Yay I finally write this chapter! Thank god, I thought I would never manage it! This is has been one of the hardest to write, it just refused to work with me, so if the standard seems a ittle below my average you know why.
For all those who haven't read The Greatest Thing There Is, this chapter is going to get confusing towards the end. If you're too confused I urge you to read it, or if it seems too long just go read chapters 21-24. It should at least clear things up a bit.
To all those who've been wondering about Harry, here's a little for you, and don't worry Harry will return and before he does I have a small storyline all set up for him.
Anyway's enjoy the story and please leave a few reviews. It makes my day better:-)
Agrolass

Chapter 5 Inherently Good

"Very well, shall I call you Madam?" Kaylee quipped, raising an eyebrow while smiling sweetly at the woman.

"No Speketer will do", Krista replied still quite coldly, though she seemed to have gotten enough information out of her thorough examination of Kaylee and turned her attention on Ron and Hermione, who were eyeing each other apprehensively.

"Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, what a surprise seeing you two here, together", she remarked eyeing them both with intense looks.

"I'm a Ministry official Kaylee, I'm very well allowed to be here!" Hermione replied with a quick comeback and a raised eyebrow while fixing her with a cold gaze.

"True", she replied, her mouth curling into a small sweet smile, as if she were remembering a fond memory. "But I don't remember the Department of Mysteries being involved in this case, especially not the murder of the Minister of Magic!" she folded her arms across her chest with a triumphant look on her face.

"What are you doing here Krista?" Ron asked frostily, standing closer to Hermione and wrapping a protective arm around her waist.

"It seems this case has not been doing so well, people are asking for answers and with a leader in a coma they were looking for someone who had lead this case and finally get some answers!" she replied. "And might I add Ronald", emphasising his name with utmost sarcasm as her eyebrows raised, "what are you doing here?"

"I'm helping with the investigation!" he counteracted defensively, his anger rising.

"So just like the last time, but might I remind you, you are a civilian here and last time I checked, they were certainly not allowed on a crime scene!"

"Seriously Krista what do you have against us?" Ron retorted quickly. He closed his eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath and calming his raging temper. He looked up in time to see a look of hurt flit across her face, before it was masked by the superior attitude she had been wearing all this time.

Krista turned her attention on Kaylee and spoke in a business-like tone, "Kaylee I want you to report to Saunderson, he wants a word with you and then I need you to help Jennings in the clean-up of this scene". Kaylee nodded curtly, though Hermione could tell there was an irritation hidden beneath Kaylee's composed face. She strode away purposefully, her head held high as she went to her boss Saunderson, most likely to get severely told off. Krista turned her attention back on the couple, having managed to compose herself somewhat.

"Oh nothing at all Ron", she said calmly, even managing a sweet smile. "But don't you find it strange how at every single bad crime you're always found on the scene even though you're a civilian, and what an even bigger surprise to see Hermione, here, with you!"

"Look Krista", Hermione began letting out a deep sigh and focussing her attention on the icy blonde woman standing in front of her with a look that could kill. It was always up to her to be the adult in these situations and smooth everything out. "We asked Kaylee to let us come along. We just want to help and even if I'm in the Department of Mysteries I'm still assigned to the case of the Shadow King and last time I checked, this is part of it!"

"Hermione", Krista began, her whole attention now fully focussed on the bushy haired brunette standing in front of her, "You may have been the brightest witch in Hogwarts, but school is over and you're not going to get the same special treatment here. Everyone might still act like you're the smartest one around here, but I'm in change of this case now and to me you're as ordinary as everyone else here". Krista stopped speaking for a second, pausing to choose her words carefully. "I reviewed your work on this case, and your work is very fragmented. I've also noticed the amount of times you were absent for personal reasons. For that reason, I'm taking you off this case".

"What?" Hermione cried, not quite believing her ears. "Why? Because I took off a few days to visit Harry in hospital? In case you haven't forgotten, he's my best friend!"

"Exactly Hermione", Krista replied, as if she were talking to a small child. "You're being influenced by a personal connection to this case. You've become obsessed with finding out who done this to Harry Potter that you've lost perspective of the bigger case".

"That is complete and utter bullshit and you know it!" Hermione retorted angrily, her temper flaring.

