I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the two main pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them certainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.

Please note that due to the constant technical troubles of the site, the story is now also being published at AO3. The story will update every second Saturday until the year is done.

I'll try to answer all my reviews, since I do like the feedback for improvement. So please tell me your thoughts on the story in reviews. I would appreciate it. The more feedback I get, the more I can improve the story even further.

Please note that this chapter is censored. If you want to read the spicier parts, you find those on AO3.

This story does have a TvTropes page. You can find the link in my bio. Feel free to visit and contribute to it.


Chapter 74: Growing Troubles

Charity Burbage was pleased with her latest class. The students were showing more interest than ever on the non-magical world, which without doubt was due to so many students nowadays hailing from non-magical families. The high interest did allow her to branch out further in her lessons and she had the feeling that her efforts would greatly reduce the number of wizards and witches acting like fools when having to interact with the non-magical side.

Funny, that I'm actively working for the goal that my subject will no longer needed, she thought.

She however knew that it would take many more years before that would be the case - very likely longer than she would hold this position. After all, ignorance would never die out. For now however her classes for the day were over and she instead would have to deal with her paperwork. That also was something that would never die out.

Locking her classroom properly - making sure simple unlocking spells would be of no use - she started her path back to her office.

Several minutes later she was about to reach the stairs she would have to descend when seeing an unusual sight. "Filius, why are you inspecting the stairs?" she asked Flitwick, who was busy with inspecting some of the steps.

"Ah, Charity," Flitwick greeted her. "When I walked up the stairs, I suddenly stumbled out of nowhere and it was only thanks to my small height that I didn't fall."

She then saw the secret signs that Flitwick was giving her and she understood that his story was just a cover and instead this again was a desperate attempt of sabotage by Malfoy and Parkinson. Those stairs were only used by teachers, and at this time of the day she would have been the only one using them. All of a sudden she got a bad feeling.

"That is..." Her reaction was not an act. "Have you found something?"

"Right now..." Flitwick reached into gaps in the walls and pulled out two small items. "There; a nasty little curse that would make you seriously stumble and lose your balance. That, and more... Something which on the stairs very much could be lethal."

Burbage swallowed hard, not used to such murderous intent. "This goes beyond a little prank, doesn't it?"

"Very much so. We need to inform the Headmaster," Flitwick decided.

Some time later, Snape was lecturing Draco and Pansy.

"I'm starting to get tired of always having to clean up the messes you create," he told them, part of his annoyance being very real. "I managed to convince them that this is simply a horribly botched prank and there will be no further investigation."

"We thought it would be foolproof and that the Dark Lord would have loved to see Burbage dead," Draco said, by now looking nervous after this newest failure.

"So you planned for her to fall down the stairs and either die right away or not be found until it is too late?" Snape honestly felt a bit disturbed by now how those two in their growing desperation were hatching one nasty plan after the other. "You forgot an important point: there still would have been evidence pointing in your direction."

"We- we are doing the best we can," Pansy tried to defend both of them.

"Really, that is your best?" Snape ten pulled out a note. "From the Dark Lord to you."

They both read the note and paled at the words written on it. "The Dark Lord wants to meet with us once the school year is over?" Pansy said, gulping hard at the mere idea.

"Indeed, Ms. Parkinson. He is displeased with your lack of progress and your failures. He does have his ways to... motivate you properly."

"He does not have to worry! We- we shall double our efforts!" The way Draco was saying that reeked of desperation.

"I hope so, for your sake. The Dark Lord is not as forgiving as I am," Snape said, before leaving.

"Draco, what are we supposed to do? All our plans up to now ended in failure," Pansy asked her boyfriend, now actually looking afraid.

"We have to do something really big in order to convince the Dark Lord of our worth." The seeing how distraught Pansy was, Draco actually hugged her. "Don't be afraid, we will turn this around."

"I -hic- can't help it," Pansy admitted, feeling ashamed of her growing fear.

Snape meanwhile was shaking his head while walking back into the castle.

The benefits of the current arrangement are starting to be outweighed by the dangers. Those two could become desperate enough to try something truly dangerous we can't foil in time, Snape thought.

To be honest, he was starting to worry for Draco and Pansy and that it perhaps would be more humane to just get over with it and arrest those two. Of course, it had been his own idea to give those two wiggle room and then foil their schemes, but this was becoming downright cruel. Letting them fail on purpose and Voldemort getting ready to give them a terrible punishment indeed actually looked quite sadistic by this point.

Even if it would weaken his own position with Voldemort, he had now to convince Dumbledore to take a different approach to the situation.

o

"Well, Barty, how has the latest operation fared?" Voldemort asked Barty while relaxing in his throne.

"It fared well, my Lord," Barty reported. "The death toll is said to be at least twenty. Granted, they are just Muggles, but with the Dark Mark set above the carnage, it will show the Ministry as weak. Though... it was not as impressive as we had hoped it to be."

Hearing that, Voldemort frowned. "Really? Tell me more, Barty."

"There was outside interference and the third stage did not ignite, otherwise the carnage would have been way greater," Barty reported.

"Outside interference you say? Looks like Dumbledore's order is proving to be more of a danger than first anticipated," Voldemort thought aloud.

"Looks like it, my Lord. That most certainly was not the Ministry, since our insiders would have told us if that had been the case." Barty then looked thoughtful. "It takes considerable skill to disarm the third stage. Our enemies are no pushovers."

"Indeed, indeed, Barty. As useful as Severus is, he admits that even he does not have Dumbledore's full confidence. The old goat is planning things that he is not telling Severus. Sad fact, but nothing we can change at the moment," Voldemort summarized calmly while giving some attention to Nagini.

"Yes, he..." Barty stopped when the door opened.

There were very few people who were allowed to enter like that, and Bellatrix was one of them. Bellatrix had changed in appearance over the past months, her pregnancy now being quite visible on the outside as well. Her usually dangerous body language was compromised by her current looks, a fact she was resenting.

Barty understood right away. "My Lord I do take my leave for the moment."

Voldemort waved him off and Barty left quickly, his survival instincts telling him to not be in Bellatrix' presence, since one wrong word could set her off. Others might see him as a coward to run away from a pregnant woman, but this was Bellatrix, so better safe than sorry.

Voldemort on the other hand looked more amused than anything. "Bella, there is something like intimidating the troops too much."

"I beg your pardon, my Lord. As much as it is a great honor to carry your offspring to term, I could very much live without the effects pregnancy has on me," Bellatrix apologized, her expression shifting to something way less hostile. She had been kept away from anyone not in the inner circle, so that her pregnancy would stay a secret.

"I would envy her for that," Nagini hissed.

