Newlyweds

~ * ~ Chapter 1 ~ * ~

Neville Longbottom sipped at the mug of hot coffee in his hands, enjoying the rare moment of tranquillity in the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic. Normally the entire department was bustling with chatter and activity and the air thick with paper aeroplanes sending memos to every corner of the old dusty building. Right now, however, at half past six in the morning the place was utterly deserted, and resembled a ghost-town of sorts with untidy piles of parchment teetering precariously on desks, mounds of paper-clippings heaped into untidy piles and empty coffee mugs (the Auror's beverage of choice) scattered upon every available surface in various cubicles. All in all, the peace and quiet, Neville thought as the sunbeams filtered in through the long windows, was a pleasant change.

If someone had told Neville in his first year that five years after graduating from Hogwarts he'd be a respected Auror in command of a small team of his schoolmates he would have laughed out loud. Him? An Auror? He had heard the snide comments about how he could barely tie his shoelaces in the morning, and he'd seen the not-so-subtle glances as he managed to spectacularly ruin another cauldron, and a potion along with it.

But, here it was five years later, and Neville was sipping coffee in his small (and somewhat boring) beige office in Auror Headquarters, in charge of ten of his former schoolmates. The one thing he'd always desired above all else was now his - respect. Sheer and utter respect from his comrades, his colleagues and his superiors. And as he'd gained that respect, he'd found everything else had just slipped into place quite naturally. As his confidence increased, his bumbling decreased. He couldn't remember the last time he'd failed to successfully accomplish a spell or brew a potion.

And his wife had certainly helped that confidence along. He automatically glanced at the wizarding snapshot neatly framed in a sterling-silver rectangle of flowers that stayed always on the right-hand corner of his desk. In it was himself, his pretty strawberry-blonde wife Susan, and their small 1-year-old daughter Emily Alice Longbottom. Together they smiled up at him, the photo-Neville waving cheerfully whilst Susan kissed him on the cheek, and small Emily beamed her sunny smile cheerfully up at him.

A real family. Yet another thing he'd never thought he would possess - a wife and child.

Neville stretched in his chair and took another mouthful of the coffee. He'd heard many wizards and witches particularly in the last year or so say that their Hogwarts' years were the absolute best of their lives. Protected from You-Know-Who by Dumbledore, for who could not feel safe around that elderly gentleman? And when their biggest worry was unfinished potions homework as opposed to remaining alive in the midst of the current war that threatened to destroy the wizarding way of life.

But Neville would have to disagree. He infinitely preferred life now with the people who loved and respected him far more than his Hogwarts days.

Draining the last of the coffee from the mug, he began to gather the papers he'd need for the day's work and shrunk them with a quick flick of his wand before placing them in his small briefcase. The one advantage of being a slightly higher-up-the-ladder Auror than the rest was that he could work from home unquestioned. This was especially good for getting to spend extra time with his little family, or for when he just couldn't concentrate in the hectic Auror Headquarters.

It was even better for when you needed to avoid two members of your team to give them a day or so to cool off.

As he buckled his briefcase and reached for his cloak, he glanced over the letter he'd left on his desk addressed to Marietta Edgecombe, his secretary of sorts, informing her he would be at home should he be required urgently, and that the various files he'd promised to get to his team members were left on his desk. He also quite plainly stated that no one was to contact him at home via floo or owl post unless it was extremely important.

He smiled to himself as he fastened his cloak. In just a few short minutes he'd be home with Susan and little Emily having a nice breakfast, away from the bustling Auror Headquarters and away from the impending storm that would be inevitable when Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley received their orders in the small letter sealed in wax with the Auror Department stamp - the official notice of a new assignment. He just hoped Marietta could keep them away from the floo powder today.

Finally, he turned to survey his office, mentally checking he'd taken everything he needed for a day's work from home, and had left everything that his colleagues would need for their day's work. Satisfied, he turned to leave - and then watched in horror as the door creaked open to reveal Ginny Weasley, Draco Malfoy and three other members of his team trooping in, all carrying takeaway cups of Charisma's Coffee - brewed with the finest revitalising charms for that fresh feeling every morning! They were all chatting merrily, and Lavender was giggling loudly as Seamus talked animatedly in his lilting Irish accent.