"Oh really?" Krista hissed, her eyes flashing. "Let's have a look at the evidence shall we? Firstly the point of this case is to stop the shadow King and his Blood Kindred from taking more innocent lives, you seem to have become obsessed with finding out who the Shadow King is finding out what happened to Harry, an admirable trait, but not one needed for this case. We need to pool our efforts into stopping him first, then we can try and find out who he is!"

"Are you actually trying to be an idiot?" Hermione cried astounded. Her hands were waving dangerously in the air and Ron was looking at the two women with trepidation. "Only by knowing who we are dealing with, can we ever find a way of stopping him. Anyone should know that!"

"You know what, I've had enough of this!" Krista's tone was dangerously low. "I want you off my crime scene immediately and I will be writing a letter of complaint to your boss about your behaviour. Don't forget who is boss here Hermione Granger!"

"I'm not letting you take me off this case. In case you have forgotten my best friend is in a coma in St. Mungo's because of these monsters. I'm not going to sit back and do nothing!" Hermione shrieked, her voice becoming quite hysterical.

"Benson", Krista called out, calling a black man in his mid twenties over to her. His expressive auburn eyes flashed in recognition when he spotted Hermione and nodded to Krista. "I'd like you to escort Miss Granger and Mr Weasley out of here and make sure they don't come back!" she called out briskly and began walking over to a group of Aurors who were deep in conversation.

"Come on Hermione, I have to escort you out of here", the man named Benson spoke kindly, his broad face breaking into a warm smile.

"James you can't seriously be siding with her!" Hermione cried, though her temper had died down a little and her anger had been replaced by a dull sadness.

"Hermione you know I am not, but I have to follow orders. She is after all my superior, now please don't make this more difficult for us all", Benson had a pleading tone.

"You were Harry's partner, you should be able to understand my situation", Hermione tried one last time.

"Of course I do and I wanna find out who done this to him as much as you, but don't try and go against Krista Speketer, Hermione. You're only going to get yourself in worse trouble"; James replied holding his arm out and ushering Hermione in front of him.

"Please don't ask me to give up on Harry!" she cried.

"I'm not Hermione. Listen, you can still work on this case in some way. I can talk to Kaylee and we can see what we can do for you, but for now you should really get going. You're going to get me in trouble!"

"Fine", Hermione resigned herself, though her eyes were flashing once again.

"Ron, it's good to see you again, it's been a while!" James nodded his head at Ron, grinning briefly.

"You too James. They're not treating you badly on the nightshift are they?" Ron quipped, one eyebrow raised.

James let out a deep resounding laugh and added, "No, it's all paperwork and patrolling. Hey good save against the Tornados two weeks ago. That one would have gotten sticky if they won the match!"

"You're telling me Benson", Ron laughed, "Let's just say we wouldn't want a repeat of '95 with the mob riots again!" They had made their way out of the village hall and the three were standing at the clear barrier once again.

"Hermione take care of yourself, and I'll send you an owl, Ron good seeing you as always, you should pop into the Ministry more often", James spoke sombrely. He pulled his wand out from his robe pocket and cast a quick incantation so that a gap the size of a door formed in the barrier, through which Ron and Hermione made their way through.

"See you around Benson", Ron called out and a he gave a quick jerk of the head and a small smile, before Ron and Hermione Disapparated back to their flat.

Upon arrival, the anger that Hermione had suppressed all while at the crime scene, exploded almost like an explosion.

"That little bitch!" she let out a frustrated cry, yanking off her light jacket and unceremoniously throwing it over the nearest chair she would find. "How dare she take me off this case!" Hermione rounded on Ron and seeing the fury in her eyes, backed off visibly, a stunned look on his face. "Oh just you wait until I get my hands on her!" was the angry reply that Hermione let out. She was heaving slightly from the waves of anger that were washing over her body. She stomped out into the hallway, yanking open the door to her study and slamming it shut behind her.

Ron was surprised, if not a little terrified. He had not seen Hermione that made since Rita Skeeter, save for the incident a few months back before they got back together, and when Hermione got into one of those moods, no matter how much Ron loved her, she was positively terrifying. Ron tentatively made his way to her study and slowly opening the door, popped his head inside.

