Slytherin

Harrods was truly the world's greatest department store, and in the days before people communicated with telephone and fax it had the cable address, 'Everything London'. The place was absolutely huge with a floor space of almost hundred and eleven thousand square meters, seventy seven thousand of which was selling space. On a busy day the store could attract over three hundred thousand customers. The staff numbered upwards of five thousand and came from fifty different countries, three hundred and thirty departments on seven selling floors. Eleven thousand five hundred light bulbs made the place a beacon of light during the night, if you were standing outside the behemoth of a store. A fleet of forty seven delivery vehicles made upwards of two hundred thousand deliveries every year.

These were the facts of Harrods, well, at least as Stephen knew them. It was an awe inspiring sight for a nine-year old to see and much had changed since that time, as the store was under a constant evolution to meet the ever changing needs of the Londoners and foreigners it catered for. Ginny was no less impressed as Stephen pointed out to her where the store began and ended. As they approached the doors of main entrance he picked up a small information brochure for her and encouraged her to read it.

It was a Saturday, so the place was rather crowded but not as much as it could have been, for which Stephen was truly thankful. He did not wish to get separated from Ginny in this place. It was just too huge. So he offered his arm for her to hook her right arm through and she acquiesced with a blush to let him guide her.

"So where too first my lady?" asked Stephen as they approached an escalator.

"Hmmm..." she stared intently at the brochure and her eyes alighted with excitement, "oh! To the first floor, Ladies Fashion."

"As you wish," Stephen grinned with amusement.

They arrived on the first floor and found it quite easy to find the ladies section by the signs provided and soon enough, Stephen found himself awash in a maze of dresses, skirts, ladies jeans and shoes. He let Ginny control their heading as she idly browsed through the various racks.

"If you find something you like, I'll be happy to foot the bill, I really need to update my normal wardrobe anyway," he whispered into her ear.

Stephen saw a flit of emotions cross her face at this, and hurriedly he practiced some Consiliamancy towards her, worried that she might have taken it the wrong way. He saw there was a war going on in her, her pride and independence at not needing help, even though she knew she could hardly afford half the garments in this place. Stephen had read about this 'the pride of the poor'. The other side of the battle was her desire to accept help when it came, and especially help from him, since she did not wish to insult him. Oddly, he thought that the two qualities were like the battle of ideals between Slytherin and Gryffindor, pragmatism versus idealism.

Finally, there was a compromise and he backed away from her emotions.

"That's very kind of you," she said meekly.

"Ginny," prompted Stephen and he turned her to look him in the eye, "I do this out of my heart, from nowhere else, because I want to see you happy, and if you are happy then I am happy. Understand?" he asked with a lopsided grin.

She did not trust herself to speak and only nodded, gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. She eventually got herself a variety of clothes and they went to the changing rooms.

"Ok, you sit here," she ordered with grin and patted a seat four feet in front of the full length 3-way mirror, "then I will change and model the clothes. You will give me your opinion Ok?"

Stephen chuckled at her tone, addressing him like he had no idea what he was doing and nodded. She walked into the closet sized enclosure and emerged a few moments later wearing a very pretty sundress; it was in a soft white color and had a colored flower pattern adorning it. The dress left quite a lot of leg exposed; about three inches above her knee. He had to swallow a lump in his throat as he stared at her with wide eyes. His brain finally caught up with his emotions.

"Beautiful," he said in an awed voice. She blushed furiously into the roots of her hair and fled into the cubicle. She tried on another sundress but this one had a pattern that he did not like.

"You're perfect, but the dress is not," he said bluntly, she turned to the mirror and nodded to herself that he was right.

The next was a black cocktail dress with a 'very' low open back and long sleeves, it was also parted down the front to the level of her navel and gave him a rather good tempting view of the inside edges of her breasts. The dress ended 'diplomatically' at her knees. It oozed sex appeal and when she emerged from the cubicle with it on, he thought his heart was going to jump out his mouth and his breath caught. He knew there were some witches' styles that revealed even more, but this had a perfect balance to be absolutely alluring.

"You're a goddess in that," he managed to force out of his mouth as it was getting extremely difficult to think rationally, "but can you see yourself wearing that anywhere?"

"Oh I can think of a few places," she smiled impishly.

"If you wear that at the Ball's this year, I'll have my work cut out for me. I'll have to chase guys away at wand point," he laughed.

"Perhaps, but there'll be only one wizard who gets the pleasure," she winked at him and headed back to the changing room. He could feel the blush spreading over his face and the temperature in the room felt like it was suddenly turned up.

"Tease," retorted Stephen towards the changing cubicle.

She returned wearing a combination of tight hipster jeans and a ladies t-shirt that exposed her navel slightly. Ginny did not have a flat athletic tummy, she had more of a tiny pot belly, and this outfit showed that off beautifully, it was just as an attractive feature of her as any.

"So what do you think?" she asked nervously and he sensed some self-consciousness in there as well. He realized he had been staring for a while at her with a slightly glazed expression; he caught himself and gestured for her to come closer. He held out his hand which she took curiously. He guided her hand to rest over his solar plexus so she could feel his heart beat.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he asked teasingly. She giggled in response and looked at him impishly. The next think he knew she was sitting on his lap and had her arms around his neck. "Miss Weasley, what are you doing?" he affected a mocked astonished tone but was smiling broadly.

"Oh?" she played along, "Can I not sit here?"

"You are most welcome to," he replied, "but what are your intentions?" he asked as they looked into each other's eyes. He found something in her eyes that really astonished him.

"My intentions?" she asked airily. He nodded and realized that their faces were actually only a few inches apart. Her intentions were rather obvious a moment later as their lips tentatively met in a chaste kiss. Stephen thought he was about to faint. He had known magic for most of his life and studied it for the past five years, but this was a magic that made everything else seem like nothing. He circled his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. The kiss deepened and he felt her tongue lightly ghosting itself across his teeth. He responded in kind. The world seemed to have receded around them as his entire being burned with a completeness and passion.

