A/N – I am very very extremely absolutely completely sorry for the delay of this chapter. I was behind on my work and decided that I'd pause this until I'd caught up again but now I'm on my Summer break I should be hopefully updating more… maybe.

Thanks to nick7745 and 1saaa for some awesome reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; all rights go to their respective holders.

Chapter 14 – Protection/Problem

"Avada Kedavra!" the green jet shot out of Ginny's wand like a whip. It swiftly found its target and the man was dead in an instant. 'Ex'-Death Eater Corban Yaxley hadn't been difficult to track down. All the girls had to do was wait around a few pubs in some particularly unfriendly areas and follow the first 'Ex'-Death Eater who was too inebriated to notice them. One quick curse to the back and Ginny had made her first kill.

"Are you all right?" said Hermione from behind her.

Ginny drew in a shallow, shaky breath. "Yeah, just… exhilarating isn't it?" she said, bouncing on her feet. There was a strange feeling in her stomach not dissimilar to the feeling of apparating with Hermione. "Ah – Y'know I feel kind of sick."

"Well, dark magic makes you feel like that. But hey," Hermione stroked a hand on her shoulder, "Just remember that they deserved it. Ok?" she placed a gentle, reassuring kiss on her lips (something they'd been doing more often in private), "You'd better not throw up on me."

"I won't," Ginny laughed, "But it's probably better to take the portkey back. We need to try it out anyway."

Hermione nodded in agreement and began to pull out a silver locket from around her neck.

"I'm not doubting your plan or anything but… why exactly do we need to get rid of the Death Eaters first?"

"Because the Death Eaters are barbaric murderers who aren't going to do anything except send us all back to the dark ages," she said, "and I don't want any of them to be associated with me. I want to separate myself from them in the eyes of the public, hopefully gather some support. My Father wanted to rule the world. He didn't care about anyone else. He didn't really care about blood supremacy – it was just a means to an end. I don't plan on ruling anything; I plan on making life better for all wizards."

"You're getting pretty good at those speeches, y'know. Maybe you should try and run for Minister of Magic." Ginny laughed.

"You were the one who asked. Don't laugh at me for answering."

"Fine, fine, I won't. Thank you for answering. Now, can we just go?"

"Alright." Hermione said, holding out the locket. They both held it, she tapped it with her wand and before they knew it, they were in the fields outside the Burrow.

The Order sat around the dusty table of 12 Grimmauld Place (which was considerably more comfortable than the Burrow) having their second meeting since reforming a week ago. They were all waiting eagerly for information from Kingsley on the perpetrators of 3 murders. Over the past week, 3 known ex-Death Eaters had been found dead. Everyone was hoping that the aurors had finally gotten some specifics on the crimes.

The murders only started happening after Dumbledore reformed the Order. This naturally aroused some suspicion between the members about whether or not it was one of their own carrying out the killings. Many of the members' eyes were on Sirius. Now, of course no one was particularly bothered that Death Eaters were dying but it was technically against the law.

When Dumbledore arrived with Kingsley in tow, everyone quickly grew quiet and listened intently in silent anticipation.

"I am pleased to say that we have uncovered some new evidence that you must all hear," Kingsley began, "First, we have reason to believe all three of these murders were carried out by the same person. All the victims were found within a short walk from the nearest pub and died whilst intoxicated. They were seemingly followed home. But the most intriguing thing we've found is from witness statements from two of the crime scenes. Two witnesses reported seeing a woman in a red cloak across the street from their respective pubs."

"What?" said Molly, voicing the thoughts of everyone else at the table.

"It does appear that these three killings were carried out by the very same woman who brutally tortured and murdered the Dursleys." said Dumbledore.

"But that doesn't make any sense. Why first kill the Dursleys and then move on to the Death Eaters?" asked Remus.

"We have no idea." Kingsley said, "All we know now is that we are dealing with a third party."

Sirius furrowed his brow for a moment before standing and saying, "I think I might have a theory. What if, whoever's doing this, is trying to help Harry? Think about it, they tortured the Dursleys who were arguably doing the same to Harry," he glared slightly at Dumbledore, "and then they killed the Death Eaters who were trying to kill him."

"This is certainly a possibility, Sirius," said Snape, "But I hope you are not condoning these actions. Just because their motives are pure does not mean the same for their methods."

Sirius threw a nasty look at him, "Of course, I'm not condoning them. I was simply pointing out a possibility. Hell, it might not even be true, but I just thought it was something we should consider."

"Indeed, we should." added Dumbledore, "Now I'm sure you all have places to be, things to do, so I won't keep you any longer." Everyone began to get up and say their goodbye's before leaving one by one. "Alastor, I must thank you for filling in for defence against the dark arts at Hogwarts this coming year." He said to the ex-auror, who was just about to floo home.

