Too good to be true
.
Prague – Mazur Manor – 19th of September very early morning
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Neville folded the letter very carefully and put it in an envelope addressed to "Emma Granger". He had a soft smile and a thoughtful look on his face thinking about the events of the previous day. They had been shocked by the sudden and very fiery end of the whole endeavour, but all of them were alive and more or less healthy. After a short check by the paramedic of Ana's team, Daphne's aunt sent them away to safety while she stayed behind to handle the Czech authorities. They wouldn't be happy, especially about the necessary mass commitment of their Obliviator teams. Presumably there would be a cover story about some old WWII bomb exploding or something similar. After all some half-believable story explaining a couple acres of land erupting into fire would be required. Neville hoped that they would find a solution so that they wouldn't be banned from entering the Czech Republic in the future. He liked the city and Hermione even more so. He would love to spend some quality time with Hermione in the golden city again.
Hermione – she would turn 17 today. 17 – The thought was nearly unbelievable, her being of age and all. Legally allowed to… Neville pondered what would actually change for her. The four teenagers had all kind of dispenses already. With no magical inheritance waiting for her, like it was the case with Harry, or the date meaning something in regards of the Wizengamot, as it would be with Daphne and Neville, her 17th birthday was only another little milestone in Hermione's life. Her next birthday would be more important, becoming of age in the Muggle world as well.
Still, he wanted to celebrate the day. Especially, he wanted to celebrate it with her family. He had already convinced Harry to immediately return to Great Britain this morning. And the letter? It was his announcement of their return. Emma would be happy about it. She hadn't expected to see her daughter for a couple more weeks.
"Please deliver this to Emma Granger," Neville said to the eagerly waiting Dobby "but wait for her to be awake and all," he added after a moment, as he had the image of an overexcited Dobby in his mind, jumping up and down on Emma's bed with the letter in his small hand. Emma wouldn't appreciate it. "The second letter is for Dan … and don't tell Hermione about it. It's a surprise."
Dobby nodded eagerly, his long ears flapping, and vanished into thin air.
Content that this was being taken care of, Neville put on his dressing gown and left his room. He had a birthday breakfast to prepare.
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"Here is your portkey," Ana put the little cylinder into Harry's hand. "It will transport you to a safe room in the DMLE. Amelia is expecting you at 10 o'clock."
"Thank you, we'll be ready."
The quartet had been a sharing a nice birthday breakfast with Hermione, trying not to think too much about the fights of the previous day. Their four familiars had been part of the little party, with Crooks and Balou enjoying the attention while Hedwig and Mandragora watched the ruckus from above. Without them the adventure wouldn't have gone as smoothly and everybody knew it. Hermione, even more so than the others, was very thankful towards Crooks. Without him defending her, she would have died the night before, or at least been bitten. And while she didn't have the usual prejudices regarding Werewolves, she wasn't eager spending the rest of her hopefully very long life as one. Because of this, the little orange monster found his belly filled with all kinds of treats and always a caressing hand in his thick fur nearby.
"Everything alright with the Czech officials?"
Ana sighed deeply. "It needed some lengthy explanations and a Midnight call to Amelia and Minister Fudge, but in the end they believed that we aren't some British Madmen only in Prague to terrorize the locals."
Harry bit his lip to suppress a smile. He imagined the faces of Minister Fudge when he got the midnight call. He certainly hadn't been amused.
"Now everything is fine so far. I'll stay in Prague for a couple more days to help the Czech Aurors with the covering up and the search of the fugitives, if there had been any."
"Do you think anybody survived?" Daphne asked. She had been shocked about the end of the battle and the fact that presumably most of the lair's inhabitants died in the hellish fire. It had been their decision to become Death Eaters and follow that madman. It had been Dolohov's decision to prepare such a last defence: still, they had been humans and nobody deserved to die in such a manner. Being burned alive was a horrible fate.