"'Mione you okay?" he asked carefully. He saw Hermione sitting at her desk, the overflowing sheets of parchment and books that usually littered her desk, were lying on a heap on the floor. Instead she had pulled a new parchment in front of her and was quickly writing notes from a book lying open next to her.

"Yes" was the terse reply he received of her. She looked up to see Ron looking quite wary and let out a sigh, calming her composure somewhat. "I'm fine Ron, I'm just going to start some work now. I'm certainly not going to let that tramp try and stop me!" Her eyes had hardened at the last statement. She fixed Ron with a penetrating stare and added, "why did you ever go out with her?"

"Hermione, I'm not going to answer that, because no matter what way I would try and respond to that question, you would bite my head off!" Ron replied firmly, opening the door wider and walking into the office. He walked over to her desk and placing both hands on the table for support he leaned on them, adding, "Don't let her get to you!"

"I know Ron, I just wish she wouldn't have decided to pick on me!" Hermione replied, her voice still tense.

"I'm sure you would say something along the lines of; it's just Krista blaming you for the reason that we broke up".

Hermione looked up at Ron with wonder in her eyes, "That is quite intuitive of you Ron!"

"So being with you does eventually rub off. Tell that to the sixteen year old me, he'd have a heart attack!" Ron mocked, causing Hermione to let out a laugh.

"I love you", she smiled up at him.

"I love you too 'Mione!" Ron replied kissing her lightly on the lips. "Do you think you can manage on your own? I've Quidditch training in half an hour and I still need to talk to Angelina Johnson on some new tactics she wants us to practice".

"Yeah", Hermione said lightly nodding her head and looking back down onto her notes.

"Okay, I should be back about six-ish". Ron leaned over and gave her a kiss on her forehead, turning around and walking out of the study to let Hermione get some work done.

A week later, a frustrated Hermione still had not found out anything new on the Shadow King. Currently she was alone in the apartment, Ron had Quidditch training until late, and she had been sitting in her office at her desk since twelve that morning, six hours ago. She let out a frustrated scream, while running her hands through her hair, making it bushier. When one of her hands got tangled in her now, very messy hair, she carefully removed them and let them back down on the desk, looking over the books and notes she had been delving through for the last six hours. She had had enough, so Hermione rose from her chair and made her way into the hallway, grabbing her coat along the way as she made her way to the door and outside. Maybe a brisk walk would allow her to think clearer. Once she was on the muggle street outside her apartment, she quickly put on her coat, stuffing her wand into a coat pocket and setting out at a brisk walk. She didn't know where she was going to go, but when she rounded a corner and saw the familiar park near to where she lived, she smiled and made her way towards it. It was in a cul-de-sac, so she languidly walked on the middle of the street and made her way into the park. The last time she had been there was night-time, under not so different circumstances. Both times she couldn't think, though the last time it was because of a red-head that just couldn't leave her life. Hermione smiled at the memory, and marvelled at the difference to the appearance of the park by day.

On this late spring day, the sun was shining through a few flecked clouds and Muggle children could be seen running in between some overly large oak trees, their mothers, chatting away happily, sitting on park benches that were littered along the gravel pathway. Hermione started along the pathway at a slow pace, enjoying the feeling of sunshine on her skin. It had been too long since she had been outside to just enjoy the sunshine and nature. A slow smile crept its way along her face as the warm rays set about relaxing her more than any bubble bath ever could. She had been so stressed out and wound up since Harry fell into a coma, and with the Shadow King, it seemed that every living moment had been spent on stopping this new threat. She couldn't remember the last time she took some time to herself for a day. Even Hermione could concede, that she needed a break, and in a way Krista had given that to her, though not willingly she hastened to add in her head. She meandered off the main path, and took a more secluded one through some low, overhanging branches of an old beech tree. This path was less used, and the moss that had grown on the gravel path was proof of that. A faint gurgling told her that a stream was nearby, and when she turned a corner, she saw a small artificial waterfall, half her height creep out of the rock formation, where her favourite bench stood.

She lowered herself into the worn and ageing wooden bench, spreading her legs out. It was pure contentment, just sitting there, thinking of nothing while watching the small waterfall crash onto the rocks below. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a grey squirrel dart out from the cover of a nearby oak tree, making its way to a pile of decaying leaves that had been lying there since the last autumn. It scurried about, digging with its sharp claws in the pile of dead leaves and dirt for food. Hermione laughed lightly at this, but when the squirrel looked up and spotted her, it ran away quickly, back to the safety of the undergrowth.

