Chapter 16

"Okay, I'm calm. Now kindly tell your little thug here to release me."

Dobby just glared at Dan, that Hermione's father was currently magically restrained to a chair brought him down nearer the elf's height. "You will not harm Harry Potter, Dobby is following his orders to protect his master."

"Yeah? Well this same master of yours wants to knock-up my fifteen year old daughter on Saturday night, I think I'm entitled to at least punch him out." Dan then returned his rage to its main focus. "Tell me again why this has to happen?"

Harry perfectly understood Dan's anger so repeated the story for the third time. "If we don't have enough power between us to force Voldemort out of my head, then we lose. I'll be dead, with Hermione and Tonks only seconds behind me. He'll then come out that room and start killing everyone he sees."

"Now explain to me again, remembering I'm a simple dentist, how impregnating my daughter makes this bad man go away?"

Trying to keep his cool was difficult, Dan referring to Voldemort as a 'bad man' was not helping. Didn't he grasp just how serious this was? "Creating a life is the most magical event in the world. Our magic will recognise this and react accordingly. As love is the power Voldemort knows not, this should also tip the scales heavily in our favour."

Harry was starting to get angry too, he'd had this entire senario dumped on him just after a death eater shot a killing curse at them both. "You asked me the other day if I really could have killed Snape and I honestly wasn't sure. Let me tell you this though, if it was my family's lives that were on the line I would blow his fucking head clean off his shoulders. No questions, no hesitation, I will fight to protect what's mine."

Dan was getting his first glimpse of the wizard who'd faced trolls, basilisk and a dragon. This was Hermione's future they were talking about here though, so Dan had no intention of giving an inch. "What happened to the lad who was going to walk away from Hermione, rather than cause trouble for her family?"

If anything, this saw Harry stand that bit straighter. Dan had intended to have a 'facts of life' talk with the young wizard, Harry was now getting ready to return the favour. He was sure Hermione's father wasn't going to like this either. "I had the error of my ways rather forcibly pointed out to me, and it's just as well Hermione did."

The magic started to pour off Harry as he was becoming visibly emotional. "Had I actually left, your daughter, your wife and you would probably be dead right now. Those death eaters burned your house down because they couldn't get hold of you. Today in Diagon Alley, Hermione and I were meant to die. I'm really sorry you and your family have been dragged into this sir, but you need to understand the situation that we're now in right up to our necks. I have been told by people I respect and trust that this is our best chance of surviving this situation, I will do whatever it takes to make sure Hermione is safe and well. She's easily the most important person in the world to me and I will protect her with my life."

Watching the young man in front of him, Dan could easily believe that. He turned his attention to Sirius, looking for some support. "What's your take on this?"

Sirius could lend some authority to his answer, this was one area he certainly had expertise in. "I know these people Dan, some of them are even related to me. That's why I ran away at sixteen to stay with Harry's father and was on the opposite side of the last war. Had you been home today there would have been one of two outcomes. Emma would have been raped and tortured in front of you while they tried to find information on where these two were hiding. The other outcome is actually worse."

Dan, who was already on a short fuse, exploded at this. "How the fuck do you get worse than that?"

The muggle once more had the facts of life concerning death eater behaviour explained to him. "By using the imperius curse on you, they could have forced you to carry-out whatever perversion they concocted. Imagine Hermione giving you a hug, you then take out a concealed blade and slash her throat wide open. You would know what you were doing but be unable to stop yourself. They use this curse on wizards and witches too during the last war, with devastating effects. That's why Harry paid a fortune for those necklaces Hermione and Susan wear. Harry here has such an aversion to being controlled he can throw the curse off, it also helps that he's immensely powerful too."

Dan felt physically sick at the very mention of that curse. His glance shifted to his wife and daughter, both of whom had clung to each other since Hermione returned from the bank. Emma made her feelings on the matter quite clear. "Do I think they're too young for this, definitely! Do I want them to wait until they are older, not a chance. My little girl has almost been killed twice in the last few weeks, if making me a grandmother can put a stop to that threat then it gets my vote."

She kissed Hermione on the forehead before continuing to explain her reasoning to her husband. "I know this is not what we had imagined for Hermione but I just want her to live. A baby might be forever Dan but so is Hermione being dead, I know which option I prefer. Tonks here has now saved her life twice, how can we possibly not trust what she tells us? Every single person in this room has the best interests of our daughter at heart."

Tonks was also able to give Dan her honest assessment, pitying the father for the impossible situation they all found themselves in. "It really hurts me to say this Dan but I can't guarantee their safety if Harry or Hermione stick one foot outside this house. We also don't know who we can trust at the ministry. Apart from Croaker, Madam Bones doesn't plan on telling anyone else what the consequences of Harry being free of the horcrux will be."