"Not many," Ana sadly shook her head. "We only escaped unscathed thanks to Balou and Hedwig." She said, looking thankfully in the familiars' direction. "Our opponents hesitated on their next action as we left and I saw no living Death Eaters on our way out. Perhaps a few who stayed at the fringes survived but none of those who were deeper into the lair should have. Even apparition wasn't a real possibility – not without a serious risk of splinching. No, I don't expect many survivors."
"We have to end this," Harry declared. "And soon. We have to find Dolohov. Without him the others will stop fighting. There aren't many inner circle members left, but Dolohov is the most important."
"Aurors are looking for him all over Europe," Ana promised, "I'm certain that we'll find him soon enough."
Only hours later, Ana would learn how wrong she had been.
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Somewhere in the Far East
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His followers were close. He could feel them, especially Dolohov. The talented member of the inner circle had been in the vicinity of his prison for weeks now. That a couple more of his men now arrived as well – he was only able to identify Travers among them, the others had to be unidentified rabble – was a good sign. There had been some "business contacts" to the Far East in the past, more in the 80s than today, but close enough certainly to get some help for Dolohov in locating his prison.
Regretfully, Bella hadn't accompanied Dolohov. He sensed her, sensed her mark and the return of her sanity, but she was far, far away, back in Britain. She would have hit the Muggles where it hurt, would have killed all the Magicals that guarded him. Yes, there were magicals; he identified them over the past weeks. There had been a number of them, "visiting" him from time to time, one of them even checking the magic that imprisoned him every few days. From the newspapers those damned tourists carried around he knew the date: 19th of September. 42 days until Halloween. He assumed that Dolohov intended to free him on that date. He would have chosen the unholy night himself.
He couldn't await it. He would be free again, free to extract his revenge. He would cover the land with fire and blood. The air in Diagon Alley would be filled with screams of terror and death. The velvet gloves would be off. He had been far too soft and friendly in the past. This had to stop now. The magical community didn't appreciate a caring emperor. They needed a harsh hand, a grip of steel and a cat o' nine tails ripping into their flesh. He got agitated now, thinking about how he would cause utter terror in good ol' England. With Madam Guille's help he would orchestrate a rising of the dead. Hogsmeade cemetery would provide him with hundreds of Inferi, ready to charge the gates of Hogwarts. Screams of pain would fill the country when mothers learned about the grizzly deaths of their children.
And the Werewolves? He had trusted Fenrir to control them in the past. He had been wrong about that too. Too many had betrayed him. Too many had switched sides and now fought him. He would order Fenrir to turn as many new Werewolves as possible. Runes of obedience cuts into their fur would make them loyal. Christmas night was a full moon this year. He would send them out to spoil the celebrations. Holy night indeed.
Yes, he would be free again.
He would take back what was rightfully his.
And he would question Dolohov about why he allowed his ring to be destroyed.
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Prague – same time
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"Stay still!"
Despite him being her boss, Nikolai Bramasov immediately obeyed. It wasn't wise to cross Elsbeta Darpa when she was in that mood: her eyes narrowed, a steely glint in her eyes and her long slender hands not very gently rubbing burn ointment into his skin.
"Stupid man," the woman growled, not caring if he heard her. Nikolai rolled his eyes but had to admit that she was right. It had been his own stupidity that put him into danger last night and caused those painful burns. "You could have died," she scolded him. He didn't deny it. While he was a very sturdy Vampire, thanks to his age and a couple of rituals he was immune to things that would destroy others of his kind, there were still weapons out there able to beat him. That hellish, soul-possessed fire certainly belonged to the short list of things he wasn't able to survive. Luckily it is quite rare, he suppressed a chuckle. Equally luckily he had been able to flee just in time. He had even dragged that lovely snow-white owl with him – Hedwig. She was an unusual bird, closely connected to that green-eyed boy. He felt the magical and emotional connection. It would allow the bird to live far longer than usual – if she stayed out of danger.
