Chapter Eight: A Conspiracy Afoot.
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies was one of the most prominent hospitals in the magical world and in fact it was the only choice for many in the British magical community. There were some rumors, some whispers about some less than ideal activity.
Anyone with any level of sense knew that rumors were an extremely funny thing. There might have been some smoke to the fire, but it could have been just a little bit of hot air. Harry was trying to figure out what was going on here. He joined Amelia, Alura, and Andromeda, with Charlotte following behind him. Technically, Muggles were not allowed into the magical hospital.
Harry was able to work some magic to get her inside the front door. He made his way to the front desk, or rather Amelia did.
"Yes, Madam Bones," the receptionist at the front of the desk said to her. The woman's voice sounded dry. It was the type of person who really hated her job and was only there for some kind of paycheck. She was a person who looked like a zombie and sounded like one.
"I'm here to take the medical information regarding Hermione Granger," Amelia said. Her tone was calm and crisp when she spoke.
The receptionist at the front of her desk was steadfast. "Madam Bones, as I told you the previous time you were here, I'm afraid that I can't do that. The Minister's office has ordered that the records will be sealed."
"Wait, the Minister has ordered the records of a Muggleborn to be sealed, one that doesn't have any connections to anyone in the Wizarding World," Harry replied. The woman at the front desk was about ready to give Harry a telling off. That was until she realized who she was talking to. "I don't even know why there's all of this cloak and dagger regarding one underage witch who performed accident magic to save her life. I doubt anyone there even understood what was done."
"The Ministry modified their memories regardless," Andromeda said.
Harry frowned. There was a lot about these circumstances.
"St. Mungos seems to be underfunded, to the point where it can't hire the best staff, and it creats an environment that people have lost all passion for their jobs," Harry said.
"Yes, you don't need to tell me what I already know," the receptionist said. She wasn't too keen about being lectured about what she already knew, even if the person who was lecturing her about this was the one and only Harry Potter.
"But, I'm sure that a few donations are going to make a difference," Harry said. "And I'm certain that if you do me a favor, I can make sure that your job is a little bit easier."
Alura could not help but be both pleased and alarmed that Harry was taking a page of the Pureblood Politics guidebook 101.
"And I'm certain that once that money comes in, I'll tell you exactly how helpful that you are or if you aren't helpful," Harry informed her. "But either way, I'm walking out of here with the records for Granger. You can hand them over to me, or I can go over to your superior and explain to him why St. Mungos is not getting a generous donation. And a year after the Ministry cut its funding in half. I'm certain you need the funding."
The receptionist weighed her options. She frowned when she looked across at the young man before her and realized that calculating might be a good way to describe what he was like. "I'm not certain that the Minister is going to like this."
"The Minister doesn't need to know, if you don't tell him," Harry said. "I'm sure we can just make a copy of the records and no one needs to know."
The receptionist finally decided to move off in an attempt to grab those records. Alura turned to Harry.
"Playing to their pocket book, aren't you?" Alura asked.
"Would you have done any different?" Harry asked.
"No, and Lily would have been proud about how you handled this," Alura said and she smiled.
Charlotte thought that some of the circles that she hung around were pretty cutthroat, but this was an entirely different method. Amelia turned towards the Granger woman.
"I should remind you that….."
"I might not like what I find out," Charlotte repeated. It was like some kind of demented mantra. "But, it needs to be found out. It's regarding my daughter, and I guess that I have to deal with it, when I have to deal with it."
Charlotte's resolve was pretty strong. She hoped that her daughter had that kind of ability not to crack underneath pressure. Book smarts only got you so far and that was her husband's greatest flaw. He relied too much on doing things by the book that he backed himself off into a corner constantly.
The receptionist returned to the front desk.
"I never saw you," the receptionist muttered.
"And I'll be sure to send a reference to your superiors that you deserve a bonus because of your work and St. Mungos will be getting the promised donation within a day," Harry said.
