~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 20: Hell Hath No Fury ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
For the next few days, Hermione got a variety of visitors, all bringing with them bits and pieces of her past. Photo albums, books and stories filled her days. Ron, Ginny and Harry visited her everyday and rarely left her side. She laughed at the stories they told her of their days at Hogwarts, but she noticed that there weren't any stories about them after Hogwarts, in fact, after their sixth year it seemed. Ginny and Neville filled in the years after that, so did Viktor Krum, who blushingly revealed that they were once involved. Ron and Harry got strangely quiet when stories of her recent past were told, but they seemed eager to listen to these stories of her past as well. Draco hadn't stopped by to visit since the day that he kissed her. This saddened her, she barely knew the man but she felt like she missed him all the same. She would ask Ginny and Neville about him, careful not to ask around Harry, Ron or Viktor who didn't seem to react well to his name at all. Equally frustrating was that so far, she hadn't remembered a thing about her past. She would lie awake at night trying to match a memory to a story that was told. So far she hadn't had any luck.
Soon the day came when Madam Pomfrey allowed Hermione to be released from her care. Harry and Ron had prepared their flat by placing protection wards all around it. The two had insisted that she stay with them, that she would be safe there under the protection of two aurors.
Hermione was packing her bag when Dumbledore walked in with a tall, pale gentleman.
"Ah yes, Miss Granger. All packed and ready to go, I presume?"
"Yes, Ron said he would pick me up any moment now."
"Well then, I shall try to be brief. This is Professor Snape" he said gesturing the pale gentleman next to him. "You may not remember him, but he is our potions master here at Hogwarts. He is also one of the very few wizards who have mastered the craft of Occlumency."
"Pleased to meet you Professor Snape" Hermione said politely.
"Charmed, I'm sure" Snape replied unenthusiastically.
Hermione's grin faltered slightly. "Occlumency, sir?" she asked Dumbledore.
"The defense of the mind against Legilimency or mind-reading in layman's terms. I have asked Professor Snape here, and he has graciously agreed to give you lessons in this craft. It may be a bit controversial and experimental but we believe that it might help you regain your memory."
"Really? That would be wonderful! When can we start?"
"Weekends would be best" Snape said, "and maybe one or two days during the week. Arrangements will have to be made for your transportation here. We will begin tomorrow morning at nine o'clock sharp."
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Harry and Kingsley looked over the map of Europe in front of them. Little red dots dotted and colored the cities and country sides.
"I don't get it. There has to be some sort of patter to this that we're just not seeing" Kingsley said to Harry.
"Do you remember what Snape said about the Dark Marks? The new ones that is. What if he has two groups of them? The old ones and this new army he has. Voldemort has kept his older Death Eaters in the dark about them. What if he has them working separately?" Harry said as he stared at the map, arms crossed.
"I'll have the assistants break this map down and re-label it. Williams!" Kingsley called out into the offices. A few moments later a young auror assistant bustled into the room. "I need you to re-label this map. Go through the reports and divide these into incidences where the Dark Mark was found on the suspects and those that weren't."
The brown haired young man scribbled all this down then looked up and turned expectantly and eagerly to Harry. Harry had been getting this look from the younger aurors since he'd first revealed his identity. Harry avoided Williams' stare and shifted uncomfortably.
"That will be all, Williams" Kingsley said, bringing the auror back to attention.
"Yes sir" he said then hustled out of the room with the map. "Oh, wait! I have Malfoy's report from Prague." The assistant rushed back into the room and handed a rolled parchment to Kingsley before leaving again.
Kingsley avoided the look Harry was giving him.
"I believe we're finished here, Potter."
Harry walked over to the door and shut it.
"Why is Malfoy in Prague?" he asked calculatingly as he slowly approached Kingsley. "I had someone there already. I'm in charge of her investigation."
"I promised Dumbledore that I would put my best aurors on this."
"So you sent Malfoy? You had no right to do that!"
"As your supervisor, I had every right to do that. I knew that you and Weasley weren't going to go; Chang refused but Malfoy volunteered himself. Don't worry, you'll get a copy of his report."
"I don't trust him and neither should you!"
"Potter, I have half a mind to pull you off this investigation because of your personal involvement with the victim. I have kept this entire investigation under wraps so Fudge doesn't hear about this. Only a select few aurors know that we are in contact with Miss Granger and I would appreciate it if your personal affairs don't isolate them. Now, if you don't mind, I'm reading this report in peace!"
