HP chpt 2

The Disbelief

Hermione lay in a fit of tears as the letter informing her that the two men she had loved most in the world had both been killed. Her eyes had been rubbed raw and she had not washed in two days, instead she had opted to lie in the bed of the hotel room she was staying in while on an undercover assignment in south London. A knock came at the door.

'Go away!' she screeched at the door.

'Herm?' called back a gentle voice.

'Percy?' she gasped between sobs.

'Yeah it's me,' called back Percy's gentle voice.

'What are you doing here?' she cried hiccupping from sobbing so hard.

'The ministry sent me, can you please open the door?'

The rolled pathetically out of bed tugging a dressing gown around herself and frumpishly opened the door seeing a tall, bald, black man dressed in an expensive tuxedo.

'Why have you drunk Polyjuice potion?' she asked letting out a small laugh of amusement.

'Security reasons,' answered Percy striding into the room observing the masses of used tissues and discarded tubs of ice cream.

'Good god,' he said turning to look at her, 'have you been watching the Note Book?'

Hermione let out another weak laugh, 'you always know how to cheer me up.'

'Yes well I doubt this will humour you,' he said pulling out the elder wand and pointing it at her.

'Percy?' breathed Hermione walking backwards and falling onto the bed, 'what, what is this?'

'Consider it poetic justice you stupid mudblood,' he hissed taking a step forward, 'I know who Hugo's father really is, those green eyes, so like Harry's, all those long nights working at the ministry, Ron soon grew paranoid enough to leave Georges joke shop and instead join the Auror order, he knew something was going on.

'This is what this is!' shrieked Hermione hysterical, 'you have come here to punish me for having an affair!'

'No,' said Percy, 'No I have come to kill you because you are too good at your job and I do not want you getting in my way, the affair just makes it poetic.'

Hermione rolled for her wand which was on the bedside table, Percy, his wand already in hand stretched it out with ease.

'Avada Kadavra!'

Ted and Percy both stood in the glass theatre room watching the Ministry coroners determine the cause of death of Harry and Kingsley who had both been found in the Egyptian desert only hours after the body of Ron had been discovered in his home in Hogsmeade and Neville's in the Library of Hogwarts. Reports were flying in across the radio channels with news that the former Seeker Viktor Krum had also died. At first Ginny had refused to let the autopsy be carried out instead wanting only to be left alone with Harry's corpse, but as Ted and Percy explained she came to understand in her devastated condition that the only means of identifying who and why he had been killed was to undergo tests.

'Oh course this has turned the Auror department on its head,' said Percy quietly to Ted, 'What with Kingsely and Harry both gone at the same time, plus Ron, Hermione, and the deputy head Ralph Fervour.'

'That just leaves me and Seamus Finnegan,' said Ted turning pale, 'I did not realise Ralph and Hermione were dead too.'

'Oh yes, found him lying in a ditch with half his arm blown off about two hours ago, and we have just had reports that she was killed while on an assignment' said Percy in an oddly calm voice, 'the good news is that they have a profile of the killer, about 6.2, black and wearing a tuxedo.'

'You seem awfully calm for a man who has just lost a brother,' said Ted staring down at his dead godfathers face, 'I don't know how you can do it,'

'You have to try and look at the greater picture,' said Percy placing a reassuring hand on Ted's shoulder, 'No matter how angry, how upset I get it will not make the situation any better, we are of little use if we think too much with our hearts at this time.'

'I wish I could speak with him just one more time,' said Ted, 'find out who did this.'

'yes,' said Percy, 'If you had the resurrection stone then you could, but he threw that in the forbidden forest, it would take you days to find it, of course if you had, had use of the elder wand and the common sense to use Accio with it then I am sure you would have found it sooner rather than stinging your hands on nettles and thistles till they were numb.'

Ted looked at Percy strangely.

'Sorry I am rambling,' lied Percy quickly, 'grief, you know, coping mechanism.'

'Yeah,' said Ted patting Percy confused on the back, 'They were on a lead, I think that Ron was in on it, Ralph must have been in on it too.'

'Ralph was always a nosey individual, always had to know what the others in the ministry were doing, I am sure that whoever did this was just erring on the side of caution with regards to killing him,' said Percy with a clear tone of dislike in his voice.

'So the individual is black, do you think it could be an Egyptian?' asked Ted.

'It would make sense,' agreed Percy, 'Kingsley and Harry were both killed in Egypt.'

'They say that in the desert where they found the bodies,' said Ted his voice breaking slightly as he fought back a tear, 'it was as if it had been raining four about fours days straight, the sand was wet through.'

'Yes,' agreed Percy his eyes narrowing as he looked curiously at some strange procedure one of the Wizards was carrying out on Harry's face.

'It ain't him!' called out the wizard loudly taking a few steps back from Harry's face.

'What called out the other two wizards working on Kingsley.

'What?' hissed Percy in anger and disbelief, 'then who is it!' he bellowed through the glass.'

'I don't know!' called back the wizard, 'but it isn't him, it's a decoy look!' the wizard held up a fleshy mask sculpted to resemble Harry perfectly, the wizard was forced to leap backwards tripping over another wizard as the body of Harry's suddenly swelled, the beard on its mutilated face grew and grew as the body swelled into the large and powerful Hagrid, former grounds keeper of Hogwarts.

'All be dammed,' breathed Ted in shock, 'it's Hagrid!'

'It is unbelievable,' said Percy in despair and disbelief, Ted mistook Percy's expression and tone to be from relief.

'Then Harry could still alive!' exclaimed Ted a hopeful expression etching its way onto his face as he looped an arm around Percy hugging him tightly.

'Yes,' said Percy in disbelief looking around worriedly, 'I suspect he is,'

'Now we shouldn't get too hopeful,' said Ted now pacing around trying to control himself, 'We don't know anything for sure yet.'

'Oh now come on,' said Percy irritably, 'Of course he is alive knowing my luck!'

'What's that supposed to mean?' asked Ted looking confusedly at Percy.

'I'm just stating that I am a lucky guy,' said Percy pitifully covering his tracks.

'Oh,' said Ted seeming not to notice and was staring at the theatre once more as the three wizards accidentally wrench half of Kingsley's face off.

'Guess he was real then,' remarked Ted.

'Yeah,' said Percy bitterly.