My beta-readers, fredfred and InquisitorCOC, deserve a huge thank you. They helped a lot.
Chapter 10: The Black Lake
Mould-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, Britain, July 12th, 2005
Granger had another flashback. She didn't cry out, or even tremble, but the way she tensed and blinked after staring at the wall was telling - Ron knew her well enough by now.
"Dr Granger?" And, of course, Dumbledore hadn't missed it, either.
She sighed. "I was trying to recall with whom Yaxley associated in my world." A blatant lie, Ron thought.
"Ah. I apologise if that brought up unpleasant memories."
Granger nodded in response. "Don't worry. Yaxley wasn't a… particularly bad memory."
If that wasn't a polite lie, then Ron wondered what Granger's worst memories were. And whether he wanted to know. She hid it well, but she was like one of those soldiers who had been in Iraq. Or, given her age, like a recovering child soldier.
"Ah."
"Not because he wasn't an irredeemable mass-murderer, but because we got him," she added with a smile that utterly lacked any humour.
Luna was covering her mouth with both hands now, eyes wide - she really didn't deal well with these kinds of things, despite her wish to know all sorts of dark government secrets - but Dumbledore merely nodded again. Probably reclassifying her, Ron thought.
"In any case, I don't know who he considered friends, but my version of Yaxley was working closely with Albert Runcorn and Dolores Umbridge when he was having civilians murdered. Presumably, he was friends with other Death Eaters and bigots." She pulled out a copy of her list of enemies. "However, and I stress this, our worlds are different enough that you cannot assume that people are the same." She smiled grimly. "You and your partner are the best examples we've seen of that so far."
Dumbledore's smile didn't waver at the implied criticism. "Quite so, my dear. However, it's still useful information from which we might glean some insights. When I was still in Her Majesty's Secret Service, I was often forced to work with far less information."
Ron ignored the glance Granger sent to Harry and him. It was sound reasoning, after all, so it was to be expected that other people would use it as well. "That was our thought also."
Once more, Dumbledore smiled at him as if Ron were a student who had just answered a teacher's question correctly.
The old man skimmed the list. "There are some quite prominent people on this list and a few infamous ones, as well."
"A fish rots from the head down," Luna said. "Such conspiracies as well."
"Not all of them were part of the conspiracy," Granger pointed out. "Many merely switched allegiance to the new regime once the government had been toppled." With a deep scowl, she added: "And they proved to be far more skilled at murdering the innocent than they had been at battling the traitors."
"Murdering civilians is usually far easier than fighting terrorists," Dumbledore commented.
To Ron's relief, Luna didn't ask if the former spymaster had practical experience with both.
"In any case, I don't think we can cover all those people," the old man went on. "Although I trust that the police will be investigating all of Mr Yaxley's friends and family as a matter of course. According to my sources, they certainly have the resources to do so."
"They better," Harry mumbled, "or Moody will make them regret it."
"Officer Moody tends to leave an impression," Dumbledore said, nodding at Harry.
Did he know Moody, or just of Moody and was trying to appear more knowledgeable than he actually was? Ron couldn't tell.
"However, I think a few anonymous tips might point the police to possible allies of Mr Yaxley of whom they are as yet unaware." Dumbledore grinned. "And I expect that in a few cases, a little police attention might uncover something unrelated to the current scandal but nevertheless incriminating."
"Oh, include the Malfoys," Harry told him. "We've got two possible links to the family now."
"Which aren't reliable," Granger quickly pointed out again.
Harry shrugged. "As long as Malfoy gets into trouble, who cares?"
Ron nodded in agreement.
"If nothing comes of it, it might result in the source of said accusation losing their credibility," Granger retorted.
"Oh, don't fret about that, my dear," Dumbledore said in a patronising tone that set Ron's teeth on edge. "I'll make sure that it is stressed that the original source is untried, and that the only reason such untested intelligence is being passed along is the severity of the current situation. No actual source will be compromised by this, I can assure you of that."
