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SIYE Time:11:14 on 29th March 2024
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Remember
By potterfan2008

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Drama, Romance
Warnings: Intimate Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 410
Summary: The summer after the Chamber of Secrets was hard on everyone. How come no one can remember what happened? Prior to starting his seventh year at Hogwarts, Harry realizes he is missing some memories from his second year. Together with Remus Lupin, Harry sets out to discover what happened. He hopes to find out about that pretty red head he has been dreaming about as well.
Hitcount: Story Total: 353199; Chapter Total: 8334
Awards: View Trophy Room






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Septima hurried to her door in response to the frantic knocking; she opened it to see a tearful Nadia on the other side.

"Come in, my dear. What is wrong?"

When Nadia didn't answer immediately, Septima's concern increased. "Nadia, dear."

Nadia took a deep breath, "Septima, I am so sorry to come to you like this. I didn't know who else to go to."

"What is wrong?"

Nadia sighed, "I don't know if you've heard, but Zacharias Smith was killed earlier this evening."

"What? How?"

"I don't know," Nadia replied shakily. "I know there are Aurors in the castle investigating his death." She shot a look at her older colleague, "I'm scared."

"Of course," Septima replied. She guided the younger girl into her kitchen and poured them each a cup of tea. After a moment's thought she poured a shot of firewhiskey into each cup. Setting one of the cups down in front of Nadia, she sat down across from her.

Nadia took a drink and seemed to relax slightly. "Thank you. Sorry, I just…with everything going on these days, I'm so on edge."

"I understand," Septima said, "another student murdered. I don't know what is happening to this school."

"Potter is at the heart of this as well," Nadia said angrily. "I overheard the Aurors saying that he is the one who discovered Zacharias's body."

Septima gasped, "No, really?"

Nadia nodded, "The Aurors were questioning him about the French girl as well."

"I don't know why they allowed that boy back in the school," Septima complained.

"He makes me nervous," Nadia confessed. "I had him in class today and he was quite aggressive. A few days ago, poor Zacharias complemented Ginny Potter and Harry threatened him. I had Zacharias in detention just the other day and he was telling me about it. Looking back now, I think he was scared. I should have done something."

"So you think Potter killed Zacharias?" Septima gasped.

"It makes sense," Nadia said. "He's losing control, first the girl and now Zacharias. There was an incident during class today…I corrected him while he was practicing a charm and he became very angry with me. I don't think he liked being corrected."

"Oh, poor dear," Septima replied soothingly. "I have never had the boy in class and I have to admit I am rather glad about that."

Nadia nodded as she sipped her tea. She shot a look over at her colleague. "Septima, I need to leave. I just don't feel safe here." Tears welled up in her eyes, "I hate to leave the school. I love teaching, but I don't feel safe right now. Is that wrong?"

"No, dear. Not at all," Septima reassured her quickly. "I don't blame you at all. I am going to speak to the Headmaster. Dumbledore would never hear anything bad about the boy, but hopefully Fedorov will feel differently. We should not have to work in an environment where we fear our students."

Two mugs of tea later a satisfied Nadia left her colleague angry and upset on her behalf. She hurried to her quarters. She knew it was only a matter of time before the Aurors came for her. There would be some surprises waiting for them.
_________________________________ ________________________________________ _________________________________
Harry held up his hands to ward off the blows. "Ginny, stop. I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Ginny yelled. "Fleur was kidnapped, Zach is dead, and suddenly you are not in the castle! Did you think to send me a message? Let me know what was going on?"

Taking a step back, Ginny stopped raining blows down on her husband's chest. "No more leaving the castle without telling me!"

"I'm sorry, love," He said gently. "You are right; I should have let you know I was leaving."

"I was so worried," Ginny whispered, the fight draining out of her.

Harry wrapped her in his arms, "I'm sorry. I'm not used to having to let someone know when I'm leaving, I'm used to just reacting. I'm sorry, baby."

She leaned up against him, blinking back tears. "I couldn't tell where you were and it scared me."

"I know, baby. I'm sorry." He kissed her on top of the head and held her close. "I love you so much."

He felt her tears soaking through to his shirt and he could feel her wildly fluctuating emotions. Once she calmed, he wiped her tears away with his hand and kissed her softly. A movement in the dimly lit hallway outside the Infirmary caught his attention; Kingsley was waiting to talk to him.

"Love, why don't we go in so you can see Fleur?"

"Is Fleur okay? And the baby?"

"Fleur and her baby are fine," he said soothingly. "The Cruciatus was actually put on Zach, not her. She broke up Nadia 'disciplining' Zach. Nadia panicked and took Fleur to her family's vacation home. Fleur did most of the work; she had already broken out of the house when I found her."

Nodding, Ginny followed Harry into the Infirmary and she rushed over to her sister-in-law's side. Harry watched from the doorway as the two women embraced and listened as they started talking rapidly in French.

Kingsley joined Harry in the doorway and Bill drifted over to the two of them.

"How is she?" Kingsley asked.

"She's okay," Bill explained. "She was a bit dehydrated and cold, but she'll be fine once she gets some rest. Madam Pomfrey wants to keep her overnight."

