Harry Potter and The Heirs of The Founders

Chapter Twenty

Business of the Order

'What?' asked everyone in the room at the same time. Harry just couldn't believe the suggestion.

'That's implausible,' said James. 'It's absolutely ridiculous.'

'Well it would really be up to you three,' said Chrys. 'Rose, James and Lily that is.'

'But no one would believe you,' said Sirius. 'Of all of us, you were the only person around that people actually saw. And think of the scandal it would create.'

'It would not create as much of a scandal as James and Lily being alive would,' she said calmly. 'Now listen, you all know what happened when James and Lily died don't you? I mean besides Voldemort being defeated.' Everyone in the room nodded. 'Well basically I broke down. Everything that was happening was far too stressful. Mr Crouch didn't think that it was exactly a good idea for public relations to have an Auror trainee killing her mother, so he sent me on holidays for a while to get my act together. He gave me as much leave as I needed. And let's just say it took me quite a while. I had a lot of sort out. I went into isolation for a while. No one saw me. So it's possible that I had a child. And to the wizarding world it's totally plausible that I was so distraught that its father was in Azkaban that I had to gave it up.'

To Harry it seemed that all pairs of eyes were on Chrys.

'Are you serious Chryssy? If you did this you would have to be prepared for the consequences,' said James. Harry noticed that his father's tone was not that of shock or anger. It was calm.

'Yes,' she said. 'Just think about it.'

'I agree,' said James.

'What?' asked Lily. 'What are you suggesting? Think about the scandal. This is my child you're talking about.'

'It's nothing compared to the scandal that will occur if it came out about us,' he replied.

'So we're going to live our lives in hiding?' asked Lily.

'Lily honestly I don't understand you sometimes,' said James. He sounded frustrated. 'You don't want us to come clean about being alive now you do? Because I seem to remember only a few weeks ago you didn't think it was such a good idea.'

'I understand where you're coming from Lily,' said Chrys. 'The thought is ludicrous and I wouldn't even suggest it if Rose hadn't already been put at risk. But she has already been targeted and people are asking questions. Questions that I simply cannot answer without incriminating you. As to the scandal well I'm washed up. My Quidditch days are over and I don't care if the Ministry sacks me. They can say whatever they like about me and it doesn't matter.'

'But she doesn't even look like you,' said Lily. 'She looks like Harry. I don't why I didn't see just how alike they actually look before.'

'But there are similarities between James and Sirius even though they aren't related,' said Hermione. 'If you stand the two of them next to each other its obvious they have similar hair and skin colouring.'

'Yes but that's the extent of it,' said Lily.

'And if you look at Rose's eyes, although they are obviously similar to yours they could also be similar to Alasdair's,' said James.

'Do I get a say in this?' asked Rose.

Everyone went quiet.

'Of course,' said Chrys. 'I wouldn't do this if you didn't want to.'

'I think it's a good idea,' she said. Everyone remained silent. 'I don't know how much longer I can keep quiet. Ever since, well, after what happened, I've been bombarded by the press. I don't want to lie, but if I tell the truth it's potentially disastrous. Just for the moment. But we don't tell anyone unless they ask.'

'Are you sure this is what you want to do?' asked Lily.

'Yes,' she said. 'My life's already crazy, we may as well make it into a circus.'

'That's not my intention,' said Chrys. 'In a sense I'd be protecting you.'

'But you do realise that you'd be destroying yourself don't you?' said Rose.

'Only in a sense,' said Chrys. 'Sirius was sent to Azkaban. The wizarding community knew that we were a couple. We had been photographed together. As to what they think, I really don't care. I've conformed to their standards far too long.'

'Besides people would believe anything of you,' said Sirius somewhat sarcastically.

'Not now Sirius,' said Chrys through her teeth. 'So Lily how's that research going?'

Harry was silently relieved she had changed the topic.

'We're no closer than we were before,' she said. 'It's time consuming but hopefully will be rewarding.'

'What exactly are you researching?' asked Ron. 'And is Snape really helping you that much?'

'I'm not going to say what it is I'm trying to do,' said Lily. 'That way if we're unsuccessful then it's no skin off my nose. As to Severus' help mainly he just supplies the herbs! He's far too busy trying to teach uncooperative students.'

