Chapter 36 – Time Flies By

Submitted Wednesday 21 September 2011 Next Submission: Sunday

Hannah was opening gifts with her new husband and a few of the witches that had remained after the meal was served. As with most weddings, most of the gifts were practical. A household spell book from Molly and Arthur, mixing bowls from Hermione, a beautiful frame from Ginny.

All of these gifts were overwhelming to Hannah. She had intentionally cut herself off from her friends once her parents had been killed because she was as embarrassed for being destitute as she was sad for her parent's passing.

Hannah continued to open her gifts until one solitary envelope remained. It was a plain blank legal envelope with no indication of its purpose but clearly full and sealed. "Neville, is this yours?" When he shook his head she looked to the others. The girls also shook there heads. She opened the envelope carefully and found a small folder and piece of parchment with difficult to read scrawl. She began to read and after a minute her legs grew weak. She fell into the chair behind her. Neville looked worried and she handed him the note. He read just loud enough for those in the room to hear:

Dear Hannah,

I am nearly sure you will be the one to open this. As you know, I am not very good when it comes to emotion so I had to leave soon after the ceremony ended. Nothing has made me happier these past few days than to see two people so meant for each other fall in love and marry.

I'd like to tell a quick story. Tom and I visited the day that I purchased my wand and spent the afternoon with you and Neville over lunch. We were waiting for you and Neville to come down and he confided in me that he had made a grave mistake. As you know, his health has continued to worsen and he can no longer carry on the duties of a barkeep. He had opened contract with a lady who offered to purchase the tavern for his full asking price. He felt he couldn't refuse - it was such a terrific offer.

He later found that the witch had planned to close the tavern and open a bed and breakfast with a tea house. Her family has long been a member of the Temperance Movement. I do not know if you are aware of this but long ago the Ministry proclaimed that no new taverns may be opened or built on Diagon Alley. The Leaky Cauldron's status was grandfathered in and the business is allowed to serve alcohol as long as it continues to serve this purpose. By purchasing and changing the purpose of the business she would have effectively made it illegal to serve alcohol anywhere on Diagon Alley.

Tom was mortified when he found out. The tavern had belonged to his family for centuries. He visited her home and begged her to reconsider. When she laughed in his face he decided to speak to me. I had a goblin at Gringotts look at the contract and he found an 'out clause' typical with contracts this size that allowed him to sell to another buyer if they outbid the original price. Fortunately she was a stingy old bat and she used a form contract.

I had the business appraised out of curiosity and found that the land itself is worth two to three times the value of the business. When my account manager saw the appraisal he thought the purchase of the business was a terrific deal.

I'm sure you can guess the rest of the story. I purchased the Leaky Cauldron on Thursday for ten Galleons more than was offered by that dreadful witch. I do not want you to think this was planned as a wedding gift – it just sort of turned out that way.

I have provided your half of ten percent of the purchase price as a wedding gift to you. I have included paperwork for a loan in the amount of 99,005 Galleons which will pay the remainder of your half of the purchase price. You will be 51% owner of the business and will be responsible for all business decisions but you will also be responsible for paying your loan with your half of the profits. You may pay yourself a reasonable wage for acting as the manager.

Remember, this gift, if accepted, comes with a fair amount of responsibility. You will be responsible for staffing, managing and maintaining the business. I am still 49% owner and you must make enough income to provide a profit for both of us. If you would like to accept then please open the folder, review the terms and sign the paperwork. Included, as well, is the license to serve alcohol and a handbook of Ministry guidelines for all pubs and taverns.

With love,Harry.

PS...If you choose to decline, I have picked out a nice set of knives for you.

When Neville finished he looked down to see tears in Hannah's eyes. She had thought her dream had been lost when she found out Tom had closed on the business the week before. Neville showed her the Agreement. She laughed when she saw the name Harry had chosen for his company - Potty Ltd., a subsidiary of Peeves Holdings. After briefly reviewing the terms she borrowed a quill from Hermione and quickly signed the paperwork. When she crossed the last 't' she instantly became majority owner of the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry, meanwhile, was nearby at his home in London inspecting the place. "Master Harry is pleased?" croaked Kreacher.

