Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

A/N: This chapter will contain some scenes of domestic violence. If that is a trigger for you, please wait for the next chapter.

Chapter Seven

The Constable and Sergeant worked in concert as soon as Hermione fell. The Constable sent an immediate Expelliarmus to disarm Ron, and the Sergeant cast a nonverbal Immobulus to keep him from moving without rendering him unconscious. It was found to be better than the Petrificus Totalis in situations like these. They needed him to be able to speak to answer their questions. A quick glance showed Hermione was beginning to regain consciousness. Harry immediately went to her side, kneeling next to her on the grass.

"Harry?" she asked, voice slightly slurred.

"Yeah, it's me. Lie still so I can look you over, okay?"

"Take….pictures, Harry."

"You want me to take photos of you now? Hermione, why? Just let me Heal this first."

"Trust me. Take pictures…now, before the Healing. Need the proof."

"Proof of what, Hermione? Oh, Merlin, are you saying…?"

"Not the first time. Need the proof. Take pictures, now, please."

Still holding onto Hermione's hand, Harry turned to glance at the Constable and Sergeant, who were checking Ron for anything he may have on him which could be dangerous.

"She wants photos taken, before she's Healed. Do either of you have a camera? If so, please take the photographs. I'll escort her home and stay with her until either a fully qualified Healer or Mediwitch arrives."

"Of course, Auror Potter. I can take the photos myself, although it would be best if it was done privately, and with a witch as witness. That way, there can be no accusations later that the photos aren't authentic," the Constable replied.

"My wife is inside the house. You can ask her to be the witness."

"While that may be convenient, Auror Potter, it isn't feasible. Your wife is the sister of the man we currently have immobilized. If the victim decides to press charges, that may taint the case."

"I understand. Are there any female Constables you can call?"

"Yes, and I'll be sending her a message shortly. But first, we need to know if the victim…"the Constable began, when Harry interrupted.

"Her name is Hermione Granger, gentlemen."

"If Miss Granger will be pressing charges for assault against this man," the Constable finished.

"I'll be pressing charges, Constable, although I don't see how this time will be different from the others," Hermione said, trying to sit up a bit.

"Hermione, lie still. We don't know if you have a head injury yet. And I don't want you getting dizzy and falling, hurting yourself more," Harry insisted, placing his hand on her shoulder to keep her from moving.

"Constable, send for the female Constable, please, so we can finish here and remove the assailant to a holding cell," the Sergeant instructed calmly.

"Of course, sir, right away," he stated, before casting a Patronus, explaining the need for a female Constable.

Harry looked back at Hermione just in time to see her eyes go unfocused and glassy. She started shivering and went pale immediately after he made note of that, and he turned his head to yell toward the house.

"Ginny! I need blankets out here, now! Hurry!"

Within seconds, Ginny came running out of the house, a stack of blankets in her arms. Dropping to her knees beside Harry, she handed them to him one at a time.

"Harry, what's going on? What's wrong with Hermione?"

"I'll explain later, but right now, we need to keep Hermione warm. If we don't she may go into shock."

Molly came to the doorway, and stared at the scene in front of her: Harry and Ginny kneeling on the ground next to Hermione, who was laying on the ground, her son Ron standing completely still, and two people who looked as though they might work with Harry, one keeping an eye on her son.

"Harry dear, what's wrong? Why are these people here, and why is Hermione on the ground?" Molly asked.

"Molly, I promise, I'll explain later but for now, please go back inside."

Reluctantly, Molly went inside and closed the door, although the look she gave Harry said clearly to him that she'd hold him to that promise.

The crack of Apparition signaled the arrival of the female Constable, and she immediately went to where Hermione lay, kneeling to get a better look at the situation.

"I was told photographs needed taken of possible injuries. Would you like to do that inside, or shall I conjure some privacy screens by Transfiguring a few of these blankets out here, miss? Whichever you're most comfortable with is fine."

"If it's possible for me to Side-Along, could you do it at my flat, please? I would rather not do it inside this house, and privacy screens will only make Molly Weasley even more curious to know what's happening."

"No, I don't think that would be a good idea, Hermione," Harry said, shaking his head, "not since you were dizzy earlier, and unconscious for a few minutes or however much time it was. We don't know if you have a head injury, remember."

"If that's the case, Miss Granger, I would suggest a trip to St Mungo's by Floo before going to your flat. I can just as easily take the photos there."

"Ginny," Harry said, looking at his wife, "please go ask Molly to have everyone clear out of the main part of the house so we can use the Floo to take Hermione to St Mungo's to be examined."

"Harry, you know Mum will ask questions that I can't answer."