"My dear Nagini, jealously could be seen eighth cardinal sin," Voldemort reminded her, then turned his attention back to Bellatrix. "Since you are here, you must have already heard of the latest failure at Hogwarts."

"I do have," Bellatrix said. "If not for the fact that their failures were a given right from the start, I would be annoyed."

"Hmm, yes. I case that would have been a real assignment, I would have let my displeasure known long ago. Of course, they don't know that and I do get a certain kind of satisfaction from knowing how desperate they must be by now." Voldemort looked amused by that fact.

The whole thing was again proof of the sheer depths of Voldemort's sheer cruelty. Giving Draco and Pansy a pointless task and then being amused at how those two had to feel true terror by now when fearing the punishment for their failures. Only someone completely devoid of empathy could find something like that amusing.

"Though they have proven to not be complete dolts. Their saving grace is them relaying a certain information about Potter's relatives to me, so that the entire world could learn of it," Voldemort mused.

"You meant that cousin of his, don't you, my Lord?" Bellatrix asked.

"Indeed. In retrospect it was a bit hasty of me not to dig deeper, but thankfully, that error has been rectified. That new information will be useful, once the correct time has come. Little Draco and Pansy thus have proven they can have a future," Voldemort explained to Bellatrix.

"Yes, but apart from that, they have contributed little," Bellatrix snorted.

"Not entirely, since I also have been thinking about the endgame," Voldemort then said.

"In which way, my Lord?" Bellatrix looked eager to hear the answer.

Voldemort looked pleased with how eager Bellatrix was to hang on each single of his words. "We connect the useful with their otherwise pointless task. The actual objective behind this whole farce is already more than fulfilled, thus we should use what we have to initiate the actual endgame once the time has come."

Bellatrix listened to his explanation of his plan and she couldn't help but to again admire his diabolical mind.


...February 11th, Creatures class...

Creatures class was many things, but boring was not one of them. Instead, they were now getting creatures that either were difficult to tend to, were problematic, or outright dangerous. Hagrid for his part seemed to enjoy that, which was no wonder considering his love for more dangerous creatures. Though by now it was evident that something laid like lead on his mood.

The Six knew it was because of Aragog. Hagrid had told them how his friend's health had worsened, with Argog himself guessing he only had a few months more to live. This only was made worse by how infrequently he could visit him due to the danger that now was lurking in the forest due to the centaur schism. That and the very likely possibility of a colony of huge spiders running amok were causing Hagrid's stress levels to rise.

Thus Hagrid was not exactly at his best game during their current lesson. At least the animal in their current lesson seemed well-suited for the current cold weather and snow, having thick fur and all of that.

"This really is taking a lot out of him," Neville whispered when seeing Hagrid look to the forest.

"We might find it a bit weird that he is friends with a huge spider, but Aragog still is his friend. Him being forced to watch his friend slowly dying of course is depressing him," Hermione reminded him.

"Please give me your attention when I'm explaining things!" Hagrid right then called and several students couldn't help but laugh that Hermione Granger of all people was caught slacking in class.

"Thank you." Hagrid didn't like raising his voice, but Professor Kettleburn had impressed on him how important it is to not let students do their own thing. "Now, as I said about this critter, it's perfectly adapted to the currently cold and snowy weather..."

They were listening for some time longer to Hagrid's explanations, until he suddenly stopped, then took out his wand. They all wondered what that could be about, especially when seeing Fang become nervous. They then saw it - a big number of someones emerging from the forest - centaurs to be exact. It was also that moment when some of the students screamed in fear when seeing a significant amount of blood on said centaurs.

"How did that happen?!" Luna had always felt a bit drawn to these creatures, so the sight of them being bloody and clearly injured was highly disturbing for her.

"No idea, but... aren't centaurs highly isolationist? Why are they here in such numbers?" Ginny wondered. She then recognized one of them. "Hey, isn't that Firenze?"

Harry, who'd had more dealings with said centaur, nodded. "That's him, and the one next to him is Celestra. I told you of her. However, they both look like they are in serious pain. You think the hostilities...?"

Hagrid for his part looked very disturbed while running to the group of centaurs that were emerging from the forest. The whole group looked as if someone had broken a representative chunk out of the herd. Men, women, young, old... Indeed, the number of younglings - and disturbingly some of them being hurt as well - made him fear for the worst.

"Frienze...? Good Lord, what happened?" Hagrid called, taken aback by the sheer number of injuries he was seeing.

"Hagrid..." Firenze spat out some blood before he was able to continue. "It is not the way of our people... But what does that mean now? ... We need help."

That request set in motion the further events of the day which pretty much ended any semblance of normality.

Over an hour later, what looked like a refugee camp had sprung up next to the Quidditch pitch, the snow having been evaporated and spells having been placed to warm up the area. It was not that anyone could prepare for the arrival of over a hundred centaurs, many of which were quite injured. It did create the problem of finding people how could treat centaurs - since their own healer was in no shape to help out.

Thus the whole thing had to become official and the faculty in the end did manage to find several people who were capable of treating centaurs, giving the entire camp the feel of a huge field hospital. That however left the question what was going on, and the answers would soon come.

"I feel kind of flattered that Madam Bones sent me, despite this not being in my area of expertise, to learn what is going on," Arthur remarked, feeling a bit awkward about this work outside of his area of competence.

"Sadly a sign of how thin the Ministry is stretched, but also proof of how highly she thinks of you," Dumbledore remarked, then looked to where Firenze and Celestra sat, their wounds right at the moment being treated. "Though it is a bit surprising that you insisted on them being present as well."

The Six were there as well, both centaurs having insisted that they had to be present, saying that what they were about to hear would be an important lesson to them. The explanation was a bit cryptic, but then again centaurs at times liked to be cryptic, thus trying to question them on the motive was deemed as pointless.

"The stars tell us many things..." Celestra said, then winced when several deep scratches on her flank were being cleaned. "It finally became clear... It's the six of them who a crucial in the conflict. Yes... they already have played a vital role in the solution of the conflict, though there still is quite a distance to go."

They knew what that was about. Without Harry, they never would have learned about the ring now being on Voldemort's finger. Without Hermione they never would have learned of the Room of Hidden Items. And without Luna they never would have actually paid attention to the diadem. Not to speak of all the other contributions like Ron saving them from Umbridge with his quick thinking.

"This is very fascinating, but about how important are we talking about?" Luna asked, barely holding down her questions about centaur divination.

"Very important. Without all six of you, this conflict will not end and start anew... Again and again..." Celestra warned them.

They knew that it had to play at Voldemort's immortality. Even if he lost, he just could flee and return years later to attempt it again. "We kind of understand what you are talking about," Harry confirmed and Celestra gave him a nod, showing she knew more than she had said.