Granger pressed her lips together - she was probably annoyed at the man's attitude as well - but she didn't contest his words. Not directly. "That presumes that Yaxley hasn't fled to his supposed backers."
"Indeed. Though they might be people whose counterparts are on your list," Dumbledore replied. "It's certainly a decent hypothesis and makes it well worth going through a few names on the list."
"As long as that's limited to investigating," Ron said, wondering how often the old man had given orders to eliminate someone, based purely on suspicion, with the same smile.
"Of course," Dumbledore replied, sounding so sincere, Ron almost believed him. But, after a moment, the old man continued: "More information about the people on the list might help us narrow down the number of likely suspects."
"It might also make you miss the real culprit based on preconceptions," Harry replied, cutting off Granger, who scowled at him.
"I can assure you that I know how to handle such information, Mr Potter. I've done so for decades." Dumbledore inclined his head. "In any case, with Mr Yaxley on the run, it shouldn't be too long before his plot is unravelled. However, you might be expected to give testimony as well."
"We are the key people in this case, I suppose," Granger acknowledged. "But can we afford to do that?"
"It would be more difficult for you to evade the various organisations who are already, and will become, interested in your work, should you talk to the police," Dumbledore told her.
"Dawlish would want to lock you up," Ron admitted. "And we'd be under investigation for a while."
Harry scoffed at that.
"And the press would hound you," Luna added. "Unwittingly, or knowingly in some specifically despicable cases, working for the people pulling their strings!"
"The press can be far more easily handled than professionals," Dumbledore pointed out. "But without presenting yourself to your colleagues and fellow police officers investigating this affair, you might find it hard to be cleared, Mr Potter, Mr Weasley. Les absents ont toujours tort, n'est-ce pas?"
"The absent party is always to blame," Granger translated without being asked.
"We learned French in school," Harry told her, sounding a little peeved.
"Sorry," she replied, looking a little embarrassed.
"In my experience, few English schools will teach you a foreign language to a competent level," Dumbledore interjected. "It's quite reasonable to assume that you might have forgotten what you learned since your A-levels. I certainly had to have private tutoring, and had to spend quite some time with a number of French refugees, before I mastered the language."
"Well, I don't speak French very well," Luna said. "So, thank you, Hermione." She beamed at the woman while Harry scowled.
"Anyway," Ron spoke up before Dumbledore could continue trying to divide them, "what shall we do now? Stay here until the laboratory in Scotland is ready?"
"I think Dr Granger's presence while it's being set up would be helpful. You know best what you need, after all, Dr Granger, and so you could have things arranged just how you like - within reason, of course. However, your entire group might be a little less than inconspicuous. It's not a serious threat - I trust the employees assigned to that task - but a slight risk would remain. And the threat of boredom, of course." Dumbledore spread his hands with a smile. "I understand, though, that you feel safer while staying together. I would as well, in your place."
Ron refrained from glaring at the old man. That was an obvious ploy. Make it sound logical to split up? Less trouble for everyone while Granger was alone with him and his men? On the other hand, Dumbledore would know that they would see through such an offer. So why would he make it? Just to appear more honest?
"Why would we be bored? I, for one, have never been to an actual black site!" Luna piped up with a wide grin.
Was Dumbledore's smile growing strained? Or was that what he wanted them to think? Ron couldn't tell. Not yet. "To Scotland, then?" he asked. "Or do you need a little more time to prepare lodgings for us?"
"That depends on how much comfort you expect," Dumbledore replied. "The current accommodations for staff are a little spartan, since the laboratory is not currently used for anything sensitive."
"We can rough it," Harry said at once.
Ron stopped himself from narrowing his eyes at Harry. His friend wasn't wrong, but that didn't mean they had to rough it. But Granger, who had been prepared to spend years in the wilderness, or so it seemed, would never disagree with that claim, and Luna was too eager to see the secret laboratory of a weapons research corporation. "We can go after we've spoken with Dad," he announced.
