A\N—Ummmm…for once I can't think of anything to say.  Check back later.

Dedication—For Majestic, because she was review number 100.  Convenient huh?  Also for Lamina Court, coolone007 and Gwenalyn.  And for all my other reviews, who I love dearly.   Lastly,  for all the people who might be yelling at me at the end of this chapter.  I love you guys too.

Chapter 11

"They say blood is thicker than water…oh but love-love is thicker than blood"

WARNING:  this chapter is a bit darker than the others.  It may contain objectionable or touchy material.  I don't know.  Ne Wayz,  You have been warned.

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Harry dropped the picture frame, and the glass shattered, leaving a maze of cracks over the family portrait.  "No."  He whispered.  "No.  It can't be."

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Alex's room,  9:10 pm

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            Harry stared at the people grinning out eerily from beneath the broken glass for a long  time, and it was Rion's cries  that eventually snapped him out of his trance. 

            "My pic-a-ture."  Cried Rion in disbelief.  "You broked my pic-a-ture  Harry Potter."

            Despite what he had just learned, Harry felt horribly contrite.  "I'm sorry Ri."  He said.  "Look  I'll fix it."  He took out his wand and murmured to quick spells (a\n which I don't feel like thinking off at the moment) and the picture was again whole, and blank to everyone except Rion.

            "Thank you Harry Potter."  Grinned Rion, happy once more.  Harry nodded once, then turned his attention back to Alex, who was laying back on his pillows, a little pain still evident in his small features.  "Are you alright now?"  Harry asked.

            "Yes."  Whispered Alex, and there was a bit of confusion in his voice.  "It's never hurt before."

            Harry felt torn.  On one hand, he felt compelled to have the little boy tell him what it was that  had never hurt before, and why it was paining him so now, on the other, he knew he had to get to Ron and Hermione.  And since color was returning to Alex's face and he seemed quite a bit more comfortable than before, it was the second impulse that he decided to act upon.  Until he realized that he was babysitting and could not go off chasing down people, no matter what the circumstances were.

            "Aren't you gonna go save Mummy Harry?"  asked Alex.

            "I can't leave you two here by yourselves."  Harry told him.  "I'm sure Hermione will be fine."

            "Neevil!"  said Rion.

            "What?" demanded Harry.

            "Mr.  Longbottom."  Alex explained.  "He and Mrs. Longbottom and Jessie watch us while Mummy is working.  You could call him."

            And just like that Harry was at the fireplace, and, needing surprisingly little explanation, the Longbottoms agreed to floo over.  The moment they arrived, Harry was gone, with a wave, and a smile and a turn of his cloak.  Somewhere in the .86 seconds apperating from place to place took, it occurred to our boy wonder that he was running off in a panic over something a six year old boy said.  Well, what a six year old boy said, and an eerie face from the past in a broken photograph.

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Finnigan's 9:17 pm

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            When Seamus Finnigan had left school, he had almost instantly made quite a name for himself in the culinary world.  Now, 8 years after its first opening,  Finnigan's was the top restaurant on every witches "Where to go on our anniversary" lists.    The restaurant entertained all groups, from weddings to graduations and proms.  Being that Seamus was half muggle, it also had its fair share of non magic dinners, who were clueless to the power of those around them, and if ever they saw a martini float across the bar to a woman with a dark green cloak, the Muggles simply figured they had one to many alcoholic beverages themselves.

            Now, Ron, Hermione and Alan sat at the back at a small table, far away from the mass of the dinners, whispering urgently.  "So do we have a deal Ronnie boy?"  Blancoeeb demanded.  "This is the best deal I could possibly offer you."

            Ron nodded feverantly, quailing slightly at Hermione's glare.  "Hermione."  He told her in what he hopped was a no nonsense voice.  "Alan is being very patient with us.  I've told you time and time again that this move is a necessity for the future of QQS.  My workers will be fine." 

            Hermione refused to say anything more on the subject.  Her very strong feelings against the sale she had helped to establish refused to waver.

