Chapter 13

Harry once more woke in his large bed to find Hermione clinging to him, this time though she was under the bedcovers too. A slight exploration of his hands resulted in a contented sigh from his girlfriend, along with confirmation that at least they were both wearing pyjamas. "Hermione, what are you doing here?"

She was obviously not fully awake yet but Harry at least managed to decipher the word 'nightmare' from her mumblings. "Sorry you had a nightmare love but you need to get up, bad dreams would be the least of our problems if your dad caught us like this."

A now almost awake Hermione popped herself up onto her elbow to correct her boyfriend. "No Harry, you had the nightmare. Holding me seemed to be the only thing that drove it away."

"Well that certainly makes more sense. You still need to move though, before we get caught."

This was Hermione's cue to snuggle in even more. "Relax Harry, we have a chaperone."

Harry lifted his head to look over the snuggling Hermione and spotted the big black dog curled up on the sofa, Padfoot was snoring. Here was his chance to talk about what was most prominent in his mind. "Hermione, about what you said last night..."

Hermione pulled him back down to join her, she missed his warmth. She also wanted him as close as possible while she explained the facts of their lives to him. "Harry, until we hear back from Madam Bones there really is nothing to discuss. If there's another method for getting that thing out of you then we don't have to talk about this. If there isn't, then we still don't have to talk about this."

Harry was about to complain until she kissed him into silence. "You dove into a freezing cold lake and fought off mermen to rescue me, am I then just expected to stand by while the ministry cart you away to be killed? Not going to happen, especially if I have a means to help."

"You know there's no way your mum or dad would go for this, and I don't blame them one bit. I will not be the cause of a rift between you and your family, please don't ask me to."

"Harry, do you remember what you said to Ron that day at lunch?" Hermione then displayed that prodigious memory of hers to repeat Harry's words verbatim. "You're my friend Ron but Hermione is the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with, you need to understand the difference."

"That works both ways Harry. For me, this ring you put on my finger means we're going to get married, have children and spend the rest of our lives together. What does it mean to you?"

"Everything you've just said would be all my dreams come true."

"Well Harry, apart from the children bit, I'm ready now. Our ages may be against us but we're both older than our years, just think of some of the shit we've been through together."

It was Harry's turn to kiss Hermione quiet now. "I would rather think of all the good times we had together, and the best of those was certainly the Christmas holidays. I want to be with you Hermione, more than you could possibly know, but I want the both of us to have it all. That means our families all around us. Sirius and Tonks, your mum and dad, is that too much to ask?"

"Glad I at least made the list this time Harry."

Both had been so engrossed with each other, neither had noticed Tonks enter the bedroom, she was now sitting beside a wide awake and grinning Sirius.

It was his godfather who asked the question they all wanted to know the answer to. "It's not too much to ask Harry, it just might be too much to achieve at the moment. Do you have any ideas on the matter?"

"Yes, if we want to be taken as adults, then we need to act like adults. Hermione's father never got around to having the talk with me that he promised, I think now would be a good time. I need to speak to him about marrying Hermione."

A most un-Hermione like squeal emanated from the young witch as she pounced on Harry.

The two adults watched the teens playfully wrestling in the bed, Tonks though just had to comment on what she just heard. "Big brass ones Sirius, I told you he sent Molly Weasley a howler?"

"Oh I agree, brass at least. I just hope Dan Granger lets him keep them. If Hermione was my daughter, I would probably castrate any boyfriend that was trying to pull a stunt like this."

Tonks could only nod in agreement, figuring her father's reactions when she was fifteen would probably be at least that. "Well, I think we should make sure the condemned man at least eats a hearty breakfast. I'm thinking though that we leave that bandage on his forehead, go for the sympathy vote."

"At least you'll be there to make sure things don't get out of hand."

The auror had to shake her head at that comment. "We covered this situation when I first took the assignment, Madam Bones was quite clear on the matter. Harry's on his own."

The giggling and laughter coming from the bed wasn't quite loud enough to mask the 'oh shit!' from Sirius, that expression had the auror's wholehearted agreement.

