A week after the trial of Alphard Vale, Hermione uses her coin to call everyone to a meeting that Saturday night at the Grimmauld Place. As usual, Ginny would be taking their boys to The Burrow for dinner while the main seven met up to discuss current goings on and new information.
Despite feeling comfortable and happy with her decision to step down as leader of The Order, she began to feel guilty as the weekend came closer. She didn't want to let her friends or The Order down, but they needed to think about keeping their growing family safe.
Draco was entirely behind her, although a little disappointed about stepping down from his leadership role when they were getting closer to the takedown of Kingsley Shacklebolt. Draco wanted to be front and centre to see the look in the Minister's eyes when he realised Draco Malfoy led the charge against him.
On Saturday night, Hermione and Draco leave Scorpius in the capable hands of Mitty and walk down their long driveway. They dared not use the floo network anymore of these meetings for fear the Ministry would keep reports on the comings and goings of their fireplace. Instead, they apparate from just outside their gate - and wards - to a secluded alleyway near the Potter's residence. Neither of them mind the short walk since they very rarely get to spend time just the two of them, away from everyone else.
"Are you still going to Birmingham tomorrow?" Hermione asks as they stroll.
"Yes, Alarte's excited to have me visit. He's booked us in at a restaurant," Draco explains.
"Have you got enough muggle money to offer to pay? He's a student, and I know he just wants to treat you, but he's probably living off noodles at his flat," Hermione says.
"I went to Gringotts during my free period yesterday," he confirms. "Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?"
"I'll be fine. Mum and I are going shopping with all the kids to pick out their Halloween costumes, then we're going to carve some pumpkins," Hermione tells him.
Draco's face falls. "I wish I was coming."
"You haven't seen Alarte in ages. You'll have a great time in Birmingham, and Scorpius and I will give you a fashion show when you return."
Laughing, Draco agrees to the conditions of his absence. "So, are you going for something spooky or sexy?" He asks.
"Shut up," Hermione laughs. "My parents are coming over for the party; I'm not going to dress sexy in front of them."
"That makes sense, but maybe pick something up for afterwards," he suggests hopefully.
Hermione simply shakes her head as Grimmauld Place comes into view, and they can see Arthur and Percy standing waiting on the doorstep.
Harry offers everyone a hot beverage, as the autumnal weather has brought a chill across London, and Grimmauld Place has more draughts than windows. Harry doesn't know where the cold air comes from but assumes it has something to do with the evil that once darkened the house. Along with the cups of tea and coffee, or in Arthur's case, hot chocolate, Harry offers a plate of biscuits while they wait for George and Ron to arrive from the shop.
"How's life at the Ministry after Vale's trial?" Harry asks his father-in-law and Percy, who took a low-level position, to help The Order have more eyes within the Ministry.
"It's like it never happened. Shacklebolt wanted everything to go back to business quite quickly," Arthur explains, with a whipped cream moustache above his top lip.
"I think that's what I would prefer," Harry admitted. "This week off has gone by too quickly. I wish I had more time," he sighs.
"Use some of your paid time off and take another week," Percy suggests.
"I'm saving that for Christmas. I've already put my request in. I want the twenty-second until the twenty-ninth off. I sent it directly to the Minister since I don't know if Ms Earle will still be the Head of the Department by then," Harry explains.
At that point, Ron and George enter through the floo network despite Hermione consistently reminding them that it isn't safe. They'd reminded her they were family, and it wasn't suspicious to visit their brother-in-law and good friend.
"I don't know why you bother working, Harry," Ron mentions, sitting beside his father. "If I could afford to not work, I'd never work again."
"What about all that money you got from the ICW?" Hermione asks.
"How do you think Pans and I bought our cottage? You know how much Hogwarts pays, and her parents certainly don't help. At least my parents offer to babysit while we do renovations," Ron complains.
"I actually like my job, though," Harry states. "I haven't done it in a while since I've been working with the Minister on Vale's trial, but now that's over, I'm hoping everything will return to normal."
"What's normal?" George jokes, making himself a cup of tea and grabbing one of Harry's muggle biscuits.
"Moving on," Hermione calls their attention. "Thank you for coming to the meeting. We've got a few orders of business. First of all," she looks at Ron and George. "Stop using the floo network."
Ron rolls his eyes while George agrees, but the three of them know it will be their first order of business at their next meeting, too. Then Hermione remembers their last order of business, and worry sets in. Who will be there to keep everyone right if she steps down?
Draco grabs her hand, squeezing it gently to reassure her that everything will be okay and she can do this.
"Next, Vale's trial was last Sunday. I'm sure you were all listening on the radio to the court proceedings, and some terrible accusations were thrown at Harry and Draco. I'm pleased to say that I've heard the Wizengamot aren't taking any of them seriously and are dismissing the claims as a defence technique," Hermione explains.