"I need to ask her a few questions," Kingsley said apologetically.

Bill nodded as he watched his sister and wife comfort each other. "She is expecting that."

Kingsley turned to Harry, "How did you know where to go?"

Harry sighed, "I'm rather angry with myself. I noticed a picture on the Hall of Honour several weeks ago and I recognized one of the people in the picture was my sword teacher, Jack Oliver. I kept forgetting to ask Jack about the picture and who the others were in the picture. Tonight after we found Zach's body I was walking through the Hall and I saw the picture again. I finally realized one of the other people in the picture was Professor Madison."

He quickly explained what Jack had related to him about Nadia and her family. "I was lucky to find Fleur so quickly. She had done most of the hard work; she broke out of the cabin and made her way to the lake."

"Thank, Merlin you found her when you did," Bill breathed. "She told me she was starting to give up hope."

Harry coloured slightly, uncomfortable as always with the praise of others. "I'm glad I was there."

Bill smiled and reached out to the younger wizard, hugged him. "Me too, Harry."

The three of them headed over to Fleur's bedside. She smiled when she saw them. Reaching up her hands, she pulled Harry down to sit on her bed. She kissed him on both cheeks, "Thank you, mon frère. I don't know what I would have done without you."

Harry blushed again, "You are welcome, Fleur. You are family; I would do whatever I could for you."

He stood and went over to sit on the arm of Ginny's chair; she smiled up at him and leaned against him. Bill immediately took his place at Fleur's side and took her hand.

Kingsley smiled down at her and asked gently, "How are you feeling now, Fleur?"

She smiled, "Much better, now. I have eaten and I'm finally warm."

"Good," Kingsley smiled at the young woman. "Did you hear any conversation between Smith and Nadia?"

Fleur wrinkled her brow in concentration. "Not at first. She was angry with him for some reason. He'd done something he wasn't supposed to do. Once I burst in, he recovered quickly and grabbed me. He somehow realized my necklace was a Portkey and ripped it off me."

She unconsciously rubbed at her neck. Bill lifted the hand he was holding and kissed the palm of her hand. She smiled at him before returning her attention to Kingsley. "Nadia stunned me and we took a series of Portkeys. I didn't see anything of the rooms we landed in except the last one."

"Just for the record, you have no doubt that Nadia Madison is the one who kidnapped you?"

Fleur shook her head, "None at all, it was Nadia Madison."

Kingsley shot Harry an apologetic glance, "Did Harry Potter have anything to do with your kidnapping?"

"What? Mon Dieu! What kind of question is that? Of course he didn't! He rescued me and my baby," Fleur replied indignantly.

Ginny said something to her in French and Fleur responded in rapid and extremely irate French. Harry thought he should be glad he couldn't understand her. Kingsley looked extremely nervous and apologetic at the same time.

"Fleur, I'm sorry I had to ask, but I wanted it officially on the record."

Fleur nodded glacially at the Auror, "I understand, but I am upset it would even come into question. Harry is like a brother to me. He is totally in love with his wife and I am totally in love with my husband, I don't know why people can't understand that."

Ginny added something else in French that seemed to upset Fleur even more. Harry wanted to tell her to stop agitating the situation, but not wanting to come under fire himself decided not to say anything.

Kingsley nodded, "I apologize. Thank you for your cooperation. I will let you get some rest."

Standing he gestured for Harry to follow him. Harry looked at his wife, "Love, stay here with Bill and Fleur. I will come back for you later. I don't want you walking around the castle by yourself."

Ginny nodded and kissed him before he left.

As the two men left the Infirmary, Kingsley said, "I really am sorry about that. I just wanted to get it in the official record that you did nothing wrong."

"I understand, but Fleur and Ginny are both very…protective of me," Harry said as he blushed slightly.

"I noticed," Kingsley returned dryly. He shook his head, "I don't understand Fedorov. I can't tell where he is coming from or whose side he is on. I thought he wasn't a bad guy, but he didn't back me up when I wanted to investigate Pansy and he's spreading these rumours about you and Fleur."

Harry shrugged, "I think he is more likely looking out for his own best interest and he will back whoever he thinks will win."

Before Kingsley could respond a loud explosion sounded ahead of them. The two took off at a run down the corridor. When they rounded the corner near the Charms room, they could see flames licking out into the corridor from the classroom. On the floor opposite what would have been the doorway was the body of an Auror.

Harry heard Kingsley swear under his breath, but most of his attention was focused on the out of control fire.

"What is that?"

"Fiendfyre," Kingsley replied grimly. "It is extremely dangerous and hard to control. There is only one charm that works against it."

After showing the counter spell to Harry, Kingsley was relieved to see the young man picked it up quickly. The two of them worked in concert to put out the raging fire.

Harry was unsure how much time had elapsed as he battled the blaze with Kingsley. The flames danced from the room seemingly with a life of their own. Harry wasn't sure, but he fancied he saw a flaming dragon raging out of the room. The heat was incredible, he could feel his shirt was glued to his skin and his wand was hot in his hand. Even with his focus on the fire, he realized others had joined them in battling the blaze. After a time, to his relief they were able to beat back the flames.

