Minerva was clearly losing patience. "Mr. Crow. I realize that they're under a tremendous amount of stress, but you have to make things right between them. It's acceptable to continue with the death count, but they simply have to get along, and wherever did you leave that wet, white bikini? You need to fix this and fix it now."
"Yes Professor."
Chapter 25
Bob Sunset was grateful to be alive. Dolohov had hit him squarely with a flame cutter hex and by all rights he should be in two pieces. Instead, he had second-degree burns, a damaged vest, a beautiful girlfriend and two really good friends.
Minister Abraxan had left his room at St. Mungo's moments earlier. She was wearing the vest that Hermione had given her. Each dragonhide set would have cost about a year's salary for an Auror. None of the three who had been killed were wearing body armor, and his set wouldn't have stopped a killing curse.
He had told her that the others had left a minute earlier and he, McDonald, Wilderberry and Straighthand were just about to flame the home when Voldemort and the Malfoys had arrived. Voldemort had killed Wilderberry instantly. Lucius and Draco had killed Straighthand. Dolohov had hit him and Riddle had killed McDonald. He had hit Dolohov with a Reducto charm and activated the portkey that was in the pocket of the vest. It had taken him to Hogsmeade station. Gunner and Chambers were nearby on an exercise with Moody, saw him and they had immediately taken him to St. Mungo's.
Hermione shared with him her experience at the Department of Mysteries. She was glad he was going to be okay. She and Harry didn't visit for long instead choosing to let Alyx stay and help him recover.
… --- …
Hermione chewed on the end of her quill. It helped her to think. Though she would never admit it, especially to her parents, sometimes she missed the taste of the plastic casing on muggle pens. Her parents used to get upset when she would chew on things while thinking.
Her parents would have a fit if they knew that this particular quill was made of sugar. Hermione finished her notations and then the quill. She didn't want to leave any evidence she thought with a bit of a smirk. A quick spell got rid of the sugar on her teeth.
She was ready for the meeting to start. She had asked her team to think of ways to weaken Voldemort. She hoped they had some good ideas.
Her Mum and Flitwick arrived first. Emma was enjoying her temporary assignment as one of the muggle studies professors. She and Flitwick were discussing the different ways to motivate students. Hermione didn't listen to the conversation. She had rarely needed to be motivated to study.
Molly, Arabella, Tom and Diggle arrived next. They again had stopped for a drink before the meeting. Molly was looking even better.
Susan and Padma arrived with Poppy. They had just finished a medi training class and the teens' heads were spinning at the thought of banishing someone's blood. One slip and your patient would be dead.
Sprout and Luna came in together. They were discussing herbology. It was a new interest for Luna, one that had developed when her interest in Neville Longbottom came to be.
Harry came in a few minutes later. He took a seat at the far end of the table without commenting. Hermione looked over the group and decided it was time.
"Good we're all here. Last time I asked for opinions on how to weaken Voldemort during a wand fight. What did you come up with?" Hermione said. Harry frowned but didn't comment. When he had mentioned coming to the meeting and Hermione had wanted to veto the idea.
They went around the table and started throwing out ideas. Hermione conjured the whiteboard and the ideas started appearing on it.
The Cruciatus curse instantly got a line drawn through it.
The power-draining curse of Istanbul was discarded because of the effect on the caster. No one wanted to chance being turned in to a pile of dust.
The idea of banishing his blood came from Padma. Poppy flinched and Susan looked sick. "It's not like we would be doing it to a patient we are trying to save," Padma objected.
"We can't. It is very easily stopped just by a thought from the person it is being cast on. Taking someone's blood is not as easy as it sounds," Poppy told them.
Emma noticed Harry rubbing his arm with a scowl on his face.
Molly had come up with a few of the more intense cleaning spells. Some of them could rip your skin off. Harry had smiled at the idea in jest but Hermione thought it had potential. The rest of the group followed Harry's reaction.
Flitwick had come up with several charms that could bind him but they were easily broken.
Sprout liked the idea of another bomb, like the silver ones they had discussed earlier. The problem was it would affect all of them, not just Voldemort.
Hermione waited until all the ideas were up on the board before she added hers.
"The Patronus Charm?" Luna asked. Her eyes unfocused and then she smiled. "You're brilliant Hermione."
"Thank you but I don't know if it will work," Hermione answered.
"What is your line of thought?" Emma asked not following.
"During the fight at the department of mysteries Voldemort possessed Harry. He left when Harry's feelings turned to good thoughts based on his love for Sirius. A Patronus is a magnified manifestation of happy thought. It is the only thing I could find for channeling love into a spell. Can a Patronus possibly be directed?" Hermione asked.
"Yes!" Flitwick squeaked. "It is an almost lost art as the Patronus is naturally attracted to Dementors and do not have to be directed."
Flitwick asked Hermione to stand at the edge of the table and then he pointed his wand at her.
He squeaked the incantation and a miniature horse galloped at Hermione. She saw his wrist moving to control where the horse would run. After running it around the room he had it slam into Hermione.
"Wow. That's like taking pepper up potion only better," she commented.
Harry stood and everyone looked at him. He pointed his wand and stated the same incantation. Prongs galloped happily around the room before Harry had it slam into Hermione. This time the reaction was more intense.
She had an orgasm.
Emma snickered at the noise she made and Hermione blushed beet red. She was glad that Harry was as embarrassed as she was.
"That was… um… really nice," Hermione finally said smoothing her robes.
Emma and Susan both exploded in laughter and Harry sunk into his seat. Hermione chewed on her lip and their eyes met. She sat back down and did a quick cleaning charm on herself while everyone watched the hysterical women laugh.
"Pavlov?" Emma asked when she finally caught her breath. She was wiping away tears. Susan got the hiccups and Hermione was reminded of the night that Sunset and Chambers had invaded their date.
Molly didn't look impressed. She couldn't believe that Emma was laughing about it. If it had been Ginny she would have dragged the girl out of the room by her ear for a talk.
"Well it certainly transfers good feelings but will it hurt Voldemort?" Hermione asked to get the meeting back on target. Emma heard the self-doubt in Hermione's voice. She didn't think her idea was good enough.
"I don't know enough about the charm," Emma said after everyone else had weighed in with their opinion. The group was pretty much evenly split. Hermione slid her research on the Patronus charm to her mother. Emma instantly began to read it.
"I like Molly's suggestion of the cleaning charms. Some of them are pretty rough and if nothing else, they would distract him for a moment. If everyone hit him with an oven scouring charm in the same spot it would blow a hole in him like the Reducto charm," Hermione said.
"Why not use Reducto then?" Susan asked.
"Reducto can be blocked easily. The scouring charm is weakened but it gets through a shield," Molly told them.
"What is this note about emotional change?" Emma asked still looking over her daughter's notes.
"Last year Tonks' Patronus temporarily changed from a chameleon to a wolf. I was interested in why it changed," Hermione answered.
"So the form can change depending on what you are focused on? So does the memory that you are using when you cast change the effect of the charm on a person?" Emma asked.
They discussed what Hermione had felt when the two Patronus' had hit her. It was obvious that she had two very different reactions. Flitwick had been thinking of his youngest daughter and Harry admitted that he was thinking about Edinburgh.
