Chapter 12
"Hermione's Fight for the Sneakoscope"
The sun had already risen, and Hermione came out of her room, yawning and stretching towards the sitting room. Despite having to wake up almost every hour checking if she was still safe in the Granger's house, she reckoned she already had enough sleep to last her for the long day ahead. During around midnight, she almost believed that she had fallen to the Death Eaters and was brought to Voldemort, whose face she had not seen, because of an almost too real dream. All this escape and evasion business might be having a real toll on her, she thought.
The string she had tied across the fireplace had not been disturbed and the burglar alarms hadn't been tripped off, too. There was no sign of any attempt of a break-in last night, much to her relief. That meant the Death Eaters had no idea where she had gone last night - at least that would give her more time to prepare for her little quest.
Hermione fixed herself a quick breakfast after washing her face at the kitchen sink. There was no bread for her parents had not bought any because of their trip, so she settled to fix herself some instant hotcakes with liberal squirts of maple syrup, with a glass of orange juice. After cleaning up and wrapping some leftover hotcakes in a paper towel just in case she got hungry, she got out of the house to begin her trip to London. Lucky her family had moved to Hertfordshire just a year before, because it meant she could be in London in just over an hour and she knew the transit system in that city to get to the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley. The only problem is, she remembered, is that she never had gone to London without being brought by her parents there using the family car that was presently parked in the driveway. She didn't know how to get there now. Hermione was not a spoiled kid, except that her parents were a tad overprotective of her regarding how she was brought from place to place ever since. Going around the city was just as simple as remembering her travels with her mother. If only she could ask someone to bring her to London now and she was confident could take it from there without any help.
Her little problem had been solved as soon as she had slung her backpack over her thick coat and exited the front door. It was a chilly morning; only a few people were out today. Her neighbor, Mister and Mrs. Cook were getting their car ready for work and they spotted Hermione walking along the sidewalk crossing their front yard. Both the Cooks were nearing sixty, childless, but were very good neighbors with the Grangers. They waved at Hermione and she waved back.
"Good morning, Hermione," called Mrs. Cook happily.
"Good morning, Mister and Mrs. Cook," she greeted back, smiling, and slowing down a little.
"It's kind of unusual seeing you around the neighborhood this time of year," mused Mrs. Cook as her husband was finishing heating up the car. "Is there any problem at school?"
"Yeah," said Hermione, knowing that she wasn't lying at all (there was really a big problem back at Hogwarts, her school), but she had to be careful all the same not to mention the name and hoped that Mrs. Cook wouldn't ask where she studied. "Not that I've been expelled or something. I just need to go to London to take care of things, but…"
"Yes?"
"Uh, I don't know how to get there…" Hermione said, embarrassed.
"Why, it's quite simple, Hermione," said Mrs. Cook jovially. "Just follow that road over there and…"
"Sweetums," Mr. Cook interrupted, getting out of the car. "It would just be simple and helpful if we offered Hermione a ride. We work in London, remember?" He shook his head, laughing.
"Oh, of course," Mrs. Cook said, slapping her forehead gently. "Come along, dear, we're getting ready to go there for work. We'll drop you off where it's nearest to where you're going."
"Thanks! That would be great," said Hermione happily, walking briskly and got in the car. They started traveling after a couple of minutes of waiting for Mr. Cook to be satisfied with the engine heat.
"Do your parents know you're home, Hermione?" asked Mrs. Cook. "They left us the house key while they're away in Paris."
"They don't," replied Hermione from the back seat, just behind her. "Everything's so unexpected that I had no time to tell them, but I left a note saying I'd been home for a while, please don't worry about it, Mrs. Cook. I've done this before."
"Where do you go again, dear?" asked Mrs. Cook interestedly, now gazing at Hermione from the front seat. This is what was Hermione was afraid about. She hated to lie more than what was necessary, but she hoped whatever name she gave would be as obscure as any name of school found in Britain, even "St. Hogwarts Academy, Mrs. Cook."
"Oh, never heard of such school, is it near here?"
"Somewhere far away, Mrs. Cook," said Hermione.
""Well, wherever you go I hope they teach good science," Mrs. Cook said, smiling, and Hermione smiled back real quickly.
"This talk of schools remind me what I read in the paper this morning about some students being sought by police," Mr. Cook said while driving along the road flanked by rich green grass hills. "Somewhere in Scotland this time. I didn't get the name of the school but two pupils had tried to murder the Headmaster. It's just appalling."
"You read the Sun too much, Richard," Mrs. Cook told her husband absentmindedly. "You better try to read real newspapers…"
"I know," Mr. Cook said airily. "But it's much more interesting."