As the last of the flames died down, Harry felt his legs give out from under him. He felt strong arms catch him before he could fall. Looking up he saw Charlie holding him up.

"Okay, mate?"

Harry coughed as the billowing smoke continued to spew from the room. He cleared his throat and said in a raspy voice, "I think so. Is the fire out?"

Charlie looked up at Kingsley who nodded, "Yeah, mate. It's out. Let's get you to the Infirmary before my sister kills me."

Smiling weakly, Harry nodded and stood shakily. He looked at the damaged classroom and then at Kingsley.

"She's not here," Kingsley replied to Harry's unanswered question. "She must have set the Fiendfyre to cover her escape. Go to the Infirmary, I'll talk to you later."

Harry slowly made his way back to the Infirmary, passing a visibly shaken Fedorov on his way. He made it to the stairway before blacking out.
__________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________
Lucius knelt, patiently waiting. He prided himself on his ability to hold perfectly still waiting on his Master's pleasure. Many of the other Death Eaters would become restless and move about or let their minds wander. This was a foolish and dangerous habit. If one's mind wandered and you did not know the answer to the Dark Lord's questions, you paid the price.

"Rise, my friend."

Lucius rose to his feet, but kept his head down.

"One of the boys is dead, correct?"

"Yes, my Lord," Lucius replied. "The Hufflepuff Smith."

Voldemort nodded, "She was right to discipline him, but she overstepped her bounds. She is at your house?"

"Yes, my Lord," Lucius repeated. "My wife cultivated her as a contact so she came to my wife when she realized she couldn't stay at Hogwarts. She set a trap for the Aurors and at least one of them was killed in the Fiendfyre. Before she left the castle, she spoke to one of the other teachers to sow some discord."

Looking across the room at little man hovering in the background, Voldemort said, "Wormtail!"

The little man jumped and made a skittish bow before his Master.

"Go to the Lestrange vault and chose a reward for Narcissa. Her loyalty should be rewarded." Voldemort instructed.

After Wormtail bowed his way out of the room, Lucius bowed, "Thank you, my Lord. You are most gracious."

Voldemort sank down into his throne-like chair and surveyed Lucius as he stood before him. "You and your wife have served me well, Lucius. I reward those who please me."

"Yes, my Lord."

Lucius watched impassively as the snake, Nagini slithered over to Voldemort and coiled up his lap. Voldemort lifted his hand and stroked the head of his faithful companion.

"Tell me, Lucius. What is the status of the research?"

"We have found references to this stone. It is believed to be the stone that is embedded in Slytherin's Sword." Lucius explained. "We haven't been able to determine where the sword of Slytherin might be."

Voldemort smiled, "I know the final resting place of Slytherin's Sword."

Standing, he led the way into what he referred to as his War Room. Turning to his highest ranking Death Eater, he said, "Lucius, we need to plan to take Hogwarts."
____________________________ ________________________________________ ______________________________________
Narcissa watched dispassionately as her protégé, the woman she'd recruited into the Death Eaters was tortured by her husband.

"Crucio!"

Once the screaming stopped, Lucius said, "I hope you will remember not to overstep your bounds from now on."

Nadia nodded shakily, pain still wracking her body. Lucius looked over at this wife and she walked over and handed the woman a Post-Cruciatus Potion.

"Drink this," she said gently.

A few moments later, Narcissa summoned an elf who quickly replenished the breakfast on the sideboard. Gesturing to the third chair at the table, she said, "Please join us."

Nadia stood once she felt her limbs could take it and walked over to the others. After glancing at the others for permission, she helped herself to some toast, eggs, and a cup of hot chocolate.

"I have been informed that an Auror was killed while attempting to break into your quarters," Lucius said casually. "Fiendfyre was quite a good touch."

Finding her throat oddly sore, Nadia replied, "Thank you, I wanted to make certain that no one would go through my things. I understand that is how they made the antidote to the potion to prolong the effects of the Cruciatus, by going through Professor Snape's quarters. I didn't want that to happen to me."

Narcissa froze at the perceived slight against Draco's favourite teacher, but forced herself to calm down. This young girl had no idea the work Severus had done on their behalf, the indignities he'd had to undergo to maintain his place as Dumbledore's Potion Master.

Glancing at his wife, Lucius seemed to understand the problem. He replied vaguely, "I can understand."

He reached across the table and took his wife's hand, "Are you alright, my dear? Do you need to lie down?"

Narcissa nodded, "I am not feeling well, I will retire to our quarters."

Standing, Lucius helped his heavily pregnant wife to her feet. He smiled down into her face, he could see the strain last night had taken on her. He kissed her on the forehead, "Go lie down, if you need me send for one of the house elves."

Once his wife had left the room, Lucius turned back to their young guest, "So tell me, is there anyone else you think you could recruit to our cause?"

"Septima Vector," Nadia replied. "She hates Potter."

He nodded, "What of our young Ravenclaw, has he made much progress in recruiting other members of his house?"

"I don't believe so," Nadia said honestly. "Potter is very popular. Kevin mentioned something about an army?"

Lucius chuckled, "Yes, Dumbledore's Army. Potter's little defence group that he and that Mudblood founded two years ago. I hadn't realized so many were still loyal to him."

