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Final Year, Chapter 2 – Promising Leads / Troublesome Issues 5100

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – June 18

News from Harry! He may have a lead on the locket! And he found a message from Snape.

“Hermione Granger!”

Hermione fumbled briefly with her bag before removing her mirror. Looking around quickly, she darted into an empty classroom and cast some privacy charms, then activated the communication device.

“You won’t believe what I just found! I think I know who RAB is!” Harry announced excitedly. “I’m at Grimmauld Place with Moody. We came to check it out, and add some detection spells, and he wanted me here because I officially own the place now. Right now he’s downstairs setting traps for Snape and any Death Eaters he might bring here, and I came upstairs to check out Sirius’s room. But look what I found!”

He moved the mirror so that it faced a door as he explained. “I’m on the top landing, and there’s Sirius’s room and one other up here. This is the other one.” Hermione leaned forward as the door came into focus, and she read the inscription that Harry was evidently calling to her attention.

Do Not Enter
Without the Express Permission of
Regulus Arcturus Black

“Harry! You’re right! That could be it!” Hermione exclaimed. “You said that Sirius told you his brother was a Death Eater who was killed when he had second thoughts and tried to get out, right? Voldemort must have found out what he was trying to do and killed him.”

“But Voldemort must not have known the bit about the Horcrux, or the fake one wouldn’t have still been there,” Harry pointed out. “He never got that message. He must have tracked Regulus down and killed him sometime after he wrote it.”

“But we still don’t know whether Regulus managed to destroy the Horcrux he took before he was killed,” Hermione responded with some frustration.

“It might be here somewhere,” Harry suggested. “I don’t know if I have time to look for it right now, but the three of us should come back here later, maybe after the wedding, and search this room.”

“That’s a good idea,” agreed Hermione.

“There’s more, though,” Harry continued. “When I was in Sirius’s room I found a lot of stuff, including letters to him from my parents. I’ll tell you more about that later. But tucked into one of the letters was a message from Snape!”

“You’re kidding! Really?” Hermione gasped. “How …?”

“It’s pretty obvious when you look around that this room’s been gone through since … well, you know,” Harry explained, stumbling over the reference to Sirius’s death. “I think Snape came here specifically to leave me this message. It was tucked into this letter that he knew I’d read if I found it. I’ll read it to you.”

Potter –

The Dark Lord has now turned his attention to the political arena. He will attempt to get others to accomplish his ends. Muggleborns and their families are the target. Take precautions.

Further communications will be in code. TMR = LV
If this is too much for your feeble brain to comprehend, get Granger to help you.

Destroy this parchment.

Hermione managed a smile as Harry imitated Snape’s sneering voice while he read the cryptic communication.

“What do you think?” Harry asked. “I reckon the code means the letters will be rearranged like Voldemort did with his name.”

“An anagram,” Hermione clarified.

“Right,” Harry responded with a bit of a smile at Hermione’s need to use precise terminology. “But the other part too. I think it’s an attempt to warn us about …”

“My parents!” she gasped.

Harry nodded solemnly.
 

At that point Moody called up the stairs that it was time to go, and he took Harry back to Hogwarts. It wasn’t until later this evening that I got to talk to Harry again. I agreed with his decision not to tell Moody about the Horcruxes or about the possibility that Snape’s role in Dumbledore’s death was part of the Headmaster’s plan. For one thing, we have only Snape’s word on that, but more importantly, assuming it’s true, his life is in increasing danger the more people know about it.

Harry gave me more details about what he’d found in Sirius’s room. It appeared that he’d decorated it in a manner that was guaranteed to annoy his family as much as possible. There were Gryffindor colors everywhere, and lots of muggle items, including several magazines. There were even pinups of topless girls on the wall. I had to suppress a giggle at the embarrassed look on Harry’s face when he told me about those. All the wall decorations had permanent sticking charms on them.

The letter from his mum that Snape tucked the note into almost made me cry. It was written to Sirius thanking him for Harry’s birthday present, on his first birthday. It’s so sad that Harry has no memories of his parents, because it sounds like it was such a wonderful, loving home. It’s so fitting that the present was a toy broom, and that little Harry took to it so readily. Already at the age of one he was showing that he was a natural at flying. She even included a picture of him flying it around the house. He was so cute!

