Chapter Ten: House of Cards.

Megan Jones sat up out of a dead sleep. It was almost like someone had jolted her back to life.

She shook her head and took note of her surroundings. The bed she rested on was surprisingly sort, given the accommodations that she could have had, and perhaps the ones that she expected to have. Megan shook her head and tried to sit up out of the bed.

"Good, you're awake."

Megan came face to face with Ginny Weasley. She was surprised to see the youngest Weasley girl.

"Wait, you didn't get disappeared by the Ministry?" Megan asked.

"It was not for any lack trying," Ginny said. "What is it about the press and their own lack of self preservation?"

Megan shrugged and offered her honest answer, "Guess, we just don't know when to quick when we're ahead."

She had no idea where she was and she wanted to ask a million questions. The problem was that she didn't know where she began.

"To answer the most obvious one, you're some place safe where the HIVE won't find you," Ginny informed her. "And that's about all that I can tell you, other than you've stumbled into something really dangerous."

"Yes, I figured as much," Megan said. "I couldn't just shake the feeling that Granger….she was hiding something, and I didn't know what. And it kept frustrating me. You know how that goes, don't you?"

"I know how frustrating something like that could be?" Ginny asked. Megan nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I have a pretty good idea, to know that someone is keeping something from you, and you don't know if it's something harmless or a really big thing. Secrets and lies in the name of the greater good never pan out well."

"She's awake?"

Megan looked up and saw that Su Li was there. She saw the girl approach her and offer her something to drink.

"Don't worry, it's not poisoned," Ginny informed her.

Megan wondered why she believed them. The only reason that she could think of was that her mouth was really dry and she really wanted something to drink.

The cooling sensation of the water hitting her lips could be had. She was clearer and she saw Su Li's face in the light.

"What?" she asked her.

"Nothing," Megan muttered. "I've just had a long day of fearing for my life."

"To be fair, that was partially your fault," Ginny commented.

Megan shrugged, she had a point there. She saw the bag that was resting on the chair and she nearly forgot it.

"Someone beat me there," Megan said. "Someone was after….well whatever is in that journal."

"Yes, we know, they were working for Zabini, apparently," Ginny said.

She honestly didn't know what to make of this, whether or not Hermione was part of this entire HIVE conspiracy, or not. She had most certainly been a different person since she returned from Australia, and when asked about it, she said that she had been inspired to find her path in life.

"So, what's Granger's game?" Megan asked.

"I don't know," Ginny muttered.

"You were friends, weren't you?" Megan asked.

"In a matter of speaking, we slept in the same room a few summers, but I don't think that we could call us friends," Ginny said. "I suppose we got along well enough, it wasn't like she confided any deep dark secrets to me, though."

Megan grew crest fallen and she looked at her nails, for lack of anything else better to do.

"So, I'm pretty much screwed now, aren't I?" Megan asked.

"In which way?" Ginny asked.

"The not so good way, I think," Megan replied. "I mean, they know that I'm onto them, so there really isn't that much to go. I'm pretty sure that Harry found out something that he shouldn't, and that's why the Ministry is trying to claim that he was sent home pending an investigation."

Megan tried not to say it; she struggled not to say it.

"Harry is fine," Su Li said.

Megan let out the breath that she was holding.

"So, I wonder what's in the book?" Megan asked.

Ginny didn't say anything. She had no idea how to access the book and given her past experiences with enchanted books, she didn't think it was a good idea for her to access in the book.

"Might be vital information?" Megan asked.

She got deafening silence and Megan stuck out her lip in abject frustration. Her arms folded together against her chest and she sighed.

"So, what do we do know?" Megan asked.

She hoped that one of these days she would actually have someone answer one of these question.

"Sit and wait," Su Li said shortly.

Megan thought that there would be an answer along those lines. The good news is that she learned that Harry was alive. The bad news was that she was more baffled than ever before.

'Win a few, lose a few, I guess,' Megan mused to herself.

Blaise Zabini could not wait around for his associates to return back from Granger's house, he had an appointed at Gringotts that he intended to keep.

He took the side entrance he had been allowed and walked down the tunnels. There were no goblins he could see, because there was none that were supposed to be here.

Zabini stepped down the extremely dark hallways. The goblins should have been thanking him for all he did. He took down Potter, someone who had been in the thorn of the side of Benedict and his followers for a while now.

The young man heard something buzzing. He lifted up a mirror and held it to his face.

"Yes?" Zabini asked.

"We have an emergency situation," his contact said.

