Chapter three

When Hermione arrived at the headmistress office, she took a deep breath and knocked. She needed to keep herself calm so Ron wouldn't question her about Ginny.

'Come in Miss Granger,' called Professor McGonagall.

Hermione walked in and gave Ron a small smile. She turned to Professor McGonagall. 'I'm sorry I'm late Professor,' it was then that she spotted Minister for magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. 'Minister, sorry, I didn't see you there.'

'That's okay Hermione, I know you, Ron and Harry have had quite a lot on your minds recently.'

Hermione gave Kingsley a smile and nodded. Then she looked back to Professor McGonagall. 'You wanted to see us Professor. I'm sorry that Harry isn't here, but we still can't find him anywhere.'

'Yes, Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley has already informed us that you haven't had any luck finding Mr. Potter. Well, I think we should talk first, and then we'll work on finding him. First, I think we should all sit down and have some tea, this might take a while.' Professor McGonagall pointed towards the two sofas near the fireplace.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, then slowly walked over and sat down. They had a feeling the headmistress and Minister for magic was going to question them about what the three of them were doing for the last few months. They promised Harry that they would never tell anyone about the horcruxes, and they hoped Professor McGonagall would understand.

Professor McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt walked over and sat on the other sofa. Professor McGonagall poured them all tea and then started to speak.

'I can see you both are apprehensive and I can understand why. When I explain what I've seen I think you will understand and be comfortable enough to tell me the rest.' she looked at Hermione and Ron as they looked at each other and then back to her. They nodded for her to continue. 'Right, last night while I was working in here, I noticed something. The pensieve was sitting there with a memory in it.' she heard Hermione gasped. She continued, 'I take it Miss Granger that you know what the memory contains?'

'No, Professor, Harry had the memory, he got it from Professor Snape before he died. Voldemort killed him in the shrieking shack, we never saw the memory. Ron and I went into the great hall to be with the rest of Ron's family. That was the last time we saw Harry until Hagrid carried him back to the castle.' she sobs silently remembering how she felt when she thought Harry was dead. Ron took her hand and held it.

'Well, I didn't know who's it was either, so I spoke to Professor Dumbledore. He told me it was Harry's and he thought I should take a look, that it would explain some things that he wasn't able to tell me before he died. Before we get started I suggest that you two have a look for yourselves, first there is something I should tell you.' she waited a minute and saw the anxious expression on both their faces. She continued. 'I know about the horcruxes.'

Ron and Hermione looked at Professor McGonagall before turning to Kingsley Shacklebolt. Ron looked at Hermione and she knew he didn't want to answer.

Hermione took a deep breath then answered. 'No one was supposed to know about those, it's too dangerous. Professor Dumbledore made Harry swear he will not tell anyone except for me and Ron, so we could help in the search.'

'Yes, I know, after seeing the memory, Professor Dumbledore told me everything he knew this morning, that is, everything he knew up until the time of his death. We have a lot to discuss, but I think you both should see the memory and then we'll talk. While you do that I'll have some food sent up. Mr. Weasley mentioned that you didn't have a chance to have breakfast Miss Granger. Please, have a look. But I must caution you both, that what you're about to see will be a bit of a shock.'

Hermione and Ron looked at each other, stood up and walked over to the pensieve. They looked into the pensieve and then looked back at Professor McGonagall. Ron spoke before Hermione could ask the question she was going to ask.

'Professor, I have never used a pensieve, what do we do?'

'Oh, sorry Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, all you have to do is lower your faces into the bowl and it will do the rest.'

Hermione and Ron nodded, then looked back at each other. They smiled to each other than lowered their faces into the pensieve.

Minerva and Kingsley sat in silence waiting for Ron and Hermione to come back out of the pensieve. There was nothing they could say, they had already said it all last night and this morning. Professor McGonagall summoned a house elf and requested some food to be sent up for her and her guests. After waiting a while Minerva saw Ron and Hermione reappear from the pensieve. Hermione and Ron looked like they were going to be sick.

'Please, come sit down, you both don't look too good.' Minerva stood up and waited for them to take their seats.

Hermione started to cry. 'Poor Harry, what must he be going through? We have to help him, but I don't know where he is.' she put her head on Ron's shoulder and Ron put his arms around Hermione trying to soothe her.

'We'll find him Hermione, don't worry.' Ron said. They sat in silence for a few minutes while Hermione got her emotions under control.