Then the conversation turned serious. He told me that the Daily Prophet has been running some letters to the editor claiming that Dumbledore died because he was too soft on muggles and muggleborns. These have been accompanied by stories about a new faction in the Wizengamot that call themselves a ‘peace party’, suggesting that we try to find ways to deal with Voldemort (they used the term You Know Who, of course) that won’t involve so much bloodshed. This must be the political initiative that Snape’s message referred to.

I’m getting very worried about where this might be going. Harry agrees, and is going to go visit my parents this weekend.

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – June 22

Moody took Harry to see Mum and Dad today, to talk about their situation. They were reluctant to do anything like leave the country (which is ironic, since that’s what I’ve just done for nearly a year because they thought I was in danger) but did accept having Moody put wards on their house. The charms he used won’t stop a determined attack, but will alert the Order, and should delay the attackers long enough for them to respond. Harry said he’d be back next weekend when I come home.

The political climate continues to worsen. Several members of the Wizengamot have gone public with statements that seem to blame muggleborns for the trouble we’re in. How hypocritical! If the Ministry hadn’t buried their heads in the sand for a whole year we’d be in much better shape! And the letters in the Daily Prophet continue to call on the government to do something. Some go so far as to claim that Voldemort hasn’t attacked any purebloods, except of course for those like Dumbledore who directly opposed him.

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – June 28

Things continue to deteriorate back home. From the looks of the paper, a general uprising against muggleborns is occurring. I’ve discussed it with Sally-Anne, and she agrees – she and her parents are going to move to France. It’s incredible how Voldemort’s sympathizers have been able to sway the entire country. The people evidently need someone to blame besides themselves, and muggleborns, who have always been regarded with suspicion, and treated as second class citizens, are the scapegoats. The whole thing is eerily similar to what happened in Germany in the 1930’s.

Fortunately, I’m going home today and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to persuade my parents to get out as well. It’s likely that they’ll be even bigger targets because of who I am. Harry and Moody are going to meet me there.

“Look, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I’m really sorry that you’ve ended up in this mess, but we really think your lives will be in danger if you stay here much longer.” Harry had been making no headway with this argument since he’d arrived, and he hoped Hermione would have better luck when she got home. Mad-Eye had remained silent during the discussion, but Harry could see that he was becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of progress. The crusty old Auror was a man of action, not words, and unfortunately, was about to take matters into his own hands.

“We truly appreciate your concern, Harry,” Emma Granger responded yet again, “but we can’t simply abandon our practice. Our patients depend on us. It’s one thing to have other dentists cover for us for a month while we’re on holiday, but …”

Out of the corner of his eye Harry caught Mad-Eye make a subtle motion with his wand, while muttering a spell.

“You know,” Dan interrupted, “I’ve always wanted to take a year off and visit Australia. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity.”

“You can’t be serious!” Emma turned to him in shock, while Moody repeated his incantation. “That’s … that’s a great idea, actually. We should start making the arrangements right away. Why don’t you start lining up other dentists to take over our practice, while I start looking into finding places to stay down there.” She turned to Harry in excitement. “You’ll excuse us, won’t you Harry? You know where everything is – make yourself comfortable.” The two Grangers hurried out of the room to begin their respective tasks.

“What did you do?” Harry hissed at Moody.

“Compulsion charm,” he growled back. “Nothing to it, really. Especially since they really have been wanting to go there. They had been planning it for their retirement. Now it’ll just happen sooner.”

“Hermione will be furious when she finds out!” Harry objected. “She’d never use magic on her parents.”

“She should have done it last year,” Moody muttered. “Then she could have stayed here.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered,” Harry replied somewhat bitterly. “Dumbledore …” But his objection was interrupted by the crack of an apparation, and the two wizards hurried to the window, wands drawn. There they spotted Hermione on the porch with her trunk, bending down to let Crookshanks out of his carrier. By the time she straightened up Harry was out the door and embracing her.