They broke the kiss only to get some air and their breathing was heavy and labored. Their eyes never left one another, and he could feel that volumes of communication were being spoken between them. He knew that she had felt the same thing pass between them.

"I will not put words to what just happened, it can't be described," he stated emphatically. A huge smile burst onto her face.

"Are you a poet?" she asked joyfully.

"I have the odd literary inspiration that I write down in a journal," he admitted.

Her only response was to kiss him again, and the passion and joy was evident. It puzzled him for only a moment though that she was crying when they broke apart. He wiped the tears away with pads of his thumbs.

"Sorry," she mumbled and sniffed.

"It's ok," he murmured as she rested her head on his chest, "tears of happiness are nothing to be sorry for."

"How do you do that?" she asked a few moments later.

"Do what?" he frowned.

"Most boys I know would be confused at why I was crying," she stated.

"The best way I could explain it, is that I am gifted with an advanced form of Empathy called Consilliamancy, when I am not blocking it out I can feel rather acutely the emotions and magic in a room," he replied quietly.

"You can feel my emotions?" she asked in a startled tone.

"I am shielding against it, your emotions are your own, I obviously cannot shield it when we kissed," he stated hugging her tighter.

"Nor would I want you to," she murmured.

"I just have something to ask," stated Stephen.

"What?"

"No one can know I have this gift, especially the Ministry, never mind the Death Eaters," he said seriously.

"Why?" she asked straightening and looking him in the eye.

"I would be hunted down for my services, so to speak. Will you allow me to show you why?" he asked. She nodded. He lifted his hand and ghosted it slowly over her face reaching out for her radiating emotions and pulled it to him. He felt her momentary confusion and still in the background her burning passion for him and even beyond that the foundation of love that was radiating that passion. His heart constricted and he felt his own love responding. He let his hand trail down from her face. She had the most contented and satisfied expression on her face he had ever seen. Even the fear of Voldemort was lifted from her shoulders for a moment.

Her eyes locked on his again with an expression of awe and wonder on her face, which made him smile. She was so beautiful.

"I just practically admitted it to you," she said with a sudden wide-eyed look of fear.

"That you love me?" he asked with a huge smile.

"But..." he silenced her with a finger on her lips. He took her hand and let it ghost over his own face, but instead of pulling emotion, he pushed it forward to let her feel it. She gasped. The look of wonder was back on her face and her eyes met his questioningly. "Is that you?" He nodded with his blue eyes sparkling in happiness.

"You love me?" she asked rhetorically.

"Well, it's one of the weirdest ways to admit it to each other isn't it?" he quipped and laughed briefly.

"I don't think it's weird, I think it's rather inspired," she admitted.

"How so?" he asked genuinely curious.

"Imagine, how long we would have danced around each other on eggshells, if only you could somehow provide this for Ron and Hermoine, I think we would have a much quieter Gryffindor tower," she giggled.

"To someone like me their attraction is painfully obvious; their bickering is just their unique way of expressing the tension of not admitting it to each other," he said knowingly.

"Do you have Veela, somewhere in your ancestry?" asked Ginny curiously.

"It's possible," he shrugged, "the Moon's have been around since eight hundred A.D., well that's at least as far back as I or anyone of my family have been able to trace it."

They sat like that for a long time in comfortable silence, until a Sales attendant beckoned them that there were other customers waiting. Ginny rushed into the cubicle and changed back into normal clothes and grabbed her purchases. The attendant rang the purchases at the nearby till. Stephen reached into his pocket and produced a Bank of England debit card. The assistant's eye's widened a bit at the method of payment but kept silent. The disbelief in his expression was obvious.

"What was that?" asked Ginny as they passed through the Egyptian Hall and down the escalators.

"My family thought it not wise to just keep the coffers in Gringotts, so they invested in various 'normal' institutions, the Bank of England was one of them," he explained, "the card I used to pay transferred the money directly from the bank to Harrods without having to carry currency," explained Stephen.

"That's handy," she commented, "how come Gringotts can't have something similar? I should ask Bill?"

"He's one of your very older brothers?" he asked.

"Yes, used to work as a curse-breaker in Egypt, but transferred here to be closer to the family when..." she trailed off and sighed.

"By all means ask him, and suggest to him the idea," he grinned.

"You can suggest it to him," she grinned evilly.

"Oh?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, "when will I have the opportunity to meet him?"

"I'll arrange something," she teased.

"And how will you introduce me?" he asked warily.

"As my boyfriend of course," she scoffed.

"I shall brush up on my defensive spells," he nodded. She laughed and hugged his arm closer.

"Don't worry, they'll have to get through me first to get to you," she stated with a fiery determination.

They reached the lower ground floor that held most of the designer men's fashions. It took him barely a couple of minutes to select a variety of clothes that he liked. Polo shirts and elegant pants in soft neutral colors to match, he had enough jeans but added some extremely comfortable silk long sleeved shirts. He even fitted himself for a tailored black suit that made him look like he belonged in a boardroom of a company, adding a few ties that were very colorful in intricate Celtic patterns. He brought a pair of black shoes as well to fit with the suit but the leather was still extremely stiff and he could barely walk properly in them.

Afterwards Ginny insisted he go to the hair salon. The black color transfiguration had worn off but they were still barely reaching his shoulders. But it was tangled and unkempt from the day's activities. He protested all the way to the seat in front of the hair stylist, but once he got a look at his hair in the mirror he shut up.

