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XIX

XIXIX "Search for the Lost, Part II" XIXIX

Hermione was stretched across her bed next to Luna, reading wizarding magazines and newspapers. Hermione fancied herself to be rather good at reading between the lines of the publications, gleaning out bits and pieces of truth about the state of the world. But Luna insisted that since the world was full of misconceptions, half-truths, and slander, that one could find truth simply by taking any publication at face value.

She had brought over a stack of diverse reading materials so that they could spend the day testing their theories. At least, that was her excuse. She had actually come over to wait with Hermione for a potential visitor Hermione had uncertainly predicted the day before. Hermione wasn't fooled, but she also didn't mind.

Luna had taken to spending a lot of days over at Hermione's house since her boyfriend, Vincent Crabbe, had been sentenced to 100 days in Azkaban. And since Hermione's own boyfriend had been suspiciously absent to her this summer, she and Luna had something to bond over. There was comfort in their mutual loneliness, and there was understanding between them.

It was nice, actually. Hermione could tell Luna about her Seer ability—from the vivid visions to the vague feelings to the convoluted dreams. Luna understood the jumbled language Hermione used when speaking about her power, regardless of the fact that she had never experienced Sight herself. Luna herself spoke about dreams and reality with a fluidity that knocked down barriers between the two, and Hermione found herself liking that more and more as time went on.

Hermione's parents, who were muggle dentists, didn't quite know what to make of Luna Lovegood, since she was prone to talking about very strange things. Granted, having a witch for a daughter, they were used to hearing about unbelievable characters and events, but Hermione's stories were decidedly tame compared to Luna's tall tales. Plus, Hermione's parents fancied that they could tell when Hermione was pulling their leg, but Luna always seemed so certain about everything she said, regardless of the fantastical topics.

Hermione sighed deeply as she looked up at the clock. It was lunchtime, which meant that her father was sure to call soon to see if Luna was over and would be staying for dinner. He always said she was welcome, but Hermione knew from his tone of voice that she was not.

"When do you think he'll show up?" asked Luna.

Hermione turned to her and shrugged. "I don't even know that anyone's going to come. I'm not actually very good at predicting things, you know."

"I came," Luna reminded. Hermione smiled until Luna continued, "But I think someone else will turn up today, too. Very likely Ron. Although maybe Harry. Or even Victor, who knows?"

Hermione made a face. "I hope not Victor. I'm not ready to see him just yet."

"He sent you flowers in hospital, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but…"

"There you go. See? He was trying to make amends. You could have at least written him."

"He could have at least written me," grumbled Hermione.

"He wrote a card," Luna pointed out.

"No. He wrote 'Victor' on a card. And you know, as one word cards go, that's not even a good word." Hermione turned back to her magazine and Luna laughed.

"All the same," said Luna, "Someone will turn up. In fact, I'm sure of it. I had a dream last night that said today would be 'one of those days'."

"One of what days?"

"Well that's up to us, now isn't it?" Luna said sagely with a conspiratorial smile.

Hermione grinned in return. "I don't think it counts as Sight if it's a self-fulfilling prophecy."

"Then why did you write me?" asked Luna.

"Why did you come round today?" countered Hermione.

Luna leaned forward to answer, but the two froze when they heard a knock on the door downstairs. They looked at each other for two seconds before Luna whispered, "It's him."

"It's probably the postman," Hermione whispered back.

"You should answer it," said Luna.

Still, Hermione hesitated, unsure of what it would mean to have this prediction come true. Luna studied her eyes for only another moment before throwing down her magazine and heading to the front door.

There was another knock as Luna pulled the door open, revealing her former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor with his knuckles outstretched.

"Professor Lupin," gasped Luna, wide-eyed as though she wasn't sure he truly existed. "What brings you here?"

"Luna," said Remus uncertainly. "Hi, I didn't expect to see… Is Hermione here?"

Hermione was just coming around behind Luna, who turned to her and said, "It's for you," as though there had been any question of that.