"Splendid!" Dumbledore beamed at them.
"You won't return to CI5, then."
Dad didn't sound thrilled - Ron could tell even through the phone. "No," he replied. "We'll be staying with Dr Granger. Too much has happened to leave her before the whole affair has been resolved."
"Isn't the main suspect on the run?"
"Yes. But we don't know who's backing him." Ron started pacing in his and Harry's room.
"Are you planning to investigate the case by yourself?"
"No. We'll be protecting Dr Granger." Although if they found a lead…
"CI5 won't like it. Your mother won't like it."
"Mum's always nagging me to stick with a girl," Ron joked, "and now that I'm doing it, it's not OK, either?"
Dad laughed, but it sounded forced. Then he sighed. "I'll tell her."
"Thanks, Dad."
"Be careful, Son."
"Always," Ron lied.
Black Lake, Scotland, Britain, July 13th, 2005
It was an idyllic location Dumbledore had chosen for his - and probably Grindelwald's - secret lab in Britain. At least Ron thought so. A decent sized lake, surrounded by forests and hills, mountains rising a little further away. The closest village was an hour away by car - they had timed it when they had passed through on the way here, in Dumbledore's car. Quite isolated, indeed.
And well camouflaged - from here, the lab looked like an unassuming historic manor on the shores of the lake, probably built with stone taken from the nearby ruins. Spending time here might almost feel like a vacation. At least during summer - he wasn't keen on all the snow and ice that would replace the lush vegetation come winter.
"To think such a peaceful place hides a black lab!" Luna exclaimed next to him, shaking her head before she suddenly froze for a moment. "On the other hand, 'Black Lake' - it's almost a sign! Perhaps this is merely disinformation… or a double-bluff! We might need to explore the lake."
Ron checked, discreetly, once more that there were no microphones hidden nearby - or aimed at them. Their 'guide' was far back, out of hearing range, and they were too far away from the building itself - that was the reason they had taken a walk around the lake, after all. But it was the bug you didn't look for which would usually ruin your plans. So far he hadn't found anything, though. That didn't mean anything, of course.
"I'm more interested in how they managed to construct a lab here," Harry said, "without anyone noticing. There's only so much you can mask as 'renovations'."
"You can hide a lot," Ron told him. "And hardly anyone would bother to track the exact amount of building materials when there isn't a border crossing involved. Add a fake 'unstable shore' you need to stabilise with concrete, and you have a cover for a lot of excavation work as well. And an explanation for concrete walls under the soil."
"How cunning!" Luna nodded. "I should have known that English Heritage would be part of the conspiracy!"
Ron suppressed a chuckle - he knew she was serious. And, truth be told, he wasn't entirely certain English Heritage - or, rather, Historic Scotland in this case - wasn't involved. They visited a lot of old manors where the rich and powerful were often found. What better cover for a spy?
Granger was uncharacteristically silent. They had expected that, of course - ever since she had discovered their destination. And recognised it. She was staring at the house across the lake. No, at the hill behind it.
"So, that's where your boarding school was?" he asked, in a low voice. He hadn't found any microphones, and the odds of Dumbledore having bugged the entire area were slim, but it felt better to lower your voice.
"Yes," she replied, slowly nodding. "Over there. What a coincidence!"
He shrugged. He didn't think it was a coincidence. And he didn't think Granger thought so, either. "It might be a location that's important in every world," he said.
"Fixed points in geography?" She raised her eyebrows at him. "Adapted from Dr Who's fixed points in time?"
"Not quite, actually," he replied. "But there were similar concepts in some books I read."
"Fantasy books." She made it sound as if they were pornography.
"Yes. About magic and dimensional travel." He didn't hide his smirk overly well when she pursed her lips.
"If that's true, then this might be an ideal location for my work."
He blinked. She wasn't dismissing it out of hand?