Dan began to understand the seriousness of the situation when the head of government wasn't being told just what was happening. This was his daughter's future though, and his concern for Hermione swamped everything else.

The young auror attempted to explain further. "Without magic, these people will find themselves unable to access their funds in Gringotts. Most of them will find the wards of their own homes will deny them access, far less allow them to continue living there. Harry would have been able to survive without magic but these people won't, they simply don't know anything else. That is why the ritual is planned for midnight on Saturday, the ministry will be as empty as we can make it. Ragnok is providing security as the goblins are the only ones we can trust not to be death eaters. They will also be warding the ritual room to stop Voldemort being able to draw magic from his marked servants."

Hermione rose from her position beside her mother, gave Harry a reassuring kiss as she passed, before kneeling at her father's side. "Dad, you're forgetting I'm a witch. This is a different situation for me."

"How is this different Hermione? Your mother gave birth to a witch and I remember the process as if it was yesterday, it didn't seem any different to me."

"Yes dad, the biology is the same but everything else is different."

She then attempted to explain this to the other man she loved. "When I leave that room on Sunday morning, I will be Mrs Hermione Jane Potter, legally married to my husband. There is also the fact that my husband-to-be is rather wealthy, we're talking millions here dad. How many other sixteen year old mothers can claim that much?"

"Money isn't everything love, I thought we taught you that?"

"You did dad, along with many other things that I will be eternally grateful for. What I meant was that this will not be the end of my education, we can have tutors, return to school or even attend university if we want. Having a baby won't be the end of our lives, not having one might be. This will save me, you, mum and Harry, and it's only the timing that's unfortunate. I was always going to have children with Harry so how could I possibly say no to this?"

Hermione sensed she might be getting through to her father so unleashed the big guns. "We also have something other young muggle family's could only dream about, a couple of magical family members who will look after us and our baby. What do you think about Harry and I starting a family Dobby?"

The smile Dobby wore at that question left no one in any doubt of the elf's opinion, he answered his mistress anyway. "Dobby and Winky would love to be helping raise little Potters."

At that point, Winky popped in and agreed wholeheartedly with Dobby. As she took Dobby's hand though, Hermione wondered if the female elf had plans to raise some little Potters or Blacks of her own. Hermione certainly had her own agenda at the moment and couldn't allow herself to be sidetracked. Getting her father on board was vital and she was prepared to go to any lengths to achieve her aims.

"This baby will have parents who adore them, a godfather who will dote on them and an Aunt Tonks who will pull funny faces until they laugh themselves silly. As much as we'll rely on Dobby and Winky for help, this baby is going to need their grandparents. My Harry spent his first ten years of life living in a cupboard, Sirius' family was so bad he ran away. With Tonks not too much older than us, who else have Harry and I got that we can depend on to keep us on the right track?"

Dan was openly crying as Hermione rested her head on his shoulder. Dobby released the body bind and her father's arms snaked around her. "I'm sorry darling, I only ever wanted the best for you."

"Dad, that's exactly what I've got, I'm going to have everything I ever wanted. This is a new beginning for all of us. It's not just phoenixes who can rise from the ashes, our family will too."

Dan's nod of acceptance was the signal for a lot of the tension to leave the room, Sirius though had something else that had to be said right now.

"Dan and Emma, you need to close your dental practice right now. If they can find your house, that will be their next logical step. So far we've been lucky and avoided any deaths, you need to do this before the death eaters solve your receptionist problem permanently."

Both could see immediately that Sirius was right. If they burned down their house, the practice would be next. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be empty. Dan grabbed his cell phone, hoping they could get everyone out of there before disaster struck.

-oOoOo-

Amelia and Croaker cast every silencing charm they knew on her office but both still spoke in whispers. "Are you sure about this Amelia?"

"Who knows magical contracts better than the goblins? If they say that's what will happen, I believe them."

"That wasn't what I meant, doing this could devastate our society. Families will be torn asunder and some bloodlines could even be wiped out."

"The death eaters practiced their own form of genocide for years, we're just going to finish the job and do it legally too. My department has been tasked by the minister and the Wizengamot to put an end to Voldemort for good, that's exactly what we're going to do on Saturday night. You're not going soft on me are you?"

"Just playing devil's advocate here Amelia, I wanted to see if you had thought through the consequences. Our world could be a very different place come Sunday morning."

