Disclaimer: If i was JKR I wouldn't feel so horribly guilty for making you wait four days for an update. I could take years and you'd all still love me.
Note: This chapter is bittersweet: It is one of my longer ones, but you did have to wait a bit longer. I fear the next one will follow the same pattern, but I am doing my best. Thank you all so much for your reviews, it's amazing to know people are still finding this and enjoying it.
A ship in harbor is safe - but that is not what ships are for.
John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic
They'd ended up relocating to Grimauld place. Perhaps Mr Weasley simply accepted it was the most neutral territory, or perhaps he truly did fear his wife's ire. Either way, Hermione couldn't help but feel relieved. She'd packed her things in record time, and while she was magically deprived from earlier, she'd still managed to get all her clothes, and more importantly all her books, into her small, resilient beaded bag in less than ten minutes.
Harry and Ginny had obviously just got back from the hospital when their party stepped through the floo. Ginny was putting the kettle on and Harry hanging up his coat.
"Woah. We must have been minutes apart. Kingsley, Arthur, George, come on in. What are you all doing here." Harry fired off in rapid response to the line of people traipsing through his kitchen.
"Dad, George, what's happened? Is Ron okay?" Ginny fretted, putting the kettle on the stove and hurrying over.
"No, no, nothing like that. We're all just here to talk the marriage law over with Hermione. Your brother's fine."
"Tactic's talk huh?" Ginny grinned, causing Hermione to contemplate how much of an asset the girl would've been while huddled around this very same kitchen table exactly a year and a half ago. "So this is going to take a while then?" She asked, turning to Hermione, errant smirk still in place.
"I'd imagine so." Hermione sighed, shrugging off her coat and scarf as Mr Weasley took a seat.
"Great. I'll go grab us some re-enforcements. Gotta keep Team Granger well supplied."
Hermione only groaned at the colloquialism, fervently hoping it wouldn't stick. From the way George was chuckling behind her, she knew it was far too much to hope. Ginny nimbly stole a kiss from Harry before winding her way around the kitchen to the front hall. Hermione followed the young witch, heading to hang her coat.
"You okay Hermione?" Ginny stopped to ask, standing at the doorway with her hand resting on the handle. Hermione was touched by the witches concern, especially considering she'd just inadvertently put her brother in hospital.
Yep, heap him onto your consciences too, that's really healthy Hermione. It was obviously all your fault. You bloody narcissist.
"I'm fine Ginny. I hope it's okay if I stay here for a while- your mum, well; That is to say, it's probably best for everyone."
"When are you going to stop bloody apologising and understand that you'll always be welcome here? God, you're nearly as bad as Harry sometimes. I thought you were meant to be the smart one? We're always going to be your family, got it?"
Hermione could only manage a nod and a smile before the young witch was off with a swoop. Hanging her coat up, Hermione made to re-enter the kitchen when a worried looking Harry stopped her.
"Hey. How're you doing."
"Oh not you too. I'm fine Harry. I'm good. Ginny's given me the prep talk already."
Her best friend only grinned sheepishly at her, possibly at being caught out acting on Ginny's orders.
"It feels sort of like before doesn't it?" Harry asked quietly, his gaze once more upon the kitchen. Hermione didn't have to ask what he meant. She understood. Kingsly, Mr Weasley, talks of tactics and strategy. All around the table at Grimauld Place no less. The whole thing had the vibe of an Order meeting about it. It did feel eerie, as though they were at war once more. Hermione felt another bolt of guilt for putting Harry through this all over again. He and Ginny had worked so hard to rob the gaudy house of its Order associations.
"I know what you mean." She quietly agreed, eying Harry worriedly.
"It's not like before though. Everyone's safe this time." She hurried to assure him.
Harry only turned to eye her bemusedly.
"I hope the Ministry are prepared, because they're not going to be safe when you're through with them Hermione."
Hermione summoned a weak smile for the confidence she didn't actually feel.
"Come on let's get started."
Both she and Harry entered the Kitchen and took a seat while George served up tea to Kingsly and Arthur.
"Right. So Hermione, before we begin, we wanted to know who the two ministry wizards you saw at St Mungo's were."
"I didn't recognise them. I didn't catch names or anything." She frowned, thinking back to the glum wizards who had stood impassively by the doors for the entire day. "One was short, and sort of, roundish. The other was tall and seemed a lot older." Hermione drifted off, trying to recall any further details but failing.
