Circle of Love

Draco slowly leaned back onto the cover, pulling Hermione with him. He ran his hands up her back before pulling her closer, deepening the kiss. He rolled them over, and she could feel the chuckle that rumbled through his chest as he pressed closer to her. She bent her head to the side to give his lips access as he kissed down her chin, down her neck and back up to gently nibble on her ear lobe. He rocked his hips into hers, and groaned as she gasped.

With a ragged breath, Draco drew away from her. This witch made him feel things he had never felt before, and his heartbeat quickened.

“Hermione,” Draco whispered to her, looking at her flushed face, eyes closed. He whispered her name again, it was as if she didn't hear him, lost in the sensations their touching bodies brought.

“Granger!” Draco said a little louder, and her eyes half opened to look into his, a small smile on her lips. Her hands reached up to draw him back to her, but he reached up one hand to hold them.

“What Draco?” She gave him a troubled look. Have I done something wrong? She wondered, contemplating the serious look he gave her.

“The potion, love? Where-- what did you do with it?” Draco asked, a small hope blossoming in his chest.

“Potion?” Hermione looked up at him in confusion, a small blush starting first on her cheeks than travelled down to the vee of her shirt as she understood finally what he was talking about.

“Yes, love-- the potion.” Draco smiled at her confusion, the blush making him want her all the more.

“Um, it's well-” Hermione looked away, her blush a deeper shade, “I tucked it into my knickers' drawer after talking with Ginny.”

Draco released her hands and gently touched her face, turning it back to look at him. He let his thumb caress her bottom lip before leaning down to kiss her softly.

“Then the boundary is set, kitten.” Draco mumbled against her lips, the nickname a sly reference to her house.

“I can go and-” Hermione started to say, but he placed a finger on her lips.

“Neither of us are ready to take that step yet.” Draco admitted, for he knew her protectors would flay him alive for pushing her farther then she was ready to go. He didn't care what the others thought of him, but for some reason he couldn't understand he did care what Hermione thought.

“But if you want-need.. Oh Merlin!” She sighed, not sure what to do or say.

“When you can say you want it without stammering or blushing kitten, then we'll be ready for that step.” He rolled them back over, and pulled Hermione's head to his chest.


****


“Harry James Potter!” Ginny said in her best Mum Weasley imitation. Harry had stormed off to the sitting room after her question, so she followed; not allowing him the chance to make a clean break of it.

“Ginny, I don't want to talk about it!” Harry said sitting down near the fireplace. He placed his head in his hands and groaned.

“Harry, I'm not asking you to give it to me or even have me use it. I'm asking you why you won't talk about it.” Ginny said, kneeling down in front of him.

“I love you.” Harry said finally looking up. “With every breath in my being.”

“And. I. Love. You.” Ginny said slowly, emphasizing every word. “There is no reason to ever not tell me about anything.”

“It wasn't that, Ginny.” Harry sighed, pulling her into his lap and holding her close. “I'm not sure what the future will bring. I don't want to take that step knowing that tomorrow I may not be with you.”

“So, deny us the little time we have together on the 'maybes'?” She asked.

“If I don't come back, if Voldemort kills me-- you'll be left with nothing.” Harry said, his green eyes darkening with fear, for her not himself.

“I'd rather have the 'now' with you Harry and hold it close in the future, then the empty nothing I'd be left with. Who knows Harry, you may be the one who comes back to the nothing.” Her hand pulled his face to hers, and she kissed him on the lips. “Who knows, maybe neither of us will come back. And the now we have will have been spent in the what ifs, going around wasting it.”

“That's why I broke up with you in the first place, I make you a target just by being in your presence.”

“I'm a target because of who I am Harry. I'm a Weasley, a blood traitor marked whether you love me or not. I'd rather spend my days happy in your presence and enveloped in your love, then sad and alone watching you from afar. Ron's death taught me that.”

“I'm not ready.” Harry admitted, just not the reason why. He could still see the oldest Weasley brothers as they cornered him, reminding him what they would do to him if he hurt their baby sister. They didn't care if he was the champion chosen to save the Wizardry world from Voldemort, all they saw was the possible defiler.

“And if it's Bill and Charlie that makes you so unready, I'll handle them.” Ginny smiled at his gasp of surprise. “No I didn't read your mind Harry. They told me they were going to talk with you.”

Harry looked down and groaned again, his face turning shades of red. He looked back up, and Ginny touched his warm cheek with hers.

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” Harry asked, moving his head to kiss her.

“It should be- What did I do to deserve you?” She said, kissing him back, glorying in the feel of his arms wrapping around her.

“I need a few minutes alone, Gin. I have some things to work out in my head.” Harry said.

“Just as long as you don't pull away from me anymore. I'm here for the long term. No more making my decisions for me.” Ginny smiled, letting her hands caress the smooth fabric of his shirt as she got up.

Harry watched the most important person in his life walk out of the room, the sliding door making a small click as the wooden doors met. He thought his heart would burst from his chest with the love he felt with her. He looked up at the twinkling eyed portrait of his former headmaster and gave a determined smile before walking over to the small desk settled into the corner of the room. He sat down and pulled out a piece of parchment and grabbed the quill sitting atop the desk.

The Weasleys had placed a lot of trust in him. With that thought in mind, he began to write:

Dear Mr Weasley,
I would like to meet with tomorrow and speak to you of things I'd rather not put to paper. Mind coming to the Headquarters at your earliest convenience?
Harry James Potter.

Harry folded the parchment and went to his room to find Hedwig. He was nervous, what if Mr Weasley said no? What if after the talk, the Weasleys grabbed up Ginny and took her back to the Burrow?

****


Severus Snape arrived at the meeting place near the Longbottom Manor and sneered at his fellow Death Eaters. Nott, Crabbe and Goyle stood there with masks in hand waiting on his orders.

