"It would be nice not to have to do all this," Harry groaned as he once again cast glamour spells on himself and Pansy. She had suggested that he learn a couple of different disguises for this trip into the magical world, just in case.
And people thought that Harry was the paranoid one.
But she had a point. His recent abduction by 'rogue Death Eaters' had been front page news, and they didn't need the attention when they were going for an apparently clandestine meeting with his godfather. Sirius had told them to look for the man with the most ridiculous handlebar mustache at the Leaky Cauldron.
He probably just should have picked somewhere to meet in the muggle world, instead.
"Alright, how does that look?"
They were in the bathroom so that Pansy could admire them both in the mirror to check his work.
"Good enough, I suppose."
"Finally."
"Don't be careless, Harry. We still don't know the names of all our enemies."
"I know. Last summer was a lot more fun than this one so far."
"You just want to go live on a beach for a few weeks again," Pansy snorted.
"And you don't?" Harry replied, his disbelief obvious from his raised eyebrows.
"Let's just get this over with. Got your cloak?"
"Of course. We can't let anyone see our secret weapon, now can we?" Harry turned to the house-elf standing just outside the doorway. "Ready when you are Dobby."
Sirius hadn't been kidding, it really was the most ridiculous handlebar mustache Harry could even imagine. The curly cues on the ends were a particularly nice touch.
The fact that he had insisted on Harry asking him if he was interested in a serious business proposal had been pretty galling though. Harry was determined to smack him as soon as he could as payment for the awful pun.
Dobby was following along behind them once they got out of the cab and walked towards a playground opposite a row of townhouses. They stopped just outside its gate as Sirius turned to them and leaned in close to whisper.
"The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is at number twelve, Grimmauld Place in London."
He then beckoned them across the street as the hidden house came into view, seeming to push its neighbors out of the way. Sirius led the way, only stopping at the front door to put a finger to his lips to suggest they enter quietly.
Harry had to imagine it was due to the large painting hidden behind curtains along one wall of the entrance hallway. From what he had heard of the Black family, whoever it might have been was likely a huge bastard. They took the stairs up one floor and followed Sirius into a large drawing room.
Waiting inside were Flora and Hestia Carrow, sitting on a couch opposite the door.
"Nice disguises," Hestia said with a smile.
"A lot better than Sirius at least," Flora snorted.
"These two philistines just don't appreciate a good mustache." Harry rolled his eyes and slapped his godfather on the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?"
"You know I hate puns about your name."
"I like the mustache though," Pansy grinned. "It reminded me of Old Sluggy."
"Okay, now that was a low blow," Sirius replied as he restored his usual appearance.
"Why? He's a great teacher," Harry argued.
"And a much better head of Slytherin than Snape ever was," Hestia added.
"May he forever rot in hell," Sirius nodded. "However, Old Sluggy's about a hundred, while I am still in the prime of my life."
"So you keep saying," Flora challenged. "And yet the only female company I've seen you have are those cousins, the Tonks ladies."
"Well, it's an old family secret," Harry replied. "How do you think the Blacks kept themselves so pure? His parents were cousins, after all."
"Second cousins!" Sirius protested.
"That makes it soooo much better." Pansy couldn't help but start to giggle. Harry and the Carrows joined her while Sirius pouted.
"I am never telling you any more of my secrets, Harry."
"Alright, enough taking the piss out of the old man. I assume we're here for a reason?"
"Yes. While it was originally Dumbledore's idea, Mad-Eye was able to talk me into it. This place is bigger than what anyone else in the Order could offer up. You'll notice we've cleared some space here. This room could serve as a triage if anyone gets wounded. That was a big concern last time around."
"Sirius never starts at the beginning," Hestia interrupted. "The Order of the Phoenix was the name of a group that fought against the Death Eaters back in the first war."
"Who else was part of it?" Harry asked.
"Well, your mum and dad, for starters. Remus. Mad-Eye and Dumbledore of course. The Longbottoms- I believe you know their boy, Neville?"
"You knew Neville's parents?"
"Yes," Sirius sighed. "They were a few years older, already finished auror training by the time I graduated. It was terrible, what happened to them."
"We heard about it," Hestia said as Sirius shook his head, reminiscing sadly. "That was the most awkward thing, in our first Slug Club meeting, no less. He was clearly uncomfortable being put on the spot like that."
"I didn't hear the whole story until I got out, although my dreadful cousin shrieked out a few things while I was still stuck in Azkaban with her. Anyway, there were other members too, but most of them aren't around anymore. I doubt the names Benjy Fenwick or Dorcas Meadowes would mean much to any of you. Or... Marlene McKinnon.
