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I'm writing the next chapter as you're reading this so it shouldn't be too long before we get there. Please stay with me to the end, not long to go now :D
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Sarah XxXxX ;) (oh yeah, Read & Review and you can have more cake and ice cream :D)
Chapter 35
As soon as Hermione opened the door to Harry she knew something was wrong.
'What is it? What's wrong?' she asked him quickly and in a panicked voice.
'Can I come inside? There's something you need to see.'
'Erm, yeah of course.'
She closed the door behind him and gestured for Harry to go up the stairs to her room.
'I'll be up in a minute.'
She poked her head into the lounge and caught her dad's eye.
'Dad, can I have a word?' she mouthed at him across the room.
Charles stood and walked out of the room, glancing up the stairs when he got to the bottom. Harry smiled down at Charles, and Charles mirrored the action.
'Dad, can you tell everyone that I've gone to the shop for something Mum's run out of, or something? I've got to talk to Harry and I might be a while.'
'Ok Hermione, I will.'
'Thanks dad.'
'Thank you Mr. Granger, and I'm sorry for interrupting.'
'Charles please Harry, and don't worry about it.'
He turned and walked back into the lounge, Hermione hurried upstairs to join Harry in her bedroom.
'So what's going on?' she demanded of Harry.
'I er…I got this from Arthur; Scrimgeour thought I'd want to know about it. It involves…well…just read it.'
He held out the envelope and Hermione took it from him. She pulled out the papers and unfolded them. As she read the papers her eyes widened and she had to sit down on her bed before her legs went from beneath her.
'They nearly caught him!' she gasped, 'they duelled with him and they nearly caught him!'
'Apparently so,' Harry said quietly.
'Has he been in contact with us since you found this out?' she asked, her voice getting louder and more panicky.
'No…no he hasn't.'
He took the coin out of his jeans pocket and gave it to Hermione. She looked at it and saw the message she had last put on it. She looked quickly through the rest of the papers and she started to shake a little as the information reached her brain.
'Looks like they've been following him for a while. He obviously wasn't as good at hiding as he thought he was.'
She put the envelope and the collection of papers on her bed and stood up. She began pacing across the wooden floor.
'THE IDIOT! Why couldn't he have tried harder to keep himself hidden? Why now of all times?'
'Hermione calm down! He hasn't been captured yet or the Ministry would have had it sprawled across every piece of parchment they could find and sent to every wizarding house in the country! He's still out there somewhere.'
'In what state though? The report says he was weakened before he managed to apparate, and you know how dangerous apparation can be if you're not strong enough to do it! He could be laying in a ditch somewhere half dead!'
'Hermione, I'll say it again, clam down! As much as it pains me to say it, he's a good and pretty powerful wizard, it'd take something more than a dodgy apparation to hurt him. If the Aurors got him with a curse it's more than likely he'll know the counter so he's probably just lying low for a bit.'
'But surely he must know we'd find out about this, he must know we'd be worri-…' she fell silent and looked at the floor, 'I can't believe I was about to say that I was worried about the ferret.'
Harry smiled, 'I know, I thought the same earlier, but if you think about it, we're not really worried about him; we're worried that he won't be able to help Ron.'
Hermione managed a half smile.
'Yeah, you tell yourself that if it makes you feel better!'
Harry laughed, 'I will do.'
'So what now?' she asked, her tone returning to serious.
'I don't think there's much we can do. I mean, it's not as if we know where he is, to go and help him if that's what he needs. We can only really wait for him to contact us.'
'Oh this is so frustrating! I hate not being able to do anything; I've had enough of that for the past two months, and now after everything that's happened, to be in this situation…it's just so…'
'Frustrating?' Harry finished for her with a smile on his face.
She smiled, 'yeah.'
Hermione turned and started wandering aimlessly around her room.
'Hermione,'
'What?'
'Erm…look.'
She turned and followed Harry's gaze to her bed, the coin was glowing.
'Did it just glow?' she asked, wanting so badly to believe it had.
'Yep.'
Hermione walked towards her bed and looked at the coin, scared of what she was about to read on it. Slowly she picked it up and turned it so the message was the right way up. She looked at the words scrolling around the edge; apparently Malfoy's message was too long to fit around the circumference so he had made the sentences scroll around it. A twinge of annoyance filled her because she hadn't thought of the idea first. She silently scolded herself for letting something an insignificant as that bother her. She found the beginning of the message and read it.
