Life After Hogwarts

Hermione and Harry rushed into the hallway at the scream. They stopped short when they saw Harrietta and Neville in a tight embrace. Harrietta stepped back, grinning and looked him up and down. She then hugged him again and planted her lips firmly on his. Harry and Hermione stood gawking as the two kissed passionately. Neville pulled back first and grinned at her. He hugged her again, then turned to his friends.

"Hey!" he said and pulled Herimione to him. Hermione just stood there, shocked. He then took Harry's hand in a powerful handshake.

"Harry! Hermione! How are you?" he grinned broadly.

Hermione stared at the man before her. Four years had changed him. Neville looked...good. He was tall and lean, with dark brown eyes and a shoulder-length mane of black hair that curled at his collar. He had a long, pale scar down his right cheek that accentuated his dimple there whenever he smiled. He was wearing black robes with navy blue trim, his tall black boots peeked out from beneath. The muscles at his arms showed visibly, his large hands were callused and strong. His cheekbones were more prominent now and there was not a whisper of the chubby eleven year old anywhere. His voice was deep and had a rough quality to it that was definitely on the sexy side.

Hermione shook her head and smiled at Neville. "Neville. You're looking good. Where have you been? What happened to you? Why is it that no one has heard from you since you left Hogwarts?" She smiled again and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. His overnight stubble made his cheek pleasantly rough.

Neville grinned again. "I've been about. Here and there." He ran a hand through his hair, throwing a lock before his right eye.

Harry smiled at his old friend. Neville really was looking healthy and happy. He had felt a small pang when he saw the way Hermione had looked at Neville when she first saw him, but he told himself not to act like a prat. He knew Neville could never make her change the way she felt for him. His mind returned to Harrietta. Contrary to when they were in the sitting room, she had a big smile on her face and her arm rested on Neville's forearm tenderly. He saw the confusion that Hermione was trying to tamper down. He put his arm around her and the four of them moved back into the sitting room. Neville and Harrietta took the settee, Hermione the armchair and Harry sat on the arm of her chair. Hermione frowned at her sister, but before she could start talking, Neville spoke.

"I, uh, heard your argument. I didn't mean to evesdrop, but Mrs. Granger told me she would be coming here today and I thought, well, if I was going to see her, might as well see you guys as well. No offence of course."

Hermione still frowned.

Harry spoke this time. "I'm not sure I understand what's going on here."

"I was going to live with Neville. We had something going on when I was at Hogwarts. But, before we had set the plans, he was called on business," explained Harrietta.

Hermione raised her eyebrows at Neville and he knew the question. "I'm an Auror," he answered. She nodded slowly.

"Anyway, he was called on business and, well, I didn't want to live with mum anymore, you know how crabby she can get, so I got my own flat. I've been working an apprenticeship with Madame Gorate, so that payed my rent. But I wasn't going to be there permanently. I was just waiting for Neville to come back so that we could go about things the way we had planned. True, I, erm, did have one man living with me at one point, and he wasn't very good for my reputation," she chanced a look at Neville, "but that's been over for some time now."

Harry glanced down at Hermione to see her frowning. He reached down and rubbed the bunched area between her eyebrows until it smoothed out again. She smiled slightly, then moved from the chair to sit beside Harrietta. She had a look on her face that told the men it would be wise if they left. When they were gone, Hermione embraced her sister. Harrietta pressed her face into her older sister's shoulder.

"I'm sorry I didn't hear you out before, Harri."

Harrietta smiled. "It's okay Herm. It's alright. You're surprised though, right?"

Hermione laughed at the anxious tone in her voice. "Yeah. Who'd have imagined? Neville and my baby sister!"

Harry poked his head back in and, on seeing that it was safe, motioned to Neville and the two of them walked back in. Hermione sat across Harry's lap and Harrietta rested her head on Neville's shoulder. They actually made a cute couple, though Harri's blond curls contrasted strongly with Neville's black hair. Harrietta's hair was just as wild as Hermione's, but she had opted to tame her curls by cutting them to shoulder-length. It was rather becoming, in Harry's opinion, but he personally preferred Hermione's long mane. She usually pulled it into a long braid down her back, or a french braid. She had once tried to leave it and use a bandeau, but by the time they were ready for bed, she couldn't even pull a brush through it. Harry had made her sit at the bureau while he brushed it out. It had turned into a nightly ritual for them. Harry found it to be very intimate and Hermione found it very relaxing. As an added plus, he was in her good books when he did it and that made her a very willing bed partner. Not that she wasn't always.

