lover's slumber. She felt the moment Hermione slipped into sleep and sat up once she was sure she was under. She watched Albus conjure a pillow or two for the younger ones and nodded for him to join her away from the majority.
"Come on," she muttered as he joined her. She linked her arm with his and they wandered towards the Castle and into the shade. "You'll burn your nose like you did last time you fell asleep in the sun. Then where will we be."
"Min -"
"Ah," she smiled softly. "I will not hear any of the usual nonsense about how you weren't strong enough or how you couldn't possibly win against whatever power you feel you failed against. Hermione could not fight it without help, Albus, what makes you think you should have been able to?"
He huffed and Transfigured a couple of discarded pebbles into rocking chairs.
"Good lord, I'm getting old," he muttered as he sat in one.
For the first time, Minerva rather thought he looked up and she felt a pang of worry in her gut.
"You are alright, aren't you?"
"I am," he nodded. "Thanks to your mate." Minerva wasn't sure how she felt about the wording, but she didn't mention it. She looked over pointedly at Albus.
"You cannot just leave it at that?"
"She had to bodily remove it from me. Delores had wrapped it around my neck so tightly. I was stupid to allow her to move behind me. And she was stupid to do so. If she had had the forethought to release me into the masses we could be looking at something completely different."
"Then I shall simply be glad that she is an idiot and leave it at that. It is interesting that she did not feel any effects when she wore it?"
"I believe she did. Although we felt something entirely different; whether it was because the Horcrux are sentient, to a point and they know when the wearer or holder wants to destroy it or whether it was because both Hermione and I are superior magic users to her, I do not know. ."
"There is an upside to this?"
"Hmm?"
"The Ministry is now very much openly evil, even The Daily Prophet cannot argue with that. The Aurors are now out in the world, or inside creating amok, we have destroyed a Horcrux and!" she grinned. "We have saved you, so that you and I can continue our chess game when we get a moment."
"How much of that Pepper-Up did she give you." He frowned. "Does it usually work like this?"
"Not for others, no," Minerva chuckled. "Have you never taken one? Anyway, it is an odd thing that my body has always done. It behaves rather like a Cheering charm."
"Interesting."
She did not allow him to distract her from the previous thought.
"This means we can fight, Albus. We can fight in the open. We are better equipped to do so and we can win that battle!"
"Fighting in the open is always far more dangerous than fighting in the shadows, my dear. We have long been hampered by the fact that they will do whatever they need to win and we, along with any decent person, will protect those around us first. They know it and we know it. With all out warfare, I am afraid for those in the world at large."
"Those that live in our world will have to choose a side soon, Albus. They cannot remain on the sidelines anymore. They will choose and we all will suffer the consequences when they do."
"I am concerned we still do not know where he is or what he is planning. While I do not regret freeing Severus from his bond, I -"
"Hermione had already bemoaned not having a spy in their ranks, until I reminded her that she could not have done what you did. She cannot be so unfeeling towards another."
"Not unfeeling," he protested. "Never unfeeling. The greater good needed him to be there and he saw that, in the end."
"I nursed his wounds, Albus," she muttered and tried to let go of the tension creeping in. "I could not have sent him back out there afterwards."
"In part, the reason I do not believe Hermione to be the one that ends this."
"And Harry, you think, has that nouse?"
"No," Albus admitted. "And I admit with Hermione now in a new position, they all seem so young in comparison, but he will be able to end it a different way no doubt. The way that was foretold by others long ago."
She hummed. Minerva didn't need to look up as she felt a hand on the back of her neck trace the tendons down it to her shoulders. The connotations alone made her shiver and she smiled when Hermione perched herself on her knee.
"Good morning," Minerva teased.
"Hmm," Hermione chuckled as she settled into her. "Apparently I do not need that long a nap anymore. Perhaps the fire was invigorating enough."
Minerva shivered at the thought and they turned to look at Albus who was studying a thread on his robes.
"Al?" Hermione said softly. "You aren't to blame for any of this. Not for the Horcrux, not even for Severus."
"I let her- "
"Albus," Hermione groaned. "Stop it. She is evil on her own, her skill was enhanced by the Horcrux and managed to trick you, rather than overcome you. There is nothing for you to feel sorry about. Nothing for you to feel lesser about. You did just fine. And when I tried to talk you down, you paused, because you are a good person. And because you are stronger than it was. You fought and the moments you managed to overcome it, helped me to overcome you. So thank you for fighting it for us."
He glanced at Minerva and Hermione grinned when she looked at him pointedly.
"I did tell you," she simpered.
He chuckled and sat back to rock back and forth.
"This was exactly what we needed, I think. Some relaxation."
"We need to start truly planning," Hermione muttered. "We need to find our own network of people to keep tabs on things out there. We are so far removed from London, we did not even know the Ministry had fallen."
"Bill is too busy to spy for us. Alec, I suppose, although I don't want the wrath of Poppy descended on my head."
"The problem with having family as your comrades is that it is your family."
Albus hummed.
"Now you know why I look as old as I do."
Hermione laughed musically and Minerva pressed her face into her bicep. This day had been more bizarre than most of their days, which was saying rather a lot. She sighed into Hermione's skin and closed her eyes.
"I'm going to invite everyone to stay in the castle tonight," Hermione said as she shifted so she could wrap her arm around Minerva's shoulders and pull her impossibly closer. The day was catching up with her and Minerva did not even argue. "We'll get started on plans tomorrow."
Just a little longer, lover. Stay with me, okay?
Minerva hummed but didn't argue. She had come to the end of her energy and Hermione knew it and took over.
Hermione got up and gently eased her back into the seat. She smiled sleepily and responded to the kiss that she was given and tried to pull Hermione back into her arms.
"In a minute, love," Hermione whispered. "Let me get everyone else sorted and I'll come back and take you to bed." Minerva smiled and as she dozed and heard her lover taking care of Albus before she disappeared back to the picnic area. "Get some sleep, Al. We'll go again tomorrow."
-0-
Their family was slow to wake but Hermione knew it would not be long until dark. While the Scottish summer was lovely, the evenings could be cool and she didn't want them out there unless they chose it. She woke Harry and Ron and Ginny first.
"Hey, nearly dark if you want to go in?"
"How long have I been asleep?" Harry blinked.
"Just a while. Everyone had a good nap after this morning's excitement," she chuckled. "I'm inviting everyone to stay for the night so if you want to go and hide, now is a good time to do that."
"Hey," Ginny grabbed her arm before she left. "Can we hang out soon? I know you're busy saving the world and all, but we miss you."
"I'll find you tomorrow, okay? And we'll get hold of this and make sure we do."
Harry hugged her and she waited for them to make their way into the castle before she woke the others. A few of them grumbled and bade her leave them alone but most of them left for the Chamber. Albus would no doubt open it for them and Hermione was left watching the skies as she wandered back to her love.
"Come on, lover," she whispered as she lifted Minerva into her arms.
She carried her through the castle and thanked Michael as he opened the portrait. He didn't interrupt as she carried her lover into bed and pulled the covers up around her chin. After a long kiss to her forehead, Hermione left her and went to Minerva's desk, figuring she'd start the process of beginning the business of war.