"We need to perform some experiments on a control group," Poppy suggested.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Two Patronus charms on one person is not enough for a conclusion," Hermione told the group.
"But it's obvious that you felt two different things," Harry objected.
Hermione nodded in agreement. "Yes, I did. But we need more information to conclude what it might do to Voldemort."
"Perform the tests tomorrow," Harry told them.
Hermione got irritated. She wanted to snap at him but refrained.
"I have potions tomorrow but I can ditch the class," Hermione said. She glanced at Flitwick and Sprout and said, "Pretend you didn't hear that."
The professors both laughed.
… --- …
Hermione and Poppy were both up all night working out the control situation and the participants of the test. Hermione took meticulous notes and wrote up their theories in detail. By breakfast they were ready.
Hermione asked one of the house elves to summon the group that they had compiled. After they agreed to participate Poppy sent Professor McGonagall a note that the eleven of them needed to be excused from class.
Harry joined them just after the tests began. Hermione was chugging coffee as she watched Padma struggle to perform the charm for the third time in as many minutes.
Harry approached Padma to help her out but Hermione led him away. After Padma was successful Hermione made a couple of notes and then handed her a chunk of chocolate. Lisa Turpin was next.
Harry intervened several more times before Hermione handed him the parchment containing the theories. She told him to read it and not to interfere with the test again. He left after looking over the writing. Hermione sighed in relief.
The testing took all morning and some of the afternoon. When they finished Poppy gave each of the exhausted students a large chocolate bar and told them to finish it before going to bed.
Hermione went back to her room intent on getting some sleep. Harry was there. He was sitting at his desk with a Quidditch magazine.
"What were the results?" Harry asked without saying hello. Hermione frowned at his tone.
"We still need to compile the results into something useful. I'm going to take a nap first though. I was up all night," she answered.
"Useful? Those tests were pretty pointless if you ask me," he told her.
"What?" she exclaimed.
"We know the charm has an emotional effect on you. Why wouldn't it on Voldemort? Besides those Patronus' I saw today were weak. They wouldn't have stopped a dementor," he said.
"It's a good thing the experiment is on humans then isn't it? Did you read the theories I gave you or did you scan through them and decide to let me explain it?" Hermione asked sarcastically.
"Are you saying I'm too stupid to understand your writing?"
"No, I'm saying you're too lazy to read it because you think it's pointless and useless anyway, so why bother?" she asked.
"You think a barely formed Patronus like the one I saw Padma do is going to effect Voldemort?"
"I don't know Harry. I haven't compiled the results of the test group yet. Why should I bother since it's just stupid of me to want to be thorough with my conclusions," she snapped.
"I didn't say that you were stupid. I guess I just don't understand why it is so important. Why were you up all night?" he asked.
"You're the one who said that we had to do these tests today. There was a lot of preparation involved," she said in irritation.
"It was only a suggestion," he said mildly and was very surprised when she laughed bitterly.
"Right. I know an order when I hear one, Harry, but that's beside the point. The reason they are so important is because, I don't want you to die. Whatever we decide to weaken him with has to work one hundred and fifty percent or we need to find something else that will. It has to be right," she told him in an almost desperate voice. He closed the gap between them and hugged her.
"I'm so sorry," he said softly.
"You have to trust me on the research Harry. I second-guess myself enough as it is. I can't have you coming in and taking over. Can you please let me do my job the way it needs to be done," she asked him. He sighed.
"I didn't take over," he objected.
"Last night everyone was watching your reaction Harry. Molly's ideas were sound but one look from you and everyone else shot them down. Brainstorming doesn't work like that. We have to be able to throw something out and discuss it. I know Moody probably doesn't run the fighting group that way, but in research I need everyone's objective opinion," Hermione told him.
She had a point. His Patronus may be five times stronger than Padma's but he would be busy fighting Riddle. The others would be casting the charm. He hugged her close and then kissed her temple. He could tell she was exhausted. He offered to put her to bed but she declined. After he left to go to the great hall for dinner she sat down at her desk. There was a large pile of mail that she needed to go through. She sighed and picked up an advance copy of Teen Witch Weekly. Alicia had sent it over to let her know of the brewing storm.
She took it to bed with her knowing that gossip would put her to sleep faster than a sleeping draught.
… --- …
The next morning Dan and Emma were eating breakfast with the rest of the Professors. Dan was keeping an eye out for Hermione. She had been sleeping when he had stopped to check on her the night before.
When she finally arrived, Hermione was completely out of uniform. He nudged his wife and she shrugged. Hermione looked nice in her almost formal robes. Neither of them knew why she was dressed that way though.
She approached the head table and handed Poppy a stack of parchment. Poppy began to read. Then Hermione approached McGonagall.
"I'm leaving for the morning Professor. I just wanted to let you know that I will be back in time for lunch," Hermione said handing McGonagall a slip of parchment. McGonagall looked at it and then nodded.
"Tell Mr. Potter not to dawdle," McGonagall commented looking for him.
"He's still in bed. Apparently Moody worked him hard last night," Hermione said with a shrug.
"I see. You're going alone? Take one of the Aurors with you please," McGonagall said. Hermione knew it wasn't a request and she felt her temper start to rise. She held it in check.
"Yes, Ma'am. May I ask Remus instead? I have something I want to discuss with him," she answered. McGonagall nodded and Hermione moved on to talk to her parents. They didn't ask where she was going. She left five minutes before Harry entered the great hall.
Remus agreed and they walked slowly to Hogsmeade station to apparate to the Ministry entrance. She didn't tell Remus why she wanted to know about Harry's parents but he probably guessed.
… --- …
Dan was again looking for his daughter while he ate. It was lunchtime and he had been concerned ever since she had left the castle. McGonagall had told him that she was meeting with the Minister of Magic. He almost wished that he had gone with her. He had a few things he would like to say to the Minister himself.
"What is that girl doing?" Emma asked. He followed her line of sight to Harry. There was a fifth year girl almost on his lap.
"Lookin' ta get cursed if 'Mione see er," Hagrid answered.
"What in the world?" McGonagall asked looking startled at her brash behavior.
"I confiscated a copy of the new Teen Witch Weekly this morning. Apparently that girl believes the rumor that Harry and Hermione are through," Sprout told them.
"What?" Dan asked.
"Stay out of it," Emma told him firmly.
"I will not…"
"You will too. Our daughter is an adult. How would you like my father to have stepped in every time we argued?" she asked. Diane choked on her drink and Dan didn't answer.
"It looks as if Mr. Potter has taken care of the situation," Slughorn told them.
They watched as the girl moved away from him. Not by much though and she didn't get out of Hermione's seat. It was unfortunate for her Hermione had just walked in the door.
… --- …
Hermione entered the great hall and gave the room a quick scan. She saw Romilda Vane in the seat next to Harry and felt her brow wrinkle. She wasn't too concerned about it though. Vane had sent Harry the chocolates with the love potion in them a year ago.
As she walked towards him she caught Lavender's eye. Lavender smirked at Romilda knowing the girl was about to get what she deserved. Hermione stepped up behind Harry and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked up and gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes. She returned one just the same. She ran her hand through the back of his hair knowing it relaxed him.