The smile on Amelia's face was almost feral in her anticipation of revenge. "My family were certainly not alone in suffering at the hands of these bastards. To see people still walking the streets when we both know they've murdered innocent witches and wizards is something that has tormented me for years. They may have escaped Azkaban but this is one form of justice their position, gold and family name can't protect them from. In the next few weeks, I was going to be sending out my aurors to arrest these dangerous criminals. That task just got a hundred times easier so don't expect me to feel any sympathy for them."

"I'll go to Gringotts first thing in the morning. With the goblins assisting us, we could be horcrux free by tomorrow evening. Excepting Harry of course, I assume that you're keeping him safe?"

"He's for all intents and purpose under house arrest. Apart from Auror Tonks, I can't be absolutly cerain of anyone else. Even aurors I've known for years could be tempted by the vast sums the death eaters would pay to get their hands on Harry. The next time they leave that house will be Saturday night when they come here. After the day they've just had, I didn't have too much trouble convincing them to stay put."

-oOoOo-

After absorbing the shock of McGonagall's death, the castle was also agog next morning as the Daily Prophet proclaimed that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had lucky escapes in Diagon Alley. Susan approached the Gryffindor table, almost in tears.

"I just got a letter from my Aunt Amelia and it's all true, Tonks barely managed to push Harry and Hermione out of the path of a killing curse."

Ginny also had tears threatening to escape. " They just can't seem to catch a break, how bad have things gotten when you can't walk down Diagon Alley without someone trying to kill you?"

Their discussion suffered an interuption at this point by an unannounced visitor to Hogwarts. "Oh it's worse than that Miss Weasley, I also had to stop them writing replies to their friends. I simply couldn't take the chance of any information leaking out, we really need to keep them safe and secure."

Amelia felt terrible for doing that to Harry and Hermione, so had come to Hogwarts herself to explain to their friends. Harry and Hermione were putting their very lives on the line, Amelia felt it was the least she could do. There was also another reason for her being here though, after giving Susan a quick hug she headed for the headmistress.

"Headmistress Sprout, I'm afraid I must take one of your students and a professor into protective custody."

Pomona wasn't about to let just anyone walk out the castle with one of her students. "Only if you have the proper paperwork and signed parental consent Madam Bones."

This actualy drew a smile from Amelia as she handed over a scroll, Pomona's attitude softened the instant she read it.

"I feel a lot happier with you in charge of the castle Pomona, you keep right on putting everyone in their place. I'm sending you an auror to teach Remus' classes until he can return, and I can't give you any clue as to when that return will be."

Pomona caught on quickly to what Amelia was doing here. "You are taking the people who know Mr Poter's whereabouts into protective custody, are things really that far along?"

"I'm afraid so, the death eaters will stop at nothing to get a hold of him. I'm closing down any and all potential sources of information."

Remus was at least aware of what was actually going on, current up until yesterday that is, so happily went with Amelia. Susan was still talking at the Gryffindor table though there appeared quite the crowd present now. There was no easy way to say this, and it would paint a target on Susan, but it had to be done.

"Susan, I'm afraid I need to remove you from Hogwarts."

This stopped all conversation but it was Ginny who blurted the reason out. "Of course, you know where Harry is? You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

"Certainly not!"

"Oh I'm sorry Susan, I know you would never say anything. We're all just worried about Harry and Hermione. Madam Bones, could you tell them not to worry about answering our letters, we all understand."

One of the main purposes of her visit appeared to be accomplished as Ginny's suggestion met with lots of agreement. "They said that they had great friends, you just proved that Miss Weasley. They are well and will be in touch as soon as it's safe to do so.

Remus and Susan walked out the hall with Amelia, both reckoning they would end up in Crawley and also that they wouldn't be staying there too long.

-oOoOo-

Breakfast that morning in Crawley was a strange one, especially when Harry and Hermione plonked a large carved stone bowl in the middle of the table. It appeared to be full of something like watery soup and Dan had already decided to give this wizarding delicacy a miss. Hermione though seemed particularly excited about this dish.

"Sirius told us about these things last night and Dobby managed to buy one. We know yesterday was hellish for you both so this is a gift from Harry and me."

Neither Dan nor Emma had the slightest idea how to respond to that, everything changed though when Hermione touched the bowl with her wand. The Granger parents were each rendered incapable of speech.

Both were mesmerised as they watched a four-year-old Hermione playing at making sandcastles with Emma while Dan was cooking lunch on the barbecue. Dan remembered the incident well, it was just the day before he'd put the sand pit in their back garden. Emma also remembered that after lunch, she and Hermione would splash each other in the large paddling pool. That was before filling Hermione's pail with water and chasing Dan around the garden while their daughter's laughter spurred them on.