It would be more than a substantial donation if he could get Charlotte's daughter out of there. Exactly where she would go from here, Harry didn't know.
"Harry, may I see that?" Alura asked. "I just have a feeling that putting Hermione here might have bene doing her a disservice and might have made her worse off."
That was the news that no mother wanted to hear regarding her daughter. Charlotte somehow managed to keep her chin up. That was all that she could do in a situation like this. It would be better off if she did this, then getting frustrated.
There were some thoughts that went through her mind and all of them were dark.
Charlotte eventually got tired of waiting. "Lay it out on the table for me?"
"There were parts of her brain that were damaged in her attempt to free herself," Alura said. "And there were certain potions that were given to her to put her in a docile state that made the matters worse."
"Wonderful," Amelia said.
Charlotte looked on. "Brain damage….that's not something that even magic could cure."
"The human mind is a very fragile thing," Alura answered. "It's possible to heal it somewhat, but there's more of a chance to make it worse. And the healers here, under the orders of the Ministry….."
"Not the Ministry," Andromeda said when she caught sight of the paper in Alura's hand. "Just one member of the Ministry, or rather someone in the Minister's office. We should have known that this was the case when the order came high up from the Minister's office."
"Dolores Umbridge," Amelia whispered. It was almost like she didn't want to spare that name any more than a whisper of being uttered.
"I take it that's not a good recommendation," Charlotte said.
"Bad enough that we need to get her out from underneath Umbridge's watch immediately," Amelia said. Umbridge always had an agenda of some sort, and it was obvious that something had happened that stirred her up about Muggleborns this week.
Werewolves were her normal targets, but there were other creatures that Umbridge managed to blackmail legislation through to make their lives less than miserable. Magical creatures got a rough reputation and being put into this corner to fight for survival didn't help that relationship.
"She's the epitome of what's wrong with the Ministry," Alura explained, both to Harry and Charlotte.
"I came across the name when reading up on Fudge's staff and I noticed her name attached to a few bills of werewolf legislation," Harry said.
They made their way to the room that Hermione was being kept at. She was in a catatonic state on her bed.
Charlotte closed her eyes. Harry reached over and grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Yes, Umbridge is tied to that, she also managed to get a position underneath Fudge," Alura said. She paused and added in a disgusted tone. "Perhaps literally if half of the rumors are true."
"Oh, thanks a lot, I didn't want to eat ever again anyway," Andromeda said in disgust.
"So, what are we going to do with my daughter?" Charlotte asked. "We can't just leave her here."
"No, we can't," Harry said. He looked at the girl. She looked so sad and weak and it was obvious that the lights were on to an extent.
Harry hoped for her sake that she wasn't completely aware of what was going on. Some of these potions that she was being fed to "fix her mind" were real horror shows.
"This room is off lim…" one of the office staff said. He was followed by two Aurors, who looked like they had been smacked in the face with a two by four when they saw their boss standing there before them.
"I don't want explanations, I want you to return the order to the Ministry, and note that Miss Granger will be transferred out of St. Mungos, and transferred out of the country to a private facility where she can get treatment for her ailments," Amelia said. "And then, we will talk about why you thought it was a good idea to go around me and listen to Umbridge."
The office staff member realized that Amelia Bones was an extremely formidable woman and not only that, but she was not one to really be fucked with, for lack of a better term.
"Miss Granger…" Harry told her.
"Please, it's Charlotte," Charlotte answered him. "Your grandparents, they were part of the Inner Circle and my parents were as well."
It turned out that Charlotte's "book club" was not really a book club, but rather a meeting of an extremely secret society. While she wouldn't go too far in calling it some kind of Satanic Cult, it was still more than what means the eye.
The outlaws er the inlaws were right about the fact that it wasn't a book club. It wasn't still a satanic cult.
"Right, Charlotte," Harry informed her, smiling at her. "Your daughter, I never met her. So I can't really tell you what she was like. You'd know better than anyone else."
Charlotte nodded.
"That being said, no one deserves to be a pawn like she was," Harry informed her. "And no one deserves to be messed up."
