Chapter 52
Chaos Theory

Author's Note: Sorry for some of the grammar and spelling mistakes in the previous chapter. I was writing it rather quickly and made a few obvious mistakes.

(Ron's PoV – twenty minutes earlier)

Ron was sitting at the kitchen table of the Burrow, eating onion soup, when he heard the sound of a whip cracking in the distance. A couple of minutes later, Harry and Ginny walked through the doors.

"Just got the letter a few minutes ago," Harry said, "And we apparated as soon as we could. What's going on? Where's Hermione?"

"She's taking a short nap in the living room," Ron said.

"She's fine," Mrs. Weasley said, "She's been through a very rough morning, Harry. I'm sure Ron will tell you all about it. Ginny, can your father and I talk to you for a moment?"

Ginny looked confused, but she nodded anyway.

"We have hot onion soup here if you are hungry, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, sitting down, "But I'm fine for now."

Mrs. Weasley smiled and led her husband and Ginny outside.

"What's going on, Ron?" Harry asked, "Why did you write to me? Why are you here instead of at your house?"

"How about I start from the beginning?" Ron asked. "Early this morning, Hermione received a rather particular piece of owl post. It was from Draco Malfoy."

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but Ron shook his head.

"Let me continue," Ron said. "Hermione received a threat letter from Draco, It was on the back of a picture of her and her parents. The letter instructed Hermione to meet Draco at the Shrieking Shack, alone. She went and she discovered that her parents weren't even there. They were never in any danger at all. Draco made Hermione go there, because he had a request for Hermione. He asked her to find a way to get the Ministry off his trail."

"Hermione has no power to do that," Harry said, "Why didn't Malfoy contact one of us?"

"Harry, we're trained Aurors and Draco is on our black list," Ron said, "If we saw Draco, don't you'd think we would capture him without giving him a chance to say anything?"

"What would he have to say that would be important to us?" Harry asked.

"Draco is a member of the rogue group," Ron said, "But he is not working for them."

"He's working undercover?" Harry asked. "For who?"

"As far as I can tell?' Ron replied. "Nobody but himself. He has his own agenda, though it is one you and I have already figured out. Daphne, she's the leader by the way, we were right about that too... apparently she threatened Draco's relationship with Astoria. Hermione said he wasn't very clear on that part, but it sounds as if Daphne has something on him, and he is afraid that Astoria will find out about it. Apparently Draco loves Astoria, mate. I mean... it sounds like he is really in love with her."

"Well, that's just great," Harry scoffed, "Draco's thinking with his heart, not his head. What else did Hermione tell you?"

"Draco doesn't want the Ministry's help," Ron said. "He believes that if the Ministry tries to interfere, Daphne will find out, and she will attack too early. Draco's trying to figure out what her plan of attack is, so we can stop her."

"Why can't Draco tell us where Daphne is so we can grab her and whoever she is working with?" Harry asked.

"I asked that Hermione too," Ron said. "She said that Daphne has some type of charm, stronger than the Secret Keeper charm, around all of them that is stopping Draco from giving that part up."

"That is why he is so eager to do it himself," Harry said. "Because even if he knows the information, he can't tell anyone. That makes him the only one who can solve the case. It is an interesting twist on the whole Secret Keeper thing."

Ron was about to respond, but Ginny and their parents walked back inside. Ginny looked less confused.

"Something wrong?" Ron asked her.

"I'm going to talk to Hermione," Ginny said. "It seems she and I have quite a lot to talk about."

It was at that moment that Ron understood what his parents had talked to Ginny about. Ginny now knew that Hermione knew about their family secret. Ron nodded and Ginny walked through to the living room.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ron looked at his father. His father shook his head. He then understood that, while he had permission to talk about the protection bond with Hermione, it wasn't his right to talk about it with Harry. It seemed that Harry would probably have to wait for his turn until his wedding day.

"Who knows, Harry," he said, rolling his eyes, "It is a complete mystery what girls talk about when they're alone."

Harry chuckled and nodded.

"So, where was I before we were interrupted," Ron said, trying to think back on his conversation with Harry, "Oh right. So after Draco left, Hermione went to make sure her parents were okay. Then she came back to the house, and that is basically where everything went to pieces. You see, the photo that Draco had in his posession, which he gave back to Hermione was actually from Hermione's own photo album that her parents had given for her birthday. The photo album was in our house."

"Which means Draco had to get inside your house to get it," Harry said.

"Correct," Ron said. "Well, we figured this out right away. Hermione cast a revealing charm and a mirror hiding on the side of our fireplace revealed itself."