Before he could say anything, though, she rolled her eyes. "I'm not so stubborn as to reject a decent hypothesis without testing," she said.
"Only nearly as stubborn, then?" he asked, grinning.
She snorted. "Not as nearly as you are annoying," she shot back - her grin taking the sting out of her words. Most of it, at least.
He laughed. "I try my best." After a moment, he added: "My counterpart wasn't fond of reading?"
She frowned at him. "Why would you say that?"
"You always seem a little surprised when I mention my hobby."
"Ah." She nodded. "He wasn't an avid reader - unless it involved Quidditch. But we all had to read a lot for school. I can't judge him for choosing not to spend the rest of his free time on reading."
But perhaps she had done so anyway? Should he ask? It was a sensitive topic - almost everything about Granger's home world was.
"Did Ginny and Luna's counterparts fight?" Harry asked before Ron could find the right words.
"They weren't in a front-line cell," Granger replied.
"But they fought," Harry went on. Ron saw he was clenching his teeth. How long had his friend been wanting to ask?
"Luna helped her father run an underground newspaper," Granger said. "I told you that already."
"Yes, you did!" Luna piped up.
"And Ginny?" Harry's jaw was set - he wouldn't leave this alone, Ron knew.
"Helped Luna and others, mostly as a courier."
That sounded rather dangerous. "Courier?" Ron asked.
"On her broom. She's an excellent flyer. Everyone said she'd fly for a professional team after school - if not for the war."
Ah, yes. Flying brooms. Granger had mentioned them, but Ron still had trouble accepting that they were real. Brooms.
"She wasn't trying to smuggle weapons through roadblocks and past patrols, if you were imagining such things," Granger went on.
"No. She was just trying to outfly patrols in the sky," Harry retorted. "As a sixteen-year-old."
"She fought Death Eaters at fifteen. As did Luna," Granger replied matter-of-factly - which Ron thought was a front since he could see that she was tense. "Harry killed a possessed wizard when he was eleven. Ginny was possessed at eleven. She almost killed several students, myself included, and was nearly sacrificed in a dark ritual before Harry and Ron saved her." She nodded towards the hill on the other side of the lake. "It happened right there. At school."
What the hell! "You didn't mention that before," Ron said, frowning at her.
She shrugged. "I prefer to remember the good times," she told them with a smile. "I was happy at Hogwarts."
"Even with all the fights and the war?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
"The war really started after we had left Hogwarts."
Which said a lot about how much worse it must have gotten, Ron realised.
"It was a civil war," she said with a sad-looking smile, "with all that entails. Death squads were hunting down anyone who might resist the new regime - and anyone who had been born to the wrong parents - while the government covered the country with its vile propaganda, riling up the majority of the population against the minorities. And we - the Order - fought back with everything we had, using every dirty trick we knew. We had to. Defeat meant death, or worse."
Ron wasn't about to ask what she meant by 'worse'. He had a pretty good idea.
"Sounds like the partisans in World War Two, just with magic," Harry remarked.
"It's an apt comparison. The Death Eaters classified people like the Nazis did - purebloods, half-bloods and 'mudbloods'. And they planned to murder all those of 'tainted blood'." She scoffed with an expression of loathing on her face.
"And we're currently staying in a building co-owned by a supposedly former Nazi spy." Harry was looking at Granger out of the corners of his eyes while facing the lake, Ron noticed.
"You agreed that it was the best option," Granger replied. She sounded rather defensive.
"We all did," Ron said before Harry could reply.
"Yes." Luna nodded emphatically. "We knew the risks! And we have a goal! Exposing the truth about their secret arms research! And getting Hermione home."
Harry frowned but nodded. "As long as you can handle it."
"I've handled worse," she told him. "Besides, in this world, I'm not a member of a persecuted minority."
"That's not true," Luna pointed out. "You're the only witch in our world, and witches were and are persecuted."
Granger seemed at a loss for words, Ron noticed. He chuckled at her expression. "So… let's finish our walk?" They were about halfway around the lake, after all.
