Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not make any money from these writings.

It is a strange way in which the political mind functions. Some would like to believe it possesses a superior intellect; however, time has proven that the only superior quality it has is a blinding love for power. Blinding to the point of ignorance and paranoia.

Dumbledore had come to understand this only recently. He had thought that things would be better once Fudge was out of office; however, his successor, Scrimgeour, was a carbon copy of Cornelius in all but name. In some ways, he was worse though, especially since he had appointed Dolores Umbridge as his Under Secretary and Advisor. At first, Scrimgeour and Dumbledore got along well, and they talked extensively about joining forces against Voldemort. Rufus was every bit the affectionate and eager student that Dumbledore remembered; however, in no time, Umbridge had turned the minister against the headmaster. She made him fear that Dumbledore wanted to gain power through their friendship and promote his name over Rufus'. Umbridge had gone as far as to suggest that if the Order won against Voldemort instead of the ministry, the people would want Dumbledore to take over as minister and would oust Scrimgeour from power. Dumbledore had tried to reassure Scrimgeour that he had no such intentions, but the seed of distrust had already been planted in the taciturn minister.

Just a few days ago, the final blow had been dealt, through Ministerial Decree Number 22, The Order of The Phoenix headed by Albus Dumbledore was declared a rogue, enemy faction along with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers. Dumbledore sniffed and smiled lightly as he thought of the irony.

"Dumbledore."

Albus looked up just in time to see another former student.

"Tom."

Voldemort came forward, his robe rustling as imperceptibly as his apparition had been.

"So, apparently we are now on the same side," the Dark Lord went on, a smirk on his face as he came to a stop in front of Dumbledore's desk.

Dumbledore made a motion with his hand towards the leather armchair in front of him. "Please."

"I'd rather stand, " Voldemort said coldly.

Dumbledore acquiesced with a forced nod; he knew that he should be grateful the wretched dark wizard had even come.

"Would you like a drink?" Albus went on attempting to be hospitable.

"Death by poisoning has never been appealing to me," Voldemort replied. Dumbledore opened his mouth to reassure him, but the Dark Lord cut him off with a hand motion. "I am not here to socialize, Albus, tell me what you want so I can take my leave."

"Well, since the Ministry declared the Order enemy combatants, we all conferred and decided it would be best to take care of one threat at a time . . . therefore I, on behalf of the Order, would like to propose a temporary alliance," Dumbledore finished while gazing over his glasses at the Dark Lord.

"And the terms?"

Albus pushed back his chair and stood up, the height difference had been making him uncomfortable. He walked around his desk and stopped a few feet from Voldemort. "Temporarily set aside our differences and unite forces to bring down the Ministry. Once it is out of the way, the struggle for power can begin and everything will go back to normal; however, to ensure that our differences are completely set aside until that time, you and I would take Unbreakable Vows, and the rest of our . . . people would take simple vows –"

"Why not Unbreakable?" Voldemort asked coldly.

"Well, because none of them are highly-skilled wizards like you and I; a simple vow would be more than –"

"No," Voldemort snapped. "Unbreakables all or nothing."

Dumbledore gave a tight nod; it was not many times that he had to keep his temper in check, but being interrupted was one of his pet peeves. "Fine."

Voldemort smirked at the headmaster's discomfort. "And I won't be taking an Unbreakable Vow as I will not put my life at stake. A simple vow should be more than enough for all of us."

Dumbledore blinked. "You just said you wanted an Unbreakable Vow for everyone."

Tom shrugged. "Changed my mind." He smiled through pressed lips.

"Tom, I'm not playing games here; this is serious," Dumbledore said rather forcefully.

"I can play as many games as I desire, Dumbledore," a smirking Tom said quietly while coming towards him with slow, calculated steps; Albus stepped back, "because don't forget that I have been battling two forces since this conflict began. The Ministry's decree doesn't affect me in the slightest; if anything, it benefits me. However, the same cannot be said for you." He stopped advancing while staring at Dumbledore's blue eyes which had lost their calmness and were like a tempest at sea. "You know you're lucky that I even accepted your summon, you should be even more grateful that I am hearing you out –"

"Clearly there is something for you to gain or otherwise you wouldn't have responded to my call," Dumbledore snapped, happy to be interrupting him.

Voldemort shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe there is, but I can tell you that I would be losing nothing if I were to walk away from this deal. The same, of course, cannot be said for you. Therefore, I have the upper hand, and I say we will not be doing an Unbreakable Vow."

"Fine, a simple vow, but I get to set the terms," Dumbledore replied icily.

"I get to modify them as I see fit," Voldemort said with a smile.

