Chapter 6
Just Walk, Don't Talk
Harry stepped off of the muggle train in Coventry, not having any intention of staying in the city, of which he knew nothing. Coventry merely joined the list of cities that Harry briefly visited in his determined effort to throw off the Ministry. He bought train tickets to random cities, but disembarked at other random towns en route. By this point, he had tired of the rails, and decided that he would take a walk in Coventry, eat a meal, and pass a few hours before continuing his flight.
Just in case, he noted an alley about a block from the train depot, and picked a spot to which he could apparate in an emergency. Walking slowly around the streets near the station, Harry's eyes darted back and forth, expecting trouble around every corner. Every time he noticed an unusually dressed local, he wondered whether the person could possibly be a witch or wizard attempting unsuccessfully to dress like a typical muggle. More than once he imagined that he saw the tip of a wand emerging from a man's pocket or a woman's purse.
Two and a half days later, Harry lay on the bed of a hotel room in Sheffield, exhausted from three days of flight. Finally he sensed that the Ministry lost his trail, though he could never be certain, and despite his exhaustion, he could not sleep easily even at two in the morning. The memory of that auror bursting through his door in Liverpool remained fresh, and he half expected it to happen again at any moment. Nevertheless, he relaxed as much as he could and considered his plight.
I can't run from the Ministry forever. Sooner or later they'll bump into me, and I have to find the horcruxes. Not that I have any idea where they might be, but I'll worry about that later. Somehow I have to get Scrimgeour off my back.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, allowing his muscles to relax slightly more, and he could not help but see the beautiful face of Melissa Montgomery appear in his mind's eye, her dark brown hair falling down past her shoulders.
How did I allow that to happen? I almost ruined everything just because of a girl with nice legs and a pretty face. I have to be more careful from now on.
Melissa's face gradually transformed, her hair turning red and her face melting into that of Ginny Weasley. Harry realized that he never even thought of Ginny during his intoxicating afternoon with Melissa. Harry rationalized the propriety of his actions.
I did break up with Ginny. It's not like I cheated on her.
While he accepted this, the fact that he could fall for another girl on the heels of breaking up with Ginny surprised him. Suddenly his relationship with Ginny seemed a more distant memory, and he discovered that the initial longing he felt for her after Dumbledore's funeral had diminished.
I guess the best way to get over one girl is to fall for another and then lose her too. One mind can take only so much. Whatever you do, don't fall for another girl! Not until it's over.
Harry turned onto his left side and finally allowed his exhaustion to claim him. He would wake early and continue his flight, but he knew that he could not run forever. He needed a new plan.
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"Liverpool!" exclaimed Arthur Weasley, "Why Liverpool?"
"One city would be as good as another," replied Minerva McGonagall. Arthur and Kingsley sat in her office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, of which McGonagall presided as interim headmistress. Her time had been so consumed with the affairs of the school that she could only briefly devote herself to matters of the Order of the Phoenix.
"We have someone on it already," Arthur informed them, "but Scrimgeour wrote the note at least two or three days ago, so who knows what has happened. Harrington must have gone to Liverpool, but we have no further information. We are looking for him too." He shook his head from frustration. "We're too far behind. At least we have one source in the Minister's office, even if Chang is not privy to top secrets. It's a start."
"Chang and Potter were romantically involved for a short time," Minerva mentioned, "I understand that it ended rather abruptly, and not on good terms."
"That's my understanding as well," Kingsley confirmed, "but she seemed genuinely concerned for him. She goes out with the Corner boy now, and Harry of course hooked up with Ginny. I think they've both moved on. Cho admires him, even if she has mixed feelings."
"Let's hope Harry's luck holds up," sighed Arthur, "We need more time, and I don't know if we have it."
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On the afternoon of July 29th, Hermione Granger grabbed the three large plastic bags holding her purchases. She spent most of the day buying clothes, as she had grown an inch or so since her last shopping spree, and had grown in other ways as well, to her satisfaction. Some of her clothes no longer fit well. Besides, her wardrobe needed updating.
Since she did not possess a driver's license, she either had to walk home or to her parents' dental office. Normally she would have walked the mile and a half to her house, but with her bundles, she decided to walk the several blocks to the office. Her parents would be closing before long, and she could ride home with them.
"I wish I could just apparate," she muttered under her breath, but she knew that someone from the Ministry may be watching her, and she determined not to do anything that would arouse suspicion. She walked a couple of blocks when suddenly her heart nearly jumped out of her throat.
"Don't turn around, Hermione. It's me. Don't say anything. Just stop to rearrange your bags."
