Chapter 9

The minute Ron reached out and touched Dumbledore, the kitchen seemed to lurch. Without warning, he felt as if he was tipped forward and then suddenly he was falling. Just as suddenly, he found himself standing in the middle of the dimly lit room he had seen in the pensieve. The others were all standing there as well, looking down at Hermione who was lying on the floor with a man crouched over her.

With a look of utmost disgust, Ron glared at Wormtail. This is all my fault, he thought. If I had just let Sirius kill him... His eyes smoldered with anger as he watched Pettigrew pick Hermione up off the floor, and literally toss her into the cage in the center of the room. He then slammed the door shut and locked it with his wand.

"Colloportus."

"How could you?" Ron heard Hermione ask, as she pulled herself to her feet. She was clearly frightened. Everyone watching the memory could see her shaking as tears streamed down her cheeks. "He loved you. How could you sic those Death Eaters on him like that?"

Ignoring her question, they watched as Wormtail thrust his arm between the bars of the cage, and held his hand out, his palm facing upward. "Your wand," he demanded.

"I... I don't have it," Hermione whispered in a shaky voice.

Wormtail shot her an incredulous look, and then pointed his own wand at her chest.

They all watched silently as Hermione took a step back and collided with the iron bars of the cage.

"Your wand," Wormtail insisted.

"It's summer holiday," they heard Hermione reply, "and I'm underage. I can't use it. Why would I have it?"

"Last chance," Wormtail warned, jabbing his wand at her menacingly.

"BLOODY BASTARD!" Ron shouted, unable to keep his anger in check. He was just considering whether or not it was possible to attack a memory, when he heard his mother hiss his name. His eyes still locked on Pettigrew, Ron didn't see her advance on him until it was too late.

Everyone else watched as Wormtail shrugged his shoulders and uttered a spell. "Accio Wand."

Nothing happened.

"That will be quite enough," Mrs. Weasley spat, grabbing Ron by the collar and yanking him away from the group. "This is hard for all of us to watch," she whispered, some of the anger leaving her voice, "but it is important for Dumbledore to see and hear everything. It's going to get a lot worse, before it's over, so unless you can watch quietly, like the rest of us, you can go back to the kitchen right now.

"Sorry, Mum," Ron said, looking down at his feet.

"Honestly Ron, it's no good shouting at a memory. It isn't as if he can hear you," she said, turning around and returning to the group.

"ACCIO WAND!" Wormtail shouted again.

Still nothing happened.

"I told you," they heard Hermione say.

"How did you get to Diagon Alley?" Wormtail demanded.

"Floo powder."

"From where?"

"GO TO HELL YOU RAT BASTARD!" Hermione shouted.

Ron raised an eyebrow and looked down at Hermione who was now standing next to him, watching the scene unfold with everyone else. Even though she refused to meet his gaze, he noticed the rosy hue that quickly covered her cheeks. Apparently, being caught swearing, by Ron of all people, was more than a little embarrassing.

"I see the charming Mr. Weasley has had a rather negative influence on you," Wormtail cackled.

The sound of his own name being uttered immediately drew Ron's attention away from Hermione and back to the memory.

"YOU LEAVE HIM OUT OF THIS!" Ron watched Hermione scream.

A malicious smile spread across Wormtail's pointed face. "You care what happens to him?" he sneered.

"Of course I care," Hermione replied. "He's my friend."

"Would it make a difference if I told you the Dark Lord is not interested in him?" Wormtail inquired. "Or you either for that matter? You are both just a means to an end.

What if I promised you that no harm would come to him if..."

"Like Voldemort promised you he'd spare Lily?" Hermione replied coldly, scowling at the little man in front of her as if he were some disgusting pile of filth she had just stepped in.

Ron involuntarily smiled as he watched Wormtail cringe and take a step away from the cage. "What? You dare... to speak his..."

