Securing

Potter Manor isn't that large," she argued with a slight glare at him. He snorted. She just gave him a look.

"It isn't as big as Buckingham Palace, no, but these poor people think you're putting them up in a shack or a hovel," Severus chided her gently. She blinked in surprise.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Well, I suppose it's a bit bigger than this place, but I wanted you to have enough bedrooms so that Lily and James could visit after the wedding, and if James visits you it's bound to follow that Sirius and Remus will follow him at some point," Hermione explained swiftly, embarrassment turning her cheeks a lovely shade of pink.

"How many bedrooms does it have?" The other dark haired man asked dryly, his grey eyes light with amusement.

"Oh…only fifteen, I believe," Hermione said after thinking for a moment. Severus snorted.

"Only fifteen?" He repeated and rolled his eyes.

"Fifteen bedrooms?" Mrs. Evans said faintly, trying to imagine cleaning a house that large. "Are there…there are servants to help clean it, right?"

"Oh yes, of course," Hermione said with a nod. "Lolly?"

A smallish, wrinkly pinkish-grey sort of being popped into the room and Mrs. Evans gasped in delight.

"Oh, it's a house elf, isn't it? My gran told me stories…but I thought that's all they were," she exclaimed in excitement, her green eyes wide in wonder. Hermione nodded and smiled at her.

"Lolly, this is Mrs. Evans and Mr. Evans. They are Lily Evans' parents and they shall be staying at Gaer Penrhôs. They have no magic of their own, and they are to be protected members of the Potter family. Do you understand?" Hermione asked the house elf seriously, her expression grave.

"They is under the old protection?" Lolly asked curiously. Hermione nodded again.

"Isn't Gaer Penrhôs a ruin?" Mrs. Evans pointed out doubtfully. The four guests smiled.

"It appears that way to muggle eyes, but no. Gaer Penrhôs is a bit drafty, but it's certainly not a ruin. Lolly here will be able to make any changes necessary for your comfort," Hermione explained carefully.

"So…we've been threatened, and you want to move us for our own safety," Mr. Evan said carefully, looking at the three men, who exchanged looks and nodded almost imperceptibly to him. He nodded to himself. "Okay, then. What about Petunia? She's just as much our child as Lily is, we don't want to see her hurt, either."

"Mrs. Dursley will be fine. There is nothing that links her to the future Mrs. Potter," the blond man Hermione had called Lucius drawled coolly. "The information that we have received shows that they know of you, but not about her. That is unlikely to change considering the relationship between the sisters."

"But we can't just cut off all contact with Petunia," Mrs. Evans said in a worried voice. Hermione's smile was tight this time, and her eyes had turned cold.

"You may contact Petunia, of course," Hermione said in an icy voice. "It is my understanding that her husband will be less than impressed with the methods of communication open to you, which will be mostly owl post. She may visit you at Gaer Penrhôs, but we must insist that you not leave its safety to visit Petunia. If you do…the results would be disastrous."

"I see," Mr. Evans said with a slight frown. "How long do we have?"

"One week," Hermione said after a quick glance at the three men who sat perfectly still, their eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. They glanced briefly at her and nodded.

"What about the wedding?" Mrs. Evans asked with a worried frown. Hermione's lips twitched.

"Lolly will bring you to that," Hermione said firmly. "It will be the safest way for you to travel."

"It seems that you have thought of everything," Mr. Evans said with a slight sigh. Hermione nodded gravely.

"I have tried to do so," she said quietly.

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HP/HG/HP

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"Jamie?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"My Own?" He mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…I just…can I sleep with you tonight?" Hermione asked, shifting from one foot to the other in James' doorway.

Our last night?" He asked dryly. She nodded and he sighed. "Come on, get in."