Harry grinned and kissed Hermione's forehead. He shuffled around and pushed her off his lap. She stood up and looked at him, confused. He stood also and took her hand.

"Well, I suppose Harrietta will be living with you?"

Neville nodded and Harrietta smiled. They stood up and the two couples stood facing each other. They grinned like idiots before the smiles began to waver and they laughed.

"Bye Hermione, Harry. Thanks anyway, and I'm sorry I blew up at you."

Harry waved away the apology and hugged Harrietta, then shook Neville's hand. Hermione placed a kiss on her sisters cheek and hugged Neville. She noticed that he smelled like soil when it's raining. She stood in his embrace for a little longer and when she pulled away there was a tear running down her face.

"Don't disappear on us again, okay?"

He smiled at her tenderly and nodded. Harry put his arm around her shoulders and she sniffled slightly and gave a watery smile. Neville and Harri let themselves out and they saw them step into a black mustang. The engine revved and instead of driving, the car disappeared.



Merva turned onto Knockturn Alley, walking a few steps behind the tall dark-haired man. He stopped at a small, decrepit store with no lights on inside. He looked left, then right, before entering and Merva slipped in behind him. He walked up to the desk and placed his hand on a silver-paged book that was lying open. It immediately began to glow and a sucking noise was heard behind the desk. The next moment, five men were standing there. No one said a word and Merva took a step forward so that she could hear better.

"What is it?" asked one of the cloaked figures finally.

"Rather daring for you to be wandering around like that, isn't it?" asked another. The man on Merva's side of the desk snarled. "Maybe if one of you would respond like you are supposed to, I wouldn't have to be skulking around like this," he spat.

The tallest of the five, the one who had spoken first, stepped forward. "What is it?" he repeated.

"There has been sighting in Rutherford. You aren't being careful enough. If I had not been there as the two men were talking in the pub, the word would have got out. You know how everyone is still looking over their shoulders."

The man nodded and turned to the men behind him. "You heard him. Any more slip-ups and we will never get back to power."

The men nodded and he returned to the man in front and nodded again. "How is progress in your area?"

"No one suspects a thing. Everything goes as planned."

The leader of the five was about to turn to the others again, when Merva's 'friend' raised a hand.

"There is one thing." A pause. "Merva is out."

"WHAT?" asked the man. The four behind him muttered and turned to each other. "I thought she was out of the picture!" he snarled.

"It seems as though she has found a new curse. She left St. Mungo's and hasn't been recovered as yet."

There was silence. "What do you think you're doing then? She could be in this room this very moment!" he shouted. At that comment, the men all looked around, furtively.

"She is not in here. I would know if she was."

The older man snarled and raised a hand dismissively. "If that is all, we will leave now."

"A suggestion: The next time I perform a summoning spell, you would be wise to come to me."

"Don't get too cocky. Remember, this plan was not our original. You are on probation. Don't provoke any of us, as you might not like the consequences." Merva's companion nodded gruffly and his eye twitched. The men turned as one and disappeared once more.

The man left alone in the room turned and looked out at the street. He looked as though he were lost in another dimension of thought and Merva took the time to gather her own thoughts.

'Damn,' she thought, 'there's my secret out. That means every Raem must be out there trying to piece this one together.' She smirked. 'They'll never figure it out. And if they do, hopefully they'll believe me this time. I can't believe how naive everyone has been about the Death Eaters and the Hades. My dreams have been telling me for months now what was going to happen. It's a good thing Fred came along when he did.'

Using the Switchum spell, she had made it seem that she was Fred and Fred looked like her, not an easy spell. Then she put the Impediment curse on him. She had a rare type of magic that made her able to do certain kind of magic without her wand and without having to say the spell. She just had to apply energy and repeat the spell in her mind. The Switchum was only temporary, but it gave her time to leave the place: everyone who saw her would see Fred's body. She hadn't got far from the institute when she returned to normal. She had mentally released Fred from the spell and then Apparated to Danstead Wood. Now, she had finally found the man she was looking for and was well on her way to preventing the whole event that was supposed to take place. Finding him had not been easy as they had covered their tracks carefully. But, like in Rutherford, there had been small slip-ups.

