A/N: I'm posting this chapter without doing as much editing as usual, so please forgive any typos! I'll come back to proofread this more thoroughly later this week, but in the meantime didn't want to hold this chapter hostage. Enjoy!
TW: Minor character death, but it's not graphically described at all
Sunday, June 25, 2000
"Hermione! Open up! We know you're in there!" Harry pounded his fist against the front door of his best friend's apartment again, but still there was no answer. The complete absence of any noise, even the agitated mewls of Crookshanks, suggested that Hermione had cast a silencing charm on top of her other warding magic to keep everyone and everything out.
It had been three weeks since anyone had seen her. The HGPU had been worried she'd died until Tonks cleverly suggested they cast a homenum revelio spell to confirm signs of life. Once it became clear she was simply hiding, Tonks and the rest of the auror team had left it to Harry to coax her to emerge.
It wasn't going well.
"Let's just blast a hole in her wall and end this ridiculousness!" Pansy suggested, seemingly ready to do so with her bare hands. She was Harry's partner for the day in finding a solution to smoking out their mutual friend.
Harry had created something of a rotation of teams for their breaking and entering attempts. He'd recruited to this roster Neville, Luna, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, Andromeda, Kingsley, Nott, Malfoy, Zabini, Zabini's ditzy lover... really anyone he could think of, but so far no one had any luck getting through to her.
"I already tried that," Harry admitted with no small amount of exasperation. "Everything from confrigo to reducto. I have no idea what kind of superpowered wards she put up, but I swear it absorbed my last bombarda. Actually, I think it made the wards stronger..."
"Ugh!" she groaned, yanking on the roots of her hair in frustration. "Stupid swot! Of course she'd invent new wards to enable her meltdown."
Nothing got past Hermione's wards. Letters and patronus messages evaporated on contact, both human and house-elf apparition were blocked, and all points of entry seemed impervious to magic. Hagrid had even tried to throw a boulder through one of her windows but it had bounced off harmlessly like a pebble in a trampoline. Three weeks of vigorous attempts and Hermione's floo remained disconnected, her phone unanswered, and her door locked. If it weren't so infuriating, he would be impressed.
"Alohomora!" Harry jabbed his wand at the stubbornly sealed entrance, not really expecting a spell he'd learned from Hermione herself (in first year, no less) to succeed. He was disappointed but not surprised when nothing happened.
"An unlocking spell?? Are you fucking serious right now?" Pansy seemed borderline hysterical at his display of incompetence, but Harry wasn't about to take any criticism from her when she hadn't provided a useful idea all morning.
"If you're so smart, why don't you--"
"Oi! I've thought of something!"
There must have been an echo because he was sure that Pansy had been alone in screaming girlishly at the sudden appearance of Theodore Nott. He had apparated directly into the hallway outside of Hermione's front door despite Harry repeatedly telling him not to. Even though Hermione was still the only tenant in the building, this was a muggle area. Anyone could have seen.
Harry shelved his scolding for another time though, eager as he was to hear any fresh solutions. "Let's hear it then."
"Muggle lock-picking! I picked up a book about it several months ago for... purposes..." he trailed off awkwardly as though he'd only just remembered that Harry was an officer of the law. Harry rolled his eyes and gestured for him to continue. "Anyway, I forgot about it until now, but wards usually only prevent overt physical attacks. This method might be subtle enough to go unnoticed." He flipped through the book's diagrams, comparing the images to the doorknob before him, seeking an instruction page for the model at hand.
Harry had to admit the idea had promise. There was only one tiny, insignificant little detail tempering his enthusiasm. "Nott, have you ever picked a lock before?"
"Well, no... but how hard could it be?"
As it turned out, the answer was: quite hard. The trio spent several fruitless hours huddled together in front of the door, taking turns prodding the lock tumblers every which way and attempting to execute the techniques detailed in the how-to guide. Harry couldn't help but wonder if the task might've been more successful if Pansy hadn't been hissing unhelpful advice in their ears each time it wasn't her turn with the tools though. She radiated backseat-driver energy.
Finally, Nott got lucky. With a soft click and a triumphant cry, he was able to turn the knob and swing the door open.
