"So, when are we picking her up?"
Harry sighed, exasperated beyond belief
"We're not"
"What do you mean, 'We're not'?
"We can't exactly go in, guns blazing, if she doesn't want to be rescued"
"Guns?"
Harry rolled his eyes "Yeah, you know, those muggle weapons, that shoot metal at a high speed. But never mind that. Point is, she's staying there."
"What, so we're not good enough for her anymore?" Ron raged.
"You know that's not what I meant"
"Why didn't you take me with you?! I could have convinced her!"
Harry huffed, almost at the end of his rope.
"She needs to stay there. For her safety."
"But that doesn't make any sense! We could keep her safe! I could keep her safe!" Ron yelled, red in the face.
"Not from this. I need to go talk with Kingsley. See you later" Harry said, escaping out out of the Burrow, apparating away.
…
He landed in the Atrium of the ministry, hurrying along the corridors, hoping he wouldn't the stopped for autographs. People were hounding him after the defeat of Voldemort, but after Hermione's disappearance, things had gotten even worse.
The theories were ridiculous, and went from her, joining the Death Eaters or being killed by them, to her leaving in shame, because Harry had entered a public relationship with Ginny.
Of course, the real reason was even more ludicrous, but they didn't know that, and Harry would do his best to make sure they wouldn't find out. He needed Kingsley though, and he trusted the man to be discreet.
"So, I spoke with Hermione, and apparently, she's staying with family she never told us she had." He quipped as he walked into Kingsley's office.
"She what?" Draco Malfoy asked, turning in his chair to face him, eyes wide and his eyebrows almost at his hairline.
Crap. There went his plans for keeping the secret.
"Look, Malfoy, can you just forget you heard that? What are you even doing here?"
Malfoy looked ready to protest, but his cheeks reddened, and he shut his mouth.
"Mr. Malfoy is here for a job interview, and really, Harry, you should learn to knock. For all our sakes." Kingsley took over.
"A job? As what?" Harry looked at Draco, bewildered.
"I want him as an auror." Kingsley continued. "He has the skill set to become great, and a knowledge of dark curses and wizards, that no one else has."
"And you can trust me, and I volunteered. And I won't tell anyone about Hermione."
Harry looked at him long and hard.
"Hermione? What happened to Granger? Or Mudblood?"
Draco looked down, ashamed.
"I was an idiot, and later, I had no choice" he whispered.
Harry clenched his jaw and sighed
"Fine. But can you guys finish? I really need to speak with you, Kingsley."
"Actually, do you mind sticking around?" Kingsley asked Harry, to the confusion of both young men.
"I have plans, that involve the both of you. I want to make you partners."
Draco and Harry looked at Kingsley with equal amounts of horror.
"Er, I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Minister." Draco said carefully.
"For once, I agree with Malfoy." Harry added. "I want to continue the case about Hermione. Even though we found her, there's still a lot of mystery and there's a conflict where she is, that I'm afraid could have consequences for our community, if not the world. There isn't a lot we can do to help, but there are mysteries here, that I think need solving."
Kingsley looked at him, concerned, but curious.
"And where exactly is she?"
"First I need an unbreakable vow." Harry said, determined.
"I knew she had secrets, but I never betrayed them. I'll take the vow if you want." Draco said quietly.
Harry narrowed his eyes at him
"What secrets were you hiding for Hermione?"
"She didn't know, that I knew, but I saw her using a Time-turner to sneak around with some guy during third year. I assume, this has something to do with that?"
Harry cursed under his breath.
"Unbelievable. Draco Malfoy knew before me!"
Draco smiled widely.
"More importantly, I didn't tell. I can keep secrets."
"But why?"
Draco sighed and leaned his head backwards, looking at the ceiling.
"Contrary to popular belief, I've always respected her. She is powerful, intelligent… cunning and ambitious. If not for her parentage, she would have been in Slytherin, and she would have ruled it. Don't try to tell me differently. I'm great at observations. I mean, keeping a reporter in a jar, for an unspecified amount of time, luring Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest, to be smashed by a giant, or carried away by angry centaurs… Sneaking around using a restricted object. Very underhanded, I approve." He said with a smirk.
Harry looked at Draco in disbelief. Not because he wasn't right, because ultimately, he was. Harry just hadn't wanted to admit it.
