An Unlikely Coven

*

"Harry, look out the window."

Three o'clock, and Hermione Potter was awake.....yet again. However, there was no response from her almost-sleeping husband.

"Harry." Still no answer. Hermione pulled herself out of his arms, and sat Indian-style, facing him. "Harry, I know you can hear me. Your eyes are half-open."

Dammit, he thought. "What is it?" Harry, being able to ignore her no longer, groaned. "Herm, I was almost asleep again, you know."

"Look out the window. Tell me, do you see anything odd?" Hermione got out of bed, and walked over to the window.

Harry, grumbling about worrisome wives and the high price of the espresso needed to get him going when he didn't get a good night's sleep, put on his glasses and obligingly followed her. "Really, Herm, the things I do for you....."

"Oh, stop it. You had a few hours' sleep. That's good enough. There are men that would happily walk across pits of hot coals if it meant that their wives were happy. Getting out of bed and walking a few yards across the room really isn't too much of a sacrifice." Hermione put on a pouty face.

"The wives of those men probably had severe problems if they were enthused by their husbands walking across hot coals." He rested his head on her shoulder, putting his arms around her waist. "Of course, that's not exactly letting you off the hook....."

Hermione turned around, so that she faced him. "Would you walk across hot coals for me?" she asked playfully, hands on his shoulders.

"Of course. I could perform a simple Levitation Spell, and-"

"Shut up." She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him.

"Mmmm.....what was it that we're supposed to be doing, again?" he asked, lips still pressed against hers.

"Oh.....yeah.....glad you reminded me," she said, giggling, pulling away slightly. "Look out the window, and tell me if you see anything odd."

"Oh. Okay." Harry turned his head, facing the glass. "Let's see.....Joey Malfoy is running around our backyard, obviously wired on coffee. What else is new? Oh, no, I think Linda shot a Firespell at him.....yes, his pants are on fire. Well, can't hurt him. She probably hasn't figured out the Pain-Activation part of that spell yet. Bobby Weasley is reading Rolling Stone five feet off the ground. Levitating. Very, very interesting. And Linda is doing something to her hair. She's.....no, something else is putting it in millions of tiny braids.....Hermione, are those Cornish Pixies?"

"Yeah," replied Hermione nonchalantly. "Apparently, they've been domesticated and imported to this country. Pity we didn't know before."

"Okay, Hermione, there's really nothing too strange out there." Harry paused, and smacked his temple with his hand. "What am I saying? My daughter's hair is being styled by Cornish Pixies, Joey's behind is apparently on fire, and Bobby is floating five feet off the ground. In my backyard. At three o'clock in the morning. Of course it's strange!"

"Well, I guess you could say that," Hermione agreed, "but that wasn't exactly what I was referring to."

"Well then, what, pray tell?"

Hermione pointed at the Malfoys' house.

"Herm, you think that Lavender, Ron, Draco, and Ginny sitting on the roof is stranger than the events transpiring in our backyard?" Harry asked, a bit confused.

"Yes. I'm not planning on joining our daughter and her friends in the backyard." Hermione grabbed his hand and started walking out the bedroom door, dragging Harry along with her.

"Hermione," Harry whined, "I don't want to go on Draco's roof. I want to go back there!" He pointed at the bed.

"Harry," Hermione responded, pulling him out of the room, "you can go back to sleep later, you know."

"That's not what I was talking about....." he muttered, but gave in, and followed her outside.

*

"Ouch!"

Draco Malfoy shifted uncomfortably against the shingles. "Ginny, this has to be your stupidest idea yet....."

"You know, Draco," Ginny replied, "you didn't have to come and sit on the roof. Lavender and I were perfectly fine by ourselves, drinking our tea-"

"La-ti-da," muttered Ron.

"Shut up, you." Ginny shot her brother an evil look. "It wasn't my idea to have either of you come visit. So don't blame me if you have shingle imprints on your ass tomorrow."

"Today," corrected Lavender. "It's three-fifteen."

"All right, today," agreed Ginny. "Really, Draco, I don't know why you and Ron bothered to come up here in the first place."

"It was a little difficult to try and sleep, what with you two talking up here," explained Draco, moodily. "Everything went right in my window. And I do mean everything. You two are the worst gossips that I have ever encountered."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Complain all you want, you know that's why you married me." Ginny moved a bit, so that she was closer to him.

