Chapter 12: Love Trouble
Starfox5
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Chapter 12: Love Trouble
'Many think of bombs and battles when they hear of the Second Blood War. The destruction of Malfoy Manor, or the riots in Diagon Alley certainly left a lasting impression, and were followed by similar events throughout the war. Even some historians tend to focus on those incidents. All of them fail to see that the war was not decided by bombs or battles, but by intelligence and logistics. That you cannot attack an enemy you cannot find is something so basic, everyone should know it, yet many overlook how it applied to this war. The Muggleborn Resistance went underground at the start, hiding in muggle Britain. The Death Eaters had their safehouses, some dating back to the First Blood War. And the Old Families started to hide after Malfoy Manor, quite a few abandoning their ancestral homes for secret lodgings. In order to fight their enemies, everyone but those warring against the Ministry therefore had to find them first. And that meant spying, scouting, and subterfuge. Something at which the muggleborns, to the surprise of many Slytherins, excelled.'
- Excerpt from 'The Second Blood War' by Hyacinth Selwyn
Hogwarts, October 19th, 1996
Ron Weasley recast the privacy spell surrounding Harry's bed in their dorm. It was almost time for the scheduled call from Hermione. It wasn't exactly scheduled, officially, but their friend almost always used the communication mirror at this time of the evening.
"You know… we still gather on your bed for a secret meeting, like in first year," he commented.
"Without Hermione though," Harry said, nodding.
"Well, she wouldn't really fit. We've grown since." Ron gestured at the bed, which had seemed very large, especially for him, when he had seen it for the first time, but now looked rather normal. The two boys took up most of the space it offered.
"Yes," Harry said. He didn't make a comment about how Hermione had grown in the right places, which is what Ron's brothers would have done. Well, not Percy.
Ron was about to say something else to pass the time when the mirror vibrated. Harry whispered the activation word, and Hermione's face appeared. Ron slid up a bit, next to Harry, so both could watch the mirror, and be seen by their friend.
"Hermione!" the two chorused.
"Harry! Ron!" Hermione smiled at them. "How are you doing? And don't say 'fine'," she added with a mild glare.
Ron saw Harry close his mouth, and chuckled. "We're doing well. Mostly training."
The girl nodded. Her new haircut suited her, even though Ron was missing the wild mane she had sported for years. "We're training as well."
"We've heard rumours about Aurors going missing," Harry said.
Hermione frowned. "That's not the Resistance's work. We've other plans."
"So, someone else's fighting the Ministry?" Ron asked.
"Probably. Might be someone acting on his own." Hermione sounded not quite as happy as Ron would have expected about others taking the initiative.
"Do you think it's the Death Eaters?" Harry asked.
Hermione shook her head. "There's no Dark Mark, and no mutilated corpses. That's atypical for Death Eaters."
"True. Did you get the transcripts from Sirius?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I did." The witch nodded. "There are some promising leads, but we'll need to be careful in going after them."
Harry hesitated, then asked. "How dangerous is that?"
Hermione bit her lower lip. "We're playing it as safe as we can."
That didn't sound very safe to Ron. He glanced at Harry, trying to be subtle, but he wasn't subtle enough, as a familiar exasperated sigh from the mirror told him. "Honestly, we're not taking unnecessary risks! You should be more concerned about Sirius."
"What did he do?" Harry asked quickly.
"He's been the one touring the shops and placing the ears."
"Well, that's done with now, right?" Harry asked.
"He might want to help us with the next step too," Hermione said. "And we can use his help."
"Padfoot's?" Ron asked. The animagus form of Harry's godfather was quite useful in many possible missions.
"Not just Padfoot." Hermione took a bite from what looked like a muggle Mars bar. "He can visit places we cannot. Though his political views are well-known, so some might suspect him, even without any proof." Ron heard Harry hiss under his breath. Hermione didn't seem to have noticed though. "We'll do our best to avoid that, of course."
"Thanks," Harry said.
"We can help as well," Ron cut in. "I'm a pureblood, and he's Harry."
"You're the poster boys for Dumbledore's Junior Order," Hermione said in a flat voice.
"There is no such thing," Ron said. They were full Order members, even if they kept that secret.
"You know what I mean," Hermione sniffed.
Harry grumbled something about fame that would have earned Ron a Cleaning Charm to the mouth had he said it in the Burrow.
"Anyway, we're still preparing. Training. Like you."
Ron nodded. Safe then.
"Though…" Hermione frowned suddenly. "What exactly did you tell Sirius about Allan?"
"What?" Harry sounded as surprised as Ron felt.
"Sirius told me that he heard that Allan was arrogant," Hermione looked from Harry to Ron. "And he didn't want to tell me anything else. Just said I had to ask you, Harry."
"Oh." Harry was not quite as eloquent as he should have been, Ron thought.
"'Oh'? What do you mean?" Their friend was not letting this go. "Did something happen between you and Allan?"
"Why do you think that?" Ron asked.
Before she could answer, Harry said: "He was the one who asked you out, right?"
Hermione blinked, opened her mouth, then took a deep breath with closed eyes. "For your information, technically he didn't ask me to be his girlfriend. He asked if I was in a relationship, and when I told him I had no time for a relationship, he accepted that."
That wasn't what Ron had wanted to hear. Not at all. Not only hadn't she, technically, turned the guy down, but she also didn't have time to be in a relationship? He hoped his face didn't show his reaction.
"You're working too hard!" Harry blurted out.
"Because I don't have time for a relationship?" Hermione sounded incredulous.
Harry nodded. "If you're working yourself too hard… you remember third year?"
Ron winced then. Reminding Hermione of that particular period wasn't a good idea.
Hermione glared at them. "Now, did you talk to Allan or what?"
"No! Why would we want to talk to that git?" Ron said before Harry could make their friend even angrier.
"If you haven't talked to him, and have met him but the one time…" Hermione blinked. "What's going on?"
"He didn't leave a good impression when we met," Harry said.
Ron saw that their friend was close to blowing up. He cast in the dark. "Look… he seemed jealous. A bit possessive too." He smiled at her.
Harry nodded. "He didn't like us at all."
Hermione sighed. "He probably was jealous of my friendship with you."
Ron kept smiling with an effort. That didn't sound like the kind of friendship he or Harry wanted. "That doesn't sound good." She narrowed her eyes at him, and he winced. "I'm just saying what I heard from Charlie. If a girl, or in this case, a bloke, wants you to stop hanging out with your friends, that's a bad sign."
To his surprise, Hermione didn't contradict him. "Yes, I understand that." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit stressed."
Ron exchanged a glance with Harry. "We should meet and hang out again then. Relax."
Harry nodded. "We can sneak out of Hogwarts easily now, with Dumbledore covering for us."
The girl was biting her lower lip again. Ron pushed on. "You know, no one can go on without relaxing."
"I guess. Even professional soldiers need rest and recreation," Hermione said.
"Great! So… when do you have time?"
"Well… tomorrow is Sunday…" Hermione turned away from the mirror and started to flip through her notes.
"Sunday afternoon? We don't have to skip classes then. But we're fine with that too!" Ron exclaimed.
Hermione turned back. "Honestly, Ron! You…" She broke off when she saw him grinning.
"Tomorrow then?" Harry asked.
"Alright, alright," Hermione said, pursing her lips. "Tomorrow then," she added with a smile.
Deciding where to meet took a few minutes. Ron didn't really care, and neither did Harry from what he could tell, but Hermione didn't seem to accept that without asking both of them several times for their preferences.
That was typical for their friend, of course. If she thought they had to do something, even if if it was just voicing their opinion, she'd nag them incessantly. And he wouldn't want her to act any other way.
After Hermione had switched the mirror off, Ron turned to Harry. "You talked to Sirius about her?" Harry's godfather was… Hermione would call him 'opinionated' when it came to witches. Or sexist.
His friend nodded. "Who else could I talk to?"
Ron had to agree with Harry. There were not many he could talk to about this, not with Hermione being a wanted witch. Usually he'd expect Harry to talk to him, but with both of them interested in the same witch… He nodded. "Right. So, what did he say?"
Harry hesitated, and for a moment, Ron wondered if Sirius had told him a secret way to charm witches. Then he told himself that Hermione was not likely to fall for that. His friend cleared his throat. "Well… he said that if we settled things between us, she might think we're trying to decide for her."
Ron nodded. That seemed to fit Hermione. She was very prickly when it came to anyone making decisions for her. When Harry didn't go on, he asked: "And?"
His friend shrugged. "He didn't have any really useful advice. He just said that she'd not be the type to go for a rich wizard."
Ron was torn between being happy about that statement, and wondering if that was a slight against him. "So, Justin's not in the running."
Harry shook his head. "He's a Hufflepuff."
Ron thought Hermione was likely to take offense at stereotyping, as she called it, but he didn't think Justin was her type of wizard either. Too used to following instead of leading. Although he might have changed in the Resistance. War changed people, Ron knew that. "And Baker's a Ravenclaw. And asked her out." And he was older than her. Like Krum.
"And he's jealous of us." Harry grinned. "Hermione wouldn't stomach anyone trying to tell her who she should be friends with."
Ron nodded. "That still leaves us with the question of how to handle this." The longer they waited, the bigger the chance that someone else, someone close to Hermione, would make a move. Maybe even someone who didn't push all the wrong buttons of their friend. A braver Hufflepuff, maybe. Hermione liked it when they worked hard. And Hufflepuffs were all about working hard. Curse it! Justin was competition!
"I don't think she'd like it if we simply told her we fancy her, and want her to choose." Harry said.
Ron snorted. "No, that would not be a good idea." he frowned. "On the other hand, asking her to a private talk is kind of…" 'Unfair' came to mind. At least for the one who didn't get to go first. And if they did it right after each other, it wouldn't be that much different from telling her together. He sighed. He really wished he could talk to someone, ask for advice, but… Sirius was Harry's godfather, and the only ones who knew about them meeting Hermione were the twins, and Ron had learned long ago not to ask them for advice, much less follow it. Ginny knew as well, he was certain of that, but she hadn't been told, and to ask his little sister for advice… he winced.
"What are you thinking of?" Harry asked.
Ron looked at him. "Just thinking about how it's funny that Sirius is the best choice for advice."
"He has been spending almost more time with Hermione than we have lately," Harry said.
"And if that's not wrong, then I don't know what is," Ron muttered.
"At least he's not her type," Harry said. "I've heard rumours that Tonks fancies Remus."
Ron would have made a comment about Sirius not being mature enough for Hermione, but held his tongue. "She does?" That was news to him.
"Sirius told me." Harry nodded.
"Remus is a lucky wizard."
"He doesn't fancy her. Or so he says, Sirius says. Claims he would be too old. Sirius disagrees, but hasn't yet decided if Tonks is good enough for Remus. So he hasn't said anything." Harry shook his head.
"At least someone else has love trouble too," Ron said.
Harry glared him for a moment, then reluctantly nodded.
Dorset, Britain, October 19th, 1996
"You want us to seduce the Weasleys?"
Daphne Greengrass crossed her arms and stared at Draco. Mainly so she'd not hex him.
Draco coughed. "Not seduce. Just lure them out of their shop, into a trap."
Tracey had her wand out and scoffed. "They're not that stupid. How often did they get caught when they did something at Hogwarts? If we had to gain their trust, we'd have to do more than just flirt."
"Well, they're purebloods," Draco said.
"Do you think that makes seducing them acceptable?" Daphne asked through clenched teeth.