Harry slammed the door behind him as he stormed out of the room only to run into Cho.
"Excuse me, I-" he began but she threw him a nasty glare. "Cho listen…" But she stormed off down the hall.
Harry sighed and leaned back against the wall. She had been ignoring him and giving him nasty looks all week. Harry softly banged the back of his head against the wall. Today had been a crappy day. But it was almost over, he had asked for a half day so that he could go home and get his place fixed up for Hermione's stay. He quickly put away his papers in his office then left to apparate home.
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One of the perks about being an auror is that your Floo Network cannot be monitored. Dumbledore arranged for the fireplace in his office to be connected to Ron and Harry's. This way, they could travel back and forth to take Hermione to her Occlumency lessons. Ron flooed first, to demonstrate, and was followed shortly by Hermione. She awkwardly and clumsily tumbled out of the fireplace and into another room. She coughed out the lungful of smoke she inhaled as she sat up.
"Here. Let me help you" said a familiar voice.
She was lost in his green eyes as he helped her to her feet. He gave her a grin that immediately made her feel as if she would melt into the floor in a pile of goo.
"Thank you" she said quietly, tearing her eyes from him as she looked away blushing slightly.
She instead focused on her new home. It was a large living room with lots of windows that looked out over the city.
"Well, this is our living room. Not much, just some couches and a television. Muggles invented that, quite interesting I must say." Ron said as he led Hermione around the place. "This of course is the most important room in the place" he said as he led her into the kitchen, Harry trailed behind them. "I'm not real sure where everything is in here, but open enough drawers and cabinets you'll find what you need." Hermione walked around the kitchen, taking everything in. She opened up the fridge only to find it contained numerous bottles of butterbeer and a plate with moldy cheese on it. She looked up at the two men who looked away embarrassingly. "Shall we continue on, then?" Ron said ushering her out of the kitchen and down the hall. "This here is one of three bathrooms. This one only has a toilet and sink, the other two are full baths." A knock came at the front door suddenly. "Oh, I bet that's mum with dinner. Finish the tour will you Harry?"
Hermione watched Ron run down the hall to answer the door, then looked back at Harry.
"Well, this here is Ron's room. I'm not sure if I should open it. Who knows what's behind this door" he said and Hermione laughed.
He smiled and led her across the hall to another door which he opened and stepped inside. This room was large, dark blue with dark furniture. Harry walked over to the bed and placed her suitcase on top of it.
"This is my room. You'll be staying here" he said.
Hermione looked at him quizzically as a wry smile spread on her face. "And where will you be sleeping?"
"Oh, um, I'll be sleeping on the couch" he said looking away to hide his blush creeping up on his face. "Until we, you know, find some other arrangement." The thought of Hermione sleeping in his bed had kept him up a few nights and now that she was here in the room with him, he suppressed those familiar feelings and forced himself to concentrate. "The bathroom is over there. There are towels and stuff in the cabinets…" The thought of Hermione in his room, wrapped only in a towel, invaded his mind. Damn it! He had to get out of there. "Well, um, make yourself at home, and I'll, uh, just check on dinner."
As soon as Harry left, Hermione began to unpack her things. She noticed that Harry had cleared out a few drawers in his dresser for her to put her clothes in. Ginny had brought over her toiletries while she was at Hogwarts and she put those in the bathroom. She had picked up a small stack of books when something fell to the floor. She put the books away on the nightstand and picked up the fallen item. It was a magazine of Witch Weekly. Ginny had brought it over from her mum's place for Hermione to read while she was in the hospital. The cover had a picture of a pretty witch in the latest wizarding fashion. Hermione opened the magazine to a familiar article: Wizarding World's Most Eligible Bachelors. Hermione smiled at the large picture of Harry on the front, it was taken without his knowledge as he was walking down the street. She continued to flip the pages until she had gotten to the one she had dog-eared. She sat down on the bed and looked at the picture of Draco Malfoy, his silver eyes looking smugly into hers. He still hadn't come by to see her since the day that he kissed her. This man, who was dubbed one of the wizarding world's notorious playboys, intrigued her. Who was he in her life? What connection did she have with him? He had been with her since she had woken up but just as mysteriously disappeared. Where was he now? What was he doing? Was he thinking of her? Did she care? She flipped back to the picture of Harry, then put the magazine on top of the books before she walked out of the room to join the others.
