Chapter 17
Hermione rarely complained about the injuries she sustained. Carlos and I had taught her self-defence if she couldn't use her wand. We could see she was affected by her trauma whenever she'd wince from the pain. Madam Pomfrey gave Hermione potions to use for another few weeks. It should finish healing the invisible cuts.
Molly Weasley sent an owl, requesting that Hermione spend a few weeks with her family in the burrow. Hermione wanted to wait until she got her marks from Hogwarts. Of course, she got ten OWLS. My daughter received nine outstanding grades, and one exceeds expectation for Defence Against the Dark Arts.
She had dropped Care of Magical Creatures. It wasn't from lack of interest, but the class was not part of her goal to defend under-appreciated house-elves. Hermione would be a great Auror if she chose that path.
Mason clung to Hermione during the summer. He didn't want to leave her out of his sight, as though he knew something would happen to his sister. Hermione indulged him, letting him cuddle whenever they sat together. I enjoyed seeing their love for each other getting expressed positively.
"Mom, do you have a few minutes to talk?" Hermione asked. Mason kissed her cheek before looking for his uncles.
"Sure," I replied, following her into the bedroom. I locked the door and cast muffliato. "What's going on?"
"I received an owl from Ginny. She wants to date Harry, and Ron wants to date me," she quietly said, twisting her fingers together.
"Sweetie, if you like Harry and want to date him, I think you should. Don't let someone else be with the boy you love. I feel that you would be settling if you dated Ron."
"Me too, but Ginny had a crush on Harry longer than I have," she confessed. My beautiful, intelligent and generous daughter would rather sacrifice her happiness for someone else than take a chance to love Harry. She's too much like her mother, I thought. Hermione told me about Viktor Krum and losing her virginity. I suspected their relationship was more intimate than she had previously stated.
She mentioned that Harry and Cho Chang had slept together before they had broken up. Cho was still in love with Cedric Diggory, and Harry refused to compete with a ghost. Ron didn't know about either incident. Harry had confided in Hermione during their time alone in the library. Does another girl have a crush on Ron?" I asked.
"Lavender Brown. She has no relationship to Bobby, I asked," Hermione was quick to reply.
"After your fight at the ministry of magic, I image he'd be more popular with the girls this year," I suggested. "Sweetie, it doesn't hurt to explore a relationship with Ron. You'll discover one way or another how you feel about the boy."
"I'll think about it," she said. I kissed her forehead before leaving her room. The teenage romance was messy and emotional. Hermione left a week later to join the Weasleys in the burrow.
Mason, my amazing boy, started to display signs of divination. It was simultaneously wonderful and scary. I met with grandma Mazur to discuss options. He didn't appear to be affected by the dreams, but I didn't have enough scientific proof that he was alright.
"Ah, my dear, not everything shall come to pass. Mason will learn to ignore the flickers," Edna explained after I told her about Mason's dreams.
"Flickers?" I asked.
"Flickers are events that will never come to pass or the events destined to occur despite the attempt to change the path. There is no stopping what should become a reality, but there is changing the outcome of things yet to be," Edna explained.
I must admit that I was thoroughly confused. Grandma gave me time to riddle her words through my head. She smiled when my brain made the connection. "Oh. Did you mean that every prediction or life-altering event has more than one outcome? Only the people involved can change the trajectory?"
"You truly are a brilliant witch. Trust your son. He'll lead your family down the desired path," Edna said before she left to go home. My mom was taking her to a hair appointment in a few hours.
"Mama?" Mason asked as he sat on my lap.
"Is something on your mind, Mase?" I asked.
"Um. Your friend, Mr. Dumbledore, is dying," he replied. I had no idea where he got the idea. "He found a ring that contained evil magic. It made his arm go black." Dumbfounded was the best way to describe my emotions. I had no idea that my little boy dreamed such horrible things. "Did Hermione leave already?"
"Yes, sweetie. She left last night. Daddy took her to the burrow," I replied.
"Oh. Okay. Hermione is going to have a tough year," Mason stated. "I wanted to warn her." He explained what he felt would happen with his sister during the year. Mason didn't want her to suffer if he could stop it.
"Mase, there are some things every teenager should experience. It would make Hermione a strong woman. You are an amazing brother to Hermione. Never stop being you, promise?"
"I promise, mama," he replied. Mason kissed my cheek after he hugged me tightly. He jumped off my lap before skipping towards his room. I laughed when he stopped to shake his ass.
"Our son is amusing, Babe," Carlos said after witnessing Mason's butt shake.
"I'm afraid he's been hanging around Lester too long. I caught them singing Karaoke with the other men. Lester and Mason sang Shake Your Booty," I explained.
"Skipping?" Carlos asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You can blame his cousin Lisa for that one," I stated. "Lisa and Mary Alice visit Mason every other weekend. Ella explained they hold hands and skip around the control floor. Valerie doesn't know the girls are witches. The girls promised to keep Mason a secret."