As he had expected, Hermione’s initial elation that her parents had agreed to leave the country turned to dismay when she learned just why they had changed their minds so abruptly.

“I can’t believe you did that!” she shouted in her vexation when she finally got the other two alone later that day. “I swore that I would NEVER use magic on my parents! They trusted me!”

“Well, it was actually Moody that cast the spell, not you,” Harry noted in an attempt to calm her down.

“You just don’t understand!” Hermione shot back.

“I guess not,” Harry snapped. “Seeing as how I don’t have any parents!” A younger, less mature Harry would have stormed away at this point, leaving Hermione in tears. But this time he caught himself and immediately apologized, and Hermione responded in kind and buried her head in his chest as he hugged her to himself. After a few deep breaths to regain control she pulled away and sent him a teary smile.

“At least it was something they had wanted to do anyway,” Harry pointed out gently, trying to mitigate the tension. “It’s not completely against their will.”

“I know,” Hermione moaned as he wrapped one arm around her and she leaned into him. “But it’s the principle of the thing. We need to do things the right way, not just take the easy way out.”

“Hmmph. The easy way would have been to Obliviate them,” Moody shot back unrepentantly. “That’s the standard procedure in cases like this. Aurors do it all the time. And you’re going to have to do that anyway, eventually.”

“No way!” Hermione shrieked in dismay. “I couldn’t possibly do that!”

“Then I’ll do it,” he retorted. “Otherwise they’ll come right back when the Compulsion wears off. Is that what you want?”

“No … no, I …” she sagged against Harry and he wrapped both arms around her, offering what comfort and support he could.

“Can it at least be reversed when the war is over, so they can come back then?” she finally asked, her voice breaking, her body slumped in defeat.

“Why bother?” Moody shrugged. “They’re just muggles.”

“They’re my parents!” she cried, tears streaming down her face.

“Lots of people have lost their parents in this war, Missy,” the old Auror retorted. “At least they’ll still be alive. Just look at …”

“That’s enough!” Harry snapped, having finally lost his patience with Moody’s harsh attitude. The ancient warrior’s characteristic gruffness and lack of sentimentality were wearing thin. “Tell her what she needs to know.”

Moody’s head jerked around and he stared at Harry for a few long seconds, surprised at his assertiveness. This was not the boy who had been willing to back off and let the adults run his life in previous years. In Harry’s firm glare he now saw hints of the emerging leader McGonagall and Flitwick had told him about, the man who many expected to take Dumbledore’s place as the foremost symbol of the light side.

Grudgingly, Moody informed the distraught young witch that it was possible, but that she would have to be the one to Obliviate her parents if she wanted to be able to reverse it later. A wizard could only safely restore memories that he himself had removed. (On hearing this, both students recalled what had happened to Bertha Jorkins when Voldemort had broken the memory charms that Crouch had put on her.) Moody also added that even then it was not a sure thing.

As Hermione fought to bring her emotions under control, the three of them assessed their current situation. Removing the Compulsion was not really an option, as Hermione’s parents would immediately realize what had happened to them, and there would be no chance of them listening to any further reasoning on the subject. And both students truly believed that the Grangers’ lives were at stake, and that they needed to leave the country. Moody advised that the best course of action would be to not perform the memory charm until after they reached Australia, to minimize the complications that would be involved in getting them there if they didn’t know who Hermione was.
 

Trying to maintain an enthusiastic expression while my parents so eagerly discussed their dream-of-a-lifetime holiday was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I am so angry with what Moody did, as well as with his attitude. The truly disturbing aspect is that his viewpoint is not out of the ordinary in the wizarding world. They really do see muggles as being of no account, that they can be manipulated whenever wizards deem it necessary, without any consideration for their rights as human beings. With that sort of belief, it’s easier to see how Voldemort’s campaign against muggles and muggleborns is succeeding. But I can’t let myself dwell on that for too long or I’ll sink into despair. Focus, Hermione!