"Great, that's one more thing off my plate," Harry sighs, leaning back in his chair.
"That also includes Vale's claims that Harry has reinstated The Order. Now, just because the Wizengamot don't believe the claims doesn't mean the Minister will brush it all aside. We need to be even more vigilant of our actions and surroundings, which is why I brought up the floo network again."
"Fine, we'll stop using it," Ron agrees, sick and tired of hearing it.
"Thank you, it's all I asked," Hermione sighs. "Next, Draco and I were invited to MACUSA a few weeks ago, where President Harris informed us that she had unearthed a Death Eater in their midst. We haven't passed this information on because the fewer people who knew about it before Vale's trial, the better."
"Who was it?" Percy asks with interest.
"Tiffany Tyler, who was MACUSA's Secretary of State," Draco answers.
"Although Harris quite harshly accused Megan first. Megan was distraught by it all and is considering quitting her job. She told me she's definitely leaving as soon as Shacklebolt has been removed, but if Harris continues to treat her terribly, I have no doubt Megan will quit earlier," Hermione states.
"That's any government leader for you. They don't care about the people who are helping them. They only think about themselves," Percy shrugs, collecting another biscuit.
"I'd like those of you who work in the Ministry to watch for any open positions that might suit Megan. It's The Order's fault she's in this position where she can't leave yet, so I'd like to help her," Hermione mentions.
"There are always jobs going in the Department of Media, and I've heard Poppy Montgomery is a delight to work under," Arthur offers.
"That's Elizabeth's mother, isn't it?" Draco asks Hermione.
"I remember Sophie telling us Elizabeth's mother works in the Ministry, so that makes sense," Hermione agrees. "Elizabeth and Richard are lovely children, a credit to their parents, so I'm sure Poppy's department will be a good fit. I'll pass that on to Megan."
As the most organised member of The Order, it was always down to Hermione to write up the agenda for their meetings, and this meeting was no different. As usual, the first agenda was about the floo network, then Vale's trial, next was Megan and MACUSA and the last order of business was simply titled 'The Talk'.
"Does anyone have anything they wish to discuss before we move on?" Hermione asks, but nobody does.
Beside her, Draco stands up, taking her hand so they can make this announcement together.
"We have an announcement to make," Draco begins.
Immediately, everyone shuffles in their seat to sit tall, intrigued by the apparent seriousness of what's to come.
"For a while, we've been worried about the position we've put ourselves in as communicators between us and MACUSA. We've got enough on our plates with the Death Eaters having taken an interest in us and these constant inspections by the Ministry. We've been holding off for as long as possible to make this decision, but-" Hermione pauses; she didn't want to tell them like this.
"We're expecting our second child, and we don't want to be putting ourselves in harm's way for the sake of our family," Draco finishes.
"So, we're going to be taking a backseat in all things to do with The Order from now on," Hermione makes the announcement.
"Wow!" Percy comments. "Congratulations!"
"What?" Ron questions him.
"On the baby, I mean," Percy clarifies.
"I can't deny that I'm a little shocked. I thought you would both want to see this out until the end, but family must always be the priority, so I'm proud that you're making this decision," Arthur tells them.
"Thank you, Arthur," Hermione smiles sincerely. The Weasley's parents truly were the best people in the wizarding world, and she was glad they took her under their wings as a child, lost in the magical world.
"I'll speak to Ginny; she's been desperate to attend these meetings. I think she's feeling a little left out by it all," Harry mentions.
"I'm going to continue attending the meetings," Draco says. "So I can keep Hermione up-to-date, but we'll need someone else to be our correspondent with MACUSA."
"Send Ginny, she'll get them sorted out," George jokes.
Ron and Arthur chuckle, but Harry nods in agreement.
"I've got a lot less going on right now, so I'll step up, and hopefully Ginny will join me. I'll let you know later tonight," he says.
"Well, that went much better than I expected," Hermione admits. "I was worried you'd think I was turning my back on everything."
"Come on, Hermione, we know you better than that," Harry laughs. "You and Draco will be the ones to look Shacklebolt in the eye as he's removed from office. He's going to know you two implemented all this," he adds.
"Maybe I'll return while on parental leave. I was incredibly bored while I was off with Scorpius; I'll need something to keep my brain occupied," Hermione suggests.
"Don't speak too soon," Harry warns her. "You're going to have a toddler at home too."
Hermione's eyes widen, having not thought about that. "Well, Scorpius does attend nursery throughout the week."
"You're going to regret those words within a week, Granger," Harry half-jokes.
"When are you due?" Percy asks.
"Middle of March."
Percy's face lights up. "Maybe our children will be friends. They'll be in the same year at Hogwarts, at least."