"No, of course not." Draco smiled, though it looked more than a bit forced to Daphne. Had he really expected them to spread their legs for the Weasley twins? Did he think Polyjuice would mean it didn't count? Tracey didn't look like she believed him either. "They're Gryffindors." Draco held a hand up. "I know they are cunning - for Gryffindors." He sneered. "They are tending to a shop. Making joke items." He shook his head with obvious disdain.
"They were involved in the riot," Tracey added. "Stood their ground."
"Yes. Typical for Gryffindors." Draco's smile grew. "So, if they think you're friendly, if they like you, then they'd certainly rush out to help you, if you appeared to be in danger."
Daphne hated to admit it, but Draco was on to something there. "That could work."
Tracey nodded as well.
"But," Draco said, "preparing an ambush in the middle of the day is dangerous. Too many witnesses, and Aurors might react quickly."
Daphne nodded. "Or others might intervene." Unlikely, but not impossible.
"Exactly." Draco smiled. "It would be better if this happened in the evening."
Daphne again had the urge to hex him.
London, East End, October 20th, 1996
Hermione Granger checked her appearance in the mirror. Her short hair was hidden beneath a blonde wig, her wand was in a holster on her forearm, covered by her sweater, her mobile phone was clipped to the belt of her jeans. She looked just like any other muggle girl out to meet some friends. Or, she thought with a giggle, a girl out to meet her boyfriend. No one should suspect anything.
She left her room and walked down the stairs, passing the living room and the kitchen. "I'm off for a few hours, to Greenwich Park!" She would have preferred to leave without drawing attention, but no one left without informing the others where they were going, just in case. But if she had timed it right, then Allan, Dean and Seamus would still be in their rooms, sleeping in - Hermione's proposal to train and exercise every morning had been shot down, and Sunday was now "R&R" day. She had exercised some anyway. But not that much either - the time could be used to study too.
"Hermione! Are you going on a date?"
Hermione turned around and saw Sally-Anne peeking out of the kitchen. The girl stepped out with a grin. "If you are you should wear tighter jeans and a sweater one size smaller. Or two."
Hermione smiled. "I'm not going on a date. I'm meeting friends."
"Oh!" Sally-Anne's smile grew. "Harry and Ron?"
Hermione nodded, instead of asking the girl who else she could be talking about - it wasn't as if she had a plethora of friends. And even if she had close muggle friends left, she couldn't meet them for security reasons.
"Have fun!" Sally-Anne's grin seemed to indicate something rather more lurid.
Hermione knew Sally-Anne was still walking on clouds in her relationship with Justin, and the girl saw romance everywhere. Though implying - however faintly - that Hermione had a romantic relationship with both Harry and Ron went a bit far. It would make for a funny anecdote to tell them, though. So she just shook her head, smiling wryly, and waved as she left the safe house.
Once more she pondered warding some spots with anti-muggle wards in convenient locations, so they could apparate in London without risking upsetting muggle witnesses, but decided against it. If a wizard stumbled over them, they would make prime ambush sites. Or traps.
Though the added security meant she had to travel for some time on the bus and tube to reach her goal. Maybe she should look into getting a provisional driving license - she was 17 now. Although that would leave tracks in the system, and given London's traffic, she might not be that much faster. And in a pinch, she couldn't take a car with her by portkey or apparition. A motorcycle on the other hand…
She sat down at the bus station and pulled out a book to read while waiting.
London, Diagon Alley, October 20th, 1996
"Oh, Harry Potter graces us with his presence! And there's Ron as well."
"Oi, cut it out, you lot." Ron Weasley rolled his eyes at the greeting by Fred or George while Harry smiled. Then he frowned. "Did you try out a new product on yourself?" His brother's hair looked different.
His brother nodded. "Heavenly Hairstyles, for those among us who don't know how to use styling charms. As our brother, and a person in dire need of it, you'll get a rebate!"
"You'll need to work on the name," Ron said.
"And on the charms… unless that's the prank product version," Harry added, "and you have charmed it so the user doesn't notice how ugly it looks."
"Hey!" the twin exclaimed, in an indignant tone. "That's… actually, that's a great idea! Prank style products! We'll call it 'Harry Hair'!" He laughed while Harry gasped.
"Don't give them ideas!" Ron said, shaking his head.
"But… what brings you to us, on a Sunday? Skipping out of Hogwarts too?"
Ron shrugged. He didn't want to say that he missed his family, especially with the Death Eaters out there. "We left a bit too early, and decided to visit you."
"Oh… too early for what? A secret mission? A date with a hot witch?"
Ron sighed. "We're meeting Hermione."
"Hm. Does that count as a date with a hot witch? Or would that be hit-witch?" His brother cocked his head to the side, tapping his lips with one finger.
"It's not a date," Harry said.
"Alright." Ron's brother nodded. "So… apart from giving us new ideas, what news do you have from Hogwarts?"
Ron was a tad suspicious at the sudden change of topic - usually, his brothers milked any joke or teasing opportunity far past the point it was funny - but obliged him. "Not much has changed. We're focusing on training, and enjoying a safe school without the Slytherins."
"Some Slytherins are left," Harry added, "but they are the younger ones, and don't dare to start trouble now. Not even with Snape looking over their shoulders."
"Must gall the git something fierce. He's been taking points left and right," Ron said. "But who cares? Points are meaningless in a war."
His brother gasped and pressed a hand on his chest, as if he had just been hexed. "Blasphemy! You don't know how much pride we took in all the deductions we earned!"
"Yeah, right." Ron sniffed. "Are you wearing perfume?"
"Eau de Cologne, you barbarian!"
"What?"
"That's like perfume, but for men," Harry said.
"I know that," Ron said. He had looked into such things, recently. Just in case. "I'm wondering though why my brother would be wearing it. Unless… is there something you don't want mum to know? Or someone?"
"Ah… I've met a lovely girl. A pair of girls, actually. Visions of beauty and grace."
"Actually," Ron's other brother cut in, standing at the door, wearing the same haircut, "Two lovely witches endured his brutish attempts to charm them three days ago without fleeing in terror, and he's been hoping for their return ever since."
"You're just jealous!"
The two twins glared at each other. Ron exchanged a glance with Harry. At least they were not the only ones with such troubles.
London, Diagon Alley, October 20th, 1996
Brenda Brocktuckle frowned when she saw a mudblood propaganda leaflet stuck to the wall near a side alley. It was bad enough when the things littered the street, but now those were displayed on the walls? She vanished it with a flick of her wand.
"They are getting bolder," Martin remarked, "if they are spending the time to put them up. A night patrol might catch them."
"Or they might walk into a trap," Brenda said.
Martin hissed. "You mean…?"
She shook her head. "I don't think they'd do this to ambush us. But night patrols are already very dangerous." Doubly so since the youngest, most inexperienced Aurors were doing those.
They passed a defaced Ministry poster. Where the original text called on people to stay calm and cooperate with the Ministry, this one called on people to 'rise up and overthrow the fascist government'.
"What does fascist mean?" Martin asked.
Brenda shrugged. "I've no idea. Some muggle insult, probably." She didn't care either. She aimed her wand at it and cast another Vanishing Spell.
They were close to Knockturn Alley now. Brenda noticed people moving out of her way, avoiding eye contact. And others glaring at her. "I don't like this," she muttered. "The attitude is getting worse."
Martin nodded. "Sometimes I feel as if I'm walking down an alley populated by mudbloods."
Brenda scoffed. "The sick thing is that we're risking our lives for them. We're all that stands between them and another massacre. And yet they hate us for that."
Her partner agreed while he glared at a shady old wizard. "Remember Aberforth Dumbledore? Bloody prick."
Brenda snorted. "Damned fool. Protecting murderous scum."
"He probably knows who murdered my cousin," Martin muttered.
"He knows, or he strongly suspects. And yet he won't tell us anything." Brenda ground her teeth. She'd love to take that arrogant scumbag down. But without proof they couldn't do anything. And, Brenda suspected, even with proof they would not be allowed to make a move. Lately, the Ministry had been stepping very lightly around Dumbledore.
"What's that?" Martin said, interrupting her frustrated thoughts.
Brenda blinked. "Mud." The street in front of them had been turned into mud.
Martin pointed his wand at it, but Brenda stopped him before he could cast. "Don't!"
He looked at her. "What?"
"It could be a trap. Shield and Bubble-Head Charm, and then let's get to a safe distance," Brenda ordered.
Martin's eyes widened, and he nodded. "Sorry… I wasn't thinking."
She waved it away. He was still young, and frustrated. The two Aurors retreated ten yards and cast the charms. "Everyone, get away from this patch of mud!" Brenda ordered the audience.
Then Martin aimed his wand again. "Finite Incantatem!"
The mud turned back into cobblestones. Brenda cast another charm to check. "It looks safe."
"Oh… our brave Aurors are afraid of a bit of mud!"
That had come from behind them. Brenda turned around, but couldn't spot who had said that. A number of people seemed to find this very funny though.
"They're afraid of getting dirty!" Another voice called out. More laughter followed.
"You'd not be laughing if this had blown up!" Martin exclaimed.
Scoffing sneers answered him.
"We should make them cancel those spells!" Martin said under his breath.
Brenda nodded, despite knowing that would never happen. "Let's go on. We're on the clock," she said.
They encountered more mud on the way - a transfigured cart, and another part of the street. Someone was having fun, it seemed. Or someone was trying to make them complacent, so they'd slip up. Brenda shook her head. Patrols had just become even more dangerous and frustrating. Sooner or later, one of the rookies would not check carefully, and end up hurt, or worse.
London, Greenwich, October 20th, 1996
Hermione was looking nice, Harry Potter thought when he saw his best friend - his best female friend - sitting in the café she had picked. The blonde, straight hair didn't fit her, though. In his opinion at least.
"Blimey," Ron muttered next to him. "I'm still not used to her hair." Apparently, his best mate had similar thoughts.
"Harry! Ron!" Hermione had stood up when she saw them enter the café, and went on to hug both with a beaming smile. Up close she looked happy, but tired. She didn't feel too thin though, not like in third year.
"New hairstyle again?" Ron asked.
"Disguise," the witch answered, sitting down. "I doubt any pureblood would be looking for a blonde."
"I doubt any pureblood would be looking here," Harry said. "Though we might have to disguise ourselves a bit more too."
"Probably. I can get you wigs," Hermione grinned. "You'd look good as a blond."
"We could use Colour Charms," Ron said. "And Hairstyling Charms."
"You learned those?" Hermione blinked.
"Well… we could learn them," Ron said.
"Not from Lavender though," Harry said. Ron glared at him and he quickly added: "She'd not be able to keep it quiet."
"She would," Ron said. "But only if we told her it was an important secret. And then that would mean she'd know we'd plan to use them for disguises."
Hermione snorted, but didn't comment. Harry knew she was not that fond of Lavender. Or rather, she didn't think much of the girl's abilities.
Further discussion was interrupted by the arrival of the waitress, who took their orders. Once she had left their table again, Ron spoke up. "She's training as well. Most of the house is training. Not daily though."
Hermione sighed. "Well, not even the Resistance is training daily."
"Really?" Harry was surprised.
"They voted to take Sunday off." Hermione sounded rather vexed.
"And do you train anyway?" Harry narrowed his eyes. He knew her, after all.
She smiled. "Just a bit of exercising, to keep in shape. I use the time to study."
"And you look in great shape," Ron said, flashing a smile at her. "Could be playing Quidditch now."
Harry couldn't tell if Hermione had been about to blush, since she sniffed at Ron's joke. "I prefer to stay on the ground, thank you very much, unless it's really necessary."
"It'd be good training though, for when it's needed. Dodging bludgers helps with learning how to dodge spells. Teaches you situational awareness too," Ron explained.
