Chapter 17 – The Truth

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Happy New Year everyone!

Draco cradled Hermigan in his arms as Natalie's funeral ceremony progressed. He felt nothing, no regret, no sorrow. He should be ashamed to admit this but he didn't love her. She was just a mission for the Order. His son however was a different story. Despite the circumstances surrounding Hermigan's conception, Draco felt more for his son than any other human being on the planet. He could not even begin to explain the depth of his love for his son. He never once thought he was capable of such strong emotions.

Since Natalie's death Draco had formally terminated all of his deals in the magical underworld and came out in support of a united magical world that gave equal right to halfbloods and muggle-borns. He issued a damning statement about the attitude of purebloods and he no longer cast himself among them. The red howlers had arrived in droves but Draco paid them no attention. He collected them and opened them all in one room at the same time so it was just a bunch of noise.

Natalie's mother was threatening to take Hermigan away from him and raise him the right way. That meant that his son would be raised with all of the prejudices Draco had been and he didn't want that for his son. The ways of the purebloods were old and outdated. The generation shouldn't be forced to follow it and should be allowed to find their own path forward. He was going to let his son form his opinions and not force them upon him.

He felt a small hand squeeze his hand and looked down into Luna's blue concerned robs. He would have squeezed her hand back but he was cradling his son so instead he opted for a half smile to reassure her that he was ok. On his other side was Hermione. Her hands were within her robes and he wouldn't be surprised if she was holding onto two wands under there. She was practicing the extremely difficult art of wielding two wands and what better stage to show off her skills than here in front of all the purebloods.

The service ended peacefully and Natalie's mom came towards him, "I want my grandson."

Besides him both Hermione and Luna tensed both ready to defend him at a moment's notice. Draco was quite aware that two cast outs were ready to do anything to protect him unlike his other pureblood friends.

Draco looked at Natalie's mother like she was no better than the dirt under his feet and drawled, "You can't have him. I am his father."

"We'll see how long that will last. The minute you screw up he's mine," she spat at him. She glanced down at her grandson, "Don't worry Scorpius, Granny will save you from the mudblood sympathiser."

Draco's hand itched to hex her. She refused to acknowledge the name he had given his son. The only reason he was there was for Hermigan to have some sort of goodbye with his mother. If he attacked anyone, his chances of keeping his son would disappear. He clamped down on all violent urges. There were several Aurors stationed on the perimeter that wouldn't hesitate to throw him in Azkaban again. With one last look at the flowers that adorned Natalie's memorial, he chose to walk away.

Luna followed after him immediately but Hermione remained a few moments watching everyone as they retreated. When she was satisfied that there was no threat, she walked briskly to catch up with them.

"Portkey?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Draco answered. He wanted to go home.

She produced that morning's London Times. Draco held onto it along with Luna and soon they were back at the Manor.

"How did it go?" Mrs. Weasley asked anxiously as she reached for her new grandson. She was waiting in the arrival area for them.

Draco released Hermigan into her care. "I suppose it went well," he said glancing at Hermione, "She didn't have to hex anyone but that witch still wants by son."

Mrs. Weasley sighed heavily. "A letter arrived for you this morning from the wizengamot. I think the date for the custody hearing has been set."

He could tell she was very worried but he was not. The Wizengamot would have to overturn centuries of precedent for him to lose custody of his son. "Good, I want this settled as soon as possible. I want us all to move on with our lives."

He left his son with his grandmother and made his way to the study where that day's howlers were being stored.

Ginerva Weasley found herself at Malfoy Manor again. Since Natalie's death, the building they lived in had become like a living shrine to her and Ginny found it unbearable. At work she had been assigned to cover the social impact of Natalie's death. She spent most of her day interviewing rich purebloods about Natalie and the last thing she wanted to come home to was more people praising the witch. It was bad enough that during her work hours she had to face all the pureblood nonsense but to go home and have it thrown in her face again was way too much.

She had sort of moved back into her old room. She won't admit it out loud but the Manor was beginning to feel like home. She assumed that had to do with the fact that her mother spent a lot of time there helping Draco out with Hermigan. Her mother had practically moved in and three rooms have been converted for the other Weasley children to stay in during the day.

