Hermione's Death
The day had not been going well for Harry as he had had plans to go out for a few drinks after his shift had ended. Since joining the Auror Corps ten years ago, he had risen up the ranks to become the youngest head of the DMLE ever.
"What have we got?" asked Harry as he looked at a red haired Auror.
"Murder case" came the reply.
"If it was a simple case like that, why contact me?"
"The person involved was an old friend of yours"
"Who?"
"Hermione Granger... From the looks of things, Sir, she was tortured badly before being carved up into a right state"
"My god..." the colour drained from his face at the thought of one of his best friends being dead. "Any suspects?"
"Sir, yes, Sir. Based on evidence found at the scene and the victim's own testimony, we suspect her husband did it"
"Ron?" Harry's eyes widened as he took in the words of the Auror in front of him. "Where is he right now?"
"Schedule puts him somewhere in Durham on foot patrol"
"This is what you will do - call out the guard and have them in the briefing room in ten minutes. Next, inform the Minister that I will put someone into the maximum security wing at Azkaban"
"Is that not a little heavy?"
"Carry out my orders, Auror - DISMISSED!"
"Yes, Sir" and the Auror left the office.
"Susan Bones" Harry called as he threw some powder into his fireplace.
"Hey, Harry..." she greeted him. "You look terrible - whats wrong?"
"Hermine has been murdered in cold blood"
"Noooooo..." she gasped.
"Gets worse! According to Hermione's statement, Ron was the one that did it. Seems he got jealous about Hermione getting a higher ranking job than he had"
"Thats no excuse"
"Course it fucking isn't...! Sorry, Susie - this has just got me pissed off"
"Is there anything that I can do?"
"I want you and the Command Staff to form up a case and to prosecute Ron Weasley and his entire family"
"All of them?"
"Leave out Fred and George... They havent set foot in the Burrow for a decade. This has only just got to me, but I have a suspicision that Molly is behind this... Maybe Ginny as well"
"They never approved of Hermione getting a job, did they?" Susan's fire image screwed up in thought.
"And there was that joke about love potions"
"But those are banned except for very special circumstances"
"But she openly admitted using them to Hermione" Harry replied.
"Have you formed a capture team yet?"
"I'm having the Guard turned out now" Harry replied.
"I want to be a part of it" Susan said.
"Are you sure?" Harry asked. He knew very well about how close Susan was to Hermione as he himself was also close to the former Gryffindor. She was also an Auror, but she'd not seen front line duty in four years since her entire team had been captured and killed. She spent her time at the Academy teaching new recruits law and ethics.
"I swear that I will be fair and only fire when fired upon" Susan said and then added "Although I will be sorely tempted to kill him out of hand"
"We need him alive for questioning and trial" Harry reminded her.
"Fine, boss, I just want to take that bastard down"
"Five minutes in tbe briefing room" and Susan nodded before her image vanished. There was silence before Harry withdrew a bottle from the larger drawer in his desk and poured himself a large measure before downing it in one go. He did not normally drink on duty, and certainly not at half past nine in the morning, but some things simply overruled his normal pattern.
#
"This is a little more unusual then other briefings" Harry said. "We're not bringing in a normal criminal but one of our own..."
"Who?" asked one of the Aurors gathered in the briefing room.
"Ronald Weasley. He is with the murder of Hermione Granger earlier this morning. As you know, Auror Weasley is a highly trained person and a survivor of the Battle of Hogwarts which means he knows a great amount of spell work - do not underestimate him"
"Why is Madam Bones here?" asked an older Auror.
"The reason she is here is... Well, its classified Alpha One, but you will obey all orders from her as if they came from me and had a note from God. Now, we know what Weasley will be doing, so the majority of the team will Portkey to Durham and take him in. The remainder of the team will go to the Burrow and arrest any and all members of the family there and bring them to the Ministry for questioning"
"Why Portkey?"
"I know the normal practice is to apperate when possible, but I want this to go by the book and have everybody arrive at the same time"
"What are the ROE?" asked an Auror that Harry was sure had been around since before Voldemort's takeover years before.
"For the Burrow, you will use standard detention spells as a start with a normal esculation as needed. As for Auror Weasley, you will use heavy stunners and bindings. You will not shoot to kill unless it is the only remaining way to defend yourself and your team. I want that son of a bitch taken alive and brought in for questioning"
"What if he is around Muggles?"
"Then you are authorised to break the Statute - I want Weasley"
"You know that people are going to make political capital out of this, right?" Susan asked as the Aurors filed out to undertake their tasks.
"Dont really give a damn" Harry replied. "Hermione was not just a member of the Ministry, but she was a survivor of the Battle of Hogwarts... She stood tall and aquited herself with honour - you know the Goblins are afraid of her? Well, above that, she was also our friend and I'll be damned before I let Ron get away with this"
"As far as I can see, the only problm you will face is the fact that Arthur Weasley is a Department Head and a Pureblood. The Pureblood Alliance will simply say that Hermione was a Muggleborn and decided to take out a respected Pureblood"
"Perhaps, but this went on too long - we failed her in life, and I'm not going to fail her in death either" Harry took a calming breath. "Go and get him, Susan"
"As Ordered, Sir" Susan's face was one of seriousness as she drew to attention and saluted before leaving. He waited for several seconds before pressing a buttton on his desk.
"Sir" a voice came from the small speaker.
"I kmow this is not the standard procedure, Mary, but I want you to go to Azkaban and bring back Severus Snape"
"Snape?"
"I need him for a task. If he asks why he is being brought to the Ministry, tell him I sent for him" and Harry released the button. He leant back in his chair and thought the secret life the three of them shared.
A/N:
Would you guys like to see this fleshed out more as a story in the future?