"Mmmm. That feels good, love. You look nice. Where've you been hiding?" he asked. Hermione glanced at Seamus and Romilda and shook her head slightly.
"Tell you later. I need to talk to Madame Pomfrey for a moment. Save me some soup?" she asked. She got a better smile for her efforts on his head.
She gave Poppy the results from her trip to the ministry. The master healer started to read the conclusions immediately. Hermione saw her do a double take as she was answering a question from her Mum.
"This is very interesting Miss Granger. Did you witness this?" Poppy asked. When Hermione nodded she continued, "I would like to review your memory."
"It was very unpleasant," Hermione said hedging away from the idea.
"I expect so. When is your last class today?"
"I just missed my last class," Hermione answered.
"Skipping class two days in a row?" Poppy teased. Hermione didn't smile. "Very well then. After lunch meet me in the hospital wing with your pensive. Oh, did you finish your chocolate last night?"
"No. I fell asleep," Hermione answered.
"You missed dinner too. Go eat your lunch Hermione. I'll get you another bar of chocolate," Poppy said. It was not a request. Hermione felt sick to her stomach and food was the last thing she wanted.
Hermione was going to object but instead just answered, "Yes, Ma'am."
"You're going to have to teach me how you do that," Emma commented when Hermione was out of earshot.
"You mean get her to walk away with out arguing? It's easy. I'm not her mother," Poppy said with a smile. Emma laughed.
"Well that's not likely to change anytime soon," Emma said as she watched Hermione's retreating back.
Poppy smiled and then called for Winky.
… --- …
Hermione sat down across from Harry and he slid a bowl of soup over to her. She nodded.
"Thank you," she said picking up a piece of bread.
"I missed you this mor…" Harry was interrupted as Winky appeared. She hopped up on the bench and sat a chocolate bar next to Hermione's bowl.
"Thank you, Winky," Hermione said. When Winky didn't pop away like she expected she said, "Is there something else you need, Winky?"
"Nos Miss Hermione. Madame Poppy and Mrs. Emma tells me to makes sure youse eat all the chocolate bars. I stay until youse finish," Winky answered.
"I'll finish it Winky," Hermione said. She would too. Next week sometime.
"And I's make sure. Miss Hermione can nots be getting sick."
"Since when do you work for Madame Pomfrey or Dr. Emma?" Harry asked, amused. Winky bounced a bit and watched Hermione eat.
"I's work for you Mr. Harry. I's make sure your Hermione not get sick," Winky said. Harry chuckled and Seamus laughed.
Hermione just kept eating her soup under the watchful eye of Winky and the glare of Romilda.
"Elves should never be seen or heard," Romilda sniffed as she glowered at Winky. Winky cringed.
"So Winky how are things at home?" Harry asked. He smiled at the elf.
"They is fine, Mr. Harry. We's not have much to do since Mr. Dan and Mrs. Emma comes to Hogwarts. Only the other two are at your home."
"Meet me in the dining room at eight tonight then. I have something for you to do," Harry told her. Winky squeaked in excitement.
"I's help you as soon as I makes sure your Hermione not getting sick. Mrs. Emma insisted that I make sure she eat okay," Winky said. Harry grinned as Hermione squirmed a little.
Hermione turned and looked at her mum and Poppy. The master healer smirked and the dentist waved. Hermione sighed.
"Harry, darling, why would your elf take orders from her mother?" Romilda asked.
"Mrs. Emma in charge. She smart lady," Winky answered.
"I wasn't talking to you elf. Really Harry, you need someone to teach you how to keep your servants in their place," Romilda snapped. Hermione put down her spoon. She had reached the end of her straw and was ready to draw on the younger girl.
"Winky isn't a servant. She's my friend and no one speaks to my friends that way," Harry told Romilda. Hermione decided that ignoring was better than hexing. She picked up the chocolate and began to unwrap it.
"I can't believe she has the nerve to sit here with you after what she did," Romilda said to Harry.
"Huh?" Harry asked. Even now girls could be confusing.
"Her," Romilda hissed glaring at Hermione who thought the look could probably melt the chocolate.
"What'd you do to me?" Harry asked mildly. Hermione shrugged lightly.
"According to Teen Witch Weekly I've slipped you a love potion. Oh, it's wearing off too," Hermione answered. She looked at the candy and tried to determine if she would vomit if she ate it all. She gave it a sixty percent chance.
"Oh rubbish," Harry said crossly.
"Yes, it is. The whole article is filled with lies. Alicia sent me an advanced copy of the rag. I left it on your desk if you want to read it," Hermione told him. Winky motioned for her to eat and Hermione reached for the candy again.
"Oh my poor Harry. First Snape says those awful things now Teen Witch Weekly…" Romilda said wrapping her arm around Harry. Harry threw off her arm and glared at her. Lavender and Seamus seemed shocked at his reaction. Hermione wasn't. She knew that mentioning Snape was not a good thing to do.
"Lies, damn liars and the fools who believe them," Hermione said softly.
Harry bristled.
"What is that supposed to mean?" he demanded. Hermione wanted to smack Romilda. Every time Snape's name was mentioned Harry would pick a fight, most of the time with Hermione.
"Exactly what I said. It's a bunch of rubbish that only idiots believe," she said softly. She didn't want to fight with him. Her morning had been horrid.
"Are you calling me an idiot?" he demanded. His volume was growing. Romilda smirked at Hermione.
"No, I was calling her one," Hermione said nodding at the fifth year.
"Cause that's what it sounded like to me," he said as if she had not spoken. He was practically yelling at her and the rest of the room had gone silent.
"Well I wasn't. You don't think I used a love potion on you, do you?" She snapped.
"I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about Snape! You think I believe those lies he told don't you?" He shouted getting to his feet. Hermione stood up too.
"How would I know what you believe? You refuse to talk about it," she yelled back.
Since the trial they had snipped at each other constantly. They had argued more than a few times. They had fought a couple times. It wasn't always Harry's fault nor was it Hermione's. It had always been in private and while several people knew about it, Diane was the only one who knew the truth about the intensity behind it. That was about to change and the otherwise brave Gryffindors that were sitting at their table all backed away slowly. Except for Romilda who apparently was both brave and stupid.
"Oh yeah, there you go again. I don't want to talk about it," he told her.
"You brought it up!" she yelled back.
"Why can't you just let it go? Why do you keep pushing?" he screamed.
"What in the bloody hell are you talking about? Oh, I see. If me telling you that I love you and that I'm here for you is pushing well then I'm so sorry," she shouted back at him.
"Do you have any idea what his words did to me?" he roared. "Of course not. You know your parents!"
"And you could know yours too if you weren't so afraid if what you might hear about them. You'd rather mope around and cut yourself off from the people who care about you than find out the truth," she yelled back.
"How the hell am I supposed to do that, they're dead!" he screamed.
"Yes they are, Harry. I'm sorry, but you disgrace their memories by listening to what Snape and Petunia have to say about them without considering talking to anyone else who knew them. Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick and Remus all knew them well and you can't be bothered to find out the truth. Fine, you can mope around and be miserable and angry. Take all the self-pity you want but don't think for a second that I'm going to let you take out your anger on me!"
