~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 18:  Too Little Too Late? ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Fred and George joined Harry, Neville and Tonks outside a café.

"It seems as though they were checking out all the Owlries" Fred said.

"The Owlries?" Harry thought out loud.

"Yeah.  They said that they showed them a picture of a young woman with brown hair."

"Hermione." Neville said.

"Then that is where we'll start.  We'll check all the Owlries-" Harry began but George cut him off.

"Already did that, mate.  One of the men told us that he recognized the girl and told them that she was catching a train somewhere."

"Okay then.  Let's split up, we'll cover the stations faster."

The group nodded in agreement, except the twins, who gave each other uneasy looks.

"What?" Harry asked them. 

"We're not the only ones here in Paris looking for Hermione" George said.

"What?  Who else is here?" Neville asked.

"Malfoy" Fred said with a bit of hesitance.

"Malfoy?  He's here?" Harry asked a bit surprised by this news.

"The wizard who told us about the train said a lot of people seemed to be looking for this woman" Fred explained.

"We asked him who else had asked about her.  He described Ron and Lupin, then he described a young man with silver blond hair and grey eyes" George continued.

"So, Malfoy already knows about the trains" Harry thought aloud.  "He's a half day ahead of us.  Come on, maybe we can catch up to him."

Luck was definitely with them as the first train stations they picked, they found Malfoy talking to a ticket agent.  Harry waited patiently behind him as the ticket agent nodded his head saying he hadn't seen the woman in the photo.

"Why Malfoy, I didn't think you cared" Harry baited.

"Potter.  Didn't think you'd be smart enough to get this far" he said nastily, and then glanced at the others surrounding him.  "But I see you had some help."

"Which stations have you hit?" Harry asked him.

"Now, why should I help you?"

Harry glanced at the group behind him then pulled Malfoy out of earshot of the others.

"Listen.  We both care about her; as much as it disgusts me to admit it.  But she's out there, in danger.  We can find her faster if we work together."

Draco let Harry's words sink in a bit.  Potter was right, much to his chagrin.  He had been hitting dead ends for awhile and had nearly given up in frustration.

"Don't presume anything about my feelings toward Granger.  You're treading in dangerous waters if you do" Draco threatened with malice in his face.  Harry's expression was equally dangerous.  "Now" he continued, "there's a large muggle train station half a mile away.  I was going to go there next" Malfoy walked past Harry knocking him in the shoulder with his own before hailing a cab down.  Harry motioned for the group to follow him.

"Harry wait!  Look!" Neville exclaimed as he pointed to the sky.  Harry didn't recognize the object at first.

"What is it?" Tonks asked, gazing up into the morning sky.

"It's Hedwig!" Harry exclaimed as a white owl popped into view.

"And that's Ginny!" George said excitedly.

Harry's stomach dropped when he said this.  It couldn't be good if she flew here all by herself.  Draco must have been thinking the same thing as they exchanged a nervous look.  Ginny disappeared from sight as she got closer to them by casting a Disillusionment charm on herself before she landed.  She revealed herself in the middle of the group before collapsing from exhaustion on the ground.  The group closed in on her, barraging her with questions.

"Give me a second" she said as she caught her breath.  "I've been flying all night.  We found her Harry!"

Harry felt his knees give away as he sank to the ground.

"Is she alive?" Draco asked her.

Ginny's lower lip began to quiver.  "I don't know.  She was in such bad shape when Viktor and I found her."

"Where is she?" Harry asked, finding his voice.

"They took her to Hogwarts" Ginny was in tears now.

"They?" Malfoy asked.

"Viktor, Ron and Lupin.  They left last night."

"Last night?" Harry exclaimed as he suddenly leapt to his feet.

"The Inn has a floo network, Harry" Neville said.

"Which Inn?" Malfoy demanded.

"The Golden Arrow" Harry answered curtly then turned to the others.  "Come on, let's go."