'Would you go back to it?' asked Ron. 'I mean being an Auror, completing your training when it's safe for you to be revealed. And you James, would you go back to Quidditch.'

'I couldn't go back to being an Auror, no,' said Lily. 'Not after not doing it for so long.'

'I feel the same about Quidditch,' said James. 'I would dearly love to be up there playing with Harry. However my body is so under conditioned that I think if I went flying now I wouldn't last ten minutes.'

Glancing at his father, Harry could see that while he had put on some weight since he had been found; however he had not yet reached the healthy weight that he had been in all of Harry's photos.

'Well, what will you do?' asked Rose.

'I shall explore my options,' said James. 'I had a good steady job besides playing Quidditch you know.'

'What was that?' asked Harry. 'I never got round to asking Sirius what that was.'

'Well apart from running around doing things for the Order you mean?' asked James.

Harry nodded.

'I used to work for the Daily Prophet,' said James. 'In the Transfiguration department. Nothing really important, but something that was able to keep me out of trouble. Put to use the skills I acquired through the experiments of four young boys.'

James winked at Sirius who promptly burst out laughing. Harry guessed it must have been another of their private jokes. He wasn't quite sure that his father was telling the truth.

*~*

The rest of the Christmas holidays passed very quickly. Soon enough Rose had headed back to Hogwarts on the Hogwarts express and Ron had headed to The Burrow and then to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, to take up a larger role in the operations of the Order. Lily and James were already there, keeping out of sight from everyone as usual. Sirius and Chrystal had apparated back to Hogwarts for the new term. Sirius had more and more responsibility, in fact he was teaching all the first and second year Transfiguration lessons due to McGonagall's workload.

Mid-January Harry picked up the Daily Prophet. The front page contained breaking news.

Candidates for Minister of Magic

The retiring Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge would like it known that the following are nominated candidates for Minister of Magic. (In Alphabetical Order)

Ludo Bagman

Ludo Bagman is a well known figure in the wizarding world. His enthusiasm in the area of magical games and sport has earned him yet another nomination for Minister. He was responsible for organising the highly successful Triwizard Tournament which was held at Hogwarts four years ago as well as the Quidditch World Cup held earlier that year. Always enthusiastic and ready to give it his best he is a fine candidate for Minister.

Amelia Bones

Amelia has worked as Head of The Office of Magical Enforcement. She is a hard working woman who has spent hours trying to make the wizarding world a safer place. She has sat on the jury of the Wizengamot as part of her responsibilities and has always been known as a fair judge. She is an excellent candidate for Minister as she works tirelessly on ensuring equal opportunity for all members of the wizarding community.

Amos Diggory

Amos Diggory has worked relentlessly in the Office of Magical Creatures. He has worked painstakingly on increasing the safety of the witches and wizards of Britain by analysing the safety of different creatures and worked tirelessly on the Ministry of Magic's classification system. He is a good candidate for Minister as he is hard working and willing to put in the effort to achieve a goal.

Malfalda Hopkirk

Malfalda has worked in the Improper Use of Magic Office for many years. She is a consistently hard worker who has spent many years trying to ensure the appropriate use of magic in all areas across the British Isles. She would make a good candidate for Minister as she is hard working and wants to ensure that magic is used appropriately to allow the wizarding community to exist for many years to come.

Remus Lupin

Remus Lupin has worked in the offices of Werewolf Liaison and Support for the last five years, in addition to having worked as the Defence Against the Darks Arts Teacher at Hogwarts. Being a werewolf himself he understand the need for members of the community to be aware of the risks and dangers of being members of the wizarding community. He is an excellent candidate for Minister as he is willing to stand up for the rights of all members of the community.

Marcus Parkinson

Marcus Parkinson has been instrumental in maintaining the standards of the wizarding community. Over the past fifteen years Marcus had worked in various areas, ranging from Magical Law to being on staff at St Mungos. He has been instrumental in examining magical law and analysing the impact on society. Marcus is a fine candidate for Minister as he is willing to maintain the standards of the wizarding community.