-oOoOo-

The atmosphere at the Grangers could have done with some giggling and laughter, it could be described at best as strained. Both parents had taken different positions on this latest development. Though each could easily see how and why their partner reached their decision, there was just no middle ground for them to broach a compromise over. If ever there was an either / or scenario, this was it. The choice in front of them appeared to be either Hermione lost her virginity to her boyfriend or Harry could end up dead, Henry Kissinger couldn't find the middle ground in that situation.

The radio was playing in the background yet the silence was deafening, both were hurting but didn't have the words to heal the huge rift that was slowly growing within their family. The doorbell ringing saw the couple jump before Emma went to answer it, she returned with the last person Dan expected to see today.

Harry had already decided before coming over here that this was not an occasion for small talk, he was certain 'terrible weather for golfing so let's talk about me shagging your daughter' would not go down well either. It was time to get straight to the point, though with perhaps a tad more tact than his previous thought.

Taking his Gryffindor courage in hand, Harry dived right in. "Hello Mr Granger, we never actually got around to having that talk you promised me. I'm betting there are a few more things you'd like to add to it now so that's why I came over."

Emma was now really worried, she knew how angry Dan was with this entire situation. "Where's Hermione, or Tonks? Isn't she supposed to be guarding you?"

"Hermione is back at the house while Tonks walked me over, she's down at the end of the street. She also has my wand."

Dan was looking at his wife with a pained expression on his face. "Do you really think he needs his bodyguard for this, or his wand?"

Harry answered before Emma could say anything. "If Hermione was my daughter, the boy would need more than a bodyguard."

Dan could only shake his head, how could he possibly hate this young man? "Emma, go and get Tonks and the two of you can share a pot of coffee while Harry and I have our much delayed chat."

Dan led Harry off to the room they used as a small library come study, it was understandably Hermione's favourite bolthole. "Take a seat Harry and tell me what brought you over here this morning?"

"That's easy sir, Hermione. I think you know I love your daughter and hoped that one day she would be my wife, not like this though, never like this." Harry had a whole speech prepared, it had sounded great too, but every word left him as he entered Hermione's home. Instead Harry found himself speaking straight from the heart, saying aloud what he kept buried deep inside.

"When Hermione discovered that being betrothed would offer me protection from having my memory wiped, she didn't mention it for a while because she felt like she was trapping me into having a relationship with her. Nothing could be further from the truth but that's what she thought."

Dan could see the young man was wearing his heart on his sleeve here today so decided to just sit back and let him ramble, he could ask any questions later.

"I now know exactly how she felt because this feels as if I'm trapping her into marriage, something I could never do. Your daughter is brilliant and beautiful with the whole world at her feet and, well I'm not any of those things. Staying in this house over Christmas was easily the best two weeks of my life, I got a chance to spend them with Hermione and see how a real family functions. You've met the Dursleys so have some idea what I'm talking about."

Dan couldn't help but smile at those holiday memories, he'd never seen Hermione happier. This though just appeared to make Harry all the more determined. "If me bonding with Hermione is going to put an end to times like that, then I won't go through with it."

Dan Granger had spent most of his life reading peoples faces, usually because the rest of them were laid out on a dentist's chair as he worked on their teeth. He was as certain as he could be that this young man sitting before him meant every word that he said. "You realise what that could mean?"

"I do sir, better than most. My life has nearly been ended on more than one occasion since I entered Hogwarts, in each case I've been very lucky but still fought back with everything I had. I have no intention of going quietly." Harry appeared deep in thought for a moment before adding, "I have no intention of going at all."

This really made Dan sit up and take notice, had Harry come up with an alternative? "Could you explain that please Harry?"

"I'm going to speak with Sirius and hope both of us can be out the country before the ministry is any the wiser. Dumbledore might have me marked down for martyrdom, excuse my language sir, but fuck that for no future. They'll hunt down the rest of the horcruxes so Voldemort will remain a wraith unless he gets his hands on me, I have no intention of letting that happen either."

"Just the two of you Harry?"

"We'll be on the run for the rest of our lives sir, that's not a future for Hermione. I think that would be worse than going ahead with the bonding and her losing touch with you and her mother. No sir, I won't do that to her."

Dan was clutching at straws here, anything to keep Harry talking while his brain figured out what his next move was. "So, you've pretty much discounted there being any other way to get that thing out your head safely?"

