Petunia was hounding Madam Pomfrey about the whereabouts of her nephew, who should have been in her care by now. Mrs. Weasley had also decided to follow them, but was not as vocal as she usually was.

Hermione used her impressively shrill aunt as a distraction to look around the matron at her professor. The older wizard looked a right mess, his hair chopped to bits, his magical eye was on the stand next to his bed. She knew that he was fine, she just wanted to see him for herself, more so since she could not see her other professor.

Madam Pomfrey was doing the best she could to answer Petunia, but the thin muggle woman was quite waspish with her words.

" – above all! As his caretaker it is astounding to a muggle such as myself that you don't have a spell as simple as find him for a school full of children who are known to disappear at a drop of a hat! In this castle no less! How would you find a missing eleven year old on their first day here!? Send a search party!? Shouldn't you have tracking spells of the sort on them at least!? Like in their ties or the buttons on their shirts!?"

Molly was blushing at the accusations considering that she was a Hogwarts Alumni herself and she was aware of them shortcomings of magic. As a mother she was more than aware of the mischievous nature of curious children out on an 'adventure'. She had felt as though she had lost all but 3 of her children at some point. Percy, who was such a well-behaved child; Ronnie, who held onto her skirt until he was 10; and Ginny, whom she tried not to let leave her sight unless she was with her brothers or at school. To not use simple tracking spells on the children as Petunia was suggesting made them seem… stupid for not having thought so beforehand. The redheaded witch was embarrassed that a muggle was making more sense than how most muggles appeared.

Albus came in at that moment with Harry behind him. All heads swiveled as they entered with a large black dog.

"Harry! Oh, Harry!" Molly let out a muffled scream as she started to run towards the boy even as Petunia looked at her incredulously. Thankfully Headmaster Dumbledore stepped between them.

"Molly, please listen to me for a moment. Harry has been through a terrible ordeal tonight and just spent the moment reliving it for me. He needs sleep, peace, and quite. If he would like you all to stay, you may do so. But do not question him until he is ready to answer, certainly not tonight. Miss Granger, about twenty minutes after Harry goes to sleep would you please join me in my office?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione answered quietly, as Molly nodded before she rounded and hissed at her sons that Harry needed quiet. Even though neither son were even speaking.

"Headmaster, if I may ask what –" Madam Pomfrey started.

"Ah, this dog will be remaining with Harry for a while. Don't worry, I assure you he is extremely well trained," his eyes twinkled as he answered the school healer.

"Harry, I'll be back to see you after I've met with Fudge. In the meantime I would like you to remain here until I've spoken with the school. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, you are welcome to stay the evening with Harry in a private area of the Hospital Wing, usually reserved for staff."

The Dursleys nodded in response. With that, he left.

Harry got into a bed that the matron had prepared for him, and his family and friends surrounded it with care. He had never before heard Aunt Petunia yell for him, it had always been for Dudley, it was embarrassing… but it was also nice. Of course Madam Pomfrey had nothing to do with it, but she was asking important questions… questions he knew Hermione must have asked when she first started Hogwarts, if not before. Knowing his sister she probably found the answer in her favorite book too, Hogwarts, A History.

The matron came bustling back from her office, with a small bottle of a purple potion and a goblet. Hermione recognized it as a dreamless sleep draught and was nervous, knowing that it was an addictive substance.

"You'll need to drink all of this, Harry," she said, "It's a potion for dreamless sleep."

Harry took the goblet as instructed and started drinking it, he fell asleep before drinking all of it. The matron sighed and helped him finish the potion with the help of her magic. It wasn't often that she had to give the potion to a student, but rarely did they finish the potion on their own. Something she was glad for since it meant they hadn't had previous experience with it. Others had of course, but even they only had it prescribed once or twice to them.

She rarely gave it out, but she remembered when she did on a near daily basis during the first war. She hoped she wouldn't have to again anytime soon. Hope that would be dismissed as soon as it began.

Hermione held her brothers hand as he drifted off to sleep, and she pet his hair, trying to tame the untamable even in his sleep. She smiled as his hair shot back up after she tried to flatten it. At least there was one thing that wouldn't change about him.

Vernon got up and started to speak to the matron about their sleeping arrangements as Petunia and Mrs. Weasley fussed needlessly with the bedding around him.