Harry wasted no time celebrating. He quickly lunged forward into the apartment. "Hermione, what--" He skidded to a halt.
To his horror, the apartment that greeted him looked nothing like he'd ever seen it before. Dirty dishes covered nearly every flat surface, trash bags were piled up in the corner, and he could see Hermione's disheveled figure cocooned in a blanket and catatonic on the couch staring at her TV (which was muted and only displaying static).
Pansy strode forward and took charge. "Potter, clean up down here and put the kettle on for tea. Theo, send a message to the others to let them know that we got in. Tell them not to come over though. We don't need a herd of people over here. Linney--"
A strange house-elf (and Harry did not say strange lightly since having Dobby and Winky as his first introduction to the species, but this elf was wearing a bizarre wig clearly modeled from Pansy's hairstyle) popped into existence. It seemed as though their breech had brought the wards down.
"Yes, Miss Pansy?" The Pansy-doppleganger queried with a salute in immitation of a soldier reporting for duty. The little elf would be the oddest soldier ever, dressed in miniturized haute couture and wearing the tiniest pair of high heels Harry had ever seen.
"Please prepare brunch for four. Something hearty. I'm going to guess Hermione hasn't been eating very nutritious meals lately."
"Right away!" Having received her marching orders, Linney disappeared.
"I'll be upstairs getting Hermione bathed and dressed. We'll be back shortly."
Pansy cast a levitation charm on Hermione and guided her up the stairs with Crookshanks trailing closely behind. Disturbingly, Hermione didn't resist. In fact, she said nothing at all.
Twenty minutes later, they were all seated around the dining table surrounded by omelettes, fruit salad, and a generous selection of partries. Hermione looked put together thanks to Pansy's attentions, but she still hadn't spoken or made eye contact with any of them.
They all picked at their food, no one seeming particularly hungry, but Harry moved things around on his plate to encourage Hermione. It took an indecent amount of time, but after she'd eaten the majority of her meal, Harry decided to break the uncomfortable silence. "We already know about your job, Hermione. Is that what this is about?"
She nodded morosely.
"What happened there, Granger? That piece of shite Macnair only wrote 'insubordination' on the pink slip. We saw the copy on file at the Ministry," Pansy's voice was gentle but her eyes were hard. She, like Harry, believed there must be more to the story.
"Did he find out about the work you've been doing to get sponsorship with the HELP Act?" Nott asked. It had been Malfoy who'd supplied this possible explanation. Apparently, Hermione had spoken to Malfoy at length about her carefulness in concealing her work from her boss. Malfoy had therefore been in favor of exacting immediate revenge against Macnair, but Harry had talked him down. This wasn't like the Marc situation. It didn't feel appropriate to interfere in Hermione's career without her consent.
Hermione nodded again in confirmation. Malfoy had been right after all.
"How did he find out? Did somebody snitch?" Nott cracked his knuckles ominously. He'd been on Malfoy's side of the revenge debate. They were an unforgiving duo.
Hermione nodded again.
"Who?" Pansy demanded.
Hermione tipped her mug to gaze at the dregs of her tea for several long moments as though she hoped to read the tea leaves to find the answer. Divination was never her subject though, so she set the mug down with a clatter and finally, clearing her throat, she croaked, "Flint."
"I'm so sorry, Hermione." Harry grasped her hand lying limp on the tabletop.
"That doesn't make any sense." Pansy furrowed her brow. It seemed fairly straightforward to Harry, though when he said so Pansy shushed him. "You don't understand, Potter. We helped Granger prepare for that meeting after Malfoy's birthday drinks. Flint stood to gain a great deal personally if the HELP Act passed and Granger had airtight financial models to prove it. Why would he turn that down?"
"I dunno, spite?" Harry offered. To his memory, Flint had been a mean son-of-a-bitch on the quidditch pitch, and he saw no reason to believe he wouldn't be the same years later. "Lingering Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry? Or maybe he's a blood-purist?"
"Maybe..." Pansy still didn't look convinced. "I'm just surprised he would care as long as he gets something in return for his help." Strangely, Hermione flinched.
