A/N
Thank you Pumpkiniers for sticking with me through the back-story. Thinking back, I really should have had chapter 5
totally ready to go before posting the earlier chapters. I stayed awake all night to polish it up to make sure that you
understood the what happened to make things end up the way they did. I wanted Harry to have been in a long term,
stable, relatively happy relationship with someone we knew, but I didn't want a divorce, affair or any of the
baggage that goes along with that. So, I killed her off quick and gave him a right proper year to 'mourn' so
the wizard tabloids wouldn't have a field day. J
This won't be in the story, but in my mind, this is how Harry and Ginny got together. The teenage Ginny that I saw was into all of the same things he liked (i.e. Quidditch) and the first few times anything physical happened (i.e. kissing) they both apologized to each other later. Then they both just kind of got used to the stress relief and then Ginny fell in love. In case you are wondering, it was never more than kisses and maybe a few snogging sessions until after Voldemort was taken care of (Harry/Ginny haters, sorry to spoil your dinners...). A few weeks before Harry and Ron's conversation, Harry had realized just how deep Ginny's feelings had become, but as he said to Ron, it just wasn't the time to break someone's heart. Hermione had never made her own feelings known, and both Harry and Ron were both thinking the other was after her.
After the end of the war, Hermione was gone as far as Harry knew. Ginny was comfortable to be around and he figured he would have to wait a lifetime to find someone that could make him feel anything remotely resembling what Hermione made him feel (if ever) and he wanted the family he never had. Life went on, as it tends to do, he loved his family and he did love his wife. He knew his marriage wasn't anything like a romance novel in terms of passion, but they had been happy, which is more than what could be said for many couples he knew but he did have the vague sense that he was missing something in his life. Oh, and one more thing. I first wrote the death chapter without the "I love you," being the 'pumpkin-head' that I am, but come on, this is our Harry we're talking about!
Chapter 6
Harry sank into the leather chair at his Solicitor's office trying to let the information he just received sink in.
Mr. Banks was a Squib, so he was the perfect person to attend to the legal affairs of Wizards when their business
overlapped with the Muggle world.
"So let me get this straight," Harry stated. " You're telling me that Hermione Granger is not dead." Harry couldn't hide his cynicism.
"No, Mr. Potter, that's not what I stated. I just gave you a list of facts that can be explained in many different ways." Mr. Banks answered.
Harry was frustrated, but he tried to recount what he had been told. "There is no Death Certificate in the name of Hermione Granger born 9/19/1980 or anyone by that name born any date plus or minus 10 years. There is no hospital report from the night she died, but we did find a report of a suspected missing Jane Doe DOA that was thought of as a book keeping error."
"Yes, Mr. Potter, that is correct. There is also a possibility her body was never identified and her body was disposed of by the state. You, yourself said none of your group attempted to recover the body..."
Harry snapped at him, "It was the middle of the war! I hated not giving her the respect she deserved, but we couldn't risk it. The Auror's unit should have handled that, but from what I understand, it was a busy day and they were not able to find her once they arrived."
Mr. Banks used that statement as a starting point for his next idea. "Harry, if you don't mind me calling you that..." Harry nodded in approval, "since you brought that up, there is also the likelihood that perhaps her remains were stolen by the Death Eaters for use in potions." He stopped there. He didn't need to explain to Harry just how the fresh virgin body parts of a powerful witch could be used in dark magic. Harry didn't know for sure about the virgin part, but he had always trusted her when she said nothing happened with Viktor Krum and he didn't remember her ever dating anyone seriously.
Harry shivered in spite of all he had been through. "How does that explain the rest of what you told me?"
"Identity theft was quite common in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Harry. Miss Granger's parents left her quite a portfolio. It would have been a very tempting target."
Harry thought for a moment. "Hermione was always the brains of our little circle of friends, but I see a hole so big here even the Knight Bus could drive right through it. A Hermione Granger withdrew the trust fund at age 17 and a half, several days after the battle where we thought she died. At age 18, she inherited half of her parent's estate, and at age 25 she gained control of the other half." Harry paused as if something should be obvious to Mr. Banks at this point.
Mr. Banks still looked puzzled, "This is still well within the realm of identity theft."
"You're leaving out one part, Mr. Banks. You said that taxes continue to be paid each year in her name through her Solicitor..."
Mr. Banks gave him a look that seemed to question the validity of Harry's thought process.
Harry continued. "If I were an identity thief, I could see the benefit of paying taxes between ages 18 and 25 to make sure to gain control of the whole estate without attracting unwelcome attention, but why would I continue to pay taxes once there was nothing more to gain? Wouldn't I just move the money out of the country once I had access to all of it? "
Mr. Banks's eyes opened wide for a moment. "You do have a point. Honesty and identity theft don't usually go together. Unfortunately, the only information that is public is the fact that someone of that name has continuously paid taxes and how much was paid each year. The amounts seem consistent with what one would make with wise investments of a portfolio of that size. They do not seem to indicate additional income or money being removed for support, other than a large sum of money removed from the trust fund at the start. The other public information available would be ownership of real property or criminal records, that kind of thing. Other than taxes, we have not been able to find anything."
"What about the non-public information?" Harry asked seriously.
"Already on that," there was a reason Harry selected this Solicitor. "Who ever this person actually is, all of his or her business including taxes is handled by a very secure Solicitor's office. The only place where they will even admit to representing a client is in a court of law. If you phone their office and make up a name and ask to leave a message for that person because you know they are a client and it is very important, they'll take the message and tell you that if that person is a client, it will be passed on, exactly the same way they handle it if you ask for a real client."