"Someone's been studying," Hermione teased, though Harry thought she sounded pleased.
He quickly cut in. "We've been doing our best. Our focus is on Occlumency though - we need to master it, Dumbledore said."
"And learning that is a pain," Ron added. "You've mastered it?"
Hermione nodded. "I think so. I can't really test it, though."
"Dumbledore will want to test you, I reckon," Harry said. "He knows we tell you everything."
Their friend nodded.
"Dad said the Ministry's been rather cautious lately. Dumbledore has them spooked. I'm not certain if that's a good thing though." Ron shrugged.
"Scared people tend to act rashly." Hermione sighed. "Is Hogwarts still divided?"
Harry nodded. "The worst of the Slytherins are gone, but there are a number of bigots left in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. They keep their heads down though, at least outside their dorms. Like the gits in our house." McLaggen, for one.
"Typical for the Slytherins - they save themselves and leave the rest to rot." Ron scoffed, and grabbed a biscuit from the small basket on the table.
"So, it's back to normal then. Like Wizarding Britain as a whole, it looks fine from the outside, but still rotten on the inside." Hermione shook her head.
The mood started to get gloomy. "Let's talk about something else," Harry said.
"Yes. Apparently, Fred's fallen in love with one or two girls that visited his shop a few days ago. He keeps hoping they'll return." Ron snickered. "He's been changing his hairstyle and even wears perfume. And George has to match him, of course, even if he doesn't want to. They've been arguing about it a lot."
The witch shook her head. "Boys…"
Harry shrugged. "He's in love, what do you expect?"
Hermione pursed her lips. "Love renders people foolish, it seems." That wasn't exactly what Harry wanted to hear. Nor Ron, he supposed. They exchanged a glance while Hermione continued. "Justin and Sally-Anne are acting like lovebirds. Drives Dean and Seamus wild, the two are jealous, but try to hide it."
"Are they in love with Sally-Anne as well?" Ron asked.
Hermione snorted. "She's a pretty girl. I don't think you can call their feelings 'love'."
"Ah." Ron nodded. "Did they ask you out too?"
Hermione grinned. "They know I'm not a foolish girl falling for their lines. But Sally-Anne is trying to play matchmaker." The witch shook her head. "She sees couples everywhere. My parents told me that their friends acted the same when they were freshly in love. The friends. My parents were more sensible when they tied the knot." She laughed. "Sally-Anne even implied I was dating you two."
Harry forced himself to laugh at that, as did Ron, but he could tell by the way Hermione's grin faded, replaced by a puzzled reaction, that they hadn't fooled her.
"You don't think that's funny, do you?" their best friend asked after a brief pause.
Harry was shaking his head before he realised what he was doing. He glanced at Ron, who was wincing. The mood was suddenly very awkward.
Hermione Granger stared at her two best friends. They didn't think Sally-Anne's teasing was funny… she blinked. Did they have love trouble? Both of them? She bit her lower lip, not certain what to say. She reached up to twist her hair, then remembered she was wearing a wig. The silence was becoming uncomfortable. None of them was saying anything. She could see Harry and Ron glance at each other. What was going on?
When their eyes flicked back to her, she realised she had said that out loud.
"Err…" Harry winced.
She knew that expression. They were keeping something from her. Something they thought might upset her. She glared at him, then at Ron. "What is going on?" she said, carefully pronouncing each syllable.
Ron sighed. "Blimey…" he said, with another glance to Harry. He returned his attention to her though, before she lost her temper. "It's like this…" he trailed off, swallowing. Hermione almost snarled at him. What was he waiting for? Why couldn't he just tell her? What were they hiding from her?
Ron cringed - her feelings on the matter must have been quite clearly visible on her face - and took a deep breath. "We, well, we both fancy you."
What? Hermione blinked.
Harry nodded. "Yes."
"You… both?" She didn't know what to think, much less what to say.
"We didn't want to tell you like this, but…" Ron shrugged.
"You're just too perceptive." Harry smiled weakly.
"But… I mean… both?" They couldn't mean… she tugged on a strand of hair, almost pulling her wig askance. Hadn't she told them she had no time for a relationship? Was this why they had asked her to meet them?
Ron actually blushed. "Not like that!"
Harry nodded.
The relief that brought was short-lived. Her two best friends, wanting her… as a girlfriend. That was… there would be trouble. She knew it. Their friendship might not weather this. Love made people act like fools, and jealousy was worse. Hermione took a deep breath. She had come to meet her friends to relax, not to… get stressed. She had to be calm.
Ron muttered a curse. Even though she didn't admonish him, he apologised. "Sorry." He grinned, but it looked fake to her.
"What did you have planned then?" she asked, as much to gain time to think as out of a desire to know.
"We don't know, actually," Harry said. "Telling you privately… well, it would have been unfair, or worked out the same." He shrugged. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't, you know."
"How long?" she asked. They stared at her. "How long have you… thought about this?"
"Two weeks? Three?" Ron looked at Harry, who nodded.
"After you turned Lavender down."
"I turned her down, because well, she wasn't you." Ron sighed.
"But why now?" Why did they tell her now?
"We don't know." Harry shrugged. "We didn't plan this."
"It just happened?" It figured. All her plans lately seemed to suffer from coincidences and such. She came to relax with her friends, and found herself confronted with potential boyfriends. A love triangle, with her in the middle? Ridiculous!
"Love usually just happens," Ron said.
She almost snapped that this wasn't love, just teenage hormones. But she didn't. There were prettier witches at Hogwarts. Like Lavender. If it was just hormones, Ron would be dating her. She suppressed the small voice in her mind that whispered that Ron might date the witch anyway. He'd not do that to her. And Harry wouldn't let him do it either. She looked from one of them to the other and back. "What do you expect me to say?"
"I don't know." Harry winced. "We didn't plan this."
"Do you expect me to choose?"
"Well..." Harry trailed off.
"We wanted to avoid exactly this situation," Ron said. "We didn't want to pressure you. We hoped, well, I hoped, that… things would work themselves out. Somehow."
Hermione chuckled, though she felt like crying. The expressions of her friends showed that they noticed. "What a bloody mess!" she muttered. She closed her eyes. She didn't rub them. She wasn't crying. A few deep breaths later she opened them again. Harry and Ron were looking at her. "Let's deal with this like adults. You fancy me. You told me. You talked about this with each other before. I therefore assume you don't want to see our friendship ruined."
Both boys nodded.
"Good. Now this comes as a surprise to me." Which should have been obvious to them, by her reaction. "I don't know how to react." She needed more time to consider this. Think this through. And their expressions, half-hopeful, half-dreading, didn't help. "Let's just talk about something else, and… just enjoy the day? Relax? Order some more tea?" She hated how uncertain she sounded.
And yet Harry and Ron nodded in response to her asinine proposals. She clenched her teeth. They needed to talk about something, anything. Anything but love. And the war. "What are you currently doing in Transfiguration?"
"We're working towards Human Transfiguration. We're still learning the basics though," Harry said.
"No ferrets yet," Ron added, with a slight grin.
"You're using 'A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration', right?" Hermione knew they did; she had read the book list, after all, to get copies herself. And they knew she knew. This wasn't working. She shook her head and stood up. "Sorry. I can't… I think I better go home. This is too much right now." She forced herself to smile. "I'm sorry."
"It's our fault. Sorry." Ron's smile didn't reach his eyes. Harry didn't even try, he simply nodded.
Hermione pulled out her purse, but Harry held his hand up. "We'll cover it." For once, she didn't argue, just nodded at them and left.
She managed to walk normally until she could duck into a side alley. Then she leaned against the wall, and sighed. She didn't want to return to the safe house yet. Not so soon. Sally-Anne would know at once that something had happened. Hermione didn't want to deal with questions, or worse, help. She kicked the wall with her left heel. She had been looking forward to an afternoon with her friends, not this!
How could she deal with this? Pick one, pick none? She wanted to keep her friends. Both of them. And if she picked one, the other would be hurt. And jealous. Not that she even wanted to pick one. Not like this, at least. Love should happen naturally, she thought. Not mess up all her plans, and deny her even her most cherished friendships. The whole affair had messed her up, she couldn't even think of things to talk about with them!
This time she did wipe her eyes.
London, No. 12, Grimmauld Place, October 20th, 1996
"She didn't take that well," Ron Weasley said as soon as he and Harry had reached Sirius's home.
"No she didn't." Harry looked at him. "We scared her away!"
Ron sighed. "We expected that." Or feared that. "She didn't reject us, at least." Either of them.
"Because she was too shocked. She's probably writing a letter now." Harry sounded morose, leaving no doubt as to what he expected to read in that letter.
Ron shook his head. "I doubt that." Hermione wouldn't do that. "She just needs time to figure things out."
"Figure things out?" Harry scoffed. "If she fancied either of us, she'd have said so, wouldn't she?"
"If she fancied neither of us, she'd have said so," Ron countered. "It would have been the easiest answer. She would have said she has no time for a relationship." It would have kept both Harry and him from being jealous.
"Do you think so?"
"Yes." He hoped so, at least.
"She doesn't really go for the easy answers." Harry sighed.
"Who? Hermione?" Sirius asked. Harry's godfather had arrived in the entrance hall. "I didn't expect you."
"We kind of told Hermione that we like her as more than just friends," Harry said. "She pretty much fled."
Sirius winced. "That's a bit harsh."
"She was surprised," Ron came to to the defence of their friend.
"And she's under a lot of pressure, with the war," Harry said.
"That'd be a reason to have sex. It's a very good way to relax." Sirius nodded. "Trust me, I know!"
"She's not like that!" Harry said.
Sirius shrugged. "You never know. I personally hoped she'd want a ménage à trois."
"A what?" Ron didn't speak French.
"You know, an arrangement between all three of you," Sirius explained.
"Are you … do you really think that?" Harry had to be as surprised or shocked as Ron felt; he usually didn't come that close to giving his godfather an opening for that awful pun.
"Always!" The wizard grinned. "More seriously though, the Quaffle is in her hands now. Let's hope she doesn't drop it."
"She hates Quidditch," Harry mumbled.
"We should get back to Hogwarts," Ron said. They could train, or fly, or something. Anything to take their minds off this debacle.
Harry looked at Sirius, clearly torn for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."
Sirius looked hurt for an instant, then smiled. "Don't forget to tell me what Hermione decides! And consider the ménage à trois!"
Ron was still rolling his eyes when they apparated back to the Forbidden Forest.
London, Diagon Alley, October 21th, 1996
Daphne Greengrass frowned when she saw yet another mudhole in the street. Couldn't the shop owners deal with those puerile annoyances? She drew her wand and aimed it at the patch of mud. A simple Finite should be enough to...
"Stop!"
She jerked and whirled around, wand aimed at the shouter. Next to her, Tracey, once again wearing a French courtesan's form, like herself, had done the same.
A middle-aged witch standing in front of a shop held up her hands. "Don't curse me!" When neither of the two girls cast at her, she relaxed some. "You're new here I take it?"
"We haven't been here for a few days," Daphne said in a cautious tone.
"The Aurors said not to touch the mud. It could be trapped," the witch, probably the shop owner, explained.
"Trapped?" Tracey gaped at the mud. "Why hasn't that been announced in the Prophet then?"
The older witch shrugged. "It started yesterday. It should be announced tomorrow, I reckon."
That sounded quite fast for the Ministry, Daphne thought. She eyed the mudhole with some anxiety. "So… the mud will just be left?"
"No. The Aurors deal with it, but… they deal with the bigger mudholes first. Those that block traffic." The witch shrugged. "The smaller patches…"
"How many of these mudholes are there?" Daphne asked.
