Chapter 28: The Grangers
Dentists are used to foul smells. Be it blood, saliva, bits of decomposed food trapped in between teeth, the resulting bacteria, fungi… It all adds up to particularly pungent combinations. However, they don't really deal with the smell of burnt flesh often. Daniel coughed violently into the crook of his elbow. His lungs were straining to breathe. How he managed to survive this attack was something he couldn't understand. It was as if he knew what those wooden sticks could do. He sighed. The young man and woman who attacked him could not be older than 25. If he hadn't been able to think fast and had he not already opened the gas, he wouldn't have been able to blow it up. His ears were ringing.
As a veteran, it wasn't the first time he had tinnitus, but it had been a while, and it was more annoying than he remembered. Wait. He was a veteran? When did he serve? Where? There were no pictures of him in a military or naval uniform in the photo albums. Anyhow, yet another mystery. Daniel had always known that life was the only thing that mattered; everything else could be replaced. Thank God his wife was still in the mental institution. Now, he needed to leave before the authorities got here and found some way to blame this on him. He had to get transportation first. That meant he would have to go to their house. He never called it home. It wasn't their hope. He had to get his wife out. His baby girl would certainly and easily devise a cleverer way to do this. Baby girl? Did he have a daughter? He thought he did, but at the same time, he thought he didn't. It made no sense.
Daniel had always been a logical person. He knew his mind wasn't right, but he also knew it wasn't wrong for the reasons they wanted him to believe that it was. Why couldn't he get rid of all the fog in his mind? It was maddening. His heart knew he had a daughter, but his mind kept refusing to recall her face or her name. Had someone taken her away? Had someone hurt her? Did the people who potentially took her to hurt him and Emma to make him forget? He had asked the pastor about witchcraft in the area. The man had laughed. At what Daniel was sure was an entirely unamused and partially murderous expression on his face, the pastor turned serious too. Apparently, there were Druids and Wiccans, mostly. None of those words reminded him of anything.
Why was he so sure that when those people pointed those wooden sticks at him, he had to fight for his life? The sticks were barely a bit bigger than pencils. But they could throw fire and invisible knives and make things explode by waving those sticks. If he hadn't thrown been able to catch them off guard by throwing the nitrous oxide-oxygen tank cubby at them and had they not thrown an explosive something or other at it, they would still be alive. Oh well. If you come looking for something you haven't lost, you are bound to find something you can't handle. Fuck them both… Except… Maybe they knew where his daughter was. Damn. I should have considered that before. But now I am positive I wasn't imagining things. Emma wasn't imagining things either.
They tried to brainwash him into believing he was insane, schizophrenic even. After a particularly harrowing session of electroshock 'therapy,' he had overheard someone in the mental institution say that the key was to agree with the doctors. If he pretended that he understood the flashes in his head were hallucinations, that he was a Wilkin, that there was no daughter, and he worked to "cure" them, the doctors would let him out. His wife had been "treated" more harshly than he was. She had narrowly escaped being sexually abused by other patients two times already, and a nurse touched her inappropriately.
Daniel had been beaten, electrocuted, and thrown in an ice bath more than once. Wolston Park Hospital* was a house of horrors more than a hospital. The building was old and disgusting, with no thought toward the comfort of its patients. There were some long-term residents that were absolutely deranged. That would be expected since this was an asylum, but some of them were criminals that had pleaded insanity. Fortunately for Daniel, right when they got to Australia, he and his wife had also agreed they needed to train. Train for what? They didn't know. Both shared a deep impending sense of doom. They felt they had to be ready to make a run for it.
Daniel was terrified of the condition he would find his wife in, but he had to come to their practice to get their emergency fund. For some reason, both he and Emma had agreed to have a perhaps unreasonably large emergency fund for a childless couple their age. Their feeling that they just felt they would have to up and leave at any point quite suddenly was unexplainable but very present in their minds every single day. Why did they have this irrational fear? They didn't know then. But they started keeping emergency bags in different locations. They had one in their office, one in each of their cars, one in a storage unit, and one in a local church they volunteered at. When the pastor asked them what it was for, as he found their request for secrecy very peculiar, they told him in confidence that they were in witness protection and, at some point, they could have to leave in a hurry.
Daniel managed to open the secret safe and get both the cash they had in there, the emergency credit card, his firearms, the passports, photo albums, and the spare keys to their cars. Emma's car was still at home. Daniel hailed a taxi and went to their house. He came inside using their spare key and found a mess in there. Outside, the house looked pristine. The inside was a different story. Broken furniture, their backup patient files were strewn around, and muddy footsteps led everywhere. He didn't stop to mourn the material losses; those who did this could be near still. He prayed that the car would be fine. As quickly and quietly as he could, he got to the garage and disable the mechanical door, so he could lift it without the engine making any sound.
The dentist was glad that they never allowed their gas tanks to be below half a tank full for security reasons. He opened the car door as quietly as he could manage, and as soon as he turned on the car, he put it in reverse and floored it. He would get to that hospital and get Emma out if he had to run over people, fences, or bloody walls. No one would stop him. Not this time. Emma knew to wait for him at midnight in their secret meetup spot. It took a lot of work to find a little dark corner by a window that the hospital patients and staff avoided. It was admittedly a disgustingly smelling corner… But it would have to do. As Daniel approached the hospital, he saw a strange group in cloaks running to hide in the dark behind some bushes. One of them seemed to be carrying a staff like Gandalf. Was this person a good stick person or another threat? No way to know. This was the side of the property where fewer people drove by.
Daniel decided to wait, so he parked and reclined his seat so that he could see them, but they couldn't see him. If they didn't leave soon, he would have to create a distraction, or if they came at him, run them over. True, they could throw fire or something worse, but his wife's BMW could get from O to 100 km per hour in 5.5 seconds. If he managed to set a distraction that lasted 3-4 seconds, he could make it past them and into the building. Once he had his wife, he didn't care if the car had no fixing as long as it got them out of the Hospital and far away enough where they could abandon the vehicle and get on public transportation to be (hopefully) surrounded by normal people so they could get to the airport and get the hell out of Australia.