"Kreacher you have done a fantastic job."

"It is not Kreacher only, Sir. The House Elf Winky visits when she is not busy and she cleans. She is ever finding things to do. So much energy, that one."

"You do not feel alone here?" asked Harry. "Would you like to return to Hogwarts?"

The House Elf considered, "Kreacher is happy here, Master Harry,but will return to Hogwarts if you require it. Kreacher has his Mrs. Black to keep him company. And Winky visits. And Master Harry will be back soon. Kreacher grows old. Not much serving left for Kreacher." Harry grew sad when he wrapped his head around what the House Elf was hinting at.

Two days later Harry was back at Hogwarts. Classes began the first Monday of the new year and as intense as the first term had been Harry noticed that the professors ratcheted up their studies even more when lessons resumed. Harry tried to speak to Hermione about his discussion with Shacklebolt but somehow he'd forget it each time he began to guess what she might know that he didn't. He'd check down the lists of subjects and he was soon thinking of something else.

He'd had the same problem many times when in the forest. He'd remember walking through the forest exploring the past several months and then something would come across his mind that he was curious about and the next thing he knew he was standing in the forest trying to remember what he had last done or thought about. This mindless wandering and lack of concentration began to worry him after a few weeks. He was concerned because with the beginning of February Quidditch had resumed and he didn't want to find himself losing focus so close to the next match.

Today, Harry was determined he would ask Hermione about his lack of concentration and his forgetfulness during breakfast. He didn't have much time as owls almost immediately began to circle above searching for their targets and dropping messages. Harry noticed an abnormally large number of posts and then remembered that it was Valentine's Day. All around him Harry heard singing, dancing and even begging telegrams opened. Some were met with cheer. Other's were opened with laughter.

Harry began to grow embarrassed as more and more packages and letters were dropped his way. George had learned his Third Year from Lockhart that Valentines sold and he had prepared a line of valentines that were introduced this year that featured both prank and true valentines. George had been inspired earlier this year when he'd heard about a particularly nasty Howler and he decided to create a line of Howling Valentines called Howlettes 'for those that wished to proclaim their love out loud.'

Harry was confused when the large smoking red envelope appeared on top of his growing mound. He looked to Ron who shrugged. The envelope gave off a scent of cinnamon and flowers. Like a normal Howler it began to smoke and shake and looked ready to explode when Ron advised, "Open it Harry. Otherwise it'll just get worse." Harry looked panicked, "you think Mum's angry?"

Before Ron could answer the Howlette exploded and standing before Harry at least seven feet tall on top of the table was an image of Heidi Klum – iridescent like a ghost. She had her hands on her hips and a pout on her face. With a wink she proclaimed in her most sultry voice,

"Oh Harry, oh Harry, why won't you write?

When I think of you it makes me feel so bright.

Ginny may be pretty, smart and athletic too,

but I'm bound and determined to make a Valentine of you..."

With that the image exploded into scented heart shaped pieces of confetti as the Great Hall erupted in applause. Harry sunk into his seat. Sniggers were heard all around the Gryffindor table and Harry noticed several whispers and glances toward him. Only Seamus seemed out of the conversation and when Dean asked he admitted, "I was curious if you could get a look under her dress." A barrage of food came his way from disgusted witches who unanimously agreed he was a Neanderthal

Hermione and Ginny continued to giggle. When Harry looked askance toward them Ron announced, "You've just been pranked by George. He's been waiting all month after that story of you and Heidi came out on New Years. Welcome to the family, mate," Ron smirked. Laughs came from as far as the fourth years at the Gryffindor table.

Harry was not amused. He decided he'd go for a walk in the forest which prompted him to remember that he needed to speak to Hermione about his loss of memory. "Hermione, I have a problem I need some help with." he explained and asked if they could speak in private. Once out of the Great Hall he admitted, "I remember the Minister telling me I should speak to you but I don't remember why."

"You don't remember anything?"

Harry thought to himself, "We were talking about something. I can't remember. It had to do with the forest...or the Centaurs...or..."

Hermione watched Harry's eyes go blank. He began to walk away from her as if he didn't even notice that he was walking or talking with her. Then he shook his head and noticed Hermione looking at him funny, "Were we just speaking about something? I must have drifted off."

