Chapter 50: Back to Privet Drive

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Hermione woke to find herself alone. Except for the small elf, who stood watching her expectantly from several paces away, partially hidden by a large lap-tray.

"My goodness, how long have you been there?" she croaked as she sat stiffly.

The elf took a few hesitant steps toward the bed.

"Master Drac- "He stopped suddenly and swallowed. He tried again. "My Lord Malfoy telled Topsy to make sure the miss eats a good breakfast." He lifted the tray slightly as he spoke, and she saw that he had taken this instruction very seriously and had piled the tray high with all manner of breakfast foods including a pot of tea and what looked like a bit of tinsel.

"Thank you, Topsy," she said, "Let me help you with that." She took the tray from him and set it down carefully on the bed next to her. "When did that happen?" she asked, looking around the room at the silver, red and green décor that was almost theatrical in its sparkly splendour.

"We wasn't expecting the Master so we didn't decorate his rooms," he explained. "But then he came. With guests." He glanced around and shrugged. "So we did decorate charms."

"You must have got up very early," she said. "You shouldn't have."

He looked scandalised, his ears quivering and his eyes wide.

"The Manor is always decorated for Yule when the family is in," he said. "Always!"

Yule! she thought suddenly. Well, that explained the over-the-top décor. They had all completely forgotten. Damn, what was the date anyway? She made a mental note to find out.

"Where is Lord Malfoy?" she asked.

"He is with Master Blaise in the study," he said. "He is busy. Miss must eat a good breakfast."

"I will." She began to pour herself a cup of tea and sighed at the delicious aroma.

He hovered, casting nervous glances at the tray and its untouched burden. She helped herself to a griddle cake and munched, making appropriate appreciative noises. He looked relieved.

"Does miss need anything else?"

"No, thank you, Topsy. You may go. Which way is the study?" She added this last bit very casually.

"Upstairs. They is busy," he said after a moment of uncomfortable silence. "Lord Malfoy is not to be disturbed when he is busy. Mrs Fairweather said."

She nodded.

"Ah, that's right," she agreed. "My mistake. I will wait for him then."

He left her to her breakfast, and she waited a few minutes before she got up and dressed with grim purpose.

She'd had just about enough of secrets and hidden things.

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"Who the bloody hell can that be at this time of the morning?" Dudley Dursley wondered. He leaned over and took the toy dinosaur from his daughter and gave it back to his little son who was scowling at his sister.

"Will you get that, please love?" his wife asked. "The bacon will burn if I turn my back on it. Daph, stop taking your brother's toys! How does she do that anyway?" she asked, sliding an egg on to Dudley's toast. "She can't reach him, but she gets that bloody toy away from him somehow."

Dudley pushed his chair back and made his way to the front door, ready to admonish whoever had interrupted his breakfast.

"This had better be good," he muttered as the door opened. He stared.

"Hullo, Dudley," said Harry.

Harry. Dudley was speechless. He hadn't laid eyes on his cousin in years.

"Can we come in?" Harry asked. "It's cold out here."

Dudley glanced at the dark haired girl just behind Harry and he knew at once what she was. There was no mistaking that strange dark aura that they all had.

"What do you want, Harry?" he asked quietly. He glanced quickly up and down the road.

Harry pushed the door and stepped past his cousin and into the hallway, followed by Pansy.

"Who is it, Dud?" his wife called.

"Nobody!" he called back. "What do you want, Harry?' he asked again.

"You're looking well, Dudley," Harry said. And he was. Harry saw nothing of the angry, unhappy boy that he remembered.

"So are you," Dudley replied. "Why are you here, Harry?' he asked again.

"It would be easier if you let us come in and explain," Harry began. They were still all crowded into the tiny hallway.

Pansy frowned. This was taking too long.

"Your children are in danger, Dudley," she said. "We're here to help you."

Dudley shook his head.

"No," he said. "I won't have you involving my family in any of that. You need to leave."

They heard the sound of footsteps and then Dudley's wife appeared.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Is there something wrong? Is it my mum?" her voice was scared.

"No," Dudley answered. He pulled her to his side and put his arm around her. "There's nothing wrong. They were just leaving."

But Harry stepped forward.

"Hullo. I'm Harry. Dudley's cousin. Can we please come in?"