Here were real three-D images, in full colour and with sound. It was so realistic, it instantly transported any watcher into the scene. It was astoundingly accurate, magnificantly detailed and must have cost a king's ransom to enable the figures to manoeuvre around the bowl. It was almost as if the 'soup' was the stage and their younger selves performed on top of it.

"Harry, this is so thoughtful and absolutly fantastic, but we can't possibly accept this..."

The wizard in question instantly cut Dan off before he could say anymore. "Sir, I won't pretend that this wasn't expensive, but it's what's placed inside it that's priceless. I think what we are trying to say is that the only thing that's irriplacable is life itself. Did I get that right love?"

Harry found himself being kissed by the other Granger girl. "I think you got it just perfect Harry."

"Could we give the 'sir' a miss Harry and try Dan? I don't think either of us are quite ready for dad just yet."

Hermione was ecstatic at this developement, her mother kissing Harry while her father held out an olive branch, and then Sirius decided to get involved. Placing a silvery memory into the bowl, he offered a suggestion.

"Why don't you just earmark it as the family pensieve?"

At that, his memory started to play and it was an emotional group who watched the wedding of Lily Evans to James Potter.

Hermione was snuggling in Harry's arms as the memory finished playing, witnessing that beautiful yet simple ceremony saw her reach an important decision. "Harry, I want to get married. I want to be Mrs Potter before walking into that room on Saturday night."

She was going to get no argument from Harry on this. "I've got the ring love, but I don't know how to arrange the rest."

Their family came rushing to the rescue with Tonks getting the ball rolling.

"Madam Bones has the legal power to marry couples."

Sirius quickly chipped in with the next suggestion. "We could hold the ceremony here?"

Emma raised the problem about a dress before Winky popped in and announced she could make any dress the mistress required. Dobby was right behind her with an offer to bake and decorate their wedding cake. it was already a given that the elves would be catering for any reception.

All eyes then turned to Dan for his opinion, the tears he was struggling to hold onto were a major clue. "I'll get to give my little girl away on her wedding day!"

Amelia, Susan and Remus weren't sure what to expect when they entered the Potter / Black household, laughter and excitement weren't exactly high on their lists though.

-oOoOo-

Draco Malfoy was ignoring everything that was happening around him, attacks and suicides meant nothing to the Slytherin when compared to the letter held in his hand. His mother just had their worst fears officially confirmed. Lucius had done a runner out the country with the Malfoy family wealth, leaving them homeless and broke. She was currently staying in a rented room at the Leaky Cauldron, and had to sell some of her jewellery to be able to afford even that.

Uncertain wasn't nearly a strong enough word to describe their future though Draco was already positive Hogwarts wouldn't feature in his. They would need a roof over their heads and food on the table more than paying for him to be away for most of the year. Add in the expense of school supplies and such, well there wasn't really a decision to be made.

His tuition was already paid for the rest of this term, giving his mother some breathing space to try and plot a future for their diminishing family unit. What that future would be was currently out of Draco's hands. What he did know though was that he hoped to meet his father sometime in the future, Draco would love a chance to remind the selfish bastard of a lesson that had been drummed into him since he was a todler. That lesson was you never crossed a Malfoy, not and still expect to live that is.

-oOoOo-

It was a delighted Amelia who quickly agreed to perform the wedding ceremony but she had to scupper their other plans.

"I understand your reasoning that it wouldn't really matter, since it will all be over on Sunday, but I still have to say no. The Durmstrang headmaster is a death eater who escaped prison by informing on everyone he knew. If he's smart enough to avoid Azkaban and then hold a headmaster's job, he's clever enough to understand what's going on if all your friends suddenly start leaving Hogwarts."

Amelia held her hands out to avoid their interruptions before she could explain her reasoning fully. "At the moment the death eaters aren't organised, we believe some won't even be aware of what will happen to them when we finally rid the world of Voldemort. The last thing we want to do is give them any hint of our timescale. As Mr Krum is his student, we would have to inform Karkaroff of when Victor would be returning. This development could change worried death eaters into frantic animals, animals that would do anything to survive. How would we be expected to respond if they snatched a group of children and demanded Harry as the price of the kids safe release? I will aid you in anyway I can but, as head of the DMLE, I can't sanction risking innocent lives so your friends can attend your wedding."

Remus, like everyone there could see how much this hurt the young couple. Perhaps it was holding a certain map in his hands again after all this time that caused the defence professor to let his inner marauder out to play for the first time in years. "Madam Bones, perhaps I could make a suggestion that may help?"

