'I really don't want to return,' Harry growled as he sat on the sofa next to Hermione.
'What happened?' Dan asked.
'It's everything, but I can finally see why all those purebloods believe they can get away with anything, because the teachers don't step in to stop it. Hermione is constantly called names, they try to hex her, and not just the Slytherin's, but Ron and a few others as well. We did what Sirius suggested and put the jinx on those names they like to call muggleborns, it doesn't stop them. We got what we needed out of Hogwarts, we'll be dealing with the last one before the start of the new school year, so really, we don't need to return. We just have to go somewhere so it looks like we're getting a magical education.'
'Harry doesn't get any privacy either. Between Lupin, some of the staff, Weasley and a few others that seem to be wherever Harry is, he's always got people watching him,' Hermione sighed, 'We never saw any of this before.'
'It probably didn't happen because he had Ron and Snape. Ron was with you most of the time, then Snape would be using the Slytherin's to relay anything he wanted to know,' Sirius looked over at the Grangers, and nodded, they nodded in return. They wouldn't have to wait long to get the last horcrux, they just had to deal with Voldemort's soul then get the hell away from magical England.
After dinner and showers, Harry went to speak with Hermione. He made sure to put up a silencing charm so no one could overhear.
'Alright, we're leaving, but what about those few that don't deserve to live, like Umbridge?' Harry asked.
'We take care of her, along with Malfoy, senior and junior, we also deal with Crouch senior and junior. Right now Barty is still being controlled by the imperius curse. Dobby could easy poison him once we distract Winky. If he has time he can make sure some of Crouch senior's food is poisoned, or his drink.'
'Alright, that's him, what about the Malfoy's and Umbridge?'
'We're going to need to sneak into Umbridge's office so we can coat her quills and cups with poison. We just need a way to lure her out of the way then we have to make sure she doesn't know we're entering her office.'
'Using my cloak will help get us in and keep me from being seen, that way if she returns because she's charmed her office then she won't be able to see me. We just need to make sure I can get out of her office.'
'I'm sure we can come up with a way to make sure she doesn't shut her door. Now Malfoy, his place is warded so we won't be able to sneak in.'
'No, but Dobby can. Remember what those types of people are like. They don't think about house elves or their magic, unless it's what the elf can do for them.'
'Then we take care of junior first, he will be the easiest.'
'While they are at dinner, it would be the best time to put some poison in Lucy's favourite night time drink. But those others at Hogwarts that believe they can do anything. They might not have ever done anything to us, but we know they would have since they did join the death eaters.'
'Let's look in some of those books, I'm sure we can find a way to deal with them. Maybe curse them in some way that will make them squibs.'
'I'm not sure there is a curse like that Hermione, otherwise some of the dark Blacks would have used it to get rid of people like my mother. All we can do is hope we find something before we leave.'
'We will find something, or ask Sirius if he knows of some permanent prank to keep them from causing problems. The gnomes didn't seem to deter them even if it will keep happening, so we need something else. It's late and we've been tense, let's just get some sleep,' Hermione slipped her arms around Harry then kissed him. Since they had returned to this time and to their young bodies, their kisses have been small, chaste, no heat or passion. This time Hermione put all her feeling for Harry into the kiss.
The following morning, Harry once again went into Hermione's room then silenced it. Even though they trusted Sirius, and the Grangers, they weren't sure if they would approve of some of the plans Harry and Hermione had come up with. They didn't like keeping things from Sirius, Dan and Emma, but they felt they had no choice.
'I called Dobby last night, he wants to help. He said the Malfoy's have a new house elf, but it's young and like he was, abused. Dobby believes he can easily poison their food without them or the elf finding out.'
'Good, then we work them after we get the diary. Right now we can work on Umbridge.'
'Dobby told me something which will help. He said that the house elves can pop into any place in the ministry. Since most inside the ministry don't believe house elves could be dangerous to them, they aren't warded against the elves. Plus most of them are to lazy to get themselves a cup of tea or something to eat.'