Arnold Peasgood

Arnold Peasgood has worked as an Obliviator for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad for thirty years. He had persistently been involved in important operations and has helped overt many compromising situations which may have revealed the wizarding world to Muggles. Always enthusiastic Arnold would make an excellent Minister as he understands the importance of maintaining the standards of the wizarding world.

Carlotta Pinkstone

The famous Carlotta Pinkstone is best known for her persistent efforts as a campaigner for lifting the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy. She has long believed that witches and wizards should be telling Muggles that wizards exist. If elected she promises to influence important international decisions regarding the laws created at the Confederation of Wizards.

Kingsley Shacklebolt

A fine Auror who has been instrumental in the search for wanted criminals since the early days of the eighties. Kingsley has been involved in many difficult operations and additionally has spent some time in command of a Hit Wizard squad. Kingsley understands the importance of co-operation and delegation and says that if he were elected he would work hard to ensure equal opportunity for all members of the community.

Rita Skeeter

A journalist who has had the knack to uncover the deepest secrets of the wizarding community Rita Skeeter is an enthusiastic candidate for Minister. Rita has been disgusted with the way the Ministry have conducted themselves in the past and would like to be able to make an impact on the way things are run. If elected she promises that the dirty Ministry secrets will all be exposed.

Dolores Umbridge (Minister's Candidate)

This amazing woman has had a stint as Headmistress and High Inquisitor at Hogwarts while Professor Albus Dumbledore was incapacitated. She revolutionised the way Defence Against the Dark Arts is taught and has forever left her imprint on the way the school is run today. Dolores is hard working and determined and if chosen as Minister would certainly have a positive impact on the British wizarding community.

Seth Zabini

Seth Zabini is well known in all circles for his effortless work in many areas of the Ministry. Zabini is perhaps best known for his work in international Quidditch relationships and the establishment of a working European Cup. A sports enthusiast Zabini would make an excellent Minister as he is always prepared to give a hundred and ten percent to every project he undertakes.

All candidates have worked at the Ministry for a time period.

Members of the Wizarding community who are of age please be aware; you may register your preference by owling the Ministry using the form provided on the back page of the paper for this entire week. These forms are enchanted so that only the person who has placed their name on the front can complete the form and owl it to the ministry. They must be owled for collection in the next week. The top six candidates preferred candidates will then go before a panel of selectors who will narrow the field down to three. These three will be put forward for election. The election will take place on the first day of April. All witches and wizards who are of age must vote or face a fine of fifty galleons.

He turned to the back page.

Minister of Magic Candidates

Please state your name:__________________________________________________

Please rank the candidates in order of preference:

q Ludo Bagman

q Amelia Bones

q Amos Diggory

q Mafalda Hopkirk

q Remus Lupin

q Marcus Parkinson

q Arnold Peasgood

q Carlotta Pinkstone

q Kingsley Shacklebolt

q Rita Skeeter

q Dolores Umbridge

q Seth Zabini

'Help us,' Harry said under his breath. Hermione looked at him strangely. He handed her the paper as he thought of the reference to Umbridge. "She revolutionised the way Defence Against the Dark Arts is taught and has forever left her imprint on the way the school is run today." She certainly did. No one would ever contemplate running it that way ever again. Harry glanced at Hermione as an owl soared in the window.

Harry and Hermione,

This evening 7 pm. You know where.

'Is that fine Hermione?' asked Harry. She nodded her head and Harry went back to contemplating the candidates.

*~*

Harry and Hermione flooed to Number 12 Grimmauld Place for the meeting of the Order. They got there nice and early and Harry thought it was a good thing because he could catch up with Ron. More and more with every passing day Harry wondered how he had remained sane being so confined for so long.

Harry was wondering how this meeting was going to go. It was the first "proper" meeting of the Order that he had been to at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. He had of course attended the Hogwarts ones while he was in hiding, but now he was going to be a fully fledged member.

Tonks made an entrance to the room. Her hair was cropped and blonde and she had a small nose with tiny pale freckles over the top of it. She had a huge smile on her face. She looked carefully around the room.

'Is Snape here yet?' she asked. Harry shook his head. 'I can't believe she was kissing him.'