Out of the corner of her eye Hermione saw a water beetle with an interesting marking that looked like glasses. It was sitting innocently on the windowsill, and the window was cracked just so. Hermione conjured a small glass jar and cast a silent unbreakable charm on it, with her back to the beetle so it would be unawares. The curly haired witch saw the water beetle twitch with what could only be human excitement.

The young witch nonchalantly untwisted the jar cap and singed a few breathing holes into it with her wand. Everyone else was looking at Harry with similar degrees of worry and in Ron's case, a green case of terror. Dudley was sitting next to his mother as she fussed over his cousin, in as much shock as Harry seemed to be before being put to sleep.

Hermione waited patiently with her small jar. It fit nicely in her hand, but was large enough for a specimen. Small enough though to avoid everyone's attention. She got up when a small breeze came through the window above Harry's head, as though to close it and keep the room free from draft. Instead she slammed the jar down, over the water beetle with a small sneer. Sliding the jar quickly and carefully with the lid waiting at the side, Hermione tightened it, and pocketed the beetle, before closing the window firmly.

She would deal with her pest problem later. It was now time to meet with the Headmaster.

Hermione walked as quietly as she could, building up her mind ward around areas she didn't want anyone to see. She kept them up regularly, but she didn't have time to put The Dark Lord's resurrection in the ward. Instead she made one separate from it so it wouldn't… taint her normal memories.

However, on her way up the stairs past the gargoyle, she heard the minister yelling at the headmaster. She pondered on whether she should knock or just enter as she was instructed to meet with him at this time. Mulling it over, the witch knocked demurely, which could easily be taken as polite. With no answer other than the minister continuing his tirade, she knocked again. She waited ten more seconds before opening the door and letting herself in.

"You'd have me take the word of that lunatic!?" Fudge shouted, as the petite witch allowed the door to close with a loud thud.

The minister quickly turned around to pin down the intruder with a piercing gaze.

"AND WHAT'S THIS!? I thought your students knew better than to barge into the Headmaster's office!" he shouted.

"I knocked twice, sir. No one answered me. I was scheduled to meet with the Headmaster," Hermione answered coolly, as though the minister had spoken to her.

"Miss Granger, I'm glad that you could make it," Albus said with a small smile, "Please have a seat."

"Thank you, sir," she said as she glided over and sat politely, with her back straight and legs crossed at the ankles. Minerva was standing straight, but her eyes burned fiercely as she glared at the minister over her spectacles.

The minister glared mutinously at the young witch who had appeared atop of Diggory.

"I'd also have you take the word of Harry, Minister," Albus replied smoothly as though she had been there the whole time, "Although I cannot permit you to question him tonight.

A demented smile appeared on Fudge's face. Hermione's hair rose up as though she were a cat in response.

"You are, er, prepared to take Harry's word on this, are you, Dumbledore?"

An automatic cool sneer appeared on Hermione's face. She looked as though she could have been related to Malfoy, which disturbed the minister, even though his smile never left his face.

"Certainly, I believe Harry." His eyes were blazing even as his tone was mild, "I've heard Crouch's confession and I've heard Harry's account. The two correlate and explain everything that has happened since Bertha Jorkin's disappearance."

"You're prepared to take the word of a lunatic and a boy who… well…" the minister left off with the demented smile growing bigger.

"I see you've been reading Skeeter's writings, Minister," Hermione said coolly.

"So what if I have?" he snarled.

His face had reddened and obtained a defiant look. One that was a familiar face amongst the students that lived in Hogwarts' halls.

"You'd do well to check her facts on your own," she said with a light one shouldered shrug.

"Coming from a gold digging witch…" he said nastily.

"Cor –" Albus started, but was cut off.

"Harry and I are related, Minister. Even though I'm a muggleborn, I do come from old money. So I don't have need of his. Some details Skeeter didn't know about when she was wrote that article. How embarrassing for you," she said lightly with a small pout.

"Indeed, Cornelius, Miss Granger here is also at the top of her classes," Minerva interjected.

"What about those facts that Skeeter discovered? Certain facts about the boy that have been kept very quiet, Headmaster. A parslemouth? Having funny turns all over the place – ?"

"I'm assuming you're referring to Harry's scar pain?" Dumbledore cut him off coolly.