"Sure, Ginny. I married you so that I would have a never-ending supply of petty gossip to listen to and repeat later. Uh-huh." Draco put his arm around her shoulders, and tried hard not to crack a smile.

"You know it," Ginny returned. "So, Ron, why are you up here?"

"It's simple, really," Ron said, glancing down into the Potters' backyard. "I was trying to figure out how my son was able to levitate when he doesn't even have a magic wand, and I saw you three out here. And of course, I didn't want to be left out," he added, taking a deep sip of coffee.

"Speaking of being left out, where are....." Draco looked at number 27 pointedly.

Lavender grinned wickedly. "Draco, I thought you said that you could hear everything Ginny and I were saying. I'd think that you'd already know my theory on that."

"Theory on what?"

Everyone turned, to see Harry and Hermione floating up to the roof. "Finite incantem," they said simultaneously, to land.

"Uh, nothing," said Lavender quickly. "Absolutely nothing."

"So," said Hermione, settling down between Harry and Draco, "is anyone else curious as to what is going on in our backyard?"

"I'm not particularly concerned," said Ginny, glancing down. "I think Joey made some comment to Linda about his friend Anthony being free on Friday, and she shot a fireball at him. Without a wand- came right out of her hand. Rather impressive, actually. It won't hurt him- it's only a superficial spell."

"The more I think about it," said Ron thoughtfully, "the more I think that it's really a good thing that they grew up like this. Like Muggles, without knowledge of magic. Can you imagine how full of themselves and stuck-up they'd be if they'd grown up knowing all about their powers, all about what they can do?"

"They'd be almost as snooty as Draco was," Ginny snickered. "Don't try to deny it, mister."

"Did I say anything?" Draco rolled his eyes. "Why would I try to deny the truth? I was stuck-up. I admit it. I have admitted it, as a matter of fact."

"Ron's right," put in Harry, suddenly. "Look. Bobby can levitate, Joey can make the sky do crazy things, and Linda's shooting fireballs out of her bare hand. They don't even have wands. They're doing this simply with their minds. I don't think that even Dumbledore is able to do that. We couldn't manage those types of things until our fifth year, with wands, at the very least." He leaned over and put an arm around Hermione. "That's how powerful they are. In this context, it's a blessing, but in any other case, it could be a curse."

"It still has the potential to be a curse," Hermione reminded him. "Number one, they are the only ones with the capacity to go out and do battle with Nilock. Therefore, they are obliged to do it, without any sort of proper training, at the age of fifteen. And, if- when- they complete that task, the fact still remains that they hold so much power. Who knows if they'll know what to do with it?"

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely," murmured Lavender. "I think my fifth-grade teacher in Muggle school said that. Hopefully, we still wield enough control over our children to help them keep it in check."

"Don't sweat it," Ron said, smiling at her. "We're good parents. We all are. You don't see them running around in gangs, or doing drugs, and whatnot."

"Unless, of course, we count caffeine as a drug. In which case I think Draco would be indicted for contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile," commented Ginny. "I think that he and Joey probably pump billions of dollars into the Colombian economy."

"I really don't think that they're dense enough to corrupt themselves," said Harry. "They're all extremely intelligent, to a fault, in fact."

"Sometimes, their wits do get them into trouble," Draco agreed. "I don't think anyone needs to be reminded of the unfortunate incident involving their political protests....."

"Ah, the infamous 'M.A.S.T.' episode," recalled Hermione. "Minds Against Standardized Testing. Just how many students did they get to walk out on the Mass Comprehensive Assessment Tests again?"

"Close to two hundred, I think. I almost died when I got that phone call from the school office- 'Excuse me, Mrs. Manchester, your son and two other students have been accused of heading a mass plot against the Board of Education.'" Ginny sighed. "And then, of course, I hear Joey in the background- 'For the love of God, the Board of Education is heading a mass plot against the students! THOSE DAMN DIRTY DOGS!'" She buried her face in her hands, turning red at the mere memory of the incident.

"Three days' suspension and flunking scores across the board on the tests." Ron groaned. "Then, there was the protest against the suspension....."

"I wasn't sure if they'd ever make it out of the eighth grade after that," Hermione put in, with a touch of a grin on her face. "They're definitely nonconformists, that's for sure."

"You said it, Ma!" Linda's voice echoed across the yard. "Hey, why are you guys on the roof?"