Harry looked at her in surprise.

'Who are you talking about Tonks?' he asked.

'Sweet little Terri,' she said. 'Surely you know Terri. She rides Sirius' sister's horses.'

'Terri Hamber?' he asked.

'And Snape?' added Ron.

'When?' asked Hermione.

'At the Leaky Cauldron,' replied Tonks. 'On New Years Eve. I mean of all the people in my group of friends to snog a teacher, Terri would have been last on the list.'

'You know Terri?' asked Harry.

'Sure,' said Tonks. 'We were in Hufflepuff together.'

'You were in Hufflepuff?' asked Ron in disbelief.

'Don't look so shocked,' said Tonks with a laugh. 'Not everyone can be in grand-old Gryffindor. Anyhow I'm extremely loyal and hardworking, although I was quite mischievous for a Hufflepuff that sometimes I wondered whether I'd been sorted into the right house.'

At that moment Dumbledore entered the room and the meeting began.

'Sorry for the short notice,' he began. 'We have a lot to get through today. There have been quite a few developments since our last gathering. The first is the status of the disappearing Muggle-borns. I shall allow Ron over here to fill you in on the latest developments.'

'Yes Sir,' Ron said quickly. 'As most of you may know, we undertook surveillance of the Shetland Islands after Professor Snape's intelligence of something strange going on. Malfoy had also heard about it. We discovered several camps of Muggle-born witches and wizards and an operation was led by myself, Malfoy and Dung to retrieve the prisoners. We retrieved about one hundred people, however there are still some that remain missing. We have not been able to locate their whereabouts as of yet.' Questions?'

'There was an explosion was there not?' asked a member whom Harry did not recognise.

'Yes,' replied Ron. 'I hadn't got to that yet. If there aren't anymore questions about the operation itself, shall I move on?' Ron paused for a few moments before he began. 'Yes there was an explosion. We have a feeling that someone tipped the Death Eaters off. For starters, apart from the two guards guarding the fortress there was a distinct lack of Death Eaters. Secondly, retrieving the people was far too easy and there are still people missing. There were few aware of the operation. My only thought is that it must have been one of the Hit Wizards that I briefed on Friday evening.'

A few people nodded in affirmation.

'Those that undertook surveillance were trustworthy,' added Dumbledore. 'However Professor MacLeod was injured as a result and whilst Professor Snape managed to cover the situation, this incident may have resulted in increased caution.'

'May I interrupt?' asked Harry. Dumbledore looked at him questioningly before nodding his head. Harry cleared his throat. 'The note I discovered said that the Order would attack on Saturday morning. Somebody had to have tipped them off for that one.'

'Right you are Harry,' said Dumbledore. 'I had forgotten about that one. Then someone had to know about the Order's operations. It however leaves us back where we started.'

'It has to be one of the Hit Wizards,' said Lupin. 'Someone who had perhaps an inkling that Ron was involved in the Order and thought it strange that he would be leading an operation at such an early stage in his career.'

'Well who would know that?' asked Sirius. 'The level of each member of the Hit Wizard Squad is usually kept quiet.'

'Moody of course,' said Ron, as Moody nodded in acknowledgement. 'And Terry Boot.'

'Terry Boot?' asked Tonks.

'Terry Boot is Ron's partner,' said Hermione. 'He was in Ravenclaw, in our year at Hogwarts.'

'But I don't think Terry would do that kind of thing,' said Ron. Harry glanced at him questioningly. 'Listen, I know I've complained about how he has been getting annoying but I don't think he's exactly capable of doing something like that. I mean he was in the DA.'

'People change Ron,' said Hermione. 'Just because he was in the DA does not mean that he is inherently good.'

'No,' said Ron. 'But just because he knew what level I was does not mean that he necessarily was the tip off.'

'He's got a point Hermione,' said Sirius somewhat gently. 'But Ron, you should watch what you say around him in future.'

Ron nodded.

'Moving on,' said Dumbledore seeing that the conversation had come to a halt. 'We have searched for the remaining missing Muggle-borns without success so far. I move that we set up a task force responsible for searching for them.' He turned to Alec. 'I still think that the best surveillance is using jockeys who are seemingly training their horses. Would you be able to manage this without too many of your jockeys actually being aware of what they're doing?'

