Chapter 25
Ginny POV
Ginny blinked as she took in their new surroundings. Her brows raised subconsciously as she examined the exterior of the grungy walls and rotting wood of the house before them. After a moment's contemplation, Ginny decided it was better referred to as a shack.
"This is where he is?" Ginny whispered, not wanting to disturb the silence.
"Yes, Miss," Dobby answered. "All by his lonesome. Dobby will go in first so that Brumski is not startled by you and disapparates."
"Good thinking, Dobby," Hermione nodded, her voice subdued.
With another crack, Dobby was gone.
Ginny turned to the blonde who stood next to her. "If Ms. Blake stashed him away here, do you think she's got detection spells here to warn her of any trespassers?"
A look of worry briefly passed across Hermione's face. "I certainly hope not. But if she did, she would've already been alerted from when Dobby first came here. I'll try some anti-detections spells, though." Ginny watched as Hermione pulled her wand out of her bag and flourished it a few times.
A moment later, the door to the shack creaked open and Dobby stood in the doorway to wave them inside. Hermione tucked her wand away and with a fleeting look towards one another, and the girls strode towards the shack before taking a tentative step inside.
Ginny looked around the room briefly before returning her gaze to Dobby.
"Where is he?"
Dobby cocked his head and gave her a nervous, yet amused smile.
"Right here, Miss," he said as he held his hand to his right. Ginny followed his little hand, but saw nothing but air. She glanced up at Hermione, perplexed, and saw that Hermione was feeling about the same.
"I don't see him, either, Dobby," Hermione said, a bit more tentative than she usually spoke.
Dobby frowned at them and turned to empty space next to him before glancing back at the girls, a deep frown on his pointed face.
"Is something wrong, Misses?" He asked.
"I don't see him Dobby," Ginny repeated. She wanted to reach out to the area to see if she could feel him, but if the house-elf really was there, she didn't imagine that he'd fancy the contact.
Hermione and Ginny intermittently studied Dobby and the space next to him before Dobby piped up, "Misses does not want to answer Brumski?"
"I'm sorry?" Hermione asked as she frowned further at the small house-elf.
"He was speaking to you Misses. He thinks you are taunting him," he explained.
"No, not at all, Dobby," Hermione responded. She shook her head, making her blonde hair fan out. "I can't see or hear him. Ginny?" She asked as she looked to the redhead in question.
"Me neither."
"Enough of this," Hermione said as she pulled out her wand, quickly at first, but slowing down dramatically and showcasing it deliberately. "It's just my wand," she explained gently. "I believe someone's put a Disillusionment Charm on you, Brumski. If it's alright with you, I'm going to remove it. I know you're probably very confused right now, but I promise that Ginny and I are here to help." She looked to Dobby for any indication on the other house-elf's feelings on the matter.
While Hermione waited, Ginny contemplated the possibility of Brumski being under a Disillusionment Charm. It made sense on one hand, yet Dobby could see him. However, it was possible that this was one of those things that didn't apply because Dobby was a house-elf as well.
"He wants to see your wand, Miss. He's curious - he has not seen one," Dobby stated.
Ginny shot a sharp look at Hermione, but the other girl heeded no attention to the redhead and simply held out the wand. A small part of Ginny was preparing to grab her own wand in case this house-elf tried to pull anything. Hermione's hand remained outreached for several moments, before finally Dobby took the wand from Hermione and held it out before him.
"Dobby is sorry to say that Brumski doesn't quite trust you, Miss," he explained in apology just before the wand was lifted out of his hand by a force that Ginny couldn't see. Her hand twitched, but thankfully she didn't do anything too rash because shortly after, the wand was just being handed back to Dobby, who returned it to Hermione.
Hermione stood unsurely, staring at the vacant spot before her, her wand half-poised for a spell. She glanced at Dobby, again looking for direction.
"He says go ahead, Miss," Dobby announced, yet Hermione didn't cast a spell. She moved her wand a bit aimlessly through the air, but eventually let out a frustrated sigh.
"I don't know where to cast the spell," she admitted.
Dobby looked over at the empty space before taking a few steps towards Hermione and moving her hand and wand appropriately.
"There," he nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Thank you," Hermione said distractedly as she readied herself. "Are you alright, Brumski?" She asked, her voice louder than usual. Dobby gave a nod a moment later and Hermione cast the spell, preceded by an anti-detection spell.