"What do you think, Hermione?" Harry nudged her foot under the table. They turned to look at her but she was back to avoiding direct eye contact. Harry's auror-senses started tingling. He'd been coached to look for exactly this behavior during his interrogation training. She knew something. But of course he wasn't going to actually interrogate his best friend, so he gave her an out. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to."
Hermione sighed. "It's okay, it's just embarrassing."
"If it helps, Theo blew up his time turner again last week and the explosion singed his one-eyed snake. It can't be more embarrassing than that." Harry winced, but Pansy had succeeded at breaking the tension in the air and Hermione giggled. Theo made a weak noise of protest but didn't seem to mind exposing his misadventures if it helped cheer her up.
And she did look slightly heartened. Taking a deep breath, Hermione offered, if somewhat haltingly, "Well, it turns out Flint didn't care about the profits modeling I'd prepared."
"So he just turned you down and then ratted you out to Macnair? Why did he even bother accepting your meeting then?" Nott made a good point. What an asshole to make Hermione waste her time and get her hopes up.
"Er... he didn't turn me down actually. He was willing to sponsor me..."
"What did he want in exchange?" Pansy narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Sexual favors," Hermione said in the smallest voice possible, but there was no mistaking her words.
"Hermione!" Harry yelped. "That's... that's bad." He winced at the classically British understatement. "You need to report him!"
"I don't want to make a big deal out of it," she countered, sinking lower in her seat.
"But it is a big deal!" Harry entreated her to see reason. "It cost you your job!"
"I lost my job because I went behind my boss's back to pass legislation."
"That doesn't make it okay for anyone to proposition you in the workplace! Did he touch you?" Harry could feel his magic surging beneath his skin. He clenched his fists in an effort to keep it contained.
"No! Not really..."
"Which is it? No or not really?" He snarled.
"Reign it in, Potter," Pansy interjected.
"Just my knee! I'm fine, Harry, really." She reached towards him with alarm, rubbing his arm soothingly, possibly sensing that he was close to an outburst similar to when she shared what Ron did to her. It made him feel worse. He should be comforting her, not the other way around.
"Okay...good, that's good," he said with forced calm and a flimsy smile. "I'm glad you're okay. But he meant to touch you, and I don't think he deserves a pass just because he didn't succeed."
Hermione grimaced. "And how am I meant to prove what he did? It'd be my word against his."
"So submit your memory of the incident," he insisted. "Pensieves are used in prosecution all the time."
"That's incredibly invasive, Harry! What if I don't want every detail about the interaction to be picked over? How do you think I'd feel if someone claimed that my tone or the way I was dressed invited his advances?"
"You don't know that would happen!"
"Don't I?" Hermione's face was the picture of sardonic bitterness. "I've been in the public eye since I was 15 years old. The media painted me as a man-eating hussy. How do you think this incident will be perceived with that history?"
"Just put Skeeter back in a jar then!"
"Time out. What?" Apparently, Nott was unaware of how Hermione dealt with unwanted pests. This was hardly the appropriate time for swapping school stories though.
"All I'm saying," Harry spoke over Notts's questions through grit teeth, "is that what Flint did was wrong. You didn't deserve it. He should face consequences so he can't do this again to anyone else."
"I know, Harry," Hermione scrubbed her face with both hands. "I've thought about that every day over the last few weeks. It makes me sick to know that I got away, but if he tries again the next girl might not, or she could be fired like I was... I'm just... tired. I don't think I have it in me to fight anymore. It's too much."
"But--" Pansy held up her hand and silenced him with a sharp glare.
"It's okay, Granger. You're allowed to put yourself first." Crookshanks meowed his agreement and leapt into Hermione's lap where he purred contentedly. She absently stroked his fur while listening to Pansy. "I know it goes against the Gryffindor code or something... you all probably have wet dreams of righteous crusades for justice. But it's okay if you only save one person, and it's okay if that person is you."
Harry bit back his objections. Maybe Pansy was right. He could certainly attest to how draining it could be to carry a savior complex on your shoulders. It was enough that Hermione was safe. He could prioritize her well-being. "Gryffindor slander aside, I suppose I agree with Pansy. That was shockingly eloquent."
