Chapter 16
Carlos, Aunt Jean, Uncle Robert and I worked with Hermione to help her cope with the loss of a fellow student. Witnessing the after-effects of the death of a fellow student was difficult for the youth to comprehend.
We talked to mama Manoso and Mason. Keeping our son and daughter safe was our most important job.
"Mom, Dad, may I stay with the Weasleys for the summer?" Hermione asked.
"You can go for August. I would like you to be home for now," I replied. Carlos seconded my decision. "Everything is changing, Hermione. I can feel it in the air and deep into my soul. Your father and I are going to work with the Order of the Phoenix to keep Harry safe."
I let Carlos explain everything about the order of the phoenix that Dumbledore had created several years earlier. We stressed the importance of keeping Harry in the dark. Hermione did not like keeping secrets from her friend. "Herm, Cornelius Fudge and others within the ministry are attempting to discredit Harry's claim that Voldemort returned. They are questioning his mental health. I'm afraid that someone working close to Fudge is trying to get Harry committed to the psychiatric ward in St Mungos," Carlos explained.
Hermione put her hands to her mouth, disgusted that someone could do that to Harry. "We have to protect him," Hermione whispered.
"Sweetie, that precisely is what the members in the order of the phoenix are attempting to do. If Harry uses a spell or does anything against magical law, they will lock him away or kill him. Harry is too important for the magical community," I explained.
"There's more, Hermione. We suspect that the dementors are under the control of Voldemort," Carlos said.
"But Dumbledore can keep him safe," Hermione said.
"Dumbledore believes Harry is the only person who can defeat Voldemort. He also believes Harry and Voldemort got joined through his scar. A connection that can permit Voldemort to see inside Harry's mind. When you send Harry letters, I'm begging you to select your words with caution," Carlos stated. "We must not let Voldemort know our plan."
Hermione understood after we gave her a logical explanation. "Okay, daddy. I'll be careful. I love Harry too much to lose him," she said.
"Your mother and I will be working out of Rangeman Trenton. Whenever you need us, send an owl or a message through the floo network, we'll come to you," Carlos added. "Harry must return to Privet Drive once a year." I knew there were protections in place to keep Harry safe.
"We have a few things to get in place before Harry can join you and the others," I said.
"Okay. I need to see Mason," Hermione said before leaving the room.
Mason had a way of calming Hermione. It was strange to see, yet remarkable. I'm not sure if it's his personality or another special ability he possessed. "Do you ever think that Mason knows more than his years?" I asked Carlos.
"Babe," he replied. We both knew our son was unique. He possessed a quality that others found calming. His eyes appeared to penetrate your mind. Even though he could sense other people's emotions, I would never call him an empath.
Mason had learned to control his magic. He'd get homeschooled until he got old enough to attend Ilvermorny or Hogwarts. We didn't want him to use magic accidentally in a muggle school. It was my responsibility as his witch mother to ensure he didn't break laws of magical secrecy.
My son was an engaging child. He loved everyone he met. I must admit that's great because if he didn't like someone, would that mean they were trouble or an evil person?
Molly sent an owl, informing me that they'd be moving to a secure location. Hermione got directed to go to aunt Jean's house, where Dumbledore would collect her. Dumbledore would take her to the Weasleys. I trusted Dumbledore to protect my daughter.
Carlos and I worked at Rangeman. We connected with Les Sebring bail bonds to capture FTAs, failure to appear, to send them back to jail until they arranged a new bond or attended court. Carlos asked me to approach my cousin Vinnie for a job.
I pretended to be desperate for a job. When Vinnie refused to hire me as a BEA, I resorted to blackmail. Using the intel I had gathered while I was in my animagus form. He reluctantly gave me the job. Connie gave me a few files to sift through. I recognized that a few men were wizards and requested their files.
"While on the streets, you must call me Ranger," Carlos whispered. I slightly jumped when he moved behind me.
"Way to be aware of your surroundings, Stephanie," I mumbled.
"Have you two met already?" Connie asked. I suppressed a laugh.
"A few years ago," Carlos replied.
"Lester already collected your files, Ranger. Vinnie hired Stephanie a few minutes ago. You could show her the ropes," Connie suggested.