"I don't know, why aren't you asleep? Linda Felicity, get the Cornish Pixies out of the yard! Remove that fireball from Joey's butt, and go to sleep! You should know better than to listen in on conversations!" Hermione yelled back.

"That's what these little guys are called?" Linda shooed the Pixies out of the yard. "Sorry.....couldn't resist.....hey, Joey, get your flaming ass over here!"

"LINDA!"

"What now, Ma?"

"Don't swear like that!"

"Why not? You do!"

"Linda, don't argue with her! She's yelling in my ear, you know!" Harry looked pained.

"Oops, sorry, Dad. Joey, get your flaming donkey over here!"

"No way! You're just going to do something else to me!"

"Don't be an as....oops, idiot. I don't know how to do anything else, stupid! Oh-oh......hey, Ma, how am I supposed to get that thing off him?"

"Extinguishus flamidictus, Linda! From now on, don't do anything that you don't know the counterspell for!"

"Thanks, Dad! Extinguishus flamidictus!"

"Now my butt's all wet!"

"Joey, would you rather have your butt be wet, or be on fire?" Draco yelled down to his son.

"Hey, that sounds like something off a bumper sticker." Bobby spoke up.

"It's an awfully good thing that we're the only ones home around here. Can you imagine what would happen if anyone else heard this?" said Lavender bemusedly.

"All hell would break loose around here," answered Ginny.

"Like it hasn't already?" Hermione put in. "WOULD YOU THREE GO TO SLEEP ALREADY?"

"Okay, okay! 'Night, Ma!" Linda crawled into the tent, followed by Bobby and Joey.

Harry checked his watch. Three-twenty-seven in the morning. "We should start training them tomorrow, you know."

"Today," corrected Lavender, again. "But how? Of course, they can do minimal things now, sans wands, but they're going to need them to train properly."

Everyone murmured in agreement at this statement. Except Hermione, who looked deep in thought.

"I've got it!" she exclaimed. "We can just change everyone's appearances!"

"Hermione," said Ron boredly, "if we were able to alter our appearances, don't you think we'd be back in England right now?"

"No, no, no." Hermione's eyes were oddly bright. "The reason we couldn't change the way we looked back then to hide from Nilock was because the spell wears off after thirty-six hours, and then you can't do it again for another thirty-six. We'd have been done in after it wore off. But, don't you think that's plenty of time to go to Diagon Alley, get the basics, and get back home?"

"Let's see.....there's a five-hour time difference....." Harry worked out the figures in his head. "Right now, it's eight-thirty in London. Most of the shops in Diagon Alley don't close until nine, if I recall correctly. That's.....four o'clock, our time. We'll need about three, four hours to shop. That's.....we should leave at noon."

Lavender pursed her lips. "Slight problem here. If we Apparate across the Atlantic, Nilock's deputies will surely catch us. Even if we travel by Floo Powder, they'll know. How are we supposed to get there?"

Harry's enthusiasm wasn't dampened a bit. "Does anyone know exactly how long the flight from the East Coast to England is?" He didn't wait for an answer. "It's about seven hours. Twelve o'clock minus seven is five o'clock. AM."

"Do you really think....." Hermione trailed off.

Draco pulled his wand out of his pocket, and muttered, "Appearius portacompu!" As expected, his laptop appeared, albeit on the chimney. He ran over, got it, and started typing furiously.

"Draco, what in the name of Merlin are you doing?" Ginny asked, leaning over.

"Hang on," he said quickly. "Thank God for MasterCard....." He surveyed the circle of witches and wizards gathered on his roof. "That's five hundred dollars per person, and it's all on my credit card bill. We're booked on the four-forty-five morning flight from Logan Airport to Heathrow Airport, scheduled to return on the nine-thirty night flight, same points. The tickets will be waiting for us at the airports, under the name 'Dave Manchester'. You all owe me big time."

"Draco, did you just book eighteen plane tickets in ninety seconds?" Ron asked, incredulously.

"It's rather simple," said Draco calmly. "Now, we have an hour and fifteen minutes to get decent and get to the airport. Hermione, call Minerva and Remus and let them know what we're up to. Let's move it."

No one moved.

"Well, don't just sit there and stare at me like I'm freaking Lord Nilock or something," Draco yelled, losing his cool. "Come on! Move, move, move!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Ron saluted, and floated off the roof.

*

Somehow, all nine witches and wizards made it to Logan Airport, and onto the British Airways flight 7527, Boston to London, with exactly one minute to spare.