To increase the likelihood of the Obliviation of my parents being both successful and reversible, I need to be able to practice the spells. I certainly don’t want them to be my first attempt. However, I had no idea how I was going to do that. But Harry immediately volunteered to be my test subject. Of course I initially refused. I wasn’t about to risk making a mistake with his memories. But he responded to my objection by simply shrugging and commenting that he had lots of memories of the Dursleys that he didn’t mind losing permanently. As I was already emotionally on the edge, I started crying when he said that, and we hugged for a while.

It’s going to be very difficult, but I’m going to get through this. I have to.

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – June 30

Over the past few days, while Mum and Dad have been busy with their travel arrangements, I’ve repeatedly removed and restored various childhood memories of Harry’s. Some of them were pretty awful, and I understand why he wasn’t concerned about losing them. I was really shook up when I saw them. There was only one that he didn’t get back completely, about being beaten by Dudley’s gang. I lost track of which bullies hit him and in what order. On the plus side, I’m pretty confident in my abilities now. Moody was so impressed that he commented that he’d be glad to recommend me to the Ministry for a career as an Obliviator. Neither Harry nor I were amused.

Tomorrow Harry’s going to go to Privet Drive to start his two weeks with the Dursleys. In a normal year this would be the time he’d return from Hogwarts anyway, and it also makes sense that his time there will dovetail with my trip to Australia. I should be back at just about the time he’s ready to leave them.

I have my provisional driving license now, and I’m going to take my test for my full license before we leave for Australia, so Mum’s letting me drive to Surrey when we take Harry. It will be good practice for me. After I turn 18 in September I’ll be able to drive anywhere on the continent, too, which might come in handy while we’re hunting Horcruxes.

All of the emotional turmoil aside, it’s been great to spend these few days with him. Although, it has been frustrating that he’s sleeping right down the hall from me, when I really want him in my bed. I haven’t given up on plotting to make that happen, but I didn’t dare try it here. My parents have been really supportive about our relationship, all things considered, and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that, or give them any reason to change their minds about going to Australia. But after I get back …

There would be the possibility of me apparating directly from my room to his when he’s at Privet Drive, but I decided not to risk it. For one thing, the noise from the apparation might catch the attention of his relatives, and he really doesn’t need the bother of trying to explain why a girl suddenly appeared in his bedroom. In addition, we know the Ministry is keeping close tabs on Privet Drive, hoping to catch him doing underage magic, or anything else they can pin on him. So, no apparating or any magic use of any kind anywhere in the vicinity.

We have found a pretty secluded spot out in the back yard, so before we turn in tonight we’re going to get in one last heavy bit of snogging. We’ll also have our mirrors, so we’ll still be able to communicate every day. We’ll get by.

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – July 1

Everything went relatively smoothly today. I got through the drive to LittleWhinging without any major mistakes. Harry and Mum both told me I did great, although there were at least 2 or 3 times when I didn’t signal properly, and I’m sure I should have checked my mirrors more often.

We’d rung up the Dursleys and let them know we’d be bringing Harry home, so that they didn’t need to make the trip into London to pick him up at Kings Cross. I don’t think they even know what happened. I urged Harry to tell them, but it will be up to him to decide exactly what to reveal. Both Mum and I managed to keep our interaction with the Dursleys reasonably polite, especially considering what happened the last time we were there. The fact that Harry was only going to be staying for two weeks, and then would be gone for good, improved their dispositions considerably.

Before we left we stopped by the park and found a spot that I could apparate to without being seen. So I will be able to come and visit Harry a few times before I leave for Australia. That will make things quite a bit easier.

I’m somewhat concerned about finances. Mum and Dad’s trip to Australia is going to heavily deplete their savings. Harry has quite a bit of gold in his Gringotts vault, but that won’t last forever. I had an idea that might bring in a bit more, and it involves selling Harry’s story to a muggle publisher. Harry just shook his head in disbelief when I asked him about it, but told me to go ahead. I’m going to check with Ron, too, although I can already predict his reaction. I’m certain it will involve the word ‘mental’.