-oOoOo-

Ron Weasley was having a bad day. That someone tried to kill his two best friends was certainly the start of it, now he would have to wait even longer to discover if they accepted his apology for not writing sooner. His day though just got worse as their stand-in DADA professor appeared to take an instant dislike to him.

Jibes coming in his direction all period were hard enough to ignore but the mention of an impromptu duelling tournament was the last straw. As there were an uneven number of students in the class, Ron got to take on the large black auror who'd been on his case from the instant he walked in the door. Not only that, they were going to be up first.

They were making preperations to begin dueling when the auror got close enough to Ron so that only the redhead could hear what was being said. Ron then discovered why this geezer with the bald head and hoop earring took an instant personal dislike to the youngest male Weasley.

"I'm stuck here with you snot-nosed brats because everyone has their knickers in a twist concerning Harry bloody Potter. Well I'm just going to console myself by kicking his best friend's arse all over this classroom. I can only hope that the next death eater to take a pop at Potter is a better shot."

Ron's firey temper was well known, and his reaction to the auror's remarks utterly predictable. The Gryffindor exploded in pure rage and began screaming obscenities while firing curses at the auror, an auror who was unfortunately far too well trained and experienced for the fourth year student to make any impression. Ron was disarmed and in a full body bind within a matter of moments.

"Pathetic, if that's all this class has got to offer then it's a good job I'm here. Not that this will be your concern anymore Mr Weasley, take this note to the headmistress at once. Oh, and take your stuff with you, you won't be coming back."

Ron was heading toward the spiral staircase with his head down, thinking this day couldn't get any worse when the headmistress once more proved him wrong. "Mr Weasley, I can't tell you how disappointed I am in you. After putting all your earlier detentions behind you, I thought we had turned a corner with your behaviour. Clearly I was wrong. You leave me no other option but to suspend you from Hogwarts."

Ron was handed a portkey and didn't even have time to say anything in his defence before feeling the now familiar hook behind his navel. Ron then naturally assumed he was in a lot more trouble than he first thought possible. This assumption was understandable, considering he was obviously in the Head of the DMLE's office and Madam Bones had her wand trained on him.

It was only after the spell washed over Ron that the scary witch smiled and lowered her wand. "My apologies for the subterfuge Mr Weasley but it was necessary. No auror of mine would ever behave so unprofessionally as your defence professor just did, but we needed a viable reason to get you out of Hogwarts without raising anyone's suspicion. As you can probably guess, the story of you being sent home will be all over the castle by dinner tonight. Doing it the way we did should put you in the clear."

"Madam Bones, can you please tell me what the bloody hell is going on? What was that spell you hit me with?"

"That spell Mr Weasley scanned you for tracking or monitoring charms. You're father gave his permission for this to happen, though it cost him a secrecy oath and he doesn't know where you will be going."

"Where will I be going?"

"Wherever this portkey takes you."

Ron wasn't really happy with that answer but didn't seem to have too much choice in the matter. He took hold of the object Madam Bones gave him and once again felt the hook behind his navel. His ribs being crushed soon replaced this feeling and his vision was blocked off by a mass of wavy brown hair. His eardrums also underwent an assault as Hermione's scream of greeting nearly deafened him.

"Oh Ron, it's so good to see you."

Hermione let him go and then Harry was shaking his hand. "Got a favour to ask you mate. Hermione and I are getting married tomorrow and I need a best man?"

The combination of seeing Harry and Hermione again, and also what he was being asked, nearly had Ron's eyes bulging out his head. All he could managed was one word. "Really?"

This one word though was enough to set Hermione off as she attempted to explain the situation to Ron in under thirty seconds. "Well, I know we're not exactly the proper ages to get married but, after what happened at the ministry trial, they're allowing us do this. Apparently there are some old laws regarding Harry being the last male survivor of ..."

"Hermione stop! What I meant was do you really want me to be best man at your wedding? I've been a bit of a prat this year."

Both grabbed an arm each and led him from the front steps of the house into the entrance hall. "Who else would I ask Ron? It wouldn't feel right if you weren't there. You'll be wearing a tux, just like the one I got at Christmas. Winky will be measuring you later and making a copy of mine to fit you."

They chatted away as the trio mended some fences from earlier in the year. They both had felt it was appropriate to inform Ron about horcruxes, but neither was comfortable talking about what would happen on Saturday night at the ministry. It wasn't that Harry and Hermione didn't trust Ron with the information about the ritual, they just didn't want to be in the same room as their friend when his head exploded from embarrassment.