Feeling utterly relaxed, Hermione felt content enough to begin examining again the reason why Harry was in a coma. She wrapped her legs underneath her and laid her hands on her lap, thinking hard. She thought back to that fateful night in the cavern underneath the Chudley Canons grounds and thought hard. All the Blood Kindred were killed, but the Aurors were only knocked out, save for Harry. In fact she and Ron were the ones that were affected by the blast the least. Was it their proximity? It could be, but that would not explain Harry. He was lying in the middle of the cave surrounded by Aurors and Blood Kindred, so proximity could not be the cause. No, it was the book and the blast. Maybe by analysing the book and the power it held, she could see why Harry was worse affected than the others. The book was ultimately about love, or at least that was what the power was. That she found out from research months earlier when she was on the case. As Draco Malfoy himself had told her, the Blood Kindred had turned the power, tainted it. Obviously they must have made this power destructible, but how they ever managed to turn it to kill all muggle-borns was beyond her. The Dark Arts must have been used, she conceded and that she could never guess how it was done. The fact remains, the book was changed back in some way, because it didn't kill all those who are good, but all those who were evil. It was a terrible metaphor to use as it wasn't that black and white, but it would do for now. The only people who were near enough to the book to have any effect on it was Malfoy and her and Ron. Malfoy of course would not have altered it, so it must have been her or Ron. Hermione thought hard to try and remember if they ever hit it with a spell or touched it, but could remember no such incident. They hadn't handled it at all.

Maybe it was their actions, Hermione mused. What did they do that night? Hermione closed her eyes and replayed the scene in her mind. The book had a black aura around itself, and during that last countdown, while Hermione was kissing Ron, it must have changed for when she opened her eyes again the aura was silvery-white. That's when the nature of the book must have been changed back, Hermione mused. Well she guessed, if the book was about love, then it would be affected by the emotions around it. The only thing she remembered feeling that night, was the revelation that she was still in love with Ron. That must have been the trigger, Hermione realised a surge of excitement coursing through her body. Yes, what else could it be? Just by her and Ron realising they love each other, could that book have been rid of its negative energy. But if love turned it back to good, then why were the Aurors knocked out? It must have been the explosion and the bright light. Then again, why was Harry worse affected?

Maybe she needed to look at the situation from a different angle. When the book was turned back and it had a silvery-white aura, it was good again. So since the countdown had already begun it must have killed all those who were evil, instead of all those who were good. Maybe it was that black and white, at least for the book anyway. The book doesn't have a conscious, it can't tell that people aren't just good or evil. It saw the bad things the Blood Kindred had done, were willing to do and killed them, but why Harry? He must obviously be a much greyer figure than the rest of the Aurors for the book, but that is inconceivable since Harry is the Wizarding World's hero. Harry has never been evil, despite all the horrendous things that were done to him, despite all he went through and even despite the fact a part of Voldemort's essence was transferred to him. Hermione suddenly stopped, jerking out of her relaxed position, staring hard at the waterfall as she concentrated hard. Harry received a part of Voldemort's essence when Voldemort tried to kill him and that can be seen by the scar he received. He had a part of Voldemort in him, a part of evil in him, yet it never caused him to turn. What if the book picked up on that? That was the reason Harry was so different! Hermione gasped, jumping up of her seat.

"Harry is inherently good!" Hermione cried, aloud. "but he has a part of evil within him, and that's why he was affected worse, but not killed. The good in him stopped him from being killed!" She had solved it! Hermione let out a delighted shriek and looked around her to make sure no-one was there. When she spotted no-one else she yanked out her wand from her wand and Disapparated with a pop and a flash, leaving behind only a startled grey squirrel.

Well that's the chapter, sorry I rambled a little towards the end, I wanted to show Hermione thinking and connecting the dots and how she came upon the realization of what happened to Harry.
Now those who have not read The Greatest Thing There Is will probably be nicely confused by this chapter and you also won't know the OC characters. I posted on a topic in the forums on Kaylee's character so you can read it and get to know her. Krista I will do with the next chapter coming up. Here's the link anyway; http/ Until the next chapter,
Toodles!