"Damn, I really miss Marlene. She was my girlfriend briefly, in sixth year, but she never held that against me," Sirius chuckled. "Marlene was a close friend of your mum, Harry. Her whole family was killed."
He stood up and began to pace, clearly angry and upset.
"So many people died, and the ministry didn't have the decency to clean up the bloody mess. And now, that imbecile Fudge is covering things up and keeping Amelia from doing her job properly."
"No surprise there," Harry interjected. "This is the same useless minister that sent Hagrid to Azkaban, without a trial mind you, because 'they had to be seen doing something.' Stupid wanker."
"Yes, and he's been leaning on the Prophet too. That's why there's all this rubbish about Dumbledore trying to stir up trouble by claiming that the Dark Lord is back."
"No one wants to hear that," Hestia added. "People would rather believe that it's just a few of his followers acting out, rather than Riddle himself."
"So, I take it this Order has been reformed?" Pansy asked.
"Yes. Not too many members yet, but we're trying to get ready as fast as we can before things start to get worse. Thankfully, we've got Harry on our side this time." Sirius chuckled but Pansy growled to make him stop. "Not that I want Harry on the front lines, but he has given us a good head start at least."
"Speaking of which, we should probably pool our intelligence while we're together," Harry suggested as he looked over at the Carrow twins. "I hope you two know of some other possible Death Eater names that we can have Moody get to work on."
"We have three new names," Pansy added.
"Where did you get them?" Sirius asked.
"If I told you that, I'd have to kill you."
"Are you sure of the source?"
"Sure enough on the first two- Luther Flint and Simeon Montague."
"They aren't surprising. Their sons are both horrible bastards too," Flora replied. "What about the third?"
"Emery Warrington. Just rumors there but probably credible enough to look into him. He's the uncle of that sleaze Cassius." Pansy smirked as Flora's eyes squinted angrily at the mention of his name. She remembered hearing of his clumsy 'flirtation' that Flora had rebuffed with violence. "Have you told Sirius that story yet?"
"No, but I totally will," Hestia answered. "It's funny now that some time has passed."
"It might not be next year," her sister disagreed. "With their precious master's return, some of the little shites like Warrington are bound to think they can get away with worse things than that. We'll have to be more on guard than ever before."
"That is going to suck," Hestia frowned.
"How bad do you think it might get?" Sirius asked.
"There's a handful like him that no girl would want to be caught in an empty corridor with."
"It will be okay, Flora. We'll just have to stick together like always."
"You know you girls can come to me if you need help with anything," Sirius said. "As your acting guardian until you come of age, I can fight honor duels for you."
"I appreciate that Sirius, but I'd rather have the problem dealt with before anything happened to either of us," Flora replied.
"I know, I just-"
"Maybe Harry can help!" Hestia suggested with a huge smile. "Everyone knows you got private tutoring with Mad-Eye Moody last year. Not to mention fighting your way free from that graveyard. You could teach us how to fight."
"Well, I believe I won that bet." Sirius grinned at Harry who rolled his eyes. "Two months before the next school year begins, even!"
"We never bet anything, you prat."
"Still-"
"What are you two talking about?" Hestia interrupted.
"I predicted that other students would ask Harry for help learning to fight after he told his story about what happened. Sadly, I saw this coming."
"Why sadly?" Flora asked.
"Because wars have always been fought by the young. We were teenagers when we started fighting back against the Death Eaters," Sirius sighed as he sat back down in an armchair. "I am sorry that it looks like you're all likely to end up doing the same thing. If I could, I would gladly kill every last Death Eater before any of you have to do so."
"Maybe we'll get lucky and Moody will catch a break this summer," Pansy suggested. "One house with a Death Eater meeting is all we really need. A little Fiendfyre and problem solved."
"That would be great, but knowing my luck, I'm not going to be holding my breath." Harry scratched his head. "So, has this Order done anything yet?"
"We've only had a week or so. It's just been the old crowd getting back into contact with each other and feeling out some new possible members. For example, Nymphadora is in, and Andi is threatening to kill me if anything happens to her. But Mad-Eye himself recommended her, so who am I to say no?"
"Alright, well let me know if anything truly important comes up," Harry replied.
"I think today has already been the most important thing so far. Between your three and the one the girls had-"
"Bulstrode," Hestia added, noticing Pansy's frown. "Millie's uncle."