"Keep it long, but wash it and trim it to make it behave more," ordered Ginny to the stylist. The stylist was a man well into his late forties with rapidly graying short hair; he wore a white coat that made him almost look like a chemist. He nodded at her and promptly got busy doing all a manner of things to Stephen's hair. The stylist or rather the barber as he learned by quickly looking around the salon and noticed the classic swirling red and white barber pole, brought a portable washing station and promptly washed Stephen's hair with all a manner of concoctions. Soon after, the barber alternated between using a variety of scissors, almost like a painter would use different brushes.

It took almost an hour to finish but finally the barber finished and tilled up the account. Stephen had to admit he looked almost regal now. His hair reminded him of how Malfoy Senior wore his, at least in terms of style. Stephen's dark blonde hair was still slightly damp and gave it the appearance of a dark brown. They headed up to the third floor and got seating in the Georgian restaurant.

"Now isn't that better? You look bloody handsome," stated Ginny playfully.

"I'll get used to it," sighed Stephen, "it will take a lot more to manage it now."

"Your hair should be long; you're the senior member of your family," she said.

"Yeah, it's just something I guess as an orphan I didn't want to be reminded about," replied Stephen with a subtle sadness and longing in his voice. Ginny reached over their table and grabbed his hands.

"If you don't mind me asking," she said nervously, "how did you become an orphan?"

Stephen looked into her eyes and considered telling her, there were many reasons for him not to broadcast his parent's past, but this was Ginny. He could not seriously consider lying to her.

"How much do you know of how Voldemort recruited his followers?" he asked in a soft voice.

"I assumed that they were all willing," she frowned. He shook his head.

"Those in the inner circle of the Dark Lord, all took the Mark willingly and support his goals to a level of fanaticism, especially Bellatrix Lestrange. The Death Eaters outside the inner circle were merely soldiers; there were a few who also supported Voldemort but all the others were those who were coerced, blackmailed and threatened into becoming supporters. Voldemort does not just use fear to rule with or get what he wants. He is a bloody clever bastard with fifty years of experience at practicing magic and the Dark Arts behind him," explained Stephen, "the bulk of Voldemort's followers during the Eleven years of Terror were recruited by coercion, fear and blackmail."

"Your parents were among those," deduced Ginny. Stephen closed his eyes in pain and nodded.

"My parents being pureblood were approached by Death Eaters to answer to Voldemort's call to arms against the 'muggle invasion'," his mouth snarled slightly in anger, "my parents were progressive in their political thinking though, they were realists. They knew, like any sane wizard knows, that had we not inter-married amongst muggles we would have all died out. They knew that if we do not let muggleborns into the wizarding world then it would lead to unprecedented magical disasters to leave clueless and untrained wizards and witches amongst the muggles. But they also knew that the Death Eaters would kill them both for not joining the 'cause'."

"So," prompted Ginny.

"They never received the Mark though, with what little information they were trusted with from Voldemort they passed on to the Auror's. Everything changed though in the few years before Voldemort's first fall. When Barty Crouch Sr. the then head of Magical Law Enforcement..." he trailed off and his jaw was rigid with anger, "authorized the Auror's to use Unforgivables, in an eye for an eye policy. Can you deduce how I was orphaned?"

"Merlin no," gasped Ginny and tears started rolling from her eyes.

"It's very easy to fall into that mindset, I'm sure Crouch just decided a Death Eater is a Death Eater, no consideration for the family of that poor fellow forced to wear that robe," stated Stephen, "I don't think I could ever willingly make the choice to kill using that curse. Do you know why it's so Unforgivable? I mean there are a hundred different other spells out there that could kill just as quickly." She shook her head.

"It's because of the intent and emotions behind the spell, you need to feel a level of hate and contempt for life to even try and casting it, but it's Dark Arts, as much as it effects the victim, it effects the caster. I've read it gives you a feeling of euphoria and omnipotence that is addicting," explained Stephen shuddering at the mere thought.

"And we wonder why all those in the inner circle are a tad off?" asked Ginny rhetorically.

"It just makes me wonder always, in times like these, why? What justifies the killing, suffering, and all those lives destroyed? I mean look at the Longbottoms, driven to insanity by that bitch Lestrange, and for what?" sighed Stephen exasperatedly.

"And it's all starting again," stated Ginny grimly.

"That it is," he determinedly grabbed a menu, "but let's not talk more of this. This is a date, and we must make it a happy memory. So my lady, what will you eat?"

Ginny smiled, wiping her eyes a bit and grabbed the menu. She ordered some Beef Stroganoff while Stephen settled on a spiced fish stir fry. It took some twenty minutes for their food to be prepared and served with two Bacardi Breezers.

"Did you really go through the entire OWL syllabus already?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes, I basically shut myself in my room and studied, there was nothing else to do," she shrugged modestly, "I really just wish Ron and Hermoine could get together and get it over with, they'll drive Gryffindor Tower nuts this year. I won't be surprised even if Harry loses his patience with those two this year."

"It will happen when it does, you can't force the issue," commented Stephen sagely.

"Yeah, but anyway, I'm actually quite surprised at how fast I worked through the syllabus," frowned Ginny.

"That's one of the problems I find with schooling, there are so many subjects you have to do, and they are so divided up and competing for time," opinioned Stephen, "wait till you get to apprenticeship or Post-Hogwarts studies, you'll study the book you would usually use for a whole year in less than four months."

"Wow, how do you know?" she asked curiously.

"Well, my grandfather worked in the Ministry and he designed the curriculum structure of the many apprenticeship programs offered to Hogwarts graduates, even the Auror program, I have all his journals," stated Stephen.

"I have no idea what I want to do after Hogwarts, it feels like ages before that happens," she sighed miserably.

"Chin up, you'll find your calling, I'm sure you could do anything you put your mind to," he gave her a lopsided grin.

"Thanks," she blushed, "so what's your calling?"

"Auror, all the way," he stated confidently.

"Really? I hear the requirements are pretty tough," she smiled.

"They are, but my OWLs exceeded their requirements, I just need the relevant NEWTs now," he declared.