"I never liked that our children have to set right what we adults have been incapable of doing." Arthur didn't like that the Six would need to be part of the conflict.

"I know, it is a depressing reality, but fate does not care about such things, as hard as it sounds," Celestra told him.

"Do you think we also will be important for whatever is going on in the forest?" Ginny asked.

"Sadly, that is not the case..." Firenze said with a wince, since he was suffering from several serious injuries. "The sitation with the herd is not something you can solve. There is no easy solution. There never is."

"Looking at all of you... What happened?" Hagrid finally asked, still shocked at seeing them in such terrible condition.

"The stars told us that our help will be crucial in an upcoming event. That we will be needed to help those that reside in this very castle, or darkness would fall. Those opposing us in the herd saw that as a final betrayal, as it goes against our rule of staying out of the affairs of humans. While there had been bloody violence before, they now declared everyone who agreed with what the stars were telling us in that case as heretics," Celestra explained.

"Kind of rich... They surrender themselves to the whims of the stars freely, unless it's something they don't like," Hagrid grumbled

"We are well aware of the hypocrisy." Firenze looked tired. "It does not change the fact that they declared a full third of the herd as free to be killed without repercussions. Young and old, male and female, anyone they deemed to not be with them they also deemed unworthy of life."

"How horrible..." Hermione honestly didn't want to imagine the details.

"I can see you looking guilty, Hagrid," Celestra commented. "Don't be. While your brother and Aragog have been a point of friction, it was only a welcome pretext to deepen the divide in our herd. The reasons run much deeper and root in a refusal of those that oppose us to accept change."

"Where have I heard that one before...?" Harry thought aloud, realizing the parallels with the situation in Magical Britain.

"It is a true revelation once you realize the similarities with the troubles that you are facing." Firenze for his part looked resigned at the revelation, that for all their bluster the centaurs in the end had not acted much different from wizards.

"I assume correctly that you wish to stay near the castle?" Dumbledore asked, though it seemed he already knew the answer.

"We have little other choice," Celestra told him. "Returning to the forest would be a death sentence. We also have to think of the young and the old and their well-being. Hagrid... I hope your brother stays out of the forest."

"Hasn't been in it for some time. I impressed in him that it's too dangerous," Hagrid confirmed, knowing that while Grawp was very capable of defending himself, there was no need to make a bad situation worse.

"There also is the situation with Aragog. We know he's dying and we know that it's futile to stop you from being there for his final moments, despite how dangerous the forest now is. However, the centaurs in the forest are itching for a fight with the spiders, seeing them as a blight that Hagrid planted in the forest, and once Aragog has passed and his children go wild..." Firenze didn't continue.

"But... Do you think they can actually win such a battle? I mean, those spiders are supposed to be really big," Neville worried.

Now Celestra looked depressed. "They will annihilate each other. Once that has happened, there is nothing left for us to return to."

The way she spoke those words, everyone knew that that outcome was a depressing certainty.


...Ministry of Magic, February 16th...

The atmosphere in a meeting room inside the Ministry of Magic was a strange one. After all, the collection of people invited by Amelia Bones couldn't be more diverse. However, they all held two things in common: they were powerful in some way and they without a doubt were opposed to Lord Voldemort.

Besides Madam Bones herself, only a few high members of the Ministry were being present, as if it was a problem the find trustworthy people. Of them, Rufus Scrimgeour was the most senior and held the most important position. Other important people included Dumbledore - as Headmaster of Hogwarts and Chief Warlock - important political people like Sirius, Frank and Augusta Longbottom as well as some other people who were important.

"Madam Bones had been really secretive about whatever she is going to reveal to us," Frank said while they waited for the Minister to appear.

"Her being secretive rarely means good things." Augusta Longbottom had lived through some seriously dangerous times during her life, but even she felt nervous.

"Albus, you think...?" Sirius asked Dumbledore.

"It could very well be," Dumbledore answered.

They were talking about the fact that the Order of the Phoenix, besides their own activities in the battle against the Death Eaters, was monitoring the situation within the Ministry. The depressing truth was, that the Ministry was becoming more ineffective by each week and it despite the hard work of people like Madam Bones it only would be a matter of time before the Ministry would either collapse utterly or fall into Voldemort's hands. Question was, if Madam Bones was about to admit that in this small round.

Right then the door opened and Bones entered. Everyone could see her left hand, the missing finger being proof that she knew perfectly fine how dangerous the enemy was.

"Everyone is present... good." Bones then addressed the room. "This meeting is classified top secret. Should any information leak out, it's seen as high treason:" That she started with that was proof how serious the information was, which she would reveal.

"For some of you what I am about to reveal will come as a shock, but I think most of you already had an idea about it." She then paused for a moment. "I have ordered this meeting because the question no longer is if, but when the Ministry will collapse."

There was some silence, before someone asked the obvious question. "Minister, does that mean the war already is lost?"

"No, but it does make things very difficult." She then looked to Scrimgeour, who took over.

"As much as we don't want to sound defeatist, after almost ten months of trying to improve the Ministry, we regretfully have come to the conclusion, that the damage is too great. To our shame we discovered that the Ministry had already been on a downwards slope starting with the last war, though we didn't want to see the early signs at the time," Scrimgeour said.

The grim faces he saw made it clear everyone understood the implications of that. "However, when Fudge was elected into office, the damage accelerated at an increasing pace. Thanks to him being little more than an unwitting puppet of Lucius Malfoy, in mere six years the Ministry was almost entirely hollowed out."

"How do you define 'hollowed out'?" Frank asked, though he already knew the answer.

"We all know that the Death Eaters have many followers in the Ministry that we are unable to discover and who actively work against us. However, the problem goes much deeper than that. Many departments are barely functional now, since many people have been laid off under reasons of 'saving money', while other people got replaced without fail with those believing magical supremacism. The finances of the Ministry are disastrous, since a lot of money has simply vanished - mostly likely pocketed and now being used against us. That's not to speak that people have mostly lost faith in the Ministry after all the horrendous errors that were made."

His analysis was grim and drove home that there was no way to fix the problem.

Sirius had listened to all of this in silence, but now asked "When do you think the Ministry will no longer be able to stop Voldemort from picking it like a ripe fruit?"

Madam Bones sighed. "Our estimates say, close to the end of the year. No way we'll hold out any longer than that."

"But then, what can be done? What are we here for?" someone asked.

Dumbledore and Sirius again shared a look and Sirius nodded.

"We have to prepare for that day; already create structures which will take over the war effort once the Ministry has collapsed. Prepare structures for a future form of government... after Voldemort," Dumbledore explained calmly. "The vast majority of people will refuse Voldemort if he takes over the Ministry, since legitimacy can only come from the people recognizing the system as such. He will never gain that."