"That would have to be yes, I'm just not that lucky. Sitting at the Halloween feast and my name comes out the goblet, that's more like the Potter luck."

Dan was all out of options. "What did you really come over here for this morning Harry?"

"My original plan was to convince you and Mrs Granger what a great son-in-law I'd make, trouble is I don't believe it myself. Hermione outclasses me on every level, I'm sure she'll find someone better one day. I also know this will devastate her, even if she only feels half of what I feel for her, but she'll have her family to help her through it. Family is something I've wanted my entire life, I could never take that away from her."

Dan was convinced, this was not some angle the young man was trying to pull, Harry genuinely would walk away from Hermione rather than see her estranged from her parents. The tears now silently running down the lad's cheeks told just how much this was costing the brave young man, Harry's heart was literally breaking right in front of him.

"I guess when you get right down to it, I really came here to say goodbye. I know you'll look after Hermione and please convince her that none of this was her fault. I would give anything to be her husband one day but the Potter luck just doesn't work that way."

Dan stood as Harry got unsteadily to his feet, the young wizard's intention appeared to be to shake hands goodbye and then leave, that never happened. As Harry shook his hand, the dam holding back his emotions finally broke. It didn't just break though, this was more of a catastrophic failure. His body was racked with sobs and Dan was forced to grab Harry as his legs no longer seemed capable of keeping him upright.

Harry's total breakdown was loud and certain to attract attention from outside the room. Sure enough, the door was flung open and Hermione came rushing in. That his wife and Tonks were close behind her went unnoticed by Dan, his daughter's presence demanding his full attention.

Hermione had taken one glance at her father holding a distraught Harry and exploded. "What have you done to him? What did you say to him?" Dan never got time to answer as Hermione was solely concerned with Harry's welfare. On hearing her voice, his sobs if anything appeared to increase in magnitude.

Hermione managed to help him back to the wing-backed chair he'd been sitting on. She then made sure he wasn't going anywhere by the simple procedure of parking herself on his lap. She had his head buried comfortingly in her chest while running her hands through his hair, all the time whispering endearments to the boy she loved. She totally missed her father being practically dragged out the room.

Emma waited until they had Dan in the kitchen before unloading. "Daniel Granger, what the hell did you do in there?"

Dan reached for the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of the dark liquid, leaving room in there for the brandy that he removed from the cupboard. "I said nothing and I did nothing."

"What we saw certainly couldn't be considered nothing. That looked to me like Harry was undergoing some kind of breakdown, and there was only the two of you in the room."

"I swear I did nothing." Dan took a hit from his spiked coffee cup before explaining to the two disbelieving women what had transpired. "Harry told me he would never split Hermione from her family so was refusing to go through with this ritual. He was planning on asking Sirius if they could flee the country and was saying goodbye when, well you both saw for yourselves."

Emma picked up the brandy bottle and splashed some to both hers and Tonks coffees, using the actions, and the time this took, to try and compose her answer. It didn't help one bit. "Daniel Granger, I am probably madder at you just now than your daughter is, and I didn't think that was possible. You have your 'my little girl' blinkers on and can't see what's really happening here."

"I told you, I said and did nothing to cause that."

"You did nothing to stop it either." Tonks was trying to stay out of this but just couldn't. She was quickly coming to consider the young couple in there as family, and nobody messed with her family.

Emma was on a roll though and cut across Tonks' effort. "Let me explain to you what I think happened here today, and if you get your head out your arse I think you'll see I'm right." Dan sipped at his fortified coffee, hoping to ride out the twin attack.

"That young man in there has come through mental and physical attacks from real monsters and homicidal maniacs. Up until recently, every figure of authority he had in his life has betrayed him in some way. I'm almost certain the only thing standing between Harry and a total nervous breakdown is our daughter."

Emma had to stop for a sip of her own coffee. She didn't want to crucify Dan here, just point out the harsh realities of the situation they found themselves in. "Hermione has stuck by him through thick and thin, she's his rock and anchor to normality. For an instant today, that anchor was slipped. We all witnessed the results. He trusts her with everything that he has or is, what more could you ask for in a young man for our daughter?"