I couldn't resist myself. Turning to face my husband, I put my hands behind his neck and pulled him down to kiss me. We got hot and heavy. Our kiss stopped when Connie loudly cleared her throat.
"Sorry," I said, blushing. "I can't seem to keep my hands off of my husband."
"Y y your husband?" Connie asked.
"I'm sorry, you didn't know? Huh. I thought Morelli would have run his mouth," I replied.
"It would help if you wore a wedding band," Connie said.
When we left the bond's office, we ran into Joe Morelli. He heard I was in town and came to find me. Just great. "Hey, Joe. How are you?" I asked.
"Fine. I heard you were back in town. Would you join me for lunch, Cupcake?" Joe asked. His eyes narrowed when Ranger possessively slipped his left arm around my waist.
"Is my husband invited too?" I asked. Joe's eyes snapped to my bare left hand, looking for the ring to signify our marriage. I rolled my eyes. "We're married but we don't wear the jewelry."
"If you don't wear the gold, then you're available," Joe stated. I felt an object appear in Ranger's front pocket that was pressed against my right him.
"Babe, I got your ring resized. I picked it up this morning from the jewellers," Ranger said, pulling the object from his pocket. He slipped the engagement and wedding bands onto my finger. They felt strange but not unwelcome. I noticed the ring on his finger when he rubbed my bare arm with his left hand. Joe got the hint and left.
Ranger kissed my forehead and returned to the Rangeman building. I was able to handle skips by myself. The wizards I got sent to pick up weren't too dangerous. As long as I had my wand, I could deflect any hex they threw my way.
When I caught my first skip, he tried to hex me. I deflected the curse, and it hit my car, causing it to explode. As it turned out, every FTA I captured during the first few weeks ended up burning my vehicle. It was frustrating. Unfortunately, a reporter witnessed a few and nicknamed me the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. "That's just great!" I screamed when I read the copy of Trenton Times. "My face is plastered all over the damn newspaper. I pray they never find out about Hermione or Mason."
Carlos wrapped me in his arms. "Babe, it's just one story. I placed a man inside the Trenton Times printing department. He'll pull the story before it hits the press," he said.
"I don't think you should suppress the story. However, I think the photo should get swapped," I said.
"I'll have him magically change the picture," Carlos suggested. I thought that would be a better option. My husband would keep me out of the media as much as physically possible. I'm not entirely sure why I decided to skip trace. It was placing me too much into the public eye. On the plus side, it was keeping my focus off Hermione.
I worked tirelessly to capture the lower bonded wizards. They were passing me intel regarding the underworld of evil wizards. The death eaters were recruiting witches and wizards all over the world. You had to be at least half-blood to join their mission. It was disgusting to learn how much these men and women got promised to kill as many mudbloods as they wished.
Morelli got arrested for murder. Vinnie reluctantly assigned me the case. I had located Joe with relative ease. Getting him back to TPD proved to be a challenge. Using magical restraints was forbidden. I half-heartedly tracked him down. Beyond reasonable doubt, I knew Morelli was innocent. After I returned him, kicking and screaming, to jail, the officers found evidence to prove Joe's innocence.
The magical world didn't know that Hermione had a witch mother. We let them believe that she was muggle-born. I wanted to fix the record, but Hermione wanted to leave everything as status quo. Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall knew the truth.
At the end of July, we said our teary goodbyes before Hermione stepped into the fireplace, travelling to aunt Jean's home using the floo network. Crookshanks and Hermione's luggage would get sent directly to her destination. Dumbledore promised to handle the arrangements. Mason told Crookshanks to be a good kitty for Hermione. He waved as the cat disappeared from Hermione's bedroom.
Hermione wrote home a few times, concerned that they spent more hours cleaning than participating in the order. Unfortunately, they had an age limit of seventeen to join. She asked us to read the Daily Prophet to keep us informed. Many articles questioned Harry Potter's mental stability. It appeared that someone controlled what the paper reported.