"Thanks, Potter. I read it on a self-help forum on the world wide web." At the surprised looks on both Harry's and Hermione's faces, she elaborated with a shrug. "Draco's been teaching me." Harry's lips twitched as he recalled inadvertantly learning about Malfoy's budding interest in the internet but decided not to throw him under bus while the man wasn't around to defend himself.
As though he could be summoned by thoughts though, Malfoy strolled through the front door. "Oi, Granger! Are you done doing your best impression of a hermit crab?"
"Draco?! What the fuck are you doing here?" Pansy screeched.
"We came to see Granger of course."
"Who's we?" Harry craned his neck to see who had followed Malfoy over the threshold.
"Hey," Neville waved uncertainly with a wary glance towards Pansy, who was openly glowering at him.
"Hello everyone!" Luna brought up the rear and seemed unbothered by the hostile energy emanating towards her.
"What part of 'tell everyone not to come' was so hard to understand?" Pansy snapped at Nott and poked him viciously in the arm.
"How is this my fault?!" Nott whined, rubbing his sore bicep.
"Hermione, we're so glad you're okay!" Neville interrupted their bickering and moved to close the door behind them.
"Yes, you seem the type to conflate professional accomplishment with self-worth, so I imagine that losing your job was quite devastating." Luna had a knack for saying awkwardly true things. The Slytherins in the room looked taken aback by her forthrightness, but Harry, Hermione and Neville were inured to her at this point and didn't bat an eye. She meant well.
"Er, right. We came to support you!" Neville added.
"Well, I also came to get your permission to seek revenge on your behalf. Potter wouldn't let us fire so much as a tickling hex at Macnair."
"They deserve more than a tickling hex..." Harry grumbled.
"They?" Malfoy caught his allusion to Flint's involvement quick as anything, but Pansy was making the universal sign for 'keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you' behind Malfoy's back. Harry had half a mind to ignore her. If Hermione was too tired to fight then why not let someone fight for her?
There'd probably be a mess if he set Malfoy loose though. He'd been suggesting dismemberment for Macnair's crime of wrongful termination. Harry shuddered to imagine what he'd come up with for Flint's sexual harrassment of Hermione.
He looked to Hermione to check whether she'd choose to tell Malfoy herself, but she had retreated back into her shell and clearly had no intention of sharing any details.
Instead, Pansy jumped in to throw Malfoy off the scent. "Potter just meant her enemies in general. As you know, there are many."
Nott seemed to agree that Malfoy should be kept in the dark. "Too many, if you ask me, but I haven't had a dream about your death lately so at least there's that!" Nott announced with far too much cheer for such a morbid topic, clapping Hermione on the shoulder. "It's been nice going back to my regularly scheduled fantasies about sexy mediwitches who need to take my temperature..."
"Right," Malfoy drawled, unimpressed with their diversionary tactics. "So no revenge?"
"Not today," Nott shrugged.
"Then we're moving on to Plan B," Malfoy announced.
"What's Plan B?" Hermione prompted.
"I read that Plan B is a muggle emergency contraceptive that can prevent pregnancy after unprotected--" Neville smothered Luna's sex ed lecture with a palm over her mouth. He was blushing furiously.
"In this case, Malfoy is referring to our plan to take Hermione on a vacation to take her mind off things. Will you go with us Hermione? It'll be so much fun, we promise!"
"Er... where did you have in mind?" Hermione nervously questioned.
"We've already worked out all the details, but we wanted to surprise you! Can we keep it a secret?" Neville deployed his tried-and-true puppy dog eyes.
"Okay, I guess."
Undeterred by Hermione's lukewarm acceptance, Neville clapped his hands together with glee. "Excellent, gather your things then! Daphne will be here in ten minutes with our portkey."
"What? Now??" The shock seemed to enliven Hermione like nothing previously had and she leapt to her feet. Harry nearly laughed. He knew that the idea of Hermione spending fewer than several days packing and repacking was likely highly offensive to her.
"I'll help you pull your luggage together so you can finish your breakfast," Luna offered and skipped upstairs by herself.
