Chapter 12

Albus could see why everyone was jumping to the conclusion he was some kind of covert dark lord, still didn't mean he had to like the idea though. He supposed it would make his eventual victory all the sweeter, it remained to be seen whether Minerva and Severus would ever forgive him after being forced to spend some time in Azkaban.

When the wizarding public discovered that not only was Voldemort still amongst them, he always would be until the Potter boy was dead, Albus expected he and his friends to be hailed as heroes for having the courage to act on that information. It was one thing to hold strong moral opinions against their actions, those self same morals would soon disappear when it was their family's lives that were in deadly jeopardy from a returning Lord Voldemort. The opinion of the British wizarding public was as fickle as the country's weather, Albus though could forecast with a fair degree of certainty that they would quickly be calling for the Potter boy's head in order to see an end to the dark lord.

There were actually two things stopping him approaching the minister with this vital information. Albus had a life long aversion to passing on knowledge he considered too important to be known by others and also the fact that the ministry was about as secure as a fair maiden's virtue in a brothel. Albus hated admitting his shortcomings, even to himself, but he just didn't know how many horcruxes Tom had created. He daren't let the fact that he knew about them make its way back to Voldemort, that particular information leaking could spell disaster.

He needed to be able to operate without the restrictions the prophecy placed him under, yet that would only happen after Harry Potter met his demise at the hands of Voldemort. The boy's name being entered in the tournament was an obvious attempt to do that very thing. Albus though remembered Tom Riddle from his Hogwarts days and knew he was a resourceful young man, there was bound to be a back-up plan swinging into effect about now.

With Voldemort back and Potter gone, Albus would be able to walk right into the ministry and write his own terms for saving their arses. He was confident that would all take place before this summer was over, Albus just hoped Minerva and Severus could hold out in Azkaban until then.

-oOoOo-

Harry awoke slowly, feeling as if one side of his body was numb. The reason for this was soon apparent, as he didn't require his glasses to recognise Hermione. Even although his new bed was massive, she was attached to his side like a limpet. His slight movement though alerted her to his awakening and soon his vision was full of bushy brown hair. A tender kiss later and she was putting his glasses back on him.

"You frightened the life out us Harry, was Voldemort responsible for that?"

Harry drew her into a hug to quell the shudders that racked his body from the mere thought of what he had seen. Thanks to the addition of his glasses, Harry now confirmed he was in his own room at their new house. While he was wearing pyjamas and tucked under the covers, Hermione was fully clothed and lying on top so neither felt the need to jump apart as Sirius entered the room.

"Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?"

"Like Dudley and his gang kicked the shit out of me. How long have I been here?"

"Once you stopped convulsing, the healer from St Mungo's administered a small dose of dreamless sleep potion. It's just after six in the evening. You feel up to talking about it?"

"No, but I need to. I only want to do it the once though so could we get everyone to gather here?"

Hermione was lying in his arms and could easily have stayed there for the rest of her life, her concern for Harry though made her speak out. "Don't you want to get up for a little while, maybe have a bite to eat?"

"Hermione, after you hear what I have to say, dinner will be the last thing on your mind."

Picking up some idea of how bad this might be, Sirius made a suggestion. "Do you think we should invite Madam Bones to hear this?"

Harry's answer of 'Definitely' had Sirius really concerned, he left the two teens so he could make the arrangements.

-oOoOo-

Amelia was being led toward the stunning house by Tonks but her mind wasn't thinking about architecture at the moment. She had some really bad news to pass on to these good people and had no idea how it would be perceived. As head of the DMLE, the part of the job she detested with a passion was having to pass bad news on to surviving relatives. This though had the potential to surpass that hated task by quite a magnitude.

She followed her young auror up the staircase into a first floor bedroom where the rest of the family had gathered. Harry still looked very pale, the white bandage around his head just adding to the effect. His betrothed was sitting on the bed beside him and Amelia wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if the witch hadn't let go of Harry since earlier in the ministry. There were a few sofas and chairs tastefully scattered about the large room that Sirius then placed around the huge bed, Amelia sat as the newly exonerated wizard explained what was going on here.

"Harry is about to tell us what happened today and thought you should be here. He doesn't want to tell it more than once so none of us know what happened yet."