Sirius of course was informing Dumbledore of his own activities with his allies to prepare for Day X, and that they pretty much had come to the same conclusions as Bones and Scrimgeour. In a way it was funny that they - Sirius allies and the Order - were already laying the groundwork for what Dumbledore had just suggested, thus the work was already well in progress.

Of course they couldn't say that for the time being.

"I have to remind you, Dumbledore, that many powerful enchantments are bound to the Ministry. Therefore, him taking hold of it will be a severe blow to us," Augusta Longbottom reminded Dumbledore.

"We actually do have a plan concerning that as well. It is a radical plan, thus you understand that we keep that restricted to ourselves," Madam Bones said.

A radical plan... Oh, I have an idea what she means. Amelia, that would send shockwaves through the entire world, Dumbledore thought, now realizing how bad things truly were.

"I can only say it's a bitter irony that we, who have vowed to serve the Ministry, will also have to preside over its demise," Scrimgeour said, sounding more resigned than anything.

That caused some discussion.

"Albus, you know what they are talking about, don't you?" Sirius whispered to Dumbledore.

"I do. That they even entertain that idea, let alone are down and ready to use it, shows how desperate the situation has become," Dumbeldore said gravely. "I will tell you later what I think they plan to do."

"I won't like what I am going to hear, do I?" Sirius of course already knew the answer.

"Let's put it this way; the governments of the United Kingdom and of Ireland both will find themselves to be very busy," Dumbeldore said, his words being dead-serious.

That moment Bones did manage to get the attention back and the meeting continued.


...February 21st, Hogwarts...

"I honestly wonder why that seventh-year student gave us such odd looks. After all, it's not strange that students from completely different Houses can be friends," Marvin wondered while they walked down the corridors of Hogwarts.

"She is from a different time," Magdalena said while fiddling around with a hair tie. "I was told until some years ago, it was seen as strange - especially for Slytherins."

"I believe that. Some of the stuff Harry told me about his own first year sounds so strange compared to what we experience," Mark added, honestly feeling the disconnect. "Though, according to Harry students had been far less united when he started."

Marvin shook his head. "Now, that sounds weird to me."

It was a very innocent scene; three first-year students walking through the corridors of Hogwarts, talking and joking like the woes of the outside world were far away. All three of them by this point had fully intgrated themselves into school life; though they knew that as first-years they were at the bottom of the totem pole. After all, eleven and twelve-year old children were not taken seriously by the older teenagers. That was a matter of fact at all schools.

It was weekend and the corridors were mostly deserted - students either hanging out inside their dorms or visiting one of the rooms in the castle that were intended for student use during their leisure time. They themselves had just come from the library, reading up about a potion that Professor Slughorn wanted to check their knowledge on next week.

"I honestly thought Harry would be more of a mother hen, but holding back a lot," Mark mused, still relieved that Harry was not being overprotective. Having an older brother did have its disadvantages.

Honestly, both his relatives - Harry and Dudley - were still feeling the effects of their relation being revealed, though at least things had become somewhat better. Mark had found it weird that nothing like that had happened with him, despite him making no secret he thought of Harry as his brother in anything but blood. Still, after what happened, Harry and him had become more careful about mentioning their relation.

"Perhaps it's because he's busy..." Magdalena's expression then turned into a sight grimace. "...with his girlfriend."

"Yuck..." Marvin said, sounding eager to not dwell any further on that topic.

Mark for his part rolled his eyes. "Oh man... Don't tell me you're still jealous of Ginny."

Magdalena blushed a little. "It's one thing to have your childish crush popped like a soap bubble, but it's something different to witness them being so open about their relationship, getting constant reminders how dumb that fantasy of mine had been."

"You totally are jealous. While I for my part don't understand what's so great about that..." Mark thought aloud.

Marvin gave Magdalena an interesting look. "I don't get it, either, why that is supposed to be so important. Just remember the trouble Romilda Vane got into because of it."

"I'm nothing like that slag!" Magdalena defended herself.

The incident Marvin was playing at had happened during Valentine's Day last week.

Essentially, Romilda Vane had somehow managed to smuggle a love potion into the castle - an embarrassing security gap Moody was still angry about - and had doused some chocolates with it to give them to a boy. No one knew what exactly had happened that those chocolates ended up in the hands of a girl.

Now, while normally a love potion that was supposed to make the target love a specific girl didn't work on another girl, on her it did, causing a nasty scene in the great hall. Essentially, the love-crazed girl had jumped Vane and started to tear off her clothes to have lesbian sex right there in the great hall. Thankfully, she was pulled off just before Vane was about to being down to her underwear.

Once the poor girl was released from the influence she had burst into tears. While stereotypically it was supposed to be a relief to know what your sexual orientation is, to her it was not. What her body chemistry was telling her was one thing, while in her head she still wanted to have a normal family and was devastated by those news.

The poor girl was still getting special care and reassurance that despite those news she still could fulfill her dream, while Vane was in serious trouble for her stunt. She got a whole month under the close eye of Filch and her parents had been very angry with her as well.

"Of course not. What she did was downright criminal," Mark reassured her.

Magdalena still looked a bit upset. "Good, since I would never resort to such a cheap trick..."

They walked around a corner and stopped. There stood a male upper-year student who was about to throw on a weird-looking cloak that reminded Mark of a cloak that he had seen in Harry's possession. The student in question seemed stunned for a moment at them seeing him.

"Hey what are...?" Mark wanted to ask, but suddenly the student closed the cloak and vanished from sight, followed the the sound of someone running away. "Hey, stop!"

However, whoever that student was didn't stop and soon enough the sound vanished as well.

"Who the hell was that? Even I know that students can't just go invisible on a whim," Marvin worried, not wanting some kind of insanity enter the school.

Mark for his part didn't like whatever was going on at all. "Let's go to a teacher. We are over our heads with this."

Twenty minutes later Snape and Dumbledore were carefully checking the corridor.

"Considering that they saw a male upper-year student who is not Harry, there is only one suspect," Dumbledore commented while they were checking the area for any clues.

"Yes, very sloppy of him." Snape was not impressed at Draco's skill - or lack thereof. "Why here however? There isn't much in this part of the castle, except for..." Snape then did remember something Dumbledore had told him.

Dumbledore looked to where the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy foolishly trying to teach trolls ballet was hanging on one of the walls. "Yes, the Room of Requirement is close by. However, even considering that he probably is using the room, it does not answer where he is getting the items from. What the room creates can not leave the room, after all."

"Yes, especially since those dolts admitted they got the items from Borgin & Burkes. They are possibly hiding the items in the room, but it does not answer the question how they are smuggling them into the castle in the first place. As impressive as the room is, it can't create a living owl, nor a connected fireplace." Snape then stopped. "Ah yes, look at this."

