A New Dawn

Harry and Kate Apparated into work the next morning, both having almost forgotten their worries of the night before. They took the lifts to their floor and only parted when they reached their separate offices--which happened to be next to each other and joined by a door in the middle.

"Kate," Harry said, poking his head in through the adjoining door. "I've got a memo in here from Tonks; she wants a meeting at nine. Are you free?"

Kate whipped open her planner. "I'm out with Delaney Peterson at ten thirty--the Jones trial, you know, that bloke who made all those sinks in Muggle restrooms spit Dungbombs. I should be able to make it if I leave by ten; the trial's down in Courtroom Twelve."

Harry nodded. "I'll tell Tonks to keep it short," he replied. "I think it's pretty important, though; her memo dive-bombed me when I walked in."

Kate giggled; she had always taken a rather childish pleasure in the flying paper airplanes that were the Ministry of Magic's form of interoffice memos. She glanced at her watch; it was a quarter after eight. She looked at the stack of paperwork on her desk and sighed as she pulled out a quill and began copying her signature on the final reports she had sent out over a week ago and just received again.

She was grateful when Harry poked his head in to collect her for the meeting with Tonks. They walked hand-in-hand across the floor to Tonks' office on the opposite end. When they entered, they found Tonks within as well as Hermione and Hestia Jones, another Auror with whom Harry was acquainted--she had been in the Order when he was still in school.

"Great!" Tonks said enthusiastically as she shut the door behind them. "Hermione's told me you both know what's going on; I gather Remus paid a visit last night." When Harry and Kate had seated themselves, Tonks drove straight on. "Hestia's been translating the documents we found at Malfoy Manor, but what we've discovered is that the part Harry and I read was actually an account by a different person. The line we ended at had a break after it, but we assumed that was because the next few pages talked about how to get through the Gateway. Wrong!" Tonks was grinning as though she'd just pulled off a clever prank; she looked the part of a prankster as well. Today, her hair was a bright red and tumultuously curly, though she had pinned it all on top of her head. Streaks of blue, orange, and purple were showing at the ends, making it look like someone had spilled paint on her head.

"Whatever happened to our first speculator is unclear," she continued. "But our second one was obviously a witch, and she was obviously either French or trying to conceal what these documents contained--both of which are plausible. We've dated the ink, and the second account--or rather the continuation of the account--came at least twenty years after the first person began. So, what we've got here is a general outline written in standard Old English runes and a detailed description of rituals and other information written in cryptic French runes. That's where you come in." She eyed Kate gleefully, as though she was bestowing a spectacular gift. "Hestia's translated as much as she can, but Hermione's got a N.E.W.T. in Ancient Runes, so she'll translate the rest." Hermione nodded, and Tonks went on. "The problem is that once it's translated, it'll be in a rather old French dialect. We've got several multilingual Aurors, but who better to translate than a native French speaker?"

Kate smiled at Tonks' zeal. However many years she had been an Auror--which wasn't very long, as she was only a few years older than Harry, Kate, Ron, and Hermione--she never lost the fervor she had had as a trainee. "I'll do my best," she said when it seemed that Tonks expected her to speak. "But I grew up speaking modern French, not any of the older dialects. But it can't be too different. I'll do a bit of research."

Tonks looked quite pleased overall. She handed them each a copy of the original document and then another copy of the partial translations finished by Hestia. "And Harry," she said, looking up at him. "Your job is intelligence. We need to know everything possible about every bit of this ritual, so you and Ron can team up--call it Order business as well," she said with a glint in her eye. "Dumbledore's keeping tabs on this whole issue. This is going to affect how the Order prepares for an attack. Not that we're suspecting anything specific," she added hastily when she saw the nervous looks on their faces. "But it's always good to be prepared; you should know that by now."

The meeting ended shortly before ten, and Kate gave Harry a quick kiss outside Tonks' office before heading off to find Delaney Peterson so they could go over their testimony before going to the trial.