"Oh, it's no problem Albus. 'Sides I know you don't just want me there to teach. If there's anything going on around the castle, believe me, I'll spot it."

Dumbledore grinned, "You know me too well." and in a jet of green flames, Moody was gone. Dumbledore, still smiling, turned to the last two people left in the room, "Well, Molly, Arthur we should be going."

Ron and Harry sat in the living room of the Burrow in a tense silence over a game of wizard's chess. Honestly, Harry had no idea why he bothered trying when he played against Ron. It was pointless: Ron was too good. Ron could probably give up on his Quidditch dreams and become a professional wizard's chess player (assuming that such a thing existed). A pop from outside and the click of the front door brought them out of their silent concentration only to see Dumbledore enter, followed by Mr and Mrs Weasley.

"Ah, there they are. Told you they would be. Haven't moved since we left." said Mrs Weasley.

"Harry, Ron… oh where's Miss Granger?" asked Dumbledore.

"She was upstairs with Ginny last time we checked. We'll go get her." Harry answered. He started up the stairs, followed by Ron and carried on until they reached Ginny's room. Harry went to open the door before his hand was pushed away by Ron. "What is it?"

"You can't just open a girl's door like that!"

"Why?"

"Well, they might be doing things. It's just not polite is it?"

Harry laughed, "Sorry, what exactly do you expect them to be doing in there?"

"I dunno, whatever girls do. Probably putting on glamour charms or trying on dresses or something. What if we walk in and they're, y'know… indecent?"

Harry grinned, shaking his head and gave 3 exaggerated knocks to the door. They waited a moment… no answer. "'Mione? Gin'?" he shouted but once again there was no answer. Harry gave Ron a puzzled look to which Ron gave a shrug in reply. He slowly opened the door only to reveal a perfectly empty room.

"But where could they have gone?" Harry asked as they made their way to the bottom of the stairs to tell the adults that the girls were nowhere to be found. That was when the front door swung open and Hermione and Ginny casually strolled in laughing to each other.

"There you are! Where the bloody hell did you two go off to?" said Ron.

"Just for a walk," Ginny replied.

"When did you leave? We didn't see you."

"It was just a few minutes ago, you must have missed us." said Hermione.

"Must have missed you? We were right here the whole time playing chess. How could we have missed you?"

"You know how you two get when you play that game, you were just probably just so enthralled that you didn't see us." said Hermione to which her and Ginny both laughed. "Anyway, what do you want with us? What did we miss?"

Harry gestured to the living room where Dumbledore, Molly and Arthur sat waiting for them.

"I should probably go wait upstairs, shouldn't I?" Ginny sighed. The boys nodded and she headed up, muttering to herself something about always being left out.

"Well, now that we have all three of you, we have something important to tell you. Please, come sit down." said Dumbledore.

They all took a seat on the sofa opposite from Dumbledore.

"Molly, Arthur, Sirius and I have all spoken and decided that you all need to know this. Back when Voldemort first rose to power, I formed a group of people to help fight against him. A secret society of sorts called the Order of the Phoenix. Among the members were Molly, Arthur, Sirius, Lupin… and your parents Harry. Once Voldemort was defeated that fateful night, we disbanded and have been ever since. However, recent events have made it clear that the Order needed to be reformed if only as a precautionary measure. Given the danger you have been in these past years, we thought it right to tell you that there are people here who are working to protect you. You don't have to do everything yourself. Seeing as you seem to have a habit for getting yourself into trouble, I am worried that this coming year will be no different. Therefore, if things get out of hand, do not hesitate to ask for our help."

The trio sat in silence, unsure of what to say. It was Harry who managed to speak up first.

"So, there's an organisation, that you're all in – that my parents were in – dedicated to defeating Voldemort." he said.

"That is correct. I'm sure you have many questions."

"Yeah… well no, actually. Just the one," he turned to his friends who both nodded in unspoken understanding, "Can we join?"

"Absolutely not!" exclaimed Mrs Weasley, reminding everyone that she was still there, "You are just children there is no way that you are risking your lives trying to fight Dark Wizards."

Harry turned to Dumbledore who continued, "As Mrs Weasley said, you are all much too young and inexperienced to fight in the Order."

"I'm sorry Professor but I don't understand. We've defeated Voldemort! Twice! We do it already, why not just make it official?"