Amelia nodded and awaited Harry's explanation, anything that delayed the news she had to deliver was welcome.

Harry kept a tight hold of Hermione's hand as he began. "The thing that used to be Voldemort was in some kind of underground cavern. I never got to see the outside so have no idea where it is. Peter was there, and Voldemort's snake Nagini."

Hermione offered him a drink but Harry fervently shook his head. "They were on a small rocky island in the middle of an underground pond, a little boat was tied off so I guess that's how they got there. Voldemort was forcing Peter to drink a clear liquid out of something resembling a church font. It was obviously not plain water because it was driving Peter nuts. He was sobbing while rambling on about James and Lily, Voldemort had to use an imperius curse to force the rat into drinking it all. When Peter then handed him a necklace from inside the font, all hell broke loose."

Even with the images of Peter being forced to drink that potion fresh in his mind, Harry needed a sip of water from Hermione before he could carry on. "When Voldemort saw the necklace, he was so angry he fired a curse that nearly brought the roof of the cavern down on top of them. He also forgot about Peter."

His shudder had Hermione once more lying beside him, holding on tight. Harry glanced toward his godfather before continuing. "Whatever revenge you may have dreamed up for Pettigrew, it could never be as bad as the way he met his end. That potion must have left him very thirsty because he crawled to the water and began lapping it up like the rat he was. He'd only been there a few seconds when a hand shot out the water and grabbed him by the throat."

Harry needed another drink because his own throat was now incredibly dry. "The arm had a body attached to it, and that body brought along a good number of his mates. Pettigrew was struggling like mad as they made their way out the water and headed straight for him. The nearest description I could give would be that of a zombie. They had certainly been human once and were clearly not anymore. They started tearing Peter to shreds with their long fingernails, and even their teeth."

Hermione had to remove the glass of water from his hand, Harry was shaking so much he would have spilled it. No one else moved, Harry's story had transported them all to the terror that was the underground cavern. "Voldemort had by then realised what was happening and started throwing some kind of flame curses around. It forced the creatures back into the water but they were dragging a still screaming and struggling bloody Peter Pettigrew with them. It was only when they grabbed his snake that Voldemort realised he was surrounded by the creatures. He couldn't save the snake either."

He paused for a moment, trying to steel himself for the last bit. The horror of what he had experienced was now sinking in to everyone in the room. They couldn't imagine how it could get any worse but Harry's demeanour was clearly indicating that it did. "Voldemort knew it was hopeless. Without Pettigrew he had no way out off there, or anyone to care for him if he did make it. Nagini being slaughtered also meant she wouldn't be able to feed him. His rage was awesome and he took many of those things with him but it was always going to end only one way."

His voice was now muffled as he was clinging on to Hermione as if his life depended on it. The listeners though still caught every word, and the sheer terror they contained. "His cobbled together body couldn't possibly maintain that level of magic use for very long, when the first one managed to grab him that was the beginning of the end. Voldemort was still alive when they began to eat him."

Hermione wasn't the only person in the room now in tears at what Harry had to endure, she was the only person holding Harry though and attempted to keep it together to help him through this. Harry had told her that during these dreams/visions it was as if he was the snake or Voldemort. No wonder he was still shaking, Harry must have felt as if he was being eaten alive.

Dan was the one to break the silence that followed Harry's final revelation. He had an arm comfortingly around his crying wife while struggling to make sense of what he just heard. "Does this mean Voldemort is gone?"

It was actually Harry who tried to answer him. "I don't think so. It felt like when Quirrell died at the end of our first year. He was using another body that time too. It died but he didn't and something tells me this is the same again. Just don't ask me to explain it."

This was the best opening Amelia was going to get so she grasped the opportunity. "Perhaps I can explain it, though I have to emphasise this information is classed as most secret. It can't leave this room."

If Amelia had an explanation, they all wanted to hear it and quickly agreed to keep the secret. She then removed an old book that everyone but Sirius had seen before, Tom Riddle's diary.

"We are now certain this diary was once a horcrux. A horcrux is..."

