THE BULGARIAN STAR
After Bertram left, Harry returned to his seat, sighing heavily as his head continued to throb from his outburst.
"Hey buddy," Ron finally spoke up, sticking his hands in his pockets.
After they had left the meeting, and after seeing how he had talked to Hermione, he had followed him to his office to calm him down and make him see that it was very hard, however when he was about to talk to him, Bertram had interrupted them.
After allowing a few minutes to pass after Bertram left, he began to pick up the conversation.
"Listen, I'm not the one who is usually right here, however, I think it was very harsh of you the way you spoke to Hermione," said the youngest of the Weasleys.
"What? Ron, she was late for the meeting and with that idiotic German" answered the green-eyed man, still annoyed and in disbelief at his best friend's words.
"Bertram is just her friend, she said so. I think you should apologize to her," the redhead argued, slightly annoyed now, causing Harry to set his jaw and look up from his desk with a glare.
"She has never been late. If it had been you or me, she would have rebuked us the same way I did. Besides, this isn't the place to chat and be late for scheduled meetings." Harry replied in his defense.
"I don't deny that she has been harsh with us, on the contrary, she has been and since Hogwarts, but I think you overdid it a bit, and more because of the fact that she was talking to Bertram," the redhead continued trying to reason with his friend.
"Do you remember that she even used a time turner to arrive on time and be in all her classes?" The green - eyed Auror intervened, trying to get his best friend to support him, and deflecting a point where he would explode, but this was exactly what ended Ron's lack of patience.
"By Merlin! Friend, accept it! You love her, you like her and you're jealous of Bertram, you didn't mind her being late! It was because she was talking to Bertram!" Ronald assured, raising his voice and trying to make his best friend see reason.
"No! Of course not," Harry countered.
"You like her! You love her and it shows!" Ron claimed losing his composure and slapping his hands on his friend's desk.
"Well, I do love her! It's obvious that I love her, she's my best friend!" the green-eyed refuted again.
"Damn Harry! Realize, you want her as something more!" Ron yelled, then clenched his jaw, relaxed his face and continued, "You know what? I'm going to let you figure it out on your own, I just hope it's not too late when you open your eyes and you've lost her, but yes… you were so hard on her and you didn't realize the pain you caused her, seriously Harry, knowing her for so many years and you didn't notice those crystalline eyes... You have always been her priority, her goal has never been to disappoint you and today, with those words you made her understand that you were, I have no doubt that she is in a bathroom crying right now."
"The only difference would be that this time it wasn't my fault like at Hogwarts..." added the redhead leaving his best friend speechless.
Harry was incredulous with his best friend's words, he decided not to continue arguing, his friend had a point, he had inadvertently hurt Hermione, so he decided he would apologize to her.
"Harry, seriously apologize before it's too late and she walks away, or suffers more. If that happens, not only will she be the one who is devastated, you will be too." The redhead demanded and seeing that Harry wouldn't answer him, he left his office slamming the door.
When Ron left his office, Harry thought for a long time about everything that had happened recently, because he still couldn't believe that his best friend was in love with him.
Wandering through all these events, he remembered the conversation he had with his redheaded best friend, after Hermione had left for Germany and he had come back to his office soaking wet. Ron had told him that Hermione had always been quite obvious and as if it were a trip to the past, his mind traveled to remember a specific moment when he saw his brunette friend cry and his other friends present looked at her with pity, as if they knew something that he didn't know, which led him to realize that they had gone out to dinner that day with his girlfriend at the time.
flash-back
It was night and Harry and his friends had arranged to meet after work outing. The green-eyed man left his office to go look for his girlfriend and then go to the cafe where they had arranged to meet with Hermione, Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny.
When he arrived with Alana at the cafe, Neville, Ginny and Luna were already there. Ron was going to wait for Hermione to leave the Ministry together. They were about to sit down when he saw them cross the street and walk towards them.
