Chapter 2 - Uncertainty
The next day there still wasn't any sign of the Weasleys, and what disturbed her most was that nobody seemed to care. She understood that the neighbors wouldn't, since they didn't really have any relation with the wizard family, but her parents' attitude had shocked her. They didn't care about the Weasley's whereabouts and they even got angry when Hermione kept talking about them. That made her furious... At least Mr. Weasley had tried to find them when they were missing!
How she wished to have her wand! She could have easily opened the front door and checked the Weasley home. But since she didn't, she would have to do it the muggle way. So instead of going to work, she called her boss and said she was sick and went to the Weasley's house. The place, always so full of life, was completely... dead. She firmly grabbed the rock in her hand and shuddered. What if a burglar or something had attacked them? But that couldn't be. She knew Mr. Weasley had put a lot of wards in his house and no common burglar could enter.
Be strong Hermione, she told herself. She broke the small window that was next to the back door, and with some difficulty she opened the lock. Luckily, Mr. Weasley had used a recognition spell, so if Hermione entered in the house in that way, the house would 'acknowledge her.'
It was, indeed, empty. No one was there and she was surprised to found that the beds weren't made. That meant that they had spent the night there... Had they left during the night or very early in the morning? Nothing seemed out of place. Hermione's eyes shifted to look for the clock they had on the wall above the fireplace, the one that showed where the family members were.
It wasn't there.
* * *
When she entered the Pyramide Hotel, the first thing she noticed was that it was crowded with people. She spotted a lot of people talking in English and not a single one in French. She approached the wizard at the reception desk, who looked at her from up above.
"Excuse me, sir," Hermione asked, trying to avoid the man's eyes and remembering what had happened in the Ministry. "I need to see Mr. Harry Potter."
The man took a while before answering. "Not here," he said dryly.
Damn. Suddenly, she realized that Harry could well have left Paris. She didn't even know what he was doing there...
"And Draco Malfoy?" she asked, thinking that if he was there, he could help her find Harry.
The wizard shook his head "He went out... Probably shagging some girl," he said, laughing.
Hermione gave him a disgusted look. She was about to ask something else when she spotted a tall man entering. She recognized the dark hair. It was Harry. He noticed her and stared at her for a while, obviously surprised.
"Hermione?"
She hadn't been sure that he would remember her.
"Hi, Harry," she said shyly.
"What... What are you doing here?"
"She was looking for you, Potter. Or Malfoy. The lady doesn't have preferences," the wizard in the reception said, winking.
Harry frowned.
"Come on," he said to Hermione. "Let's go to somewhere where we can talk... in private."
* * *
"I can't stand that man," Harry said when they were outside. He turned to her. "You look worried." He frowned again and Hermione stopped walking. "What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Harry," she said, and her voice sounded awfully formal, as if she was talking to some high authority. "But I didn't know what to do... It's about the Weasleys."
Harry's face went pale and he grabbed her arm.
"What happened?"
"The house... It's empty," she said, feeling the pressure of his fingers sinking into her arm.
"What do you mean 'it's empty'?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.
"I mean that there's no one inside," Hermione said, letting her arm go of Harry's grip.
Harry seemed to realize what he had done, but he didn't apologize. "Did you enter their house?"
"Yes," she said, a little impatiently. "And it was empty. The beds weren't made, but everything seemed in its place... Except for the clock, the one that..."
"I know which one," he cut her off, rubbing his forehead. "Since when?"
"They weren't there yesterday. I went looking for Ginny in the morning, and no one answered the door... What could have happened, Harry?"
Harry didn't answer and started walking. Hermione followed him, but it wasn't easy since he was walking really fast. He was deep in thought and Hermione didn't know if he was even aware that she was still with him.
Finally, they arrived at a small park. There were some children running and a couple of women, probably their mothers, chatting in the benches. Hermione realized immediately that there weren't any wizards or witches.
"Listen," Harry said, stopping abruptly and turning to face Hermione. "France is not a safe place anymore. I told you this the other day... Muggle-borns and those who protect them are being chased," he spoke fast and quietly. Hermione looked down. "I know you didn't believe me then and probably you still don't, but..."
"I do believe you," she said. How could she not; after what happened in the Ministry? Harry gave her a questioning look and she told her about what had happened with her parents and her wand.