"Some of the darkest magic known. You create one using a ritual that requires the person to commit murder, a piece of their soul is detached and embedded into an object. The person then cannot die as long as this horcrux exists." It was obvious to everyone Hermione was quoting verbatim from something she'd read, Amelia though demanded to know where she got this information.

"It was only a few paragraphs in a book I was reading about soul magic. It had no information on how to create one though did offer a few suggestions for destroying them. It offered a dementor's kiss or hitting the object with the killing curse as means of disposal. Funnily enough, ripping the fang out a one thousand year old Basilisk and stabbing the horcrux with it never rated a mention."

Harry almost managed a smile. "If you give up on being a stand-up comic, I'll leave the cooking as a hobby. Do we have a deal?"

Dan felt as if he still didn't understand what was going on here. "Are you saying this Voldemort person can't be killed, even by Harry? Isn't that horcrux thing destroyed?"

Amelia had promised them honesty and now it was time to deliver. "Voldemort can't be killed for good while a horcrux still exists. Yes this one is destroyed which can only lead to the conclusion that he made more than one."

While this was sinking in, Amelia then dropped the real bombshell. "I was extremely concerned on hearing Harry had this connection to Voldemort and asked my colleague from the unspeakables if he would carry out some tests on Harry. We of course were going to ask your permission but we all know what happened in my office. He cast the charms while Harry was thrashing about and I'm afraid it's bad news. There is a piece of Voldemort's soul residing behind Harry's scar."

Hermione's wand shot off the bedside table and straight into her hand, it was pointed directly at the head of the DMLE. She wasn't confident enough against such an opponent though so called for back-up. Dobby was there the instant Hermione spoke his name.

She gave the little elf his instructions but her eyes and wand never waivered from Amelia. "Dobby, this is an order. If anyone from the ministry tries to take Harry or harm him, get Harry away from here."

Dobby quickly nodded and stood ready to comply.

Amelia slowly and carefully lifted her hands so Hermione could see they were empty, the girl might still be young but her rage saw the power almost crackle like electricity from the witch. Tonks had her wand out too, but Amelia wouldn't like to bet where the auror's loyalties lay in this situation. It was time to take command. "Auror Tonks, please take my wand and sit it over beside Harry. Miss Granger, please remember I am not Albus Dumbledore."

Sirius clearly sided with the teens that were still on the bed. Dan though felt the more information he got, the more confused he became. "Hermione love, what's the problem here?"

Even as she answered her father, she still never let up on covering Amelia. "Neither can live while the other survives. Now we know why Dumbledore wanted Voldemort to kill Harry, the old bastard probably thought it was poetic justice. He can't be vanquished while Harry still has that horcrux in his head, Voldemort would be killing a piece of himself at the same time. Tell me Madam Bones, what plans do you have for getting this thing out of Harry without killing him?"

She felt Harry's hand reach over and slowly push her wand arm down. "This is not the way Hermione, Madam Bones has been a friend to us since we first met her. I would certainly like to hear the answer to that question though."

"I promised I would tell the truth and that's what I intend to do. At the moment, only one other person outside these four walls knows about this. He's currently searching through every piece of literature the ministry has that mentions these things. Miss Granger's hypothesis about Dumbledore is surely correct and, thanks to her insight, we will be searching his office for any materials on the subject in the very near future. May we borrow the book on soul magic you read that in?"

"The book mainly focused on another type of soul magic, that was just... Tonks, mum, I need to speak with you both." She turned to Harry and gave him a quick kiss. "You stay here, we won't be long."

Harry easily recognised what he would call Hermione's 'head to the library' moment. He could only smile as she jumped off the bed.

Hermione wasn't smiling though as she spoke to Dobby on the way out. "My order still stands Dobby, keep Harry safe."

The little elf practically saluted. "Yes Mistress Mione, you can count on Dobby." If there was one order Dobby would be sure to follow to the best of his abilities, it would be keeping Harry Potter safe.

As the three ladies left, Sirius looked to Harry for an explanation. "Hermione just thought of something but isn't sure enough of her facts to tell us yet. Normally she would be heading for the library but we haven't had time to set that up. She'll let us all know shortly."

Dan was shaking his head. "It amazes me just how well you two can read each other, Hermione was ready to do battle and you calmed her down with a few words. I'm also amazed at how well you're taking this horcrux news, I think I would be going nuts about now."

