A/N: One day until Christmas!
Anti-Litigation Charm: I do not own.
Please review! ;)
Between Quidditch practice and the mountain of homework he was being assigned, Harry had thought very little about Hogsmeade weekends. But when a notice went up in the common room for a mid-October visit, he eagerly signed up, glad for a chance to get out of the castle. He had thought all future visits might be cancelled because of the overshadowing threat of Voldemort and increased security measures, and was relieved that it had not yet come to that.
He ate breakfast and then stopped by Professor Granger's office, hoping to catch her before he left. The door was closed, and for a moment, he thought she might be in a conference with another student—but then he heard Snape's voice, and against his better judgment, pressed his ear against the door.
"…never heard of such a thing, but I'm not surprised that it's possible," he heard Snape say, his voice low so that Harry had to strain to hear. "But if you're correct, that's dark magic beyond anything I've ever heard of, much less seen…"
"Dumbledore proved it the night I cracked open the stone," Hermione said quietly. "Something was in that ring was alive—not whole, but alive."
"And the Headmaster believes he's made how many of these… things?"
"Horcruxes." Something about the way Hermione said it made Harry shiver, as though it were a name just as evil, if not more so, than Voldemort. "And he made… or meant to make… six. There are seven."
"And he plans to make finding and destroying them Potter's job?" Snape sounded disbelieving.
"Not entirely. We've already taken care of two. The diary, the ring—"
"And he's asked you to search for the rest of them?"
"He seems to have a very shrewd idea where one of them might be, but he's left the others up to me to find. The goal is to weaken him so that the next time Harry faces him, he'll be mortal."
"And with the Ministry relatively stabilized—"
"Thanks to me. Please do give me some credit for that."
"—noted. But for someone who's not very good at chess, you're quietly knocking out all of the Dark Lord's major players and cornering his pawns with your own."
"I do have my moments."
There was a low murmur, and then Harry quickly pulled back just in time to retreat so that when Snape threw open the door, it looked as though Harry had just arrived. Snape sneered down at him.
"What do you want, Potter?" His gaze was searching, and Harry knew he was wondering how much he had heard, if he had been listening. Snape wasn't an idiot, however often Harry sometimes wished he was.
"To see Hermione," Harry said, raising his chin. "Before I go down to Hogsmeade."
"Don't worry about it." He saw Hermione get up from her desk, shuffling her papers together into a neat stack. "I'm on duty today, so I'll be going down to the village with the rest of you."
"Oh," Harry said blandly, surprised by this revelation. "Well—then—I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall, I suppose."
He left quickly before Snape could change his mind about letting him go without a point deduction. Why Hermione had ever married the man, Harry would never know.
Half an hour later, Professor Granger had joined Filch and the students who had signed up for the visit in the Entrance Hall. Filch was jabbing them all with a Secrecy Sensor as they passed, and out in the courtyard, one of the Aurors—Proudfoot, Harry recalled—was standing by the fountain with a large spotted Kneazle sitting by his side, her lion-like tuft of a tail twitching impatiently.
"Hello, Mipsy," Harry said, reaching over to scratch the kneazle behind her ear, as they waited for Filch to finish with the other students. The large cat purred and leaned into him. Ron cautiously approached, eyes wide as dinner plates as he took in the enormous size, and then cautiously held out his hand. Mipsy ignored him, and he took that as a good sign, and patted her tawny head.
"Alright, you lot, let's get going!" Professor Granger called, waving everyone over.
She double-checked her list once more, and then they all headed off for Hogsmeade, with Proudfoot and Mipsy in the lead. They reached Hogsmeade without incident, though it was bitterly windy and cold, and Harry and Ron dropped back a bit so that they could fall into step with Professor Granger. To their dismay, the saw that Zonko's had been boarded up.
"So what's new with the Order?" Harry asked quietly, as they walked down the lane toward Honeydukes. He glanced back at the closed joke shop with longing. "Sirius has been writing to me about what he's doing, but he hasn't been able to put much in letters."
Hermione pressed her lips together in a thin line for a moment, and then said, "The Order's spread thin—everyone's doing something different. Kingsley's keeping us appraised on the hunt for Death Eaters, Tonks is posted at the school, Arthur's keeping an eye on several departments within the Ministry, Mundungus is sniffing around to see if Death Eaters are trying to buy stuff on the black market…"
"Sounds like a lot of waiting instead of fighting," Ron muttered.
"Some things are more important than rushing into battle," Hermione murmured. "We've got other things to focus on. The Ministry can take care of keeping the Death Eaters at bay."
Harry suspected he knew what their focus was on. Whatever it was that Hermione had been talking to Snape about earlier—Horcruxes. He made a mental note to look them up later, or ask Dumbledore for an explanation.
"But you're not just sitting around twiddling your thumbs," Harry said in an undertone.
Hermione looked at him askance. "No, I'm not," she agreed.
Harry and Ron waited eagerly.
Hermione threw her hands into the air. "I can't tell you, obviously," she said in exasperation, her voice as close to snapping as she could get without crossing the line.