Harry shook his head sadly. "I don't understand these people."
"Do you think that the war has something to do with the Weasley's disappearance?" Harry didn't answer and she took it as a 'yes'. "But they're purebloods."
"Arthur Weasley is a declared Slytherin adversary... He's part of Godric Gryffindor's inner circle... But no one is supposed to know that. There's no way the Ministry could have found out."
This didn't surprise Hermione. She had always suspected that Mr. Weasley was connected with what was happening in England. "Maybe they ran away," she suggested.
"A Weasley? Never. I know each one of them… They would all give their lives for a cause."
"Then they must have been taken for an interrogation..."
"But the whole family?" said Harry, shaking his head. "That's not normal. Unless..." he trailed off.
Hermione bit her tongue to stop from asking 'unless what?' Harry had told her in great confidence about Mr. Wealey's relation to Gryffindor, but she knew she shouldn't push her luck. What if he got angry and told her to mind her own business? "And if they were taken?"
"I hope they're as far away as they can be from those Ministry bastards," Harry said, darkly.
"Could you release them?" she asked
"How? Paying a guaranty?" he said sarcastically.
Hermione blushed. "I'm not that stupid. You're an important man, aren't you?"
Harry started walking again, and put his hands in his pockets. Hermione wondered if he was upset. She followed him for a couple of blocks, and none of them said anything. She wasn't sure why she was going with him anyway. She had given the message... But she was expecting an answer. Or at least, a comforting word.
"I'll find out what happened to them," Harry said, suddenly.
"How?" she asked, and scolded herself for being so bloody curious.
Harry sighed. "I'm going to ask General Krum."
Krum? The name was oddly familiar to her... And then she remembered. Krum was an important member of the England Ministry. She had read about him once in a Daily Prophet that Mr. Weasley had brought home from one of his travels to London.
"But isn't he on… the other side?" she asked, confused.
"He's a good man," Harry stated.
"A good man?! I don't see how someone related to Slytherin could be a good man," she exclaimed, quite upset.
Harry blinked. "I know he respects Arthur. He'll help."
"I'm sure of it... I mean, which racist pig wouldn't?" she snapped. Why was she being so unpleasant with him? Maybe she just wanted to get revenge for his ironic comment about the guaranty.
Harry stared at her for a second. She tried to read the expression in his face... There was a mixture of surprise, amusement, fear and... guilt?
"I really need a cup of coffee," Harry said. "Would you like one?"
Hermione realized they had walked in a small cafeteria. It was really warm inside and the smell of coffee and croissants was inviting. She nodded and Harry led her to a table in the corner, where he ordered coffee and croissants.
The silence that followed turned uncomfortable. Hermione was a talkative girl and she hated not knowing what to say. She had never met anyone who had the effect on her that Harry was having.
"Uhm... I'm sorry about earlier. I was so rude, and you just were making a suggestion," she said.
"You're worried... I am too. Let's make a truce for now."
Curious how a joke without a smile can sound so formal, Hermione thought.
"So... I know you graduated from Beauxbatons a couple of months ago," he added, obviously trying to start up some conversation.
She told him about her work in the muggle store, and he talked a bit about the joke shop. However, Hermione soon understood that Harry Potter hardly ever talked about himself, and she didn't push him to talk either.
"It's getting late," Harry said about an hour later. "You should go home." He asked for the check, but the owner said it was on the house. Harry nodded and thanked him as if that was a regular thing for him.
"How nice of him," commented Hermione when they went out of the cafeteria. "But then again, I'm sure that famous Harry Potter can get free attention wherever he goes."
"Hermione," said Harry, slowing his pace, "don't say that."
"What?"
"The 'famous' thing."
"Oh." She felt stupid. "I meant it as a compliment."
He sighed. I guess it must be hard for him, she thought, looking at his troubled features.
"You don't have your wand… so you can't apparate back home," Harry said after a long pause.
"It's alright, I'll just walk."
"I'll go with you." She was about to argue, but he cut her off immediately. "It's not safe for you to be in the streets by yourself... especially if you're wandless."
Hermione remembered what Ginny had said about Harry's obsession to protect everyone. Thinking about Ginny made her feel sad and worried. She had lightened up a bit talking with Harry, but now walking in the cold streets in complete silence, the feelings had come back stronger than before.