"I should send the boy some reading material about protection runes for the owl," he mused loudly, prompting Elsbeta to curse. "First you should think about finding some protection runes for your recklessness."
"It was necessary." Nikolai grumbled.
"I know," Elsbeta admitted slightly defeated. She had been in his service since 1926 and intended to stay for another couple of decades at least. While he was in theory her boss, Nikolai mostly left her alone to her studies and researching. He offered her a lab, an incredible library, enough funds for everything she needed and contacts around the world she could only dream of. It didn't hurt that he was an intelligent and well-educated conversation partner and didn't hit on her like her last Sire had tried to do – may his ashes rest in peace. Nikolai Bramasov was hetero and certainly appreciated the female body, but he was deeply in love – in love with someone he could never have but was still incredible faithful too. Among her possible choices he was certainly the best, but sometimes he was so aggravating.
"I expected them to betray the boy and they really did," Nikolai sighed. "I hoped I would be wrong but Tadeusz has always been too clever for his own good."
"He has been gathering allies to take over the hospital for weeks."
"I know," Nikolai frowned. "Idiot that he is."
"You'll have to take care of him." Elsbeta suddenly narrowed her eyes as she had an epiphany. "You knew this. You expected him to break his word."
Nikolai looked a tad guilty but didn't deny it. "I couldn't pass the opportunity."
"And now?"
"Now I'll meet his superiors and express my deep hurt about getting betrayed by him, how I hope that they won't allow his ambition to drive a wedge between them and me. And offer a solution."
"A solution that encompasses the bloody death of a certain parvenu?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You know me too well."
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London – Arabic Community Centre – a wee bit later
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Hermione hadn't stopped grinning madly since they arrived at the community centre an hour ago. Neville found her absolutely adorable and cute, sitting in the middle of a group of Arabic children, telling stories about her Sudan voyage. Her father was there as well, and they would meet Emma Granger a bit later.
Their visit to the DMLE had been cut short as Harry arranged with Amelia a longer and detailed session for the next morning. For now she was content to know that
Everybody important was alright and healthy
Quite a number of Death Eaters including Avery had been put to the sword, or to the fire
And the Horcrux had been destroyed for good.
Anything else could wait for another day. Jessica Treskow would be there as well, Neville knew, eager to hear about the Werewolves that had been part of the defending force.
After the DMLE, Neville and Harry had ushered the girls towards Muggle London and Hermione's eyes had started to shine as she realized where they were going. He had really enjoyed her appreciative snogging. The thankful look of her father hadn't been bad as well. Right after getting Neville's message, Dan Granger had started to prepare a little birthday party with his colleagues. The children, after hearing about the reason for the candles and cakes, had been more than eager to help as well. They had swarmed Hermione, barely allowing her to greet her father.
The only surprise had been the presence of the local Imam. He arrived with a couple of students and local dignitaries, all clad in their finest… robes, or however they called that kind of garment. He had greeted Hermione and her friends in a dignified but friendly way, and even offered a gift of his own. It was a wonderfully coloured piece of silk with some Arabic letters on it, one of the surah, Neville assumed. He had to ask her later. That Hermione had been able to respond in his own language had certainly gained her some brownie points. Now, she was sitting on a comfortable cushion, retelling a fable she heard in Sudan and doing a believable impression of a lioness clawing at an enemy. The children screamed with joy.
"She's a very special woman."
Neville startled and whirled around only to find the Imam watching Hermione closely. A few steps away Harry and Daphne were in some agitated discussion with a couple of his students. "Yes, she is," Neville agreed after a moment.
"You're her …"
"Her fiancé," Neville nodded. "We intend to marry after finishing school in two years."
"That's good to hear," the Imam stated calmly. "Honourable women – they should be cherished, protected and loved. It is the right thing to do."
"I agree." Neville felt slightly uncomfortable around the man. He had no experience with Muslims so far and especially hadn't the foggiest idea why the Imam was interested in the Granger family. He seemed to sense that.