            At last, Ron reluctantly turned away from her, but just as he reached for the pen that was to put an end to two separate companies, as well as his chances with Hermione, a very disgruntled Harry appeared at the table.  Almost as if seeing a warning in Harry's eyes, Blancoeeb grabbed his contract, excusesed himself and headed off towards the Apparating area that Harry had just come from.

            "Hermione."  Harry said, deathly serious.  "Hermione I've seen the pictures.  How could you do this?  Why didn't you tell us?"

            Hermione suddenly felt sick.  One of her most important secrets had just been found out.  For his part, Ron was simply confused.  "What did you see?" He demanded.  "What hasn't she told us?"  But both of his friends ignored him. 

            "I am sorry Harry."  Hermione whispered.  "But how could I tell you?  I never planned on seeing you again.  And then, when I did, all of this started.  There was never a good time to just meet with you guys and say 'By the way, I was married…married to…married to…"  Hermione's voice trailed off and her face paled as she glimpsed a very familiar looking face in the crowd.  "Harry?"  She asked in a strangely strangled voice, not adverting her eyes from the crowd.  "Why did you come here tonight?"

            Harry stared at her.  "Alex told me he was coming here tonight.  I couldn't let anything happen to you Hermione."

            "WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"  Demanded Ron (and CatalinaRose's readers)  But still, he got no real response, because Hermione was now sort of clutching at him, trembling in fear.  That's when both guys looked in the direction she had been staring.  Ron's eyes got large, and his face was pale, and slightly betrayed.  Harry's face also held a look of betrayal, but he marched steadily up to the blond haired man that was watching them from the bar, with a dangerous glint in both pairs of eyes.

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(And you thought I'd leave it there didn't you?)

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Finnigan's Bar,  9:25 pm

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            Harry reached the bar and the large man on the barstool swirled around to greet him.  

            "Potter."  He sneered in recognition.

            "Dursley."  Harry returned.  "Long time no see cousin. Can't say it's been too long though."

            "Go to hell Potter."  Returned the (slightly tipsy)  Dudley

            Harry glared.  "What do you want here Dudley.  These aren't you're people."

            "Quite the contrary.  That woman you and your red headed are hiding over there in the corner happens to be very much mine.  We've got two boys ya know."

            Harry glared at him.  "She is not yours, and neither are those boys.  Get over it Dudley you aren't getting your way for once."

            "THAT BITCH IS MINE POTTER.  NOTHING YOU CAN SAY WILL CHANGE IT.  I CAN TREAT HER ANYWAY I DAMN WELL PLEASE."

            Almost before he finished his rant he found his smaller cousins elbow in his solar plexus.  "You listen to me Dudley Dursley."  He hissed.  "My best friend loves that 'woman' as you call her, and those boys.  Now, you are going to leave my best friends and their family alone, or I'll pull the same curses on you that I pulled on the dark lord ten years ago."

            Dudley's eyes grew large, and he pulled away.  :Fine.  I'll leave.  But warn her.  This isn't over Potter.  You can't steal from me what is mine.  I'll be back for her.  And the boys."

            "Get out of here Dudley.  Now."

            And, perhaps out of shock, Dudley left, still murmuring obscenities and threats under his breath.  Some gruesome that Harry felt slightly faint.  Harry returned to Ron and Hermione's table and sat down in Blancoeeb's vacant chair.

            "He's gone 'Mione."  Harry whispered, touching her shoulder.  Hermione slowly raised her head from Ron's shoulder.  "Now would you care to fill the two of us in on any other secrets you might be hiding?  Hermione nodded, and began her story.

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Flashback

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            18 year old Hermione Granger stood on the sweeping green grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the first time since her graduation.  The young intern had taken off from her position in the Ministry of Magic after receiving a letter from Professor Dumbledore, calling for the Hogwarts Alumni to come back to the school.  After receiving the letter she had sent her own owl to Harry and Ron, and they were supposed to meet…At the lake…

            Straining her eyes to that sparkling lake, she could see two figures, one with dark hair the other with flaming red, waving at her excitedly.  They greeted each other happily, and then progressed on to the Great Hall, where the Headmaster was beginning a meeting of utmost importance, and with an atmosphere much less jovial.