'We're always training in areas that are supposed to be secluded,' said Alec. 'But I don't know how many of our number can actually be trusted. Terri almost certainly can. She said nothing to anyone of what she had seen, although I don't know if she exactly wanted to talk about it. As for the rest of them, I trust them on my horses, however I don't know if I trust them with this kind of information. We need to be careful. What I can do is ensure that Terri is flying with them so that if anything is seen then she can report it directly to me.'

Harry had glanced over at Snape while Alec was talking about Terri to see if he could catch any signs of what Tonks had said, however if there was something going on, Snape certainly wasn't giving it away.

'Does anyone object?' asked Dumbledore shaking Harry out of his thoughts. Harry waited and seeing that nobody raised their hands Dumbledore moved onto the next item of business which Harry knew would be Rose. 'Obviously Voldemort has stepped up his operations. As most of you will know, a young witch of wizarding parentage was taken. Rose Heaney. The Order acted immediately. Firstly I wanted to thank Moira Wily for her quick work getting that article about Rose printed the next day. We are unsure the reason which she was taken, however at first we did believe that it was highly likely that she may have been taken because it was thought that she was Muggle-born. The hope was that if that were the case then the article would have resulted in her release. This however wasn't the case. Some of our operatives managed to track her and it seemed for the first forty hours the guard on her was increased. She managed to escape when she was unguarded, thankfully unharmed. It is important that we discover the reason she was taken. I am going to leave this in your capable hands Mr Malfoy.'

'Yes sir,' said Draco quickly.

'And while we are talking to you Draco; how is your work on the Prophecy going?' asked Dumbledore.

'Slowly,' he replied. 'Chrystal, may I ask when your birthday is?' She looked at him in surprise. 'For another interpretation of the prophecy I need your birthday. I have the other three birth dates.'

'Oh, sorry,' she said blushing. 'It's the tenth of November, 1961.'

'Thank you,' he said. 'I have to report my findings on the next meeting. I have no idea who the pairings are as of yet. I think the plan is to give him what I have found and hope against all odds that he doesn't get angry and kill me.' Harry was surprised at the blaze way Draco said that.

'And Severus what the latest on the list of Muggle-born students? asked Dumbledore in a concerned voice.

'I have not been asked for it and will not complete it until asked,' he replied. 'It would be signing their death warrants by doing so. However I think the Dark Lord's priorities may have shifted slightly recently. For instance the manner in which Miss Heaney was taken suggests that his target has changed. Additionally, since Miss Heaney has identified Crabbe he will have had to go into damage control. It's never any good when his Death Eaters make costly mistakes like that.'

'Can I ask if we know the real identity of Rose Heaney?' asked Moira Wily, a bespectacled, middle-aged lady who wore far too much makeup. Additionally her hair was bright blue. She was a writer for the Daily Prophet who whilst was a useful source of information was also always looking for a bit of scandal.

'That is my business for now Moira,' said Dumbledore. 'Now moving on, you had something Minerva?'

'Yes thank you Albus,' she said. 'Miss Brown came to me yesterday. She said that Seamus Finnegan had come to her and told her that he had overheard a conversation saying that she was to be taken. He also told her that the instructions had been that she was to be taken not from Hogwarts and was not under any circumstances to be harmed. Has anyone heard anything?' Nobody replied. This was the first Harry had heard of this. No wonder Lavender had been wasting her life away drinking. 'We are wondering if Voldemort wants her for her ability as a Seer or because he wants to control the Heir of Hufflepuff.'

'I don't think there's an answer to that one,' said Draco. 'If The Dark Lord wanted to control her, I doubt he would tell his subjects.'

'Shall we agree to keep an eye on her then?' asked Dumbledore. Almost everybody nodded in reply. 'Moving on then, I'm sure you've all seen the candidates. I think we should go through them one at a time and see the options. Who's first?'

'Bagman,' said Elphias Doge in his wheezy voice. He had just entered the room and was making an effort to look engrossed in the conversation.