Hermione froze next to Luna, looking at Remus in shock. "Remus?" she said. She turned to Luna—almost apologetically, Remus thought. He stared at the girls, watching as an unspoken conversation played itself out between them. After a moment, Luna turned and walked to the living room.

Hermione watched after her, but then looked to Remus and his grim expression. "Harry?" she asked.

Remus narrowed his eyes. "You knew?"

"No," sighed Hermione. "Would you like to come in?"

She stepped back and Remus entered, looking around the muggle house. It was very tidy and orderly, without a trace of magic anywhere. He wondered for a moment if Hermione ever got bored there during the holidays, but then he suspected that maybe that was the reason Luna Lovegood was over.

"He's gone missing," said Remus by way of explanation as they walked through to the living room. "Do you know where he is?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, I haven't seen him. But he'll be back. He can't be gone forever yet. There is a lot that hasn't happened yet where Harry's concerned. At least," she smiled, "I think there is."

"You believe it, though?" Remus clarified.

"I do," said Hermione. She paused. "But you're going to look for him anyway, aren't you?"

Remus smiled vaguely, thinking back for a moment to his interaction with Severus. "Yes, I am," he said. "I have to."

"Okay," said Hermione. "I'll come with you."

"Do you w—? Yes, of course. I was going to ask, actually." He turned to Luna to see if she wanted to come as well, but the question died on his lips when he saw the look on her face. She was studying them both critically. He had never seen Luna look so intense before, like she was angry or jealous or bitter. But then the moment passed and she smiled brightly.

"I have to go home," she announced to Hermione.

Hermione's face fell. "Luna," she said, "This doesn't necessarily mean…" She trailed off when Luna shook her head slightly. Remus didn't know to what they were referring, but from their brief interaction, he realized that 'this' did necessarily mean whatever it was that Hermione was arguing against. Hermione nodded and looked away, conceding defeat.

"But do you think your parents would mind if I borrowed the vacuum cleaner?" Luna asked, making Hermione smile again.

"Sure, Luna. You can bring it back next time you come round."

Luna left to retrieve the vacuum cleaner and Remus asked in a soft voice, "What was that all about?"

"She likes to vacuum," Hermione answered lightly, but Remus noticed that she didn't quite meet his eye. "She saw my mom doing it one Saturday and was fascinated by the machine. Most days she's over here she vacuums at least my room, and once she did the whole house. She said her dad would love to have a go."

Remus laughed, but said, "I wasn't referring to that. What did you mean when…?"

"Where do you want to begin looking?" Hermione interrupted, and Remus let the subject drop, as Hermione obviously did not feel like sharing whatever had passed between herself and Luna.

Luna reentered at that point with the vacuum cleaner in tow. "I'll see you later, 'Mione," she said. "Good luck with… well, everything." The girls hugged goodbye, and Remus was left with the distinct feeling that he was missing something.

"Do you need a lift home?" asked Remus.

"No thanks," said Luna. "The Quibbler has got dozens of portkeys for the reporters, so wherever they are they can always get to the editor's office. Dad gave me one, so I can floo home from there." She held up a broken telephone receiver. "Bye, Hermione," she said.

"Bye, Luna."

Luna smiled again, and then she, the broken telephone receiver, and the vacuum cleaner were gone.

"So," Hermione turned to her former professor. Her tone was all business as she questioned, "Was Harry abducted, or did he leave freely?"

Remus rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know," he admitted.

"Where was he last seen?"

"In his bedroom last night, before I went to bed."

"Were there any signs of struggle?"

"No."

"Any reason to believe that a Dark wizard more powerful than Voldemort was in his bedroom?"

"No."

"And he hasn't contacted Ginny or Professor Snape?"

"No, and they can't contact him, which is why Ginny is so worried."

"Did he say or do anything unusual yesterday? I mean… unusual for Harry," she clarified.