Kate spent the rest of the day in Courtroom Twelve, and when court was finally adjourned, she felt relieved. Patrick Jones had earned himself six weeks in Azkaban for Muggle-baiting and breaking the International Statute of Secrecy, and it was definitely time for Kate to go home.

Kate and Harry gathered all the information Tonks had given them, as that was their assignment for the weekend. Friday was a day off for the Ministry--government improvement day, and all the higher-ups were attending an annual convention while the rest of the Ministry spent a day at home with their families.

Harry and Kate had barely Apparated into the kitchen when Aurora was rushing in the door with Chloe at her heels, Bridie and Brady bringing up the rear and chattering in twin-speak about some art project at school. All the children attended a Muggle primary school until it was time for them to go to Hogwarts; they were warned under pain of grounding until the end of time not to utter one word about the magical world around their Muggle friends. However, the Potters and the Weasleys had nothing to worry about--Aurora and Chloe were best friends who needed no one but each other, and the twins were practically joined at the hip. Sometimes Hermione expressed her concern that it would hinder their social development, but Harry and Ron waved this off, expressing the fact that Harry had spent his years before Hogwarts locked in a cupboard and Ron had been virtually ignored by his family, and the two of them had turned out fine. To this Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered about the definition of "fine", but she never argued the point any further.

As to Hermione, she soon followed her daughter through the door bearing several dishes. "Kate!" she called through the house. She encountered Harry first, who was drawn to the smell of food.

"Mmm," he said with a smile. "You're brilliant, 'Mione." He gave her a peck on the cheek and relieved her of a large white casserole dish.

They found Kate in the kitchen, already rummaging through the cabinets looking for dinner ingredients. "Stop that," Hermione said. "Ron and I need to pay you back for taking Chloe last night; that was saintly of you, Kate. We still owe you."

Kate grinned. "Debt paid; I wasn't looking forward to cooking tonight. Besides, Chloe's never any trouble." She set the covered dishes on the counter and placed a quick warming spell over them and then sat down for a cup of tea with Harry and Hermione.

"Ron's said to tell you we've got three rooms booked at the local inn for tomorrow night," Hermione said. "He wants to stay overnight since the match should run most of the day. He's really excited; the Cannons and the Wasps haven't played in ages, and whoever wins goes into the final round before the World Cup."

"Who ever though Ron's passion for the Cannons could turn into his livelihood?" Harry joked. "Does he still have orange bed sheets?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Among the things I made him hide in a box in the attic," she said. "He absolutely wouldn't get rid of them. I drew the line at orange linens, orange walls, orange...everything! You wouldn't believe the dress robes he bought Chloe for her birthday. I told him I'd already got a set, but he had to go out and find this horrid thing the color of pumpkin juice. I swear, she's already been fortunate enough to escape the full effect of the Weasley hair, but I think Ron's trying to make up for it."

After another half hour or so of idle chatter, Hermione called for Chloe and told Harry and Kate goodnight, taking her daughter back home for supper. The Potter family spent a lazy Friday night reading in the living room and turned in early, since they would be taking an early Portkey to the match the next day.

Kate woke up at six o'clock the next morning with a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She lay quietly next to Harry for a while, but she couldn't quite place the feeling, so she got out of bed quietly and hopped in the shower. By the time she had showered and dressed, Harry was rolling groggily out of bed and stumbling into the bathroom.

Kate woke Aurora, who hopped out of bed with great excitement and ran to the second bathroom to shower. Kate shook her head; not even Harry and Ron were as excited about Quidditch early in the morning.

When the twins were awake, dressed, and crunching noisily through their cereal in the kitchen, Harry and Aurora appeared downstairs, Harry still yawning and looking as though he'd only just gotten out of bed and Aurora skipping and perky as though she'd slept for two straight days.

Amid the clattering and chewing of an early morning breakfast, the doorbell rang. Aurora sprang into the hall, and a moment later, they heard a squeal of excitement that told them Hermione, Ron, and Chloe had arrived with the Portkey.