"Right," Harry said, looking away. "Well, I thought you might at least tell us what's going on, because as usual, everyone else is keeping us in the dark."
Hermione folded her arms. "Dumbledore's giving you private lessons," she said quietly. "You should be focusing on that, and not the Order. Everyone's got to do their job without worrying about what someone else is doing."
Harry suddenly felt very guilty, but he pushed it away.
"At any rate," Hermione said, stuffing her hands in her pockets, "I've got to patrol, and I very much doubt you two want to spend you entire visit wandering around the village with me."
Sensing they were dismissed, the two boys left, splitting off from Hermione and striding down the street toward Honeydukes. The shop was warm and there was the lingering scent of melted toffee and warm chocolate in the air, mixed with honey. Harry looked back over his shoulder at Hermione through the window. She was standing in the middle of the street, miles away in thought, her cloak whipping against her legs in the wind. Harry thought she looked a little uncharacteristically lost, as though she found herself somewhere unexpected, and didn't quite know how she had gotten there.
Sometimes, Harry wondered if even she knew who she was anymore.
Harry and Ron browsed through Honeydukes, delaying for as long as possible to avoid going back out into the blustery, October cold. An hour later, after they had sat in a corner munching on more sweets than they should have, they decided to stop by the Three Broomsticks for a drink before heading back to school; the trip was turning out to be less fun than anticipated, due to the closed shops and miserable weather, and they were both looking forward to getting back to their warm, fire-lit common room.
Hermione was there when they arrived to order Firewhiskey, sitting at the counter and talking to the barmaid. Harry wasn't sure if this was what Hermione counted as 'patrolling', but then he saw her drain her butterbeer almost as soon as it had been slid across the counter to her and head for the door, without having ever seen the two of them enter.
"Reckon we should head back?" Ron asked, eyeing Rosmerta from behind his empty glass.
"I think we're about done," Harry agreed, thinking that if this was how Hogsmeade visits were going to be from now on, they might as well not bother at all. He took one last sip, and then stood up. "Let's go."
They stepped outside, only to find that it had gotten colder and wetter in the time they had gotten drinks; sleet had started to come down, and the wind was causing them to chatter with chill. They walked up the street, heading back to the lane leading up to Hogwarts, when Harry saw two of his classmates fighting up ahead. He squinted, as he recognized Katie Bell; their wands weren't drawn, but Katie had shoved her friend into the snow, and was yelling something.
Harry heard someone behind them let out a squeal of surprise, and wheeled around in time to see Katie's friend… standing behind them. Her eyes were wide with surprise, and she was staring at Katie as though she didn't understand what was going on. Harry's mind instantly grasped the problem, but he wasn't sure who was who—which one was the Polyjuiced friend?
Katie was running back in their direction, and the girl in the snow had leapt up, wand raised and pointed at the fleeing Gryffindor.
Harry and Ron both had their wands out, ready to help their housemate, but before they could cast anything, Ron was nearly knocked aside as Hermione barreled past; scant seconds later, Proudfoot and his kneazle almost did the same to Harry, and there was a loud yowl as Mipsy flung herself at the polyjuiced impostor.
"Leanne!" Katie panted, skidding to a stop behind them and throwing her arms around her startled friend. She looked terrified. "I thought she was you."
Leanne rubbed her eyes. "I don't know what happened. I remembered going to the bathroom before we left, but then I forgot what I was supposed to do—d-do you suppose I was Confunded?"
"You're okay, aren't you?" Katie asked, but Harry held out a hand.
"Katie, ask her something only Leanne would know," he said. "It might not be her."
"What—" Leanne let out a gulp, looking close to tears, but Katie gently shushed her.
"Leanne, what did I give you for Christmas last year?"
Leanne held up her hands, which were covered in soft, wooly, star-spangled mittens. "Th-these."
Katie hugged her tightly. "It's her," she said, looking immensely relieved.
Ron tapped Harry's shoulder, and he looked around in time to see Hermione and Proudfoot on their feet, dueling the impostor. Hermione's face was contorted into a terrible snarl, and Harry very nearly didn't recognize her. Whoever they were dueling wasn't an amateur, but still wasn't holding up very well under the combined onslaught. An experienced Auror, a trained Kneazle, and an enraged Hermione made a very dangerous team.
Another Auror, one of the ones permanently stationed in Hogsmeade, rounded the boarded-up building where Zonko's had once stood; he appeared with a large, speckled Kneazle at his side. The impostor saw the reinforcements arrive, and tried to get away, but Hermione—whose last spell had been deflected—simply rammed shoulder-first into her, causing the Polyjuiced Leanne to double-over, gasping in pain. It was all the opening Proudfoot and Savage, the newly-arrived Auror, needed; a moment later, they had the impostor's wand taken away, and Proudfoot was roughly hauling him—or her—to their feet.
"We'll bring her up to the castle," Proudfoot said. "Wait for the Polyjuice to wear off, make and identification and an arrest." He nodded at Hermione. "Savage, you stay here. Professor Granger can help me."
"Katie obviously realized this wasn't Leanne," Hermione said, glancing over her shoulder at the two girls. "We need them to come back up so they can give statements."