"A few dozen last I heard. It's hard to tell."
"Bloody mudbloods making fun of us!" Daphne muttered. The other witch frowned for a second, then nodded, and stepped back into the shop.
"Do you think that's the work of the mudbloods?" Tracey asked as they continued towards the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
"Who else? Purebloods and half-bloods certainly wouldn't do this to Diagon Alley, they'd harm their own businesses and make shopping a chore!" It had to be mudbloods. Which meant…
"So, at least some of them will be trapped." Tracey said what Daphne had just thought.
"Yes."
The two carefully kept their distance from every mudhole they saw from then on.
This time, Daphne ducked when she entered the joke shop, and the ugly rubber thing missed her. She was tempted to blow it up with a Reductor Curse, but that would not have fit her role.
"Mary! That was a good reaction! And hello Cassandra!""
Daphne forced herself to smile when she saw one of the twins - with a hideous haircut that made Potter's hairstyle look great - bear down on her and Tracey. "Hello… George?"
"It's Fred!" the twin smiled. "I'm the handsome twin."
"Ah!" Tracey twittered.
"Says he." The other twin, by exclusion, George, cut in, shaking his head at them from a few yards away. He had the same haircut.
"He's just jealous," Fred said, smiling brightly at the two witches. "So, how did your families like our products?"
Jealous? That could be exploited, Daphne thought. She flashed a smile of her own. "They didn't quite appreciate them as much as we did. It was very entertaining."
"Yes. We'd like to buy a few other products," Tracey said, sounding eager.
"We have a shop full to choose from. Now… how did the Galloping Glasses work out? How long did they chase them? Did the anti-tampering enchantments hold up?" Fred rapid-fired questions at them while guiding them through the shop.
They might have to use some of the products they bought today, Daphne thought while making up answers. Just to keep their cover, of course. Draco would certainly volunteer for the cause.
London, No. 12 Grimmauld Place, October 22nd, 1996
"The plan worked then," Hermione Granger said, looking at the map Sirius had just handed her.
"It did." Sirius grinned. "I sneaked the tracker into Petra Rowle's order, and the family's own owl came to fetch it. I could follow it easily - I wouldn't even have had to use the tracker."
"Will anyone be able to connect you to this?" Sirius sounded confident, but the wizard was sometimes more than a bit overconfident.
He shook his head. "I borrowed Harry's cloak. No one saw me, inside the shop or outside."
"Good." Hermione smiled, remembering the things she and her friends had been up to with that cloak. Harry and Ron… she frowned, and suppressed the memories. She had no time for a relationship.
"Love trouble?"
She glared at the older wizard. "They told you."
"Of course. I'm Harry's godfather. Who else could he ask for advice?" Sirius shrugged in an almost French way. "All of you are being silly about this, by the way."
"What?" She wasn't silly. She was responsible. She was leading a resistance group in a civil war against a genocidal group of terrorists and their ignorant but willing helpers in the Ministry. "I have no time for a relationship."
"Which is what you told them."
Technically, she had told them so. Just in another talk, a few weeks ago, and relating to another wizard. She looked away and clenched her teeth.
Sirius's chuckle just oozed with amusement. "I knew it."
"And pray, how exactly am I being silly?" She glared at him again, hands on her hips.
"Not just you, all three of you." Sirius conjured an armchair and sat down. If he hadn't been a pureblood, Hermione would have thought the similarity of the chair to ones many psychiatrists were depicted on was no coincidence. "All that drama, all that angst, over such a small matter!"
"Small matter?" Hermione scoffed. "This threatens our entire friendship!"
"Only if you mishandle it. Besides, it's not the romance that you have issues with, but the choosing, right?"
"What?" What was he hinting at?
"If only Ron or Harry would have asked you out, with the support of the other, would you have reacted like this?" Sirius rubbed his chin as he looked at her. "If one hadn't shown any romantic interest in you?"
She blinked. That would have been different, probably. "It still would change our friendship. Teenage relationships rarely last long, and if we break up, things could be difficult." Like after a divorce.
"You're afraid of the relationship - whatever relationship you choose - ending," Sirius said in a softer tone. She didn't detect any trace of amusement in his tone. "Being afraid of failure is not a good way to start anything, much less a relationship."
"Being prepared for the consequences of failure is just being smart," Hermione snapped. "I'd rather have friends than a boyfriend." It wasn't as if she had too many friends.
Sirius shrugged. "Then you just have to tell them that you don't love them like that."
"Yes." She'd do it.
"And things will stay the same. Until they pick other witches as girlfriends. And spend time with them. And not with you. Witches are often rather jealous of female friends of their boyfriends."
Hermione pressed her lips together. She wasn't jealous of whatever witch picked Harry or Ron. Unless it was Lavender. Or that slut Romilda. Or the Patil twins - they had had their chance at the Yule Ball, and dumped her friends.
Dear Lord, she was jealous!
"Anyway," Sirius continued. "Think it through. And look up ménage à trois!"
She knew what a ménage à trois was! And it was something best left for the kind of romance novels she didn't read! She changed the topic. "We'll need to take down their wards without killing everyone."
"You think they'll know more Death Eaters?" Sirius asked.
"Possibly. You said that Rowle has been proposing to shift Aurors from hunting escaped Death Eaters to hunting muggleborns multiple times."
"She did, as proxy for Parkinson. That doesn't mean she's in contact with the Dark Lord."
Hermione knew that. She shrugged. "It's a possible lead. That witch wants muggleborns hunted down like animals, and more freedom for the Death Eaters. That makes her a valid target in my opinion."
"No argument here. Her brother was a Death Eater in the last war. He was killed attacking Molly's brother." Sirius frowned.
Hermione nodded. Focusing on the war was easier than trying to deal with her friends' romantic interest. "We'll deal with her." She just had to calculate the blast well enough to leave part of the house standing, but wreck the wards.
London, East End, October 22nd, 1996
"... and that's the location of Petra Rowle's home. We'll have to recon the area, find good positions to observe the house and study the wards, so I can calculate the exact bomb load to wreck the house without killing everyone inside." Hermione looked at the other Resistance members assembled around the table.
"No big loss if we use too much," Seamus said.
"We need information about Death Eaters. Given her family's past and her political leanings, she's likely to know more of them." Hermione saw Louise and Jeremy nod at her words. Justin too.
"We can now use our camouflage training!" Sally-Anne said, grinning. "Those hours spent covered with mud will not have been wasted!"
"Speaking of mud…" John raised the latest issue of the Daily Prophet. "What's up with those mudholes in Diagon Alley?"
"Someone's making a statement," Hermione said. "Non-violently too. It's a good way to annoy the Ministry, and tie up their Aurors as well."
"Indeed. But we should trap some of those patches with curses, or they might grow complacent, and stop treating them with all that caution," Allan said.
He was correct there, Hermione knew, and yet… "It also means that whoever is doing those transfigurations will be blamed for it. That could be fatal if they're caught." Especially if it was a kid.
Allan shrugged. "The Ministry will execute them anyway if they catch them. Just like they executed Martin."
He was, unfortunately, likely correct there as well, Hermione knew. Many among the Resistance, especially Seamus and Dean, nodded and their expressions told her that they considered Martin's death still not avenged. And yet… "Let's wait a bit. We can trap a patch of mud, or curse a mudhole, when the Aurors start ignoring them. Until then it's a waste of time. Time better spent on preparing our attack on Rowle."
That proposal received general approval at the table, as she had known it would. The Major had been right - idle soldiers were trouble makers, it was always best to keep them busy.
And if she was busy, she had an excuse not to deal with the trouble in her private life. As much as she still had a private life.
Hogwarts, October 23rd, 1996
While the rest of the Gryffindors who had been training Defence with them filed out of the room, headed back to the dorm, Ron Weasley stayed back. So did Harry. Ginny glanced at both of them, but followed the others out when Ron started casting cleaning and repair charms on the floor.
Harry joined him, restoring the room to how it had been before the training session. "We should train a bit harder."
"Not everyone will be able to keep up," Ron answered, fixing a small crater in the floor.
"So we just take the ones who can."
Ron nodded. "Recruiting?" He erased a butterbeer stain on the wall.
"More like creating reserves," Harry explained.
"Ah." Both knew that without mastering Occlumency, none of their housemates would be able to help with their missions.
"She still hasn't talked about us," Harry said after a pause.
He didn't have to say who he was talking about. Ron nodded. Since Sunday, Hermione had avoided talking about relationships, though she was still calling them each day.
"Do you still think that's a good sign?" Ron's friend asked.
"It's not a bad sign." Ron thought so. Had to. "If she didn't feel anything more than friendship, she'd have said so."
They fixed the rest of the room in silence. Before they left for the dorm though, Harry spoke up again: "Did you ever think about this 'ménage à trois' thing?"
"You've been talking to Sirius," Ron said.
His mate nodded.
Ron sighed and leaned against the wall. "I don't really think such a thing could work. Hermione would probably make a schedule to split the time spent with each of us." His elder brothers had been quite clear - well, Charlie and Bill - that spontaneity was needed in a relationship. Though neither had yet dated a girl like Hermione.
Harry chuckled, though it sounded a bit hollow. "Oh, yes."
Ron didn't say why he didn't think it'd work. At least not for him. He didn't want pity, he wanted to be loved for his own sake. And next to Harry, what could he offer? To think Hermione would, out of her own sense of fairness, force herself to spend time with him, instead of Harry… "No," he muttered.
"What?" Harry looked at him.
"Nothing, mate. Just remembered some homework."
Harry nodded. His mate had to know he was lying, but didn't pry.
Ron knew things would be easier if he gave up and dated Lavender, who wanted him. But he didn't want to lose Hermione either.
Hogsmeade, October 25th, 1996
Hermione Granger stopped feeling guilty for spying on Allan when the spell tracking the coin she had slipped into his pocket showed that he had apparated north from London. A few apparitions and spells later, she knew he was in Hogsmeade, or nearby.
He could be visiting a wizard girlfriend, of course. But Hogsmeade was patrolled by Aurors, and they had become quite vigilant since the disappearance of two of them. Meeting anyone there was a risk the Resistance should have been informed of.
Of course, she shouldn't be heading into the village herself, if she was following her own advice. On the other hand, she was wearing the single best invisibility cloak she had ever heard of. The usual spells wouldn't reveal her presence.
And she really needed to know, to see with her own eyes, what Allan was doing.
Silently recasting her tracking spell several times, she soon found the wizard, hiding in a side alley between two shops. The former Ravenclaw was not using magical means to hide - which would have been worthless in the face of the standard precautions the Aurors were likely to take these days - but had colour-charmed his clothes to fade in the shadows.
He hadn't noticed her - her stealth training had taught her well - and was obviously waiting for something. Probably the night patrol to pass. She shook her head under the cloak. If they were diligent and checked the side alley properly, they would spot him. On the other hand, their patrol would take them hours. And as the Sergeant had told them, the later at night, the less careful were the soldiers.
True to her prediction, the four Aurors passed the side alley with the barest glance. No wonder they hadn't caught any Death Eaters!
Allan remained still for another ten minutes, before carefully moving to the front of the alley. And now she realised he hadn't charmed his clothes - he was wearing black robes. And putting on a white mask.
She controlled herself, didn't cry out, didn't hex him. But she wanted to. The damn fool was doing what she had feared and forbidden - framing the Death Eaters for atrocities. And if he was as careful doing that as he was in obeying orders, the Aurors would be back soon, in force. And Apparition would be blocked.
She had to head back to the safe house, right away. And consider how to deal with Allan.
