Note: This is it, people. The final chapter of the interlude.
I hope you enjoy it!
(Love and War - Fleurie)
(…)
March 8th, 2006
Ministry of Magic
Harry closes the door behind him and she leans back on her chair, closing her eyes. She feels numb. She has no idea how she's keeping her shit together after ending things between them.
It's extremely hard seeing him around the floor and having to pretend he's not there. The same way this conversation they just had was… a small torture.
She could have sent him a message through the coin, but her own uninvited desire to see and talk to him personally won. She wanted to get a feel of what's going through his mind and it's obvious that Harry's angry. Incredulous with the way she ended things and then ignored him.
Hermione squeezes the black stone, trying not to think about the way he keeps denying what he did to the Aurors. They're over and he never told her the whole truth. Never trusted her enough to do it. Even if she's Tom Riddle's daughter… even so. What they share is so much more-
We don't share a thing anymore.
She wonders if he feared her reaction. After all, he came to London to kill her. Didn't he?
And that's exactly what he's going to focus on after her betrayal, isn't it? She tried not thinking about this, but at the back of her head, this little question keeps popping. Will he go for it? Is Harry really capable of this? Trying, at least?
If what they shared felt the same for both, she knows he won't. Because she would never.
But she won't underestimated a broken heart. Specially broken by your soulmate.
She takes out the coin she shares with Chiara from her pocket, sending her a message:
I ended things with him
It doesn't take the other woman long to answer:
Already? Is it happening?
Hermione sighs. She thought she had more time. Turns out, she doesn't. Taking the amount of potions she is can't be healthy, for sure. And she feels slightly addicted to them now. She knows that if she stops, she'll get sick. She won't be able to perform a single spell, then.
And her father will notice. He'll know she's hiding Harry's secrets.
So, this needs to be over. This contract must end.
She answers Chiara:
Soon
Tell Matteo to be ready
She stands from the chair, ready to focus on anything else that's not Harry. She'll need to brew another potion for tomorrow, for the little visit they'll be making to Greyback.
March 29th, 2006
Ministry of Magic
She's clutching Harry's wand in her hand, more nervous than she thought she would be. But Chiara touches her arm when they're about to knock on the door. Hermione looks at her.
"It's going to be fine." Chiara whispers and Hermione nods.
Then, she knocks on her father's office door.
It magically opens for them.
Gathering all her courage, Hermione raises her head, straightening her back and looking at her father while she walks inside with Chiara. Matteo D'Angelo is sitting on the couch, an eyebrow raised. Hermione can't tell what's going on from his expression. But she hears Chiara inhaling sharply by her side.
Shit. She feels cold.
"You called, father?"
"Indeed. Hermione, thing is, Matteo D'Angelo has pretty convincing reasons for me to let his grandson walk freely." He paces inside the room, furious, and Hermione tries not showing her relief, but Chiara does it for her by opening a smile. "But you see, you're my Head Auror, the responsible for our security, the one who should decide this. Is it of your opinion that it's safe for our Community to let Harry D'Angelo out?"
She widens her eyes.
March 9th, 2006
Grimmauld
"SIRIUS!" She lands on the living room, screaming. Harry is bleeding and quivering so much she's having a hard time believing this is real. "ELEONORA!"
Hermione is crying, but she's not even aware, the only thing she's worried about is keeping him alive. He's barely breathing now, shaking, his whole body reacting violently and trying to reject the bite.
Hermione knows he won't be able to do it alone.
She needs to help.
But she's on the brink of her strength. The one and only spell she casted to drive the werewolf away was enough to make her dizzy. Then, she sent Remus a Patronus- and now, that she apparated both here, she's just-
"REMUS!"
Sally is the first one who comes running from upstairs.
"Hermione! What? Fuck! DAD!"
Then, in a blur, they're all there: Sirius, Eleonora, Remus, even Molly and Arthur.
She can feel someone pulling her away from Harry, but she resists, she doesn't want to leave his side.
"Hermione, come." It's Eleonora talking to her.
But she shakes her head. Her clothes and hands are drenched with his blood. The room is being taken by that distinctive smell that only blood carries-
"Come." Eleonora tries pulling her again and she blinks many times.
"No." She says in a hoarse voice, coming back to reality. "Please, save him! YOU NEED TO SAVE HIM!" She's talking to Sirius, to Remus. They share a look, both men assessing Harry.
"You said it was a werewolf bite?" Remus asks, his eyes wide.
"What-" Sirius begins but she interrupts.
"Save him!" She's not sure she can say anything else right now.
"Of course." It's Remus who answers. "Arthur, help me here."
Hermione watches in a daze them moving in unison to levitate Harry to a couch while Molly tries stopping the bleeding.
She has no other choice than step back.
"Dear, you're shaking." Eleonora says, uttering a heating spell. Hermione looks at her, actually feeling a bit better.
"Thanks." She murmurs, gulping.
"Are you hurt?" Eleonora asks, looking for any kind of injury or-
"No, no. I'm fine." She clears her throat, centering herself a bit more.
"Talk to us, Hermione, what happened?" Sirius asks while Remus performs a spell to get rid of Harry's sweater. She makes a face when she sees the true extend and ugliness of the bite. He's also bleeding from visible cuts and scratches on his side, probably made by the werewolf's nails.
"I- We were investigating. And we encountered a werewolf. It all happened in a blink, Harry got bit and," She gulps, "I know Remus is a werewolf, I'm sorry, I had nowhere else to go and-"
She chokes, crying. She's falling apart.
To her surprise it's Sally who hugs her tightly, soothing her. Hermione accepts the gesture, really shaken.
"He's delirious." Remus says, an expression of worry on his face. "And the fever is spreading fast, the infection…" He trails, letting out some air through his mouth. "Damn."
Hermione steps out of Sally's embrace and comes closer to them. "You can save him, can't you?" She asks, afraid, feeling mad.
"We'll try-"
"No! You'll not try!" Suddenly she feels like herself again, sure and bossy. "You'll do it. Is that clear?"
Sirius opens a side smile and Remus widens his eyes. Molly lets out a little sound and Arthur opens his mouth, all of them looking at her.
"Of course, Hermione." Sirius says. "We'll do it."
"Sure." Remus clears his throat and motions to Arthur for them to perform a spell together.
She crosses her arms, watching. Eleonora and Sally are there with her, their presence calming her nerves in a way. But her heart is squeezing inside her chest. She wished she could do more, she wished she weren't feeling so completely drained. If it wasn't for the binding obedience she could have saved Harry by herself. She knows the spells and she knows that the sooner you act, higher are the chances of saving the victim.
But they're doing an amazing job.
Remus knows what to do and Sirius looks very comfortable with the situation. Molly and Arthur are trying to keep Harry alive while both men try stopping the infection caused by the bite.
She has no idea how long she stands there, petrified, squeezing the black stone of her necklace, praying to every entity that Harry survives this.
Hermione only moves when she realizes something is wrong.
"Shit." Remus says, grunting, performing a spell.
She takes a step forward. "What's wrong?" Her voice sounds alien.
Sirius shakes his head, "He might be transforming."
Her heart beats faster and she feels another rush of adrenaline taking over her. "No." She whispers.
And without thinking it through she steps into their space and takes Harry's left hand with hers. He's burning hot. Harry mumbles something she doesn't understand, but he squeezes her hand back.
No one says a thing, not daring challenging her, seeing clearly in her eyes that this is something important. They take a step back and Hermione breathes deeply.