"They're practically cousins; of course, they're going to be friends, Percy," Hermione reassures Percy, knowing he's still insecure about his family's feelings towards him.
"Do you know what you're having?"
"No, we prefer not to know," Draco tells him.
"Well, Audrey and I are having a girl," Percy announces.
"Another girl in the family," Arthur smiles. "You're mother will be so pleased. She missed out on a lot of girl time by raising six boys, and you know Ginny isn't the girliest of girls."
"That comes with being raised with six brothers," Harry points out.
"You know, as Phoebe is growing up, she reminds me a lot of Ginny," Ron admits. "Probably because Philip is so sensitive, she has to be tough for the both of them."
"Hey, Philip is perfect," Hermione defends her godson.
"Yeah, he's my son; I think I know that," Ron frowns.
"Calm down, Ron," Arthur warns his son. "I remember you being the same as a toddler."
Ron sinks in his chair, flushing in embarrassment.
"I've missed this," Harry mentions. "It's been a long time since we could all hang out together."
"It's not much longer now. The Ministry will probably remove the wards for Christmas, and we can all be together again," Arthur assures his children.
"I hope so," Harry mutters.
"Anyway, it's getting late, and if we're all done here, I should be heading home," Arthur stands, stretching his back as he stands.
One by one, they all bid each other goodbye with hugs and pats on the shoulders. They stagger their exits in case anyone is watching the house.
By the time Hermione and Draco return home, they've only been gone a little over an hour, but Scorpius is pleased to see them all.
Their son toddles over with a book when he hears the door close.
"Hi, baby," Hermione greets him, bending down to bring her son into a hug.
"Buh pease?" Scorpius asks, holding a book out and ignoring his mother's greeting.
"Of course, let mummy get changed first," Hermione tells him, heading upstairs to change into her pyjamas. She wasn't planning on going anywhere else today, and her pyjamas are her most comfortable clothes.
Draco lifts his son, throwing him in the air before catching him and hugging him tight. "What book have you got there?" He takes the book from his son to look at the cover. "Winnie the Pooh?" Draco frowns, not recognising it from their collection. "Where did you get that from?"
"Nursy," Scorpius answers.
"Oh, did the nursery let you bring it home?" Draco asks, assuming that's what happened. Since Sarah and Chris picked him up with Evelyn and Vivian on Friday, he hadn't had to look in his son's nursery bag.
"No," Scorpius says.
"No? They didn't let you take it home?"
"No."
"Did you just take it without asking?" Draco asks, setting his son down beside him on the couch.
"Yeah." Scorpius grins, clapping his hands.
"Scorpius, you can't just take things that don't belong to you," Draco tells his son.
Scorpius' head tilts to the side in confusion.
"You wouldn't like it if someone took your toys," Draco points at all the toys scattered across the living room floor. "We should tidy these up," he sighs. "Come on, Scorpius."
The two of them spend ten minutes tidying up all the toys into the toy trunk Scorpius has behind the couch. Draco makes a game out of it, asking his son who can tidy up the fastest. Although that just sends Scorpius running around at top speed and throwing his toys at the trunk, most of the time, they don't go in.
Hermione enters during this mad ten minutes, now dressed in pyjamas and a dressing gown.
"What's going on?"
"We're tidying up," Draco states. "If that's what you can call this."
Scorpius throws a ball at the trunk, but it bounces off the rim and hits Draco in the face.
Draco winces, pinching his painful nose. "I don't think our son will make it as a Quidditch player."
"Good," Hermione comments, helping them to tidy up. "Where's that book, Scorpius?"
"Buh." Scorpius runs over to grab the book off the couch.
"He stole it from the nursery," Draco claims, finishing the tidying.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'll take him in on Monday and explain it to the staff," Draco says, collapsing on the couch with a yawn.
"We have to nip this in the bud quickly. I don't want to be those parents who have to check their child's pockets and bag as they leave," Hermione mentions.
"It's just a book. We can ask the nursery what his favourites are and make sure we have copies here so he doesn't need to bring them home," Draco suggests.
Scorpius climbs onto the couch, snuggling under his father's arm and resting his head on Draco's chest. Hermione pulls the large blanket down from over the back of the couch and throws it over the three before she begins to read.
"Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes, he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it," Hermione reads on.
Draco closes his eyes, his head resting against the back of the couch and his arm holding his son tight. Scorpius has tucked his father's hand beneath his face so Draco can feel his son's breathing slowing down, indicating he's fallen asleep. Still, before he can mention the fact to Hermione, he drifts off into the most peaceful sleep he's had in months. The stress of Vale's trial, MACUSA, and The Order are far behind them. Tomorrow, he will wake up early to meet Alarte in Birmingham for a day out with his cousin, and hopefully, all will feel right in the world.