"Pansy," Hermione communicated a thousand pleas in that single word. She clearly didn't trust an unsupervised Luna to make a normal assessment of vacation essentials.
"I'm on it." Pansy followed Luna up the stairs and out of sight.
"I'll go let Blaise know that we're heading out soon then. We'll be back in a minute," Nott gave Hermione a supportive shoulder squeeze and then disapparated.
"I should go give Tonks the heads up too. She'll probably want to send a few on-duty aurors to supervise," Harry sighed, rising from his seat and looking forelornly at his unfinished almond croissant.
"I can take care of that for you, Harry. Stay and eat. She's probably over at my gran's house anyway. Andy likes to stop by for tea on Sundays."
"Thanks, mate!" Harry promptly reseated himself and tucked into his plate with renewed fervor. He found that now that the worst of their talk with Hermione was over his appetite was back with a vengeance.
Neville gave Hermione a bear hug that lifted her off her feet then disapparated as well.
"You were too good for that job anyway, Granger," Malfoy spoke in quiet tones to Hermione. Harry had never heard him say anything so kind, especially not towards a muggleborn, and Harry's jaw nearly dropped.
"Thanks, Malfoy. I think it's for the best," Hermione sighed, her voice low to match Malfoy's and making Harry feel like he was intruding on a private conversation. He continued eating as unobtrusively as possible. What a fascinating window into a friendship he'd only heard about secondhand. "I just wish I'd been able to leave on my own terms."
Malfoy crossed his arms. "Weak men will always be threatened by strong women. Don't let them fool you into thinking they're in control when they lash out."
Hermione dipped her chin in acknowledgement and mirrored Malfoy's stance. "What should I do next? I never thought I'd be this adrift so early in my career."
It was rare for Hermione to ask for advice. Oustanding really that she'd seek counsel from Malfoy, of all people. Just as noteworthy, he was considering her seriously. "If I were you, I'd take this opportunity to relax. You've earned a little RR. And then, when you get bored of hedonistic sloth, which if I know you as well as I think I do will be inevitable, you can get a job in the private sector, or teach, or even pursue a mastery. I imagine you'd be good at almost anything. It's annoying, really."
Hermione leaned her shoulder against the wall. Seconds later Malfoy did the same. "As annoying as Theo speaking exclusively in Gladiator quotes?"
"Nothing could be more annoying than that," Malfoy chuckled. "Great movie though."
Harry couldn't believe it. Hermione and Malfoy had inside jokes. Inside jokes about muggle cinema.
"Hey, Granger," Malfoy lifted his eyes to meet hers, "don't do this again, okay? We were all really worried."
"Sorry... I don't know what I was thinking. I just wanted to be alone to get my head on straight."
Malfoy made a sympathetic humming sound and crossed his ankles. "I understand the instinct, but you know all about my regrets from shutting out my friends."
Was that a reference to sixth year? Maybe their disastrous seventh? Hermione had mentioned that Malfoy had made his apologies for his misdeeds, but it sounded like he'd opened up about more than just his bullying and war crimes.
Hermione smiled and crossed her legs neatly at the ankle as well. "Yes, I'd hate to set a bad example for you and cause you to regress," she said in a teasing voice. "You're nearly fully socialized as an emotionally stable human."
"Nearly?" Malfoy huffed. "What would it take to get an 'O' from you, Granger?"
Hermione's cheeks went faintly pink at the innuendo. "More than you're capable of, I'm sure."
Pansy and Luna returned from Hermione's room, trailed by several levitating trunks, and pulled Hermione's attention away as they gave her a thorough run down of the items each considered important enough to pack. But Harry was still focused on Malfoy. His auror-senses were tingling again.
Something was up, and he wouldn't rest until he figured out what.
"Where was his body recovered?" Tonks took off her glasses (with non-prescription lenses, a recent experiment in appearing more intelligent to be more intelligent), and pinched the bridge of her nose. She hadn't lost someone since the war. It was just as horrible as she remembered.
"Upper Flagley, ma'am. We went to find him when he didn't report for work for several days." Auror Murphy was nervous, and with good reason. Tonks was about to drop the proverbial hammer on him for his fuck up.