She can feel the exhilaration from their bond, very much alive, but also… tainted by the werewolf's venom.
This will ruin her. Performing this magic. But there's no other option. Not one that she accepts.
Hermione pours out her frail magic into their bond, very much like the time she saved him on the day of the funeral. She feels it taking a hold on her, the connection between them tugging on her vital force, on her soul.
She bites her lower lip, closing her eyes.
Different from the other time that she saved him, this time it feels like Harry knows what she's doing, and he's helping her, seeking her out in this merge. And his magic is so strong. So bright. It exhilarates her because… he's giving some of his strength to her, lending the full power that he has.
She breathes relieved. Now it doesn't seem so impossible to save him.
With this new injection of power into her she concentrates on the healing. This venom is nothing more than a mere sickness, a virus.
"Hermione." Harry mumbles her name and she squeezes his hand even tighter.
I'm here, love.
She can feel that it's working, the venom is leaving his body slowly.
And she dares opening her eyes.
Her surroundings astonish her. The room is bathed in a bright light that's coming out of their joined hands, so bright and powerful that she can barely see the others.
She feels good.
Whole.
Healed.
Hermione blinks many times, still concentrating on what she's doing to save Harry from the transformation.
It's working.
It feels surreal. Truly magical because of how unexpected and improbable.
But suddenly she feels weaker. And the mark behind her ear begins to hurt and sting so much as if a hot coal is being shoved into her flesh. She screams and the bright light falters. It's the binding obedience claiming her body, her energy and magic, showing her that this ancient contract is more powerful than anything else.
There's really no way of running from her father.
Hermione pushes through the pain, though. She knows there's little left to-
Then, it's all darkness.
"Hermione. Hey."
She blinks many times, startled. She can see Eleonora, Molly, Arthur and Sally around her, their faces worried.
Then she hears Harry screaming and all her senses are on alert. She's lying on the floor and in a beat Hermione understands that she fainted. It was too much and now she feels weaker than before. But even so, she forces herself to stand and reassure them that she's fine. Sally helps her up and immediately her eyes go to Harry.
Sirius and Remus are still murmuring spells, healing the wound and trying to stitch it back together, trying to down his fever and help him breath.
She goes to Harry, her legs failing her. But Sally is there, holding her in place, helping. Hermione feels like crying. But she can't right now. There are other pressing matters at the moment.
"Most of the venom is gone." Sirius says.
"I don't think he'll transform anymore." Remus reassures her.
"I need to-" She stops talking, she's so weak… "All the venom must leave him-"
"You'll kill yourself, Hermione." Sally says harshly. "You can't."
Hermione gulps. She really can't. "Is he going to be okay?" She sounds so scared.
"I think so." Sirius answers. "But we can't know for sure, this is…" He shakes his head while looking at the bite. "Very-"
"Unpredictable." Remus whispers, completing the phrase.
She takes a few steps closer to Harry. Her hands on his body. He feels like a human furnace. Then she leans and touches her forehead on his, crying.
"You'll be okay." She whispers to him. "I know you will."
She has no idea how long she stays there with him, but Molly comes to her, a comforting arm around her shoulders. Hermione hears her uttering a spell to clean her from all the dried blood that covers her hands and clothes.
"There's nothing else they can do now, let's take him upstairs to a bed, that way you can lie down with him, Hermione. What do you think, dear?" Molly asks.
She faintly nods and in a blur they move to relocate Harry. Molly hugs her and Hermione lets herself relax for a second. She knows her actions are not from someone who's only concerned about her subordinated Auror. It's crystal clear how she's feeling right now and she hopes they can cut her some slack. Let it go. Accept and move on. She doesn't think she can give them answers now.
Letting go of Molly and trying to stand on her own, she moves to the kitchen to drink some water and put her thoughts back together. Leaning on the counter she tries understanding what happened. The werewolf was Greyback, for sure. How did I let this happen? She blinks many times. She had no idea about this, or else she would never suggest for them to go there on a full moon-
Hermione sighs, closing her eyes. She wants to go to the room and be with Harry, but she's still shaking, feeling extremely drained-
"Hermione." She opens her eyes and turns to look at Sally.
"Hey." Her voice is barely there.
Sally makes a face and comes to her. She looks worried. "He's going to be fine." She says, reassuring Hermione.
She gulps, nodding, crying a bit. Sally seems unsure of what to do next and Hermione has no idea if-
She blinks many times, surprised, when Sally hugs her again, tightly. Hermione returns the gesture, needing this comfort. "I'm sorry about everything that happened between us, Hermione. I just- I understand what you share with Harry, I see what being with your soulmate means everyday in my house with my parents and…" Sally pulls back, sighing, Hermione is in shock, "I'll be here if you need to talk, okay?"
Hermione cries harder. "Sal, I'm so sorry about-"
"Don't worry about it. Not now." Sally says gently.
"I-" She takes a deep breath. "Thank you. For this."
Sally shrugs, her expression soft. "Go be with him." And with a last squeeze on her arm, Sally leaves her.
Hermione holds herself for a second before going to the bedroom upstairs. And just when she starts moving, she hears Harry screaming. A deep and painful scream. Her heart quickens and she runs upstairs, not thinking about the consequences of this little action.
Everyone is there and they give her space when she arrives. Harry is trashing on the bed, sweating and screaming. Hermione can see the gash on his forearm moving as if there's something there and she panics.
"DO SOMETHING!"
Sirius and Remus are performing spells, Molly and Arthur too, but nothing seems to be working. Hermione grits her teeth. She feels useless. And he's clearly in a lot of pain- it makes her heart hurt, she can't deal with the sight of him in this situation.
"COME ON!" She yells, moving closer, trying to-
"…mione." Harry whispers. A plea between his screams.
And she goes to him, her left hand taking his. Hermione is drained but she doesn't care. At all. She tries soothing him in a way.
Gasping, she marvels at the bright light coming out of their joined hands again. To keep herself together, Hermione lies down by his side.
And just wishing for him to heal, she succumbs again.
This time when she opens her eyes, she sees Harry first. He's sleeping. As close to a sleep as he can manage in this situation. She's on her side, her left hand holding his, the steady sensation it gives her is very welcoming, probably the only thing keeping her centered now. Hermione moves a bit and makes a face, her whole body is aching.
Harry squeezes her hand and she looks up at him, hopeful. But he still has his eyes closed-
"So." She turns sharply at the voice.
Sirius is sitting on a chair close to the bed, his eyes like slits while he watches them. Hermione gulps. She knows she needs to talk with Sirius, she needs to explain. She has no idea how deep his loyalty to her father is and there's no way of coming out of this room without getting a Vow from him and everybody else. They can't talk about this.
"How are you feeling?" He asks when she releases Harry's hand and flinches at the loss of contact.
"I feel…" Her voice is hoarse, her throat dry. Sirius motions to a jug of water on the nightstand and Hermione drinks it without a second thought. "Numb."
Sirius snorts a little chuckle. "Expected."
She clears her throat. "How's Harry?" She asks in a low voice, looking at Harry again.
"He's… stable. I mean, he still has a fever because the venom is not totally gone." Hermione sighs. She knew she had to keep trying- "But I think he'll be fine, Hermione. Really. He's strong and powerful, we healed him with all the right spells and I'm sure he can eliminate this on his own now."
She gulps, nodding. "Yeah. He'll do it." She believes in it with all her soul. "I'll try to help as much as I can." She whispers.