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Dumbledore turned to a pale Ron at the foot of Hermione's bed.  "I'm sorry Mr. Weasley, but I couldn't concentrate with that blasted contraption making all that noise.  Minerva" he gestured for Professor McGonagall to take Madam Pomfrey's place. 

Ron looked at the both of them with a confused look on his face as they both waved their wands over Hermione, muttering incantations.  Suddenly, Dumbledore motioned for McGonagall to stop.  He leaned over Hermione and peered at her closely.

"She is breathing and her pulse is weak.  Poppy you may go ahead and turn on the monitor again and begin to examine her."

Ron let out his breath and ran his hands through in hair as a couple of tears rolled down his face.

"You three" Dumbledore motioned to Ron, Lupin and Krum.  "You come to my office."

"No.  I'm not leaving her side" Ron said stubbornly.

"I can assure you she is quite safe here, Mr. Weasley" Professor McGonagall assured.

"And Poppy needs to do a complete evaluation of her.  You can come back here when we're done" Dumbledore assured him.

Dumbledore sat in his chair behind his desk facing the three men who sat in squashy arm chairs in front of him.  "Go ahead.  One at a time" he said calmly.

Remus reached into his robes and pulled out the letter that Hermione had sent him.  He tapped it and muttered the necessary words.

"I received this over a week ago from Hermione" Lupin began as he handed the letter over to Dumbledore.  "I had reason to believe that she may have been in the company of at least one Death Eater.  I believed she might have been in danger, so I asked Ron to help me."

"Why did you not go to Harry with this information?"

"Well sir, Hermione and Harry are…er…not close anymore.  She had specifically asked to keep Harry out of this." Ron spoke up.

"That's right.  Furthermore, we wanted to be sure that this wasn't a trap for him" Lupin added.

"Very wise, yes" Dumbledore nodded.  "However, Harry must have known what you were up to.  He had asked for the Order's help in this matter.  Despite the state of Harry and Hermione's friendship, he still cares for those he values.  You two, of all people, should know that Mr. Potter is not one to stand aside and let these things happen."  Ron and Lupin hung their heads in shame.  "However, I do agree with your plan to go ahead and see if this was a trap." Ron and Lupin looked back up at the Headmaster.  "You see, Harry's emotions are his greatest asset, but they can also be his greatest weakness.  Voldemort knows this."

"Do you think he vood harm Her-me-oh-knee?" Viktor spoke up at last.

Dumbledore looked at him sympathetically.  "She is the epitome of everything he hates:  Muggleborn and close friend to Harry Potter."  Viktor blanched at this.  "Tell me how you came to find Miss Granger."

"Harry had asked for my help.  Ginny vas to fly vith me to seek more people.  Ve vere close to Prague ven Harry's owl stopped us and led us to her.  Ve brought her here as soon as ve could."

"Why here?"

"She had asked to be brought here."

Dumbledore sat back and thought a bit before speaking up again.  "And where is Miss Weasley?"

"I sent her to give vord to Harry."
"So we shall be expecting Mr. Potter soon.  Do any of you know what happened to her?"

"Actually, Ashton Montgomery and Sabian Poliakoff found her.  They said that she had been mugged.  They were at the embassy filing a report on her behalf" Ron said.

"What were they doing in Prague?" Dumbledore asked.

"Business" Krum said.  The other men eyed him suspiciously.  "For our group" he emphasized.

"What business does Montgomery have with your group?" Lupin asked.

"I thought he only did lunches" Ron's voice was dripping with sarcasm before he quickly realized what he said.  He averted his gaze to the floor under the inquisitive stares of Lupin and Krum.

"We shall get a copy of that report as soon as possible" Dumbledore said through the now awkward atmosphere.  "You are welcome to stay here and rest if you'd like.  Harry should be arriving shortly."

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Harry stumbled out of the fireplace at the Three Broomsticks.  He still couldn't get used to that mode of transport.  He didn't bother brushing himself off as he ran out of the pub and all the way to Hogwarts.  A wave of adrenaline hit him as he ran past the boars' heads at the gate.  Was she okay?  What happened to her?  She's got to be okay, she just has to be.  He ran up the stone steps to the castle and burst through the front doors.  As it was Saturday morning, the halls were nearly empty, occupied only by a poltergeist bouncing down the hallway, stopping at the sight before him.

