CHAPTER TWO
Summary: Hermione suffers a terrible attack and who should find her but one of Wizarding Britain's most eligible bachelors. The relationship that builds between them is one no one saw coming, but no one predicted the danger that would surely follow. Post-War. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events or characters, they belong to J.K Rowling. I am not making a profit from this fanfic, everything is purely for entertainment purposes.
AN
The first chapter received an amazing response and I'm so glad you can't wait to read more, and since I felt bad for leaving you with that cliff hanger, and on the first chapter too, here's another to read.
Page count: 10
Saturday 21st November 1998
"Merlin!" he whispered in shock.
The dog looked up at the mention of his name and that's when he remembered that Lee had told him that was the name of her dog, but he never imagined that her dog would be the size of baby hippogriff; he was bloody huge!
He looked the dog over, it disgusted him what had happened to Hermione, and it was obvious by the torn clothing, the blood and the bruises. Why hadn't the dog protected her? He was big enough. He looked closer and that's when he noticed a large patch of fur soaked in blood, the dog was injured also.
Oliver took a deep breath, he needed to get them both out of there and get them help, and he needed to do it quickly.
"Bobby," he called.
"Master Oliver," his house-elf appeared and bowed.
"A need ye tae take us home."
The house-elf looked around and then gasped. He immediately took a hold of Hermione and Oliver's hand and Oliver grabbed the dog's collar and they left the cold alley way.
Wood Estate
They landed inside the living room of Oliver's home.
"Take them both tae one af the spare rooms, Bobby; try not tae touch either af them tae much," he instructed. Bobby left the room, taking Hermione and Merlin with him.
Oliver ran to the floo, chucked a handful of floo powder into the grate and called out an address and stuck his head through the flames.
"Thomas!" Oliver called. "THOMAS!" he yelled and a figure walked into the room.
"Oliver?" a man said surprised. "What's the problem?"
"Get yer wand an' bag, a found a woman in an alley way, she's unconscious, both herself an' her dog are injured," he said, his voice slightly panicked. Thomas' eyes widened.
"I'll be right there," he said and he rushed out of the room.
Thomas was Oliver's private healer. Most Purebloods had family healers, Thomas had been Oliver's since the day he was born. He trusted the man with his life. Thomas was a kind man with greying hair, kind green eyes and laugh lines. He was shorter than Oliver, but only by an inch or two and when he stepped out of the floo he was wearing his pyjamas.
"Where are they?" Thomas asked.
Oliver called for Bobby and he took them to the room. They landed in the room to see Hermione in the middle of the king sized bed with Merlin laid down next to her.
"Careful," Oliver said as Thomas took a step forward. "Her dog's protective af her," he warned.
Thomas strode forward without thought and Merlin lifted his head.
"Hey, Buddy, I'll take care of her first and then you're next on my list," Thomas said softly. Merlin whined and licked Thomas' hand. Oliver's eyes widened.
"Hoo?" he got out shocked, but Thomas ignored him.
"Oh, Hermione," he said sadly and he took out his wand and started running diagnostic spells over her unconscious form. "She's unconscious. She's got a lump on her head, a broken wrist, a broken leg, a twisted ankle as well as cuts, bruises and abrasions," he spoke aloud. "I'll have you back to normal soon, Kiddo," he said to Hermione's unresponsive form.
"Ye know her?" Oliver said shocked.
"Yes," Thomas replied and he waved his wand once more and a look of anger crossed his face, a look Oliver had never seen on his face before, and he had literally known Thomas since the day he was born.
"Bobby," Thomas said, the house-elf stepped forward, worriedly looking between the girl and Thomas. "Please fetch Kingsley Shacklebolt and give him the message, 'The Lioness has fallen.' He'll know what it means."
Bobby looked at Oliver and he nodded in confirmation, before Bobby popped out of the room.
"Hoo do ye know her?" Oliver asked Thomas.
"Not now, Oliver, she needs my attention more than you do."
Oliver appeared chastised and he sat down in the arm chair in the corner of the room and he watched as Thomas cast spell after spell over Hermione's body and he held empty vials in his hand. Oliver had no idea what he was doing, and to be honest, he wasn't sure he wanted to.