One reporter, in particular, Rita Skeeter, seemed to be the worst for making Harry look unstable. Rita had falsified information while reporting during the past year during the Triwizard Tournament. She played on Harry's past, making it seem like he cried every night over the death of his parents. The woman also caused a rift between Ron and Harry when Rita said that Hermione was dating Harry. Carlos and I know that Hermione wished it was true, but she'd never do that at the expense of the boy she dated, Viktor Krum.
Carlos and I were doing our job in the states, using the wizards he employed to assist us in our mission. Some of them permitted me to change their appearance to a woman. It was fun disguising Lester as a lady. He made a sexy woman. I laughed when Joe Morelli flirted with him. Luckily, Lester shook off Joe long enough to gather the intel the order required.
Dumbledore or Minerva dropped by once a week for an update. Most visits were from Minerva. One time we got visited by Severus Snape. He raised an eyebrow when Mason approached him. "Hi, I'm Mason," he said. I was curious how Mason would interact with the man. It would help Carlos and me know if Snape was on the right side. We trusted Snape because Dumbledore trusted Snape, but it didn't hurt to have more proof.
Speaking in a monotone voice, he replied, "Nice to meet you. I'm Professor Snape." Mason grinned before leaving Carlos to update the man.
"Friendly boy," Snape observed. Despite what we had heard from Hermione, we knew Severus Snape was a good man. Mason wouldn't have liked him otherwise. Snape pointed in the direction of Mason and added, "Your secret is safe with me." He didn't have any updates for us at the moment.
It wasn't much later that Harry Potter had performed the Patronus charm to dispel the dementors he had encountered while out with his cousin. He got charged with using underage magic in the presence of a muggle. They had a disciplinary hearing in front of the Wizengamot a few weeks before school started.
A few witches and wizards were impressed that Harry produced a corporeal Patronus. Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge was determined to convict Harry for this crime. Fortunately for Harry, he was cleared of all charges. Hermione was relieved that Harry would return to Hogwarts in September.
Carlos and I were worried about the students at Hogwarts. Cornelius placed one of his loyal ministry employees into Hogwarts as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Hermione had described Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge as an overgrown toad wearing pink clothes. I thought she was joking until she sent a copy of the Daily Prophet.
"The ministry is in Hogwarts," Carlos stated.
"I agree. We'll need to warn Hermione to be careful with her correspondence. I wouldn't be surprised if they start searching and reading the students' owl mail," I said. Carlos agreed.
We talked to other members in the order about the new staff appointment. None of them had kind words to describe Umbridge. Minerva warned that the ministry would find a way to oust Dumbledore. I didn't think it would be possible.
Hermione sent a message with Crookshanks to sneak through the secret passageways in Hogwarts. Chipper arrived a few days later with a letter clutched in his talons. "Hey, Mom and Dad," she had written. The rest of the letter got scrambled.
Carlos tapped his wand on the parchment, using the spell we assumed Hermione used. The letters moved around the page until we could read the letter. "The inquisitorial squad is reading all of our owl mail. They are also stealing our gifts. Harry, Ron and I have started a club, we called Dumbledore's Army. We sneak into the room of requirement to practice spells and hexes. Professor Umbridge refused to let us practice magic. We're going to fail our OWLS otherwise. Please don't be mad. I'm worried about Harry. He's been having nightmares about Voldemort. I thought they were getting better, but Ron told me he screams many times during the night. Do you know how I can help? I'm doing well, and I'm staying safe. Love always, Hermione. PS: Kiss Mason for me. XOXOXO."
"If I had not already known, I would assume Hermione was your daughter," Carlos joked.
"I want to write back, but I don't want to cause problems for Hermione," I said.
"She knows how to contact us, Babe. I'm proud of Hermione."
"Me too, my love," I said. As Hermione had asked, I kissed Mason from his sister.
A few days before Christmas break, everything changed. Arthur Weasley got attacked by Voldemort's snake, Nagini. Dumbledore learned that Voldemort unknowingly shared his thoughts with Harry. The Weasley children and Harry got removed from Hogwarts immediately. I permitted Minerva to send Hermione with the others but to wait until it didn't raise suspicion. She sent an owl when she was safe with the family. Minerva sent an owl when Hermione returned to school.
I heard that the children had doubled down on their efforts to practice magic. Minerva knew what they were doing, but offered Umbridge no assistance to stop them.