Aurora returned to the kitchen leading the Weasleys. Hermione looked as bleary as Harry, but Ron and Chloe were grinning excitedly. Kate nearly choked on her muffin when she saw Chloe; the girl was most definitely wearing the robes Hermione had described the night before, and they were most definitely just as hideous as Kate had imagined. Poor Chloe looked like Dobby the house elf had dressed her--her auburn hair clashed with the violently orange robes, and dangling golden earrings hung from her earlobes that Kate could discern were actually tiny Snitches. She hid a grin from Hermione; in the absence of a son to play his favorite sport, Ron had turned his daughter into a walking billboard for the Chudley Cannons. Ron himself was wearing his black manager's robes with two large interlocked C's emblazoned in bright orange on the left. Hermione was dressed in plain but very feminine pale yellow robes. Together, the three Weasleys looked like a child's art project.

Aurora was now beyond excitement, and Kate hurriedly banished the breakfast dishes to the sink with a sigh so that they could get going.

"Three minutes," Ron said, looking at his watch. "Everyone get a hand on the Portkey." He held out an old, bent bicycle tire. Harry and Kate held tightly to Bridie and Brady, making sure the twins each held onto the tire. Chloe and Aurora grabbed onto the spokes, jumping up and down excitedly.

At exactly seven fifty-seven, the Portkey activated, and the eight of them were instantly pulled into the spinning world of magical travel, swaying and banging into each other as the Portkey pulled them towards their destination.

Finally, they landed squarely in a patch of grass just outside the stadium. A bored-looking wizard threw their Portkey into a box and waved them to the top box when he saw Ron's security pass.

The Weasleys and Potters picked seats in the first row of the box. Aurora and Chloe took to leaning over the edge and watching the people file in below as their waited for the match to start, while Hermione and Kate entertained the twins with picture books and Harry and Ron talked about the Cannons' chances for the World Cup.

Soon enough, seven orange streaks were entering the stadium, and the crowd was on its feet. Aurora and Chloe were hoisted onto their fathers' shoulders, where they stayed almost the entire match, refusing to give up their perfect view. Bridie and Brady, however, barely knew there was a match going on at all--they played with books for the first half and then dozed off in Kate's and Hermione's seats.

Ron was right; the game lasted almost all day, and he and Harry were regretting every picking Chloe and Aurora up by the time the Cannons' Seeker had finally caught the Snitch. The game had been neck and neck up until the last few minutes, when the Cannons scored three times and finally gained the Snitch, winning them the match by well over a hundred and fifty points.

It was five o'clock when the eight of them finally made their way out of the stadium, Brady and Bridie having just woken up, Aurora and Chloe hoarse from screaming but bouncing with energy, and Harry and Ron regretfully rubbing their shoulders.

"You know," Kate said when they had reached the Portkey area. "I think we'd better head on home. Not that we wouldn't love to stay the night," she explained. "But the kids are exhausted, and I've got to get a start on some of the translation Hermione brought over this morning."

Hermione and Ron both nodded in agreement, and Harry gave Kate a rather relieved look. She had a feeling that as much as he had enjoyed the match, he was in need of a lie-down.

Aurora waved good-bye to Chloe as the Weasleys headed to the inn for the victory party with the team, and Harry and Kate arranged for an early Portkey home. They stopped at a small food vendor just inside the bottom of the stadium and ate a quick supper on a stone bench by the Quidditch museum and the gift shop. At six-thirty, they made their way back to the entrance and Portkeyed straight into their living room.

Harry took Brady and Bridie upstairs and tucked them into bed. When he went to Aurora's room, she was already fast asleep, barely beneath the blankets and still in the light blue robes she had worn for the match. Harry managed to get her robes off, and left her in the skirt and blouse she wore beneath, tucking her comfortably into bed and closing her door on the way out.

When he returned downstairs, he found Kate at the kitchen table, parchment already spread over it, a quill in her hand and candles burning; she was prepared to work. With nothing much to do until Kate had finished the translation, Harry settled into the living room with a book and commenced reading.