Harry noticed that Hermione looked very concerned, "Harry, did the Minister ask you to talk to me about something?" He thought to himself a minute, "Yeah, it's funny you should ask. About a month ago he told me I should speak to you about the Forest and the Centaurs and Ron. He said it was because someone might be after me and I thought..." Harry's face grew cloudy again and he shook the cobwebs out of his head. "Hermione, I'm sorry, I must have drifted off. Were we just speaking about something?"

"Yes, but I think you've had a long night," Hermione answered. "I think you were going to go back to the Gryffindor table to read your posts and then head up to the Tower to sneak in a kip. What do you say that you and I meet near Hagrid's this afternoon about four o'clock? We have some catching up to do."

Harry thought that was a brilliant idea and he returned to the Great Hall to finish breakfast. Ron was back to giving him piss over George's Howlette. Harry opened up several Valentines and one unusual box of chocolates which he recognised the smell of easily. After Ron's fourth joke at Harry's expense, Harry looked around at his laughing friends and offered with a smile, "Chocolate anyone? Eat up."

Hermione on the other hand was worried and she rushed up to the Owlery to send a post to Shacklebolt. She had a feeling she knew what was wrong with Harry but she didn't want to act until she had confirmation from the Minister.

"That was cruel!" Hermione chided Harry as she found him on a tree stump near Hagrid's hut.

Harry didn't try to argue, "Yes it was. But so was Ron telling me in front of everyone that I'd have to step up my game if I was going to try and string Heidi along - loud enough for all of the tables to hear."

"But handing out chocolates that I know you knew were laced with a love potion was not kind – especially since the chocolates made them all attracted to the same witch," Hermione's tone was motherly but her smirk gave her away.

"You should have been there, Hermione. It started with them offering the poor witch flowers and gifts. Then they began arguing over who would get a chance to take her out for a snog. Susan kissed the poor witch dead on the lips before either knew what had happened. That caused the entire Hall to erupt in chaos." Harry looked triumphant, "That'll teach the ruddy gits to have a laugh at my expense." With a twinkle in his eye, "or to send me chocolates laced with a love potion."

"Well, while you were busy 'improving' the relations between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, I was in contact with Shacklebolt. We both feel it would be a good idea to remove a charm that you had me place on you in May."

"What charm?" Harry asked.

Hermione looked around to make sure no-one was listening and then she cast a few silencing spells around the two of them. Finally she explained, "Harry, it'd be best if you had me remove the charm before I explain or you'll just forget and we'll have this conversation all over again."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I just had this same conversation with you not thirty seconds ago," she admitted with a smile. "Trust me?" she asked and she tapped his right temple with her wand. He felt a small fog evaporate from some place in the back of his mind.

"Harry, you hid the Elder wand with the Centaurs and then you had me remove the memories. You then had me cast a charm that would confund you if you even thought about the Elder wand. I've seen it affect you a few times and I've kept watch on you but it's never affected you like this morning. It was as if your mind would reset itself every thirty or so seconds. Only time I'd seen you like that was the week of your birthday party and I had to remove the charm altogether for the week. Molly caught me sneaking out of your room the night I replaced it and I've never received such a dirty look from her as on that night." Hermione bit her lip, "Ron may have deserved that chocolate this morning more than you may realise..."

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Ron learned almost immediately the effect any mention of the Elder wand had on you. He began timing how much of your memory was lost and noticed it was right at 14 seconds and he began making a game out of it. For months when he'd get angry with you he'd go off on tirades calling you dirty names and then yelling 'Elder Wand' after the seventh or so name."

"Oh well, that's not too bad," Harry considered.

"That's not the worst," Hermione was crimson. She looked like she would rather not admit the next part. "He's gotten worse. A few nights ago you complained because he was snogging me in front of you and you said you didn't need visions of him fondling me etched into your head. I...I got up to get my books and bent over to give him a kiss and he kind of threw up my robes and flashed you my bum."

Harry was now crimson as well, "Anything else I should know?"

Hermione coughed, "I wasn't wearing..."

"Arrgh..." Harry cringed, "Can we just get back to the Centaurs? What do they have to do with all of this?"