"Ooooh!  Lookie-lookie who's back!  It's the wee potty Potter!  Oh, but now he's all grown up!" Peeves chided him and giggled with glee.

"Shut up Peeves!  I don't have time for you right now!"  Harry snarled at him.

Peeves' giggles stopped but a wicked grin formed on his face.  "Come to see the dying mudblood have you?"  Harry ran past him toward the hospital wing, but Peeves followed, continuing to taunt him.  "They brought her here last night.  Dead as Sir Nicholas she was."  Harry continued on his way, desperately trying to ignore the stupid ghost and what he was saying.  "But, sadly, Dumbledore saved her."  Peeves let out a sigh.  "But, all hope is not lost!" He perked up.  "She's barely alive, hanging by a thread."  Harry was ready to do some harm to the little poltergeist.  "If she dies," Peeves continued, "do you think she'll wander the halls here forever as a ghost?"  He doubled over in a fit of laughter.

"Peeves!  That is enough!"  Lupin called out as Harry reached the floor of the hospital wing.

Peeves looked disappointed then started bouncing around again.  "Loony, loopy Lupin!  Loony, loopy Lupin!" he sang before he saw Lupin's wand pointed at him.  "Toodles!" he said before he zoomed out of the hall and away from them.

Harry walked straight to the hospital wing doors but Lupin stopped him.  "Harry, listen to me" he began but Harry cut him off.

"Is she in there?" he asked.  Lupin nodded and Harry pushed past him.

"Harry stop—" he motioned to grab his arm but Harry shrugged him off and opened the doors.

The sunlight fell onto the rows of empty beds, except one.  Harry felt the air leave his lungs as he saw Hermione lying on the bed.  Ron was sitting next to her, holding her hand, and resting his head on her bed.  Slowly he willed his legs to move toward her as he forced one step after another.  It seemed like an eternity before he reached her, but he stared at her pale face the entire time.  He reached out to hold her hand.  It was very warm.  He reached over with his other hand and brushed the hair from her forehead then leaned down to kiss her.  Her forehead felt warm against his lips as he let them linger there before they moved down to kiss her lips.  A crazy thought went through his head as his lips gently touched hers.  He thought of the muggle fairytale "Sleeping Beauty".  Maybe his kiss would wake her and she would look into his eyes…Harry's lips moved away from hers as he opened his eyes…

Nothing.

"She's really weak and sick right now."  Ron had awoken.  "She's got a fever, too."

"What happened to her?" Harry asked as he pulled up a chair to sit on.

"Krum and Ginny found her.  Outside of Prague, alone in a forest.  They followed Hedwig."

"Hedwig?  Hedwig found her?  I didn't even bring her with me to Europe."  Harry's expression suddenly darkened.  "Why didn't you and Lupin tell me she was in trouble?  We could've reached her faster!"

"We reached her as fast as we could.  Besides, she specifically asked us NOT to tell you."

"No she didn't" Harry said with less confidence than he would've liked.

"It's true, Harry.  It's in this letter.  We were afraid that this could've been a trap set for you" Lupin said as he handed Harry Hermione's letter.

Harry didn't take it from Lupin; he didn't want to see Hermione's rejection in writing.  Jealously swept over him.  Jealous of the fact that she would trust Ron and Lupin with her secrets but not him.  He sat down again, defeated.  He deserved it.  He never should have left her years ago.  He wanted so badly to earn her trust again, would he ever get that chance?  Would she ever let him have that chance?

"Was it a trap?" Harry asked softly.

"We don't know.  Hermione hasn't woken up yet to tell us what she knows" Lupin said quietly.

"We think Death Eaters may have been involved.  She had asked about them in her letter" Ron added.

