Thank you all for your feedback. This is my first furore into adventure writing with this chapter. I hope you enjoy it x
Harry, Ron and Hermione visit the village of Long Buckby, with disastrous results.
The day was dark and gloomy and the sky was threatening to rain, echoing the seriousness of the mission facing the trio. The clouds felt they were pressing in, making the village of Long Buckby feel smaller than it already was. Ron cursed as the wind whipped his robes around his feet and pulled them tighter to his body as he waited for his friends. For once, he was early – excited to be allowed out of the training centre for the day and back on an adventure with Harry and Hermione.
It had taken a lot of work to persuade Robards to let them visit the cottage at Long Buckby and they were doing so under the careful watch of Ron's mentor, Senior Auror Perch, who was stood next to Ron; cursing as he filled his pipe up again.
"This better not be a damp squib, Weasley…" The older man took a long draw on his pipe. "I have much better places to be than in the arse end of nowhere, somewhere outside Northampton in the middle of November just because the witch you're shagging seems to think this bloke is illegally breeding house-elves."
Perch's voice was rough; scarred by years of smoking, with a north Yorkshire accent. He had been an Auror for over 30 years and Ron's mentor since he had started on the training course, so Ron knew better than to rise to his moaning. He rolled his eyes and concentrated on keeping the warming charm going and watching the ramshackle cottage across the road from them. There was no way anyone could be living there and he had an awful sinking feeling that Hermione had picked up the wrong tail. Nevertheless, he would not lose faith in her.
"I guess Robards wouldn't allow us to be here if he thought that was a dead-end…"
After her interview with Charles; Ron, Hermione, Betsy and Harry had spent hours in the Auror department trying to work out where he'd come from. Although the house-elf was adamant he was unable to give them an address, he was able to describe in detail the squalor he'd been living in. On top of that, Charles had eventually let slip that the man in charge of them was a squib. Luckily, there weren't that many squibs living in the country and they had to register with the Ministry. After a month's research, with Hermione and Betsy spending a lot of time travelling back and forth to Hogwarts to reinterview Charles, they'd narrowed it down to the house Ron and Perch were standing opposite.
It had just started to rain when Ron heard two small pops that indicated that Hermione and Harry had joined them.
"About bloody time you two. How long does it take to give brief Hermione on basic mission protocols?" Ron frowned at his best friend and girlfriend as he moved further into the bus shelter to give them room to get out of the rain.
Hermione frowned back and checked her watch. "We're a minute early…" She pulled a face at him, grinning as his face melted from a frown and into a smile. All she wanted to do was step closer to him so he could keep her warm, but they had been explicitly warned about keeping things professional, so she stayed the other side of Perch. She didn't want to risk Ron or Harry getting told off by their superiors.
Perch gave the young witch a stern look. "I wasn't sure if Robards was going to agree for you to be here? Did you bring your credentials?"
Robards had been torn between letting Hermione go with them or for Harry or Ron to conduct the interview. Although they didn't think there was a risk with them visiting the cottage, especially because its inhabitant was a squib; it wasn't Ministry protocol.
Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled out a piece of parchment. "The Minister stepped in. I thought it was ludicrous that I wasn't able to conduct an interview about my business and Kingsley agreed. He felt it was more appropriate that I did it; especially considering Dobby's Law was commissioned by him. Quinn would get suspicious if you Aurors just barged in without any real reason to do so…"
She was aware she sounded haughty, but she didn't care. This was her project and there was no way she was allowed Ron, Harry and Perch to do this on her behalf. It was her hard work and her neck on the line if they failed.
Hermione had been so excited about getting back out and working with Ron and Harry in the field, she had barely slept the night before. By 4 am, she had given up and spent the early hours of the morning revisiting her notes and research and ensuring that her Ministry official robes were neat and tidy. If the missing house-elves were there, she wanted to be sure she could claim custody of them. Despite her early start, Hermione's eyes were bright with excitement and she was eager to get started.
Perch raised his eyebrows at Hermione but didn't argue back. He knew the witch would play the Minister trump card. Instead, he pulled his robes tighter around his body and put his pipe away. "Are we ready to go then?"
Without waiting for an answer, he stepped out into the road and down the short path to the ramshackle old house.
Hermione fell into step behind Perch and Harry and next to Ron. As they neared the house, she let out a small gasp in shock. It was barely standing. Tiles were missing from the roof and the walls looked like they were being held up by the ivy that would around the bricks. Some of the windows had holes in them, while the glass was missing out of one or two completely. They could hear the wind howling through the building, adding to the sense of abandonment. The garden was overrun and as soon as they stepped past the gate, she noticed an overwhelming scent of decay.