"The Centaurs had the wand, Harry."

"Why is that important?"

"Harry? Think about it. Do you think it coincidental that someone was in the Forbidden Forest attacking the Centaurs and the wand was in the care of the Centaurs? The morning that you defeated Voldemort you took the Elder wand and asked the Centaurs to care for it. You asked them not to relinquish the wand to any wizard no matter the reason. You felt only the Centaurs would be safe keeping its secret keeping it secret because they wouldn't succumb to the temptations.

"But it doesn't matter. The wand was destroyed."

"Harry, the wand can't be destroyed."

It took a moment for the thought to sink in. Harry tried to wrap his head around the concept, "But we destroyed..." It now came to Harry, "That's why the Elder wand was so much easier to destroy than Voldemort's. It was..."

"A fake. Yes. Which was why I was astonished that Shacklebolt was willing to destroy Voldemort's wand the same night. Ollivander had placed some charms on the fake wand to impress everyone and make them think it was the real wand. We decided people would assume you could destroy the wand because you were the true owner."

"So you think that this wizard, or witch, also knows or suspects that the wand is still out there?"

"He knows and he knew that it was in the care of the Centaurs. The wizard had killed two Centaurs hoping they would tell him where the wand was. He found out only the Council knew the wand's whereabouts so he kidnapped a foal and placed her in a trap. He let the council know that the young foal was dying slowly and that the only way to save it was to give him the wand. The foal's father believed you had found out about the kidnapping and had single-handedly gone in and looked for her. That was why he and the Herd was so friendly to you."

"Why wasn't I told?" asked Harry. Hermione could see that he was angry.

"For this very reason. I know you Harry. You'd have gone into the forest and found whoever was doing this and fought them win or lose. As it was, the Centaurs voted and decided they would return the wand with Hagrid the night the foal was found. They thought that would solve everything."

"I take it that it didn't."

"No," replied Hermione. "A month later the wizard went into the Herd's camp and he took two foals in the middle of the night. It was Halloween. The Centaurs had no way to prove they didn't have the wand. He threatened to kill the foals by midnight if he wasn't given the wand. He met a Centaur out in the forest in one of those gold Death Eater masks and a hooded robe. The Centaur swore to him they had given the wand to Hagrid and he threatened that if that was the case then he was killing the foals. He stunned the Centaur and the next thing we know the foals were found dead near Hagrid's hut. That was when we went looking for you and you know the rest."

Harry considered out loud, "So he went into Hagrid's hut to look for it and when he didn't find it he made for the castle."

"How do you know he went looking in Hagrid's hut?" Hermione was curious.

"He stayed in there all afternoon. We followed his trail. Hagrid said the bloke's fingerprints were all over the hut when the Aurors checked. He called them 'fingerspots.' He said Goyle and about twelve Death Eaters were ruled out by comparing the fingerprints the Aurors had kept on file. They didn't say how they got the originals. Duncan says the Ministry is not keen on them keeping records of wizards' and witches' fingerprints. How do you know it's a wizard?"

"Blokes voice each time. Always wore the mask. Said he sounded like he was trying to disguise his voice by making it sound deeper than it was. He was medium height. Had a limp," Hermione answered.

"A limp could be faked. He could be a Death Eater or he could be an Auror who had access to things belonging to the Death Eaters. Now that we know why he was here we know he could be anyone. Anybody greedy enough to want the wand."

"What? But we'd just assumed a Death Eater would have heard about it and came looking for it."

Harry shook his head, "Think about it. It could be a student for all we know. What we do know is this. I've searched that ruddy map for three and a half months and found no-one in the Castle. We've searched every room in the bloody Castle that we can get to and no-one is in there. There are only so many rooms that can't be seen on the map. Chamber of Secrets and Room of Requirements are the only rooms I know of. No-one can get into Chamber of Secrets anymore and we checked Room of Requirements. I think the bugger is a student or a professor and they used the camp as a way of distracting us."

"Who then?" Hermione was sceptical.

"Couldn't be an Auror. They'd be missing. Couldn't be any of the Professors that were watching the Houses so couldn't be a Head of House. Slughorn's too short unless he used Polyjuice. He did say he was retiring this year. And he's a Head of House...forgot that. Babbling and Vector are not the type. They are deathly afraid of the forest if I remember right. Could be the new Professor of Muggle Studies, Wisteria...she has broad shoulders and she could have faked the voice."