Harry considered Dan's point for a moment before answering. "A part of me is terrified while another is relieved that we can put a name to what this is. Does that make sense?" He received a nod from Sirius, Amelia and Dan before continuing.

"We also have Madam Bones and an unspeakable in our corner fighting for us, and a family to fall back on. That puts us way ahead of where we normally are in these situations. Dumbledore is undoubtedly a brilliant man but once he makes his mind up about something, nothing can change it. That's why I was sent back to the Dursleys every summer, and why he kept trying to arrange my death. He couldn't see any other option but now there are some very god people looking for one."

"Harry, I give you my word that we will do everything in our power to get that thing out of there without harming you. My friend in the unspeakables thinks that, if he got his hands on a horcrux, he could use it to help track down any others. As we've seen from your scar, they are all connected in some way. He reckons that one could be used to track down the rest. What can you tell us about that necklace?"

"Oh, did I say it was a locket, and that there was a note inside?" The glances from the other occupants of his bedroom clearly told Harry that, not only did he not mention these facts, he should continue with the rest of the story as soon as possible. "A death eater had discovered what Voldemort was up to and swapped lockets. He expected to pay for this with his life but hoped it would help bring Voldemort down. It was signed R.A.B."

Sirius was on his feet instantly with a cry of "What did you just say?" He made a lunge toward Harry, only to find an empty bed. Dobby had protected his master.

-oOoOo-

Hermione led her mother and Tonks into her bedroom, shutting the door before speaking. "Tonks, what do you know about soul bond rituals?"

"Ah, the mystery of why you were reading about that type of magic is solved. I think you are a bit young to be considering a step like that."

"And I think Harry's far too young to die. Do you know anything about them?"

"Only that they fell out of favour many decades ago. With both participants having to swear they would be faithful to each other for the rest of their lives, and also the couple have to be virgins, you can see why this died out among the pureblood males."

"So far nothing you have said seems like a negative to me?"

"What about having to lose your virginity during the ritual?"

Hermione was trying not to blush, and deliberately not looking at her mother at this point. "It was always going to be Harry, this would just move the timetable up."

"Ok, I can understand that but what if the bond isn't powerful enough to push the horcrux out? I'm assuming that's the aim here?"

"Of course that's the aim. When I first read it, I thought that was the kind of relationship every girl dreams off. With the situation we're in now, this may be a way out for us."

"In theory, yes. I really don't know enough about it, I think you are going to have to talk to Madam Bones' friend in the unspeakables."

Hermione was now smiling. "I just wanted to know if you thought it was possible before I mentioned it."

"I assume you are now going to tell me just what you both are talking about?"

"Mum, Harry has a bit of Voldemort's soul behind his scar, and we need to get it out." Emma nodded that at least that much she understood. "The book I was reading had rituals where a couple could literally join their souls, magic and everything else that we are. It goes so much further than a simple marriage. My hope is that this bond would force that thing out of Harry. Nothing can come between a soul bound couple, our magic simply wouldn't allow it."

"And for this ritual to work, you have to lose your virginity? I'm assuming during sex with Harry?"

This time Hermione looked her mother directly in the eyes. "Yes mother."

Emma couldn't mistake the determination shown there, she asked the question the mother in her wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer to. "Do you have some kind of schedule in mind for performing this ritual?"

"Well, when I first read of this ritual, I thought my coming of age would be the perfect time..."

Hermione's room wasn't just as big as Harry's, it still contained a sofa and two chairs as part of its furnishings. It was into one of these chairs a mightily relieved Emma Granger sank. "Oh thank god for that. For a minute there I had this terrible vision of explaining to your father this was happening next week. Since you'll then be seventeen, he doesn't even need to know anything about it."

Hermione's gaze was now locked on her mother. "As I was saying, that was my original thoughts, or dreams would be a more accurate description. Now we know about this thing in Harry's head, I really think it should be sooner rather than later."

Emma was trying to gather her thoughts after that electrifying news. While she was delighted Hermione trusted her enough to have this discussion, the mother in her was screaming that her baby wasn't ready for this step yet. How to put that across without starting a war would call on all her parenting skills. Hermione's reaction to Amelia's revelation hadn't shocked Emma, she'd come to recognise the deep feelings the couple had for each other.