"She also set Snape on fire, and brewed Polyjuice in second year." Harry deadpanned eventually.
Draco's eyes widened, and he started laughing out loud. It was a strange sound. Harry didn't think he had heard Draco laugh without mocking someone, but this was pure uncontrolled mirth.
"There you are. I'm sure you can find a way to work together. Now, shall we take the vow?" Kingsley suggested.
…
When the strands had left their clasped hands, Harry got started.
"I want to find Hermione's mum."
Kingsley frowned "But we already found her parents. They're in Australia"
"Not her real ones. We know who her father is, but we don't know about her mother."
"She's adopted?" Draco asked incredulously.
"I have an idea, that she might have gotten our kind of magic from her mother's side."
"What do you mean our kind of magic? Which other kinds are there?" Draco asked.
Harry looked at Draco. "Two, that I know of, at the moment. I'm keeping my mind open to more."
"Harry, get to the point." Kingsley interrupted.
Harry sighed. "It's complicated. Really complicated. Hermione is a half-blood, but not in the way we think. Her father is a god, making her a demigod."
Now, both Kingsley and Draco looked at him, as if he was crazy.
"I assume it is Hermione's father you believe to be a god? If that is the case, which god do you believe him to be?"
"She's the daughter of Poseidon." Harry said with certainty.
"Like, God of the Sea, Poseidon?" Draco asked skeptically.
"And earthquakes. Hermione can cause earthquakes."
"Alright, I'll bite. But what does that have to do with the skeleton?"
"Skeleton?" Harry asked.
"Yes. When I saw that guy, he was so skinny, he looked like he might fall over if the wind was too hard."
Harry sighed. "His name is Nico. He's a demigod too. I met more of them, when I was in San Francisco. These guys are amazing. You should have seen them. Apparently, it's dangerous being them. They attract monsters and have other enemies. This guy, Nico, trained Hermione in third year."
"Trained her? Trained her in what? She already knows magic, and can defend herself very well, if I recall correct." Draco said, rubbing his nose.
"And I'm guessing Nico probably taught her to punch like that. Magic doesn't work well on the monsters hunting them. Just like it doesn't work well on other magical creatures. We were attacked by chimaeras, when I was there. All I could do, was put out fires."
"Chimaeras?" Kingsley asked, curious "Those are extremely rare. And extremely dangerous."
"They were concealed. They looked human, like Siamese twins. There were four of them in San Francisco. I don't know how many of those demigods were outside, but Hermione, Nico and another girl took down two on their own. As far as I understood, a lot of monsters prefer demigods, as snacks. Which might be why we consider them rare. Also, from what I understand, most demigods are in America. She mentioned something about a camp."
"Exactly, how many are there? And are they all Poseidon's kids?" Draco enquired
"No. I think that's just Hermione, and maybe another guy, called Percy. He definitely had control over the water, but I imagine there are many more. Hermione made it very clear, that Nico was not her brother."
Draco looked at Harry pensively. "Then whose son, is he?"
"Hades." Harry said, his distaste clear. "But Hermione thinks he's a good guy, and he saved our lives. He is wicked with a sword and dagger, so I have to respect that."
"That makes sense" Draco murmered. Harry raised a brow at him.
"I'm trying really hard, not to sound like Lovegood here, but he had this dark aura, around him. Like really dark, but not necessarily malignant, like most dark magic is. And he was crazy powerful. I saw him disappear into the shadows once. Thought he was a ghost at that time."
"But what is the conflict in their world?" Kingsley asked.
"It's complicated. I don't know much more, than that Zeus is on the warpath, and apparently, it has something to do with Hermione. We know her father is Poseidon, but we don't know anything about her mother. I'd like to see, what we can find out. She was adopted around the time of the First Wizarding War, but I'd like to know, who her mother is, and what happened to her."
"Then this will be your first assignment together." Kingsley stated. "Go to the archives, and get a list over women, who died or went missing, during that time."
Draco and Harry looked to each other, wondering, when the other would start screaming insults, but it didn't happen to either of them. They were dismissed, and went to the archives. Coming out of the office, they passed a flustered looking man, in a specialized robe, signaling his belonging to the department of mysteries. The man rushed into the Minister's office, mumbling frantically about prophecies, making Draco wince, and Harry gulp.