"Yes," Granger quickly agreed, then led them on.
"Was all this part of the school?" Luna asked a few minutes later.
"It belonged to Hogwarts, but it wasn't part of the school proper," Granger replied. "That means it wasn't protected by the school's defences, either, though we had an actual path to walk around the lake, not a trail."
"Ah."
"We didn't really leave the castle that often, apart from visiting the village on special weekends, and, in summer, spending time at the lake. The Forbidden Forest was dangerous - hostile centaurs, a pack of magic wolves, an entire colony of Acromantulas…"
"Acromantulas?"
"Giant, intelligent, man-eating spiders."
Ron shuddered and eyed the forest she had indicated. There were no magic creatures, much less spiders, here. Giant spiders would collapse under their own weight without magic. Or suffocate. It was… Damn. He pressed his lips together: "Remember: No testing the Shrinking Solution out here."
"I'm not wasting an irreplaceable resource for your amusement," Granger told him with a huff.
"The thought of being a tiny human surrounded by dangerous animals that would be giant-sized in comparison isn't particularly amusing," he retorted.
"Oh." She blinked, then shrugged. "It's a moot point, anyway - if we're forced to use our escape plan, we won't care about a possible threat by animals."
Ron disagreed on principle, but it wasn't worth making an issue out of it.
"Did you often go swimming?" Luna asked after a moment.
"Occasionally. Not too often - most of the year, it was too cold for that. Also, the lake was the home of a village of merpeople," Granger replied. "And they were territorial."
Her expression told Ron that this was another sore subject. He shook his head - despite all that, she wanted to go back. She was too stubborn for her own good.
By the time they returned to the laboratory, it had started to rain, though it was barely more than a drizzle - not enough to require an umbrella. It still felt nice to get out of it, of course.
"Welcome back," the head of the facility's security greeted them with all the warmth of a robot.
Another difference to Granger's world, Ron thought. Argus Filch had been her school's janitor. And a 'squib' - someone born to a wizard family, but lacking the talent for magic. He had been 'understandably embittered by his treatment in Wizarding Britain', as Granger had explained. This Filch, though, didn't seem embittered at all. Just cold. And he was carrying at least two guns.
And Ron was certain that the middle-aged man knew how to use them. He had the look of a veteran soldier. Or a career criminal.
"Would you like a tour of the projected lab area?" Filch asked.
"Yes, please," Granger, predictably, replied at once.
"Are you coming along?" Filch asked, tilting his head fractionally towards them.
"Of course!" Luna piped up, pulling out her notebook.
Harry and Ron nodded. They had to stick together here. Granger was correct in assuming that if Dumbledore wished them harm, he didn't have to go to these lengths to get them to lower their guard, but Ron didn't trust the old man not to pull something underhanded.
After all, situations and plans changed all the time.
"Follow me, please," Filch said, then turned and led them towards the lifts in the back. The man didn't seem concerned about being attacked from behind, so he was either very trusting, convinced Harry and Ron wouldn't suddenly turn on Dumbledore or had someone covering him.
Ron hadn't spotted a hidden shooter or guard, yet, but he didn't take Filch for the overly trusting type - someone like Dumbledore wouldn't have hired the man as head of security if he were. Well, neither would Ron in Dumbledore's place. That didn't mean Ron would trust either of the two men.
They entered the lift - which, Ron noted, had doors with a much better seal than regular lifts, and larger air ducts as well - and descended to the basement. About two and a half floors, Ron guessed.
The doors opened with a slight hiss - overpressure in the shaft? That was a thing in a number of books Ron had read - and entered a room that seemed to cover the entire footprint of the building.
"It's pretty bare right now, but furniture's on the way. And the generators are in working order," Filch announced, pointing towards three huge generators in the corner.
Granger looked impressed for a moment before she schooled her features. "That looks like it'll cover my power needs - provided you can keep them fueled. And soundproofed."
