Harry and Hermione were still at Hogwarts plotting their next move. Ron and Ginny had all the Hallows, but they would soon discover that it would do them no good. He had underestimated their level of grief, clearly, and he still wasn't entirely sure why. Although, now that he was giving it some thought, perhaps he had been so used to his own grief that he had become numb to it. Having no memory of his parents, watching Cedric die, losing Sirius, Hedwig, Dobby, Lupin, and so many others, perhaps he had just become numb to it all. And, yes, he was grieving Fred, too. Although not blood related, he had felt like just as much of a brother to him as any of the Weasley children. He could even understand, to some extent, why his reaction would have upset Ron and Ginny. However, he knew for sure that their attempt to gather the Hallows together would do no good. Hopefully then, Ron and Ginny would return to apologize and they could all work on their grief properly.
As cool headed as he had managed to be so far, he could tell Hermione was struggling. So many times in the past, Hermione had been the most logical one in the group, but she had been through a lot emotionally in the last few weeks. If Ginny really had used the Imperius Curse on Hermione, which he still had a hard time believing, then his wife had put Hermione through a lot of mental anguish. However this played out in the end, he and Ginny would have to grapple with that. For the time being, all he could do was comfort Hermione as best he could.
He approached Hermione gingerly and offered her a hug, which she took. She buried her head deep into Harry's chest and started sobbing. Harry could feel himself getting emotional holding her close. "I'm so sorry," Harry said. "I will make sure they answer for their actions."
"I can't believe it's come to this," Hermione said. "Our best friend. Your wife."
"I hate it, too, but I'm an Auror. I cannot ignore a crime that I know has been committed. If I don't make every effort I can to arrest them, I will lose my job."
"But this isn't Greyback, or Rowle, or Malfoy. These are our friends who we've known nearly half our lives. How could they turn like this so easily?"
Harry's mind was now whirring. "You don't think they've been under an Imperius Curse, do you?"
"Can you use an Imperius Curse on someone and make them cast one on someone else? I don't know how well a wizard or witch could control that."
It seemed far-fetched to Harry as well, but analyzing the situation was helping Hermione calm down, so he decided to continue doing so to try to help her feel better. "Polyjuice Potion is also possible, I suppose," Harry said.
"But they'd have to be holding the real Ron and Ginny hostage for that to work long-term. Harry, do you have the Marauder's Map?"
"I think so. I always try to remember it when I come to Hogwarts." As he searched for it, he had a painful reminder of one of the young wizards who had given it to him. "How did Fred and George even figure out the map? They said they got it from Filch's office, but doesn't that seem odd?" Harry didn't really care, but he wanted Hermione to keep thinking about something.
"You know, I've never really thought about it," she said. "And all of the Marauders are dead now, so unless we ask George, I don't think we'll ever know for sure."
Harry pulled out and unfolded the map. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said. As the map began to appear, he smirked. "I mean, knowing Fred and George, it's possible one of them said it offhand one night with the parchment somewhat close. But how did they even know it was worth stealing?"
"Anything confiscated in Filch's office they must have realized had some value," Hermione said. "How did Filch even know to confiscate it in the first place?"
"He must have known how it worked," Harry said. The map finished forming, so he took a look at it to see if either Ron or Ginny were marked. Of course, they were nowhere to be seen, but at least it saved them the time it would have taken to search Hogwarts. "They're not here," he told Hermione.
"Damn," Hermione said. "I'm not shocked though. Ron knew you had the map. It would have been foolish not to go anywhere else."
"The problem now is how we find them," Hermione said. "They could be anywhere."
"And yet I think I have a pretty good idea where they went," Harry said.
"The Burrow?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Harry said. "I can't imagine Mrs. Weasley being happy with either of them, but maybe the idea of bringing Fred back would give her pause."
"We have to go now," Hermione said. "If that's where they went, they're likely already trying to bring Fred back."
"Come on," Harry said. The two of them sprinted to get off the grounds as soon as possible. Harry could feel a burning in his lungs as he ran. Every second they delayed Apparating was another second for Ron and Ginny to realize their plan wouldn't work. Harry had no idea where they would go after the Burrow, so this was their best chance to track them down.
As soon as they were far enough away, they Apparated just outside the Burrow. They sprinted to the house, shouting for anyone who might be inside, but no one seemed to be home. Harry had a spare key and used it to go inside. The house was entirely deserted.
"Fuck!" Hermione said, kicking a nearby broom out of frustration. "Where did they go?"
"Hang on," Harry said. "Where's that clock?"
"Who cares what time it is?" Hermione asked, but after a moment she realized. "You're right. That clock can at least give us some idea of where they went."
"One problem though," Harry said. "I don't see the clock."
"But it's always hanging right...oh no." Hermione and Harry could see that the clock had been taken down off the kitchen wall. Hermione stomped her feet, but she took a deep breath to calm herself. "We know one thing. Whoever took down that clock did it for a reason."