Lupin looked at Hermione appraisingly for a moment, and then advanced on Pettigrew. He walked right up to his old friend and studied his reaction closely as the memory continued.

"That is what he promised you, isn't it?" they heard Hermione ask. "Why else would he have offered to let her go? She was muggle born. A prime target. He should have killed her without a thought, but he didn't. Why is that?"

Lupin narrowed his eyes as he watched Wormtail glare at Hermione silently.

"I think it is because you were in love with her," they heard Hermione declare. "You wormed your way into being the Potter's secret keeper as part of some ...some sick plan to make her your own. You tried to buy her from Voldemort with the blood of her husband and son and you let Sirius take the blame so you could be the one to comfort her. YOU MAKE ME SICK!!! IF YOU THINK I'D SELL OUT HARRY TO SAVE RON OR MYSELF..."

Wormtail recoiled at the sound of Voldemort's name being uttered for a second time, but he seemed to find his tongue. "You'll change your mind," he said viciously as he turned around, grabbed the single torch lighting the room, and proceeded to ascend the staircase with it. "The Dark Lord can be VERY persuasive."

"He's going to kill you, you know," Hermione said.

Wormtail froze in front of the door. He spun around and sneered down at the cell. "You are the one that ruined his plan," he replied. It was meant to scare her, Ron realized that, but it sounded as if he were really trying to convince himself that Hermione would take the blame rather than him.

"Not Voldemort," Hermione stated. "Ron."

Wormtail snorted down at her. "Yes, he is the 'Sirius' of your little trio isn't he? Just as temperamental. Just as blind. He is so fiercely loyal, he'll never forgive you a single slight. Yes," he paused to consider it. "Weasley is definitely the type to hold a grudge and plot revenge." They all watched as Wormtail shrugged his shoulders, evidently unconcerned. "I guess I'll just have to get him first, won't I?" he said as he spun around and walked out of the room, leaving Hermione alone in the dark.

As soon as the door closed, they heard Hermione break down in her cell. Unable to see her, now that the torch was missing, they were forced to stand there in the dark and listen to her sob.

"All right, Hermione?" Ron whispered as he reached out to the real Hermione who was standing next to him.

"Yeah," she whispered back, leaning against him when she felt his arm wrap around her shoulder. "This is just...odd," she said, listening to herself weep in the darkness.

"Do you remember any of it?" Ron asked softly.

"Bits and pieces," she replied. "They left me down here for hours," she said quietly. "They probably thought it would help break me.... being locked up alone, in the dark, with nothing to do but imagine how I was going to die."

Hermione felt Ron's grip on her tightened as he pulled her into a hug.

"They were wrong though," Hermione said "Dying is the easy part. It's those that are left behind to deal with the aftermath that have the hard part. It was you and Harry I was thinking about. What my death would do to both of you."

Even though he couldn't see her, Ron knew she was crying.

"It's ok," he said, as much to reassure himself as her. "You got away."

"Yeah," Hermione sniffed. "I guess I did."

"Can't you speed this thing up?" Moody asked Dumbledore impatiently. "I got better things to do then stand around in a pitch-black memory for the rest of the night."

"Miss Granger?" Hermione heard Dumbledore ask.

"Yes, sir?" she replied.

"Would you care to speed this memory along?"

"Um... I'm sorry, Professor. I don't know how. I can't even really remember what happened after this," Hermione admitted.

"Just picture the door at the top of the stairs," Dumbledore instructed her. "See it in your mind and then picture it opening."

"I'll... I'll try, sir," Hermione replied, closing her eyes and envisioning the door. But the clearer it became, the more certain she was that she didn't want it to open. Her heart started to pound, and suddenly she was breathing heavily. Even though Ron still had his arms wrapped around her, she felt herself begin to tremble. NO, I don't want that door to open, she thought.

"Hermione, it's all right," Ron whispered. "It's just a memory. It already happened. They can't hurt you now."

