Dealing with Thorfinn Rowle! Aaahhh!
Hermione has a huge headache and its name is Thorfinn Rowle! A memory is revisited. Questions are asked.
While Harry was going for the Pensieve, Hermione jumped up to go use the loo. She was confused when Rowle stood up to go as well.
"Excuse me, Rowle. What are you doing?" she asked him snappishly.
He looked at her oddly, cocked a brow and slowly raised their joined hands. Hermione slapped her free hand over her eyes. Merlin! She'd forgotten about that! He was going to have to follow her EVERYWHERE until they got this bloody cuff off! Then she realized SHE was going to have to follow everywhere HE wanted to go as well!
"Bloody hell!" she swore as she led him to the loo. "Millie! Can you help me for a moment?"
Millie came to see what she needed. "How can I help?"
"Barring having a way to free us from this bloody cuff, you mean? I want to put THIS." She held up a dish towel. "Over his eyes. I don't trust him to not peek while I'm using the loo!"
"Oi, Granger! No fair! I wouldn't make you hide YOUR eyes!" Rowle protested. In the living room, it was all Yaxley and Dolohov could do to not burst out laughing at them again.
"Of COURSE, you wouldn't but I wouldn't WANT to look!" she muttered as she and Millie fixed the towel over his eyes.
"Huh! Are you sure about that, Granger? You might like what you see!" he smirked at her. Millie was laughing as she left the room.
No sooner had she sat back down than an argument broke out in the room she'd just left. There was the clear sound of a slap, then Hermione snapped. "Rowle! Quit touching me!"
"Bloody hell, woman, where the hell else do I put my hand? There's only so many ways to turn it!" Rowle popped back at her.
"Just keep it still! Don't move! Merlin, I can't believe I'm going to have to put up with YOU!" she griped.
"You think I'm going to enjoy it any better? Putting up with a little prude like you?!" he growled.
Harry came back with the Pensieve and also Ron and Pansy. They were confounded by the sight of Millie, Yaxley and Dolohov, practically falling out of their seats, laughing.
"Oh, hell! What's happening, Millie?" he laughed. She shook her head, pointing at Hermione's loo. He, Ron and Pansy looked in that direction. Just then, they heard it.
"Damn it! Rowle! I told you not to move! You're TOUCHING me again!" Again there was the sound of a slap.
"Bloody hell, woman! Quit slapping me! Told you! There's only so many fucking ways I can turn my damn hand!" he howled. Ron burst out laughing and almost ducked back into the Floo. Pansy grabbed him and they both sat down, face palming to hide their smiles.
Hermione came back to the living room, tugging a grouchy looking Thorfinn behind her. Harry motioned them to the couch. "Come on, we're waiting for one more person."
"Potter? They said you needed me?" Anthony Goldstein called through the Floo.
"Goldstein! Yeah, bring your sketchbook, please." Harry requested.
Anthony Goldstein walked out of the Floo, holding his sketchbook. He'd been a sketch artist for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for years, having been hired in straight from Hogwarts.
"Ok. Rowle, I want you to bring up your memory of last night, as clearly as possible. We're going to put it into the Pensieve and Yaxley, Dolohov, Ron, Anthony and I are going in to view it. Anthony, there's an old lady we need you to make a sketch of. She is the reason for THAT." He pointed at the cuff anchoring Hermione to Thorfinn.
Anthony's lips twitched at the sight of Hermione Granger handcuffed to Thorfinn Rowle! He remembered them having some very epic screaming fights at Hogwarts. Mainly because Rowle would have her lifted into the air, kicking and screaming after ratting him out over some minor infraction. He still remembered the time Rowle had levitated her up and hung her from the top of the flagpole by her robe!
Hermione had her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously. He sat down and opened his book to a fresh page. He nodded to let Harry know he was ready. Harry touched his wand to Rowle's temple as he closed his eyes. He nodded and Harry drew out a long strand of memory. He dropped it into the Pensieve. He looked at Millie and Pansy. "Please try and keep the two of them from killing each other. Immobilize them if you have to." He snorted as Hermione and Thorfinn both narrowed their eyes at HIM! The rest of them prepared to follow him into the memory.
They dropped down into the bar from the night before. There was Yaxley, Dolohov and Rowle seated in the corner. Ron poked Harry and pointed to the other side of the room. There were Millie, Pansy, Hermione and others at Millie's bachelorette party. They both snorted as they saw not only Hermione but also Millie and Luna Lovegood dancing on tables. Clearly they were feeling no pain! Pansy and Daphne were face palming as Ginny laughed her arse off!
Yaxley and Dolohov, already knowing what had happened, were looking at the people standing at the bar. Harry, Ron and Anthony kept their attention on the three men. Yaxley was talking to Rowle as Dolohov threw back a shot of vodka. "Come on, Rowle, it's not the end of the world. Just think how many times you've been injured lately! You need a break! This is what, your third injury in as many weeks? I know you can cope with broken arms and broken ribs! When you take a bloody Bludger to the head, though, you need to take a break, Thorfinn!" he argued with the stubborn blonde.
Thorfinn frowned, clearly not happy with the situation. "I'm FINE, Corban! I can still PLAY!" The Aurors exchanged glances. Clearly, the older wizards had brought Rowle drinking to drown his sorrows over being benched. They had all heard about the head injury that had sent Rowle to St Mungo. Obviously, the attending healer had sidelined him from playing Quidditch! Suddenly, he shoved back from the table.
"Where are you going?" Yaxley frowned at him. Thorfinn sighed heavily.
"If I'm going to have suffer being benched, it's going to take more than." He lifted the bottle in front of him. "BUTTERBEER, to keep me satisfied! I'm going to have some firewhiskey!"