As usual, Mrs. Weasley's dinner was delicious and filling. If it wasn't for her, Harry and Ron would starve as she always cooked extra food so they would have enough leftovers to tide them over until the next big meal. Molly, Arthur and Ginny had joined the three of them for dinner that night. Harry thought that a small dinner group would be wise as anything larger might overwhelm Hermione's first night out of the hospital. He still couldn't believe she was here, with him, under the same roof. All throughout dinner he kept sneaking glances at her, trying his best not to stare at the beauty that she was. After dinner, everyone gathered into the living room telling stories about the twins, Ron and Ginny when they were younger, and stories about the trio's summers at the Burrow. Finally, around nine o'clock the houseguests had left, leaving the trio alone.
"Well, I guess I should get ready for bed" Hermione announced as she stood up and stretched. "I'll see you all tomorrow. Good night" she said and walked into Harry's room.
"I'll see you tomorrow, mate. I've got to get going." Ron said as he threw on a jacket.
"What are you up to tonight?" Harry asked him as he began to transfigure a couch into a bed.
"I've got a date tonight."
"With who?"
Ron had a cheshire grin on his face. "With Luna Lovegood, but don't tell Ginny!"
"Luna Lovegood? Loony Luna Lovegood?"
"The one and only. Well, I'll see you later" Ron said as he headed for the door. "Oh, and uh, behave yourself alright?" he said to Harry as he glanced in the direction of Hermione's sleeping quarters then he smiled wickedly and left.
Harry paced outside of his door debating whether or not he should leave her alone. When he finally summoned up the courage he knocked on her door and waited.
"Oh, hi Harry. Did you need something?" she asked him. She was wearing tank top pajamas with drawstring pants and her hair up in a pony tail as she leaned against the doorframe, toothbrush in one hand.
"I was wondering if you would like to watch a movie or something." Harry managed to muster out.
She smiled back at him. "That would be great! Just let me finish here" she said motioning to the toothbrush in her hand. "Dinner was delicious, wasn't it?" she said as she walked into the bathroom.
"Yeah it was" Harry said as he walked into the room.
"I didn't think I could eat so much!"
He looked around the room and noticed the stack of books on her nightstand.
"Her cooking tends to do that to you."
He picked up the copy of Witch Weekly that was on top and flipped through it. He stopped and smiled in amusement at one article before flipping through it some more. He heard Hermione begin to brush her teeth. He stopped again at the article with his picture on it.
"Most eligible bachelor? What the…?" he murmured to himself.
He looked at the picture of himself then quickly began to flip the pages. He noticed that there was a page dog-eared so he flipped to it only to find Malfoy's face staring right at him. Jealousy slowly crept over him. He knew that Hermione was asking about Malfoy's whereabouts, Neville had let that slip. He was hoping that she would forget about that useless piece of flesh, and the thought of her looking at his picture day after day in this magazine pissed him off. Harry tossed the magazine back on top of the other books.
"You know, maybe it wasn't such a good idea. It's getting late" he called out to her.
Hermione had finished brushing her teeth and walked out into the room.
"Are you sure?" she asked trying miserably to hide the disappointment in her voice.
"Yeah, I'm kind of tired now. I guess it was the food" Harry said regretting this decision as soon as he heard the disappointment in her voice.
"Oh, okay. Well, I suppose its best since I do have to get up early in the morning for Occlumency lessons."
"Occlumency? Why are you learning Occlumency?" Harry asked with sudden concern in his voice.
"Dumbledore said it might help me regain my memory. He said it was controversial but it may be worth a try."
"Then Dumbledore is teaching you?"
"No, Snape is. He said-"
"Snape! Snape is teaching you?" he exclaimed as he stepped toward her.
"Well, yes. Why? Is there something I should know?" she asked as she walked toward him.
"Yeah, Snape is a greasy little git, and the thought of him ripping through your mind is a little unsettling."
"Oh, he can't be that bad."
"Can't be that bad? Hermione, trust me, you didn't think much of him either. What was Dumbledore thinking?"
"He's thinking that this might get my memory back!"
"By having that overgrown bat messing with your mind? No, I don't think so. We'll find another way."
"Look, Harry, I don't remember who Snape is or what he was like, but if there's a small chance that this will help, then I am willing to take it. It's my choice to make, whether you like it or not, it's my mind and my memories. And as my friend, I was hoping you would stand beside this and support my decision." She was now standing directly in front of Harry.
Harry looked into her face and sighed. "What time is your lesson?"
She smiled up at him. "Nine o'clock in the morning."