She turned and left the table before she managed to make anything break. She had been holding that in for a while and after the morning she had it was too much. Winky grabbed the chocolate bar and followed her.
"Oh poor Harry. She's such a bitch to be so mean to you," Romilda said trying to hug Harry. He pushed her away roughly.
"Winky stop Hermione," Harry said softly. He knew the elf would hear him and she did.
"Get out of my way Winky," Hermione was saying as he came up behind her.
"I wasn't done talking to you," Harry snapped spinning her around. She wanted to slap him but could see that her words had done a lot of damage.
"You weren't talking. You were yelling and I won't sit for it," she snarled.
"I know. You shouldn't. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you," he said. She could tell he was still angry.
"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled back or said those horrible things. I just get so frustrated when you get so distant," she told him. She was pretty irked herself.
"Distant? Hermione, I'm not pushing you away. I just… You can't possibly understand what his words did to me," Harry told her. She let that go since she knew it was true.
"I know, love. But you are distancing yourself from me. It hurts like hell that you don't want me," she said in almost a whisper. She turned not wanting him to see her tears.
"Don't want you? What would give you that mad idea?" he asked just as softly as she had.
Their eyes met and a memory passed between them. Harry in his boxers and robe. Hermione trying to get him aroused. He pulled her hands from himself and told her that it was late. She cried for an hour knowing he didn't want her any more.
Not counting the bizarre Patronus incident, and Hermione didn't, they hadn't been intimate since the trial.
"Oh Merlin, Hermione. That wasn't about you. I want you so badly sometime I swear I'm going to explode. But after what he said, every time I think about it I hear him in my head. I don't want that when I am with you. I won't let him ruin what we have. It's too… You're too precious," Harry told her. His anger was gone. Hers was too and a small sob escaped from her into his chest.
"Forgive me, Hermione," he asked softly. Then he murmured, "I just can't do it without you," he said.
"Can't do what?" she asked into his chest.
"Live," he said softly into her hair.
… --- …
Hermione went to the hospital wing and shared her memory of that morning with Harry, Poppy and Diane.
She had gone to the ministry of magic with Remus and met with Abraxan. The minister had allowed them to test the Patronus charm on Snape.
Snape was a shadow of his former self. His language made little sense and he drooled a lot. He would occasionally hit his shaved head on the back of the chair he was tied in. The burns were more apparent in the hospital gown that covered little.
All things considered, he made Lockhart look mentally sound.
The results were of the test were interesting. When thinking about how much she loved Harry, her otter had attacked the dark mark and made it burn red-hot. Snape had screamed like he was under the Cruciatus curse.
Hermione had dropped her wand in shock. She didn't want to continue the tests and was quite relieved when she couldn't get her Patronus to form again. Remus took over and performed the rest of the tests. It was all Hermione could do to watch but Snape only reacted to the Patronus if the memory involved a strong memory of love.
They each performed the charm one last time thinking of their significant others just to be sure. When they left Snape was unconscious. Neither Hermione nor Remus felt good about it.
The truth was that Hermione felt awful. She knew what she had done was wrong on so many levels. She felt like she was no better than their enemies.
Diane insisted that they leave the castle for the rest of the day and night. She knew that they needed time to talk. Not just about the stuff they had been screaming at each other during lunch either.
They apparated to number twelve after seeing her parents. Emma was worried about them and they managed to convince her that they were going to go talk and not scream at each other. Dan was silent the whole time, observing them.
Diane spent the better part of two hours talking to them about choices during war. She wasn't sure if she was getting through to them or not.
Harry sidelong apparated Diane to her house and she surprised Jack for the night. She wanted nothing more than to spend the night with her best friend. She got what she wanted.
She hoped Harry and Hermione were able to relax and enjoy each other too. She doubted it though.
In two days it would be Friday the 13th - another full moon.
… --- …
Harry, Kingsley, Alyx, Gunner, Fred and George spent Friday night flying patrol over Hogsmeade while disillusioned. The evening was cold and the two-hour shifts seemed like an eternity. At the end of each shift they returned back to the castle chilled to the bone.
They came back empty-handed.
… --- …
At nine PM Dan was surprised by Brigid appearing in the library in a flash of flame. She held a page of a newspaper in her beak and put it down in front of him. Dan picked up the special late evening edition of the Times, studied it for a minute, got up to go to the loo, took two steps and vomited. Flitwick went over and helped him. "What's wrong, Dan?"
All Dan could manage to get out was, "Get Harry." He vomited again. Flitwick waved his wand once to clean his colleague up and went over to have a word with McGonagall.
The commotion at the Professor's table had not gone unnoticed by the students in the library. Hermione saw her father fall to his knees and vomit and was on her feet when McGonagall stood and said, "I want everyone to return to their common rooms for the evening. Miss Granger, please find Mr. Potter and meet with the Professors in my classroom. Mr. Longbottom, please fetch Madam Pomfrey, Miss Turpin please fetch Auror Moody." She picked up the newspapers and they hurried off.
Hermione found Harry at Hagrid's hut warming up and they flew on Harry's broom back to the castle. They made their way to the transfiguration classroom at the same time Abraxan and Thomas arrived.
Massacre at school rehearsal
York – Mrs. Asplen's second grade class was attacked during the dress rehearsal of the school play. Eleven children were kidnapped and nine were brutally murdered. Mrs. Asplen, 63 was repeatedly slashed.
Police also found urine and animal feces at the scene leading them to the conclusion that a pack of wild dogs may have entered the building sometime after the murders.
The heinous crime was reported at 8:05 PM when Michelle Gudgen arrived to pick up her daughter Lisa. Police from several counties were summoned to help in the investigation. No ransom note was found at the scene.
Abraxan put the paper down and handed it to Thomas. He looked at it and replied, "Bloody werewolves."
"Not werewolves Sir," said Hermione. "It was Fenrir Greyback. He was out recruiting."
Thomas replied, "That's what I said."
She dug in. "I believe the distinction is as wide as comparing Tom Riddle with Minister Abraxan."
"Thank you Hermione," said Abraxan, smiling. She had come to appreciate the young woman's profound intelligence and spunk. "These days, it's a pleasure to be compared favorably to anyone. What else do you think about this?"
"We think he's gathering an army of children together because they make the strongest werewolves. We believe that he has aligned himself with Riddle and we believe that he will launch a major attack next month either on Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, or Avebury.
"We should round up all of the known werewolves," replied Thomas. "We have a month."
"Director, I respectfully disagree." Hermione was holding her ground. "The children that he's been kidnapping and converting won't be on any of your registered werewolf lists. Remus Lupin isn't your problem simply because he's a werewolf any more than Neville Longbottom's a risk of becoming a Death Eater simply because he's a wizard."
John Thomas was a lot of things, but he wasn't a man who was used to women less than half his age debating against him in front of his boss and winning. He replied, "Miss, assuming that your information has any basis of fact, you cannot possibly believe that we should do nothing until another attack takes place. The only sensible thing to do is to round up all known werewolves. This problem is quickly spilling into the muggle world."
Abraxan gave him a look that clearly indicated that they'd have words after the meeting. She asked, "Hermione, what do you suggest?"