"In the beginning some families didn't feel comfortable with a Christian physician caring for their children, for their teenaged daughters especially. We are very traditional about that kind of thing."
"What changed?" Neville asked. He had wondered about it since hearing about the Imam's intervention months ago.
"A friend of mine, the Imam of Khartoum – wrote me." The Imam explained. Neville's eyes widened slightly. How the hell…?
"Apparently Doctor Granger made quite an impression while living there. He's rajul alshsharaf – an honourable man."
"He is," Neville happily agreed. "The whole family is. I'm proud of soon becoming a member of their family."
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Somewhere in the Far East
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"Take care of your brother."
His aunt's surprising statement startled Tam Zejie and prompted him to look up from his beloved computer. "Why do you say that, Aunt Hui? Did something happen?"
"It will." His aunt had a faraway look on her face but enough conviction in her voice to give him pause. Tam Zejie and his older brother Tam Zeli belonged to the magical strong arm of the twelve white cranes triads. Zeli was the far more accomplished fighter and leader, while Zejie had a natural knack for modern technique. He had to be careful around computers as every other wizard, but had learned to have a tight control on his magic all the time. Because of this he often appeared to be cold and unfeeling, but it was only an outer sign of his training at Occlumency and meditation. Zeli was the emotional and charismatic one. Their warriors adored and trusted him, believing that he couldn't be beaten in a fight. His victory over a clan of Sea Water Trolls three years ago only cemented that belief.
"Something will happen today and he will be in danger."
For a moment Zejie wondered if he should simply ignore her. Aunt Hui was… queer, to put it nicely. As old as the hills and according to his grandfather not very reasonable from the start, she had a reputation for saying and doing the most whimsical things. However, there had to be more about her, otherwise the triad leaders wouldn't have followed her pledge to protect that weird terracotta statue. Lovegood – that had been the name of that English family. Aunt Hui apparently had been friends with one member of that family, a woman that had been visiting their home country back in the 1930s. Her friend had died long ago, as far as he knew, but she was still in contact with her family. He even met some of them a couple of years ago. A woman with dreamy eyes – Selena Lovegood or something – had been around with her little daughter. Both had caused him the creeps but his aunt had loved them.
"I will take care of him." Zejie promised her, earning him a pat on the cheek and a thankful smile.
Respect your Elders.
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"What is happening?"
Tam Zejie made a calming gesture but his older brother did not have the patience to wait for him to gather information about the incident in the Southern Wing of the area. Tam Zeli was pacing up and down the room, barely able to keep his hands from tussling his hair. It was actually a cute gesture that originated from his early childhood. A few minutes ago, both brothers had been alarmed by the noises of some explosions and heavy smoke above the mentioned part of the protected area. Utter chaos broke out immediately after and the tourists had started to leave the exhibition rooms in a hurry.
Zejie looked up from his screens with a deep frown. "Apparently there was a gas explosion. Several visitors have been injured, some of them may be dead. The emergency teams are on site already and the police and security officers are clearing the whole place." Aunt Hui's words came back to his mind. Something will happen today. Had she been speaking about this?
"Show me." Zeli ordered and his younger brother complied. Only a handful of cameras were still in working order around the targeted area. They showed utter chaos and mayhem. Dozens of glass vitrines had been destroyed, paramedics were still at work and Zejie got slightly ill as he noticed three bodies covered with blankets.
Zeli narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "This wasn't an accident." He pointed towards the part of the room where the explosions and fire had apparently started. "Someone used magic to destroy the gas pipe." Zejie thought about it and nodded. "The people in the area would have noticed the smell in case of a leak. And that pipe looks like it was torn apart by giant hands."
"That's what I thought." While Zeli and his younger brother were vastly different in attitude and preferences, he respected his intellect and was very protective of him.
"Do you think it's a distraction?" Both knew what he was speaking about. This accident could simply be an attempt to clear the exhibition area of tourists, allowing "someone" to get near the protected room.