            "Greetings Former Students!"  Dumbledore's hearty voice boomed out around the great hall.  "It is with my deepest regrets that I called you here this evening.  The War between the forces of light and darkness is on the horizon, and we must prepare for this battle.  At no time is War a good thing, as I hope you all have learned in your years here.  This war will doubtlessly bring us great tragedy.  But it can also bring us great triumph.  You all are our most prized graduates, and we want you on our front lines.  My good triumph over evil, always!"

            The Great Hall interrupted into applause at the end of Dumbledore's speech.  Hermione looked around to see which other former students were considered among Hogwarts finest.  To her surprise, one of the first people she spotted was Draco Malfoy, who looked more than ready to do in the former members of his former house.  Also present was Cho Chang, clothed all in black,  Oliver Wood, still dressed in his Quidditch robes, Lee Jordan and all the older Weasley boys save Percy, who had refused to take off work, Several people around her age that Hermione didn't recognize, and even several adults.

            Hermione broke out of her thoughts as she saw Ron motion for her to stand up, and the trio went up to the front of the hall where Dumbledore was standing. 

            "You're looking well Professor."  Harry told the old man cordially.  Indeed, the aged old man seemed no older than he had in their school days.

            "Thank you Mister Potter.  I have often missed the antics of you and your friends around the school.  I am indeed sorry that I could not have brought to back at a better time."

            And then, almost so fast that Hermione couldn't believe it, an eerie silence descended upon the room, and the enchanted ceiling suddenly seemed rather empty and drab.  No one would ever be able to explain this strange emptiness, but it would later be known as the silence that began the massacre.

            And a massacre was indeed what it was.  In the nearly a year that the War lasted Ron, Hermione and Harry all saw massive amounts of death and destruction.  Hermione herself was eerily close to the deaths, being a nurse for the war.  Page after page of death tolls would appear in the infirmary daily, of both the dark and light sides, and every morning, almost against her will Hermione go and scan the list fearfully for any sign of her friends.  Then, after a time almost too long to measure, the last, and bloodiest day of the war began.  None of the nurses relaxed at all that day.  Bloodied bodies had to be carried in and out with no concern for identity.  At the end of the day hundreds of Witches and Wizards lay dead, many simply innocent bystanders.  Also among those dead were Albus X. Dumbledore-killed by Tom Marvalo Riddle and Tom Marvalo Riddle.  Killed by Harry Potter.

            Then, almost as quickly as it had begun, the War had ended.  People were sent back home, funerals were attended, and those lost were mourned.  The last of these funerals was that of the beloved Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

            The day of his funeral dawned gray, as if even the sky was in mourning.  Although Harry, Ron, and Hermione, along with the other survivors, had been given numerous potions and charms to help soften the impact of some of the horror they had witnessed, the three of them still headed to the funeral that day with eyes red from lack of sleep.  Halfway through the service it became too much for Hermione to bear.  Her beloved teacher and so many others were gone.  She had watched so many of them die.  She had held Dumbledore's hand when he himself began what he considered the greatest adventure of all.  He had whispered to her in those final moments.  'Forget not your dreams Miss Granger, for they are what you are left with, and what you will become.  They are what you shall receive from my death."  Receiving Dreams?  So many dreams had been smashed by Lord Voldemort, including her own.  Gone was her desire to be the first woman Minister of Magic.  In its place was a dream worthy of its own praise, a normal, safe life.  With a husband.  And kids.  Hermione found herself running towards the Forest of Secrets, tears streaming down her cheeks, obvious to Ron's cries for her to stop as he ran after her, even oblivious to the dangerous muttering that filled the opaque forest.

            A shadowy figure appeared just ahead of her, coming steadily closer.  It wasn't so much a body as a patch of darker fog outlined against the mist.  But it floated toward her, hissing.