I decided to take a wizard guard whenever I left Rangeman. Carlos was relieved when I took extra precautions. It didn't stop my cars from exploding from deflected hexes. At times, we narrowly escaped the well-placed spell.
Most nights, I got home exhausted from the hard work. In January, Carlos had to leave for a few weeks to handle some urgent ministry business. Ten high-security prisoners had escaped from Azkaban. Only one wizard could be responsible. The ministry said Sirius Black helped his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, and her friends escape from prison. We knew Voldemort was responsible.
Bobby Brown stayed in my Rangeman apartment with Mason and me. At around 2 am, I woke up to the strangest noise. It sounded like someone was in the next room coughing while watching an old live-audience comedy show. I grabbed my wand and quietly walked towards the noise. My hand covered my mouth to stop the laugh from erupting.
My guard had fallen asleep. His snores were unusual, to say the least, yet comical. I had never heard a snore like that before. Bobby woke up when he sensed me staring at him. "Couldn't sleep?" he mumbled.
"Somebody's comedy skit cough woke me up," I said. Bobby raised an eyebrow, and I laughed. I used my wand to grab the memory from my mind. Carlos and I had a Pensieve stored in the closet. "Wait here."
I carried the Pensieve to the living room for Bobby to see my memories. He placed his face into the bowl. A few seconds later, Bobby grinned at me. "I've been told my snores sound strange from time to time, but that one is new," he stated. I retrieved my memory to replace it in my mind.
"For a few minutes, I thought you magicked the television on to watch a show. It took me a few seconds to shake away the fogginess of sleep to comprehend what I heard," I explained before putting the Pensieve away.
Bobby wrapped an arm across my shoulders when I sat beside him. I rested my head against his cheek and sighed. "What's on your mind?"
"Oh. I'm worried about Arthur. It will devastate the family if he dies. I heard they were having problems keeping the wound closed," I replied. "Hermione said that Harry Potter started Occlumency lessons with Snape. She's concerned it would make Harry's dreams worse."
"It will get worse before it gets better," Bobby said. "Closing ones mind as one gets constantly assaulted by Legilimency is not an easy task. Some grown wizards have difficulty overpowering the Legilimency spell. Snape isn't the best teacher for the lessons, but he is a skilled Legilimens. We have to trust Dumbledore's judgement."
Carlos returned after Easter. He had helped the Aurors recapture three of the escaped wizards from Azkaban. Unfortunately, the stronger and more skilled witches and wizards were still loose.
At the end of the school year, I got sent an urgent message. McGonagall's head appeared in the fireplace, startling me. "Stephanie. Come to Hogwarts immediately. It's Hermione," Minerva said before disappearing.
I grabbed Carlos and ran to the roof. We apparated off the building, arriving beyond the gate at Hogwarts. My beautiful, brave, intelligent daughter lay on the bed, unresponsive. Carlos left me sitting beside Hermione as he got an update from Minerva. Thankfully, none of the children died. Several got injured, and Madam Pomfrey tended their injuries. It was Hermione's injuries that concerned the healer. "What colour was the flame?" Pomfrey asked Ginny.
"Purple like the shade of purple orchids," Ginny described.
Madam Pomfrey shouted orders at various people in the hospital wing. She needed Snape to mix a rather tricky potion with some of the plants Pomona Sprout grew in her greenhouse.
News of Voldemort's return spread throughout the Daily Prophet with a small article exonerating Harry Potter. I felt it was too little, too late.
Several weeks later, Hermione opened her beautiful brown eyes. "Mom?" she asked.
"Everything is going to be okay, Hermione," I replied before hugging her. "You almost died, sweetie. Antonin Dolohov cast a spell using a slashing motion. It emitted a purple flame. If it weren't cast non-verbally, you wouldn't be here today."
"I'm sorry, mom. I promise to be more careful," she whispered. "The others?"
"None of your friends got seriously injured. You suffered the worse injury," I replied. Hermione relaxed and exhaled. She closed her eyes and drifted back asleep.
Carlos sat beside me in the other chair. "Babe, nothing will ever be the same." I couldn't agree with him more.