Bobby appeared not ten minutes later with both Kingsley and Head Auror Jolkins.
"What happened?" The Minister of Magic asked quickly. He wore his customary burgundy robes, standing at six-foot, with his dark skin and eyes, his bald head, an earring showing and anger marring his face. He made on imposing figure.
"She's been attacked. She has a lump on her head, a broken wrist, a broken leg, a twisted ankle, cuts, bruises and abrasions," Thomas replied.
"She'll be fine though?"
"Physically she will be. Emotionally and mentally, I can't be sure," he then looked up at Kingsley for the first time and they could all see the look of anger, disgust and sorrow on his face. "She was raped."
Kingsley wobbled a little, Jolkins growled and Oliver felt disgust wash over him after hearing his suspicions confirmed.
"Are... Are you sure?" Kingsley asked quietly.
"Her hymen has been torn."
Oliver felt sick and he stood up and excused himself from the room, standing outside of the door to give them some privacy, and to force himself to breathe.
"I've carried out a sexual assault kit, everything is on the bedside table. I'll heal her, but she's unconscious. We can't know what happened until she wakes and that could be a few minutes or a few hours. It's best that you return home and I'll send for you when she wakes."
"She's not going to want to press charges," Jolkins said.
He stood at five-foot-ten, had striking blue eyes, dark blonde hair that fell over his ears and he wore mandatory grey auror robes, though they were darker, more charcoal in colour signalling his status as Head Auror.
"She doesn't have a choice," Thomas said coldly. "This stays out of the press." The others agreed and Thomas finally set to healing Hermione's injuries, casting spells and pouring the necessary potions into her mouth.
"What happened?" Kingsley asked Oliver as he walked out of the room and into the corridor, where he stood leaning against the wall, his head tilted back and his eyes closed.
Oliver stood up straight and turned to them.
"A met her at The Crimson Lion. She left an hour befere a did."
"Did you see her with anyone?"
"Naw, she was sat next tae mae at the bar fer twa hours. She dinnae speak tae anyone. She kept her cloak on an' her hood up. She helped mae fend aff an overly drunk woman. She spoke with tea Lee Jordan, mentioning tha' she was supposed tae meet Ron Weasley but he never turned up. She left oot the staff room, Lee said she had tae get her dog an' then she would go oot the back door tae avoid people recognising her. A left the bar an hour later an' was making me way tae the apparition point when a heard a noise. A took oot me wand an' followed it until a found her an' her dog on the floor. A called fer me house- elf an' he brought mae here, where a flooed fer Thomas," Oliver explained.
"You didn't see anything suspicious?" Jolkins asked.
"Naw, we were in a crowded bar though, an' a dinnae see anyone following her either."
Afterwards they reluctantly left, taking the evidence that Thomas had provided along with them. Oliver walked back into the room and looked to see that Thomas had moved to healing Merlin and the dog whimpered loudly.
"He's been hit with a Stunner and several Slicing Hexes, he couldn't protect her," Thomas said with anger laced in his tone. He sealed the cuts and cleaned away the blood from his fur and Merlin licked Thomas' hand in thanks.
"I'll be right back," Thomas said and he made his way out of the room.
Oliver just stared at Hermione and the dog, both laying on the bed. Before he could let his thoughts run wild Thomas reappeared with something in his hand. He waved his wand and Hermione's ripped clothing was replaced by a pair of soft cotton pyjamas, and after flicking his wand the blanket covered Hermione. Thomas then left the room and motioned for Oliver to follow him.
They made their way to the living room and Thomas sat down and put his head in his hands, staring at the floor.
"Do you have any fire whiskey?" Thomas asked.
Oliver used his wand to summon two tumblers and a bottle of fire whiskey. He poured it and handed one to Thomas and he took a sip and winced at the burn.
"Hoo do ye know her? Her dog dinnae even growl at ye like he did mae. He recognised ye."
Thomas sighed. "What do you know about Hermione?"