            "Missssssss Granger….Missssssss Granger."

            And Hermione again ran, far far away.  Farther away than she would know for a long time.  She ran out of the Wizarding world, not looking back.

            It was later known that many of the former Hogwarts students were greeted by these similar shadows, the dark arts' last hope at an uprising.  But none of those greeted ever accepted.  And no one told Harry, least of all Ron.  He had been through enough.

            Several years passed, and one day a twenty one year old Hermione found herself at what turned out to be the wrong place at the wrong time.  It seemed simple enough that day though.  She was riding the bus.  And who came to sit beside her, but a rather large, although somewhat handsome man.  Soon the two of them were laughing and talking.  Hermione found she had been lonelier than she had realized, and there was something about this man that reminded her of what she had lost.  When he asked for her name and number as he climbed off the bus, she supplied it to him willingly.

            A few days later, he took her dancing.  It was in the middle of a dip when he reveled to her his last name, and although something in her heart warned her of what was to come, she simply couldn't relate this charming gentleman to Harry's crude cousin.    Soon to follow dancing were dinner and a movie.  He took her on picnics, brought her soup when she was sick, did everything you could think of for a man to do.  Still, Hermione always reminded herself that he thought she was a muggle.  So, on her wedding day, she put her wand in her old school trunk, along with her other mementos of the Wizarding world.  Almost as if by magic Hermione also received her last issue of the daily Prophet as she walked down the aisle.  The front page contained to stories and two photos.  Entrpuneuer Ronald Weasley had bought Quality Quidditch Supplies, and War hero Harry Potter had been signed to play Quidditch for England.  It was almost enough to make Hermione cry.  Her boys had made it to her Wedding after all.  It was almost enough to make Hermione say no at the alter.  It was almost enough to save Hermione from what she was about to endure.  But it wasn't enough at all.

            When Alexander Dursley was born a year later, the Dursley's seemed like the perfect family.  Dudley still lavished attention on his wife, and now his new born son.  Alex's first word was Daddy.  And they went to the park every Saturday afternoon.

            Three years later Rion was born, and it seemed Hermione's dream was complete.  She had someone she loved completely, she was loved in turn, and she had her boys.  But on Rion's first birthday the event that changed it all would occur.

            It was a small affair, just the four of him.  Perfect in everyway.  Hermione was beginning  to light the candles when she noticed that her youngest son was being unusually quiet.  When she turned around her heart nearly jumped into her throat.  Rion, who had been playing with Dudley moments before, had somehow gotten hold of a rock and had begun to choke.  His skin already held a blue tinge.  Hermione called Dudley, and her husband immediately began the Heimlich maneuver, but Hermione's motherly instincts were screaming at her.  As if by reflex she had Apperated for only the second time ever up to her trunk, and grabbed her dusty wand.  She was automatically back by her son's side, and with a few well chosen spells quoted from her days as a nurse her son began breathing again.  And Hermione sighed in relief and smiled, holding her now sobbing child, and thought that crying had never been so sweet. But as the knowledge of what she was dawned on Dudley, it became apparent it would be the last time Hermione would smile in a long time.

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            "And you know where it went from there."  Whispered Hermione, playing with her napkin.

            Ron and Harry looked at each other and nodded.  "Come on 'Mione."  Ron whispered.  "Lets go home.  Our boys are waiting."

            Hermione looked up at him, and almost smiled.  "Ok." She said quietly.

            "You know what tomorrow is right Hermione?"  Harry added with a grin.

            Hermione turned her glance to him, and the slightest of sparks danced in her eyes.  "Christmas Eve Day?"  She said in a wistful voice, sounding like a child.

            "And Christmas Eve."  Finished Harry and Ron, "Is magic."

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Fin Chapter 11

A\N-  Ok, I'm not sure if I love this chapter, but it does have its high points, and it was necessary.  So, next chapter Christmas Eve.  Snow, Magic, laughter…and Dudley.  Bummer.  See ya later!

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