[HOURS BEFORE]
Andromeda stared at her husband in complete shock for a good minute, her face pale and her mouth agape. Her husband held her hand gently, waiting for her to calm down a bit. She shook her head to clear her ideas and blinked.
"What do you mean found?"
Ted waved an envelope, "The letter I got states that Mrs. Wilkin, Mrs. Granger's cover name, is in a muggle mental institution… Mr. Wilkin was also a patient, but he recently got released."
"Released to whom?!" Andromeda asked, fearing the worst.
"They don't know. The records only say released. Apparently, the doctor in charge thought he was ready to leave the clinic," Ted replied.
"Are they okay? Is she still there? Do we know where he went?" Andromeda asked.
"She was still there when they got my letter. They have no idea where he went. He left a fake address on file," Ted replied in a concerned tone.
"When did you send the letter, Ted?"
"Four weeks ago."
"Bloody hell… Four weeks in wartime is a whole lifetime," Andi pulled her hair.
"I know. That's why I have no idea how to even say this to them. They will want my head," Ted grimaced.
"They won't be happy, but they are fair. You are the only one who managed to get any information on them. Let's go get Sirius and Remus."
Just as Jing was about to explain his idea to trick the enemy, Dobby came in with a note for Harry and Hermione. The elf delivered the note and vanished. Hermione opened it with her blood and gasped. Harry finished reading after her. The next minutes were a blur. Hermione was screaming incoherent things and crying. She fell to the floor and was having difficulty breathing. Jing asked Harry what happened, but he was focused on trying to calm his wife unsuccessfully. She was crying and howling like a wounded animal. All he could understand was the 'I killed my parents!' that she was repeating like a mantra in her mind.
"Go get me something to calm her down!"
Jing ran out toward the Infirmary.
Harry was holding Hermione against him as best as he could. Her sobs were so intense that her body and even his shook with each sob. Harry was terrified, thinking there was no coming back from this for Hermione. Ruki popped in as she felt her masters' hearts in severe pain. Queen Anord's message crumpled next to them. She took it and read it with apprehension.
Lord and Lady Potter,
I have been trying to find Mr. and Mrs. Granger for a while now. Magical Australia fell two weeks ago. Our entire branch didn't make it. I didn't want to worry you unnecessarily, but the goblins we sent to research discovered their practice was burned to the ground, and they found two bodies... There wasn't much left of them, and authorities could not ensure it was really them. I requested their ashes be brought here, but I cannot guarantee my request will be heard. They await you in the Potter vault. I am so sorry I cannot provide more clarity. The goblin nation in Ireland is under attack, and I must leave to help them fight. I am only writing this to you because this information was top secret, and if I am to die, you wouldn't learn about this until the war is over and my will is unsealed. I'm sorry for this hurried note; I must go. I am so sorry we couldn't do more for you, Hermione.
Anord
Loud bangs at the door went completely ignored by the heartbroken girl. Harry wouldn't move. Ruki was too shocked, running through what could be done to help her mistress.
"Whoever it is, go away! We are not in the mood!"
"Harry! Open the door! This is important!" Sirius kept banging on the door.
"My wife is more important!" Harry roared. Hermione was in a full-blown panic attack scratching herself.
"It's about her parents!" Sirius fell forward as Harry opened the door. He didn't hit the ground because Remus caught him and pulled him back up
Hermione, who was still crying against his chest, gasped and sat up.
"What do you mean? Did Anord write to you too?" Harry frowned.
"Anord?" Sirius asked. "What do you mean?"
"What does she have to do with anything?" Remus asked.
"Your parents were found, Hermione!" Ted blurted out.
"We know," Harry motioned for them to shut up, and with a small hand motion, Anord's note was caught by Ted, who read it in a rush.
"No, Harry! Hermione! I just got word back! I have been contacting muggle authorities in Australia for weeks. I figured since the Grangers are non-magical, I may have more luck looking there. I wrote to morgues, to hospitals, to police stations, to jails…"
Hermione looked up at that as she tried to breathe, "W-What are y-you s-saying?"
"Here, read it for yourself," Ted ran and handed her the letter.
Harry lifted his wife from the floor onto the sofa. "Ruki!"
"Yes, Master?" she approached him.
"Get me the General, Jing, and McGonagall!"
Ruki vanished, and she and Dobby popped back with the three, who had equally questioning expressions at the sudden whisking away.
"What happened?" McGonagall asked.
Jing handed Hermione a calming draught vial, and she drank it without a word.
"Hermione's parents! We have two conflicting pieces of intel," Harry summarized.
"Saying?" the General asked.
"The first note, from Anord, says they are possibly dead. Their practice was burned, and two bodies were found inside. There was no way to corroborate if the bodies are theirs. The second note, from a mental institution Ted contacted, says that Mr. Granger was released, and that Mrs. Granger is still a patient."
Jing nodded, "What do you need, Harry?"
"A team. Your best elements. In and out. If Mrs. Granger is still a patient, finding her should be easy. She may know where Mr. Granger is," Harry replied.
McGonagall sat and embraced Hermione, who was still crying, but a bit calmer.
"Of course. However, we have two other plans to set in motion and-"
"And nothing! Listen to me very carefully, General… Nothing at all matters more than this. The Grangers are priority one!" Harry replied.
"Yes, sir," the General nodded. "Give me fifteen minutes to talk to my people. I need a copy of the letter, an address, a couple of elves, two sets of potions and a healer."
"A healer?" Hermione asked while Ted wrote down the address, and McGonagall copied the note.
"If her mind is not right, having strangers kidnap her and take her far away may be too much for her brain," the general replied.