"Morning, all," Neville managed, in a cheerful tone. Oh Merlin, I've got to get out of here! Automatically he moved closer to the door, his mind already running wild with mental images of Ginny and Draco once they'd read and absorbed their new assignment. He'd grown up a lot since Hogwarts and definitely had a backbone now, but his self-preservation instinct was still intact, and Neville knew that the Weasley temper crossed with Malfoy's cold fury wasn't really something he wanted to be the victim of.

An assorted mix of greetings and smiles came in response from the group.

"Why are you all in so early then?" Neville asked looking at the cluster of Wizards and Witches curiously. He knew Draco and Ginny certainly didn't fit the workaholic bill any more than their companions Colin Creevey, Lavender Brown and Seamus Finnigan did.

"Early start, early finish," Ginny said with a cheery smile. "It's the Bulgaria against Italy Quidditch Match tonight - it starts at half past four, so we're all going to the Leaky Cauldron to watch. You should come, Nev."

"I-uh think Susan has plans," Neville said swiftly. "Sorry Gin, you know I'd love to."

Ginny laughed. "Oh Neville, you'd be so much more believable if you didn't hate Quidditch!"

Neville smiled and moved towards the door, but then Ginny quickly interrupted.

"Oh that reminds me, wait a second, Neville! I've got that book for you to give back to Susan. Tell her I absolutely adored it, and I can't wait until dinner on Thursday so we can discuss it properly. The scene with Tristan and Lydia in the field was just so incredible..." she sighed happily, and Neville thought briefly that no-one would think that stood in front of him was one of England's fiercest Aurors.

"Much as we'd all love to discuss Tristan's quivering member, Gin, some of us around here have real work to do," Malfoy threw in her direction with a smirk, causing Ginny to flush slightly and Seamus to chuckle.

"Oh shut it, Malfoy," Ginny retorted, with a smile curling at the sides of her mouth. "Leave my reading material alone... if you still want to have a member to quiver with, that is." The smile turned into a smirk

Draco half-grinned. "Weasley, Weasley, Weasley... You'll just make up any excuse to see if the rumours from the Quidditch changing rooms are true, won't you?"

Ginny smiled. "Well certainly - I'd love to prove that one... what was Nott's analogy again? Cocktail sausage, was it?" She looked at Lavender who snorted with laughter in a remarkably undignified way upon seeing Draco's expression and nodded frantically.

"Well, should you ever want to find out for yourself, Weasley, you just have to ask," Draco replied with a small wink. "And for the record... Cocktail sausage?" He snorted with indignation.

Neville had never expected Draco Malfoy to integrate into the tight-knit group of Aurors as well as he did. Ever since he'd turned his back on his father in seventh-year and fought alongside Harry and Ron (with more than a little animosity from Ron) he'd been seen as a different person, entirely separate from both the Draco Malfoy from their childhood and from his father, though with the same trademark smirk and stinging sarcasm as ever. But his strange regard for Ginny Weasley had certainly caught Neville off-guard. What was even stranger was that she didn't seem to mind him all that much. They enjoyed taunting and teasing one another. Certainly they'd never be the best of friends, but their witty banter seemed to keep them going some days.

It was why he prayed that they'd see the good side of this assignment. Much, much more time and opportunity for witty banter. Somehow he didn't quite think they'd see this aspect - at least not straight away.

"Anyway," Neville interrupted, trying desperately to avoid the mental imagery Ginny's words had conjured. "Can I have that book please, Gin? Only I'm on my way out now..."

"Sure," Ginny replied, walking in the direction of her cubicle, causing Neville's heart to thump nervously. Her colleagues dispersed themselves around the room in the direction of their own cubicles, and Draco had thankfully gone to the enormous cabinets that lined one of the walls containing files, and not to his desk. I might still survive, I might still survive...