"I was rather surprised myself," Nadia felt confident enough to reply. "Gryffindor house is totally loyal to him. I thought bringing the wife in would upset them, but they all seem to like her. I heard they even had a house Christmas party and were rewarded for their 'inter-house unity.' Hufflepuff is split, between Susan and Zach, not all of them are as enamored of him as the rest of the school. I know Zach was using the memory of Cedric Diggory to disparage Potter."

"How is it that Zach got so far out of your control?" Lucius asked silkily.

Nadia swallowed, she much preferred dealing with Narcissa. Lucius quite honestly scared the hell out of her. "He wanted to knock either Potter or Weasley out of the Quidditch game. I didn't realize how serious he was about it, he and Kevin threw snow- covered bricks at them when they were coming back from practice. They didn't get Potter first and were almost caught by Charlie Weasley as they fled the scene."

Lucius nodded, "Quidditch rivalries run deep. My son hated playing against Potter as well."

The thought crossed her mind that they maybe they should just learn to beat Potter, but she didn't think it would be prudent share that thought.

"How did Mrs. Weasley escape?" Lucius asked redirecting her thoughts.

"I'm not certain, I went there last night, but the Aurors were already there," Nadia explained. "I overheard them saying she broke through the wall. The house is quite old and hasn't been used in over forty years. I added charms to the doors and windows, I didn't think it was necessary to charm the walls. I hadn't planned to take her, but I didn't know what to do once she walked in on me disciplining Zach."

Lucius watched her for a moment. "I would advise you to ensure you have escape plans in the future. This whole episode could have been avoided if you had adequately charmed the room so the blood-traitor could not have discovered you."

"Yes sir," she whispered.

"How about your side project with Charlie Weasley?"

Nadia felt nervous again watching Lucius. He was eating breakfast with perfect manners while he was interrogating her, but she suddenly felt more afraid than when he'd been using the Cruciatus. If she was found wanting, she had no illusions what might happen to her.

"I am not certain," she hedged. "I thought I was making progress with him and honestly expected to hear he'd broken up with the Mudblood over Christmas."

Lucius set down his silverware and pushed his plate back. "No matter, our Lord is working on plans to take the school. We will have control of Hogwarts by week's end."

He paused to look at her, "You will be expected to perform your duty."

"Of course," Nadia replied.

Lucius stood and summoned a house elf. He turned to Nadia, "The elf will see you to a guest room."

Nadia nodded at her host, "Thank you."
_________________________________ ________________________________________ _____________________________________
H arry opened his eyes slowly, he groaned as he recognized the familiar walls of the Infirmary. Blinking he looked around, the lights were turned down low and he surmised it was nighttime. Taking inventory of his body, he realized that his arms and part of his chest felt heavy. Looking down he realized he had bandages on his arms up to his elbows, he lifted his arms slowly and felt a twinge of pain.

"Harry!"

Turning, Harry smiled as his wife quickly made her way over to him. "Gin."

She leaned over and kissed him before settling into the chair next to him. "Are you feeling okay? Do you need me to get Madam Pomfrey?"

Harry shook his head, "No, love. I'm okay, just a bit sore."

Ginny gestured to the vials on the bedside table, "The light blue one is for pain and the orangey-red one will help with the skin regrowth. Madam Pomfrey said you should take both when you woke up."

He made a face, but dutifully downed the potions followed by a glass of water from the pitcher on the table. "I hate potions. They may work faster than Muggle medicines, but most Muggle medicine doesn't taste bad."

Readjusting the pillows, Harry sat up a bit in bed and looked over at his wife, "Are you okay, love? You should be up sleeping in our bed, not here in an uncomfortable chair watching me sleep."

"I don't like the idea of you being down here by yourself," Ginny defended herself. "I'm having a bit of a hard time getting comfortable at night anyhow, every time I lay flat I get heartburn or get a bit short of breath."

She waved her hand at his expression, "It's perfectly normal. I asked Alicia about it."

Reaching over, Harry took her hand in his. "How long was I out?"

"The explosion was the night before last," Ginny explained. "You had pretty severe burns on your arms and chest and some damage from smoke inhalation. Madam Pomfrey said you should be fine in a day or two, she wants to keep the bandages on until the day after tomorrow. They help with regrowing your skin."

"What about the Auror?"

She grimaced a bit, "Auror Proudfoot died. Kingsley said he took the brunt of the blast when he opened the door and broke his neck when he hit the far wall."

"And Kingsley?"

"He's fine," Ginny explained. "He had a bit of smoke inhalation, but he only had a few burns on his hands. Madam Pomfrey fixed him up and he was only here a few hours."

She looked over at him, "Fedorov came to visit. He's…I don't know, he's being very cagey. He says he's glad you were able to rescue Fleur, but he keeps coming back to the insinuations of your 'affair' and he mentioned Professor Madison fled because she feared you."

He rolled his eyes, "I'm sure that's why she fled. I can't imagine it had nothing to do with the fact she killed Smith, kidnapped Fleur, and left a deadly trap that killed an Auror."

