AN: I managed to get my Secret Santa finished earlier than I expected and I had time to edit this chapter so you could get it on time. You didn't think I'd let you all know how Ron is straight away though, did you?! ;) As always, thanks for your feedback. It feeds my soul and makes me happy. Please keep it coming! :) xxx
Hermione returns back from a flying visit to New York only to receive some bad news.
Being close to the Minister of Magic had its benefits, Hermione Granger thought as she stepped out of the fireplace in her private office. After the first few weeks of working with MACUSA, he'd given permission for a floo line to be set up that would take her directly to the Woolworth Building in downtown New York City from her office in London. It meant that Hermione could easily travel between the two locations without needing to ask Percy Weasley for permission every time.
She threw the large set of files down on her desk and dusted her business robes down. Her work assisting the American Ministry with their own house-elf laws had been going well until they decided to include their Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the negotiations, and their head of department was fully against the laws. This was the second time she'd been to New York since Ron had left last weekend, but she felt like she was getting nowhere.
Her office was dark; lit only by the small lamp above her desk which had automatically turned on when she entered the room. It was probably time she called it a day. It was Friday and although the constant travelling through time zones had messed with her circadian rhythm, she knew it was far too late for her to still be in work. With any luck, Ron might be home – it had been six days since he'd left and she hadn't heard anything from him. She quickly tidied her work away and locked her filing cabinet before turning off the lamp and leaving her office, locking the door with a complicated charm, just in case.
She stepped into the busy elevator, squeezing herself in among a large group of clerical staff. They seemed to be around the same age as her, busy talking about the night of drinking ahead of them. Hermione smiled to herself as she listened to them; she wished she had the energy to head out straight from work. Although she didn't really enjoy the party lifestyle, she did like to go to the pub on a Friday night to see her friends; something they'd decided not to do whilst Harry, Ron and Neville were away. She was kind of grateful for the decision; all she wanted was a large glass of wine, a bath, and an early night – hopefully with her boyfriend.
She followed the group out of the lift and across the atrium, joining them in the queue for the floo network. Despite her best efforts, Kingsley had not agreed to connect the floo in her office to the one in her living room; that apparently was a step too far. She shifted uncomfortably in her court shoes, her feet aching as she waited for her turn.
Suddenly, an elephant Patronus appeared at her side. It raised it's trunk as if to tell Hermione to stop before emitting a calm sounding voice.
"Miss Granger. It's Gawain Robards. Please report to my office straight away."
Hermione's heart immediately skipped several beats as an uncomfortable churning started in her stomach. She felt sick and for a worrying moment, she thought she was going to lose her lunch right in front of all the ministry workers. She took a deep breath, trying her hardest to summon the most rational part of her brain as she processed the command. It was okay, Ron was okay, Robards just wanted to speak to her about the MACUSA issues.
Probably his counterpart had been in touch, the old white wizards liked to deal with things this way – tattle-telling on employees instead of approaching issues head-on. Or at the worst, Ron was home and playing an elaborate prank on her – although she wasn't sure why Robards would be involved with it.
She quickly turned on her heels, ignoring the burning sensation in her feet and the looks of the homeward bound ministry workers as she crossed the atrium, weaving the wrong way through the crowds. She tried not to run but she was finding it increasingly harder to keep her cool and her feet seemed to be moving on their own accord. She slipped to a stop in front of the elevators, furiously jabbing her finger against the button.
"Why is there never an elevator here when you bloody need it…" She huffed as the lift came into view, moving slowly as if it were under an impediment jinx.
Eventually, she made it to the Auror department and she followed the path she already knew quite well towards Robard's office. Her feeling that something awful had happened deepened as she rounded the corner and spotted Ginny pacing in front of the office. She quickened her pace, hurrying towards her friend. The petite ginger was still wearing her Harpies training kit; mud splattered up the back of her legs and her hair lank from the rain.
"Ginny!" Hermione couldn't help but cry out as she got closer to her. "Why are you here, what's going on?"
Ginny stopped in her tracks, throwing her arms desperately around Hermione.
"I don't know! Nobody will bloody tell me anything. I was at training; we have a massive game tomorrow and then all of a sudden a Patronus appears out of nowhere. I almost fell off my damn broom. You don't think…" Hermione noticed Ginny swallow her words, she couldn't bring herself to say it and Hermione didn't want to face the question. She drew her arms tighter around her friend as they waited for Robards to call them in.
After what felt like the longest wait ever, the door opened and a pale looking Robards stepped out into the corridor.
"Ah good, you're both here. Come in please, take a seat…"
The Head Auror held his office door open for them and waited for them to head in. They walked towards the chairs, but neither of them sat down so he closed his office door and stood behind his desk. He noticed how the two of them were clutching hold of each other's hands and sighed heavily.