Alura nodded in agreement. "I won't lie to you and offer you false hope. All I'll say is that she'll get the treatment that she needs to hopefully live a normal life."
"A part of her brain that retains information might be permanently damaged," Charlotte whispered. She read over that point. "Perhaps it's kinder that she's not aware of it….it's just that….well Hermione did have a gift beyond magic. She had a photographic memory."
"That's the type of thing that could be extremely useful and extremely dangerous," Andromeda warned her.
Charlotte agreed, she prided herself on being eventful and thinking outside of the box. Hermione was like her father. Charlotte tried to encourage her daughter not to be blinded by facts in books, but Hermione seemed so intent on emulating her father in an attempt to make him proud that went out one ear and out of the other.
"I suppose that I should be glad that she's out from underneath the eye of that Umbridge….witch," Charlotte said. She frowned. "Although, I don't think that witch offers the same exact insult value as it does in our world."
"There's a certain word that rhymes with it that works about as well," Alura said. She poured Charlotte another cup of tea, although there was something a bit more stronger.
"Do you have any idea what ever happened to Audrey?" Charlotte asked.
"I was thinking that if anyone knew, the Inner Cycle would have known," Alura answered. "I'm beginning to think that she was killed after stirring up too much, by Dumbledore."
"If she did get killed by Dumbledore or anyone connected to him, that's going to start a war the wand wavers aren't prepared to fight," Charlotte said.
"But, there's no proof," Harry said. "At least not yet."
There was a lot of circumstantial evidence regarding a woman who may or may not be dead.
"Thank you for what you've done all of the same," Charlotte said. Her eyes swept over them all. "And I mean that with all of you….whatever happens to my daughter…"
"There's a chance that she'll recover, but she won't be the same girl that you knew," Alura said. She did wonder how many other Muggleborns disappeared into the mist because of some Ministry corruption.
"If she comes out of this, we'll go from there," Charlotte said. She was strong, she had the perfect resolve. She was not going to falter, no matter what.
X-X-X
Amelia Bones had a stack of papers that nearly was touching the ceiling. It was always like this when there was an inquiry at the Ministry of Magic. She has to shift through the bullshit and find what was happening.
She did manage to cancel the hearing of Hermione Granger. Given that it was unlikely she was going to attend a magical school anyway to begin with, it was futile to begin with. Never mind the circumstances of where she was thrown on trial.
Amelia was expecting to get a visit from Umbridge any second now. The zero tolerance against Muggleborns was something that Umbridge pushed through and there were whispers that she wanted to put all Muggleborns under investigation for theft of magic. Fudge, in one of his only brilliant moves, had not fought Amelia when she tore the bill to shreds.
There was a knock on Amelia's office door.
"It's unlocked," Amelia said.
Amelia was not disappointed, when the one and only Dolores Umbridge was there in front of her. There was only one and thank Morgana for that.
"Amelia, I'm afraid that I don't understand something," Umbridge told him.
"What don't you understand Madam Umbridge?" Amelia asked.
"I understand that you made a motion to cancel the trial of the Muggleborn Granger," Umbridge said. "After the hard work my team made towards investigating her flaunting of the Statute of Secrecy, I would hate to think that you don't appreciate that."
"You sent Miss Granger to St. Mungos, and had forced her to undergo treatments that damaged her brain," Amelia responded.
"It was to save her life," Umbridge said. If the girl was brain damaged, it was of no great loss. She wasn't going to be anything worthwhile because she was of unworthy blood. Given the nature of her accidental magic, she would be dangerous.
And if she died, her organs were still viable. The Department of Mysteries could dissect her body and find out how the Muggleborn stole her magic. That would help restore the squibs that Muggleborns took their magic from to their rightful place in life.
"Well, she's been moved to a specialized facility, and if you wish to contest it, you should take it up with the International Magical Court," Amelia said.
"Yes, the International Magical Court," Umbridge muttered. She looked a bit disturbed. "Yes, they've been overstepping their bounds, raking fine, upstanding members of society over the coals like they do."