"You have done well to defeat two forms of Lord Voldemort, but you are not prepared for the real thing. I assure you, he is much darker and much more powerful than any of the stories you've heard. If he was at full strength, you would not stand a chance." Without giving Harry a chance to argue, he stood and made his way to the exit. Before he left however, he turned to them and said, "A warning Harry. There may be more threats than just Lord Voldemort. There is a woman who has only been seen wearing a red cloak, she is the one who murdered the Dursleys. She has also been linked to three other murders just this week."

Hermione shifted slightly in her seat.

"What, those three Death Eaters from the paper? I thought that the aurors didn't know who it was?" asked Ron.

"The information has not yet been released to the public but yes, they are whom she killed."

"But that means that she isn't a Death Eater." said Harry.

"Precisely, Harry. So, the question is why? But leave that question to us. Promise me Harry that if you see anything or rather anyone strange, tell me immediately."

"I promise, Sir."

And with that Dumbledore left. Hermione sighed gently.

"You do know that this is ridiculous, don't you?" Harry started when they entered Ron's room.

"Perhaps Dumbledore's right. He would know how powerful Voldemort is when he is at his full strength." Said Hermione in a feeble attempt to pacify him.

"That's rubbish 'Mione and you know it."

"Don't you dare go risking your life over your own bloody arrogance! You honestly can't accept that you're simply not ready?" Hermione shouted. The unusual outburst left an uncomfortable silence.

After a moment, Harry said, "Maybe that's just it."

This puzzled Hermione. She hadn't suggested anything, had she? "What do you mean?" she said.

"I mean maybe you're right. Maybe we're not ready." He said, "So, why don't we get ready?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What if we start to train ourselves with advanced magic? I know I can do it, I learnt how to cast a patronus. So, we get books to teach us new spells until Dumbledore has to say that we're ready."

"What, you think I can learn advanced spells? I've no chance, mate." Said Ron.

"Of course you can learn it. Anyone can. We spend a few hours every week in… one of the empty classrooms, Hermione brings a book and shows us the spell, and we help each other learn it."

"So, we basically just act like her every week." Ron said gesturing to Hermione.

"What? Studying and actually being prepared for the lesson? I don't see how that's a bad thing Ronald." she said, feeling rather insulted.

"What's an hour, 3 days a week really? It won't be that much effort and it's not like we won't have the free time to do it." Harry pressed.

Giving a sigh, Ron relented, "Alright. I suppose if it means we don't die next year there's no harm."

"Good. And you Hermione?"

She paused to think for a moment. It didn't seem like this would interfere with any of her… prior engagements. "Fine. It will probably just be like adding you to my regular study sessions."

"Then it's settled isn't it. We'll start at the beginning of term."

"Well, what does that mean for us?" said Ginny. Hermione had just finished filling her in on the meeting with Professor Dumbledore.

"It means that things are going to be a little trickier than I thought."

"'A little trickier'?! There's a whole secret organisation who are literally dedicated to stopping us!"

"But it's not like we thought there wouldn't be people trying to stop us anyway."

"I thought it would just be the Ministry and Dumbledore alone. The Ministry's incompetent so I thought all we really had to worry about was Dumbledore. We have no idea how much more difficult the Order will be than the Ministry."

"Gin', you're right. It's going to be harder which is why I don't plan on underestimating the Order. For now, though, the plan can still stay the same. The only difference will be we don't take the Order head on. There are only two of us right now, so we'll be hard to track down. We dodge them and avoid them until we're strong and confident enough to take them on."

Ginny nodded, more to herself than anyone. She had to calm down but it's not like her worries were unreasonable. She focused on her breathing although to be honest it only calmed her down for now, there were still worries in the back of her mind.

Suddenly, there was a soft hand under her chin. Hermione lifted it up and cupped her free hand on Ginny's cheek. She nuzzled into the warm palm, the worries in the back of her mind slowly fading along with everything else until all that remained was Hermione. Their heads drifted together as if by some imperceptible force until their lips were millimetres apart and Ginny could feel Hermione's breath dance across her face. They connected tenderly and perfectly without the awkwardness and sloppiness of inexperience. The moment their lips touched a wave of satisfaction and pleasure rolled over Ginny eliciting a sigh.

She gently wet Hermione's lip with her tongue causing Hermione to open her mouth allowing Ginny's tongue to enter. A whole new world of sensations opened up as she explored and caressed before pulling out and allowing Hermione to return the favour. Ginny barely realised she was moaning in pleasure; she was more focused on the wonderful sounds Hermione was making. She stroked the messy bush of hair that she had come to love and shivered at the feeling of Hermione's hands tracing patterns over her back. Since their first kiss they had slowly been improving in skill and pleasure and it was deeply obvious that this kiss held much more passion than ever before.

Neither could tell just how long they had gone on like that for, but they were certain about one thing: there was more there than just a schoolgirl crush.