Hermione took a calming breath knowing that this conversation would have more impact on her future potential career opportunities within the Ministry than any NEWT scores or her C.V. (resume). While she was not the slightest bit interested in a position at the Ministry she knew that in the future things could change. She didn't mention that they were the ones who contacted the ministry, not the other way around. She replied, "We believe that the most logical targets would be Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley including Gringotts, and Avebury. Speaking on behalf of our little militia, we would be in the best position to help the villagers defend themselves. Would it be possible for you to arrange protection for Avebury, Diagon Alley and have a half dozen Mediwitches available on standby?"
Thomas looked around the room. While he personally found her theory to be highly improbable, it was obvious that everyone else in the room accepted her wild theory as all but fact. It was as if Merlin himself had spoken. He asked, "When is the next full moon?"
"March 11. Moonrise is at 7:22 PM."
"How do you plan to stop the next one that you see?" asked Thomas who doubted that they had thought about actually putting them down.
"Silver bullets from a .45," replied Harry who didn't want to give out any information regarding the Twin's projects. Use a broom if you want better sightlines and a bit of protection but dress warm."
No one commented on his response. Abraxan ended the meeting a moment later again thanking them for their information and committing that they would get back to them within a week.
… --- …
February 14
Putting the werewolves out of his mind for now was a challenge but one that Harry had accepted. There was nothing they could do until the next full moon.
So instead he focused on better things. Harry knew that he had to do something very public for Valentines Day. Their fight in the great hall had many repercussions. There was a pack of fan girls that refused to believe that he and Hermione were still together. They had been following him around like a pack of rabid giggling dogs since he and Hermione and returned from number twelve.
Hermione had been even less amused to find out that she had a little fan club of her own in the Ravenclaw house. Several of the younger boys had decided that they wanted the Head Girl to notice them. Lisa and Susan had laughed themselves breathless when one of the boys gotten the nerve to approach Hermione. A few days earlier he had left a note next to her dinner plate and fled the great hall like a dragon was after him.
Dan was also less than amused. He had watched the argument from the Professor's table with only Diane and Emma keeping him from interfering. When Harry had grabbed his daughter by the arm and spun her around Dan had felt the urge to beat the boy upside his head. He knew that Harry had not and would never physically hurt Hermione, but words could hurt worse than a fist sometimes. He and the younger man had talked about it and Dan had been surprised when Harry had broken down in tears.
Emma and Diane had watched it all from the sidelines. Sometimes they were amused and sometimes it hurt to watch. Both knew that they had to let the kids work out their differences and only interfere when asked for help.
Harry was finally working at getting past Snape's words. Diane had talked to him several times and she knew that he and Remus had spent a couple hours together. Hermione was still working on her insecurities. She was learning that she had to stop censoring herself when things bothered her. Eventually it would explode just like it had in the great hall.
Harry had debated what he was going to do for a while before deciding that Hermione wouldn't hex him for it. He grinned as he washed his hair. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face.
He left six-dozen red roses around their room and stole out before the woman he loved was awake. He met Dobby and Winky in the room of requirements and gave them their instructions. He gave Winky a beautiful dress and bottle of wine and told her with a wink that she and Dobby should take the rest of the day off after helping him. She showed him the elf ring that Dobby had given her and then popped away to do a job only an elf could enjoy; she had to wake up Hermione.
Harry made his way to the great hall wearing his school uniform and a giant smirk. He found a seat and was surrounded by fan girls who were all giggling and handing him presents. Seamus and Lavender were holding hands under the table watching him.
"You know his girlfriend knows more hexes than most fully qualified Aurors," Lavender said loudly. Seamus flinched.
"That she does and here she comes," Seamus said.
The fan girls scattered when they looked up and saw Hermione approaching. She was carrying a single red rose. She looked at the pile of presents and smirked. Harry promptly banished them. He conjured a yellow rose for Lavender who giggled and gave Seamus a pat on the back and a wink.
"Hi," Hermione said smiling.
"Hi," Harry replied.
She sat and they ate breakfast quietly.
Susan was not enjoying the holiday at all. She missed Hannah badly and her breakup with Alyx still hurt. She was surprised when dozen yellow and pink roses appeared by her plate. She looked around and then found the card. Her housemates were all watching her.
Susan,
Thank you for being my friend. I love you like the sister I never had.
Love,
Harry
She looked up and found Harry looking at her. She stood and walked over to where he was sitting with Hermione. Susan kissed him on the cheek and then grinned at Hermione.
"Don't ever let him go Sis," she said. Hermione smiled and nodded.
At the Professor's table Emma jumped as a bundle of lilies appeared near her plate. She knew she would never get used to things appearing out of thin air.
"Something I should know about Em?" Dan asked her glancing at the flowers with a smirk. She read the card and then shared it with him, tears in her eyes.
Emma,
When I wonder what my Mum was like, I know in my heart she was just like you.
I love you,
Harry
Dan chuckled and took his wife's hand. He looked over at Minerva who had a bunch of tulips near her plate and a smile on her face. Sprout was looking over her tray of muggle flowers with a smile on her face. Diane was delighted with a huge box of chocolates. For a boy who had not known much love in his childhood Harry certainly knew how to make women happy.
He turned and looked at children when the hall fell silent. A goblin in a strange outfit had entered the hall and was headed straight for his daughter. The whole room was watching the goblin.
"Miss Hermione Granger?" he asked in a loud voice.
"Um yes," Hermione said hesitantly.
"I was asked to deliver a message to you from Mr. Harry Potter," he said loudly. Hermione glanced at Harry who had turned to his food with a sudden interest.
"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..." The goblin began. Hermione heard both of her parents being to laugh.
When the Goblin finished, having left off the end of the poem, he bowed and then handed her a letter. She watched, her face bright red as the goblin walked from the hall. She saw that everyone was watching her so she focused on the note.
Hermione,
I couldn't find the words so I stole them from Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I hope you don't mind the spectacle but I want the whole world to know that you and I are together.
I know it's not always easy to be with me. I'm moody and sometimes I shut myself off. I can't change who I am and I thank you for accepting me this way.
I pledge to spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to make you smile.
I love you more each day.
Harry
PS How does dinner tonight in Paris sound?
Hermione read the note twice and then cleared her throat. She gave him a peck on the cheek and then sighed in delight.
"I love you too. Dinner sounds lovely, Harry. When should I be ready?" she asked.
Emma watched in rapt fascination believing that her daughter had just received a marriage proposal. She wasn't certain if she was relieved or disappointed to find out that it had simply been a very public display of love.
… --- …
Moody didn't like the idea of Harry and Hermione running off to celebrate Valentines Day. He especially didn't like that he didn't know where they were going. He warned them four times to be vigilant.
He had his own date tonight with Arabella Figg.
… --- …
Dan presented Emma a dozen roses and dinner for two at the college pizzeria they had shared their first date at. She had a delightful time with her best friend and could almost forget that Bob and Alyx were sitting nearby on guard duty.
They returned to the castle by portkey early and finished their date in a way they never would have on their first one.
… --- …
Diane was at the castle with Jack for Valentines Day. Jack was not a romantic at heart but this year he managed to surprise her with the perfect gift. She would spend the next week reading the journal that he had kept from the previous year.