The Potter twins laid in James' bed, side by side, and they reached out and grabbed one another's hands. They stared at the ceiling of James' room and thought about everything that was going to happen tomorrow. Everything was going to change and yet everything would stay the same. Hermione had convinced James and Lily that the Potter's townhouse in London would be safer for the both of them for the time being because it was surrounded by muggles. They'd already made it completely unplottable and had warded it to within an inch of its foundation. Severus had placed Prince wards on it, and linked those to Hermione who'd placed Gryffindor wards on it, which she had Seen in a vision of her ancestress, Gloswinda Gryffindor. James had placed the Potter wards on it and Sirius had placed the Black family wards on it. Remus, after much cajoling by Hermione, had placed the Lupin family wards on the house as well. Lucius and Regulus had both admitted that they were the tightest wards that they had ever seen and acknowledged that even if someone could find the place, they wouldn't be able to get in.

Sirius had purchased a townhouse on the same street, and the wards that her milites had placed on it were positively frightening. Regulus had insisted on using a specific set of wards that he'd found in the Black family library that were incredibly ancient and powerful, and had required a blood sacrifice. Sirius had almost had an apoplectic fit until Regulus and Hermione had pointed out that cutting one's hand and allowing a specific amount of blood to touch the foundation stone counted. They'd placed the Black family wards on top of those, and added all the rest as well. When the houses wards were all in place it was like a fine-woven mesh of magical chainmail that stood between her home and the outside world, and Hermione smiled in satisfaction.

"Are you scared about tomorrow?" James asked curiously in the dark. Hermione thought for a moment.

"No," she said simply. "I love Sirius and he loves me. Tomorrow is…aggravating more than anything else. We are going to have a natural bond, we were meant to be together. The rest is just for show."

"It will ensure that Sirius isn't murdered by father," James pointed out. Hermione giggled.

"Well, there is that," she acknowledged. She worried her lower lip between her teeth. "Jamie…if something happens…to me…"

"Nothing is going to happen to you," James said firmly. Hermione sighed.

"If something did, please keep an eye out for Sirius. Make sure he doesn't do anything rash," Hermione said softly.

"Have you Seen something?" James demanded suddenly. She shook her head.

"No, not exactly. I just want to make sure that he'll be okay," she said quietly.

You are such a liar.

He really doesn't need to hear about this the night before his wedding. Now hush.

"My Own," he began hesitantly. "Have you seen anything…about Lily or me?"

"Oh, many things Jamie," Hermione said with a wicked smile that he couldn't see.

"I probably don't even want to know," he muttered.

"Nothing of a delicate nature," she assured him.

"She…she's okay though, right?" James pleaded.

"We're working on it," Hermione said at last. "Actually…actually, for you two the probable future is quite good. Do you want to know how many children you have and what you've named them?"

"So she's safe then?" James pressed. Hermione sighed.

"Yes, James. Lily is quite safe," Hermione told him quietly.

Your sister's not, though. She's rapidly becoming public enemy number one as far as old Moldy Pants is concerned, but don't you worry your pretty little head about that. You just try and keep her husband from completely losing it when she's eviscerated in front of him.

That only happened in one vision. The probability is markedly low.

I'm sure that would be a comfort to the both of them.

There is nothing they can do, and it would only worry them.

I'm worried, and there's not much I can do, either, but at least I know. Then I can plot, and plotting always makes me feel better.

You know, it is truly some sort of miracle that we were never sorted into Slytherin.

There's no need to be nasty.

Hermione eventually drifted off to sleep, her brother's hand clutched tightly in her own. James listened for the deep, steady breathing of his twin and then he allowed himself to drift off. He was worried about Hermione, she looked pale and ill most of the time anymore. He knew that what she saw terrified her half the time, but she refused to talk about a lot of it. He and Sirius had discussed it, and they were both uncertain as to their course of action. Sirius was worried about her health, about her making herself ill, and James was concerned about that as well. They knew that what she was doing was important, but it still worried him. Whatever happens, I'll be there for you. I promise you, My Own. Sleep finally came for him, and he gave himself over to it fitfully. His excitement over tomorrow, his worry about his sister, and his general restlessness all flowed together to provide him with strange dreams that he couldn't quite recall.