Chapter Seventy-One: An Unlikely Partnership
Ginny Weasley – Present Day
April 10, 2001
Ginny looked around at the awkward group sitting in the living room of the Burrow. There was of course, her, her mother, Bill, Charlie, Percy, and George, all dressed in black. Joining them were Remus and Tonks along with two Ministry Officials that Ginny did not know by name, but knew that they worked alongside Umbridge. They had arrived at the door about two hours prior, with a Ministry official letter mandating them to be present for Ron's funeral under suspicions that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger would attempt to make an appearance. The group had sat in silence thus far, but it would appear that the Ministry Officials could not take it any longer.
"Mrs. Weasley, where is the rest of your family?" the older of the two asked.
"This is all that remains of my family," she responded sadly.
"I thought some of you were married?" he asked, looking around the room.
"My wife is at home with our child," Bill responded.
"And mine is at work, you see, she has an important role at the Ministry," Percy said proudly.
"I see," said the old man, as the young one to his right began to make notes. "And you are not expecting any other guests?"
"We planned on it being intimate," Remus replied for Molly.
"I am not comfortable with the body being upstairs," the younger man said.
"The body?" Molly repeated angrily. "That is my son!"
The old man interjected quickly. "Forgive us, Mrs. Weasley, we simply need to ensure that there is no attempt being made to remove him."
"Remove him? This is my son's funeral; where do you expect him to be moved to?"
"Paul, go on upstairs and set up wards if you must, but do not patronize a grieving mother," Tonks said quietly to the older man who appeared to be named Paul.
"Of course, Tonks," he nodded in agreement. "Jacob, go on."
The other man known as Jacob headed upstairs to Ron's room but returned shortly thereafter. He nodded his head to Paul, confirming that he put up some charms to ensure that nobody snuck in to remove Ron.
They know about the spell, Ginny thought to herself. Why else would they be concerned with the removal of Ron?
"Did Mr. Weasley have, uh, a betrothed?" Paul asked delicately.
"No knot," Remus responded. "He was involved with a witch, but sadly she passed not long ago."
"We need her name; for our records of course," Jacob said.
Molly perched her lips but responded nonetheless. "Essa Delacour."
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Ginny caught Remus' eye quickly and both assumed the same thing – Harry had found a way here. Jacob got up to check it out, but Ginny stopped him.
"I will get the door, thank you," she said.
She watched Paul place his arm out to stop Jacob from responding. "Of course, but be sure to bring them in here."
Ginny opened the front door to the Burrow, and saw a red-headed woman she did not recognize, along with a tall man with a black goatee.
"Oh Ginny!" the woman cried. "My deepest condolences, come here!" she said, grabbing Ginny into a tight hug.
"It's Harry and I," the woman whispered into her ear.
Ginny sighed a breath of relief as she hugged who she knew to be Hermione back. "Mom, look who's here," she said, after she hug Harry a little too long.
"Who?" Molly asked, looking up at the two strangers.
"Cousins Patty and Ben," Ginny responded quickly.
"Molly!" said Patty loudly, grabbing her into a tight hug. Ginny watched her lean into her ear and knew she was telling her mother who they were.
"It has been too long," Molly said, letting go and beckoning to Ben.
"Our condolences," said Ben, taking his turn to hug her too.
"Cousins Patty and Ben?" Jacob said, staring the pair down as they took their seats. "You don't look like a Weasley," he questioned, as he eyed Ben suspiciously.
"Ben is my husband, so he isn't blood."
"And you, Ms...?" asked Paul.
"Hawthorne," she responded. "Patricia Hawthorne, formerly Weasley. Arthur and I are cousins."
Paul nodded his understanding, but Jacob still seemed bothered by the pair. Luckily however, he said nothing more and the rest of the evening passed uneventfully.
"How long will you be here?" Molly suddenly asked the Ministry Officials. "Forgive me," she added quickly, "but I am tired."
"Until after the burial," Paul answered.
"The burial is not taking place for several days," Remus said.
"Then I suppose we are here for several days," Jacob snickered.
"Very well, but do not expect me to feed you," Molly said bitterly.
"Speaking of being fed, are you hungry Patty? Ben?" Ginny asked.
