Author's Note: Another day, another chapter. I know they're shorter bits, but it allows me to update more frequently, which I hope you all think is a good thing? Anyway, thank you to i was BOTWP and siewchee12345 for your reviews. Reviewers are the best people, after all - and I love hearing your thoughts.
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Harry sighed deeply and leaned back in his office chair, glancing out the window to his right. He knew the windows were only charmed to look like the outdoors and that the Ministry was really underground, but the blue skies and wafts of clouds that lazily passed by looked so inviting. He wished he were out in that sky, perhaps riding his broomstick with Ginny racing beside him. Even the biting chill of the January air would be far more welcome than being stuck behind a desk while reviewing the details of two rather gruesome murders.
He'd spent much of the morning reviewing a multitude of memories in a Pensieve. The memories had been taken from Aurors that had conducted the investigations for both Astoria's and Narcissa's murders. They were awful scenes, full of blood – particularly Narcissa's – and there were so many nuances of the facts that it was hard to keep them all straight. He leaned forward and rested his face in his hands for a moment.
A small knock on the doorframe of his office startled him and he peered up to see Hermione standing there, looking classically Hermione-like… like she knew something.
Which, of course, she always did.
"Hi, Harry," she began innocently enough, "I wanted to see if you'd like to take your lunch break with me?"
Harry glanced at the clock and realized he'd been supposed to go on his break over half an hour ago. Suddenly, the idea that he could actually leave his office and go outside into that glorious sunshine could become reality.
"That sounds great, Hermione," he agreed enthusiastically and grabbed his jacket.
"Diagon Alley?" she suggested. "There's a new place that opened up. A little café of some sort, I think."
"Sounds great." He really didn't care where they went, so long as he got away from the murder files lying on his desk. There was really entirely too much Malfoy in his life these days.
They Apparated to the café Hermione suggested, ordered their food and took their seats in the corner where they could observe everything around them, then cast a quiet Muffliato. This was a habit incurred during the War they each hadn't shaken since.
"How is your case coming along?" Hermione asked far too innocuously.
Harry's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he sipped his tea, "Fine, I guess. Still no obvious murderer, though. Whoever did it covered their trail well."
She took a deep breath, which Harry recognized immediately as Hermione's readiness to convey information to him whether he wanted to hear it or not. He was all-too-familiar with her habits from living with her for seven years as her best friend and fellow Gryffindor.
"I met Perseus Lestrange," she told him.
He hadn't expected that. "How? When?"
"Yesterday at Malfoy Manor. He was visiting for some reason."
Harry gazed at his friend in discontent. Of the three of them – Harry, Ron and Hermione – she had always been the one most respectful of rules and of doing the right thing. In fact, Harry reflected she was probably the most Gryffindor of all of them. Even bravery had its faults though, such as a certain disregard for one's own safety. Harry knew this because he had never much considered his own safety at all, up until the demise of Voldemort. After that, Ginny had started forcing him to contemplate what she would do with herself if he died.
"Hermione…" he began, intending to reprimand her for her recklessness.
"If you're going to scold me for going back to Malfoy Manor, Harry, you may as well save your breath," she interrupted him matter-of-factly. "Because it happened and it will likely happen again. Don't you want to know what I found for you?"
Harry glowered at her, "The only reason I am not arguing with you right now is because I only have so long a lunch break. That conversation is not over."
The waitress delivered their food to their table, which allowed Hermione a dignified moment to completely ignore Harry's last comment.
In true Hermione fashion, she produced a book from the bag she was carrying. Harry was reminded of the beaded bag she'd always carried with them during their stint on the run and searching for Horcruxes; there was no way the book could have fit in the bag had the bag not been magically expanded inside.
"I took this from Malfoy's library the other day," she explained. The tome was covered in crumbling leather, indicating its age. "I think he thought I was just perusing his library like I usually do…"
"Like you usually do?" Harry repeated, his green eyes flashing. He relived the finding of the bodies from the memories in the Pensieve he'd sifted through that morning. He couldn't help imagining one was Hermione's.
"Stop it, Harry," she admonished him severely. "I went through a lot of trouble to get this, so I'd think you might be a little grateful."
Harry ground his teeth irritably and stuffed some of his sandwich into his mouth while she explained.