Harry stood up and walked over to the window.  So, it was possible that Voldemort was behind this.  Already, he wanted to trap him through the ones he loved.  But he had been gone for so long that he hadn't told anyone how he felt about Hermione.  Well, Malfoy knew.  But he was looking for Hermione too.  No, something didn't feel right.  He needed to take a step back and re-evaluate this.

"Ah yes, Harry.  I've been expecting you" Dumbledore's voice brought Harry out of his thoughts.

Madam Pomfrey was behind him.  "Only one visitor allowed!" she scolded everyone in the room.  "Miss Granger is in a very delicate state!"

"Oh Poppy, it's not as if this is a social visit.  Mr. Potter had just arrived here.  But I do need to speak with all of you outside" Dumbledore told the men. 

Harry looked back at Hermione, who was being fussed over by Madam Pomfrey, then reluctantly followed the Headmaster out of the hospital wing.  As the group walked out of the door, they were ambushed by Ginny who promptly asked about the state of her friend.  Harry looked at the group that had been waiting for them.  Fred, George, Neville and Tonks looked as anxious as Ginny.  Viktor hung back giving Malfoy, who was on the other side of the group, an unreadable look.  Dumbledore motioned for silence.

"Miss Granger is stable but she is very ill and very weak.  Madam Pomfrey will not give her any potions until she is strong enough." Ginny made a motion to speak but, again, Dumbledore held his hand up.  "Miss Granger has not yet awoken, therefore she has not told us what had happened to her."

"Can we see her?" Ginny asked.

"Only one visitor at a time, and only when Madam Pomfrey allows it."

At this, Harry noticed Malfoy, who was leaning against the wall, suddenly straighten up.

"They will, of course, be supervised visits" Harry said to the group.  Dumbledore raised an amused eyebrow to Harry.  "Tonks will be supervising these visits for now" he continued with authority.  Harry was distracted by Kingsley walking toward the group.

"And who gave you permission to do this?" came the drawling voice of Malfoy.

"I did, since I'm in charge of the investigation" Harry said irritatingly.  Malfoy scowled back.

"Here's the report that Montgomery filed" Kingsley said quietly to Dumbledore and Harry.  "I expect you'll be heading this investigation?" he asked Harry who nodded.  "We're going to need everyone's testimony that has any information on this."

"You may use one of the empty classrooms to conduct your interviews" Dumbledore offered.

"Thank you" Harry said as he flipped through the file.  A puzzled look came over his face.

"What is it?" Ron asked in a low voice. 

"You did say that Poliakoff found her too, right?"

"Yeah both of them were going to file the report."
"He isn't mentioned at all in it."

"He is a vanted man.  If he valked into a group of aurors to give this report, he vood be arrested."  Krum had now walked over and joined their conversation.

"What were they doing there anyway?" Harry asked.

"Business for our group.  I sent Poliakoff to talk to the leader of an underground group there" Krum replied.

"I didn't hear anything about this" came a drawling voice from behind.

"I'm sorry.  I didn't think it vas your place to know" Krum answered with an edge in his voice.  Harry remembered that Krum thought that Malfoy was a spy, leaking Underground secrets to the Death Eaters.  Malfoy and Krum continued to glare at each other.

"Come on.  We'll start with your testimony.  I won't officially record it since you're a wanted person as well.  But I do need you to tell me everything" Harry said leading Viktor away from the group.

Harry listened to Krum's story, about how he found her, with his head in his hands.  He couldn't believe she was alone out there.  He couldn't take any more as Krum told him how Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey tried to revive her.

"Stop.  Just stop.  I've heard enough" he said as he stood up out of the chair that was facing Krum and walked over to a window.  "Thank you" he said after awhile.  "Thank you for bringing her home."

"I heard that you are seeing someone new" Krum said as he got up out of the chair.  "I thought you loved Her-me-oh-knee."

"My love life is not up for discussion, especially with you." Harry said coldly.