They finished up their meals paid the bill and tipped the waiter who served them well. The couple headed down to the lower levels when Ginny spotted a perfume store. He suppressed an audible sigh and allowed her to pull him along into the small store. She immediately lost herself looking through the counter display case and idly browsing through all the available fragrances. Stephen had to admit that the entire store smelled lovely, he could detect whiffs of rose, lemon and strawberry in the air. There were more but his nose was completely useless at trying to sort out any more fragrances.

Something happened next though that caused him to stiffen in alarm and casually search the shop they were in. Stephen had felt a momentary attempt by a Legillimens to probe his mind. He opened his magical sense and felt a very strange presence walking towards them; it stopped at one of the isles in the shop but then moved forward to stand right next to him at the counter.

Stephen turned to face a man in his late fifties, he was bald, except on the sides and back of his head, where rapidly graying hear was neatly combed. He was about a head shorter than Stephen and wore an elegant pinstriped suit. He had the air of a connoisseur about him and stood formally with his hands folded behind his back, casually inspecting the fragrances and mixes offered by the store. His face was studiously neutral though. But a glance at the man's eyes sent shivers through Stephen's spine. Stephen had already occluded his mind as much as possible in case the man decided to snoop.

Stephen had no idea if this man was a wizard though; a glance at the man with his magical sense gave him mixed results, but the man's aura left him with a foul taste in his mouth.

"Can I help you sir?" asked the sales attendant from behind the counter.

"Yes, I'm looking for a specific combination please?" asked the man. He spoke with a hinted American accent, but it was still British mostly.

"Certainly Sir, we can mix anything you want," stated the attendant with a friendly smile. The man listed a whole bunch of fragrances and stability agents that flew right over Stephen's head, the attendant to his benefit merely nodded and started mixing as the man spoke.

"If I may," stated Stephen, "that is an interesting combination, who could it be for?"

The man seemed delighted at the question; Stephen was roundly expecting to be ignored.

"Oh, it is for a very special person young man, she is very dear to me. I definitely do not want to disappoint her, so I'm getting something very special and unique," replied the man.

"Really, would you mind if I had a whiff, it might give my girlfriend inspiration in her own choice?" asked Stephen.

"No problem," the man smiled widely, but in the back of Stephen's mind he contemplated that to a normal person that smile would appear genuine, but he knew different, there was an evil intent in that smile, behind those eyes.

The attendant agreed to give Ginny a whiff of the combination. She lightly sniffed over the clear glass bottle it was mixed in.

"Oh, it's wonderful," she beamed.

In the meantime, Stephen had lightly turned his fledgling Legillimencing skills on the man. He knew he would probably regret it later, but there was no doubt that this man was not normal, nor was his intentions good.

Stephen made brief eye contact with man, and it only took two moments for the probe to go in and out. The man thankfully had no Occlumency skills and was not resistant to the probe. It took all of Stephen's strength of will not to throw up the lunch he had just eaten. He was all but tempted to take out his wand and hex this man into oblivion, out of sheer principle.

In the brief glimpse into the man's mind, Stephen had pulled up a couple of memories, just his rotten luck that he had to go pick into the mind of a freaking serial killer, who most definitely was a Squib with a strong wild talent in Legillimancy. Luckily, it seemed that this man had no clue about the wizarding world; he had to have been disowned from a family while an infant. At least, that was what Stephen could deduce from the few memories he had been able to see.

"Stephen, are you ok?" asked Ginny. She prodded him with her shoulder. He had seemingly been staring into space for a while.

"Well, I shall be going, goodbye and have a nice day," said the man holding his purchase in a brown shopping bag. He nodded politely to Stephen and left. Ginny turned to the attendant and stated her own order.

Stephen stared at the door the man had just left through.

"Goodbye, Dr. Lecter," he murmured.

****

Stephen appeared with a soft pop with Ginny in his arms. They were standing once again in the kitchen of Grimmauld place with their arms full of purchases. The only people present in the kitchen were Tonks, who broke out into a chesire cat grin when she saw the two young people in each others arms.

"Hello there kiddies," smiled the young Auror.

"Tonks," greeted Stephen with a nod.

"Hi," smiled Ginny brightly.

"Ginevra," chided Stephen, "my arms are rather full of bags and you are not letting go." He was of course referring to Ginny's arms around his waist. "Not that I mind, it's just my arms have been carrying these purchases for most of the day."

"Sorry," she blushed and let go allowing Stephen to place the bags down, "I'll just go and put my stuff in my room." Ginny ran out of the door as if she desperately wanted to do something.

"You don't know what you're getting into with her," said Tonks with a laugh, "she's a feisty one that."

"Oh," replied Stephen, "I know exactly thank you very much. She has her mother's temper but it is mildly doused with her father's moderation, not to mention that if she really tried she could be just as devious as the twins and I like that. Add in that I love her; and it really there is no question or doubt in my mind."

It was quite comical to see Tonks gaping like a fish at Stephen's perceptiveness.

"Does she know?" asked a stunned Tonks.

"Of course she does," said Stephen softly, "and it's a mutual feeling from her side as well."

"Isn't that a bit young for this," said Tonks warily, "I mean you and her are only in her sixth and fifth year respectively for crying out loud."

"Tonks I can't qualify the facts for you," said Stephen patiently, "just as surely as one can find love at the age of thirty; you can find it at the age of sixteen."

"You have had a Talk with someone?" she asked warily. I barely suppressed rolling my eyes.

"I may have no parents Tonks, but I grew up in an orphanage, I have had the Talk with my Supervisor at the orphanage when I was thirteen," explained Stephen, "and I started studying wizarding culture in first year on my own and I do know our attitudes and rituals concerning sex."

"Just checking," said Tonks, holding her hands up in a disarming gesture, "Ginny is my friend and I'd hate for her to get hurt."