Harry grimaced a little then nodded. Hermione jumped and clapped then threw her arms around him in a hug.
"Thank you, Harry. It means a lot to me."
"Anything for you, Hermione" Harry said, relishing the feel of her in his arms again.
She pulled back a little to look at him, still in his arms that she strangely felt so comfortable in. She looked into his green eyes and saw mixed feelings of desire and sadness in them. Without thinking she brushed a hair off his forehead then rested her hand on his cheek. The look in his eyes had stirred a need within her as she tilted her face to his. Their lips had barely brushed when they heard a voice yell out. They quickly jumped apart.
"Hey, sorry! It's just me! I forgot my wallet. I'm leaving now" Ron called out before he closed the door.
"I'm sorry" Hermione said backing away from him. "I forgot that you had a girlfriend. I don't know what came over me."
"I'm the one who's sorry. I—Wait. What?" Harry stopped suddenly when he realized what she said. "I don't have a girlfriend. We broke up" he said quietly as he began to walk toward her.
"You did?" Hermione was secretly relieved. Ever since Cho had introduced herself as Harry's girlfriend, she had felt nothing but dislike about that girl. Hermione hated everything about her instantly.
"Yes, we broke up about a week ago" Harry explained coming closer still.
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear about that."
"I'm not" he said softly, now standing directly in front of her.
The desire to kiss her was nearly unbearable as Harry looked down at her. It was made even more unbearable by the look of want and desire in her eyes.
Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, oh please kiss me! Hermione kept saying to herself over and over as she looked into his green eyes. Suddenly the look in them changed.
Harry couldn't do it, not without her knowing about them, knowing everything about them.
"I want to show you something" he said moving around her and into his closet.
"Sure. Of course you can" she said, masking the disappointment in her voice.
She sat down on the bed while Harry rummaged through a trunk in the closet. He pulled out a book then joined her on the bed, handing it to her.
"What's this?" she asked.
"It's my photo album" he replied.
She gingerly opened the book as Harry explained the pictures to her. She couldn't believe that he would share something this intimate with her. He showed her pictures of his parents and his godfather, both of whom had passed away. It was so sad. She looked at the photos of Ron, Harry and her of their days at Hogwarts. Harry had explained the stories behind each of them until there were no photos left.
"Thank you, Harry, for sharing these with me."
"Of course. You were one of my best friends."
She took the album from him. "Is that all we ever were?" she asked as she turned the album around to show Harry the picture of the three of them napping under the tree.
"No" was all he said.
"I could tell by the way we looked at each other in these photos, the little things. Did we ever…Are we…?"
Harry swallowed nervously. "Hermione, listen…"
"Something happened, something bad." Inside she was filled with dread.
"Well, you see…"
"No, Harry. Don't tell me just yet" she said as she reached out and took his hand in hers. "Tell me later. I really had a great time tonight. It's so rare lately that I feel this happy. Please let's just leave this moment as it is."
Harry smiled and nodded with relief. He put the photo album away then turned back to Hermione.
"Well, now, it really is late. Get some rest, Hermione, you're going to need it for tomorrow" he said as he walked to the door.
Hermione followed him. "Thank you Harry, for tonight, for sharing your memories with me."
Harry looked into her face. "You're welcome."
He opened the door and turned to leave when he felt her hand on his arm to stop him. He turned around to question her but she pulled him toward her then leaned up to kiss him. Her lips were soft against his in a chaste kiss that Harry didn't dare deepen, he couldn't trust himself to. But his body felt alive, as little fireworks set off inside of him. She pulled away.
"Goodnight Harry" she smiled up at him.
"Goodnight Hermione" he replied then closed the door as he left her room.
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Draco walked through the nightclub followed by two other men. The music was loud and pulsated as people danced and gyrated to its hypnotic beats. He stopped by the bar to order a drink, checking out two very good looking blonds dancing with each other. He perused the club some more with his eyes until they found who he was looking for. He paid for his drink then made his way to the back of the club.
"Twins, huh?" Draco said to the otherwise preoccupied man with two brunettes.
"Draco!" Ashton said with surprise in his voice. "What are you doing here in Prague?" he laughed nervously at the group before him.
Draco pulled out a chair and sat down eyeing the two women across from him. Ashton told them to go ahead to the dance floor and that he would be joining shortly. The two women obliged but not before giving Draco appraising looks of approval. Draco got up and motioned for Ashton to follow him to restroom. The two men who had joined Draco prevented anyone else from coming in.