"I always wondered if there was a reason she knew how to fight before she even started at Hogwarts." Pansy sighed. "She only ever really talked about her mum."
"I think a lot of us Slytherin girls have had some family members we didn't want to talk about."
"That's why I'm afraid it's going to get worse," Flora added. "There were very few female Death Eaters, and they were all barking mad. There's a reason for that. We're going to need your help, Harry."
"I know. I've already started thinking about it some. It's really too bad Moody won't be at Hogwarts next year." Harry turned to Sirius. "Do you know if Dumbledore has found a Defense teacher yet?"
"I don't think so."
"You should suggest that he look for another retired auror if possible. We could use someone with experience like that."
"Most retired aurors aren't like Mad-Eye, Harry."
"They can't be worse than Quirrell or Lockhart were," Pansy replied.
"Alright, I'll mention it. I'll talk to Mad-Eye too, let him know the new names we have for suspected Death Eaters. But, I also wanted to show you around the house, even if it is an awful old mess."
"It isn't too bad," Flora argued. "Especially since Kreacher has started cleaning for us."
"The little monster likes the girls," Sirius chuckled. "Thinks they're proper purebloods."
"Maybe we just haven't given him any reason to dislike us."
"Yes, well this place is behind enough protections that there's no way the ministry could bust anyone for underage spell casting. Feel free to help the little ingrate if you want."
"I already did," Flora replied. "He was so affronted by the idea of one of 'the young mistresses' having to help him that he worked extra hard that day."
"Was that the day that we found him passed out in the kitchen?"
"That's the one," Hestia giggled. "Poor little guy was trying to make tea and fell asleep. We heard the kettle boiling with him snoring away beside it."
"Anyway, let's start the tour." Sirius stood and walked back out into the hallway. "We've got several rooms on this floor and the next that still need some work. We're going up above that."
"Lead the way."
They climbed more stairs and came to a somewhat cleaner hallway with a few doors that were open and two that were closed.
"On the right, we've got our rooms," Hestia said. "I'm the further one. The middle door is a bathroom that we share."
"On the left, I've got one set aside for Tonks," Sirius added before opening one of the doors. "I've got this one for you, in case you ever stay over. It's plain but clean. You could decorate it however you want if you're going to be spending any time in it."
"Thanks, Sirius. What's the other closed door at the end?"
"That was my mother's room. Kreacher is still rather fond of her, so he kept it cleaner than anywhere else even years after she died."
"Where's your room?"
"Top floor. It's my old bedroom from when I still lived here. The only other was my brother's. I haven't had the heart to open it yet."
"Why not?" Pansy asked.
"My little brother, Regulus, was the good son according to my parents. The one who went into Slytherin like he was supposed to. He was the good little pureblood who looked down on the muggles. And he was the one who ended up joining the Death Eaters. Foolish little Reggie. He got in, realized it wasn't what he thought it would be and then apparently did something wrong, because he was killed. He was only eighteen at the time.
"That's what I mean about wars always being fought by the young," Sirius sighed. "Riddle's followers started working on recruiting him before he even got his OWLs and my insane mother thought it was a wonderful thing. I never saw him again after I graduated from school.
"Right, so these top floors are for family, or close enough to it. I was thinking of having a couple of the lower rooms set up just in case someone needed a place to crash on occasion. Otherwise, we'll probably need at least one or two just for storing some of the massive amounts of old junk that my family had accrued over the years. I would just chuck a lot of it, but I know how crazy some muggles are about antiques, so I'll wait and see if any of it has value."
"Aren't you rich, Sirius?"
"You can never be too rich, Harry. Besides, money is often a very important thing when war comes. Supplies are necessary, even for wizards and witches. We still need things like food or healing potions."
"Fair enough. Are you really staying in your old room? I wouldn't think that would be the type of place you would like to take a lady."
"That's a rather long story, Harry. Needless to say, I wasn't originally living here. I had a smaller place of my own. But we needed room for the girls, so the brief bit of clean up that had gone on over the last year suddenly became a higher priority. Other than that, well, it's sort of private."
"Come on ladies," Pansy said as she led Hestia and Flora towards the stairs back down. "It's time for girl talk."
"Ooh, what do we have to talk about?" Hestia giggled.
"No, I meant for them." Pansy motioned with her thumb back over her shoulder. "They might not call it girl talk, but believe me, that's exactly what it is."
"Your girlfriend is really mean, Harry."
"If you can't handle a teenage girl teasing you, Sirius, that's on you. Why don't you show me your old room? I trust that would be private enough."