"Hermione, your father and I really like your choice of boyfriend, we're even happy with the betrothal part of your relationship. This though seems like a step too far, too quickly. Surely what we just heard about this Voldemort gives you more time? You'll need to explain to me the need for this to be rushed into before I could even consider thinking about it, never mind offering my blessing."

Hermione gave a genuine smile at that. Her mother would hear her out, she really couldn't ask for any more than that at the moment. She needed her mum on board to help convince her dad, the task of persuading Harry this was a good idea fell to her and would probably be every bit as difficult, especially if the process proved to be dangerous to one Hermione Granger.

"The reason I had my wand on Madam Bones is because I think the ministry and Dumbledore are a bigger threat to Harry at the moment than Voldemort. Harry's right to trust her but, if it became public knowledge he had to die to be rid of Voldemort his life wouldn't be worth a Knut. Dumbledore knows all this and may just decide to go public in the hope of keeping Snape and McGonagall out of Azkaban."

Emma was aghast at even the thought this could be true, she looked toward Tonks and only found confirmation coming from the auror.

"Minister Fudge will always go with the popular opinion, and the public believe everything they are told. We would be forced to flee the country and hide for the rest of our lives."

Neither Granger girl missed Tonks use of the word 'we', the auror was clearly placing the safety of the young couple before any loyalty to her job.

Emma stood and held both her daughter's hands in her own, she needed the contact for her next question. "Hermione, are you sure you're both ready to take this relationship to the next level? This is not something that can be taken back."

Emma saw vulnerability in her daughter for the first time. "I love Harry mum and think he loves me, I already know he's the one for me."

"Hermione, I don't think there is any doubt how Harry feels about you. That at least is one thing you don't have to worry about."

Tonks hated to interrupt this tender mother/daughter moment but had a piece of information that she thought needed mentioning. "What you might not know is, should these two go through with this and pull it off, they would be married in the eyes of the magical world. Your daughter would eventually be Lady Hermione Potter, wife of Lord Potter."

Neither Emma nor Tonks missed the glow in Hermione's eyes at the mere thought of that. The also heard her whispered reply. "Now all I have to do is convince Harry."

At that, there was a loud pop and Harry appeared in Hermione's bed. Emma just couldn't resist teasing her daughter. "Looks like that won't be as big a problem as you thought."

-oOoOo-

"What the hell are you playing at Sirius?"

"In a minute Dan, we need to find where Dobby took Harry. Winky."

The little elf appeared with a scowl on her face.

"Winky, do you know where Dobby took Harry?"

"Yes."

That Winky offered no further explanation was a clear indication to Sirius just how big a mess he'd made of things. She only answered what her bond to the Black family forced her to, this was not the way he wanted to continue. Sirius knelt down to be closer in height to the little elf. "Winky, I love my godson and would never harm him. Harry just gave me the biggest shock of my life and I need to find him. Will you help me?"

All three could see Winky thinking before answering. "Dobby took him to where he would be safe, beside Mistress Mione. They are in her bedroom."

A relieved Sirius thanked his elf before standing, Amelia had retrieved her wand and stored it away inside her robes. "I'm assuming that if we follow you, there will be an explanation?"

Dan couldn't resist adding his tuppence worth. "You'd better come anyway Amelia, Sirius here might be the one requiring a bodyguard, from Hermione."

Sirius wasn't really listening, he shot out the door to find his godson. The sound of female laughter emanating from Hermione's room was certainly unexpected and slowed Sirius down enough to let the other two catch up. He knocked and opened the door to find a blushing Hermione, while Emma and Tonks were in kinks of laughter at her discomfort. Sirius though had his gaze locked onto Harry, and the loyal little elf at his side.

"Dobby, thank you for such quick action regarding Harry but I was only going to ask him some questions. R.A.B. could be my younger brother Regulus. Our whole world thinks he died a death eater, this might change everything."

"I'm sorry Sirius, the letter mentioned destroying the horcrux but not much else."

The auror in Amelia needed to see the proof. "Do you have any idea where your brother might have placed such a thing?"

