Back in Britain, Minerva McGonagall was becoming concerned. Her favourite student had went missing hours after the final battle and was still nowhere to be found, and now two more students were missing. Miss Lovegood may not have been a Gryffindor but she had the heart of one of her lions, so Minerva noticed when she and Mr Longbottom went missing.
She was slightly disgusted with the behaviour of the two youngest Weasley's and the newly retitled Boy-Who-Conquered. They showed no concern for the whereabouts of their friends and yet none would be alive were it not for their help.
Shaking her head minutely, the former head of Gryffindor and newly appointed Headmistress left to seek out Kingsley Shacklebolt, he was reliable and had an in at the ministry.
"Kingsley, I was wondering if you could help me," Minerva started as she saw the man in question, "it concerns the whereabouts of three lionhearts."
Kingsley, recognizing the need for discretion because of Minerva's use of code merely nodded before opening the door to the classroom he had been passing on his way to search for Minerva.
"Maybe you can also repay the favour, MACUSA have just questioned me about the activities of Dolores Umbridge while in Britain and if I had any idea who could jinx her forehead to say 'pureblood bigot' in pimples." This was all said in Kingsley's rich voice which held a hint of amusement, he remembered Minerva telling him of her pride in Miss Granger's ability to make the jinx permanent while hiding her magical signature.
"If they can't remove the jinx I have my suspicions, it would also explain where one lionheart is." Minerva smirked, Umbridge was getting her just desserts.
When they were both safely in the classroom, they simultaneously began casting privacy and silencing charms on the room to avoid being overheard.
"Am I to assume that these three lionhearts involve Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood Minerva? It would certainly explain why not even make-up will cover Umbridge's face problem."
"Yes, Miss Granger went missing just hours after the final battle, and Mr Longbottom and Miss Lovegood disappeared a few days later. The youngest male Weasley insists that Miss Granger has gone to recover her parents from Australia but I remember her file updating her guardian information during her fifth year, so I am not sure he is telling the truth. I was hoping you could find out where they were and if they are okay."
"Well it would seem that at the very least Granger is in America, but when I tried sending her an owl to ask about the jinx, knowing its her speciality, the owl refused to leave my office. Either she is dead, which I don't believe for one second, or she no longer goes by the name Hermione Granger."
"If that is the case, Longbottom and Lovegood are probably with her; I will try to owl them. Can you subtly check Mister Potter, I don't believe that he would willfully remain unconcerned by the absence of his friends without magical persuasion if you catch my drift."
"Ah, but of course Minerva." With that, Kingsley left the classroom in search of the saviour of the wizarding world.
Ginevra Molly Weasley could never claim to be stupid or ignorant; she knew her friends were missing but with Harry Potter showering attention on her like she had always dreamed of, she couldn't find the motivation to see it as particularly important. Especially when Ron said that Hermione had gone to Australia to recover her parents. It made sense, she would want her parents around if she were to get married.
Unbeknownst to her, Ronald had been feeding Harry confuzzlement draughts and lust enhancers since Hermione had left the castle so that his friend would remain ignorant. Ron knew that he was no match for the boy who lived if he challenged him to a duel so had brought the potions from a dodgy apothecary in Knockturn Alley. What he didn't realize was that Hermione would be gone for over a week, so he only had one dose of each left to give to Harry before he started becoming aware of what was going on.
Hopefully the quick post of this chapter after the last makes up for the long gap between previous posts.Read and review please and I hope you enjoyed it.Back to the case next chapter.