They spent the night in front of the fireplace giving each other massages and feeding each other from the giant box of chocolates.
… --- …
Susan, only slightly depressed, was making her rounds about the castle. She had volunteered to patrol this night since she was not dating anyone.
She frowned as she realized that one of the broom closets was occupied. She jerked open the door and watched as Anderson Condor and Allie Greystone tumbled to her feet. She sighed and shook her head.
"Uh Hi Susan," Anderson said blushing.
"Hi yourself. You two having fun?" Susan asked as she watched Allie button her shirt.
"Well, yes actually we were," he answered. Then he smirked, "Want to join us?"
Susan rolled her eyes and tapped her watch.
"It's late. Why don't you two get back to you common rooms? I'll save the lecture for later," Susan told them. The younger couple both nodded and straightened their robes.
She was surprised when they each took one of her hands and pulled her along with them. Anderson made some really bad jokes and Allie just laughed.
… --- …
Remus and Tonks spent a quiet evening alone. He was recovering from a brutal night and she was recovering from working all night.
They enjoyed the company and the quite. They retired early both glad to have someone to hold on the cold night. They would worry more about Harry in the morning.
… --- …
Minerva McGonagall stood in the graveyard looking at the cold hard granite stone. She still missed him after all this time.
Edgar McGonagall 1920 - 1978
Son, Brother and Husband
Friend of the light
Lover of life
Death Eaters had killed her husband. They had never been identified. Minerva had never forgiven herself knowing that the transfiguration skills that had killed her beloved husband were ones that she taught.
Talking to Diane in the past months had done more for her than anything else she had tried. She placed a hand on the stone and said goodbye then apparated back to the castle.
In her office she found Lenny Folgard waiting for her. They left for dinner at the Three Broomsticks. He had asked her every year since 1990 and this was the first year she had accepted his invitation for dinner on February fourteenth.
The shock had almost killed him when she said yes. They had a wonderful time.
… --- …
Neville and Luna were sharing the first of what she hoped was the many of dates. They were snuggled in greenhouse three surrounded by flowers. Neville had worked for a long time to charm the violin to play for them. It wasn't as smooth or as beautiful as some could make it play. His deep singing voice as he serenaded her with muggle songs made up for it.
When he sang Amazing Grace Luna started to cry softly. When he finished she kissed him for the first time.
… --- …
Harry and Hermione spent the night in Paris. They didn't see much of the city but for the view from their hotel room. They ordered room service and spent the remainder of the evening exhausting themselves.
They fell into a pleasant but deep sleep holding each other tightly. They each wore a tired but satisfied smile.
… --- …
Riddle scowled as he thought of all of the lovers sharing the night tonight. He had not had good sex since Bella had been taken from him by the nasty muggle. He didn't think that raping a polyjuiced imposter of the muggle wife counted.
There were no female Death Eaters left. Riddle snarled at the young thing that Draco had kidnapped for him. 'Filthy muggle,' he thought as he approached the terrified young woman.
Draco watched his master approach the woman. Her terror lifted his spirits. That was until the Dark Lord pointed his wand at Malfoy's chest.
"Why would you think that I would want this filth? So you can watch?" Riddle demanded.
"Master, she is the best I could get. Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade were filled with Aurors," Draco said in fear.
"Crucio!" Riddle roared and Malfoy screamed as the curse hit him. It didn't last long. Riddle bound him to the floor and stripped his robes. He tossed a knife at the woman's feet and then released the ropes that bound her.
"Imperio," he said. He made the woman pick up the kitchen knife and walk towards the young Death Eater. It didn't take much effort to get her to play with Draco. His screams satisfied Riddle more than the muggle woman's would have anyway.
When he was done with the muggle he wiped her memory and let her go. He was feeling generous tonight.
Draco wasn't dead but he would always carry the message, I will not steal from my Master that had been carved into his chest with the knife. Voldemort left the mess for the other Death Eaters to clean up and heal.
… --- …
March 1
Fred and George worked at a very steady pace in the back room of their shop while Lee minded the shop out front. Dan had found them diagrams of several different grenades and had explained how the fuses worked.
The fragment grenade was easy to make. It was the dust grenade that proved to be so difficult. In the end they ground the silver ingots that Bill had given them into different sized particles some as small as dust, some as large as birdshot. It was time consuming work and they went out into the countryside and tested several versions until they were satisfied with the result. Their normal joy of blowing things up was lost in the seriousness of their task.
… --- …
Greyback met with Riddle at Avebury on March 6. The Feb full moon had netted him seven more children. Four of those taken had refused to join him and had been immediately killed. As such, the others quickly agreed that joining Greyback was a great idea. In a week he would seek vengeance against the village of Hogsmeade. He had lived there as a boy and had been banished at the age of 14 after being bitten. Unable to complete school, he was a mediocre wizard at best, but a leader in his own right. Thirty years later he still had a bitter feeling toward every inhabitant of the village. In seven days he and his followers would kill every inhabitant of the village while Voldemort and his followers stripped it of its valuables.
Agreement of the plan in hand, they went their own separate ways.
Riddle clung to the belief that his enemies were getting stronger and to win he must quickly cause enough destruction to cause the Ministry to capitulate. He refused Malfoy's advice that they should leave the country and regroup. It was obvious to him that Lucius was a much better financial steward, and lacked any leadership or strategic skills.
… --- …
March 8
"So how are you and Dan doing, Em?"
"Together? Better than in years. We're spending a lot of time together. Our wrists and backs don't ache every night. The food is excellent and someone else cooks, cleans and does the laundry." She smiled at her friend and continued saying, "Spending a few months in a thousand year old castle is something that I dreamed of as a little girl. I had no idea that I would ever get the opportunity. Do you still get the kids to take you out flying?"
Diane flashed a smile and replied, "Yes. I just love it. It's so much more fun than Jack's Triumph. Harry took him up and scared him witless. Where's Dan tonight?"
"Their sub-group meets at 8:00."
"Good. I'll bring Hermione by and we'll solve the world's problems or at least enjoy a bottle of wine and a warm fire together."
… --- …
The testosterone level was high in anticipation of the battle against the werewolves. After the stunning success against the Inferi, the group's self confidence had risen to astonishing levels. In spite of the conversation that he'd just had with Hermione, Harry found himself enjoying the mood.
Aberforth volunteered to quietly pass the word amongst the villagers. They would need to have a sufficient number of people out on the street to appear that the village was unaware of the pending attack, yet be ready to get inside at a minute's notice.
Harry offered Tonks the opportunity to sit the potential battle out. She declined telling everyone that if she wasn't with the Order, she would be pulling guard duty at Avebury which was equally likely to be attacked.
Fred and George demonstrated how their grenades worked. They had developed two models – a silver model of a traditional fragment grenade with a five second fuse and a silver dust model which was equally lethal but would not kill instantly and was less likely to seriously injure a bystander.
Aberforth talked about the rebuilding effort going on in Hogsmeade. They had been greatly aided by loans that Bill had arranged with Gringotts. The Three Broomsticks and Honeydukes were reopened. Both had been rebuilt as brick buildings and were as fireproof as people could make them. Aberforth would arrange to have a group of villagers outside Honeydukes. He agreed to personally contact the Folgards who had the potential to be targets again in the event that any Death Eaters accompanied the werewolves.