He stood to walk across the bar. Yaxley grabbed Harry's arm and pointed. "That witch, there at the bar. She's been watching him the whole time we've been in here. I didn't notice her last night!"
Dolohov had fallen in step beside memory Thorfinn. The others followed, watching as the blonde Quidditch player paused to watch Hermione dancing. He had a small smirk on his lips. He didn't appear to recognize the young witch dressed in a mini skirt and crop top with her hair skillfully wrapped into a bun on top of her head. He went on to the bar.
They all watched the older witch approach him. They could see now why he'd called her an old lady. She was heavily wrinkled but still beautiful. Yaxley and Dolohov both were regarding her with puzzled looks on their faces. It almost looked as if they recognized her but didn't quite know her. Harry resolved to ask them as soon as they were out of the memory. Anthony was busy sketching the older witch as fast as he could, knowing he only had until the memory ended.
"Pardon me, young man, May I tell your fortune?" she asked in a heavily accented voice. Thorfinn cocked a brow at her.
"No, thank you. I already know my future." He replied. She tipped her head as she stared at him.
"You have an interesting aura about you. Are you sure?" she persisted. He sighed and turned back to her.
"I have my life laid out exactly how I want it. I do not need my fortune told. Thank you." He said, clearly forcing himself to be polite.
As he turned to put in his order, she stepped closer. "I see a very important woman in your life." He put his hand on his brow.
"Yes. That would be my mother and my sister, the only ones I need." He gritted. Yaxley and Dolohov exchanged looks. He was about to lose his patience.
"But you need someone to love you!" the old lady insisted. The older wizards groaned as they saw the look on his face. Thorfinn whipped around to look at her.
"I have NO INTEREST in settling down! I have all the fan girls I want OR need! Now FUCK OFF!" he growled. The old woman put her hands up in surrender as she appeared to melt into the crowd. He turned got his drink and started back to the corner table. On the way back, he finally appeared to recognize Hermione and again paused to watch her dance. She had her head thrown back and her arms held high.
Suddenly she dropped, straight into his arms! As he was attempting to hang onto her AND his drink, the old woman showed up again, directly beside him. Before he realized what was happening, she had attached a cuff to his right wrist and Granger's left wrist! She held out a tiny silver key. Looking at him almost sympathetically, she said. "The right words will unlock the lock." Stroking the hair back from his face, she vanished once more. It left him standing there with his arms full of a passed out Hermione Granger!
Yaxley and Dolohov were as wide eyed as he was when he showed up with her. "Bloody hell, Thor, what the devil did you do to Granger?!" Dolohov exclaimed.
"Nothing! She passed out and fell off the table. All I did was catch her!" Thorfinn protested.
"So you're taking her home with you? She'll be pissed when she wakes up in your bed, mate!" Yaxley chuckled. Thorfinn groaned and covered his eyes.
"Actually, she'll have no choice in the matter. It'll either be her house or my place." He said glumly as he held up his right hand. The two wizards gaped at him disbelievingly. After that, the memory ended. They all came up out of it.
"First off, how did you get into Hermione's house? How did you even know where she lived?" asked Harry suspiciously.
Millie raised her hand. "That would be my fault. Yaxley came over and told me they had a problem. Hermione was the only one who could help them. I dropped the Floo powder and sent them through to her house."
"No worries, Potter, Granger. We still have no clue where this house is located. We weren't close enough to hear what she said." Yaxley assured them. Hermione relaxed, until she realized she WOULD have to let them know how to get back to her house on their own. They never seemed to leave Thorfinn on his own.
"Next question is for you and Dolohov. You both looked like you recognized the old lady, did you know her?" Harry asked Yaxley.
"She looked familiar. I can't remember where I might have seen her. But, DAMN, she really did look familiar!" Yaxley told him. Dolohov was nodding with a thoughtful frown on his face. Clearly they were both puzzled. They knew her from somewhere but they couldn't recall WHERE.
"Anthony, did you get that picture? Do you need to go back in while we still have the memory laid out?" Harry turned to Goldstein next.
"Nope, I got it right here." Anthony put a few finishing touches on the picture, then duplicated it to make copies for Yaxley, Dolohov and Rowle to study. He kept one for his records and also made both Harry and Ron a copy. Hermione glanced disinterestedly at the picture, then looked again.
"She does look familiar, Harry." She said. Harry perked up.
"Do you recognize her?" he asked, fingers crossed.
"No. I'm pretty sure I've seen her, though. I just can't remember where it was." Hermione's shoulders drooped. "So there's currently no way the cuff is coming off soon."
"No. Sorry, Hermione. We'll start combing the area around the bar. Question the barkeep. Maybe if we find her, she can reverse whatever spell is on the cuff. Until then, I'm afraid you and Rowle are stuck together." He smiled as he said that.
"Why are you smiling like that, Harry Potter?" she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Oh, no reason. Just wondering if you or Rowle need extra protection. You know, to make sure neither of you go to Azkaban for murder in the first!" Harry cackled as Hermione tried to jump at him, only to be yanked back into Rowle's lap!
"Harry Potter, you just wait until I get out of this cuff. You best be ready to RUN AWAY!" Hermione growled at her best friend. His future wife was giggling as she tugged him into the Floo. Ron, Pansy and Anthony had already left. Yaxley and Dolohov stood up as they prepared to leave.
"Where are you two going?" Rowle asked his own suspicious question.
"We are going to go help look for this old lady. You can stay here with Granger and help her figure out where SHE'S seen her before." Yaxley told him.
"Please. Try not to kill each other while we're gone." Dolohov said as he turned away from them.
"Oh, wait! I know the two of you aren't going to be away from him for too long. You'll need to know how to get back here if you use the Floo. It's 24 Sullivan Lane. Or you can just always say 'Hermione Granger's house.' Either one will work." Hermione shrugged. They nodded as they left.