Leaning against Ron's chest, Hermione took a deep breath and then released it. "Thanks," she muttered as she closed her eyes and pictured the door again, this time willing it to open.

They heard the door creak open before they saw the light at the top of the staircase. As they looked up, they could just make out the outline of the figure in the doorway as he started to descend the stairs. Lit from behind, it was impossible to tell who it was until he reached the cell and pointed his wand at the locked door.

"Alohomora," Wormtail cried, throwing the door open and stepping inside the cage.

Without so much as another word, he reached down, grabbed Hermione, who was seated on the floor, and hauled her to her feet. They watched in silence as Wormtail pushed Hermione roughly out of the cell and towards the staircase. Not expecting it, she lost her balance and fell to the ground with a cry. She barely managed to break her fall with her hands, before Wormtail grabbed the back of her shirt and jerked her upright again. They watched as he pressed the tip of his wand into her back and pushed her up the staircase.

Ron glared at Pettigrew through narrowed eyes as Professor Dumbledore mounted the stairs and followed closely behind the pair exiting the door. Knowing he'd have to wait his turn, as the staircase was too narrow to allow them all to ascend at once, Ron crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited for the adults to go first.

As he entered the narrow hallway, Ron was startled to find two hooded men, standing on either side of the door he had just exited. Mad-Eye Moody was standing in front of one of the men, glowering at him. Must be trying to figure out who they are, Ron thought as he pushed past the Death Eaters and followed the rest of the group down the corridor.

Moody caught up with them, just as Wormtail pulled Hermione to a stop in front of a large wooden door. They all watched as he reached around her, pushed it open and then shoved her roughly inside.

Ron heard the real Hermione gasp beside him, and when he reached out for her, he could feel her shaking. The instant his eyes flicked away from her and to the Hermione sprawled out on the floor, he understood why. She was frozen in place, her eyes wide with terror, as she stared up the massive snake in front of her. BLOODY HELL, Ron thought as he stared down at the immense serpent, coiled around itself and poised to strike.

Hermione wasn't the only one to react to the memory. Mrs. Weasley gasped as well.

"Is that...," Molly began to ask, with a shaky voice.

"Yes," Mr. Weasley replied, an involuntary shudder rocking his body. He had clearly not been expecting to come face to face with the snake that had nearly killed him the previous winter.

"He... he was... in the snake," the real Hermione started to stammer as she grabbed a hold of Ron's arm, spun around, and hid her face him his chest. "He was watching through the snake. He was watching me through the snake."

Unable to pry his eyes off the scene in front of him, Ron started down and watched the snake's tongue flicked out to taste the fear in the air surrounding Hermione. As he stared, transfixed by the snake, Ron saw Dumbledore stooped down and placed his own face inches from the serpents, so he could look into its evil eyes.

"Yes, he is here," Ron heard Dumbledore mutter just before he stood upright again.

Slowly the snake began to uncoil, and as if that were some kind of cue, Wormtail strode forward, grabbed Hermione roughly by the collar, pulled her upright, and pushed her towards a chair in the middle of the room. "Sit," he demanded.

Latching onto the chair to break her fall, Hermione quickly did as she was told. She all but threw herself into the chair, her anxious eyes never leaving the snake. Ron watched as she reached down and grasped a hold of the seat, in an attempt to stop her hands from shaking. She was so preoccupied with the snake, that she failed to realize the door had opened and a hooded figure had entered the room.

It wasn't until she was standing right beside Hermione, lowering her hood, that she realized someone was there. Breathing heavily, Hermione turned and stared up at...

"Bellatrix Lestrange!" Mrs. Weasley cried out in horror, gaping at the mad woman standing before Hermione.

