a/n: Thank you all for the positive response to this fic so far! Big shout out to dennisud, Mckpsba2000, and poka for taking the time to review. The positive motivation is appreciated!

Prompt 5: Stop looking at me like that.
Prompt 6: How hard did you hit your head
Prompt 7: She said you were in an obstinate mood today.
Prompt 8: They know. I don't know how, but they know.

Chapter 2

The trainer's voice droned on in a room full of ICW staff. Some were their for their annual refresher, others were new employees. And some were new transfers from another office. Hermione sat off to the side in the middle of the room. She'd only been back in England for a day. She hadn't been recognized yet. She was trying to lay low and prolong that luck. Her boss had offered her time to get settled. She politely declined but didn't tell her that unpacking a few boxes really didn't need more than a few hours. Technically, an hour to unshrink the furniture and to send a few charms around the studio apartment to put clothes and dishes in their place. Her books took the longest to organize. There wasn't a reason to delay her onboarding.

The projector changed to a slide showing a wall of text. The agreement between the British Ministry of Magic and the ICW. A lengthy dissertation about jurisdiction. She was forced to admit to herself that there was actually a reason to delay her onboarding. Two reasons. Ron and Harry. The transfer was expedited, her command had wanted her in the London office for years. They wasted no time approving her request, as if they were afraid she'd change her mind. In the chaos of closing her cases and getting the travel documents, there wasn't time to inform her friends of the change. She should have taken a day to check in on the Weasley's and send an owl to Harry. Just thinking about it made her stomach do a little flip.

"Hermione Granger," a booming voice said her name. Her luck was up. Laying low was over. Heads looked around the room and slowly those closest to her made the connection. The class started whispering. "Assistant Director Granger?"

With a small sigh, Hermione gathered her training documents and stood. Her boss's executive assistant was scanning the room. Her movement caught his attention, he offered a sheepish smile once he realized the commotion his actions had caused. "My apologies Agent Wilson. I need the assistant director," Nelson said to the trainer.

Hermione walked as quickly as she could across the room to meet Nelson at the door.

"I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely. "My voice carries." He led her from the room and handed her a case file. "Miranda wants you on this taskforce. For obvious reasons."

Following the quick pace, Hermione flipped open the file and saw the location. She stopped in her tracks and looked up at the exec. He'd kept walking. His head turned to continue to talk to her when he realized she was no longer next to him. He turned. The fast moving groups in the hallway changed their path to move around the pair. "Stop looking at me like that. You're the obvious choice to support the aurors on this."

Taking three long strides toward him, she closed the gap. "I just got here. I haven't had time to let the Headmaster I'm here. Joining the aurors to investigate the Forbidden Forest is a hell of a way to tell him I moved back to England."

Nelson looked at his watch. "You have an hour."

Hermione looked up at the ceiling. "The school year just started. He's got to be so busy."

Tapping the file, Nelson got her attention. "He's a bit preoccupied with criminals breaching the forbidden forest. I'm sure he'll be relieved you're assigned to the taskforce."

"Yeah," Hermione said, unconvinced. "I'll be in the field today."

"I already updated the assignment board. The taskforce has established a headquarters in Hogsmeade."

"That's not very subtle," she said, flipping past the summary documents.

"When has the ministry ever cared about subtly. They'd prefer the looting stop more than apprehending the looters. If you need additional agents or resources, send me your request."

"Thanks," she acknowledged as she continued to read the initial assessment. Nelson was gone by the time she looked up. The best way to get the truth of what was going on at Hogwarts was to get the information first hand. It wasn't how she wanted to tell Harry about her job change. "Suck it up," she told herself and headed for the floo network.

~~/~~

The things Harry thought would be hard about being the headmaster weren't at all close to reality. The professors needed very little oversight, which was a relief considering how young he was compared to some of them. The general mischief in the school was dealt with by the prefects and heads of house. Only the most serious offenses would reach his office. Nothing that needed him yet in the two short weeks. No. The challenges arose when he needed to manage the governors and the ministry. Demands for information regarding the issue in the forbidden forest were relentless. The taskforce meeting couldn't happen soon enough. Still, those demands were minimal compared to the utter madness of trying to go about his day in an office that was altered by every previous headteacher while said insane people looked on offering their help.

"You have to jiggle it," a helpful voice informed Harry from her spot on the wall.

"No, no. I changed that. You have to tap it twice and then turn the handle," another said.