"Are you going to tell me what is this that you share or…?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Sirius, I have no idea… but it can help him, that's the only thing that matters."
He clicks his tongue. "Okay. Well… can you explain to me how this happened?"
She looks down, biting her lower lip. They saved Harry's life. An explanation is the least she owes them. She knows that they won't force her to say something she doesn't want to…
"I-" She feels torn. Hermione has no idea if she should trust him, if it's safe- "Harry and I are investigating the Potters' Persecution." She observes Sirius' reaction. Or better yet, the lack of. He doesn't seem surprised at all. Is it possible that Harry already shared this with him? "I've always been curious about it and Harry also wanted to investigate, there was no reason why we shouldn't do it together. Tonight we were trying to find former Auror Greyback."
Sirius makes a sound. "And you encountered a werewolf."
"I think Greyback himself was the werewolf, Sirius." She shakes her head. "It all happened insanely fast and I'm sorry for bringing you all into this, but you know that Harry would be dead now if I'd taken him to St. Mungo's."
"I know. It's fine, Hermione." He takes a moment to share a look with her, a heavy one. "You're doing something stupidly dangerous. Does your father know?"
"No. And I want to keep things that way. Please, no one can tell him-"
He raises a hand. "Don't worry. I won't. And I'm sure the others won't either." He looks down and she's sure he's considering something, "Would it be totally crazy if I asked for the location? For me and Remus to check it out?" Hermione presses her lips together. "I know it's not safe and such, but… as you know Remus is also a werewolf and I'm sure going there might be… good."
Hermione gulps. "By the way, I- I wasn't even thinking properly, I mean it's a full moon and I sent Remus a Patronus and he was here, indeed, not transformed-"
"He-" Sirius interrupts her but stops, pondering. "Three years ago, Remus found a potion capable of really downsizing most of the side effects. He only transforms twice a year now."
She widens her eyes. "Wow. That's… amazing." She opens a tiny smile. "I'm glad."
"May I ask how you knew?"
"Well… It was by chance." She shrugs. "In one of the many gatherings at the Manor, four years ago. I was coming out of my room, and many don't know it, but the door is concealed by a shelf. Remus was talking with Nymphadora right in front of it about the symptoms and how he wished things were different." She makes a face, kinda of apologizing. "I wasn't eavesdropping, but..." She trails.
Sirius snorts. "Fair enough." He points out. "You… never told your father, did you?"
"Of course not. And I never will. Don't worry."
"Do you think he knows? About Remus?"
Hermione thinks for a second. "Maybe. But... most of the times I feel that my father is too focused on himself to notice anything else."
"Indeed." He nods. "So, the location?"
"Yeah, sure."
And as she proceeds to tell him exactly where Greyback lives, Hermione feels weaker and weaker. She barely notices when he stands from the chair and leaves the room. As soon as she's alone with Harry, she moves closer to him on the bed and takes his hand again, closing her eyes.
"Hermione." She feels a hand on her shoulder and she recognizes the voice. "Wake up." It's Ron.
She opens her eyes in one go. Her left hand is holding Harry's, glowing. He's asleep and she blinks many times, assessing her surroundings, remembering what happened-
"What time is it?" She asks Ron, releasing Harry's hand and sitting on the bed. Ron takes a step back, pocketing his hands. He's wearing the Auror uniform.
"We still have forty minutes until we need to be at the Ministry." He says in a low voice, gentle. "I knew you would want someone to wake you."
She breathes relieved. Thank fuck Ron spared a thought on this.
"I need to get ready." She says, her voice weak.
"But, I can take care of things." He says, putting a hand on her shoulder again, stopping her from standing. "You're too weak. You need to rest."
She shakes her head. "I can't, Ron. I need to be there-"
"Hermione-"
"My father needs to see me there!" She says through gritted teeth, exhausted. Mentally, physically, emotionally. "I can leave after an hour, but I need to at least show up, Ron." She gulps, her eyes on his.
Ron makes a face, but he nods, understanding. "Okay. Do you need help?"
She tries standing, but her legs give in and she sits back on the bed. Harry moves, mumbling something. Her name. She closes her eyes. She wants to stay there with him, but she's been giving her magic and strength for the whole night, Hermione is completely drained.
"I- I need a favor." She says in a low voice, angry with herself. Angry with the situation. Angry with the fact that she's this fragile because of the binding obedience.
"Yeah, sure, anything." Ron says, smiling a bit. She smiles back at him.
"There's a potion in my house… it will give me enough energy to at least go to work. Could you fetch it for me?"
He raises an eyebrow, "Where is it?"
"Living room, just inside the fourth cabinet, the one on the top right, you know?" He nods. "It's purple."
Squeezing her shoulder gently, Ron apparates in a blink and she sighs.
Harry mumbles again, this time she doesn't understand what he's saying, but there's a pain inside her chest that- the scar looks awful and the scratches on his sides also look terrible, almost with an infected appearance. She massages her temple. She needs to stay with him, help him overcome this-
Ron pops back in front of her and she gulps when he extends the purple potion for her. He also brought her uniform. Hermione downs the potion and takes a deep breath.
It will take her a minute to feel the effects of this potion she brewed with Chiara. They discovered a new formula when trying a few different things. This potion is much stronger and with it comes a much heavier backlash when the effects are over. That's mostly why she's been avoiding it, but now, there's nowhere to run. She needs to feel capable.
"Hermione." She looks at Ron. "Sirius told me everything-"
"Did he go to the house with Remus?"
Ron nods. "Yes. Greyback disappeared."
"Fuck." She complains, fed up.
"Are you going to share, or…" He trails, waiting.
"I don't want you involved in this, Ron. It's already extremely messy. And if you have questions, I'm sure your mother can fill you in." She doesn't want to sound so bitchy.
Already feeling better, Hermione moves her wrist and changes herself magically, donning the uniform. She stands from the bed and takes a step to Ron. Then she hugs him. He hugs her back, squeezing tightly and kissing her head.
"I'm here if you need me, okay?" He says and she nods, still holding on to him, still needing this comfort. "You shouldn't keep everything to yourself." Hermione takes a step back, brushing away a tear. "It's not healthy, Hermione, to bottle up all your emotions." He says very carefully, as if afraid she might bolt from the room. "I have no idea why you have so many strong potions sitting there in your house and I can't force you to tell me, but, please, don't let it get to a point when it'll be… too late."
She opens a tiny smile. "I have everything under control, Ron. But thank you, for being my friend."
He winks. "Always."
They share another hug and she groans. "Well, we have to go." She looks at Harry one more time. "Do you think he'll recover? Fully?" She asks with a wavering voice, afraid.
"He will. I'm sure. Are you coming back later?"
She nods. "I'm only staying there for an hour then I'm coming back to stay with him."
"Good. I think he'll heal even faster with you here."
Hermione bites her lower lip, looking up at Ron, feeling shy, bare. Since yesterday she's wearing her heart on her sleeve and the notion is a bit frightening, but… Ron is not fazed or surprised by it. If anything he's looking at her even more fondly.
And to realize that she doesn't need to be so strong, sure and fierce all the time is… nice. To comprehend that showing some vulnerability isn't the end of the world…
Nodding to Ron, she apparates to the Ministry with him, already missing Harry.
March 29th, 2006
Ministry of Magic
"So?" Her father asks again.