'Yes Bagman,' laughed Sirius. 'Well I don't rate him getting past the independent interviews.'

'I thought he was in trouble with the goblins,' said Harry.

'Well he was,' said Bill. 'He did however manage to smooth things over. He paid off his debt, although we're not entirely sure how.'

'I don't think he is a problem,' said Dumbledore. 'Although he is popular, he is far too incompetent to fool the Wizengamot interviewers. Besides I highly doubt they would let someone who has been known to have passed information to Voldemort through. Who is next?'

'Amelia Bones,' said Dedalus Diggle dropping his velvet hat as he tried to place it on the table. 'It's the first time she's been nominated.'

'She's a fair and honest person,' said Sturgis Podmore. 'But I doubt she'd make a good Minister.'

'But she wouldn't let the Death Eaters take control,' said McGonagall. 'Again I don't think we need to worry about her. She probably won't be elected and if she is she wouldn't be the worst result.'

'Then there's Amos Diggory,' said Hestia Jones. 'He could be a problem.'

'I hardly think we need to worry about Amos,' said Arthur Weasley. 'I mean the man's harmless.'

'But he has thrown himself into work since his son died,' said Kingsley Shacklebolt. 'I've seen the poor guy at work. Since Cedric died it seems that all he does is work. He's lost his spark.'

'I think he'd be easily manipulated,' said Percy. 'If someone managed to get inside his head you wouldn't know if they were really his thoughts or not. He just hasn't been completely with it.'

'I don't think he'd get past the Wizangamot anyway,' said Dumbledore as Percy excused himself and left the room. 'Everyone is aware of Amos' situation and the panel will take that into consideration when contemplating who they will let through. Who's next?'

'Malfalda Hopkirk,' said Emmeline Vance. 'She's a surprise one.'

'She works for the Improper Use of Magic doesn't she?' asked Harry.

'Yes,' replied Arthur Weasley. 'She's been trying to get out of that office by any means possible. She hates it.'

'But she won't get through,' said Kingsley. 'She's not exactly the nicest person either and it will come across if she makes it through to the interview stage.'

'Then there's Remus,' said Sirius. 'We don't need to discuss him.'

'It's not as if I'll be elected anyway,' said Remus. 'The wizarding world will never accept werewolves.'

'Then why run?' asked Ron.

'To be in their face,' said Lupin. 'To say that I don't care what they think about me. It's a means to survival.'

'The next is Marcus Parkinson,' said Tonks. 'Total Death Eater of course.'

'Yes,' said Sirius. 'He hasn't exactly shown his best side in our limited past encounters. Somehow he's managed to keep out of trouble and that is of concern.'

'The Death Eaters spoke of a candidate,' said Hermione. 'Do you think that it's plausible that it's Marcus Parkinson?'

'I think it's something we have to consider,' said Snape. 'He is a Death Eater, I can confirm that for you, he hasn't had an assignment lately which makes me think he's the possible candidate, as they would want him to appear clean.'

'I think we should do our best to ensure that he doesn't get through,' said McGonagall. 'Use whatever contacts we have. I think he is the danger man.'

'I agree,' said Dumbledore. 'Who else should we consider?'

'Arnold Peasgood and Carlotta Pinkstone,' said Moody. 'Knowing our luck Peasgood will just obliviate others memories. I don't know what some people are thinking when they get themselves nominated for this kind of thing. They really just don't think.'

'Who's Carlotta Pinkstone?' asked Hermione.

'Carlotta's an advocate for telling Muggles that we exist,' said Chrys. 'She's about forty and has run every time the positions been vacant since she finished Hogwarts. We don't need to worry about her, she's Pro-Muggle, not Anti-Muggle.'

'Then there's Umbridge,' said Harry with a cough.

'There's too many people who were at Hogwarts with her to make it past the first round,' said Katie. 'Even the Slytherin's will vote for someone else.'

'I just get this feeling that if she gets through she will be Fudge's puppet,' said Lupin. 'It's already set up like that. The candidates Minister after her name clinches it.'

'We would need to keep an eye on her if she was elected,' said Hermione. 'Otherwise it would be like nothing has changed.'