"So long as parity is maintained," Dumbledore added. Voldemort gave a silent nod.

"Also," Dumbledore went on, "since we are going to be going with a simple vow, I think it would be best to have a person from each side in the opposing side to ensure that the armistice is not violated."

"Fine." Voldemort stood up. "I will pick a person, I suggest you do the same, and we will meet back here tomorrow to do the exchange and the vows."

Dumbledore didn't get to reply because as soon as Voldemort was done with his speech, he apparated away as silently as he had come.

The headmaster let out a loud sigh and sat back down in his chair.

"How's the new place? I am so sorry I couldn't come help you organize today, darling, but remember that little boy, Trevor? He was getting his teeth cleaned, and he wouldn't stop crying."

Hermione smiled and shook her head. "It's fine, mom, don't worry. We didn't do that much organizing anyway. Just moving the boxes in, and by the end of it, we were both so tired we went to sleep!" she finished, glancing at Ron who laughed and nodded.

"Yes, Fred and George were supposed to come help, but apparently they had a situation with a shipment of flowing green lava."

Hermione smiled humorously. Mr. Granger gave Ron a questioning look. "You know, the more I hear you talking about this magical joke shop of your brothers, the more interested I become in it. You really must take me to see it one day."

"Of course," Ron said.

"So," said Jean Granger, a twinkle in her eye, "does you two moving together mean that you have set a date?"

"No, we haven't yet," Hermione said quickly, "everything's been so busy, and with the war, and the Order . . . ."

"We also need to save up money so we can have the big wedding we want to have," Ron said while smiling at Hermione.

"Well, we would be more than happy to make a contribution," Jean went on turning to her husband for support, "a wedding should not be put off for monetary reasons!"

"Do you have an estimate of how much you need?" Hugo asked.

"Uhm…" Ron turned to Hermione who was busy drinking a glass of water, "in Muggle money it would be about 20 thousand pounds."

Hugo frowned. "What type of wedding do you want to have?"

"It's not that much, actually," Jean cut in, "I was watching a series on the telly, and none of the decent weddings cost less that 25 thousand pounds."

Hugo sniffed disbelievingly. "How are young people getting married these days, then?"

"Saving up," Ron muttered, "that's why engagements are so long."

"I would have been satisfied with a small wedding like Bill had, they spent a minimal amount," Hermione said.

"We can't do the same thing Bill did," Ron said sounding hurt, "we have to do something better . . .that way it won't be easy for the twins, Percy or Charlie to top it."

Hugo chuckled. "Ah, sibling rivalry. . . ."

The long-awaited change of conversation came after this. Hermione smiled in acknowledgement as she felt them swimming away from the deep end of the pool. It bothered her to think that her wedding was something awkward and unpleasant to speak of (at least until she and Ron actually went through with it). They had begun dating after graduation at Hogwarts; they were together for about a year before Ron proposed and that had been one of the happiest days of Hermione's life; however, two years later, she still had the engagement ring, and the wedding band was nowhere in sight. A few hours passed before Ron and Hermione excused themselves in order to attend an Order meeting that night.

"Do you think he accepted?" Hermione asked Ron as they walked away from her parents' house and towards an apparition point.

"Quite frankly, I hope not. I don't know how Dumbledore can even think for a second that You-Know-Who is not going to try to get the best of him," Ron said coldly; they disapparated with a 'crack' and reappeared outside Grimmauld Place. Ron knocked on the door loudly and wrapped his arm around Hermione who was aguish from the cold.

"Hermione, where was your last vacation?"

"Skiing in France," Hermione replied.

"Good. Ron, how old were you when you learned to ride a broomstick?"

"Five."

"No, wrong answer."

"George, knock it off," Ron snapped, "we're freezing out here."

The eyes narrowed. "George? How dare you!"

"Fred, George whoever! Let us in!" Ron went on as Hermione shuddered from the cold.

"Not until you say my name."

"Fred!"

"How do you know I'm not George?"

Hermione let out an exasperated cry. "George, Fred, please stop, I'm freezing. If you want to play pranks on Ron don't do it when I'm present."

There was a sigh. "Fine, just for you, future sis-in-law . . . just for you."

Then bolts and chains being taken off the door were heard before it was swung open. Instantly, Ron charged at the twins who were sporting grins; Hermione rolled her eyes and moved into the meeting room to warm up. The members of the Order looked up from their places around the table and against the walls as she entered, they had clearly been waiting for her and Ron so they could begin. Hermione gave them a small, apologetic smile and quietly sat down next to Ginny just as Ron and the twins lumbered in looking out of breath.