Ginny watched intently and waited. She cast a wary glance Hermione's way as no house-elf suddenly appeared. Hermione readjusted her stance, and straightened her back before casting the spell once more, this time saying the incantation. Still nothing. Ginny and Hermione shared a look and the redhead pulled out her wand, waiting for any indication that she shouldn't proceed. Receiving none, she and Hermione went back and forth casting various anti-invisibility charms. At the end of it all, still nothing.
"This is very strange, indeed," Dobby pondered as he began to pace a bit back and forth before them.
"Has anyone else seen him or interacted with him?" Hermione asked as she let her hand fall to her side and sought eye contact with Dobby, who in turn went over to the empty space and entered into a one-sided conversation - at least it was one-sided from where Ginny was standing.
"No, Miss, not that he can recall," Dobby answered.
Hermione inhaled apprehensively as she took a step back and Ginny found herself being pulled along with her.
"What do you think is going on?" The older girl asked, her eyes searching and clearly hoping Ginny had an explanation.
"Obviously not an invisibility charm, spell or something along those lines. Though, we should've clued in sooner considering we can't even hear him. It's like he doesn't exist at all," she said in hushed bewilderment.
"Doesn't exist...," Hermione mumbled under her breath as she studied the floor intently. Suddenly, her eyes snapped up and she frowned deeply at Ginny. "Fidelius Charm?"
"What?" Ginny asked incredulously as she glanced over to the space that Dobby was talking to. She turned back to Hermione. "Well, if it was a Fidelius Charm, wouldn't he just have been revealed because you guessed and we know where he is...essentially. And how could Dobby find him, then?"
Hermione peered over towards Dobby and examined the area for several moments before turning back.
"Well, to answer the latter, perhaps it's different because Dobby is a house-elf. There are many wizarding rules that house-elves are unaffected by," Hermione reasoned. "And for the former," she paused and exhaled heavily. "Well, Death Eaters knew that Grimmauld Place existed and some even knew the general area, but they could never actually see it, detect it, or interact with it in any way."
Ginny gave a soft nod of her head as she found herself looking back over to study the invisible figure that Dobby was speaking with.
"Fidelius Charm," she reiterated in wonder. "This is serious, Mione. Witches and wizards don't cast that spell lightly." Hermione gave a distracted nod, still deep in thought. Ginny spoke once more as an idea struck her. "Well, if this is true, then there's got to be a Secret-Keeper. Do you have any idea who Ms. Blake would trust enough to designate as Secret-Keeper?"
The older girl gave a disappointed sigh and shook her head. "No idea. And quite frankly I don't even want to think about the possibility of someone else being in on this...," she trailed off worriedly. "However, there have been cases where there is no Secret-Keeper. It's not an essential part of the charm, it's more of a safeguard element in case the caster passes away."
Ginny wasn't sure which of those two options was their best case scenario.
"He might be able to tell us who else is involved if we unlock his memories," Ginny theorized. "And maybe he'll be able to reveal himself once he's fully aware."
Hermione shook her head. "It's very rare that this charm is cast upon a being, but from what I've read, the subject of the charm cannot reveal his or herself. Only the caster and Secret-Keeper can."
The redhead sighed. "Great."
"But you're right, let's restore his memories - it's the least we can do for now," Hermione declared as she approached Dobby. "Brumski? Do you mind if we try another spell? I know this is probably very troublesome for you, and I apologize."
Dobby looked slightly hesitant, but glance briefly to his side before speaking. "Brumski says that all of this has scared him. I tried to convince him otherwise, Miss."
Ginny watched as Hermione breathed a bit deeply and sat down on the ground with her legs crossed. Following the other girl's lead, Ginny sat down on the ground in the same fashion and varied her glance between Hermione and the invisible house-elf. She sat patiently as Hermione gently asked Brumski questions about his current life and slowly tried to gain his trust - or at least the beginnings of it. If the smile on Dobby's face was any indication, Hermione's efforts appeared to be working.
A short while later, the redhead was nearing the end of her patience, her body itching to move, when Hermione broached the subject once more.
"Brumski, do you mind if I perform that spell on you? It's fine if you're not comfortable with it, though."
Dobby looked over at the empty space next to him and gave a series of small nods. A few moments of silence later, Dobby turned to Hermione and reached out a hand to change the angle of Hermione's hand and wand before giving her a small nod.
Ginny intently observed the unfamiliar blonde woman before her, subconsciously tensing up as Hermione took a deep, steadying breath - taking this as a sign of the impending memory restoration attempt.