Draco's appearance at the funeral with Hermione and Luna caused a slew of rumours, all reported on by some of her co-workers. The most popular theory was that Hermione had gone into personal protection since being fired from being an Auror. Draco was her first client and she was there to protect him and his mistress Luna Lovegood from the Spellfires. Draco was known to change his interest in witches the way he changed his robes so a new witch on the scene wasn't entirely unexpected. In fact, him being with Luna, fit into his call for a united magical world. What better way to portray that than to be seen with social outcasts.

Ginny was mentally exhausted. The interviews usually tired her out but today had been extra gruelling because she had interviewed Natalie's mother. The interview started off well with her mother talking about Natalie's early years but things slowly started to go downhill when the conversation turned to her relationship with Draco. Mrs. Spellfire spewed a lot of toxic nonsense about Draco and it took every ounce of Ginny's self restraint not to pick up her wand and hex her!

She found her mother with Draco in the kitchen. It was still very odd to see Draco with a baby. It was hard to believe the boy who was so cold and uncaring at Hogwarts could care for a baby. Hermigan was carefully swathed in his arms and Draco was feeding him breast milk from a magical bottle that mimicked the feel of a breast. It was strapped onto Draco's chest and Ron had been teasing him about having a third breast. Hermigan would have no idea that it was his father and not his mother feeding him. The milk was supplied by Arianne who was still breastfeeding Jonathan.

Her mother was of course cooking while all the house elves watched in horror. There was a bit of a tiff in the kitchen between her mother and the elves. The elves firmly believed that it was their responsibility and only theirs to cook food in the Manor. Her mother of course said no one was going to stop her from cooking a meal for her children. Draco ordered them to leave Mrs. Weasley alone and let her do whatever she wanted in the kitchen but that didn't mean they couldn't glare at her.

"What's for dinner today?" Ginny asked tiredly as she sat at the table opposite Draco.

Her mother looked up surprised from the pot she was furiously stirring, "Ginny darling, how was your day?"

"Awful," Ginny said resting her head in her hand. She glanced at Hermigan, "Can I hold him?" she suddenly asked.

Draco appeared very apprehensive while her mother curiously looked on. The only other person besides her mother she had seen holding Hermigan was Luna. Hermione apparently had a fear of dropping newborns and liked to wait till they were much bigger (six months old) before she held them.

"He's feeding," Draco said dismissing the idea. Her mother didn't comment on Draco's response, she just continued on with her cooking.

"Who do you interview tomorrow?" her mother asked.

"The doctors at St. Mungos that attended to Natalie and Natalie's sister," Ginny answered. She wasn't looking forward to Natalie's sister.

"Aren't these interviews kind of one sided?" Mrs Weasley asked with a frown.

"I guess," Ginny admitted,"But Draco doesn't want to comment."

Mrs. Weasley put her spatula down and looked directly at Draco, "You should say something. Not only will it set the record straight but it might be therapeutic."

Draco looked at her, "I'm supporting a united magical world. I don't think Ginny can print me telling the rest of the wizarding community to sod off."

"No but I can filter your comments. I can print your sentiments in nicer language. All of the purebloods are saying all these awful things about you and I think you need to defend yourself," Ginny told him.

"You used to say awful things about me," Draco pointed out.

"You used to be the biggest git in Hogwarts. You're different now. I have no qualms writing good things about you," Ginny stated honestly.

"No thank you," Draco politely declined.

"This is a good idea," Ginny pushed. She summoned a quill and parchment. "You talk and then I'll write the piece if you don't like it, I won't publish it. Do this for Hermigan so when he grows up he can see how his father stood up for himself."

Draco looked down at his son, then up at Ginny, "Fine." He muttered a summoning spell and a gallon of firewhiskey came to the table.

"Oh no young man! There will be no drinking with my grandson around," Mrs. Weasley declared fiercely. She took Hermigan from Draco, "I'll put him to sleep. He's full for now."

"What about the cooking?" Ginny asked as Draco unstrapped the faux breast from his chest.

Mrs Weasley tooted, "I'm sure the elves will be more than happy to finish what I started."

The elves all rushed to the pots happy to reclaim their kitchen.

Draco watched his son leave before he popped open the gallon and took a healthy swig. "Where shall we start?"

Before she could make a suggestion the kitchen door swung open and her brother arrived asking for a snack. Klindy, Ron's favourite house elf, attended to him immediately making him a triple-decker sandwich. He sat at the table with them and started furiously attacking his 'snack'. If Ginny hadn't lived with him for the last seven years she would have been utterly disgusted.

"Let's go somewhere more private," Ginny suggested gathering her quill and parchment.