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – July 2

I apparated to the Burrow today to visit Ron and Ginny, and fill Ron in on things that have been happening that we can’t put into owl post. He was quite excited about Regulus and the idea of searching Headquarters for the Horcrux, but agreed that it would have to wait until later. They’re frightfully busy getting ready for the wedding. Bill has been released from St. Mungo’s and was told he would be fine. The scars have faded somewhat already, and they think they’ll be nearly gone by the time of the wedding.

Later Fleur pulled me aside and asked me if I would be a ‘provisional’ bridesmaid. They don’t know if Percy will show up for the wedding or not, but if he does they’ll want him to be in the wedding party and will need a partner for him. She told me she considered me a good friend and thought I’d understand about the tentative nature of the request. I assured her that I did, and that I was honored to be considered.

Part of me (the part that is insecure about my looks) is dreading the possibility. All of the other bridesmaids are so much prettier than me – I’m sure I’ll look ghastly by comparison. The colors don’t suit me either. On the other hand, I know Harry will tell me I look beautiful. He’s such a great boyfriend that way. This also reminded me that I have to find a dress to wear, assuming I’m not a bridesmaid. One more thing to add to the list.

I also gave Ron his special rucksack that I added an Extension Charm to, and told him to try to have it packed and ready to go. He was delighted with it, although I suspect his primary concern will be that we have enough food. But that’s OK. We all have our priorities – mine are books, his is food. We’ll need both, and if he takes care of packing enough to eat, that’s one less thing I need concern myself with.

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – July 7

I’ve been reading the book Dumbledore left me, and I can’t for the life of me understand what connection I’m supposed to make. The story that is marked with the symbol from the ring is called ‘The Tale of the Three Brothers’. I told Ron about it when I gave him the Deluminator, and he said the book was a famous collection of children’s stories. He was surprised that I’d never heard of them, but I pointed out that muggles have a different collection of fairy tales, like Snow White and Cinderella. Of course, he'd never heard of those either. He had no idea what the significance of this story was, or for that matter why Dumbledore would give him the Deluminator. He did have quite a bit of fun with it, putting out different lights and then turning them back on. I suppose it’s possible that Dumbledore just gave it to him as something that would keep him amused while Harry and I worked out the Horcruxes, but I rather doubt it.

At any rate, the story is about three brothers who met up with Death, and were each given a prize for outwitting him. Sort of like any number of stories from mythology, where the gods grant a favor to mortals. One brother chose a wand that would be the most powerful in existence, that would win any duel. The second asked for the power to raise the dead, and received a stone that could accomplish this. The third requested the ability to evade death, and was given an invisibility cloak.

Unfortunately, the first brother boasted about his prowess with his unbeatable wand and was killed in his sleep by another wizard, who stole it from him. The second brother tried to bring back a girl he had loved, who had met an untimely death. But she was not fully restored to life, existing as something more than a ghost but less than human. Eventually he went mad and killed himself so that he could join her completely.

The third brother only used his cloak to hide from Death, and succeeded. After a long, full life, he passed the cloak on to his son and joined Death willingly, on his own terms.

Since we have so much time to kill on this flight, I asked Mum and Dad if they could make anything out of it. Mum pointed out that the gifts turn out badly for two of the three brothers, and that this is common in stories like this. Maybe we’re supposed to learn something from the example of the third brother. Dad then wondered if Dumbledore meant it to be a hint about Harry’s invisibility cloak. (He’s always been fascinated by that cloak, from the first time Harry showed it to him.)

I hadn’t thought of either of those explanations, but perhaps there’s something to them. Voldemort wants to live forever, and so the second brother wanting to be able to cheat death, as it were, might be a reference to that. And he’s certainly interested in power, like the first brother was. And that didn’t work out either. The only prize that ended well was the invisibility cloak. And that’s the one that Harry actually has.

Is this supposed to be a clue? That we can’t defeat Voldemort by using raw power, but need to use stealth and subterfuge instead? Or I could be going off in the wrong direction altogether. After all, my original question was what is the connection between the Gaunt family ring and Grindelwald, and this line of reasoning gets me nowhere with that. Of course, with Dumbledore, one never knows. It’s possible that he’s trying to send us more than one message here – sort of a message within a message. I’ll discuss it with Harry when I talk to him on the mirrors after we get to Australia.