Harry could barely hear them. He was shoulders deep inside a cavernous filing cabinet. In the back was a safe that provided a map of the forest during the founder's era. The combination wasn't working, but everyone had an explanation.

"Did you tap it?"

"I tapped it!" he called out in frustration, yanking on the handle.

"Twice?"

"In Merlin's name, I'm going to put every last one of those paintings in here when I open it," he mumbled to himself.

"I have never been so disrespected," a shocked Phineas said in response. "Well, excluding that time you blindfolded me when you were running from the law."

"Have you tried turning the handle the other way?" Albus asked politely.

In a fit of frustration, Harry twisted the handle brutally in the other direction and yanked with all his might. It swung open, causing him to lose his balance and bang his head on the top of the drawer. Mumbling several curse words, he heard a chorus of cheers.

"I think he got it."

"That sounded like it worked."

"Good show everyone. Well done."

Harry grabbed the parchment and backed out of the extended drawer. Sitting on his heels he held the heel of his free hand against the knot that was forming on the crown of his head. Movement on the other side of his office caught his attention. Standing on the top stair of the spiral staircase was the impossible. Hermione Granger. He was seeing things. Harry shook his head, and blinked rapidly. She didn't disappear. "Hermione?"

"How hard did you hit your head?" Minerva asked, craning her neck in an attempt to look in the direction that held Harry's attention. None of the paintings could see her standing just outside the door. "She's in France."

He waited for her to disappear. Back into his dreams where she visited him often. But she didn't disappear. She stepped forward. As he studied her, he realized she was sharply dressed. A tailored blazer, silk blouse, tweed pants that somehow hugged her hips while draping effortlessly to wide cuffs around expensive leather boots. This wasn't the Hermione from his dreams who preferred jeans and a flannel. She was dressed in a way that made him want to obey whatever command she gave him. When she reached him the paintings came back to life, commenting on the visitor. She looked around at the wall of nosy witches and wizards before offering her hand to help him up. "Are they always so… involved in your business?"

Harry let her hoist him up. Despite her trim build, she had a surprising amount of strength as she gave him leverage. His eyes must have conveyed his surprise as he earned a small smirk from her. "So far," he explained. "I think the excitement had them all wound up," he started, realizing she would have no idea what he was talking about. "Are you visiting… friends?" he asked lamely. One of the reasons she moved to France was to help her mother after her dad got sick. His death hit her hard and suddenly. When her mum died the next year, nearly to the date, Harry had gone to her then. Helped her settle her parents estate, helped her make the funeral arrangements and just generally made sure someone was taking care of her. When he returned to England, he expected she'd move back. Hoped she would. She didn't. He'd accepted that years ago.

"I am now," she answered his question, kissed his cheek and led him away from the wall of portraits. "I wanted to let you know I requested a transfer."

Harry motioned to the chairs near the fireplace and summoned a teapot and cups. He let the pot serve the steaming tea while he processed her words. "To England?" he asked cautiously. He'd been hoping she'd move back so often, he was afraid she was going to break his heart and tell him she was moving even further away to the states.

"Yes. London," she told him, took an offered cup. "Assistant Director for the Office of Special Investigations."

Sitting heavily, he still didn't believe it fully. "That's amazing. When do you move?"

Hermione looked down into her tea and then back up. "Yesterday. Actually," she acknowledged with some guilt. "It happened fast. I put in the request September first."

"That's… that's great. I thought you were happy with your job," he chose his words carefully. He wanted to know what had changed without prying.

"I was. I am. I guess I wasn't happy with my life. I missed you and Ron. I've missed out on being here for you and your families."

There had been plenty of times through the years that Harry would turn away from the crowd, wishing he'd see Hermione there with him. She also missed Ron and Harry made a mental note. He did want to read too much into her motives. "Well, this is great. I've missed seeing you."

Hermione cleared her throat. "That's good to hear, but I think you're going to be seeing a lot of me in the immediate future," she started.

Harry thought she might meet spontaneous visits like this one, but something in her words seemed to imply there was more to her presence. Then it hit him. The issues in the Dark Forest. The aurors informed him they were inviting the ICW to the taskforce. Mostly for the resources they could provide. If the agent assigned was Hermione, Harry was afraid the ministry wasn't prepared. "You're here for the taskforce."

"I'm here to see how I can help you," she clarified. "I'll be out there to make sure the school is safe."

It might not have been the emotional reunion he'd dreamed about, but he suddenly felt like a missing piece from his life had been returned.

