Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, nor do I make any money from the writing of this fanfiction. Only this particular plot line and original characters are mine, everything else belongs to JK Rowling
Chapter Twenty Two
Harry Potter walked into his home and hung his cloak before going to the kitchen. A small smile tugged on his lips when he saw his wife Ginny had spread the table with balls of yarn in almost every known pastel color, knitting patterns, books about pregnancy, and a list of names on a long parchment, divided into two columns, 'boy' and 'girl'. From the look of the stove, dinner was almost ready, so he took an apron from the peg on the wall and decided to lend a hand.
"Why do you think Hermione never said anything to us before, Harry? If this has been going on more than a year, why didn't she say anything?"
It was the perplexed look in his wife's eyes that made him actually stop and think a moment before answering. He knew Ginny's habit of jumping to a conclusion at times, so wanted to give her an answer that might make her think why some people in a situation like Hermione's would hide what was happening.
"Gin, do you remember the way Ron was at Hogwarts? He was always like a Muggle seesaw when it came to her, half the time insulting her and putting her down, the other half telling her the exact opposite. He would explode in a fit of temper when things didn't go the way he thought they should go, not speaking to either Hermione or me for weeks; the Tri Wizard Tournament is a good example of that. It wasn't until I got a few books at a Muggle bookstore that I could see what he was doing back then. Ginny, Ron has been abusive to Hermione from the time they met; it just never got to the point of physical violence between them until a little over a year ago."
"What do you mean, Ron was abusive at Hogwarts? He never hit her while at school. He would have been in detention with Filch the rest of his school career and drowning in Howlers from Mum if he had."
"According to the books, abuse doesn't have to involve getting hit, Gin. Insults, put downs, the way he would suddenly start being nice to her in the middle of a tantrum, keeping Hermione off balance with the way she would never know how bad he'd explode…all of that is considered abuse, it's just classified as mental and emotional abuse. Eventually a victim of abuse starts walking on eggshells around the person doing this, to avoid another explosion. Then the person who is being abusive will start being super nice to keep the victim even more off balance. The books call the super nice behavior a "honeymoon period". Apparently the "honeymoon period" is long enough to let the victim start to believe the abusive behavior is finally over, and the friendship or relationship can then become even closer, but it just gets worse. The author of one of the books called that "conditioning".
"Conditioning? What's that supposed to mean?"
"When you first started taking lessons from Snape, did you go in his classroom with no opinions about him whatsoever that first class?"
"No, why would I? I'd already heard from my brothers and Mum and Dad what a bastard he could be, and how he played favorites in giving points."
"Exactly. You had never met him, never been to one of his classes, yet you were prepared to think the worst of him because you had been told the same things about the man over and over again. You had been conditioned to think that way by being told nothing but 'Snape is an unfeeling Slytherin bastard' before you even met him. If you hadn't been told that over and over, you might have overlooked his attitudes in class and given him a chance, right?"
"Maybe, but what has one got to do with the other?"
"If someone is being abusive to someone else, one of the things that they will do is to tell the person over and over that they'll never be believed by anyone, even if they do try to tell someone. It happens often enough in the Muggle world that most victims keep quiet because they have actually been convinced they won't be believed. Telling someone something over and over until they begin to believe it, whether or not it's true, and especially when it comes to abuse, is conditioning, Gin. They do that so they don't wind up in trouble. If their victim is too scared to tell anyone, then an abuser can't face consequences for what they do."
"So why didn't Hermione say anything about being hit? That would be believed because of the marks left."
"And hypothetically, if someone had told you while you were dating that the treatment would get worse if you said anything, what do you think would be your reaction? There have been women in the Muggle world killed because they tried to tell someone what was happening to them and the person abusing them found out. Yes, you're an exceptional witch, Ginny, but I would imagine that someone in the Wizarding world who was prone to being abusive would use snapping a witch's wand as one of the first threats used."
"I-I don't know what I would do in that situation."
