Chapter 27
Hermione POV
"This is very serious, indeed," Dumbledore replied as he brought a hand up to his bearded chin, deep in thought.
Hermione and Ginny shared a look from the chairs that they sat in opposite the Headmaster.
"I never did like her," he noted in a light voice. "I must congratulate you two on a spectacular find."
Hermione did her best to not get riled up over Dumbledore's, in her opinion, inappropriate response toward this startling revelation. She waited for him to speak, but he did not, he just glanced between her and Ginny.
"What should we do, Professor?" She asked, trying not to sound irritated or impatient.
"I'm afraid you are correct in stating that as things stand, we don't have much of a case to present to the Wizengamot," he admitted. He turned to Hermione and the look in his eyes unnerved the young brunette. "Are you sure you have to go back to Paris?"
Despite suddenly having trouble catching her breath, Hermione responded with a nod, "Yes, Sir, I believe I do."
"You said you performed anti-detection spells before restoring Brumski's memories?" He asked in confirmation, his bushy white brows furrowing in concentration.
"Yes, Sir, I did."
He nodded as he studied his desk. "Okay." He looked back up and continued. "For now, I would suggest you maintain the status quo. It sounds like she is keeping a close eye on you and possibly others, so do your best to not attract unwanted attention. Until we have more solid evidence on her, she is better as a friend than foe."
Hermione subconsciously gulped spurring Dumbledore to smile kindly at her.
"But keep in mind, despite her leverage in the Ministry, she is merely human, and like all humans she can fall," he proclaimed with a nod. Though his words were comforting, Hermione was still filled with great doubt and worry.
"Professor McGonagall and I will look into matters and see what we can do, so for now, please do not fret," he smiled. "Besides, you are both very clever girls and I'm sure you both know that battles are fought with more than just wands. We'll find more soon."
Hermione forced herself to smile in acceptance and he smiled back with that familiar twinkle in his eye.
"And if all else fails, I'm positive that Miss Weasley would be more than willing to offer an extraordinary hex."
Hermione looked over at her girlfriend and they shared a quiet laugh.
"Gladly, Sir," Ginny responded as she glanced over and smirked at Hermione. The two rose from their seats and offered the Headmaster a nod of thanks.
"Take care, both of you," Dumbledore said, slightly more serious than Hermione would have liked. She thanked him, regardless, and promised that she would.
As she and Ginny left the Headmaster's quarters and walked down the corridors Ginny turned to her in concern.
"Are you okay?"
Hermione let out a nervous breath, but nodded. "Yeah. Still a little unsure, though. And being told to not do anything doesn't really help," she admitted. The redhead gave her a knowing nod and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently.
"It'll be okay, Mione. If Dumbledore and McGonagall are involved, they'll get something more on Ms. Blake for sure," she said with a brightness that Hermione knew was merely for her own benefit.
"Yeah," she sighed.
"So, what's the plan?" Ginny asked.
"Like Dumbledore said, we stay the course," Hermione replied a bit impatiently as she shot a look towards her girlfriend.
"I meant tonight," Ginny replied with exaggerated patience as she looked pointedly at the brunette.
"Oh," Hermione responded a bit embarrassed. "Um, I'm not really sure..."
"Maybe we could stay at Harry's," Ginny suggested. "I want to spend the night with you and we can't really, here."
"Ginny, you have class in the morning," Hermione replied in a tone that it seemed only Ginny could begin to appreciate.
"Oh, Merlin," the redhead muttered with a soft chuckle as she rolled her eyes. "I'll come back in time for class, don't worry. You said your portkey leaves really early tomorrow anyway, right?"
"True," Hermione relented with moderate reluctance. She didn't want Ginny's studies to suffer on account of this, but another night with the redhead did sound lovely.
"Then it's settled," Ginny replied with a decisive nod.
"Hi Harry," Hermione greeted as she hugged the boy-who-lived. "Thanks for letting us stay here."
"Never a problem. Glad you guys are safe," Harry smiled. "I was worried when I found out that Ms. Blake was back."
"Wh-She's back?" Hermione asked, taken aback.
"Yeah," Harry frowned. "Ministry business. Something unrelated though," he promised.
Hermione shared a look with Ginny, both girls clearly sceptical.
"Odd timing, don't you think?" Ginny asked as she cocked an eyebrow and delivered a side-long glance towards Hermione; the meaning behind it was not lost on the brunette.
"Do you know how long she's going to be here for?" Hermione asked, though she wasn't really sure which answer she was hoping for just yet.
"I guess as long as it takes to sort this issue out, but I've heard a couple of days," Harry answered.
Hermione caught Ginny's eye once more and the brunette sighed heavily.
"Is Brumski safe? Do you know?" She asked.