"So you didn't see a blondish man, average height, sort of tanned?" Kingsly asked, concerned.
"No." Hermione honestly answered. "Why who's he?"
Kingsly and Arthur exchanged a look, but refrained from comment.
"Let's not worry about him now. We've got more than enough to be getting along with. 4 days gives us very little breathing room." Arthur changed the topic, aiming at a genial tone.
"We have 34 days, though, don't we? Before I'm actually breaking the law."
"No. Anyone else, yes, they'd have 34 days to make a move. Admittedly the longer they left it, the harder it would be, but it would still be feasible. You? No. I don't think you understand." Kingsly's voice was deep and melodic, but it no longer seemed as calm as Hermione remembered.
"You're Hermione Granger; you're the archetype for why the magical community needs an infusement of new blood. We've got four days, at the very most, to get you out of the country."
Hermione started at his words, utterly bewildered.
"What? But what use am I going to be abroad?" She was well aware her voice had become shrill and over pitched. Both Harry and George grimaced at the tone, correctly recognising it as a warning sign.
"Use?" Arthur questioned, puzzled by her vehement reaction." You've not got much choice Hermione, you going abroad is the only way to avoid the law. They'll be able to track you magical signature while you're on British soil, otherwise. Unless you were willing to live as a muggle?" He reasoned, struggling to understand her outburst.
Hermione seethed, not placated in the least.
"But how am I supposed to fight the law from overseas, or without my magic?"
The room finally grasped what she was saying.
"Hermione, what do you mean, fight the law?" Arthur hesitantly asked the riled up witch.
"Well, to have it appealed of course!"
Hermione couldn't quite understand the group's shock. Of course we need to fight this law? Were they just going to let it happen?
"How could you think I'd just flee the country?" she found herself asking angrily. "How could I be happy, knowing the atrocity of freedoms taking place in my home? Of course I want to repeal the law."
"Hermione, I don't think you understand just how difficult that would be." Kingsly levelled in an infuriatingly calm voice.
"Can everyone please stop telling me that I don't quite understand. Section 13, paragraph 7 of the Wizarding Legal Chronicles dictates that any law can be subject to repeal, should a wizard prove to the Wizengamot, beyond reasonable doubt, that the law in question does more harm than good to the majority of wizard kind. In 1846 an amendment to the chronicle altered the paragraph to replace the term wizard with magical individual and wizard kind with magical community."
"You know, Scrimagour might've been right after all." Harry muttered.
"Okay, yes Hermione, those are the technicalities but you have to take into consideration the way the ministry operates. Even if, and it's a pretty big if, you can prove this law does more harm than good, you need two thirds of the Wizengamot to agree. Dawlish, or more appropriately Theodore Burges and his cronies, they're the ones who've introduced this law; they're the ones who sign the paychecks. Not to mention the greasing of palms besides. I'm sorry to say, but it's going to take a lot more than proof to win these people over."
Hermione didn't know if it was the older wizards intention, but she couldn't help but feel suitably chastened. Well of course it wasn't going to be easy.
Then again, when has anything in the magical world been easy for you so far Granger? And more importantly when has that ever stopped you?
"What would it take then?"
Kingsly looked at her considerably, nodding his head slowly as though she had passed some unspoken test.
"Massive amounts of public support." He finally stated, staring her straight in the eyes. "You'd need to convince every man, woman and child that this law is harming them; more than that, you need to supply a better option."
"Okay, okay, so. Public opinion, harmfulness of the law, another option. Hang on. I need to write this down, make a list."
Harry smiled fondly at her atypical behaviour as Hermione fluttered around for a bit of paper. Transfiguring a spare bit of Honydukes junk mail into a fresh sheath of parchment, Hermione absently pulled a quill from her pocket, before looking down and realising it was Fred's dull brown one.
"Oh, George, will it make a difference if I just use this?" she asked, holding up the seemingly innocent implement.
"Yeah nah, it should be fine, won't erase aught or nothing." He shrugged.
At least the list would survive any unexpected incinerations.
Just as Hermione pulled the piece of paper in front of her, the front door crashed open and a wind beaten Ginny entered the room, foisting bags of delicious smelling Chinese food onto the table. There was a flurry throughout the room as Harry jumped up to get plates and cutlery while George all but leapt across the table, rustling through the bags in wonder at the different dishes while just generally causing unnecessary havoc.