Ron murmured low under his breath. "There's a firm muggle repelling charm around the house…" He flinched as an alarm sounded within the cottage. "An intruder charm too but that's it…" He flicked his wand and the alarm stopped as soon as it started. "Makes sense; we're in a muggle community and he's not expecting to be found by anyone magical." He kept hold of his wand, not wanting to put it back in its holster it just in case there were any more surprises.
Harry threw his best friend a quick smile. "Thanks mate, that noise was annoying!" He turned back to the front door, watching as Hermione stepped forward and placed three hard knocks on the splintering wood.
From inside the cottage, there was the sound of scuffling and a small squeak. Perch, Harry and Ron instinctively pulled their wands up to shoulder height. Hermione noticed that Ron had angled his body so that she was more protected by him and she too placed her hand in her robe pocket over her wand.
Eventually, the door creaked open enough for a set of beady watery eyes to be revealed. The trio were immediately reminded of Peter Pettigrew. When the owner of the eyes spoke, his voice was nasal and immediately caused shivers to travel down Hermione's spine.
"Yes – how may I help?"
Hermione took a deep breath. "Mr Quinn. My name is Hermione Granger. I'm here on behalf of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and I would like to speak to you about some missing house-elves."
The voice scoffed. "Missing house-elves must be a serious issue if you need to be accompanied by three Ministry Aurors, Ms Granger. Anyway, you must be mistaken. I am a squib. You know perfectly well squibs are not allowed house-elves…"
Perch stepped forward. "Well, then you won't mind letting us in so Miss Granger can have a quick chat with you and then she can cross you off her list and we'll be on our merry way!"
The watery eyes watched them for a few moments. Eventually, the door opened wider, unveiling a greasy looking middle-aged man. He was short and his tatty clothing was stained with food and dirt. He looked like he hadn't washed for a long time and smelt that way too. He was wearing multiple layers to try and fight off the cold wind that rattled through the house. The man held an arm out, welcoming them in.
Hermione smiled. "Thank you, Mr Quinn…" She gave the squib a curt nod as she passed him into the house.
Ron and Harry stayed close to her and followed them in. Hermione tried not to get too frustrated by their over-protectiveness; knowing it was their training combined with years of close friendship. Although she could handle herself if anything went wrong, it was nice knowing she was protected as well.
Quinn shut the front door and followed them into the main room of the house. A mouldy looking sofa and armchair sat in front of a fireplace, which thankfully was lit. A ratty blanket indicated that Quinn probably slept on the sofa, although there was a set of stairs in the corner of the room leading to a dark looking upstairs. There was no other furniture in the house, bar a small kitchenette. The place reminded Hermione of Bathilda Bagshot's house in Godric's Hollow, and she drew herself tighter to Ron and Harry as she remembered how badly that visit went.
"Sorry about the state of the house, Miss Granger. If I'd known I was expecting visitors, I would have tidied up. Unfortunately, I am also between food shops so I cannot offer you refreshments…"
"That's fine, Mr Quinn…" Hermione pulled herself away from the Aurors and took a notebook from her pocket. She tentatively sat down on the edge of the armchair, making sure her robe was firmly underneath her so she didn't have to sit on anything disgusting, and started questioning him.
While Quinn was distracted, Ron, Perch and Harry got to work quietly surveying the house. They kept their movements slow and stayed close together as a group. Luckily, the cottage was small and it didn't take them long.
Ron felt his shoulders drop as they found no evidence of what Charles had promised – the remaining 19 house-elves. He let out a heavy sigh, disappointed mostly on Hermione's behalf. At the sound of the sigh, Harry turned his head to look at him. He made eye contact with his best friend, sharing an unspoken message that could only come from years of friendship. That was one of the benefits of being partnered with Harry, it seemed like they always knew what the other wanted without having to say it out loud. Ron watched as Harry turned and gave Hermione the discreet signal they'd practised to let her know there was no evidence downstairs.
Hermione nodded in understanding, trying her hardest to keep her disappointment from her face and quickly started to wrap up her questioning. "Now if you don't mind; my colleagues would like to take a look upstairs…"
Without waiting for permission, the Aurors crossed the small room to the bottom of the staircase.
Perch was there first and placed his foot on the bottom step. There was a quiet clicking noise and then suddenly the room exploded. Fire bloomed in front of Hermione's eyes and she could faintly hear a shielding charm being called out before she was thrown out of her seat and everything went dark.