I've been sitting on this chapter for like two years. It was quickly edited a while ago by the Lovely DivaGonzo, but when I couldn't find a third pair of eyes to beta I kind of just let be. I guess I hit a "Fuck it" moment tonight. So here it is, I apologize in advance for the spelling, grammar ect. mistakes.
Chapter Fourteen
Truth
On the floor of Ron's sitting room lay dozens of documents. There was no organization, no system, just...papers and rolls of parchment everywhere. The deed transfer between the Sawyers and Malfoy, which Draco grudgingly gave him, the Sawyers Gringotts statements, That he snuck from the master book, and Hermione's attack file, haphazardly lane like a ring of facts with Ron sat at it's center. He had put together what he could. The first money transfers to the Sawyers correlated to Hermione's attack and the second to when she was committed. Who financed Sawyer's activities was harder to deduce.
It was a new account under a false name and empty. What it was that the benefactor wanted from Hermione, he didn't know. The only thing he knew was that there was a supposed child unaccounted for in the mess Hermione brought back with her. A child he could only think of as "a child"; anything more specific hurt too much.
Two days ago it all made perfect sense, The Sawyers tracked down Hermione \and sought out revenge. It was simple, text book really. Now it was all a tangled web of lies, deceit, and betrayal. He could for the life of him figure out why he hadn't left well enough alone.
Hermione, that was why, and the way she cried his name, the desperation in her voice, the fear she felt. In the stillness before sleep it haunted him. She haunted him, the beautiful, smart, brave girl that left one morning in a ministry car five years ago. The girl he fell in love with was lost to the winds of time, but he could find the truth in her memory. What facts he would find, and if it would shape the rest of his life, was yet to determined.
"So what this big emergency?" Harry asked stepping out of his fireplace.
After a moment of shifting around papers, he really should have some kind of organization, he found the Sawyer's account statement and handed them to Harry.
""For the last three years, their family Gringott's account contained less than five galleons. Then, all of a sudden, three weeks before Hermione's attack, fifty thousand galleons was transferred into the account. if that's not dodgy, I don't know what is."
"Ok,"
"They take that money and go to Malfoy to buy back their house, It's not enough 'cus Malfoy's a crook, but they tell him they're in the middle of a job and will have the rest soon." He handed another sheet to Harry, "They paid off the rest of their debt to Malfoy the day after Hermione's committed. If they have this big job going on, why would they take a detour to off Hermione? What are the odds of this "job" being in the same city as Hermione? What are the odds of someone just running into her in another country?"
"Better than you'd think,"
The glare Ron shot Harry could melt the ice caps.
"Sorry,"
"What are the odds of it happening twice?" Ron questioned, failing to hide the anger in his voice.
Ron watched as Harry took in this information, half expecting him to say it was a stretch.
"What if you weren't the only one?" Harry finally said plopping down on the floor outside the ring of papers. "There were loads of Aurors and ministry people going over. What of someone else saw her?"
"You think whoever paid the Sawyers works for the ministry?"
"No, not necessary. Maybe someone from the Ministry started mentioning they saw Hermione Granger in New York and information was inadvertently given to whoever else's involved."
"If someone was talking about Hermione, we would have heard."
"True- well... people knew to not to bring her up to you, and people know I'm your best mate so..."
"We would have heard something."
"It could explain how they found her."
"But almost two years later?"
"Just throwing it out there."
Ron thought for a moment."Think we could get a list of everyone who went?"
"Well that was a waste of time." Jordan said as he threw himself onto Ron's couch.
Harry followed suite,"I find it hard to believe we had over a hundred people in that area and no one saw Hermione but Ron."
"Well, believe it," Ron emerged from his kitchen carrying three butter beers, "Because no one was lying."
"It's not that hard to believe," Jordan stated accepting his drink, "Hermione lives on the upper west side, went to school in Greenwich Village and worked in Midtown."
"So?" Harry and Ron said in unison.
Jordan rolled his eyes then conjured a map of New York City,"This," he said pointing to a point on the lower end of the map near the tip of the island, "Is where we were stationed, near ground zero," He point to a spot further up the map. "NYU is in Greenwich Village, here," He then moved his finger north showing them Midtown Manhattan, where the library Hermione worked at was, and then further up from there, where Hermione lived." See, she really had no reason to go below Houston."
"Yeah, well she did," Ron grumbled.
"And after running into you she probably never went back." Jordan chucked easily dodge the balled up map Ron threw at him.
"I always wanted to go to New York," Harry said absentmindedly. "Like on holiday, not work."
