"Professor Dumbledore, we have a question to ask. Do you think it possible
for us to go to Hermione's house and see where she is?" Harry asked. He,
Ron, and Lavender were standing in the headmaster's office, facing the huge
oak desk.
"Well, I suppose its possible. But if something has gone terribly wrong, you might want to bring the muggle police with you. I will assist you also."
"Thank you, Professor. We've been really worried about her." Lavender spoke up.
"We will leave tomorrow." The headmaster said.
"No! I mean....no. I think we should leave now. What if something really is wrong? What if she's in trouble?" Harry pleaded. He wanted to find Hermione and make sure she was okay.
"All right. I'll send a note to Professor McGonagall. Wait here." Dumbledore left quickly to inform the deputy headmistress.
He returned about ten minutes later. He told them all to stand next to him. He snapped his fingers and they disappeared. They popped up again in a police station. No one saw them, but they acted like they were just coming in. They went over to the captain's desk.
"Excuse me, captain. We have a reason to go to someone' s house looking for them." Dumbledore explained that she hadn't been at school for sometime, and that they feared something was wrong.
"All right. I'll get some men and we'll be off in a moment." The captain left to get a team. Before they knew it, they were in the back of a cop car driving to Hermione' house.
"There, that one there!" Ron said to the driver. He pulled over into the driveway, followed by two other cars. They all got out of the car and went to the door.
"Should we ring the bell?" Ron asked one of the policemen.
"No. We don't want the suspect to escape, if there is anyone in there. I just kick the door down. Stand back." The tall man kicked in the door. An awful stench came to their noses. The smell of a dead body. The policeman went in first, followed by Ron, Harry, Lavender, and the other police. Dumbledore stayed in the car. "Oh no. Officer Jiggs! Call the Lab. We've got a DB on our hands here!" They had spotted Hermione's dad.
"Oh my gosh. That's Hermione's dad!" Ron shrieked.
******
Meanwhile, downstairs, Jonathan had untied Hermione when he heard the police upstairs. He took her over to a wall and stood with his back to it. He put his arm around Hermione's throat and put the gun to her head. Hermione's mother shrieked from under the tape over her mouth. Hermione tried to pull the man's arms off of her neck, but she was too weak.
******
"Officer, I think I heard something coming from downstairs!" Harry pointed to the basement door.
"Help!! Please help me!" They heard faint screaming from down the stairs.
"Let's go. Take out your weapons, officers!" They headed down stairs slowly. They saw Jonathan holding Hermione across the room. Lavender looked around the room and saw Hermione's mom. She started walking towards her.
"Take one more step and I'll blow her head off." Jonathan threatened.
"Hermione!" Harry yelled.
"Harry! Help me!" Hermione was crying and trying to break free.
"Shut up, or I'll pull the trigger." He threatened again.
"Put down the gun, sir. I repeat, put it down and put your hands up!" The officer said. They were slowly and cautiously moving towards him and Hermione.
"Stop! Or I'll shoot!" he threatened.
"Please, just let her go. Or at least let us untie her." Ron pointed to Hermione's mother.
"Fine, you can have her. But I'm not lettin' go o' her." Ron slowly walked over to Hermione's mom and started to untie her. Lavender went over and took the tape off of her mouth.
"Don't worry. We'll get Hermione back." Lavender said, soothingly to Hermione's mom. She helped her walk over to the police. One of the officers gave her some water and she sat on the stairs. She was just as bruised and bloody as Hermione.
"Someone call an ambulance." One officer yelled. Hermione's mom was breathing rather oddly, but they were still trying to get Hermione back. "Hey, captain! That's the jail escapee, Jonathan Stilton."
"Right you are. Okay, Jonathan, just let the girl go, and you can have a fair trial."
"Stop moving or I'll shoot!" Jonathan started. "Why do you think I'm doing this? Why? Ya' wanna know why? Because I didn't get a fair trial in the first place. I was innocent."
"Well, you're not innocent now. So just hand over the girl, and everything will be fine."
"No!" Jonathan pointed his gun and Ron, (who was standing behind the chair Hermione's mom was tied to) and pulled the trigger. The noise of the gunshot echoed through the room.