It seemed normal to him to see that they had been arguing, but there was a touch of annoyance or sadness in Hermione that caught his attention and even more so when Ron pulled her towards him and hugged her affectionately for a few seconds, until they separated and continued walking towards them.
Arriving at the table, they greeted everyone and Luna got up to hug and kiss Ron on the lips. The blonde and redhead had started dating since the Battle of Hogwarts and were now in the process of getting engaged.
They sat down and ordered their drinks and food, while everyone chatted happily. From time to time he would turn and put his arm around Alana's shoulders, who would turn her face towards him with a smile and he would kiss her lips in a quick kiss. It was a few moments later that he noticed that everyone seemed to be looking with concern at Hermione, who was now crestfallen staring at her drink, as if it had become the most interesting object in the world, so he decided to take her hand on top of the table, which made her jump a little and meet her eyes as she looked up with her rather flushed face.
" Mione, is something wrong with you?" He asked his friend with his face full of concern, noticing the silence that had fallen at the table when he asked his question. It was obvious that something was going on, but he didn't know it.
" No, Harry, everything's fine, just a tiring day at work, " Hermione answered with a slight smile that didn't convince him at all.
" I know you well enough to know that you're lying to me or not telling me the whole truth, Mione," Harry replied even more concerned.
The green-eyed noticed that Hermione turned her gaze to Alana and then let out a sigh.
" Seriously, Harry, it's okay. Thanks for worrying, I'm fine, just a little tired, " Hermione assured, trying to keep Harry from insisting.
Harry was a little hurt that his best friend didn't confide in him about what was happening to her, but seeing her look at Alana, he thought she wouldn't say it in front of her, maybe it was something more personal and decided not to insist for now.
He removed his hand from hers and realized that the table had been completely silent and then his friends had resumed their conversations and even Luna, drawing Hermione's attention to comment on crinkle-horned snorckaks.
Weeks later he had ended his relationship with Alana, when he returned to complain about her jealousy towards Hermione. Why was it that the women he dated couldn't accept that Hermione was his best friend? Once, one of his ex-girlfriends had even made him choose between her and Hermione. Obviously he was never going to get away from the brunette, she was one of the most important people in his life, she had always been there for him and would never leave her.
end of flash back
Coming out of his musings, Harry got up from his desk, sighed as he got up and left the office, in his mind he saw Hermione crying, which made him feel bad, he swallowed as he began to walk quickly in search of the brunette.
He ran through several corridors in search of Hermione, ran into several people and asked all of them about his friend, but only one girl could tell him that she had seen her enter the meeting room with the minister, where they would possibly take a few hours to leave.
Harry sighed desperately and without any other choice he returned to his office, asking that same girl before to send him a memorandum when they finished their meeting and the girl excitedly nodded frantically to the head of aurors.
Arriving at his office, he locked himself in, searching for the words to speak to Hermione. As he thought of something, he realized how obvious it had been and he hadn't been able to see that because he was an idiot. Now that he remembered, he could see the sadness in his best friend's brown eyes and he could see the love that she always hid, thinking that he would never notice her.
Still in the present it seemed incredible to him that Hermione had kept those feelings to herself for so long and he was an idiot for not realizing it. Apparently, she was able to hide it from him perfectly, because Hermione was an open book to him, but there had always been that look in her eyes that he had never been able to decipher and it hurt.
He even remembered the reaction she had when he touched her hand on the table and the silence that fell when he asked what was wrong with her. Now he knew that everyone knew about it, except for him, and it was obvious that she wasn't going to tell him because she was afraid of being rejected and losing their friendship.
Without realizing it, the hours passed while he was thinking about this, when a little piece of paper folded in the shape of a dove, flew towards him, somehow passed through his door, reached him and landed on his hands falling delicately and when Harry took the paper, it unfolded showing a message.
"They left the meeting half an hour ago, as soon as I found out I investigated the whereabouts of Miss Granger, she is in her office, if you hurry you can reach her" read the jet determined to leave his office.