"Ginny, your mother will go spare if she finds out I've been eating this lot" Arthur complained, eyeing off a serving of chow mien.
"Don't have any then." The red head cheekily remarked, serving out fried rice onto everyone's dishes.
Arthur only grumbled before reaching for the dim-Sims.
"Okay so." Hermione started, once she had relented and accepted a helping off Ginny. "More harm than good, that's all we need to prove."
The room was filled with the sound of the quill scratching along the surface of the paper as she wrote, punctuated by the quiet background of rustling plastic and people eating. Not quite the chorus of answer's she'd been expected. Humming quietly under her breath, she decided to try again.
"So let's start with the harm, that's relatively easy."
Even Kingsly barely looked up at her, his attention consumed with the sweet and sour pork sitting in front of him.
"Harm to everyone Hermione, not just muggleborns." Ginny supplied while passing a dish of wontons around the table.
Hermione sighed down at the empty list, before attacking her own bowl. This was going to take a while.
Two hours later, and the conversation around the table was far more forthcoming and a great deal louder.
"Look, I'm telling you Dad, public opinion is going to be the least of our worries." George argued across the table from beside Ginny, who was nodding emphatically.
"There's a different between public awareness and public opinion George! This isn't a new joke shop product! We need people to be agreeing with us, not just gossiping about it!" Arthur debated.
Hermione couldn't help but agree with the Weasley patriarch. Looking down at her list, Hermione weighed up the factors once more:
More harm than good- Majority of magical population
- Use of anti-contraceptive potions (Caligula): Publish paper on dangers of consumption
- Magical economy can't sustain long term benefits Bill?
- Precedent laws pure bloods?
- HUMAN RIGHTS!
- Women's jobs. Carers jobs
Uselessness- More harm than good.
- No proof law will expand population – squib birth rates?
- Previous devestation of magical community: Dragon pox, Grindlewald, Riddle's interlude. Statistical comparison. {Hogwarts register?}
- DNA research – Stroulger? {Last resort.} {Switzerland}
Publicity (Eugh)
- Golden bloody trio nonsense
- Skeeter Ministry deal? Kingsly
- WWW Orbs, Joke products, radio?
- Holyhead Harpies? – Ginny
- Luna
Public opinion really would be the tricky part. Well apart from the DNA research that Kingsly was dead against. Still, Hermione could handle the research. She was more than confident that she could track down all the necessary documents to support her case. Even undercover, she was lucky enough to have people in a position to help her. She had eyes and ears in the ministry, in St Mungo's, the Prophet and, hopefully with a well penned letter to Professor McGonagol, Hogwarts.
So long as she had access to the raw data and information, Hermione was certain she could organise a logical, well-reasoned case.
Unfortunately, as seven years in the magical world had taught her, the average witch or wizard's grasp of logic was tenuous at best. What if her task really was to convince a mass of Mrs Weasley duplicates? Or anti-mudblood apologists? How could she convince them?
Hermione had never been good at getting people to like her. She didn't have Harry's fame, or George's affability, or Ginny's confidence.
You're going into hiding, it's not like you'll have to personally convince legions of sceptics. Just focus on the research. You can do this.
Around her the table's discussion went on, impervious to Hermione's absent thoughts.
"It's all about the impression we make: Hermione can't be painted as a fugitive of the law, she has to be a martyr, a hero sticking up for the people." Kingsly punctuated this statement with emphatic hand gestures, meeting the table soundly.
"But I'm not. I'm not sacrificing anything." Hermione's voice was small but it quelled the rabble around the table like any of Molly's shouts.
"As long as they believe you are, it won't matter." Kingsly answered after a pause.
"But why would they believe that?" Hermione stubbornly continued. "I'd just be another mudblood trying to avoid a doomed marriage." Her tone finally pervaded the table, seeping doubt into both Kingsly's and Arthur's expressions.
"Unless…" Ginny mused, still idly brandishing a fork in the air. "Unless you're not running from a loveless marriage; you're sacrificing your dream wedding to fellow golden trio war hero."