"I'm investigating Granger's case here in Prague. Your cock and bull story may fool the simple minds of Potter and Weasley, but it doesn't fool me. What are you doing here?"
"As you may already know, Viktor sent me down here to help Poliakoff with negotiations, since Hermione was unavailable at the time."
"Bullshit. I didn't hear of any negotiations with any groups here."
"It seems your slipping. Viktor doesn't trust you anymore. He thinks you're a spy, leaking information to the Death Eaters through the connections you have. You should be more careful since Hermione is unable to vouch for you anymore. How is she by the way?"
"Don't fake your concern about her. You don't have to do that around me."
"Who says I'm faking?"
"I find it quite a coincidence that Potter sends every resource he has to find her and you happen to come across her in a church, in a small town in the middle of nowhere. What are the chances?" Draco's tone was dripping with sarcasm.
Ashton's smile faded. "You seem to be taking quite an interest in the little mudblood. What would our great leader think about that?"
In an instant, Draco pinned him up against the wall one hand around his throat and the other holding a wand in his face.
"Don't you dare threaten me, I could destroy you and you know it" Draco growled as Ashton gasped for breath. Draco had hexed him so he couldn't move. He just stood there with terror in his eyes. "I know you had something to do with Hermione's accident."
"No…I swear…I didn't…hurt her" Ashton choked out.
"Bullshit! I don't believe you. And when she remembers it was you who did this to her, I'm going to hunt you down and I will kill you. And you can mark my words that it will not be pleasant." Draco punched Ashton hard in the stomach crippling him to the floor.
"Hold him down!" Draco ordered one of the men who pinned Ashton to the floor on his back.
"No! No, please don't! Don't do this Draco!" Ashton pleaded as Draco stepped on his wrist pinning his arm down.
"Silencio!" Draco said and Ashton immediately went quiet. "You have betrayed me Ashton, and in so doing you betrayed everyone else as well." Ashton continued to cry out silently, his face red with terror as Draco pointed his wand at his arm. "If you set foot in England again, I will set every Death Eater on you heels. When Granger remembers what you did to her, I will have them hunt you down and bring you to me personally. So long Montgomery." Draco muttered an incantation and the Dark Mark on Ashton's arm glowed bright red then burst into flames on his arms. Ashton let out a silent scream of pain as Draco and the men left him on the floor of the bathroom writhing in agony.
The stall door at the far end of the bathroom opened and two men stepped out.
"Go help him Poliakoff" ordered one of the men to the other.
Sabian walked over to Montgomery and put out the fire on his arm and with a flick of his wand his voice was restored.
"That fucking bastard! I'm going to kill him, I'm going to make him pay for this!" Ashton panted.
"Don't worry. You'll get your chance soon" the man said. "Draco will get what's been coming to him for a long time." The man smiled evilly.
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"You! You traitor!" Hermione shouted in her sleep then let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Harry and Ron ran into the room to see Hermione sitting bolt upright in the bed breathing like she'd been running. Harry immediately went to her side while Ron checked out the room.
"Hermione, are you alright? What happened?" Harry asked while he held her hand.
"Yes, yes I'm fine. It was just a nightmare" she said gasping for breath.
Ron joined them and handed her a glass of water. She drank sips of it, her hands still trembling.
"Well, maybe that's good news. You haven't had any dreams since you lost your memory" Ron said.
"You're right. This is the first dream I can remember having." Hermione had had her first Occlumency lesson earlier that day.
"Maybe you were dreaming about how you were obliviated" Harry suggested.
"Maybe. Maybe the Occlumency is working after all" Hermione said eagerly.
The three of them sat on her bed as she told them her dream of fuzzy figures that she couldn't recognize.
"I'm sorry, it was all too hazy for me to make out any features" she said.
"That's okay. It will get better with each lesson" Harry assured her.
"Well, I'm going back to bed. Sure you're all right Hermione?" Ron asked her and he stood up and yawned.
"Yes, I'm fine now. Thank you."
Ron nodded then left the room. Harry looked at Hermione with concern.
"Are the lessons okay?' he asked her.
"They are a bit hard, like you said. Things were flashing in my mind, but they were all fuzzy and indistinguishable like my dream."
"Well, like I said. It will get better as you progress."
He stood up to walk out of the room.
"Wait, Harry!" she called out and he turned to look at her. "I was wondering if, um, stay here with me. Just lie here until I fall asleep. I don't want to be alone right now."
Harry looked conflicted. "Hermione, I don't think that's—"
"Please. Just until I fall asleep."