"Well, now that we are all here we can begin," Dumbledore said slowly. Pushing his chair back, he drew himself up to his full height. "I met with Voldemort earlier today, and I am pleased to announce that he has accepted."

Ginny and Hermione exchanged slightly furrowed glances. Ron along with other Order members made noises as if they wanted to say something; however, Harry was the one that actually spoke up.

"Under what terms?"

"Well, we decided that both sides would take a vow to preserve the armistice, and – to ensure fairness - we would also each have someone from our side in the opposing side keeping an eye on things. I have agreed to meet him tomorrow night to exchange emissaries; so right now we will be deciding who that person will be." To signal the end of his speech, Dumbledore sat back down.

"How will the vow be administered?" Arthur Weasley asked.

"The emissaries will administer it to the opposing side's members."

"How can you be sure Voldemort won't find a way to turn this situation in his favor?" Harry asked through narrowed eyes. Ron nodded and looked at Dumbledore expectantly.

"I can't say he won't try it, but unfortunately all we can do is keep our eyes and ears open so we can know what he is up to. That is why whoever is chosen to be the emissary will have to be not only the most magically competent, but sharp and courageous." Dumbledore sighed at the disdainful looks the Order members were sporting. "I can tell you all that I am not pleased by this at all, but at this point it is the lesser of two evils."

"What if we don't take the Alliance and just keep things how they are?" Tonks asked. Hermione grimaced slightly at the stupidity of this suggestion.

"Because there are not enough of us to fight the Ministry and Voldemort; it would be suicide," Dumbledore replied shortly.

"What would the emissary have to do?" Kingsley asked.

"Live with the other side and make sure the rules are followed. I suppose in our case, our emissary would live at Voldemort's mansion and attend their meetings and so forth."

"And Voldemort agreed to this?" Harry asked a little incredulously.

"The vow would prevent the emissary from passing on to their side any information they acquire from the opposing side. The emissaries are neutral; they are only there to make sure no foul play takes place, and that the rules of the Alliance are upheld. However, if the rules of the vow are in danger of being violated, the emissaries must alert their side."

The Order received this with whispers and stares around the room. Hermione turned to Ginny who smiled at her in greeting; it was a tired smile that didn't reach her worried eyes.

"Does anyone volunteer for the job as emissary?"

Everyone instinctively turned towards Harry who stared straight on at Dumbledore. "I'll do it." The Order members muttered appreciatively; Dumbledore gave a nod.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Hermione said suddenly. All eyes turned towards her. "Harry's scar would act up all the time because of his proximity to Voldemort; I've witnessed first-hand the migraines he gets, and I can tell you he would lose his mind on the second day. We'd be sending him to the slaughterhouse."

There were murmurs of acquiescence. Harry frowned. "I'm sure there are potions I could take –"

"No, Harry, Hermione is right," Dumbledore said interrupting him. "I am afraid in this instance you would create more trouble than good. We need someone else; I was thinking maybe Kingsley?"

All eyes turned onto the black man who was seated next to Mr. Weasley.

"Shouldn't Kingsley stay at the Ministry, Albus?" Arthur said leaning forward onto his tented arms. "We can't just focus on You-Know-Who. We have to keep someone watching the Ministry's moves as well. Kingsley is the highest ranked in the Ministry out of all of us and the least compromised."

The table let out a sigh as Dumbledore acquiesced with a series of nods to Arthur's reasoning.

"I can go."

All eyes immediately zoomed towards Ginny's left where Hermione was seated. "I'll do it," she repeated a little more loudly. "I'll go."

"Are you crazy?" Ron said grabbing her by the arm in order to grab her attention. "There's no way you're going." He turned to Dumbledore. "She didn't mean it, professor."

Hermione huffed indignantly and wrenched her arm from his grip before standing up. "I want to go! I am old enough to make my own decisions; you can't order me around."

"Hermione, are you sure?" Dumbledore went on.

"I agree with Ron, professor," Harry said suddenly. "I don't think it's a good idea either. Who knows what he could do to her? She wouldn't stand a chance."

"Wouldn't stand a chance?" Hermione said, her voice high and infuriated. "Have you already forgotten, Harry, how many times I saved your ass from danger? Or the fact that I can defend myself just as well if not better than any of you?"

"Hermione, darling," Molly cut in warmly, "don't take it the wrong way; we're all just worried about you putting yourself in harm's way this readily. Especially with everything you have coming up! You haven't even started planning the wedding, yet, and I have some magazines full of wedding dresses you must see," she said excitedly as she got up. "I'll go get them."

Hermione stayed rooted to the spot; her countenance insulted and dazed.