"Starved," Ben answered truthfully.
"We do need to be leaving soon, Ben," Patty said to him. "Perhaps take some food for the road?"
"Sorry madam, but you and Ben may not leave any time soon," said Paul.
"And why is that?" asked Ben.
"As you have been made aware, we are here on official Ministry business."
"And?" prompted George.
"And," responded Jacob, "we need to ensure that nobody is here in disguise, so nobody is leaving until we know that none of you are under the effects of polyjuice!"
"This is barbaric!" screamed Patty.
"It's fine," Ben said quickly, trying to prevent any more suspicion. "Ginny, I will take that plate of food then."
Ginny got up to head to the kitchen and Ben made to follow, but Jacob interjected. "None of you may leave my sight!"
"The kitchen is in your eyesight Jacob, cut it out!" yelled Tonks.
When Ben and Ginny were out of earshot from the Ministry Officials, she whispered, "how long do you have left on the potion?"
"Not long," Ben, who was actually Harry, answered.
"What do we do?"
He thought for a moment. "For sure it's Abracadabra?"
Ginny nodded. "Positive."
He made to take a bite out of the sandwich that was just handed to him, when he saw something craw across the counter from the corner of his eye. Smiling, he said to Ginny, "looks like I've got a plan; make sure Hermione follows my lead."
Harry Potter – Present Day
April 10, 2001
Harry finished his sandwich and walked back over to the couch. He watched as Ginny whispered something into Patty's (or rather, Hermione's) ear. He got a small nod from his pretend wife and knew that she would play along with his plan.
"Molly, I, uh, would like to go and see Ron, to, uh, pay my respects, if that is alright?" Harry said.
"Of course," she responded.
"I'll go with you," said Hermione as Patty.
"No," Harry responded awkwardly. "I would prefer to be alone."
"Whatever for?" Jacob questioned.
"Ron was like a son to me," he quickly responded. "I would like to say goodbye properly."
Jacob made to follow regardless, but Paul stopped him. "The charms are up, just let him go."
"But what if it's him?" whispered Jacob.
"Well then, we will know!" Paul whispered back.
Harry made his way upstairs and entered Ron's bedroom. He took his time closing the bedroom door behind him then strolled to the window. After a few moments, he closed that too. He took a moment to make sure for himself that Ron was under the Abracadabra spell, and once he was certain, he raised his wand at the door and muttered "muffliato." Then, not taking his eyes off Ron, he said, "you can show yourself now, Rita."
In front of him, a black beetle transformed into one of the few people he loathed – Rita Skeeter.
"Figured it out, did you Potter?" she said.
Harry nodded. "As did you."
"Oh, come now, do you really think that anyone is buying yours and Granger's disguise?"
"No," Harry answered truthfully.
"Then why come?"
Harry shrugged. "I had to make sure he was okay. Now that he is though, you know I'll be taking him with me, right?"
Rita smiled. "You won't be able to get passed Paul and Jacob."
"Yes I will, because you're going to help me."
Rita laughed. "And why on earth would I do that?"
"Because you and Grindelwald need my help too." It was a hunch; Harry didn't know for certain that Rita was the woman in heels next to Grindelwald that day, but her face just proved his theory to be true.
"I'm listening," she said, but her smile was gone.
"I know that you both know about the spell, obviously," he added, indicating towards Ron. "But I don't think you know the countercurse."
"Wrong," Rita said. She sat down on the window ledge and examined him. "You're a clever one, Potter, there is no denying that, so think!"
Harry did as she stated. He thought long and hard about what it was that they could possibly need. He was almost certain that Grindelwald was put under the spell when he was taken from Nurmengard, which means that they knew the countercurse after all. "You woke Grindelwald up," he concluded. Rita smiled but did not respond. "So, you know how, but something's stopping you from doing it again?" he watched Rita bat her eyelids, letting him know that he was on the right track. "Wait a minute, there's no way you were able to bring Grindelwald's vessel to... er, never mind."
"If you wish to get out of here alive, Potter, you will tell me where it is!"
It was Harry's turn to smile. "So that's what Grindelwald needs from me. Well, no problem; I'll tell him."