"Why Ms. Weasley are you inviting me to your bedroom," Draco teased. "What would your mother say?"

"What!" Ron exclaimed bits of food flying over the table.

Ginny narrowed her eyes. She wasn't sure which wizard she was angrier at, Ron for his lack of manners or Draco for purposely trying to push Ron's buttons. She decided Ron was a lost cause and decided she might actually have more progress with Draco. She reached across the table and pinched Draco hard.

"Ow," he complained. "You pinch like your mom!"

"Good lets get moving to the study," she ordered fiercely.

"Yes Ms. Weasley," Draco mocked.

"Wait, why are you two leaving together?" Ron asked, having finally swallowed the latest gulp of his sandwich.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "An interview for the Prophet somewhere quiet where I can work properly."

Ron's mouth opened and closed as he struggled to come up with something to say as he looked between the two of them. She ignored her brother, turned on her heel and headed out the door. She heard Draco grumbling behind her as he followed her gallon in hand.

Since they opened the room, Draco had redecorated. There were no more dark objects adorning the room and it was child friendly. There was a cot in the corner for Hermigan and toys on the ground that Gerd and Forge used for their daily pranks. The rug with the castle on it was about the only thing that still remained in the room.

Draco sprawled himself on the two seated sofa Hermione had bought for the room. Ginny decided to join him there.

"Where to start?" Draco asked again along with another swig of from the gallon.

"How about Natalie, and we move on from there," Ginny suggested.

"You want to start with the bloody witch who tried to trap me with pregnancy?" Draco stated angrily.

Ginny pulled the gallon out of Draco's hands and took a swig. It was going to be a long night.

Harry arrived at the Manor well after midnight. He had been voted as the one with the responsibility to tell Hermione what they had discovered about Cole and inform her that Kingsley had apprehended Cole and tied him up at Grimauld Place to interrogate soon. They had been forced to take action themselves because it was clear that Potwinkle was working with Primus and preventing them from having any breakthroughs on the case.

He made his way to the study where he had asked Hermione to meet him and he found her slowly backing out of the room.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Shhh," she said. "They're sleeping."

"Who's sleeping?" Harry asked confused. The bedrooms were upstairs. No one was supposed to be sleeping downstairs.

Hermione opened the door wider and the first thing he noticed was a pile of parchment scattered throughout the room with a quill hovering above a blank piece on the table. Then in between the parchment on the sofa he spotted Ginny lying down on top of Draco with a gallon of fire whiskey next to them.

"What is that about?" Harry asked.

"Not sure but from what I could see on the parchment Draco was venting. There was a lot about the past and preventing his son from making his mistakes and then they started openly flirting with each other. I think I even saw the quill record a kiss," Hermione told him with a small smile.

"Why did the quill record that!" Harry asked horrified looking at the quill that was recording their conversation on the parchment.

"Ginny probably has it charmed to record every sound. If she looks through the notes tomorrow morning she'll see our conversation. Let's leave them in peace," Hermione said pulling the door closed.

"Why the firewhiskey?" Harry asked.

"When trying to get Draco to acknowledge how he feels firewhiskey is a great aid," Hermione explained. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Before that, I want to do this," Harry said pulling her close and kissing her. It was best to get his kisses up front before she exploded at him. Hermione seemed more than happy to kiss him back and when she made an attempt to deepen the kiss he reluctantly had to pull away.

"I've barely seen you," she complained.

"Potwinkle likes to keep me occupied. No time to do something as important as spend time with my girlfriend or find Primus," Harry sardonically commented.

"We'll get him," Hermione remained positive.

"Walk with me," he said taking her hand and leading her away from the study to the apparition room. "We have a good lead on Primus but you're not going to like it."

"How could I not like it if it's a solid lead," Hermione asked confused.

"Oh it is solid but you're still not going to like it," Harry repeated.

"What is it?" Hermione asked stopping and crossing her hands over her chest as she looked up at him with a slight frown.

There decided to get straight to the point, "Cole is dirty."

"What? No," Hermione said shaking her head, "If this is some jealous reaction to my fling with Cole. It's all in the past."

"You had a thing with Cole?" Harry asked shocked. That was news to him.

"For heaven's sake Harry get over it. I'm sure you have a string of exes and you don't see me accusing any of them being in league with Primus."

"Most of them are Muggles," Harry answered absentmindedly.

"Not Cho Chang," Hermione fired back at him.