Snape picked up something from the floor and showed it to Dumbledore. It was a scrap of cloth that seemed to have been torn off from something. Dumbledore took a closer look. "This clearly is from an invisibility cloak."

Snape quickly pocketed the scrap. "Excuse me, but I need to give a reminder what subtle means."

After Snape was gone, Dumbledore tried multiple times to make the room appear, in which the items in question had to be stored, but the room seemed to be confused at his request, and he instead only got an empty room multiple times.

Interesting... It appears they were smart enough to put the room behind a precise room request. Like a combination lock to which we don't know the combination, Dumbledore realized the problem.

That of course meant the room for the time being was a dead end in the investigation.

Several minutes later Snape entered the guest building, where Moody was already waiting.

"That little scum in training honestly seemed to have forgotten that I can see through invisibility cloaks when he ran by," Moody said with a snort, not being impressed at all with Draco.

That was one point where Snape was of the same opinion as Moody. "It looks like I was seriously overestimating their abilities; they are more clumsy than anticipated."

"But still good enough to keep secrets from us." Moody was not happy about that fact.

Several minutes later, after Snape had given Draco and Pansy a piece of his mind, both teenagers in question were in a discussion.

"Crap, I had no idea that Snape did know about that room," Draco admitted to Pansy, looking quite a bit panicked that Snape had been close to finding out how they were getting their things into the castle undetected.

"At least he still doesn't know how we are doing it, but that was a nasty surprise." Pansy then gulped hard. "Even worse, we were forced to admit that the Dark Lord told us about that room that can adapt to our needs. Without it, we would have been screwed. How do you think the Dark Lord will take it once Snape reports to him?"

"Oh shit, I didn't even think about that!" Draco admitted, causing Pansy to pale further.

Thing was, Voldemort indeed had told them about that room, saying that knowing about it was very important. The Dark Lord had entrusted them with that secret, and now to hear that Snape had already known about the room for some time - though thankfully not what they were doing with it - was a huge gut punch.

"We can only hope Snape admits that only he already knew about the room instead of all teachers. He can hardly keep you alive if the Dark Lord gets angry at you." Pansy then faced Draco. "Draco, what do we do now?"

If he were honest, Draco had no idea. "Maybe... Maybe we need to pull something really big?"

"Draco, I'm scared the Dark Lord will punish us harshly!" Pansy wailed, before hugging Draco.

Draco understood her all too well, since he also by this point had realized that as soon as school was over, the Dark Lord for sure would punish them harshly for the repeated failures. If he were to be honest, his knees were shaking when imagining what the Dark Lord could do to them to get that lesson across.


...February 25th...

"...and this does conclude my lesson on the stars for today," Celestra said to her audience.

"I thank you very much, Celestra, that you offered to supplement my lessons," Trelawney told the centaur while her students gathered their things to put them away into their bags.

"No thanks are needed. It should be a given that since we are living on the school grounds, we also should contribute. Your students are most eager to listen to my words, too," Celestra replied, actually sounding flattered. "This is a refreshing change from our own younglings, who, possibly due to the omnipresence of the stars in our culture, are not nearly as eager to listen."

That was one of the changes the school had gone through ever since the centaur group had set up camp after being forced out of the forest.

Many of them honestly needed something to do. While the elderly were content with tending to the camp and the younglings - to the dismay of a number of their parents - liked to mingle with the students, many of the adults needed some kind of occupation, now that their traditional style of life was made impossible. They did find occupations soon enough, however.

A number of them had taken to guarding the border of the school grounds, especially to the forest, while several others found a liking to helping out Hagrid with his class or the animals in general. Hagrid had welcomed this, though he had implored on his students to respect the personhood of the centaurs and never ever call them horses, as that was a very serious insult to them.

That also was how Celestra had found herself supplementing Trelawney's lessons by teaching what she could - since some of it was purely instinctual - about the divination of the centaurs, which was connected to the stars. Thankfully, she did not have to climb any stairs - which would have been very difficult for her - as those lessons took place in a ground floor room.

"But may I ask, have any prophecies come to you recently?" Celestra asked.

"None, though a lack of prophecies can be a sign in itself," Trelawney said, touching her recording necklace.

"Excuse me, Professor?"

They did see Luna approach. "Ah, young one, I have to compliment you on your open mind to new ideas," Celestra told Luna.

"I always strive to never be narrow-minded." A small blush betrayed that Luna liked this praise. She then looked to Trelawney. "Professor, I do have a question. Has there ever been a case where a seer that made a prophecy which reacted to the fact that an earlier prophecy made by the same seer is no longer valid?"

Trelawney knew what Luna was playing at, but kept her composure. "Surprisingly, no. As interesting as the idea is, when a prophecy has become invalid, that's generally it. There are no corrective prophecies."

"Oh, too bad. That would have been interesting." Luna looked a bit disappointed.

"The stars on the other hand are not as rigid. They can change their position and brightness, though the fact that the future is not an absolute was lost on our culture, which instead developed a strong fatalism connected to the stars," Celestra added.

"Yes, thinking yourself to be a slave to destiny does take away free will," Luna agreed, not liking the final consequence of such thinking.

Luna left the classroom shortly later, only to see Neville waiting for her. Since the room for Muggle Studies was in a different pat of the castle, he must have hurried to arrive in time.

"You have been waiting for me? This... is very thoughtful of you." Luna lost the fight and a small blush crept onto her face. If she were to be honest, she was doing this a lot in recent months in his presence.

"Have I told you how cute you look when you blush?" Neville asked her, causing her blush to get stronger.

"You are doing that on purpose," Luna accused her boyfriend, though there was no heat behind it.

"Perhaps I do..." Neville then offered his arm and together they started the path back to Gryffindor tower. "You know, I never understood what you find so fascinating about Divination."

Luna gave him a questioning look. "I honestly don't understand, since you know how useful knowing the future could be."

"That may be, but I think it's not such a great thing. The centaurs became outright fatalistic about it for one thing. Also, when has a prophecy made anyone happier? Just look at Harry. Voldemort taking the prophecy dead serious has cost him a lot," Neville explained his point to his girlfriend.

That was a harsh reminder to Luna. "I have to admit, that in the wrong circumstances such knowledge can cause a ot of damage. But also think about ourselves. There were not only bad things due to it."

Neville understood. Without the prophecy, we probably never would have made the bond and Luna would not have been in the same year as me at Hogwarts.

Neville shook his head. "I think all of this is a little too heavy..."

Seeing that he needed something positive, Luna made a snap decision. "I know something that will manage to raise your mood. I have heard that prolonged lip contact is very helpful."