"And you can tell her I'll answer all her questions tomorrow. Getting Hermione to some help takes priority right now."

"All right. But I want to go with her."

"That's up to the Constables and Hermione. But I don't think Hermione will object."

"And the assailant? What is your decision on that, Miss Granger?" the female Constable asked.

"I hope it works this time, but file assault charges. I can't take this anymore."

The female Constable nodded grimly, and looked over at her colleagues, giving a slight nod. Without one word exchanged between the Constables, one of the two near Ron knew what he had to do next. He walked to within an arm's length of Ron and raised his wand, causing Ron's wrists to be bound together. Looking at the report to make sure of the correct name, the Constable began to speak.

"Mr. Ronald Weasley, I am placing you under arrest and taking you into custody to face charges of assault. You will be held at the Ministry until you face those charges, and you may retain the services of a solicitor to assist you. Any attempt to resist will result in additional charges being filed. Do you understand?" At this point, he removed the Immobulus so Ron could answer.

"I understand. I also understand you're going to believe a lying bitch over me."

The Constable raised his eyebrow in disbelief, and glanced over at the others, silently asking them to remain quiet, then looked back at Ron.

"I'm going to ask you to watch your language, Mr. Weasley, as the word you just used is one I find offensive. You see, I was taught that kind of language is disrespectful to women by my mother, and I respect my mother too much to tolerate it from others. Now, why do you say Miss Granger is lying?"

"Because she just tripped and fell, and all of you are going to believe her when she tells you something she probably just cooked up in her head to get me in trouble for things I had in the marriage contract which she still hasn't signed. She's always trying to make me look bad. Gets away with it too, the lying slag."

"Language, Mr. Weasley. I won't remind you again. Once more and you'll be taken to the holding cell under a Silencio, do I make myself clear?"

"Then you may as well cast it now, since you're making it obvious you don't want to hear my side of things."

Nodding as if to say, as you wish, the Constable cast the Silencio and he and the Sergeant began walking Ron toward the house, in order to Floo to the Ministry. Harry, Ginny, and the female Constable followed, levitating Hermione between them, in preparation to taking her to St Mungo's for examination and photographs. Molly rushed forward, seeing Ron was restrained.

"What is going on? Why do you have my son restrained, and why are you levitating Hermione?"

"Tomorrow, Molly, I promise I'll explain everything tomorrow," Harry said, jaw clenched in anger.

"Is Ronald under arrest? What is it you say he's done, for Merlin's sake?"

"Mum, please, we'll tell you tomorrow," Ginny said, before stepping into the Floo with the others levitating Hermione.

With a flash of green flame, they were gone, leaving Molly in the middle of the room, a look of shock and anger on her face.

"Much as I'd like to stay, I need to get going, Draco. Mum hates it when I'm late for dinner. I'll try to talk to Granger about helping you at the Ministry in the morning. I still think she'll throw me out on my arse, but I'll try."

"Thank you, Blaise. I wouldn't ask, but…"

"You have to try to protect your family, I understand. You know, it's ironic. With your Seeker's build, and reputation at school for being a coward, as well as your skill at potions, becoming a bodyguard for people is the last thing anyone expected out of you after we all left Hogwarts."

"Possibly, but with the defensive spells I needed to learn while Voldemort was still around, as well as during the war, it makes me uniquely qualified to do just that."

After Blaise left, Draco sat down in his favorite wingback chair, mentally running through the plan. He hoped Blaise could convince Granger to help him. Much as he hated to admit it, he needed her to help him. His plan wouldn't work otherwise.

He still had no clue what the information the blackmailer claimed to have was, and needed to find out. Yet another reason he needed Granger. Her skills at research were legendary even at Hogwarts, so he was confident that if anyone could find out what he needed to know, it was her.

So the first order of business was to convince the Muggleborn Gryffindor Princess to help the Pureblooded Slytherin Prince, a person she always despised. Merlin help him, but Salazar Slytherin was probably spinning in his grave faster than the Hogwarts Express heading to the school right now over this.

The group that entered St Mungo's was immediately surrounded by a Healer and various Mediwitches. Knowing what would happen, the female Constable spoke up.

"She requested I take photographs of possible injuries before they're taken care of, Healer. Ongoing investigation."

"I see. This actually isn't the first time I've seen this young woman here, is it Miss Granger? So to avoid the wait, shall I go ahead and retrieve the saved scans from your previous visits for the Constable?" the Healer, a dark haired woman, spoke up, taking in the situation with a glance.

Hermione nodded; grateful her scans from previous visits had been saved. It would be even more proof, should it be needed.

"Thank you, Healer…" the Constable said, waiting for a name.

