Prologue: A Disappearance Most Missed
It was three in the morning. A man wearing a dripping, khaki trench coat strode purposefully towards a building that looked like it had seen better days. With the miniature cracks in the pillars of its facade, reconstructed walls, and retiled floors, it seemed that some things were unable to return to their former glory.
For an edifice situated in the Shadowlands, its expected appearance. 'Shadowlands' was the term for the boundary between the cheery streets of Diagon Alley and the shady ones of Knockturn Alley.
It was relatively quiet in the Auror's office. The lull of Celestina Warbeck's rich voice filled the background, as well as shuffling papers and boiling kettles.
It had been five years since the Second Wizarding War. Many things had changed since then.
One change was the distribution of the Auror force all over the British wizarding world. They adopted the idea of Police stations from their muggle counterparts.
The wizarding world was slowly, but surely, opening to the ideas and methodologies of muggles. Dwindling were the traditional Pureblood beliefs of the old wizarding world. Kingsley Shacklebolt's administration heralded these changes. The replacement of corrupt and biased Ministry officials was also a significant factor.
"Sinclair, you still here? Is there something wrong?" a pasty, bald wizard piped up from behind the front desk.
"The case baffles me, Hendricks. It was all so sudden, Hermione Granger's disappearance. It was like she vanished off the face of the earth," Sinclair replied.
"It baffles everyone. Or Harry Potter wouldn't even be here to check on any progress,"
Hendricks continued, going over Auror reports filed since June, scant as they were. "The lad seemed determined to a fault. What if Skeeter's right? Perhaps she just had a secret rendezvous with a lover?"
Sinclair furrowed his brows. Harry Potter was a high-ranking Auror, and rest assured he was a busy wizard. He imagined how tiring it must be for the fellow to constantly visit every Auror office in the hopes of a single lead that pointed to his friend's whereabouts. He also imagined Harry Potter's disappointment in not finding any at all.
"And not tell her best friends?" Sinclair asked, doubtful. "She seemed like a terribly smart and practical woman. Skeeter has a knack for twisting the truth. She was wrong before, who's to say she won't be wrong again?"
Hendricks shrugged his thick shoulders. "A woman is a woman, all the same. They have needs and a wicked desire for adventure."
Sinclair shook his head and chuckled. Hendricks has been reading those seedy romance novels again.
The lights flickered above a particular messy desk strewn with papers and news article muggleborn Auror sighed.
The magical threads of the Aurors here were high-strung and exhausted. The magic in the building relied on these very threads, and it fluctuated due to the stress. It wouldn't surprise him if the building collapsed, burying them underneath debris.
The bulletin board directly above his desk was a stark contrast to the chaotic desk. There was a web diagram on it, detailing all leads and notes he had about the case.
Roth Sinclair never forgot his muggle roots, especially his father, who was a Chief Inspector himself in muggle London. His methods of investigation came from that man and the system used by the Thin Blue Line.
He pinned a news article obtained from his pocket beside another article labeled 'Possibly Connected'.
The article read:
Manic Packs in Normandy
by Ginger Blanc
June 15, 2002
A fascinating phenomenon (or a phenomenal disaster) is currently occurring in Normandy, France. Packs of wolves have been flooding into the surrounding forests of the Risle Valley since last week. There has been an increase in werewolf activity in both the magical and muggle villages near the area. Aurors, especially Obliviators, are working overtime due to the heightened security breaches regarding the muggle population witnessing werewolf activities. As of now, there haven't been any reported attacks. Yet precautionary measures are being strictly observed.
Magical Creature experts are being called in as part of these precautionary measures. This phenomenon is quite the enigma, since werewolf sightings are very rare in these parts. The muggle population in Normandy far outweighs the wizarding population with a ratio of 23:10. Thus, few werewolves, if any , reside in the region.
The most startling aspect of these occurrences is the gender of the werewolves, most of whom are female. When Aurors attempted to capture and detain them, they put up a fierce fight. They guard the forests, snorting and howling violently in the middle of the night. In an interview, an Auror described them as 'batshite crazy'.
The French Ministry is trying its best to stabilize this issue. Only time would tell if this phenomenon is a temporary state of affairs or the start of a crisis.
Sinclair re-read the short paragraphs over and over again. This was an outright random article to include in the investigation. It could just be a coincidence.
But he'd been in the business long enough to learn: coincidences are rarely coincidences.
He felt like the truth was right there, slapping him right in the face.
Sinclair's eyes wandered to the picture pinned to the Missing Persons case file that was lying on top of his desk.
She was beautiful, Ms. Granger. She had a charming smile and wide, warm brown eyes. In the picture, she wore her curly brown hair down to her shoulders and dressed in muggle clothing tight enough to look like a woman but loose enough to maintain professionalism. Her picture was plastered all over Britain in the hopes of solving her mysterious disappearance.
Name: Hermione Jean Granger
Age: 23
Date of Birth: September 19, 1979
He stopped reading the basic information, having memorized all of it.
A Disappearance Most Missed
by Jin Chang
January 13, 2003
Hermione Granger. A name of much significance: Brightest Witch of Her Age, Muggleborn Heroine, one third of the Golden Trio, celebrated potioneer and Magical Creatures Advocate. The muggleborn witch has been missing since June 2002. Her mysterious disappearance, spanning almost seven months, has the British wizarding community shaken. Aurors all over the country are still investigating, led by none other than Harry Potter.
The company she worked for reported that Ms. Granger was in France with Herbologist Neville Longbottom for research during the time she disappeared. They said their research was supposed to only last for two weeks. Investigations were launched immediately when both didn't return after the deadline.
On June 30 2002, Neville Longbottom was found delirious and devoid of his memories concerning Ms. Granger's, and his, disappearance. Ms. Granger is still nowhere to be found.
Where could she be? What could have possibly happened to her?
Her sudden and mysterious disappearance gave rise to speculation and conjecture. Rita Skeeter wrote in her column "Why worry so much about Hermione Granger? The Aurors, I think, are overreacting. A girl's disappearance is hardly a national crisis! She is a woman. Think about the implications this has! Hermione Granger surely eloped with a man! Maybe with Neville Longbottom - the boy did grow up handsome - or maybe not. The wizarding world knows about Ms. Granger's conquests. I daresay she is doing the wizarding world a favor by disappearing."
Rita Skeeter's words might have caused a stir or opened new eyes, yet the prominent sentiment of this news is sadness and regret. George Elyson, the famous Potioneer who supervised Ms. Granger's magical medicine education, said in an interview, "Ms. Granger's alarming disappearance is a great inconvenience for the wizarding world. The witch is a genius. It is even rumored that she was developing a cure for lycanthropy! Such secrets aren't meant to be hidden, or, Merlin forbid, vanish altogether."
Where could she be?
Revised:1-28-18. I hope you enjoy this story and join me as I jump head first in this roller coaster ride ;) Thank you to my alphas and betas [Sarah (sshanholtzer), Paulina (luunascope), and Nikki (Nevernik)]. A big shout out to Dorothy (dorothymalfoy) for the song rec. So what do you guys think? Your feedback would be greatly appreciated!