"I have business to take care of, deal with it," Zabini said swiftly. He couldn't be bothered about this.

"There's something that you should know….."

"It can wait five minutes!" Zabini snapped back. The man on the other end of the mirror fell silent. "I thought so, I'll be back, once I've dealt with my business!"

Zabini shoved the mirror back into his robes. It really was hard to find good help these days. The Slytherin entered the darkened room. Was it supposed to be this dark? He didn't know. He fumbled around for his wand and waved it.

The torches lit on the wall and Zabini stepped forward. The glint of gold flashed through his eyes. He stepped inside of the room.

"Benedict?" Zabini asked. "Where are you?"

He was not in the room. The goblins should have remembered that there was going to be a meeting today.

He turned around and spotted Benedict standing in the shadows. Zabini approached him.

"There you are," Zabini muttered.

He nearly jumped in the air when Benedict fell from the shadows at his feet. The goblin was dead even before he got here.

Several torches in the room blew out on their own accord. There was a small spotlight around the room that followed Zabini when he stumbled around the room in the dark.

There was something going on here. Zabini didn't know what. He was pretty sure that he didn't like it.

"Show yourself!" Zabini yelled.

There was nothing. The only light in the room was shined over Zabini and the rest of the room was pitch black. He looked like he was about to lose his nerve.

"Hello, Zabini."

That caused Zabini to take a step back and he held his wand in his hand. His hand shook when he looked around.

"What's the matter, Blaise?" a voice taunted him. "You looked like you've seen ghost!"

The spotlight followed Zabini around the room. He tried to pinpoint the source of the spotlight, but it was hard to get a light on him.

"No, this is some kind of goblin trick!" Zabini shouted at the top of his lungs. He managed to recover, at least enough to act all high and mighty. "You can try all you might, but it won't work! I'm onto your games, goblins!"

There was complete silence. The spotlight dimmed over Zabini and he was in pure darkness.

Zabini waved his wand around the room. He tried to get some lights back on. This was no good. His wand waved all over the room and there was nothing, not even a spark of light.

"I don't find this funny!" Zabini yelled.

The voice didn't respond. All Zabini heard was his echoing voice. He decided to rush towards the direction of the exit.

A loud crunch echoed and Zabini hit face first into a solid wall. His nose shattered from the impact.

Zabini whipped his wand and sent every single spell that he could think into the shadows.

Someone casually grabbed the tip of his wand and yanked it out of his hand. Zabini staggered back, when bright light entered the tunnel, illuminating the area.

Zabini placed a hand over his eyes and tried to avoid the blinding light going in his eyes. The light slowly dimmed.

When his eyes finally recovered, he came face to face with Harry Potter. He was dressed differently and he had a calmer demeanor on his face.

"You can't be alive, I killed you!" Zabini yelled when he finally found his voice.

"Yes, I know you did," Harry commented.

Zabini realized that he had lost his wand. He reached into his pocket to contact for him.

That was the last move that he ever made. Harry stabbed him in the chest. Zabini slumped over, blood oozing from his chest.

Zabini gasped when the blade was removed from his chest and he slumped over. Some kind of magical charm stopped him from bleeding completely out. All Harry had to do was release him and it would finish the job.

"So, Zabini, this HIVE that you tried to kill me over?" Harry asked.

"You won't get anything out of me, Potter," Zabini breathed.

"I figured as much, you don't know anything," Harry said. "I'm surprised you haven't been yelling from the rooftops that you were the one who defeated Harry Potter."

Zabini scowled at him, "You were supposed to be dead."

"We can't get everything that we want in life, Zabini," Harry said. "I'm sure that your bosses weren't too happy with what you did."

"Granger wasn't either," Zabini breathed. He could feel the hand of death dangling him an inch away from death.

Harry blinked, "I beg your pardon?"

"You don't know Potter?" Zabini asked. He sounded like he was pleased with giving him information. "Yes, the Mudblood, she has been an Agent of the HIVE all of this time. Must really hurt to be betrayed by someone like that, doesn't it?"

Harry's eyes looked rather still and calm.

Zabini continued to talk, as if his life depended on it, "Did you really think that her little acts to help magical creatures wouldn't have gotten through, if it wasn't for some external help? She really knows how to play the game."

There was no response from Harry. Zabini's body slackened and he closed his eyes.

"I should have been in her spot, there were a dozen of chances where you could have been taken care of, but she's never pulled the trigger," Zabini continued weakly. "But, I suppose it doesn't matter. You're going to heal me, aren't you, hero? And you're going to forgive her, because that's what you do, isn't it? Everything is going to be okay, when she plays you again. You might not remember it, when she wipes your memory again."