HAD A RUN IN WITH AURORS, MANAGED TO ESCAPE BUT ONLY JUST. IN CAVE IN HOGSMEADE, RISKY BUT HAD NO CHOICE. HURT BADLY AND NEED HELP. PLEASE. PROTECTED CAVE TEMPORARILY, WILL ONLY LET POTTER AND YOU IN, BUT WON'T LAST LONG. COME QUICKLY. M.
'Oh God.'
'Let me read it.'
Harry took the coin from Hermione and read the message.
'He must be bad if he's asking for our help.'
'Harry we need to get to him, we can't wait any longer. Please.'
'Hermione I'm not going to argue, we'll apparate there as soon as we can.'
'But what if we can't help him?'
'If we can't do anything we'll take him back to ours and we'll see what Ginny can do.'
'She's only been Healing for two months Harry; chances are she won't be able to help him. What then?'
'We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Come on let's go, we shouldn't wait too long. We need to get to him.'
'Ok, I just need to tell my dad and then we'll apparate out of here.'
She turned and opened her bedroom door, and found Rachel stood in front of her, open mouthed, a shocked expression on her face. Hermione paled when she saw her, hoping against all hope that she hadn't heard anything. She knew she had though, by the look on her face.
'Do you want to tell me what on earth apparation, duelling and Aurors are?' she asked.
Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She looked at Harry, silently asking him what she should do.
'She was bound to find out sooner or later. This way you don't have to pretend anymore,' he said as if Rachel wasn't standing in front of Hermione.
'Fine, we'll leave it to mum and dad, we really don't have time,' she turned to Rachel. 'Rachel, I'm afraid I don't have time to tell you anything, I have some urgent business to attend to, so I'll leave you with mum and dad and they can explain everything.'
Rachel was shocked initially that Hermione had been so forward about whatever it is she was about to tell her and hadn't denied anything, but she soon found her voice.
'Who do you need to find? Where are you going? Is it dangerous?'
'Exactly how long were you stood outside my bedroom door eavesdropping Rachel?' Hermione asked her cousin as she made her way down the stairs.
'Long enough to hear some pretty interesting things!'
'Forget the silencing charms Hermione? That's not like you!' Harry said, not caring if Rachel heard, she wouldn't be in the dark for much longer. Hermione scowled at him over her shoulder.
They entered the lounge and the four muggles stopped talking at their entrance.
'Mum, dad, we have a slight problem. Rachel overheard Harry and me talking about, well…you know what.'
Her mum and dad exchanged glances then looked at Hermione.
'Oh,' Charles said quietly.
'I think it'll be easier if we just explain everything, it'll stop me having to pretend I'm living a life I'm not for one thing, and for another, you can actually tell them what I've really been doing since I was twelve years old. It should make the afternoon's conversation interesting to say the least!'
'Are you sure Hermione?' her mum asked quietly, not knowing how this was going to go down with her brother-in-law and his wife.
'Yes mum, we'll make this slightly easier for you.' She turned to Harry. 'Harry, would you get my jacket out of the cloakroom please?'
'You mean-?'
'Yes I do.'
'Ok.'
Harry proceeded to summon Hermione's jacket to him with his wand. Christine, Tony and Rachel blinked several times as the item of clothing made its way completely unaided through the air to Hermione, who then took her wand out of the inside pocket of the jacket.
'Mum I'm really sorry, we really have to go home. That thing I was telling you about, well there's been some developments and we need to sort them out.'
'Can't you stay Hermione?' Jan asked, slightly panicked.
'I really can't mum, I'm sorry I'm leaving you with this to deal with but I can't stay here at the moment. You said you trusted my judgement; well, I really have to go, I'm sorry. I'll tell you everything as soon as I can. I promise.'
She leant forward and kissed her mum goodbye. Her dad stood up and gave her a hug.
'Just be careful Hermione, that's all I ask.'
'I will dad.'
'I'll look after her Charles, I promise,' Harry added.
'Thank you Harry.'
'Well, we'd better leave Harry,' she said walking over to him. 'Aunty Christine, Uncle Tony, Rachel, I'm sorry I won't be here to explain everything that mum and dad are about to tell you. I swear the next time I see you I'll tell you all about being a witch.'
Her Aunt and Uncle stared at each other at the word 'witch'; Hermione was oblivious to the reactions. 'After three Harry?'
'Home? The invisibility cloak could be a good idea,' he said quietly.
'Yes, home. One – two – three.'
They both turned on the spot and vanished out of sight. Charles turned to Jan.
'She could at least have topped up my beer before she went.'