"It's an entire book on pureblood customs," she debriefed, "including blood grudges. It explains how you enact one and more importantly, how to determine who has one on who."
Harry sat up in his chair, interested despite his annoyance with Hermione's lack of self-preservation. "How?"
"Well, the enchantment to enact a blood grudge is simple enough," Hermione explained, sounding very much like she was explaining his Transfiguration homework to him. "It can only be conducted by a pureblood and toward another pureblood's family. It's not very binding though, really more of a formality – but it leaves traces of revenge magic in the caster's blood.
"This explains what Andromeda already told us," she continued, "a fully exacted blood grudge manifests as the murder of three family members. It is not, however, very insistent that those family members be officially related. Astoria, for example, wasn't a Malfoy yet, but she was going to be."
"I wondered about that," Harry mused, looking at the book with interest. "Narcissa was the first, Astoria the second… and Andromeda thinks Draco will be the third. So how do we find out who's got the grudge before Malfoy kicks the bucket?"
"There's a potion," Hermione answered, licking her thumb to turn a few pages until she came to the one she wanted. "It acts like a reactant. It takes two days to brew and is complicated, but not horribly difficult. The issue is in getting the reagent."
Harry raised his eyebrows in question.
"We have to get some blood from the one we think has enacted the grudge. Apparently the blood of the one who cast the original enchantment will show traces of revenge magic, as I said. The potion will have to come in contact with the blood and a reaction will occur."
Harry's eyebrows raised so high this time, they disappeared beyond his messy, black hair. "How are we supposed to do that?" he hissed.
Hermione chewed her lip, "I'm not sure… suffice to say, it will be more difficult than stealing from Professor Snape's private stores to make Polyjuice."
Harry slumped back in his seat. "I don't have any concrete evidence that it was Lestrange that murdered Astoria or Narcissa, so I can't legally demand to obtain his blood for anything."
"You found nothing?" Hermione queried hopefully. "It was a pretty messy murder from the sound of it… surely there must be some evidence somewhere. Maybe the wards on the house…?"
"The wards on Malfoy Manor were set when Voldemort was using it as a base," Harry informed her, rubbing his scar in annoyance. "They weren't all cast by him either, so many are still in place. They're really weird."
"Weird how?"
"Well, Laurence told me that most of these old estates have all sorts of protections: some that inhibit visitors with evil intent from entering, or protect guests that are staying there, that kind of thing."
"Makes sense," Hermione nodded.
"But not Malfoy Manor," Harry confirmed. "Laurence did an extensive study of the wards during our investigation and found that they let in any pureblood, at any time. We supposed they had to rid themselves of the protection against visitors with evil intent during the War, or how could they have kept prisoners there?"
"Like us," Hermione finished quietly.
"Like us," Harry agreed. He knew she was thinking of the night the three of them had been caught by snatchers and ended up there. Bellatrix had tortured Hermione extensively while questioning her about the Sword of Gryffindor, which was supposed to be in her vault at Gringotts at the time.
Harry's mouth set into a thin line and he remembered watching Hermione dance with Malfoy at Abruzzese's party months ago. "How can you stand going there?" he whispered. "I hate that you've mixed yourself up with him."
"Well I have. We're friends. I want to help him."
Harry sighed deeply. "I don't have any choice in this, do I?"
"Of course you do," Hermione snapped. "It's your case."
"I meant with where you bestow your friendship."
Hermione's expression softened and she reached across the table to squeeze Harry's hand affectionately. "I'm your friend."
"I know."
"Isn't that enough?"
"I just want you to be safe," he answered guardedly. Harry glanced up at the clock. "Time to get back to work. Want to come over for dinner tonight? Ginny's making shepherd's pie."
"That would be lovely," Hermione smiled, rising from her seat as Harry did the same.
.
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Hermione had barely stepped from the fireplace and into Grimmauld Place when she was assaulted by an excited Ginny. "Wait 'til you see all the pictures from the honeymoon! I've just got them developed!"
Hermione had barely seen Harry or Ginny since their month-long honeymoon and now she grinned at her friend, "I'm so envious. I've always wanted to go to Crete."
"We went to the beach, the aquarium, saw some ruins and lighthouses," Ginny listed off. "The locals all told us we should visit the monastery, but considering the amount of time we spent tumbling around in the bedroom…"
Harry cleared his throat loudly, turning red.