The woman nodded and stepped back to allow them into the house.

"I'm Heather, Dudley's wife," she said. "Yes, please come in. We're just having breakfast, though. Would you like to join us?"

"No, thank you. We're in a bit of a hurry."

"Well, you'll need to sit in the kitchen. We can't leave the twins unattended for too long. They'll wreck the place."

They sat. The twins were seated at opposite ends of the table, silent, staring at the newcomers curiously. They were as blonde and as cherubic as their mother, curly golden hair and pale blue eyes. They were about four or five years old. The little boy, Dylan presumably, clutched a toy dinosaur in his fat little fist.

"You can't stay, Harry," Dudley said in a low voice. "I don't have anything against you but I won't let you bring all of that into my home. And as you can see, there's nothing wrong with the twins."

"All of what?" Heather asked. "What about the twins?"

"Nothing, love," Dudley began, but Harry cut him off.

"How much do you know about me, Heather?" he asked. "Has Dudley ever told you anything about me?"

She shook her head. "No, he hasn't told me much. But Petunia has."

Dudley turned to her in surprise.

"Mum told you about Harry?" he asked. "When?"

"Years ago. Is it true?"

"Depends what she told you," Harry smiled.

Dudley sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had a bad feeling about this.

"That you were always causing trouble and that you were… were just like your mother. But she didn't say it like it was a good thing."

Harry nodded.

"Well, then yes, it's all true."

"So it's true that you're a … witch?" Heather asked quietly.

"A wizard. Yes, it's true."

Heather looked at Pansy, who met her eyes calmly. She turned back to Harry.

"What's wrong with my children?"

Harry turned to look at Daphne and they all followed his eyes. The little girl met Harry's gaze with a mischievous twinkle. And then the toy dinosaur shot out of her brother's hand across the table and stopped in front of the little girl. She reached out casually and took it.

Heather stared, dumfounded.

"There's nothing wrong with them, love," Dudley said in a resigned voice. "They're just magical. Like Harry. And Aunt Lily."

They sat in silence for a moment while Heather took it in. Dudley was obviously not shocked, although his eyes betrayed his fear. He had hoped that nothing would ever come of the twins' strange abilities, but lately it was becoming more and more obvious, and Daph had just made it impossible to hide it from their mother any longer.

Pansy reached out and gently pulled the little plastic toy away from Daphne, and chuckled when the little girl scowled and the toy flew through the air and back to the waiting child. She turned back to Heather.

"There's nothing wrong with them but they're in danger," she said. "And we need to move them to safety. Just for a while, I promise."

"What have you done, Harry? Why have you brought all this back to my family?" Dudley's voice was angry now.

"I haven't done anything." Harry's voice was calm. He had to make them understand. "There's someone out there, someone from my world, who is stealing magical children. They are coming here next."

Heather and Dudley both sat frozen. Then Dudley suddenly stood.

"Come, kids, get your coats on," he said urgently. "We're going out. Get out of my home, Harry."

"You can't protect them as well as we can," Pansy said. "You're not equipped. You can take them out but you'll need to come home some time, and they will be waiting for you."

Harry stood.

"Dudley, please listen to me. I can protect them and it will only be for a while."

"Get out of my house, Harry!" Dudley was yelling now. "Get out and leave us alone! I can take care of my family!"

Pansy turned to Harry.

"You have to go, Harry. Just go. We tried." She turned back to the shouting Dudley and now terrified Heather, and muttered a soft spell. The two were suddenly unable to move.

Harry hurried over to the twins, who now stood hand in hand, terrified and confused. He ducked down between them and put one arm around each.

And then there was a swish and blur and Harry and the twins were gone, and the kitchen was deathly silent.

"Are you going to shut up and calm down or do I need to silence you as well?" Pansy said eventually.

"My babies," Heather was whispering over and over. "He took my babies."

"Your children are perfectly safe now," Pansy said. "If Harry hadn't taken them, Marcus would have. And you wouldn't have seen them again. Can I release you now?"

They nodded. They were both pale and silent.

"Why is this happening?" Dudley asked. "Where are my twins? Why would anyone want to harm them?"