"And I'm going to believe you?" Harry asked.

His tone had no indication whether or not he believed Zabini one way or another.

"Believe what you wish, Potter," Zabini breathed. "You couldn't stop the HIVE. If your best friend could be a drone, you have to wonder who else they might have gotten to."

"Hermione and I haven't been friends since before she left to Australia," Harry informed him. "She made it very clear that she wanted to get ahead on her own merits."

"She no longer needed your reputation to get ahead, Potter," Zabini said. "So, go ahead, Potter, be the hero and let me go."

"Everyone is a hero in their own story and a villain in someone else's."

With those cutting words, Harry stabbed the Sword of Gryffindor through Zabini, finishing the job that he started.

"I got better," Harry informed his corpse. "But you won't."

The blood spilled from Zabini. Harry reached down and casually removed a chain from around Zabini's neck. The wand dangled in his hand and he looked at him.

Nyssa stepped from the shadows and walked towards her. She was tentative in her steps and even more so in her words.

"You took that a bit personally," Nyssa said. "Betrayal always does ring personal."

Harry remained absolutely quiet.

"When you exited the pit, you said that you were going to kill her," Nyssa continued. She thought that there was an unsettling amount of quiet coming from Harry.

The quiet didn't end. Harry looked at his old wand. It was like a relic to the past life. There seemed to be a lot of those going around.

"Zabini might not be the most accurate source," Nyssa commented.

"He might not be," Harry said, finally breaking his silence. He turned around and his gaze met Nyssa's. "But, I did return here to finish some unfinished business, didn't I? That was the point of this trial, before I moved on."

Harry put his wand into his pocket.

"I have one last thing for me to do, before I do that," Harry said. He grabbed Nyssa's hands and held them tight. "And I need to do this alone."

"Remember what my father told you about Damien Darhk," Nyssa warned him.

Harry pulled her in and kissed her on the lips. They met with a tingle of passionate fire. Nyssa sighed when Harry pulled away from her.

"Yes, I recall everything that your father has told me about the mistakes that he made," Harry said. "I know what to do now. I've been talked well."

"I'll join the others and wait for your return," Nyssa said.

Harry nodded, he had to change into clothes that would be less conspicuous when he went forward in this trial. Over the past couple of months, he learned a lot about himself, a lot more than he thought that he could.

Kingsley Shacklebolt thought that he could use a good and long vacation. This entire Ministry of Magic position, it was only supposed to be a temporary one. He was supposed to hold the fort down.

The only problem was that the Ministry was in a larger state of flux than ever before and he had to remain Minister for month after month, year after year. He had to slowly build up goodwill with other countries, which had been lost when Voldemort took things over. These other countries had their own problems, their own dark wizards even. A few who claimed themselves to be dark lords and even dark ladies in some cases, but none had the ambition of Voldemort.

Kingsley appreciated how bent Riddle was and also how much he was a genius. He sat down on his office.

There was a cabinet in his office that was passed down from Minister to Minister, and it was for emergencies only. Kingsley felt himself partaking in the emergency cabinet more often than ever before.

A door was knocked on and Kingsley grunted, "Enter."

One of his Ministry aides entered the office. She looked shell shocked, but recovered quickly.

"Minister Shacklebolt," the aide informed him. "You have a visitor, he says that it's urgent."

"Now?" Kingsley wondered. He took a long drink of coffee. "Well, I'm sure that it could wait, I've got to leave for a meeting with the International Confederation of Wizards in twenty…"

"It's Harry Potter," his aide said.

That response caused Kingsley to choke on what he was drinking. He started to cough, doubled over. He put his wand at his throat and performed a charm to clear his air passageway.

"Potter…well send him in," Kingsley said.

Harry Potter walked into Kingsley's office. "Hello, Minister…..I dare say that I'm rather late for work."

"Where did you go?" Kingsley demanded. "You left before Christmas…and it's almost March."

"Yes, I took your advice and took a long vacation," Harry said. "So, did the Ministry ever resolve the Lestrange investigation?"

Kingsley shook his head. He was still as flippant as ever. He couldn't blame Harry, but still, it frustrated him as the Minister.

"The Ministry had far more pressing concerns," Kingsley said. Harry raised his eyebrow. "It's not something that I can discuss, but rest assure, we're at a rather delicate state…..and technically, you're still on probation."