Hermione suspected the Sun might have been reporting about Harry and Ron. Some wizard reporters were assigned as correspondents in Muggle tabloids, writing occasionally about witches and other oddities to make each story laughable and less believable to plain Muggles. But still, there are readers who still just don't get it.
"You know what's funny about the report?" added Mr. Cook. "It said that some kind of reward is being offered to any info about the boys' whereabouts, about a thousand 'Galleons' instead of Pound Sterling. Some typo made by the reporter, I reckon. Everybody might have the impression they're giving away a flotilla or something…I'm sure they all couldn't park in a backyard swimming pool. Ha! I gotta remember that joke when I'd see my friends over Gin Rummy…"
Hermione forced a laugh, thinking that these wizard reporters would someday give away the wizarding world if they weren't too careful, but more importantly both Harry and Ron have got lots on their hands now that the Ministry has put up a reward for their arrest. If she didn't bring the evidence to the Ministry soon, her friends would be in big trouble. Still, she remembered that the Ministry had failed for years trying to find Sirius, but she didn't want to count on that for Harry and Ron - they've just been running away for days. Of course, she also didn't want them to keep hiding longer than what is necessary.
They were mostly silent for rest of the car trip, aside from side chats about the weather and stuff. Hermione was glad the path Mr. Cook took towards their workplace was just along the way to where she wanted to go foremost: The Leaky Cauldron. The Cooks dropped her off just a few yards away from the pub, which the couple didn't see as they were supposed to.
"Thanks for the lift, Mister and Mrs. Cook," said Hermione, looking at them from the sidewalk.
"You're welcome, Hermione," said Mrs. Cook from the car. "Are you sure you know how to go home? I'm not feeling very well leaving you in London all by yourself - your parents might get angry with us…"
"Oh, yes, I know how to get home, Mrs. Cook," Hermione replied, doing her best to act sure. "But I'd be going back to school right after this, please don't worry about me," Then they all waved again at each other, smiling. Hermione then went inside the Leaky Cauldron, where it was unusually empty aside from a couple of goblins drinking whiskey at a table, and a middle-aged wizard with a tankard sitting at a chair at the farthest wall near the back door. Tom the innkeeper looked at Hermione, who was wearing Muggle clothing, after he felt the bell clinking.
"I'm a student witch, Tom," said Hermione gently, knowing that he might have suspected her as a stray Muggle who had stumbled in the Leaky Cauldron. He looked like he was reaching for his wand to subject her to a memory charm.
"Oh, of course, you are," Tom said happily, bearing his yellow teeth. "Uhm, it's too late for shopping around Diagon Alley this time of year, is it?"
"Yeah, I know," said Hermione, approaching him. "But I need to know where I can find the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible. Do you know where it is?"
"Oh, what about?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you yet, not that I don't trust you," Hermione said quietly as she approached Tom to the counter. "But it's a matter of life and death, and the sooner I get there the better..."
"Ah, I see," said Tom, not pushing the subject, and still smiling. "Good thing the Ministry keeps an office around here, a couple of blocks from Diagon Alley just past Gringotts. It has a big sign, you can't miss it."
"Thanks, Tom," said Hermione. She slid off her stool and headed towards the back of the Leaky Cauldron. She heard Tom grumble, "Oh, no, another non-paying customer…" She wondered why Tom would have thought her as such because she was only asking for directions. However she only cared of getting to the Ministry of Magic, being almost there to care. She didn't have to take out her wand because the brick wall, the entrance to Diagon Alley, was already open. Someone might have forgotten to close it.
The feeling of seeing Diagon Alley via the brick wall was always exciting for Hermione. She never really understood why she always had the urge to splurge at this place each time she got through the entrance. The shopping activity of other wizards and witches presently in Diagon Alley was very contagious. An hour of window-shopping before going to the Ministry Magic maybe won't hurt, she thought, but she shook it off. Still, the mood was festive that she couldn't stop smiling.
She walked the length of the alley, going through the thick and slow-moving crowd, until she reached a fork that Gringott's bank had created. She then saw something that made her heart sink. Along the alley, people were examining newly posted wanted posters of Harry and Ron, complete with moving pictures of the both of them.
"It's quite a shame, really," said an old wizard to a witch beside him, who was equally interested with the poster. "The boy who we thought could do marvelous things after repulsing You-Know-Who by graduating at Hogwarts has a troubled mind after all."
"Right you are," said the witch back. "We never thought one of Arthur's sons could do such a hideous thing. Since Ronald Weasley is just a student, he could be a potential dark wizard, in my opinion. Only their kind could think of killing someone as formidable as Dumbledore. From what I hear, he would never recover from the attack."