"I'll take a look. Stay here." Zeli ordered, stopping shortly as Zejie whispered: "be careful."
Zeli nodded. He was a warrior. That didn't mean he would rush into danger head first.
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With a sneer on his face John Travers stepped around the corpse of the security guard he had just killed. It was the same sneer he had for the Indian curse-breaker belonging to his team. It was regretful that he had to endure the man. At least he seemed to know what he was doing. His comrade had been successful in distracting the bulk of the defending forces and – more importantly – to get those tourists out of the way that were already around the place at this hour. He would have preferred a nightly extraction, but Dolohov hadn't been able to stay patient. Something had happened last night, something that prompted him to run around like a scared chicken.
"Sir, you have to leave…" Another security guard, apparently on his way to look for any remaining tourists, was unable to finish the sentence before two of Travers' overeager henchmen cut him down. Gesturing them to get rid of the corpses not to alarm any passers-by, Travers hurried towards the destination of their little trip. Dolohov wasn't far behind with another team, accompanying the extractors whose duty it would be to get the statue away before stronger defence teams arrived. From their scout they knew that only a dozen guards should be around here, with no more than three or four wizards among them. No real danger for their forces, but they had to act fast.
Suddenly there were some silly noises in the air, as if someone trying to suppress a cough. One of his men stumbled and went down to his knees. He had a surprised look on his face and was clutching his chest from where blood was dripping. With a small gurgle he slumped to the ground face-first.
"Ambush!" Travers was experienced enough to realize the effect of Muggle weapons. More coughing filled the air and within seconds half of his team was cut down, most of them hit by weapon fire but also the spells of at least one wizard. He was able to detect five assailants, partially hidden by the exhibits. Without caring for their value, Travers blasted a pedestal apart with a couple of 900 years old alabaster vases from the Song dynasty on it. He destroyed them completely and utterly, but equally killed one of the gunslingers hiding there.
Without regret Travers pushed one of his henchmen in front of the Indian curse-breaker to protect him. While he didn't like the man, he would need him in a few minutes. At least the rest of his men were hiding now as well and returning the fire. A Chinese wizard was already injured and a second gunslinger wasn't moving anymore. Travers shot a Reducto at his head, only to make certain he wouldn't stand up later.
To his right one of his men screamed. Travers whirled around only to see some formerly hidden Chinese cutting one man down before he attacked another one. He used his wand left-handedly, protecting himself with small shield-casts while advancing towards the trembling man with a gleam in his eyes and a deadly sword in his right hand. Travers sent a cutting curse his way but the Chinese sensed the attack in time and dodged it. He dodged the next two spells as well, before he reached his target and beheaded the man.
For a second fear gripped Travers' heart as the terrifying swordsman turned around and sent him a withering glare. Somehow he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop him. Luckily however – luckily for Travers at least – he was rescued by Dolohov's timely arrival.
You'll pay now, Travers thought, pay for attacking my men. Pay for daring to threaten me. He raised his wand.
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"Shit, shit, shit."
Zejie deactivated the last of the cameras watching the area and stormed away from the control room. He had spent the last couple of minutes disarming the surveillance system and deleting any proof that magic existed. It had only been possible because they had prepared for just this case: some magical commando storming the area with no regards of the statute of secrecy – or no idea what a camera system actually meant, as he assumed in this case.
Those foreign wizards had started to hurl their spells around, right in sight of a dozen cameras. The press would have a field day getting their paws on that kind of electronic proof. And his superior would have his head for this. Rushing through the corridors, Zejie could only hope that he would arrive fast enough. The opposing forces were overwhelming, but knowing his brother he realized that Zeli wouldn't shy away from the fight. There was only one way to convince him to leave: his little brother being endangered.