"Not if I am there-" Hermione began.
"Absolutely not," Harry interrupted
"They are my parents!" Hermione snapped.
"Australia is not safe! The goblin community was slaughtered!" Harry reminded her.
"I don't care! Nowhere is safe, and it is my fault that they are at such a risk!" Hermione spat back.
"Hermione, I don't want to hurt you, but… They don't remember you," McGonagall spoke softly.
"We don't know that," Hermione replied. "If my parents were in a mental institution, I must have screwed up the spell or something. Maybe they started remembering, and that drove them insane."
"General, is there any way we can have backup from the people you know?" Harry asked.
"It takes over 8 hours to get my people from China to Australia," General Xu replied. "Only Heads of State of Ministers would be given international portkeys that could travel so far away in one go."
"We don't have that kind of time. This letter took forever to arrive. Who knows if things are the same today as they were four weeks ago when Ted said he contacted them," Remus said. "A month of wartime is like a year's worth of normal time."
"That's very true. However, there are many of us. We have prepared for this. We are a well-oiled machine. We were supposed to go get the Longbottoms tonight. We can still do that. The elves have been briefed. Neville was convinced to stay here while Chyou, Tony, and Longwei help the elves. I have full confidence in my son's skills. I was going to be nearby, but I don't need to," Jing smiled confidently.
"I can go to Australia. However, even if we leave right now, it will take almost 20 hours to get there," the general paced.
"POTTER!" Draco ran into the room, holding a wooden box.
"What's wrong?" Harry turned, immediately tensing up.
"I got a reply!" Draco smiled.
"What?" Harry looked entirely out of the loop.
"Remember when you said you wanted to get into the dungeons undetected?"
Harry nodded, puzzled.
"Well, I had written to some people that I helped escape Malfoy Manor. One of them works with exotic magical animals and creatures. I told him about what you needed, and he just replied and sent this," Draco handed Harry the box with a giddy smile.
"What the hell is in here?"
"Open it!" Draco said excitedly, blissfully ignorant of the tense situation in the room.
Harry tried, but it wouldn't budge.
"You need to open it with your blood, Potter," Draco said in a tone that clearly questioned Harry's mental state.
Harry cut his palm open with the letter opener Hermione handed him. The lid to the wooden box popped open. There was another subdivision inside covered by a note.
Lord Potter,
Draco asked for my help. I would have helped you regardless. You are the only wizard worthy of this great honor. You have been chosen as a familiar by this creature's family. If it wasn't for Mr. Malfoy's help, I would have died in captivity. I am sorry for the information tortured out of me that allowed that terrorist to recruit the dementors and the giants.
I wouldn't have minded dying. I am old, and I have lived a great life, but he threatened my family. I truly hope this helps you defeat him or, at the very least, hurt him. In the second compartment, below your familiar, you will find one that I hope will give the Chang family some solace. Tell them I am sorry for their loss.
May you win soon,
Newt Scamander
"You helped Scamander?" Hermione blinked at the note and turned to Draco.
He shrugged and nodded. Draco moved toward Hermione when he noticed her red eyes and mouthed, "You okay?" Hermione shook her head. Draco held her hand and squeezed in support. He didn't know what was happening, but based on the people in the room, it had to be bad.
Harry lifted the second wooden division and found a large golden egg that was blackened with smoke.
"Is this-?" Harry began.
"A phoenix egg?" Hermione continued, a bit perplexed.
Remus and Sirius peered into the box, and so did McGonagall. They nodded slowly and took a few steps back.
"Harry, you must touch it. That way, it knows it is time to hatch," McGonagall advised.
Hermione held the box so Harry could place his hands on the egg. Harry hovered his hands and felt something akin to a magnetic pull on his core through his fingers. His hands wrapped around the egg, and it cracked. Beams of light went out of the cracks, blinding everyone in the room. Once the shell fell, a small featherless bird opened its eyes.
"Hello there," Harry smiled at the creature.
The creature spoke into Harry's mind, "Feed me magic, child."
Harry pushed his magic into the bird, which grew and covered in feathers little by little until it grew to the size of an adult phoenix. Instead of the usual scarlet red feathers, the bird had many orange, bronze, and even many golden feathers, especially on its tail. Tendrils of gold magical energy connected Harry and Hermione's heads with the bird's head. As the bird grew, Harry and Hermione's eyes went white with light. A beautiful song began to play softly in the background. Once the song stopped, the bird perched on Harry's shoulder.
"I was right to choose you, Harry Potter. Your soul is beautiful," the phoenix said, shaking its feathers. "So is yours, Hermione Potter."
The room went silent. No one had ever even heard of phoenixes speaking in human tongues. The bird looked around, searching for something or someone.
"Thank you for choosing us. What is your name?" Harry asked.
"You must name me," the bird replied, looking a bit annoyed at the question as Hedwig did when he asked her if she could find someone to deliver a letter.
"Are you a male or a female?" Harry asked. The bird stared down at Harry, and he could have sworn it frowned. "A female then. Of course," he corrected.
"Yes, a female," the bird confirmed.
"How about Ignis?" Harry asked.
"Fire… How original," the bird rolled its amber eyes.
"How about Adila?" Hermione asked.
"Righteous or fair… Interesting, but no."
"How about Dharma?" Luna's sweet voice came from the door.
"All seeing one," the bird bowed her head gracefully in Luna's direction. "If my familiar agrees, I like the name Dharma."
Harry nodded, "It's a beautiful name."
"It suits her," Luna replied to the bird and bowed back.
"Dharma, can you apparate anywhere in the world?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, as long as there is no magic preventing me to do so, but the further away it is, the more magic it draws out," Dharma replied after careful thought. Being imbued by such powerful magic and moving through her growth stages in such a rush was a bit dizzying.
"If there is, will you and whoever you carry get hurt?"
"No. We will bounce back to the original location, but the magic spent will not come back," Dharma replied.