Sirius was considering nothing else, this would be like getting his brother back. To know Regulus died fighting Voldemort would do wonders for his soul. He called again for Winky.

"When you were getting items out my family property, was their another elf there?"

"Yes master Sirius, he knew Winky was also a Black elf but still called Winky terrible names. He stopped when Dobby banished him into a wall. He leaves Winky alone after that." No one missed Winky's blush, or sly glance in Dobby's direction.

When Sirius called for Kreacher, the elf was duty bound to obey the head of the Black family. Kreacher though could still display his displeasure and was all set to do so before spotting Dobby. He had no wish to cross that powerful young elf again. "What can Kreacher do for the head of the Black family?"

Watching Dobby stand their ready to protect his master triggered memories of another elf who was devoted to a black haired boy, Regulus had been Kreacher's favourite by quite a margin. Remembering this tempered the way Sirius approached the old elf. "Kreacher, do you know anything about a locket my brother might have taken from the dark lord?"

Any semblance of resistance left the dirty and dishevelled elf, fat tears began to leave clean tracks down his wrinkled cheeks. "Master Regulus wouldn't let Kreacher save him. When those things came out of the water, he ordered Kreacher away."

The thought of his young brother meeting the same end Harry had described for Pettigrew had tears in the corners of Sirius' eyes too, he wasn't the only one. "What about the locket Kreacher, was it destroyed?"

The ancient elf's body was now racked with sobs. "Kreacher is a bad elf, he couldn't carry out Master Regulus' last orders. The magic was too powerful for Kreacher, Kreacher couldn't destroy it."

Amelia handed Sirius the diary and he caught on at once. "Kreacher, we know how to destroy it. This book held the same dark magic and my godson destroyed it. If you bring the locket here, I give you my word it will be destroyed. Master Regulus will be avenged."

That was a concept Kreacher was well acquainted with, he was after all a Black elf. Sirius was now head of the Black family and offering to remove the stain of failure from Kreacher, he popped out of there at once.

There wasn't really time to say anything else before the elf returned and presented Sirius with the locket. Amelia offered an evidence bag and it was quickly bagged and tagged.

Kreacher was looking around the room, noticing the muggleness of it. "Will Master Sirius be staying here?"

"I will be living here with my godson for now, I assume you will be taking good care of the Black ancestral home, and yourself?"

Kreacher stood just that little bit straighter. "Kreacher will have the home ready for when Master Sirius visits."

"Would Kreacher like some help?"

His old eyes looked at the young female elf, wearing a robe with the Black crest proudly and prominently displayed. "Kreacher would like that."

"Dobby and Winky will pop in to help clean, once we have our home the way we want it."

Sirius wasn't alone in being moved by Winky's offer of aid, nor did he miss the fact that both elves clearly thought of this as home. Kreacher nodded toward Sirius before popping out of there and heading back to London.

Sirius handed the bag to Amelia. "You better take this, I hope your unspeakable friend knows what he's doing?"

Amelia accepted the locket from Sirius with an expression that seemed equal parts excitement and horror. Excitement that they might finally be able to end Voldemort once and for all, and horror that someone had to be murdered to produce this.

"Croaker is the best. If he thinks this can be used to track these things down then their days are numbered. Don't you worry Harry, we'll be working on getting that out of you too. Now that I know Voldemort is banished, I can move more auror's over to the hunt for Dumbledore. Sirius, I'm sorry but trying to clear your brother's name at the moment might give information to our enemies. When this is all over though..."

Sirius nodded in understanding, nothing else needed to be said. Regulus was no death eater, that was enough for him.

Hermione actually felt sick at the sight of the locket. Until the horcrux was out of Harry, every single one of these discovered put his life in greater danger. If they determined that Harry was the last remaining horcrux, no government in the world would stand back and let him live a normal life. The needs of the many would outweigh the needs of the one. Hermione removed a slim volume from one of the three bookcases in her room. "Madam Bones, this is the book I read about horcruxes in, it..."

"It's ok Hermione, I'll get Madam Bones up to speed as I see her out."