Amelia could see where this was going. Umbridge feared for her position at the Ministry.
"And they have not consulted the Ministry on what's been going on at Hogwarts, our owls have gone unanswered," Umbridge said. The Board of Governors always worked with the Ministry and did what was best for the Ministry. This International Magical Court worked against the Ministry and acted like they were a non-entity. "As a Ministry Approved Educational Expert, I'm rather disturbed with how the International Magical Court is handling this situation."
Umbridge could not have helped but think that the Court took one step ahead from removing Dumbledore. Dumbledore was the biggest hindrance to the Ministry. The fact that he would no longer be in Cornelius's ear made Dolores extremely happy, but not consulting her made her a bit concerned.
"Dolores, some of your recent actions concern me," Amelia answered. She didn't skip a beat. "I believe that you have overstepped your bounds."
"I only do what's right for the Ministry and best for the Ministry," Umbridge said. "I'm sure the Wizengamot will agree."
"Recent changes in the Wizengamot might indicate that there's a brand new Ministry on the horizon," Amelia responded. "But I'm certain that if you have a problem with anything that's been happening, you should take your grievances up with the International Magical Court. I'm only their liaison and the cooperation of the Ministry is essential for our continued existence to be an independent governing body. Something that I'm certain an Ministry Approved Educational Expert would be intelligent enough to understood."
Umbridge looked like she swallowed one of Dumbledore's lemon drops. She knew that Amelia Bones was one of the few Ministry officials that were supported by many and she got things done. The job she had was one that no one really wanted and there were only a handful of people at the Ministry who had the ambition to try.
"If that's all, Madam Umbridge, you can see your way out," Amelia said. She was extremely busy.
Umbridge wondered where this had gone wrong. Surely she wasn't causing such uproar over one stupid Mudblood?
Amelia returned to her work. Something told her that this wasn't going to be the last she heard from Umbridge. Far from it as a matter of fact, this was the type of woman who didn't give up, no matter what.
September 1st was the day that many would be either starting or returning to Hogwarts. Only there would be no one returning and starting. The official inquiries from the International Magical Court on the restricting of Hogwarts would take several weeks. The most optimistic stated that there would be a late start by October 1st, while many wondered if it was going to take until after the winter holidays to do so.
Daphne Greengrass on the other hand was equal parts nervous and excited. Kara stood next to her and her mother would be joining them after a moment. Harry made his way over to join the group as well.
"You haven't been teasing her, have you?" Harry asked Kara.
"No, absolutely not," Kara responded. "I haven't been telling her how we had sex for what seemed like days and we fucked each other's brains out."
"Oh, you're subtle, you know that," Daphne commented. Her nose crunched up when she smiled. "And this just proves that waiting a bit for the magical maturity does wonders on the brain. The mind catches up to where it should be, even the body doesn't?"
"And have you had any interesting dreams lately?" Kara teased her.
"Well, no more interesting than you did before the bonding," Daphne said. She looked at Harry. She could get lost in those green eyes for hours upon end. That caused her to be driven pretty much breathless.
Harry was looking forward to this. If Daphne was anything like her mother, this was going to be really interesting.
Speaking of Daphne's mother, Anastasia made her way there. She was dressed in a pair of robes that fit nicely against her body.
"Alura warned me how this might go," Anastasia said. She could see that Harry's Alpha Male allure and his last of the line allure would only strengthen the more that they would go along. As someone who studied pureblood culture from the moment she was old enough to study it, she would have to say that one effect or the other would be something else.
"She did give you the heads up then," Harry said. Anastasia turned around to make sure everything was in order, which gave Harry a nice view of her eye catching will.
'Well obviously you have to collect the whole set, that's just how it's done,' Kara thought. The entire mental bond link communication thing was rather weird, especially considering it only worked when they were in close proximity.
Over time, it might work when they were further away.