"You admit he's been having these pains then!?" Fudge said quickly, as though he was onto something.

"Headaches? Nightmares? Possibly – hallucinations?" He shot with a twisted gleam in his eyes.

"Harry is as sane as you or I, Cornelius. That scar upon his head has not addled his brains. I believe it hurts him when Lord Voldemort is close by or experiencing extreme emotions."

"You'll forgive me, Dumbledore, but I've never heard of a curse scar acting as an alarm bell before…." He said, taking a step back, still looking as stubborn as a teenage wizard.

"You've never heard of anyone surviving the killing curse either," Hermione quipped.

"However Lord Voldemort is back. I saw him. You'll see that you also have Pettigrew to question as well, minister," Hermione said with a chilly, polite, smile.

"As Minerva has stated, Miss Granger is at the top of her class Cornelius. Is her brain also addled?" Albus interjected.

He had his own questions for Miss Granger, but she was making fine shots at the minister. Her intelligence was quite sharp, her poise was perfect as well. Minerva also stood firm behind her Gryffindor cub, and she was not one to lie. So she did come from old money, of which were rare amongst the muggle world.

"It seems to me that you are all determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these past thirteen years!" he shouted, his face turning an ugly purple.

"As though the wizarding people will take the word from a lunatic, a parslemouth, and a muggleborn!" he shouted.

Hermione sucked in air through her teeth as she felt her Professor's hands cover her shoulders and squeeze them firmly.

"A muggleborn is as much a citizen in wizarding Britain as a pureblood, Minister. It would do well for you to remember that, as an elected official," Minerva said coolly.

"Voldemort has returned. If you accept the facts straightaway we may be able to save the situation. The first and most essential step is to remove the dementors from Azkaban!" Albus insisted.

Fudge looked at Albus as though he had finally seen that the elder wizard had gone senile.

"Remove the dementors!? Preposterous! Some of us only feel safe at night because of them! I'd be kicked out of office for merely suggesting it!"

"The rest of us sleep less soundly, Cornelius, knowing that you have put Voldemort's most dangerous supported in the care of creatures that will join him the second that he asks! They won't remain loyal to you, because you don't feed into their pleasure the way he would, the way he did! He offered them a wider range than you have or will, Cornelius! With the dementors and his old followers returned to him, he'll quickly regain the power that he had thirteen years ago!"

Fudge was gaping like a fish, his mouth opening and closing but no noise was coming from him.

"Next you must send an envoy to the giants," Albus began, "As they were the last creatures he was trying to court onto his side before the end of the war –"

"Giants! Are you mad! The people hate the giants, Albus! I'll be kicked out of office faster than you can say giants! It'll be the end of my career!"

"Then stop focusing so much on your career, Minister, and get on with it!" Minerva shouted behind Hermione.

"Take the steps I've suggested Cornelius, and you will be remembered in history, in or out of office, as one of the greatest Ministers of Magic we have ever known! If not you'll be known as the one who stood to the side and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have built!"

Fudge fiddled with his bowler hat, mumbling about how mad everything sounded. He didn't have much to work with either, as the young witch had brought both champions and Pettigrew back from wherever they were. And wherever they were, Voldemort was revived!

"If you're determined to try to brush this under the rug and pretend it doesn't exist, Cornelius I'm afraid we've reached a parting of the ways. And I – I shall have to act as I see fit," it was a statement.

Albus was truly of the belief that he would do what he saw fit. It wasn't a threat or any other sort of coercion. Yet Fudge acted as though Albus had drawn his wand upon him.

"Now, see here, Dumbledore!" the minister wagged his finger, "I have always given you free reign. I've had a lot of respect for you and your decisions whether I agreed with them or not! There aren't many who would let you hire a werewolf or keep Hagrid, for that matter! I even agreed to let him break laws concerning the mixed breeding of magical creatures in the name of the Tournament –"

At this point Hermione looked at Dumbledore through the corner of her eyes. The blast-ended skrewts were Hagrid's idea, but they were sanctioned by the Headmaster and the minister. Those creatures were monsters and a right handful during class.

"– or decide what to teach your students without reference to the Ministry! But if you decide to work against me –"

"The only one I'm going against is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain on the same side, Cornelius," Albus said softly.