"My parents are somewhere in Australia… Australia is an island many hours away. We have no way of getting there faster or safer than with you," Hermione said in a begging tone. "Elves would be too exhausted. It would take far too many poppings for them to get us there and their magic can only do so much."
"We have to avoid certain countries that are under Riddle's thumb and that of his minions," Harry frowned.
"Show me a map," Dharma spoke.
The general opened a world map and pointed, "Dharma, we are here," he signaled a small island near Puerto Rico. "You would need to get them here," he pointed at Australia.
"Hmm… That is way too far away. If I were older and I had been there before, I could do it in two jumps. As things are, I could do… maybe 5 jumps. It would take some hours for me to recharge… Maybe I could get two humans there in 6 hours," Dharma replied.
"That's better than 8 for your friends to get there, general, or the 20 that it would take us to get there otherwise."
"I will go to San Juan to call my friends on a landline. We need the backup in case shit hits the fan, as it often does. Remus, can you side apparate me?" the general asked.
"Immediately. Let's go," Remus grabbed the general, and they were gone.
"Jing," Harry handed her the letter and the box. "Here, this is for you from Newt Scamander."
Jing read the letter and opened the second compartment with his blood. Inside, a beautiful tiny crested winged serpent slept placidly. It was blue and turquoise with gorgeous, glistening, shade-shifting scales. He caressed the baby's head. It lifted its head, and a thread of gold magic wrapped around it and Jing's finger. He kissed the baby's head with misty eyes and placed the box in McGonagall's lap. The woman took the creature in her arms and started caressing it.
"Please take care of it, Minerva," Jing said. The professor nodded with a smile, Lord Chang turned to Harry, "I can go get the Grangers with my wife. We work well together. We know each other. Have our friends in the east provide backup. Give us two elves that are willing to join us, and we will do our best to bring them both home."
"Harry, no. It isn't right," Hermione stared at him and had a silent conversation with him. After a while, Harry nodded.
"As much as I appreciate the support, Jing, this is my family. Hermione wants to go, and I will go with her. You and your wife can come with us," Harry replied.
"I cannot bring the four of you at once," Dharma replied.
"If you take us somewhere closer, can you move the four of us?"
"No."
"Master, let us stronger elves move you halfway there. Then, Dharma can move you the rest of it," Ruki offered.
"Daiyu!" Jing took his wife's hand and pulled her closer. He had used an amulet to get her to come. He explained in hurried whispers to her. Logistics was her jam.
She paced for a bit while Harry calmed Hermione down a bit.
"Okay, so let's see," Daiyu tapped the map on the table. "Harry, Hermione, your cores can power elves. So, say that Ruki moves you from here to…"
Ruki jumped to see the map, "If the Navy officers move us from San Juan to Habana or to Cancun, I could pop them to Mexico City."
Daiyu nodded, "Maybe Omari and Murcus could help if the navy is not available, and once in Mexico City, Harry or Hermione can charge Ruki, that way she can move you once more to…"
"Sinaloa if I am fully recharged," Ruki nodded. "Then, after one of my masters' magics charges me, I would have to come back home."
"Dobby could pop them to Baja California…" Daiyu tapped her chin.
"Harry?" Fleur waddled into the library. "I heard what's going on. You need to get to Australia, yes?"
Harry nodded, "Yes, why?"
"Oh! A phoenix! She's beautiful!" Fleur exclaimed, noticing the bird when Harry turned toward her. The bird nodded at Fleur.
"Likewise," the bird replied, blinking coquettishly.
Fleur looked shocked at the bird speaking but flattered nonetheless, "Right… I have a large portkey that can take you halfway there, but you would have to procure another one as a replacement because it's a one-round trip configuration, and it's the only one I have."
"Seriously? Where would it take us?" Harry pulled her toward the map.
"From San Juan to French Polynesia, specifically Bora Bora," Fleur pointed. "My father is staying there now. Things are far too dangerous in France at the moment."
"That's great, Fleur! It's more than halfway there!" Harry smiled.
"You would need to get someone or something to move you to American Samoa, then to Fiji or New Caledonia, and then to Brisbane," Fleur pointed at the locations.
"I can take you from Bora Bora to New Caledonia," Dharma replied, looking at the map.
"Are you sure? Wouldn't that be too taxing?" Harry looked at Dharma with concern.
"No, your magic is mighty. I will be fine," Dharma dragged her head against Harry's ear with affection. Weirdly, the action tickled his heart more than his ear.
"Harry, the portkey is for 10 people. When you get back to Bora Bora, you need to go here," Fleur handed him a piece of paper and a police officer sort of baton that was the portkey.
"This baton is telescopic, so everyone can hold onto it. My father, Alain Delacour, will hand you another for you to come back to San Juan. He knows that if this one was used by anyone other than me, it was a dire emergency. Please hand him a note," Fleur summoned a scroll and paper.
Papa,
Je vais bien. Ne t'inquiète pas. Harry avait besoin du bâton. C'était une urgence. Je t'aime. Merci d'en fournir une autre. [I am well. Don't worry. Harry needed the baton. It was an emergency. I love you. Please provide another.]
Fleur
"Fleur, you have no idea what this means to me, to us," Hermione hugged her. "Thank you!"
"Ma chère, I know. Go to them. I hope you all come back quickly and safely with good news," Fleur squeezed her as much as her belly would allow.
"Harry," the general was brought back in by Remus.
"Yes?"
"My people can be there in five hours."
"How?"
"They were already going to Australia. International agencies are very concerned with the wave of considerable violence that they have seen in the country."
"Fuck. Okay, Daiyu, your recommendations?"
"If you and Hermione are going, Jing and I will be your bodyguards. Buddha knows that you will put the Grangers first, and someone needs to watch your back. Now, we need muscle. I suggest Bill and Dudley come with us."
"Dudley?"