She knows she's in shock. It never crossed her mind, not even once, that she would be the one with the power to decide Harry's fate. It was ludicrous to think that her father would give her this responsibility and-
Hermione gulps. Then she narrows her eyes and wets her lips, clutching Harry's wand. Chiara is fidgeting by her side.
It's clear that this is a test. He wants to be sure of her loyalty.
If she fails in her father's eyes, he'll throw her inside the cell with Harry. Hermione has no doubt of it. She glances at Matteo. It doesn't look like he's aware of what her father is doing.
"I think he shouldn't be released." She says finally, her whole soul and body rejecting the idea or the notion that Harry might die because of her next words.
Her father opens a small smile. "See, D'Angelo? My Head Auror doesn't think your grandson should walk free. And why is that, Hermione?"
She can tell neither Matteo or Chiara are breathing, both extremely tense. She's grateful they're playing along, showing no other reaction.
She clicks her tongue and try settling into a character. She needs to be as nonchalant as possible. So, she starts walking inside the office, slowly.
"Well, father, Auror D'Angelo is very powerful." She emphasizes the word, looking at her father, wanting him to hear loud and clear that Harry is indeed very powerful, indeed a wizard capable of amazing achievements. A wizard that will end his tyrannic rule. "And he's a foreigner, Matteo D'Angelo's grandson." She points to Matteo, now playing with Harry's wand in her hand, moving it between her fingers, acting calmly. "These are solid reasons why he's a threat to our Society. We clearly know that the D'Angelos are against our rule… am I wrong, Ministro?"
Matteo looks at her, his face very stoic, "I can't say you're wrong, Head Riddle." He answers in a grave voice. Hermione hears Chiara clearing her throat and her eyes go to the other woman.
"Harry D'Angelo even helped his ex-fiancee when she was here meddling with our Ministry." Chiara frowns. Hermione sustains her gaze. "Harry D'Angelo is a threat, father, of course, because of many reasons."
Her father nods. "He'll be executed then, the murder of Lucius Malfoy-"
"But he's not the one who killed Lucius Malfoy." Hermione interrupts her father holding his gaze. It's satisfying seeing the surprise in his eyes, the complete shock. And then the utter rage.
"What are you talking about, Hermione? You got the confession yourself-"
She throws Harry's wand on the center table. It lands with a loud clink. Ops, sorry, Harry. "Harry D'Angelo never casted the killing curse with his wand." She states, crossing her arms.
Her father widens his eyes, opening his mouth. Maybe this is the most surprised she ever saw him. Hermione has to hold back a smile.
"And we know that what killed Lucius was an Avada."
There's a moment of silence. Her father is looking at the wand and Matteo takes the cue to share a glance with Hermione. She can see the discreet smile on the corner of his mouth.
Then, her father clears his throat and scoffs, "So? He used someone else's wand."
"Well, could be." Hermione agrees. "But we all had our wands in our hands when the lights came back on that night, father, I know because I was there and I think everyone else inside would say the same thing. Lucius' wand was tucked in his inner pocket, I doubt D'Angelo used Lucius' and had the time to put it back on its holster." She takes a breath. "But if you want to, we can investigate, take all the wands and examine one by one. No exceptions."
Her father sets his jaw. Hermione knows he doesn't want his own wand under examination. "That's unnecessary, D'Angelo confessed under Veritaserum." She can tell that he's very frustrated now.
"He did, yeah. But he also stated that Lucius Malfoy was trying to kill him on that night." She uses the information from the fake interrogation. "You know we only say what we believe true under Veritaserum, father. I don't think Lucius Malfoy tried killing Auror D'Angelo that night, because... why would he? And I'm sure D'Angelo didn't kill Lucius. It was all a misunderstanding."
Oh, this has to work. It has to.
"Auror D'Angelo never stated which spell he used." Hermione says after a silence, she's sure her father is trying to find a way to go through with Harry's execution. And she needs to risk everything now, because if it works, then Harry will have a real, true, clean slate. "I'm sure that if we all go downstairs to his cell and ask if he used the killing curse he'll say he didn't."
Chiara widens her eyes, even Matteo seems surprised. But Hermione knows it's the only way of convincing her father. It's the only thing she can do now. She feels cold inside, but sure that her plan won't fail. It can't fail.
But still, her father seems hesitant. It pisses her off. Weren't all the incriminating papers she gave Matteo enough for her father to let Harry go? How this didn't work? What if Harry had casted the Avada with his wand? Then what? What would she do to save him?
Too close.
"You need to check this, Riddle." Matteo finally says, his tone very firm. "Because if you don't and my grandson dies because of a misunderstanding," Matteo stands from the couch, straightening his back and looking at her father, "Don't you doubt for a second that I'll bring War to you. I'll burn this city and all your precious Purebloods to the ground."
Hermione feels a chill down her spine. Her father snorts, clenching his jaw, utterly furious.
And he takes his wand out.
Hermione widens her eyes, her own hand moving to her wand, preparing herself to-
But her father only sends out a Patronus.
"When the Pettigrews arrive we'll go downstairs to talk with D'Angelo. After all, Peter Pettigrew states that he saw your grandson killing Lucius."
Hermione gulps. Fuck.
March 12th, 2006
Grimmauld
Harry woke this afternoon. Hermione never felt more relief in her life. She was afraid he would stay in a perpetual state of delirious fever. Even if now he went back to it, at least he had a moment of clarity-
And he called her love.
It's painful. Hearing it and knowing that even after she rejected his proposal and ended things with him, for Harry it's almost like it never happened. The intensity of his feelings are still the same.
But she knows that after her betrayal it will be over for good.
Cracking her knuckles and all her body with a stretch, she tries assessing how she's feeling.
Like shit.
Maybe she needs to take another purple potion…
She shouldn't, but- Hermione has been sharing so much energy and magic with Harry for the past days that it feels like their emotions are a bit tangled. Mostly because there's a need inside her to go after Greyback that Hermione is sure didn't exist before.
She gulps, glancing at Harry. He's better. Just by looking at him she can see that he's healthier, even if from time to time the fever takes over more violently, it's less frequent now. But the sight of the scar still brings bile to her mouth. After all the spells and healing, it still looks like it'll never close properly.
With one last squeeze on his hand, Hermione decides she needs a moment. She needs to go home for a bit, take a long bath and… maybe go out for a hunt.
A werewolf hunt.
She leaves a note to the others. They've all been very understanding of her actions and Hermione is very grateful. Ginny visited yesterday and they had a long talk about all kinds of things while her friend kindly ignored how tightly Hermione was squeezing Harry's hand or how on the edge she was with every little sound he made.
She leans to kiss Harry's forehead. He's not so hot anymore, which brings a small smile of relief to her face.
And then, she apparates to her house.
Crookshanks comes to her and she feels bad about the way she's abandoning her cat. "Hey, Crook." She fetches him from the floor and the orange ball meows to her, probably angry. Hermione pets him while she walks to her bedroom, slowly, feeling very sore. If it wasn't for the purple potion she would be-
"Dead." She states to herself with certainty.
Checking if Crookshanks has everything he needs, Hermione prepares a nice bath with some healing properties and energizing salts.
It's bliss.
She magically accio the purple potion while still in the bathtub. She ponders if she should take another one… there's no way of facing Greyback without it. And she'll find him. No matter what it takes. She has her questions about the Persecution and- He deserves to die for what he did to Harry.
She blinks many times. Surprised. This rage inside her is… foreigner. Not hers. Not entirely.