"No," said Remus. "Nobody saw this coming. Unless you…"

"No," said Hermione quickly. Remus noticed she was blushing slightly. "I saw something coming, but I didn't know about this." She paused and looked as though she were trying to decide if she should say what was on her mind. When she spoke again, it was in the apologetically certain voice Hermione used when she didn't want to be right. "It is pretty obvious, though, that something's going on with Harry that he's not telling anyone."

They were silent for a long time before Remus said, "He left on his own, then, didn't he?" finally admitting it to himself.

Hermione worried her lip. "Honestly, Remus, at this point… I don't think there is anyone on Earth, not even Ginny, who could make Harry do anything he didn't want to do."

Remus was quiet. It all pointed to Harry's having left of his own volition. And if that were the case, then he would doubtfully want Remus chasing after him. But this was just so unlike Harry. And that really made Remus' protective instincts kick in.

"So," said Hermione, looking up at him. "We'll start at Diagon Alley. Ask around and see if anyone saw him picking up supplies, and if so what. And maybe from there we can try to figure out where he might have gone."

She smiled up at Remus and he knew that Hermione, at least, understood.

The phone began to ring but Hermione looked at it as though she would rather do anything in the world than answer it. "Well, let's go," she said.

XIXIX

Ginny and Draco sat across the kitchen table from each other, not saying anything. Neither had touched the sandwiches Molly had made for them. Ginny looked as though she were made out of steel, so set were her features. Draco found he didn't have much of an appetite that day in general, but a leaden weight had taken over his stomach while he had listened to Professors Snape and Lupin hiss at each other like children, throwing out accusations that were as sickening as they were untrue.

Except that Draco was still working on convincing himself about the 'untrue' part.

There wasn't anything to do. Draco wanted to distract himself from the thoughts rushing through his mind, from the heavy uncertainty about Harry that had settled in his gut and in his heart, but he couldn't dredge up enough concentration to do much of anything except stare at the large burn mark on the cabinet under sink, which was no doubt due to an early childhood prank-turned-explosion by one, or maybe both, of the Weasley twins.

"This is all my fault."

It was barely a whisper, and Draco wasn't sure at first if he had really heard it. And when he looked up at Ginny, she was so deep in her reverie that his suspicions were immediately confirmed that he was hearing things. So it surprised him to hear his own voice question, "Hm?"

Ginny startled at the noise, but then looked at Draco with dawning comprehension. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I must have said that out loud."

"It's not your fault, Ginny," he said, dismissing her apology. "He left on his own."

"I know," she said earnestly. "That's the whole point. He left to get away from me." She was silent for another moment, and then continued distractedly, "Merlin, I must have been driving him crazy for him to resort to this. Why didn't he ever say anything?"

Draco couldn't help himself. He smirked. "You think he left to get away from you?"

Ginny scowled at his condescending tone. "Why else would he? He's not in any danger. He doesn't need anything. It's me. He's trying to build up a tolerance to being away from me."

"Get over yourself," said Draco, his voice somewhere between snide and friendly.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Ginny quipped. She leaned forward and started ticking off proofs on her fingers. "He never told me about that meeting at the Ministry. He never told me he had been granted that 'Unspeakable status'. He wants to be able to spend more time with you without freaking out about being away from me. He gets all pissed off whenever I confront him about closing his link. He… oh Merlin, what if he's trying to break our bond?"

"Whoa, lady," said Draco, holding up his hands as though afraid she was out of control. Ginny made a face at him. "He's not trying to break your bond," Draco continued, as though that were the most obvious thing in the world. "And he didn't leave because of you, and he certainly didn't leave because he wants to spend more time with me, seeing as how he left me behind."

Ginny's shoulders sagged slightly. "Why didn't he tell me about the Unspeakable thing? He used to tell me everything, you know."

"Lucky you," said Draco dryly. "He's never really told me anything."

Ginny continued as though she hadn't heard him. "I do want him to be happy, but it just seems that if he needs space from me… space to himself…" She reached back and grabbed her long braid of hair and fingered it distractedly. "Why wouldn't he just tell me? I'd do just about anything for him."

"Something else is going on, Ginny. You know that."