"Alright, follow me." They went up one more story, where there were only two doors and a last bit of stairs leading up to the attic. One had obviously belonged to Regulus Arcturus Black, as it was labeled so, and Sirius opened the other door to what had been his bedroom as a teenager. Harry chuckled at the posters on the wall that were all either of girls in bikinis or motorcycles. Or in one case, a girl in a bikini astride a motorcycle.
"Very classy, Sirius."
"I know, right? My mum really loved my redecorating."
"I can imagine." Harry took a seat on a chair- there was no way he was going to sit on Sirius' bed. Who could know how much wanking had gone on there? "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Mostly bad news, but a little bit of good too. First, I wanted to talk to you about Remus."
"What about him?"
"I know you resent him for not being in your life while you were young." Sirius raised a hand before Harry could angrily retort. "I'm not going to argue with you about it- I've told him he was wrong too. However, Remus is on our side for the coming war. We need every ally we can get. I just want to make sure you can handle that, especially since the two of you might run into each other here."
"I guess so. Just as long as he doesn't try to involve himself in my life. He's lost that right."
"Fair enough. I heard about your friendship with Ron Weasley falling apart last year."
"Yeah, so what? There's no way his mum would let him join this group, even if he were of age. The woman's a domineering nightmare."
"Well, I've only met her once or twice so I won't argue that point, but Arthur and Molly are in the Order. I don't know if any of their sons will be invited or not. The oldest two live out of country, but that could be useful to get foreign contacts anyway. I liked the twins, but I don't know if they could be serious enough about really fighting."
"I think they could," Harry replied. "Probably. What about Percy?"
"Ah, he's the one who joined the ministry, right out of Hogwarts, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, sadly the ministry's certain brand of idiocy and arrogance sunk into him nice and quick. He and Arthur had a huge fight. Percy's with the 'official position' and doesn't believe Dumbledore."
"Or me, really. Eh, no big loss. Percy always was a wanker with a stick up his arse. I can't imagine he'd be of much use anyway."
"It would have been nice to have another set of eyes in the ministry, though," Sirius countered. "Regardless, he's out. Are the twins of age?"
"Yes. They're going to be in their last year at Hogwarts. They're the beaters on our team, by the way."
"Any good?"
"Yeah. They would probably shit themselves if they found out you were Padfoot."
"Really?"
"They found the map when they were firsties and used it to learn many of the school's secrets. They passed it on to me in my third year, when I was searching for the evil Sirius Black, shortly after the bastard stabbed me."
"I've apologized like six or seven times for that. I was going for the rat."
"Your aim was terrible. Stick with wands instead of knives."
"You're so very, very funny." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess I'll have to meet some of my fans then. Do you still have the map?"
"Of course. I think I'll be carrying it with me from now on. Who knows how soon it will be before some children of the Death Eaters start causing problems. Or, hell, some of them could even be recruited into his ranks. Especially with the numbers Riddle has lost."
"That's a horrifying thought."
"Better to have it and be prepared than to be caught with our pants down, though. You did just say that your brother was recruited when he was still a teenager, so we know it's happened before."
"Yeah, fuck. I'll bring that up with Dumbledore next time I see him. He needs to be more aware of that potential danger in the castle." Sirius scratched behind his ear, and Harry was amused as it was one of a few little things he did that were reminiscent of his animagus form. "Anyway, I mentioned the Weasleys for a reason. If the Order is having a meeting, their kids would likely be around, so you might run into Ron. I doubt from what I've seen and been told that Molly would leave them home alone."
"Definitely not," Harry agreed. "It wouldn't be a big deal, at least for me. I don't hate Ron or anything, I just can't trust him. He was too much of a jealous, immature arsehole, and I had no time to deal with that while someone was clearly out to kill me last year. Honestly, we had been growing apart for awhile; I doubt he could have handled the truth that his best mate was dating a Slytherin. Pansy couldn't stand him either, and I was obviously always going to side with her."
"I would be worried if you didn't," Sirius grinned. "From everything I've heard, the two of you are quite the couple."
"Are you trying to get me to talk about my sex life again? What's the matter, has Carina realized she's out of your league?" Harry's teasing faltered when he saw the reaction on his godfather's face.
"That's another bit of the bad news. She's gone."
"Shit. I'm sorry, Sirius."