Merva let out a small laugh, 'I'm good!' she thought, but the smile quickly left her face when the man turned around quickly. He seemed to look directly at her. His black hair was long and set in a way so that it fell across his face, but from what she could see, they had done a good job on him. His eyes were a dull, yet intelligent, brown and the left side of his face seemed badly scarred, pulling the left side of his nose up and the bottom part of his left eye down. His sneer didn't help. He was hunched slightly and wore frayed black robes, two sizes too big for him. Yet, there was an air of pride and arrogance about him that was identical to his former self's.

As he stared at her, Merva stepped back, though she knew he couldn't see her. He turned to the door and pulled it open again. Before they stepped out she heard him mutter, "Get a grip Malfoy."


"Right then. Let's get this over and done with. I have to get back to the Ministry since Ginny and I didn't finish our work yesterday," Miriam said.

George still stared at Draco, a slight scowl on his face. Draco went to Ginny and placed an arm over her shoulders and whispered something to her. She looked up at him with a look that spoke of total adoration and George let out a growl. Ginny turned to see her brother stomp over to Aneesa and the two of them turned and went upstairs. Miriam looked at them uncomfortably.

"When you guys are ready..." She left also but went in the other direction; to the assembly room.

Ginny and Draco sat on the hard settee positioned behind them and Draco lit a fire in the grate in front. They stared at it in silence for a moment, then Draco turned to her. "There was nothing you could do, you know Ginny. Stop cursing yourself."

She turned to him, her eyes ablaze. "I didn't need to kill him! I'm a murderer Draco! How can I not feel guilty? I have someone's blood on my hands!"

"Not 'someone's'! My father's! I understand that, why can't you?"

"Because you're a Malfoy!" she burst out, before she could stop herself.

He looked into the eyes of the woman he loved and his heart constricted. "Will you hold that against me forever?" he asked sadly.

Ginny looked at his face and regretted her choice of words. No, it was not his fault he was a Malfoy. And if anyone knew that, it was her.

"I'm sorry. It's just... George didn't know he was digging up a fresh grave by asking you about what happened. I didn't mean to do it, you know that!" Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears and he held her close. Her shoulders shook and she let out a muffled sob. Draco held her away from him.

"Look at me," he commanded and her eyes met his, "I won't see you shedding tears over a ruthless bastard who I had the misfortune of being born to. I cannot even say he was a man. More a soulless body. That is why he was such a strong Death Eater. He had no soul, and where there is no soul, there is no will. He was just a shell doing Voldemort's bidding." Draco's eyes were fierce. "He deserved to die. Get over it Virginia. It's over and nothing can change that." He released her shoulders. "You did what so many have wanted to do. What I would have taken pleasure in doing. So just let it go." He said the last part of his speech softly, yet his eyes were hard and cold.

Ginny closed her eyes and watched the firelight play on her eyelids, a mixture of guilt, shame and a sense of survival pulling at her chest.



Drue looked up as George barged into her room followed by Aneesa . She scowled. "When since has a girl had to fight to be left alone in her room?"

"Since she has a decidedly evil brother who's irritating the shit out of me by touching my sister," retorted George.

Aneesa sat beside Drue on her bed, then leaned back so she was lying on the bed. "George, be a sweetheart and fetch my bag from the other bed. Please?"

George got the bag and handed it to Aneesa. "There's a dear," she said. George laughed at the way she sounded, which was totally without an accent. One would have thought that after 14 years in France and only two in England, she would have more of a French accent. Instead, she just had a 'French' vocabulary. George and Drue watched as Aneesa pulled a globe out of her bag. George wondered how her bag hadn't looked like it held a globe inside it.

"So. You got it," he commented.

"Yeh. Miriam and I were in London the other day. Petticoat Lane. And I saw this thing sitting on the back shelf on some cart. I almost went crazy! We bought it for 5 pounds. The peddler didn't know what it was, so he wanted 40, but he saw the deadly look in Miriam's eyes and quickly changed his mind." Aneesa laughed.

"So, how exactly does it work, George? And is it reliable?" asked Drue.

George frowned. "May I?" he asked and took the globe from Aneesa's hands. He turned it around so he could see the United Kingdom. "Well, I'm not certain, but it's supposed to light up when it senses Magical activity that isn't actually... Magic."