He quickly headed towards his best friend's office. He didn't know what the hell he was going to tell her, he had always been clumsy with these things, but he had to apologize to her, for having treated her like that when they left the meeting. He felt bad enough already, knowing he had made her feel worse.
Upon arrival he stood in front of Hermione's door, he paused for a moment thinking again of what he could say, but the more he thought, the more idiotic he would look. He raised his hand and knocked on the door to enter, hearing his best friend's voice through the door a second later.
He took the access knob and turned it, entering the office and feeling very bad when he saw her face red and full of tears. He closed the door behind him, lowered his head and put his hands in his pants pockets.
Being so distracted, he still hadn't thought that she was probably crying because of what happened when they left the auror meeting, so he felt anger in his veins and asked.
"Who made you cry? Tell me and I'm going to break his face" the green-eyed man demanded, clenching his teeth.
"I don't think you want to break your face yourself. Besides, I wouldn't allow it" answered the brunette with a trembling voice.
"Hermione… I… " Harry began, unsure what to say and lowering his head again in embarrassment. He felt like an idiot.
"Don't say anything. You were right, I was late and I'm sorry. It won't happen again," assured the brunette, wiping her tears.
"I had no right to talk to you like that, Hermione," the green - eyed embarrassed replied, "Could you forgive me?" he asked hopefully.
"Harry… " Hermione said, shutting up suddenly.
Minutes passed without either of them saying anything, until Harry decided to break the ice.
"I've been a real idiot talking to you like that, but it's just... I don't know how to express myself, you know me and you know I'm lousy with words, then I end up saying anything stupid... Hermione, I'm really sorry, I don't want to lose you, could you forgive this idiot? asshole? stupid?... I'm running out of adjectives," Harry said pouting and holding his hand behind his head, while his eyes wandered all over his friend's face looking to be forgiven.
Hermione looked at those green eyes that drove her crazy, of course she was going to forgive him, little by little she smiled at the pout her friend was making.
"Of course, I forgive you, Harry," the brunette finally agreed.
His friend reached out to wrap his arms around her, muttering his apologies over and over.
"If you keep asking for forgiveness, I'm going to reconsider… " the brunette jokingly hit his arm stopping his words.
"It's not true, just stop apologizing. I admit it wasn't right that I was late, although you exaggerated a bit by... scolding me." Hermione smiled and shook her head at her friend's reaction, who broke his hug and opened his mouth in fright.
"I... but! It's... it's just... Ok, well... I exaggerated" Said the green-eyed, noticing that Hermione was looking at him with a slightly furrowed brow.
"However, Harry, I am proud that you take your position seriously," the brunette said, patting his chest, making Harry smile gratefully at her compliment.
"I promise to be more careful with my words and more permissive with you... but don't abuse," Harry determined, staring at Hermione, who was smiling with a blush on her cheeks.
"It's a deal, Harry," Hermione exclaimed, stretching out his hand, the green-eyed man took it, giving her a smile.
Days passed, where Harry and Hermione returned to their daily routine, and where the work absorbed them.
After a few days, Harry and Ron had been training with the auror corps, in the training room, they had been going for more than four hours without stopping.
The room was filled with human warmth due to everyone's effort, Harry, who was sweating profusely, ended up taking off his auror jacket, which he placed on a bench.
After half an hour more of training, where there were falls, bumps and slips, Harry ended the exhausting training.
Harry's shirt was stuck to his body due to sweat, marked his abdomen and chest, his hair damp and slightly shiny, drew the sigh of several women who were on the edge of a window in the training room, and making his presence evident.
"We have an audience, Harry," Ron exclaimed, smiling upon realizing this fact, knowing full well the reaction his green-eyed best friend caused in women.
Hearing this, Harry glanced in the direction his redheaded friend was pointing, noticing the many women who were mostly students and young ministry workers, all staring at him and making him blush to the point of nearly matching the color of his best friend hair.
Ron started laughing, spreading it to the other aurors who seemed to be very aware of their auror boss and the girls.