"That won't be a problem. We have ample storage capacity," Filch replied.
Which, of course, begged the question of what Dumbledore had been planning to do with this building before he had offered it to Granger. Ron studied the floor for a moment. It was freshly cleaned - no dust on it. But there were scratches on the floor, and the generators had been here for a while.
"What did you use this room for before turning it into Hermione's lab?" Luna asked. "Advanced weapons research?"
"I'm not privy to that information," Filch deflected her question with an utterly bland expression.
Luna frowned at him, pouting. "Really? Wouldn't it be part of your duties as security chief to know that? How could you protect the staff otherwise, if anything went wrong?"
"We've got procedures for everything," Filch replied.
"Everything? Even spills of radioactive mutagens?" Luna asked.
"Yes." Filch's grin was anything but friendly, and even Luna seemed taken aback - for a moment.
She perked up at once. "So there are such compounds!"
"I didn't say that," Filch back-pedalled. "Director Dumbledore has a sometimes eccentric sense of humour."
"I bet!" Luna replied, nodding several times. She was still taking notes, of course. And if Filch thought that that was the end of it… Well, he didn't know her as well as Ron did.
"Alright. With the generators there, and this much power…" Granger was walking through the room, pacing it. "The quantum mirror cage needs to be here." She pointed at a spot on the ground. "Otherwise, it might be influenced by the magnetic fields of the generators. And I'll need ample free space around it, with walls here and here. Office space, two standard desks, three filing cabinets, the best computer you can buy - here."
"And a cot or two, for quick naps," Ron added with a grin.
She blinked, then nodded. "Excellent idea!" Turning to Filch, she went on: "Yes, I need a bed here as well."
"You have quarters above."
"Yes. But sometimes, I'll want to take a nap without leaving the lab and wasting time," she retorted. "There's enough space for a good bed."
"Alright." Filch sounded bland as before, but Ron thought he caught a glimpse of annoyance in the man's eyes.
Ron grinned behind the man's back. Granger had that effect if you didn't know her well. But she grew on you. Well, probably not on Filch. Ron still didn't have the man's measure - could be a former spy, former soldier or former criminal - but he was pretty sure that the man would never like being ordered around by a girl half his age, no matter her brilliance.
"So, how long will it take to get the lab up and running?" he asked, making a point of looking around the bare room.
"Two weeks, as far as I know," Filch replied. "I'm no expert, though."
"As soon as the computers arrive, I can start working. Most of the heavier equipment is required for practical experiments, but there's still some theoretical work to be done. However, even that sort of research will involve experiments at some point," Granger said. "You'll have to be careful, though, or some of the specialised equipment will lead others to us."
"That's being handled." Filch didn't quite snap, but it was obvious that he wanted to tell Granger off for telling him how to do his job.
Granger, though, either missed that or ignored it. "Good. Now, we'll also need to purchase some personal effects. Books, clothes, those sorts of things."
"Just give us a list," Filch told her.
"Oh, free stuff!" Luna exclaimed - as if she'd trust anything purchased by Dumbledore's agents without checking it thoroughly first. "What about conjugal visits?"
"What?"
"Conjugal visits, you know, when your spouse…"
"I know what they are!" Filch snapped. A possible hint that he had been in prison, perhaps?
"Good!" Luna continued, seemingly unflappable. "It only concerns Harry right now, but any one of us might find a life partner in the future, so how's that being handled?"
"Not by a list, I hope," Harry added with a grin.
"This is a secure site. No visitors are allowed."
"So we'll have to go out to meet our respective and prospective sexual partners? I guess it's traditional - many people go clubbing for that purpose…" Luna pulled on her lower lip with the fingers of her left hand.
Ron smirked - behind Filch's back. Luna was a treat, even though he couldn't tell how serious she was right now, either. But that was part of her charm.
"Clubbing?" Filch blinked.