At eleven o'clock, Kate was still frustrated with the translation--the French dialects were not as similar as she had hoped. She was forced to convert the original document into modern French before finally turning it to English, and she had made little progress. She gave a heavy, exhausted sigh, and heard Harry walk into the kitchen. He didn't say anything, but she knew he was standing behind her, studying her work. He began massaging her shoulders gently, and Kate sighed again, relaxing back into the chair. "Thanks, love," she said, reaching up and catching his hand. "I needed that."

Harry leaned over and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Coming up to bed yet?"

Kate shook her head. "You go on; I've just about got this one part. Give me a half hour and I'll be up."

Harry tilted her chin up and kissed her goodnight. "I love you," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Love you," Kate murmured, watching him climb the stairs to their room. She turned back to her parchment and carried on, constantly checking her reference books for exact meanings.

At a quarter to twelve, when Kate still had not come upstairs, Harry went back down to the kitchen. He found her candles almost burned out, he head on the table--she was asleep. Smiling to himself, he blew out the last of the candles and carefully picked Kate up, carrying her up the stairs and laying her in bed gently before crawling in next to her. Ten minutes later, he lay fast asleep as well.

It must have been around two in the morning that Kate woke up, an unexplainable, anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach. She sat up in bed and looked around; Harry was still sleeping next to her, and she was still in her clothes. She stumbled out of bed and managed to change into pajamas and a robe. She sat on the edge of the bed, feeling slightly faint, though she simply chalked up the nervous feeling to stress.

She was about a minute from lying down and going back to sleep when Harry woke suddenly, sitting bolt upright in bed and breathing heavily. He grabbed for his glasses on the bedside table and turned wide-eyed to Kate, who scooted over next to him.

"What is it?" she whispered urgently, her stomach now doing back flips.

Harry opened his mouth, but he hadn't uttered a word when suddenly there was a series of loud cracks from the floor below.

Harry and Kate stared at each other in unchecked fear for a moment before Harry grabbed his wand and hissed for Kate to wake the kids. Kate snatched her wand from her dresser and padded into the hall, her heart hammering. There was no mistaking the sounds they had just heard--those were the cracks of someone Apparating.

Kate shook Aurora awake, holding a finger to her lips. She could hear people moving around in the kitchen and muffled voices. Aurora's eyes grew wide; she obviously heard something as well. Kate took her daughter's hand and led her into the hallway, where Harry had Bridie in his arms and Brady on his back.

Harry shoved a small pouch of Floo powder into Kate's hands along with Bridie. Brady switched deftly to his mother's back, and Aurora still clung to Kate's hand.

"I'm going down," Harry whispered. "Follow me, Kate, and make straight for the fire in the kitchen, unless I call up first."

Kate nodded, hoisting Brady higher on her back. Harry crept silently down the stairs. The voices in the kitchen were getting louder and careless; they were obviously examining the documents that were still spread out over the kitchen table.

"...got almost everything..." Harry heard. "He will be pleased."

Kate made her way down the stairs, Aurora in tow. She was on the second to last step when the staircase gave a loud creak. Kate froze in horror, and the voices stopped.

"Someone's here," one of the voices said.

"Impossible," said the voice that had spoken before. "They're staying in a room at the Waterton Inn; I made sure."

Suddenly Harry moved out of the shadows and into the kitchen, where the intruders had relit the candles. He had his wand raised and pointed at the nearest person; one of three hooded and cloaked figures.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

Kate made it to the hallway; she could cut through the dining room and make it into the kitchen fire easily, but her legs wouldn't move. She couldn't leave Harry alone and outnumbered.

"Potter," came a smooth, sleek voice--a very familiar voice. "How...unpleasant...to see you again."

"Malfoy," Harry said icily. "Fancy seeing you in my house. Haven't got a place to stay now that your little family secret's been discovered?"

Kate distinctly heard Malfoy mutter something and saw a flash of white light shoot down the hallway, hitting the stairs and burning a hole in the wall.

Harry was laughing. "You'll have to do better than that, Malfoy," he retorted. "We're not in school anymore, after all."