'Many think of bombs and battles when they hear of the Second Blood War. The destruction of Malfoy Manor, or the riots in Diagon Alley certainly left a lasting impression, and were followed by similar events throughout the war. Even some historians tend to focus on those incidents. All of them fail to see that the war was not decided by bombs or battles, but by intelligence and logistics. That you cannot attack an enemy you cannot find is something so basic, everyone should know it, yet many overlook how it applied to this war. The Muggleborn Resistance went underground at the start, hiding in muggle Britain. The Death Eaters had their safehouses, some dating back to the First Blood War. And the Old Families started to hide after Malfoy Manor, quite a few abandoning their ancestral homes for secret lodgings. In order to fight their enemies, everyone but those warring against the Ministry therefore had to find them first. And that meant spying, scouting, and subterfuge. Something at which the muggleborns, to the surprise of many Slytherins, excelled.'
- Excerpt from 'The Second Blood War' by Hyacinth Selwyn
*****
Hogwarts, October 19th, 1996
Ron Weasley recast the privacy spell surrounding Harry's bed in their dorm. It was almost time for the scheduled call from Hermione. It wasn't exactly scheduled, officially, but their friend almost always used the communication mirror at this time of the evening.
"You know… we still gather on your bed for a secret meeting, like in first year," he commented.
"Without Hermione though," Harry said, nodding.
"Well, she wouldn't really fit. We've grown since." Ron gestured at the bed, which had seemed very large, especially for him, when he had seen it for the first time, but now looked rather normal. The two boys took up most of the space it offered.
"Yes," Harry said. He didn't make a comment about how Hermione had grown in the right places, which is what Ron's brothers would have done. Well, not Percy.
Ron was about to say something else to pass the time when the mirror vibrated. Harry whispered the activation word, and Hermione's face appeared. Ron slid up a bit, next to Harry, so both could watch the mirror, and be seen by their friend.
"Hermione!" the two chorused.
"Harry! Ron!" Hermione smiled at them. "How are you doing? And don't say 'fine'," she added with a mild glare.
Ron saw Harry close his mouth, and chuckled. "We're doing well. Mostly training."
The girl nodded. Her new haircut suited her, even though Ron was missing the wild mane she had sported for years. "We're training as well."
"We've heard rumours about Aurors going missing," Harry said.
Hermione frowned. "That's not the Resistance's work. We've other plans."
"So, someone else's fighting the Ministry?" Ron asked.
"Probably. Might be someone acting on his own." Hermione sounded not quite as happy as Ron would have expected about others taking the initiative.
"Do you think it's the Death Eaters?" Harry asked.
Hermione shook her head. "There's no Dark Mark, and no mutilated corpses. That's atypical for Death Eaters."
"True. Did you get the transcripts from Sirius?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I did." The witch nodded. "There are some promising leads, but we'll need to be careful in going after them."
Harry hesitated, then asked. "How dangerous is that?"
Hermione bit her lower lip. "We're playing it as safe as we can."
That didn't sound very safe to Ron. He glanced at Harry, trying to be subtle, but he wasn't subtle enough, as a familiar exasperated sigh from the mirror told him. "Honestly, we're not taking unnecessary risks! You should be more concerned about Sirius."
"What did he do?" Harry asked quickly.
"He's been the one touring the shops and placing the ears."
"Well, that's done with now, right?" Harry asked.
"He might want to help us with the next step too," Hermione said. "And we can use his help."
"Padfoot's?" Ron asked. The animagus form of Harry's godfather was quite useful in many possible missions.
"Not just Padfoot." Hermione took a bite from what looked like a muggle Mars bar. "He can visit places we cannot. Though his political views are well-known, so some might suspect him, even without any proof." Ron heard Harry hiss under his breath. Hermione didn't seem to have noticed though. "We'll do our best to avoid that, of course."
"Thanks," Harry said.
"We can help as well," Ron cut in. "I'm a pureblood, and he's Harry."
"You're the poster boys for Dumbledore's Junior Order," Hermione said in a flat voice.
"There is no such thing," Ron said. They were full Order members, even if they kept that secret.
"You know what I mean," Hermione sniffed.
Harry grumbled something about fame that would have earned Ron a Cleaning Charm to the mouth had he said it in the Burrow.
"Anyway, we're still preparing. Training. Like you."
Ron nodded. Safe then.
"Though…" Hermione frowned suddenly. "What exactly did you tell Sirius about Allan?"
"What?" Harry sounded as surprised as Ron felt.
"Sirius told me that he heard that Allan was arrogant," Hermione looked from Harry to Ron. "And he didn't want to tell me anything else. Just said I had to ask you, Harry."
"Oh." Harry was not quite as eloquent as he should have been, Ron thought.
"'Oh'? What do you mean?" Their friend was not letting this go. "Did something happen between you and Allan?"
"Why do you think that?" Ron asked.
Before she could answer, Harry said: "He was the one who asked you out, right?"
Hermione blinked, opened her mouth, then took a deep breath with closed eyes. "For your information, technically he didn't ask me to be his girlfriend. He asked if I was in a relationship, and when I told him I had no time for a relationship, he accepted that."
That wasn't what Ron had wanted to hear. Not at all. Not only hadn't she, technically, turned the guy down, but she also didn't have time to be in a relationship? He hoped his face didn't show his reaction.
"You're working too hard!" Harry blurted out.
"Because I don't have time for a relationship?" Hermione sounded incredulous.
Harry nodded. "If you're working yourself too hard… you remember third year?"
Ron winced then. Reminding Hermione of that particular period wasn't a good idea.
Hermione glared at them. "Now, did you talk to Allan or what?"
"No! Why would we want to talk to that git?" Ron said before Harry could make their friend even angrier.
"If you haven't talked to him, and have met him but the one time…" Hermione blinked. "What's going on?"
"He didn't leave a good impression when we met," Harry said.
Ron saw that their friend was close to blowing up. He cast in the dark. "Look… he seemed jealous. A bit possessive too." He smiled at her.
Harry nodded. "He didn't like us at all."
Hermione sighed. "He probably was jealous of my friendship with you."
Ron kept smiling with an effort. That didn't sound like the kind of friendship he or Harry wanted. "That doesn't sound good." She narrowed her eyes at him, and he winced. "I'm just saying what I heard from Charlie. If a girl, or in this case, a bloke, wants you to stop hanging out with your friends, that's a bad sign."
To his surprise, Hermione didn't contradict him. "Yes, I understand that." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit stressed."
Ron exchanged a glance with Harry. "We should meet and hang out again then. Relax."
Harry nodded. "We can sneak out of Hogwarts easily now, with Dumbledore covering for us."
The girl was biting her lower lip again. Ron pushed on. "You know, no one can go on without relaxing."
"I guess. Even professional soldiers need rest and recreation," Hermione said.
"Great! So… when do you have time?"
"Well… tomorrow is Sunday…" Hermione turned away from the mirror and started to flip through her notes.
"Sunday afternoon? We don't have to skip classes then. But we're fine with that too!" Ron exclaimed.
Hermione turned back. "Honestly, Ron! You…" She broke off when she saw him grinning.
"Tomorrow then?" Harry asked.
"Alright, alright," Hermione said, pursing her lips. "Tomorrow then," she added with a smile.
Deciding where to meet took a few minutes. Ron didn't really care, and neither did Harry from what he could tell, but Hermione didn't seem to accept that without asking both of them several times for their preferences.
That was typical for their friend, of course. If she thought they had to do something, even if if it was just voicing their opinion, she'd nag them incessantly. And he wouldn't want her to act any other way.
*****
After Hermione had switched the mirror off, Ron turned to Harry. "You talked to Sirius about her?" Harry's godfather was… Hermione would call him 'opinionated' when it came to witches. Or sexist.
His friend nodded. "Who else could I talk to?"
Ron had to agree with Harry. There were not many he could talk to about this, not with Hermione being a wanted witch. Usually he'd expect Harry to talk to him, but with both of them interested in the same witch… He nodded. "Right. So, what did he say?"
Harry hesitated, and for a moment, Ron wondered if Sirius had told him a secret way to charm witches. Then he told himself that Hermione was not likely to fall for that. His friend cleared his throat. "Well… he said that if we settled things between us, she might think we're trying to decide for her."
Ron nodded. That seemed to fit Hermione. She was very prickly when it came to anyone making decisions for her. When Harry didn't go on, he asked: "And?"
His friend shrugged. "He didn't have any really useful advice. He just said that she'd not be the type to go for a rich wizard."
Ron was torn between being happy about that statement, and wondering if that was a slight against him. "So, Justin's not in the running."
Harry shook his head. "He's a Hufflepuff."
Ron thought Hermione was likely to take offense at stereotyping, as she called it, but he didn't think Justin was her type of wizard either. Too used to following instead of leading. Although he might have changed in the Resistance. War changed people, Ron knew that. "And Baker's a Ravenclaw. And asked her out." And he was older than her. Like Krum.
"And he's jealous of us." Harry grinned. "Hermione wouldn't stomach anyone trying to tell her who she should be friends with."
Ron nodded. "That still leaves us with the question of how to handle this." The longer they waited, the bigger the chance that someone else, someone close to Hermione, would make a move. Maybe even someone who didn't push all the wrong buttons of their friend. A braver Hufflepuff, maybe. Hermione liked it when they worked hard. And Hufflepuffs were all about working hard. Curse it! Justin was competition!
"I don't think she'd like it if we simply told her we fancy her, and want her to choose." Harry said.
Ron snorted. "No, that would not be a good idea." he frowned. "On the other hand, asking her to a private talk is kind of…" 'Unfair' came to mind. At least for the one who didn't get to go first. And if they did it right after each other, it wouldn't be that much different from telling her together. He sighed. He really wished he could talk to someone, ask for advice, but… Sirius was Harry's godfather, and the only ones who knew about them meeting Hermione were the twins, and Ron had learned long ago not to ask them for advice, much less follow it. Ginny knew as well, he was certain of that, but she hadn't been told, and to ask his little sister for advice… he winced.
"What are you thinking of?" Harry asked.
Ron looked at him. "Just thinking about how it's funny that Sirius is the best choice for advice."
"He has been spending almost more time with Hermione than we have lately," Harry said.
"And if that's not wrong, then I don't know what is," Ron muttered.
"At least he's not her type," Harry said. "I've heard rumours that Tonks fancies Remus."
Ron would have made a comment about Sirius not being mature enough for Hermione, but held his tongue. "She does?" That was news to him.
"Sirius told me." Harry nodded.
"Remus is a lucky wizard."
"He doesn't fancy her. Or so he says, Sirius says. Claims he would be too old. Sirius disagrees, but hasn't yet decided if Tonks is good enough for Remus. So he hasn't said anything." Harry shook his head.
"At least someone else has love trouble too," Ron said.
Harry glared him for a moment, then reluctantly nodded.
*****
Dorset, Britain, October 19th, 1996
"You want us to seduce the Weasleys?"
Daphne Greengrass crossed her arms and stared at Draco. Mainly so she'd not hex him.
Draco coughed. "Not seduce. Just lure them out of their shop, into a trap."
Tracey had her wand out and scoffed. "They're not that stupid. How often did they get caught when they did something at Hogwarts? If we had to gain their trust, we'd have to do more than just flirt."
"Well, they're purebloods," Draco said.
"Do you think that makes seducing them acceptable?" Daphne asked through clenched teeth.
"No, of course not." Draco smiled, though it looked more than a bit forced to Daphne. Had he really expected them to spread their legs for the Weasley twins? Did he think Polyjuice would mean it didn't count? Tracey didn't look like she believed him either. "They're Gryffindors." Draco held a hand up. "I know they are cunning - for Gryffindors." He sneered. "They are tending to a shop. Making joke items." He shook his head with obvious disdain.