'Well as you can see, we have a few things to talk about, but first, Kingsley has also seen the memory and we are both in agreement. First, the information that Voldemort had made not one but several horcruxes should never leave this office, it is just too dangerous. Kingsley has agreed to a formal statement regarding what you three have been doing.' she saw the shock looks on Hermione and Ron's faces. She held her hand up before they could speak. 'We will not be releasing any information that his death eaters or anyone else who wants power could use, but we need to say something. That is what we need to discuss and I would like you're input on what is released. Second, we know Harry's going to need help, both physically and emotionally. Knowing that he had to die and actually having the courage to walk into that forest and confront Voldemort, must have been one of the most difficult things he ever had to do.' Hermione and Ron nodded, both looking at each other wondering how he could have done it. Professor McGonagall went on, 'Second, we wanted your opinion on having your family know Ron.' she saw they were about to protest, again she held up her hand. 'Listen to what I suggest before you decide.' she waited, once they nodded she continued. 'Ron your family has always been there for Harry, he never knew what a loving family was like until he met you, and your family has treated him like a member of their family. I think after they have had some time to grieve, then it might be wise to tell them. Harry is going to need all the support he can get, and I think the only way for Harry to receive that support is for your family to know, otherwise they won't know what to do for him. Another reason is that Kingsley has agreed he will have the Burrow's wards strengthen, not just for Harry's sake but for yours as well. The death eaters that are still on the loose know you both were with Harry, they will come after you and maybe even your family Ron. They knew Harry has spent a lot of time with them and how much he cares for them. If you, Hermione, Harry and your family will be safe then I think it will help Harry start to heel, knowing he doesn't have to worry about putting any of you in danger.'

Hermione looked at Ron. 'What do you think Ron? I never thought that we could be in more danger, not that much. I mean, Voldemort always wanted Harry and we knew he wanted to be the one to kill him, but the rest of us any of them could have killed us, but I suppose it makes sense. Everyone knows that Harry, you and I are best friends. If we tell your family Ron, they will be able to support Harry, you know that he has suffered from nightmares since you met him, and after this I think they will increase.' Hermione waited for Ron to answer.

Ron sat thinking about everything. He knew his parents thought of Harry as another son, and his brothers all liked Harry and would probably do anything to help him, and of course there was Ginny. She loved him, she would want to help Harry. They have all been in danger ever since Voldemort returned, so having some extra protection on his home would make them all feel safe. But after the loss of Fred, will they be able to cope? Finally he made his decision.

'Yes, I think it would be fine for my family to know, all of them except maybe Percy. I still don't trust him, I don't know if I ever will, but the rest, yeah, if it will help Harry, of course they should know. I know that Harry's nightmares have increased since Voldemorts returns. Most of the time he thrashes in his bed, until I can untangle him, then he settles back down. But I think we should wait until after Fred's funeral. They need to say goodbye, then we'll tell them everything.

Professor McGonagall nodded. 'You are a very wise man, Mr. Weasley. Thank you and I'm sure Harry would really appreciate it. Before we start discussing about how to find Mr. Potter, I spoke to Kingsley about Professor Snape. He has agreed to release a statement regarding what Professor Snape's real agenda was and that he was loyal to Professor Dumbledore, and that Professor Dumbledore knew he was dying and so he asked Severus to…kill him.' a small sob escaped from Professor McGonagall. She took a deep breath and continued. 'We will not mention anything about Professor's Snape's feelings for Lily Potter. But we'll have to come up with an excuse as to why Professor Snape spied on Voldemort and why he was so loyal to Professor Dumbledore. Kingsley has also agreed to having his portrait done and having it placed in this room with all the other former headmasters and headmistresses.

Hermione and Ron nodded and smiled. Before they saw the memory they thought, like everyone else that Snape was Voldemorts spy and a murderer, but now, after seeing the memory, they understood. Snape was in love with Lily Potter, Harry's mother, and he's patronus was a doe, just as Lily Potter's had been. And he was the one who sent the sword of Gryffindor to them to help them to destroy the horcruxes. Hermione looked back to Professor McGonagall and the Minister smiling.

'I think that would be nice, if only we had known he was helping us all along. But I can understand keeping that quiet. It was safer for Professor Snape if no one knew.'

'Yes Miss Granger. The understanding we have now, puts a new light on Professor Snape's actions, and Professor McGonagall mentioned that Harry said something about Professor Snape's loyalty to Professor Dumbledore and his love for Lily Potter to Voldemort during the battle. But I must admit, that I wasn't really paying much attention to the words being said, I was too engrossed in watching Harry, scared for him.'

'I know how you feel Minister, while I was watching Harry and Voldemort circle each other, I was just hoping that Harry would be alright, I admit that I was scared, and I never paid attention to the words being said either.' Ron said.