Kate knew Harry was stalling for time. He was waiting for her to run. But her legs refused to move. She couldn't leave Harry, she couldn't...

"Mummy?" came a frightened whisper from beside her. Kate looked down into her daughter's wide, fearful eyes and knew that she had no choice. If she had been alone, she would have charged into the kitchen and stood beside her husband. But she had to think of their children.

"Quiet, Rory," Kate choked out. "We're going to go through the dining room and go through the fire. Be a good girl and don't make a sound. You either Brady." Bridie was still snoring peacefully in her arms. Cautiously, Kate took a step forward. There was no sound, except the low, arguing voices of Harry and the Death Eaters in the kitchen. Kate wondered what Harry was saying to keep them from cursing him to death. Another step. And another. Just one more, and they'd been in the carpeted dining room, almost safe.

A loud bang sounded in the kitchen, and Kate started. Bridie awoke and, disoriented, gave a loud cry. "Mummy, put me down!" she almost shrieked.

Kate could just barely see Harry's terrified glance before she broke into a run. She heard two more loud bangs and Harry's voice crying out a curse. She was in the kitchen, dragging Aurora behind her. The noise of her running must have alerted the Death Eaters, because she felt the warmth of a spell rushing past her cheek. She fumbled desperately with the pouch of Floo powder, finally grasping a handful and holding tightly to Aurora.

Kate realized she had no idea where to go. Where were they safe? She heard Harry screaming her name, telling her to go...and it came to her. With a final glance over her shoulder at her husband, ducking behind a chair to avoid another spell, she threw the powder into the fire and said loudly, "Headmaster's office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" and stepped into the fire with her three children.

Kate could feel Aurora clinging to her as they spun through the Floo Network. All she felt was terror. What if by the time they reached Dumbledore, it was too late to save Harry? What if...what if by leaving, she had condemned him to death?

Kate had no time to think as she fell out of the fire into the dark of Dumbledore's office. She pried Aurora from her, dropped the crying twins onto the floor and ran frantically up the stairs that she knew led to Dumbledore's private chambers. She pounded urgently on the door.

Dumbledore appeared in the doorway after what seemed an eternity, but what was really less than two minutes. His face was set, though Kate saw fear in his blue eyes.

"Harry!" she choked out. "He's back home, he needs help, now! Three Death Eaters--there may be more--they came for the documents--thought we were at the match with Ron and Hermione---"

Dumbledore pushed past Kate and ran down the stairs. He reached for Fawkes the phoenix, who was resting gracefully on his perch. Dumbledore muttered a few words, and with a flash of fire, Fawkes was gone. Kate, shaking with fear, made her way to Dumbledore, who took hold of her arm.

"Stay here," he ordered, and Kate watched him stride to his fireplace and take a handful of Floo powder from the pocket of his robes. He disappeared, off to Grimmauld Place to alert the Order, Kate supposed.

Kate collapsed in a heap on the floor of the office. After a moment, she felt Aurora's head resting on her shoulder, and she sat up, enveloping her daughter in a hug. The twins, crying and confused, joined in, and there they sat until the flames of the fireplace turned green, alerting them that someone was Flooing into the office.

Dumbledore came first, followed by a stumbling Harry. Kate had never felt so relieved in her life; she stood so fast she nearly trampled Brady and ran straight to her husband, who caught her in a fierce hug. They sank slowly to the floor; Harry out of weakness and Kate out of hysterical relief.

Kate had forgotten the three children, but when she glanced over her shoulder, she saw that Dumbledore had occupied the twins with one of his lunarscapes and Aurora was studying the moving portraits with a feigned interest.

Kate turned back to Harry, who was slumped against her shoulder. There was a bleeding cut across his cheek, and his breathing was shallow. Dumbledore came over behind them. "He'll be fine," he said softly. "I am sorry, Kate. This should have been prevented. But let us right what has gone wrong. See if you can wake him fully while I fetch Madam Pomfrey."