"NO!" Lavender ran over to Ron to help him. He had been shot in the left knee. He was bleeding nonstop and his face was in a shock. One of the officers ran over to help. Just as all this was going on, a paramedic had come down. They called for a stretcher and carried Ron upstairs. Harry and Hermione just looked at each other. Hermione knew how much danger she was in, but she stopped struggling.
"Go ahead. Shoot me. I don't care! Go on. Do it!" Hermione yelled as loud as she could to Jonathan. He just looked around and his hand started shaking.
"Hermione, what are you doing?" Harry whispered.
"Just play along." She whispered back. "Ha. You're too chicken. Thought you were big and tough because you have a gun. Well guess again! You're nothin' but a big, fat, stupid momma's boy." Hermione was yelling at him. Jonathan was shaking all over. Finally he dropped the gun and arm around Hermione's neck. She started walking towards Harry and the police.
"Well, that wasn't so bad, huh, Harry." Hermione walked towards Harry. Meanwhile, Jonathan was raising his gun again. He just tricked Hermione. He pointed it at her back.
"Hermione, watch out!" Harry saw the gun and shoved Hermione out of the way. The bullet caught him right in the gut. He fell to the floor with his hands over the wound. The police took this opportunity to run to the murderer. They cuffed him and lead him upstairs.
"Harry? Oh, Harry, please be alive." Hermione crawled over to Harry and looked deep into his eyes. "Com' on Harry. Stick with me here!" She shook him, but he didn't open his eyes.
He had blacked out, but Hermione thought he was dead. She burst into tears. The paramedics came and took him on a stretcher. Hermione's mom ran over to her and hugged her. They cried together for her dad, for her friends, and for them being treated like this.
"Ladies, come, please." One of the officers helped them upstairs. He gave them wet towels to wipe their face from the blood. Hermione kept crying.
******
Once at the hospital, Hermione and her mom had had their cuts and bruises taken care of. Hermione had taken a shower and had eaten. At the same time, Harry and Ron were both in surgery to remove the bullets from them. Hermione waited patiently with Lavender in the waiting room. Lavender told Hermione what she had missed in school, and Hermione told Lavender what the past weeks of her life were like.
Two or three hours later (the girls had lost track), a doctor came in and told them they could visit Ron and Harry now. Ron was in room 154 and Harry was in room 141. The two girls parted to see them.
Lavender went to see Ron. He was lying in a bed. He wasn't asleep, but he was just sitting there, smiling and singing. They talked and Lavender gave Ron several kisses on the cheek, because she thought he wouldn't make it.
******
"Harry? Are you okay?" Hermione walked into Harry's room and sat in the chair by his bed.
"I'm fine. What about you? You had it worst." Harry looked deep into Hermione's cinnamon eyes. They were both bruised, and one of her hands was crushed and in a cast.
"I'm just glad you rescued me. Thank you."
"What about Ron and your mum? Are they okay?"
"Yeah, they're fine. Lavender is talking to Ron right now. I want to thank you for taking that bullet for me. I was so weak I probably wouldn't have made it."
"Don't worry about it. Anything to save a friend." Harry sat up and reached for Hermione. He locked his lips on hers. His lips felt warm against her cold ones. Hermione was savoring the moment so much she didn't even see Lavender walk in. The two parted.
"Hello, Harry. How are you?" Lavender asked, taking a few more steps into the room.
"Fine, fine. How's Ron?"
"He's gone a little mental. He kept singing nursery rhymes, but the nurse said it's just from the surgery drugs. He'll be over it by tomorrow. I'm going to go back to talk to him, just wanted to check on you. I'll leave you two alone." Lavender turned to go, giving Hermione a wink. She blushed a bright red color.
"Sorry, didn't mean to do that." Harry said, apologetically.
"That's okay. I quite enjoyed it." Hermione blushed deep red this time. Harry leaned forward and kissed her again, this time with more passion. They parted and looked deep into each other's eyes. Harry's emerald eyes sparkled and Hermione's glistened with water. He ran his hands through her hair. Hermione started crying tears of happiness. Harry had saved her; her secret crush for so many years had saved her, and returned her feelings.