Ron's eyes widened as the full ramifications of the situation struck home. This wasn't just any Death Eater. This was one of You-Know-Who's most fanatical supporters. She had been sent to Azkaban for torturing Neville's parents. She had tortured them into insanity and now... she was going to torture Hermione. She's going to torture her, and I have to watch, Ron's mind screamed. No, he reminded himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, She's already done it. That BLOODY BITCH, has already done it. It isn't happening now. It's over. She got away. She's all right. Just stay calm. You have to stay calm for Hermione.

"Where is the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix located?" Ron heard Lestrange's cold voice demand. Standing behind Hermione, his arms now draped over her shoulders, holding her to him protectively, Ron opened his eyes and forced himself to watch.

Shaking like mad, they watched the memory of Hermione turn and glance at the snake. She didn't even see the curse coming.

"Crucio!" they heard Lestrange shout. Her face contorted into a sinister grin as she watched Hermione fall out of the chair and writhe around on the floor in agony. Her screams filled the room for a full minute before the curse was lifted.

"That is just a taste of what I can do to you," Lestrange taunted, as Hermione lay on the ground trying to catch her breath. "You will answer my questions," she said viciously, kicking Hermione in the side as she did so. "Where is it located?"

"I... I... don't know..." Hermione panted, clutching her side. "I'm... I'm not the secret keeper."

"Who is?" Lestrange demanded.

"D-dumbledore," Hermione moaned, as she tried to rise up off the floor.

"Crucio."

They watched Hermione crumple to the floor for a second time as waves of pain, the likes of which she had never known, ripped through her body. As Hermione's cries echoed off the walls of the small room, Lestrange closed her eyes, and savored the screams as if they were a favorite song.

When she finally lifted the curse, Hermione lay sobbing on the floor.

"My master is most displeased with you," Lestrange sneered down at her. "Weeks of planning ruined because of you. How did you know it was a trap?" she asks, genuinely curious.

"What?" Hermione asked as she looked up at Lestrange, her eyes filled with fear.

"How did you know the tickets were a trap?" Lestrange shouted as she brutally kicked Hermione in the ribs for a second time.

"I... I didn't," Hermione panted, as she doubled over in pain.

"Then why did you refuse to take them?" Lestrange asked, her cold voice, oddly calm.

"I just didn't want to go," Hermione replied.

"You expect me to believe that you turned down Viktor Krum, simply because you didn't want to go to his match?" Lestrange asked as she pointed her wand down at Hermione for a third time. "Crucio."

Ron watched with disgust, his eyes burning with anger, as Lestrange walked over and sat down in the chair Hermione had occupied only moments ago. She waited a few seconds longer, and then lifted the curse.

"Answer my question truthfully," she spat down at Hermione. "Why did you turn down the tickets?"

"I...I didn't... want to... lead him on," Hermione panted.

"You didn't want to lead him on?" Lestrange's maniacal laughter filled the room. "That is disgustingly noble of you. I hope Potter appreciates it."

"He... won't come... after me," Hermione said, as she turned and looked at the snake on the floor beside her.

"Oh yes, he will," Lestrange laughed

"DON'T YOU DARE SET ONE FOOT OUTSIDE OF THAT HOUSE, HARRY!!"Hermione bellowed at the snake.

"CRUCIO!" Lestrange cried angrily. "That was very stupid," she taunted as Hermione thrashed about on the floor. "And here I thought you were supposed to be the smartest of the three."

Lestrange lifted the curse with a cruel laugh. "Oh, he'll come," she said confidently. "He came running when he thought his godfather was in danger." Hermione glared up at her angrily, clearly remembering that this was the woman that killed Sirius. "He's too noble to throw his girlfriend to the wolves."

"I'm... not his girlfriend," they heard Hermione say.

Lestrange's evil cackle fills the room again. "Your sordid little love triangle with Potter and Krum is common knowledge."

"You ought to know you can't believe anything you read in the papers," Hermione stated. "The whole thing is a pack of lies."

"Krum told us you refused him, because you had feelings for someone else. Obviously that is Potter."