Moody directed Alyx and the cadets to place two wards around an inner and outer perimeter of the village to alert them if the event that a werewolf had approached. Since there was the possibility of simultaneous attacks, they agreed to alert Abraxan after the scope of the attack was known. Moody would visit her and Thomas and suggest that they keep a handful of Aurors and mediwitches in reserve to send to the area that was attacked at a moment's notice.
They agreed to meet back at the castle at 5PM on March 11. Fred and George put the box of grenades in the locked closet in Harry's room and wished him a good evening.
… --- …
While Harry, Moody and the others in the fighting group were finalizing their best plan to put down a large pack of werewolves, Hermione was in tears talking with her mum and Diane. "What's wrong, Hermione?" asked Emma.
"I asked him to sit this battle out, and he wouldn't hear of it."
"What's so special about this one?" asked Diane, who thought she knew the answer.
Hermione took a breath and replied, "This isn't a fight-the-good-fight battle. They'll be fighting little kids who've been brainwashed. Even if our side wins with no losses, it will haunt them forever. From what Lisa's read, if the werewolves aren't killed instantly, they will revert back to their human form before death."
Diane shuddered at the thought of Harry shooting a wolf and having it turn into a bleeding seven-year-old child. She replied, "What would you have them do?"
"Give it to the Ministry, have the villagers fight, send in the Queen's army or the R.A.F. I don't know Mum. I'm so tired of this. I'm so scared. Lisa's been doing a lot of extra research and none of sounds good. The disease degenerates the mind over time. I don't know how Professor Lupin is even able to think properly. He should have turned into a full time hunter years ago."
"Maybe it's the medication that he's taken," replied Emma."
"Maybe, but the disease is in him every day. He only takes the Wolfsbane potion three days a month."
Getting back to the original line of conversation, Diane asked, "Suppose they're captured without being harmed. Then what? The magical world of Britain seems to be lacking when it comes to any social programs."
Hermione had to admit that there weren't any. As nonmagical beings, muggle werewolves had no standing within the wizarding world, and were classified as beasts. The nonmagical world had no facilities for them. They simply fell through the cracks.
Harry returned to their room two hours later to find Hermione wrapped up in a blanket. She was staring at the fire with a half empty bottle of Blue Nun and a glass by her side.
He sat down behind her and took her into his arms. Neither possessed the flowery words to cheer the other on that night. Taking a large sip of the wine, she handed Harry her glass and said, "I'll always love you."
Harry gave her a hug, emptied the glass and said, "Come to bed."
… --- …
The morning of March 11 was cold and raining. By afternoon the clouds had moved on and the sun began drying things up. He didn't attend either of his classes that day; instead he spent the day with Moody who carefully examined each of the baseball sized grenades that the twins had created. The fragment grenades were round while the dust grenades were slightly larger and oval shaped for ease of identification in the dark.
The dust grenades were filled with particles about the diameter of beach sand. The twins had promised coverage of 25 feet in any direction of the detonation. They decided to fly at an elevation of about 200 feet. The twins had recommended holding the dust grenades for a second or two before dropping them so they would detonate just before hitting the ground.
At five everyone began assembling in the third floor area where Harry trained with Moody. Harry passed out two fragment and two dust grenades to each of the other eight flyers. He took two of the fragment grenades and an extra magazine for his pistol.
Moody, Kingsley and Hestia would be stationed at the south end of town across from Folgards. Harry, Lee, Fred, George, Hooch, and the four cadets would be in the air Tonks, Neville, Hagrid, Roger, Bill, and Lavender would be split between The Three Broomsticks, Honeydukes and the Hog's Head. Between the four buildings, the town was as protected as they could make it.
Moody, Kingsley and Hestia, left at 5:10 and the other ground groups left at five minute intervals. By 5:30 they were all in place.
… --- …
At 6:00 Greyback activated the portkey that Voldemort had made for the werewolves. Moments later he and forty-one others landed at the edge of the forest near the Shrieking Shack. His plan was simple, moments after transforming they would split into three groups and attack the village beginning at Honeydukes. Many of the villagers were walking about and would be easy prey for the wolves which were incredibly quick. He estimated that within five minutes more than half of the villagers would be dead or have received the bite.
After the raid, they would meet back and spend the rest of the night in the safety of the forest. In the morning they would portkey back and Voldemort would deliver their half of the looted gold.
Meanwhile Draco would slip into Diagon Alley shortly after seven and fire off the Dark Mark as a diversion.
At 7:45 Voldemort, the Lucius and the two new recruits would quietly slip into Folgards, grab the gold and slip out. The two new recruits would kill as many villagers as possible then slip away moments later. Lucius would place a handful of villager under the Imperius curse then have them aid in the destruction of the village.
… --- …
Stephen Bowser had never felt so powerful in his young life. The strength coursed through his veins as he made his way into the village. He could smell the young woman a half mile away as he silently made his approach. A few minutes later, he spotted her and with a leap knocked her down. At that moment he felt the blinding pain as the silver slug ripped into his chest. Seconds later, there were two children on the ground. One was terrified, but unharmed, the other dead. Harry scooped her up onto his broom and set her down outside Honeydukes where Lavender and her frantic parents took her in.
… --- …
Minerva didn't need a messenger to tell her what was happening. She could hear the grenades going off from her office. She had sent all of the students to their common rooms. The healing group stood by the great oak doors quietly counting the blasts – one, five, fifteen, twenty-two.
Hermione could hear the pistol shots and could easily distinguish them from the grenade blasts. She heard two sets of two shots and three single shots a minute later. She heard two more grenade blasts and then nothing. Tears flooded her eyes. Susan and Emma held her hands as they waited in silence.
Minerva fire called the ministry and told them that they heard sounds indicating a large attack. Abraxan had already heard the news from Alyx who had left her cellular telephone on as instructed.
… --- …
No one had been fooled by Draco's firing of the Dark Mark in Diagon alley. Unfortunately he hadn't been spotted and was able to get away cleanly after casting the Mark. The alley was deserted and all of the doors of the shops had been locked up tightly.
… --- …
By the time Riddle and the three Death Eaters apparated into the village it was flooded with Aurors. Riddle got of a quick shots killing one of the villagers. A dozen blasts were returned hitting the two new Death Eaters. Riddle fired the Dark Mark and disapparated moments later with Lucius right behind him. An hour later Riddle and the Malfoys launched an attack on the Barclays branch by Avebury. Having received some guidance from the Romanian wizards that they'd recruited earlier, they made off with seventy five thousand pounds in banknotes.
… --- …
Abraxan and Thomas walked around to survey the village immediately after they had received word that Voldemort and Malfoy had disapparated. She rounded up all of the Order members who had been on broomsticks and immediately brought them into the Three Broomsticks. On an individual basis she quietly asked them what had happened. Rosmerta gave each of them a Firewhisky or a butterbeer. Aside from the nine Order members, the pub was nearly full of villagers who had seen the werewolves and run in for safety or heard about what had happened. Meanwhile the Aurors began a physical inspection of the village.