Ginny let her bag drop to her desk with a thump and immediately began to sort through it to find the desired book. So far, the official-looking envelope on her desk had escaped her notice entirely. "Aha!" she said triumphantly, pulling the dog-eared book from her bag. It was a typical Cauldron and Pestle book, with the book's title in gold italic across the front cover, and a woman with what could be only described as a heaving bosom bound tightly in a laced bodice alongside a shirtless man with flawlessly-toned muscles.

"Tell her thanks for lending me," Ginny said as she thrust it into Neville's arms. "And I'll bring in Sarine's Desire in for her to read tomorrow - I just know she'll love it!"

"Cheers, Gin," Neville said, with a smile. Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration. "Oh, those files you needed are laid out on my desk for you."

"Great, thanks Nev," Ginny replied, and as Neville had hoped, she set off walking in the direction of his office alongside him. Neville internally let out a sigh of relief. He was going to get away before the storm hit - Ginny was away from her desk, Draco was still at the files, and he'd be out of here in about five sec-

"Hey, Draco, it looks like you've got an assignment," Seamus cut in, waving the thick letter in Draco's direction. Neville felt his stomach sink... of course, Seamus's cubicle was right next to Draco's... The bloody Irish.

Draco immediately stalked towards Seamus and took the envelope from him. Neville doubled his stride as Draco tore open the paper, and was almost at the door - the handle was so close when a sharp, icy tone interrupted his movements.

"Longbottom!"

Neville turned around upon hearing his surname, and was caught off guard to see a look of absolute shock mingled with outrage in Draco's icy grey eyes. Malfoy guarded his emotions ridiculously well, and his face was usually a mask hiding his true feelings - regardless of whether he was apprehending his father's old friends or falling off a barstool half-pissed in the Leaky Cauldron, his face rarely showed expressions that allowed one to read his face and show how he felt.

Neville had only ever seen the mask slip and Draco loose his cool once, right after they arrested Lucius Malfoy. It had taken three full days to restore the Auror Headquarters to its original state of being. Of course, he'd been furious then, and had years of pent up aggression against his father to vent... still, the idea of a repeat didn't fill him with joy.

It was enough to make him wish he'd just Owled in sick.

"What is this?" Draco continued to stare icily at Neville, who still stood by the doorway in his cloak. Lavender, Seamus and Colin had all stepped backwards to what promised to be an extremely interesting argument unfold. "You can't be serious, Neville. You really can't."

As Ginny strolled back out of Neville's office whistling to herself and clutching the files in her arms she became the focus of attention. As she became acutely aware of this fact, she stopped in the middle of the floor and looked from Draco to Neville.

"What's going on?" she asked, surprised to see the outraged look present on Draco's features. He and Neville usually maintained a professional relationship at work, and had a fairly friendly one outside of work too.

"Check your desk, Ginevra," Draco said shortly, using the full name she despised. "We have an assignment."

Ginny looked at him in confusion. "But that's good news, right? I mean, something solid to do as opposed to bits and pieces of other cases and projects?"

"If I were you, I'd withhold your judgement until you've read the letter," Draco said softly. He glared at Neville again as Ginny tore open the parchment. "You can't be serious about this. Your one-year-old daughter could probably have come up with a better assignment for us... maybe we should promote her."

"What?!" Ginny Weasley's outraged shriek filled the air and caused an Owl which had just flown into the room through a skylight to drop the letter it had held in its talons and retreat rapidly with a distressed hoot. Ginny looked ready to breathe fire at any moment, and had adopted a remarkably Molly-Weasley-esque glare, whilst Draco looked fuming, and was staring directly at Neville with steely grey eyes.

"Why?" Draco demanded icily.

Neville gulped - how to calm down an angry Weasley and Malfoy had not been on the Auror Training Syllabus. He watched as Lavender and Seamus moved backwards slightly, leaving room in the middle of the floor for Neville and two furious aurors.

"We should've brought popcorn," Seamus murmured to Lavender, not taking his eyes from the scene playing out in front of them.