Harry nodded. "If you hadn't thought of the tax angle that I brought up, why did you bother to check on that?" Harry asked with a smile on his face.
His Solicitor smiled. "I may not know you very well personally, Harry, but your reputation precedes you. Even if I hadn't been able to come up with a compelling reason to check I couldn't see anything wrong with being thorough. Also, they have no history of magical clients. All Muggle. Usually big name business people that want their privacy, but sometimes some unsavory characters as well."
Harry frowned.
Mr. Banks continued, "Let me get my Wizard partner and let you know what we've been able to find out on that end. I'll be right back." He left the room.
The whole unsavory Solicitor firm bit didn't sound like Hermione. But did it sound like Hermione trying not to be found and the kind of decision she might have made as a teenager? If she were still out there, that was a huge advantage Harry had, life experience. If somehow, someway she had faked her death in front of so many people, she would have had to quickly make decisions to set up a new life for herself and the information from her taxes showed she wasn't spending money from her parent's estate. She was making her own way in the world. Most likely in the magical world based on the tax amounts.
Harry stood up as Mr. Banks returned to his office with Mr. Beaumont, a Wizard who also worked as a Solicitor. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Potter. I'll do my best to avoid the same praise you must have to hear on a daily basis, but please don't think for a moment that means I have any less respect and admiration than the multitudes of autograph seekers." He shook Harry's hand warmly.
Harry smiled and even managed to joke, "What, you don't want an autograph, or perhaps a lock of hair, for a 'friend'?"
They all laughed, and Mr. Beaumont gestured for them all to sit back down. "Let me get right to the point. My assignment has been to gather information on the Malfoy woman. I've worked hard to be able to speak English without a French accent, it comes in handy for undercover work, but I attended Beauxbatons in the late 1990s, approximately the same time you and your friends attended Hogwarts."
Harry looked interested. "What can you tell me about Solonge Malfoy?" Harry asked excitedly.
"Absolutely nothing from a personal standpoint, but I have research." Mr. Beaumont answered. "I do not remember her from school. Of course, there is no way to tell with absolute certainty. Beauxbatons and the French Ministry of Magic were totally leveled during the war and no records remain, but I have contacted at least 50 former classmates, and no one remembers her. Right after the tragedy, all it took was a few phrases in French to get new identity papers from the British Ministry. Here's her first ID photo."
Harry took a close look at the small ID sized picture he was handed. The young woman had short but thick black hair in a pageboy style haircut with the ends curled under and thick fringe. It was hard to tell, but her eyebrows did appear to be lighter, suggesting this was not her natural hair color. It certainly didn't look like Hermione, until he covered the hair with his fingers. Once he did that he was able to focus on her eyes and the shape of her mouth. "It's her."
Both Solicitors seemed surprised. Harry had a reputation for being far more rational than that. Harry noticed their skepticism and went through some pictures her brought with him. He found a few with Hermione that had a similar expression on her face and placed them on the desk. "Her hair is such an overwhelming feature that if it's changed, it's hard to tell it's the same person, but look at these pictures if I cover the hair." With the help of some paper and his fingers, Harry covered the hair on the ID photo and one of his own pictures, and the Solicitor's were now able to see the same matching facial characteristics.
Mr. Barns picked up the phone to the technical department. "Hello, Stan. I'm sending down a few photos, I'd like ASAP confirmation on if it's the same person. I'd like skull size, eye measurements and placement...you know...the usual...thanks...I owe you..." Mr. Barns then spoke to Harry. "I'm assuming you'll let me borrow one of these, I know I should have asked first."
"Not a problem!" Harry replied. "I really don't need the answer, but confirmation wouldn't hurt."
"I have more on Solonge, if you are still interested?" Mr. Beaumont offered.
Harry smiled, "Yes, please continue."
He cleared his throat, "After Solonge was able to get establish herself and get her new ID from the British Ministry of Magic, she put in a request to take her NEWTs because of the lost records in France. She selected to take the tests in English; her application stated that if she was going to be staying in England, she wanted to make sure her test results proved she was proficient in the language of the country where she now lived. This was very unusual because of the difficulty of the tests, so she was flagged for further investigation and interviewed in French. She passed. She also passed all of her NEWTs and, I know you are wondering this, she took them in the exact same subjects Hermione Granger had been taking before Hogwarts closed down during your 7th year."
Harry had to laugh. "I knew she could speak some French, but I didn't know she was fluent!"
Mr. Beaumont continued. "Very soon after passing her NEWTs, she began working in magical book restoration for the Ministry. She's very well thought of and has saved books that were once thought to have been lost forever. She works from home."
"12 Grimmauld Place" Harry stated simply.
Mr. Banks joked, "Was there something that you actually NEEDED our assistance with, Harry?" this made Harry smile. Mr. Banks had more to say, "I have to admit, I am starting to believe that this may be your friend, and I'm a cautious man. Keep in mind that she might not want to be found."
"Buying my old home wasn't the best way to accomplish that. The Black family owned it, and then I did, I sold it right after the war to a Muggle family, and then she must have purchased it." Harry thought out loud.
"We'll let you know what we find from the pictures. Unless you have any further questions, good day, Mr. Potter." Mr. Banks stood and shook Harry's hand and so did Mr. Beaumont.
"Thank you very much for all of your hard work." Harry replied as he left the office.
*
Harry took a deep breath as he watched the delivery owl fly away. It carried a note and a single, perfect white rose.