"Harry has taken them to a safe place where nobody will be able to hurt them. When we have stopped the man who wants them, we will bring them back to you. I swear it."

"Are you going to hurt us?" Heather asked. She was standing quietly with her hands on the back of Dylan's chair, paralysed with shock.

"No! Haven't you been listening?" Pansy's voice was shrill now with impatience and frustration. "We came to make sure the twins are safe!"

"Then why are you still here?" Dudley asked.

"Because it's important that Marcus sees me here," Pansy explained, her voice quieter now. "He needs to know it was me. You two need to leave. Go somewhere for the rest of the weekend. Longer, if possible."

Heather still seemed to be in shock.

"How do we know any of this is true?" she asked, still not quite believing the evidence of her own eyes. "How do we know you'll bring my babies back?"

"It's all true, love," Dudley sighed. "Harry might be trouble on feet, but he saved my life once, and he never lied about anything." He took her hand. "Let's get out of here for a while." He turned to Pansy. "This Marcus," he said. "If he sees you here will he hurt you?"

"He'll try."

"You don't seem worried about that."

"No. I'm counting on it."

There was a hard edge to Pansy's voice that chilled Dudley. God, how he had prayed that he would never have to come across Harry's world again. He remembered his encounter with the magical monsters in the tunnel, he recalled how he hadn't been able to sleep for weeks. How they'd had to hide away while Harry's world was at war. And then life had slowly gone back to normal and he had almost convinced himself that none of it had been real.

Until the twins. His twins.

And he finally faced up to the reality that Harry's world was their world too.

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Hermione slipped quietly into the study.

Draco and Blaise were standing at the huge ebony desk, poring over what looked like a map. Blaise held a bit of parchment and the two of them were looking from the parchment to the map, pointing to various places on the map and speaking in low voices. Definitely up to something.

"Good morning," she said softly.

They jerked, startled by her unexpected appearance. The way Blaise smoothly hid the parchment behind his back convinced her that she was right. Up to something.

"What do you have there?" she asked casually, slowly making her way over to them.

Blaise recovered first.

"Good morning, cara," he said. "Did you sleep well?"

She smiled. "I did, thank you. What's got you both up and about so early?"

Draco, who hadn't said a word yet, smiled at her, a look of innocence all over his face.

"Nothing much," he said. "Just, you know, .." he waved his hand in the direction of the map. "Map stuff."

"Map stuff," she murmured. "Interesting. Let's see, then."

They stepped aside and she leaned over a map of wizarding Europe.

"And what's on the parchment, Blaise?" she asked, still studying the map.

"Hm?"

She straightened and gave him a hard stare.

"You heard me," she said.

"Oh, you mean this?" he said, looking at the parchment as though it had just appeared in his hand. "Nothing. Just a list."

She held out her hand and he handed it over. She looked at it.

"Who are these people? And why don't you want me to see this?" she asked Draco, silently daring him to lie to her.

"They are Force members who have cultivated relationships with people in positions of influence in muggle governments," he said eventually. There was something in her eyes that persuaded him that she wouldn't tolerate any further evasions.

She held his eyes for a long moment and he steadily returned her gaze.

"Where did you get the names?" she asked.

Just then there was a knock at the study door.

"Come!" Draco said, feeling profoundly relieved that the conversation had been interrupted.

The housekeeper peeked around the door.

"Good morning, Sir," she said, "Mr Snape is here and he says it's an urgent matter."

"Thank you," he said. "Show him in please."

Mrs Fairweather pushed the door open and stepped back to allow Severus Snape to enter.

"Morning," he greeted them.

"Well, this is a surprise," Draco said. "We weren't expecting you."

Snape walked into the room and Hermione thought how tired he looked. He made his way over to the desk and looked down curiously at the large map.

"Yes, I know," he said. "I didn't know how long it would take, obviously."

Draco and Blaise looked confused.

"How long what would take?" Blaise asked.

Snape looked at Hermione.

"You didn't tell them?' he asked. They turned to stare at her.

"Tell us what?"

"No," she replied. "I didn't want to create any false hopes." She had hardly dared to hope herself. "Did you find it?"

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Of course I found it."

Draco and Blaise continued to watch Hermione, waiting for her to explain.

"Interesting," Draco said softly. "Granger's been keeping a few secrets of her own, it seems."