Harry was about to ask everyone to leave the training room, when he saw Hermione trying to enter the room without noticing that he was without his jacket.
The brunette had managed to make her way through the tide of girls, asking everyone not to obstruct the door, and at the same time she claimed the security protocols.
"He never wastes an opportunity, does she, Ron?" Harry exclaimed smiling as he watched his friend give her typical security speech.
Ron laughed again, nodding at his best friend.
When Hermione managed to make the women disperse and leave the entrance free, she entered the room looking at some papers that she was beginning to order.
Looking up, she met Harry's gaze, and unconsciously she scrutinized him from head to toe, noticing his defined chest and abdomen, which stood out perfectly, causing a blush to hit her violently.
Hermione stopped her walk, staying at a somewhat distance from her best friends, she swallowed nervously, trying to keep her body and mind under control.
The silence was palpable, Ron cleared his throat to the other aurors who didn't want to miss any of this interaction between two legends, two great heroes who were admired by the Ministry of Magic and who everyone knew something was going on between them.
"Er... shower guys, that's all for today," Ron exclaimed as he waved his hands for privacy.
Harry at those words blinked out of what he felt a trance, unaware of his attitude towards the actions of his brunette friend, and it was not the first time that she had seen him without a jacket, he would even dare to say that she came to see him shirtless on one occasion, however this time he was able to notice in more detail the signs of nervousness and blush that his friend showed.
"Hey, hello Hermione, everything okay?" Harry said as he put on his jacket after realizing he was putting on an unintentional show.
"Huh? oh! Yes, hello Harry, Ron…" answered the brunette trying to walk as wobbly as possible towards them to say goodbye and tell them that she was going to eat with her parents and not to wait for her to have lunch together.
"I... I won't be able to eat with you, but I..., I'll see you later," said the brunette, smiling tensely and feeling her face hot because the image of Harry sweating didn't disappear from her head.
"Everything okay, Hermione?" If it's because of the hour, we can change it to go eat together." The redhead asked, exchanging a disgruntled look with Harry.
"No, it's not that... my parents called, they want to eat with me and you know how dad is... he doesn't want his daughter to stand him up" Hermione spoke, focusing her eyes on Ron, in her tenth attempt to block a sweaty Harry, who seemed not to want to leave her mind.
"Okay," his friends answered in unison.
The brunette, nodding, turned around and walked out, leaving the room and noticing the furious looks that some girls gave her, just because they knew she was Harry Potter's best friend and she could enter and greet him without inconvenience.
Minutes later, with Harry and Ron still in the living room, they decided to talk and agree on where the three of them could go for dinner together.
"How about the leaky cauldron?" Ron suggested.
"Oh no, no…something more discreet, where the three of us can be comfortable…" Harry said, thinking.
"Uh-huh...comfortable," Ron repeated, staring at his friend, while giving him a mocking smile.
"Stop looking at me like that Ron, I'll think of somewhere nice," Harry protested as he headed for the exit.
"Well, I'll leave it up to you, friend," added the redhead.
"For now, we're going to shower, training has been a bit intense," Harry said changing the subject, as they left the training room.
"I'll never do that exercise again in my life just to help the students." Ron panted tiredly as they left the area.
"At least they're all promising," Harry replied, not paying attention.
"Promising? You mean a quarter of the entire group, right? There was even a guy, who ran off to the ministry cafeteria." Ron threw up his hands dramatically.
"Yes?" Harry 's voice sounded distant, at that moment his mind was distracted by remembering Hermione blushing.
"I know, I can't believe it either," Ron looked quite dismayed, but we can't do any more. Anyway since we're not having lunch with Hermione, I'm going home, I'm sure mum cooked bacon and eggs so before George eats them all, I need to get there, do you want to come?" he asked excitedly.
"Thanks for the invite, Ron, but…" Harry was about to decline when someone interrupted him.
"But I'm Harry Potter and I never have time" that joke had been as bad as the presence of the person who had arrived" it's good to see you again.
Viktor Krum was leaning against the wall just behind them, smiling wryly at them.