"Hermione," Dumbledore said slowly, "are you sure you want to do this? You would have to live with them and would only see Ron and your family a few hours on weekends. I don't agree completely with Molly, but you do have to keep in mind that for someone in your situation being apart from their fiancé might not be the best thing for the relationship."

"Hermione and I will talk this over tonight, and she'll let you know tomorrow, professor," Ron said quickly before Hermione could reply. The brunette threw him a glare and defiantly turned away from him.

"No, professor, I haven't done anything for the Order thus far, and it's not like I have a job like everyone else. I have already made my choice. I will go and that's final," she added turning towards Ron whose scowl was so deeply pronounced it made his face appear mask-like.

"Alright then," Dumbledore said quietly giving Hermione a small smile, "it's settled."

Hermione turned away from her fiancé and gave Dumbledore a satisfied smile.

"So, Hermione, you will meet me here tomorrow evening. Any questions?"

Hermione shook her head. "No."

"Alright then," he said more cheerfully, "I shall see you all tomorrow, have a good night." He stood up and left the room. One by one, the Order members filed out; some went out the door, and others up to their rooms. The house was too small for all of them, but ever since the Order had been declared an enemy faction, a few of the Order members, including Harry, Arthur and Molly Weasley and Tonks were forced to move into Grimmauld Place after their allegiance to The Order was confirmed by the ministry and arrest warrants put out. Ron and Hermione were being watched very closely, and it was a miracle their arrest warrants hadn't been issued yet.

"Hermione, why are you doing this?" Ron snarled pulling her to the side as they made their way to the exit.

"What do you mean why? To help our cause!" Hermione hissed.

"Do you want to get away from me?"

Hermione snorted. "Ron, if I didn't want to be with you any longer I would give you back your ring, and just in case you haven't noticed, we are at war! Sacrifices have to be made, and so our relationship is going to have to suffer because right now, it is not about us, but about saving the world we live in; so you better change your childish attitude since it is not helping in the slightest!"

In a fury, Hermione went out the door followed by Ron. She ignored his calls and statements and apparated away in a hurry towards their home. She knew he would follow her, but hopefully she could ignore him long enough to pack away a few things and go spend the night at her parents' house.

Hermione never thought she would be impatient to meet with Voldemort. At times, she would catch herself staring at the clock; waiting for it to hit 8 pm. Hermione could've cared less with whom she was going so long as she was getting away. Lately, things had gotten to be too much to bear; it probably had to do with the stress of moving, Hermione thought, on top of everything else.

"Hermione, Ron is downstairs," her mother said peeking into her room.

"I am done talking to him. I'm going and that's final," Hermione replied closing her suitcase with more force than necessary.

"I think he just wants to say good-bye, but since your brought it up, darling, your father and I do think you should reconsider going . . . I am sure it is not too late for them to pick someone else."

"I'm not changing my mind," Hermione said while shrinking her suitcase and fitting it into her pocket, "and I'm still mad, so I'm not going down to talk to him. Say 'bye' to him for me."

"Hermione, he's your fiancé!"

"Which is why I choose how I deal with him!" Hermione snapped.

Jean fixed her with a cold stare. "Fine then, good-bye from all of us, and we'll see you when you come home." The door was slammed shut, and Hermione rolled her eyes before preparing to disapparate, she hoped Dumbledore would have a calming draught ready for her.

"Good evening, Hermione," Dumbledore muttered as said witch apparated at the corner of his office with a crack.

"Professor," she greeted and went towards him.

"So, they will be meeting us here now. Voldemort decided against meeting in the open," Dumbledore said while coming towards her, his silver robe rustling. Hermione nodded slowly and looked down at her black boots before letting out a yawn.

"How did you manage to convince Ronald to let you go?"

Hermione shook her head and looked up. "He's still against it; we had a fight, and I went to my parents' house last night."

Dumbledore's blue eyes gazed at her seriously. "Are you sure you want to jeopardize your engagement by going through with this?"

"If Ron doesn't respect my choices, then, obviously, this engagement is not worth going through," Hermione said shortly. "I'm pretty sure he'll come around by the time I come home, though."

Dumbledore nodded. "As always, your thinking is perfectly logical." Hermione smiled as Dumbledore went on, "We should go over some things before they come though, you will be taking a vow with Voldemort to ensure both of your well-beings; then, I will do the same with his emissary, and we will part ways. Once you are with him, you will administer a group vow to his inner circle to ensure that they uphold the armistice until the current regime goes under, at which time both sides would go back to being enemies. Is that understood?"