"Well, the Ministry has far more pressing concerns?" Harry asked. Kingsley confirmed with a nod that they did. "Then, I guess that I'd give you my resignation now. Would you prefer a two week notice, or should we just get this over now."

Harry extended his hand and Kingsley took it, shaking it.

"I'd hate to lose an Auror of your caliber, even though you've made me hate paperwork even more," Kingsley said. "But given the circumstances, it might be for the best if you leave right now."

"I agree," Harry confirmed. He let go of Kingsley's hand.

"The door is open for you to return down the road," Kingsley said. "When things, calm down."

He left the other part of that statement out.

'If they calm down,' he mentally added.

The door behind them opened and Hermione stepped in, with a folder of documents, "Minister….everything that you need for your meeting is…..ready."

Her last word trailed off when she saw Harry Potter standing, talking to the Minister of Magic. Her mouth hung open.

"Hello, Hermione," Harry replied.

"You're back?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, it's good to see you," Harry said. He smiled when he stepped towards her. "Really good to see you."

"Yes, it's good to see you as well, Harry," Hermione said.

Harry had been sent through the veil and had somehow returned. The question was how had he returned. It was obvious that he didn't have all of his memories, given that he still acted like they were best friends like they were before Hermione went to Australia, when she decided that she wanted to succeed on her own merits.

"So, everything is in order, so you're good to go," Hermione responded. "Have a safe trip, Minister."

"Well, Mr. Potter, I'd hate to see you go, but it's good to see that you're still alive," Kingsley said.

"Why wouldn't I be alive?" Harry asked.

"Oh, you know, we're just concerned, because you didn't call into work for four months," Hermione said.

"Fair enough," Harry told her. "But there's no need to worry, I always get out of trouble, you should know that better than anyone else. After all, we are best friends, and some people assume that we're much more, given how close that we are. But, we are close, as close as a brother and a sister, wouldn't you agree, Hermione?"

"Yes, of course," Hermione agreed. "Have a safe trip Minister."

"I will, and I'll let the two of you catch up," Kingsley said. He thought the two of them had a falling out, but he realized that could be professional and not personal, and now that Harry was no longer working for the Ministry, any professional problems were gone.

Harry looked towards Hermione when Kingsley was gone.

"Hermione, I need to talk to you, in private," Harry said. "I need to show you something. I found out something about the Lestrange Brothers and who they were working for, and…..it's better if I show you, and not tell you."

Hermione recovered quickly, and nodded, "Well, lead the way, Harry."

She needed to assess exactly what memories Harry lost and what memories he had. He could be an extremely valuable asset, and she more importantly wanted to know how he survived the veil. Her curiosity was piqued.

The two of them walked down a little used path in the Ministry, and they made their way down towards the Department of Mysteries.

"We shouldn't be overheard down here," Harry informed her.

"No, we shouldn't," Hermione agreed. "Listen, Harry, this could be dangerous, are you sure it's worth the risk?"

"Hermione, you're the only one that I would trust with this information," Harry said. "You are the most brilliant witch of your age after all, so you'd know better than anyone else what to do with it."

Hermione's desire for information was once again triggered and she followed Harry down into the Department of Mysteries.

Harry stepped over and brought up the information about the HIVE and the Colony that was in the Department.

"They are working for these people," Harry said. "I think that they might have infiltrated the Ministry, they might have found their way in the Minister's office."

Hermione grew a bit tense and her fingers wrapped around her wand.

"You're the only one that I can trust," Harry said. "I was down here in December, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in the middle of nowhere, without any knowledge of how I got there. That was three days ago."

Hermione was lead into the Room of Death in the Department of Mysteries.

"The last thing I remembered is that I came down into the Department of Mysteries and there was nothing," Harry said. "Hermione, do you know of any spells to restore a person's memories?"

"Um….I can see what I can do, Harry, but this isn't like a memory charm," Hermione said.

"Thank you, Hermione….and I have to make a confession," Harry said. "Over the past ten years, I didn't say it enough, but I'm grateful for what you've done for me."

"That's what friends do, Harry," Hermione commented. She grabbed Harry's hand and squeezed it. "Don't worry, Harry, I'm here for you."

Hermione thought that Harry would be perfect, if he wasn't so blissfully ignorant. Of course, if Harry wasn't so blissfully ignorant, he would not have served the HIVE and their agenda that well for some many years.

"Thought about it, and I realize what you meant to me, and I think that I made a mistake, by not fighting harder for you," Harry said. "But, I've got a second chance, and I'm going to fix a mistake."