"I've just had word from Senior Auror Healey, he was the leading the mission that the 3rd year trainees were on. The leads we were working on proved to be futile, so after gaining approval from me they decided to check out Malfoy Manor, just in case. They were in the area anyway and it seems that Potter had a feeling that if any rogue Death Eaters were still in the country, they may feel it important to gravitate there. Whilst there, a detection charm showed signs of activities in the dungeons, so Potter and Weasley volunteered to investigate further. They went with Healey to the dungeons. Unfortunately, not long after 1600 hours; an unknown magical force ejected Healey from the area and is currently holding Harry and Ron captive.
"A protective charm is currently over the area, preventing our teams from completing a rescue. You can rest assured that we are trying everything we can to rescue them. I have now called in a team of rescue specialists as well as a team of curse breakers. We will get them out…"
Hermione untangled her hand from Ginny's and pushed her curls out of her face. Her hand was shaking and she let out a deep breath as if to try and steady herself. "I should go, I should be there… I could help…"
She started to move towards the door and was surprised when Robards stepped into her path.
"Absolutely not Miss Granger. I expected this reaction from you and have spoken to the Minister. He supports me in saying that you are to stay away from this. You could make the situation worse. We don't know what we're dealing with yet and given your involvement in the fall of Lord Voldemort, you should stay away. We will impose sanctions if you choose not to listen to us. It would be more helpful to me if you could let the rest of your family know and wait with them if possible."
At the mention of the family, Ginny roused into action, pulling a defeated Hermione back to her. If they couldn't be a part of the rescue mission, they'd do what they could from home.
"We'll go to the Burrow; that's where my mum and dad live. The family will want to know and we'll wait there for further news…"
"Thank you, Mrs Potter. I promise I will be in touch as soon as I know more…"
He gave the pair a sympathetic look as they left his office. As soon as they'd gone, he prepared himself to head to Malfoy Manor; he was determined to do what he could to save his best trainees.
Ginny slid her hand back into Hermione's as they walked away from Robard's office. "Come on Hermione, you need to show me how to get out of here…"
She felt the brunette tighten her grip on her hand as she led her back towards the floo network. The atrium was empty now and Hermione thought it unfair that the rest of the Ministry workers were already safely within the confines of their own homes, or warm in the pub among their friends. They stopped in front of the fireplaces.
"Mum and Dad are going to be surprised to see us this late on a Friday, especially as we don't have plans to see them. You go first and I'll be straight after you, okay?" Ginny waited for Hermione to nod before pushing her gently towards the fireplace. The green flames quickly whisked her friend away and she stepped in after her, throwing down a handful of powder before muttering her desired location and let the familiar pull of the floo whisk her away.
Ginny was faced by a surprised looking Molly and Arthur. The radio was playing softly in the background, a pair of knitting needles floated in front of her mum whilst her dad still had the Friday papers in his hand. Hermione was floating nearby, looking almost awkward despite the fact she could easily call the Burrow home now. Ginny noticed her father's jaw had set in a way that was similar to Ron's; he already knew from their sudden appearance that something was up and Ginny braced herself.
She ran her hand through the knots in her hair with a sigh. She was desperate for a shower, to wash away the remains of her abandoned training session and let the hot water beat away the thought of what might be currently be happening to her husband or her brother. She needed to tell the team she wouldn't be at the game tomorrow; her stomach churned at the thought of letting them down but there was no way she could fly with the distraction, even if she wanted to. Ginny did not sit down, instead forcing herself to stand in front of her parents and keep eye contact with them.
"Okay, Ginny – what's going on? You're worrying me…." Arthur folded his paper tidily and placed it on the coffee table in front of him, a resolute look in his eyes. He reached across the sofa to take his wife's hand, holding on to it tightly.
"Hermione and I got called into the Auror department…" The youngest Weasley started pacing the front room as she relayed everything she knew to her parents, letting Hermione interject when she could. Once she was done, she let herself drop into the empty armchair, feeling suddenly exhausted. She rested her head against Hermione as she sat on the arm, feeling comforted by her presence.
Molly and Arthur were quiet for a while as they processed the news that two more of their family were in danger. Molly glanced at the clock, which was now crowded with the additional faces of her ever-growing brood and sighed as both Ron and Harry's faces were pointed at 'mortal peril'. She sighed; she should have noticed sooner, but she hadn't really paid much attention to the thing since the fall of Voldemort. She felt her husband tighten his grip on her hand and she hung onto it tightly, else she let her calm fall away completely.
Arthur sat forward; a frown etched across his usually peaceful face. "Okay – I'll contact the rest of the family. The two of you will stay here tonight, no arguments okay. You can go home to get some things if you need them, but there's plenty of stuff here in the house…"
As soon as Arthur relinquished his hold on her and stood up to use the floo, Molly snapped into action. Soon her house would be full again and she needed to ensure everyone was looked after. She felt herself gravitate towards the kitchen, comforted by the presence of her daughter hot on her heels and started to prepare a selection of food and cakes for everyone.