"They were involved in the riot," Tracey added. "Stood their ground."
"Yes. Typical for Gryffindors." Draco's smile grew. "So, if they think you're friendly, if they like you, then they'd certainly rush out to help you, if you appeared to be in danger."
Daphne hated to admit it, but Draco was on to something there. "That could work."
Tracey nodded as well.
"But," Draco said, "preparing an ambush in the middle of the day is dangerous. Too many witnesses, and Aurors might react quickly."
Daphne nodded. "Or others might intervene." Unlikely, but not impossible.
"Exactly." Draco smiled. "It would be better if this happened in the evening."
Daphne again had the urge to hex him.
*****
London, East End, October 20th, 1996
Hermione Granger checked her appearance in the mirror. Her short hair was hidden beneath a blonde wig, her wand was in a holster on her forearm, covered by her sweater, her mobile phone was clipped to the belt of her jeans. She looked just like any other muggle girl out to meet some friends. Or, she thought with a giggle, a girl out to meet her boyfriend. No one should suspect anything.
She left her room and walked down the stairs, passing the living room and the kitchen. "I'm off for a few hours, to Greenwich Park!" She would have preferred to leave without drawing attention, but no one left without informing the others where they were going, just in case. But if she had timed it right, then Allan, Dean and Seamus would still be in their rooms, sleeping in - Hermione's proposal to train and exercise every morning had been shot down, and Sunday was now "R&R" day. She had exercised some anyway. But not that much either - the time could be used to study too.
"Hermione! Are you going on a date?"
Hermione turned around and saw Sally-Anne peeking out of the kitchen. The girl stepped out with a grin. "If you are you should wear tighter jeans and a sweater one size smaller. Or two."
Hermione smiled. "I'm not going on a date. I'm meeting friends."
"Oh!" Sally-Anne's smile grew. "Harry and Ron?"
Hermione nodded, instead of asking the girl who else she could be talking about - it wasn't as if she had a plethora of friends. And even if she had close muggle friends left, she couldn't meet them for security reasons.
"Have fun!" Sally-Anne's grin seemed to indicate something rather more lurid.
Hermione knew Sally-Anne was still walking on clouds in her relationship with Justin, and the girl saw romance everywhere. Though implying - however faintly - that Hermione had a romantic relationship with both Harry and Ron went a bit far. It would make for a funny anecdote to tell them, though. So she just shook her head, smiling wryly, and waved as she left the safe house.
Once more she pondered warding some spots with anti-muggle wards in convenient locations, so they could apparate in London without risking upsetting muggle witnesses, but decided against it. If a wizard stumbled over them, they would make prime ambush sites. Or traps.
Though the added security meant she had to travel for some time on the bus and tube to reach her goal. Maybe she should look into getting a provisional driving license - she was 17 now. Although that would leave tracks in the system, and given London's traffic, she might not be that much faster. And in a pinch, she couldn't take a car with her by portkey or apparition. A motorcycle on the other hand…
She sat down at the bus station and pulled out a book to read while waiting.
*****
London, Diagon Alley, October 20th, 1996
"Oh, Harry Potter graces us with his presence! And there's Ron as well."
"Oi, cut it out, you lot." Ron Weasley rolled his eyes at the greeting by Fred or George while Harry smiled. Then he frowned. "Did you try out a new product on yourself?" His brother's hair looked different.
His brother nodded. "Heavenly Hairstyles, for those among us who don't know how to use styling charms. As our brother, and a person in dire need of it, you'll get a rebate!"
"You'll need to work on the name," Ron said.
"And on the charms… unless that's the prank product version," Harry added, "and you have charmed it so the user doesn't notice how ugly it looks."
"Hey!" the twin exclaimed, in an indignant tone. "That's… actually, that's a great idea! Prank style products! We'll call it 'Harry Hair'!" He laughed while Harry gasped.
"Don't give them ideas!" Ron said, shaking his head.
"But… what brings you to us, on a Sunday? Skipping out of Hogwarts too?"
Ron shrugged. He didn't want to say that he missed his family, especially with the Death Eaters out there. "We left a bit too early, and decided to visit you."
"Oh… too early for what? A secret mission? A date with a hot witch?"
Ron sighed. "We're meeting Hermione."
"Hm. Does that count as a date with a hot witch? Or would that be hit-witch?" His brother cocked his head to the side, tapping his lips with one finger.
"It's not a date," Harry said.
"Alright." Ron's brother nodded. "So… apart from giving us new ideas, what news do you have from Hogwarts?"
Ron was a tad suspicious at the sudden change of topic - usually, his brothers milked any joke or teasing opportunity far past the point it was funny - but obliged him. "Not much has changed. We're focusing on training, and enjoying a safe school without the Slytherins."
"Some Slytherins are left," Harry added, "but they are the younger ones, and don't dare to start trouble now. Not even with Snape looking over their shoulders."
"Must gall the git something fierce. He's been taking points left and right," Ron said. "But who cares? Points are meaningless in a war."
His brother gasped and pressed a hand on his chest, as if he had just been hexed. "Blasphemy! You don't know how much pride we took in all the deductions we earned!"
"Yeah, right." Ron sniffed. "Are you wearing perfume?"
"Eau de Cologne, you barbarian!"
"What?"
"That's like perfume, but for men," Harry said.
"I know that," Ron said. He had looked into such things, recently. Just in case. "I'm wondering though why my brother would be wearing it. Unless… is there something you don't want mum to know? Or someone?"
"Ah… I've met a lovely girl. A pair of girls, actually. Visions of beauty and grace."
"Actually," Ron's other brother cut in, standing at the door, wearing the same haircut, "Two lovely witches endured his brutish attempts to charm them three days ago without fleeing in terror, and he's been hoping for their return ever since."
"You're just jealous!"
The two twins glared at each other. Ron exchanged a glance with Harry. At least they were not the only ones with such troubles.
*****
London, Diagon Alley, October 20th, 1996
Brenda Brocktuckle frowned when she saw a mudblood propaganda leaflet stuck to the wall near a side alley. It was bad enough when the things littered the street, but now those were displayed on the walls? She vanished it with a flick of her wand.
"They are getting bolder," Martin remarked, "if they are spending the time to put them up. A night patrol might catch them."
"Or they might walk into a trap," Brenda said.
Martin hissed. "You mean…?"
She shook her head. "I don't think they'd do this to ambush us. But night patrols are already very dangerous." Doubly so since the youngest, most inexperienced Aurors were doing those.
They passed a defaced Ministry poster. Where the original text called on people to stay calm and cooperate with the Ministry, this one called on people to 'rise up and overthrow the fascist government'.
"What does fascist mean?" Martin asked.
Brenda shrugged. "I've no idea. Some muggle insult, probably." She didn't care either. She aimed her wand at it and cast another Vanishing Spell.
They were close to Knockturn Alley now. Brenda noticed people moving out of her way, avoiding eye contact. And others glaring at her. "I don't like this," she muttered. "The attitude is getting worse."
Martin nodded. "Sometimes I feel as if I'm walking down an alley populated by mudbloods."
Brenda scoffed. "The sick thing is that we're risking our lives for them. We're all that stands between them and another massacre. And yet they hate us for that."
Her partner agreed while he glared at a shady old wizard. "Remember Aberforth Dumbledore? Bloody prick."
Brenda snorted. "Damned fool. Protecting murderous scum."
"He probably knows who murdered my cousin," Martin muttered.
"He knows, or he strongly suspects. And yet he won't tell us anything." Brenda ground her teeth. She'd love to take that arrogant scumbag down. But without proof they couldn't do anything. And, Brenda suspected, even with proof they would not be allowed to make a move. Lately, the Ministry had been stepping very lightly around Dumbledore.
"What's that?" Martin said, interrupting her frustrated thoughts.
Brenda blinked. "Mud." The street in front of them had been turned into mud.
Martin pointed his wand at it, but Brenda stopped him before he could cast. "Don't!"
He looked at her. "What?"
"It could be a trap. Shield and Bubble-Head Charm, and then let's get to a safe distance," Brenda ordered.
Martin's eyes widened, and he nodded. "Sorry… I wasn't thinking."
She waved it away. He was still young, and frustrated. The two Aurors retreated ten yards and cast the charms. "Everyone, get away from this patch of mud!" Brenda ordered the audience.
Then Martin aimed his wand again. "Finite Incantatem!"
The mud turned back into cobblestones. Brenda cast another charm to check. "It looks safe."
"Oh… our brave Aurors are afraid of a bit of mud!"
That had come from behind them. Brenda turned around, but couldn't spot who had said that. A number of people seemed to find this very funny though.
"They're afraid of getting dirty!" Another voice called out. More laughter followed.
"You'd not be laughing if this had blown up!" Martin exclaimed.
Scoffing sneers answered him.
"We should make them cancel those spells!" Martin said under his breath.
Brenda nodded, despite knowing that would never happen. "Let's go on. We're on the clock," she said.
They encountered more mud on the way - a transfigured cart, and another part of the street. Someone was having fun, it seemed. Or someone was trying to make them complacent, so they'd slip up. Brenda shook her head. Patrols had just become even more dangerous and frustrating. Sooner or later, one of the rookies would not check carefully, and end up hurt, or worse.
*****
London, Greenwich, October 20th, 1996
Hermione was looking nice, Harry Potter thought when he saw his best friend - his best female friend - sitting in the café she had picked. The blonde, straight hair didn't fit her, though. In his opinion at least.
"Blimey," Ron muttered next to him. "I'm still not used to her hair." Apparently, his best mate had similar thoughts.
"Harry! Ron!" Hermione had stood up when she saw them enter the café, and went on to hug both with a beaming smile. Up close she looked happy, but tired. She didn't feel too thin though, not like in third year.
"New hairstyle again?" Ron asked.
"Disguise," the witch answered, sitting down. "I doubt any pureblood would be looking for a blonde."
"I doubt any pureblood would be looking here," Harry said. "Though we might have to disguise ourselves a bit more too."
"Probably. I can get you wigs," Hermione grinned. "You'd look good as a blond."
"We could use Colour Charms," Ron said. "And Hairstyling Charms."
"You learned those?" Hermione blinked.
"Well… we could learn them," Ron said.
"Not from Lavender though," Harry said. Ron glared at him and he quickly added: "She'd not be able to keep it quiet."
"She would," Ron said. "But only if we told her it was an important secret. And then that would mean she'd know we'd plan to use them for disguises."
Hermione snorted, but didn't comment. Harry knew she was not that fond of Lavender. Or rather, she didn't think much of the girl's abilities.
Further discussion was interrupted by the arrival of the waitress, who took their orders. Once she had left their table again, Ron spoke up. "She's training as well. Most of the house is training. Not daily though."
Hermione sighed. "Well, not even the Resistance is training daily."
"Really?" Harry was surprised.
"They voted to take Sunday off." Hermione sounded rather vexed.
"And do you train anyway?" Harry narrowed his eyes. He knew her, after all.
She smiled. "Just a bit of exercising, to keep in shape. I use the time to study."
"And you look in great shape," Ron said, flashing a smile at her. "Could be playing Quidditch now."
Harry couldn't tell if Hermione had been about to blush, since she sniffed at Ron's joke. "I prefer to stay on the ground, thank you very much, unless it's really necessary."
"It'd be good training though, for when it's needed. Dodging bludgers helps with learning how to dodge spells. Teaches you situational awareness too," Ron explained.
"Someone's been studying," Hermione teased, though Harry thought she sounded pleased.