Kate nodded, and in a swish of robes, Dumbledore had disappeared from his office. Kate gently shook Harry, and he opened his eyes, looking gratefully up at her. She helped him stand gently and moved him into a nearby chair. She had no sooner sat on the arm of the chair, running her hands soothingly through his hair, when Fawkes appeared again with another flash of fire and swooped down to perch on Harry's shoulder.

Harry absently stroked the bird on his shoulder, but they sat in silence until Kate heard a small voice pipe up, "Mummy?"

She turned her head and saw Aurora, skirting nervously around Dumbledore's many tables of silver instruments, cautiously wondering if she was allowed to come any closer. Kate held out her arms, and Aurora ran to her, curling up in her lap and crying into her shoulder.

"Hush, Rory," Kate said weakly. "We're all fine; everything's going to be all right."

Aurora lifted her head and leaned over, flinging her arms around Harry's neck. "Daddy!" she whimpered. "Wh-Who were they?"

Kate tried to keep Aurora from strangling Harry, but he shook his head and pulled her into his lap. "They were just people," he answered her. "Bad people who wanted to know some things about Mum's work. They didn't hurt us, and they won't come back, so don't worry, all right?"

Aurora nodded and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Brady and Bridie, having exhausted their interest in the lunarscape, looked up and for the first time noticed that their father was in the room. "Daddy!" they shrieked in unison and ran to him, climbing into his lap next to Aurora as cheerfully as if he had just come home from work. Of the few things Kate was grateful for from that night, she was glad the twins had no idea that anything bad was going on.

The large wooden door of Dumbledore's office creaked open and Madam Pomfrey flew into the room, arms full of goblets and potion bottles. She set the lot on the floor and swooped down on Harry, muttering to herself.

"As if I haven't spent enough of my life fixing you up," she sighed, pouring a clear potion into one of the goblets. She extracted Aurora from his lap as to hand him the goblet. "Drink this," she ordered. Harry bit back a smile; even under current circumstances, Madam Pomfrey treated him like a student.

The nurse had now busied herself with Kate and was soon shoving another gobletful of the same potion in her direction. She eyed the children; Aurora was sitting at her father's feet, Bridie and Brady were curled up defensively in his lap. Mumbling something under her breath, she pulled three child-sized goblets from the pocket of her apron and poured a small amount of a sparkling purple potion into each.

"Here you are," she said, somewhat more gently, as she handed one of the goblets to Aurora. Kate glanced at the nurse, a bit alarmed, and Madam Pomfrey snapped, "Well you're not going to want them awake all night, are you? It's just a bit of Dreamless Sleep Potion."

Kate nodded, which Aurora took as an okay to drink the potion. In a moment, Harry and Kate were assisting Bridie and Brady in downing theirs before settling all three children into separate chairs in the corner of the office.

Madam Pomfrey had just healed the cut on Harry's face when Dumbledore returned, closing the door quietly behind him.

"Thank you, Poppy," he said, nodding to her. "If you wouldn't mind preparing three beds in the hospital wing, we'll be needing to keep Mr. and Mrs. Potter overnight."

Madam Pomfrey nodded and collected her potions and goblets, exiting quickly to make preparations in the hospital wing.

Harry and Kate made to stand up, but Dumbledore held up a hand, and they sat still. "You will not need to be straining yourselves further this night," he said, pulling up a chair and facing them. "Fawkes awoke everyone at headquarters, and they are currently making preparations for your arrival tomorrow night. I am afraid," he continued, when Harry and Kate exchanged incredulous looks. "That we can no longer allow for your family's safety outside the wizarding community. Grimmauld Place is the safest place you could be--besides Hogwarts. The children will be safe there, and Molly Weasley has worked wonders on the house now that it has become an active headquarters again. You won't recognize it, I promise." He sighed, and Harry and Kate said nothing. They both felt that Dumbledore would answer all their questions when he was ready.

"Your documents, Kate," he began again. "Are gone. That is what they came for, of course."

"Honestly, if I hadn't insisted on coming home to work--" Kate started, but Dumbledore held up his hand to silence her again.