Katie nodded. Leanne looked close to tears, but managed to do the same.
The impostor spat bitterly at their feet, glowering at them all hatefully. Harry and Ron jogged to catch up. Proudfoot and Hermione had their prey between them, and were keeping a firm hold on her as they walked up the road back to the castle. Leanne was babbling about what had happened.
"W-we went to the Three Broomsticks for a drink, and then we decided to head back, but I went to the bathroom first—I don't know how much time passed, b-but I forgot where I was and what I was supposed to be doing, and ran outside—and then I saw Katie w-walking back with me, but it wasn't me and I didn't know what was going on—a-and then Katie p-pushed—"
"I knew it wasn't you," Katie said, one arm held tightly around her friend. "She was acting oddly, and when I mentioned that, she got really aggressive—that's when I got afraid."
"It could have been worse," Hermione said tightly, as they ascended the stone steps. "Ron, please go find Professor McGonagall, and tell her to meet us in my office."
Ron gave Harry a meaningful look, and then ran off toward the Transfiguration department. They marched to Hermione's office, hustled inside, and then shut the door. Proudfoot forced the struggling, Polyjuiced prisoner into Hermione's chair, and then bound her.
"How long do you think it'll take to wear off?" He asked, straightening.
"From the sound of it, she probably got Leanne's hair after she Confunded her," Hermione said. She nodded at the impostor's clothes. "I'm betting she Transfigured those too, to look like Leanne's. I'll give it another fifteen minutes."
"Mudblood," the Polyjuiced Leanne spat.
Hermione raised an eyebrow.
The impostor sneered; it looked very wrong on Leanne's face. Moments later, the door opened, and McGonagall strode inside, with Ron following close behind.
"Mr. Weasley told me what happened," she said, looking alarmed. "Who is it?"
"We don't know yet," Hermione said. Mipsy's ears were flattened against her skull, and if it weren't for the fact that her handler had ordered her to stand down, Harry rather suspected she might have started clawing at the impostor's face. "We're still waiting for the Polyjuice to wear off."
Proudfoot looked at McGonagall. "Does the Potions Master here have any Veritaserum?"
"Yes, but if this is who I think it is, I'm not sure it'll be all that effective," Hermione interrupted, kneeling on the ground, wand out. She gripped the impostor's chin, forcing her to look into her eyes. "Veritaserum can be resisted—it's not infallible. That's why you still have to be careful of new hires at the Ministry, because someone disciplined enough can always slip through."
This was, apparently, a revelation to Proudfoot that he did not like, and Harry suspected he would be bringing this up to the Minister in short order. Hermione tilted her head slightly to the side, as though she found something utterly fascinating about the person bound in front of her; the Polyjuiced Leanne's hands were clenched by her side, teeth gritted as she fought to keep Hermione out.
"Bellatrix Lestrange," Hermione said softly, curiously, in a manner that was rather uncannily like her husband. "Quite skilled at Occlumency, but not enough, I'm afraid."
"What was she here for?" Proudfoot demanded. "What did she want?"
"She was… planning on sneaking into the castle, to pass off as a student…" Hermione tilted her head to the other side. "Oh, very interesting…"
"Well?" McGonagall asked, her face drawn into a thin-lipped grimace.
"She came here to collect something, though I don't know what," Hermione said, frowning as she continued to probe into the resistant Lestrange's mind. "No, no—don't shove me aside," Hermione murmured, more to herself than to anyone in the room who might be listening. The impostor's hair was starting to grow wild, dark, and curly, and she was starting to get a bit too big for her bonds, but no one bothered to adjust them for her comfort. Bellatrix's snarling visage finally replaced Leanne's, and she looked enraged at being brought this low by someone she considered inferior. "Ah… there's something else, I see…"
"Professor Granger," McGonagall said tightly.
Hermione let out a sigh and then pulled away, rising to her feet. "If I had the time, I could break her mind, but Proudfoot needs to take her to the Ministry," she said, pointing her wand at Bellatrix. "This'll have to do, I suppose."
"What are you doing?" The Auror demanded suddenly.
"I can't let her go to Azkaban knowing I helped catch her."
Proudfoot's eyes narrowed, but Harry suspected his respect for her was the only thing stopping him from ordering her off. Hermione flicked her wand, and Bellatrix's head snapped back and her eyes rolled in unbefitting confusion. Hermione turned to leave.
"Leanne, Katie, we ought to get you to the Hospital Wing," she said, though not unkindly.
The girls left, leaving Harry and Ron with a thin-lipped McGonagall, a sternly disturbed Proudfoot, and a sour-faced kneazle in the tiny office with one of Voldemort's most wanted followers.
"I don't get it," Harry said, as Bellatrix's head lolled forward. "First they attack the Hogwarts Express, now Voldemort—" Proudfoot jumped at this "—sends one of his Death Eaters to impersonate Leanne. What are they after?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," McGonagall said, gazing down at the bound Death Eater in disgust. "Unless you have a theory you'd like to share?"
Harry and Ron slowly shook their heads.
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-Anubis