Ginny giggled slightly at his tone, "I know, Fleur got so angry with him earlier. It's probably a good thing he doesn't speak French." She shifted in her chair a bit before gently lifting his hand and planting a kiss on the back of his hand. "Do you need anything, love? Are you hungry?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm getting sleepy."

"Get some sleep. I'll watch over you," Ginny said softly.

By mid-morning the next day, Bill and Fleur had come to visit Harry. Ron and Parvati had stopped in earlier, but as it was Ron's birthday they didn't stay long.

Harry smiled and greeted them before summoning Dobby. Dobby appeared with a pop.

"Hello, Harry Potter and his Ginny."

Biting back a laugh, Harry replied, "Hi, Dobby. Could you get us some hot chocolate and pastries?"

Dobby popped away and returned a few moments later with a tray.

"Thank you, Dobby."

After Dobby left, Ginny smiled over at her sister-in-law. "Are you feeling better?"

Fleur nodded, "Oui. Much, much better." She set a hand on her stomach, "I think my baby is very happy to be back here, she is moving around a lot."

She jumped slightly and Ginny asked, "Is she kicking?"

"Yes, it feels like she has been flipping and kicking all morning."

"I know what you mean," Ginny replied. Copying Fleur's gesture, she set her hand on her rather large belly. "These two kept me up half the night. It feels like they're switching places or something. I wanted..." She stopped talking abruptly.

"You wanted what?" Fleur asked gently reaching for the younger girl's hand.

Ginny sighed, "I wanted to ask my Mum if Fred and George did that when she was pregnant."

"Oh," Fleur replied, clearly at a loss for what to say.

"I thought we were making progress with my Mum," Ginny said. "I can't believe she would just…I don't know why she is determined to think the worst of both you and Harry."

Fleur sighed as she picked up her cup of hot chocolate, "I know that many times women react poorly to me and I know I didn't…I was a bit shocked at getting dropped at your parents' house. I think I was trying so hard that everything I did was wrong. Your mother never really warmed up to me. I mean she was honestly shocked when I didn't leave Bill when he was mauled by that monster."

Ginny nodded, "I know." She looked over at Fleur, "I'm sorry I was so mean to you. I was so intimidated by your looks that I just made assumptions about you."

"I know," Fleur smiled. "It's okay. You have been able to see past my looks. Many people cannot. Your friend, Hermione for example, does not see past my looks. I see her every week in class and she still is cool towards me. She seems to think that I encourage the boys." She sighed, "Most of your brothers have tended to have a strong reaction to me and Hermione blames me. I think your mother is the same way."

Feeling Ginny's disquiet, Harry turned from his conversation with Bill and slid his hands down her arms. He kissed her on the top on the head. She smiled up at him. Turning in bed, Harry sat next to her and gently wiped away a tear sliding down her face. She gave him a watery smile as she took the handkerchief he offered. "Sorry, we're just talking about my Mum."

A guarded look crossed Harry's face, "Oh." He looked down unsure of what to say. His feelings about Mrs. Weasley were so mixed up that he honestly thought he would be perfectly fine with not seeing her again. On the other hand that would leave his children without any grandparents. He looked over at Bill who had moved his chair and was now sitting next to his wife.

"Yeah, oh," Ginny said. "She believes everything she reads in the paper and is determined to believe the worst of you and Fleur. I am so angry that she believes all of the stupid stories, but it hurts too. I mean, does she realize she's insulting me and Bill as well, like we are so…pathetic that we can't keep our spouses happy?"

"I know, love," Harry said helplessly. "I wish I could convince her how happy you make me and how much I love you."

Taking a deep breath, Ginny smiled at her husband. "I'm not going to worry about her right now. She is the one who needs to apologize and she obviously knows where to find us."

Determined to change the topic, Ginny smiled at the couple next to her. "So have you thought of any names?"

Bill groaned while Fleur laughed, "We have a perfect boy's name picked out — Louis William, but of course we are having a girl."

"We keep going back and forth on a girl's name," Bill explained. "We both like Dominique and Danielle, but we aren't really sold on either name. I'm thinking we will know her name when we see her."

"What about you two?" Fleur asked. "Do you have names picked out?"

Harry looked over at his wife with a smile. She nodded and said, "Our boy's name is very special to us. We are naming him James William."

The look of surprise on Bill's face made Ginny smile. She reached over and hugged her brother. "You have been so wonderful and supportive of us and we wanted to honour you."

Tears welled up in his eyes and he kissed his sister on top of the head. Reaching out he placed a hand on her stomach, "Thank you, sweetie. I never expected that."

"I wanted to name him after someone from each of our families," Harry said.

Kissing her sister-in-law on the cheek, Fleur asked, "What about a girl's name?"

The Potters laughed. Ginny said, "Like you, we have been going back and forth on a girl's name."

Harry nodded, "Remus told me that my mother's family named all of the girls after flowers. My great-grandmother's name was Rose, my grandmother's name was Daisy, and then my mum and aunt are Lily and Petunia. So we've been going back and forth on different flower names."

"We are kind of leaning towards Lily Grace, but we haven't made a final decision yet." Ginny explained.

"That is a beautiful name," Fleur said. "Plus they honour both of your parents."