"Well, I suppose its possible. But if something has gone terribly wrong, you might want to bring the muggle police with you. I will assist you also."
"Thank you, Professor. We've been really worried about her." Lavender spoke up.
"We will leave tomorrow." The headmaster said.
"No! I mean....no. I think we should leave now. What if something really is wrong? What if she's in trouble?" Harry pleaded. He wanted to find Hermione and make sure she was okay.
"All right. I'll send a note to Professor McGonagall. Wait here." Dumbledore left quickly to inform the deputy headmistress.
He returned about ten minutes later. He told them all to stand next to him. He snapped his fingers and they disappeared. They popped up again in a police station. No one saw them, but they acted like they were just coming in. They went over to the captain's desk.
"Excuse me, captain. We have a reason to go to someone' s house looking for them." Dumbledore explained that she hadn't been at school for sometime, and that they feared something was wrong.
"All right. I'll get some men and we'll be off in a moment." The captain left to get a team. Before they knew it, they were in the back of a cop car driving to Hermione' house.
"There, that one there!" Ron said to the driver. He pulled over into the driveway, followed by two other cars. They all got out of the car and went to the door.
"Should we ring the bell?" Ron asked one of the policemen.
"No. We don't want the suspect to escape, if there is anyone in there. I just kick the door down. Stand back." The tall man kicked in the door. An awful stench came to their noses. The smell of a dead body. The policeman went in first, followed by Ron, Harry, Lavender, and the other police. Dumbledore stayed in the car. "Oh no. Officer Jiggs! Call the Lab. We've got a DB on our hands here!" They had spotted Hermione's dad.
"Oh my gosh. That's Hermione's dad!" Ron shrieked.
******
Meanwhile, downstairs, Jonathan had untied Hermione when he heard the police upstairs. He took her over to a wall and stood with his back to it. He put his arm around Hermione's throat and put the gun to her head. Hermione's mother shrieked from under the tape over her mouth. Hermione tried to pull the man's arms off of her neck, but she was too weak.
******
"Officer, I think I heard something coming from downstairs!" Harry pointed to the basement door.
"Help!! Please help me!" They heard faint screaming from down the stairs.
"Let's go. Take out your weapons, officers!" They headed down stairs slowly. They saw Jonathan holding Hermione across the room. Lavender looked around the room and saw Hermione's mom. She started walking towards her.
"Take one more step and I'll blow her head off." Jonathan threatened.
"Hermione!" Harry yelled.
"Harry! Help me!" Hermione was crying and trying to break free.
"Shut up, or I'll pull the trigger." He threatened again.
"Put down the gun, sir. I repeat, put it down and put your hands up!" The officer said. They were slowly and cautiously moving towards him and Hermione.
"Stop! Or I'll shoot!" he threatened.
"Please, just let her go. Or at least let us untie her." Ron pointed to Hermione's mother.
"Fine, you can have her. But I'm not lettin' go o' her." Ron slowly walked over to Hermione's mom and started to untie her. Lavender went over and took the tape off of her mouth.
"Don't worry. We'll get Hermione back." Lavender said, soothingly to Hermione's mom. She helped her walk over to the police. One of the officers gave her some water and she sat on the stairs. She was just as bruised and bloody as Hermione.
"Someone call an ambulance." One officer yelled. Hermione's mom was breathing rather oddly, but they were still trying to get Hermione back. "Hey, captain! That's the jail escapee, Jonathan Stilton."
"Right you are. Okay, Jonathan, just let the girl go, and you can have a fair trial."
"Stop moving or I'll shoot!" Jonathan started. "Why do you think I'm doing this? Why? Ya' wanna know why? Because I didn't get a fair trial in the first place. I was innocent."
"Well, you're not innocent now. So just hand over the girl, and everything will be fine."
"No!" Jonathan pointed his gun and Ron, (who was standing behind the chair Hermione's mom was tied to) and pulled the trigger. The noise of the gunshot echoed through the room.