"This is not your fault," he said. "This is no one's fault. They would have come had you been home or not. It is fortunate that you did not have the original documents; that would have been a far greater loss. Now," he said, looking at Harry over the tops of his half-moon spectacles. "I want to know exactly what happened, all that you can remember, if you would."

Harry took a deep breath and began, telling how both he and Kate had woken in the middle of the night. "I wasn't dreaming, I just..." he trailed off, looking at Kate. "My scar hurt--again," he finished. "It's been ages, I assume that's why I woke up."

Dumbledore nodded, as if this information did not surprise him in the least. "Go on," he urged, and Harry continued, telling of the events that had occurred after he had moved into the kitchen.

"...And I saw Kate go through the fire. I don't really remember how long I tried to hold them off. I was hoping I could get two of them out and make it to the fire as well, but I ducked behind a chair to dodge a curse by Malfoy, and when I stood back up, the other two sent two different hexes from opposite directions--I didn't see, I just felt them hit me from either side, and then I fell. I don't remember anything until I heard footsteps in the kitchen--and that must have been you," he said, looking straight at Dumbledore. He could feel Kate squeezing his hand a bit too hard, but he continued anyway. "I thought they'd come to finish me off and then...I was here."

Dumbledore sighed. "Is that how you remember it?" he asked Kate, who nodded, fighting back tears.

Dumbledore stood. "I see no need for further discussion tonight," he said, looking at the two of them sympathetically. "You both need some sleep; tomorrow we will discuss the plans for your safety." As Harry and Kate stood, the Headmaster added, "And as a side note, you'll want to know that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley--that is, your friends Ronald and Hermione--are safe at Grimmauld Place with their daughter. A guard of Order members woke them after Fawkes paid his visit, and they have packed up and are currently moving into headquarters as well."

Harry picked up the sleeping Brady in one arm and his snoring twin sister in the other, while Kate scooped up Aurora and allowed Dumbledore to lead the silent group to the hospital wing.

They found a double bed set out for the twins, a single for Aurora, and two beds pushed together to serve Harry and Kate. As they were all in their pajamas, Harry and Kate simply tucked the sleeping children into bed, thanked Dumbledore--who left, magically locking the doors behind him--and pulled their screens around the beds. Just as Harry and Kate were crawling beneath the blankets of their makeshift bed, Madam Pomfrey appeared again, now in her dressing gown.

"Here," she said softly, holding out goblets of Dreamless Sleep Potion to Harry and Kate, who thanked her and drank quietly. When she was satisfied that they had taken their potions, she drew their screens again and left them alone.

Kate smiled drowsily at Harry. "This feels rather familiar, doesn't it?"

Harry sighed. "At least I don't have to leap out of bed if anyone walks in on us," he said and lightly kissed her nose. "Love you, Kate."

"Love you," Kate said rather groggily. She watched as Harry's eyes closed and he drifted peacefully off to sleep. It was only then, when Kate was sure he was safe from the night's adventure, that she felt able to close her eyes as well.

Neither of them ever knew that Poppy Pomfrey and Minerva McGonagall were watching them from the entrance of the hospital wing.

"It's like having them back at school again," Poppy sighed. "Not that this attack is desirable...but it does bring back certain memories, doesn't it?"

Minerva nodded. She had barely spoken a word since Dumbledore had alerted her of the attack on the Potter home. The circumstances were all too similar to the first Potter tragedy. And when Dumbledore had arrived and found Harry lying on the floor, barely breathing...Minerva averted her eyes from the screened beds. They were all safe, and would be safer still by this time tomorrow night.

"Thank Merlin it didn't happen again," she whispered. "Keep an eye on them, Poppy. I've got a few things to discuss with the Headmaster."
McGonagall turned on her heel and exited the wing. Poppy heard her relocking the doors behind her. She gave once last sigh and made her way over to the beds. The children were all sleeping soundly. She peered around the screens shielding Harry and Kate and found them both fast asleep, their fingers intertwined on top of the blankets. She smiled and returned to her own sleeping chambers, but they were not alone. From that moment on, there was always someone watching over the Potter family.