"Ma, now, what was the point of telling me to go to sleep then?" Linda asked, smiling. "You woke me up five minutes later."

"Do I look like I'm psychic? That's Ginny's job," said Hermione, settling down into her seat in back of Linda. "Now, you have the opportunity for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep."

"No thanks," Linda replied, putting on her headphones. "I'm too wired on caffeine to sleep. Joey, tell me, is there anything else in that coffee that you aren't telling me about?"

"Hallucinogens," responded Joey moodily. He hadn't yet forgiven Linda for setting his butt on fire. He put on his own headphones, and switched on his CD player. Linda could hear the swirling techno-sound beginning and power chords of Pink Floyd's "Breathe" from her seat. She sighed. He'll get over it, she thought, and put on her own Led Zeppelin: Greatest Hits, Vol. 1.

"Geez, you two, is this 2016 or 1976?" asked Bobby, noticing the musical selections. He was still immersed in Rolling Stone, and had packed little else besides that, Entertainment Weekly, and Variety. To say that Bobby was a cinema addict would be a bit of an understatement.

"Boston or Los Angeles, Bobby?" Linda retorted, before turning up the volume.

"Ron, did you have to bring that thing along?" Lavender inquired, pointing at Ron's laptop computer. "You're never away from it....."

"Neither are you," Ginny said to Draco, who had already plugged his into the outlet by his seat. "You love that thing more than you love me."

"Please, please, please tell me that you didn't....." Hermione looked at Harry.

He nodded. "What, you expected me to leave home without it? It's in here, though," he said, patting his briefcase. "And it's going to stay in there, because I plan on taking advantage of this sudden expanse of free time." He yawned, and rested his head against the back of the seat.

"Hello, and welcome to British Airways, flight 7527, Boston to London, nonstop. The current time is four-fifty three AM. Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff. That includes unplugging all appliances and refraining from usage until after we are cruising at a set elevation." A chipper, young flight attendant had spoken, with a pointed look at Ron and Draco. Both put away their laptops, with considerable grumblings.

Hermione stared out the window as the plane began to coast down the runway and lift into the air. I still remember that first flight.....everything that led up to it.....

"You're kidding, right, Professor?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I only wish I was." He sighed, and looked at the assembled group of students. "I'm sorry. It's too dangerous."

"But why? Why right now?" asked Hermione, squeezing Harry's hand, an act concealed by their billowing graduation robes. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Lavender, and Draco hadn't even changed yet. They'd only graduated from Hogwarts fifteen minutes ago.....

"Hermione, Colin has realized that you're onto him," responded Dumbledore sagely. "Just yesterday, he withdrew from Hogwarts. No explanation. There is really no time."

Ginny, the one student in the room not dressed for graduation, spoke. "But Professor, what are we supposed to do?"

"Listen to me carefully. Go down to the graduation festivities, say goodbye to your parents, your families. Don't say a word of what is going on. Then, go up to your rooms, change into Muggle clothing, and get your trunks. Meet back in my office in a half-hour. You will be driven to London, and from there, you are to take the nine-fifteen flight from Heathrow Airport, flight 1685, to Logan Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts. You will be met there by Professor McGonagall and Mr. Lupin- no doubt, you noticed her conspicuous absence from the commencement ceremonies this afternoon......"

Hermione followed the rest of the somber group down the stairs, and out onto the lawn, where the party was being held. She had nothing to do there- her parents had been unable to attend the ceremony- so she, like Harry, followed Ron and Ginny over to the Weasleys.

"I swear, if that Lucius Malfoy dares to come over here....." Arthur Weasley trailed off upon the arrival of his son and daughter. "Ah, congratulations!"

Hermione's mind wandered as Ron and Ginny tried to idly chit-chat with their family. This is it. This is the last time that I'm going to see these people for a long time. Possibly forever. God, this isn't happening.....

"This isn't happening, right?" Harry suddenly whispered in her ear. "Nothing out of the ordinary is occurring right now."

"We aren't supposed to go get our trunks, and we aren't supposed to be going away....." Hermione whispered back. "No, we're at our graduation, we're supposed to be happy, remember?"

"Right." Both teenagers looked as if they were about to cry.

"Want to.....you know, go?" she asked, gesturing to the building.

"Yeah, we should."

Together, they bid their farewells, and entered Hogwarts one last time.

*