"You should," Jordan Smiled, "best city in the world."
"We should go for Neville's stag do."
"I don't like New York." Ron stated.
"You've only been there twice."
"And look what going there, gets me."
"Fine," Harry said, "You're not invited."
"I'd be great, I haven't seen some of my classmates in ages. We could invite them along."
"What school did you go to?" Harry asked.
"Salem wizard's institute."
Sudden realization dawned on Ron and a surge of nervous excitement overtook him. "Does everyone go there?" he asked.
"No, Muggles aren't allowed."
Ron rolled his eyes, "Is that the only wizarding school in America?"
"No, there's four, why?"
"Do you get to pick?" Ron ignored his question.
"No, it goes by what time zone you live in. Why."
"So, if you're from New York, you go to the Salem Wizard's institute?"
"If you're a guy, girls go to the Salem Witches Institute."
"You went to an all-bloke school?" Ron chortled before getting back on topic. "Did you ever hear of a Nick Romano while there?"
"You do realize there's like, twice as many people on the east coast, then all of The U.K."
"You can't seriously be considering what I think you're considering" Harry said.
"So," Ron said ignoring Harry.
"So?" Jordan said incredulous, "You had, what? Like three hundred kids at Hogwarts, we had almost a thousand. I went to school with people I never even meet."
"Ron..."
"Someone paid the Sawyer's to attack Hermione, Harry. They were paid half before and then half finished the job and I don't think it was to kill Hermione because she's still alive."
"So you think the job was to kidnap this child no one knew about." Harry said in disbelief.
"N-no, but what if, what of he was a good enough consolation prize? He's-" The words were there; "I mean, he's-" but but he couldn't bring himself to say them
"The Minister of magic's grandson and nephew to Harry Potter," Jordan finished, "The kid would be valuable."
"That" Ron said pointing to Jordan.
"Yes," Harry said sympathetically, "but alive."
"Faking his death makes no sense." Jordan agreed.
"Who's side are you on?" Ron snapped.
"Truth, justice and the American way."
"Yeah, well, you work for the British ministry so shut it." Ron turned his attention back on Harry "I know it doesn't make sense, I'm not saying I believe it myself - no one wants this kid to be a figment of Hermione's imagination more than I do, but- they were paid off, Harry. Being paid off for a job that's not done doesn't make sense either." Ron pinched the bridge of his nose, "The job had to be her, the dates between her attack and being committed are too close to the days of the deposits to be a coincidence."
"Right," Harry could agree on that much, "But,"
"But what, Harry? The job was actually to have Hermione committed? Get her out of the way? For what? She's been living as a muggle, what could she possibly have or know?"
"It's Hermione. Any Death Eater we haven't caught yet would love to see her exactly where she is. Besides, you said Malfoy thought she was in St. Mungo's because she was dying. Maybe they said they mortally wounded her."
Ron contemplated that possibility for a moment before shooting it down, "Not for that kind of money, you pay that kind of money for results."
"Alright," Harry said, "But,"
Ron threw up his hands in frustration. "Again with the but's"
"I'm trying to think logically," Harry defended.
"That's not your department, You're the going in wands ablazing bloke."
That made Harry laugh, "Yeah? Then who are you?"
"The one who makes sure you don't get yourself killed."
"Is that how this works?"
"Always has."
They fell into a long silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Hermione was the logical one, if she were here she would have figured this out already. He and Harry would be arresting the bastard rather than sitting here arguing his motives. He tried to recall that thing she would mumble when trying to figuring out... what ever she was having a hard time figuring out. Something like-
"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
"Sherlock Holmes" Jordan nodded in approval.
"That's what we have to do," Ron said, "eliminate the impossible."
"Going down that road is a waste of time, Ron." Harry added.
Ron sloughed low into the armchair he was sitting in, eyes train on the ceiling; running everything around in his mind over and over again. He didn't believe the kid was real, but he no longer knew it. Doubt had been cast in his mind and he wouldn't give up until he knew, for absolute fact, there was no kid to give up on.
He looked over at Harry silently begging him to understand, somehow he seemed to.
"Alright," Harry said, "How do we go about this?"
"I know!" Jordan jumped up, "Is your floo, international, Ron?"
"No,"
"Harry?"
"Yeah,"
"You don't really believe her?"
Ron glared at Harry for telling his sister why Jordan needed to floo long distance. "Not really, some stuff came up in the case that points to the possibility."
"Harry?" Ginny turned on her husband.
