With The First Ray Of Light

January 21st, 2000

The room around her vanished with the familiar pull in her belly from the Portkey being activated, and suddenly she and Kingsley were standing in the middle of a small park. A quick look around told her exactly where they were.

“Get down,” Kingsley suddenly whispered, pulling her to him as he crouched behind a stone bench.

She followed Kingsley’s gaze, her eyes narrowing as she tried to see something through the darkness. It took her a few seconds, but finally a moving shadow caught her eye. How had Kingsley seen it so fast?

“You see them?” he asked, and she nodded. “I count eleven, but there might be more. It’s hard to say with the black robes and hoods.”

They stayed there waiting, crouching for so long that her legs were starting to tremble, as they watched the Death Eaters’ every move. They were setting a perimeter, the group spreading out in a large half-circle around the block.

“Seems they want to break into the building,” Kingsley said, as three of the Death Eaters separated from the rest of the group and moved closer to the wide set of stairs.

“That’s the British Museum,” Hermione said under her breath. “Why would they want to get in there in the middle of the night?”

“And here I thought you knew your history,” he teased, his eyes still on the three wizards slowly moving closer to the entrance. “Some of the things exposed in the museum are magical artefacts. Not only in the Egyptian expositions, but in many others as well. They are probably here to steal something.”

“But why break into the museum when it’s closed? Wouldn’t it be easier to simply get inside when it’s open and use magic to steal whatever they want?”

She saw his lips twist into a smile, and she knew he was pleased by her questions, her need to know. It was a refreshing change from her friends, who usually just groaned when she started questioning something. “About three decades ago,” he explained quietly, “the Museum bought a Greek collection that was under a curse. There were a series of deaths, and the Ministry was forced to contact the Museum’s director when it became evident that it was indeed magic that had caused them. Since then, every item that goes into the museum is first checked by Ministry Curse Breakers, and special security measures are set into place.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Most witches and wizards have no interest in Muggle museums at all, and don’t know there are magical objects inside, some of them extremely rare and valuable. The Minister back then decided it would be safer if the wizarding community knew nothing about it, so it was kept a secret. In fact, over the last few years wards have been placed in every major museum in the country to alert security to the entrance of any witch or wizard.”

“Won’t all those security measures work at night, as well?”

“They should, but I assume the Death Eaters have found a way around them,” he said. The three wizards had reached the main entrance, and she could see a few rays of dim blue light around them, which meant they were breaking through the wards.

“We’re going in after them, be ready,” Kingsley whispered, his gaze still glued to the museum’s entrance.

There was a loud crack, and the large double doors opened widely. One of the three wizards turned around and made a signal to the rest of the Death Eaters, and then the three of them entered the building.

The remaining Death Eaters turned away from the entrance, clearly keeping watch in case security showed up. Kingsley waited a few moments until all were set into place before moving.

“I’ll go first, you wait for the spell, then follow me fast,” he said, then started moving before she had time to ask him anything.

He moved fast, vanishing into the darkness with an ease that amazed her. She held her breath as she waited, every muscle in her body tensing, ready for action as her eyes focused on the Death Eaters standing guard, prepared to attack if any of them noticed Kingsley before he was ready.

A streak of silver light flashed through the night, there was a bang like a gunshot, the ground trembled slightly, and the Death Eaters fell down as one. Kingsley stood up a moment later, and started running towards the open doors. Without wasting a second she broke into a run after him.

He waited for her to reach him before aiming his wand at the Death Eaters. One by one eight bodies were lifted, until they were all standing, like they had been before Kingsley’s spell had hit them. “Go inside,” he whispered, walking backwards after her, muttering a few words as they moved, so that the moment they were inside the building all the Death Eaters awoke at once, looking as if nothing had happened.

“You have to teach me that one,” she told Kingsley, amazed at what he had just done.

“We’ll see,” he said with a smile, turning around and walking further into the entrance hall. “They seem to have disabled all the security wards.”

“Could they have done that without knowing exactly which wards they would find beforehand?” she asked, and Kingsley shook his head.

“Not this fast.”

“Think they have an informant?”

“Clearly,” he said, moving his wand as he performed what she knew was a tracking charm. “This way.”

They walked through room after room, up and down stairs, in what seemed to be a random path. “Seems they didn’t know where to find what they were looking for,” Kingsley said, after almost half an hour of tracking.

“I just hope they don’t search the entire museum, or we’ll be here until sunrise,” she said, and saw Kingsley smile.

“Missions can be boring sometimes; you don’t always get to fight.”

The adrenaline from the training session and the idea of being out on a mission was starting to wear off, and she had to admit she was tired. She just wished they’d get to the Death Eaters soon, so she could finally go back to headquarters and get some rest. It had been a long day.

