Hermione's Plan
Reactions
By Chem Prof
Author Notes:
This chapter will be a departure from the Hr POV style, but I think it will be pretty obvious why that was necessary.
Chapter 15, Reactions
Monday, July 28
The reactions across the wizarding world to the weekend newspaper stories about Harry and Hermione varied dramatically. The ones that would likely have most amused the young couple could be found in the houses of certain female Hogwarts students. In one such house Parvati Patil was visiting Lavender Brown …
“I don’t believe it!” Lavender exclaimed as she handed the paper back to Parvati. After all those times when she insisted that they were just friends!”
“When did we ever believe her, though?” Parvati responded with a shrug.
“Well, last year when she went after Ron,” Lavender pointed out.
“Apparently she got over him,” Parvati giggled.
“So, she’s finally got Harry,” Lavender sighed, leaning back in her armchair. I guess we should have known it all along. Remember the look on her face when Harry asked you to the Yule Ball?”
“Oh yeah, that was priceless,” Parvati recalled. “But what about the look she had when you started sucking Ron’s face off?”
Lavender shrugged. “Well, she was just weird last year, I suppose.”
Parvati leaned forward with a sly look. “So, now that Ron’s available again, are you going to try another time with him?”
‘Maaaybe,” Lavender said coyly. “What about you?”
“Nah, he’s not my type,” Parvati declared. Then the sly look returned. “Perhaps Padma?” Peals of laughter rang out from both girls as they recalled Ron’s disastrous Yule Ball date with the other Patil twin.
Lavender turned a quizzical eye toward Parvati. “So, who’s your type?”
Parvati shrugged, attempting to project an air of unconcern. “Oh, you know, dark hair, slender, mysterious …”
“Green eyes?” Lavender added softly. Parvati nodded unhappily. “I’m sorry Parvati,” Lavender sympathized, reaching out to put a hand on her friend’s arm. “After he asked you to the Yule Ball and then took up with Cho, I was sure he went for dark haired girls.
“I’m not sure he has a type,” said Parvati thoughtfully. “Look at last year. He dated Ginny for a few weeks and he asked Luna Lovegood of all people to Slughorn’s party. What on earth do those two have in common?”
Lavender pondered this seeming contradiction. “Just that they’re both loyal friends,” she finally concluded.
“And who’s his most loyal friend?” Parvati countered. Both girls nodded knowingly, satisfied that they had solved the mystery.
“I guess his type now is plain-looking bushy-haired smart girls who don’t shave their legs,” quipped Lavender in an attempt to lighten the conversation.
“Ewwww,” both girls chorused. “I bet she shaves them now,” Lavender laughed.
“You actually think our shy bookworm has let him see her legs?” Parvati asked in surprise.
“Yea-aah.” Lavender stared strangely at Parvati until the Indian girl recalled Hermione’s clothing habits and gasped.
“You don’t think …?” Parvati began, raising her hand to her mouth in surprise, “he’s seen her naked!” she continued breathlessly. “Or that she’s seen him …” Her eyes unfocused slightly as that thought lodged in her mind.
“Guess we’ll have to ask her when we see her again.” Both girls dissolved in giggles.
“Hmmm, now what about Ron?” Lavender cocked her head to the side as another thought occurred to her. “You know, Hermione doesn’t wear a bra sometimes.”
“Lavender, when Hermione or I don’t wear a bra, no one notices. If you don’t wear a bra everyone will notice!”
“Well, that’s the point, isn’t it?” Another round of giggles ensued.
“Snogging his brains out and giving him an eyeful didn’t work last time,” Parvati pointed out after they had regained their composure.
“Trust me, that wasn’t the problem last time,” Lavender declared confidently.
“Oh?”
“Me freaking out that Hermione would get him back and getting all clingy was the problem,” Lavender continued. “And we won’t have that problem this year will we?”
-ooOoo-
In another house in the southeastern part of England Luna Lovegood was having breakfast with her father.