Ginny exhaled. "Yeah." They both stared at the table between them. "Any idea what?"

Draco shook his head. "No." They were silent again, until Draco asked, "Normally, though, you know where he is and what he's doing at all times, right?"

Ginny's features set again as she was reminded once more that her connection to Harry was completely mute. "Right," she said.

"Like, even when we're…" he trailed off significantly. Ginny caught his meaning.

"Yeah, we figured that one out early on in our bond."

"So he blocks it out, then?"

Ginny nodded. "Mm-hmm. But not completely. Not like this. I still know where he is. I still know how he is, generally speaking."

"You know he's with me?"

"Yeah."

"Is he sleeping with my godfather?"

Ginny looked up at him sharply. "No! Where did you get—oh, right." Remus had pretty much accused Severus of it. She looked away, but then shook her head. "No. He's not. They're close, but it's really not like that."

Draco noticed she wasn't quite meeting his eye. "Would you tell me if he was?"

Ginny was silent, her brow narrowed.

"Would you?" he asked again.

"I'm thinking," she said. She was silent for awhile longer, which made Draco quite uncomfortable as his imagination ran wild with all the things Harry might be doing behind his back. Then, Ginny said, "No. I wouldn't. But I'd try to make him tell you." She glared at him slightly. "Would you tell him?"

Draco looked away. He knew he had gotten off rather easily before. It really was only a matter of time before his indiscretions came up again. He started and stopped several times before finally beginning.

"You were unconscious for a long time. We didn't know if you were going to make it, and after so many other people had died…" Draco stood up and refilled his empty glass with water. He leaned against the counter, not able to look at Ginny while he said this. "I was so sure that when I took Harry out on the battlefield to look for you, going straight to what was very certainly a trap set up by the Dark Lord, that I was signing my death warrant. If the Dark Lord didn't kill me, I knew my father would, but…"

He turned back around and faced Ginny, although he still didn't meet her eyes. "It seemed cruel that I had lived and Harry was going to die. I kept trying to tell myself it didn't matter, that it was just sex anyway, and I tried to prove it. But I just kept going back to see if he would wake up. You two were curled up together, and sometimes I hated him because he chose you. Because we went out there for you…"

"He chose you, Draco," said Ginny earnestly.

Draco shook his head. "It's a romantic thought, and I'll believe it again after Harry's back. But right now? He bonded with you, and he bonded with Severus…"

"And now he's blocked that bond. He doesn't want to be my twin anymore." Ginny said this quietly, but her voice cut like a knife. It was a voice that spoke an immensely painful truth.

Except that Draco didn't believe for a second that it was truth.

"He told me just last week that he's rather die than be apart from you," he said.

Ginny didn't look up. "Then where is he?"

XIXIX

Remus and Hermione apparated to Londonand poked around Diagon Alley for a few hours before anything unusual happened. The trip was quite uneventful, in fact, until they stepped out of Gringotts, where the goblins had been quite firm in refusing to reveal any information about the recent transactions of any of their clients.

"Merlin, and I thought Severus could be rude," muttered Remus as they entered the sunlit street.

Hermione sighed, looking as though she couldn't decide if she should stick up for her professor or ignore the comment completely. "Well," she said, deciding to move on, "To be fair, it is a good business policy, but the least they could do is…"

But Hermione never got to tell Remus what was the least the goblins of Gringotts could do, because just then they found themselves at the business end of four wands.

Hermione moved to draw her wand, but Remus was faster. He didn't draw his own wand, though, he simply stepped in front of Hermione, pushing her arm down before it could be raised threateningly against their aggressors.

"It's okay," he growled. "Don't raise your wand. We are in no danger."

Hermione's jaw dropped and she turned her focus from the three wizards and one witch to Remus, simply out of shock. "Remus," she hissed, "What is going on?"

The witch stepped forward. "Remus Lupin," she said officiously, "As a werewolf, this is a dangerously public place for you to visit so close to the full moon." She eyed Hermione to see if there was any reaction to her revelation that her companion was a lycanthrope, but Hermione only narrowed her eyes.