"Well," Neville began, feeling his normal confidence flowing back to him. "For awhile now we've been receiving information that key locations in England are in danger from Death Eater attacks, as you know. Hogsmeade, the Ministry of Magic, Diagon Alley and Hogwarts, to be specific."

"Yes, we know that, Nev," Ginny said, interrupting shrilly. "But I don't see precisely why our assignment has to be this," she waved the offending piece of paper in her hand in the direction of his face. "In order to protect them!"

"Ginny, you've got every right to be pissed off," Neville said honestly, looking from her to Draco. "You too, Malfoy. It's an awful assignment, and I'll be the first to admit that there's no way I would have volunteered for it. But please, both of you, hear me out before you make your judgement? And don't listen as pissed off friends, listen as professional aurors, and you'll know that my reasoning makes sense. Please? Just give me five minutes and think about what I'm saying. Agreed?"

He looked from the redhead to the blonde - to Neville's infinite relief, they appeared considerably calmer, much to the noticeable disappointment of Seamus and Lavender.

"Agreed," Ginny said, a slight flush in her cheeks. "Sorry Neville, we should have given you a chance to explain."

"Agreed," Draco said, with a small nod. "You know I won't apologise though," he added with a small smirk.

The break in Draco's mood made Neville smile. "I like my universal constants," he laughed. "Now, I don't think I need to say it, but none of this leaves the room." He looked meaningfully at all five of them gathered in front of him. "I know we all go back a long way, and I think that we all trust one-another implicitly, which is why I'm prepared to discuss the mission in front of Lavender, Seamus and Colin." He gestured towards the three gathered together listening intently. "I'll be briefing the rest of the team another day - but this is to remain confidential, understood?"

"Understood, Nev," Lavender said, with a smile. "Now come on, you're killing us all with the suspense here."

"Alright," Neville said, placing his briefcase down on a nearby desk, since it appeared he'd be there for awhile. "All of the key locations under threat we have under surveillance - all except one. Hogsmeade. We've got Diagon Alley being constantly patrolled, Hogwarts has Kingsley and Tonks permanently stationed there in addition to the teachers who have enhanced security, and the Ministry is also under protection from Aurors."

He paused, took a deep breath, and carried on. "But in Hogsmeade... Hogsmeade's tricky. Hogsmeade's different. It's a tightly-knit community, and we can't just have two people walking up and down the street every day without arousing some suspicion from the natives. We need two people to integrate into that community, to interact with the locals, to find out the gossip - sometimes Aunt Mildred lurking behind her net curtain and spying on her neighbours will pick up things that an Auror could miss. And with the general attitude in Hogsmeade - it's very traditional, as you know - we need two powerful aurors such as yourselves-" Neville broke off to gestured towards Draco and Ginny. "To pose as a married couple."

There was dumbstruck silence in the room for a second as Lavender, Seamus and Colin took in the information in shock and Ginny and Draco reabsorbed it.

"Neville," Ginny interrupted. "I hate to say it... but it'd be a ridiculous waste of time! We don't even know if there's any Death Eaters living in Hogsmeade-"

"Ginny, you've seen the reports from our mole - there's at least one Death Eater apparating from Hogsmeade," Neville said sharply.

"Who's to say whoever that is is truly on our side?" Ginny countered.

"I'm saying it," Neville said sternly. "And even if there isn't, Gin, you'd still hear of anything unusual or untoward happening in Hogsmeade, when we here in London wouldn't. You'd be able to investigate it without scrutiny, able to ask questions of the villagers as a neighbour, not an Auror. You'd be keeping an eye on the whole situation - we've decided that it's a necessary position for someone to fill, and you're definitely a people person, Ginny." He looked at her pleadingly. "You're the perfect person to infiltrate, make friends and gain the trust of an entire community. If you can't do this, I firmly believe that no one can."

"Neville," Ginny interrupted again, her voice slightly higher-pitched than normal. "Infiltration, fine. Snooping around and eavesdropping, okay. Digging through archives and mouldy books in libraries, also acceptable. Posing as a married couple, however-"

"Is definitely not okay," Draco interrupted her, his expressions clearly showing his annoyance.