Within half an hour, the Burrow was a buzz of activity. Family and friends came and went as they heard the news, offering words of concern and turning up armed with Firewhisky and more food. Hermione stayed where she was perched on the arm of the armchair, staring at the fireplace, and flinching every time someone unfolded themselves out of the flames. She was vaguely aware of Ginny leaving for a short while, but she was not inclined to go back to the house she shared with Ron.
As soon as Bill had caught wind of what was going on, he had headed to Malfoy Manor to see if he could be useful. Someone from the family should be there and even the pleas of Molly begging him to keep the family together couldn't stop him from leaving. Even Charlie had sent word that he would be home from the dragon sanctuary as soon as possible.
Although the Burrow was busy, it wasn't like it was at Christmas; the mood was subdued and at least one set of feet were pacing the floor of the house at any time. Food was picked at, but not really eaten and a nervous energy had settled over the family.
The back and forth to New York as well as the awful news soon got too much for Hermione and she excused herself for bed. She climbed the stairs to the fifth-floor bedroom wearily, not even noticing how the décor automatically changed to its usual bright orange as if it knew what she needed. She found an old t-shirt of Ron's in a box in the corner of the room and changed into it before climbing into bed, pulling the orange duvet over her head before finally letting herself cry. It didn't bring her the comfort she needed; neither the duvet nor the t-shirt smelt of her boyfriend and the once squishy mattress had been replaced with something harder.
She cried as her mind raced, forcing her to imagine all the worst things that could be happening to Ron right now. It was bad enough that he had been forced back to the place where she had been tortured. She could still remember the sound of his cries echoing around the Manor as he begged to be taken instead of her, the burning of the knife pressing into her skin and the ache of every inch of her body as curse after curse hit her. She had never told him but the sound of his voice, knowing he was near and desperately trying to get to her kept her loosely tethered to some sort of sanity as the torture continued, hours falling away. Even as she drifted into some sort of loose consciousness, it was still his voice she clung to and she had been desperate to get back to him. She prayed to Merlin he wasn't currently going through the same thing; especially as she couldn't be there to let him know that he would be okay, that eventually he would survive.
A quiet knock on the door roused her from her morbid thoughts. She pushed the duvet away from her head and sat up in bed, furiously wiping her eyes. Hermione muttered for the person to come in and was relieved to see it was Ginny and that her eyes were red too.
"I can't sleep…" The petite ginger lingered in the doorway. She had Harry's old Quidditch t-shirt on and Hermione felt strangely jealous of the girl. Ginny had a jumper folded over her arm and when she noticed Hermione looking at it, she offered it out to her. "I hope you don't mind, but when I went to get some things I popped to your cottage. I didn't know what you'd need so I just packed a bag. But I thought this might be more important to you…"
Hermione took the jumper and immediately felt fresh tears appear in her eyes. She pulled it over her head, grateful to finally get the comfort she'd been looking for in the room. It had been at the top of the washing basket, she just hadn't found the time to tackle the laundry and now, for once, she was glad.
"Thank you, Ginny. This is exactly what I needed. Well, short of them coming home…" She let out a heavy sigh before pulling back the duvet cover. "Will you stay with me tonight?"
Ginny nodded, looking relieved. Without another word, she slipped under the duvet and wriggled down in the bed. Hermione settled back down too, seeking out her friend's hand between them and taking hold of it once more.
"Was this how it was, while I was with Ron and Harry on the hunt?" Although it was dark, Hermione could tell Ginny was thinking hard about her answer.
"Yes and no. This is worse. This feeling of helplessness. Whilst we were in the school, the DA worked hard to keep the Death Eaters busy, distracting them and Snape so that they'd have less time to think of you three. Neville and I were the ringleaders and it was good, in a way because it kept me distracted too. But the nights were hard. I lay in the dormitory or in the room of requirement and just worry about if you three were okay. Even the pain from my own injuries didn't help. I barely slept for a year…"
Hermione squeezed her hand tightly. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. This is awful; I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I wish I could do something about it…"
"They'll be okay though Hermione. They have each other. I'd be even more worried if one of them was alone…"
Hermione tried to let Ginny's response placate her, but it barely touched the edges of her worry. "I guess. But usually, I'm there with them. I can't stand not doing anything. If I have to stand another day like tonight, I'm going to go mad. Is this how our lives are going to be from now on?!"
"Maybe after a few kidnappings, we'll get used to it?!" Ginny's attempt at a joke fell flat and neither girl laughed. "I bloody hope not. Let's try and sleep, yeah? I've told Bill he's to keep us updated, even if he has to send us a Patronus in the early hours. It'll be quicker than waiting for Robards, who probably has a million other people to tell before he gets to us. Tomorrow they'll get rescued, we have to focus on that. They'll walk into the house as if nothing has happened and we'll need our energy to give them a bollocking through putting us through all this shit!"
Hermione let out a heavy sigh and closed her eyes. She waited for Ginny's breathing to steady but it didn't come. Sleep was far away from her too; but she felt comfort in having Ginny next to her and in that moment, she was even more grateful than usual for their friendship.