Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
Locked Away – Chapter 4 – Galleons for Your Thoughts
"Hermione," asked Ron, once they were back in her hotel room, discussing their plan.
"Yes, Ronald?" asked Hermione, looking impatient.
"Didn't that woman from the alley seem, I don't know, familiar to you? Like we've seen her before?" asked Ron.
"Hmm. Now that you mention it, I think we did see her before, but where?" replied Hermione, first excited, then frustrated.
"I wish we had a picture of her to show Harry!" commented Ron, sounding frustrated. His face was slightly pink. "If we know her, he probably does, too."
Hermione got a look in her eyes that Ron had seen hundreds of times before. That super-intelligent witch he'd known for seven years was beginning to come up with a solution to yet another problem. "In muggle investigations, witnesses can describe someone to an artist who will draw a picture of them," suggested Hermione, her eyes beginning to shine.
"Why would you need that?" asked Ron, a bit disappointed that all she'd come up with was a drawing. "You can just use a pensieve to get an exact picture."
"A pensieve!" exclaimed Hermione. Now, her eyes really were shining. "Ron, that's a great idea! We need to get one."
At her acceptance of his idea, Ron's face began turning red. "Wouldn't the magistrate already have one? I mean, pensieve memories are sometimes used in trials, after all," suggested Ron.
"You know what, Ron?" responded Hermione, beaming at the redhead in front of her. "You may be right. When did you become the brains of this operation?"
Ron's face was now a brighter shade of red than his hair. He stuttered, "Er, I, well, I guess I just know a little more of the everyday wizarding world than you because I've, er, been raised in a wizarding family instead of a muggle family like you and Harry." He then cleared his throat. "Of course, if you put me into the muggle world, I'd be completely hopeless. At least you know a lot of the wizarding world. I don't know anything about the muggle world, except what my dad talks about." He then chuckled. "And based off of the looks that you and Harry have exchanged over some of what my dad has said, I'd guess he's not always right about the muggle world."
Hermione giggled at that. "No, not always."
Ron smiled. "I thought not."
"Anyway, Ron," said Hermione, putting a serious expression back on her face, "I think we should go see the magistrate again tonight."
"Tonight?" asked Ron incredulously.
"Yes, tonight, Ronald." Hermione was beginning to look slightly annoyed. "Perhaps you were planning on waiting until after the trial."
"I was just thinking that we should wait until the morning. We don't want to upset the magistrate," explained Ron, hoping to calm Hermione down.
"Of course we don't want to upset him, and we'll be polite," promised Hermione, her face turning pink from being annoyed, "but we can't waste any time! Honestly, Ronald! I almost think you want Harry to go to Azkaban." She crossed her arms and glared at him.
"Of course I don't want Harry to go there!" declared Ron, pleading with her to calm down. "I'm sorry, Hermione. You're right. We shouldn't waste time. We'll go there right now."
"We're sorry for bothering you this late sir," explained Hermione, after they'd gotten in to see the magistrate. "But this is important. Do you have a pensieve?"
"Of course I have a pensieve," replied Magistrate Wipple. He was a bit annoyed at being disturbed five minutes before it was time to close the office, but he knew the Potter investigation was very important, so he tried to be patient. "That's a common tool."
"Then why haven't you used one to prove Harry's innocent?" asked Ron, sarcastically.
The magistrate huffed, apparently losing his patience. "Because, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, the suspect would never voluntarily submit an incriminating memory. Since all Mr. Potter claims is that he walked in on a dead body, and did not witness the murder, that memory would be useless in court."
"We're sorry, magistrate," said Hermione while giving Ron a sharp look. "We don't mean to bother you; it's just that our best friend's life is at stake."
He seemed to calm down a little. "I understand. Why did you ask about my pensieve?"
"We think we recognize the woman who attacked us, but can't remember who she is. We'd like to show her face to Harry, to see if he recognizes her."
Mr. Wipple replied, "I can't give you the pensieve."
"But we…" Ron started to shout before Hermione held up her hand to stop him.
"Why not, sir," asked Hermione, politely.
"We don't like our prisoners disappearing into memories." He then smiled slightly. "It makes the guards nervous. We can, however, sell you a thought-sphere for ten galleons. They work like a pensieve, except that they only display the memories above the sphere instead of letting you go inside it. It should serve your purpose." He then produced a clear glass sphere.
"That's what they use to store prophesies in the department of mysteries," muttered Ron.
"How did you? Oh, yes. I remember reading about that in the prophet about a year ago. You were with him at the ministry when You-Know-Who revealed himself?"
"Yes, sir," both Ron and Hermione answered together.
Hermione then said, "We'll take it," while pulling money out of her purse.
"Of course," explained the magistrate, "Since a wand is required to work it, and we don't allow people visiting prisoners to carry their wands, I'll have to accompany you for this visit."
"Of course," replied Hermione, politely.
They took the sphere, and Hermione, who'd read all about how to use them, produced her memory of the woman who attacked them and placed it in the sphere. She also asked if they could have Harry produce his memory of the man who caught him in the room. They could then show it to the bartender to see if it was the same man.
Within a few minutes, all three of them entered the room where Harry was staying. He looked at them questioningly until Hermione said, "Hello, Harry. We'd like to show you a memory of someone in a thought-sphere, but since a wand is required to operate it, and they won't let us bring ours, Magistrate Wipple has graciously volunteered to help us."
Harry took a deep breath, apparently disappointed that they hadn't come to free him. "Okay, sure. Anything I can do to get out of here."
Hermione showed him the sphere, which caused him a bit of discomfort, because of the memory of Sirius' death on the night they saw a bunch of them in the Department of Mysteries, which he disguised with a smile. The magistrate then touched his wand to the orb, muttering an incantation while moving his wand around in a small circle, revealing the memory of a middle-aged woman just before she attacked them.
Harry took one look at it and turned away. They could barely hear him softly whisper, "Of course I know who that is. It's Mrs. Diggory. Cedric's mum!"
Chapter end