Because of this a few minutes later, Zeli watched his brother rush right onto the battlefield, taking out two of those Indian mercenaries and exchanging spells with the newly arrived enemy leader. Zeli had been forced to slowly withdraw room by room and was now defending the hall he had sworn to protect. The statue his enemies obviously intended to steal was already in sight. There were a couple of wards around, but of the more harmless kind, as they didn't want to accidently kill some child playing and fooling around. That certainly wouldn't stop them.
Zejie jumped aside just in time to avoid the green light of an Avada. Their foes were in a hurry, trying to get away with their spoil before enforcements arrived. There weren't many of his men left. One was heavily leaning against another statue, while covering two of his comrades with short bursts from his silenced SMG. To the left a fourth was battling a pair of mercenaries while the man to his feet barely moved anymore. They were losing, it was clear. All Zeli could do was buy time for other Crane teams to arrive. He didn't know how far away they were. Certainly nobody had expected an extraction attempt in such force, so openly and brutal. Apart from the victims of the gas explosion, there had been at least a dozen more casualties, with the attackers losing an equal amount of fighters. Victory would cost them, but the victory would be theirs, Zeli had no doubt about it.
Zejie dodged a bone-breaker from the leader of the opposing advance team. This time he had reacted too late and from the look of it his left leg had been hit. Zejie was now rolling on the floor to dodge another volley of spells, while sending back a number of his own curses. He would not last for long, Zeli realized.
It was time for a choice.
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"I promised Aunt Hui to take care of you."
Zejie's simple statement baffled Zeli and stopped his rant. He had been able to rescue his brother. Two of his men successfully fled the fight as well. The rest had died in that hall. He would mourn them later.
"You shouldn't have been there in the first place," Zeli growled. He was furious, both about his little brother risking his life as because he was denied an honourable death in the line of duty.
"Without me there," Zejie calmly replied, suppressing the pain of his broken leg, "you never would have left."
"I should have died there, defending the statue, as was my duty."
"It would have changed nothing," Zejie shook his head. He was right and Zeli knew it. Just when the intruders started to dismantle the wards, a first reinforcement team of the white cranes arrived on the scene. They had to pull back, after four of them being killed by the enemy leaders supported by the deadly Indian assassin. Only when more teams followed, had they been able to finish off the intruders – but not before four of them escaped with their booty.
The statue was gone. And he survived thanks to his brother. Both would have to explain to his own superiors.
Perhaps death would really have been preferable after all.
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Scotland – Hogwarts - A wee bit later
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"You're crazy, you know that?" Hermione gasped after a first look into the Great Hall.
"Only crazy for you," Neville replied quite sappily. Heroically, Harry didn't roll his eyes, if only because he feared Daphne's reaction. "Do you like it?"
"I do," Hermione sighed happily, before whirling like a living dervish through the Hall and tackling her mother.
Some of the guests started to sing some birthday song, only they seemed unable to agree on the same song. It was quite the ruckus, quite appropriate to the location.
Fred and George hadn't needed much convincing to prepare some indoor firework for their favourite bookworm and prank potion inventor. There were coloured lights everywhere, a fire cascade that reacted to the music playing and somehow the Twins even got a couple of 3D-Kneazles that were running and fooling around at the ceiling. The guests were certainly impressed. If there was a logo visible here and there, it was certainly forgivable.
The second afternoon lesson had been cancelled by Headmaster Flitwick to allow everyone to join the party. Admittedly, many of them were only present because of the firework and the buffet, but it was still a happy affair. Neville had been able to rope Niles Chentz and a couple other Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors into doing the choirs tonight, while more than a dozen house-elves belonged to the guests. Naturally Dobby and Winky were there, as well as Ciddy and Paddoc, the later competing with Professor Snape about who showed the sourest look.