"Brumski is fine, Misses."
Hermione spun around to see Dobby standing in the doorway, the house-elf gesturing to an empty space next to him.
"You brought Brumski, here?" Hermione asked him.
"Where would be safer, Miss?" Dobby asked. The young witch couldn't help but smirk at how the question was clearly rhetorical in Dobby's eyes. "Grimmauld Place is undetectable and Harry Potter is here," he explained.
Ginny laughed gently. "Both very good points, Dobby."
"You don't mind, do you?" Hermione asked as she turned to Harry, who was already shaking his head, sending his unruly hair into a further mess.
"Of course not. Brumski is more than welcome."
Hermione smiled gratefully before continuing on to her next topic. "You and Ron will be careful, won't you? Who knows what that foul woman has in store for any of us," she warned.
"We're always careful," Harry replied facetiously. He averted her scrutinizing and disbelieving gaze rather successfully. She was about to emphasize her point further when Ginny chimed in.
"They'll be fine, Mione. They can take care of themselves," she consoled in a patronizing manner. Hermione shot her an accusing look, but the redhead was unfazed and just smirked back. The brunette didn't feel up to the task of scolding either Harry or Ginny further and just sighed in defeat while crossing her arms.
"Come on, Mione," Ginny said in that same patronizing manner, now taunting Hermione with it. "We have an early morning tomorrow, we should get some sleep." Ginny began to pull a reluctant Hermione out of the dining room and towards the stairs. Glancing over her shoulder at Harry, Ginny called out, "Thanks again, Harry. You're coming to the next game, right? The scouts'll be there. You can say that you were there the day that the Great Ginny Weasley was fawned over by countless teams." Hermione scoffed in the redhead's ear - Ginny ensured the action went unacknowledged.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Harry laughed.
A while later, as Ginny and Hermione were settling into bed, Ginny piped up, "Hey, at least Ms. Blake won't be there when you get back."
"I suppose," Hermione sighed as she pulled the covers up and tucked them up under her chin. She smiled as Ginny cuddled in.
"Don't worry," Ginny insisted. "We'll figure everything out."
"I know," Hermione replied as she wrapped an arm around the younger girl. Hermione didn't fully believe her own words just yet, but she knew that Ginny was right. They just had to find a way - and as history showed, they always did. She leaned down and lay a soft, lingering kiss on the top of Ginny's head, inhaling the sweet smell of the girl's shampoo. Hermione smiled into the kiss and Ginny snuggled in even closer.
"I love you, Gin," Hermione whispered, keeping her lips close to her girlfriend's head. "Thank you for everything." She was surprised when she felt Ginny's finger poke her side. "Ow!" Hermione exclaimed as she pulled back and shot a glare towards the redhead. "What was that for?"
"You keep acting like I'm blessing you with my presence," Ginny smirked. "We're in this together," she proclaimed.
"Oh," Hermione gave her a look of mock surprise. "You mean the Great Ginny Weasley wants to be treated like an equal? Like a mere mortal?"
Ginny let out a chortling laugh and buried her face in Hermione's shoulder. "Go to sleep, you."
After a reluctant goodbye, Hermione put her hand to the portkey and felt herself being whisked away back to Paris. She landed with a sigh, ignoring the other portkey travelers as she did so.
Immediately upon arrival, she noticed a group of officials from the French Ministry - specifically, Aurors. She looked at her fellow portkey travelers and they looked about as concerned as she did. She was about to step forward to speak to one of the Aurors to ask what was going on when they made the first move. She glanced quickly behind her, trying to see who they were eyeing. She grew more puzzled as they walked urgently in her direction.
"What seems to be the problem?" She asked as she stepped towards them. "Is there anything I can help with?"
"Expelliarmus!" One of them bellowed and she felt her wand being ripped from her, her jaw dropping in the process.
"What is the meaning of this," she demanded as she continued towards them, now hastening her steps into a purposeful, indignant march.
She would have gasped, had her body allowed it, as she was placed under a body-binding curse. She watched, paralyzed, as they surrounded her - physical restrictions doing nothing to repress the feeling of horror that rapidly rose inside of her.
"Hermione Granger, you are accused of the following violations of wizarding law: you are believed to have performed numerous counts of illegal Memory Modification charms upon several Parisian witches and wizards, coupled with illegal Emotion Modifications upon the same individuals. Until further notice you will be held in detention at Laurophey - we will escort you there. Upon arrival, please surrender all of your belongings. You will stand before the courts tomorrow morning at 0800 hours."
All Hermione could do was watch.
AN: A bit of a shorter chapter, but I figured that was appropriate. This update may have spurred some further questions, but I promise they will be answered...eventually - actually fairly soon. Thanks again to everyone for their feedback and support!