Chapter Thirty-One
There was something to be said about the way things were handled in the Auror division. Ron came in extremely early that morning, expecting to find the night shift and the extra Aurors that had been called in to handle the werewolf crisis. But there was only a skeleton staff when he came in at six, and almost two hours later only a few others had showed up to work. Ron took notice that they were all trainees or rookies like himself.
He had tried tracking down Tonks but no one, not even the department receptionist who had all the senior Aurors schedules could tell him where she was. When he checked out Tonks desk, it looked like she hadn't been by in the last five years, the paperwork and other Ministry sealed letters were piled a mile high.
Finally, he got fed up with waiting and decided to go to the source. His dad would be in the office by now and wouldn't give him the runaround like he was getting with everyone else. Harry was probably going out of his mind by now because Ron had promised to get in touch with him the second he heard any news.
Ron supposed the only good thing about that morning was Mackenzie had him scheduled for desk duty for the day. Normally he would hate it, but if it meant he could hang around to find out about Remus it was worth it.
As he grabbed the next lift and took it to the level where the Minister's office resided, he couldn't help but think Mackenzie had been scheduling him for a lot of desk duty lately. It had all started back when she had let Harry go. He wondered if she or Moody were beginning to think his connection to Harry was making him a liability as well.
That thought made him furious to say the least as he exited the left and strode towards his father's office. When he walked in the Minister's office, he was immediately greeted with the administrative assistant to the minister. She was scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment and didn't look up when Ron approached.
"I need to speak with Arthur Weasley," he told her.
"I'm sorry, but no one can see the Minister without an appointment," she said without looking up. "If you would like to make one – "
"I don't need an appointment. I'm his son."
The witch finally stopped what she was doing to look up at him. Sure enough she saw the Weasley family resemblance. "You can go in. He just got out of a meeting so he should be in his office now."
As if her saying no was going to stop Ron from seeing his dad.
He knew his way to the Minister's office, having visited his dad a few times before. Those times his dad had wore a tired, but large grin at seeing him. Now, his father just looked very tired.
"Come in, Ron," his father said, seeing him there. "I know why you're here."
Ron took a seat in one of the cushioned chairs in front of his father's desk and sat down. Usually it was his mother who was the mind reader but he supposed after last night's events it was fairly obvious why he was there.
His father cleared some of the paperwork on his desk to the side and looked hard at his son. "Yes, it was Remus who the Aurors caught last night." At the relieved look on his son's face, he said, "I wouldn't look relieved just yet. The Dangerous Creatures Office is looking to press charges."
Ron was outraged. "Are they out of their bloody minds? They actually think Lupin meant to harm anyone?"
"Ron, the werewolf laws and regulations have been in place for centuries. They clearly state that any werewolf who fails to lock himself or herself up during a full moon and mortally wounds or kills another human being will be held responsible if caught."
"What rubbish," said Ron, shaking his head. "Everyone knows Lupin's been missing for days! It's not his fault his Death Eater captors forget it was a full moon. If he had been here, he would have taken his Wolfsbane potion and been harmless."
"I know, and I've tried explaining that fact to the wizard in charge of the Dangerous Creatures Office, but he won't budge. He's trying to stir up a fuss with the families of the victims so he can force this to a trial."
"Dad, you can't let this thing go to a trial. You know what they'll do to Lupin. They won't care what he's been through, they'll just want to lock a werewolf away."
"Ron, I'm doing everything I can but there's only so much I can do."
"How can you say that? Dad, you're the bloody Minister of Magic!"
"And that's exactly why I have to tread very carefully here. It's common knowledge that Remus and I are friends. If I interfere too much I'll lose my credibility and therefore any chance to help Remus at all."
"This is bullshit," Ron muttered.
"That's politics," said Arthur with a weary sigh.
"Where is he?" Ron asked.
"He's being kept in a secure section at St. Mungo's. The Aurors want to question him about where he's been and they'll need to take a statement about the attacks," Arthur explained. "Tonks is with him now. She'll let us know as soon as he's allowed visitors."
"What about this guy from the Dangerous Creatures office? Do we know anything about him?"
Arthur pointed his wand at the door and it closed, before saying to Ron, "the Order has been monitoring his activities since it's believed he's in league with You-Know-Who. As of yet, however, we have no solid proof to move against him." Arthur rubbed his temples wearily. "When I first became Minister, I tried get rid of anyone with strong ties to Fudge or You-Know-Who. But there are always those that slip through the cracks unnoticed. In fact, this wizard's prejudice against werewolf's is one of the things keeping me from going forward with a bill that will allow werewolves to hold positions within the Ministry and other institutions. He's petitioned the Ministry council and so far they're listening to what he has to say."
"Harry's not going to like this," said Ron, already dreading the conversation.
"No, I don't suppose he will," Arthur agreed. "Remus already has one previous records of werewolf violence when he was a patient at St. Mungo's. The Healer in charge of him failed to read his full medical history and he wasn't properly restrained when a full moon hit. But he does have friends in high places who can vouch for his credibility," he finished. "Mackenzie won't be in the office today. She's got her hands full with this investigation and the other Death Eater sightings. Why don't you go home and tell Harry what's going on?"