"And that Head Boy - what's his name?"
"Chadron, I think," said the witch, after looking around for the name in her head. "Yeah, the Daily Prophet said he single-handedly thwarted a plan by Death Eaters to take over Hogwarts after Dumbledore was put down by that curse. A hero, that boy."
Hermione almost screamed in disgust after hearing that. She was the only one among the crowd who knew the whole truth about Jack Chadron, but these were the wrong people to argue with. She inhaled lots of air, held her breath, and walked off red-faced past Gringotts. "You've had your fifteen minutes of fame, Chadron," she said under her breath. It was probably good that Jack Chadron was being portrayed as the hero for a while, because once everyone knew what he truly was, he'd never want to face anyone for as long as he lived.
Hermione found a small but very visible sign that read "Ministry of Magic Detachment Office, 200 meters" which pointed to the left. She followed it, gradually calming down as she progressed. Soon, she was at the end of the alley, which seemed to have less shops but more two-story buildings that housed other Ministry of Magic offices like the Improper Use of Magic Office and so on. There also was a jailhouse where, at the moment, two Ministry wizards were dragging a defiant wizard who seemed to have done something wrong. Right next to it was the Ministry of Magic main office where Hermione surmised was the right place to tell her story and present the evidence.
She entered the door very slowly. The Ministry lobby had a strange ambience to it, like it was subjecting a strong sense of authority to anyone who was under its roof. Hermione felt she didn't dare do something stupid, as if some Ministry Wizards would just pop right in beside her and arrest her for whistling. This didn't help her with the nervousness she felt, and the fear of failing to get what she came for.
No one seemed to have noticed her. The lobby was pretty busy, with many wizards and witches going about their business. There was a lone stern-looking wizard who manned the reception desk, which was elevated a few inches above the floor like a judge's table. On top of the desk was a gold nameplate, the name of Donald Driepwet engraved on it. There were a couple of witches who were talking to him at the moment, and Hermione approached the desk and got behind them. Soon, the witches walked away from the desk and Hermione was left alone facing the wizard, who looked down at her.
"State your business, please," said Donald suddenly to Hermione, who jumped.
"Uh, good morning, sir," said Hermione a little timidly. "I don't know who to look for, but I have something with me that may help clear somebody of a crime he didn't commit."
"I see," Donald said seriously. "And what do you have, miss…?"
"Granger. Hermione Granger, sir."
"Ah, yes, Miss Granger," he said, his eyes lighting up and forgetting about what Hermione had to show. "Don't you know you're wanted for questioning, do you, miss?"
"Actually, sir, I'm not aware of that, but I'm not afraid of being held for investigation because I have with me the truth," Hermione replied, raising her chin slightly with dignity.
Donald nodded and smiled broadly. "Okay, we'll see about that later, then, Miss Granger. I'll call on someone to hear your story as soon as possible. I have to ask you to go with a Ministry Wizard who'll bring you to the interrogation room right now, and stay there until an investigator starts asking you some questions. Thanks for coming forward - that's very brave of you."
Hermione nodded with confidence.
"Gilbert!" Donald said to a wizard who was writing his report a few tables away. "Could you please escort Miss Granger here to the 'square' room." Gilbert nodded obediently and went to Hermione to usher her deeper inside the Ministry building.
After walking through a large office space with dozens of tables with busy wizards and witches behind them, Hermione entered a windowless square room (that seemed to be near to the back of the building) in one of the couple chairs around a small table. The walls were colored blue-gray which was too gloomy for her taste.
"Miss Granger, please wait here until someone comes in to talk to you," said Gilbert very gently. "I'll be just out by the door."
"Okay, thanks," said Hermione, smiling a little.
It was silent inside; she could hear her heart pounding louder and louder in anticipation for what she had come here for: to present the most crucial proof of Ron's innocence. She felt safe now because she knew she was in the Ministry of Magic. "Just a few minutes longer, Harry and Ron, and you'll be vindicated."
Just a minute later the door then opened slowly in front of her, and she straightened up. A lone wizard in his late forties went in with an assuring smile drawn on his face, helping her calm down a little.
"You must be Miss Hermione Granger," he said, closing the door gently behind him. "We've been looking all over for you, not that we want to arrest you…"
"Yeah, I'm so glad I was able to get to this office before the Death Eaters could find me," said Hermione eagerly.
"My name is Jedd Wright and I'm Senior Investigator here in the Ministry of Magic," the wizard said. "We've been quite worried about you, as a matter of fact, because we thought we wouldn't have been able to find you before the other camp did. I've got a hunch that the perpetrator of the crime is still roaming freely around Hogwarts and that your friends have been wrongly accused. I'm quite sure that the prime suspect should be…"
"Jack Chadron?" Hermione suggested very quickly.