"It's small, not enough to have them release Hermione or have us send out a search party but, enough to make us wonder."
"It'll only take a few minutes," Jordan said. "I'll Floo my old school and ask them if a Nicholas Romano went there. If they tell us no, we know he never existed, his sister never existed and Hermione couldn't have left him with her."
"What if they were home schooled?" Ginny asked
"There is no home schooling in america, at least not magical homeschooling" Jordan replied. "And wizarding records are harder to get rid of or alter than muggle ones so.."
"I have to know, Gin," Ron said to his sister, hoping she would relent at feeling his desperation. The doubt was killing him, he didn't know any more, the security that certainly gave him flew out the window the moment Draco said "Maybe it wasn't Hermione they were after. Maybe they wanted something she had."
"Fine," Ginny said squeezing his arm, "I'm going to check on Jamie. ,Just be done by the time I start dinner."
"Thanks, Gin."
"Would they still be open?" Harry asked as Jordan picked up his floo pot. "Yeah, they're five hours behind us."
"But It's summer." Ron said growing anxious,
"You guys don't have summer school at Hogwarts?"
"No," Ron and harry said in unison.
"Another point to Hogwarts." Jordan laughed then threw the floo powder in the hearth a moment later he was on his knees and his head in the fire.
They took a seat at the kitchen table. Harry began to break apart a biscuit he had taken from the plate Ginny had left out."
"Daddy!" Jamie exclaimed the moment Ginny walked back into the kitchen. Ron smiled at the appearance of his favorite nephew.
"Hey mate." Harry said, taking his son into his arms and kissing the top of his head.
Ron felt a lump in his throat. Suddenly, his reasons for not wanting this kid to be real changed. Before his nephew's appearance, he didn't want to believe Hermione would keep his son from him, he was terrified he would be an empath and, frankly, Ron thought he wouldn't be a good father. Sure he was a great uncle, but that was because his only responsibility was to make his niece and nephews laugh, sneak them treats when their parents said no, and just be "fun Uncle Ron". Being a father meant saying no, bedtimes and feeding; cleaning up sick and teaching them to read and write, how to count and do basic maths. He wasn't cut out for that responsibility. He'd literally, cut out, on Stacy and all that came with being a father to his child.
Now, Ron didn't want this kid to be real for one simple fact: if he was real, he was out there, scared and alone, having who knows what done to him by the sick fucks who took him.
Ron begged the universe to not let him be real.
"What's taking him so long?" Ginny asked pulling out pots to start on dinner.
he question just rolled off her tongue when, a second later Jordan stood up and shook his head, "They can't release any info. I told them all I want to know if there was ever anyone by that name, and they said they can't give out any information without the proper paperwork."
"Are you ready for this?" Harry asked.
"Nope."
"Can Malfoy do anything about speeding up the deed transfer?" Harry asked changing the subject as they walking down the familiar halls of Hogwarts.
"No. , The paperwork's sitting on someone's desk at the ministry."
"Why the ministry?"
"Used to belong to deatheater, some one needs to go in a check it out before anyone moves in."
"Can your dad do anything about it?"
"Yeah, I asked him before we left."
They had all agreed that with a benefactor involved, this was more than a simple case of revenge.
They discussed so many scenarios, From: someone recruiting free Death Eaters and were attempting to take out those who resisted pureblood supremacy. Starting from the most notable, "The golden trio" as they've been called. Which for the record Harry hated. That seemed a bit unlikely considering no move had been made on he or Ron, or their family. They would have been the easiest targets.
To:Hermione lied about living as a muggle this whole time and discovered something someone didn't want anyone to know. It was well known that the Sawyer family held a personal grudge against Hermione, and if they ever found her they would kill her. Whoever was at the head of this wanted Hermione out of the way. Being committed to St Mungo's and declared clinically insane was just as good as dead. No one would believe a word she said.
The last one, however, made Hermione's version of reality more plausible. Her "insanity" centered around her son and his existence. After the failed attempt on her life, they had ample time to forge Muggle documents, and make Hermione look mad. If this was true, Tristan was out there, in the hands of mad men.
Ron stood stock still in the center of McGonagall's office, trying to detach himself from everything he was feeling., That was the key to being an empath: detachment. That's how you kept yourself from going crazy. The biggest running joke in the world of empathy is that Empaths aren't very empathetic people. They're taught not to be, at least as a side effect of the training. You can't feel others emotions as you would feel your own. Otherwise you become too empathetic; their rage is your rage and if they're willing to kill, so are you.