Harry was deep in thought again and she didn't disturb him. He had been kind enough to invite her for a cup of coffee and to walk her home. Of course, she knew he was doing it just because he was Ginny's best friend.
Soon they were in Daguerre Street. Harry stopped in front of the Weasley's house and Hermione saw his eyebrows furrowing.
"Well... Goodbye," she said.
"Thank you, Hermione."
"What for?" she asked. There was something special about the way he pronounced her name... It made her feel weird.
"For letting me know about this. I promise that as soon as I find out something, I'll tell you."
"That would be great... But please, don't come to my house." She realized that sounded rude, and she felt the need to explain. "My parents... They wouldn't like the fact that I'm looking for the Weasleys. They think it's dangerous."
Harry nodded. "They're right. Listen, I don't want you to risk yourself, OK? Just leave this to me." He was about to leave when he turned around. "And you really should discuss with your parents on the possibility of leaving France."
"But where could we go?" Hermione asked. She had been thinking about it the whole day.
Harry lowered the tone of his voice. "To the United States... Gryffindor's people are helping refugees escape from Europe. A lot of portkeys are been set up in Spain."
He made it sound so easy... But Hermione knew it was going to be hard to convince her parents to go to Spain and take a portkey to move to the United States. But she was going to try...
* * *
"Dear, there's no reason for us to run away," said Mrs. Granger stubbornly. Hermione had decided mentioning the idea of leaving France, and just as she had suspected, her parents were finding a million of objections.
"Mum, it's dangerous. For me and for you," she said.
"No, it's not. We're in good terms with the Ministry of Magic. Trust me, they won't hurt you," said Mr. Granger. Ever since he and his wife had come back from that 'interrogation,' he had been extremely calm about the events occurring in the Wizarding world, something that had never happened before.
Hermione sighed. She had tried telling them what had happened when she had gone to the Ministry, but they had assured her that it wouldn't happen again. "You can buy another wand," suggested Mrs. Granger. What she didn't know was that Hermione had tried that already, but in the store they had refused to sell her one. Her parent's behavior was disturbing her. They were being too hardheaded.
She couldn't sleep at night. All she did was wonder about Ginny's whereabouts. The only explanation she could think of was that somehow Slytherin found out about Mr. Weasley's connection to Gryffindor...
Finally, four days after Harry and Hermione's meeting, some news came.
Hermione was closing the store when she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and found Draco Malfoy grinning at her.
"Hi, do you remember me?" he said, grabbing her umbrella and opening it for her. Hermione nodded and smiled. "Good. I've been waiting for you to came out; I didn't want to enter in that muggle place."
"Why were you waiting for me?" she asked, intrigued.
"I'm a messenger. I have some news to deliver from a mutual friend."
Hermione's eyes lighted up. "From Ginny?"
"From Harry Potter," replied Draco. "He asked me to tell you that he would've come himself, but he had some business... I didn't really get what he had to do..."
Of course, thought Hermione. Why would such an important man as Harry Potter go out of his way and bother himself to inform some poor muggle-born witch?
"What's the message?" she asked, suddenly upset, although she couldn't understand why.
"He said: 'The General thinks he might have a clue'."
"That's it?"
"Yeah, and he made me repeat it five times. Does it make sense to you?"
She nodded. She got the impression that Draco was waiting an explanation, but she wasn't going to give him one. So, that was it; 'The General thinks he might have a clue.' He wasn't even sure he might have a clue. Surely, Harry could have made an effort to find out more.
"You know, Harry ordered me that no one should see us talking. He told me that if I dared to approach your house, he was going to hex me until I had no memory of myself. Pretty rude, huh?"
"Thanks," said Hermione, and started walking.
"You could be a little more enthusiastic," he said, grinning.
She stopped and looked at him. "I appreciate what you have done. I'll never forget it."
"That's better," he said. And before she could guess his intentions, he kissed her in the cheek and disapparated.
Hermione touched her cheek, having the sudden desire for it have been Harry, and not Draco, the one who kissed her.
You're being stupid, she thought sadly.
* * *
A/N: Once again, thanks to Kris for the beta reading. As I said in the prologue, this story is based on the book "Naked Heart" by Jacqueline Briskin. I found that book in a street stand in Viña del Mar. The spanish translation is not very good, but I really liked the story, and decided to adapt it in this fic.