"Yes. Young people - and we are still young by most sane definitions - often go clubbing. The nightclub and dance venue thing. Not the killing baby seals thing, you know."
"That's a security risk."
"That's why we're asking you as the Head of Security," Luna went on. Her tone added a clearly understood, if silent, 'you dummy' to her sentence.
Ron glanced at Granger. She was not even bothering to hide her own smirk, he noticed.
He approved.
Black Lake, Scotland, Britain, July 14th, 2005
"Allons enfants de la Patrie-i-i-e! Le jour de gloire est arrivé!"
Luna was in better shape than Ron had expected. Even after a light jog - or, for half the route, a more or less quick march - halfway around the lake, she still had enough breath to sing the French national anthem. Granger, however, could barely keep up, Ron noticed.
He called a break. "Let's rest a little."
Granger collapsed on the grass, chest heaving. "I need to get in better shape," she wheezed.
"Yes," Harry told her in a flat voice, which earned him a glare. She didn't say anything, though. Just pulled on the black top of her sweatsuit to let more air through and fiddled with the straps on the backpack containing her magic bag.
Luna sat down next to her. Her own sweatsuit bore all the colours of the rainbow - she had, apparently, managed to find one that had been used in a paintball match with stains that hadn't come out in the wash. At least Harry and Ron had sensible grey sweatsuits. "We need to tell Mr Miller to pick a menu in honour of the fourteenth of July," she said. "Something French."
"Last I checked, most of his menus were based on French cuisine," Granger remarked.
"Well, something extra-French, then," Luna replied, undaunted. "Dinner was excellent."
Ron nodded. He preferred his chips thick and with vinegar. But the pommes frites had been tasty. And the filets…
"Don't drool," Harry said, in a dry voice.
Ron frowned at his friend. "Mum's a much better cook."
"Of course she is. But that doesn't mean that the food here's bad."
"The Mrs Weasley I knew cooked much better, too," Granger cut in.
"You'll have to visit Mum and Dad," Ron said without thinking, "so you can compare their meals."
"I'd love to," Granger replied before blinking. "Well, if it's possible one day," she added, "without endangering your family, of course."
"Of course," Ron said, nodding.
"You'll have to visit when Molly's making her roast," Luna told her.
"She'll do requests when Ron's bringing a girl." Harry chuckled.
Ron frowned at him, then started to stretch. Although Harry wasn't entirely wrong - Mum went all-out if any of her boys brought home a girl. Which was part of the reason none of Ron's brothers had yet married.
Granger was stretching too, now. Though she wasn't doing it right, he noticed. He stopped and went over to her. "You need to lean in more," he told her.
"What?"
"You need to lean in more." He demonstrated. "Like this."
"I'm trying," she snapped.
"Let me help." He reached out and adjusted her foot. "You won't twist it like this."
"Ah."
He ran her through a few more stretching exercises. She wasn't really in bad shape - Harry and Ron were simply in top shape. And Luna… well, Ron knew that she had kept up the running she had started when they were dating.
"Thank you," she said with a smile as they got ready for the second leg of their run. "You're good at that."
He nodded at the compliment. "You just lack endurance. That'll change soon enough."
She looked at him for a moment, lips pressed together, then started to run.
A little too fast to talk.
Although, as Luna demonstrated, not too fast to sing.
It was a good thing that the group needed to go on runs to talk freely, or Granger would probably never leave her room. Ron certainly hadn't even caught a glimpse of her since she had gone to her temporary office after lunch. Which made keeping guard in the 'lounge' down the hall leading to their rooms more than a little boring. Especially since the one seat with a good view down the hallway, and, therefore, of Granger's door, was a little too exposed for Ron's taste.
Dumbledore probably had several ways to deal with them without having them jumped by armed assailants, but Ron couldn't help wishing he had some cover. At least he had his back to a wall - which he had checked for concealed firing ports or other surprises, of course.
"You look bored!"