"The full moon isn't until tomorrow night, lady," she snapped protectively over Remus' shoulder. "And who the hell are you to—"

"The latest studies have shown," interrupted the witch, "That werewolves have heightened aggression, sensory perception and numerous other wolf-like manifestations in the 48 hours surrounding the three nights of the full moon, and should be considered dangerous for the entire week of their change."

Remus and Hermione began to speak at once.

Hermione demanded, "What latest studies?"

Remus accused, "Officials from the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures are required to display identification when approaching any beast or being on official department business, prior to any threatening movements, such as drawing wands. I will need to see identification for each of you, so that I can file a report with your superiors."

The witch sniffed, only now lowering her wand, and only slightly. "You are in a dangerous state, Lupin," she spat, "And in a dangerous position. Any more threats of that nature, and we will be forced to bring you in."

"You will not!" shot Hermione. "He's done nothing wrong!"

"Hermione, stop!" commanded Remus. "There's nothing to be done right now."

"Remus…" she began, but was interrupted again when one of the wizards stepped forward, lowering his wand.

"Hermione?" He studied her features and said breathlessly, "You're Hermione Granger, aren't you?"

Hermione turned to him. "Do I know you?" she asked snidely.

The wizard flushed red. "Oh, no. I'm nobody really, just a fan. You're that Seer friend of Harry Potter's, aren't you?"

Hermione gaped at him, and opened and closed her mouth several times without coming up with any words.

"I read all about you," he continued, turning to his companions to see if they shared in his enthusiasm, and noting that even the witch reluctantly did. "You figured out that there was a whole history of prophecies for the Final Battle, and you told Harry Potter exactly what he needed to do to defeat You-Know-Who!"

"Is it true that you allowed yourself to be captured by Death Eaters because you had had a dream about Harry Potter rescuing you?" asked another wizard excitedly.

"What! No!" said Hermione, but they weren't even listening to her.

"I heard that you led Harry Potter straight to You-Know-Who, and then stood before You-Know-Who and told him that this was the moment of his downfall, but he didn't believe you and then Harry Potter did everything exactly as you had just said…"

Remus stood off to the side now, quite forgotten by the officials that had been sent to harass him. Hermione was flushed scarlet, and couldn't string enough words together to form a sentence to save her life. She looked over to Remus pleadingly, so he pushed forward and took her hand in his. But as soon as he touched her, she was blinded by a vision of him.

His shoulder was hurt. His shirt was undone. He was sweating and his breath was harsh. "Hermione," he said, and she shivered, afraid.

Hermione pulled her hand away and turned to Remus in shock. She was cold all over despite the summer heat, and found herself shivering as she had been in the vision. He leaned down, concerned.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"What did you do to her!" demanded the witch, glaring again at Remus.

"Nothing!" shot Hermione. "Nothing. I just, ah, I just had another vision and I need Remus to take me home. So if you've finished, may we go, please?"

"Is there anything we can do?" asked the wizard who had recognized her anxiously.

"No, I'll be okay," said Hermione faintly, putting her hand to her head. "I just need to lay down. Remus, can we please go now?"

Remus looked to the officials that had stopped him and raised both eyebrows in question.

"We'll let you go with a warning this time, Lupin," said the witch. "Take care that this doesn't happen again."

"And take care of Ms. Granger," added Hermione's fan kindly.

Remus nodded and put his hand to Hermione's back to lead her away from the officials and back toward the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione relied on his support for a ways, but when she turned to look back and saw they were not being followed, she walked more strongly.

"May I ask what you Saw?" asked Remus when he thought she might answer.

"You were hurt," she replied tersely. "Don't worry, it wasn't anything bad."

She kept walking and something about the purpose of her stride hinted to Remus that he ought not ask for more information than that. The last time he had seen Hermione this angry, she was in the Shrieking Shack, accusing him of conspiring with Sirius in order to kill Harry. She had seemed formidable then, even at thirteen, but now Hermione seemed a force to be reckoned with.

