"Harry, I need you to go to Azkaban with me," Hermione nearly ordered as closed the door to his office.
It had been barely an hour since she had been kicked out of Malfoy manor. After ten minutes of pound on the ward praying the Draco would change his mind, she gathered up all her equipment and apparated straight to the ministry. She was going to prove him wrong even if it killed her.
"I'm going to ask why and you're going to give me a better answer than because I said so," Harry huff smiling as Hermione cursed him with her eyes. She'd already gone to the minister for approval, and while she had gotten it with no questions asked, he had told her it was under one condition she knew had the most strings.
"Because I need to talk to one of the prisoners for a case I'm working on and Kings told me I had to have an Auror escort," She said as calmly as she could.
"Well, considering what happened last time can you blame him?" Harry asked in a huff, normally he would enjoy her being forced to ask for help with something but there was no enjoyment in this.
"I blame Rastaban Lestrange... It's not my fault he took Dennis's appointment as head of the house badly," she huffed in anger.
"You're the one that developed the new system that allowed even the maximum-security prisoners some freedom. But Mia he tried to strangle you," Harry shouted as all the eyes in the office turned to the large window in his. Every Auror knew that it wasn't uncommon for Lady Granger to visit the head Auror. But to have them shouting at each other was far too entertaining to pass up the chance to watch.
"And?" She shrugged, not caring if they had an audience or not.
"My god Mia, I would hope you'd act a little upset when someone tried to kill you with their bare hands," the man who concurred growled at his best friend.
"Harry come on let's go," she huffed holding out the length of rope that would only active when it touched Harry's skin. Rolling his eyes Harry reached out, after all, he knew Hermione wouldn't stop interrupting his work until he agreed to go, and grabbed the offered end as they both disappeared with a pop.
The portkey to Azkaban was always rough, the ward matrix that surrounded the island prison never allowed for easy passage through. Even if they'd apparated to the bank and took the fairy across left one feeling more than a little soused over.
"Lady Granger," the guard smiled as he tipped his cap.
"Seamus, how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?" Hermione huffed as she handed over her wand for the security check. Ignoring the grumbling that Harry was doing behind her.
"Aw come on lass can't a bloke pay a Lady some respect?" their former classmate huffed as he sealed her wand in a box before locking it away.
"I know you well enough to know there's not a respectful bone in your body," she laughed.
"I ever tell you how gorgeous you looked today?" Seamus asked leaning on the counter as he looked her up and down. Harry snorted in the background as he held back the laughter that was trying to escape.
"Seamus, what would your husband say if he heard you talking like this?" Hermione scoffed as she passed through the wards that removed all Polyjuice and transfigurations.
"He'd say the same and you know it. Now come along, I've got him ready for you," Seamus waved as he led the duo to the interrogation rooms. He opened the door for them as they moved through.
"Mr. Bell," Hermione greeted the man quietly as she sat down across from him.
His arms were chained to the table and she knew his legs were similarly bond to the floor. It was a new procedure as far as Azkaban was concerned. With the destruction of all the dementors due to their defection in the war, the prison had had to adopt in Hermione's opinion a much better system. Runes were etched into each prisoner's skin with magical ink, blocking the use of their magic, the only way for them to be removed was with the magic of the director of the DMLE and St. Mungo's so that even in the event of a break out no prisoner could use their magic. Add in that there was a tracking sequence that could be activated meant they wouldn't be loose for long.
"Lady Granger to what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked brow raised in surprise at his visitor, he was dress in a white button-down shirt and tan pants and looked healthy, a stark contrast to the emaciated look that the prisoners of Azkaban had had in the past.
"I'm here to discuss Draco Malfoy," she said pulling out a notebook as the prisoner sneered.
"That bastard got what he deserved," he hissed in rage turning his eyes away from her.
"Mr. Bell time is running out to reverse this. I need to know exactly what spell and wand movements you used. Along with any rituals or potions you had taken or done in the three months prior to cursing him," she said firmly.
"I already told all of this to the spell damage people." He growled, looking at her with unveiled contempt. Shaking his shoulders, he sighed loudly before continuing, "Alright. I cast Fatum Pares used the standard wand movements for the said spell. I haven't taken part in any rituals save the one my wife and I used to conceive. And apart from a pepper up, I took a week before I had taken no potions," he sat back in his chair as far as the chains will allow.
Hermine huffed pushing aside the pen and paper. "Mr. Bell, I have the head of the DMLE here if you tell us the truth the three of us could work out a deal," she offered motioning to Harry who looked at her in confusion.
"Even if I wasn't telling you the truth... That son of a bitch deserves nothing less," Mr. Bell growled.
"I hardly think the suffering Draco is currently..." Hermione began before a loud bang reverberated in the room as the prisoner slammed his fists on the table, the rune on his fore arm flaring as it absorbed the rush of magic that must have tried to flare from him.