Both Granger girls were grateful to Tonks for interceding, neither were looking forward to the anticipated response of the men to Hermione's plan. Emma had also recognised that the discovery of the locket slashed any time they had for planning. If word came back that the ritual would actually work, and they couldn't come up with another safe method to get that abomination out of Harry's head, Emma knew it would fall to her to convince Dan this was the right thing to do.

She knew her daughter well enough to know Hermione would consider this a small price to pay in saving Harry's life. She was also smart enough to know that if any government could end a war by killing one person, they would take the shot. She watched as her daughter return to Harry and snuggle into her boyfriend, bringing comfort to both of them. On the one hand it was adorable, knowing what was in front of them though Emma couldn't help but think the next few days would be just as fraught as those just passed. She could only hope her family came through this stronger, and a little larger. She would have to make sure Hermione knew about all the forms of birth control available.

-oOoOo-

Croaker was delighted with the horcrux Amelia brought him, but even more so at the story she told. "Perhaps now you will understand why we are so interested in these two? I spent all day researching ways to get that thing out the lad and came up with nothing. Miss Granger not only quickly realises what the ministry's reaction to this news would be, she discovers a method that might just be our only viable alternative. She and Mr Potter really do make quite the team, it's such a pity Dumbledore got his hooks into Harry's parents first."

"You actually think this idea will work?"

"If any couple could pull it off at such a young age, it would be those two. Mr Potter is also the only person capable of having the power to push that thing out of him. Knowing that if he doesn't, it will spell disaster for Miss Granger too, I would bet my life on the result."

"It will be their lives riding on this, there can be no mistakes here."

The unspeakable nodded his agreement. "This book provides us with a starting point, I'm sure there are more detailed texts in our library. I will of course keep looking for alternative methods but don't hold out much hope. I think we must assume Dumbledore spent years searching for a way to get that out the lad, eventually deciding Harry had to die to complete the prophecy. We'll know more when we go through his office at Hogwarts tomorrow."

Amelia had a question that had been troubling her ever since she heard this idea from Tonks. "How will this fit with the prophecy Dumbledore put so much faith in?"

"Well, who's to say the prophecy wasn't fulfilled that Halloween?" The unspeakable thought for a few moments before offering an alternative suggestion. "If we left the horcrux in Harry until last, that would definitely fit the prophecy. The power the dark lord didn't know would be love, I'm sure you'll agree that's not something Voldemort was overly familiar with."

This threw up another question for Amelia. "How will you know when Harry's the last one remaining?"

"Well, he apparently made the diary when seventeen so I think it's safe to assume that was the first. I also think it's safe to assume Harry Potter was the last. Now that we have one that was made somewhere in-between those two, it shouldn't be too difficult to arithmetically extrapolate a formula from magical power readings. Even the residue on the diary still left an imprint of the power it once held. This should enable us to accurately predict how many he made, especially when we find any more. Their power readings should fit right into our prediction."

The auror in Amelia just kept coming up with more questions that she wanted the answers to. "We think Dumbledore's known about the horcruxes since that Halloween, why in Merlin's name hasn't he done anything about it? It was only eighteen months ago Harry Potter slapped a destroyed one on his desk, surely he'll have made some headway into solving these problems?"

"I doubt it. Dumbledore is brilliant with his wand, at Charms and Transfiguration he probably has no equal. We both know about his skills at alchemy but Arithmancy was never his strong suit. Oh he passed his NEWT but took it no further, he probably wouldn't know what I'm going to attempt is possible. What we will need is possible locations Voldemort may have hidden these things, I'm hoping Dumbledore has some ideas about that."

"What sort of range will your detector give?"

"Barely a square mile. Unless we can narrow down locations, it could take years to do a grid search of Britain. That's also assuming they are all stored here, otherwise we might never find them."

"If the old fool had only shared this information, Voldemort would be nothing but a bad memory by now. Just one more reason for me wanting to wring his scrawny neck."

That comment brought a question from the unspeakable. 'Just how bad do you want to get your hands on the old wizard?"

Amelia answered with a glare that didn't need words. Her friend then supplied the means. "What they attempted to do with Harry and your Susan could be considered line theft. If you add those charges, you know what the punishment could be. I think we also know what Dumbledore's reaction would be too."