She closes her fingers around the vial.
It's Harry's.
This desire to kill Greyback. This need to ask questions about the Persecution. If she still had any doubts that they have a magical bond she doesn't have anymore. The constant contact and connection they're sharing… she's giving herself to him, to heal, and he's unconsciously giving his emotions to her.
Hermione accio the coin that has a double with Chiara and sends her a message:
We need to meet
Not caring if Chiara can or not, Hermione links her location to the coin and waits, leaning her head back on the tub and closing her eyes-
In an instant Chiara is there with her arms crossed and an expression of confusion on her face.
"Did you call me here to watch you bathe? Because I need to say, as hot as you are, I'm into men, sorry."
Inevitably Hermione snorts a chuckle. "Sit." She says and Chiara sighs, sitting.
"I can see you look like a hippogriff stomped all over you. Charming."
"Well, thanks." Hermione says ironically. "Look, thing is, a few days ago me and Harry went to Greyback's house to investigate, ask about the Persecution."
Chiara perks up on the little stool. "And?"
Hermione sighs. "And everything went to shit because Greyback is actually a werewolf." She closes her eyes. "Harry got bitten."
Chiara has a violent reaction, standing. "WHAT? Dio mio! Where is he? Hermione! Is he okay-"
"He's fine!" She says fast. Chiara grunts, annoyed.
"You could have begun with that! Shit." She sits back down and crosses her legs, leaning forward. "Fuck. What happened?"
"The werewolf ambushed us." She says in a low voice. "I'm afraid he recognized Harry's scent. His blood. His heritage."
"Probably." Chiara says. "They have a ridiculous sense of smell and hearing and all that bullshit."
"Yeah. We didn't get a chance to interrogate Greyback and… Harry is still suffering from the bite, recovering at Sirius and Eleonora's. I'm helping him the best I can, lending my magic and-"
"Whoa." Chiara raises a hand. "Stop right there. Back up a second. You're lending your magic? How the fuck? And why? Do you want to get yourself killed? I mean, you're barely able to stand on your own-"
"He would be dead if I hadn't done it." Hermione says and Chiara shuts her mouth, making a face. Sighing, she continues, "I share a magical bond with Harry."
Chiara frowns. "What?" Then she snorts. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised. Soulmates and all that shit. Are you pregnant with his child too? Because now would be-"
"Because of this bond," Hermione cuts Chiara, her heart aching, "that I have no idea how it even exists, I'm able to heal him faster, share my magic, pour into him my vital force and bring him back… I've already done it once."
Chiara sighs. "But you're too weak, Hermione. You can't keep doing this. You really think that pushing yourself to this breaking point so constantly won't have any consequences in the future?"
"I know it'll. But what do you want me to do? Let Harry die? Let the infection take hold of him again and spread? Just stand there watching while he transforms?"
"Of course not!" Chiara groans. "I'm just worried that you'll kill yourself, cazzo."
Hermione tilts her head. "Aw. You like me." She opens a mocking smile.
"Shut up." Chiara rolls her eyes. "But he'll recover, right?"
"I think so. I'm hopeful. You should go see him… I don't know, send Ginny a Patronus saying you want to visit, she'll probably tell you what happened."
"Okay. I'll." Nodding, Chiara asks, "Why am I here, though?"
"How do you feel about going on a hunt?" Hermione raises an eyebrow. "I want to find Greyback. I want to interrogate him…" She sets her jaw.
"And you want to kill him." Chiara completes for her.
Hermione groans. "I know it's wrong, but I really want to cut him open for what he did to Harry."
"You need therapy."
They burst into a laugh, both knowing that Chiara is probably right.
"So, will you help me? I'm not sure I can go alone."
Chiara stands from the stool, sighing. "Of course I'll help you. But how do you plan to find this werewolf?" She crosses her arms… and her eyes land on the vial Hermione is holding under the water. "Hermione! Are you going to drink that?" Chiara points to the potion. "We know it's too strong, you-"
"I'll drink it. Spare your breath."
"Dio. You really are Harry's soulmate, just as stubborn as a-" Chiara stops herself, waving a hand and realizing she's wasting her time. "I'm just going back home to solve a few things. I can come back in two hours, is that good for you?"
Hermione nods. She'll take these hours to sleep, she desperately needs it.
With a final nod, Chiara is gone and Hermione stands, ending her bath and drying herself.
She'll find Greyback, no matter what it takes.
March 29th, 2006
Ministry of Magic
They wait in complete silence inside her father's office. Hermione glances at her watch, impatient. It's been twenty minutes since the Patronus was sent to Pettigrew.
Chiara looks at her, her eyes obviously asking how much longer these assholes can take to-
A knock sounds on the door. And in a second, Peter and Asmodeus walk inside. Hermione sets her jaw when Asmodeus comes to her side, his hand on her waist, his lips touching her cheek. Hermione squeezes her necklace's stone, trying to ignore the terrible sensation she gets every time he approaches her. Asmo thinks she did this to Harry for real and she can't show any kind of dubious emotion or else he'll know that she lied.
So, she opens a little smile to him.
"You called us, Minister?" Peter asks with that tone of total subordination mixed with adoration that Hermione hates so much she could slit his throat to never hear it again. She blinks at her own murderous thoughts, not quite understanding them but letting go.
"Indeed, it seems that we have a problem." Her father says, "I want to see your memory from the night of the Ball. You claim you saw D'Angelo killing Lucius, Peter. So, let's take a look at it."
And with two waves of his hand, a pensive reveals itself under his huge desk. For a moment no one moves, but then Peter nods and takes his wand to deposit the memory inside.
Hermione gulps before they all immerse themselves into it.
She was afraid the memory might ruin everything, but… reality is: Peter Pettigrew is a pathetic man.
It was impossible to see anything clearly.
Hermione had looked at her own memory of that night and hers was the same, darkness all around, the only light coming from the spells being casted.
Yes, they saw the green light hitting someone that was indeed Lucius, and Hermione was able to see a man lying there from where the light came, but it's impossible to affirm that it was Harry.
She's insanely relieved.
Her father doesn't seem pleased and Matteo D'Angelo has a small smile on his face.
And her father moves, motioning for the others to follow. The only thing he says is, "To the dungeons."
Hermione only presses her lips together.
Before leaving the office, she takes Harry's wand in one hand, and Asmodeus takes her other hand. She doesn't react as she follows them out. Matteo seems fed up with the situation and Peter is sneering at him and Chiara.
Her father only wants to solve this so he can move on with his day. He doesn't really care about Harry. He only cares about power, about what advantage this imprisonment might give him, but if it turns out to be a nuisance, he won't think twice about it.
And when they enter the elevator, she tries not shaking. If she does Asmo will feel it because their hands are still clasped. But her heart is beating so freaking fast- Hermione closes her eyes, focusing. This is it. If she turns the story around enough for them to believe it was a misunderstanding, Harry will walk free. But if it doesn't work-
She opens her eyes.
If it doesn't work she'll release hell. Harry won't die tonight. Not if she can stop it.
March 11th, 2006
Northern England
Greyback's house is empty.
Chiara lets out a frustrated sigh, crossing her arms and clearly asking Hermione what they're going to do now.
"There's a tracking spell that-" She begins.
"I know one. I'll do it." Chiara cuts her. "I just need something of his."