Ron left his dad's office a short time later, knowing Harry would be up and waiting for him when he got home. He already exactly how Harry would react to the news his father had given him.
Ron apparated back to his flat and the sight that greeted him inside was not one he could have ever guessed or anticipated. One of the kitchen chairs was overturned, while Hermione stood there in tears and Harry didn't look much better. His eyes were wild and he was clutching at his scar.
"What the hell happened?" Ron asked immediately. He looked from Hermione to Harry but they didn't meet his gaze or even appeared to have heard him. "Hermione? What's wrong?"
"It's me. I did it. I relayed information to Voldemort," she said with a sob.
Ron didn't know what to do except stare at her. "What are you on about? Hermione, that's not possible."
"It's the truth, Ron," Harry spoke at last. "I saw it."
Had everyone gone nutters in the few hours he'd been gone? "I don't care what you think you saw," said Ron, standing protectively in front of Hermione. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Harry? Hermione would die before telling You-Know-Who anything!"
"She didn't tell him on purpose," Harry tried to explain, still holding his scar. "It's why she couldn't remember what happened that day she went missing. Voldemort did a spell that allowed him to go into her head and extract information."
"How do you know all this?" Ron said, his voice hoarse.
"Because I asked Harry to go in my head and see what he could find," Hermione told him, sounding slightly calmer. "Now, I know what I've done."
"You haven't done anything. This wasn't your fault," said Ron, still trying to catch up to speed on everything.
"He was using me for months to get information and I didn't know," she said, not listening to him.
Ron turned to Harry. "What is this spell he did?"
"I don't know," Harry admitted. "But it's not something that allows him to possess her fully, like what happened with Ginny and Tom Riddle. He realized Hermione's mind was too strong for that when he couldn't – "
Harry stopped himself looking sick and Ron pressed him to continue. "Couldn't what?"
"When Voldemort couldn't break me with the Cruciatus, he did the spell," Hermione supplied. "He thought once the pain got to be too much I would tell him everything but I didn't even give him so much as a name. Now that Harry's mastered Occlumency, Voldemort doesn't have a direct link to him and he's pretty much blind to what the Order is doing. He made me his new link."
"I don't understand. How could he do that with just a spell?"
"I don't really know either," Hermione admitted. "But it's obviously some kind of dark magic if he was able to block out just those specific memories and inflict pain similar to the Cruciatus in case I tried to remember anything."
"So what are we going to do?" Ron said.
"You and Harry aren't going to do anything," Hermione said and she walked out of the kitchen.
Ron and Harry exchanged a quick look before going after her. They found her in Ron's room packing a duffle bag.
"What are you doing?" Ron asked her.
"Well, I can't stay here, can I? I don't know how Voldemort is getting information from me and that means I'm putting everyone in danger, especially Harry. If I'm going to figure this out, it's going to have to be away from here."
She had said You-Know-Who's name so many times in the last five minutes it would have made Ron shudder if he hadn't been so preoccupied with what was going on. "You said so yourself, you don't know what this spell is. What if you can't figure it out?"
"I'll figure it out."
She said it in that know-it-all voice that drove Ron mad. "For once in your life accept the fact that you don't know everything! Damn it, Hermione, let us help."
She shook her head sadly. "I cant." There would be no dream team or famous trio this time. She had to figure this out on her own.
"We could go to Dumbledore," Harry suggested. No one was more surprised than himself when he made the suggestion.
"Have you gone mad?" Ron rounded on him. "We can't tell anyone about this. Do you know what Moody would do if he found out about Hermione?"
"We can't screw around with this, Ron," he said sharply. "We don't have time to waste researching a counter spell or a way to break the link. Once Voldemort figures out Hermione knows he might try to possess her fully." He hadn't wanted to say that last part but this was too serious for them to play ignorant. "Look, Dumbledore's been keeping secrets from me my whole life so he obviously doesn't have a problem with it. Believe me, he's the last person I want to go to for anything but if anyone knows a way to help Hermione it's him."
"He's still at Hogwarts, isn't he?" Said Ron.
Harry nodded. "We could leave now and be back before anyone notices we're gone." He looked at Hermione. He had Ron on his side about this. He just needed her to agree to it.
And she finally did. What she didn't tell them was if Dumbledore couldn't help she really would leave until she could be sure Voldemort was out of her head for good.
It took longer to reach Hogwarts than the trio would have liked, but since they couldn't just apparate onto school grounds, they were forced to take several portkeys to complete the trip. The Hogwarts Express was not an option because it would have taken far too long.
When they finally made it to the school grounds, some of the urgency Harry had been feeling before wore off. Despite the circumstances, it felt good to be back. He had never felt like he really fit in anywhere besides Hogwarts.
"Maybe we should have sent an owl ahead," Ron interrupted his thoughts. "What if he's not here?"