"And what about my daughter?! Do you remember her? She was a chaser on the Gryffindor quidditch team and a Prefect. Katie's core was fractured because of that little shit. She can barely use a wand. But after the war when the trials happened you know what the Wizgamont did?" Hermione swallowed awkwardly. "Nothing! If anything, they patted his head and said do better next time!" He shouted glaring at the witch.
"Mr. Bell… Draco's..." Hermione began but was interrupted again.
"Oh, we're on a first name basis with the little death eater, are we?" The man scoffed shaking his head. "I cast a Karma curse; I don't have it in me to kill anymore. Apparently magic herself feels that he is a beast and if you can't fix him then maybe you should just leave him to his fate," the man said glaring at her with hate and contempt she hadn't seen directed at her since Hogwarts.
"Mr. Bell," she tried to figure out what to say but all she could do was open and close her mouth as words seemed to fail her.
The man sitting across from her sneered before he spoke, "I'm done, take me back to my cell,"
The guards did just that leaving Hermione and Harry alone in the interrogation room. The witch blinked back tears as her mind whirled trying to figure out a solution. She wasn't sure how long she just sat there but Harry's voice broke the cycle.
"Mia?" Harry asked as he was about to walk towards her but she stood up suddenly her chair skidding across the floor as she gathered her things. Her moments jerky and unfocused in a way that Harry had never seen. Even in the worst of times, Hermione was calm and collected, but right now she looked about two minutes away from completely falling apart.
"Harry thank you for bringing me here but I do have a lot of work that needs to be done." She said quickly as she rushed past her best friend towards the exit of the prison.
"Did I miss something?" Harry asked to himself sure that he'd seen a tear escape down her cheek.
Draco wasn't sure why he had been so angry; it hadn't made sense but the look on her face as she argued with him about his mother's plan was too much. He knew the last thing he wanted was to be apart from her but he could let her watch as he considered his options.
The rose held two more peddles; two more until his life was over and he was stuck as a beast forever. He hadn't told her about the rose. He figured that Hermione would have scoffed at the idea when he told her, but the rose and the glass it was in had appeared not long after he was cursed. In fact, it was the first thing he could remember seeing when he finally did wake up. And as he gazed at it, he heard a voice fill his head, if you can learn to love another and earn their love in return before the last petal falls, the spell will be broken.
"Master yous mother and her guest left," Kiki said quietly interrupting his thoughts.
"Thank you," he muttered.
"Master should send for Mistress," the elf insisted, he knew how fond of Hermione the elves had been. Maybe she'll take them all in once this is done, he hoped silently.
"No Kiki, she's been through enough," Draco sighed his eyes not leaving the rose.
"Master deserves to be with his love," Kiki offered after some silence as he turned his gaze to the mirror by his bed.
Hermione had given it to him about a month after she had been here. It allowed them to talk even on days she couldn't come over. He had realized how much she had been a part of his life until he was arguing with his mother. Now the idea of her never speaking to her again ate at him like nothing else. He'd gladly remain as he was if it meant she'd be by his side always.
"I may love her but she doesn't feel the same," Draco admitted finally as he kept his sight on the rose in front of him.
"Ifs you only tells…." Kiki said but stopped as Draco growled back.
"Enough Kiki, I want to be left alone," he ordered happy to hear a pop behind him. But the peace wasn't to last as he watched one petal fall leaving just one more.
"Baby be reasonable. You need me at your side to do what you want," Ron insisted as he followed Hermione out of her office and into the waiting lift.
It had been a week since Hermione had been kicked out of Malfoy Manor and in that time, she had done everything she could to make sure the curse could be lifted. She'd spent days pouring through every record of the curse being cast but no one else had anywhere near the same results. And this curse was often used in the justice system of several courts around the world. But none of that had mattered as Ron had spent the last few days badgering her to marry him again.
"Ron I'm never going to marry you!" She insisted for what felt like the hundredth time. "Look we tried it, twice and both times it didn't work," she said as the doors tried to close but stopped and Ron stepped on too.
"That's because you were being stubborn. And I forgive you for that," the red head said as Hermione growled in annoyance the door to the lift opening to the atrium as she marched forward determined to make it to the closest flue so she could get home. Knowing full well that the wards around her house didn't allow Ron to enter. She felt his presence behind her and without even turning around she shouted at him.
"Ronald Billous Weasley you leave me the hell alone or it won't be me you have to defend yourself against. I'll tell Ginny, George, Charlie, Bill, and your mother and let them torcher you!" She growled as a shocked cry filled the room garnering her attention.
There stumbling out of the ministry apparition point was none other than Astoria Greengrass. But the normally well put together girl was gone. In her place was one who looked like she had been passed around by a pack of werewolves. Scratches littered both her robes and body as blood dripped out of a nasty wound on her chest. Stumbling she fell into a pair of arms as an Auror called for healers to arrive. Hermione heard the man ask what had happened and the girl's words stopped her cold. "Draco attacked me,"