Hermione didn't have a chance to react and Harry threw his arms around her, kissing her forcefully.

She almost struggled, but she accepted the kiss. It was like an aphrodisiac to her and Hermione could feel herself succumb to him.

Harry pulled away from her and smiled at her.

Hermione suddenly felt a slight burning sensation spread through her lips and down her throat. She felt like her breathing grew rather heavy and her heart started to pump blood at a staggered rate.

"So, Hermione, you enjoy learning new things, the wonderful thing about Basilisk Venom is that it doesn't kill straight away," Harry informed her. "Over the first ten minutes, the person becomes paralyzed. Their movements are slow and dull, reflexes are lacking."

Harry disarmed Hermione of her wand and there was nothing that she could do about it.

"Over the next ten minutes, they slowly fade from existence. Each tick of the clock brings them closer to the end, as their intelligence fades. Memories burn away. Then over the next ten minutes, their organs finally shut down, succumbing to a poison. A stronger person might be bought a few more minutes."

Hermione looked at him, her fingers grew completely numb.

"And Phoenix Tears….they can heal the righteous, but they can lead to an extremely painful death for the wicked," Harry said. Hermione dropped to her knees and Harry cupped her chin. "Good thing I don't have any tears to shed for you."

"What…coated….lips…with Basilisk venom," Hermione managed. She wondered how it was possible.

"I have Basilisk Venom and Phoenix tears both running through my veins, dormant, thanks to the Chamber of Secrets," Harry reminded her. "Their gifts I can consciousness use if I choose, to help, or to hurt. I've learned a lot in the time that I was gone. But, now I remember everything, after returning from the veil."

Hermione had so many questions, but she didn't have much time.

"I didn't really know that you idolized Lockhart that much," Harry said to her, casually. "But, I guess you didn't want Harry to learn the truth about what was happening around him. I don't blame Dumbledore for what happened, at least not as much as I blame you. He was just as much of a pawn to the HIVE as I was. But, you pretended to be my friend, and I confided in you. I trusted you, which was the biggest mistake. Tell me, Mione, was it a lie?"

Harry knew she hated when anyone shortened her proper name, which was why he did it.

"Tell me before you die," Harry demanded. "Look me in the eye and tell me the truth for once."

"How dare you betray me like this, Harry Potter?" Hermione demanded.

"Oh, funny, never thought that you'd have a sense of humor," Harry commented. "You didn't suspect anything was up when I lead you down here, because you assumed that you were smarter than me. You believed them, when they said that you were the smartest witch of your age."

Harry cupped her chin and forced her to look into her eyes.

"Her name is Lily Evans and you aren't fit to polish her wand," Harry said. "So tell me, Hermione…..how much of our friendship was a façade? Was it all fake?"

"Not all, but most was," Hermione admitted. "I did almost forget my purpose at times, but….I was reminded when I went to Australia."

Harry didn't have time for conversation and Hermione wouldn't be able to speak in a couple more minutes.

"You condoned Snape doing this to me, so I figured that you won't mind me doing this to you," Harry said.

Hermione's mental shields were strong, but they were also conventional, by the book. He was able to dismantle them like they were tissue paper. He busted them down and entered her mind, gaining information about the HIVE.

"Harry, you don't understand what you're doing," Hermione begged him. "If I die….there will be no one to protect you. Every magical government in the world will be after your head, you will be branded as a Dark Lord and hunted down without mercy. The HIVE won't rest until they have your blood. Please, Harry, I'm sorry, I love you!"

Those words gave Harry the briefest of pause, but he detached himself. He didn't want to make the same mistake Ra's Al Ghul did that kick-started this entire mess in the first place.

"Friendship is important, and trust is extremely vital to me," Harry commented calmly. "But, I have been reborn, into something else entirely. The Harry Potter you knew, died when he went through the veil, but I'm certain that you're intelligent enough to figure that out."

"Harry, please, let me….please," Hermione whimpered.

Harry didn't say anything.

"You just can't leave me here to die," Hermione begged him.

"Don't worry, Hermione, I won't leave you to die alone," Harry informed her. He grabbed her hand and held it. "I'll be with you for the final moments. The last thing that you see will be the eyes of the same person that you betrayed. That will be the last thing you see, before you meet my humble servant, Death."

"Master of Death," Hermione breathed. "Oh my God."

"Not yet, but close," Harry corrected her. Hermione slipped into a catatonic state, when Harry pulled the last bit of information from her mind.

Harry sat with Hermione through the very last moment when she finally expired, sent on that next great adventure.

To Be Continued.