However odd or perhaps inappropriate as it was, Ginny couldn't help but feel her heart flutter as she watched Hermione, despite the disguise, concentrating fixedly on the task at hand. She smiled fondly at the would-be brunette as she rotated her hand just so and streams of powdery blue light came out of her wand. However, Ginny quickly remembered the weight of the situation at hand when the spell made no contact of any sort until it hit the opposite wall.
"I either missed him entirely or I can't cast a spell on him at all," Hermione muttered, more to herself than to the others around her it seemed.
"It went right through him, Miss!" Dobby exclaimed as he peered curiously forward at the empty spot they were gathered around.
"Maybe Dobby can cast the spell on him," Ginny suggested, though the second the idea was out of her mouth she realized how silly it was. Dobby surely had some amount of magical skill, but it was highly doubtful that Dobby was capable of performing such high level magic. Before Ginny could say more, Dobby was profusely rejecting her suggestion.
"Hold on," Hermione said as she held up her hand in request for silence. "Dobby, you're the only one who can interact with Brumski in any way, I understand you don't want to perform the spell on your own, but perhaps you could help me. Cast it with me - please."
Ginny shifted her gaze to the nearly-cowering house-elf and just when she thought he'd outright refuse, he paused before giving the slightest nod.
"Y-yes, okay. For Harry Potter's friend," Dobby proclaimed. Hermione smiled encouragingly and he came around to stand beside her, the two now close in height with Hermione still sitting. Hermione lifted her wand once more and dobby put his small, frail hand over hers. The two exchanged a look and with a shared nod they cast the spell.
Subdued awe overcame Ginny as she saw the streams hit an invisible object that she could only assume was Brumski. Turning her attention back to Hermione, she frowned as she saw the look of increasing concentration on the girl's face - not the easy kind of concentration that Hermione so often channelled; this effort bordered on exertion and frustration.
Several more moments passed before, with a sharp intake of breath, Hermione dropped her hand into her lap, Dobby's hand falling to his side in the process. Hermione's shoulders heaved up and down, whether in frustration or from physical exertion, Ginny wasn't sure.
"I can't do it," Hermione stated tersely. "There's a lock on the charm - a very advanced series of locks, actually."
Ginny looked rapidly back and forth between invisible Brumski and Hermione as she tried to formulate a solution.
"Were you able to crack them at all?" Ginny asked tentatively.
Hermione gave an exaggerated shake of her head as she began to rummage through her bag. Ginny watched curiously as Hermione riffled through her bag until she pulled out the Referencia book along with a quill and ink. She quickly opened the book and jotted down a few words and moments later a series of results appeared. After some minor deliberation, Hermione selected a title and the book transformed before their eyes.
"Help me read," Hermione ordered as scooted closer to Ginny and lay the book across their touching knees. "Look for anything about unlocking a memory charm - anything other than the basics, at least." A thought crossed Hermione's mind as she looked up at Ginny. "Can we use a duplication spell on the book? So that it's easier to read?"
The redhead gave her a reluctant nod. "You'd just end up with one charmed book and one blank, average book. The duplication spell would only duplicate the book, not the charms."
Hermione released a frustrated sigh and redirected her attention to the book, opening it further on their legs for emphasis.
Ginny gave a curt nod as she let her eyes scan the page closest to her. It was certainly interesting, the two of them trying to read the same book at the same time. Ginny ended up reading content in the reverse order than it was intended, but it turned out quite well.
"What about that?" Ginny asked hopefully as she pointed to a paragraph on one of her pages a few minutes later.
Hermione leaned in and across to take a closer look and Ginny resisted the urge to tilt her own head forward to rest against the other girl's.
"Excellent work, Ginny," Hermione replied eagerly as she hurriedly underlined the section and closed the book. "I found a couple of other things as well, and I think they matched the issues that I was encountering," she announced as she readied her wand once more. "Brumski, do you mind if we try again?"
Dobby turned to Hermione and confirmed that Brumski was nervous, but okay with one more try.
"Thank you - okay," Hermione exhaled audibly as she straightened her posture and allowed Dobby to realign their aim - less adjustment required this time.
Ginny watched enraptured as they tried once more to restore Brumski's memories. The redhead's eyebrow went up as she saw the blue streams from Hermione's wand turn a pale pink, slowly growing into a deep red. Ginny shifted her gaze, towards Hermione, moving only her eyes as she was afraid that any movement would distract Hermione or Dobby. Sure enough, the older girl sat very erect, staring hard at the empty spot before her and appeared to be clenching her jaw rather strongly.