"He's a muggle. He can blend in and help us in a bind. Give him the cloak if you are concerned for his safety," Daiyu shrugged.
"Fine. Ruki, please go ask him and if he agrees, bring him," Harry nodded. "Same for Bill."
Ruki vanished.
"He will go, for sure," Fleur smiled.
"Thank you," Hermione smiled back.
"Then, we are bringing Ruki and Dobby, unless-"
"No, I trust them implicitly. They are coming," Harry replied.
"We are coming with you," Sirius and Remus declared.
"No. You are not. I am not about to be at fault for another orphan or widow," Harry replied with a frown.
"I am sorry, pup. Did you hear that as a question?" Sirius placed his hands on his hips, clearly angry. "Because it wasn't. It was a statement."
Harry stared at both men, the closest people he had to a father on earth. They couldn't come. Australia… if the whole goblin nation had fallen… It was bad. Really bad. Bad as in there is no guarantee you will come back alive. He couldn't lose them. Harry began to feel panic welling up inside.
Hermione stood up, "Sirius, Remus, your priority needs to be the things you were already assigned to do..."
"What?" Remus blinked. That sounded like an order.
"You will help kidnap Neville's parents as we had agreed, Remus. Sirius, you must help Ted prepare Nev for a House Trial," Hermione reminded them. Harry thanked her in his mind, relief flooding his heart.
"Hermione, neither of those things are as important as protecting both of you and helping to get your parents back. We are not kids. We are experienced fighters. You are safer with us than without us," Remus replied with a frown.
"You are doing the things you were assigned in our last meeting, and that is final!" Hermione snapped, her hair floating in anger.
"Hermione!" Remus had never seen the girl speak that way to… anyone. It was an order.
Sirius whined, "Be reasonable!"
"Aren't you the ones that are always telling me I am Harry's boss, and therefore, I am everybody's boss?"
Both men nodded slowly. They knew the tell-tale signs that the girl was about to bite someone's head off, so they took a step back right in time.
"Then, for once in your bloody lives, do what you are fucking told, and don't make us waste time when we need to be preparing to leave!" Hermione yelled at them. "Every minute we are delayed, my parents can die! That's if they are not dead already! Don't make things harder for us!"
"Fine, but we don't like it!" Sirius replied, narrowing his eyes.
"THEN DON'T BLOODY LIKE IT!" Hermione vanished to change into her protective gear.
Harry approached the men and placed a hand on one of their shoulders, "She's going through a lot right now. Please don't take it to heart… Honestly, I don't want you to go either because I love you, and you two are the closest thing I have to a father, alright? Please help us with Neville's parents and trial, and we can discuss the Bellatrix situation if we come back."
The two friends shared a look and squeezed Harry harder than ever before, "When… Not if… When you come back, son. Don't you dare not come back; you hear?" Sirius said. "Both of you."
"We will do our best. Remus, please be careful."
"I will."
"What do you want me to think? He wasn't home, and it was a mess! Death Eaters were there for sure!"
"True, love, but if the Death Eaters killed those two people in the clinic, there would have been Morsmordres."
"Fuck."
Jing and Daiyu apparated to the agreed spot. "The safe was cleared. He must have taken their things, right?" Daiyu asked.
"That gives me hope. My parents kept money and their most important documents there. If my father has recovered some scattered memories somehow, I think he will try to break my mother out."
"If he will, and he is smart like you… He will take the least used entrance," Dharma mused.
"He is. He was a soldier, so he will do what a soldier would do," Hermione replied.
"I can help you with that," Jing applied silencing spells to his shoes and everyone else's.
Hermione put on the invisibility cloak. They had agreed with Andromeda that whether her parents were okay or had any memories that were all jumbled up, seeing her upfront could fracture their psyches. It would be best for them to see her in a controlled environment. That was the same reason they were all wearing masks.
"Master," Ruki said. "We found an area you can hide in."
"Back entrance. There is being some bushies that will cover yous," Dobby added.
Bill apparated with a green-looking Dudley, "We found these in the government office, Hermione."
Harry took a large, rolled paper. It was the blueprint for the building. "This is genius, Dobby!"
The elves popped them into the area, and they ran for cover. As they waited, they noticed a midnight blue SUV parked nearby. Harry and Hermione were going over the blueprint with the Changs, and out of nowhere, a tree across the street exploded. Dudley and Bill immediately covered Harry and Hermione with their bodies as the Changs ran towards the explosion, hoping to find and eliminate Death Eaters. Dharma flew after them as well as the fire from the explosion lit up the dry, tall grass, and the blue SUV came at the entrance at full speed. If it hadn't been for Bill's werewolf speed and strength that somehow managed to grab Harry and Dudley, who was holding Hermione snugly, and threw them out of the way, they would have been run over.
"That was my dad! Harry! Go!"
Harry summoned his broom from Hermione's endless bag and took off as fast as the broom would go trying to reach Mr. Granger. This was probably not a good idea, but they hadn't had enough time to plan this.
[MINUTES BEFORE]
Daniel looked at his tactical watch. He couldn't keep waiting. He crouched, and using the cover his wife's car provided, he went under a fence and ran while keeping his head down. There was a tree there that would be just fine. He placed one of the three grenades he had purchased on the black market. He felt he would need them all for the hospital, but there weren't a lot of options right now. He took the pin out and thanked his lucky stars that he was a great pitcher. He threw the grenade and got inside the destructive ball landed in the intersection of two thick branches. While the explosion occurred, she got into the car through the passenger side. The dry tall grass around the tree caught on fire immediately.
A couple of the sketchy people that were hiding ran to the explosion. That's a different kind of crazy, Daniel thought. He turned the car on and floored it. Those who didn't run to the explosion barely had any time to move out of the way. He didn't see a medium-sized bird fly toward the fire as well. He could have sworn he saw something he recognized, but he had no time to dwell on that. Once he hit his goal, orderlies, nurses, and doctors, as well as security personnel, would be after him and his wife, not to mention those sketchy people and the police that would most definitely be called because of the explosion. He was so glad for German engines. The car was flying even with the sandy, dusty terrain.