"You're wrong," Hermione replied smugly and got another shot of the Cuciatus Curse for her cheek. As her screams echoed off the walls of the room, Lestrange turned to Wormtail and looked at him sharply. "If it isn't Potter, then who is it?" she asked Hermione, after she had lifted the curse.

"Go... to... hell," Hermione said as she gasped for air.

"Crucio."

"FUCKING BITCH!" Ron shouted angrily at the memory of Lestrange. His mother immediately silenced him with a heated look of her own.

"Who is it?" they heard Lestrange demand.

"Fuck...off... bitch," Hermione panted, as she lay there on the floor.

"It hurt so badly," the real Hermione admitted quietly to Ron, who stood fuming behind her. "I was afraid I wouldn't be able to take much more."

"You were trying to goad her into killing you?" Ron asked quietly.

"Yes," she admitted. "But he stopped her," she went on, pointing down at the snake.

When Ron's gaze returned to the memory , he realized that Lestrange's face was contorted with rage. Her wand was pointed down at Hermione and her intent was clear. But before she could utter the words to the killing curse, the snake sprang forward and coiled itself around Hermione's body. Ron watched as the Hermione on the floor shuddered violently. Her eyes went wide with terror. Clearly she wanted nothing more than to throw the huge serpent off her body, but she was unable to move.

Slowly Lestrange lowered her wand, but her hate-filled eyes never left Hermione. "You'll pay for that, you filthy little mudblood worm," she hissed. " I promise you. Now, if it isn't Potter, who is it?"

Hermione remained silent. She couldn't have answered even if she had wanted to. She was so traumatized by the feel of the snake's clammy skin against her own, that she couldn't focus on anything else.

"Imperio," Lestrange cried, pointing her wand at Hermione's chest as the snake uncoiled itself and slithered away to watch.

"What are you to Potter?" Lestrange asked.

"His friend," Hermione replied, her voice so calm it was almost serene.

"Are you two romantically involved?" Lestrange asked.

"No," Hermione answered lifelessly.

"Have you ever been romantically involved with Potter?"

"No," Hermione replied. "Harry fancies..."

"THERE!" Mad-Eye shouted excitedly. "You can see it in her eyes," he continued, "She's trying to fight it."

"Whom does he fancy?" Lestrange asked eagerly.

"...Ch...Cho Chang," they heard Hermione reply.

"Is he dating Cho Chang?" Lestrange asked.

"Nnnnn...ooo," Hermione answered. "Not ...not anymore." The flicker of life in her eyes vanished and they clouded over again. To Moody's disappointment, Hermione appeared to readily answer the question. "They split up last year. She's dating someone else now."

To everyone's surprise, Dumbledore smiled knowingly. "You chose to give her that information," he said to Hermione.

"Yes," she admitted. "It was as if I were inside my own head listening to myself speak. I felt as if she was controlling part of me, but not all of me. I answered the question because I didn't want her to have a reason to go after Cho."

"The partitions," Dumbledore informed her. "You purposely allowed her access to information you thought was unimportant, to keep her from realizing you were not fully under her control."

"Does Potter still have feelings for her?" Lestrange persisted.

"I don't think so," they heard Hermione reply calmly.

"Does Potter have feelings for any other girls?"

"I don't know."

"Then he could have feelings for you?"

"No. He wouldn't do that to...." Hermione never finished the statement.

"He wouldn't do that to whom?" Lestrange demanded.

"SOD OFF YOU WRETCHED COW!" Hermione shrieked as she threw the Imperius Curse off entirely. She felt the pain of the old curse hit her moments before she was brought down by a fresh wave of agony.

"CRUCIO!" Lestrange shouted, clearly incensed. "YOU WILL TELL ME!" she yelled, as she stood over Hermione's writhing form and kicked her savagely in the back.

After a moment that felt like and eternity to Ron, Lestrange lifted the curse and waited for Hermione to stop screaming.

"He wouldn't do that to whom?" she demanded.