Harry and Ron didn't bother to smile back, as all three knew that none of them were happy about the Bulgarian's presence.
"Krum," greeted Harry, "what brings you here to the London Ministry?" The auror asked seriously.
"They sent me from Bulgaria for work reasons. I've talked to Kingsley and now I have to meet with the head and deputy head of aurors, which I must assume, I'm in front of them," Viktor stated seriously.
"Sure, let's go to the office," Harry said, without a hint of encouragement, and frustrated that he couldn't take a bath after sweating too much.
Inside Harry's office, Krum began to explain why he had been sent to work in London. Sure, it was for a short time, but his role was apparently important.
"I have come because I have been informed that there are still a few death eaters on the loose. They are looking for an ancient magical artifact that has been taken from Bulgaria by Igor Karkaroff for Voldemort, at the time he returned and we need to return it before they have found it. It is for this reason that I have been sent here, and I must request escorts from your aurors, Potter." said the Bulgarian, with notorious superiority.
A thick silence settled over the place, Ron and Harry attentive to the information they were receiving.
"And what makes it even more interesting is that it is a magical object created by goblins, which led me to contact Fleür and Bill Weasley, who have told me that, together with the head of the magical creatures law department, they are the means of communication with the ministry and this leads me to the fact that I need a word with her, since this requires investigation," Viktor clarified, taking an interest in Harry's reaction.
"Good. But I must clarify that any information that she has, she has to give it to me first and I assume then that, would you be joining the aurors?" Harry asked, sounding unfriendly.
"Yes, to training and raids," he replied, with a serious face.
"Okay, we'll talk to Kingsley then, to organize ourselves better," Harry said, trying to remain professional.
"And since we are done talking about work, I want to tell you that I have also decided to remember old times," the Bulgarian man sighed, stretching his joints.
"Very remarkable," the jet agreed sarcastically.
"You know, when you were just teenagers who thought you were helping your friend who thought he was the most powerful at only fourteen years old," the Bulgarian added, making Ron's jaw clench.
"You don't need to keep inventing things Krum, you better worry about the fact that you still haven't forgotten it, almost ten years later." Harry rolled his eyes wanting to get out of there as soon as he could.
"Oh no! That's not what I wanted to remember" the Bulgarian stopped them.
"You, Weasley. You admired me at first, I remember hearing you whisper that you wanted my autograph," Viktor said, with an air of superiority, making the redhead frown.
Ron's face could be compared to that of a tomato and no difference would be found at this point in the conversation.
"But that's not the point either. Speaking of the head of the department of magical creatures' law, Hermione, your friend who went with me to the yule bale..." Said the Bulgarian with a sigh.
Harry's stomach churned, hearing his best friend's name come out of the Bulgarian's mouth.
"I heard a few months ago that she was in a relationship" Viktor's face contracted when he said that, "but a few weeks ago, I knew that it was over" he expressed with relief. "My question for you two is… what do you think of me, to be the next boy she falls in love with?" Krum asked with a slightly sarcastic smile and looking at Harry with obvious interest.
Harry and Ron didn't respond at first, thinking this was all a bad joke, but Viktor just stared at them with an awkward smile.
Panic and anger flowed through the veins of the jet and in what seemed like a second, for him there were thousands of minutes in which he glimpsed in his mind all the adventures he had with his best friend, all her support and determination to saving his life countless times, and along with those images he evoked the few but clearly painful times he had seen his best friend cry, and somehow Harry sensed that that smug baldhead was only going to make Hermione suffer, and he wasn't going to allow, he could swear, he would do anything for his best friend.
"What?" Ron asked uneasily.
"What you heard; I'm going to win Hermione... oh sorry... I meant, win Hermione back," said Viktor Krum, showing his raised ego.
"Wow, how confident are you?" said Ron, knowing full well that his friend had never been in love with Krum.
"I have enough confidence to know that Hermione will soon be on top of me." exclaimed the Bulgarian, smiling.