"It wouldn't surprise me at all if Ron used that threat against Hermione. She basically lost her parents in the war because the Obliviate couldn't be undone, so she had nowhere to run to when Ron began getting violent. There are also times in the Muggle world that an abuser has friends in the right places to make sure that any charges that could be brought never see the light of day. I'm not saying that it happens all of the time, but it does happen."
"And Ron has a brother-in-law working in the Auror Corps in the DMLE. Not to mention a brother and father who also work in the Ministry. But you would never help Ron hide something like that."
"Of course not, but neither of us know everyone he's friendly with there. It could be anyone who has access to the reports."
OoOoOoO
Amelia Bones sat at her desk looking at one of her Aurors, and only her training kept her from losing her temper and hexing the man. The Auror Corps was going to get a black eye from this case, and there wasn't much she could do to prevent it. She could, however, make sure the person responsible wasn't able to do it again. If there was one thing that made her the angriest, it was someone abusing the power an Auror had to help someone break the law and escape punishment.
"Auror Macintosh, I have a few questions I need answered."
"Of course, Madam Bones, what do you need to know?"
"First, I'd like to know when you began removing incident reports from this office, and whom you sent them to, if you sent them to anyone at all. Second, I'd like to know who approached you about making those reports disappear."
"I'm sorry, Madam Bones, but I don't know what you're talking about."
"I see. Then the name Hermione Granger means nothing to you?"
"The war heroine and Potter's friend? I can't say I've ever met her. I had already left Hogwarts when Harry Potter attended his first year."
"I've been looking over a few books following a hunch. Tell me, Auror Macintosh, how is your aunt? Any recent letters to or from her?"
"Which aunt, Madam Bones? I have aunts on both sides of my family. May I ask why you're interested in my family?"
"Your Aunt Molly. Molly Weasley is the mother of the defendant of a case being heard in the Wizengamot currently. The complaining witness was dating the defendant, and judging by the meeting we had after the hearing was called to recess, you know more about why reports needed for evidence were missing than you let on initially. Did Molly Weasley ask you to make the reports disappear? Think carefully before you answer, Auror Macintosh; your answer could mean the difference between simply losing your job or losing your job in addition to being charged as an accessory after the fact to assault."
"Madam Bones, I-"
"You what, Auror Macintosh? You thought you'd never be found out? Or you thought that if you were that the consequences wouldn't be severe, since Miss Granger is a Muggleborn? Which is it?"
"Ma'am, I was only trying to help my family. Aunt Molly told me she wouldn't be able to take losing another son. My cousin Fred's death in the war nearly broke her."
"And you believed helping another cousin escape consequences for his actions would help? We don't take our oaths as Aurors to only help a select few, Macintosh, those oaths state we help anyone in need of our assistance, be they Pureblood, Half-Blood, Muggle born, or anyone else in the Wizarding world. It's the job of the Auror Corps to fight for those people who haven't got the power to do so without help, when wrongs are done. You betrayed that oath and everything the Auror Corps is supposed to stand for when you made those reports disappear. Leave your badge on my desk, remove the protections from your own desk, and get out of my office. Consider yourself suspended until an investigation can be made into whether or not you lose your job and get charged along with Ronald Weasley. I don't recommend trying to leave the jurisdiction, Macintosh. I know you have family in Ireland, and I'd hate to have to place a monitoring charm on you because you're considered a flight risk. Am I clear?"
Lowering his head in shame, the now ex-Auror placed his badge on Amelia's desk before looking up again to meet her eyes.
"I understand, Madam Bones. I'll begin clearing my desk now."
"One of the other Aurors will help you. I want to be sure nothing else has conveniently been misplaced in your desk."
"Yes ma'am. I'll be out of the office within a half hour."
OoOoOoO
Forty-five minutes later, Patronus came through the window, startling both Hermione and Draco. The voice of the message, however, was unmistakable.
Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, it's Amelia Bones; the reports have been found. I need you in my office within an hour to go over the information in the reports as well as the memory crystals. It seems Ronald Weasley may not be the only one charged.