"Ron Weasley."

Hermione gasped and everyone spun around and stared at Wormtail who was standing beside the door, for it was he that had answered the question.

"The Best Friend?" Lestrange asked, as she spun around to stare at him.

"If he fancied her," they heard Wormtail reply, the disgust evident as he motioned down at Hermione, who gaping at him from the floor, "and Potter knew about it," Wormtail continued. "He's too honorable to go after her himself. Even if he did have feelings for her, he'd never act on them."

A wicked smile covered Lestrange's face. "Is it the best friend?" she asked with and sinister laugh. "Are you protecting Potter's little sidekick?"

Hermione took a deep breath, but remained silent.

"Crucio!" Lestrange shouted, but she lifted the curse almost immediately.

"Did you spurn Krum because you have feelings for Weasley?" she questioned.

"She wouldn't choose him over Potter or Krum," they heard Wormtail say.

"And you know this, how?" Lestrange asked, turning to study Pettigrew.

"I watched them interact for three years. She was much closer with Potter then she was with Weasley. They couldn't be in the same room for longer then 5 minutes without an argument breaking out. In fact, they were fighting just before we grabbed her."

"And yet he still tried to save her," Lestrange said, turning her attention back to Hermione, who was glaring at the pair of Death Eaters hovering over her.

"He would do that for anyone," they heard Wormtail say from where he stood, behind Lestrange. "He's just as bad as Potter."

"I don't think so," Lestrange said, her sinister eyes dancing. "Why did you grab the portkey?" she asked Hermione.

"To ruin your plans," Hermione replied quickly. It was only half of the truth, and Lestrange seemed to sense this. She looked directly into Hermione's eyes, as if she were searching for answers there.

Ron watched as Lestrange narrowed her eyes and glowered at Hermione.

"Why did you grab that portkey?" she asked again.

"I told you," Hermione replied angrily. "To ruin your plans."

"You did it to save him," they heard Lestrange say.

"That's right," Hermione admitted, glaring up at her defiantly. "No portkey, no way to get Ron out of Diagon Alley. At least not a way that would be quick enough to serve your needs."

"So you sacrificed yourself?" Lestrange asked.

"It wasn't a sacrifice," Hermione stated, meeting the Death Eaters hateful gaze. "I was already caught. I'd have done the same thing for anyone."

Lestrange studied Hermione intently for a moment, as if trying to determine if what she said was true. "He might have rescued you if he had gotten though the crowd," she said, trying to discern the answer to something that was eluding her. "He was in a right rage. Or so I have been told." Lestrange glanced at Wormtail, who nodded his head in agreement.

Lestrange let out a sigh and pointed to a glass of water on a table behind Pettigrew. He silently grabbed it off the table and handed it to her.

"Drink this," she said, holding the glass out for Hermione to take.

"You first," they heard Hermione reply.

It was clearly not the response Lestrange had been expecting, as evident by her raised eyebrow.

"It could be poisoned," Hermione clarified.

"Why would I poison you?" Lestrange asked, her voice full of mock innocence.

"Because you are a cold-hearted bitch that would like nothing more then to see me twitch on the floor," Hermione replied.

"You're right," Lestrange cried, "but I have other ways of accomplishing that. NOW DRINK!"

They watched as Hermione reached out and took the glass of water from the Death Eater with a trembling hand. Slowly she brought it up to her lips and just as she was about to take a sip, she let go. The glass fell to the floor and shattered. "Oops," Hermione managed to say, an instant before she was incapacitated by the pain that shot through her body.

"CRUCIO!" Lestrange shouted, and they watched Hermione fall to the floor yet again. Only this time something unexpected happened. As she twisted on the floor in agony, something fell out of her pocket.

As the group watched, Wormtail bent down and picked up what appeared to be a small black box.

"What is that?" Lestrange and Mad-Eye Moody asked in unison.

"I don't know," Wormtail replied, "Some muggle device."