"We're going off point Hermione. Cole is working for Primus. The Order followed him while you were away. A wizard has been using polyjuice potion to pose as him at night so that he can conduct nefarious activities. We aren't sure where he was going yet but Kinglsey has him at Grimmauld Place," Harry said.

"WHAT!" Hermione screeched her eyes opening wide, "You kidnapped a law enforcement officer!"

"Come with me to Grimauld place and we can interrogate him together," Harry implored her reaching for her arm to reassure her.

"I can't believe you two!" she pulled her arm away from him and marched down the corridor towards the apparition room.

"Yeap definitely not getting anymore kisses today," Harry commented wryly to himself.

As soon as Hermione arrived at Grimmauld Place she unleashed her anger on Kinglsey, who was waiting for her.

"Auror Granger that is enough. I am in charge of this operation. You are too close to Cole," he told her firmly.

"Where is he?" Hermione demanded loudly.

"The kitchen," Kinglsey answered.

Hermione rushed to the kitchen where she found Cole tied to a chair in the middle of the room.

"Cole, are you ok?" she asked as she tried to untie the ropes which she realised where magically bound.

He opened his mouth to say something but his throat was so dry the sound that emerged sounded like a frog's croak.

"You need water," she declared. She went to the fridge and pulled out a jug of water. She poured a glass and lifted it to Cole's mouth. He greedily drank the whole glass.

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

Both Kingsley and Harry arrived at the door. The latter was leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his scarlet robes.

"I can't believe the two of you," Hermione admonished.

"There was sufficient evidence to bring him in," Kingsley told her.

"Then why isn't he at Auror headquarters?" Hermione questioned him.

"I can assure you if I were still in charge he would definitely be there but that place is no longer a Bastian of law and order," Kingsley declared.

"And Grimmuald Place is?" she asked him.

"It is not ideal," Kingsley admitted, "But I will not stand by and let Primus get away with this!"

Hermione's counter argument was interrupted by Harry. "What's done is done. Only the truth will reveal if what we did was right." He glanced up at the clock on the wall. "It's time now. Go ahead and ask Cole if he's involved," Harry said uncrossing one arm and pointing it at Cole.

"Fine," Hermione reluctantly relented, "Cole are you working with Primus?"

"Yes," Cole's eyes widened as the truth came out of his mouth.

Harry kicked away from the door and fully entered the room, "The water is laced with veritaserum kindly provided by Snape. Usually I wouldn't agree to this but desperate times call for desperate measures."

Hermione felt tears prickle at her eyes. Cole who she had trusted and been intimate with was working with Primus. She could only get one word out, "Why?"

Harry approached her and placed his hand comfortingly on her shoulder.

"Why? Because of you!" Cole spat at her.

"Me?" Hermione asked confused.

"You hexed her!" Cole accused.

"Hexed who?" Hermione asked. "I am an Auror. You're going to have to be a bit more specific."

"My wife!" Cole answered.

"You're married," Hermione uttered in shock.

"You tricked her. You made her sign the parchment with the hex and didn't tell anyone the consequences. Everywhere she went in the wizarding world it was written on her forehead. She learned to cover it with Muggle cosmetics until she found a way to undo the hex," he told her madly.

"Marietta!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Marietta Edgecomb is Primus?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Cole confirmed.

"We have to arrest her," Kingsley declared.

"You'll never find her. Once I went missing she would have moved to a secondary location that I have no knowledge of," he told them.

"Where is her primary location?" Harry asked.

"Somewhere on a moor," he answered. "She always took me there. It's a family property."

"We need a location," Kingsley insisted.

"We know who Primus is. That was all we need," Harry said confidently.

"You'll need much more than that," Cole taunted.

"You don't know us very well," Harry replied with a smirk.

"Oh you'll be surprised what we know and what we don't," Cole replied cockily.

"Try us," Hermione baited him.

He looked at her, "You live at Malfoy manor along with the Lovegood freak, him," he inclined his head at Harry and another Weasley idiot." He laughed maniacally. "Natalie was supposed to get into the Manor but because you two were there, Draco always restricted her movements."

"Why did you need to get into the manor?" Hermione asked.

"You can ask Mari before she kills you. It is her plan," he commented with a wicked smile.

"You're pretty confident," Harry noted.

"You have me," Cole said, "She's not going to like that. She's going to make you suffer even more."

"I've had enough of this," Hermione said turning to leave the kitchen.

