Chapter 9 - Facing the Past
"Are you sure you want to do this now?" Neville asked. After breakfast Hermione had insisted on going straight into their promised defensive drills.
She nodded. "I'm getting antsy and need something to do until Harry delivers my files."
"Okay but if you want to effectively practice defending yourself then it has to be in real world conditions and in the real world the bad guys don't announce their presence, they don't pull punches, they don't ask permission and..."
He abruptly flicked his wand to one side and bounced a stinging spell off a mirror which then flew into Hermione's backside, causing her to yelp more in surprise than in pain.
"...and they don't wait until you're ready."
Hermione narrowed her eyes as she rubbed the sore spot on her behind.
"Oh. You're going to pay for that, Longbottom."
Neville adjusted the grip on his wand and arched an eyebrow.
"Let's see you try, Granger."
Hermione was a little rusty at first but she quickly found her footing and soon they were trading spells at a furious pace, each landing an equal number of hits on the other. They went through all of the proscribed defensive drills as well as a few variants devised by Neville.
They called a truce and took a brief break for water. Once they'd rested, Hermione mentioned how she'd taken a Muggle self-defense course one summer and asked if she could practice some of those moves in case she ever found herself unable to use magic for whatever reason.
"That's a good idea," agreed Neville. "Let's start with the most likely scenario. A reverse choke hold."
They stood and he got in position behind her, talking about force and momentum. As soon as he reached around her neck, she dropped her chin to her chest, grabbed his arm with both hands, stepped to the side and elbowed him sharply in the gut. When he lurched forward to catch his breath she brought her arm up and caught him hard on the chin. As he reeled back she took advantage of the resulting loss of balance to redirect his weight and he landed hard on his back.
She leaned over and sweetly asked, "Something like that?"
"Yeah," he coughed. "Something like that would do in a pinch."
He struggled to sit up, grabbed his back and winced in pain causing Hermione's self-satisfied smirk to turn quickly into an expression of concern.
"Merlin! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to actually hurt you."
She knelt down and lifted his shirt to check for injuries, stopping short when she saw the multitude of scars covering his torso.
"Oh, Nev. What happened?" she asked softly.
"Souvenirs from the Carrows," he shrugged, staring at the far wall. "They didn't like hearing the word 'no'."
"And they used dark magic to do this?"
He reached around and pulled down his shirt, all the while still looking in the other direction. "They didn't use any other kind."
He turned to face her, his gaze dropping briefly to her forearm before looking her in the eye. "So, you see, I meant what I said the other night about understanding certain things if you ever want to talk."
Hermione bit her lip and nodded but otherwise remained quiet.
Neville waited a moment then got to his feet. "Right. Harry should be here soon. Suppose we should get cleaned up and be ready when he arrives."
xxxx
Harry arrived thirty minutes later with the files Hermione had requested along with the information he'd managed to gather so far on potential suspects.
The three staged a makeshift incident room in a corner of the library, with Hermione transfiguring a large, empty art frame into an evidence board to arrange the data Harry had collected.
"I started by interviewing those most vocally opposed to the recent reforms act you'd proposed," Harry said, writing the words "Anti-Werewolf" on the board. "Spoke with the Lavender Brown's dad, who is now working with Professor Picardy."
He put a photo up of an older man in a dark beard, holding a copy of a book entitled 'Lupine Lawlessness: Why Lycanthropes Don't Deserve to Live' by Prof. E. Picardy'.
"While they obviously dislike the legislation and don't speak very fondly of you in general the group maintains they don't want any harm to come to you because - and I quote - 'Bad enough she's a war hero. Turning her into a bloody martyr only makes our job more difficult.' "
"Lovely," growled Neville. "I'd put them at the top of the list anyway, wouldn't you?"
"Agreed," said Harry. "Unfortunately they're not the only ones in the running. We can't discount this crew."
Next on the board was a postwar newspaper clipping announcing the names of the death eaters sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. Harry had mercifully snipped out the photo so Neville and Hermione were spared the likes of Greyback and the Carrows snarling back at them.
"We're running checks to make sure none of this lot has been communicating with the outside world, even to those who didn't fight on You Know Who's side during the war in case someone is unwittingly being used to pass messages along. That includes the guards and other prison staff."
Neville wrinkled his nose. "Something about this lot doesn't track with me. If it were them then why only Hermione? Why not all of us? Also they tend to want to make a big production of taking credit for the chaos they create."
Harry nodded. "You're right but we can't afford to rule them out."
The next picture he produced caused both Neville and Hermione to sit up. "Hold on!" exclaimed Hermione. "She's dead!"
Harry pinned up an old Ministry photo of Dolores Umbridge. "Is she? Remember, all we found in the forest were scraps of blood stained pink fabric and the tattered remains of her hat. Sure, it's likely she was killed but for the time being we have to assume that other options are possible. And if she is alive she'd certainly be hostile towards you."
"But she brings up the same questions as the Azkaban lot," said Hermione. "Why just me? Why not you or Neville or the Weasleys for that matter? And why after all this time?"
"I can't answer the first part but remember how long You Know Who laid low before returning? Again, we can afford to presume anything until we have more evidence," Harry said.
He turned back to the board. "Those are the most likely suspects for the time being but there are others that still need to be considered."