Hermione blinks a few times, surprised by the way Chiara is taking care of her by not letting her exert herself. And she watches while the other woman fetches a dirty t-shirt from the floor, making an ugly face and grunting in disgust.
She knows Chiara is highly trained and an excellent Auror, or else she wouldn't have asked her to come with, so, it's no shock when the tracking spell she performs works perfectly.
But both frown.
"It says he's just outside." Chiara whispers.
Hermione gulps, trying to get a glimpse of the glade through the window. There was no one outside when they apparated. "It can't be a trap." She says in a low voice. "He had no idea we were coming."
Chiara moves closer to her, and both stay silent for a second, thinking about their next move.
"We need to go check." Chiara says and Hermione nods, agreeing.
"At least it's not a full moon."
They share a look while they step outside into the night. Both with their wands ready, alert.
But there's no one there, no one where the spell is pointing to.
"This can't be right." Chiara whispers.
Hermione thinks the same, so, she takes a deep breath and utters a stupefy to the spot where the tracking spell is pointing.
And they hear a scream when the spell hits its target. It's indeed Greyback. He snarls to them when he lands further on the grass.
Both move fast, instinctively splitting and taking opposite sides, making it harder for Greyback to escape. Hermione can tell that the man is hurt when he starts running from them, heading to the trees, trying to hide again.
He surely heard them coming and charmed himself to hide in plain sight, which is smart, but only if no one is in fact looking for you.
She can feel the murderous rage inside her with each step she takes, the blood pumping in her veins, accelerating her heart and giving her some satisfaction for being the hunter now, not the prey.
And maybe the spell she casted on him days ago is what's making it harder for Greyback to move properly or apparate away, which is even more satisfying.
They're catching up to him and Hermione yells another spell, a binding one this time. But it hits a shield around Greyback, frustrating her. Chiara is also yelling a few spells, but most are being deflected.
Pressing her lips together, Hermione mentally calculates the speed Greyback is going - pretty damn fast because he's a fucking werewolf - and imagines where he will be in a few seconds-
It's madness but she apparates.
Right in front of him.
She acts fast, only perceiving his wide eyes before she punches his face and he crumbles down, yelling. She also screams, her hand hurting like a motherfucker because of the strong impact. And she takes a moment to feel the pain, her eyes on Greyback while she tries soothing her knuckles. They might be broken. But she doesn't care. Not right now.
"Are you fucking crazy?" Chiara yells, then apparates to them, shaking her head. Chiara utters a binding spell taking away Greyback's chances of running again. "Let me see." She's talking about Hermione's hand.
"It's fine." She says, her eyes still on Greyback. The man who almost killed Harry. The Auror who was there the night his parents were murdered. And it blinds her. The rage. "Crucio!"
The way Greyback contorts on the ground is-
Chiara utters a counter spell, stopping the torture, squeezing Hermione's shoulder right after. The man is panting on the floor, tears in his eyes, blood on his face.
Hermione blinks many times, snapping out of it, looking at Chiara and widening her eyes. The other woman only sighs, taking her hand and murmuring a healing spell on the broken knuckles.
"You need to chill." Chiara says harshly. "He's not going anywhere and we need him sane for the interrogation!"
Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath and nods. Then she hears Chiara uttering a levitation spell, walking away with Greyback in front of her.
Her emotions are all over the place. She knows it's because of how much she shared with Harry these days. She knows it's affecting her in many ways. But she also suspects that taking two vials of the purple potion in this short span is heightening her responses and compromising her judgment.
Because she needs to release the magic, she needs to-
Hermione screams and utters a spell to the sky. Then another.
She bites her lower lip, feeling better, more grounded. She considers it good enough to look at Greyback's ugly face without killing him. And she apparates to the house.
Chiara is watching Greyback - who she left there on the floor - with crossed arms. She's making a face.
"This is one ugly man." She says to Hermione and she can't help chuckling. "Better?" Chiara asks her with a side glance.
"Yes."
They nod at each other and Hermione focus on Greyback, crouching in front of his face. The man tries hiding from her, mumbling a few things and crawling away on the floor. She broke his nose with the punch.
"Hey, now, I just wanna talk." She says in a low voice, the murderous rage still latent, but controlled. She moves her wrist to freeze Greyback in place, making it impossible for him to move anything other than his mouth and eyes. The man looks scared. Good. Hermione opens a creepy smile. "I wanna ask you a few things, Greyback." She didn't even bother changing her face… as if knowing that this man won't survive the night.
"I have nothing to say-"
"Oh, you do." Hermione cuts him, moving closer. She can feel Chiara's presence behind her, watching. "I have simple questions… about the Potters' Persecution."
He widens his eyes, biting down on his tongue. Hermione raises an eyebrow and looks back at Chiara. The other woman shrugs.
"I think he knows a few things, indeed." Chiara says, "He's not very good at hiding his reaction."
"I think so too." Hermione states, looking back at him and standing tall. "Do you remember what happened on that Halloween night?" She loses her patient after a whole minute of silence, and in an incredible fast movement she kicks his middle. Chiara makes a sound, clicking her tongue but not stopping her when she kicks Greyback again. "Answer me." Her voice is very low. "I don't have the time or patient to wait for you to be willing, Greyback. Don't fool yourself, I won't be so nice next time." And she moves her foot to his groin. "So?"
"I know nothing!" He blurts out. "Please! I- there's only a blank. An infinite blank."
Hermione squints. This was expected. There's no doubt that her father erased all their memories. And she can't help wondering what the hell happened that night for him to take such drastic measures with esteemed and Pureblood Aurors.
It intrigues her even more. There's something huge behind all of this.
"Well, let's try another question, then." She says and lifts the spell which stopped his movements. The man makes a face and tries distancing himself again, but he stops after a ridiculous attempt. "Are you hurt?" She asks, interested. Greyback groans and moves to his side. Hermione can see that he has a cut, so deep and black- it's certainly infected. "Look at that. I guess you're dying." He agrees with a mumble. "Can't heal yourself?" She knows it's the spell she threw at him on that night. It wasn't a killing curse, but it was a certainty of pain, a cut that never closes if not treated properly.
"I've tried everything and nothing works." He says, defeated.
Hermione wants to smile. He'll die. Rot inside this house.
"Is there any information about the Persecution that you can give us?" She asks. "I'll heal you in exchange of it."
Chiara tilts her head, questioning Hermione but not interfering.
"You will?" He asks suspiciously. "How can I be sure?"
"You can't. You need to trust me." She winks at the man, and to show some mercy, she levitates him to a chair.
He exhales, relieved, but with an expression of pain. "I- I don't know or remember much. I just followed orders." Hermione crosses her arms. Chiara takes a step forward to listen. "Minister Riddle already knew where the Potters were, so we didn't understand very well what we were doing." He shrugs. "But we never dared asking questions." He looks at Hermione with a strange face. "The only thing I know is that Riddle was after something the Potters had."
"What was it?"
"Power."
Hermione frowns.
Chiara sighs, saying, "You're wasting our time, ugly face. Tom Riddle was already Minister and had all the power he could ask for. How an average wizard and a Muggleborn could have a power he wanted?"
"I don't know." The man shrugs. "But he said it to me one night. He said he was going to change everything with such power."
Hermione gulps, trying to control her anxiousness. Fuck. What kind of power? "Magical power?"
"I think so. Is there another kind?" Greyback asks. "I don't remember what happened on that night, but in my opinion, Riddle never got what he wanted. It certainly doesn't look like he changed everything, does it?"