"A mirror?" Harry asked.

"A mirror," Ron said, "similar to the one Sirius gave you, except that it was only a one-way."

"Let me guess," Harry said, "Your side was blank."

"Yeah," Ron said, "We were being spied on by somebody, and we aren't sure if it was Draco. Right away, I realized Hermione and I weren't safe in our house anymore, and we came back here. There's more bad news. They've been spying on us for at least a month. Which means -"

"They could probably hear our conversations at your house about the mission," Harry said, "Yeah."

"We could have been compromised," Ron said, "And there is worse. Hermione was talking to Draco in the living room where the mirror was. If they were listening at that moment, we could have given Draco away."

"How early was it when you talked to Hermione about this?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Ron said, "A couple hours ago. So nine, maybe."

"Well, that's lucky," Harry said, "Maybe they were asleep during your conversation. It is Sunday."

Mr. Weasley walked back into the kitchen, and picked up one of the mirrors sitting on the table. He started to twist it around in his fingers, and then grinned as if he had figured something out.

"Something up, Dad?" Ron asked.

"Boys," he said, looking at one of the mirrors, "Give me a few minutes, and I might be able to tell you who was on the other end of this mirror."

"Really?" Harry asked, "How?"

"Can't say yet, Harry," Mr. Weasley said.

Mr. Weasley walked out of the house, and through the window, Ron could see his father heading for the garage.

"He's as cryptic as Hermione sometimes," Ron muttered.

Ginny walked back over to them.

"Are you two done here?" she asked.

Harry nodded.

"Good," Ginny said, "Hermione wants to talk to you, Ron."

Ron stood up and walked into the living room. Hermione had a rather confused expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked her.

"Ginny just told me something... rather interesting," Hermione said.

"More information about our wards?" Ron asked.

"Not exactly," Hermione said, then tapped her hand on the sofa cushion next to her, "I think you're going to want to sit down for this one."

Ron did as was requested.

"The day you and Ginny moved out of here," Hermione said, "Your Mum talked to you, right?"

"Yeah," Ron said, raising his eyebrows, "She tried to get us to change our minds."

"Was she talking mostly to you," Hermione asked, "Or to you and Ginny?"

"Now that you mention it," Ron said, "She was a little bit more focused on me than she was with Ginny?"

"Do you know why?" Hermione asked.

"I figured she had talked to Ginny about it already," Ron said.

Hermione shook her head.

"No?" Ron asked. "What did Ginny tell you?"

"Before I tell you," Hermione said, "You must promise me you won't tell Harry. Ginny wants to tell him, but she wants to wait until she tells him about your family's secrets."

"Okay," Ron said, "I promise."

Ron listened as Hermione told him exactly what Ginny had told her. Ron tried to speak during her story, but no words wanted to come out.

"You're serious?" Ron asked, after Hermione finished.

"Your father told Ginny his theory the day she moved in with Harry," Hermione said, "And it seems like it could be true."

Ron put his hands up to his mouth, and felt a tear coming to his eyes. Hermione put her hand on Ron's shoulder. Ron wiped the tear away from his eye with his free hand and looked up at Hermione.

"It's just," Ron said, "all this time, my family wondered why we had this protection surrounding us. Why we were special to have it around us, and why we had never met anyone else who had the same special magic running through their blood. Is it that easy, Hermione? Does someone have to sacrifice themselves in a time of danger, to save their loved ones, and this protection attaches onto that person?"

"I'm not sure if it is that simple, Ron," Hermione said. "There could be a lot of reasons why the magic worked. Maybe the person has to have a pure soul to attach this bond on to. We know Lily was a pure and good witch if there ever was one, and Harry..."

Hermione looked over Ron's shoulder, and Ron turned. Harry was laughing at something Ginny was saying.

"You can't argue that his soul isn't pure," Ron finished for Hermione, "Right."

"That might not even be the reason, Ron," Hermione said. "All I know is this: whatever magic surrounded Harry the night his mother sacrificed herself for him was the same type of magic that created the bond in your bloodline all those years ago."

"I would have never guessed." Ron said, looking back at Harry, "I've known him for so long and I never would have guessed that we have that connection. He – what, Hermione?"

Hermione was giving him one of those "stop-talking-immediately, Ronald!" that he hadn't seen in a while. She then nodded toward the kitchen and Ron looked over his shoulder. His father and Harry were walking into the room.

"I believe I have found the culprit," Ron's father said, "And you won't like it."

-
(Pansy's PoV)

Pansy Parkinson was having a bad morning.