Suddenly, Dobby let out a yelp of surprise and abruptly reached out to the spot where Brumski was, but grasped only air.
"He's gone, Misses!" Dobby exclaimed.
A look of quiet alarm crossed Hermione's face, but she kept her composure.
"I must have unlocked too many memories at once," she mumbled, her voice barely a whisper as her eyes remained fixed on the open space before her. Hurriedly, she turned her gaze towards Dobby. "Dobby, please find him and bring him back. It's very important."
With a nod and a subsequent cracking sound, Dobby disapparated.
"Do you know what the memories were?" Ginny asked, watching Hermione intently.
The blonde shook her head. "No, it's not like Legilimency," she responded before sighing heavily, her posture falling rather limp.
Ginny reached out and put a hand on Hermione's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze in an effort to comfort her.
"Dobby will get him back, it's okay, Mione. You should be proud, you cracked some major spells there. Just think, experts train for years for what you did in, what, ten minutes?" Ginny offered. "You're a natural."
Hermione shook her head once more, looking unimpressed. She was about to protest when Dobby appeared.
"I found him, Misses!" He announced eagerly as he appeared to be holding onto something that was, presumably, struggling.
"Dobby, what's he saying? Tell us everything," Hermione said in quiet urgency.
It was a task in itself, but eventually Dobby got Brumski to calm down and tell him everything that had just come flooding back. As Dobby began to tell them of Brumski's story, it was no wonder as to why the house-elf had freaked out.
"I'm afraid he was scared by you, Miss," Dobby tentatively relayed as he cautiously eyed Hermione. Upon seeing the shocked look on her face, Dobby explained, "You're blonde like her, you see."
Hermione held out a lock of her hair to examine and she clucked her tongue in disapproval. "Like Ms. Blake - I didn't even think of it."
"Merlin, me neither...," Ginny admitted as she admonished herself for not picking up on it sooner. Outside of the blonde hair though, Ginny had to say that she couldn't see any resemblance between the two women, but considering all that Brumski must have been going through, the correlation made sense.
"He's scared that Ms. Blake will come. He says she's a very bad person," Dobby said gravely. Hermione and Ginny immediately exchanged worried looks. Dobby went on. "Mr. Pius Thicknesse is innocent! He was set up by Ms. Blake," he insisted earnestly.
"How?" Hermione asked, suddenly breathless. Ginny shot Hermione another anxious look, but Hermione's eyes were trained on Dobby, nearly unblinking.
Dobby turned to Brumski for a moment before turning back, his expression very sombre. "Unforgivable curses, Miss. Imperius," he explained.
Ginny felt her chest tighten and she noted somewhere in the back of her mind how Hermione inhaled rather sharply.
"She controlled him," Dobby reiterated. "She has done many bad things. Mr. Thicknesse is not the first," he told them regretfully. "She wants to be Minister for Magic - will do anything! She is very crafty and has many fooled. Brumski wanted to tell the Minister - he is not a bad elf," Dobby protested, "he just didn't want anyone to get hurt."
"You're not a bad elf at all," Hermione asserted firmly with abundant compassion. "You did the right thing. We're here to help." Ginny watched quietly as Hermione's words got caught in her throat and she had to take a moment to steady herself. When she spoke, her voice was thick with emotion. "Ms. Blake has to go away for this. It's okay, now, Brumski. I'm so sorry this happened to you. But we'll fix things - I promise."
Dobby looked to the space next to him and nodded earnestly several times before speaking once more.
"When Ms. Blake found out that Brumski was going to go to the Minister, she cast the Fidelius Charm on him so nobody could find him. Then she removed his memories so he could not seek help."
Ginny wondered why Ms. Blake didn't do away with Brumski in a more permanent sense, but she dared not voice the question. Additionally, she noted that her theory on Brumski being able to reveal himself just proved to be regrettably false.
The redhead turned to Hermione to find her visibly upset despite having the telltale signs that she was trying to hold emotions back.
"Dobby," Hermione said, her voice tight. "Please take Brumski somewhere safe. We will go to the Ministry with this news, but we can't just yet. We have no evidence other than Brumski's testimonial, and right now you are the only one who can see or hear him. The Wizengamot will laugh in our faces if we show up like this."