Hermione grits her teeth. This is pointless. Greyback doesn't remember what happened and he has no idea what he's talking about. She's not even sure if he's telling the truth. And she wants to go back to Harry. She puts up a silencing bubble around her and Chiara.
"I think I'll read his mind." She says.
"Don't." Chiara says. "You need your strength to help Harry. Let me do it."
She nods and watches while Chiara concentrates to invade Greyback's mind. The man screams loudly and Hermione can't help thinking about what he just said. Could it be that the Potters knew a different kind of magic? Something no one ever heard of? And how her father knew about this? How and why James Potter and Lily Evans got his attention? What have they done?
Chiara ends the spell and shares a look with Hermione. "What a fucked up mind. Dio." She shakes her body, shivering. "I saw what happened with Harry." She whispers. Hermione presses her lips together. "But, well, there's nothing more about the Persecution other than what he told us."
Hermione nods. "I figured, but still, thank you for doing this."
Chiara opens a tiny smile. "Are you going to heal him?" She moves her head to Greyback.
"There's no way of healing him." She feels the murderous rage inside her. All the fury and contempt. "Let him rot."
Chiara makes a face of surprise. "For real?"
"For real." Hermione confirms. "A man like him doesn't deserve to live." She whispers.
"I'm all about justice, but this is just… to let him rot, I don't know."
"The best I can do is put him out of his misery." She wets her lips. Greyback is watching them, he has no idea what they're talking about because of the bubble. Chiara only nods once to Hermione. "Avada Kedrava."
Hermione feels nothing when the green light hits the man. It's not the first time she uses this curse either. Chiara looks down and moves out of the house, into the glade.
She looks back at Greyback, at his lifeless face. And she decides she won't leave him there. When Sirius and Remus came back on that night they weren't able to find him because Greyback had been surely taken by the river…
She sighs and uses a levitation spell to bring him out, and when she finally stops by Chiara's side, Hermione throws the body into the river, letting nature take care of it.
They stay in silence for minutes. Just watching the flowing stream.
"You need to tell Harry what Greyback said." Hermione whispers.
"You tell him yourself. You were the one who wanted to come back and the one who interrogated Greyback. Not to mention that you were investigating together-"
"I can't. I won't." Hermione says firmly. "My time with Harry is over, Chiara. We both know that."
Chiara makes a sound, not agreeing. "What do you want me to say, Hermione? Hey, Harry, I went to Greyback's and well, he told me a few interesting things and such, then I killed him and threw him into a river? I mean, come on, Riddle."
"Why not?" She asks sincerely.
"Because!" Chiara turns to look at her, shaking her head. "This is yours. Your thing. Yours and Harry's. The investigation. What happened here with the werewolf. All the informations. It won't make sense to him if I just show up-"
"He just needs to know-"
"Then, tell him yourself!" Chiara says again.
Hermione shakes her head. "Please, Chiara." She begs, her voice low. "It's torture being around him after the way I broke things between us. And I'm tired of pretending, tired of acting as if I don't care. If I tell him that I came back here and- he'll know that nothing changed for me. If he tries winning me back I don't think I have the strength to resist and I need to. Fuck, I need to." She gulps, Chiara is paying attention. "It won't be long now. The betrayal. I'll just wait for him to get better, recover fully." She feels some tears coming to her eyes, and also Chiara's hand on her arm in a soothing way. "I can't take it anymore. The binding obedience is… I feel like I'll go mad." And she cries a bit.
This time, the way Chiara gently hugs her is not a surprise. Hermione is glad they became friends.
"Okay, fine. When the right time comes, I'll tell him." Chiara says and Hermione moves from their hug with a smile, wiping her tears.
"I appreciate it."
"Okay, crazy girl. Time for you to go back to him. Keep in touch."
Hermione nods and soon Chiara is gone.
And she pulls herself back together before apparating to Grimmauld.
March 29th, 2006
Ministry of Magic
The elevator halts and Hermione takes a discreet deep breath, praying for all entities that Harry understands what's happening, begging that he doesn't say he casted an Avada Kedrava. She suggested this because she knows that he's smart enough, but-
There's no way of being sure.
Her legs feel stiff while she takes the steps forward. Her throat is dry.
And then, her father, that's in front of them, stops and casts a spell.
She takes another step and sees Harry. He's up, leaning on the bars - he probably heard all the commotion.
Hermione tries not minding when his eyes land on Chiara. The sheer relief in his expression. The adoration.
The jealousy flares inside her, but she squashes it down.
And then he sees his grandfather. Harry presses his lips together, some tears rolling from his eyes. Hermione has to stop breathing to stand still.
He shares a nod with his grandfather, and his eyes go to her father and Peter, the ones in the front. Hate. Harry hates them.
And just to completely shatter her, the exact same look is directed to her and Asmodeus. But it doesn't go unnoticed how his eyes scan the way they're holding hands. Harry looks down fast, blinking and raising his head to Chiara and Matteo again.
Chiara takes a step forward, wanting to go to Harry, but an invisible wall stops her. Probably the spell her father casted.
"No one approaches the prisoner." Tom Riddle says. Chiara snorts, crossing her arms and making a face.
Hermione releases Asmodeus' hand and walks to stand by her father's side. She's holding Harry's wand and his eyes go to it.
"I guess this is not just a visit." Harry says at last, his eyes again on Matteo.
"How are you, Harry?" Matteo D'Angelo asks.
But before Harry can answer, her father cuts in, "We're not here to assess how he's feeling-"
"I will talk to my grandson, Riddle." Matteo's voice is high and deep. It booms inside the hall. "I don't care the reason why we're here." And Hermione tries not showing satisfaction at the way her father kinda of… recoils. Harry is also watching the interaction with keen eyes. "So, how are you? Did they treat you well?" He asks Harry again.
And Harry looks at her. "Yeah. I've seen better days, but they treated me well, nonnino. I'm physically fine." She can hear the way he emphasizes the word 'physically'. "But I'm curious to know what's this all about." Harry narrows his eyes.
Hermione beats her father to it, she needs to be the one to tell him this. "We're here because there are some doubts about what happened on that night, D'Angelo." Harry locks his eyes on hers, it's so intense Hermione can almost feel the way he's trying to read her mind.
"Doubts?" He asks in a low voice. Hermione moves his wand on purpose, tucking it inside her front pocket, sure that he's watching her movements. She puts her hand on the wand, tapping a finger on it, her eyes widening a bit to him. Harry is an Auror. He used to be Head. He knows all criminals' wands are investigated to check the spells. And it's very subtle but she sees the way he understands, a small movement on the corner of his left eye.
Thank fuck.
"We want to know what spell you casted that night. The one that you killed Lucius Malfoy with."
Harry moves back, not leaning on the bars anymore. And he frowns, crossing his arms. Hermione knows he's buying time, thinking what to say. He opens his mouth but Peter intervenes.
"What nonsense is this?" He's asking the Minister. Harry closes his mouth, his eyes on Hermione. "I saw him doing it! He confessed under Veritaserum!" Pettigrew is yelling and Hermione raises one eyebrow. Harry tilts his head.
"Not now, Peter. We're here to get this answer from D'Angelo." Her father says harshly. "So, which spell did you use?"
Harry wets his lips.
"I used a repelling curse." Hermione feels all the tension leaving her body at once. It's like she's weightless in that moment. "And I'm sure it hit him hard and he must have landed on something or hit the ground so strongly that-" Harry stops, shaking his head.
"LIAR!" Peter reacts, pointing a finger at Harry.
Hermione turns sharply. "Why, Peter?"
"We all know that Lucius died because of the killing curse!"
Harry makes a show of it, widening his eyes and gasping, moving to the bars. Look at that, maybe you're the better actor now. She can't help feeling some excitement.
"What?" Harry asks loudly. "A killing curse? Then I-" And he looks at Riddle with wide eyes.
Her father has his own eyes like slits and she knows this means he's thinking hard about what just happened.
And suddenly everyone is talking, voices overlapping. In the craziness of the moment is impossible to understand a thing.
But Hermione is silent.
And she can feel that Harry is looking at her.
She dares looking back at him.
There's… something there. He knows she just saved him.
She gulps. He sets his jaw. And very slowly and discreetly, not resisting it, Hermione winks. She can see the tiny smile on the corner of his mouth.
March 24th, 2006
Hermione's house
She already has postponed this long enough.
Hermione is sitting at her couch and staring at the vial filled with Veritaserum. If she waits another day, and then another, she's not sure she'll go through with it. Harry is fine now, totally healed from the bite while she is weaker and weaker, needing more than anything to break free from the binding obedience.
The whole week while he was unconscious on that bed in Grimmauld was a nightmare and Hermione doesn't want to live anything like it ever again, so, she knows that the only way of saving him is… completely breaking him. Completely breaking them.
She sighs, wiping away some tears, thinking about the day Harry woke and left Grimmauld. She went there to check on him and he was already gone. Eleonora told her that Harry was fine, good as new. And that was enough. She knew she couldn't go after him. She knew that if she visited him in his flat, just the two of them and after-
Hermione closes her eyes. For the past week she's been thinking about what to do, how to do it, when to do it. It was excruciating to avoid him inside the Ministry, and it hurt more than anything else realizing that Harry, for the first time, was actually ignoring her. For real.
Not that it's a bad thing.
She wouldn't be able to go through with this betrayal if they were fine. She can't imagine a scenery where they would be kissing one moment and she would be giving him Veritaserum on the other.
Gulping and squeezing the stone of her necklace, Hermione tries calming down. She's shaking. Just the thought of asking him to come to her house and-
"Fuck."
It's too hard. She never felt like this.
Not to mention that for the past week Asmo has been after her like a madman. He keeps asking when it's happening, when D'Angelo is finally going to jail, when she'll betray him, if she'll really do it. And yesterday she told Asmo it was going to happen. He's waiting for her Patronus.
Hermione moves her legs up and down in a frenetic rhythm, biting her lower lip and crying. His words when she gave him his wand back- Harry wants to fight for them. He wants to be with her.
She takes the coin she shares with Chiara and sends a message:
I'm about to do it
Hermione can't believe this is happening. If she knew how to go against the binding obedience… if she knew another way- but there isn't one. There's nothing else she can do.
Chiara answers:
Are you sure?
She gulps.
Yes
And she stands from the couch, heading to the kitchen. Hermione knows Harry drinks a lot of water, every time he was at her house he would walk around with a glass, always filling it magically.
Shaking, she takes a glass from the cabinet and holds herself on the counter. The coin turns cold:
You know I don't agree
Hermione makes a face and sends:
I need your support
Please
A bit blinded by her own tears, Hermione pours three drops of Veritaserum in the glass she'll offer Harry. This quantity is more than enough for one question.
Fine
Be strong
We'll manage the mess later
She opens a nervous smile at Chiara's words.
Thank you
Closing her eyes, she pockets the coin and takes her wand, playing with it between her fingers. She has no idea what's going to happen after this night, but she hopes that in a matter of days she'll be unlocking Harry's cell and giving him his freedom back.
And finally, taking a deep breath, she sends out a Patronus to him.
"I love you, Harry. And I'm sorry." She whispers, going back to the couch and waiting.
It doesn't take him long to apparate inside.
March 29th, 2006
Ministry of Magic
It all worked. Everything she planned. What she hoped would happen.
She gulps.
Harry is still looking at her.
And if she had the chance, she would jump him right now. Wraps her legs around him and kiss him senseless-
Asmodeus' hand on her waist breaks the moment. And he leans to speak into her ear, so low that only her can hear it.
"This wasn't your doing, was it, my darling?" He says and Hermione turns to look into his eyes, frowning.
Harry is watching them.
"Of course not." She says in a low voice, the conversation very private.
Asmodeus smiles to her, leaning again. "Good. I thought for a second there that you wanted to save his ass."
And she knows what she needs to do. But she would rather not.
Hermione chuckles wholeheartedly because she's happy Harry will walk free, but she pretends it's because of what Asmodeus suggested. Shaking her head, she cups his cheek and kisses him. It's awful. But Harry can't think that she's on his side and Asmo needs to believe that she wants to try with him, so-
She pulls back and smiles again. Asmodeus smiles back to her.
"YOU HAVE TO SET HIM FREE!" It's Chiara, spiraling.
Hermione's attention go to her and she widens her eyes when her father practically snarls. "You don't tell me what to do!" He points a finger at Chiara and in a blink Hermione is moving, putting herself between both.
"ENOUGH!" She yells, done. This needs to end. Right now. "It's clear what happened!" They stop talking to listen to her. "D'Angelo believed he had killed Lucius on that night but in the end he must have hurt an intruder. And an intruder was probably the responsible for Lucius' death."
"But I saw him! I saw it! You saw it!" Peter exclaims, Hermione presses her lips together.
"What?" Matteo D'Angelo says, "Use an unreliable memory as proof to send my grandson to death? Are you crazy? I don't know how you do things here, Riddle, but we all know that memories aren't used as proof for a reason! They are filled with emotions and perceptions! And Pettigrew's is clearly a joke! We could barely see a thing!"
Peter is about to say something else but her father just raises a hand, silencing everyone.
"Hermione," He turns to her and she waits, "I'm very fed up with this whole thing, it's consuming my precious time, so, after I give you this order, I don't want to be bothered again with the same problem, am I clear?" He asks her, but Peter and Asmodeus also nod. "Good. Now, it's obvious this was all a misunderstanding. So, you can set Auror D'Angelo free and clear his file of accusations." She tries not smiling.
"Father, are you sure?" Her tone is so even she's glad.
"Yes. I'm sorry you had your work here wasted." He shrugs. And turns to look at Harry, who's watching with shock. He really thought he was going to die. "You're free to go, but you no longer work here, D'Angelo. I expect you to leave with your family as soon as possible."
And with that, Tom Riddle walks away. Not even a glance at Matteo or anyone else. Asmodeus opens his mouth, not believing. And Peter curses, going after her father.
Then, Harry laughs. A laugh so sincere and joyful that it brings a smile to her face. But he's looking at Chiara, who's beaming at him.
"This is bullshit." Asmodeus murmurs and also leaves, walking away firmly.
"Well, Head Riddle, what are you waiting for? I think you can free my grandson now." Matteo gives her a pointed look and Hermione narrows her eyes, very intrigued by this man. If Matteo D'Angelo thinks she's not going to question him about all the informations she gave for him to use to set Harry free… he's very mistaken, then.
And she turns to Harry. He's looking at her now.
With a flick of her wand, the cell door opens.
Harry takes a deep breath.
Their eyes locked.
And he steps out.
Into freedom.
END OF HERMIONE'S INTERLUDE