“What do you think about the story about Harry and Hermione Daddy?” Luna asked absently as she attempted to balance a spoon on the edge of her goblet.
“Fantastic!” he replied, looking up from his notes about another Heliopath sighting at the Ministry of Magic. “Best selling issue we’ve had since the last Potter interview. Bit of a surprise, though, what?” Luna returned a blank look. “Well, it’s just that last year you seemed convinced that the Granger girl was going to end up with Arthur Weasley’s youngest boy.” Luna shrugged, but the keen eye of her father noted that she wasn’t as unconcerned about this conversation as she was pretending. He reached out and took his daughter’s hand.
“What do you think, pumpkin? You had a date with him at Christmas time didn’t you?”
“He’s the only boy who’s ever really been nice to me Daddy,” Luna responded with a far-away expression. “But I never thought of us as anything more than friends. I actually always expected him to end up with Hermione, despite what poor Ginny wanted. I was quite surprised with the way Hermione acted last year, actually. It’s just that …” she began, then stopped, then began again, staring off at an unknown point in the distance. “It would be nice if some other boys could be more like him.”
“A certain other boy?” he asked softly.
“You’d think with as much time as they spend together some of that niceness would rub off,” she replied wistfully.
“Perhaps this year he will have matured,” he offered encouragingly. “Seeing your best friends get engaged can do that to a boy.”
“Perhaps.”
-ooOoo-
Further north, in a wizarding home near Birmingham, Hannah Abbott was reviewing the news with her best friend. “Suse, did you hear about Harry and Hermione?”
“Yeah, it’s about time,” the other girl replied.
“What do you mean?” Hannah protested. “I thought she was going after Ron Weasley?” Susan shook her head. Hannah had been living with the Bones family after her mother had been killed the previous fall. She had missed a large part of the school year, although she was planning on going back for her seventh year. Susan had filled her in on the Granger-Weasley-Brown-McClaggen drama that had played out during the year, but had her own thoughts on the situation.
“I’ll grant that there were some weird things going on last year. But Hannah, in previous years, especially when we were in the DA with them, think about the times you’ve seen them together. How did Harry and Hermione act around each other?”
“Like they cared about each other and would do anything for each other.”
“And Ron and Hermione?”
“Either like they’d do anything for each other or like they wanted to kill each other,” Hannah replied, nodding her head as she found herself coming to agreement with Susan’s assessment. Not the best foundation for a stable relationship, at least from a Hufflepuff’s point of view. But this brought her back to one of her original reasons for bringing up the article on the Gryffindors’ betrothal.
“So, anyway, Ron’s available now.”
Susan gave her a mischievous grin. “You think maybe he needs a little Hufflepuff love?”
Hannah’s response was a deliberately casual shrug. “Maybe.” After an appropriate pause she continued. “Seems to me that he prefers blondes.”
Susan regarded her light haired friend with a sly smile. “Oh, I don’t know. I think he’s more interested in what’s up top,” she replied while thrusting her chest out. Susan was one of the more well-endowed girls of her year.
“Hermione’s not exactly stacked,” Hannah objected.
“She’s not blonde either,” Susan countered.
“But Lavender Brown is,” they chorused, each referring to the aspect of the buxom, golden-maned Gryffindor witch that would support her own argument.
“So, how are we going to get to him before she does?” Hannah wondered.
“You know, his house was destroyed in that attack,” Susan mused. “I wonder where he’s living now.”
“Another possible refugee to be taken in at the Bones house?” Hannah suggested.
“We’ll see.” Susan responded. “I’ll ask my dad to make some inquiries at the Ministry.”
-ooOoo-
It was shaping up to be a very interesting school year for Ron Weasley.
-ooOoo-
Not all of the reactions to the weekend news were quite so narrowly focused. While Parvati was visiting Lavender, her twin was hosting a gathering of the Ravenclaw girls who were about to begin their last year at Hogwarts – herself, Lisa Turpin, Mandy Brocklehurst, Su Li, and Morag McDougal.
“I take it you are all aware of the news,” Padma began.
“About Potter and Granger?” Mandy responded. “Yeah, who would have thought it?”
“Only about half of the school,” Lisa retorted dryly. “Haven’t you been paying attention for the past six years?”
“Yes, I have, and in case you didn’t notice, Granger had the hots for Ron Weasley last year,” Mandy protested. “And Potter took up with Ginny Weasley at the end of the year.”
“Well, be that as it may,” Padma broke in. “Harry and Hermione are together now.”
“That means Ron is available now, though,” Lisa teased, knowing what reaction that would get from the Indian girl. As she expected, Padma made gagging noises.
“Hey, speak for yourself!” Mandy objected. “Some of us happen to think he’s cute.” Morag and Lisa nodded in agreement.
“Look, I didn’t ask you all over here to talk about Ronald Weasley’s love life,” snapped Padma irritably.
“No, you asked us over to talk about Potter and Granger’s love life,” Lisa countered. “What’s so important about that?”
“It’s not just that,” Padma explained. “Look, who do you think is going to be Head Girl next year?”
“Probably either you or Granger,” came the response.
“No, Granger, for sure.” “Yeah, can you see McGonagall picking anyone else?” “Yeah, you’re right.” “Sorry, Padma.” The rapid fire of voices eventually settled down as a consensus was reached.
“And who do you think is going to be Head Boy?” Padma continued after waving off the condolences. She had expected it to be Hermione all along, so wasn’t that disappointed.
“I don’t know, probably Terry or Anthony,” suggested Mandy.
“Maybe Ernie Macmillan,” offered Lisa. “He’s been angling for it since second year.
“Nope,” Padma insisted. “It’ll be Harry.”
“Potter? You have to be kidding. His grades are barely average,” came the objections from several of the girls.
Padma shook her head. “Head Boy’s about more than grades. Leadership is a big factor. Ask yourself who would make you most comfortable with your decision to go back to Hogwarts after everything that’s happened.” As the assembled Ravenclaws pondered her assertion, the frowns slowly turned to grudging looks of acceptance.
“Ooohh,” Mandy broke in. “Potter and Granger will be sharing the Head suite in Gryffindor tower then. Won’t that be convenient?” Knowing smiles were exchanged around the room.
“Hope she knows the Contraceptus charm,” Lisa grinned, causing a few gasps and some giggles.
“Oh sure, like there’s any charm that Granger doesn’t know,” Morag pointed out.
“Well, it’s possible that Granger never thought she’d need that one,” smirked Mandy.
“Oooh, meow, meow,” came the cries from the rest of the room, as the giggles turned to full- blown laughter.
“Look, you can all speculate on her virtue or lack thereof on your own time,” Padma broke in, trying to get them back on track. She shook her head. For a bunch of intelligent girls, this group could gossip as much as her air-headed sister. “I want to talk about something more serious. That second story this weekend was at least as important as the first one. It’s pretty clear to me that Harry Potter, and by extension Hermione Granger, are going to be the most influential wizard and witch of our generation.” She paused to let that assertion sink in.
“Now, we need to decide what we’re going to do. If we support them now, work with them, that could have a major effect on our careers in the long run. If this war ends with Harry being the conquering hero, any friend of his is going to be in big demand.” She paused again, then continued in a somber voice. “If he loses it won’t really matter one way or the other, unless anyone here is planning on throwing your lot in with You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters.”
She looked around the room pointedly. There was a bit of squirming and some uncomfortable glances, but Padma already knew that there were no Voldemort sympathizers in this lot. She wouldn’t have invited anyone who was at all questionable. Besides, the deaths of three of their classmates and the imprisonment of three others as a result of the attack on the Weasley home were a powerful counterinducement for anyone who might have been leaning that way.