Hermione nodded while watching Dumbledore summon an unassuming box from his desk from which he extracted a pair of earrings

"If you are ever in danger, these will let me know so I can come help you," Dumbledore said handing Hermione the small, faux-diamond studs.

"Thank you," she said and immediately put them on, her eyes staring at the roaring fire in the hearth. Just then, her view was obscured by black robes materializing from thin air; Hermione snapped her eyes up and onto those of the infamous Dark Lord.

"You can't be serious, Dumbledore," the Dark Lord snapped leaving Bellatrix's side and going up to the headmaster. "Seeing as how this was your plan, I would think you would take it seriously."

"I am afraid I'm not following," Dumbledore replied icily.

Voldemort nodded towards Hermione. "She's a child. I may have agreed to bring no harm onto your emissary, but I never said I would be babysitting them."

"I'm not a child!" Hermione snapped as painful memories from last night's Order meeting came up. "I can defend myself just fine, ask Bellatrix; she was at the Department of Mysteries when my schoolmates and I defeated your inner circle!"

Hermione knew by the silence that followed that she should learn to keep her temper in check. Dumbledore wasn't even looking at her; he was staring down at the carpet over his glasses while Bellatrix glared daggers at her from the corner.

"What a hubristic batch you're rearing, Albus," Voldemort sneered, "now I understand why intelligence seems to be lacking in Potter's generation."

Hermione had to bite her bottom lip to prevent herself from going on another rant at this insult. At seeing her lack of a response, Voldemort gave a sideways smirk and made his way towards the bar in the corner. "Or maybe there is still a glimmer of hope for intelligence." Hermione watched as the Dark Lord poured himself a drink like he was at home; he didn't even turn when Dumbledore began addressing him.

"Well, apparently mental clarity is not the only thing disappearing with age, Albus," Voldemort drawled while swirling a glass of red wine and turning to look at his old teacher. "First, you don't even offer me a drink, and then while I am helping myself to one, you bombard me with business talk? Where are your manners?"

Albus sighed. "I'm not going to argue with you, Thomas. Like you said last time, we are not here to socialize."

Voldemort waited to finish his drink before replying, "Albus, if you continue to talk this way, I'm going to start thinking you're displeased with my presence."

Hermione had to stop herself from rolling her eyes; the Dark Lord was really more annoying than dangerous. Dumbledore didn't reply and looked at Voldemort with stony eyes.

The Dark lord sighed obnoxiously and set his empty glass down on the side table before coming back towards the center of the room. "You would think you two would be in a better mood, after all this alliance is to your benefit. But, sure, let's do the vows."

"It's to your benefit, too, Tom," Dumbledore corrected, "after all, you are probably going to find a way to use our closeness to recruit information."

"That didn't even cross my mind," Voldemort replied, looking at Dumbledore with a haughty smile while coming to stand in front of Hermione who glanced wearily at Dumbledore. She was about to back off, when she saw Bellatrix coming towards the professor in the fashion as the Dark Lord had. Hermione's eyes settled on his extended hand, elegantly long fingers curved invitingly. Hermione stalled for a moment before finally taking his surprisingly warm hand.

"I will say the vow first; then you repeat it word by word except for my name," the Dark Lord told her staring at her eyes intently.

"Okay," Hermione answered, trying to make her voice as confident as his.

"I swear I will not harm you, kill you or try to kill you so long as our sides remain friendly," he said slowly just as their hands glowed pink and hot. He stopped and looked expectantly at Hermione.

"I swear I will not harm you, kill you or try to kill you so long as our sides remain friendly," she said with a slight frown. Had she gotten all the words right?

"And thus, I Lord Voldemort, born Tom Marvolo Riddle take this magical vow," he said, and nodded at Hermione to repeat those words.

"I, Hermione Jean Granger, take this magical vow." As soon as the final word left her mouth, the pink glow, which had been becoming brighter with each word issued, suddenly disappeared into their linked hands. The office was quiet for a few seconds after the disappearance of the light, and then Voldemort let go of her hand as he looked at the palm of his own. He smirked and held it out to Hermione. "The scar will remain there until our vow is no longer needed."

Hermione looked at her own hand and noticed the same pink scar running diagonally across her palm. Dumbledore and Bellatrix performed the vow next while Hermione and Voldemort watched, neither one looking nor talking to the other. Once they were done, Dumbledore turned to Voldemort and Hermione.

"Now that that's done, we must part ways," he said looking at Hermione intently. "Take care, Ms. Granger and see you soon."

"Thank you, professor," Hermione replied, her heart beating faster than it had all night. She gave a startled shiver when Voldemort put his arm around her waist. Before she could figure out what was going on, they were leaving the professor's office.