Harry thought more out loud and was just rambling at this point, "Ewan Duncan was with us most of the time but he disappeared for periods. He's worked with Ron regularly. What if he Imperioused Ron earlier, had him make both sets of tracks, and then met up with him where the Centaur was killed. He'd know how to cover evidence. He let Ron off with no questions that afternoon when he should have spoken to him but he blamed it on Ron's friendship with me. Either Duncan was really incompetent that day or he was involved. He didn't want to search the forest after the gate was destroyed because it was night...most Aurors would search for clues immediately. He also has access to the grounds at any time and could have arranged things to look whatever way he wanted."

Hermione considered, "I will send an owl to Shacklebolt. He is an officer with the Aurors so he'd know quite a bit. Until then who else? We have to consider everyone who had capability and then count them out one by one."

"At this point, any Slytherin including Draco...especially Draco. His elf was here searching. Also, any Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs we can account for during the search." Harry was imagining names in his head.

"What about Gryffindors?" Hermione hated to consider.

"Like?"

Hermione shrugged. "I hate to consider it but what if Ron was faking the Imperious and he somehow drugged himself to seem disoriented? What if..."

"Do you really think that?" Harry looked very disappointed.

"No. But...we have to consider everyone. I'm taught to think logically. I'm only asking 'what if?'"

Harry frowned, "You and Ron are the only two I would trust no matter what the evidence suggested." Hermione smiled wanly at Harry and nodded as if she were silently agreeing.

"Hermione, we need to find out two things. Who this person is and where the wand is. I doubt it's with Hagrid or the person who is doing this would have found already it in his hut and he'd have ran straight for the front gate. Hagrid's rubbish at hiding things...or secrets. Whoever has it surely didn't tell him where it is. We'll have to check everyone off one by one. Make a list of everyone, and I mean Everyone, and lets check them off as we find they were unable to be in any specific place at a specific time that we know the person was. Until we find the person, you and I can call this person...I still don't want to rule out witches...'Pat.' That work?"

"Nice neutral name, Harry."

"What you say we head back?" asked Harry.

As they walked back to the castle Hermione continued to make conversation. "It should be dinner soon. I'm curious if that witch from Ravenclaw will be there. What was her name?"

Harry groaned, "Her name is Kelly. She's a mousy looking Sixth Year from Ravenclaw. For some reason they call her Echo."

Hermione sniggered, "So then does that make you Narcissus?" Harry didn't get it. "Harry, they call her Echo. She's a mousy girl obsessed with you enough that she sent chocolates doused with a love potion. She's obviously fancied you for a while. If you were rumoured to turn down a popular Veela fashion model as Witch Weekly had alluded, then they probably think you are pretty full of yourself. That and I think it got out that Ginny's had no luck with..."

"Is there anything that everybody in this ruddy place doesn't know about me?"

Hermione smirked and patted him on the shoulder, "The Boy Who Lived? No, we at Hogwarts make it our business to know everything about you."

Harry and Hermione were not disappointed at dinner. Professor McGonagall was somehow humoured that the Gryffindors could be offered candy on Valentine's Day and they were naïve enough to eat it without checking first. As punishment she waited to give the antidote for the Love Potion until the following morning at breakfast. When the Ravenclaws argued she reminded them that Kelly had made her own bed...and the potion. A dozen Gryffindors sat staring from their table, while they ate, admiring the mousy little Ravenclaw.

The next morning was when all chaos truly broke loose. As each of the 'Doting Dozen,' as they had come to be called, received their antidotes they saw the young girl as she truly was and made comments. The Ravenclaws didn't take kindly to the treatment of their mate and they vowed to show the Gryffindors what a bunch of buffoons they were on the Quidditch field later in the season. A few clandestine wagers were made over who would end up with the Quidditch Cup at end of term.