"Thanks, Harry. I can't say I blame her. She was married to one of those Death Eater bastards. When she saw the writing on the wall, she was smart enough to realize that the ministry was covering up just how bad things were. I talked to her before she left. She sold her home and headed to America. Figured it would be a lot safer with the Atlantic between her and the bloodshed that's to come. Smart gal, really."
"Yeah. If things get bad enough, I'm going to do the same. It's not my bloody job to save the world. Pansy and I have talked about it some. The only problem is it seems like Riddle is obsessed with coming after me, and I don't know how far he might go in continuing that."
"So moving might not be enough then. That is a problem," Sirius nodded. "I'd rather you not be part of things either, but better to be prepared just in case."
"Right. Any other bad news?"
"Isn't that enough so far?"
"Yes, but I try not to get my hopes up."
"Nothing else for now, but I'm sure we'll have more coming soon enough."
"I'd better get back to Pansy then. I want to enjoy as much of the summer as I can before things turn to shite again."
Sirius barked out a laugh and stood up. "Good to see you've got your priorities sorted."
The rest of the week flew by as Harry and Pansy continued to enjoy their summer vacation and refused to even think about the next school year. By the time Saturday rolled around, they each had plans to visit some friends.
"Harry! Welcome," Vanessa said with a smile as she pulled him in for a hug and kissed his cheek when she opened her front door.
"What am I, chopped liver?" Pansy asked with a smirk.
"Sorry, Pansy, it's just that Steven told me how Harry had given him a little push about finally asking me while we were on our honeymoon. He said it was excellent advice that made him get his arse in gear. I thoroughly appreciate it. I was afraid he was going to wait until I smacked him over the head with a bridal magazine."
"It's alright. This just means that he won't have any excuse about waiting too long to ask me. Will you, Harry?"
"Have a little faith. I can be pretty romantic when I put my mind to it."
"That you can," Pansy agreed before turning to her host as they followed her inside to the living room. "I trust you're enjoying married life, Mrs. Frost?"
"Mrs. Frost," Vanessa grinned. "I haven't gotten tired of hearing that yet. The last few weeks have been just amazing. That is, other than some of the stress leading up to the wedding itself. But everything else was wonderful. I have the wedding video pulled out to show you."
"Great. I was hoping to see it."
"It's a shame that you couldn't make it."
"I know. Our school year ran long though, and it would have been right before final exams if I had tried to get away."
"Well, at least you can watch it this way," Vanessa answered as she turned on the telly with a remote. "To be honest, I'm looking forward to it also. I'm curious to see how well it fits with everything I remember. Especially the reception, as I got more than a bit tipsy."
"I guess this is my cue to leave then," Harry said. "I hope you two enjoy the afternoon."
"We will, Harry."
"You've got Hermione's number if you need anything."
"Don't worry so much," Pansy chided. "I'll be fine."
She pulled him down and pecked him on the cheek.
"You have fun too, if you can."
"Alright ladies. I'll be back this evening."
"Bye Harry," Vanessa replied as he headed for the front door. "So, who is Hermione?"
"Harry's best friend."
"I take it you don't like her?"
"Was I that obvious?"
"Just a bit," Vanessa laughed. "What's wrong with her?"
"She's probably the most uptight girl I've ever met. And she's just so..." Pansy grimaced for a moment. "You know the teacher's pet stereotype. Nose always in a book. That's her. And because she's smart and reads all the time, she thinks she knows everything. She can be so damn full of herself that I just want to slap her sometimes."
"I see."
"But she and Harry were already best friends when I met him, so I've had to put up with her because of him. Thankfully, Harry has made it a point to try to help her relax and pull the stick out of her arse. We might have slipped her some pot brownies last term." Pansy and Vanessa giggled together. "That helped."
"I would imagine so."
"Now, you've got to tell me everything about the honeymoon."
"Let's do things in chronological order," Vanessa replied. "First, the wedding video, then Glastonbury, then France."
"Sounds like a plan. Oh, and I'll need something to write on."
"Why?"
"To make a list for the next time I make Harry take me to the record store. Our music collection is getting pretty big. We saw some footage of the festival, so I've already got a few ideas."
"Okay. I'll have to try to remember every band we saw. There were a lot of them."
"Thanks."
"But after that, we get to the fun stuff," Vanessa giggled. "You won't believe what we did the first night in France. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to walk straight the next day."
"Hi Harry." Hermione answered the door and waved him inside. "Mum, Harry's here! We're going up to my room."
"Alright honey. Try not to ravish him so loudly that your father hears."
"Mum!" Hermione squeaked in outrage. "Ignore her. Come on."
