So, um, about that secret club... [closed]

[so_harry]

Harry had been splitting his time between the force and Hogwarts, doing what he could to pitch in on the wards and anything else he could do to assist the rebuilding process. McGonagall had called on only a few people in the Order, desperate to have the right people working on the charms and wards protecting the castle along with the rest of the

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[skylar_x]

It was yet another night home in this big strange house all by herself but that was something that Skylar had grown used to since moving in, knowing that Harry's job was demanding and Reid was all wrapped up in Sebastian. It was lonely and cold, even though it was almost mid-April and it had grown much warmer out.

She was all curled up in the drawing room, going over a new volume to her favorite collection, diving deeper into the late stages of the Protestant Reformation during the sixteen century than any other text she had found, mostly focusing on the effects in England. Though, it had been hours now and she was only half way through the thickly bounded book, taking special care to read each page twice just make sure she was taking in every detail.

When Harry came into the room she actually jumped, so completely enthralled by her text that she didn't even hear him come in.

"Harry- oh, hi. Hello-" she said, reaching for her book mark blindly as she smiled over at him.

"How long have you been here?"

[so_harry]

He liked watching her.

Whatever it was she was reading, she was completely engrossed, pouring over the pages with interest he'd never given his own readings in school, even with the amazement of magic being so prevalent in his mind.

"Not long-" he said, raking his fingers through his hair before adjusting his glasses. "Am I interrupting anything?"

He moved into the drawing room, stepping out of his shoes and shrugging off his jacket and draping it on the back of an arm chair before moving to the couch where she was curled up.

"I missed you-"

[skylar_x]

Skylar gently placed her book off to the side, onto the coffee table rather than the side table where her now chilled tea had been sitting. When it came to her collections she wasn't going to take any chances.

"No, just diving into the excommunication of Luther and the condemnation of the Protestant Revolution by the Pope-" she told him, shrugging like it really wasn't a big deal.

Actually, it had been thrilling but she knew he wasn't interested in that. She'd wait until Reid was home to discuss her favorite parts of the text.

Instead, she shifted over towards him, ready to curl up with him.

"I missed you, too-"

She was missing him a lot lately.

[so_harry]

"The what?"

He blinked, shaking his head as he listened to her rattle off something he knew nothing about. He grinned haphazardly, raking his fingers through his hair.

"You know what? Nevermind," he laughed. "I'm just happy to be home before midnight for once."

He pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"How was your day?"

[skylar_x]

With her legs tucked up underneath her, Skylar curled up against Harry. This was her favorite thing, even if she had been waiting a little bit longer every day waiting for him.

"It was alright," she told him, reaching for his hand and lacing their fingers together.

"A little bit lonely though-" She couldn't help but pout, even just a little bit, bottom lip puffed out.

[so_harry]

If he had the choice to stay home with Skylar or go into work, he knew he'd have a hard time making the decision. It felt good to be back in the office, being back on the force and having Ron as his partner. But then, Harry and Skylar had fallen into such a good routine during his suspension and he missed the long, lazy mornings they would spend together over coffee or the movies they'd watch in the afternoon.

"I'm sorry-" he said, catching that little pout and frowning. "I know it's been a bugger of a time lately-"

He raked his fingers through his hair.

"It's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about-"

[skylar_x]

As much as she disliked coming home to an empty house, even though she'd fallen into her old routine from long before she'd been dating Harry, she understood that this was important to him. There was an obvious change in him since he'd been back and she knew that was because he was back doing what he loved doing, which was helping people and making a difference.

She just hoped that he could do it and still keep some sort of normal hours, not the sixteen hour days that had become the new normal.

"Oh, sure-" she said, sitting up a little bit straighter. The last time he started off a work conversation like that he'd been suspended for punching somebody in the face.

"Is everything alright being back?"

[so_harry]

"Oh- oh yeah, no, work is fine-"

Busy, but fine. Overrun with gossip columnists and freaked out Ministry employees now knowing there was a renegade werewolf in their mist but fine. He shook his head, turning his body to better face her.

"I'm sorry I've been so late every night-" he told her. "I told McGonagall I'd help her with some things at Hogwarts so I've been sort of splitting my time-"

He laughed awkwardly.

"I've been pretty bad at it, haven't I?"

[skylar_x]

"Well, if you were planning on only spending time with me when we're both sleeping then you've been doing a great job," she told him, voice light and mostly teasing.

At least they still had that. Skylar still felt the most comfortable at night when Harry was there to sleep next to her, falling asleep to the steady sound of his heartbeat (and yes, of course, his light snoring).

"But I get it- I do," Skylar assured him, "Is everything coming along? It's been two weeks now-"

[so_harry]

"I think we're back on track."

He hoped. They'd done an incredible amount of work over the past two weeks, both on the castle and on the edges of the forest. Not many of the staff were willing to go that close knowing was what going on during night fall. The war- or whatever it was- was slowly starting, he knew. Hagrid told him of the sounds he heard at night.

And it chilled them all to the bone.

"Everyone is spooked-" he told her. "Firenze hasn't been very much help since the whole-"

He waved his hands in front of them both as if that would explain his trailing off.

"I think- well, Hermione and Ron and I talked about it and it looks like the Order is going to be put back together-"

[skylar_x]

Skylar pulled back just enough to give him a questionable look, clearly confused by that last bit.

There were times that Harry had brought up the Order but only in passing and they had never really gone into much detail about it. She had seen the pictures up in the hallway before they were taken down, noticing just how carefully Harry had placed them in storage, and had a good enough idea of the purpose considering the dates.

Which meant-

"I'm sorry. You're doing what?"

[so_harry]

It was in that moment that Harry realized that for all his quick drops about the Order, he might not have actually explained to her what it was. He smiled at her sheepishly, his hand moving to tug at the hair at the back of his neck as he tilted his head.

"Right, um-" he cleared his throat.

This could likely blow up in his face.

"Well, um, the Order of the Phoenix was put together well before either of us was born-" he said lamely. "Right when things really got out of hand with Voldemort back in the early 70's- you know when my parents were even younger than we are now-"

[skylar_x]

It really wasn't very often that Skylar was left speechless, but here she was now with big doe eyes blinking up at her boyfriend as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. Well, it wasn't like she hadn't already sort of put those pieces together for herself.

"So you're putting it back together because of the war-" she said simply and slowly, mostly just to state the obvious. She didn't want anything to get misinterpreted here.

"Because you're going to jump into this war."

[so_harry]

"This isn't just on me to make the decision-" he said, voice steady. "Hogwarts is in a really vulnerable position right now-"

He didn't think he'd ever seen McGonagall look so uneasy before. This wasn't wizards versus wizards. This was massive spiders and giants and werewolves and people could only do so much, it seemed.

"And my friends are there-" he told her. "And we help each other out- that's the code."

[skylar_x]

"Okay," she said, nodding. There wasn't much that Skylar could to do argue with him, not that she really wanted to.

She could worry and stay up all night every night until he came home to her but that wouldn't stop Harry doing what he did best. And this was his best, they both knew it. He needed a purpose and a cause to fight for.

"Tell me then what I need to do to help and I'll do it."

She wasn't sure exactly where she fit now, in this war with him. There hadn't been much time for romance in the last one and she had quickly become overshadowed.

[so_harry]

"I want you to be apart of it-" he said, his hands reaching for hers, fingers lacing together. "You and me, we're a team, Skylar and if I'm going to be apart of this, I want you right there with me."

He needed her in ways he'd never be able to admit but this was enough, he hoped. This was enough to convince her to be with him on this.