Tonks felt she had information that needed to be added here. "I've been with them constantly now for a few months and I would have to point out this is not a one way relationship. Hermione relies on Harry every bit as much as he banks on her. As individuals, both have self esteem issues yet are rock solid as a couple. I would bet, had Harry been stupid enough to go through with this nonsense, that's probably the condition Hermione would have been in when he left."

Dan could see it all now. "When I shook Harry's hand it must have been like finalising the deal for the lad, he just fell to pieces right in front of me. Harry said he originally came over to try and convince us he would make the best son-in-law in the world, I can't help wishing that was the conversation we did have. Hermione looked at me as if I was dog shit on her shoe, that's not something I want repeated any time soon. How did she get over here anyway, I thought she was staying with Sirius?"

"She arrived here barely a minute after Emma and I sat down, she was pacing back and forward outside that door like a caged tiger."

Emma knew her husband only had their daughter's best interests at heart, he just had a father's blindness to just how much Hermione had grown. She reached across the table and placed her hand over his. "Harry's still here so we can both hear that conversation. Hermione at least didn't pull her wand, I thought she was going to attack Amelia Bones yesterday."

"If I know your daughter, her first priority will be to put Harry back together again. Quickly followed by ripping him a new one for even thinking about leaving her. I don't expect them to emerge much before lunch so I'm going to nip back and let Sirius know what's happening. He'll be slowly going nuts and you can expect him to return with me."

Emma gave her first smile of the day. "With Dobby and Winky making lunch, it doesn't really matter where we eat. I think you're right about those two and I'll pop my head in to see if they need anything."

Tonks left as Emma checked on Harry and Hermione, she didn't think they had moved an inch and were conversing barely above a whisper. It was impossible to say if Harry looked any better since his head was still buried in Hermione's chest, he'd stopped crying though so Emma took that as a good sign and returned to find Dan had been doing some soul searching.

"I always knew I would one day be replaced as the most important man in Hermione's life, I just reckoned on having the spot for a few more years yet. It was plain today that Harry now holds that position."

"Harry holds a different position Dan. I love you with all my heart but it didn't mean I loved my father any less when we married. Tonks told me Harry wants nothing more than to be part of a family, he also wants us to be a big part of that family. None of us are happy with how this is playing out but I think we should try our best to accept it, we've just caught a glimpse of what the alternative could be."

The hard look his daughter had given him this morning deeply affected Dan, that those same features swiftly morphed into displaying affection and concern as she held Harry meant he would have to re-examine his priorities here. In his drive to do what was best for his daughter, he'd made the classic parent's mistake of not taking that self same daughter's feelings or opinion on the matter into account. It was a mistake he would not make again.

-oOoOo-

Hermione had managed to calm Harry to the point where she now had the complete picture of what had taken place earlier. Part of her was horrified that he would even consider such a thing while another took comfort from the fact he clearly was unable to carry it out. She well understood Harry would have some noble reason behind this but had to nip any further attempts in the bud here and now. Hermione recognised better than anyone though that her boyfriend had just endured a horrendous few days, she wasn't going to add to that by giving Harry major grief over this incident.

She held him close and spoke softly into his ear. "We're a couple now Harry, the only way to remain a couple though is to talk to each other. I know I can be opinionated and downright bossy, I need you to tell me when I go OTT."

Harry was about to object when Hermione held him closer into her chest, any thoughts of objecting died right there. "Just like you can go off half cocked and jump right into something, that's going to need some work too."

"I was really stupid for even thinking I should leave you. Hermione, can you forgive me?"

He was looking at her now with such worry reflected in his eyes, she tried to gently kiss the doubt away. "We will only get through this if we stick together Harry, we're stronger as a couple. We can achieve far more by each other's side than we can individually. You said only this morning that we needed to start acting like adults, that's what we need to do love."

"I'm sorry Hermione, I walked into your home and it suddenly hit me what I could be taking away from you. My whole strategy just crumbled the second your mother opened the door. It was run away with Sirius or let the ministry take me."

"Look in the mirror Harry and you'll see what I can't lose. Everything else we can work around."

They sat chatting like that until Dobby appeared and asked them to come to lunch.