~~/~~

Something about being back at Hogwarts had Hermione feeling like that school girl who thought she had to prove her place. All these years later and she worried Minerva was going to show up and tell her there was a mistake and she wasn't meant to attend the magical school. That feeling was amplified sitting in the headteacher's office. Sitting in the chair talking to Harry, it was more like they'd stumbled into trouble and were waiting for Dumbledore to arrive to admonish their rule breaking. Except her best friend had a little grey peppering his hair. His face had lost the roundness of youth and carried an effortless handsomeness. She wondered how it was possible that the evidence of time could move so much faster than it took to experience time. It felt good to be sitting next to him again. She would be forever grateful for his support in one of her darkest times. She wanted to be there for him. It was the first time she felt like she was home since her parents died.

"Does Ron know you're back?" Harry asked her.

Hermione shook her head, suddenly glad she hadn't needed to visit Diagon Alley yet. It was one thing to tell Harry she'd been so busy this was her first opportunity to tell him about the changes in her life, it would be an entirely different problem to admit she had time to visit the joke shop to see Ron. "Not yet. Really, once my request was submitted, things moved so fast, I barely had time to turn over my open cases in Paris. They pulled me out of my on-boarding to join the taskforce."

"This mess in the forest. It feels like it's more than just criminals looting resources," he admitted, looking in the direction of the undeveloped land.

"Tell me," she said, wanting to hear from him his suspicions. She trusted him to have a better assessment on the situation than the aurors.

"According to Firenze, they're going deep into the most ancient trees. There's an apparition and portkey block. They have to traverse a difficult path on foot to get to there. There are plenty of valuable items that are easier to reach. Things along the way to the grove have been ransacked, everything else has remained untouched," he explained.

Hermione was itching to see the path, to investigate the caves. She'd have a better idea once she saw it. "So the question then, is what's in the grove?"

"Nobody knows. The centaurs believe that area is sacred. It's off limits to their tribes. They say the founders enchanted that area, and the inhabitants of the forest have honored whatever agreement was made centuries ago."

"And this isn't well known? Something that's in history books? Maybe these thieves just assume there's something valuable. If they come up empty, they'll go away on their own," she offered, not buying her own words.

Harry laughed. "If I wanted to know if the founder's secret in the forest was in a book somewhere, I'd ask you."

It was a valid point. "We can't rule out that someone in the ministry knows there's something back there and made sure it was never documented."

"Well," Harry interrupted her and held up a rolled parchment that had been in his hand since he extricated himself from the filing cabinet. "It might be documented."

Leaning forward, Hermione smiled conspiratorially. "Is this when you tell me that being the Headmaster has its privileges?"

"Let's see," he said, standing and leading her to a table behind his desk.

Hermione took the two corners he offered her and watched as he gently unrolled it. The parchment was similar to the pages of some of the oldest books she'd read. As the map revealed itself, she was amazed by how vivid the colors were. The house seals were marked on each corner with the school shield centered at the top. The Dark Forest was intricately detailed. The types of trees that were located in specific areas, the creature habitats, locations of gems and crystals… the writing was so fine and detailed it would take hours to take it all in. "This is something every headteacher has had access to?"

Harry looked over his shoulder at the portraits, "They all knew about it. I'm not sure if they all needed it or studied it. But they tell me it's one of many secrets that was closely guarded."

This had Hermione looking behind her. This wasn't something she was meant to be seeing. Harry was breaking centuries of tradition letting her in on the secret. Knowing this, she averted her eyes away from any details that weren't pertinent. She took out her case file. Flipping through the reports, she found a crudely drawn map. "The aurors have flown some recon orbs over the area. They got some moving photos and stitched them together."

Harry leaned over to trace the obvious path that had been trodden down. They both sought out possible landmarks on the Founder's map. "Here," Harry said, point to an area with a similar cluster of trees. "This must be the grove. It's not labeled though."

"This is," Hermione said, noting a cave system that appeared to be near the back of the grove. Scanning for the caves, she realized Harry wasn't kidding when he told her how deep the location was. Steep rock faces appeared to offer a physical barrier. One that might not be natural formations, knowing the founders. "Harry, someone wouldn't just stumble on this spot," she stated the obvious. "They'd have to know it was there."

"They know. I don't know how, but they know," Harry agreed.

"If this was important to the founders, there's no chance there aren't additional enchantments or protections in addition to the physical security. Maybe the thieves haven't gotten to whatever treasure is back there," Hermione said, she looked at Harry. She felt an excitement stir up within her. It was different from her usual anticipation that came from working a new case. She was going to solve a mystery with Harry. They both smiled, feeling like school kids again.