"I would never intentionally hurt her," said Stephen a hint of anger partially conveyed in his voice.

"That's good to know," said Tonks.

"Where is everyone else?" asked Stephen.

"Oh, they're upstairs doing various everyday things, nothing to write home about," sniffed Tonks dismissively, "so where did you take her?"

"Harrods," answered Stephen shortly with a huff.

"She tired you out?" asked Tonks sniggering.

"Why does it take forever for a woman to choose her shopping? I could just go shopping with Ginny once a week and never have to exercise again," chuckled Stephen.

"That's because I want everything to be perfect," said Ginny, falling into Stephen's lap and linking her arms around his neck, he reciprocated and linked his arms around her waist.

"Settled?" asked Stephen with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes," sighed Ginny contently and let her head relax against his cheek.

"My, my, what a sight you two are," giggled Tonks, "a study of exhaustion the both of you."

"Well Miss Tonks, I doubt you were in a battle with Vampires this morning, and Ginny has walked Harrods flat with me, so I think we are entitled to look like this," said Stephen. Ginny stiffened for a moment at that thought, but the fact that he was safe with his arms around her soothed her. Tonks threw a warning glare at Stephen, he ignored her, he knew about keeping secrets.

"Was it scary?" asked Ginny who to her credit had remained exactly where she was.

"There was actually very little danger, we had a plan and followed it, had surprise on our side," said Stephen.

At this point, Mrs. Weasley came into the kitchen and stopped dead for a moment in surprise at the scene in front of her, but recovered and smiled happily.

"Evening Mrs. Weasley," said Stephen, he knew of course that she was there behind him. It rather shocked Molly that he could know what was going in a room, without his eyes open and with his back turned, the only other wizard she had seen demonstrate that was Albus. "As promised, your daughter was safely escorted," he murmured softly with his weary state projected in his voice, "and should be a lot more content and pleasant to be around the family."

Mrs. Weasley could not stop the giggle that emerged from her, and Tonks chuckled. Ginny could only manage to throw a half-hearted: "Git." Molly greeted her daughter by kissing her on the head.

"Have you eaten?" asked Molly.

"Yes thanks, mum," murmured Ginny, "where's Ron and Hermoine?"

"Oh yes, the Headmaster came to fetch them just after you left, spend some time with Harry," replied Mrs. Weasley.

"That's good," murmured Stephen, "Harry needs all the friendship he can get and then some."

"Are you and Harry friends?" asked Ginny.

"To a degree yes," answered Stephen, "I won't be able to show it though once school starts though, which pains me, but it's necessary for me to remain neutral in Slytherin House."

"Why?" she asked.

"It allows me to keep my ears open to both ends of the political spectrum, so to speak," replied Stephen, "so I can help where needed." Ginny only nodded in return to this statement. It made sense to her, since Stephen was in the Order, his true loyalties were already made clear to her, but he obviously needed to remain an asset by being able to wade into the camp of the pureblood fascists if need be. The implication was there that he would become a spy.

They could hear the front door open and close, and Stephen immediately sensed the Ron and Hermoine were back. Their first port of call would be the kitchen, but he did not have the heart to disturb Ginny in her contented half-slumber. Since Mrs. Weasley seemed to approve of him, he would have to rely on the Weasley matriarch to protect him from any misguided brotherly protectiveness, he also hardly had the energy to muster a defense.

"Oh," said a surprised Hermoine as she entered first, every other person in the room raised a finger to their lips to indicate for them to keep quiet, "hi there." Stephen only nodded in return.

"Hey!" everyone in the room winced as Ron bellowed on instinct, "what is my sister doing on your lap?" Ginny startled a bit as she came fully awake again at the loud voice and once she realized what had happened, Stephen could see her face flushing red in anger.

"What does it look like Ronald," said Stephen with sarcasm dripping from his voice, "Ginny has had a long day and is resting a bit, or should I say rather 'was' resting until your bellowing woke her up!"

Ginny seemed to be content in his fact-of-the-matter defense, but she even cracked a smile as Hermoine clipped Ron up the head, while Tonks gave him a punch in the shoulder, and Mrs. Weasley threw a glare at her youngest son.

"Hey!" exclaimed Ron indignantly.

"Don't you think you should call it a night and go to bed early?" whispered Stephen in her ear.

"Too tired...like it here..." her eyes were drooping again. Stephen wondered how on earth he could get her to go to bed, he was also on his last legs and desperately felt the need to kip on the couch in the living room, and he had used a lot of energy to do the mutual apparition to bring them back.

"Unless you want me to carry you upstairs?" he whispered in her ear.

"Ok," she sighed. Stephen was stunned that she would allow him to be that chivalrous and his mind seemed to struggle with the concept that she trusted him to do that. He thought about it and immediately decided he would reciprocate with that trust.

Stephen unhooked his right arm and wiggled it in underneath her legs at the knees, his left arm tightened around her waist, and he stood experimentally. She was rather light, and he felt he could easily carry her for a long time. Satisfied, he walked out of the kitchen and carried her upstairs where she directed him sleepily to her bedroom, which she shared with Hermoine. Ginny gestured to the bed on the left side of the room and he tenderly placed her on it, pulled of her shoes, and tucked her in.

Stephen smiled at her sleeping visage and softly kissed her on the lips.

"Good night Ginny," he said.

"G'night," she murmured. Stephen walked down the stairs and immediately headed for the living room; he took of his shoes and feeling a bit paranoid, placed a neat little hex on them. He also did the same with the bed sheet that would cover him as he slept on the couch and he curled up on it and fell into sleep barely a few moments later.

****

In the stunned silence that followed Stephen's exit as he walked out with a half-asleep Ginny, it dawned on Molly that something had happened. Perhaps they had admitted their attraction to each other, but what she saw the couple demonstrate now was far beyond mere temporary teenage infatuation. She saw love. One would have to be blind not to notice. She recalled fondly her own Hogwarts days, when she and Arthur had fallen in love in their sixth year.