Harry let out a defeated sigh, walked over to the bed and climbed in as Hermione turned out the light. They lay there in silence for awhile.
"Harry, tell me about the troll in our first year, again."
Harry told her the story of how he and Ron had rescued her in their first year. Throughout the story, she snuggled closer and closer to him until they were spooning and his arm was draped around her protectively. Harry breathed in the scent of her hair as she basked in the warmth of his body against hers.
"Harry, why don't we have any stories after our sixth year?"
She heard Harry sigh behind her. "Because I left."
She turned around on her back as Harry propped his elbow to hold his head. They were inches apart and she could just barely see his eyes in the moonlight that cast its glow into the room. Her heart began to race as she reached up to caress his cheek, running her thumb lightly over his lips.
"Why?"
Harry looked down at her and brought his hand to her face. Slowly he began to lower himself to her capturing her lips in a soft kiss. Hermione moved her hand from his cheek to through his hair as she opened her lips to deepen the kiss. Electricity was running through her body as they lay there kissing, exploring each others mouths. Desire welled in Hermione as she caressed Harry's shoulder and moved her hands to his back, pressing him down onto her. His hands wandered from her cheek and down her arm, his touches leaving a trail of fire on her skin. She wanted him so badly, and it felt right, and comfortable, and really, really good. His kisses moved from her mouth to her neck as she arched it to him in ecstasy. Her hands wandered down his back to the hem of his t-shirt as she pulled on it. Harry helped her get it off him then she took off her own shirt. Harry sat back and stared at her.
"Hermione…" he began, but his train of thought was derailed when she began kissing him on his neck and chest.
His hands moved to caress her breasts and she let out a small moan of pleasure. He needed more of her. His hands wandered to the waistband of the bottom of her pajamas and he quickly slid them off her legs. His mind kept telling him to stop but was quickly overruled by Hermione taking off his pajama bottoms. He lay her back down on the bed, kissing her feverishly as she kissed him back with just as much passion. His hands slid down her side and quickly to her moist center. He needed to feel her. He moved her underwear out of the way and slid his finger inside her. Hermione let out gasp of pleasure as Harry rubbed and massaged her. He pulled his finger out and began to kiss her harder. She rolled him over and told him to sit up against his headboard. As her kisses trailed down his stomach, the thought that he should stop popped into his mind.
"Hermione!" Harry gasped as he felt her mouth around his member.
He clutched his sheets in ecstasy as she moved her mouth and tongue up and down him. She stopped to remove her underwear then began to kiss him from his stomach to his neck as she straddled him.
"Hermione, you have to stop. I won't be able to if we—Oh god!" Harry gasped as she lowered herself onto him, sheathing him completely within her.
Slowly she began to move up and down upon him. He quickly rolled her underneath him and kissed her as he moved within her. Suddenly he stopped and looked down at her, then he quickly pulled out of her.
"I'm sorry. We can't do this" he said as he scrambled off her and began to search for his drawers.
"Why? What's wrong? Don't you want me?" she asked as she found hers and began to put them on. He didn't want her, he refused her. Sadness and anger overwhelmed her.
"Hermione, there's something you have to know about us. Something that happened on the night I left Hogwarts" he said as they both began to get dressed.
Suddenly there was a loud banging on the front door. Harry and Hermione scrambled to the bedroom door. Ron met them out in the hallway, a quizzical look on his face.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"I don't know" Harry said.
"Open up by order of the Ministry of Magic!" a voice said on the other side of the door.
"What the?" Ron threw Harry a confused look.
"Stay right here with Ron" Harry told Hermione as he went to answer the door.
Five aurors burst through the door, Cho Chang was in the lead.
"Cho! What's going on?" Harry asked.
She ignored him and walked straight toward Hermione. "You are under arrest by order of the Minister of Magic" she said as she flicked her wand. Ropes automatically bound Hermione, as Cho reached out and yanked her out of Ron's stupefied grasp.
"Cho! What do you think you're doing?" Harry yelled.
"She is a wanted criminal, Potter, and I am arresting her" she spat nastily to him.
"Like hell you are" he said and moved to grab Hermione but the other four aurors pointed their wands at him.
"Harry?" Hermione cried out confused.
Cho and the other aurors walked out of the flat, then apparated away, Hermione with them.
"Come on. Let's go!" Harry said as he walked into his room and threw on some clothes. Ron followed suit then he and Harry apparated to the ministry as well.