She didn't pause until she was on the muggle side of the Leaky Cauldron. Standing just inside the limits of the anti-muggle charms placed on the building, Hermione turned to pierce Remus with her fury. "Does this happen every month?" she demanded.

Remus sighed and leaned against the wall. "Lately, yes," he admitted. "A lot of the laws have been recently changed. It's not legal for them to approach me at wandpoint like that, but punishment for violators has, I'm sure, been greatly relaxed. Damn though I wish I had gotten their identification." His voice was tired, weary.

Hermione shot him a look. "How can you be so relaxed about being harassed like that!"

"It's been worse," he said sternly, hoping to temper her anger with his 'teacher's voice.' It didn't work.

"They have no right—!" she began, but he cut her off.

"Hermione," he groaned, leaning his head back against the wall and looking up into the mid-afternoon sky, "Just stop. It is what it is. And it's over for now."

Hermione huffed and looked away, clearly exasperated. Muggles walked past, their eyes sliding around them without noticing, their ears immune to their conversation.

Remus smirked down at her. "And anyway," he kidded, "You were able to save me from arrest by flaunting your fame like that."

Hermione shot him another look, but this time Remus laughed. Hermione, who didn't find it nearly as amusing, leaned against the wall next to him in defeat. "I just don't get it, Remus," she said, shaking her head.

"How famous you are for your part in the war?"

"No," she said dryly. "How you can be so complacent about their treatment of you. I mean, the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures should be taking care of werewolves; they shouldn't be bullying them for no reason."

"They're trying to regulate and control us, is all," Remus sighed. "It's nothing new, really. It's never exactly been easy."

"Well sure, granted. But the last thing werewolves need is hassle from the very people who should be most dedicated to protecting them!"

"Why don't you change things, then, Hermione?" said Remus with light sarcasm. "As a Seer of such terrific repute, you certainly had an amazing effect on them."

Hermione just narrowed her eyes. "You know, Remus," she said matter-of-factly, "If you're going to try to change the subject, it would work better if you chose a subject I actually wanted to talk about."

Remus grinned. "Caught me. But why don't you want to talk about your Sight?"

Hermione looked at him knowingly and said, "Because my power isn't very strong, or reliable—and I don't trust it, and that has gotten me into more trouble than anything—but I can't trust it because it isn't strong or reliable."

Remus looked genuinely shocked. "How can you say that after all the help you gave Harry during the war?"

Hermione's face clouded with guilt. "Because I didn't…" She was silent for a time. Then, she rolled her eyes and said, "Fine. You've successfully changed the subject, but I still don't want to talk about this."

Remus leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Hermione smiled warily up at him.

"You look like shit, Remus. Have you eaten today?"

Remus raised his eyebrows but kept his eyes closed. "Why, thank you, Hermione. And no, not really, as a matter of fact. I kind of got caught up looking for Harry."

Hermione studied him. "I think you use Harry as an excuse not to take care of yourself," she said. "And you can't do that, and certainly not this close to a full moon."

Remus smirked. "Yes, mother."

"Don't give me that," Hermione muttered. "You sound like Ron." That didn't sound like a compliment, so Remus cracked an eye open and looked back down at her.

"How are you and Ron doing, anyway?" he asked.

Hermione sighed. "Once again," she said, "Try to change the subject to something I want to talk about."

XIXIX

XIX

X

TO BE CONTINUED (again)…

A/N: Okay, a three-part chapter. But I promise it will be no more than that. I needed to broaden the scope of the story beyond Harry. Expect the last part within the week. How is this for you guys anyway? Storyline progressing too slowly with these pieces of chapters? Or do you prefer to have more frequent updates like this? Need more slash? I agree to that, and trust me, there will be a lot in this story. Promise. And I hold to my incentive of better sex if you click that button below. It's all in Part III.

Questions? Comments?

Thank you to my reviewers. You deserve cheesecake.