Oliver shrugged. "Not much. War heroine, member of the Golden Trio, terrifying temper, a powerful witch, she's in the papers a lot. A know more aboot Potter an' Weasley than a do her."
"Hermione is an incredible young woman, it's not my place to tell you, but she's been through a lot in the last seven years. She has seen the kind of things that would send even the sanest person into madness. She has endured things that would have others begging for death." He took another sip from his tumbler. "Hermione is a healer, one of the best in Britain."
Oliver frowned. "She's not old enough, she fled Hogwarts with Potter an' Weasley, she never received her NEWTs."
"She did actually. I'm sure you've heard of Hermione's incredible intelligence. She knew that she would be needed in the war and that she would have a role to play. So, during her fifth year I took her under my wing. I started to privately train her to become a healer with the help of some other healers at St. Mungos'. She secretly took her NEWTs her sixth year and continued to study the art of healing, when she was on the run she found a way to contact me and we made sure she was able to continue with her training. During the war her training came in useful and she healed many. She helped at St. Mungo's after the Final Battle. A month after the Final Battle, Hermione took her healer examinations. She didn't have to do an internship because she had practical experience spanning nearly three years. She passed with flying colours, the highest scores to be seen in a century," he said proudly. "She's a private healer and has been since she passed her exams, she already has a good cliental list, a few high ranking Ministry workers, a fair few Quidditch players and a few Pureblood families. She's done well for herself."
Oliver stared in shock.
"Hermione's like family, she's like my little niece. She visits twice a week without fail. Hannah gives her advice about anything and everything. Hermione helps Karen with her research into Magical Law and she helps Mike brainstorm ideas for the Educational Department. She's a part of the family. So yes, I know her."
Oliver cleared his throat. "The Lioness has fallen," he spoke, "tha's what ye said. What does it mean?"
"That's not for me to say."
"Are ye gunna tell Potter an' Weasley?"
"No, this has nothing to do with them. They have a way of making everything about them. Hermione falls over, it's Harry fault for not catching her or Ron's fault for nudging into her. Hermione cries, it's Harry's fault for not protecting her from her nightmares or it Ron's fault for saying something hurtful. She won't want them to know. She won't want anyone to know. This stays out of the press and away from the public, Hannah won't even know about it. There'll be an investigation, but it will be discreet. They won't stop until the bastard that did this to her is either dead or dying in Azkaban."
"A think there may be more than one attacker," Oliver commented, a thoughtful frown on his face.
"Why would you say that?"
"It's Hermione Granger, war heroine. Ev'ryone in Europe has heard af her talent with a wand an' a temper tha' matches." Thomas' mouth quirked into a smile. "It would be difficult tae get an advantage over her, especially if she has a dog bigger than a small bear an' willin' tae protect her. Not only did they get one over on her, but her dog tae. One person couldn't do tha'. A doubt she even saw it coming, her wand was still in the waist band af her skirt, she hadn't even tried tae remove it."
Thomas frowned in thought. "You're right," he said in surprise. "Her injuries as well as Merlin's support the theory of more than one attacker and I wouldn't be surprised if they find more than one DNA sample on her," he looked up at Oliver. "You'd make one heck of an auror."
"A'll stick tae Quidditch, thank ye," he said, Thomas chuckled. "Who would do this tae her?" Oliver asked with a sigh.
"I don't know, but they better pray I don't find out or I'll kill the bastards before they even have a chance of going to Azkaban." Oliver was taken aback by the anger on his face.
"So," Oliver cleared his throat and decided to change the subject. "The dog, why is it so big?"
"He's a St. Bernard," he said, as if that explained everything and Oliver stared at him dumbly. "That breed of dog is muggle, they're one of the larger breeds; they're used in muggle rescue services due to their intelligence and kind nature. He was bred in our world, he's affected by magic but Hermione doesn't know how yet. He hasn't shown any unusual traits yet, except he seems to have a great understanding of things and is quite intelligent. She bought him four months ago, he's six months now. Hermione bought him for companionship, she loves him to death, she practically takes him everywhere with her."
"Why did she call him Merlin? It's a strange name fer a dog."