Carlos tipped his head back and laughed. There weren't many things to laugh about these days, but our son's antics are welcome comedic relief.
Hermione wrote as often as possible to keep us informed. It was unnecessary since Molly, Minerva, or Tonks kept us in the loop. We got summoned to patrol Hogwarts a few nights per week. Mason was safe at home while Carlos and I worked our fair share of surveillance.
The Trenton Times ran the occasional story about my BEA mishaps. I couldn't believe how many times they misinterpreted the event or blatantly lied in their reports. True to his word to protect my family, our Rangeman wizard friend in the print department modified photographs the paper used by making my nose slightly larger. We didn't want him to magically pull the story and cast suspicion on the print department. Tipping off the death eater in the Editor in Chief would not be wise. I didn't want him to know that I was a witch. The man may have his suspicions, but I refused to hand him proof.
Around Halloween, I received an owl from Hermione. It appears that Ron was dating Lavender Brown. Harry was still dating Ginny, much to Hermione's disappointment. She thought they'd realize they weren't right for each other. Hermione confessed that she knew Harry started dating Ginny during the previous year. I was under the impression that they were still single. "No wonder Hermione was upset," I mumbled.
"How did your shift go?" I asked Carlos when he arrived.
"Uninformative, Babe," he replied. "The Malfoy boy is up to something, but no one can figure it out."
"Maybe we're not meant to know," I suggested. "It's got to be part of the whole plan." Hermione had mentioned that Harry suspected Draco was the newest death eater, and he had a job to complete for Voldemort. She got disgruntled that Harry used suspicious spells in the Potions book he got at the beginning of the school year.
We noticed strange activity occurring around the world. It was as though people got prepared to fight, taking the side of good or evil. I was scared for Hermione and her friends.
Dumbledore spent an unusual amount of time away from Hogwarts. In his absence, the Order of the Phoenix members patrolled the grounds and Hogwart's castle. He never left the school unprotected. Carlos and I never got assigned a shift within the school. Kingsley Shacklebolt said they didn't want anyone to learn we are Hermione's parents and trust Dumbledore. Carlos and I split our time between patrols in Britain and recruiting in the states. Both he and I felt the energy in the air, pulsating that something epic was on the horizon.
Mason had more dreams about the future. He would sit in the living room to meditate with Bobby. It didn't get rid of the looming dread Mason felt, but it relaxed his mind. Whenever I attempted to stay home, he'd say, "Mom, they need your talents at Hogwarts to keep the students safe. To keep Hermione safe."
I couldn't ignore Mason's concern for Hermione. He was worried about his sister. "What can I do to help?" I asked Hermione during the Christmas break.
"I'm not sure there's anything that anyone can do," Hermione confessed. "We have to let it play out and hope we all survive." Hermione didn't stay home for the entire break. She returned to school, citing research for an assignment as an excuse. My daughter was growing up and she took her responsibilities seriously.
Rangeman got busy in the new year, recovering skips. A record number of men and women committed crimes then didn't appear in court. Some FTAs were wizards, but it was significantly lower than usual. More dangerous nomags were assaulting men and women in Trenton. It got so bad that the chief of police requested assistance from the magical community. Unfortunately, he didn't realize it was about to make matters worse.
I got many cuts and scrapes from duels with witches and wizards. Carlos and I got Bobby to heal us more times than we could count. We trained Rangeman wizards how to block all hexes, curses and charms. Some spells require more than the standard deflection spell to protect you.
Carlos had to leave during spring break to handle some bad business in the Atlanta office. I had researched the office, discovering that the branch manager was misappropriating funds. Tank, Lester and Bobby signed documents to dissolve the business. The current manager would have the option to purchase the company but not use the Rangeman name.
My husband was supposed to return the following week, but his daughter, Julie, got kidnapped. His face got plastered on news channels across the country. I knew he wasn't guilty. The US Minister of Magic ordered a team of Aurors to locate Carlos.
"I'm standing outside the school where earlier today, Julie Martine had been allegedly kidnapped by her father, Ricardo Carlos Manoso. An eyewitness placed Mr. Manoso on the street in front of the school. He was driving a silver Volkswagen rental car with Florida plates," the news reporter said. They displayed a photograph of Carlos beside the grainy image a student took. A few more pictures of the kidnapped got displayed on the screen, showing various angles of the face. I could tell by the turn of his face that it wasn't Carlos. His face was a little longer, and the nose had a bump on the bridge.
"The man may resemble Carlos, but it definitely is not him," I said, pointing out the discrepancies to Tank.
Tank's phone buzzed. After reading the message, he said, "Keep the faith. We'll find Julie."
Something about the man seemed familiar. It wasn't that he'd resembled Carlos, it was something else. I grabbed my phone to call Lester. "Yo," he answered.
"Hey, I have an idea regarding the man who kidnapped Julie. Could you come up to the apartment?" I asked.