She pulled his arm and led him to the stairs.
"Why does she think you're going to be ravishing me this afternoon? Have you invited me here on false pretenses, Hermione? Because I won't protect you from Pansy's wrath, just for the record."
"She's being ridiculous." Once they were inside her room, Hermione slammed the door shut. "I told her about how you had warned me about Viktor and how I was too stupid to listen."
"I would say more stubborn than-"
"Whatever. My mother has gotten this foolish notion in her head that I'm smitten with you now."
"You're not though. Right?"
"Of course not, Harry. I think we both know that wouldn't work between us. You're one of the few people I know more stubborn than I am. Not to mention your possessive girlfriend."
"I don't think she's that possessive," Harry argued.
"You've clearly never seen the way she glares at Ginny then."
"I'm the same way about her. I did threaten to kill Viktor at the Yule Ball on her behalf, as you may remember." Harry smiled happily. "Pansy enjoyed that."
"What? You threatening to kill someone on her behalf? Don't tell me that's one of her turn-ons?"
"My lips are sealed."
Hermione was scowling at the dopey grin on his face. "You two are unbelievable."
"Did I tell you I have a favorite broom closet because of that night?"
"I don't want to hear it." Hermione shook her head and put her hands over her ears. "We have more important things to talk about."
"Hermione, you're my best friend, so let me fill you in on a little secret. There is nothing more important than that to me."
"I'm sure, but your sex life doesn't actually interest me, believe it or not. Have you been reading the Daily Prophet?"
"Not really," he shrugged. "I skim it usually, but I haven't seen anything interesting, other than Fudge burying his head in the sand and calling Dumbledore a rumor-mongering charlatan. I was honestly surprised at the minister's vocabulary. But I suppose it is possible that the writer embellished his words."
"Then you haven't paid enough attention. The other day there was a story that mentioned you very specifically."
"Oh?"
"The statement was that because you were admittedly kidnapped and tortured, any testimony you might give about what happened that night would have to be treated with skepticism since you could have been delirious from the pain. Apparently, someone on Fudge's staff heard the real story because they mentioned the fact that you were placed under the torture curse."
"There's definitely someone smarter writing Fudge's statements then."
"It might be Percy," Hermione responded. "I heard from Ginny the other day. Apparently, Percy and Mr. Weasley had a big row because Percy is toeing the line, agreeing with the 'official position' put forth by the minister, while Mr. Weasley is firmly in professor Dumbledore's camp. It's caused all sorts of problems at the Weasley home. Ginny says things have been really tense, especially between the twins and their mum. They saw it as no big loss that Percy abandoned the family, and as you can probably guess, Mrs. Weasley did not agree with them."
"I guess we should be glad to be only children right now, huh?" Harry smirked. "I suppose Percy would be smart enough to write speeches for Fudge."
"He was Head Boy, so yes, he would be more than capable. It could also be problematic that he knows a bit more about your life than most people at the ministry. In fact, he might have been the one to mention that you were tortured."
"Since he had four younger siblings who heard the real story and likely told their parents," Harry finished her thought. "Oh well. I never expected much out of the ministry anyway. At least a few of the bad influences were removed. Can you imagine how much worse this could be if Lucius Malfoy still had Fudge in his pocket?"
"That would have been very bad," Hermione agreed. "I wonder how many of Tom Riddle's followers are still out there. If we go by the reports from last year's Quidditch World Cup and what you saw at the graveyard, minus the ones we know of who have been captured or killed, we're left with roughly fifteen. Of course, that assumes that he hasn't recruited any more since his return."
"Which would likely come from the same families he already has access to, since Riddle has apparently decided to keep a low profile while Fudge blunders things. The real question is just how much more cautious he might be for now. On the one hand, it's good that the Death Eaters aren't causing any problems, but at the same time, that means it will be even harder to catch any of them. I just hope Moody has some luck this summer."
"You haven't heard anything else then? Not from Sirius maybe?"
"Nope. I talked to him several days ago, but I told him not to tell me anything unless it was really important. I'm focused on enjoying my summer while I can. Life is stressful enough when I'm in the magical world. I'm trying not to worry about these things while I'm on vacation from all that."
"I guess I should do the same then," Hermione sighed. "There's not really anything I can do about any of those problems while I'm here anyway. It's just so frustrating!"
"You're fifteen, Hermione. You don't have to have the weight of the world on your shoulders."
"But if they do come back, as a muggleborn, I'll be in a lot of danger."
"True. I guess you'll want to join the new group I'm going to be starting when we go back this fall."