"See," Neville said hopefully, in a slightly higher-pitched voice than usual. "You're already finishing each other's sentences..." Ginny's throaty growl and Draco's icier-than-icy stare cut him off.

"Longbottom," Draco said sharply, glaring at the man. "I don't want this assignment." He glanced at Ginny. "No offence, Weasley."

"Trust me, Malfoy, the feeling's mutual," Ginny said, looking at him, and then starting sharply at Neville. "Find someone else, Nev. What about Seamus and Lavender? Or Dean and Parvati?"

Neville sighed. "I'm sorry, Draco, Gin, I really am. I know this isn't ideal, but everyone else already has projects they're heavily involved in. And the pair of you are ideal for this assignment-"

"I agree that Ginny's perfect for infiltrating a community," Draco cut in. "She's got that knack of talking to little old ladies about their cats or grandchildren. I, however, would piss the entire lot of them off by being brutally sarcastic without five minutes. I'm not a people person, Nev." He looked around the room desperately for inspiration. "Send Seamus," he suggested. "I'll take over the case he's working on - Finnigan would be much better suited."

Neville shook his head. "No, Malfoy, we need you there. You've got a knack for seeing the genuine incidents with Death Eater activity behind them in amongst all the other incidents. I'm not going to lie, we've had indications that Hogsmeade's going to become a very dangerous place without the next month or so - we need someone like you who can anticipate when and where things will happen, someone who has intuition. I don't just want you to find out about these people from talking to them, I want you to analyse them. And like it or not, Draco, you're damn good at reading people."

Draco stared at Neville coldly. "Do we have a choice?"

"No, sorry," Neville said, in a genuinely apologetic tone. "But there's the possibility of a promotion if it all goes well. For you too, Gin," he added, looking over at the redhead who had been silent for a moment.

"There's one thing I don't get," Ginny chimed in. "Why a newly married couple, Neville? Can't we just be roommates? I think that'd be far more bearable - no offence, Malfoy."

"None taken, Weasley," Draco replied.

"Ginny, if you can think of a better way to do this, I'm willing to listen," Neville said quickly, his patience growing thinner by the moment. "As a married couple you'll arouse less suspicion. You'll be invited to welcome dinners so you'll get to meet the locals and assess any suspicious characters. You'll be able to join in with the gossip, make friends, and really mingle. You wouldn't integrate with the community as much if you were flatmates - the vast majority of the population of Hogsmeade is made up of married couples. We need you to get into the heart of the village. It'd be perfectly safe - we've already made up a four-month batch of polyjuice potion and can make more if necessary."

"Four months?" Ginny exclaimed. "Nev, tell me you're joking?"

Neville paused, and looked at them both. It was evident that neither was accepting the idea. "Look at it this way," he added, trying a new approach. "You're getting paid to talk to people, go to as many dinners and have as many nights at the Three Broomsticks as possible, charging all expenses to the Ministry. How many people can say that?"

Draco exhaled sharply. "Longbottom, you're forgetting the key thing. We'll kill each other within a week if left to our own devices! How many times a day do you have to mediate our arguments? How many times do you have to stop Ginny from using her dreaded Bat Bogey Hex-"

"I don't know, almost as many as he has to stop you from trying to petrificus totalus me!" Ginny cut in sharply, with a pointed look at Draco.

"Argh!" Draco threw his hands up dramatically. "See, Neville? This isn't going to work."

"Well, you're going to have to make it work," Neville said curtly. "Because you've been given your orders, so either follow them or be kicked out. It's your choice." He looked from Draco to Ginny. "And I believe that no matter how pissed off you are at this assignment," his language got the desired affect - it was so out of character for him that they both snapped to look at him. "You'll both go through with it. I expect David and Genevieve Seaton to be established at Number 9 Rowena's Crescent by the end of the week." He turned on his heel with a swish of his cloak and started towards the door. Then he turned back and added especially for Malfoy's benefit, "just think how much it'll annoy Ron."

Then, thanking the gods that was over, Neville Longbottom left the room.

There was silence for a moment. Then;

"Oh fuck," Draco swore vehemently.