-oOoOo-

Amelia was supposedly having lunch with Susan. Instead she too had a crying teen in her embrace.

There was a large ministry presence at Hogwarts still and it would remain there until the school was back up and running. The two remaining senior staff had been promoted to head and deputy, with Sprout taking the top job. The minister had approved Harry's request for Lupin's return, with a promotion to Head of Gryffindor. Horace Slughorn had been coaxed out of retirement to handle the Head of Slytherin/Potions position.

This left the new Headmistress needing to promote someone to head her old house and find a transfiguration professor, preferably in the next few days. Some of the staff might be needed as witnesses at the trials tomorrow but they were hoping to have Hogwarts up and running by Wednesday.

Having just informed Susan about the line theft charges was the reason for her tears, Amelia had already decided her niece would be coming home for a few days before the story broke. They were sitting in McGonagall's old office, both their lunches untouched on the table in front of them, when a little visitor interrupted the pair with an important letter for Madam Bones.

-oOoOo-

Harry was very nervous as he entered the room, that didn't last long. Emma scooped him into a hug as Hermione made straight for her father. She flung her arms around Dan and apologised.

"Sorry for earlier dad. Harry told me what happened and it wasn't your fault. I just jumped to the wrong conclusion."

Suddenly, everything was right again in Dan Granger's world. He hugged his daughter back for all he was worth. When Hermione left her father's embrace, she found an anxious Sirius waiting on her.

"You know this crazy idea was nothing to do with me?"

Hermione thought a hug was the best way to reassure Sirius that she didn't blame him in the slightest. "I know Sirius. Harry would lay his life down for those he loves, it just never occurs to the silly prat that anyone could feel the same way about him."

Harry had been released from Emma's arms, only so Tonks could grab him. "Listen Potter, Dumbledore and his greasy henchman couldn't get you away from me, don't you even think of making an attempt. No one runs out on this auror. Do I need to start going to the bathroom with you in case you sneak out the window?"

Tonks was attempting to make a joke out of the situation but Harry knew her well enough now to see the hurt behind her façade. It was also quite possible that, if he didn't convince her otherwise, she would carry out her threat of being standing right beside him when he next went for a pee. "I'm sorry everyone for all the drama, it won't happen again. I'm not going anywhere."

Emma understood Harry had been raised with little love or compassion from his relatives but her heart broke at the sight of him in Tonks' arms, apologising for any trouble he'd caused.

"Harry, amongst family, when it hurts you say ouch."

Dan had seen and heard enough. He'd decided to adopt the old adage that he wasn't losing a daughter here, but gaining a son. Even the thought of losing his daughter's respect and affection was enough to prompt this change of heart. "This waiting is killing us all, is there any way we can get a hold of Madam Bones today?"

"We could send a message..."

Hermione was interrupted by a loud pop. "Dobby would gladly take any message that helps his family."

He was soon joined by Winky. "Invite her to dinner? Winky and Dobby love to have guests." Less than ten minutes later, Dobby popped off with their message while Winky cajoled her family to eat the lunch the elves had already prepared.

-oOoOo-

Susan was beginning to think this was a very bad idea, "Are you sure this will be ok?"

"You read the note yourself, they clearly wanted you here. I also told you they know who was responsible for any plots to get you and Harry together."

"They asked to see you, not me. It's probably only out of politeness I was added, you kinda left them with no choice."

"Relax Susan, since getting to know these people I've learned at least one thing. If they didn't want you here, you wouldn't have been invited."

Croaker was watching the scene with amusement, glad in some ways that he was a confirmed bachelor. He didn't miss the wards that they passed through at the gates though, this made the unspeakable glad his name was also on that dinner invitation. Without it, he would probably be lying in that hedgerow across the street about now.

Dobby escorted them into the reception room where his family was waiting, he'd taken their cloaks and now it was time for drinks before dinner. As usual though, his new family didn't stand on any ceremony.

Hermione had noticed Susan's 'deer caught in headlights' expression and headed straight for her. As Harry's betrothed, it would be better to get this over with as quickly as possible. Beside that, both of them considered Susan a friend and the witch was clearly stressing herself over this incident. "Hi Susan, glad you could make it. I just wanted to say that neither Harry nor I think you were in any way involved in this plot. It was all down to Dumbledore, and his need to control people. You would have been an unknowing and unwilling victim, just like us."