Ginny reluctantly realized that Hermione was one hundred percent right. In fact, even if they fully restored Brumski to his previous, visible self, his testimonial alone would be a stretch as evidence against someone of Ms. Blake's stature.
"It was Ms. Blake watching you," Ginny stated dully as she stared at the wooden planks of the floor. It was an obvious statement and she was certain they both knew this long before, but it just needed to be said. Hermione didn't respond and after a moment Ginny raised her eyes to her girlfriend and saw from the look on her face that she knew the truth just as well.
"Brumski, do you know who the Secret-Keeper is?" Ginny asked, stifling the weary sigh that wanted to escape instead.
Dobby answered a moment later. "Ms. Blake, herself."
Ginny held back a sigh. While neither was a good option, not having another secret keeper had its own obstacles if they were going to undo the Charm.
"Brumski, do you have any idea of how we can get her to reveal you?" Ginny asked hopefully, though most of it was false. Ginny shifted her eyes to watch Dobby who was glancing to his right. Slowly, he shook his head.
Ginny leaned back on her hands and sighed heavily.
"What other evidence could we gather, Brumski?" Hermione asked.
Dobby and Brumski appeared to chat quietly back and forth to one another, the girls only hearing one side of the story, until Dobby turned to them. "The people she's put in Azkaban...the Ministry will not trust them. And the way that Ms. Blake conducted these crimes, she did not physically commit the crime, she got them to..."
"If we can get her wand, can't they read what spells she's done? They'll see," Ginny suggested.
Dobby nodded enthusiastically. "Miss Weasley is very smart. However, Ms. Blake has two wands - one for dark magic. She keeps it on her at all times and it is protected. Even Brumski couldn't take it from her."
Ginny gave a small shake of her head and eyed Hermione.
"Is there anything else we should know?" Hermione asked, her tone making it sound like she dreaded any more new information.
A second later Dobby shook his head woefully. "No, Miss. No more. Brumski is very upset..."
Hermione's brow furrowed in concern and she leaned forward slightly.
"Brumski, you did a very, very brave thing. Please don't worry - Dobby, myself, Ginny, and our friends will protect you. It's going to be okay," she promised once more. "Thank you for all your help, Brumski. Thank you."
A thought crossed Ginny's mind and she leaned forward to whisper to Hermione, knowing it looked very suspicious, but not wanting to scare Brumski furthermore.
"Shouldn't he stay here? What if Ms. Blake comes to check on him?"
Hermione gave a small, tentative shake of her head. "I really don't feel comfortable with that. It leaves him too vulnerable."
Ginny pulled back and gave a nod of agreement before offering Dobby and Brumski a small smile.
"Thank you, Brumski. Ms. Blake is going away for this," Ginny assured him.
"Dobby will keep in touch," Dobby announced. "And Dobby will take good care of Brumski," he promised earnestly.
"We have no doubts," Hermione smiled kindly. "Take care, both of you."
A moment later, the shack was left with just Hermione and Ginny. An involuntary shiver ran through Ginny's body and she shook it out best she could.
"Merlin, just being in this place is giving me the creeps," Ginny muttered as she lifted herself off of the ground and dusted off the back of her pants. "Let's get out of here," Ginny said as she held her hand out to Hermione to help her up.
The redhead's eyes wandered a bit nervously around the shack, but were brought back to the hand she held in hers as she felt it shrink slightly. Glancing from the hand, upwards she saw Hermione transforming back into herself. The younger girl smiled gratefully.
"Thank goodness," she said, though laughing slightly as the clothes Hermione wore were now a tad too large. "Good timing," Ginny noted additionally. "I think Brumski would've had a fit if you morphed back in front of him. He's had a lot to deal with today."
Ginny felt Hermione give a shiver of her own and she squeezed the girl's hand gently.
"Let's just get out of here," Hermione stated quietly as her gaze fell to the floor.
Ginny took a quick look outside, it was dark out already and she honestly had no idea where they were.
"Hogwarts? Might be a bit tricky getting in at this time...maybe Harry's instead?" Ginny offered. She turned to find Hermione holding her hand out to her. She took it and a second later she found herself in the middle of a field, essentially nothing but nature to surround them - not even the sign of city lights in the distance, just the moon.
"We can't go back."
AN: Okay, so that's probably not how the Fidelius Charm or Secret-Keepers work lol, but that's how they're working in this story! Thanks for your cooperation ;) I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend!