The Arch of Triumph

The Arch of Triumph

Chapter One: Alohomora!

Virginia Weasley and Hermione Granger trudged up the stairs to their seventh floor London flat, chatting amiably about their horrid days at each of their respective jobs. Hermione currently held a position at the Department of Magical Research, while Ginny worked as a forensics expert at the Department of Wizarding Security. Each had recently begun their new jobs, and was still adjusting to the hectic new schedules.

"I wonder if anyone else is home," Ginny mused out loud during a pause in the conversation.

Hermione shook her head, holding onto the railing for support. Her huge bag of books was weighing down her shoulder, and she could not walk properly. "Harry is away on business, and Neville is visiting his grandmother at the hospital. She's having some more of those dreadful problems with her liver. Neville says that the doctors are suggesting a transplant."

Ginny shuddered involuntarily. Mrs. Longbottom was a very kind woman, once you got to know her. She was also all Neville had left in the world. She changed the subject quickly. "What about Seamus and Justin?"

"In Ireland, at a Quidditch match. They were originally only going to stay the night, but Seamus heard about some sort of leprechaun hunting event, and decided to take part." Both girls exchanged glances and broke down into giggles.

After the long climb, they finally arrived at the door. Hermione muttered a quick "Alohomora," after checking to make sure that there were no Muggles around. The six friends were all roommates together in the three-bedroom flat, and lived in Muggle London. After the war, they had come to the decision that life constantly among magic folk would be a bit strained. Together, they looked for a place that would allow them to associate with Muggles, yet still practice magic together. The small flat, which was on the top floor of a new building, was the perfect place: close enough to both worlds, without being stranded in either one. Though it was not quite large enough to house all six comfortably, they enjoyed their cluttered existence. More often that not, one member of the household or another was off on business, giving the housemates a bit more space.

The door opened, and both girls strode in. Some of the boys' clothes were still lying scattered about the living area, and Ginny quickly summoned them to her and threw them in the hamper near the doorway. Hermione deposited her huge bag on an empty chair near the small fireplace, while Ginny hurried into the room they shared to change into some comfortable clothes. When she returned, she saw that Hermione had already pulled out the wine and glasses.

"Really bad day, eh?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

Hermione grimaced, and uncorked the bottle. "You have no idea."

Ginny strode over to the kitchen where Hermione sat, and picked up the phone off of its hook. Though they still used mostly Floo Powder and owl post, Muggle inventions such as the telephone were invaluable when it came to communicating with the other world. "Why don't we order some dinner, then hit the bottles?" Ginny suggested, pulling out a phonebook.

"Fine with me. How does Chinese take-away sound to you?"

Ginny closed the phonebook triumphantly. "Perfect." Both of the women laughed, as Ginny dialed the number. They had ordered take-away together so many times that they knew each other's choices by heart.

Several minutes later, the women retreated to the living area (which was merely a once-empty extension of the kitchen), and sat down to talk a bit more. It wasn't often that they were the only two in the flat. When the time did come, they made sure to enjoy it.

"So, Ginny, how is your love life these days? Are you seeing anyone new? Whatever happened to that Jonathon fellow? That was his name, wasn't it? Jonathon?"

Ginny laughed and waved a hand in the air. "Slow down! One question at a time." She paused. "Well, I don't really have that much of a love life any more. I decided to break it off with Jonathon last week. It just wasn't working out between us," Ginny said, answering Hermione's unspoken question. "He's really a great guy, though. Maybe you should meet him," she laughed, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

Hermione took a swig of her wine. "Oh no, I'm not interested in dating right now. There's much too much going on with my career right now. I am to busy to being doing anything as trivial as dating."

There was a knock on the door. Hermione rose to get it, swaying a little on her feet. Ginny motioned for her to sit back down. "You never could hold your drink, Hermione. I'll get it." The brown-haired witch plopped down on her chair, sulking a bit. Ginny laughed and went to answer the door.

A slightly balding, middle-aged man stood in the doorframe. He was smiling pleasantly, and holding a brown package. "Is this the home of..." he paused, and looked down at the name on the package. "Oh yes, is this the home of Mr. Harry Potter?"

Ginny glanced at him warily. Harry didn't often receive any mail. "It is." She glanced nervously back at Hermione, who shrugged her shoulders. "He is not in right now. You might want to come back later."

"Oh no," the man said, a bit too quickly. "This is a rather urgent delivery, I'm afraid. I was told to drop it off at Mr. Potter's house without delay. If you'd please just sign here, miss, then I'll be on my way."

Hermione got up, and staggered her way over to the door. Even semi-intoxicated, Hermione had a sharper mind than almost everyone around her. "Harry is not listed as a resident of this home. Only a handful of people know he lives here. Who is your package from?"

The balding man's voice began to quaver. "I don't know, miss. You can't shoot the messenger." He smiled nervously. "I was just told to deliver it, and make it fast. I have no clue who sent it. I never saw their face."

Both girls exchanged long looks. Even with the Dark Lord destroyed, Harry was a target for many assassination plots. That was part of the reason that he wasn't listed as a resident of the home. They did not want anyone tracking him down. "Give me the box," Ginny finally said. "I won't sign anything you give me."

The deliveryman nodded, and walked quickly down the stairs, avoiding the gazes of both girls. Hermione shut the door angrily after him. "Why would you possibly want to take that?" she asked, fuming at the ears.

Ginny quickly deposited the box on the kitchen counter, and placed a strong Shielding charm around it. "We don't know who it is from. It could be from Harry, or one of his co-workers. He always works under such secrecy. It wouldn't be odd for one of them to send something and not let the messenger see their face. We cannot be sure until Harry comes home."

Hermione swallowed nervously, and reached for her glass of wine. "But what if it's from Harry, requesting some sort of aid? How will we ever know?" She chugged the rest of the alcohol.

"That is just a chance that we will have to take." Ginny absent-mindedly twirled her wand between her fingertips. "Let's leave it here and go pick up the food. We can eat there. If this thing hasn't blown up by the time we come home, I think it should be alright."

Not outwardly agreeing or disagreeing, Hermione pulled her blue cloak off of its peg and held the door open for Ginny, who was shrugging into an emerald green clock. Together, they preformed the standard locking spell, and then headed outside. Neither spoke again until they had reached the small Chinese restaurant.

***

Harry Potter landed his broom in a secluded park, just a few minutes after the sun had finally set. He shrunk his broom and put it in his pocket, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He pulled the hood of his black sweatshirt up over his head, shielding his trademark scar and brilliant green eyes. No one dared to bother him while he began his walk home.

It had been a horrible week. He had left early on Monday morning, without a word to any of his housemates. They would know that he was called away on business. Since graduating from Hogwarts and defeating Voldemort, Harry had begun work as an Auror. He had risen quickly through the ranks, given his history and skill in Defense Against the Dark Arts. He was currently one of the top wizards in a secluded branch of Aurors. Harry and his teammates worked to rout out Dark Forces and dispose of them, in whatever means necessary. Harry often went undercover, using an appearance changing magic to disguise his easily recognizable features. Although his housemates knew that he was an Auror, only Hermione and Ginny knew that he worked in such a secret branch. The rest assumed that he was just part of the usual crowd.

There was a cool wind slapping at his back as he hurried home. Five days was a long time to be away from the house, even for Harry. He was very strongly attached to everyone in the home, but especially Hermione. Since Ron had been killed, almost one year ago, the pair had become extremely close to one another. Not that they hadn't been before, but the death of their third friend made them depend even more so on each other. It was very rare for Harry to go five days without seeing or speaking to Hermione.

Thinking of Ron brought back painful memories to Harry. Once Harry had dueled with Voldemort, and dismissed the Dark Wizard, they had thought that everything would finally be all right. The Trio, plus Ginny, Neville, Seamus, and Justin (the only Hufflepuff of the group), bought a small flat together, and had begun to live normal lives. That was all shattered when Ron had suddenly, and inexplicably, died.

It was October 31^st, Halloween. The seven housemates were going out to the pub to celebrate. Harry had been somewhat solemn that day, since Halloween was the anniversary of his parents' death. Hermione had planned a surprise party to cheer him up, though they would never make it to the party. Harry would only hear about the festive plans after the fact.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were all heading to the Burrow for a pre-pub dinner. Molly had been kind enough to offer them a hearty, home-cooked meal. Seamus and the others had been invited as well, but politely declined the invitation. They always felt like outsiders when with the Weasleys.

Ron and Ginny were enjoying seeing their parents again. Hermione and Harry had been left to their own devices for most of the afternoon and into the early evening. Not that they minded. They enjoyed each other's company greatly.

The time came for the four to leave the house and join the others at the pub. Harry helped Hermione get on her blue cloak; it seemed to take an eternity. Molly kissed Ron good-bye; not knowing it would be for the last time. Ginny smirked as Molly yelled at Ron for not wearing a cloak or at least a jumper. The two siblings were bickering the entire way to the pub, and Harry and Hermione could not help but laugh.

At the entrance, they paused for a moment before going in. That moment changed the course of the future. There was a sudden flash of colorless light, and it blinded the four companions. When Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were finally able to open their eyes, they saw Ron lying on the ground before them. There was a stunned expression on his face, and a small stream of blood trickled down his left cheek.

Ginny screamed for help, and Hermione began using Healing charms on him. Nothing would revive him. When Ron was finally taken to a hospital, he was pronounced dead, though there was little hope for him by that point. Grief echoed through the white hospital walls, as the news was told to many others. The whole time, Molly Weasley kept sobbing that she had yelled at him before he left.

Ron's death had been strange, stranger than many things Harry had seen in the war against evil. It reminded Harry that nothing was safe, even in a time of supposed peace. He took up his wand, and threw himself into his work once again. In that period of mourning, he had lost touch with almost everyone except Hermione. She alone had been there when the tears began to flow, and the grief suddenly became overwhelming.

Harry walked, head down, the rest of the way to the flat. He had been in China for the past week, working undercover with none other than Draco Malfoy. His old enemy had reformed "for the best", and was, with Harry, one of the top undercover agents for the Aurors. But Malfoy's reformation was not known throughout most of the Wizarding world, so he was still able to infiltrate Dark meetings without arousing suspicions.

Their mission had been successful. They had extracted all the required information in time to have a decent day of relaxation and admiration of the fine tourism aspects of China. Draco and Harry, though both would admit it was strange, had actually come to become quite good friends.

A strange smell broke Harry out of his thoughts. He lifted his head warily, sniffing the air. A wave of fear passed over him, as he recognized the smell as smoke. Without warning, Harry broke into a run. He dug out his wand from his pocket, preparing to cast a spell on anyone that got in his way. He had a bad feeling about this.

Running faster than one would have thought possible; Harry quickly arrived at his street. Glancing around wildly, he was relieved to note that the smoke was not coming from his building. It was coming from a building down the street, though the fire appeared to be controlled. Exhaling deeply, Harry pocketed his wand and headed towards the stairs.

He climbed the long flight of stairs quickly and agilely. When Harry arrived at the top landing, he quickly glanced around, and then muttered the unlocking charm. Several moments passed, then he was given the sign to enter. Closing his eyes in exhaustion, Harry shrugged out of his sweatshirt and looked around the room.

Ginny and Hermione were sitting on the living area couches, engaged in a hearty conversation. There were several cartons of Chinese food that lay between them, and the girls appeared to be eating their way through a few other boxes. Smiling to himself, Harry cleared his throat and laughed as the girls jumped.

"It seems as if two of my favorite people in the world haven't been missing me too much," Harry said jollily, taking a seat on the armchair next to Hermione's small couch.

Hermione giggled, and Harry raised an eyebrow at Ginny, who gazed back at him levelly. Hermione never giggled when she was sober, and she would have to be pretty far into her cups to giggle even when she was drunk. "Of course you," hiccup, "know that we," hiccup, "missed you, Harry." She smiled dizzily then hiccupped again. "We always," hiccup, "miss you."

Harry looked at her, alarmed, until he saw Ginny holding back peals of laughter. Chuckling quietly himself, Harry leaned over Hermione and scooped her up into his arms. "I think you've had a little too much to drink, 'Mione. Let's get you to bed."

She squealed, and launched a half-hearted protest, reaching again for the bottle of wine. But Ginny had already taken the bottle, and was proceeding to store it back in its place. Recognizing defeat, Hermione slumped in Harry's arms and quickly fell fast asleep.

Harry returned from the girls' room several moments later, and smiled sheepishly at Ginny, who was back sitting in her old seat. "Sorry to take her away from you, but I don't think it was the greatest thing to have a drunk Hermione sitting on the couch."

"She never could hold her drink," Ginny said. The two friends broke into quiet laughter. After several moments, there was a slightly awkward silence. "Oh Harry," Ginny said quickly, "There's a package for you on the kitchen counter."

His green eyes looked at her suspiciously. "Who's it from?"

There were another several moments of silence before Ginny finally answered. "We don't know."

Getting up rather quickly, Harry strode over to the kitchen, where the box lay, still protected by Ginny's shielding charm. It was an ordinary box, brown in color and the average rectangular size. On the front, it was addressed to "Harry Potter", but there was no address or return address. Harry assumed that those were given verbally.

Harry pulled out his wand, and took off Ginny's shielding charm. "I don't think it's dangerous," he said, casting a glance at Ginny. She merely shrugged back at him.

"I trust your judgment, Harry."

He muttered a charm under his breath, and Ginny couldn't quite hear it. "I'm just making sure the box contains nothing with a malicious intent." After several moments, the box began to glow yellow. Harry sighed. "It should be fine to open. Yellow means it came from someone who is friendly and comfortable around myself."

Ginny got up from her seat and walked over to where Harry stood. "Should we open it then?"

Pulling a knife out of one of the drawers, Harry grinned. "Let's get at it." Ginny smiled, and they both began attacking the paper. Moments later, their entire living area and kitchen lay covered in brown paper. The two friends laughed at the mess, and Ginny was quick to point her wand and get it all cleaned up. After that, they both turned their attention to the contents of the package.

Lying on the table was a round, white, sleek device of some sort. There were no buttons, and no outward markings. Harry picked it up, puzzling over its mysterious looks. "I wonder what it does," he mused quietly under his breath. Ginny shrugged. She had absolutely no idea.

They stood there for several minutes, while Harry examined the device. Finally, he straightened up and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to take this into my room and study it for a while. Will you be all right out here alone?"

"Of course."

Harry smiled gratefully at Ginny, and then picked up the white device. "I'll see you in the morning. Be sure to perform one of those Anti-Hangover charms on Hermione. She will definitely need it." He smiled one more time, and then walked quickly into his room, shutting the door tightly behind him.

"Of course I will," Ginny muttered under her breath. "It always is about Hermione."

***

The band of seven followers stood in a semi-circle facing their leader. They were clad in all black cloaks, hoods pulled far over their faces, to avoid any chance of their identity becoming known. It was a meeting held in complete secrecy.

At the center, the leader began to speak. All that could be seen of him or her was their brilliant red eyes glowing amidst the night. "I am pleased that you have come to me, my loyal servants," rasped the voice in a sexless monotone. "You shall be greatly rewarded for your unending support. When I have reached my peak, I shall remember you all."

The members of the group smiled proudly to themselves. "Voldemort failed, but I shall yet reign triumphant. Your first assignment is to continue to cause harm to the friends and family of Harry Potter. Once you have succeeded, I shall ask you to bring him to me." The voice laughed maliciously. "Soon, all will be under my control.