Neville needed a second, before he understood and by that point Luna had already pulled him into an unseen corner. What followed took several minutes and didn't stay at just lip contact but also involved tongue contact and their hands exploring. Luna clearly was the bolder of the two, which was very fitting to her more direct personality.

After several minutes both of them again were walking to Gryffindor tower, but closer to each other than before. Luna's hair was in serious need of a hairbrush and both of them sported blushes of excitement. Everyone past a certain age would have no problem to see that they just had had a great make-out session.


...March 1st, in Hogwarts...

It was a really weird coincidence that Ron's birthday was falling onto the same day as a Hogsmeade visit. He had found a pile of presents in the morning, including a parcel from his father. In the letter coming with it Mr. Weasley spoke of how Ron had grown into a man and then as per family custom he would get his own pocket watch to signify that important moment. Ron would later swear he had no shed some tears of joy while holding said watch.

However, the celebration - after all, Hermione got one as well for her becoming officially an adult in the magical world - would have to wait until the evening, after everyone was back from Hogsmeade. That was good, since one gift was still missing. Hermione had made quite a secret of it, only saying that he should come to the Room of Requirement after everyone else had left for Hogsmeade.

That exactly was what Ron was doing right at the moment.

Hermione was quite secretive, and then there also were the looks the others were giving me. And why was Ginny blushing before looking away? he wondered while walking through the empty corridors.

Feeling his new watch in his pocket - safely secured with a chain so that he wouldn't lose it - Ron again tried to grasp that he now officially was an adult and many restrictions on him were gone. It honestly still felt a bit unreal, like he had never thought he would reach this point.

Right at that moment, he had reached the Room of Requirement and saw that the door actually was visible, meaning Hermione had made the request that he had to enter before it would vanish. Well, she is putting in a lot of effort, so it has to be a really good gift.

Walking in, he closed the door and was greeted with a curtain. Feeling that perhaps Hermione was being a bit too secretive, he walked through it and then stopped when seeing that he had arrived in a cozy bedroom, illuminated by many candles. The biggest feature in the room of course was the big bed and sitting on it was Hermione, who for some reason was wearing a bathing robe.

Seeing that, Ron all of a sudden, had a very good idea where this could be going.

"Ah, Ron, there you are," Hermione said with a smile while getting up, though Ron could detect that she was a tiny bit nervous.

"Ah, Hermione... The whole setup, does that mean...?" Ron didn't want to spell it out.

Hermione knew what he meant. "It is exactly what you imagine it to be. I thought long and hard what to give you for this special birthday, until I kicked myself in the butt when it came to me. I want to give you the best gift for it: myself."

While part of Ron suddenly became very impatient and wanted to proceed fast, his respect for Hermione won out. "Are you... are you sure you feel ready for...?"

Hermione was touched how Ron was putting her first. "Yes, I most certainly feel ready, though I of course admit that I feel a little nervous. I guess that's only natural."

Relieved to hear that, Ron became a little nervous himself. "I have to admit, recently I was thinking about it very often..."

Hermione didn't take it the wrong way and giggled nervously. "And you think I didn't? If anything, I felt like a pressure cooker ready to explode, but I wanted to wait so I could give you your gift."

"You... had take care of yourself a lot?" Ron felt a little weird for asking Hermione if she had masturbated a lot.

Hermione gave him a slightly guilty smile. "A girl has to take care of her needs when it becomes too much." She then added with a giggle "After all, I don't doubt you've been doing the same."

Then Hermione took all of her courage, untied the belt and in one move allowed the robe to slip from her shoulders, causing it to pool around her feet. Hermione now stood before Ron in her birthday suit - strangely fitting for this day - wearing nothing but a cute blush and a slightly nervous smile. This was completely new to her and this was not something you could learn like many other things.

Ron took in the naked Hermione, working hard that he wouldn't look like an idiot. "Wow..."

Ron knew that Hermione was not one of those girls who were obsessed with their looks, and that also reflected in her naked body. While she was taking care of herself, she was not obsessing with trying to remove every small blemish. However, to Ron such a natural look only made her more desirable. He also could see the faint stretch marks on the sides of her hips - silent witness of her growth spurts.

Yes, Hermione was not a supermodel, but to Ron that was a plus. He took in her breasts - not overly big like in those porn magazines that were making the round in the upper years, but instead exactly the right size for two full hands. Hermione also seemed to be excited, her dark pink nipples being hard and erect. Ron also looked lower and saw that Hermione's hair was not only wild on her head, the brown bush between her legs being big and dense, but still well-groomed.

Hermione noticed him looking. "Oh... I trim it regularly, but it grows so fast and while my legs are fair game I'm way too scared to let a razor close to my..."

"Shhh, I like it," Ron said and Hermione gave him a confused look. "It's just as bushy as the hair on your head... It's so... you."

Kind of funny that I'm standing naked before Ron, and he's complimenting my pubic hair, Hermione thought. Then she asked "You like what you see?"

"Very much so. I don't get why some blokes want supermodels when you look so much better than those. So much more natural," Ron said.

"Oh... That's really nice..." Hermione felt she would combust if Ron flattered her even more than he had already done. "Though, right now you look a bit overdressed, don't you think so?"

Ron then remembered that Hermione was the only one being naked. "Oh... yes..."

Now Ron actually felt a little hesistant, feeling a bit unsure if Hermione would like what she'd see. However, there was no way he would chicken out now, so he started to undress, even if it took a bit longer than it should have. Not that Hermione minded, since to her it amounted to drawn-out striptease that actually made her mouth - and a different body part - water.

If I chicken out now, I can never look her into the face again, Ron reminded him, before getting rid of his briefs, now standing naked before Hermione as well.

"Oh my..." Hermione said with a small gasp when seeing that Ron had to be really excited to see her, considering how one certain part of him was standing at attention.

"Ehm, is that a good 'oh my'?" Ron asked, sounding a little insecure.

"A good one... A really good one," Hermione said, before finally managing to ply her eyes away from Ron's hard rod and inspect the rest.

She knew that Ron needed to buff up for playing Quidditch - especially for being keeper and having to endure high-speed quaffles being thrown at him - but seeing it so directly put things into perspective. His abs looked like she could grind food on it without trouble. While she probably would never see Quidditch as anything beyond an occasional leisure attendance, she couldn't deny the change it caused in Ron.

"Hermione?" Ron asked when seeing her lick her lips.

That shook her out of it. "Now I know for sure that all your physical training for Quidditch did pay off." She then didn't hesitate to step forward and kiss Ron.

What followed then was mostly on instinct.

(This spicy part is only found on AO3, read there for the full scene)

Meanwhile outside of the Room of Requirement, someone else was way less happy.