Hermione would have recognized the voice of Harry Potter anywhere, and she immediately realized that he stood next to her under his invisibility cloak. She took a step to the side of the sidewalk, setting the bags down. To all the world, it appeared that she stopped merely to rearrange the contents of the bags in order to carry them more comfortably.
"Don't say anything," Harry whispered. He stood only two feet away from her, and he wished that he could embrace her for a full minute, but he had learned to act with great caution. "You're being followed by the Ministry. Meet me tonight at eight o'clock. I know where your house is. Walk to the hotel on Oxford Street and call for a taxi. Hesitate for a moment before you get in. I'll get in first. Take us someplace where we won't be seen. You decide. I'll see you then. Don't say anything, and don't turn around."
Hermione felt Harry leave, and despite her pounding heart, she finished repacking the shopping bags and continued on her walk to her parents' office. After a few steps, she could not help but allow a thin smile to crease her lips. Harry had eluded capture. She could not wait for eight o'clock to arrive.
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"Two dead in the first attack. One escaped. One dead in the second attack. Three escaped. The mother illegally taught the boy to apparate even though he is underage. It saved his life."
Minister Scrimgeour received the report from the Minister of Defense regarding the first attacks by Voldemort's death eaters since Dumbledore's funeral. In Scotland, they killed a muggle-born wizard and his elderly muggle mother, who lived with him. The wizard's wife managed to apparate away just in time. In Wales, a pure-blood wizard died while defending his muggle-born wife and two children. The witch saved herself and her young daughter by side-along apparating, and her thirteen-year-old son managed to apparate on his own. Illegally, but of course the Ministry would not press charges. Quite the opposite.
"This proves my point, Minister," another adviser chimed in, "We need to encourage all childen to learn how to apparate. Most children over ten can learn. In case of emergency, apparation is often the only option, even if at times it may be imperfectly performed."
"I agree," Scrimgeour informed his gathered advisers, "Draft a proposal. I want it on my desk tomorrow morning." His grim expression conveyed his concern over these latest events. Voldemort left his calling card, and they could expect more. But Scrimgeour already had a response in mind to the inevitable first foray by the dark lord.
"We will not lie down in the face of this aggression," he informed the half dozen advisors in the room, his eyes hardening. "Kill three death eaters held in Azkaban. Make sure one of them is Lucius Malfoy."
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Hermione opened the door to the back seat of the taxi and "accidentally" dropped her purse. A few items fell out, and she took a few seconds to collect them, keeping clear of the open door. Hoping that she waited long enough, she slid into the seat, informing the driver to take her to the train station.
After the taxi pulled out, Hermione casually reached her left hand along the seat, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she felt something there. From under the cloak, Harry slid his hand out, knowing that the driver could not see that low. Hermione grabbed it, and the two squeezed an emotional greeting, and she felt his hand tremble slightly. They did not let go until they arrived at the train depot, where again Hermione left the door open while she paid the driver, long enough for Harry to exit.
After the taxi left, she whispered, "Follow me, Harry." She walked away from the station about half a block, then slipping down an alley. Once sure that nobody could see her, she quietly asked, "Where are you?"
"Here."
Hermione reached out and in a moment found Harry's arm.
"Follow me. My parent's office is just a couple of blocks from here." she whispered excitedly, "This is a short cut. We shouldn't apparate because they might track it. I don't know what the Ministry can do."
"Just walk, Hermione," the invisible Harry answered sharply, "Don't talk."
She let go of his arm and strode forward. The alley crossed a couple of side streets before Hermione turned to the right for a block. She opened the back door, passed one room and then turned into a windowless back room of her parents' dental office, which at 8:30 in the evening had been closed for several hours.
"Ok, Harry. We're safe here. Take off your cloak." Harry hesitated for a moment.
"All right, but be prepared. You're in for a shock." He slid the cape off, revealing himself, and Hermione gasped. Before her stood a tall boy with short bleached-blond hair. Only the tell-tale scar disclosed his identity.
"Harry!" she cried, a large smile on her face, and the two friends embraced fully.
"Merlin, I'm glad to see you, Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, "You're the first familiar face I've seen in two weeks." He smiled as broadly as his friend, but he still trembled.
"Look at you," laughed Hermione, "I'd never recognize you except for your scar. How do you cover it?" From his belt, Harry pulled his Liverpool F.C. hat which he purchased and placed it onto his head. The two friends laughed together.
"I have a couple of hats, just in case I'm not in Liverpool country," he joked. Hermione smiled for several more moments, feeling a tremendous relief at seeing her great friend.
"We've been so worried for you, not knowing where you went. How are you doing?" the young witch asked, pulling Harry over to a sofa where they both sat down. Harry's smile gradually faded, and his eyes drooped.