“That’s easy for you to say, Padma,” Mandy pointed out. “You already know them. Some of us have gotten to know Granger from Runes or Arithmency classes, but I doubt if Potter could even tell the three of us apart.” She motioned to herself, Morag, and Su Li. “Well, given our names, he could probably figure out which one is Su since she looks like Cho,” she joked. Su groaned. She and Cho didn’t really look that much alike. It was just her luck that the only two Chinese girls at Hogwarts would be sorted into the same house, leading to the inevitable comparisons. On the other hand, if she had been so fortunate as to have Harry Potter notice her, she was sure that she would have been able to do much better with him than Cho had done.
“Oh, right,” Morag broke in. Speaking of that, I so much want to be there the next time Cho Chang and Granger see each other and Granger flashes her ring in Cho’s face.” This effectively dispelled the grave mood that had settled on the room as a result of Padma’s unpleasant but accurate assessment of the situation.
“My money’s on Granger in any hexing duel that might break out,” Lisa declared. The nods and smiles indicated that no one would be willing to wager against her on that particular contest.
“Well, despite your best efforts to change the subject, that leads me to my main topic,” Padma announced. “It looks like Harry and Hermione are going to reorganize their defense study group from fifth year. And my guess is that it’s probably going to turn into an army to help defend Hogwarts if there’s another attack this year. My challenge to you is whether you want to be part of it or sit on the sidelines and watch. For me, I’m with them all the way.”
Silence descended on the room, as each girl pondered the choice she had laid before them. Lisa, who was Padma’s best friend in the house and who had known in advance what Padma had planned, had already made her decision. While the others thought some more about it she asked another question. “How do you know all of this, Padma? Has your sister been in contact with them?”
Padma shook her head. “No, this comes from Luna Lovegood.” The other three girls broke away from their deliberations to stare at her in surprise. “Harry told her last week and she contacted me yesterday.”
“Looney?” came the predictable objection. “Why would he confide in her?”
Padma sighed. The gross underestimation of the unusual girl by the rest of the girls in her house was getting tiresome. “In case any of you didn’t know, Luna is one of Harry’s closest friends. She was one of the five who fought at the Ministry with him the night You-Know-Who was exposed last year. And she was one of the ones who responded to the invasion of the school by those Death Eaters the night Dumbledore was killed. Loyalty means a lot to Harry.” She looked down at her feet, clearly ashamed. “Of all of us in the DA, she and Neville Longbottom were the only ones who responded to the summons for help Hermione sent out – besides Ron and Ginny of course.” She raised her head with a determined look in her eye. “That’s NOT going to happen again.”
Padma waited for this information to sink in, then concluded. “Look, Terry, Anthony, Michael, and I were the only Ravenclaws from our year in the DA. It was mostly Gryffindors, but there were also five Hufflepuffs. I would like to see our house better represented. My father has some contacts in the DMLE, and from the stories going around there about the attack on the Weasleys it’s pretty clear that Harry and Hermione have put in some serious studying with regards to defense spells this summer. I want to learn as much about how to defend myself as I can, and I know from experience that he can teach it. Yes, it could be dangerous. But it might just save your lives.”
Four Ravenclaw girls returned home that afternoon with some serious contemplation ahead of them.
-ooOoo-
At Daphne Greengrass’s home the mood was serious from the start. The decimation of Slytherin House the week before had been a brutal wake up call. Two thirds of the students in their year were dead or in prison as a result of that raid, and Tracey Davis had come over to confer with Daphne on their possible courses of action. Preferably one that wouldn’t get them killed.
The two Slytherins were an oddly matched pair, but were inseparable. Where Daphne was tall, slender, and shapely, with silky blonde hair, and was considered by her classmates as likely to have a lucrative modeling career ahead of her, Tracey was short and stocky, and wore her hair close cropped. Daphne had a reputation as a bit of a flirt, and as a result her intelligence was constantly being underestimated. Tracey had a serious, no-nonsense reputation, which covered up a bitingly clever wit. Academically, they were the top students in their house. Both girls had been in a minority position in Slytherin house, wanting nothing to do with Malfoy and his band of Death Eaters in training. As a result they generally kept to themselves, their friendships with students of other houses constrained by the unsavory reputation of their own house.
“So what do you think will happen to us now that Malfoy’s gone?” Daphne asked. “He and Parkinson have pretty much had everything their way up until now.”
“Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, and Bulstrode are gone too,” Tracey added. “Zabini’s the only one left from that crowd, and he just goes whichever way the wind blows.”
“So it’s up to us to decide,” Daphne concluded. “Do we lay low and try to stay out of it and risk retaliation anyway for not supporting the dark lord or just come out and show our support for Potter?”
“I think it’s time,” Tracey intoned gravely, “to change the reputation of Slytherin House. Ambition and cunning don’t have to be bad things. It wouldn’t hurt the good guys to have some crafty people involved in planning strategy. Blindly rushing into a fight like the Weasleys did often gets you killed.”
“So, how do we go about getting on Potter’s good side?” Daphne asked.
“We have to show him we can be trusted. It wouldn’t hurt to make a good impression on the other two thirds of the Gryffindor golden trio either.”
“I think I might be able to catch Weasley’s eye,” Daphne purred, tossing her hair back and running her hands sensuously down her sides.”
Tracey laughed. Weasley wouldn’t know what hit him. “Well, I think I can get along pretty well with Granger. She’s less judgmental than most of the Gryffindors, and we’ve collaborated successfully on a couple of Arithmency projects.”
Relieved that they had come up with a satisfactory solution, the pair of Slytherins turned to less momentous topics for the remainder of the morning.
-ooOoo-
The reactions of the male students of Hogwarts to the weekend news had gone along somewhat different lines. Dean Thomas’s conversation with his best mate Seamus Finnigan was fairly representative of one type of reaction.
“Potter and Granger, huh?” Seamus replied when Dean informed him of the couple’s status after the meeting of the muggleborns he had attended. “After all those years as best friends they finally decided to take it further.”
“It sure surprised me,” Dean admitted. “I thought she was going to end up with Ron. Not that I’m complaining, mind you.” Seamus grinned at his buddy. He knew that Dean still fancied Ginny, and now his rival for her affections was out of the picture.
“Nah, those two were never right together. They would have ended up killing each other. Still, Harry always seemed to go for prettier girls than Hermione.”
“Well, speaking of that, you won’t believe how much better she looks now,” Dean responded. “I can’t really put my finger on what’s different, but she’s really changed.”
Seamus was skeptical. “We’ll see. But the important point is, there will be a lot of girls who have been mooning after the Chosen One who are going to be available for the rest of us now. Especially a certain cute little redhead?” he teased.
“And maybe a dark haired dark skinned beauty?” Dean teased right back. Seamus had long thought that Parvati was the prettiest girl at Hogwarts. From there the conversation quickly turned into a teasing match between two young wizards.
-ooOoo-
The conversation between Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie Macmillan went in another direction. The two Hufflepuffs had met to discuss the reforming of the DA, and the subject of the Daily Prophet articles came up.
“I knew it!” Ernie announced. “I knew those two would end up together.”
“All right, I’ll grant you that,” Justin conceded, “but I think you’re missing the larger implication here. About them being engaged,” he added. The look on Ernie’s face indicated that he had no idea what the implication was. “The pressure is on the rest of us now,” Justin explained. “Every seventh year girl who sees that ring is going to get ideas. We’ll all have to think twice before getting into a serious relationship.”
Ernie nodded as he processed this information. “I was thinking of a different implication from this other news, though,” he said. Possibly an even larger one than what you thought of.” Justin leaned forward and Ernie continued in a lower voice. “I think Harry and Hermione are lining up allies. And I think we want to make sure we’re part of it. Justin nodded and the two of them spent the next hour discussing what their role might be in the plans of the pair of Gryffindors.
-ooOoo-
Head Auror Gawain Robards grinned broadly to himself as he sat in his office at the Ministry of Magic. Harry Potter’s interviews in the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler over the weekend had the place in an uproar, and he couldn’t be happier. He had long thought that Rufus Scrimgeour was too full of himself when he had been in the position Robards currently occupied, and was too preoccupied with political posturing. It had in fact earned him the Minister’s chair after the death of the most obvious candidate, Amelia Bones, but Robards didn’t begrudge him that as he personally had no interest in higher office.
His current irritation with the Minister was his overly cautious approach to the war they were currently fighting. Or not fighting. Mostly they were merely reacting to Death Eater attacks – interviewing witnesses, obliviating muggles, and then doing nothing but making meaningless announcements and gestures like arresting that pathetic Shunpike character. No raids on suspected Death Eaters. No aggressive investigations or punitive actions. They hadn’t even confiscated the assets of the Death Eaters they had caught red-handed a year ago. So he was quite pleased that Harry Potter had stirred things up with his blunt assessment of the Ministry’s actions.
He had met with Potter the previous week, having been introduced by Kingsley Shacklebolt. Shack’s glowing description of the kid was enough on its own to recommend him, but he had taken an immediate liking to him. Potter knew what he wanted, and didn’t mince words or mess around with subtleties. And the offer he had made had shocked him senseless. A gift of that magnitude was definitely not for show. And most importantly, it would certainly help keep his Aurors alive. Potter would be coming in again today to finalize the arrangements and have his offer officially accepted, and Robards couldn’t wait to see Scrimgeour squirm.
-ooOoo-
Director Connie Hammer of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was a no nonsense woman, much like her friend and predecessor Amelia Bones. Amelia’s loss had been a bitter blow, and she had taken over her position eager to avenge her death, only to be held in check by the passive policies of the new Minister. She had done the best that she could with the restrictions she was forced to work under, systematically rooting out the corruption that had pervaded the Ministry under Fudge’s administration, and scrambling to develop a more secure means of holding prisoners following the defection of the Dementors, the erstwhile Azkaban prison guards. Even though they hadn’t captured many Death Eaters in the past year, she was fairly confident that now the Ministry personnel were clean, and there also hadn’t been any breakouts of high profile prisoners under her watch.
Now she found her professionalism being challenged by a teen who wasn’t even out of school yet. If it hadn’t been for the fact that his charges had been completely accurate she would have given him an icy reception at their upcoming meeting. As it was, she was annoyed that he had used such a public forum for his criticisms, but she was uncomfortably aware that had he gone through channels Scrimgeour would have managed to twist his concerns into something that came out sounding like an endorsement. So she entered this meeting with Potter torn between her chagrin at his criticism of her department and her grudging admiration that he might have succeeded where she had failed, in getting the Minister to do something instead of just talking about it.
Peter Pettigrew was turning into a gold mine of information. The weak-willed Marauder turned Death Eater had put up almost no resistance to interrogation. And he had apparently been used for some extremely sensitive missions by Vol…Voldemort. Hammer mentally berated herself. If Potter could say their enemy’s name out loud she ought to at least be able to think it without flinching. At any rate, a new group of Aurors that had been authorized by Scrimgeour when he first took office was just now coming out of the Auror Academy. With more forces available and with Pettigrew’s information, combined with the new dragonhide armor, she was hopeful that they could start getting more serious about going after Death Eaters. She permitted herself a grim smile. Especially now that Potter had lit a fire under the Minister.
She had read every report on Potter she could find, and found some of them so incredible that they defied belief. A sixteen year old boy could not possibly have accomplished as much as he was alleged to have done. The problem was, the most favorable reports had come from her most reliable Aurors, and the only negative information had been submitted by Delores Umbridge, whom she detested. If everything she had read were true, he would be the most accomplished student to graduate from Hogwarts since … she frowned and shook her head. Tom Riddle?
-ooOoo-
Rufus Scrimgeour was furious. The Potter brat needed to be put in his place, but whatever leverage over the boy he had thought he had was gone. Instead of being uncertain of what to do, adrift at the loss of his mentor, Potter was apparently more sure of himself than ever. He was confident, he was capable, and evidently he had money to burn. This was not a good situation. On arriving at his office that morning, he had discovered that Robards and Hammer had scheduled a meeting with the young troublemaker and he demanded to be included. Perhaps he could find a way to spin this to his advantage.
