.
.
Everyone was on edge. The presence of aurors at the school was nothing new, considering all that happened in the last few years, but this time it was different. Hermione was missing. They were looking for her.
Harry was sitting on the windowsill. His face pressed against the cool glass of the window.
It was raining outside. The windows were covered in a thin layer of perspiration—it was almost like the nature was breathing its cool breath over the glass, drooling and crying ugly tears and wailing with a thunderous temper.
Harry stared at the grey sky, absentmindedly. He was reading a book, or more like there was a book in his lap that he was staring at. He couldn't concentrate. There was something inside him slowly gnawing at him, making him acutely aware of its presence and not letting him focus on anything else.
"Mr. Potter," the auror in the headmistress McGonagall's office opened the door slightly and stuck his head out. "Please come in."
Harry hopped down. He shut the book he was holding and walked into the office. He looked at the men sitting in the office, gesturing him to take a seat and felt strangely targeted under their imtimidating gaze.
He sat down, watching his surroundings as if he was there for the first time. It hadn't changed much since he was here the last time. McGonagall didn't add any personal touches or redecorate the room. It felt familiar.
"Mr. Potter," the lanky auror, whose name Harry couldn't remember, tapped on the magical recording device on the desk. "Do you remember when you last saw Ms. Hermione Granger?"
Harry stared at the recording device startled, and then he directed his gaze back at the auror. "It was a week ago," he said, shifting in his chair to find a more comfortable position. "I think it was last Wednesday."
The auror who was sitting a chair away from the two who were questioning him started taking notes.
"Where did you last see Ms. Granger?"
"She came to my room," Harry answered. "She wanted to check up on me. She thought I looked sick. I told her I was fine. We... we chatted a bit and then she left."
"Do you remember what time she left?"
"Around 8 o'clock," Harry said, adjusting his glasses. "I went for a walk afterwards. And when I came back to school, I just went to sleep."
"When did you notice Ms. Granger's absence?"
"The next day." Harry paused and looked at the auror who was taking notes. The sound of quell on the parchment was loud, and it was making him dizzy. "She wasn't at any of our classes."
"Did you report this to a teacher?"
"No," Harry shook his head. "It was unusual that she wasn't at our classes. But after... after the war, we all sometimes need the space... you know. I thought she wanted to be alone. That's what I told Ron when he came to me."
"Were you the one who reported her missing?"
"Ron and I actually filed the report together," Harry said. "We went looking for her after she didn't show up anywhere for two days and we were worried."
"Why didn't you immediately report her missing?"
"We wanted to look for her first, in case she was just taking a break from things. But then when we couldn't find her, we filed the missing person report."
"Were you aware of any persons who might have wanted to harm Ms. Granger?"
Harry sighed. "You mean other than the people who tried to kill us before the war?" The auror gave him a pointed look. "I don't know. She didn't seem to have any enemies other than the people who already hated her."
"Did you notice anything unusual about Ms. Granger that evening?"
Harry's heartbeat quickened. The insistent ticking of the quell was making his headache worse.
"No," he said, breathing hard.
"Are you feeling alright, Mr. Potter?" The auror leaned closer, sitting almost on the edge of his chair to take a look at Harry. "You seem to be running a fever."
"I am fine," he said rubbing his forehead. "It hasn't been easy... It is not easy not knowing what happened to her."
The auror blinked emotionlessly. "I am sure we will find her," he told Harry.
Harry nodded. They might find her corpse, but they were never going to find her.
"Do you have any more questions?" he asked.
"Not at this moment," the auror said, tapping the recorder. "We'll call you if needed."
Harry nodded and got up to leave.
"Your book Mr. Potter," The auror called after him, pointing at the book left on the table.
"Soul Magic and Death," the auror who watched him the entire time without saying a word snorted, looking at the book. "I guess you are interested in the Dark Arts, Mr. Potter."
Harry grabbed the book and glared at the man. "I am interested to know any possible tricks my enemies can use against me," he said, leveling his icy eyes at the man.