"It's been tough. And lonely." He stared at Hermione, and she could feel his turmoil. "I don't know where to start."
Harry briefly described his initial flight to Liverpool, though he mentioned nothing about Melissa Montgomery. He paced the room as he recounted his brief confrontation with Evan Harrington.
"I realized how stupid I'd been, just hanging around Liverpool without even changing my appearance. So I decided this time I wouldn't make it so easy on them. From the hotel, I walked a few blocks, then I apparated to Kings Cross in London. I traveled by train for most of the next two days. First I bought a ticket to Birmingham, but I got off in a little village, and eventually I ended up in Coventry, where I took another train to Leeds. But then I got off in Sheffield, and stayed there one night." Harry sat down again next to Hermione, who looked on sympathetically.
"To make a long story short, I've been bouncing around different cities and towns all over England. I can't even remember them all now. In Sheffield, or was it Nottingham, I decided to change my appearance." He smiled as Hermione looked him over again. "I told the lady that I lost a bet and had to bleach my hair and cut it short." Hermione smiled again.
"Well, you're here now," she concluded happily, understanding that Harry probably did not want to relive his difficult weeks in any greater detail, "but how did you find me? And why did you come here?"
"I knew what city you lived in, so I finally decided to come. I can't hop around England forever. It wasn't hard to find your parent's dental office in the phone book. I needed to find your home address, but I didn't know how. Then I thought, what would Hermione do? Go to the library, of course, so I went to the public library and found a city directory." He smirked at his friend, who rewarded him with a broad smile. "Luckily your parents are listed. I've been following you around yesterday and today. That's how I know you've been followed. A young woman, in her twenties. It's been hot, so a few times she's removed her invisibility cloak when you are out of sight. She doesn't know that I've been following you too."
Hermione nodded, "I assumed that someone would be following me, even though I never saw anyone. A few times I felt like someone was watching me, if you know what I mean. I've been careful not to do anything suspicious." The two friends paused for a few moments, having been brought up to date. Hermione could not help but notice Harry's nervousness and exhaustion.
"Why did I come here?" Harry repeated Hermione's question as he again sat beside her, "Because I've had a LOT of time to think, and I realized that I can't hide forever. And I'm not getting anything accomplished. I have to find and destroy the horcruxes, and I haven't been able to do anything. I have enough problems without having to worry about the Ministry. It's all a disaster. I don't know what to do." His voice shook while speaking the final words.
Suddenly the enormity of the situation hit Harry like a sledge hammer, and he leaned forward, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. Hermione ran a comforting hand down his back. Harry shook his head a few times, holding back tears.
"I'm scared, Hermione. I don't know what to do. I'm going to fail."
"You were smart to find me, Harry," Hermione reassured him while rubbing his back, "I know things appear bleak right now, but you've done well. Sure, it seems like you've wasted your time, but you did what you had to do. We can't let the Ministry find you. I can't believe that you escaped that auror in Liverpool." Harry breathed deeply, regaining his composure.
"Luck, mostly. He wasn't expecting a rugby tackle; not very wizard-like of me, I suppose. Actually Harrington is a decent bloke. Just following orders. We had a nice chat afterwards, when I had him tied up on the bed. He knew my mother at Hogwarts; supposedly they were friends." Harry paused again, reliving that day in his mind. "That was one of the strangest days of my life." Hermione saw her friend reflect, and knew that something else must have happened.
"What are you thinking about, Harry?" she asked after a long pause, resting her hand on his shoulder, "There's something else, isn't there."
He glanced at Hermione, sad embarrassment in his eyes, and again held his head in his hands, shaking it slightly from side to side.
"I met a girl."
He left it at that and did not appear to intend to say more. Hermione wavered. Should she ask about the mystery woman, or let it be? She decided to pose one question, and if Harry did not wish to expound, she would drop it.
"Was she a muggle?"
Harry nodded as best he could while still holding his head. Abruptly he stood and paced around the small room.
"I was so stupid!" he chastised himself, "I knew I couldn't . . . She was an old schoolmate of mine from Little Whinging. Moved to Liverpool a few years ago. I didn't even recognize her, but she saw my scar." He moved to the corner of the room, looking at himself in a mirror, reliving that day with Melissa. "We spent the whole day together, the day Harrington found me. We liked each other right off, but I knew I couldn't see her again, so we said goodbye that night, just an hour or so before Harrington tried to arrest me." He bowed his head. "It was sad."
"What's her name? What was she like?" Hermione asked softly from her spot on the sofa, "If you like her, maybe you could find her again some day. It shouldn't be that hard, if you really like her."