It was like watching the sun emerge from behind black clouds, Susan's entire demeanour underwent a transformation. "Oh thank you Hermione, I've been worrying myself sick since I heard about this today. You know my fear of being controlled and I've never taken my necklace off since Harry gave it to me."

Amelia was delighted at just how well that had gone, it was now time to take it to the next level. "The reason I informed Susan, and also why I asked if she could accompany me here tonight, is that I need agreement from you three for the next phase of our plan to capture Dumbledore."

That grabbed the entire room's attention, Amelia then provided the information that they were waiting on. "If we make it public that Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape intended to use potions to manufacture a relationship between Harry and Susan, we can add attempted line theft to the list of charges."

Sirius couldn't hold back the chuckle as her meaning became clear. "Oh Amelia, that's sneaky, nasty and absolutely bloody brilliant. You think he'll buy it?"

"Could someone please explain to us poor dentists just what is going on here? I don't want these two agreeing to anything until I know what it is."

Amelia nodded toward her silent companion. "It was actually Croaker's idea Dan, so I'll let him explain the finer details."

All attention then switched to the nondescript man who appeared as if he was trying to blend into the background. Amelia apparently wanted him to earn his free meal. "One of the most heinous crimes in pureblood law is outsiders attempting to manipulate a family's bloodlines in this way. Betrothal contracts and marrying your cousin is fine, providing the head of the family sanctions it. None of the three involved had any legal right to interfere in the affairs of the Bones and Potter families."

Sirius of course knew all this and had very quickly sussed just what they were up to. "This crime doesn't just earn you time in Azkaban, it carries the penalty of a dementor's kiss. I'm assuming this is going to be all over the Prophet by tomorrow and you're hoping Dumbledore will come rushing to rescue Snape and McGonagall, totally unaware that we already know all his secrets?"

Amelia nodded in agreement but, before she could point out that there were certain things Susan didn't know anything about, Emma was on her in a flash.

"If you're hoping that Dumbledore will come forward and spill his guts, you must have a way to protect Harry?"

"I was just about to say that Susan is unaware of any other developments at the moment. If we decide to go ahead with this, I wanted her out of Hogwarts before the story broke."

Hermione was smiling knowingly at Amelia. "It also will help Susan tremendously if you can publicly say she spent the evening having dinner with Harry Potter, his betrothed, and their families."

Croaker couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's discomfort at being so easily read. Perhaps Amelia would begin to understand why the unspeakables were so interested in this young couple. That interest would only increase if they accepted what was going to be proposed tonight.

Harry saved Amelia's blushes. "If you have a solution to this problem, we don't mind if Susan knows about it. We trust her and, if Dumbledore does what you think, the story will be all over the country by the end of the week anyway."

Croaker nodded in agreement, while deciding to put the family out of their misery and answer the one question that they must be desperate to ask. "Other than the method suggested by Miss Granger, nothing that we have been able to find gives Mr Potter anything better than a fifty percent chance of surviving the proceedure. I feel I must qualify that answer by saying, since an event like this has never been documented before, fifty percent survival chance is nothing more than our best guess."

Emma's nerves had been stretched pretty taunt over the preceding few days, this proved to be her snapping point. "So the best that you can come up with is that Harry will either die, or he won't? Totally unacceptable, and so is the Dumbledore proposal unless you have something better than that. I want him punished as much as anyone here, but not at the cost of Harry's life."

"We have taken Miss Granger's initial proposal and refined it somewhat to put the odds in their favour. While there still remains an element of danger, we calculate the chances of an acceptable outcome at well over ninety percent."

Emma was relentless though. "Just to ensure we're talking about the same thing here, the only outcome that would be acceptable to us is these two being alive and well at the end of it. Oh, and just what qualifies as 'refinements' in a process like this?"

"Straight and to the point Mrs Granger, a pleasure to deal with someone using their mind the way it was supposed to be used. The version of this ritual your daughter discovered was more of a general guideline, we have unearthed the complete and unabridged method."