Moody turned to the real Hermione, for an answer.

"Just watch," she said.

Obviously unnerved by the unknown device, Lestrange lifted her curse, and watched warily as Hermione gasped for air while the pain subsided.

"What is that?" she demanded, pointing at Wormtail who was standing directly above Hermione, studying the small black object in his hand. Hermione looked up, but before she could answer, Wormtail pressed a button on the gadget, there was a loud buzzing sound, and he collapsed right on top of her.

When she threw him off, Hermione had Pettigrew's wand in her hand. She pointed it right at Lestrange and bellowed "STUPEFY!"

Caught right in the middle of her own curse, "Expellia--" Lestrange crashed to the floor.

Now all that was left was the snake. It struck quickly, but not quickly enough. There was a loud crack and Hermione vanished from the room an instant before the razor sharp teeth could reach her.

Ron unexpectedly felt as if he had been yanked backwards. He seemed to turn head over heels and then he felt his feet connect with the floor. It took him a few seconds to register the fact he was back in the kitchen at the Burrow, and no longer in the memory.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT THING?"Mad-Eye Moody shouted at Hermione.

"A taser," she replied. She might as well have made the word up, for all the good it did.

"It's a muggle device used to stun people," Dumbledore replied, as he looked at Hermione appraisingly.

"How?" Lupin asked, obviously at as much of a loss and Moody was.

"It releases a high volt charge of electricity into the body, overloading it," Hermione explained.

"You can do that with ekeltricity?" Arthur Weasley asked, his eyes wide with excitement.

"Do you think I could get..." he started to ask.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Mrs. Weasley roared. "I will not have you stunning yourself with some stupid muggle device."

"Hermione," Bill asked. "What were you doing with that thing?"

"Just because I can't use my wand, doesn't mean I'm not going to protect myself," she stated.

"What else do you have?" Ron asked, unable to keep from smiling.

Hermione looked up at him, her expression a mixture of amusement at his excitement and guilt.

"What makes you think I have anything else?" Hermione asked him.

"Come on," Ron said. "What else do you have?"

Hermione bit her lip as she looked into his mischievous blue eyes and then let out a sigh. "Mace," she said. "It's a liquid you spray at people to blind them," she explained when she saw the confused faces around her.

"You... you have a potion that can blind people?" Bill asked, his eyes wide with shock.

"Only temporarily," Hermione said quickly. She found the expressions of astonishment on everyone's face a bit unnerving. "It's rather hard to curse someone if you can't see where they are," she said defensively.

"What kind of dodgy place sells something like that to a teenage girl?" Bill asked.

"I bought them off the Internet," Hermione said. She may as well have been speaking a foreign language, judging by all the confused faces around her. "Off my computer?" she tried again.

"Oh, that box thing you told me about," Ron said. "The one you watch muggle plays on?"

"No, it's a different 'box thing' that you can shop on. Just think of it as a muggle version of Knockturn Alley."

"You shouldn't be going to a place like that," Mrs. Weasley scolded her. "I'm sure your parents wouldn't approve."

"I didn't go anywhere," Hermione said, wishing the entire conversation would end. There was just no possible way she could explain computers and the Internet to a group of wizards in one evening. "I never left my house. They mailed it directly to me there."

"But," Ron began, "you just said that..."

"Oh never mind," Hermione said, as she sat down in a chair and stifled a yawn.

"Albus?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking down at Hermione and then up at Dumbledore, who nodded. "It's been a long day," she said, placing her hand on Ron's shoulder. "Why don't you take Hermione up to Percy's room so she can get some sleep."

"Ok," Ron replied, feeling more then a little tired himself.

Not bothering to suppress her yawn this time, Hermione rose to her feet and started to follow Ron out of the kitchen.

"Wait," she said, turning around to face the adults again. "I want my memory back."

Dumbledore smiled patiently at the young woman and beckoned her forward with a wave of his hand.