It seemed her Ginevra was similarly destined. And Molly could not be happier at this development. It seemed prudent for her though to do some research on Stephen; all she knew was that he was a pureblood from the Moon family line, in Slytherin House and that that he was in the Order, and that seemed to demonstrate his political loyalty.

Word amongst the Order said he was a very gifted and talented wizard, and kept his cool in a fight.

"I'm going to kill him," snarled Ron. Molly sighed in agitation, she was really thankful Stephen seemed to possess the gumption to deal with the male members of the family adequately.

"You will do no such thing!" raged Molly.

"But he's a Sly..." started Ron, but was cut off again by his mother.

"House division does not dictate the course your life could take Ron!" said Molly intently. "Take one guess Ron Weasley as to what house Professor Dumbledore and Alastor Moody was in?" fumed Molly.

"What? No way," said Ron in a stunned voice.

"Really Ron, you should not be surprised by that Moody was in Slytherin, that's partially the reason he is or was such a good Auror in his day. You have to be cunning, devious and clever to track Death Eaters down," said Hermoine in an explanatory fashion.

"And Dumbledore?" asked Ron.

"The machinations that that man can come up with in his mind is amazing," explained Tonks. "It is in the sixties and the seventies generation of Slytherins that were recruited by You-Know-Who and became his most loyal followers. That is where the stigma and prejudice developed that all dark wizards come from Slytherin," explained Tonks.

"Ron, what are the first words that come to mind when you hear the word Slytherin House?" asked Hermoine.

"Umm...Malfoy...Voldemort...Dark Magic..." he shrugged.

"Exactly," said Hermoine, "but what about the rest of Slytherin House, it's not just composed of Malfoy's, Nott's, MacNair's and Avery's?"

"Seems that way though," muttered Ron.

"Because they always go out of their way to make trouble for us," said Hermoine, "the majority of the Slytherin's like Stephen, just stays out of their way and thereby stays out of our way."

"And besides," huffed Molly, "in my opinion Stephen is a fine catch for Ginny. And in case you did not notice Ron, we can't afford her beautiful clothes and all the other things that make boys interested." Ron grumbled something under his breath.

The kitchen door swished open again and Molly was surprised to see Albus standing there.

"Oh Albus," fussed Molly, "I did not know you would be coming, fancy a spot of tea."

"That would be lovely, thank you Molly," nodded Dumbledore and took a seat and his eyes twinkled as he surveyed the room's occupants.

"To what do we owe your visit Albus," asked Molly, she was dying to ask the Headmaster about the young man that had seemed to catch her little girl's heart.

"I am just checking up on Headquarters, so to speak," shrugged Albus, "I also had to see to the well being of Mr. Moon, he left in rather a hurry after the events of this morning, and I am happy to see that he is all right, despite being tired."

"Yes, apparently he took Ginny on a little impromptu shopping trip to Harrods," said Molly gesturing to the bags in the corner of the kitchen, "poor Ginny was desperate to get out of the house, so I relented."

"Magnificent place Harrods," stated Albus airily, "I was there when the place opened its doors for the first time, it was all the rage with the muggles of that time, so naturally I wanted to see what the hubbub was all about."

The tea was served and it was then that they apologetically asked the Ron and Hermoine to excuse themselves and head to bed. Hermoine sighed and dragged a resistant Ron out of the kitchen and up the stairs. The wards around the kitchen went up but Albus was still silent and drinking into his tea.

Molly and Tonks shared a quizzical look but remained patient with the eccentric leader of the Order. It was Molly who cracked first.

"Albus can I ask question?" asked Molly tentatively. Albus raised his eyebrows in response and nodded. "What can you tell me about Stephen?"

"Why do you ask?" smiled the Headmaster.

"Well, it seems he and Ginny are a definite item," replied Molly. Albus sighed and looked off into space thinking about what he should say and what he could say, while still retaining Stephen's trust. The young man definitely did not like his recent family history being broadcasted.

"Have you given thought to ask Stephen himself?" asked Albus in turn.

"Well, it's not a conversation that I would think he would be comfortable with; I heard he said that he stayed in an orphanage during the summers," stated Molly nervously.

"If Ginevra means that much to him Molly, it stands to reason that he would understand your reasons for asking about his past," said Albus. "Do you think they are in love?" asked Albus speculatively.

"I don't doubt it after seeing what I saw tonight," said Molly in a light-hearted tone.

"Yeah," agreed Tonks, "made me think I should look into getting a decent bloke."

"Then you should ask Stephen to come speak to you in the privacy of the library perhaps tomorrow morning after breakfast," suggested the Headmaster, "in fact I will recommend to him that he stay here until September the first and ride with the teenagers on the Hogwarts Express."

"A good idea," stated Molly.

The Headmaster reached into the pockets of his star patterned blue wizard robes and produced a tiny quill and a small role of parchment and wrote a few lines on it. He folded it and sealed it with a quick touch of his wand.

"Give this to him," said Albus handing over the note.

"Thank you Albus," beamed Molly. The Headmaster had now basically given her carte blanche access to the young man over the next three days. He nodded and started to discuss the state of affairs among the ranks of Aurors with Tonks.

"We're coping at the moment," said Tonks, "the last time a recruit was accepted for apprenticeship was over three years ago and the demand for our services has skyrocketed. I heard the top dogs have broken out the old rejected applications from the last two years of Hogwarts graduates. I mean according to Fudge it was peace time, and the funds for taking on the applicants just weren't there. Well, now they're really moving on getting some new folks in the pipeline."

"Indeed," murmured Albus, "and the qualification standard, has it been lowered to get greater numbers to join?"