“Be careful, you incompetent fool,” someone hissed from a room close by, and Kingsley stopped walking for a few seconds, then reached for her and pulled her closer to the door, their backs to the wall.

“Fuck off, Malfoy,” another man replied, clearly not worried about being quiet.

Kingsley turned to her for a second, wanting to make sure she was ready before he started forward. The door they were next to lead to a round hallway with six more doors.

They moved slowly, trying not to make any noise as they walked, not sure in which room the Death Eaters were.

“If you drop that thing I swear you will be begging me to kill you long before I’m done with you,” Malfoy, threatened.

Signalling her to wait there, Kingsley Disillusioned himself and carefully walked to one of the open doors, leaning around the frame to look inside.

“The three of them are in there,” he said a few seconds later, lifting the charm from around himself. “I need to get closer to see what they’re stealing, but I don’t want them to know I’m there, so I will need you to distract them. Can you do that?”

“Distract them how?”

“Just keep them out of the room for a few minutes.”

“I can do that.”

“Be careful,” he said with a stern look. “If you’re in danger you call for me, or Apparate away. If you get hurt, I will make you train with Tonks for a month,” he threatened, and she smiled and nodded. “Go into one of the expositions we walked by earlier and make enough noise for them to hear you.”

“Be careful,” she said, then ran back the way they’d come.

She went back to one of the previous rooms they’d seen, the one she remembered had the least objects inside, and cast a quick charm around everything in there, wanting to prevent things from being destroyed as much as she could. She walked to the far end of the room and stepped behind a large bust; it was the best cover the room would offer. She took a moment to focus, reminding herself this was not another training exercise, that this was the real thing, and then she twirled her wand in mid-air, causing a loud bang. She hoped it would be loud enough for the Death Eaters in the other room to hear, but not enough to alert the ones standing guard outside.

Someone yelled, and she heard the sound of footsteps getting closer. She caused another bang, and a few seconds later two of the Death Eaters rushed into the room. The third one had stayed behind, and she hoped Kingsley would manage to do whatever he had planned with the wizard there.

Hermione watched the Death Eaters slowly move forward, their eyes searching the room and their wands ready to attack. She crouched lower and carefully moved around the bust as they walked closer, until both wizards had their backs to her.

As she stood up and turned to aim her wand at them, her shoe creaked ever so slightly against the floor, but it was enough to alert the wizards. They both turned around in a flash of movement and attached at the same time, giving her just enough time to throw herself to the floor. As the large bust was blown into a million pieces, she twisted her arm around what was left of the stone base and sent a Stunning Spell straight into one of the Death Eater’s chest.

She watched him fall as she blocked the curse sent by the other wizard, but as she got to her feet and attacked again she heard more footsteps from behind her. She turned around so that her back was to the wall, knowing the steps were from the other Death Eaters, and wanting to avoid being surrounded.

With a quick series of movements, she shot curse after curse at the Death Eater in front of her, and finally one of them slipped through his shields and hit him hard, a deep cut appearing on his chest and distracting him just enough for her next curse to hit him, sending him flying past the door he had come through.

But before she could even attempt to get away, the other Death Eaters were in the room, all standing in front of her with their wands aimed firmly her way.

“What brings you here, baby girl?” a woman’s voice came from behind one of the masks. “Felt like playing with the grownups?” she asked, and then laughed at her own comment.

“Didn’t do your math right, girly. Eight against one looks like bad odds to me,” another wizard said, and a few of them nodded their agreement.

She used the time they were wasting with their taunts to analyze the situation, trying to decide the best course of action. Kingsley had told her to Apparate away if she was in trouble, but with eight wands pointed at her, there was no chance she would manage to leave before they attacked her. It would only take one curse to kill her, so Apparating wasn’t an option. She didn’t think she would’ve just left if she could have, anyway, not if that meant leaving Kingsley behind.

The other option was obvious, fight the Death Eaters so she could get back to Kingsley and get the hell out of there, but that was easier said than done. She knew her limitations, and she couldn’t take down eight Death Eaters, not with all of them standing in front of her like a firing squad, ready to attack.

“What’s the matter, afraid to take me on by yourself?” she asked the one that had spoken last, and he laughed heartily before taking a step forward.

“Bring it on, little girl.”

As soon as the words left his lips, she fired three stunners in quick succession, and heard him laugh as he easily blocked them.

“That all you got?” he said, clearly underestimating her, just as she had hoped he would. The second he looked to the side to share the joke with the others she hit him with the same curse she had used on the other Death Eater, sending him flying backwards and into two of his friends.