He quickly cut in. "We've been doing our best. Our focus is on Occlumency though - we need to master it, Dumbledore said."
"And learning that is a pain," Ron added. "You've mastered it?"
Hermione nodded. "I think so. I can't really test it, though."
"Dumbledore will want to test you, I reckon," Harry said. "He knows we tell you everything."
Their friend nodded.
"Dad said the Ministry's been rather cautious lately. Dumbledore has them spooked. I'm not certain if that's a good thing though." Ron shrugged.
"Scared people tend to act rashly." Hermione sighed. "Is Hogwarts still divided?"
Harry nodded. "The worst of the Slytherins are gone, but there are a number of bigots left in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. They keep their heads down though, at least outside their dorms. Like the gits in our house." McLaggen, for one.
"Typical for the Slytherins - they save themselves and leave the rest to rot." Ron scoffed, and grabbed a biscuit from the small basket on the table.
"So, it's back to normal then. Like Wizarding Britain as a whole, it looks fine from the outside, but still rotten on the inside." Hermione shook her head.
The mood started to get gloomy. "Let's talk about something else," Harry said.
"Yes. Apparently, Fred's fallen in love with one or two girls that visited his shop a few days ago. He keeps hoping they'll return." Ron snickered. "He's been changing his hairstyle and even wears perfume. And George has to match him, of course, even if he doesn't want to. They've been arguing about it a lot."
The witch shook her head. "Boys…"
Harry shrugged. "He's in love, what do you expect?"
Hermione pursed her lips. "Love renders people foolish, it seems." That wasn't exactly what Harry wanted to hear. Nor Ron, he supposed. They exchanged a glance while Hermione continued. "Justin and Sally-Anne are acting like lovebirds. Drives Dean and Seamus wild, the two are jealous, but try to hide it."
"Are they in love with Sally-Anne as well?" Ron asked.
Hermione snorted. "She's a pretty girl. I don't think you can call their feelings 'love'."
"Ah." Ron nodded. "Did they ask you out too?"
Hermione grinned. "They know I'm not a foolish girl falling for their lines. But Sally-Anne is trying to play matchmaker." The witch shook her head. "She sees couples everywhere. My parents told me that their friends acted the same when they were freshly in love. The friends. My parents were more sensible when they tied the knot." She laughed. "Sally-Anne even implied I was dating you two."
Harry forced himself to laugh at that, as did Ron, but he could tell by the way Hermione's grin faded, replaced by a puzzled reaction, that they hadn't fooled her.
"You don't think that's funny, do you?" their best friend asked after a brief pause.
Harry was shaking his head before he realised what he was doing. He glanced at Ron, who was wincing. The mood was suddenly very awkward.
*****
Hermione Granger stared at her two best friends. They didn't think Sally-Anne's teasing was funny… she blinked. Did they have love trouble? Both of them? She bit her lower lip, not certain what to say. She reached up to twist her hair, then remembered she was wearing a wig. The silence was becoming uncomfortable. None of them was saying anything. She could see Harry and Ron glance at each other. What was going on?
When their eyes flicked back to her, she realised she had said that out loud.
"Err…" Harry winced.
She knew that expression. They were keeping something from her. Something they thought might upset her. She glared at him, then at Ron. "What is going on?" she said, carefully pronouncing each syllable.
Ron sighed. "Blimey…" he said, with another glance to Harry. He returned his attention to her though, before she lost her temper. "It's like this…" he trailed off, swallowing. Hermione almost snarled at him. What was he waiting for? Why couldn't he just tell her? What were they hiding from her?
Ron cringed - her feelings on the matter must have been quite clearly visible on her face - and took a deep breath. "We, well, we both fancy you."
What? Hermione blinked.
Harry nodded. "Yes."
"You… both?" She didn't know what to think, much less what to say.
"We didn't want to tell you like this, but…" Ron shrugged.
"You're just too perceptive." Harry smiled weakly.
"But… I mean… both?" They couldn't mean… she tugged on a strand of hair, almost pulling her wig askance. Hadn't she told them she had no time for a relationship? Was this why they had asked her to meet them?
Ron actually blushed. "Not like that!"
Harry nodded.
The relief that brought was short-lived. Her two best friends, wanting her… as a girlfriend. That was… there would be trouble. She knew it. Their friendship might not weather this. Love made people act like fools, and jealousy was worse. Hermione took a deep breath. She had come to meet her friends to relax, not to… get stressed. She had to be calm.
Ron muttered a curse. Even though she didn't admonish him, he apologised. "Sorry." He grinned, but it looked fake to her.
"What did you have planned then?" she asked, as much to gain time to think as out of a desire to know.
"We don't know, actually," Harry said. "Telling you privately… well, it would have been unfair, or worked out the same." He shrugged. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't, you know."
"How long?" she asked. They stared at her. "How long have you… thought about this?"
"Two weeks? Three?" Ron looked at Harry, who nodded.
"After you turned Lavender down."
"I turned her down, because well, she wasn't you." Ron sighed.
"But why now?" Why did they tell her now?
"We don't know." Harry shrugged. "We didn't plan this."
"It just happened?" It figured. All her plans lately seemed to suffer from coincidences and such. She came to relax with her friends, and found herself confronted with potential boyfriends. A love triangle, with her in the middle? Ridiculous!
"Love usually just happens," Ron said.
She almost snapped that this wasn't love, just teenage hormones. But she didn't. There were prettier witches at Hogwarts. Like Lavender. If it was just hormones, Ron would be dating her. She suppressed the small voice in her mind that whispered that Ron might date the witch anyway. He'd not do that to her. And Harry wouldn't let him do it either. She looked from one of them to the other and back. "What do you expect me to say?"
"I don't know." Harry winced. "We didn't plan this."
"Do you expect me to choose?"
"Well..." Harry trailed off.
"We wanted to avoid exactly this situation," Ron said. "We didn't want to pressure you. We hoped, well, I hoped, that… things would work themselves out. Somehow."
Hermione chuckled, though she felt like crying. The expressions of her friends showed that they noticed. "What a bloody mess!" she muttered. She closed her eyes. She didn't rub them. She wasn't crying. A few deep breaths later she opened them again. Harry and Ron were looking at her. "Let's deal with this like adults. You fancy me. You told me. You talked about this with each other before. I therefore assume you don't want to see our friendship ruined."
Both boys nodded.
"Good. Now this comes as a surprise to me." Which should have been obvious to them, by her reaction. "I don't know how to react." She needed more time to consider this. Think this through. And their expressions, half-hopeful, half-dreading, didn't help. "Let's just talk about something else, and… just enjoy the day? Relax? Order some more tea?" She hated how uncertain she sounded.
And yet Harry and Ron nodded in response to her asinine proposals. She clenched her teeth. They needed to talk about something, anything. Anything but love. And the war. "What are you currently doing in Transfiguration?"
"We're working towards Human Transfiguration. We're still learning the basics though," Harry said.
"No ferrets yet," Ron added, with a slight grin.
"You're using 'A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration', right?" Hermione knew they did; she had read the book list, after all, to get copies herself. And they knew she knew. This wasn't working. She shook her head and stood up. "Sorry. I can't… I think I better go home. This is too much right now." She forced herself to smile. "I'm sorry."
"It's our fault. Sorry." Ron's smile didn't reach his eyes. Harry didn't even try, he simply nodded.
Hermione pulled out her purse, but Harry held his hand up. "We'll cover it." For once, she didn't argue, just nodded at them and left.
She managed to walk normally until she could duck into a side alley. Then she leaned against the wall, and sighed. She didn't want to return to the safe house yet. Not so soon. Sally-Anne would know at once that something had happened. Hermione didn't want to deal with questions, or worse, help. She kicked the wall with her left heel. She had been looking forward to an afternoon with her friends, not this!
How could she deal with this? Pick one, pick none? She wanted to keep her friends. Both of them. And if she picked one, the other would be hurt. And jealous. Not that she even wanted to pick one. Not like this, at least. Love should happen naturally, she thought. Not mess up all her plans, and deny her even her most cherished friendships. The whole affair had messed her up, she couldn't even think of things to talk about with them!
This time she did wipe her eyes.
*****
London, No. 12, Grimmauld Place, October 20th, 1996
"She didn't take that well," Ron Weasley said as soon as he and Harry had reached Sirius's home.
"No she didn't." Harry looked at him. "We scared her away!"
Ron sighed. "We expected that." Or feared that. "She didn't reject us, at least." Either of them.
"Because she was too shocked. She's probably writing a letter now." Harry sounded morose, leaving no doubt as to what he expected to read in that letter.
Ron shook his head. "I doubt that." Hermione wouldn't do that. "She just needs time to figure things out."
"Figure things out?" Harry scoffed. "If she fancied either of us, she'd have said so, wouldn't she?"
"If she fancied neither of us, she'd have said so," Ron countered. "It would have been the easiest answer. She would have said she has no time for a relationship." It would have kept both Harry and him from being jealous.
"Do you think so?"
"Yes." He hoped so, at least.
"She doesn't really go for the easy answers." Harry sighed.
"Who? Hermione?" Sirius asked. Harry's godfather had arrived in the entrance hall. "I didn't expect you."
"We kind of told Hermione that we like her as more than just friends," Harry said. "She pretty much fled."
Sirius winced. "That's a bit harsh."
"She was surprised," Ron came to to the defence of their friend.
"And she's under a lot of pressure, with the war," Harry said.
"That'd be a reason to have sex. It's a very good way to relax." Sirius nodded. "Trust me, I know!"
"She's not like that!" Harry said.
Sirius shrugged. "You never know. I personally hoped she'd want a ménage à trois."
"A what?" Ron didn't speak French.
"You know, an arrangement between all three of you," Sirius explained.
"Are you … do you really think that?" Harry had to be as surprised or shocked as Ron felt; he usually didn't come that close to giving his godfather an opening for that awful pun.
"Always!" The wizard grinned. "More seriously though, the Quaffle is in her hands now. Let's hope she doesn't drop it."
"She hates Quidditch," Harry mumbled.
"We should get back to Hogwarts," Ron said. They could train, or fly, or something. Anything to take their minds off this debacle.
Harry looked at Sirius, clearly torn for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."
Sirius looked hurt for an instant, then smiled. "Don't forget to tell me what Hermione decides! And consider the ménage à trois!"
Ron was still rolling his eyes when they apparated back to the Forbidden Forest.
*****
London, Diagon Alley, October 21th, 1996
Daphne Greengrass frowned when she saw yet another mudhole in the street. Couldn't the shop owners deal with those puerile annoyances? She drew her wand and aimed it at the patch of mud. A simple Finite should be enough to...
"Stop!"
She jerked and whirled around, wand aimed at the shouter. Next to her, Tracey, once again wearing a French courtesan's form, like herself, had done the same.
A middle-aged witch standing in front of a shop held up her hands. "Don't curse me!" When neither of the two girls cast at her, she relaxed some. "You're new here I take it?"
"We haven't been here for a few days," Daphne said in a cautious tone.
"The Aurors said not to touch the mud. It could be trapped," the witch, probably the shop owner, explained.
"Trapped?" Tracey gaped at the mud. "Why hasn't that been announced in the Prophet then?"
The older witch shrugged. "It started yesterday. It should be announced tomorrow, I reckon."
That sounded quite fast for the Ministry, Daphne thought. She eyed the mudhole with some anxiety. "So… the mud will just be left?"
"No. The Aurors deal with it, but… they deal with the bigger mudholes first. Those that block traffic." The witch shrugged. "The smaller patches…"
"How many of these mudholes are there?" Daphne asked.