'I think while we are alone, you both can call me Kingsley, please.' Kingsley said smiling at Hermione and Ron, they both nodded. 'Like Minerva said, we will have to release a statement as to what you three we're doing, leaving out certain details. After we have discussed some other things, we should concentrate on finding Harry. He's needs the people who care about him around him right now. Can you think of anywhere he might be? Do you think he is still somewhere in the castle, maybe under his invisibility cloak. If he is using it then will be no way to find him until he wants to be found.' Kingsley finished.

Ron gave Hermione and look then turned to Professor McGonagall. 'Professor, Harry had something in his possession that might help us find him even if he is under the cloak, I have used it a couple of time so far when I was looking for him. I don't know if Harry would appreciate me showing you this but anything to help him right now is more important than him being angry with me.' Ron stood and reached into his pocket and pulled out some parchment. Hermione knew instantly what he was holding. She looked at Ron and nodded. Ron put the parchment on the table between them and waited.

'I don't understand Mr. Weasley, what is this parchment all about? And how could it help us find Mr. Potter?' Minerva looking puzzled as the stared at Ron.

Ron took a deep breath and pulled out his wand. 'I think you will understand if you see it for yourselves.' Ron nodded then tapped the parchment. 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' Ron said and then everything started appearing on the parchment.

Minerva and Kingsley bent over the parchment, staring at it in amazement. 'This is Hogwarts, but where did you get it?'

'Harry was given it back in his third year, Professor.'

'I always wondered how he was able to get around here at night and never get caught. Can I assume that the people who gave this to Harry are a relation of yours Mr. Weasley.' she looked up at Ron with a smile on her face.

Ron blushed, amazed that Professor McGonagall had worked out exactly who had given Harry the map. 'Yes, Professor, Fred and George gave it to Harry, they felt sorry for him when he wasn't allowed to leave the school to go to Hogsmeade, and they thought this would cheer Harry up. As you can see there are several secret passage ways marked on the map. Harry used this one and it took him straight to the basement in Honeydukes.' Ron said pointing at the map. 'But how did you know that it was my brothers, Professor?'

'Yes, well, your brothers always seem to be able to get into the kitchens and get a lot of food for all the Gryffindor parties, as well as they always seemed to escape whenever they did things around the school to upset Mr. Filch. He always suspected it was Fred and George, but he was never able to catch them. Also a long time ago there were rumours about a map of Hogwarts, but that's all they were, rumours. We never found proof that it was real.'

'This is fantastic, but who are Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs?' Kingsley asked looking at the map.

Hermione and Ron exchanged glances, Ron gave Hermione a nod to let her know she should tell them. 'Moony was Remus Lupin, Wormtail, was Peter Pettigrew, Padfoot was Sirius Black and Prongs was James Potter.' Hermione saw the surprised look on Professor McGonagall's face. 'Apart from Remus Lupin, the other names represented their animagus forms, of course Remus being what he was, his nickname was Moony.'

'Miss Granger, are you telling me that James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew where unregistered animagus?' Minerva asked staring straight at Hermione.

'Yes, what Sirius told Harry was that because of Remus's condition, they knew they couldn't keep him company as humans, so they decided to learn to become animagi so they could keep Remus company as animals. Peter Pettigrew was a rat, so he was small enough to get past the whomping willow. Sirius was a big black dog and James was a stag.'

Hermione saw that Professor McGonagall had got the connection. Kingsley obviously didn't connect it straight away.

'What, Minerva, does that mean something to you?'

Minerva looked over at Kingsley and nodded. 'James' animagus form of a stag is the same as Harry's patronus.' she said simply. Kingsley finally realised the significance of this information.

'Ok, let's take a look and see if we can find Harry anywhere on this.' Minerva said and they all looked over the map. There was no sign of Harry anywhere.

'I don't know if you noticed Professor, but there is one place that doesn't show up on the map.' Hermione said looking up at Professor McGonagall. She watched as Professor McGonagall studied the map. After a couple of minutes she looked up at Hermione.

'The room of requirement.' said Professor McGonagall.'

'Yes, Professor, and if Harry was using his cloak it would still show Harry's name. So it looks like Harry is not at Hogwarts anywhere, not in the castle or the grounds, unless he is back in the room of requirement, he was there last night when Ginny found him but she told us this morning that she thinks he left last night. She fell asleep in there.'

'Okay, then, we will work on finding Harry soon, but first we are going to need some information from both of you. First can you tell me what the horcruxes were and where you found them?' Minerva asked.

Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. 'What Harry told us was that the first one was the diary used to open the chamber of secrets. When Harry stabbed it with the basilisk fang it destroyed the horcrux, and the hold that the Riddle memory had on Ginny was also destroyed. The second was a ring, if you remember the memory, Professor Dumbledore put the ring on and that's what cause his problem with his arm and what was going to kill him in the end. The ring had belonged to Tom Riddle's wizard grandfather. The third was a locket that belonged to Riddle's mother, it also had been passed down and had once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. Riddle's mother had sold the locket when she found herself alone and pregnant. A woman called Hepzibah Smith bought the locket from Borgin and Burks and she also owned the cup that had once belonged the Helga Hufflepuff. That was the fourth horcrux. Riddle had worked for Borgin and Burkes after he left Hogwarts and he also killed Hepzibah Smith and stole the locket and cup. The fifth was the lost diadem that belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. The sixth was Nagini, Voldemorts snake, the one we thought was the last was the piece of soul inside Voldemort. But now we also know that Harry also had one inside him, that makes seven.' Hermione started to cry again and Ron held her tighter until she stopped.

'How did Harry know all this, do you know Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley?'

Ron saw that Hermione was still not calm enough to answer, 'Harry told us that Professor Dumbledore had acquired memories of Tom Riddle, some were from Professor Dumbledore himself, some from other sources. What we know is Tom Riddle killed his muggle family and had his uncle blamed for their murders, then took the ring. It supposedly had been passed down starting with the Peverell's.' Ron concluded.

Minerva and Kingsley sat in stunned silence. They looked at each other than at Ron and Hermione. Minerva glanced at a cabinet that held Professor Dumbledore's memories. She had never had a look to see who's memories they were, now she knew. These were the memories that Albus had shown Harry. One day she might have a look for herself, to get the full story of what Voldemort had done.

'Okay, well…' she was struggling with her thoughts, 'we are going to need to work up a report to release to the Daily Prophet. And you two along with Harry will get questioned by reporters if they corner you. Once you both and Harry, when we find him, go back to the Burrow, you will be safe for the time being. But it's when you want to go anywhere that might become a problem. Kingsley suggested that we assign aurors to you for the time being, so if you decide to do some shopping or anything out in public at least you'll have some protection. Now, we have to decide where we are going to look for Harry. Do you have an idea's on this?' Minerva asked Hermione and Ron.

Hermione and Ron sat there for a few minutes before Ron answered. 'There's not many places Harry would go. He once told us that Hogwarts was the only place he felt at home, apart from the Burrow. He could be himself there and not have to worry about people staring at him or his scar. There are no other places that I can think of for where he might go.' Ron said.

'He might have gone to Grimmauld place, Ron. Since Kreacher changed Harry might decide to go there to be close to Sirius. We stayed there for a while why we were trying to find out what the horcruxes might have been and where they were Professor. It might be worth having a look there.'

Before Minerva could answer Kingsley spoke. 'We have already got aurors watching the place, I put them there last night. They reported this morning that no one has been seen coming or going. I gave my two trusted aurors the address so they could see the place. So far nothing, but they haven't gone inside, there just watching it for now. They are due to report very soon. Let's hope Harry did go there so we can help him.'

They all sat in silence why they ate and had some tea, but no one was able to come up with anywhere that Harry might go. They were all starting to worry.

'Ron, we have to find him, he's hurt. Ginny told me that he has a large gash on his chest and it's still bleeding, or it was last night. He needs to see a healer. We need to start looking for him.'

Ron nodded before he looked angry. 'How did Ginny see Harry's chest. They didn't do anything did they?'

'Ron not now okay. Harry's hurt we have to find him. Ginny just said she saw the gash and he had a lot of cuts and bruises.' Hermione started crying again. She hoped Ron would drop it, she didn't want Ron to start questioning Ginny.

'Okay I think that will have to be all for now, if you get any ideas as to where Harry might be, please let me know immediately, both of you. But please do not go yourselves. There are still death eaters out there and the reporters will be trying to find you both as well. Now I think you should go be with your family Mr. Weasley, I got a message from them that they will be leaving in just over an hour. Miss Granger I assume you are going to be staying with the Weasley's?'

Ron nodded and stood up. Hermione spoke. 'Yes, Professor, I'll be there for a while until I can find my parents. But I'll do that after we find Harry.' Hermione saw a puzzled look on Professor McGonagall's face. She explained. 'I charmed my parents before I went with Ron and Harry, they are living in Australia and they don't know they have a daughter.' Hermione had fresh tears in her eyes again, Ron pulled her into a hug to console her.

'Hermione, I will see if I can help with that, I can't promise anything, but if I find out any information I will let you know.'

Hermione smiled. 'Thank you Kingsley. We better go down Ron,' she turned to Professor McGonagall. 'If we here from Harry or have any thoughts on where he might be we will let you know.' Professor McGonagall nodded and Ron and Hermione left the room. Kingsley and Minerva sat and spoke for a while, the two trying to work out where Harry might have gone.