She barely had a second to check the other Death Eaters’ positions before they started attacking her. Five of them shot curse after curse, while the other two fought to push the cocky Death Eater off of them. She had trouble blocking the attacks as it were, never getting enough time to do anything other than defend herself, but she knew that as soon as the other two joined the duel she would be lost.

Just then, as if he had been waiting until the last possible minute to offer some help, Kingsley ran through the door, yelled, “Get down!” and aimed his wand at the Death Eaters attacking her. His spell lit the room as she crouched out of its way, watching it hit them one right after the other, their movements pausing for a few seconds.

“Run!” he yelled as the Death Eaters started moving again. It was like watching a slow motion picture at first, but their movements were quickly gaining speed, and she did just what Kingsley had said, hearing him running right after her. “They set anti-Apparition wards,” he yelled, dodging a curse shot at them and twisting his arm enough to fire one of his own at the wizards running after them without missing a step. “We have to get to the entrance hall.”

She turned around as she ran, blocking a few more curses and throwing more of her own as she followed Kingsley down a path she hoped would take them straight to the exit. The Death Eaters were gaining on them, and it was hard to block their attacks while running.

Every muscle in her body screamed at the effort as the minutes ticked by, and she pushed herself harder, trying to run as fast as she could, knowing they were only a few rooms away from the hall, but the ache in her side didn’t let her lungs take as much air as they needed.

She kept on running, dodging and blocking more and more curses as she entered the last room before the entrance hall. Just a few more yards and they would be able to Apparate away from that place.

Suddenly she felt Kingsley’s hand on her shoulder, pushing her to the side as a shot of green light flew past her, close enough that it burnt the sleeve of her top. She hadn’t expected the sudden push and she lost her balance, stumbling a few feet forward and almost crashing into a column.

“Hermione!” Kingsley yelled for her, reaching out and taking her hand, pulling her to him as he all but carried her past the last door before another curse hit her. He Apparated them both away the second they stepped into the entrance hall.

The Museum seemed to twirl around her, and then they were back in the Order’s training room. Kingsley’s grip on her loosened as they were Apparating, and she lost her balance before her feet could touch solid ground, falling hard on her arse. Kingsley stumbled as well, but managed to remain standing.

“Bloody hell,” she groaned, twisting her wrists to see how much she’d hurt them trying to break the fall. “What the hell are you laughing at?” she asked, glaring up at Kingsley.

“I’m sorry, I just…” Kingsley tried to control his laughter but was failing miserably. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine,” she said, hating the smile twisting her lips. His laughter was too damn contagious. “It’s your fault I fell, by the way,” she said, reaching forward to take the hand he was offering.

“You weren’t holding on tight enough,” he said, with a shrug.

Just as his hand closed around hers she pulled him down, moving her feet at the same time to push his legs back, tripping him. She watched his eyes widen in surprise as he fell, and she started laughing all over again.

“Careful there, you might break something,” she said between laughs, and he started laughing, too, even as he cursed and got to his feet.

“Come here, witch,” he growled, reaching for her hand and pulling her to her feet before she could attempt something else.

“Now, wasn’t your first real mission fun?”

“We were alone against almost a dozen Death Eaters, we could’ve been killed.”

“Yes, and don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy every minute of it,” he said, his eyes shining as he searched her face for the truth. “Come on, I can see it in your eyes,” he insisted when she didn’t reply. “You love a good fight; we both know it, so why pretend otherwise?”

She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins, every muscle in her body ready for whatever she needed, her hand twitching around her wand. He was right, it had been awesome, the two of them alone against all those Death Eaters. And the best part had been the knowledge that the danger was real. They weren’t in a controlled surrounding, it wasn’t a training exercise. A mistake there could have cost them their lives, and as crazy as it sounded, she had loved the feeling.

“See? I knew it. I know you too well, Miss Granger,” he said with an even broader smile.

“Don’t look so smug, Mister Shacklebolt,” she said, punching him on the shoulder while still trying not to smile. When he winced in pain she looked down to where she had hit him. “You’re bleeding,” she said, forgetting the banter as she focused on the wound.

“It’s nothing,” he said, but she wasn’t listening to him. There was a deep gash on his shoulder, and she pulled his shirt to the side to get a better look.

“It looks deep,” she muttered, reaching forward with her other hand, but before she could touch the wound his fingers wrapped around her wrist tightly, stopping her.

“I said it was nothing,” he repeated, his voice deeper than usual.

She felt her heart hammering in her chest as she looked up into his face, ready to tell him to shut up and let her check the cut, but the words never left her lips, forgotten as she realised just how very close they were standing.