'Why did Fudge resign anyway?' asked Harry.

'He essentially had to Harry,' said Hestia Jones. 'After it was discovered that he knew about Voldemort's return a year before he did anything well he's been under all kinds of pressure. And it didn't help that he deliberately set out to discredit both you and Dumbledore. The final straw was the attack on the Three Broomsticks. He has essentially been forced out of office.'

'Oh,' said Harry. Given his isolation he hadn't really kept up to date with all the happenings of the wizarding world.

'The last one on the list is Seth Zabini?' said Katie. 'Does anyone know anything about him?'

'He's Blaise's father,' said Draco. 'She was a Slytherin in my year. Plays Quidditch now and does nothing else with her time.'

'Yeah,' said Fred. 'She and Lee are somewhat of an item at the moment. Lee met her while he was commentating and the rest is history.'

'I've never heard Zabini's name mentioned in Death Eater circles,' said Snape. 'From all accounts he appears to be clean.'

'Need we worry about him?' asked Emmeline Vance. 'He's a very public figure but he never seems to be involved in anything sinister.'

'Perhaps you should ask Lee Jordan to keep an eye on him,' suggested Dumbledore.

'I can only ask I guess,' said George. 'I haven't seen much of him lately. He's resigned from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes unfortunately.'

At that moment Percy re-entered the room.

'Ah, Mum, can I have a hand?' he said.

Molly looked up at him curiously and hurried outside. Fred and George snickered.

'Anyone would think he was having the baby himself with the way he's been scattering around all week,' said Fred. 'But I'd say that it might be time, if he's actually getting Mum out of the meeting.'

'Do we have anything else to discuss Dumbledore?' asked Arthur.

Dumbledore shook his head.

'Right then,' said Tonks. 'Given that Molly is busy why don't some of you help me with dinner?' Chrys stood up.

'No not you,' laughed Tonks. 'Harry and Ron why don't you give me a hand? Hermione you can help as well.'

They took the hint and stood up to give Tonks a hand. She was in a interesting mood and seemed to want to gossip to Hermione about Snape more than she was interested in finished preparing the dinner that Molly had started.

'Anyhow,' she began. 'I walked into The Leaky Cauldron because my school friends and I always meet there on New Years, it's kind of a tradition and I walked in and saw Terri immediately. She was sitting with Snape and so I was a little confused. I left her be and met up with the other people I was meeting, but Terri didn't come near us all night. Then at midnight she was snogging him.'

'They were talking all night at the Dunvegan Ball,' said Hermione. 'He looked happy. It was strange. I don't think I've ever seen Snape look happy before.'

Harry and Ron left the two women to gossip and headed back to the table where some small amounts of food were beginning to appear. Not many people had stayed for dinner; it had been reduced to the Weasleys minus Molly, Percy and Penelope; Tonks, Sirius, Lupin, Chrys, Harry and Hermione. He knew his parents would be down soon. As he sat down Sirius smiled at him.

'We're having a family dinner on Saturday night,' said Sirius with a twinkle in his eye. 'We're going to invite Sarah and her husband around. See what happens.'

'Rose will be there of course,' said Chrys. 'But you're more than welcome to come if you'd like Ron. We've warned my dad and Heather so they won't get any unexpected surprises.'

Lily and James entered the room.

'How did the meeting go?' asked James.

'We mainly talked about the candidates for Minister,' said Ron. 'They're bloody shocking if you ask me.'

'Well I don't see a decent one there,' said Lily. 'Well Kingsley's a nice guy but I don't think he'd make a good Minister. And Remus is only running to make a point.'

Sirius pulled Lily aside and Harry spoke with his father and Ron for a while before Hermione and Tonks brought out what was supposed to be dinner.

'Molly left this stewing,' said Tonks. 'Hermione thinks that it's done, so I'm taking her word for it.'

'Thanks for blaming me Tonks,' Hermione said with a smile on her face. 'If you want to blame anyone blame the little Weasley that I suspect is about to be born.'

Everyone tucked into the stew, which was neither undercooked nor overcooked. When they were finished Bill excused himself saying that he had to leave.

'What have you got mate?' called Charlie after him. 'A hot date? With a veela?'