Harry smiled a bit shyly, "Ginny has been really great about that. Our kids will never know my parents so I like giving them the names."

Ginny smiled and kissed him softly, "I think it is a sweet idea to name them after your parents."

Cuddling a bit closer to her husband, the four of them spent the rest of the morning together talking and visiting.
_____________________________ ________________________________________ _______________________________________

Kingsley sat down uneasily in the Minister's office. Minister Thicknesse was, of course, at the head of the conference table with Percy Weasley, Gawain Robards, and Dave Williamson ranging around the table. Percy was as officious as always and seemed to be firmly on the side of the corrupt Ministry. Kingsley was almost positive that Dave was a Death Eater, but he had no proof.

He was not certain where Gawain's loyalties lay. It had been suggested that Gawain was under an Imperius Curse and looking at him now, Kingsley would not be surprised if that was the case. This was the first time Kingsley had seen Gawain in months. He'd lost a considerable amount of weight and appeared as though he had not slept in weeks. Kingsley was not even certain how much Gawain was paying attention to the conversation. Inwardly Kingsley sighed, he knew how widespread the use of the Imperius curse had become over the past few years.

The Minister looked over at Kingsley, "I would like to know how the Hogwarts' investigation is going."

"We are fairly positive that Nadia Madison is the one who murdered Zacharias Smith and set the Fiendfyre that killed Auror Proudfoot. She and Zacharias Smith are behind the kidnapping of Fleur Weasley." Kingsley explained.

Percy spoke up, "Nadia Madison was a respected Ministry employee for several years. Why would she suddenly start acting in such a bizarre manner?"

Groaning inwardly, Kingsley explained, "I am uncertain why she did this, but Mrs. Weasley positively identified Professor Madison as her abductor. She has been seen in the company of Zacharias Smith and had claimed to be with him in detention at the time of Mrs. Weasley's abduction. However, the school has no record of any detention and dinner time is not a usual time for detention.

"I believe that Nadia Madison killed Zacharias Smith either as punishment or so he wouldn't talk about his part in Mrs. Weasley's abduction."

Dave Williamson cleared his throat, "I trust that Mr. Potter's actions have been thoroughly investigated. It seems a bit coincidental that he was the one to discover the body of the boy and then 'miraculously' rescued Mrs. Weasley. I have a sworn statement from another professor at the school who states that Miss Madison was scared of Mr. Potter — he was aggressive towards her in class. All of those who have died at the school were at odds with him. His antipathy towards Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy are well known and documented. Susan Bones tried to use love potion on him and is now dead and now this Smith was seen chatting up his wife and is now dead."

"Mr. Potter killed Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy in self defence — that matter was thoroughly investigated last year. Miss Bones was killed by those who provided her with the love potion she used against Mr. Potter. You are just stringing together rumour and innuendo to cobble together a case against Mr. Potter." Kingsley responded heatedly.

Percy spoke up for the first time, "Potter has always enjoyed the protection of Dumbledore, but he does not have that now. We don't want to hear any tales of time-turners or the dead coming back to life. There have been pictures of Potter and that girl in the papers since the summer. I assume you have looked into any evidence of an affair."

Kingsley gritted his teeth, "Yes, we have. There is no evidence of any affair or extramarital relationship between Harry and Fleur. Reports are that they have more of a sibling relationship than anything else."

"Have you spoken to Septima Vector?" Thicknesse asked.

"Not personally, sir." Kingsley replied. "Auror Nigel Eastman spoke to her. Professor Vector is the only staff member who feels threatened by Potter and she does not even know him personally. It appears that she and Nadia Madison were close friends and confidants. They also appear to be the source of most of the gossip regarding Harry and Fleur."

The Minister stood, bringing the meeting to a close. "I trust you will not waste the time and Aurors harassing this poor Madison woman unless you have proof of her guilt. I have heard from other sources that she is in hiding, fearing for her life."

"Of course, sir," Kingsley replied stiffly. He watched the Minister and Weasley sweep out of the room. He eyed the two remaining Aurors carefully.

Williamson didn't waste much time, "It would behoove you to expedite this investigation, Shacklebolt. You would have to agree that Potter makes a much more likely suspect than a former Ministry employee."

"Are you telling me to arrest Potter?" Kingsley asked.

"I don't think that would be necessary," Williamson replied. "I have a feeling this matter will sort itself out soon enough, I just don't think we should be wasting our resources chasing Madison."

Kingsley nodded and strode quickly from the conference room. He was afraid if he stayed much longer he would completely lose his temper. Arriving at his cubicle, he sat down heavily, tossing his notes on top of his desk. A noise alerted him to look up, to his surprise it was Gawain Robards.

"Gawain, did you need something?" Kingsley asked his old friend in concern. Gawain looked drained, the dark circles under his eyes did nothing to improve his appearance.

The Head Auror looked around cautiously. Clearing his throat, he said, "King, you need to be careful. Something big is happening soon, I don't know what."

"Gawain, what is going on? What is wrong?"

Gawain swallowed hard, "I…I can't say." He lifted his eyes to his old friend, "I don't know if I will make it out of this, but please don't let them win."