Suddenly, a face with bright emerald eyes behind a mask was by Danien's window… The person was flying on a broom. What the actual hell? Not only was it a broom, but it could move as fast as his car.
"Mr. Wilkin, slow down. I am here to help you."
"Who are you?" he yelled as he tried to focus on driving.
"My name is Harry Potter. I am here with someone who cares about you and your wife. Let us help you get her out!" Harry yelled. He had to do an inverse Wronski feint to avoid hitting a branch which would have killed him for sure. Harry Potter dead by a tree was so not a good cover story. Harry pushed the broom to catch up to the speeding car.
"Why? What's in it for you?"
Tell him I exist, Hermione exclaimed in his mind.
"Nothing! Fuck! I… I know your daughter, sir! Please, I want to get you somewhere safe with her!" Harry replied.
Daniel turned to face Harry and almost crashed against a boulder, "My daughter is real!?"
"Yes, she is. Please let us help you!" Harry replied, maneuvering to avoid yet more trees.
"Where is she? What's her name? They told us it was all in our mind!"
Harry struggled with all he had heard about mind magic, but he replied, "Hermione, sir. Hermione Granger."
Daniel would have replied, but he had almost reached his destination and had to floor the brake. A bit of his wife's bushy hair could be seen inside the window. It was the only window without security rails. It was small, but Emma had lost so much weight they were sure she would fit through it.
"Stand back, Emma!" Daniel ran to the small window with a baseball bat.
"No, Mr. Granger! Let me," Harry opened the nearby door lock with his staff.
"You are one of them! Stay away from us!" Daniel pointed a gun at Harry.
"Sir, you don't want to do that! Hermione has one of these too!" Harry motioned at the staff.
"My daughter is a witch?" Daniel gasped.
Harry nodded.
Emma came outside after struggling to push the rusty metal door out of the frame. Harry was shocked. The woman was covered in bruises and scrapes. Her hair was disheveled. Her hospital gown was dirty and had tears in it. She was wearing no shoes. She looked younger than she was, frail, and very afraid. Her husband hugged her against his back to protect her from Harry.
"Her… Hermione?" Emma stammered, frowning in confusion.
"Yes, Mrs. Granger. Hermione is your daughter. I am sorry to dump this on you, but you must come with me. I can take you to her," Harry pleaded, making two pipes burst to slow people from reaching where they were.
Dobby and Ruki popped into the building and opened all the locked doors so that the staff would have trouble moving around.
"How can we trust you?" Daniel asked.
Tell them, Hermione's voice screamed in his head. "I am Harry Potter. I am your daughter's best friend and… well… her b-boyfriend."
Something told him that saying he was her husband would not end well.
"Her what?!" Daniel exclaimed, outraged.
Harry could hear personnel running toward them, "I know, Mr. Granger, please. I am sorry. We don't have time. We will explain soon. Come with me."
"You can't move both of us on that! It's a deathtrap!"
"Daniel, our things!" Emma reminded him as she took off his jacket so she could wear it.
Harry summoned the bag and the weapons still left in the car, and Mr. Granger grabbed them, suspicious. Hurried steps were coming closer. Bill and Dudley appeared and ran inside. Some patients that had escaped were rushing toward the back door, trying to escape. They could trample the Grangers.
"How about this? I will teleport you away from here, toward the nice opening you did on the fence. You can point your gun at me the whole time, okay? Magic isn't faster than a gun," Harry moved his staff, and a wall appeared inside the building's hallway, making those who were closer to them crash against it painfully.
Emma stepped forward from behind her husband. She grabbed Harry's face and pulled him closer, staring deeply. "His eyes are so green emeralds wish they could be that green…" Her voice was a bit like a robot's.
Harry blinked, confused. "Sorry?"
"She said that about your eyes," Emma turned her head a bit to an odd angle. Somehow, she felt she could trust this young man. Even if the mask was a bit scary. "I knew she was real, our daughter… And she was also right… Take us to our girl now, please."
Harry smiled with relief, "Hold onto me. Mr. Granger, the offer stands."
Daniel grabbed Harry's offered arm and placed his gun against Harry's side. While Harry knew he had offered, it was very disturbing to feel the cold barrel against him.
"You will feel like you are hooked through your navel. Keep your knees soft as we land, and don't worry if you throw up. Please don't shoot me by accident, sir," Harry grimaced apologetically as the Grangers looked at him with fear. With a pop, they were gone.
Jing and Daiyu were ready to leave. They put the fire under control with Dharma's help. People were running outside the hospital. They were about to rush there when Harry landed with both Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Mrs. Granger turned to throw up right away.
Daniel, scared of the other strange people, grabbed Harry by the neck, with the speed and force of the army vet that he was, and placed his gun against his temple. "Nobody move, or I will blow his brains out!"
"Mr. Granger, please calm down!" Daiyu raised her hands, as did her husband.
Dobby and Ruki popped in with Dudley and Bill. Ruki was ready to evaporate Daniel when she saw the gun. Her and Dobby's hands were covered in elven fire. Daniel pointed the gun at them.
"Mr. Granger, please. They are our friends. They are here to help. Don't hurt them!" Harry begged as he struggled to breathe.
"Don't call me that! I am Wilkins! Right, Emma? At least… I think I am," Daniel looked around, clearly distressed, the gun now aimed at Harry again.
"Daddy! Don't!" Hermione begged before she could stop herself. Dudley's hand came to cover her mouth, but it was too late. They had been warned that her face or her voice could do a lot of harm in her parents' current state.
Daniel grimaced as a piercing shrieking sound split his head in a massive migraine. He dropped the gun, which was caught mid-air by Bill, and fell to his knees.