Unable to bear it, Harry pushed Krum against the wall with just his forearm, not caring that the Bulgarian was larger than him in various ways, such as height or muscle mass, which was noticeably more muscular.
"What nonsense are you saying?" Harry grunted through clenched teeth.
"Harry!" Ron shouted trying to separate him from the Bulgarian.
"Easy, Potter! It's not that I want to take her to bed at once, I'll be gentlemanly and ask her out on a date first" said Krum using all his muscular strength to move away from the jet.
"I remind you that she is our best friend, and we are not going to let you or anybody else, to take advantage of her, neither you nor Bertram will take advantage of it," Harry added, shaking his head, calming his nerves.
"Bertram? Who is he? In addition, she knows how to take care of herself, and in case you don't know, it's not taking advantage, it's taking advantage of the opportunities that life gives you. If Hermione is vulnerable, it's because she needs someone to comfort and support her," Viktor declared proudly.
Ron widened his eyes at such a comment, Harry for his part clenched his hands.
"If you dare to hurt her, I don't answer for my actions!" Said the jet full of fury, and taking a step towards him in attack mode.
"Touch me again and I promise to answer, Potter," Krum said quickly, raising his hands. "I know how to defend myself and I won't lie when I say I look forward to facing you," Viktor added with annoyance.
"Enough, Krum, you're being an insolent idiot, keep in mind that you're talking to your superiors, and both Harry and I have the power to return you to your ministry of magic for this lack of respect," argued Ron, who with his right hand had holding his best friend by the arm.
"I have not started, in any case I have come kindly, Potter pounced on me like a troll," Krum said with a harsh snort.
"Enough nonsense, get it into your head that Hermione is our best friend, and therefore someone as important as Ron or me, we'll do whatever we have to do to defend her and take care of her from anyone," Harry threatened, taking him for the collar of his uniform in a fairly deft motion.
When Ron saw that Viktor was about to defend himself, he grabbed his friend and reluctantly pulled him away from the Bulgarian.
"I know! You guys are also very important to her, that's why I came to talk, I really like her, and I want to try something with her," Krum argued.
"She'll know what to tell you, we don't influence who she looks at, we just support her or intervene when she needs it," Ron declared, watching Harry adjust his uniform in one movement.
"But... " the Bulgarian tried to argue, when he saw Harry storm out of there.
Ron sighed, watching his best friend leave, after a few seconds he returned his gaze to Viktor who seemed to be lost in thought.
"Then who is Bertram? And what does it have to do with Hermione?" Krum spoke out of his musings.
Ron was going to avoid the question, but an idea popped into his head and a mischievous grin spread across his face.
"How about we go see him?" Ron offered with his plan in mind.
"Does him works here?" Krum asked as they headed for Bertram.
"Yes, he's someone who just like you… wants to be with Hermione," the redhead explained.
Jealousy invaded the former seeker, Ron noticing it led him to the aurors' meeting room and asked for Bertram, who was apparently in the cafeteria, so they wasted no time and headed there.
Upon arrival, Bertram was having a coffee, while he was chatting with other people, apparently, he was very sociable, Ron pointed him out to make him known.
"Wait, why you take me with him, what do you gain from it? Do you want me to lose control and cause a scene? I could be punished or fined for it," Krum asked curiously, stopping his walk.
"No, no, how do you think? I just want you to meet your…uh…competition, so that everything is…fairer," Ron said quickly, realizing that the hairless Bulgarian had discovered his intention.
"My competition? him? Krum pointed out to Bertram. Isn't Potter my competition?" he asked confused.
"Harry? Why do you think that?" Ron asked playfully, knowing full well that no one was Harry's match for Hermione's feelings.
"I've seen the way Hermione looks at him, I know how in love she is with Potter... what I don't know is if he reciprocates," said Krum.
"They are best friends, and everything Harry has done or said is because he wants her as his best friend, that's what he has told me," answered Ron innocently, who internally questioned that answer, because something deep inside him, told him that Harry was falling in love with Hermione, but he hadn't found out.