"Why is that damn door not appearing?!" Pansy cursed, having failed yet again to make the door appear. "Is that damn Snape in there?"

Regardless what was going on, it meant that she couldn't enter and thus be unable to use to narrow time window while most of the students were in Hogsmeade. She knew that this would be costing them precious time for their preparations, but she no longer could wait and had to get back before her absence would be noticed.

Strange, the room never failed to open up to us before, Pansy thought while making her way back under her invisibility cloak.

About three hours later, Ron and Hermione finally emerged from the room.

Both of them were freshly showered in order to wash off the smell of their intimate activities - Hermione had thought about having a complete bathroom be included in the room - and while looking exhausted, it was pretty obvious something between them had changed a lot. Essentially, no one would now miss what was going on between them.

"I admit I was a bit scared of giving in to my primitive instincts like that," Hermione admitted.

"I think we still were pretty much in control, considering how careful we both were, so no false shame please," Ron reminded her. "You really gave me the best birthday present imaginable, though I think it was a gift for yourself as well."

Hermione blushed when remembering she most certainly had enjoyed it a lot. "I can't deny it was... But the part that truly embarrasses me is how much I want us to do that again and again."

"Shows that girls very much can find a big liking to it as well." Then taking some pity on her, Ron held her close. "There is nothing wrong with that. I think it's a great way for diligent and studious Hermione to vent."

She knew he also liked the idea of her being willing more often than other girls would be when it came to sex, but she forbade herself any form of criticism, since that would only make her look like a hypocrite.


...at the same time in Hogsmeade...

While Ron and Hermione were exploring each other intimately, the students of Hogwarts were enjoying their stay at Hogsmeade. Considering that due to security they usually were restricted to the castle grounds, being able to enter Hogsmeade - even if it was under enhanced security - was a big relief for many of them. It also was a source of frustration for the students in first and second year, who couldn't go due to the age restriction.

Compared to recent weeks, the weather had become a bit milder, no more snow being added to what was already there. Some were predicting that the spring would be unusually warm, but even in magical society predicting the weather past a certain time frame was pure speculation. After all, even magic could not predict the chaotic patterns of Earth's atmosphere.

Students were being busy with enjoying themselves, finding refuge not only from the stress of school work, but also the depressing news from the outside world, in which the war was not going well for the Ministry. Several students having left by that point due to either their parents pulling them out or an attack on their families was a harsh reminder of the realities. Thus the felt need for a distraction.

Hogsmeade day also was used by couples for going on dates of course.

Woe those couples who decided to use Madam Puddifoot's for their date, since the tacky decor and atmosphere had become infamous and the place got a reputation for being more likely to break couples apart. The owner of the tea shop of course worked hard against such a reputation, but her refusal to change the inside of her shop doomed those attempts to failure.

The Three Broomsticks was filled to the brim with students, not a single seat being left free. The atmosphere was warm and filled with the smell of butterbeer and various foods. Not to speak the smell of so many people in such a small, enclosed space.

All that however did not bother Dudley and Millicent. They had booked a small private niche well in advance and the curtain that separated it from the rest of the room was enchanted to keep all the noise out - as well as secure their privacy. After all the annoyance with his relation to Harry being revealed - and thankully the whole thing was finally dying down in the school - Dudley very much valued his privacy.

Dudley knew it was not ideal, but the best he was able to get. "I know it's not like one of those romantic dinners you probably have read about..."

"Oh no, don't say that! It's not like we have much of a choice and it is the thought that counts," Millicent stopped her boyfriend. "I for my part feel flattered how much effort you put into this. The candles are a nice touch as well."

"Madam Rosmerta suggested them; said that I should spoil you," Dudley admitted that he'd had help with setting everything up.

"Again, don't sell yourself short. Now then..." Millicent pointed at her empty glass.

"Ah yes..." Dudley reached down into the ice bucket - real ice and not an enchantment - and pulled out the chilled bottle. That of course was not real alcohol, since Madam Rosmerta would never sell that to minors, but she had promised it would taste good and set the proper mood.

-plop- Uncorking the bottle, Dudley poured their drink into both glasses. It might look like red wine, but it most certainly didn't smell like it. He then put the bottle away and they both raised their glasses, gently hitting them against each other, before they tested the drink .

"Well, it's no wine, but it does taste good," Dudley then said.

"It's kind of sweet, like some kind of grape juice without alcohol," Millicent added, really liking the taste. "I could drink that in the coming years as well, since I have no idea why people enjoy getting drunk."

"I wouldn't know." Dudley held bad memories of the times his father was enjoying a bit too much alcohol; not to speak of Aunt Marge. "Did you have to attend with your parents at events where the adults got alcohol?"

Millicent did remember. "A few, and each time you could bet at least several people would get drunk. Though that of course had it own entertainment value."

"Oh, I can imagine that. The best thing I can compare that to was the one time I was forced to attend one of those official parties by Grunnings with my parents and one old coot thought it's OK to slap a woman's arse. It got entertaining after that, and at the end the police and the paramedics had to be called." That actually was something he wouldn't forget anytime soon.

"Oh, that would liven up even the dullest party," Millicent giggled. Such a big and muscular girl giggling like a ten-year old drew a smile on Dudley's face.

He then held Millicent's unoccupied hand. "I don't get why others say you are unfeminine. You being big and strong doesn't make you any less of a girl."

Millicent blushed a little. "Better be careful, you are laying it on thick." Of course she didn't mind at all that her boyfriend was reaffirming her femininity. She then leaned a little over the table.

Dudley understood the sign and met her halfway in a gentle kiss in the candlelight.

"Oh, how romantic!"

They parted, though their surprise was limited when they saw Madam Rosmerta carrying in their food. Not being embarrassed at all, Dudley looked to what she was carrying. "Mhhh, that already smells good."

The middle-aged woman now seemed to realize this could be awkward. "Oh, I didn't want to interrupt you," she apologized while setting the food onto the table.

Dudley and Millicent shared a look, then Millicent looked to the woman. "We are not angry. Though, we will be should any gossip about our date spread."

"Oh no, I can keep a secret!" Rosmerta promised, before she walked through the curtain and left the pair alone.

"You think she can keep silent?" Dudley asked his girlfriend.

"I'm not that naive," Millicent said, her mouth watering when seeing how delicious the food looked. "I give it two days at best."

There was a second of silence, before they both broke out in laughter, them actually not caring at all if Rosmerta spread the little she did know about their date.

o

While Dudley and Millicent were enjoying their date, two other students in the Three Broomsticks were simply enjoying some butterbeer while talking at a table, trying to ignore all the noise around them.

"...Well, and then Astoria managed to get liquid chocolate all over herself. Mum was very cross with her and forced her to clean up the mess all on her own instead of saddling the elf with the work," Daphne finished another story of Astoria's antics over the years.