"Oddly enough no," replied Tonks, "it has not been touched; initially there was hot air from Fudge to do that, but Madam Bones refused to cave on the requirements. Her motto she says is 'quality not quantity'."

"That is a relief to hear," said Albus with a sigh.

"Tell me about it," muttered Tonks, "the thought of working with sub-par trained Auror's is the stuff of nightmares for me."

"For a politician, Madam Bones has a very level head; her reputation is right up there, why if Fudge is told to take a hike, I'm pretty sure she would be a front runner for the post," commented Molly.

"A witch as the Minister of Magic" stated Tonks speculatively, "now that is what this entire situation needs. We'll win the war in no time flat," she commented cheekily. Albus chuckled heartily at this.

"I find I am partially in agreement with you Miss Tonks," his eyes twinkled in mirth.

****

Stephen awoke next morning to find the note from Professor Dumbledore lying on his chest.

Dear Stephen,

I would ask that you escort, Ginevra, Ronald and Hermoine to the Hogwarts express. To this end, it was requested that you remain at Grimmuald Place until such time. Mrs. Weasley will see to it that you have fresh clothes and I will ensure that Zahn is fed.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

The seal on the note could only be the work of the Headmaster, as his magical signature was all over it. His sense had now developed to the extent that he could attribute magical signatures to the person it belonged to, the catch was that he would have to see who the signature belonged to before he could tell who it was. As he had trained extensively with the Headmaster he could for instance tell that Dumbledore was there just last night, most likely after he had gone to sleep.

Stephen took his wand and incinerated the note, while his stomach started to protest horribly at being empty. A look at his watch showed that it was still rather early for breakfast, but he was up and it was no use to try and kip a few minutes of extra sleep.

He walked to the kitchen cupboards and opened them to explore their contents. At first glance, everything appeared to be a normally stocked kitchen; there was the odd bit or utensil that you would not find in a muggle kitchen though. It then dawned on him that he had a lot of time on his hands before others were due to wake, as it was five in the morning. So he figured he could just make breakfast, and he was rather hungry to have to wait for Mrs. Weasley to get up and make it.

He immediately searched the adjoining pantry for ingredients, and came out with an armful. He also saw a tin of fresh coffee beans and their smell enticed him. He worked first on making a pot of fresh coffee, to at least partially appease his stomach.

Stephen having grown up in the small orphanage had to do the cooking on rotation with his other brothers. And with his advent to Hogwarts and the Potions class he really gained an appreciation for cooking, as the skills were largely shared between the two disciplines. In fact, by the time he had reached fourth year, his brothers and even the supervisor looked forward to the time it was Stephen's turn with the cooking. He had explained his skills away by stating that he belonged to an extra-curricular culinary class offered at his boarding school.

Soon there were knifes and cleavers and graters operating all over place, as he had charmed them to do the cutting of the ingredients. He figured that he had to cook for himself, Ginny, Ron, Hermoine, Mrs.Weasley, the Order members on duty, which figured to nine people. He knew a French Omelet recipe that fed twelve. Coming to a decision he started placed three pans on the stove, and got started.

It startled Ginny as she walked into the kitchen to see that Stephen was at the stove and absently directing the efforts of a multitude of kitchen utensils and appliances with his wand. As she had gone to bed early, she was also up early and had been attracted to the kitchen by the wafting smell of coffee. It seemed he had not noticed her so she silently backed out of the kitchen and peeped in, hoping to not startle him. She was fascinated to see him work like this and apply himself fully in his task.

"Hmmm, I'm missing something," he murmured to himself, he adopted a thoughtful look and after a moment, "ah yes; some cinnamon should do the trick." He flicked his wand without taking his eyes away from the stove and the bottle of cinnamon rushed over and emptied a few pinches into each of the pans. Ginny was rather entranced by all the activity, it seemed he had animated all the kitchen utensils he was working with and they all worked to the beckon call of his mind. Animating inanimate objects was a subject for fifth years but it clearly impressed her that he was maintaining control over six different knifes and cleavers and was still able to think of other things.

"Come in Ginny," he called. It disappointed her that he had noticed her, but she was fooling herself, he was an Empath and had probably known she was there the whole time.

"Good morning," he said and they embraced in a hug.

"Morning," she smiled mischievously and decided to test his control a bit, and roughly pulled his face to hers and kissed him full on the lips, he responded instantly and they deepened the kiss and their tongues started a slippery duel for dominance. Their moment was interrupted when all the busy utensils fell and clattered lifelessly onto the table. They continued on for a while and only broke apart to emerge for air.

"Miss Weasley," chided Stephen, "you are very demanding in your attention."

With a satisfied grin she teased: "Good to see you have a one track gutter like all boys."

He blushed and the corners of his mouth were straining to repress his mirth, and his eyes danced with humor.

"I am making a French Omelet, there is a pot of coffee ready over there," he said, "now if you'll excuse me my lady, and I'll see what I can do to feed this household." She claimed his mouth for another kiss and hopped away to grab a mug and pour herself some coffee. Stephen turned and swished his wand in a circle and all the utensils returned to their tasks.

Breakfast was ready in no time and he switched off the stove and placed one pan onto the table, he murmured a heating charm to keep the temperature of the food constant, but kept it from spoiling or burning. Ginny had already placed the cutlery on the table and soon they tucked into the food.

"Ahhh," moaned Ginny, "this is divine, just as good if not better than mum's." Stephen nodded at the compliment as his mouth was rather full of food.

At six o' clock a flustered and harried Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen and looked in surprise to see Ginny and Stephen already up and breakfast served and ready.

"Morning mum," bounced Ginny and greeted her mother with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Morning dears," greeted Mrs. Weasley, looking uncertainly around the kitchen.

"Please sit, Mrs. Weasley, relax, I've taken care of breakfast," said Stephen and gestured to a chair. Molly looked uncomfortable at suddenly not having much to do in the morning, but seated herself and looked uncharacteristically sheepish.