Krum nodded and with a strong demeanor, advanced towards Bertram who, seeing him, looked at him in confusion. In a second the entire cafeteria was silent.
"What intentions do you have with Hermione Granger?" asked the Bulgarian abruptly and directly, cutting the silence that had previously been made.
"All," Bertram said with a lopsided smile.
Krum opened his eyes and with both hands grabbed his "competition" by the shirt and lifted him up to slam him on the table.
Quickly everything unraveled, while Ron watched the show from a corner, laughing at those two.
While all this was happening in the cafeteria, Harry was heading out of the ministry, the least he cared about was that people saw him leave in torment, because the only thing he needed at that moment was to go out and take it out on anything that happened to him. will find on the way.
The emotions that invaded him were too many and quite confusing, so he had chosen to take a breath away from there, seeking to calm his mood to avoid any imprudence
He walked out of the ministry and began to walk away without being very aware of where he was going, so he had not realized that he had already walked several blocks without a fixed direction.
He crossed an avenue, to then go through an alley and at that moment his developed auror instinct made him stop, he was perceiving a strange sensation of danger and moved by it, he entered the street, where at the end there was a garbage container, and two fire escapes in parallel.
His hand went to his wand, which he drew slowly, and for a few seconds, Harry felt a heavy, tense silence, which was broken by the voice of an older man.
"Harry Potter," the man mentioned his name with a smile that denoted evil.
The jet turned to the owner of the voice and a shiver ran down his spine, realizing that he was the responsible for the death of Fred Weasley.
"Rookwood," the green-eyed auror answered through clenched teeth.
"We meet again, it's time to settle accounts. Don't you think?" The man asked confidently, thinking that he had caught the famous chosen one.
Harry frowned and, gripping his wand tightly, aimed it at the death eater.
Rookwood who had also drawn his wand launched the first attack, which was easily deflected by the auror.
"Did your little friends leave you alone, Potter?" Rookwood asked, sneering. "Don't think this is over, Potter," he stated, holding his wand up.
For several minutes the bursts of light came and went, until the green-eyed man managed to disarm the Death Eater, smiling in victory.
Before there were any other movement five death eaters appeared surrounding the chosen one, that's when he realized that this was an ambush.
"That's right Potter, you'll be joining your parents soon," exclaimed the leader mocking and encouraging his group.
"I'm not afraid of death, I've been through it before and got away with it ," Harry assured him confidently.
Harry began his attack, as he moved towards the dumpster to use it as a shield, he was able to take down two death eaters, before a blue blast hit him in the side.
He took his hand to the place noticing a slight injury, he smiled at his good luck, although the battle was still intense and then, Rookwood received an order that upset the green-eyed man.
"Where is the mudblood? I just heard that Granger is about to leave the Ministry, we have several death eaters ready to attack her," one of them said, trying to provoke Harry, but Harry knew they were trying to trick him.
Harry looked at all the hooded men around him, at some point they had multiplied, he breathed with some difficulty, although he knew it wasn't time to leave, he couldn't allow them to do something to Hermione, and that was when he remembered his anger with Krum and fury swept over him again, causing him to attack left and right.
The green-eyed man's spells began to respond, managing to inflict a few wounds on him, but he didn't sit idly by either, defending himself from the six hooded men as best he could.
Being the best auror, he couldn't let himself be defeated by those idiots, so he concentrated and began to cast non-verbal spells and little by little he gained ground, until he lost his wand, left alone against four death eaters.
"I'll give you one chance, let me pass and I'll let you run away," asked the auror who was without a wand, making the death eaters laugh, because they had the advantage.
Harry with his skill and speed approached the closest hooded man to hit him in the face and three others cast various spells on him, but the jet ducked nimbly, darting to one side to approach the other and take his wand with a quick movement, at the same time it hit him in the stomach.
"Rictusempra!" The jet shouted, pointing at the furthest death eater and hitting him squarely.
The one he punched in the face lunged for revenge, but Harry moving quickly landed another punch, which broke his nose, sending him to the ground.
"Fainting!" Harry threw to the one who had taken his wand, leaving him alone with a death eater.
"Rookwood?" asked the green - eyed auror. He was on his back and turned his face a little so that it was outlined with his shoulder and quickly turned around to walk towards the death eater.
The man nervously shook his head, looked around seeing his companions lying and hurt.
"It was, for her... for... Granger," the Death Eater exclaimed, throwing away his wand as a sign of surrender.
Harry approached him, crouched down to grab him by the collar flap.
"If anything happens to her, I'm going to tear you apart piece by piece," Harry assured him with fury in his eyes and his jaw clenching.
"But I… " Rookwood stammered, until Harry tied and gagged him with his wand, interrupting his words.
Not being able to believe that he had defeated everyone, he stood up and quickly left there as soon as possible, in a few seconds he appeared outside the ministry, finding Ron at the entrance, being worried about him. It was already past lunchtime.
"Harry! What the hell?" asked the redhead scared that his best friend would come back a little wounded and dirty.
"I was furious and when I left, I didn't realize that I ended up in an alley and six death eaters were following me. Don't ask, because I have no idea how I got rid of them all" Harry told his friend, while shaking one of his hands as a sign that he could still feel the adrenaline of the moment.
"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, a little surprised. "Six death eaters, all by yourself?! I'm glad you're okay, friend," the boy said with relief, briefly remembering the discussion between Harry and Krum, and how successful his move was to separate them, knowing that his friend managed against six individuals, so with Krum and all his muscles he would be nothing against his best friend.
After that thought Ron sighed in relief, he had kept his friend out of trouble.
"Do me a favor and don't say anything to Hermione," the jet asked, interrupting the redhead's thoughts. "I don't want her to worry. I'll see how to take care of the few wounds I have" the green-eyed man finished saying, as he walked inside.
They separated when they entered the ministry, each heading to his office, but the redhead didn't expect to find his brunette friend, as he headed to his office.
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, with a smile that faded from her face at seeing him so nervous. "Is something wrong?" She asked worried.
"No...nothing," he replied, somewhat nervous. But he had always been a lousy liar and Hermione knew it, "Um... I'm going to my office." He tried to calm his nerves but it didn't work.
"Ah, hey… How was lunch with your parents?" Ron tried to deflect the subject when he saw Hermione narrow her eyes and stare at him.
The silence that followed was extremely heavy, Hermione was aware of Ron's change of subject, so she approached him with a frown, while crossing her arms, she was not going to allow her friend to use her lunch with his parents to hide some information, which she sensed must be something important or delicate.
"Ronald Weasley! What's wrong?! Speak or I swear...!" demanded the brunette, giving him that look that always terrified Ron and that forced him to say everything.
"H… Harry stormed out of the ministry and was attacked. He was attacked by six death eaters. He just came, he's in his office. The redhead said with a trembling voice, not letting the brunette's threat finish.
Hermione's eyes widened, a feeling of anguish running through her chest.
"Ha... Harry ...? What...?" She tried to ask, but the words stuck in her throat.
"He was attacked... but he's... " Ron didn't finish telling her, when Hermione was already running towards her best friend's office, her eyes quickly glassed up, her heart pounding, increasing her concern.
She didn't mind pushing and bumping into a few people on the way, she just needed to get to Harry.
"Merlín! Harry is going to kill me, was the first thing he said to me. Don't tell Hermione and it's the first thing I do. Yes, my days are definitely numbered. By Merlin! It's just that she had that look... so terrifying, with which I let go of everything." the redhead thought.
Hi, I'm back here with this new chapter. I apologize for the delay, but muggle life has me busy, between having to go get vaccinated again, work and other things, I hadn't had time to start doing this and my beta was busy too.
But here I leave this and I hope you like it, let me know what you think, I always appreciate your comments, opinions and other shows of support.
We will continue reading soon.