Harry's eyes glazed for a few seconds before he explained, "Melissa. She's nice. A normal, happy muggle. Very pretty. Smart. Easy to talk to. I really liked her. If things were different . . ." He lowered his head for a moment before turning towards Hermione. "But I don't think I can ever look for her again. Not with my life. Not with what I am." Bitterness escaped through his voice.
Hermione sensed that Harry must have truly liked this girl for him to suffer from it still. His admission surprised her, since just a few weeks earlier Harry had a girlfriend, Ginny Weasley. Though Hermione knew that Harry broke up with her after Dumbledore's funeral, she considered that to be temporary, just until Harry's business with Voldemort could be resolved. Harry still liked Ginny, she assumed. Doesn't he? The fact that Harry so quickly found himself smitten by another girl just did not seem to fit Hermione's assumptions regarding Harry and Ginny's relationship. Could her assumptions be wrong?
Right or wrong, Hermione realized that Harry now more than ever needed her friendship and sympathy. She stood and moved over to Harry, grabbing his arm and turning him towards her.
"I'm so sorry, Harry. On top of everything else, that must have been terribly sad." She hugged her friend, and Harry hugged her back, and the display of friendship by Hermione almost proved too much for him. All of the stress of the past two weeks crashed down on him. The arguments with his Uncle Vernon, the escape to Liverpool, meeting and leaving Melissa, the confrontation with Evan Harrington, the week on the run all over England, the loneliness. He fought back tears, but one or two escaped and ran down his cheeks.
Hermione held him even tighter, and let her friend release his pent-up emotions. She could only imagine how difficult these past weeks had been for Harry, but she gave thanks that he came through it in one piece.
"I'm sorry, Hermione," an embarrassed Harry muttered once he regained his composure, "It's just been so hard. I've been scared and lonely and confused." He released her and moved back to the leather sofa, throwing himself onto it.
"Don't be embarrassed," Hermione comforted him, "You've been through a lot. It's good to get it out." She sat down next to him, and they remained silent for a minute.
"I'm tired of running, Hermione," Harry finally expressed, breaking the silence, "There's too much to do. We have to think of a different plan. Somehow I need to get the Ministry off my back so that I can do what I have to do, even though I don't know what that is yet." Despairingly, he shook his head again.
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"Harrington lost his trail," a relieved Arthur Weasley informed his wife after returning home after work. Though he regretted the menial work he suffered on the job, at least he returned home at more regular hours these days. All the better since he needed to devote most of his spare time to his responsibilities as head of the Order of the Phoenix. "They're back to square one," he smiled, "Harry definitely did go to Liverpool but he left before Harrington arrived. He found his hotel, but Harry apparently left the day before. His luck is still holding up."
Ron and Ginny also sat at the dinner table and breathed a sigh of relief. They felt so helpless, knowing of Harry's predicament and being powerless to help him.
"That's wonderful news," Molly gushed as she ladled more stew onto Arthur's plate, "but I'm still terribly worried. He's out there with all of those muggles. Does he know how to deal with them?"
"Mum, Harry grew up as a muggle," Ron interjected, "and he's had to go back home every summer. He knows well enough how to manage. What will the Order do if it can find him first? Harry needs a safe house, but we can't use Grimmauld Place anymore."
"We've thought about that, Ron. You're right about Grimmauld, with Snape's defection and Dumbledore's death. It's useless to us now. But we have a few other sites that can serve the same purpose, once the necessary spells are performed. The main point now is to find Harry. Do you have any idea where he'd go?"
"No," Ginny replied. As Harry's most recent girlfriend, presumably she would know him better than anyone, but she truly had little idea. "I think he'd try to contact Hermione before anyone else. Can't very well come here; we already know that the Ministry has the Burrow watched day and night."
"The Ministry almost certainly is tailing Hermione too," Arthur commented, "but you may be right. We've told Hermione how to contact us if Harry contacts her. Muggles have invented this great contraption called a facsimile machine, or a 'fax' for short. You can put a letter into one of the machines, dial a number on the tellyphone, and the letter comes out on a machine on the other end. Not the actual letter, of course, but an exact copy. Apparently these machines are extremely common. Hermione told us that her parents have one in their dental office, and one of our muggle-born members put one in her house. The Ministry has no way to intercept such a message." Arthur took a gulp of his mead, shaking his head in admiration. "The things muggles can do without magic. Their 'technology,' as they call it, is often more magical than our magic."
"I just hope Harry stays a step ahead of this Harrington fellow," Molly worried, "They say he's an especially determined auror."