"Daniel!" Emma grabbed him, and strange wrinkly creatures (Aliens? She wondered. They looked like smaller ETs) helped her hold him up.
"We have to go now!" Jing exclaimed as police sirens started to approach.
Daiyu pulled out the batton. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, hold on tightly to this. Keep your knees soft."
"What?! Where are we going?!"
"Far away!"
Patients ran out around them, but they were gone before any of the fleeing patients could hold onto the group.
In Bora Bora, Alain paced as he drank slow sips of his cognac. They should already be back. What if-? No, Alain. Think positive thoughts, as his daughter would say. William was really brave to be doing this. While he admired the young man's courage, he wasn't comfortable with his son-in-law leaving his very pregnant wife alone to help Harry Potter. It wasn't that Alain didn't see the need to do this. He did. Hermione was a sweet girl, and his daughter liked her a lot. People thought that the Delacours had been happy to marry their daughter to William Weasley. They really weren't.
He was a good man, but he was no longer just a man. Alain wasn't a prejudiced man, but no father aspires to marry his daughter into that situation. She would forever spend one week away from her husband. During that week, he could be hurt or killed by other lycanthropes, and she wouldn't be able to do anything. They were also concerned that the baby would potentially inherit Bill's genes. His daughter was convinced that William would never hurt her, not even when it was a full moon. He just became extra protective, according to her. Alain couldn't help but fear that his daughter would eventually be infected. That would be unfortunate but survivable for most. However, his Fleur was part veela. The veela half of her blood was essentially incompatible with werewolves. Her body would attack itself to try to purge the foreign contaminant. That was what concerned them most about the baby.
Fleur, however, had made up her mind, and when she did that, it was as good as chiseling her words in stone. There was no taking it back. She wouldn't change her mind. She had told Alain point-blank: either he gave her away at her wedding, or she swore she would never speak to him again. His unfortunate choice of words the last time they spoke granted him the silent treatment. He had extended an invitation for her to come alone. The large capacity portkey was for her to use just in an emergency. Now that Lord Potter had activated it, it was one less opportunity for her firstborn to flee. Gabrielle was still furious at him for what he had said to Bill… He needed to do better.
When he was about to go check his instruments to see whether the portkey had been destroyed, a jumble of heads and limbs landed on the beach with grunts and groans of pain.
"Are you okay?" Alain asked in his heavy accent.
Harry coughed up sand, "Yes. Thank you for this. House Potter owes you handsomely."
Daiyu helped the Grangers up and handed them a nausea remedy that they only took after she drank her own dose. Dudley took his like a shot of tequila. He really hated magical travel. Even with the medicine. He needed to sit down.
Hermione scrambled to get up and hugged Alain for all he was worth. "Merci beaucoup d'avoir fait ça !" [Thank you so much for doing this!]
"De rien, ma chère. Here are the new portkeys. I have included a couple more," Alain handed them a pouch.
"That's extraordinarily kind of you!" Jing exclaimed, knowing the paperwork nightmare that would probably be for the Minister.
Bill fidgeted but said nothing. He drank his own nausea potion before he said or did something sarcastic as a response to that remark.
"In these times… it's the bare minimum, Lord Chang," Alain smiled. "Lord Potter, it would relieve me so much if my daughter could have her baby here. She refuses to leave. She's as stubborn as her maman. Can you please talk to her?"
"Of course. I will do my best," Harry nodded.
Alain turned to Bill, "William... I… I know what she said, but… Tell her she can bring all the Weasleys. Tell her I respect her choices and that you are most welcome to join us. We made… accommodations for you," Alain said awkwardly. "For that time of the month. You would be safe here."
"I will relay your message, sir," Bill looked very surprised. He was expecting for the man to lecture him on what a disappointment he was yet again. "As Head of House Weasley, I thank you for your offer."
"William… I am so sorry for your loss, son," Alain opened his arms, and Bill hugged him tightly, trying not to cry. "You can call me papa, if you want."
"Harry, we have to go," Hermione urged him as she saw how angry her mother looked and that her father seemed to be in significant pain.
"This will take you to San Juan… The landing spot is an abandoned building," Alain explained.
"Perfect. Thank you."
"Wait!" Fleur's mother, Sophie, ran out in a robe. "S'il vous plaît, apportez ceci à ma fille." She handed Hermione a box and applied some protection and stabilization spells to it.
"Macarons?" Hermione asked. The woman nodded. "She's been craving these for days."
While Harry, Bill, and Hermione talked to Fleur's parents, Daiyu spoke to the Grangers rapidly.
"Daniel and Emma, right?"
"Yes," Emma replied.
"My name is Daiyu Chang. My husband's name is Jing."
"What is this place? Why are you here?" Daniel asked.
"This is Bora Bora. But we are not staying here. The people who burnt your practice and burglarized your home are part of a terrorist group that wants to kill Harry Potter."
"Do you have something for headaches?" Daniel asked, holding his head with his hands.
"Yes, but I can't give it to you, Daniel," Daiyu looked apologetic.
"Whyever not?"
"Listen, both of you were put through a lot. Your mind has been too abused. I cannot give you just any medication. It may do more harm than good. We have doctors where we are going," Daiyu replied.
"Why did you only come to find us now?" Emma replied with a severe frown.
"What?"
"We were there for months. We were tortured, electrocuted, beaten, and abused. They burnt our practice and tried to kill us. If you are the good guys of witches and our daughter is your leader's girlfriend… Why weren't we a priority?" Emma asked.
"Emma… Harry and Hermione dropped everything to come to rescue you as soon as you were found!"
"You have sticks that can throw fire and cut from afar, but you couldn't find us?" Daniel asked through his throbbing pain. "Allow me to doubt your words as you clearly doubt my intelligence."
Daiyu had no answer to that, "We will explain everything, Daniel. When you hear us, you will understand."