"It's possible Ron knew we'd look here and didn't want to be followed."
"If he knew we might come," Hermione said, "why didn't he leave any traps?"
"None of the other Weasleys knew what he and Ginny were doing. Ron could have come, told them they were all in danger, and convinced them to take down the clock and flee. Knowing we were right behind, he probably had no time to do anything but get his family Apparated to safety."
"The question now is where they went," Hermione said. "We have no leads now. Without that clock, we have no clue where they've gone. We've hit a dead end."
"Damn," Harry said, not sure if he would be able to come up with another lead. "Well, if the Weasleys aren't here, and they haven't left us any nasty surprises, we should take the opportunity for some rest."
"You're right. I haven't been sleeping well these last few nights. Taking a rest at the Burrow would be nice."
"Let me sweep the house anyway, just in case," Harry said. He left Hermione and the kitchen and inspected the Burrow to see if there were any magical traps laid. As he climbed the rickety stairs and looked through all the rooms, it was clear that only the ghost haunting the attic had been left behind. Harry returned to the kitchen to see Hermione starting dinner.
"I was feeling hungry," she said. "Hope you don't mind."
"Don't mind? I'm starving." Harry said. "What's for dinner?"
"Looks like pork," Hermione said. "I'd eat anything at this point though. I haven't had an appetite the last few weeks."
"Understood," Harry said.
As Hermione continued to prepare dinner, it occurred to Harry that this was the most normal moment he'd had in a while. It also struck him that it was Hermione making dinner and not Ginny. The moment gave him pause for thought. Of course, it had been awkward to have Hermione throw herself at him a few weeks ago. Now, though, the situation felt far more natural. Clearly Hermione was no longer under any curses, and with Ginny's decisions as of late, Harry was starting to second guess his choice to marry her. Of course, he had no way to know how Hermione felt, but it was likely she felt just as betrayed as he did. If there was even the remotest doubt about how she felt, he would of course not risk ruining his life's most important friendship. Of course, the situation was so emotional to begin with that even if Hermione did feel a certain way, she might regret it later. It was best to table those feelings for now, so Harry offered nothing but friendly gratitude when dinner was served.
The two of them ate in relative silence. It might have been his hunger, but this was some of the tastiest pork he'd eaten in a while. Hermione clearly felt the same way the way she was eating. At one point, she had some meat juice dripping down her chin. Harry laughed in spite of himself.
"What?" Hermione asked, her mouth full of pork.
"You're dribbling," Harry said.
"Oh, sorry," Hermione said, picking up a napkin and wiping her mouth clean. "I didn't realize how hungry I was until now."
"I'm hungry, too," Harry said.
"Does it feel weird eating a meal that wasn't intended for us?" she asked.
"Honestly, eating a home cooked meal at the Burrow is the most normal thing we've done in a while. It's a nice change of pace."
"Fair point."
The two of them ate the remainder of their meal in silence. After dinner, they headed out into the parlor, remembering all of the times they had sat out there with the Weasley family. It felt so empty sitting there now without a sea of gingers in the room. At the same time, though, Harry had not had a moment alone with Hermione since camping in the woods, when Ron had briefly abandoned them.
"Do you think he still has the Deluminator?" Harry asked.
"Ron? He might," Hermione said. "Could he use it to find us?"
"Maybe, but why would he want to?" Harry asked. "It's likely he's already tried using the Hallows and realized they didn't work. He comes back here, we arrest him and Ginny. He has forced his family into hiding and for what? Nothing."
Harry and Hermione both took a moment to stop to think about it.
"Harry," Hermione said, "what if...what if we just stopped?"
"Huh?"
"You can't arrest Ron and Ginny if you can't find them. They're long gone by now. And despite all they've done, who has it really hurt? Let them stay fugitives. I just want to stop fighting, Harry. I've been doing this with you for seven years now. Let's take a break and be normal for once. Can we put down the mantle just this once?"
Harry thought about it. "For tonight, yes. Going forward, I don't know, but getting a good night's rest will help us think more clearly tomorrow."
"Okay," Hermione said. "Harry...one last request for tonight. I...don't want to sleep alone tonight."
Harry was taken aback. "You don't mean…"
"No. Not like that. I just...I want to fall asleep in someone's arms. Who else would be better than you?"
Harry felt a bit giddy. "Okay," he said.
The two of them decided to take Bill's bed, as it felt the least awkward. The cheeky side of Harry wanted to take Ginny's or Ron's, but he figured Hermione wasn't up for cheekiness tonight. Harry wrapped his arms around her, and as the two of them fell asleep, there was something oddly natural about it. For a brief moment before falling asleep, Harry hoped that it might be like this for the rest of his life. He knew, though, that he had to take it one night at a time for now.