'So he could pop you in, I can be outside using the cloak. If she has charmed her office then I can…delay her. Her secretary will be easy to deal with, just cast the imperius curse on her and have her leave to head to the bathrooms. When we're done, I will wipe her memory of the last hour or so.'
'Perfect, you are brilliant,' Harry grinned then kissed his girlfriend before they headed downstairs.
Sirius could tell Harry looked tense, 'What's up pup?'
'I will feel better when the soul is sent on. Even though it's contained and nothing can cause it to escape, I won't relax until it's gone.'
'Alright, I get that. But it's the holidays and we can't do anything until old man Malfoy decides to slip the diary to the Weasley girl. We've made plans, let's just enjoy the holidays.'
'Alright, so in a few days we head to Greece,' Harry said.
'Neville will be arriving tomorrow, then the three of you can have fun. So even though you two are older you never really got the chance to enjoy your holidays, so now you can.'
'We will, but this can help as well. Going to places like Greece and Egypt is going to be very educational. We'll have fun but we already know more than what we're going to learn over the next six years. We have to have something to keep us occupied.'
'One thing Hermione, you can get me up to scratch with arithmancy and ancient runes. Even though we might not ever use it if we work in the non-magical world, it wouldn't hurt to learn. Also, why don't we both continue our non-magical education? If things don't improve within the magical society, then at least we can work on jobs in the non-magical world.'
'I believe that is a very good idea Harry. Sirius might be trying to change things, it might work, but it might not. So having your education in the non-magical world will give you both a chance,' Emma said.
'Sounds good, but no studying any of that until after the holidays. Since you explained what your lives had been like before, it's time for fun. A month away, then you can get everything you need,' Dan said.
'I agree with Dan, fun first then study,' Sirius said.
'You as well Sirius, you're going to be involved in a lot after the holidays. You will have a lot of people asking where we are, they probably won't leave you alone. But I know you're not ready for anything serious. But it's time for all of us to get away and enjoy life. Everything is working out, so we have time to do what we've always wanted. When we return, then we finish him.'
'I could do with some fun. So how about we head out to dinner, my shout?'
Everyone smiled before changing into decent clothes. It was time to get on with their lives. Even though they still had one more horcrux to deal with, they could take some time just to enjoy being free and with family. That is how Sirius and Harry felt about the Grangers, they were family. And one day in the near future, Harry and Hermione would make it official, and the Granger, Potter and Black's would be officially one big happy family. That was their dream, they just hoped nothing got in their way of having their dream become a reality.
Neville arrived the following day, from then on Harry, Hermione and Neville spent most of their time outside in the pool. They wanted to spend time with Neville before they headed overseas for their month long holiday. They had asked Neville if he wanted to join them, but he had plans. Neville never said what those plans were, but Harry and Hermione knew it meant visiting his parent's. They really wished something could be done to help the Longbottom's, if not, maybe allow them to die so they can rest in peace and Neville could get on with his life. They would never do that to Neville, they just wished Frank and Alice could either get cured or pass peacefully in their sleep.
When Neville left, Harry and Hermione told Sirius and the Grangers they wanted to go out alone, but they planned to go into the non-magical world. They adults understood, so they just told them to be careful.
Dobby had told them that Bartemius Crouch had left for work, so Hermione knocked on the door while Harry waited with Dobby to pop into the house once Winky was distracted. It was simple and easy. Hermione pretended to work in Crouch's office and she was delivering some papers, which was fake. Winky explained that her master had already left for work. Hermione thanked the elf but then asked if she liked her life working for Mr Crouch. Hermione just needed to keep her occupied for a few minutes, to give Harry and Dobby time to poison Barty and poison the alcohol and anything else they knew Bartemius would eat or drink. The poison they used was one that would not kill a house elf even if it would make them very sick. After a few minutes, Hermione thanked Winky again then left. She apparated away where she met Harry and Dobby who nodded to her. Now it was time to deal with Umbridge, then Dobby could deal with the Malfoy's.