"Maybe it is for the best.  Now she vill no longer be a target.  However, maybe someone else should be in charge of this investigation, no?  I don't think your girlfriend vood approve of this" Krum said as he dropped something on the desk before leaving.

Harry didn't say goodbye or anything, just stood at the window staring out on the school grounds.  He saw Hagrid's hut in the distance.  Maybe it was time for him to say hello to an old friend.  Harry picked up his cloak and a piece of paper fell to the floor.  He picked it up.  It was a copy of witch weekly and on the cover was a picture of Cho and him walking down a street holding hands.  The cover read:  Harry in Love? By Rita Skeeter.  Viktor must have left this for him.  Harry stormed out of the room.

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Hermione moaned and slowly opened her eyes to a room she didn't recognize.  She looked around the room that was candle-lit because it was night outside.  Beds filled the room and the portraits looked as if they were moving as its subjects slept and snored.  Her eyes wandered around a bit more before they settled on a pair of silver ones that were staring back at her.

"Had enough beauty sleep, Granger?" the handsome blond haired man asked.  "Well, maybe not.  You look like you need more."

Hermione didn't say anything back.  Granger.  Why was he calling her that?  Was that her name?

"You know, you gave us all a scare" he said as he sat down next to her.  His expression suddenly softened as he leaned in close.  "Why didn't you leave to New York?" he asked softly.

"Who are you?" she asked as he helped her sit up in the bed.

"Ha ha.  Very funny Granger" the man said smiling as he stuffed another pillow behind her back.  Hermione continued to give him a blank expression and his face fell.  "You don't recognize me?" 

She nodded.  "Believe me.  I'm just as disappointed as you are" she said giving the man a once-over then turning away to blush at her behavior.  Was I just flirting with this guy? she thought to herself.  She mentally scolded herself and turned back to look at the man.  He was giving her an inquisitive look before backing away.

"I'll be right back.  Don't move.  I'm going to get Dumbledore" he said before turning away and running out of the room.

Okay, I've established that my name is Granger.  But is that my first or last name?  Hermione was trying to think as a nurse kept fussing over her.  The hospital wing doors opened and the handsome blond man stepped in with an older man next to him.

"Ah, Miss Granger, I see you are awake" the old man with kind eyes said.  "Now Mr. Malfoy here tells me that you aren't feeling yourself?"

"Where am I?" Hermione asked.  The old man frowned, pulled out a stick and waved it over her.  The air above her turned a funny purple color then vanished as the nurse let out a gasp.

"What?  What does that mean?" asked the blond man named Malfoy.

"I'm afraid she has been obliviated" the old man answered.

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Harry stared outside his bedroom window looking up at the stars.  He hadn't been able to sleep and he wanted to see Hermione tonight.  But, as he looked down at the sleeping form of the woman in his bed, he had Cho with him tonight and he didn't think that she would like that very much.  He had been spending all his free time sitting with Hermione this week and it had been the cause of many an argument with Cho.  She was feeling left out, neglected.  Harry understood, but at the same time he wished she understood the concern he felt for his friend.  Harry spent the entire day with Cho, but his mind was elsewhere, it seemed lately that it always was.  Even in their lovemaking he kept having flashbacks of his first time with Hermione.  He had to concentrate more on not calling out the wrong name than on pleasuring her.  He was a lousy boyfriend.  In all reality, he didn't want to be her boyfriend in the first place.  Now he just had to work up the nerve to tell her.

An object in the sky caught his attention, and as it came closer, Harry realized it was an owl.  He opened up the window to let the bird fly in.  It was a large tawny brown owl he recognized as a school owl.  It must be news about Hermione.  He quickly untied its burden and it quickly flew away.  Harry ripped open the envelope with the Hogwarts seal.  Inside was a single slip of a paper with the words:  She's awake.

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A/N:  Thanks to all who have reviewed.  Sorry this took so long.

Coming Soon:  Harry will lose a battle.  Hermione's friends cope with her memory loss.  As for the Harry/Hermione/Draco situation…well let's just say that the boys don't play nice.