She had the grace to blush. "I wasn't sure if it even exists," she said. "I thought I might have been sending Severus on a wild goose chase."

They waited.

"In muggle mythology, the dwarves created a chain that was used to bind Fenrir," she explained. "It was made of impossible items. I've never read anything about it in wizarding history, and I've never read anything in muggle books that led me to believe that it actually exists."

"Okay," Blaise said. "What impossible items?"

"The sound of a cat's footfall; the roots of a mountain," she listed. "The breath of a fish.. umm.." she tried to recall the rest.

Snape, who had been examining the map on the desk, completed the list. "Beard of a woman, spittle of a fish, sinews of a bear." He pointed at the map and the list. "What's this about?"

"Countries that have Force members close to muggle government," Blaise said. "So this chain exists?"

Snape nodded. "Yes, it exists, but its magical powers have faded. Do we know who they are?" he asked, turning back to the map.

"It exists!" Hermione's eyes were as excited as her voice. "It's how we can stop Greyback!"

"Maybe," Snape said, taking the list from Blaise. "Its powers have faded, I said. It may not work. Where did you get this list?"

Hermione was suddenly reminded of the reason she had come to find them in the study. "Yes, where?" she demanded. She was determined to make him tell her. "We agreed there would be no more secrets," she reminded him quietly.

He met her eyes steadily. "McLeod," he said, speaking to Snape but keeping his eyes on her. "When did you arrange for Severus to go looking for a magical chain, love?"

Blaise watched with interest. He got the sense that there was a whole other conversation happening between them.

"The day you went to Azkaban with Harry," she said. "Did McLeod volunteer the names?"

Now Snape was also watching them.

"Eventually."

She nodded, relieved that he hadn't lied to her. There was no need for him to expand. She understood, and part of her had known anyway.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked.

"I didn't want to look silly if it turned out to be nothing. Why didn't you tell me where you were going, even after I asked over and over?"

"Because I didn't want you to know."

She frowned. Damn him, she thought. How did he manage to avoid answering her even as he answered her? There was a long moment and then she sighed deeply.

"Do you have it with you?" she turned to Snape. "What do we need to do to re-awaken its power?"

He reached into his robe and pulled out a silvery fabric pouch. He handed it to her. "I'm not sure," he said. "But it needs to be something very powerful. Group magick ritual of some kind would be best and fastest."

She opened the pouch, its fabric shimmering softly, and pulled out a small pewter box. She opened it. Inside lay what looked like a long thin silver-grey ribbon. She looked at it dubiously. "This is it?"

"Apparently."

It didn't look at all magical. She supposed it might look different once its power was restored. She closed the box and set it down on the desk. She'd spend some time on it later.

"Do we know where they are in muggle government? What departments, I mean?"

"They aren't directly in the governments. But yes, we do," Blaise said.

They gathered around the map.

"Department of Defence," he said, pointing at places on the map as he spoke, "Here, here and here. Education here. Foreign Affairs. Science and…" He referred to the list. "Science and Technology here."

They chatted a while about the implications of having witches and wizards influencing those areas of muggle government, until Snape seemed to remember the time.

"Alright, you can fill me in later. I need to go back to Hogwarts." He looked at Draco. "Your mother is there with Pleia and Damon. I can't imagine she or Pansy would want them here, so if you want to see her, you'll probably have to go there."

Draco nodded. "Definitely," he said. "I'd like that."

"I've left a supply of the flowers in your greenhouses. You need to add it to your potion now before the moon is full, it'll be ready when the moon begins to wane."

Hermione, who had been mulling over the group magick rituals she knew, turned to Snape. "The flowers? Potion? Do you mean the anima novo?"

"Yes," Snape glanced at Hermione before turning back to Draco. "Do you remember how to decant it?"

Draco nodded. "Yes."

Snape pulled the door open and as they stepped out into the passage they heard loud voices on the stairs.

"Excuse me!" Mrs Fairweather's voice was firm. "You can't just burst into Lord Malfoy's study!" But the heavy footsteps on the stairs indicated that her words were not being heeded.

"Oh relax. Your precious Lord and Master will see me."

"Flint," Snape said in a low voice as he walked away. "I'll see myself out."