They weren't the only house-elves present, however. Matron Mathilda was there as well, with her oldest son, her bodyguards and a few other house-elves. Admittedly, Harry had assumed until now that Hermione had been exaggerating with her thoughts about Mathilda dying. He had been wrong, he realized now, deadly wrong. While Mathilda had been old but spryly as he met her six weeks ago, she now seemed really old, fragile and as if she ought to be bed-ridden. He watched Neville accompany Hermione towards the elderly matron, Hermione's eyes shining suspiciously. She bowed down and hugged Matron Mathilda, whispered her thanks for coming to her birthday party. Matron Mathilda patted her hand. "Don't be sad, dear."
"I try," Hermione promised, adding after a moment. "A woman I met in Prague told me 'it's a great gift to decide ourselves about the day of our departure'. Perhaps she was right."
"She was," Mathilda smiled, looking quite relaxed and content, even happy. She pushed two nicely wrapped gifts into Hermione's hands. "One is for you. The other one I trust you to give Daphne on her next birthday."
Hermione nodded, not trusting her voice right now. Mathilda really didn't expect to be around anymore next August. Carefully she opened her gift. It was a kind of dress, the fashion very simple but adorned with lovely embroideries, showing scenes of the life of house-elves. "It's for your first daughter, actually," Mathilda explained, causing Hermione to blush and Neville to grin dreamily. "Our children get such a dress on their ninth birthday – the first day we assume them to be old enough to get a real working duty on their own."
"Thank you, Mathilda."
.
"She seems happy," Petunia mentioned to Harry and he could only agree. The surprise birthday party had been a fabulous idea, just the thing Hermione needed today, and Neville as well. All four of them needed it, actually. The fight had been draining, emotionally even more than magically. He still heard the fire hiss and the soul splinter screech. It would accompany him for a while, he feared. But right now, it was forgotten.
Hermione had been swarmed by her friends, both teenager and adult. There had equally been scowling and snickering as Sirius offered Hermione her first own bottle of 30-year-old firewhiskey. There had been a couple of books, some quite rare potion ingredients from Professor Snape – the sourly potion master had looked like it hurt to be nice to her – and an album with rare photos from Dennis Creevey. Hermione had looked seriously thankful for the drawing of some so far unknown species she got from Luna, complete with a wooden frame, quite nicely carved by Millie. There had been some deep blushing and furious hiding of a present she got from Lavender and the Patil sisters. Neville had only been able to see some red lace coming out of the box.
Far less emotional had been the business like present she got from Tremors in the name of his grandmother. It was a 10% business share of a niche competitor to "Flourish and Blotts". Hermione still loved it and Harry expected her to turn it into something serious in no time. It would certainly be helpful when Daphne and Hermione finished their house-elf book. The Centaurs had sent their greetings but hadn't entered the hall. The stony corridors weren't really meant for them.
Now she was enjoying her time with a couple of friends. It was a slightly weird but very welcome sight to realize that her friends belonged to all four houses. Tracey Davis and Millicent Bulstrode were there together with Padma Patil, Susan Bones and Ginny Weasley. It was a real union of all houses, welded together not by politeness but friendship.
Harry really hoped that this was a lasting sign for their future.
.
"How is your mother?" Neville's question startled Ginny. Most of her friends avoided the matter, uncertain how she felt about it. Neville however was brave enough to ask and caring enough to know that Molly still mattered to Ginny despite everything that happened.
"She is awake again," Ginny responded with a soft voice. "She's still sleepy most of the time, and sometimes her mind is foggy, unable to recognize us. But it's getting better. Nel is convinced that she will fully recover. It will only need some time."
"That's good to hear."
Ginny nodded weakly. "Yeah. You know – I thought I hated her, after everything. But…"
"It's hard."
Ginny nodded again, this time with a weak smile. "Yeah."
"And you?"
"Me?"
"Have you been examined? Nel said something about genetics," Neville asked, slightly concerned that she hadn't been examined as promised.
"Oh that." Her smile broadened. "Everything is alright. Actually I have to thank Daphne and the twins for that."
"Huh?"
"Apparently the chance to inherit the disease is far greater among girls – 40% instead of only 15%. None of my brethren inherited it. They have to make certain to have their children examined, but they are save."