"Don't you want to know if it was real?" he taunted.

Hermione ignored him but heard him grunt in pain. She made her way upstairs to the bedroom she used to stay in when they cleaned this house out. She sat on the bed and Harry appeared in the doorway.

"I thought we didn't hit suspects?" she commented.

"He deserved that," Harry said smugly stepping into the room. "Are you ok?"

Hermione hid her face in her hands, "How could I have been so stupid. I actually defended him."

"Hey," Harry said pulling her hands away from her face. "I looked through your case history with him. He did nothing suspicious with you. It wasn't your fault."

"You figured it out," she said sullenly.

"He wasn't as careful with me. I think they wanted to get rid of me as quick as possible but that backfired on them. I should warn you Hermione. I'm not so easy to get rid of," he said with a cheeky grin.

Hermione couldn't help the smile that tugged at her face. "I think I can handle you Mr. Potter."

"Great!" Harry pulled out his wand and enlarged the bed. "We may as well sleep here tonight."

He took the left side of the bed and Hermione lay down next to him, placing her head on his chest.

"I think it's time to go through your dream journal together," Harry said as he ran his hands through her unruly hair.

"I think so too. I will do anything to keep that from happening," Hermione admitted softly.

"Don't' worry, we always find a way together," Harry reminded her.

Hermione closed her eyes and listened to the sound of Harry's beating heart. She was soon lulled into a peaceful sleep.

While the Order was off running down all possible leads that could locate Marietta, Ginny had to go about her usual day as a reporter. First up had been the interview with Natalie's sister. She knew it was going to be bad but it was made even worse with her hangover. She listened for two hours as the witch droned on and on about her sister before she was finally able to leave for her interviews at St. Mungos. There she was able to convince a nurse to give her a hangover cure. She perked right up. She also heard an interesting bit of news; Natalie Spellfire hadn't crossed over peacefully. She had become a ghost.

The nurses said that the ghost protocol was engaged and the ghost had been quickly corralled away to the basement where it would be registered and processed. Ginny decided to forgo her interview with Cho Chang in favour of following a ghost. She checked with the official ghost registry and her name didn't appear on the list that night or any other night. That was strange and she knew she had to investigate further.

She came to the Manor looking for Luna. She was sure Luna would know something about tracking ghosts. The easiest way to find her would be summon Dobby.

"Dobby," she called. "Yes Mistress?"

"Where is Luna?" Ginny asked.

"Mistress Luna is not here," Dobby said with sorrowful eyes.

"Is Draco here?" she asked with a slight blush. She still remembers the feel of Draco's abs under her hands when she woke up that morning.

"Master Draco is not here either," Dobby said even more sorrowfully than before.

"He actually left Hermigan?" Ginny questioned surprised.

"Master Hermigan is with your mother and there are Order members patrolling the grounds but Dobby might have overheard mentions of Grimmauld Place," he offered hopefully.

"Excellent Dobby," Ginny said with a smile. She closed her eyes, concentrated on Grimmauld Place and apparated there.

"Luna!" she shouted loudly.

"Over here," she heard Draco's voice call from down the hall. She found them by the fireplace with Kingsley.

"I think I found evidence to prove Marietta is Primus," Ginny told them excitedly. Even though they had Cole, the Wizengamot would not accept the word of a Muggle under the influence of veritaserum.

"Where is it?" Kingsley asked looking from her left hand to the right for the evidence.

"That's just it I don't know the where. I was hoping Luna would now how to track down a ghost," Ginny explained.

"A Ghost?" Fred and George both perked up. They were hiding behind the door and it looked like they wanted to spring a joke on her. Ginny gave them a firm glare to discourage any notions they might have.

"Natalie didn't cross over. She's a ghost. She could know the truth about Marietta," Ginny expounded.

"Did you check the ghost registry?" Kingsley asked.

"She wasn't recorded. They contained her and moved her right way but they didn't record it," Ginny told him.

"That is very interesting," Kingsley said scratching his chin. "You wouldn't want to hide a ghost unless that ghost knew something very important."

"Exactly!" Ginny exclaimed excitedly.

"We need to go to St. Mungos. We can use our patronus to track their path," Luna stated calmly.

"Wait," Draco said. "Be careful."

"Always am," Ginny said with a wink before grabbing Luna and leaving.

When they arrived at St. Mungos Luna walked to the exit at the back of the hospital.