Finally the minister didn't have words and continued to look at those around him, while fiddling with his bowler hat.

"He just… can't be back, Albus, he can't," the minister said with a hint of a plea, as though with his word, Albus could make the whole thing go away.

"He is back, Minister. You can ask Pettigrew or even look at the Dark Mark on his arm, it's darker that whatever they were before. It looks… renewed," Hermione said softly.

Fudge was silent as he looked at the muggleborn witch with the poise of a pureblood.

"… I will be in touch with you tomorrow, Dumbledore, to discuss the running of this school. I must return to the Ministry."

He was about to turn around when he reached into his pocket and handed it to the young witch.

"Be sure this gets to Harry, please. I would have done so myself, but I believe he is resting. I will see Diggory and also give him his winnings, even though we were not expecting two winners in the tournament. Normally there would have been a ceremony, but under the circumstances…"

Hermione nodded her head at the minister.

"Minerva, I will have to speak to Molly and Arthur soon. I'll speak with her while she is here watching over Harry. First though, Miss Granger, what were you doing in the maze?" The Headmaster asked.

Hermione looked down at the desk as though she were embarrassed, but was discreetly trying to avoid his eyes.

"I felt that Harry would need my help in making it out of the last task alive. I didn't care if he won or not, I just wanted him to make it out alive," she said.

"So you felt justified in entering a dangerous tournament all on your own?" he asked.

"I had asked Professor Moody, or who we thought was Professor Moody, what his opinion was, and he told me it was admirable and if I really thought it was possible, then I should do so. As long as I remained invisible, it should have been fine. I was going to until the very end, but Harry needed me," she said, "If he didn't need me so badly when we returned, I would have stayed invisible. However I didn't want him to appear insane, calling for me, when no one else could see me, even if he could feel me."

"Was Harry aware of this, Miss Granger, before you went into the maze?" he asked.

"No, sir. I didn't tell him," she replied.

"Did you witness the ritual?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you try to stop it?"

Hermione finally looked up at Albus Dumbledore, leader of the light, "… no, sir. It needed to happen."

Albus closed his eyes and nodded, "You are a bright witch, Miss Granger. I am glad we have you on our side. It must have been just as trying for you as it was for Harry. Yet you seem to be made of sterner stuff than him. I'm unsure of what has happened in your life, Miss Granger, that has made you sterner than most, but I would be a fool to not be thankful for it. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to remain with me part of this summer. Professor Severus Snape is one of the best potions masters in Great Britain, and he will need an assistant now that Lord Voldemort is back."

"Why not with me, Albus?" Minerva asked, her voice laced with concern.

"Because Miss Granger was able to brew a NEWT level potion in second year, Minerva. She has the makings of a potions mistress. But under that, should Severus be working on an important or even volatile potion, we would need someone who knew what they were doing to take over at a moment's notice. You know what will happen, Minerva. It would be a sin to say that Miss Granger wouldn't figure it out on her own, given her brilliance," he answered his Deputy looking over the young witch's hair.

"I know it is asking much of you, Miss Granger. However I also know about your time turner, and I know you are of age. I am going to reinstate an underground resistance. It would be trying, and you would have to give an oath to the Order, but the future depends on it. We would be remiss not to have you as one of our own. Your potion skills will come in handy and could save a life or two. Would you be willing to do this, Miss Granger? Will you join the Order of the Phoenix for the Greater Good?"

Hermione stared at her headmaster, knowing that he knew about half of what he said before restating it. She knew that he was merely saying it for Professor McGonagall's sensibilities, but it was still flabbergasting. She was still a student, but because she was of age, she was being asked to join a resistance group, a vigilante resistance group, because Professor Snape might be called to a Death Eater meeting, and no one else in the Order of the Phoenix, knew how to brew dangerous potions. Because most of the Order of the Phoenix was bollocks at potions.

"Yes, sir. I'm honored," she replied.

While she had her own goals, she knew that being a part of a resistance group that Professor Snape was part of, would make her goals easier. If she was lucky she might even be made aware of the current state of affairs.

However it seemed nothing short of a miracle that she were to be made an assistance to the one person she was allowed to confide in. She had both Professors Crouch and Moody's support, and with their support she was willing to take that leap of faith. They helped her protect her parents, they helped her prepare for this war; the game was afoot. She was playing to win.