"You'll have to ask her, every time I ask she refuses to answer. I don't think it's for a serious reason, it probably just makes her laugh," Thomas said a small smile.
Bobby popped into the living room.
"She is awake, Master Oliver."
Hermione woke feeling groggy and she had a pounding headache.
'I didn't drink that much, did I?'
Hermione groaned and felt the mattress shift; she didn't need to open her eyes to know it was Merlin. She tried to speak but she couldn't. She gripped the soft fabric of the quilt covering her, noticing that it was a lot softer than she remembered it being. Her bed, too, was comfier than she was used to.
She forced her eyes to open, blinking away the blurred vision. When her eyes focused she was in a room she didn't recognise, a room bigger than her flat kitchen and living room combined. She started to panic as she looked around.
There was hardly any colour in the room; everything was white, obviously not being decorated yet. The walls were white, along with a soft looking white carpet, two white arm chairs and a glass coffee table sat in the corner of the room. There was a desk at the end of the room with a matching chair and two large bay windows with padded seats. There was a bedside table to the right of the bed and the bed itself was huge, king sized. She noticed two open doors. One she could see was a bathroom, the other a walk in closet.
When the bedroom door was flung open Hermione made a fearful squeaking sound and tried to sit up. When Thomas appeared in the door way, Hermione sighed in relief and looked at his sorrow filled face. She didn't notice Oliver stood by the door.
"Did I drink too much?" she croaked.
He gave a sad chuckle. "No, Kiddo, you didn't." He walked into the room and over to the bed and helped her to sit up.
"What happened?" she asked again and he conjured a glass, filled it with water and she drank it down.
"We were hoping you could tell us. You were found in an alley way, unconscious and Merlin was injured. I've healed you both," he added quickly when he saw a look of panic enter her face and she looked at her dog.
"Hermione, there's something I have to tell you." She looked at him expectantly. "When you were unconscious I carried out a sexual assault test," he said softly.
The implications of his words set a look of fear in her eyes, a fear that Oliver had never seen in a person.
"No," she whispered and shook her head.
"Yes," he said softly, he knew why she was panicked; she was the one who had broached the subject with him in the first place.
"But that means that..."
"No, it doesn't. It wasn't willingly given, that rules out all magical claim."
He sat down on the edge of the bed. Oliver watched the two confused, especially when the look of panic faded into relief, but also sorrow.
"Please tell me you're still on the potion," Thomas said hopefully.
She nodded with teary eyes. "Took it last week."
"That rules out pregnancy being possible," he said a little relieved that it was one less thing to worry about.
"Who did this?" she asked with tears falling down her face.
"We're not sure, but we'll find out," Kingsley said, as he walked into the room, followed by Jolkins.
"Kingsley, Jolkins," she greeted.
"Hermione," they replied softly.
"You know an investigation will be carried out whether or not you like it, right? And you will be pressing charges," Thomas said. She scowled at him and went to reply. "No, you are pressing charges."
"The press will never find out, Hermione," Kingsley said, drawing her attention. "Neither Harry nor Ron will find out either, unless you tell them yourself." She shook her head immediately. "Jolkins will be personally handling this, he will be the only one privy to this information. Your name will be kept out of all reports, though it does have to be filed, but no one will know it's you. Anyone with even a remote possibly of connecting anything to you will be kept away from the investigation."
"Hermione, we need to know what happened," Jolkins spoke.
Hermione frowned. "I was at the bar waiting for Ron, he was two hours late and I decided to leave. I collected Merlin from the staff room and went out the back way to avoid everyone. I was walking back to my flat and then..." her frowned deepened.
"Then?"
"I can't remember."
"You can't remember?"
"No, I was walking back to my flat and then I woke up here."
"Can I cast some diagnostic spells?"
"You think someone's responsible for my memory loss?"
"I do," he nodded.
Jolkins stepped forward and brandished his wand. He waved it and muttered under his breath, and barely a minute later and he stepped back.
"I've found traces of a Memory Charm, likely an obliviator, except it has been done poorly."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that your memory may return to you. Not all of it, but bits and pieces that won't make sense to you but they will be important. If you remember anything you have to tell us."