"So, there any way that they could be doing this branch of magic, but still not come up on the globe?" asked Drue

"I'm not sure. Perhaps. But, I doubt it. Just like the Ministry can keep track of all magical activity, this should be able to track any of this type of magic, no matter where the person is."

Drue and Aneesa nodded thoughtfully and the three of them sat thinking for a while.

"Aneesa! You lot can come down now, we're ready!" shouted Miriam.

The three of them went back downstairs and into the assembly room. Aneesa sat between Miriam and George on the circular couch. Across from them, sitting on the other side of the round table were Draco, Ginny and Drue, Draco sitting in the middle. Aneesa noticed that Drue was looking straight ahead, totally ignoring her brother's presence, and Draco's was face was set, as though he were saying 'If she wants to be stubborn, then so be it.'

Aneesa exchanged a look with her sister and they grinned. Knowing Draco and Drue Malfoy, this could go on forever.

"Ahem," began George, "Well, it seems as though we're moving ahead. Aneesa and Miriam found the Sensory Globe and we can finally track them down."

Ginny sat forward. "Excellent! I was wondering what we were going to do about that. So George, what should we do now? I mean, Miriam, Aneesa, Drue and I. We helped find the globe and we've been in on this mission for some time now. Should we stay in or would you prefer if we butted out about now?" George grinned and was about to answer when Draco spoke up.

"I think that you and Miriam should stay on, but Drue and Aneesa should go back to whatever it is they did before. It wouldn't do to get them mixed up in something like this when they're in their 7th year. Who knows what this investigation could result in. Besides, the Ministry of Magic doesn't usually get outside help and tries to be as secretive as possible." Draco sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. A sputtering sounded beside him and he looked to his left to see Drue about to explode with indignation.

"I beg your pardon? What do you take us for, children? We've been in this whole thing from the start, I don't think it's fair to just kick us out like that! We've helped you and this is how you repay us? 'Run along now and find some other escapade'," she mocked him in a sing-song voice. "I don't think so. You don't get rid of us that easily!" She glared at her brother and he sat up slowly and uncrossed his arms.

"Drue, that's just it. It's not one of your silly escapades. This is an investigation for the Ministry of Magic! We can't have you jeopardizing your whole life just because you want to be a part of the 'adventure'!"

"Don't speak to me like I'm some 2 year old! Aneesa and I are both 16, soon to be 17, and we have helped your sodding investigation so damn much, you would still be nowhere if it hadn't been for our help!"

"Look Drue, I'm not trying to be mean and condescending-"

"Oh really?"

"Yes really!"

She snorted.

"What do you take me for? I am not my father! Why can't anyone understand that? I'm looking out for your best interests Drue! This is not about kicking you out of the fun! I'm trying to be a good brother and protect you!"

"I don't need your protection!"

"You wouldn't know, you've never been protected in your life!"

Aneesa, Miriam, Ginny and George looked towards Drue, waiting to hear her retort. She sighed. "Draco, nothing you do now can ever change my childhood or yours. What's done is done. We've never been afraid before, why start now?"

"Because you're the only family I have that's not with both feet on the Voldemort side. Drue, I know I've never been there for you before, but I'm trying now. I don't want you to end up like them."

Drue stared at him blankly. "But, it was you. You killed them Draco. You killed your own parents. What will you do to save me, huh? Kill me too?"

Draco looked at his annoying baby sister with hurt in his eyes, "You didn't have to say that Drue. You know I..." Draco looked down at his hands for a moment. "Drue, they weren't anything to us. We hated them both. You're my sister. You're different."

"Yeh. I hated them. If it weren't for you, I probably would have killed them myself. But we're off track Draco. You can't keep sheltering me like that. You did what you wanted in life. Now's my chance." Her voice was hard again. "And you are not going to stop me from living my life."

"Drue-"

"Actually, Draco, I agree with her," said Aneesa quietly. "You're not in a position to make a decision like that right now. Drue's got a point; we're too far into this already to back out."

Draco sat there quietly, then sighed. You had to listen when Aneesa spoke, much more, when she countered you. "Alright, Drue. If that's the way you feel, I don't suppose I can stop you." He smiled slightly and looked down. Ginny squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

Drue was about to say something, when the globe on the table before them began to spin, first slowly, then faster.

"What the...?" muttered Drue.