Adding those charges would mean she was forced to inform Susan about the plot, but there was something else that needed to be organised first. "That can't happen unless we have a procedure in place to deal with Potter's situation. We both know what Fudge is like so there can be no mistakes here. The trials are set for Monday so we need to have a working method that I can take to them on Sunday."

"Now that I can narrow my search, I should be able to confirm or deny whether Miss Granger's proposal would work by then. If you don't mind, I would like to come with you to that meeting."

"Thanks, I think that one should go better than the death sentence I handed Harry today. I can't wait to see Dumbledore's face when he thinks he's holding all the aces, only for us to trumph him before throwing his arse in Azkaban."

That thought brought a smile to both their faces.

-oOoOo-

There was a distinct lack of smiles in the Grangers bedroom that night. There was a distinct lack of anything and the silence finally got to Emma. "Dan, please tell me what you're thinking?"

"I'm thinking I should have booted McGonagall's arse right out our front door that day she turned up and told us Hermione was a witch. You tell me our fifteen year old daughter needs to have sex with her boyfriend to save his life and a part of me just wants to get out my shotgun and shoot the little bastard."

"Dan!"

"You asked me what I'm thinking and there it is. What do we know about this ritual thing? Will they be selling tickets so people can watch?"

"You know our daughter isn't like that..."

"Emma, our daughter would have sex with Harry in the centre circle of the Wembly Stadium pitch, during half time of the FA cup final, if it helped Harry in some way. In case you hadn't noticed, our daughter is totally and utterly besotted with the boy."

"Of course I bloody noticed, you're convienently forgetting that the boy feels exactly the same about her." Emma was really glad that Hermione was staying over at Harry's, the last thing she needed at the moment was to hear them arguing over this.

"Look, I don't care what you say, they're both far too young to be having sex. That is my opinion and I can't see it changing."

"I agree with you, and so does Hermione. What she's really worried about is Harry's opinion. If he thinks they're too young, or sees it causing a rift in our family, Hermione is sure he'll say no. We've already seen he was ready to give up his magic to get out of Hogwarts, what do you think he will do if he thought this would hurt Hermione?"

"Shit Emma, dont try and lay any blame for this at my feet. You must have known what my reaction would be, and so does Hermione. If this needs me to sign my permission then I don't think I can do that, it's a step too far for me. I really like Harry but this is just too much for me to handle. How could any father be asked something like that about his fifteen year old daughter?"

Emma then told her husband the information she was sure he wasn't going to like. "The form we already signed takes away our right to object, Harry and Hermione are betrothed so the next step is their decision to make." Dan was struggling to find words when his wife totally blew him out the water.

"This is not some teenage wham-bam, thank you ma'am and I'll give you a call sometime. Hermione told me this ritual will see them joined for life, faithful to each other until the end. Tonks then added that, in the magical community at least, they would be married."

Dan was gasping like a fish out of water, his mouth was going but there were no words coming out. Emma then delivered the coup de grace. "Our daughter would be Mrs Potter, in a few more years that would change to Lady Hermione Jane Potter, married to Lord Harry Potter. The ritual would see them married, allowing Harry to come into some of his inheritance at once."

Dan had no answer to that either. "Now I have already said I think they are too young for this but we have to consider the alternatives here. In any situation regarding Hermione, my benchmark is always what I think is best for our daughter. I can't imagine a single sinario where a dead Harry Potter fits that bill."

Emma knew she was pushing her husband here but Dan could be every bit as stuborn as Harry where Hermione's welfare was concerned. Whatever decision he reached, they would need to be able to live with it for the rest of their lives. "We might be faced with this in the next few days, not something I'm looking forward to. All I know is that I would much rather be welcoming Harry into the family as my son-in-law than trying to pick up the pieces Hermione would be in if anything happened to him."

Emma turned on her side, her back to Dan, and attempted to get some sleep. She didn't think there was a cat in hell's chance of either of them getting any shut-eye tonight. Part of her agreed with her husband that they should have kicked McGonagall out that day. A much bigger part though remembered having Harry in the house over the holidays, and just how happy that made their daughter. They recieved many comments at their ball on just how cute a couple Hermione and Harry made, Emma could only pray they could spend many more holidays together as a family.