"And why weren't you already there with him? We assign partners for a reason," she growled.
Murphy shuffled his feet. "I had a conflict... Fergie said he could handle it himself. It was just a simple trip to interview local residents."
"A simple trip..." Tonks nearly planted her face against the nearest hard surface. "Are you not aware that the whole reason for this 'simple trip' was recent sightings of the two most wanted and violent Death Eaters in the area? You were the senior auror! Your lack of judgment is appalling and cost Ferguson his life! Now I have to spend my Sunday figuring out what to tell his mother rather than analyzing the intel you and Ferguson were supposed to be bringing me!"
Tonks was breathing heavily. Her passionate dressing down had Murphy cowering. "I did recover Murphy's interview notes at least," he offered meekly, "and I have a suspect for Fergie's murder."
This gave Tonks pause. "I assumed it was Greyback and Dolohov."
Her interest emboldened Murphy and he straigtened his spine. "Well, evidence is scarce. The coroner's fairly certain the cause of death is the killing curse, but there's no way to tell who cast it without a witness. Of course, there may not even be witnesses, but we can at least prove that a Miss Lavender Brown was at the scene. Her blood, freshly shed by appearances, was present on Fergie's coat and on the carpet near his body."
"And where is Miss Brown now?"
"I... er... I'm not sure."
"You're not sure," Tonks repeated mockingly. "Murphy, I want you to debrief Aurors Singh and Hawkins. They conducted the interview of Miss Brown during the investigation of Ron Weasley's murder. They may have some insight into where she could be. After that, I want your badge on my desk. You're suspended until further notice."
"But--"
"Dismissed!"
Head hung low, Murphy retreated from her office. He'd been gone less than two minutes (not jearly enough time for Tonks to collect herself) when her door opened once more.
"There you are!"
"Neville? What are you doing here?"
"I could say the same to you! I expected you to be at tea with your mum and my gran."
"Yes, well... something urgent came up. Unfortunately crime doesn't rest on the weekends and so neither can I." She jabbed a tumb behind her at her wall of perps, sneering mug shots of various criminals pinned across the white expanse.
"Those are a lot of faces... you must be exhausted." Neville had the genuine empathy of a beloved camp counselor. It was no wonder he chose the noble profession of teaching.
Tonks waved away his kind offer. "Enjoy your civilian life, Longbottom. But if you're ever interested in a career change, the auror corps is always hiring."
"Well, hopefully it improves your mood to hear that we've managed to get into Hermione's apartment! She's whole and healthy, if still a bit sad."
"Good. I'm still going to chew her out for putting us all through this though," Tonks mentally sifted through her growing to do list and wondered when she could fit in a tongue-lashing. "Sometime later this week when I catch a damn breather."
"Er... maybe you could postpone that until next week? Only, we were planning to take her on a vacation this week to take her mind off things."
"Ah, I see now why you're here. Need guard detail?"
"Harry's request, yeah."
"Any chance I can convince you lot it's too dangerous for her to travel right now?"
"I think she really needs this, Tonks."
"Fine," Tonks sighed. She wasn't a monster, despite her reputation in the department. "I'll send Wilkes and Santos." Neville shook her hand gratefully and turned to leave. "Oh and Neville," he turned to look back at her over his shoulder, "tell Harry to give me a floo call when you get there. I need to update him on the Dolohov-Greyback case."
"Will do, Tonks. Take it easy."
Easy. She snorted. Nothing in her life was easy right now. She had a suspended auror, a dead auror, a missing and possibly injured witness or suspect, a danger-magnet principal, and a toddler suffering from an ear infection waiting for her at home.
She needed a drink.
A/N: Act 2 has officially begun! This Act will be characterized by career exploration with Hermione, heightening romantic tension between her and Draco, and some new puzzles surrounding how Lavender fits into our main mystery. Also, since Act 1 ended on such a depressing note, I wanted there to be some tone ligtening interactions for the beginning of Act 2. The next couple chapters will have a brighter tone, maybe even some comedy (or attempted comedy). Hope it serves as a nice palette cleanser before we dive back into the darker themes. Thanks as always for your reviews, kudos, and subscriptions!
