Harry Potter and the Garus Glitch
Chapter 14: Show of Strength
A/N: The Order's about to get quite a shock. Song: "Hideaway" by The Corrs.
When Harry and Ron walked into Remus' house, passerby outside might've thought something exploded inside the house: "Harry! Ron!" It was unclear who shouted their names. It was possible that everyone did. Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, Fleur, and Tonks were the first people to collide with the two boys in spine-crushing hugs. Remus wasn't far behind them. Everyone was crying tears of joy and trying to get as close to the two boys as possible. Then, someone noticed the absence of one girl.
"Where's Hermione?!" Someone suddenly screamed fearfully. The phrase was quickly echoed by many voices, among other questions, each more panicked than the last:
"What happened?! She's not dead?! Did they take her?! Is she okay?! The letter you sent said she was coming! What's going on?!"
"EVERYONE, CALM DOWN!" Harry shouted over the noise, "HERMIONE'S FINE! YOU HAVE TO CALM DOWN AND LET US EXPLAIN, THOUGH!" The chaos in the house died down quickly and Harry cleared his throat before he spoke again: "Look, we need everyone to give us their wands and sit down, please." Everyone tensed and stared at Harry and Ron suspiciously after he said that. Harry realized his mistake and he and Ron quickly rattled off every distinguishing, little-known fact about themselves that they could think of, to settle the surge of suspicion. Eventually, they won the crowd over and all the Order members and other Weasleys handed over their wands and sat down, as requested.
"Now, don't get scared again," Ron said bracingly, "but what's about to happen is necessary-"
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" McGonagall said, starting to stand up again, but finding she couldn't move. She opened her mouth to speak again, but whatever she said was drowned out by multiple screams. Snape and Dumbledore had just entered the house, behind Harry and Ron.
"Everyone, please don't panic," Dumbledore said firmly. "I know some of what you're feeling right now. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were very vocal about it when we first revealed ourselves to them, and yet, here we are beside Harry and Ron. As for Hermione, her absence will be explained. Right now, you must all just listen to us. There is much that you all need to hear."
"Hermione, could you come to the Three Broomsticks with me?" Molly asked as she pulled her cloak on over her wooly brown sweater. "Arthur is going to meet me there. I'd like you to meet him. He's bringing Bill, too."
"Alright," Hermione said. "I have to come back from Hogsmeade soon, though. Professor Slughorn asked me and Lily to help him make a couple more potions for his stores. He offered twenty house-points per potion, so we couldn't refuse."
"Then we'd better hurry," Molly said, smiling. She led the way out of the dormitories and down to the Entrance Hall. Molly and Hermione kept a brisk pace all the way to Hogsmeade, walking ahead of most of the other students headed there. They walked straight to the Three Broomsticks and opened the doors to be greeted by the sweet smell of butterbeer. Then, a toddler sitting in the corner called out to them:
"Mommy! Hermy!" Hermione laughed. The last time she'd been called 'Hermy' was by Hagrid's brother, Grawp, when he was terrorizing a pack of centaurs, looking for Hagrid. The fact that the baby Bill remembered any part of her name, though, was a heart-melting surprise.
"Hello, Bill," Hermione said to the little boy, once she'd followed Molly over to the table he'd called from. Bill smiled at her and babbled something about singing and pumpkin pasties. The boy's young father, seated beside him, laughed loudly.
"Molly told me Bill stopped crying for you, but talking about sweets with you is serious," Arthur Weasley laughed. "He really likes you."
"Our boy's a good judge of character," Molly said. "Arthur, this is Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is my husband, Arthur Weasley."
"Hermy-mine," Bill said, after hearing Hermione's name again. Hermione laughed again. It had taken Viktor Krum ages to come much closer than that.
"It's great to finally meet you, Hermione," Arthur said. "Molly and Bill have told me a lot about you-"
"Hermy-miney," Bill said, still trying to get Hermione's name right.
"Most of what I've heard coming from Molly, of course," Arthur laughed. "Bill mostly tries to come up with as many ways to say your name as he can."
"Her-money," Bill said loudly. Molly, Arthur, and Hermione all laughed at that attempt.
"He's determined," Hermione said. "That's a good quality to have. Certainly, never discourage it."
"Never," Molly said, smiling broadly at her son. Arthur chose that moment to take a sip of butterbeer. He chose poorly:
"HER-MY-OH-NEE!" Bill yelled. Arthur choked on the sip he'd taken.
"That's right, Bill!" Molly cooed, "Her name is Hermione."