Bill didn't answer but just closed the door behind him.

'So do we wait up?' asked Ron. 'I mean I haven't become an uncle before.'

'And are not likely to anytime soon again either,' added George. 'I've just got Katie to myself, I'm unlikely to share her.'

A head appeared in the fire. It was Rose. She looked exhausted.

'Oh, everyone's there,' she said. 'Hi everyone. I was after some advice.'

'If it's about Potions then don't ask me,' said Ron.

'Actually Hermione might be the best to answer it,' said Rose. 'After all she did do some Mediwizard training. It's just that I've got this headache I can't get rid of. Not with Charms or Potions. I'm not particularly stressed or anything, I was just wondering if there's any suggestions?'

'Have you tried taking a Sleeping Draught before you go to bed?' asked Lily. 'Sometimes that helps.'

'Are you eating properly Rose?' asked James. 'You look a little pale.'

'Yes I'm fine,' she said. 'I just can't shake this headache. Listen Ginny's here and wants to have a word. Hold on a minute.' Rose's head disappeared and Ginny's appeared.

'How was your meeting?' she asked.

'Have you seen the candidate list?' asked Sirius.

'Yes,' she said. 'It's not exactly inspiring. How's Penny? I can't see her.'

'We think the babies coming,' said Ron. 'We haven't seen Penny all day and Mum and Percy have been missing for the last four hours.'

'Well let me know when it's over,' she said as her head disappeared.

Later that night Percy made his way downstairs.

'It's a boy,' he said as he collapsed in the chair. 'Both Penny and the baby are fine. Best let them sleep now,' he said with a yawn.

Harry summoned a blanket and gently placed it over Hermione who was sleeping on the couch. He tucked it around her gently and kissed her softly on the cheek before heading upstairs to sleep in the spare bed in Ron's room.

*~*

The next morning was spent admiring baby Reade Arthur Weasley, who with little tuffs of red hair and freckles was looking very much like a perfect fit into the Weasley family. Harry and Ron were amazed at how much time Hermione spent admiring the baby. Harry knew that it was about time for her to have a check up with Molly and Harry hoped that everything was going along smoothly because he didn't want to have to go through what he had witnessed with Sirius and Chrys. Every time he saw them together lately he sensed a little friction and he secretly hoped that whatever the cause was that they could work it out.

Later that afternoon, Hermione asked Molly for her check up, when the excitement of baby Reade had worn off slightly. She also asked Harry to come with her. She seemed almost a little apprehensive which Harry thought was quiet unusual.

Molly gave her a smile and asked her to lie down on the bed.

'I'll be right with you in a second,' she said as she rushed out to respond to Percy's calling.

Harry a curl out of Hermione's face.

'Is everything okay sweetie?' he asked her.

'I just don't know,' she said. 'I don't know if I should be feeling anything yet.'

'Why don't we wait for Molly and see what she says,' he said. 'I'm sure everything's fine.'

Molly entered the room only s few seconds later.

'I'm sorry,' she said. 'Percy's is just so anxious about everything. I honestly hope he doesn't drive Penelope mad. Now how's it all going?'

'I'm not sure,' she said.

'It's only natural to be a little nervous,' said Molly in a reassuring tone. 'Let me have a feel.'

Molly gently placed her hands on Hermione's exposed tummy.

'Well I'd say that you're a tad over twelve weeks,' she said. 'You may start feeling movement in another six weeks but you shouldn't worry if it takes a little longer. Are you in any pain?'

'No,' replied Hermione. 'Should I be?'

'No,' said Molly with a smile. 'Everyone's different.' She picked up her wand and quickly cast an incarnation. 'Don't worry everything's fine so far. Do you want to know whether it's a boy or girl?'

Hermione and Harry glanced at each other.

'We actually hadn't thought about it yet,' said Harry. 'How about we think about it for a while?'

Hermione gave Harry a smile and thanked Molly.

'We had better get going,' she said. 'Alasdair will have wondered what's happened to us.'

Harry helped her up and they farewelled everyone before flooing back to Dunvegan. Harry knew he had to get to work on discovering who was betraying them before anymore damage was done.