“Put your masks on! You want to be exposed before we have even begun?” He asked rhetorically, tightening the ties to his own mask.

“So we are killing the old hag or bringing her back to the lair for some fun?” Crabbe asked.

“She dies, at her age she won't last long! One look at us and she'll probably expire from fear.” Laughed Goyle, his hands rubbing together in glee. “If not instantly, then we can have a little fun.”

“Why did I choose you dunderheads?” Snape said scathingly and the approached closer to the gates. He waved his wand, and with his incantation detected the wards in place. “Stupid blood traitor! Her wards are so easily removed.” Snape said another incantation, and the wards dropped.

“Follow quietly,” Snape ordered and proceeded to the Manor doors. He heard the shuffling steps behind and laughed inwardly, Their time of reckoning draws neigh. His mask hid the malicious smile his thought gave him. He would have preferred to have chosen Bellatrix and Lucius for this, but their elimination would have drawn the Dark Lord's suspicions to himself. These three were clumsy and easily tricked.

“Alohomora!” Snape whispered with a swish of his wand and turned the knob; they entered silently and Severus looked to the wall facing them and saw the sign; a portrait of a phoenix placed in view.

“Let the carnage begin!” Snape ordered and they walked up the stairs towards the bedrooms. One by one they opened each door to find them empty, till finally the reached the end of the hall and one last door.


****


Augusta Longbottom looked into the corners of her bed chamber and saw the shadows move slightly and smiled. Her hand held her wand hidden beneath her coverlet and waited, the detection spell set by Shacklebolt had gone off as soon as the entrance door had opened. Another Order member that had been hiding on the grounds reset the wards that Snape had dropped, and those ones were stronger and would be tougher to break through. Also an anti-apparition spell had been thrown in over the Manor proper, so who got in wasn't leaving too easily.

A silent ward blinked in warning, and Augusta threw up a shielding spell over her bed. The door opened and the candles pale light revealed four hooded figured in the doorway. A board creaked when the entered the room, and she uttered a small gasp of surprise.

“Who is there?” Augusta asked, sitting up slightly in the bed.

“It's Death!” Shouted Snape as he advanced towards her, his wand hand outstretched. At his words chaos erupted and the shadows became Shacklebolt, Arthur and Bill Weasley as they sprang at the Death Eaters.

“It's a trap!” Shouted Nott.

“Nott you fool! How could you have missed the fact she was being guarded by Dumbledore's pathetic Order?” Snape uttered before falling under a stunning spell. He watched powerlessly as the next few minutes' events played through.

Goyle's binding curse directed at Augusta bounced off her shielding spell harmlessly. The old witch stood up and grinned, letting her disguise drop. Her hair turned purple and short, and her wrinkled skin became smooth. The Death Eaters' howled in rage.

“This is for Ron Weasley!” Tonks yelled as she stunned and bound Goyle, who landed with a head cracking thump on the hard wood of the floor.

Nott and Crabbe fought with their captors, and Crabbe turned to see Goyle fall. With his wand pointed at the Metamorphmagus he shouted “Sectusempra!” He laughed as his spell tore deep gashes into her form, her blood soaking pooling around her. Bill quickly uttered a stunning spell on Crabbe.

“Dammit!” Shacklebolt exclaimed, running over to the fallen Auror. He casted a healing spell, and the blood stopped for the moment.

Nott and Goyle felt the binding spells on them, and screamed in frustration. Their eyes looked around the room at their captors, and sneered. The Dark Lord would get them out soon.

“Take them to Azkaban for questioning, Shacklebolt. I'll take Tonks to St Mungo's.” Arthur Weasley said, his wand hand pointed steadily at the four Death Eaters.

The anti-apparition wards were dropped, and Arthur gathered Tonks up in his arms, preparing to side-along apparition them to St Mungo's when Snape suddenly stood up and invoked his emergency portkey..

“Damn it! No one bound him!” Shacklebolt yelled out in mock frustration. Their plan had almost gone flawlessly, three Death Eaters out of the game for now. Tonks' injuries the only muck up of their trap.

“No matter, Kingsley. We have these three to shed light upon what the Dark Lord's plans are.” Arthur said, disapparating with the unconscious Nymphadora Tonks.

“Secure them tighter,” Shacklebolt said, “Don't want these three getting away. He has some charges to face to attacking a ministry official.” He said grimly as he pointed at Crabbe. “It'll be a quick death if Tonks dies.”

“Remus will kill them himself once he hears.” Bill said and he casted more bindings around his prisoner.

With a thunderous crack the room emptied.

****


The werewolf howled in pain as if a thousand knives cut through his fur covered hid. Remus jumped up and fought futilely against the magical steel chains that bound him. He growled at them, snapping his canine incisors on them, trying to bite them apart. He howled one last time before collapsing to the bed, his mind crying out for his mate.


****


Severus Snape landed at the druid circle, and cursed. Remus was going to kill him. He had watched in horror, the stun spell still holding him motionless when Crabbe had cursed Tonks. She had lost of blood from Crabbe's wildly gestured spell, and only Shacklebolt's quick intervention had kept her from bleeding out. That alone insured the stupid Death Eater his own appointment with an Azkaban executioner. Three down, hundreds to go, he thought bitterly.

He knew he had to get to the Dark Lord with his report of his team's failure and his daring escape under the Order's very nose, but he also needed to check in on his charges at Grimmauld Place; Remus being one. The werewolf's bond with the Metamorphmagus was strong, and his werewolf instincts were probably going haywire right now. For now a hastily sent Patronus to Molly would have to suffice, someone needed to get to Grimmauld Place.

“Expecto Patronum!” Severus shouted again into the night, and sent his silvery raven to the Burrow.
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