"The two of you have the mental link thing going on, don't you?" Daphne asked. Harry and Kara turned towards her and smiled.
She could sense a closeness between Harry and Kara that was intriguing. Daphne was just really glad that she was able to jump in on the ground floor of the pack. She would get a pretty high spot, even though Kara would be the Alpha.
"Don't worry, I'm here for you, if you need any guidance," Kara told her. She looked at her future sister wife.
"Did it hurt?" Daphne asked her.
"For a moment," Kara admitted. "But after that it was nonstop pleasure. I felt really good afterwards and even though we've been going on for round after round, I was ready for more…"
"I'm sure," Daphne said.
"But you know what really turns me on,' Kara said, the seventeen year old turning to the almost seventeen year old girl. Her tone of voice was pretty husky when she spoke. "My husband dominating women, that turns me on."
"You've never seen that, ever," Daphne commented. She paused and added. "Have you?"
"Well, my mother, I enjoyed what Harry did to you," Kara said. She leaned in close so only Daphne could hear her. "Do you want to see Harry do the same thing to your mother?"
Daphne wondered if she wanted to see that. The more she thought about that, the more she thought that she wanted to see that very much. The excitement of the blonde reached a fever pitch the more that she thought about that. She wanted to see that very much. Daphne wanted to see that more than life herself. She couldn't be more excited about something if she tried and her excitement continued to grow.
"Are you ready Daphne?"
Daphne was snapped out of the interesting visual of Harry taking her mother over the bed and taking her to task.
The oldest Greengrass sister was taken out of her stupor and Harry grabbed her hand. Anastasia stood before them.
"Don't worry, I'm ready," Daphne said.
'The real question is, are you prepared for what Harry's about to do to you?' Kara asked.
Daphne couldn't hear what Kara said. The devious grin that was all over her face told the story. Kara reached in and gripped Daphne's hand and lead her into the next room.
The room was an extremely elegant one. Daphne stepped inside and she would walk out as a woman in every sense of the world.
"Stand in the middle, please, Daphne," Anastasia said.
Harry remembered that Alura said that there were variances of the ritual, so not every family went through the same ritual.
Kara wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and leaned on in. She kissed him on the cheek. "Go get her, stud, I'll be sure to give some relief if she can't handle the heat."
"Oh believe me, I can handle it," Daphne said.
She could feel her body shoot up in height. While she wasn't as tall as Harry and Kara, she was still fairly tall. She was maybe a few inches ahead of them.
Her robes slid off. Daphne revealed a nice white corset that pushed up her ample breasts. They begged for attention. Her stomach was extremely toned. White lacy underwear and white stockings topped off the outfit.
Daphne made her way towards Harry and he reached forward, wrapping her into a tight embrace. The older Greengrass daughter kissed Harry fiercely. Their tongues seemed to battle for supreme domination.
Harry proved that he was the more dominant one. He threw Daphne down onto the bed and prepared to go in for her latest conquest.
Kara sat from afar, feeling Harry's pheromones go to work. It just removed any traces of inhibitions and hesitance a female might have had. It most certainly didn't make them do anything that they didn't want to do.
"Daphne, I'm going to show you what you need to do, now watch very closely," Anastasia said. She walked over and was overwhelmed with desire from this young stud.
The MILF wrapped her arms around Harry and stuck her tongue down his throat. Daphne watched, laid on the bed and frustrated, needing more.
"Mother, I already know that part," Daphne whispered. She ran her fingers down her body and nearly touched herself in some very sensitive places.
"Yes, forgive me, I got excited," Anastasia said. She unbuttoned Harry's shirt, but Harry grabbed her hands.
"Why don't you be a good mother, and warm me up for your daughter," Harry whispered to her.
"Believe me, I can show you how good I am," she whispered.
Kara thought that this was escalating pretty fast and she moved over, to grab Daphne's arms so she didn't try and hurt herself.
"Easy, honey, just enjoy the show," Kara whispered in Daphne's ear. "Trust me, it will be more than worth the wait."
To Be Continued.