"What new group?"
"I was talking to the Carrows the other day-"
"From the Slug Club?" Hermione interjected. "I didn't know you were friends with them."
"We had to keep any contact as quiet as possible. Their parents were Death Eaters."
"Oh."
"But the key is that they were Death Eaters. They were two of the ones that I hit with the blasting curse at the graveyard. We talked before the end of term, and I introduced them to Sirius. He is acting as their guardian until they come of age. They needed someone to help them because the last thing they want is for Riddle to expect them to join his little band of terrorists."
"Why?" Hermione asked. "Sorry if that sounds wrong, but I would think that they would have been raised to think that way, like how Draco was for example."
"How many female Death Eaters have you heard of?"
"Not many."
"Counting all of the recent names, we're up to three out of more than thirty. There's a reason for that."
"Meaning?"
"Come on, Hermione. Isn't it obvious? A group of mostly male psychopathic monsters who will happily kill and torture people that also know the Imperius curse. Why wouldn't women want to join a group like that?"
"Oh that's... awful," she gulped. "I understand now. So, you're friends with Flora and Hestia Carrow then?"
"Yes. They gave Pansy and I a couple of warnings over the last year."
"I did see them talking to her several times in the Slug Club meetings. I just assumed that she was catching up with other Slytherin girls that she knew."
"Some of that too," Harry agreed. "But anyway, the point of all this is that they asked me to help them learn how to fight. It's not a secret that I had extra lessons with Moody last year, so I guess it's to be expected that people would want me to help them learn to defend themselves-"
"Especially since we all know that you've had to do so on multiple occasions," Hermione finished. "You know that any group you're in I'll be a part of, Harry. Who else is going to organize things for you?"
"I suppose Pansy could," he shrugged.
"Speaking of the coming school year, do you think we'll be prefects?" Hermione asked excitedly.
"You definitely will. Who else would they pick? Lavender? As for me, I suppose so, but I haven't given it much thought really."
"You're the obvious choice too, Harry. You're ahead of all the other guys academically, at least in most classes. You've got the gravitas to make people listen to you and follow your lead."
"Gravitas?"
"From the Latin word for gravity."
"Oh." He thought for a moment and shrugged. "I guess I will be a prefect too then. I hope it doesn't eat into my free time too much. Speaking of free time, what have you been up to this summer?"
"First I finished rough drafts for all my summer assignments-"
"Hermione, don't make me bring Luna over here to tickle you. I meant for fun."
"Well, I just started reading this new book. Mum and I always go to a bookstore when I get home for the summer. It's become sort of a little tradition of ours."
"So, she's where you get your love of reading from?"
"Both of my parents love to read to some extent, but mum is more obsessed with it like I am. Anyway, the book is called Northern Lights, and it has some really fascinating ideas. It's a fantasy novel, and the characters all have these talking animal spirits that are part of them."
"Really bringing out the inner animal then, huh?"
"Basically yes. The idea got me to start thinking about what my animal might be."
"I guess that's sort of like an animagus in our world. I've noticed Sirius has some traits that are reminiscent of his dog form."
"What do you think I might be?" Hermione asked.
"I assume you've thought about this for all the people in your life," Harry answered with a grin. "Let me think about it for a couple of minutes."
"Okay. Do you want to stay for dinner? My dad was planning on making hamburgers. He got this new grill and wants to try it out. Honestly it's like he's an overgrown kid with a new toy."
"Don't be hard on him. Better he be like that rather than some boring old man. I think that's one of the things I like about Sirius, actually. I don't know if he'll ever really grow up."
"I thought you found that frustrating."
"At times it can be, but we get along really well in general. I think his growth was stunted by all those years lost in Azkaban. Sirius would definitely have a dog- one that would try to sniff the arse of every woman it saw."
"I did not need that image in my head, Harry."
"Sorry," he replied, but his teasing tone betrayed his mirth. "I think Pansy would be a fox."
"You mean like the form of her Patronus?"
"Yeah. If I had seen yours take shape, I could probably guess more accurately. Since I haven't, I guess I'll say you would be like a... hmm, maybe a..."
"What? You looked like you wanted to say something," Hermione prodded.
Harry thought for a moment, looking a second answer. His original thought, a beaver, he knew that she would take as an insult about her teeth, even though he thought of it because of how hard working and smart they are to build their dams and lodges. He needed to come up with a different intelligent animal. Finally, a memory of an old nature program he'd seen a fragment of came to him.