"Her-my-oh-nee," Bill repeated, pronouncing each syllable carefully. Hermione beamed at the little boy. Saying her name at his age was no small feat. Then again, this boy was going to grow up to marry a part-veela. While Molly and Arthur cheered their little son, Hermione checked Garus' watch for the time. She was supposed to meet Lily outside Slughorn's office in forty-five minutes. She needed to start heading back to the castle. She said goodbye to Molly, Arthur, and Bill. Then, she left the Three Broomsticks and started up the road out of Hogsmeade, back to Hogwarts.
Hermione was halfway up the long stretch of road between the main part of the village and the Hogwarts front gates when she heard a cry of pain from a narrow alley to her right. She halted on the spot. "Hello?" She said, "Who's there?" There was no answer, but Hermione heard a girl's muffled scream and she ran towards the alley, drawing her wand. She moved quickly and quietly through the alley until she saw the source of the noise: Lucius Malfoy had Narcissa Black pinned against a wall, one of his hands clamped over her mouth. Macnair and Goyle were standing near him, laughing as Narcissa struggled. Hermione decided she wouldn't be able to make it to her meeting with Slughorn.
"Let her go!" Hermione shouted, stepping into view and aiming her wand at Malfoy.
"This is no business of yours, Granger," Malfoy spat. "Get lost before you get to take her place."
"Go on, then," Hermione said, taking a couple more steps forward, "unless you have a problem with fighting girls who can actually defend themselves. What's the matter, Malfoy? Are you really such a coward that you have to wait to attack a girl until she lets her guard down?" Malfoy glared daggers at Hermione. He glanced back at Narcissa and pushed her away from him.
"Get back to the castle, pet," he said to her as she grabbed her bag off the ground, wincing in pain. "We have business to take care of, here." Narcissa rushed out of the alley, saying nothing and leaving Hermione alone with Malfoy, Goyle, and Macnair.
"You think, just because you're not as innocent as you let on, that you can get away with speaking to me like that, Granger?" Malfoy hissed.
"You have yet to prove otherwise," Hermione said coldly.
"Then, I guess we should," Malfoy growled, raising his wand. Hermione was ready for him, though:
"Furnunculus!" She yelled. Her spell struck Malfoy full in the face, where he immediately began sprouting large, ugly boils.
"Stupefy!" Macnair shouted, sending a Stunner soaring towards Hermione. She deflected the Stunner with a nonverbal Shield Charm, but she wasn't able to block Goyle's Reductor Curse. It struck her in the chest and knocked her off her feet and into a wall about three feet behind her. As soon as she hit the ground, she rolled to the side to dodge Malfoy's Impediment Curse and conjured her Patronus to deflect Macnair and Goyle's next curses. She pushed herself off the ground just as she heard a voice she wasn't expecting:
"Stupefy!" Molly shouted, charging into the alley. Her Stunner struck Macnair in the chest, sending him hurtling backwards until he landed a few feet away, unconscious on the ground. Goyle aimed his wand at Molly.
"Incarcerous!" Hermione screamed, and ropes appeared out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Goyle, immobilizing him from head to toe. Goyle keeled over, trapped in the ropes, just as Malfoy aimed his wand at Hermione, again.
"Expelliarmus!" Molly shouted and Malfoy's wand went flying out of his hand. He made a dive for the wand, but Hermione tackled him. She planted a strong punch just slightly to one side of his nose and felt it break on contact. Malfoy yelled in pain, then he grabbed both of Hermione's arms and rolled over, pinning her to the ground beneath him. He struck her hard across the face just before yet another voice sounded from behind him:
"Stupefy!" Malfoy fell across Hermione, unconscious from the Stunner cast by Arthur Weasley. Arthur and Molly rushed forward and pushed Lucius off Hermione. They each grabbed one of her arms and helped her up. Hermione could feel a throbbing ache across the entire right side of her face, but, with the exception of a bleeding lip, appeared to be okay.
"Hermione, what happened?!" Molly asked worriedly. "You only left us thirty minutes ago!"
"Where's Bill?" Hermione asked, "Is he okay?"
"He's fine, Hermione," Arthur said. "Some friends of ours, Andromeda and Ted Tonks, took him with them to the park to play with their daughter, Nymphadora. What happened here?"
"Narcissa Black," Hermione said. "They were hurting her. I heard her scream from the main road."
"You fought them for Narcissa Black?!" Molly asked incredulously. "Hermione, she's Malfoy's girlfriend! She may not be a Death Eater, and only a fifth year, but she's still a nasty piece of work, herself!"