"You really shouldn't have taken the trouble dear," said Molly.

"Oh it was not a problem," answered Stephen patiently, "I have missed cooking as it was the only skill that I acquired at Hogwarts through Potions that I could help my brothers at the orphanage with," he smiled sadly. Mrs. Weasley nodded sympathetically and served herself some.

Molly found herself listening to her daughter and her boyfriend merrily chatting about any topic that suited their fancy. Only a few centered around Quidditch, and it was the first time that Molly heard her daughter was considering moving from Seeker to Chaser, with the advent of Harry's return. Another topic that perked Molly's ears was Stephen's discussion of possible career choices for Ginny.

"It's easy to find your calling actually," he stated.

"Oh? Just how is it easy to find?" asked Ginny with a raised eyebrow.

"It is just easy; the hard part about it is being honest with yourself," stated Stephen sagely, "once you can reason honestly with yourself, without outside influence, it will become self-explanatory from there." For a moment Molly had fooled herself that she listening to Dumbledore. Ginny just wore a suffering expression that said she did not get it. "Ok, answer the next question with the first thought that comes to mind, do not hesitate to speak whatever it is," instructed Stephen and Ginny nodded. "What do you love?"

"Besides you?" she twinkled mischievously. Stephen groaned in frustration but could not stop himself from laughing.

"Besides me," said Stephen patiently.

"Ask me again?" prompted Ginny. So Stephen did and the first words that fell out were: "helping people."

"So you might want to go in to the Service Industry," murmured Stephen in thought, "off the top of your head, how long are you prepared to spend in study after Hogwarts?"

"As long as it takes," answered Ginny immediately.

"All right, answer the following question: there is box locked on the other side of enchanted door, you have to get it, do you A: Break the door down. B: Attempt the counter-charm to open the door. C: Knock."

"Knock," she replied and smiled at Stephen.

"Interesting," murmured Stephen, "now you see a person injured by a curse, do you help him first and try and escape, or battle whoever cast the curse and then help him."

"Help first," replied Ginny. Stephen could see Molly flit a smile of pride at her daughter.

"You are the leader of the government," said Stephen his eyes grim and distant as he tried to remember his grandfather's journals, "you discover through means of a spy that Death Eaters will attack a town in four days, you also are alerted to a congregation of Death Eaters that will occur in ten days where they will be vulnerable to attack. What do you do? A: evacuate the town and save everyone and then attack the Death Eaters. B: let the attack on the town happen and concentrate your manpower in attacking the Death Eaters at the congregation."

Ginny eyes widened in awe of the question and thought furiously. "This must be the kinds of decisions that Dumbledore has to make all the time," commented Ginny absently. Molly remained silent; it was an interesting test of her daughter's character to say the least.

Ginny sighed unhappily and looked at her mother forlornly.

"B," answered Ginny. Molly was shocked to say the least.

"A wise answer, but not ideologically and ethically correct, you wisely ignored sentiment in your decision. Had you evacuated the town, the Death Eaters would have known there was a spy in their midst, you would have lost your spy, and the Death Eater's changed their meeting location, making the intelligence your spy gave his life for useless, and all those Death Eaters are still lose and free to kill, and raise havoc," explained Stephen sipping on his coffee, "you chose B, the town was massacred and there are scarce survivors, but the Death Eater meeting goes ahead, you attack them with your full might and in one fell swoop you defeat and capture them all. Your spy remains in place, having miraculously survived, and gains favor for being able to do so. You saved countless future lives at the expense of a few now."

"Wow," was all Ginny said rather surprised with herself.

"You can make life or death decisions," stated Stephen, "Auror?" Ginny shook her head in a negative. "Healer?" he asked with a suspicion in his mind. Ginny did not answer, she just sat there staring at the ceiling for a while and looked down with a 'look' in her eyes that made him feel breathless. She primly stood from her chair and fell into Stephen's lap, and they sat there gazing at each other.

"Healer, all the way," she said. He smiled proudly at her, and they fell into another deep kiss. Molly was fanning herself with her napkin as emotion welled up in her, it was such that it made her want make for Arthur upstairs and give him a pleasant surprise.

Ron and Hermoine sleepily walked in to the kitchen, and they froze as if petrified by what they saw.

"Hey!" exclaimed Ron, "get your hands off...mmmphhh." He was interrupted by Hermoine grabbing him and kissing him for all she was worth. Ron responded a bit slowly to the raw emotion that was unbound from within him but he quickly reciprocated Hermoine's passion. Poor Molly could not stand just sitting there with these unrequited feelings and hurried out the kitchen and up the stairs.

Stephen finally broke from the kiss out of breath and instantly realized that he was radiating emotion openly. He clamped down quickly on it and felt a huge burning passion behind him. He stood helping Ginny to stand and she gaped at the image of Ron and Hermoine practically sucking each other's souls out. She noticed her mother had also left.

Stephen for his part sensed another burning passion erupt upstairs and he flushed in embarrassment that he was the catalyst for these events.

"What happened?" asked Ginny, not certain she wanted to know the answer.

"I lost control of my Empathy," he whispered in her ear, "and I unwittingly catalyzed similar emotions in your mother and in Ron and Hermoine here."

"You did this?" she asked aghast.

"No," said Stephen emphatically, "it's impossible for me to infuse someone with emotions to this degree, not even a full-blooded Veela can do that. I merely unwittingly loosened the inhibitions of all those within our line of sight. What you are seeing here is already in them, I merely unburied the feelings already there."

"Is mum upstairs?" asked Ginny wincing. Stephen felt mortified to admit it but nodded. "Well look on the bright side, you just saved Gryffindor Tower a ton of arguments in the common room," she giggled, "and gave dad a nice morning surprise."

Stephen felt morosely that the next few days before term began were going to be very long indeed.