For starters, Draco hadn't come back from Hogsmeade yet, as he had promised, and his absence was starting to cause problems for Pansy. Because Draco wasn't there to cook, she had to do it for herself. She failed yet again, burning the meal, and it had left embarrassing scorch marks on the wall behind the stove that weren't coming off with a washrag. Also, she couldn't figure out how to set the alarm on the Muggle clock, so she had woken up at a late hour in the morning.

But that wasn't the worst part out of everything. She had misplaced the mirror that was used to eavesdrop on Weasley and Granger. She was sure that she had put it under her pillow, and now that it wasn't there. She had spent a good thirty minutes already looking for the mirror, and she still couldn't find it. Then, as she looked on the couch, where Draco usually slept, a sudden thought came to her mind.

"He didn't?" Pansy muttered to himself.

She walked into her bedroom and got down on her hands and knees underneath the large vanity desk. She felt around on the underbelly of the desk, but came up with nothing.

"He did," Pansy growled.

Pansy couldn't believe it. Draco had found where she stashed the mirror, and where she had stashed the photo of Granger's family.

Suddenly, it started to all add up. Draco didn't need to spend the whole weekend at Hogsmeade if he was going to visit Astoria. Students were usually only allowed to go to Hogsmeade during one assigned day during Hogsmeade weekends. Was that the reason Draco hadn't returned yet. He was trying to put together a plan to do something to either Granger or her parents?

"That was my plan!" Pansy growled, "How did you find about that? Why didn't you tell me you were going to do this, Draco? If you are trying to impress me, Malfoy, this isn't the way to do it. Nice try, though."

Suddenly, she heard a series of low, quick, cracking sounds that repeated about four times. The noise made her jump, and hit her head on the underbelly of the vanity desk. Rubbing her throbbing temple, she stood up and ran out into the living room.

She had recognized those sounds. It was someone – no – four people using Stealth Apparation somewhere nearby. She had been studying Stealth Apparation for a couple of weeks now, ever since Daphne had given her the idea. Daphne had told Pansy that if she wasn't aware of Ron and Hermione apparating into their house, that they may be using a kind of silent apparation, that only trained wizards could hear. Finally, after two weeks of studying it, she had heard the tell-tale signs of the silent Apparation.

She ran over to the window and looked out it. She couldn't see anything. She had to find out what was going on. She headed for the bathroom, and looked in the cupboard. To her horror, the bottle of Polyjuice Potion was empty.

"No!" Pansy growled.

She searched through the cupboards and everywhere in the bathroom. Nothing. No inkling of any more Polyjuice Potion anywhere.

"This is impossible!" Pansy growled.

Pansy walked out of the bathroom, and walked over to the couch. She peered out the window and gasped as she saw Harry Potter and Ron Weasley walking down the street... straight to her house.

-
(Ron's PoV – a few minutes earlier)

Ron inhaled, filling his lungs back up with air, as he landed on the living room floor of his and Hermione's house. His father, Hermione and Harry appeared seconds later. Suddenly, a pulsing sound filled the room, and Ron, Hermione and Harry all ducked, and took out their wands. Mr. Weasley, however, just stood there.

"Relax," Mr. Weasley said, "It is the mirror."

Ron, Hermione and Harry stood up. The mirror had a bluish orb hovering around it.

"Bloody hell," Ron said, "I thought someone was trying to curse us."

"Should have warned you about that," Mr. Weasley said, "My apologies."

"Mr. Weasley," Hermione said, "The blue orb... is that a tracking spell?"

"Yes it is, Hermione," Mr. Weasley said, "You see, I was going through an assortment of spells trying to figure out who put a charm on this mirror. I even tried to use the Priori Incantatem spell, but it was no use. Then I came to realize something. This particular eavesdropping charm that was applied to this mirror is strong and long-lasting, yes. But it has two disadvantages. The distance used between the - let's call the the parent mirror and the children mirrors – the distance between the parent mirror and the children mirrors can't be too long, or the eavesdropping charm would become too faint to use properly. Also... all eavesdropping charms have a tracking spell connecting to each different tool the charm is applied on, so the eavesdropper can find the mirror again."

"Wait," Hermione said, "Short distances? You're not saying -"

"I am, Hermione," Mr. Weasley said.

Hermione put a hand to her mouth and shook her head.

"I should have seen this coming," she said, her voice muffled behind her hand.

"What's going on?" Ron asked.

"Remember when the new neighbors moved in down the street, Ron," Hermione said, "And you thought something was going on?"

"Yeah!" Ron said, "I was so sure they were wizards, and you said they weren't!"

"I thought they weren't," Hermione said, "But this, Ron. The tracking charm grows close when the target is close to it. It has to be them."