"Not just now, she wasn't," Hermione said as she conjured an ice pack for her face, where Malfoy had hit her. "Malfoy had her pinned against the wall! Macnair and Goyle were blocking any escape! Her wand was still in her pocket! They caught her completely defenseless! I had to do something!"
"Like, at least, getting backup?!" Molly said exasperatedly, "Hermione, we're forming the Order for a reason. It's too dangerous to take on the Death Eaters, alone!"
"I know that, Molly," Hermione said, "but I was alone. By the time I could've gone to get more help, they could've really hurt Narcissa. It was me, alone, or no one! I know how to defend myself. Narcissa couldn't. I couldn't just leave her." Molly and Arthur stared at Hermione, both of them still looking a little upset, but also impressed. Molly shook her head.
"Where does a girl like you come from, Hermione?" She asked, "Clever, powerful, and defends people who most others would just pass by? Remus was right. You are a special case and, Merlin knows, one we can certainly use around here." Hermione smiled, but winced at the pain of stretching her bleeding lip.
"You need the Hospital Wing," Arthur said. "C'mon, I'll walk up to the castle with you and Molly. Someone is sure to come looking for Malfoy, Macnair, and Goyle, soon."
"Hermione! Malfoy really clubbed you!" Peter Pettigrew groaned as Hermione came out of the Hospital Wing to where he, James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and Molly were all waiting for her. Madam Pomfrey had easily sealed the cut on her lip, but was only able to ease the pain of the large bruise that spread from just below Hermione's right cheekbone up to her right eyebrow. "Did Madam Pomfrey question you a lot?"
"No, not at all," Hermione said. "She assumed I'd been in a Death Eater fight, but she didn't pry for details. She just asked me if anyone else involved needed treatment. I told her to keep an eye out for a face full of boils with a broken nose." As much as the group before Hermione had not intended to make light of her situation, they couldn't help but laugh at her comment.
"That is true," Molly admitted. "The others were worse off when we left, especially Malfoy. Hermione probably would've been okay without me and Arthur showing up to help. We just wrapped the fight up faster."
"Did you really go through all of that over Narcissa?" Sirius asked, incredulous. "I mean, yeah, she's my cousin, but worth all that?"
"It's not like I expect anything in return," Hermione shrugged. "She was in trouble because Malfoy was a coward and cornered her when she couldn't defend herself. So, I defended her." Hermione, of course, had an even greater reason to protect Narcissa, but she couldn't voice that reason. Only Lily knew what Narcissa did, in Hermione's real time, to save Dumbledore and help Snape, Draco, and Harry.
"That was Narcissa?" Tonks whispered, stunned. Dumbledore, Snape, Harry, and Ron had finished their extensive explanations of what they'd all been doing since the night Hogwarts was attacked, also mentioning any significant events that led up to it. Tonks was still having trouble grasping the fact that her youngest aunt had sacrificed herself to help their side, and she wasn't the only one:
Half the people in the room were crying. Half were in shock. Harry was sitting with Ginny, holding her close as her body shook slightly as she cried. Ron was slightly purple form how tightly his parents were hugging him. Remus was staring at his clenched fists in his lap, his brow furrowed and his eyes glistening. Harry guessed that he was searching his memories from his seventh year for any sign of Hermione, in spite of the fact that the workings of the Garus Glitch had been explained to the entire gathered group, twice.
"So, Lily is the only one of us who knows the truth about Hermione, in that time?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"For now," Dumbledore answered. "Eventually, Hermione will have to explain the truth to Regulus, as well, but she hasn't come to that, yet."
"She has about three months left," Harry said. "So far, she's had trouble getting near enough to Regulus and the other Death Eaters without something going wrong, though. Everyone is too protective of her."
"Lily's knowledge of the situation should work to Hermione's benefit, there," Dumbledore said. "Lily can try to keep those of you who are guarding Hermione distracted, so she can get closer to the Death Eaters."
"Meanwhile, everyone in this time needs to lay low and keep quiet," Snape said firmly. "There isn't much that any on us can do until Ms. Granger returns, if she returns-"
"She will!" Ron shouted in a burst of anger. "She will return! Stop suggesting that she won't survive! Stop suggesting that she can't do her job! She can! She will!" The room stood in a tense silence. Everyone, including Snape, certainly hoped Hermione could complete her task. They all trusted and believed in her abilities, but everyone, including Ron and Harry, understood that even the greatest witches and wizards in the world could fail. Hermione was a very gifted, very brave witch, but Hermione could fail.