"Chadwick. I'm Healer Lucinda Chadwick. I'll request to be assigned to this case, as I've treated Miss Granger before. You can use the room to your left for the photographs while I retrieve Miss Granger's scans. I'll also be examining her in that room."

Nodding, the Constable levitated Hermione into the room, placing her gently on the cot. Noting that the Potters had also come in, the Constable turned her gaze to them.

"Auror Potter, thank you for your assistance, but I think Miss Granger would be more comfortable if you weren't present for the photographs. In my experience, injuries not hidden by a Glamour are hidden under clothing, so I will be asking Miss Granger to undress. Mrs. Potter, considering your relationship to the assailant, your presence at this stage could taint the investigation. I'll be asking a Mediwitch to serve as the witness while the photographs are taken."

Red faced with both anger and embarrassment, the Potters left the room. In the time needed for the Constable to fetch a Mediwitch, Hermione reflected on the first time Ron lost his temper in a physical way with her, and asked herself why she had chosen to stay. Other instances were blurred together, there had been so many, but the first was always crystal clear…

She stirred the soup in the pot a final time and took a taste. Molly had assured her this soup was Ron's favorite and had given her the recipe. When she decided to invite Ron over for dinner after finally finishing her unpacking following moving in to her new flat, she knew this was what she should make, and had followed the recipe to the letter. Frowning, she noted it tasted a bit bland to her, so added just a pinch of garlic. Tasting again, she decided the flavor was perfect. She had never tried to make any of Molly's recipes, but after hearing Ron rave for years about her cooking, she had to try. The bread and butter were already on the table, as well as a fresh salad, and she had bought an especially nice mince pie for dessert. She looked up at the sound of a knock at the door.

"Hello, Hermione. I like your flat. Big, airy, and bright, so I'm sure you'll love it here," Ron said, kissing her cheek, and handing her a small bunch of daisies.

"Thank you, Ron, and perfect timing. Dinner is ready."

She levitated the soup to the center of the table, setting it down on a trivet to protect the tablecloth. Ron held out her chair, and pulled his own close to her after she was seated.

"It looks delicious, Hermione. Is this my Mum's soup? Outstanding! You have no idea how much I love this soup of Mum's."

"Actually, Ron, it's your Mum's recipe, but I cooked it."

"Even better! If you can cook even half as well as Mum, I'll be a happy bloke."

She put salad on each of their plates, and to her way of thinking, the evening was just about perfect. The salad was finished, and they filled their bowls from the pot. Hermione was proud of how good it tasted.

"What the hell did you do to this soup?" Ron asked, his voice quiet and angry.

"What do you mean? I followed your Mum's recipe. I may have added a pinch of garlic because it tasted a bit bland to me, but…"she began, when Ron interrupted.

"You thought it tasted BLAND, so altered MY MUM'S recipe?"

"Ron, why are you angry all of a sudden? It still tastes good."

Ron shoved his chair away from the table and stood, before grabbing the soup off the table. In a fit of temper she'd never seen him display, he threw the pot across the room, causing the soup to spill everywhere.

"Ronald! What are you doing? The soup was FINE!"

Without a word, he swung his hand back, hitting her with enough force across the cheek to knock her from her chair. Before she could even attempt to stand or reach for her wand, he delivered two swift kicks to her midsection. Hermione was sure she felt something crack.

"You NEVER alter one of MY MUM'S recipes, do you understand me? DO YOU?"

She couldn't make herself try to get off the floor again, and a few minutes later, she heard the door slam. Ron had left. Rising unsteadily, she went to clean up the mess, tears streaming down her cheeks. One question kept circling in her mind:

What did I do to deserve this?

"Miss Granger," the female Constable said, pulling her out of her memories, "we're ready to take the photos. Would you please undress, put on this gown, and drop any Glamours you may have up?"

Hermione nodded, and whispered a charm to negate the spell that kept her Glamour in place even if a Finite Incantatem was used. From the sound of indrawn breath, the Constable was shocked at what she saw. From her shoulders down to her waist, Hermione was a mass of bruises, some the red of the newly formed, some just beginning to turn black and blue, and still others the greenish-brown of beginning to heal.

"Sweet merciful Mother of all Magic. Miss Granger, I've seen a lot of cases of assault, but if you don't mind me saying so, this looks more long-term than a one-time thing. How long has it been happening?"

"If I had to make a guess, based on how many times I've seen her," Healer Chadwick said, walking into the room, "I would put it at almost a year."

"Okay, let's take the photos so the Healer can do her job. If you don't mind my advice, Miss Granger, if for some reason your assailant is given bail and won't leave you alone, I would suggest temporarily hiring a bodyguard, at least until this is resolved."