Ginny grinned widely, utterly unembarrassed that she'd spent the majority of her honeymoon having sex with her new husband. "…Anyway, it seemed sacrilegious to go, or something."
Hermione laughed. "I'd love to see some pictures. As long as there aren't any of the naughty parts."
The girls erupted into a fit of giggles and Harry left for the kitchen, muttering something under his breath about checking on dinner, which they all knew was a lie.
In his absence, the girls caught up on gossip.
"Siobhan's currently in Bulgaria," Ginny told her friend. "She took off the week, since we don't have any games and she's only missing two practices. It's a good chance for the new reserve Keeper to get in some experience."
"Viktor is good for Siobhan," Hermione opinioned. "He's a real gentleman and she seems happy with him."
Siobhan and Viktor had been enamored with one another ever since the wedding. The two Quidditch players had a lot in common and Viktor's letters to Hermione had grown shorter, more filled with the pretty Irish Keeper, and less frequent until an exasperated Hermione beseeched them both to hurry up and start dating. It seemed her blessing was all Viktor had required to make his move and the couple had been a popular media item ever since.
"Gabrielle is moving in with Bill and Fleur," Ginny muttered, clearly annoyed with the fact. "She says she wants to help with the new baby, but I'm pretty sure it's just a front so she and Ron can continue shagging like rabbits… how she puts up with him, I'll never know…"
"Ron's fun," Hermione explained with a shrug. "He's always trying to look on the bright side and he likes to laugh."
Ginny's brow furrowed, "You don't still have feelings for him?"
"Definitely not," Hermione confirmed. "But we're friends again. Not like we were before, but we're both trying."
Ginny seemed satisfied, then asked more tentatively, "How are things with…?"
"I think dinner's ready," Harry called from the kitchen.
Hermione found herself grateful for the distraction, as she didn't think she could discuss Draco with Ginny. Their declaration the previous night to keep their… whatever they were… a private matter, was not only her secret, after all.
Harry picked up the conversation he and Hermione had begun at lunchtime, "I think you're right, Hermione. The potion is the only way. There just simply isn't any concrete evidence and the wards on the Manor seem to actually aid in covering up foul play, no doubt thanks to Voldemort. We are going to have to get some of Lestrange's blood somehow."
Ginny raised her eyebrows at the conversation. "How are you going to do that?"
"I have no idea," Harry admitted.
"I didn't like the look of him at all," Hermione sniffed. "He shook my hand and then acted like I'd dirtied it upon contact. He probably believes in all that Mudblood propaganda."
"I wonder if Robards could get me authorized entrance into that house…" Harry mused to himself.
"I could go with you," Hermione offered.
"No."
"But I'm a member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, too" Hermione insisted.
"The office part!"
"Just because I'm not an Auror like you and Ron…"
"This has a lot less to do with being an Auror...!"
"…And I have an idea what to expect…"
"…But you're Muggle-born!" Harry protested.
Hermione made a noise of indignance, "What does that mean?"
"These sorts of people have prejudices, you know that!"
Hermione huffed to herself but didn't argue.
When she finally left for the evening, Harry was both riled up and exhausted. Ginny brought him a hot mug of tea to soothe him.
"What do you think she sees in him?" Harry demanded of his wife as she settled into bed beside him with her own mug of tea.
"Who?" Ginny wondered, pretending she didn't know.
"Hermione and Malfoy."
Ginny scowled at the mention of their names together. "How should I know? I think he's a slimy git."
Harry exhaled deeply. "Most of the people who were rioting because they wanted Draco to be sentenced along with Lucius feel appeased now that he's obviously got a blood grudge on him. I'm not sure how that even came to be common knowledge."
"People aren't stupid. They can put two and two together," said Ginny. "Some will be familiar with pureblood customs."
"Mm," Harry hummed into his tea. "He doesn't deserve her."
"Who?"
"Malfoy. He might have changed, but he still doesn't deserve Hermione."
"Well you don't deserve me either, but I don't see you complaining," Ginny responded, grinning and setting down her tea to kiss her husband deeply.
Harry chuckled into her mouth and shifted her nightgown with his hand, causing an intake of breath from her. "Allow me to endeavor to deserve you then."