"Just like that? We all know there is a catch when it comes to you."
"No catch really, just let Hermione, Ron, and I leave from here and I'll tell you."
"I do not believe you."
Harry thought for a moment. He had leverage, but he needed more. The truth was, he would have no way of waking Ron up while he was on the run and so he needed Rita's help whether he liked it or not. "It's at the Ministry," he told her truthfully.
"Impossible!"
"Think about it, how else am I waking up everyone else?"
Rita frowned for a moment, but then her face lit up. "The break in at the Department of Mysteries! That's where it is!"
"No," Harry lied quickly. "But I will tell you where if you help me."
"What do you want? I can't get you out of here, Potter."
"Yes you can, but if you choose not to, then I guess you'll never know where the other one is."
"You know where they all are?" she asked, shocked.
"I didn't know there was more than one, to be honest. I just guessed; how else would you have woken up Grindelwald?"
"I've always said you were clever, Potter. Truth be told, there are seven. Or rather, there were seven. Five are gone and so only two remain."
"Why don't you just take whoever it is that you want to wake up back to wherever you woke Grindelwald up?" he asked her.
She studied him for a while, deciding how much she should tell him. Finally, she spoke. "It was always understood that you needed to destroy the magical object to release the person from the barrier. It would appear however, based on your actions, that is not necessarily the only way."
Harry shook his head. "Nope, we reuse ours. So, I guess you destroyed one waking up Grindelwald, then?"
Rita nodded. "A mirror," she told him. "And this one is...?"
"A window," he improvised. "Who do you want to wake up?" he asked her.
"That isn't of your concern."
"Then I won't tell you where it is."
"Your games are over, Potter. I've entertained this simply for my benefit, but it's time to move on. You want me to get you out of here, fine, but you're going to take me to the window, and I'm taking this," as she pointed to Ron, "as collateral."
"Works for me," he responded. He needed Rita to bring Ron into the Ministry for him anyway. "Transfigure him into a teacup and you'll be able to sneak him into the Ministry. Trust me," he added with a grin. "I'll meet you on level one in two weeks."
"Two weeks?" she yelled.
"These things take time, I can't just walk freely into the Ministry, can I?" he replied. "Two weeks from today, meet me in the storage room on level one, and bring Ron. I'll take you to the window and I'll get Ron back and then our deal is done."
"Fine," she agreed.
"Okay then, now get Hermione and I out of here."
Rita Skeeter – Present Day
April 10, 2001
Rita was out of breath as she reached Dolores Umbridge's office at the Ministry. "Dolores! Thank goodness I've found you!"
"Rita? Whatever is the matter?"
"Oh, you must come with me! I was over at the Burrow watching as you had suggested, and you'll never believe who I saw lurking!"
"Potter!" she sneered, grabbing her wand and heading out the door.
"Not Potter, Dolores, Grindelwald!"
"Grindelwald?" Dolores stopped dead in her tracks. "Then we must get the aurors!"
"Dolores, imagine the position you would be in if you brought him in? Come on, quickly, before he is gone!"
Rita used side-along apparition to arrive at the Burrow with Dolores, and the pair rushed in.
"What is the meaning of this?" roared Molly.
"Official Ministry business!" cried Dolores.
Rita pulled out her wand to cast a spell but felt some resistance. "Why can't I cast any searcher spells?" she asked out loud.
"We have charms on the upstairs bedroom," responded Paul.
"Well, take them off!" barked Dolores. Paul dared not defy a direct order from Dolores, and so he did as he was told and removed the charms.
"I will conduct these upstairs," Rita told Dolores, who agreed.
"Jacob and Paul will search down here with me," she responded.
"I will take this lot upstairs," she said, nodding to the Weasleys and their guests.
"I'm not going anywhere!" bellowed Bill.
"Bill, let's do as they say," said Ben, nodding reassuringly.
Molly, who appeared to have understood, agreed. "Safety first, everyone upstairs, come on."
It was mere seconds after everyone piled into Ron's bedroom that the polyjuice potion taken by Harry and Hermione had worn off. She tuned out the conversation that the family was having about safety and fake funerals, as she watched out the window. Finally, she could no longer see Dolores, and so she pointed her wand at Ron, transfigured him into a teacup, and put it into her pocket.