He needed some way to find out what was going on in Potter’s head. The loss of Percy Weasley was felt even more strongly now – the young man had been his only possible in with Potter, even though he had been estranged from the rest of his family. At least he knew better than to bring Delores Umbridge into the meeting with him. She loathed the boy and Weasley had informed him that the feeling was mutual. He couldn’t stand the woman himself, but she had enough dirt on his opponents in the Ministry that she was too valuable for him to let her go.
The first thing he had done was order that the idiot in the Department of Magical Transportation who had turned Potter down be fired, and that whatever Potter had requested be taken care of. That should at least be a start in getting Potter’s support.
-ooOoo-
The most ominous reaction to the weekend news was from a man with snake-like features sitting in a room in a darkened, unplottable mansion in Little Hangleton. After hearing a report from a hooded man bowing before him he had a single response.
“Kill them.”
-ooOoo-
At 10:00 Harry and Hermione flooed into the Ministry of Magic and were escorted to the Auror Department accompanied by much pointing and whispering by the occupants of the atrium, workers and visitors alike. At least one enterprising reporter had guessed that there might be a meeting that day and staked out the lobby hoping for a story. When they arrived at the office of the Head Auror they were greeted enthusiastically by Robards, and introduced to Director Hammer, whose greeting was polite but subdued.
“Director Hammer, I would like to assure you that I had no intention of casting any aspersions on the way you run your department,” Harry immediately spoke up. “From what I hear from the Aurors I know, you’re as frustrated with the situation as I am.” Beside him, Hermione nodded her agreement and took his hand to show her support for his statement. They had discussed this approach and Harry had delivered the message perfectly. Hammer immediately relaxed, impressed with the boy in spite of herself. She had also read everything she could find about the young witch sitting beside him, and realized that the two of them complemented each other quite well, and that together the pair was a formidable force.
“I would have preferred not to have to see our shortcomings discussed on the front page of the Daily Prophet, but you are correct that I share some of your views,” she responded. Despite her annoyance, she was impressed that he did not back down at her not so subtle rebuke. “Do you have any specific suggestions for us, besides those mentioned in your interview?”
“Perhaps a more visible Auror presence might make people feel more secure,” Harry replied. Then he nodded to Hermione, who was clearly eager to contribute.
“Certainly it is not possible to be everywhere all the time,” she added. “But high traffic areas like Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade are obvious targets. And it must be possible to respond to attacks more quickly. We were in France when the Burrow was attacked, and we arrived on the scene at least an hour before the Aurors from the Ministry. Rapid communication is essential. Muggles have a way of instantly contacting law enforcement officers when trouble strikes; surely wizards could develop something similar. And Harry brought up the subject of emergency portkeys in the interview. We feel that every wizarding household in the country should have one. For your part, you could set up secure destinations for these portkeys that could be staffed with emergency assistance as well as responders. And we would be willing to pay the cost for anyone who couldn’t afford it.”
Hammer and Robards sat back, momentarily speechless. While Hogwarts students and staff were accustomed to dissertations like this from Hermione Granger, it was a new experience for them. And it was difficult to argue with anything she had said. Before they could respond, they were interrupted by the entrance of the Minister of Magic into the room. Instantly the friendly, helpful attitude of the two students dissipated.
“Mr. Potter, how good to see you again,” Scrimgeour proclaimed. “Please excuse my tardiness, but I was seeing to some urgent business that might interest you. I have just spoken to my people in Magical Transportation and they will be happy to accommodate your portkey request. And since I couldn’t help but overhear your fine suggestion just now, I’m sure Director Hammer will be delighted to make the arrangements for a secure destination for anyone who wishes to purchase their own emergency portkey. It is for ideas just like this one that I sought your input last month. I’m glad to see that you’ve decided to support our efforts after all.”