Most people don't know, but three of the darkest things in the magical world were created because of empathy. Up until the fifteenth century, the suicide rate of empaths was 89%. To fix a problem you need to understand what you're dealing with so, stupidly, they went about trying to recreate empathy, hoping to find a way of reverse the process. Extracting the souls of two dying empaths and placing them into the bodies of one non-empathic man and one non-empathic woman. This lead to the discovery - and vital realization - that empaths had the additional mental brain capacity to hold all of the emotional energy. They also witnessed the birth of a Dementory. After the living subjects "died" of a brain aneurysm, an unnatural life-sustaining connection remained; with no natural soul present to feed the implanted one, it withered to near nothingness. What was left sought out a replacement, sucking the souls of innocent people, feeding off horrors only the soulless could enjoy, to sustain their unnatural life.
He childishly asked Engel if he would become a dementor when he died, seeing as he too was an unnatural empath. Engel smiled and told him that would be impossible; there was only one soul in his body and it was his own. That made Ron think inexplicitly of Harry.
The creation of Dementors lead to the creation of the cruciatus curse; it was a simple idea, a way to hurt the dementors without having to get too close. It did little and soon the dementors had bred. You'll never learn about that in a history of magic; Experiments like the ones that created the dementors are still going on, not to the same extent, but still going on, he himself was one of them.
The "great" minds of the past decided to go a different route, if they couldn't figure how to stop an empath from becoming an empath, they could find a way to detach an empath from their emotions. That method worked. It worked too well. Empaths were freed from their emotions they stopped caring altogether, felt nothing. It didn't take long for a twisted mind to figure out an uncaring mind could commit the most horrendous acts. With a small tweak to the original spell, the Imperious curse was born.
All this because empaths were extremely empathetic people. Not 're taught to detach, intellectualize the foreign emotions, sympathise yes, but under no circumstances are you to empathise. It was actually very easy for an empath, ironically.
Detach, he had to detach himself-from himself. He was hurt, angry, terrified a million other things, but he couldn't allow himself to feel them. He couldn't feel them. He would not break down like he had in his mother's kitchen again. He would not allow himself to feel anything. If that book told him that kid was real, he would not get attached.
He heard everything Hermione said about how it was impossible for his children to be empaths since he didn't carry the gene, he believed her, for a moment, but then how were the dementors of today able to make you feel like you'd never be happy again? The first two dementors started out as unnatural empaths, and they were able to pass down their odd form of empathy. It was still a possibility. If that kid was real, He would tell them to go. He refuses to watch his child slowly die.
But first they had to find him, actually, first they had to make sure he was real, a hundred percent sure.
After what seemed like a hours McGonagall returned with a very large book in her arm. "Before I open this book, I need to know exactly why I'm breaking a dozen rules and the law for you."
"Can't you just trust us?" Harry begged.
"It isn't a matter of trust, Mr. Potter," Mcgonagall bristled, "It's a matter of," She lean down and whispered something into Harry's ear that made him jump back in indignation and embarrassment.
"If I ever even thought of stepping out on Ginny she'd kill me! No, just, no. It's not that!"
Ron stifled a laugh.
"Forgive me Harry, but in your letter you asked-"
"It's about Hermione," Harry blurted out.
"Miss Granger?" Her head snapped to Ron. "You're mother never told me she brought a child back with her."
"You've been talking to my mum about Hermione?"
"She owled me when she reappeared and inquired about any job openings we might have here."
"What else has she told you?"
"Nothing about a child." Her gaze turned stern and her mood disapproving.
"What make you think it's mine? She's been gone for five years!"
"My apologies." She said then walked around her desk to set the book down. "I'm sorry to say, but I won't be of much help. She needs to established a permanent residence in Britain, before her child can attend Hogwarts, I can't just write any name in the book."
"Um.. no," Harry said uncomfortably, "That's not why we're here- you see-"
"I ran in to Hermione in New York- we slept together- she obliviated me so I wouldn't remember seeing her- The kid's gone- we have records saying he died- Hermione swears he's still alive and we don't know what to believe." Ron said very quickly and in one breath.
There was a long pause before McGonagall asked "So the child is yours?"
"That's what you're focusing on?" Ron erupted.
"You said in your letter," Harry cut in, "That if one parent lives in England, a child will still be registered for Hogwarts even if they were born in another country."
"Yes,"
"If that child dies..."
McGonagall nodded in understanding, "Their name would have disappeared upon death. The child's name?"
"Tristan Granger," Harry supplied.