"Who lives there, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"They said their names were Parker and Lauren," Hermione said, "But... they could have been using Polyjuice Potion."

"How about we go have a talk with this Parker and Lauren, eh?" Harry asked.

"I don't know about this," Hermione said, frowning.

"You can stay behind if you want, Hermione," Mr. Weasley said.

"If she's staying here," Ron said, "Someone has to be here with her."

"Ron, you'll just be down the road," Hermione said, "I'll be safe."

"I don't care, Hermione," Ron said, "Chaos Theory, remember?"

"Chaos Theory?" Harry asked, "What does that have to do with this?"

Ron kicked himself mentally. Harry wasn't supposed to know about that.

"Not important, Harry," Hermione said, "Something Ron saw on the telly. We were watching this documentary, and it made Ron paranoid about the whole Chaos Theory."

Ron's father looked at Ron. Ron grinned and shrugged. Hermione could lie very well when she had to.

"I don't blame you, Ron," Harry said. "Believing that if something can happen, then it will. That's rubbish, if you ask me, but still... it is just plain damn scary."

Hermione rolled her eyes and Ron tried his best not to laugh. Harry could be so oblivious at times.

"Ron, you and Harry are the Aurors here," Hermione said, "This is your job. You have to do it."

"Hermione," Ron said, "If you're asking me to pick my job over you -"

"How about this, Ron?" Mr. Weasley asked, "How about I stay with her, and you take the mirror down to the house?"

"That's a good idea," Hermione said, "I'll be safe with your father."

"Okay," Ron said, taking the mirror from his father, "What are we looking for?"

"The blue light will pulse faster when you are closer to your target," Hermione explained.

"Right," Ron said. "Okay, stay here. We'll be right back. I promise."

"Be careful, Ron," Hermione said, "You too, Harry."

"I won't let anything happen to him, Hermione," Harry said, "I promise."

With a last glance at Hermione, Ron turned toward the door. He and Harry walked out of the house and walked down the street.

"It's just over there," Ron said, pointing to the house, "That blue one right -"

Suddenly, a loud, resounding CRACK filled the air.

"Wand out, Ron!" Harry said, taking his wand out from his pocket.

Ron unsheathed his wand from his pocket, and ran toward the house with Harry. Harry ran toward the front door shoulder first and pushed it open with force. Ron walked in to the living room, his wand pointed straight forward.

"Clear," Harry said.

He then put a finger to his mouth, then pointed to Ron, and nodded toward the kitchen. Ron gave a thumbs-up. Harry then pointed to himself, then to the two doors in the hallway.

Ron walked over to the kitchen and, wand still in front of him, walked in. Nobody there, but there was a scorch mark on the back of the oven. Someone had been trying to cook and had failed miserably. Ron started back toward the living room, when the mirror in his hand started to pulse. His eyes widened. Was the other mirror close by? He started searching around then felt his foot kick something. He looked down and saw a small piece of glass on the floor. Ron bent down and picked it up. He studied it and found that it looked reflective... exactly like a mirror.

"Harry!" Ron said, looking at the mirror shard.

Ron ran back to the living room, and Harry ran out. He had an empty bottle in one hand, and in the other his wand was pointed out in front of him, ready for a spell.

"Don't do that, Ron!" Harry said, "I thought you found someone."

"I didn't find someone," Ron said, "I found something."

He raised up the mirror shard.

"I found the mirror," Ron said, "Or part of it. Someone shattered it, and by the look of this piece, it broke into quite a few pieces. What do you think? Was it broken to hide the evidence?"

"If they wanted to hide the evidence," Harry said, "they wouldn't left a shard of it laying around."

"So maybe they were careless and it broke?" Ron said, "Maybe Hermione and I got lucky, and they didn't hear our conversation this morning."

"Maybe," Harry said, Anyway..."

He lifted up the bottle.

"I found something too," Harry said, "Take a whiff."

Ron raised an eyebrow, but did as was told. He put the bottle to his nose and inhaled. He coughed and sputtered, but recognized foul odor.

"P-Polyjuice Potion," Ron said, coughing.

"Exactly," Harry said. "I don't think Parker and Lauren were who they said they were."

"Who where they then?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Harry said, "But we just missed them. I think they apparated when they saw us coming. We were this close from breaking this case wide open, and we missed our chance."

Decided to end the chapter there!

Let me explain the title of the chapter. If you didn't understand the term Chaos Theory, it is basically this: whatever can happen, probably will. I used it to focus more on the very bad luck Pansy was having.

Hope you liked this one!