Hermione wondered if anyone else found the air of the small room so suddenly charged. An uneasy lull swept across the table as the young witche's proposal was considered. Would Ron really pretend they were still romantically involved? That she hadn't spurned him, that they hadn't concluded their relationship?i
Kingsly was the first to break the lull, turning to Mr Weasley with an intense look upon his face.
"Would Ronald work with it?"
Arthur looked from Kingsly to Hermione; locking eyes with his would be daughter-in-law. Hermione sat impassive as she watched the cogs turn in the older man's head.
"It's asking a lot, I don't, that is to say, I'd have to talk to him." He spoke deliberately, weighing up every word. Hermione could appreciate his politic recalcitrance. Ron was his son after all.
"I'm sure I could convince him." George spoke up, his voice so unusually devoid of humour. For once it seemed, there was no trace of a joke. He didn't look up from the table, leaning back with his arms crossed. Hermione didn't quite understand what she'd done to acquire such an ally.
"I don't want him bullied into anything" she found herself qualifying. "I really have no right to ask anything of him."
George didn't say a word and it was Kingsly who answered, nodding as he spoke.
"Obviously, but if he were to co-operate, that would give us our best chances. See what you can do Arthur."
Mr Weasley nodded seriously. Hermione pursued the list again, searching for anything they'd missed.
Oh of course. You idiot.
"Where will I go into hiding?" she asked baldly, to the room at large. The question left a rank taste in her mouth, just as the thought made her cringe. Just because she knew fleeing was the most sensible solution, didn't make it any easier to stomach.
"Hogwarts?" Harry suggested hopefully. Hermione nearly sighed aloud at the suggestion. It was one she'd been expecting from her friend. Harry's faith in Hogwarts as the last line of defence, as the impenetrable strong hold had never quite abandoned him.
"In a school with hundreds of students, where nothing is kept secret and anything that's hidden always eventually comes to light? " She asked exasperatedly.
"We'll have to borrow Fluffy." George quipped.
Harry cringed silently. It was a mark of how much he'd matured that he didn't sulk at having his idea mercilessly shot down.
"Andromeda might have you." Ginny mused, only to be shot down by Kingsly.
"It can't be anywhere that can be easily traced back to any of us. It's a well-known fact that you and Harry are partly responsible for Teddy. Anyone associated with the Order, or the Weasley family in general, have to be ruled out."
Hermione mulled the problem over, weighing up her possibilities.
"So if I were to live as a muggle, they couldn't find me?" She asked. Arthur nodded at her.
"So long as you don't use your wand, there's no way they can legally trace you."
"But Hermione, it would be dangerous. Consider the remaining death eaters and snatchers still at large. You would be a target, and you need your magic for protection."
"But if they don't know where to find me, what are the odds I'll run into them?" she pointed out. "It's not like I'll be running to knockturn alley every afternoon." Kingsly nodded at this, conceding the point.
"Abroad would still be the easiest option." Kingsly mused. "But if you really don't want to leave the country, I'll scout out some suitable area's. Check which sectors the Auror Office considers clean. Once we take certain precautions, I suppose hiding out in the muggle world is feasible."
Hermione nodded, resolutely determined. She set her jaw and did her damndest to look convinced that this would work. That she was doing the right thing. That none of this was impossible. If her expression mirrored any of those starring back at her, then everyone was witness to her pretence.
Ginny yawned loudly, and began clearing away the empty Chinese containers, while Arthur checked his watch.
"Fancy coming back with me for a night cap Kingsly?" Mr Weasley tiredly offered.
"Sorry Arthur, I'm going to pop back into work. I want to know how McJustins' getting along with the Harper case. Harry, Ginny, thank you for dinner. Hermione; It's a good plan. If anyone could pull this off, it would be you." Kingsly paused here, as if considering something.
"You know Granger. After this mess is sorted, you really ought to consider a career in magical law. I think you're just what this ministry needs." He looked at her appraisingly.
Hermione swallowed down her retort about working for the very same people who seemed determine to have her locked away, and smiled graciously.
"I'll see how I handle St Mungo's tomorrow." She replied dryly.
"Ahh. Just do your best to act naturally. We know they'll be watching you. You have to act ignorant."
Hermione nodded, hiding her doubts. After all, she did have a weakness keeping her mouth shut when she knew something. She was, and always would be, an insufferable know it all.
Note: There you have it, Team Granger, assemble! Hope you enjoyed, please review!