"And what Daphne and the twins did two years ago…" Neville started, thinking about how the three called Ginny back from beyond the grave.
Ginny nodded, now in a far better mood. "It somehow conquered the disease in my brain. Nel thinks it was the overwhelming infusion of foreign magic. She wants to examine it next summer. Perhaps it could be used as a treatment in an earlier stage of the disease. Anyway: I'm not ill anymore."
"That's splendid."
"It is," Ginny grinned happily. "Isn't it?"
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"Crooks!"
Hermione's screech startled her friends. She stared down, slightly fuming, at her Kneazle. Crooks had been calm so far, mostly keeping his distance not to be in the way of her swarming friends. Now however he had left his peaceful place and shown Hermione that he wanted her attention. His extended claws into her calf made certain that she understood the message.
Without heeding her annoyance he trotted away, looking back after a few steps like telling her to follow him. Hermione rolled her eyes but still did as told. She was halfway through the Great Hall as she realized his destination.
"Jerome!" She screamed happily, rushing towards the French. She came to a sudden stop as she noticed he wasn't alone. Three little children were there as well, slightly nervous because of the foreign location and the many people. Hermione happily bent down to greet them. "Hello Marwa, hi Nawal, Racim."
Marwa jumped into her arms and hugged her, while the boys stayed back and greeted her in a more manly way. Their stance told Hermione that they were a bit terrified by the masses around them but still eager to defend their little sister if needed. "I'm so happy to have you here." She had really missed them, especially the little Marwa, since she left Sudan. Marwa looked completely healthy again. Meryem's medicine had worked a little miracle.
"Meryem was unable to accompany us," Jerome explained the absence of his wife. "She really doesn't like the European countries, not since her experiences during the French revolution." Hermione nodded weakly, still feeling a little overwhelmed by the imagination of Meryem's past. "But she sends her greetings – and her gift." He pointed towards the children. "She assumed you would like to see them and they were quite happy to comply."
"I'm happy you did," Hermione sighed, putting her arms around the children. "I'm happy you did."
.
The mood had been too good to last forever.
Jerome had left with the children, as did most of the students. Only a dozen hard-core friends remained behind with a handful of teachers and a few family members. The music was soft, the mood relaxed, and the faces friendly.
Everything changed as Amelia Bones stormed into the Great Hall. She walked straight towards Harry, her gaze wandering around to make certain that nobody listened who was untrustworthy to hear the news. For a short moment she looked towards Hermione. "I'm sorry to spoil your party, Hermione, I really am. But this is something you need to know as soon as possible."
Hermione nodded weakly. This had to be really bad. Had something happened in Africa?
Amelia drew a deep breath. "We got news from China." Harry a few others gasped, while others only looked quite confused. No more than a dozen persons had known about Voldemort's fate, and even among them not even a handful had known the exact location where he was hidden.
"Antonin Dolohov was somehow able to learn about his master's fate. He has been able to locate him. There has been an attack. Dolohov, Travers, and as far as we know more than twenty Death Eaters and mercenaries raided the place. Despite heavy resistance on side of our Chinese allies they were able to steal the statue containing his soul."
She allowed Harry and his friends to digest the news, while addressing Luna: "Miss Lovegood, my contact bade me to inform you that the Tam brethren, whoever they are – both survived the attack."
"Thank you," Luna had been looking quite concerned, clenching Millie's hand in the process. Now she relaxed again.
"We'll deal with the details tomorrow, as we're still gathering information," Amelia said in Harry's direction again. "But this one thing is undisputed: Tom Riddle is in the enemy's hands again.
.
A/N
Voldemort free again.
This chapter was a bit shorter than usual because of the Easter days. Next time we'll slowly advance towards the climax of the African struggle.
Yes, there is only 1 Horcrux left (the wand in Africa), but remember: Madam Guille made provisions for his safety in case of her losing the battle.