-0x0x0-

From the Journal of Hermione Granger – July 14

I’m glad that’s finally done with. I wasn’t sure if I could do it, but I managed in the end. I kept telling myself their lives were at stake. That still didn’t make it easy. Thank goodness I had Harry to talk to on our mirrors. I really needed his encouragement. At any rate, Dan and Emma Granger are no longer aware of the magical world. They also no longer know that they have a daughter.

I had to get away from them as soon as I did it. They would have found it odd to see this unfamiliar girl break down and cry. At least they are happy there. They really have wanted to go to Australia for years. If I don’t ever make it back – well, it’s not a bad life for them.

Things back here in Britain have gone from bad to worse. The ‘Peace Party’ in the Wizengamot is calling for negotiations to end what they call the ‘conflict’ with You Know Who. Scrimgeour, to his credit, has adamantly refused to ‘negotiate with terrorists’. I’m certain that he’s fully aware of how dangerous his position is, given what’s happened in the past to people who have opposed Voldemort so publicly.

Along with that, the outcry against muggleborns is stronger than ever. Umbridge has popped up again and is riding the wave of that movement back into power. She’s spearheaded a Muggleborn Registration Act and it passed the Wizengamot last week. Next I suppose they’ll make us start wearing yellow stars. She demanded that Hogwarts turn over the home addresses of all muggleborn students, to make it easier for the Ministry to keep track of all of us, but McGonagall refused. As a result, McGonagall is no longer the Acting Headmistress. To their credit, none of the other faculty would do it either. So the Ministry has directed the Board of Governors to appoint a new Headmaster or Headmistress before the next school year.

Since I’m not going to be spending much time at all at home from now on, this won’t affect me directly. They still won’t know where to find me. But this is probably only the beginning. As an example of just how bad it’s gotten, the Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts has gone missing, probably captured by Death Eaters. Umbridge’s response to that was a comment in the Prophet was that Muggle Studies isn’t worth teaching anyway.

Two books have been written about Dumbledore, one an ‘authorized’ biography and one ‘unauthorized’, and are scheduled to be released at the end of the month. The Daily Prophet has been running excerpts from both of them. The first was written by Elphias Doge, a lifelong friend of Dumbledore’s, and a member of the Order, and is naturally quite complimentary. The other is considerably less so. As one might guess, the book with the more scandalous claims has received a lot more attention. I suspect the truth is likely somewhere in between, so I plan to read both books.

I also suspect that without my first hand experience with Dumbledore’s manipulations over the past two years, I would have been inclined to discount the ‘unofficial’ story. But I’m no longer the wide-eyed innocent girl with an unshakeable belief in authority figures that I was when I first went to Hogwarts.

The good news is that we’re going to go get Harry from Privet Drive tomorrow evening. There was a message waiting for me when I returned home that I should come to the Burrow immediately, to join them for the ‘mission’. Apparently Moody has cooked up a rather bizarre scheme. I suspect that Harry’s not going to like it.

I’m going to owl back that I’ll meet them at Privet Drive. I really need Harry to hold me tonight.

-oooOOOooo-

“That was so sad about Grandma and Grandpa,” Rose sniffed as she leaned her head against her mother’s shoulder. “I can see why they’re mad about it, but it doesn’t seem like there was much else you could do.”

“In hindsight, I should have trusted them more and let them make their own decision,” Hermione admitted. “And if I’d been able to take the time to think it through, and realized how they would react, I probably would have. But I had to decide what to do about the Compulsion right there on the spot, and it’s hard to comprehend now just how terrified everyone was at the time. I really did think that if they stayed in England much longer they would be killed. And as you’ll see eventually, that wasn’t so far off. At least they’re alive and you have them in your life, even if we aren’t as close as I’d like.”

“Is the next part where you all turned into Daddy?” the young girl asked eagerly, changing the subject to a more pleasant one. “I’m really looking forward to that!”

“Well, it didn’t happen quite the same way as in the book, but that’s basically right,” her mother confirmed. “But that section’s pretty long, so we’ll save it until next time.”

-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-