"Yes, Sir," she mock saluted.
"That's my girl," Thomas said chuckling.
"That's all for now, Hermione, we'll leave you to rest some more," Kingsley spoke and with that Jolkins and Kingsley left, taking Hermione's torn clothes with them to be processed.
"I guess it's a good thing they did obliviate me. I won't have nightmares, I won't have flash backs of the attack. I know what they did to me, but it's almost like it didn't happen because I can't remember it," she said and Thomas looked at her sadly. "I'll be fine; I've been through things far worse than this."
"I don't doubt you will, Kiddo," he said softly.
"Can I go home now?" she asked Thomas.
"No, not only do you have a bump on your head that I'm worried about, you have been hit with a Memory Charm, there's a reason they're dangerous. Not only do they do damage to the memory, they may also cause swelling in the brain and damage brain cells if used incorrectly. As Jolkins discovered it was used incorrectly. It's not safe for you to be moved, using apparition, floo or port key. You have to stay here for at least three days."
She sighed, being a healer herself made her an incredibly awkward patient, but she knew he was right. He taught her everything she knows and she trusted him with her life.
"Where is 'here' anyway?" she asked.
"Wood Estate," Oliver spoke up and Hermione looked up to see him hovering near the door. Her eyes widened.
"What?" she whispered. "Why?"
"A found ye an' brought ye here before a flooed Thomas," he said, giving her a sad look. "He's me healer; a dinnae know he knew ye until he got here."
"Well thank you for helping me, I know there's nothing I can do to repay you," she said, looking at him with sincerity and thanks written all over her face.
"Ye don' have tae thank mae."
"Yes, Oliver, I do," she sighed. "Helping you scare off the attention of a drunken woman hardly compares to you saving me from potential death. Others likely would've taken advantage of me in that state. I'm lucky it was you that found me. So thank you, I'll find some way to repay you, and I'll be out of your hair in ten minutes."
She pulled the blanket away from herself and went to stand. Thomas pushed her back down onto the bed and she scowled.
"I am not going to be a burden on Oliver. He has his own priorities and I am not one of them. I will not intrude on his privacy; I imagine he likes his privacy just as much as I do, so let me go."
"It's not safe, Hermione," Thomas said.
"I don't care, I am not Oliver's problem, I've already been too much of a pain for him."
"Can a speak?" Oliver spoke.
"No!" Hermione and Thomas said together and he had to stop himself from laughing as they glared at each other.
"I am not staying here. I am going home!"
"Sorry about this, Kiddo," he said, before he cast a Petrificus Totalus on her and then poured a Sleeping Draught down her throat. The last thing he saw before her eyes closed was a murderous glare.
"If you don't mind, Oliver, I'm going to make a break for it whilst I'm still alive." Oliver chuckled at him. "Don't let her leave; I'll be back tomorrow to check on her. I'm sorry that she has to stay here, but I can't risk moving her."
"It's okay, this place is big enough," he shrugged.
"I'd say, what does a twenty-two year old need with a manor house and three hundred acres of land?"
Oliver shrugged. "A like me peace, besides, a bought the property aff a widow who said it was tae painful tae live here withoot her husband, an' a have somewhere tae practice when a'm not at the stadium."
"Celebrities," Thomas muttered. He clapped Oliver on the shoulder as he walked past. "Don't upset her, and if you do, make sure she doesn't have her wand in her hand. Mike learned that lesson the hard way, although as his father, I thought it was hilarious."
"Why would a upset her?"
"You'll put your foot in your mouth," Thomas replied simply.
"A'll have ye know a'm a gentleman an' a was raised tae respect women."
"That's great, it doesn't stop you from opening your big mouth though."
"Tha's it, a'm officially kicking ye oot af me house."
"It's a manor," Thomas corrected as he walked away.
Oliver shook his head, before taking one last look at Hermione and her dog sleeping next to her. He saw her wand lying on the floor and walked over to pick it up, placing it on the bedside table, before he took one last look at her and left the room, closing the door behind him.