Outside, Thomas and three others inspected the scene while the other Aurors maintained a perimeter. Thirty werewolves were dead, another twelve were expected to die within minutes either from wounds or massive amounts of silver ingestion. Thomas wished that he'd had a pistol like Mr. Potter to put down the mortally wounded. After two or three minutes, his wish was moot. Finrir had been shot four times along with three others. No charges would be filed. It was perfectly legal to kill a transformed werewolf that represented a clear and emanate danger to livestock or a person. Of the forty-two werewolves, thirty appeared to have been children under the age of ten.
Within the pub, there was no sympathy what-so-ever for the werewolves who were people 27 days a month. The other villagers remained locked inside their homes.
The Aurors confiscated all cameras and kept all of the press away from the village. The Aurors that were stationed at Avebury apparated to the village to help expand the perimeter. The Mediwitches were taken off stand-by alert. There would be no photos of naked dead ten year olds on the front page of the Daily Prophet. . Only Harry and Alyx and been low enough to realize who they had truly been fighting.
None of the children had any identification documents on their persons. Nor did many of the adults. Of the 42 killed, only 3 were identified before their bodies were levitated onto a giant pile of wood. John Thomas personally took photographs of each of the bodies so that they could be identified later. The muggle school children would be easy to identify with the help of the muggle authorities. Their parents deserved some measure of closure even if it would be a lie.
At 8:30 Abraxan walked Harry, Neville, Hooch, Fred, George Lavender and the Cadets back into the castle. Fred, George and Aberforth had decided to spend some time in the Hog's Head. The Aurors had hours of paperwork to do. After they had cleared the area, Thomas lit the fire.
Based on previous planning Abraxan had wisely directed Thomas to immediately remove the Order from the field of battle and left the tending of the dead and dying to the Ministry Aurors. They all had protective gear on to avoid any contact with the contaminated blood. The Order was all gone before the fire had been started. It was an imperfect solution, but one that she was very willing to accept – most of the Order hadn't seen the final results of their work, the werewolf threat was eliminated, none of Thomas' Aurors had been killed and the village had been saved.
… --- …
Hermione became increasingly frantic as the minutes passed. Finally she could see them walking up the castle lawn. McGonagall insisted that they wait inside much to their loved ones' displeasure. The flyers were immediately walked into the hospital wing where Poppy had them remove their gear and made certain that they hadn't been cut or splattered with blood. She had the house-elves carefully wash and return the basilisk battle armor to their respective rooms and bring them each a change of clothing while the others waited outside. Fred and George collected all of the unused grenades and following Hermione's previous instructions, vanished them before they could get into inappropriate hands.
Abraxan called all of the other Order members to a meeting in the hospital wing. Dan, Emma, Diane and the witches and wizards of the Order stood together in the wide walkway between the beds. There was silence in the room until she spoke. "I asked you to meet here tonight to remind you that your healing team was prepared to accommodate up to a hundred injured this evening." They had extra blood replenishing potions on hand, piles of bandages neatly arranged, and were prepared to attempt a rather complicated blood exchange ritual in the event that any of you had been bitten."
No one said a word as she spoke. "As you can see, the beds are empty. There was no saving the werewolves once they had attacked a human. Through the efforts of the Weasleys, the research group, and your fighting group, the threat that had been Finrir Greyback and his followers was completely destroyed. The only loss of life was one villager who was killed by Tom Riddle himself.
She continued, "No one is pleased that it became absolutely necessary to take the lives of werewolves that were set on destroying the village and murdering all of the inhabitants. Without your help and careful planning those villagers that might have managed to survive the actual attack would have been doomed to become werewolves themselves." She looked at each of them, making eye contact whenever possible. "Not everyone who becomes a werewolf makes the choice to become a killer. Your own Remus Lupin chooses to live a highly responsible and productive life. Greyback and his followers made decisions to become killers."
Diane could see that Abraxan's words were having little impact, but was glad that the ministry official was making a real effort to help. Abraxan had wisely kept Thomas away from the castle for the evening, knowing that he was more likely to say something inappropriate than help given the circumstances."
… --- …
Diane and the Grangers listened to enough of the accounts to get a clear idea of the battle and what had taken place, Harry had searched exclusively for Greyback, quickly located him and put him down. At that point the other werewolves seemed to have lost focus and became easy targets. Lavender, Fred, George, and Gunner had used all of their grenades. Neville and Alyx had thrown their dust grenades while Chambers had thrown one of the fragment grenades. The fragment grenades were quite effective in stopping the attacks, but it was the dust grenades that ultimately killed most of the werewolves.
After the meeting, they walked back to Harry and Hermione's room. They sat in silence for an hour as Harry and Hermione sat on the floor in front of the loveseat by the fire. They wept in each other's arms. Dan quietly cleaned the pistol and put it away in the locked cabinet, noting that it had been fired seven times and realizing the implications. Diane quietly led Dan and Emma back to their own suite. She had a lot of work ahead of her.
… --- …
The next day, Minerva interrupted the noon meal and announced, "The residents of Hogsmeade are out on the front lawn and would like to have a word with us. Afternoon classes are cancelled." Emily Folgard walked out with Harry and Hermione as everyone made their way outdoors.
Many of the villagers were carrying signs that said Thank You. Rosmerta spoke for the villagers. "Many of you may know that the village was attacked by Voldemort and his followers last night. The Auror Cadets, Aberforth and some of his friends from the castle had warned us in advance. Mrs. Lighthouse was the only casualty. While we will all miss Susan, the other six hundred and forty-three of us are ever so grateful to those of you that chose to save us. Connie and Sandy Honeyduke made some extra-special treats and we brought some butterbeers to help say thank you from the bottom of our hearts."
Honeyduke's ten-year-old daughter pointed Harry out and said, "That's him, Mum. That's the man who saved me." Abraxan went over and visited with them, knowing that Harry wasn't looking for any extra attention, but wanting to hear her story.
Little Emily Folgard had seen her sisters Kris and Mary and her dad in the crowd. She dragged Harry, Hermione and Alyx over. There were hugs all around. Lenny Folgard beamed at them. "Hello Hermione, hello Harry. It's good to see you again."
Hermione replied, "Hi Lenny. These are my parents Dan and Emma Granger and their friend Diane."
Lenny greeted them and related the different times that Harry and the Order had saved their village. He was a wonderful storyteller who could make putting on a pair of shoes sound like a fascinating event. Minerva stood a few feet away smiling as she listened to them.
The students and the villagers visited for an hour on the sunny afternoon getting to know each other better and eating the delicious sweets. For Lavender, Neville and some of the other flyers from last night it brought a different slant on the previous nights events. Six hundred and forty three people knew them to be heros. It was just the affirmation that they needed. Luna had lost her faraway look and appeared to be glued to Neville while Seamus and Lavender never left each other's side.
Abraxan found Diane and explained that none of the villagers had seen the werewolves after they had transformed back into human form. As far as she knew, only Thomas, Alyx and Harry knew that most of them had been children. The three Aurors who'd had cleanup duty were having their memory of the event modified that afternoon
Diane asked, "How many of the werewolves had been shot?"
"Five, Greyback, Becker and three unidentified children."
Abraxan asked, "What can we do to help?
Diane replied, "Find a way to end this."
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