Without another word, Robards turned and left, leaving behind a confused and bemused Auror.
________________________________ ________________________________________ ____________________________________
Ha rry sighed as he left the common room and headed down to the Entrance Hall to meet Daphne for their rounds. He was feeling much better, his bandages had come off and while his skin felt a bit stiff, he wasn't in any pain.

"Potter!"

Harry turned to see both Daphne and Blaise headed towards him. "What's wrong?"

"We need to talk to you privately," Daphne said urgently.

Nodding, he led them to the small anteroom where traditionally first years waited to be sorted. Placing his hand on the door, he felt the warmth of the castle and sealed the room.

"The room is sealed," he said. "What's going on?"

"I think he's going to attack the school — soon," Daphne said a tinge of panic in her voice.

"What makes you say that?" Harry asked as he casually conjured up chairs for the three of them.

Blaise raised an eyebrow at Harry's casual use of wandless magic, but he didn't comment. It seemed he was content to let Daphne do the talking.

"Pansy and the others started receiving owls on Sunday. I've seen the Malfoy's eagle owl several times bringing her messages. She is suddenly acting very certain of herself again." Daphne explained. "I overheard her talking to Nott, she said they only had a week."

"I heard Greg and Ted have also been busy," Blaise said speaking for the first time. "I've seen drawings of the ground floor and they said something about the girls' bathroom."

"Girls' bathroom?" Harry questioned sharply.

Blaise nodded, "They didn't say which one, but they repeated it more than once."

"The Chamber," Harry said.

"Chamber?" Daphne questioned. Understanding lit her face, "The Chamber of Secrets?"

Harry nodded, "Voldemort must be trying to get into the Chamber of Secrets."

Daphne and Blaise shared a frightened look. "You think he will come here?"

"I do," Harry said. "I've been afraid that he would bring the fight to Hogwarts. He wants to take over Magical Britain. He's managed to take over the Ministry, but he hasn't taken over Hogwarts as well as he would have liked."

He stood, "I need to go talk to Professor McGonagall." He looked at the other two, "If you hear anything else, let me know. Above all, be careful."

Nodding the couple followed Harry out of the room and hurried down to the dungeons. A few moments later, Harry found himself outside his Head-of-House's door. He knocked sharply.

He waited impatiently as she made her way to the door. "Mr. Potter."

"I need to talk to you," he said as she gestured him into her sitting room. He quickly shared what he had been told. Frowning, she nodded.

"We need to make plans."

By ten at night, Professor McGonagall's rooms were crowded. Professor Flitwick, Hermione, Remus, and Tonks had joined them from the Lupin's school, along with the remaining Weasley brothers and significant others. Kingsley was the last to join them.

Harry quickly shared what he had learned from Daphne and Blaise. Kingsley sighed deeply, "This coincides with the information I received today." He recounted his conversations at the Ministry that morning. "Both Williamson and Robards intimated that whatever was going to happen would happen soon."

Looking at Harry, Remus asked, "So you think he's going to the Chamber of Secrets?"

Harry nodded, "I think he wants the sword. There really wasn't anything else left in the Chamber except the sword."

"We need to evacuate the younger students," McGonagall said. "I am not certain how we will accomplish this without alerting the Ministry to what is going on."

"I am certain Madam Maxime would welcome them," Fleur said. "We could use Portkeys to evacuate the students like we did for my wedding."

Harry nodded, "We can do that, but I'm concerned about the Slytherins." He ignored Ron's noise of disbelief. "I know that many of the upper form students will probably join Voldemort, but not all of them are junior Death Eaters. How can we keep them safe without alerting the Death Eaters that we know what is happening?"

"Can't you seal the dorms?" Ginny asked.

Professor McGonagall nodded, "Potter you need to talk to Professor Giles Blackburne's portrait. He was the Headmaster in the late 1600s. He was the one who told me about the protector status, if you talk to him you might have a better idea of how it can help you."

"What about classes?" Harry asked.

Minerva hesitated for a moment, "I wish I had a better idea where the Headmaster's loyalties lie." She looked at Harry for a moment before she announced, "Mr. Potter, I have decided to suspend you from all school activities for the week. Fedorov has been hinting that you should be punished. I'm not exactly certain what you need to be punished for, but we can use it to our advantage."

He nodded his understanding. Professor McGonagall continued, "Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Potter, can I ask you to coordinate with Madam Maxime?" Upon their nod she turned to Filius and Remus, "I would like the two of you to devise a plan for evacuation, either with Portkeys or through some other manner."

"Professor," Ron said. "What about the older students? I know I want to stay and fight and I'm sure that others will want to stay as well."

She fixed a steady gaze on him, "Students who are of age may stay if they so choose. However, this is very serious. We will likely be facing not only Voldemort's most elite Death Eaters, but also Voldemort himself."

Ron swallowed hard, but nodded.

Professor McGonagall looked up at the clock, "It is getting late. Mr. Potter, report back here in the morning."

"I will find out what I can," Kingsley said. "I don't think we can count on many in the Ministry for help. I will speak to Arthur in the morning."
_____________________________ ________________________________________ ____________________________________
Ar thur Weasley knocked on the door to which Minerva had directed him. He had never noticed a door in this corridor before. There was a tapestry depicting knights protecting a medieval castle across the hall from the doorway.