~~/~~

When Harry woke up that morning, no one would have convinced him that he'd end up walking to Hogsmeade with Hermione that afternoon. It was so natural walking the familiar path listening to her go on about her theories. Having her close again wasn't just something he'd been wishing for because he missed her. He'd been worried about her. He heard about her accident, not from her of course. As he walked a few steps behind her, he tried to see any signs that her injuries that had been reported lingered. She appeared completely fine. When she paused her dissertation about the possible things the founders hid in the forest, he took his opportunity.

"I read about what happened in Madrid," he started.

Her fast pace faltered. She turned toward him. "You did?"

Picking up the pace to walk shoulder to shoulder with her, he nodded. "It was in the international section of the Daily Prophet. They didn't say your name, but I knew it was you." There were only a few female ICW agents, he knew that from his letters with Hermione, she complained often how male dominated her work was. Additionally, what ultimately gave it away was that the agent defied orders in order to protect a group of muggle school children and ended up getting a special commendation from the Spanish Ministry, all but ensuring she wouldn't get a reprimand. And he was certain the thing she cared the least about was the commendation, followed closely by the reprimand.

At the mention of the incident, her hand subconsciously moved to her side. His eyes narrowed. The injuries were bad enough she'd landed in the hospital. He had nearly dropped everything to go to her, until he realized the international section was behind the times. She was already cleared for duty by the time it made the papers in England. And she hadn't written to tell him about it. Either because she didn't want to bother him or because she didn't need him. He couldn't decide which was worse. She didn't think he would want to drop everything for her or that she didn't want him to.

"Yeah, well, they probably made it sound more exciting that it actually was," she said with a wave of her hand. "We thought we were looking for a cursed object when it turned out to be a terrorist attack. Muggle terrorists. The intel was completely wrong. And when we realized there was no magic involved, they wanted me to stand back and let it happen."

He was surprised. And grew even more concerned. If her injury wasn't the result of a spell and it still landed her in the hospital for a stay, it must have been nearly catastrophic. "It wasn't a curse?" he asked with concern.

"Nope. Just your run of the mill bomb that needed to be contained," she said. "We couldn't evacuate the school groups fast enough. I bought us some time."

Harry wanted to know more. She didn't didn't appear to be in a place where she was willing to expand further on the topic. He wouldn't push. "I'm glad you're alright."

"It could have been worse. They could have sent me to a muggle hospital," she said. They neared the village. "How do you want to handle this?"

"Handle… what?" he asked confused, looking forward.

"Obviously, the aurors will know we're friends. But you're the headmaster now. If you want to go on ahead and take charge. I can join quietly. Jurisdictions can be touchy. I'm sure the governors are breathing down your back to resolve the situation, I'm used to approaching situations with discretion. I can follow your lead."

"I don't need to take charge," he said, motioning toward the village where they knew the taskforce was forming.

She took his arm and led him further up the path. "I know you don't need to take charge. But maybe you should take charge. The aurors clearly aren't focused on resolving the situation as much as they're planning to make it go away through some display of force. If these people are trying to do more than just make some quick galleons, a group of aurors nearby isn't going to stop them."

Casting a sidelong glance at Hermione, he realized she was much more plugged into the politicking and bureaucracy than he would ever be.

"What?" she asked when she noticed him carefully studying her.

"Nothing. You're just… better at this than I am. I'll go ahead, but the minute I have to choose between them and you, the jig is up."

"Deal," she said, and let him get some space.

Truth be told, he was glad for the reminder that he was the headmaster. Being with her made him temporarily forget his responsibilities. He shook his head. She was back in his life for less than an hour and things felt… lighter. Which was ridiculous considering the seriousness of their current situation. What was wrong with him? Entering the town center, Hermione got one thing right, the ministry appeared to be focused on a show of force.

"...what do you mean we're going in on foot?" Harry heard someone ask as he approached.

"Even if we had the authority to drop all travel restrictions within the Dark Forest, that will benefit the thieves. They could be in and out before we even figure out what they're after," an annoyed voice pushed back.

"Geez, Williamson. Penny was right. She said you were in an obstinate mood today," the familiar voice of Hannah Abbot said.

Harry was relieved there would be another person on the team he trusted. "Hey," he got her attention discreetly.

"Harry. It's good to see you. Sorry it's business related," she said. "Word on the street is that some up and coming ICW hotshot is joining the taskforce."

Stifling his laugh the best he could, Harry answered. "You have no idea."