"I always like to listen to you talking about your life with your sister. I'm an only child, so I have no idea how that feels," Justin admitted, feeling a little sad that his parents had decided to not have any further children after him.

"Oh, Astoria used to be something of a brat - well, that still is the case at times nowadays - but I love her anyway." Daphne then looked thoughtful. "The Greengrasses are one of the high families in Magical Britain who are blessed with more than one child, so it sounds weird to me that your parents actually decided to only have you."

"And of course the Weasleys don't count," Justin added.

Daphne snorted. "It's like a genetic trait that Weasleys have many children. Not a bad trait, I might add." Daphne then sobered a bit. "But it's true that the high families in general have trouble with children. Our family was blessed by the fact that it got fresh blood in on my mother's side rather recently."

"You know, the situation of many of the more conservative and fanatical families reminds me of the Habsburgs. Ever heard of them?" Justin asked.

"I actually did," Daphne said, having read up on non-magical history. "It's a good comparison and makes you realize that wanting to lock out any new blood is kind of insane."

"Actually, enough of this heavy stuff. What do you plan to do after school? Still no idea?" Justin asked, changing topic.

"None. Not that it is unexpected, since with families like mine there is no pressing need to right away enter the work force," Daphne admitted.

"My family made it clear I have to work on my non-magical education after Hogwarts. After all, I am the heir to the family fortune and need the knowledge to continue the family's fortunes." Justin knew that despite the detour over Hogwarts, that path in his life would not change.

"To be honest I feel kind of inadequate. While I had a home tutor, that only covered me being fully literate and being able to do all the basic math. The Weasleys with six years of school before Hogwarts actually learned a lot more." Daphne looked a bit embarrassed at that fact.

"Just because you got less opportunity to learn more doesn't mean you are inferior in any way," Justin assured her. "Though, if it bothers you so much, maybe you want to broaden you horizon after Hogwarts?"

Daphne thought about it.

She knew however the war would go, Magical Britain would be a terrible mess, and combined with the fact that she had no pressing need to enter the workforce right away sue to he family's status, her actually learning things that were not taught at Hogwarts looked very tempting.

"You know... Can you tell me a bit more about that?" Daphne finally asked.


...March 4th...

By this time some of them were wondering if Andromeda was taking it upon herself to be the healer present for the births due to herself no being able to have more children and thus witness the wonder of life by proxy, or if she was preparing herself for the moment when her own daughter would give birth to her own baby. One way or another, Margaret honestly didn't care about the 'why', being happy enough that Andromeda was there for her.

It had happened all of a sudden in the middle of the night, showing that all those stories only depicting a birthing process during the day were missing the point that it could happen at any time of the day. Due to the urgency and time of the day, it truly was only her, Charlie and Andromeda in their home in Wales, meaning a lot of people would get the news first thing in the morning.

"Urp... I honestly thought I would give birth in a hospital," Margaret grunted out while following Andromeda's instructions and feeling like her hip bone could threaten to snap in two.

"Many do. But thanks to healers having additional means available to them, house births are not nearly as uncommon as they are in the non-magical world," Andromeda explained patiently while coaching her through applying the pressure properly. "And to be honest, it's not like you felt in any condition to be moved, am I correct?"

"Good point... Mmmmngh!" Margaret conceded.

Charlie for his part felt a bit out of his depth, since birthing was quite different from dragons laying eggs. "Is it normal that a birth is progressing this fast?" he asked while holding his wife's hand.

"While many births take longer, this is nothing unusual. Each pregnancy after all is different," Andromeda explained. "Good that I gave you something that would alert me once it happens. I know to be ready at any time of the day."

"I... won't complain... how fast this is progressing..." For her part, Margaret knew that the birth taking many hours would have been a nightmare for her.

"Oh, is that...?" Charlie asked when seeing something.

"Yes, that's the head emerging, meaning full concentration now," Andromeda said, knowing this was the critical part.

Less than half an hour later it - to the new mother's relief - was over.

"Mag, I thought you swore to never act mushy?" Charlie said with humor while watching Margaret hold their newborn daughter with a look of utmost adoration.

"I make an exception for her," Margaret said.

"When Ginny was born, many thought it was a fluke and the curse of Weasleys that have no daughters would take hold again. Well, she has proven them wrong," Charlie said with some humor, though he of course also was feeling nothing but love for their little baby girl.

"That she truly has..." Margaret said. Right then their daughter proved how loud she could be. "Oh, we do know she has a healthy set of lungs."

"Indeed, she does have those," Andromeda confirmed, relaxed now that the birth was over without any complications. "She's in good health as well. However, what shall her name be?" she wondered, knowing she would have to fill out the paperwork very soon.

The new parents shared a look. "Well, we were discussing names..." Charlie started.

"And there was a difficulty in deciding from where we should take the possible names, until Charlie mentioned a Norwegian Ridgeback," Margaret continued.

"Don't tell me you want to name your daughter after a dragon," Andromeda warned them, hoping she had heard wrong.

"No, of course not!" Charlie said hastily. "We instead decided to look at names of Scandinavian origin. Well, and the girl name we decided on..."

Margaret held the little girl closer. "Her name is Elsa. Elsa Weasley."

Andromeda was relieved. "That is a good name. I will put it into the forms right away.

None of them knew it at the moment, but at the same time as Andromeda was writing the name into the fitting paperwork, the Book of Attendance inside a sleeping Hogwarts became active, writing down the name and date of birth of Elsa Weasley. McGonagall wouldn't discover said name until the morning.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"The Contrasting Blacks"


Notes:

Here the notes.

Again, for those who missed it, the uncut version of this chapter is found on AO3.

Another failed attempt, but this time we do see Voldemort and get confirmation that he actually doesn't care about those two having success, thus his goal is something else. We also hear his reaction on the recent news.

Yikes, the situation with the centaurs has turned very nasty. Nothing will be the same again on that front, especially once Aragog has died. It was intentional of me, how in the end there are several parallels between the situation of the centaurs and Magical Britain.

Yep, Madam Bones finally made it official, the Ministry will collapse. It's only a matter of time now. And then there is the radical plan once that happens...

More from Mark and his friends. I hope you like the events they talk about, like what happened with Romilda Vane. Then however... OK, Dumbledore now knows they are using the Room of Requirement, but how exactly he doesn't know. Draco and Pansy of course by now have realized the terrible situation they are in.

Besides some Neville and Luna fluff, Hermiones does give Ron a very special birthday gift. Sorry for this being cut short, but you shouldn't have trouble to find the full scene. Of course, we see the opthers enjoying the day as well.

And Elsa Weasley is here, proving that Ginny was not a fluke and the curse is broken.