"NO!" Lavender ran over to Ron to help him. He had been shot in the left knee. He was bleeding nonstop and his face was in a shock. One of the officers ran over to help. Just as all this was going on, a paramedic had come down. They called for a stretcher and carried Ron upstairs. Harry and Hermione just looked at each other. Hermione knew how much danger she was in, but she stopped struggling.
"Go ahead. Shoot me. I don't care! Go on. Do it!" Hermione yelled as loud as she could to Jonathan. He just looked around and his hand started shaking.
"Hermione, what are you doing?" Harry whispered.
"Just play along." She whispered back. "Ha. You're too chicken. Thought you were big and tough because you have a gun. Well guess again! You're nothin' but a big, fat, stupid momma's boy." Hermione was yelling at him. Jonathan was shaking all over. Finally he dropped the gun and arm around Hermione's neck. She started walking towards Harry and the police.
"Well, that wasn't so bad, huh, Harry." Hermione walked towards Harry. Meanwhile, Jonathan was raising his gun again. He just tricked Hermione. He pointed it at her back.
"Hermione, watch out!" Harry saw the gun and shoved Hermione out of the way. The bullet caught him right in the gut. He fell to the floor with his hands over the wound. The police took this opportunity to run to the murderer. They cuffed him and lead him upstairs.
"Harry? Oh, Harry, please be alive." Hermione crawled over to Harry and looked deep into his eyes. "Com' on Harry. Stick with me here!" She shook him, but he didn't open his eyes.
He had blacked out, but Hermione thought he was dead. She burst into tears. The paramedics came and took him on a stretcher. Hermione's mom ran over to her and hugged her. They cried together for her dad, for her friends, and for them being treated like this.
"Ladies, come, please." One of the officers helped them upstairs. He gave them wet towels to wipe their face from the blood. Hermione kept crying.
******
Once at the hospital, Hermione and her mom had had their cuts and bruises taken care of. Hermione had taken a shower and had eaten. At the same time, Harry and Ron were both in surgery to remove the bullets from them. Hermione waited patiently with Lavender in the waiting room. Lavender told Hermione what she had missed in school, and Hermione told Lavender what the past weeks of her life were like.
Two or three hours later (the girls had lost track), a doctor came in and told them they could visit Ron and Harry now. Ron was in room 154 and Harry was in room 141. The two girls parted to see them.
Lavender went to see Ron. He was lying in a bed. He wasn't asleep, but he was just sitting there, smiling and singing. They talked and Lavender gave Ron several kisses on the cheek, because she thought he wouldn't make it.
******
"Harry? Are you okay?" Hermione walked into Harry's room and sat in the chair by his bed.
"I'm fine. What about you? You had it worst." Harry looked deep into Hermione's cinnamon eyes. They were both bruised, and one of her hands was crushed and in a cast.
"I'm just glad you rescued me. Thank you."
"What about Ron and your mum? Are they okay?"
"Yeah, they're fine. Lavender is talking to Ron right now. I want to thank you for taking that bullet for me. I was so weak I probably wouldn't have made it."
"Don't worry about it. Anything to save a friend." Harry sat up and reached for Hermione. He locked his lips on hers. His lips felt warm against her cold ones. Hermione was savoring the moment so much she didn't even see Lavender walk in. The two parted.
"Hello, Harry. How are you?" Lavender asked, taking a few more steps into the room.
"Fine, fine. How's Ron?"
"He's gone a little mental. He kept singing nursery rhymes, but the nurse said it's just from the surgery drugs. He'll be over it by tomorrow. I'm going to go back to talk to him, just wanted to check on you. I'll leave you two alone." Lavender turned to go, giving Hermione a wink. She blushed a bright red color.
"Sorry, didn't mean to do that." Harry said, apologetically.
"That's okay. I quite enjoyed it." Hermione blushed deep red this time. Harry leaned forward and kissed her again, this time with more passion. They parted and looked deep into each other's eyes. Harry's emerald eyes sparkled and Hermione's glistened with water. He ran his hands through her hair. Hermione started crying tears of happiness. Harry had saved her; her secret crush for so many years had saved her, and returned her feelings.