"A gorilla."
"Why a gorilla?"
"Because they're really smart. You know, like that one that learned sign language. I couldn't pick a dumb animal for you."
"That's not what I would have thought, but I can understand your reasoning."
"What would I be then?"
"I'm leaning towards a lion," Hermione answered.
"I guess it's good that I ended up in Gryffindor then," he snorted in response.
"Have you ever seen a nature program about them? The males tend to be relaxed and lazy most of the time, but they can be ferocious when it's time to fight."
"Plus, they've got that dark, shaggy mane of hair," Harry nodded. "I can see that."
"Very true." Hermione made a face. "It's apparently one of the physical traits that a lot of girls like about you. As someone else who has messy hair, I really don't see the appeal."
"As long as Pansy likes it, that's all that really matters to me."
"You've got it so bad for her," Hermione laughed. "I suppose I should try to become better friends with her so that I'm invited to the wedding one of these days. Speaking of Pansy, where is she today?"
"She's visiting a friend who just got back from her honeymoon. There's going to be plenty of girl talk, and I wasn't really invited."
"A muggle friend?"
"Yes."
"Do any of these muggles know how old you are?"
"No," Harry chuckled. "That's made for a few secretly hilarious conversations, but we've managed for the most part."
"Just be careful, Harry. I don't want to see you get hurt."
"Don't worry so much. Now, do we have anything else important to talk about? Because if not, I'd really like to have one of those hamburgers you mentioned."
"My dad's going to be happy to see you then."
He heard the giggling as soon as Steven let him in the front door. When he found Pansy still on the couch with Vanessa with an empty bottle of wine on the table in front of them, Harry thought he understood. It was probably going to be a good thing actually, as she tended to get horny when she was tipsy.
That worked well for his plans for the rest of the night.
"Sweetheart, are you about ready to go home?"
"Almost. Let me find my list though."
"List?"
"Here it is," Pansy replied as she lifted her empty glass and waved a piece of paper at him. There was a lot of writing on it as well as a few red drops smudging things in places. "We're going to need to go to the record store."
"Oh, I guess you got around to talking about the festival then?"
"And a lot of other things," Pansy giggled and Vanessa joined her. Harry looked over at Steven who grinned.
"They've been doing a lot of that ever since I got home," he answered. "Honey, why don't you tell Pansy good night? I probably need to get you to bed soon."
"I guess you didn't get enough of that in France?" Vanessa teased.
"You should he hope didn't," Pansy replied. "I need to go home and shag Harry silly too."
Both ladies stood and hugged just slightly clumsily. Steven and Harry shared a look but made no comments. You never want to upset a woman right before you're hopefully going to have sex.
"Good night you two," he said a moment later as he led Pansy out the front door. Before they could even make it more than a few steps, Pansy had thrown her arms around him and was kissing his neck. Harry was able to keep his focus long enough to look around, throw up a notice-me-not charm and call for Dobby.
By the time they were home, Dobby was quick to excuse himself as he disappeared with a pop.
They didn't make it to the bedroom. The couch was close enough, and Harry never was going to say no to Pansy when she took the initiative like that. They could always go to bed for round two.
The next morning, well afternoon really, as they didn't make it fully out of bed till lunch time, there was a letter waiting for them.
"Who is it from?" Pansy asked.
"Luna."
"Oh good, I've been waiting to hear from her. Hand it over." Pansy didn't even really wait, she pulled it out of his grasp as fast as she could. "Great, she'll be back in plenty of time."
"Plenty of time for what?"
"I've decided to throw you a birthday party."
"A birthday party? Here?"
"No, not here. Sirius actually sort of suggested it when we were still at school. We're going to have it at his home, where there is a lot more room-"
"And it's more secure than inviting a bunch of people to our flat."
"Right."
"Huh... I guess I've never really had one before."
"I know, that's a big part of the reason I wanted to do it. I'm sure you liked the way we celebrated the last couple of birthdays, but I wanted to do something special for you. Something different."
"Thanks, that's..." Harry smiled as he gathered his thoughts that had suddenly become a lot more emotional. "You're wonderful, you know?"
"You are too, Harry. It will be nice to remind you that I'm not the only one who cares about you. Sirius would have pouted if I didn't talk you into it anyway, and he has been really helpful over the last year. You two are good for each other."
"Yeah, I think we are."
Pansy set the letter aside and climbed onto his lap. She snogged away most of his ability to think before leaning in to whisper, "And we can always have a private celebration of our own later that night."
"I really, really love you."