Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
Locked Away
Chapter 3 – Being Followed
Hermione opened the door to the hotel lobby and rang the bell. She heard a female voice with an Irish accent call out from behind a wall, "I'll be there in a minute."
Seconds later, the woman who had checked them into the motel emerged from behind a closed door. She asked, "Ms. … Farmer, right?"
"Yes," answered Hermione Granger. They'd used false names to avoid attracting attention.
"What can I do for you?"
"Last night," explained Hermione, nervously, "Mr. Gordon walked into his room and found a dead body. Almost immediately after, a short man with brown hair approached the room and called the aurors. He acted as though he might work for this hotel. I was wondering if you knew who he was."
"Oh, this is about that bloody business," she replied, now looking at the floor. "In all my years here, there's never been an Unforgivable curse performed in this hotel until last night. To answer your question, I'm sorry Miss, but only two men work for this hotel. One is tall, and the other has blond hair. I have no idea who he was."
Hermione wasn't really surprised. "Well, thank you for your time. Have a good day." As she approached the door to her room, she noticed a red-haired man cautiously approaching her. She smiled and greeted, "Hi, Ron!"
"Hi," he whispered, "I think I'm being followed!"
"Then come into my room and we'll talk," she whispered back.
They went into her room and Hermione pointed her wand at the door to make sure no one could disturb them or eavesdrop. Then, she did the same thing to the window. "What's going on, Ron? Who's following you?" asked a worried Hermione.
"I went down to the pub like you said, and when I left, I noticed this woman. She was outside the pub when I left and I saw her again near the hotel. She was looking at me, and turned around as soon as she realized I saw her."
"So," asked Hermione playfully, "you noticed some girl outside the pub."
"She had to be at least in her forties, 'Mione! Her black hair was starting to gray. I only noticed her because she looked out of place near a pub."
Hermione was deep in thought. "I guess, for now, we can assume this has something to do with Harry. The real killer is still out there."
Ron looked frightened at that prospect. "You shouldn't go out, Hermione. I'll…"
"If we both don't go out and find out who killed Walter Tuttle, then Harry's going to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban!" she yelled at Ron. "We don't have time to hide!"
"All right, all right. What did you find out from Harry?"
"That he met the man in the pub and left as soon as he got his bottle. Then he went to a bench by himself and drank it. Then he went to the owl office and wrote Ginny."
Ron frowned. "They're back together. I knew it! I thought he understood how much danger she'd be in!"
"He loves her, Ronald! And she loves him! You can't just stop loving someone because it's inconvenient. They are together again, but they're keeping it a secret. Does that satisfy you?"
"At least it's secret," commented Ron. Then he chuckled to himself. "I wonder what she's gonna tell the blokes that ask her out."
"I don't know," replied Hermione, trying not to laugh, "that they have bad breath." They both started laughing at this statement.
"Anyway," continued Hermione, "to get back to the more important subject of Harry's trial, what did you find out?
"That after Harry left, a short, brown haired bloke nobody had seen before called Tuttle to his table. They seemed to have an argument after a few minutes, and the short guy left. Tuttle left right after him."
Hermione's eyes bulged out. "A short man with brown hair?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"This could be very important, Ron!"
She then explained how she'd been looking for a man that matched that description. They both suspected at this point that this stranger was the murderer they were searching for. Together, they went to the Magistrate.
"That's interesting, but it's still not enough to free Mr. Potter. I'm afraid you'll need more evidence than this," Mr. Wipple explained.
"But, magistrate," asked Hermione, "could you at least have your people search for this man?"
He sighed. "I suppose I could. But if he is the murderer, do you really think he'd stay in town?"
They left the magistrate's office feeling deflated. They were walking back toward the hotel when Ron said quietly, "The woman that was following me is right behind us."
Hermione whispered, "When we turn the next corner, we'll wait for her."
They did just that, and after a minute of waiting, she walked by them, and they both got a good look at her face. She ran for it, and they followed. They could run faster than the older woman, but she kept turning down alleys, leaving boxes or whatever else she could find to block them with. She ran around a corner, and as they approached it, they heard a faint pop they recognized as the sound someone makes when apparating. They turned the corner to see an empty alley. From behind them, Hermione heard a woman shout "Stupefy," twice before she fell down, face first.
Hermione opened her eyes to see a room she'd never been in. It reminded her of the spell damage ward at St. Mungo's, but was smaller and seemed like a more relaxed atmosphere than the busy hospital. She saw a woman with blond hair, who appeared to be in her thirties, wearing what was clearly wizarding medical robes. She looked at this healer and asked, "Where am I? What's happened? Where's Ron?"
The healer smiled. "You're at St. Potter's clinic in Godric's Hollow. You were brought here about an hour ago. Your companion is already awake and in the waiting room. You were stunned and fell face forward. We had to heal a few cuts and bruises and enervate you, and you're fine now. You'll have to arrange payment at the front desk, but after that, you're free to go."
Hermione had a confused look on her face. "St. Potter's?"
The healer chuckled, "Your friend had the same reaction. This is the town where You-Know-Who killed James and Lily Potter and tried to kill their son, Harry. This clinic was named after them."
"Oh," replied Hermione, not sure how to react to this information. She looked down at the hospital gown she was wearing and asked, "Where are my clothes?"
After getting dressed, finding Ron, and paying their bill with Harry's gold, they left to find out they'd only been unconscious for a few hours. It was now time for dinner. After stopping at a restaurant, they went back to the Magistrate's office to report what had happened. He didn't give them much confidence that their attacker would be caught. They thought about visiting Harry, but decided they'd wait until the next day. In the mean time, they had to come up with a plan to find the people they were looking for. Harry's life depended on it.
Chapter end