Those were terms the entire company could understand. "We've also considered the best location for the result we all want to see achieved. There is a room deep inside the ministry that is dedicated to the study of what some consider to be the greatest power in the universe, love. Performing the ritual here again increases the chances of a successful outcome. This is love-based magic at its most powerful and, should the shadow hanging over Harry be expelled as expected, it will find itself in a totally inhospitable environment."

This comment saw the first traces of blushing from the pair who would be performing this ritual. "Finally, the young couple will be asked to invite someone they trust into the room with them. Their task will be to cast a binding spell at the spirit in the event its not destroyed on expulsion. This is purely a safety measure to ensure there is no possibility of its escape."

It was now a very red-faced Harry and Hermione who glanced questioningly at each other before both coming to the exact same conclusion, they turned as one to the person they trusted to help them with this.

Tonks was taken aback by the trust they were showing her but there was just no way she could possibly resist the two pairs of begging eyes that focused intently on her. "Ok, enough already. If you need me, I'll be there."

Dan asked the question he really didn't want to know the answer to. "Do you have any idea of what timescale we are working with here?"

"We hope to have the others destroyed before they proceed with the ritual. I spent hours going through Dumbledore's office today searching for clues. It was a veritable mine of information on Tom Riddle, along with a sketchy hypothesis that may turn out to be a lot more accurate than the old meddler thought."

Amelia knew this but what the fool then did, or didn't do, that had her blood boiling. "Dumbledore figured that Tom would conceal these abominations in places that had some special reference to him, he also guessed that founders objects would attract his interest too. Then the stupid old bugger sat on his arse, and the vital information, for well over a decade and did nothing about it."

"It turns out Tom's mother lived only a short distance from his father's muggle house where he'd been hiding, we plan to start searching that entire area with our detector tomorrow."

While listening to the unspeakable, Harry had a flash of inspiration, or more like understanding. "Tom was an orphan, check Hogwarts." The looks this comment drew then had Harry offering an explination. "Tom was an orphan who hated where he was forced to live. He knew he was different but had no idea why, Hogwarts changed his life forever. I can understand that. Up until recently, Hogwarts was the only place I considered home."

Hermione slipped her arm supportively around his waist as she offered another possibility. "He gave one to Lucius Malfoy to keep safe for him, could he have done the same with any more of his followers?"

Amelia was shaking her head and looked straight at her smirking unspeakable friend. "Ok, I get it now. I've been an auror for over thirty years and neither of those suggestions occurred to me." She then turned her attention back to the young couple. "If you don't want to work for Croaker here when you leave school, come and see me. The aurors can always use instincts and intelegence like that. The fact that I've seen you face down Dumbledore, and even me, bodes well for any future in law enforcement."

Sirius wanted to know if they had any idea just how many of these things they still had to find, Amelia jumped in to answer. "Our friend here is almost certain we're looking for another three, getting our hands on one more should give us a definit number. Just don't get Croaker talking on the arithmetical equations he used to work this out, we'll be here all night."

Dobby appeared to announce that dinner was ready, Hermione took a bewildered looking Susan by the arm to lead her and Harry into dinner. "Don't worry Susan, we'll explain it all during dinner but you need to let us know what's happening inside Hogwarts since we left."

The little Hufflepuff was almost babbling as she attempted to cram the shenanigans of the last few days into a few minutes. "With everything that happened at the second task, issuing points to the champions was completely forgotten about and now no one knows what will happen next. Professor Lupin is coming back to take over defence and be the head of Gryffindor. Oh and wait until you hear what happened to Malfoy..."

Dan took his wife's arm and followed the teens into dinner. "I get it now. No matter what happens, Hermione's still our daughter."

This earned him a kiss. "I knew I married a smart man."

Sirius walked beside Amelia, he wanted to know more about her plans for Dumbledore.

Dobby had a grin on his face as he watched his family come back together again, it had been a rough few days. Dobby had concealed himself in that room today when Master Harry had met with Mistress Mione's father. Dobby had been given a specific order to protect his master and that's what Dobby would do, Mistress Mione arrived before Dobby needed to take action. Watching as his mistress comforted his master warmed Dobby's heart. His new family was a different world from his old one. Dobby knew which one he preferred and popped away to help Winky as the last guest passed him. Dinner needed to be served.