"You can't apparate, floo or portkey a ghost away. You have to put them in a containment spell and walk or fly them to the destination. The back exit is the quietest part of the hospital. They would have had to use this exit to get out," Luna explained.

"How does this work?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Summon as normal but concentrate on the ghost you want to find. Your patronus will track it down for you," Luna told her.

They both performed the spell and the silvery image of a horse and a hare appeared. They followed both away from the hospital through several back alleys.

"So was that flirting with Draco that I saw earlier?" Luna prodded while they walked.

Ginny felt her cheeks flame. "Maybe."

"Ginerva Weasley! Flirting with the bad boys," Luna teased.

"I know but something change when I interviewed him. We started talking about Natalie and then everything else. I guess the firewhiskey helped us to connect," Ginny mused.

"Or maybe you're finally looking passed who you thought Draco Malfoy was to see the real Draco Malfoy," Luna said sagely.

"I'm forced to admit that he isn't that bad. He's been wonderful with Hermigan," Ginny gushed.

"Yes he has been wonderful with Luno," Luna said preferring to call the child by his middle name. She was the only one that called him that.

"What about you. I hear you might have finally snagged by brother," Ginny said trying to turn the tables on Luna.

It was Luna's turn to turn red. "He asked me on a date this morning."

"I'm so happy for you," Ginny said sincerely. With all the bad habits her brother had, he was lucky someone as wonderful as Luna was interested in him.

They came to a halt in front of a building that Ginny knew well.

"Isn't this your office?" Luna asked with a tilt of her head.

"It is but it is also Marietta's," Ginny replied. "They can't be so bold as to keep a ghost here!"

"Maybe they brought her here to speak with her?" Luna proposed her silvery-blue-grey eyes focused on the Daily Prophet sign.

"You mean she was conducting her business right under our noses," Ginny asked horrified.

Ginny followed her horse into the building and watched it sink into the ground.

"Literally right under your nose," Luna said looking down at the ground where her hare disappeared.

"How do we get down there?" Ginny asked.

"Maybe a closet entrance?" Luna suggested.

Before they could search, they both felt a spell penetrate their back before they fell unconscious.

Ron was in the kitchen of the manor with Harry and Hermione working on a plan to find Marietta. Her apartment was empty. It looked like she had never lived there, confirming she had another place of abode. Draco was investigating the Edgecomb historical tree to determine where the family house was and Kingsley had decided to prove Potwinkle was dirty. The former auror had enlisted the aid of the twins and Ron was anxious to know how that was going.

Dobby appeared informing them that a strange owl had arrived with a letter. Ron noticed the dubious look that his friends shared with each other. He suspected he was missing something. They both drew their wands and headed for the owlery. Ron followed curiously behind them. He didn't notice any strange owl; they all looked the same to him. It was only when they approached a brown owl in the corner that he noticed the blood red parchment it carried with it.

Hermione performed a series of spells to determine if the letter was safe to open. When she was finished Harry reached for the letter first.

"Harry! It is addressed to me," Hermione protested.

"Best to be sure there are no hexes on it," he said opening the parchment while Hermione cuffed his arm.

"What a violent girlfriend I have," Harry complained.

"Better get accustomed to it," Hermione fired back.

Nothing ominous happened, "No hexes mate but an angry girlfriend," Ron teased jovially.

Harry and Hermione both read the letter in silence. Hermione finished first and from the way she glanced sideways at Harry he knew she was waiting for him to catch up. She was always a fast reader. They shared another silent thought before turning to him with a solemn look. Harry handed him the parchment.

Granger,

I have recently stumbled upon two nosy witches who should really learn when to mind their own business. The pursuit of truth can be a dangerous road and these witches are far from equipped to handle the journey. I find myself with a quandary about what to do with these witches. The easiest answer is to dispose of them but I fear that will prevent me from achieving my goal. A far better use would be to trade witches for my wizard but a trade of two to one hardly seems fear. Nevertheless, I must be in a good mood as I find myself willing to meet you in the Room of Requirement at the end of the school day for the trade. In case I'm not being clear, I want Cole in exchange for Ginerva Weasley and Luna Lovegood.

Come alone or else the students at Hogwarts will suffer.

Primus

Ron's heart dropped to the floor. He looked up at Harry in a panic, "They have Ginny and Luna!"

Harry put his hand reassuringly on Ron's shoulder. "We know mate but don't worry I got a plan."

An: Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion followed by the epilogue.