Hammer glared at the Minister. She had proposed doing something very similar nearly a year ago and he had nixed it as being not worth the cost.
“Just what efforts are those, exactly, Minister?” Harry calmly responded. “Just how many Death Eaters have you tracked down and thrown into prison during the past year? Not harmless dupes like Stan Shunpike but actual marked Death Eaters. What exactly has the Ministry done about the Dementor threat? After all they worked for you for years, you must have some way of controlling them. And how is it that a marked Death Eater like Draco Malfoy walked freely around Hogwarts all last year. Wouldn’t he and the other children of known Death Eaters have been obvious ones to investigate?”
He was just getting warmed up. “Have you even bothered to root out Voldemort supporters within the Ministry? I’m sure there were plenty of them, since I personally know of two Death Eaters who worked here. Not to mention Voldemart sympathizers like Umbridge. I’m sorry, but there’s no way I can support any organization that employs someone as evil as her.”
While Scrimgeour was sputtering his outrage, Hammer finally spoke up. “Mr. Potter, while some of your criticisms may be valid, I can assure you that we have not been sitting on our hands here. For your information I have personally investigated every Ministry employee and seen that any remaining Voldemort supporters were removed.” Scrimgeour snapped his head around in surprise, and began to challenge her statement when she cut him off. “And despite your obvious distaste for Madam Umbridge, we have no evidence that she has broken any laws.”
“Well, Director, how would you characterize her sending two Dementors to attack a Hogwarts student two years ago?” Hermione broke in. “Or torturing students in detention with a blood quill while she was a professor at Hogwarts? How about giving Veritaserum to a student? Or attempting the Cruciatus curse on a student?” While Hammer and Robards turned shocked faces in her direction, Hermione continued. “We have multiple witnesses who heard her admit to several of those actions, and physical evidence of the blood quill use on several different students.” To her surprise, the shock on the faces of the Chief Auror and DMLE Director was slowly replaced by satisfied smiles of anticipation. Just as Scrimgeour was beginning to protest that these were the most ridiculous charges he had ever heard Harry and Hermione rose in unison.
“Director Hammer, Chief Auror Robards, it was nice to meet you and we’re happy to hear that you will be able to make good use of that dragonhide armor,” Harry stated while reaching out to shake their hands. “We’ll be sure to send you our evidence regarding Umbridge.” Somehow when they all stood up Robards ended up between Scrimgeour and the students, and he was unable to stop them as they left the office.
Once outside, no one noticed as Hermione paused briefly to let a beetle that had been hidden under the hood of her cloak fly away.
-ooOoo-
While they were in London, the couple decided to stop by St. Mungo’s to check on the Weasleys. They found that there was little change in their condition, which was a mixture of good news and bad. The healer attending Charlie assured them that his prognosis was much improved since their intervention of the previous week, and that there was now a good chance that he would recover. Arthur’s condition was improving and they expected to bring him out of his coma in about a week, and a few days after that he would be ready to return home. They confirmed that they would have a custom made magical mobile chair for him to use while they debated on further treatment, artificial legs being one possibility.
Unfortunately, however, Molly was in the same state as a week ago. She once again greeted them cheerily and asked how things were going for them that summer, asked when they would be coming to the Burrow, and reminded them of Bill’s wedding date. Then she smiled at Harry and teased him about when she might be hearing some kind of announcement about him and Ginny. When they left the room her healer admitted that they had done all they could for her, and they had no idea of when she would snap out of this delusional state, if ever.
As Harry and Hermione were digesting this information, an orderly hurried up to them and gave them a message that had just come in for them. It was from Ron.
‘Kreacher’s back. He’s completed his assignment. Come immediately.’
-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-
Author Notes:
For some reason fanfiction has almost universally depicted Susan Bones as an orphan, but I can find nothing in the books (or Lexicon) to support this. We do know that Hannah Abbott’s mother was killed, so I have her moving in with her best friend Susan’s family.
The character of Connie Hammer was created by Old Crow, and is used at his specific suggestion.