"Sure," Lester replied and hung up. Before Lester arrived, I received a call from Connie at the bonds office. Carmen Manoso, Ranger's wife, was at the office demanding to see her husband. I decided to meet Lester in the elevator. Mason exited on the sixth floor to visit with Ella and Luis.
"So, I got a call from Connie. A woman named Carmen claimed to be married to my husband. We should talk to her. Something doesn't feel right," I confessed.
"We'll figure it out," Lester said. I told him that I'd seen his picture before, in a report from one of the FTAs Carlos and Tank captured a few years earlier. Trying to link the man to a location was giving me a headache.
It only took fifteen minutes to drive to the bonds office. The woman was beautiful. Her hair was long, dark and shiny. Carmen's face was flawless, and her figure was perfect. She wore tight Rangeman type clothes that accentuated her physique. If I weren't already married to Carlos, I'd be jealous.
Lester got Carmen to say where she'd met Ranger. He sent a message to get someone to check out the place. They discovered an office got rented to Carmen Manoso. Inside the file cabinet contained information about Edward Scrog, who kidnapped Julie.
Scrog had uncovered the secret regarding Julie Martine. He had also found out about me, but he didn't know Carlos and I were married. I was relieved when Hermione and Mason were not in his photo album.
It took us time to realize Scrog purchased an old RV when he got to Trenton. He had killed Carmen when he found her outside the bonds office. We had many people watching for Scrog, but he seemed to be one step ahead of us at all times. Everything seemed to be taking too long. I stood on the street in front of the bonds office and screamed, "Call me!" I attached my business card to the tree in front of the building.
As I searched Trenton, I received a call from Scrog, requesting that I meet with him. He had some elaborate scheme to get me alone. I had to leave my wand at home, making me feel naked. Several of my Merry Men got stationed around the various points where I got directed.
Scrog used a taser to knock me out. I woke up wearing strange clothes. Unfortunately for me, Scrog discovered the GPS tracker I had shoved inside me. I had never felt more violated. He had taken me to the RV where he had Julie shackled to the metal bed frame. Julie waited for me to open my eyes. "Hi," she said when she caught me looking at her.
"Hi, Julie. Your dad's looking for you," I whispered. She nodded before pulling a box of raisins from the bag on the bed. "Are you okay?"
Julie nodded. "He drugged me but didn't hurt me. There's food in the bag. It's mainly chocolate bars," Julie said. I was relieved that she was unharmed. Scrog was going to pay for scaring my step-daughter.
I reached into the bag to grab a granola bar. "Good, you're awake," Scrog said.
He forced me to change into my outfit that showed several inches of my butt crack. Julie giggled when I bent over to pull on my socks. "Ella thought I'd look sexy in this scrap of fabric," I whispered.
Scrog dragged me from the RV. He tried to force me to get into the trunk, but I refused. I had to keep my head low preventing me from discovering where the RV got hidden. A few times, when his attention got diverted, I checked out the window to place our coordinates. It would be easy for me to direct the Rangeman to Julie's location.
I got away from Scrog when he stopped to get more snacks and rob the convenience store. One of my Merry Men happened to be in the area and rescued me. We returned to Julie's location, but she was missing.
"Take me to the apartment," I told Hal. He raised an eyebrow but took me to the location. "Stay in the car. If I'm not back in five minutes, call for help."
Hal didn't wait. He called for backup the second I crossed the threshold of the building. I entered the apartment and got tased again. When I woke up, I got tied to a chair. Julie was sitting on another chair, her head limply hanging to the side. Scrog had drugged the girl again. She winked when Scrog looked at the door.
His plan had gone sideways. I could tell he was second-guessing his decision to make us a family. The apartment door opened. My gorgeous husband entered the apartment. Scrog aimed the gun and shot my unarmed husband. Julie had wrestled Scrog to the floor, knocking the gun from his hand. She managed to grab the weapon to shoot Scrog.
An emergency team immediately removed Carlos from the scene. Julie held his hand as they left the apartment. I would go to the hospital after I gave the police my statement. Morelli interrogated me before releasing me to visit Carlos in the hospital. The doctors stitched his injuries and discharged him into my care.
When I got back to Rangeman with Julie and Carlos, we got Bobby to heal the wounds. We went through the charade of Carlos recovering from the gunshot wounds. Julie's mom, Rachel, picked her up from Rangeman. She had thanked me for rescuing her daughter, but she's my daughter too.
A few months later, when I thought things couldn't possibly get worse, news of Dumbledore's death rocked the magic community. He was the man many wizards wanted to emulate. Our beacon of hope had narrowed down to one wizard, Harry Potter.
Carlos and I didn't grab Hermione from school as many parents had done. She should get the opportunity to be at Dumbledore's funeral. Many people attended the ceremony for Dumbledore. Carlos and I patrolled the grounds while our friends and family mourned our leader.
Without Dumbledore guiding us, we had to get rid of Voldemort ourselves. I watched Hermione enter the castle with her friends. She would come home using floo powder. Professor McGonagall had reassured us that she would personally make sure Hermione got home safely.