"A few dozen last I heard. It's hard to tell."
"Bloody mudbloods making fun of us!" Daphne muttered. The other witch frowned for a second, then nodded, and stepped back into the shop.
"Do you think that's the work of the mudbloods?" Tracey asked as they continued towards the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
"Who else? Purebloods and half-bloods certainly wouldn't do this to Diagon Alley, they'd harm their own businesses and make shopping a chore!" It had to be mudbloods. Which meant…
"So, at least some of them will be trapped." Tracey said what Daphne had just thought.
"Yes."
The two carefully kept their distance from every mudhole they saw from then on.
*****
This time, Daphne ducked when she entered the joke shop, and the ugly rubber thing missed her. She was tempted to blow it up with a Reductor Curse, but that would not have fit her role.
"Mary! That was a good reaction! And hello Cassandra!""
Daphne forced herself to smile when she saw one of the twins - with a hideous haircut that made Potter's hairstyle look great - bear down on her and Tracey. "Hello… George?"
"It's Fred!" the twin smiled. "I'm the handsome twin."
"Ah!" Tracey twittered.
"Says he." The other twin, by exclusion, George, cut in, shaking his head at them from a few yards away. He had the same haircut.
"He's just jealous," Fred said, smiling brightly at the two witches. "So, how did your families like our products?"
Jealous? That could be exploited, Daphne thought. She flashed a smile of her own. "They didn't quite appreciate them as much as we did. It was very entertaining."
"Yes. We'd like to buy a few other products," Tracey said, sounding eager.
"We have a shop full to choose from. Now… how did the Galloping Glasses work out? How long did they chase them? Did the anti-tampering enchantments hold up?" Fred rapid-fired questions at them while guiding them through the shop.
They might have to use some of the products they bought today, Daphne thought while making up answers. Just to keep their cover, of course. Draco would certainly volunteer for the cause.
*****
London, No. 12 Grimmauld Place, October 22nd, 1996
"The plan worked then," Hermione Granger said, looking at the map Sirius had just handed her.
"It did." Sirius grinned. "I sneaked the tracker into Petra Rowle's order, and the family's own owl came to fetch it. I could follow it easily - I wouldn't even have had to use the tracker."
"Will anyone be able to connect you to this?" Sirius sounded confident, but the wizard was sometimes more than a bit overconfident.
He shook his head. "I borrowed Harry's cloak. No one saw me, inside the shop or outside."
"Good." Hermione smiled, remembering the things she and her friends had been up to with that cloak. Harry and Ron… she frowned, and suppressed the memories. She had no time for a relationship.
"Love trouble?"
She glared at the older wizard. "They told you."
"Of course. I'm Harry's godfather. Who else could he ask for advice?" Sirius shrugged in an almost French way. "All of you are being silly about this, by the way."
"What?" She wasn't silly. She was responsible. She was leading a resistance group in a civil war against a genocidal group of terrorists and their ignorant but willing helpers in the Ministry. "I have no time for a relationship."
"Which is what you told them."
Technically, she had told them so. Just in another talk, a few weeks ago, and relating to another wizard. She looked away and clenched her teeth.
Sirius's chuckle just oozed with amusement. "I knew it."
"And pray, how exactly am I being silly?" She glared at him again, hands on her hips.
"Not just you, all three of you." Sirius conjured an armchair and sat down. If he hadn't been a pureblood, Hermione would have thought the similarity of the chair to ones many psychiatrists were depicted on was no coincidence. "All that drama, all that angst, over such a small matter!"
"Small matter?" Hermione scoffed. "This threatens our entire friendship!"
"Only if you mishandle it. Besides, it's not the romance that you have issues with, but the choosing, right?"
"What?" What was he hinting at?
"If only Ron or Harry would have asked you out, with the support of the other, would you have reacted like this?" Sirius rubbed his chin as he looked at her. "If one hadn't shown any romantic interest in you?"
She blinked. That would have been different, probably. "It still would change our friendship. Teenage relationships rarely last long, and if we break up, things could be difficult." Like after a divorce.
"You're afraid of the relationship - whatever relationship you choose - ending," Sirius said in a softer tone. She didn't detect any trace of amusement in his tone. "Being afraid of failure is not a good way to start anything, much less a relationship."
"Being prepared for the consequences of failure is just being smart," Hermione snapped. "I'd rather have friends than a boyfriend." It wasn't as if she had too many friends.
Sirius shrugged. "Then you just have to tell them that you don't love them like that."
"Yes." She'd do it.
"And things will stay the same. Until they pick other witches as girlfriends. And spend time with them. And not with you. Witches are often rather jealous of female friends of their boyfriends."
Hermione pressed her lips together. She wasn't jealous of whatever witch picked Harry or Ron. Unless it was Lavender. Or that slut Romilda. Or the Patil twins - they had had their chance at the Yule Ball, and dumped her friends.
Dear Lord, she was jealous!
"Anyway," Sirius continued. "Think it through. And look up ménage à trois!"
She knew what a ménage à trois was! And it was something best left for the kind of romance novels she didn't read! She changed the topic. "We'll need to take down their wards without killing everyone."
"You think they'll know more Death Eaters?" Sirius asked.
"Possibly. You said that Rowle has been proposing to shift Aurors from hunting escaped Death Eaters to hunting muggleborns multiple times."
"She did, as proxy for Parkinson. That doesn't mean she's in contact with the Dark Lord."
Hermione knew that. She shrugged. "It's a possible lead. That witch wants muggleborns hunted down like animals, and more freedom for the Death Eaters. That makes her a valid target in my opinion."
"No argument here. Her brother was a Death Eater in the last war. He was killed attacking Molly's brother." Sirius frowned.
Hermione nodded. Focusing on the war was easier than trying to deal with her friends' romantic interest. "We'll deal with her." She just had to calculate the blast well enough to leave part of the house standing, but wreck the wards.
*****
London, East End, October 22nd, 1996
"... and that's the location of Petra Rowle's home. We'll have to recon the area, find good positions to observe the house and study the wards, so I can calculate the exact bomb load to wreck the house without killing everyone inside." Hermione looked at the other Resistance members assembled around the table.
"No big loss if we use too much," Seamus said.
"We need information about Death Eaters. Given her family's past and her political leanings, she's likely to know more of them." Hermione saw Louise and Jeremy nod at her words. Justin too.
"We can now use our camouflage training!" Sally-Anne said, grinning. "Those hours spent covered with mud will not have been wasted!"
"Speaking of mud…" John raised the latest issue of the Daily Prophet. "What's up with those mudholes in Diagon Alley?"
"Someone's making a statement," Hermione said. "Non-violently too. It's a good way to annoy the Ministry, and tie up their Aurors as well."
"Indeed. But we should trap some of those patches with curses, or they might grow complacent, and stop treating them with all that caution," Allan said.
He was correct there, Hermione knew, and yet… "It also means that whoever is doing those transfigurations will be blamed for it. That could be fatal if they're caught." Especially if it was a kid.
Allan shrugged. "The Ministry will execute them anyway if they catch them. Just like they executed Martin."
He was, unfortunately, likely correct there as well, Hermione knew. Many among the Resistance, especially Seamus and Dean, nodded and their expressions told her that they considered Martin's death still not avenged. And yet… "Let's wait a bit. We can trap a patch of mud, or curse a mudhole, when the Aurors start ignoring them. Until then it's a waste of time. Time better spent on preparing our attack on Rowle."
That proposal received general approval at the table, as she had known it would. The Major had been right - idle soldiers were trouble makers, it was always best to keep them busy.
And if she was busy, she had an excuse not to deal with the trouble in her private life. As much as she still had a private life.
*****
Hogwarts, October 23rd, 1996
While the rest of the Gryffindors who had been training Defence with them filed out of the room, headed back to the dorm, Ron Weasley stayed back. So did Harry. Ginny glanced at both of them, but followed the others out when Ron started casting cleaning and repair charms on the floor.
Harry joined him, restoring the room to how it had been before the training session. "We should train a bit harder."
"Not everyone will be able to keep up," Ron answered, fixing a small crater in the floor.
"So we just take the ones who can."
Ron nodded. "Recruiting?" He erased a butterbeer stain on the wall.
"More like creating reserves," Harry explained.
"Ah." Both knew that without mastering Occlumency, none of their housemates would be able to help with their missions.
"She still hasn't talked about us," Harry said after a pause.
He didn't have to say who he was talking about. Ron nodded. Since Sunday, Hermione had avoided talking about relationships, though she was still calling them each day.
"Do you still think that's a good sign?" Ron's friend asked.
"It's not a bad sign." Ron thought so. Had to. "If she didn't feel anything more than friendship, she'd have said so."
They fixed the rest of the room in silence. Before they left for the dorm though, Harry spoke up again: "Did you ever think about this 'ménage à trois' thing?"
"You've been talking to Sirius," Ron said.
His mate nodded.
Ron sighed and leaned against the wall. "I don't really think such a thing could work. Hermione would probably make a schedule to split the time spent with each of us." His elder brothers had been quite clear - well, Charlie and Bill - that spontaneity was needed in a relationship. Though neither had yet dated a girl like Hermione.
Harry chuckled, though it sounded a bit hollow. "Oh, yes."
Ron didn't say why he didn't think it'd work. At least not for him. He didn't want pity, he wanted to be loved for his own sake. And next to Harry, what could he offer? To think Hermione would, out of her own sense of fairness, force herself to spend time with him, instead of Harry… "No," he muttered.
"What?" Harry looked at him.
"Nothing, mate. Just remembered some homework."
Harry nodded. His mate had to know he was lying, but didn't pry.
Ron knew things would be easier if he gave up and dated Lavender, who wanted him. But he didn't want to lose Hermione either.
*****
Hogsmeade, October 25th, 1996
Hermione Granger stopped feeling guilty for spying on Allan when the spell tracking the coin she had slipped into his pocket showed that he had apparated north from London. A few apparitions and spells later, she knew he was in Hogsmeade, or nearby.
He could be visiting a wizard girlfriend, of course. But Hogsmeade was patrolled by Aurors, and they had become quite vigilant since the disappearance of two of them. Meeting anyone there was a risk the Resistance should have been informed of.
Of course, she shouldn't be heading into the village herself, if she was following her own advice. On the other hand, she was wearing the single best invisibility cloak she had ever heard of. The usual spells wouldn't reveal her presence.
And she really needed to know, to see with her own eyes, what Allan was doing.
Silently recasting her tracking spell several times, she soon found the wizard, hiding in a side alley between two shops. The former Ravenclaw was not using magical means to hide - which would have been worthless in the face of the standard precautions the Aurors were likely to take these days - but had colour-charmed his clothes to fade in the shadows.
He hadn't noticed her - her stealth training had taught her well - and was obviously waiting for something. Probably the night patrol to pass. She shook her head under the cloak. If they were diligent and checked the side alley properly, they would spot him. On the other hand, their patrol would take them hours. And as the Sergeant had told them, the later at night, the less careful were the soldiers.
True to her prediction, the four Aurors passed the side alley with the barest glance. No wonder they hadn't caught any Death Eaters!
Allan remained still for another ten minutes, before carefully moving to the front of the alley. And now she realised he hadn't charmed his clothes - he was wearing black robes. And putting on a white mask.
She controlled herself, didn't cry out, didn't hex him. But she wanted to. The damn fool was doing what she had feared and forbidden - framing the Death Eaters for atrocities. And if he was as careful doing that as he was in obeying orders, the Aurors would be back soon, in force. And Apparition would be blocked.
She had to head back to the safe house, right away. And consider how to deal with Allan.
*****
Looking forward to more.