There was only one way to find out. They took the path that led to the main doors of the castle and Harry pulled them open. He waited in the doorway for a moment to see if anything would happen but no boils on his skin appeared and nothing else gruesome happened.
"So just anyone can walk in here?" Ron said. That didn't seem safe. He would have thought that when Dumbledore closed down the school he would have put some safety charms around it.
"It's probably a recognition charm," said Hermione quietly. "The school recognizes who we are which is why nothing happened." She stepped passed the boys to enter the main hall.
When Ron and Harry followed, she was already climbing the marble staircase.
It was strange to see the school this quiet, even during the Christmas holidays there had always been enough people to make it seem occupied. But now, there weren't even any ghosts floating through the halls. It made Hogwarts feel abandoned.
They stopped at the end of a corridor with a Phoenix statue inside a small alcove.
"Who wants to guess the password?" Said Harry, looking at his friends.
"What was it when school was still open?" Hermione asked.
"Fizzing Whizbee," Harry replied.
Nothing happened. The Phoenix remained where it was.
They started calling out names of candies at random.
"Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean," said Ron, who had been listing all his favourite candies.
There was a low rumbling sound and the Phoenix statue began to move. A spiraling staircase appeared from underneath the ground, continuing to grow and twist as the Phoenix statue moved upwards.
Without a word, the trio began climbing the steps.
The door to Dumbledore's office was open, so they just walked in. The portraits of Headmasters of Hogwarts past began to chat excitedly, probably not having seen another person aside from Dumbledore in a while. Harry found it somewhat unsettling that they all seemed to recognize him. He supposed it should not have been that surprising considering all the times he had been in Dumbledore's office over the years.
"I must say this is an unexpected surprise," said Dumbledore appearing out on the landing from behind his desk, which presumably led to his private quarters. "I'll dispense with the small talk since you three obviously wouldn't have come all the way here if it weren't important."
They moved to stand just in front of Dumbledore's desk, Ron standing protectively beside Hermione since they had entered the Headmaster's office. It wasn't that he didn't trust Dumbledore, but his first instinct was to protect the person he loved.
Dumbledore descended the short staircase and waited patiently with his hands crossed behind his back.
"It's about Voldemort," Harry began, taking the lead.
Dumbledore bowed his head slightly, indicating Harry should continue.
"He's been using him Hermione to spy on the Order for him." Harry went on to explain how Hermione had asked him to help her recover her lost memories and what he had found. He didn't give too many specifics of her torture because Dumbledore was smart enough to put the pieces together himself.
Dumbledore, who had remained silent and expressionless during Harry's explanation, immediately turned his attention to Hermione, looking very serious. "How do you feel, Miss Granger?"
She wasn't sure what he meant by that. He should already know she felt sick and ashamed at having betrayed her friends and the Order. Harry and Ron could have died in that Death Eater raid, and Death Eaters had taken Lupin hostage. She didn't even want to think about the Christmas Ball and all the destruction that had resulted.
"I'm sorry, I should have worded that more clearly," Dumbledore said, when she didn't answer. "Do you feel tired? Are you sleeping well or have you been plagued by nightmares?"
"I haven't been sleeping well, sir. I've been having nightmares and when I wake up I can't get back to sleep afterwards."
"How long has this been going on?"
"A couple of months," she admitted slowly. Even Ron didn't know that part.
Dumbledore nodded, his eyes shining with sympathy. "Have you been blacking out at all during the day? Or you find yourself doing something that you can't remember starting?"
"No," she replied shaking her head.
Dumbledore turned his gaze to Harry. "Your scar hasn't bothered you at all in weeks, is that correct?"
Harry wondered how he could possibly know that. "That's right. It was fine until I touched Hermione's memories."
Ron was growing impatient. Dumbledore was standing there looking deep in thought. He had asked all these questions but they still hadn't received the one answer they had come there looking for. "Can you get that thing out of her head, or not?"
The old wizard smiled apologetically at him for having grown silent. "I believe I know what method Voldemort is using to possess Miss Granger. It's a well-known spell that's been used throughout time because it is difficult to remove the caster's presence from the mind unless the spell caster is dead."
"So there's nothing you can do?" Said Ron, so Hermione wouldn't have to.
"I did not say that," Dumbledore corrected. "However, Miss Granger and I have a lot of work to do. Harry, Ron, I've made Gryffindor Tower available to you. The password is Snitch. I'll have the house elves bring you up something to eat."
"We're not staying?" Ron said, echoing Harry's own thoughts.
"It would be best if we proceeded without interruption. Nothing must go wrong," he told them. "Don't worry, Miss Granger is in very capable hands," he said, seeing their skepticism.
"I'll be fine," Hermione said softly, giving Ron's hand a reassuring squeeze.
Ron still didn't like the idea of leaving her alone any more than Harry did. But Dumbledore was a good man and one of only a handful of people he would trust Hermione's life with.
As he and Harry left the Headmaster's office, Ron heard the door shut and lock behind them.