"Understand? Perhaps… Agree? Extremely unlikely… Forgive? Never. She had no right to do this to us," Emma stared daggers at the masked figure that she knew was her daughter.
Daiyu grimaced, "Emma… You are entitled to your opinion and your feelings about this. But let me tell you this… Hermione made the ultimate sacrifice because she thought you would be safer. She wanted to spare you the pain of remembering you had a daughter in case she didn't make it. After all, people say you don't miss what you never had… Her death is still a possibility. Any of us could be killed during any mission. "
"We were her parents, and she just shipped us away without a care for what we wanted! Our memories are a mess right now, but I am positive that we would have never left her behind while we ran to safety!" Emma snapped.
"I am an army veteran. I don't do cower and run! And I most certainly don't leave people behind!" Daniel added.
"I understand... But I think you don't have context. Let me give you some. My daughter Chyou, who is about your daughter's age… She was kidnapped by the terrorists. She was raped. She was beaten. Hermione risked her life to get her and another girl out of one of the most dangerous places in England," Chyou had never clarified this to her parents. "Their school was destroyed. Their best friend betrayed them and sold them to the terrorists. It was only thanks to Dobby, the house elf who found them, that they are still alive."
"Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Dobby approached them slowly, "When I is finding thems… They is bony and frail. They is eating stale chips and making a can of beans last as long as is possible with magics. They were sick and exhausted. They is sleeping for days when I got them somewhere safe. Mistress Hermione has suffered great agony not knowing if you is okay. She is already hatings herself… please don't be hurting her more."
Emma's frown lessened at that, but Daniel's got deeper.
"Are you guys okay?" Dudley asked.
"We are well enough," Daniel replied, still rubbing his temples.
"Everyone, we need to go," Harry approached them with an umbrella. "This is the new teleportation device. Please hold onto it."
In a flash, they were gone.
In Puerto Rico, Dobby took the Changs back to the island. Ruki held her hands out to the Grangers, who took them while glaring at their daughter and her boyfriend. Harry pulled Hermione close. He could feel all her panic, regret, anxiety, and sadness at her parents' reactions.
"We will get through this together. They need time to come to terms with what happened. We need to be honest with them, love. Tell them everything about the war, the casualties, the risk, the bond, the elves, everything," Harry whispered in her ear.
Hermione nodded and sighed. "Please help me. I can't control my explosiveness, and I mean… they are like me. My mom is like me, but my father… is worse. His anger is quiet like yours, which makes it terrifying."
"I will be in your mind the whole time. You can do this. They love you. You love them. They are alive, and the healers will help them get better," Harry reassured her.
Hermione took a deep breath. She wiped away her tears. She had a lot to be grateful for. They apparated to the island, hoping that the other missions went well too.
A/N #1: Thank you for reading! I tried to keep the post cliffhanger wait short. Apparently, many people are just finding me and my stories this month. I started writing this story in late 2021, and it feels like a lifetime ago. Welcome! It warms my heart that anyone takes the time to read my plot bunnies and to follow or favorite any of them or me as an author. When I started posting here, I really thought no one would ever read them, or if they did read them, I feared that they would hate them. I had stopped writing as a hobby for many years… I felt no one would like my style. When I was a university student, I had someone call my writing boring and predictable. There's nothing new under the sun, right? How unpredictable can a story ever truly be? Maybe there's a plot twist, but even then, keen-eyed readers will probably be able to sense it coming.
I was younger back then. I don't think I ever wrote about that detail here, but I started the university when I was 16, so any mean comments felt like the end of the world. I felt horrible about it and developed a big insecurity. I never stopped writing. I just never shared it again. When you are an English major and a translator, to be told that you are bad at language and communication (stories), meaning your bread and butter is crushing… Or so I thought, but then, my mother died, and I knew the real meaning of crushed and devastated. I have been functionally depressed for years. I know my mother would not have wanted me to lock myself up and never share my ideas again. So, I started to do this as a cathartic exercise to work through very bad years of my grief. That is not to say that the pain is any easier now, just less raw. She was my everything, and now that I have perspective on a truly terrible event in life, everything else seems less horrible than you would have thought otherwise. When you survived the worst scenario, when the worst day of your life is already in your past, few things impress, scare, or hurt you. Losing my lab Luna last year made me relive the whole process again, but it's different. Pet parents will understand what I mean.
Knowing that I have made you chuckle, laugh, snort, or even cry (sorry about that)... makes me feel like my ideas are not being thrown into the wind in a vacuum and that maybe there is a point to all the time I have spent writing these. Seeing familiar usernames pop up repeatedly in my notifications makes my day. You are still here! It makes me feel grateful that anyone sees any merit in my work. I have always been very shy about showing my writing to people. I think it's a vulnerable space, and sometimes there will be people who try to attack the writers of FF personally just because we didn't do something the way they would prefer. Sometimes it is a lot, emotionally, the messages we can get or scathing reviews on bad days, but then I see someone's super sweet comment, and I think it's worth it. Some of you have left reviews with questions about things that will be revealed eventually. Please bear with me. We are past the 240k word mark. I hope you are safe and healthy wherever you are. -Lux-
A/N #2: *Wolston Park Hospital in Wacol, Brisbane, was a real place with really horrible things happening there. If you want to read more, google: As Urban Explorers Probe Rotting Wolston Park Hospital, Victims Continue to Cry for Justice. Here is an excerpt: "Until its closure in 2001, the Wolston Park Hospital was the most notorious mental asylum in the country. Patients who survived or escaped from the institution spoke of how they were sexually abused, tortured, electroshocked, and administered with drugs that are now illegal. They described how young women barely in their teens were sexually assaulted by other patients or the warders. Surviving victims carried with them the horrific experience they had during their stay in the asylum. They have to live through non-stop nightmares where they hear the shouts of abused children or women whose babies were aborted."