Luna had returned from her foray to the kitchen, carrying a big basket full of snacks. And sweets, knowing her.
"Guarding someone is almost never exciting," he told her.
"Unless things go really wrong, right?"
He nodded - these had been his words, after all. Years ago.
"Sandwich?" She pulled out what looked like a roast beef sandwich. White bread, fortunately - Ron wasn't a fan of the dark, sour bread the kitchen seemed to offer by default.
"Thanks."
"Even boring work is hungry work," she commented, letting herself fall into the seat next to him. "Harry's asleep?"
"Yes." Resting, at least.
"And Hermione's lost in her work." Luna shook her head. "Did you check that she's taking enough breaks?"
"I don't want to disturb her."
"You're not a good bodyguard, then." She was smiling at him as she quoted another line of his and grabbed a sandwich of her own. Tuna. Probably her own recipe - she had managed to get Mum to use that recipe, so hired cooks wouldn't stand a chance, in Ron's opinion.
"Circumstances were different back then," he replied. Luna had been working herself to the bone with her bunker project.
"Mhhh." She didn't look convinced.
"I'll step in once she starts falling asleep at the table." He grinned at her, remembering that incident. In hindsight, it was pretty funny.
"Does that mean you'll take her out on a date?" Luna leaned forward, finishing her sandwich in a few quick bites.
"What?" He blinked, then shook his head. "She's dating her Ron."
"Ah."
Or she had been - seven years was a long time. His counterpart might even be dead. Ron took another bite and forced the thought away. No sense dwelling on that sort of nonsense.
Black Lake, Scotland, Britain, July 15th, 2005
The weather was cloudy, but it wasn't raining. Perfect for a morning run in summer. A cross-country run, of course - the best they had were trails in the forest parts of the route. Ron liked the challenge - running on a track was usually mind-numbing, unless you were competing.
Granger, though, wasn't enjoying the experience any more than their first run. "Do we need to run through the forest?" she complained at their first break. "I'm not fond of roots and other stumbling hazards."
"We need to vary our routes," Harry replied. "Otherwise, Dumbledore's men will bug them so they can listen to our conversations."
"Given enough time and resources, they could cover the entire area, eventually," Ron added, "but it's not yet an urgent problem."
Granger sighed. She looked tense, Ron noticed - tenser than yesterday. He stepped closer to her, ducking under a branch. "Bad memories?"
She pressed her lips together, which was answer enough.
Hogwarts. From her spot at the edge of the forest, she could see the school on the hill across the lake. At night, the lake matched its name perfectly - it was pitch black, with the dim reflection of a few lights from the castle only emphasising its darkness.
For years, it had been her home. Hers and her friends'. But that had changed. It wasn't her home. Not any more. Muggleborns were banned from Hogwarts. McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Vector… all the good teachers, everyone who opposed Voldemort's ideology, were gone. They had quit or disappeared. By all accounts, the school had been turned into a Death Eater training camp, with the half-bloods serving as the training dummies for the Dark Arts.
She shuddered, remembering her time as a prisoner in Malfoy Manor. Her torture at the hands of… She shook her head, clenching her jaw. It was over. She was free. And Lestrange would never hurt anyone ever again.
A sudden touch on her back made her gasp. But it was warm - a hand.
"You don't have to come."
Ron. She slowly turned to face him. "I have to."
"Snape's sneaking us in. We just have to search the Room of Requirement. Harry and I can do that."
"We'll be faster with one more set of eyes. And one more wand." Even if it wasn't her original wand. Even if it had been used to torture her. But they needed her. They didn't have very much time to find the Horcrux.
"Dobby could get elves to help. Hell, Snape could order some to help us."
She shook her head. "They can't help with the search." House-elves couldn't deal with Horcruxes. Couldn't even be near them without being corrupted. A second Kreacher would doom them all. "They can act as lookouts, nothing more. You need me."
He stared at her. Then he slowly nodded and hugged her.
And for a moment, she was at peace.