Chapter Eight- Endless Evil

"What? A spy?" Harry gasped.

"Harry, there's no time for that!" Hermione shrieked. "She's losing a lot of blood! We have to take her to St. Mungo's."

Eris's eyes went blank and she fainted.

Ten minutes later, at St. Mungo's

"She will be okay, Mr. Potter," Healer Yates said. "She lost a lot of blood but she was fed a special potion and she will be okay in no time. Right now, our Healers are analyzing what was the cause."

"Any suspicions?" Harry asked.

"Muggle made injuries," Healer Yates sighed. "No trace of magic. She was attacked with a knife."

"Navitek," Harry muttered.

"I'll come in twenty minutes and give you more information," Healer Yates said as another Healer handed her some papers.

"Thank you," Harry said. Healer Yates walked away and Harry went to the waiting room, where Hermione was sitting. She had her eyes closed, and Harry sat beside her.

Hermione woke up with a start, and smiled weakly at Harry. "How's Eris?"

"She'll be okay," Harry sighed. "I can't believe that she was working for Navitek and Remarque."

"Things are getting pretty weird," Hermione said, clutching Harry's hand. "But it will end eventually."

Harry nodded, and looked at the clock. "By the way, in a few hours a special protection squad will be here," Harry said. "They are going to protect you."

"Again? Harry, I'll be fine," Hermione said.

"I'm not sure of that," Harry said, and put an arm around her shoulders. "I want you to be as safe as possible."

Hermione smiled and rested her head on Harry's shoulder, and closed her eyes again.

Twenty Minutes later

"You can see her now, Mr. Potter," Healer Yates informed.

Harry stood up and he and Hermione walked to Eris's room. Healer Yates opened the door slowly and Harry saw Eris lying on one of the beds, next to a woman who had her eyes out of focus.

Eris turned her head slowly and blushed at the sight of Harry. Healer Yates left the room and Harry and Hermione walked to Eris's bed and they stood there in silence.

"Potter… I'm so sorry." Eris's weak voice broke the silence, and tears started running down her cheeks.

"I still find it hard to believe that you were a spy," Harry said. "Did you paste the photographs in your office?"

"Yes," Eris said weakly. "They wanted you to be scared."

"And what happened tonight?" Harry asked.

"I… I was with Kropp (AN: Remarque, of course) and Stephanie…They were planning to attack Miss Granger," Eris said feebly. "And I… I remembered how much she meant to you, and I got cold feet. I couldn't do that to you… Not now."

"They wanted to kill Hermione?" Harry asked coldly. "I mean, you were going to help them kill her?" Hermione clutched Harry's hand tightly.

"You don't know what it's like to feel rejected, Potter!" Eris sobbed.

"You might be surprised, but I can still recall the unpleasant feeling," Harry snapped.

"They accepted me, they made me feel wanted and cared for," Eris sniffed. "It felt wonderful. But when you started accepting me… I realized that I didn't have to be an evil person. That's why I refused to kill Hermione."

Harry said nothing and noticed that Eris started shaking slightly. "I can still hear his voice… pleading… and I just sat there… he trusted me…"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione blurted.

"Remigius Stocklard!" Eris sobbed. "He trusted me… And I just watched them torture him and kill him and did nothing! I did nothing!"

Eris closed her eyes. "I deserve to die… I had to die in that alley… Navitek should have killed me…"

Harry was reminded forcibly of Raven and looked away. "Potter, I'm really sorry… And just so you know… the protection squad is a hoax," Eris said halfheartedly.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, they are under the Imperius Charm," Eris said. "Don't let Hermione alone with them. They have instructions to kill her."

"How do you know about the squad?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"That was plan B," Eris said. "In case we couldn't kill Hermione at the apartment. They saw Raven hire the squad, and attacked them in the building. Potter, they want you so bad."

"It's time for them to stop playing hide and seek," Harry said heatedly. "I am going to find them, and we will solve this once and for all."

"Harry…" Hermione started, but Harry shook his head.

"Don't say a word," Harry said. "I know what I'm doing."

Hermione nodded, her eyes filled with infinite trust.

Three hours later, at the Ministry of Magic.

"They were really under the Imperius Charm," Neville said as he filled some papers. "I'm glad you reported this."

"Yeah," Harry said absentmindedly. Hermione was looking through the window thoughtfully. Harry walked over to her and embraced her, kissing her softly.

"She'll be fine here with us," Luna said. "It's the Auror Headquarters. What could go wrong?"

Harry shrugged and held hands with Hermione. "But there's no trace of them," Harry said crossly. "They're leaving clues, but they are not taking us anywhere."

"Wrong, Potter, very wrong," Kat Muller said as she entered the office, closely followed by Raven.

Kat slammed a newspaper in Neville's desk, and she smiled triumphantly. "What?" Harry asked, scanning the front page. "This talks about the new Dark Arts Museum in Germany."

"Aha," Kat said, sounding satisfied. "Look closely."

Harry stared at the picture and frowned. "Muller…"

"Here," Kat snapped. "God, Potter, are you blind or what?"

Harry looked closer. Kat's finger was pointing at the crowd outside the museum. There was lot of people, and between photographers and reporters, Harry saw them.

He saw the back of Remarque's dark hair and Stephanie Navitek was glancing nervously at the cameras around her.

"Idiots," Kat said. "They wanted to get away from cameras, but they failed."

"We have to go to Germany, then," Harry said.

"Karlsbad, to be exact," Raven said. "But… it would be very risky, Potter so…" Raven glanced significantly at Hermione, who decided to ignore this last comment.

"I'll go," Hermione said. "Remarque treated me horribly and I hate him for that!"

Harry stared at her. Hermione had never mentioned what had happened with Remarque, even though Harry had asked her about some bruises she had on the back.

"While struggling, you know…" Hermione had told him before.

"If she wants to go, so be it," Raven said, crossing her arms. "But only a few of us can go. A whole crowd would alert them."

"I'm in," Kat said happily. "So is Draco."

"Malfoy is not here to express his opinion," Raven pointed.

"But he does everything I do," Kat snapped. "So shut up, zombie girl."

"I'm not a zombie, Muller, how many times must I…" Raven started.

"Whatever. Is not my fault you're in a grumpy mood just because you don't have a boyfriend," Kat retorted. "Maybe you should look at the obituaries, you ought to find someone just for…"

Raven drew out her wand and pointed it menacingly at Kat. "Raven! Muller! If you're both going to like that, forget going with us," Harry barked.

"You're not my boss," Kat said through gritted teeth. "But I shall stop it."

Raven glared at her and pocketed her wand slowly. "So it's Malfoy, Muller, Verlaine, and you and Hermione," Neville said, writing down names. "Damn, I wish I could join you, but Percy would kill me."

"I don't want that," Harry mocked. "So, how are we getting to Germany?"

"Easy," Kat said simply. "Floo Powder. I have an aunt that lives in Karlsbad, we can crash at her place."

"Shouldn't we warn her first?" Harry asked.

"Nah. She's deaf. Probably wouldn't hear us go inside," Kat shrugged. "I'll go look for Draco. I'll tell him it will be a fun trip."

Kat left the office, and Hermione moved closer to Harry. Harry grimaced, still staring at the photograph of the sulking Stephanie Navitek.

Harry made a promise to himself in that moment. Stephanie Navitek and Kropp Remarque would leave Germany with them.

Alive… or Dead.