After a moment, the door opened. Arthur smiled tentatively at his son-in-law, "Hello, Harry."

Harry opened the door and let his father-in-law in, "Mr. Weasley. Welcome to the War Room."

It was a large room with stone walls with a large round conference table in the centre of the room. The table held stacks of parchment and folders. On the far wall, Arthur was amazed to see a large map of the school.

"Please sit down," Harry said. He led Arthur to a couple of chairs near a large desk on the same wall as the map. "I guess Kingsley talked to you?"

Arthur nodded, "He did and I will of course be happy to do what I can to help. Unfortunately, I don't believe that many of my colleagues will be joining us. The Death Eaters and their sympathizers have managed to infiltrate the Ministry very well." He looked around the room, "This is amazing."

"I know," Harry agreed. "Hogwarts actually created the War Room for me. According Headmaster Blackburne, it has been used several times in the past by other protectors of Hogwarts and each time it changes to suit the protector. Remus helped me replicate his Marauders' Map." He gestured to the large map on the wall. "We've modified it a bit to show not only the occupants of the castle, but also the defences we've implemented."

Gazing up at the map, Arthur noted several notations in various corridors. "What are those?"

Harry laughed, "We have placed several of Fred and George's swamps through the school. Myrtle's bathroom has been taken over by a large swamp and we have placed some enchanted animals to protect the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. We have alligators and large water snakes. They are enchanted to not leave the room so the rest of the student body is not at risk."

Standing up, Harry used his wand to enlarge certain areas of the map, "Once the attack starts, we will seal the dorms to protect any of the younger students who have not left. The suits of armor will be activated as well as the stone lions and snakes from the gardens."

"Your plans seem to be coming together nicely," Arthur said.

Harry nodded, "Ron and Bill have been instrumental in planning our defences." He gestured around the room. "Normally we have more people here helping, but no one has a free period right now. I don't know if she told you, but Professor McGonagall suspended me for the week to give me time to plan for the attack. All of the Order members and the members of the DA who are going to fight have been in and out of here making suggestions and tweaking our plans."

Looking over at his son-in-law he said, "Molly is planning to help Poppy in the Infirmary."

"I heard," Harry said coolly. "She is welcome to help, but she will stay out of my way and she will not go anywhere near my wife." When he saw Arthur was about to speak, Harry said, "No, hear me out. Your wife has done nothing but disrespect Ginny and our marriage. We reached out and tried to reestablish a relationship with her and she still believes the gossip about me and Fleur."

"This is going to be the biggest battle of my life. I know there is a chance that that I won't survive. Not only will my life be at risk, but also those of my wife and children. I will not have your wife distracting or upsetting me or my wife before the battle. Ginny has a role to play. As much as I don't want her anywhere near this castle, I need her here if we are to be victorious."

Arthur bowed his head, "I was afraid of that. I will speak to Molly. She…she just gets so upset at the thought of someone hurting one of her children that she tends to overreact."

"Overreact?" Harry shook his head. "She is insulting all of us by spreading those lies and rumours. Ginny and Bill are both very hurt, not to mention me and Fleur. She has never made either Fleur or myself welcome to your family. If she wants to have a place in the lives of her grandchildren she needs to accept us into the family."

"I am so sorry," Arthur replied. "I am thrilled that my children have found someone to love, who loves them in return."

"I know," Harry replied tiredly. "Ginny and Bill know that as well. I just can't deal with this right now."

Before Arthur could reply, the door opened and Professor McGonagall entered. She greeted Arthur before turning to Harry, "Mr. Longbottom had an excellent idea. He wants to use some Devil's Snare and some Venomous Tentacula to assist in the defence of castle."

He smiled, "I know. He mentioned it to me this morning. I told him to get with the twins, since they are working on more non-lethal defences."

"Excellent," Professor McGonagall replied. She gave Harry a rare smile, "Harry you are doing a wonderful job of planning and preparing."
___________________________ ________________________________________ ______________________________________
Late Thursday afternoon, Harry entered his rooms to find his wife relaxing on their bed, playing with Emerald.

He joined her on the bed and leaning over to kiss her, "Hello, beautiful."

"Hi," Ginny replied. "I heard from Aimée, everything is set. As soon as we get word that Voldemort is on the way, we will send out messages to activate the Portkeys. The prefects from each house will make certain that all of the younger children are evacuated. As soon as the Portkeys activate, you can seal the dorms."

"Excellent," Harry said. He rolled over on his stomach and looked at her, "Please, please promise me you will be careful. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you or our babies." He lifted her hand and kissed it, "If I could send you away, I would, but I know I can't."

She smiled and cupped his cheek in her hand, "I promise I will be as careful as possible. I don't want anything to happen to you or our babies either. How about we both promise to do our best to get through this?"

Nodding he sat up and pulled her into his arms, "I love you."

"I love you, too." She whispered. They lay in each other's arms reveling in the closeness. As darkness fell, a knock at the door sounded. Harry opened the door to find Daphne on the other side.

"They've left," she said. "I think whatever is going to happen is starting now."
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