There was intensity in his eyes she hadn’t seen before, not even during a fight, but his expression was serious, almost thoughtful, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do next. Her gaze darted to his lips, and she cursed herself for doing something so obvious when he was so close, when there was no way he wouldn’t notice. Knowing she was probably blushing, she quickly looked away. Before she could say anything, however, she felt his other hand on her chin, making her face him again. The next second his lips were on hers, and her gasp of surprise gave him just what he needed to deepen the kiss.

Never in her life, not even once, had she been kissed like that, with such passion, such need. She felt her legs go weak, and she moved her hands to Kingsley’s arms, needing support. The thought of stopping him, of pulling away, never crossed her mind. In fact, even if she hadn’t been attracted to Kingsley for months, even if she hadn’t spent so many days and nights imagining what it would be like to have those full lips on her, she didn’t think she would have managed to form a single coherent thought, not while he was kissing her in such a way.

She had kissed other men too, or actually, boys. Perhaps that made the difference? Either way, she had been kissed before, but it had never felt like that. Viktor had been very passionate, but she had been young, and had never let it go quite so far. And Ron…well, actually this, just Kingsley kissing her, felt better than anything she had ever done with Ron. How pathetic was that?

Kingsley’s hands moved to her waist, pulling her tightly to him, and she forgot what she was thinking. She hadn’t even realised she was kissing him back, or that her own hands had moved from his arms to his back, her fingers slipping under his shirt, just enough to touch his skin.

She moaned Kingsley’s name into the kiss, pulling him closer to her, her nails sinking into his back just enough to make him groan. By the time he broke the kiss she was breathless and more aroused than she could ever remember being. He tilted his head back to look at her, licking his lips and watching her eyes follow the movement as if she had been bewitched.

With a roguish smirk he moved his hands from her waist to her thighs, hastily pulling her up so that her eyes were now level with his. She automatically wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck as she watched him and he watched her.

His chest was heaving with every breath he took, and his lips were swollen from kissing her, and she found it hard to focus on anything else. Then he leaned forward and nibbled on her bottom lip as he started walking. She had no idea where he was going and honestly didn’t care. Not as long as he kept kissing her.

She felt the wall against her back as he sat her on one of the small chest of drawers in the room, but he was too tall, and the chest too small, and he had to break the kiss, laughing deliciously when she groaned and tilted her head up, searching for his lips. But instead of kissing her again, he reached for his wand and muttered a few words, and she felt the chest shake slightly under her as it grew into the perfect height.

“That’s better,” he muttered before fisting his hand in her hair and tilting her head back, his lips kissing and nibbling on her neck, finding every sensitive spot she knew of and quite a few new ones, studying her reaction and always going back to the ones that made her body arch into him. His other hand was around her waist, pulling her closer to the edge, pressing his body flush against hers.

She needed to touch him, to feel those firm muscles shift under her fingers, so she slid her hands down and around his waist, pulling him closer and slipping her fingers under his shirt while she raked her nails down his back and got just the reaction she had been hoping for.

His hips bucked against hers as he groaned, biting on her shoulder and moving his hands to her thighs, pulling her closer still and letting her feel how hard he was, how much he wanted this. The next time his lips left her skin it was so he could pull her top over her head, absently throwing it somewhere behind him before moving his hands around her back to unclasp her bra. She used the chance to push his shirt off, pulling him down for another kiss as soon as their arms were out of the way.

Their movements were fast, frantic and full of need, but still to her it felt as if things were happening in slow motion. Every touch, every kiss seemed to last so long, and left her skin tingling even after they were over.

It was the cold against her thighs that made her break their kiss and look down, surprised to see they were both naked. She heard him laugh again at her look of surprise, feeling his chest reverberate against hers, and barely noticed the clattering sound of his wand hitting the floor. She had no idea when she had let of her own. The world was still reduced to Kingsley, and what he was doing to her.

But just like a few moments before everything had seemed to be happening in slow motion, now all the sensations seemed to be rushing at her as Kingsley grabbed her hips, pulled her forward, and buried himself inside of her.

His lips were on her jaw, her neck, his hands on her breasts, his hips thrusting in a slow rhythm that made her moan in pleasure and ask for more. His skin felt scorching against hers, every touch leaving her burning, arching against him or pulling him to her, needing his skin against hers.

And the sounds he made, those low growls that made his chest shake and her body shiver as he upped his pace, moving deeper, faster into her, filling her so completely, so deliciously.

She wrapped her legs around him, trying to meet his every thrust as she listened to the filthy things he groaned into her ear, as she felt him so deep inside her, as she felt her body tighten around him, the pleasure mounting until she couldn’t hold back any more. She came with his name on her lips, and that seemed to break the last of his self control, as he started pounding into her, that perfectly controlled rhythm lost as he, too, came undone.