He pinned up a photo of Rita Skeeter and Hermione snorted. "Oh, please. She knows better. Besides, if she wanted me dead she'd have tried something a long time ago."
"Maybe but she's still nervous about the fact that you're aware she's an unregistered animagus. She also knows where you live and work and she had a press pass to the gala. Not to mention the fact that she has incriminating information on enough unsavory people to easily have the dirty work farmed out if necessary. She has to remain a option."
Neville arched an eyebrow at the animagus comment and Hermione whispered, "I'll tell you all about it later. It's a good story."
"Okay - next up..." Harry reached into his case and brought out a picture of Cormac.
Hermione barked out a laugh. "Come on, Harry! Really?"
"Hear me out. He's got a huge ego and he's never really gotten over your repeated rejections of him, going back to the Christmas party our sixth year. Your work consistently outclasses his at the Ministry, even though his father and uncle do their best to make him look good to his superiors and you know better than anyone what a world class sleaze he is regarding women in general."
"Yes, but..."
"And rumor has it that he keeps a wall of potential 'conquests' and your name is still on the list."
Neville unintentionally snapped the quill he'd been holding.
Hermione scoffed. "That's hardly breaking news, Harry. The women at the Ministry have known about that list for years. Any half eligible witch under the age of a hundred is on it."
The men beside her looked shocked. "Hold on!" Harry exclaimed. "If you've all known then why haven't any of you complained?"
"Who says we haven't? Alas, being a pig isn't a crime. Besides, we all learned early on what happens when you point out this sort of behavior to a primarily male dominated social structure. You get a pat on the head, an admonishment to 'not be so sensitive' - to 'take it as a compliment' - and a reminder that 'boys will be boys'. So until a guy like Cormac crosses some sort of flagrant line then all we can do is avoid him, call him out when he gets overly aggressive and leave the occasional disguised box of Nosebleed Nougats or Puking Pastilles on his desk."
Both Neville and Harry hung their heads, embarrassed by the accuracy of her statement.
"It's still not right that he treats you - any of you - with that sort of disrespect," muttered Neville.
"Thank you, Nev. I appreciate that. We all agree that he's a prat but getting back to him as a suspect, we have to consider the parchment I was sent. You both have to admit Cormac is nowhere near clever enough to come up with enchantments that have the ability to stump Draco Malfoy."
"No," conceded Harry. "But he's got enough family money and influence to pay someone who could - plus he was at the gala so he stays up here until I'm convinced otherwise."
Next he opened his file and produced a picture of Romilda Vane.
"Oh, now you're just being ridiculous, Harry!"
"Come on, Hermione. We both know she's the one who's been selling 'inside information' on you to Rita Skeeter."
"Please! What I used to eat for breakfast or the kind of undergarments I wore as a teenager is hardly inside information. Besides, it's a pretty big leap from making a few galleons tattling on someone you used to share a room with at school to murder."
"I know it's a long shot but she's petty and vindictive and still blames you for the fact that she and I never dated."
"Harry, you're my best friend and I love you dearly but that ship sailed a long time ago. I'm sure she's moved on. If you insist on going that far back you may as well put up..."
Before she could finish Harry pinned up a picture of Milicent Bulstrode.
"What? No Pansy Parkinson?" joked Hermione.
"Thought about it," admitted Harry. "Except she's now married to a rich wizard from the States and by all accounts is enjoying the high life on a beach in Southern California. Been no sign of her travelling or even communicating with anyone in Britain for over a year. Probably safe to rule her out but I reserve the right to include her if I learn otherwise."
"What about our old pal Milicent?" asked Neville.
"Still trying to track her down. She moved to Germany after school and sort of fell off the map. I checked with Malfoy but he says he hasn't heard from her since the war. He was the only Slytherin in his year to go back to finish school, right?"
"Yes. After Draco and Narcissa's actions came out during the post war trials most of the Slytherins from his year cut all ties with him. He didn't seem devastated by that fact. Apparently he wasn't any more successful making friends then as he is now."
Harry sighed. "Speaking of..."
The last photo he pulled out was of the platinum blond wizard himself.
"Harry..." Hermione cautioned.
"I'm sorry but in light of your past history with him I can't afford to overlook any possibility."
"Wait. I thought you guys were some sort of friends now," said Neville.
"I don't know if that's the word I'd use but I'm absolutely convinced he that would no longer target me out of spite."
"Maybe not," said Harry. "But we can't forget he has a weakness now."
"And that is...?" asked Neville.
"Astoria and Scorpius."
"I hate to agree but you're right about that," said Hermione. "Draco's loyalty to them goes even deeper than it did with his parents and we all remember what he was willing to do for them. He wouldn't do this on his own but...if someone were threatening his wife and son, forcing him to act against me? Then it's hard to say what he'd do."
Neville shook his head in confusion. "If that's the case then why do you have him helping you with this?"
"He's the best at what he does," admitted Harry. "But to your point, I'm not taking anything at face value. I'm having Professor Flitwick double check his reports when I get them and so far Filius agrees with everything he's said."
Neville struggled against a sudden, overwhelming feeling of utter helplessness. One of the people on this board was quite possibly trying to kill the woman sitting next to him and for the moment there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.