With a flick of her wand the books sprang to life, pages turned this way and that until it went back to it's original closed position.
"Oh thank Merlin!" Ron, said letting out the breath he was holding.
"I'm sure Hermione won't feel as grateful." Mcgonagall retorted.
Before Ron could say he didn't give a fuck about Hermione's feelings, a cacophony of turning pages filled the air once again, this time the books remained open.
"What did you do?" Ron asked angrily.
Rather than answering, or perhaps McGonagall was at a loss of what to say, she turned the book to face them, a single name glowed purple among the rest.
"Tristan Weasley,"
Ron Weasley landed in the thicket of trees at the top of one of the large hill that surrounded the property. In the valley below stood a Queen Anne styled house. The slowly setting sun bathed the sky in hues of orange and red., Lights shown through the windows, silhouetting two men meddling about the first floor.
He withdrew his wand from his pocket and sent a spell at the house, a moment later three red orbs hovered outside the residence.
"OK," Harry started, " Once we're down there I'll place anti-apparition charm. Jordan take your team through the back. We'll take the front. Extracting Tristan in our primary priority. The Saywers are to be taken alive. No excuses."
With a series of pops the Aurors descended on the house.
"So," Ron asked with a glint of excitement in his eye, "Do we simply walk in, or go for grandeur and kick down the door?"
Harry smiled and shook his head, before casting "alohamora" and slowly opening the door. Quidditch commentary sounded through the foyer of the old house as they tipped toed through, checking each room as they passed.
They were a meter away from the stairwell leading to the the second floor when the sounds of a fight broke out at the other end of the house. A moment later, Jacob Sawyer emerged from the door at the foot of the stairwell, throwing a curse that blasted the wall beside them before hastily running up to the second floor.
"I'm going to ring his fucking neck!" Ron yelled, pushing the rubble off of him as he got back to his feet and bounded up the stairs after Sawyer.
Ron stopped dead at the top of the staircase, like he ran into a powerful shield charm. His blood ran cold, and the air in his lungs froze, making every breath unbearable
"I'll kill him! So help me Merlin I'll kill him!"
Sawyer stood at the end of the hall, dangling a baby boy from one arm while the other pointed a wand at the boy's temple. Ron took in the bright red hair and terrified blue eyes that stared helplessly back at him. His bottom lip was trembling, somewhere between wanting to cry and, like him, to scared to do anything.
"Don't," he managed in a tiny voice that sounded woefully pathetic to the pounding in his ears ears.
A small satisfied smile began to creep over the Death Eaters face. "Let me go and you can have him."
"Put him down!" he tried more firmly.
"Take down the wards!"
"I can't do that."
"Then he dies!" Sawyers pressed the wand harder into the boy's temple, causing him to finally cry out in fear. A tiny, unexpected smile graced Ron's face as the child began kicking and punching with every ounce of strength his tiny body could muster. Ron raised his wand arm, not recalling having dropped his guard, and took a step closer.
"Put him down and I'll let you live." Ron's voice was steady, demanding obedience... while the boy never wavered his insignificant attack.
"Let me go and I'll let him live!"
Another step. "Not going to happen." And another.
"Stop right there!" Sawyer called, out swinging his wand arm away from the boy and pointing it at Ron's approaching from, the moment he did, a stunning spell flew past his shoulder hitting Sawyer directly in the face. Ron dove the last few feet,catching the boy as he fell from Sawyers now limp arm.
They say the rush of love that comes when you first hold your child is one, if not the most, overwhelming thing you will ever feel. Unmistakable, undeniable, pure love. The only thing Ron Weasley felt was frustration. Frustration that the child in his arms would not stop fighting. He knew the child didn't understand Ron was trying to help or even whose arms were holding him, he himself still hadn't fully-
"OW!" Ron released the child, who quickly crawled behind a tapestry in an attempt to hide, "You little shit!"
"Ron!" Harry admonished sharply. While casting a levitation charm on an unconscious Sawyer
"He bit me!"
"I'm gonna bite you if you keep being a prat!"
Ron watched Harry disappear down the stairs before acknowledging the continued crys of the boy. He shuffled over to the tapestry pulling it aside as the boy tried in vain to pull it back to hid himself.
"It's ok," Ron said in an even voice, "The bad men are gone, went bye bye."
"Mumma," the boy whimpered, as he tried to catch his breath.
"I can take you to your mumma," Ron reached out to pick up the child but he flinched away from his touch, somewhere underneath all the adrenaline coursing through his body, that tiny gesture fractured Ron's heart.