Many Gryffindors were soon regretting their wagers. The following weekend Ravenclaw met with Slytherin and beat them by a narrow margin. This was good news. Cho was fortunate enough to have seen the match between Hunter and Harry and she was not surprised by his skill as Harry had been. She decided to take the Snitch as quickly as she could and it happened in the first hour when Slytherin was down only sixty to nil that Cho ended the match. Hunter nearly blocked her but she had watched his moves carefully in his match vs. Gryffindor and had found a weakness to exploit. Hunter had limited peripheral vision out of his right eye...which is why he hadn't seen the bludger coming in the first match. She hadn't been sure of it until she walked up to him before lessons one day and subtly tested his vision. Once she was sure she hatched plan and it paid dividends.

The Gryffindors met the Hufflepuffs a week after Ron's birthday. The crowd had turned on the Gryffindors. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had a small rivalry and usually rooted for Gryffindor when one played the other. In this case, Ravenclaw needed Hufflepuff to show well to secure the title and they were still angry over the Mousy Kelly comments. Gryffindor only had to match Ravenclaw's against Hufflepuff and they'd go ahead of Ravenclaw in the standings. It was not to be, though. Somehow the incompetence of the Hufflepuff squad worked against the Gryffindors and within moments of the open whistle one of their Beaters mistook the snitch for a bludger and he hit it right at Harry. All Harry saw was a blur of canary yellow and a small object travelling straight for him at amazing speed. He didn't have time to duck and the object hit him square in the chest. He felt a crack in his ribs and his hands went to his chest out of instinct. He looked down and there was the snitch...both wings broken off by contact with the Hufflepuff's bat.

Somehow Ginny had scored a goal before the end of the match so it ended 160 to nil. At the moment she was on the ground with Ron and the Hufflepuff Captain, Cadwalder, insisting to Madam Hooch that the match should continue because the snitch had been damaged before it was "caught" by Harry. Tobias was rallying the Ravenclaws by reciting the rules from memory, "A match is considered ended when the snitch is caught. If the snitch is damaged and/or out of play then the match shall continue until said snitch is found by one of the squads in play. If the snitch is not found then the match shall proceed until the captains for both teams agree to end the match."

The Gryffindors had won but it did not feel like a win. As Harry sat changing in the clubhouse several on the squad offered bitter condolences, "No way you couldn't have grabbed your chest, eh Harry? Guess it was pure instinct. If you could have let it glance off it wouldn't a been a catch.

The celebration in Gryffindor Tower was reserved until Ron pulled everyone together, "I know we could have overtaken the Ravenclaws easily today but a freak accident simply made things more difficult. We have beaten both of our opponents by as much as we need to beat Ravenclaw by in order to win the Cup. Let me ask you lot, 'the one full match we have played against a common opponent we won by 110 more points – what do we have to worry about? That means we are at least 110 points better than Ravenclaw. With Ginny and Harry I believe we can easily beat them by more. We only need one more goal and to catch the snitch and we win the Cup with wins as the tiebreaker. Now, let me hear Gryffindor on three!"

The rest of the party was more upbeat. Ron had convinced the Gryffindors they had nothing to worry about. He indeed was becoming the man that Hermione had thought he could be. Finally out from under Harry's shadow and full of self confidence, Ron felt invincible.

Meanwhile, Hermione debated how to tell Harry about Ewan. Shacklebolt had argued at first that Professor Ewan Duncan was beyond corruption but the more they looked at the information he had access to and his history the more the Minister and Head Auror Robards were considering him a suspect. They reported to Hermione that he had access to the Auror records that showed Harry taking the wand to the forest (reported by Shacklebolt – he now regretted it). Duncan had also moved to Hogwarts at the same time as the attacks on the Centaurs had begun. Lastly, he had accessed maps of both the Forbidden Forest and Hogwarts Castle a few days before he left and had made an effort to study the forest and it's inhabitants according to his notes.

The time-line created by Harry showed he could have worked in tandem with an Imperioused Ron and made it look like he was with the searchers when indeed he might have slipped in and out of the view. Hadn't he been right there next to Ron when the gates were blown open? Hermione decided she and Harry would have to keep a close eye on the Scot.

A/N: If you like this chapter please review. We now know at least part of the why. I'm curious who you think the who might be (I, of course, already know). Post your answer in a review before you read the next chapter and then read on to see if you were correct.