"What on earth do you think you're doing?" Molly yelled.
"It's alright," Harry told her, "It's all part of a plan."
"We do not have time!" Rita yelled. "If we are to do this, we do this now!" She watched as Harry and Hermione turned to their loved ones and quickly said goodbye. "In five minutes, jump out this window," she told them both. "One of you could cast a cushioning spell," she said, and watched as Bill nodded in agreement. She jumped out of the open window but morphed into a beetle before she hit the ground. It wasn't long thereafter before Harry and Hermione jumped down and landed beside her.
"Thanks," Harry said to her, knowing it was her in beetle form. "I'll see you in two weeks."
She watched as the pair of them headed for safety before transforming back into a human. Now she would go and find Dolores and pretend that Grindelwald got away and then finally, in two weeks, she would have the location to the sixth barrier, and would be that much closer to her final goal.
Iris Dartmouth – The Past
August 26, 1993
Iris rolled over and checked the clock. It was 10:30am; so she had actually gotten some sleep.
"Hey," came Eric's sweet voice as he entered the room.
"Hey, why didn't you wake me?" she asked groggily.
"You needed your sleep," he told her. "Besides, we aren't due back at Ilvermorny for another day, so I thought it made sense to keep resting."
"You look great," she said to him.
"My fever broke last night. I told you it was nothing to worry about! We must have eaten something bad, that's all."
"I for sure thought we were going to die."
"It did feel like that at first, didn't it? But we are fine! Tomorrow we will head off to work and come the First we will both be ready to teach!"
Iris didn't respond. She was thankful that they were both okay, but she recognized a sign when she saw one. She loved Eric, there was no denying that, but last month had been too close for comfort for her, and she was not willing to take that chance again.
"Eric, last month when the contraception charm didn't work, I for sure thought I was pregnant."
Eric sighed. "I was waiting until you were a little stronger before bringing this up, but I guess now is as good of a time as any."
"Listen..."
"No, Iris, you listen. I did not plan to have a child with you, yet," he added. "But I love you and the truth is that I wouldn't have been upset if you were pregnant."
"No, Eric, stop!" she cried, as she covered her ears.
"Why? Iris, I want to be with you forever!"
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at him. Oh, how she wanted to spend forever with him. Instead, she knew she had to let him go. "Eric, I need to tell you something," she said in barely a whisper. "Years ago, my parents had organized a marriage for me to a Sacred Twenty-Eight."
"Oh," Eric said sadly.
"It's not what you think!" she responded quickly. "I don't under any circumstances want to marry him!" She saw Eric's smile return, but she knew it was only for a brief moment. "I want to be with you Eric, but I completed the Ritual Knot years ago and so I'm bound to the conditions of it."
Eric didn't respond for a while. Finally, he asked, "where is he now?"
"Prison," she chuckled.
"Then we have no concerns."
"Of course we do! Eric, I can never marry you!"
"So what?"
"I could never have children with you!"
"Something I would be willing to give up."
"Really?" Iris knew how important children were to him.
"Really," he replied. "It would have been nice, but let's be realistic; we are Professors! We would not have the time we wanted to raise a family."
Iris wanted to believe what he was saying, she wanted more than anything to know that this could work. Sighing however, she shook her head. "If we mess up on a contraception charm even once, we both die; there's no other way around that."
"A risk I am willing to take. I love you Iris."
"I love you too," she said as she turned away. "Which is why I cannot put your life at risk like that. I won't be returning to Ilvermorny and I'll be gone in the morning. For your own good, you will never see me again."
Author's Notes: I hope you all liked this chapter. We are working towards finding out what it is Rita wants exactly, and eventually a little more about these barriers. I also want to bring in Iris' past more so that you can learn more about her. She will eventually be part of the current storyline. (And if you've followed along, you may have already figured out how!)
To respond to a review, nice guess with respect to who John is, but I can confirm that John is NOT Remus' father. We will eventually learn about who he is and who Daisy is!
Thanks for all your reviews, see you at the next chapter where we will start off with a Narcissa POV.