"Yes, yes, that's quite correct. However I don't even have with me a shred of evidence to support my suspicions," Jedd sighed.
"I have something. It's a smoking gun," said Hermione.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, sorry, that's Muggle talk for incriminating evidence."
"Oh, of course," Jedd nodded. "But I'm afraid this is not the right place to show us your proof yet, Miss Granger. Cornelius Fudge had specifically instructed us to bring anyone to him who'd shed light on this mystery. He has expressed great interest in this case because it has affected his good friend Albus Dumbledore."
"Oh, sure, of course," Hermione said, feeling happy that she'd show her proof to none other than the Minister of Magic.
"Come, allow me bring you to him right now."
"Okay, thanks." Hermione stood up and followed Jedd out of the room and into the hall. They met a few people who didn't seem to have any interest on Hermione. Along the way, Jedd called two more wizards who went with him and Hermione without any word. Bodyguards, probably, Hermione thought. Jedd walked abreast with her while the other two wizards brought up the front and the rear.
"The Minister's office is located where you'd least expect it to be, Miss Granger," said Jedd, laughing a little as he opened the door that led outdoors to a fully landscaped courtyard.
"Oh, I noticed," said Hermione looking around while keeping on walking. "I always thought his office would be up the highest floor…"
"Yes, that's what people seem to think all the time," Jedd replied, winking. "It's for security purposes, you see. Too obvious." They kept walking until they were farther off the Ministry building to another alley were there were less people. This made Hermione feel very uneasy.
"Uh, his office is oddly farther than he'd wanted it to be, isn't it?" she said as they crossed a little park.
"That's right," said Jedd, who didn't look back at her. "But don't worry, we're almost there. Are you sure you have your Sneakoscope with you? It'd be a shame if you've already gone in front of him and find that you don't have it…"
"Oh, yeah, it's here," said Hermione, starting to take it out of her backpack that she had slung on her left shoulder as she kept walking.
Then her heart stopped.
She realized she had not told anyone about the Sneakoscope yet, except for Harry and Ron thru owl post, and it was almost impossible to intercept letters carried by owls. Additionally, she was pretty sure that she hadn't told Dean and Neville directly about the Sneakoscope. Only Jack Chadron had seen it work aside from her, and it was highly suspicious that these men had known about it unless he was the one who could have told them she had it. She was willing to bet all she had that these "Ministry Wizards" were not they were ought to be but were Death Eaters who had probably infiltrated the Ministry of Magic. They might be working for Chadron or whoever was also behind this. This made her look like she was paranoid, but if she didn't do anything at all and allowed herself to be caught in this highly possible trap, then she lost her only chance to do something for Harry and Ron. If they'll turn out to be the opposite, she didn't know, but she thought that maybe she'll just say "Oops, sorry." Then she decided on what to do. She closed her eyes and…
BANG!
Instead of feeling for the Sneakoscope inside her backpack, Hermione had taken out her wand. Jedd was screaming as he covered his eyes and cursed loudly, shouting "Arrghhh! Get her! She mustn't get that Sneakoscope to the Aurors!" The other wizard behind her was also rubbing his eyes, while the one in front had become confused after hitting the dirt.
Hermione took advantage of the situation and started to run back towards the general direction of the Ministry of Magic, going around the trees that stood in the park. Some people were already running away from the ruckus. The wizard in front regained his senses and pointed his wand at the fleeing Hermione and shouted "Impedimenta!"
It was lucky for Hermione that she had gone past a thick tree that covered her from the wizard's line of fire just in time. The spell bounced off the trunk and flew harmlessly to the sky. She panted, pinning her back against the trunk and peered around it, seeing that Jedd and the other wizard were beginning to recover their eyesight and started to go toward her direction. She thought she could still hold them off without using magic, but she didn't care enough about getting any letter from the Improper Use of Magic anymore. This was an emergency.
She pointed her wand at one of the three Death Eaters, who was now advancing towards her just a few yards away, and bellowed, "Petrificus Totalus!" A rope-like beam rushed out of her wand and hit the Death Eater square on his chest, totally freezing him and he fell like a heavy log to the ground. Hermione managed to repeat the spell on Jedd, but he had quicker reflexes and muttered "Nimble Wimble!" as the beam hit him, effectively reversing Hermione's spell, making it useless.
"Expelliarmus!" Jedd yelled before Hermione could do another full body bind, and she was thrown back away from the tree trunk and landed painfully on the pavement. She grimaced, not because of her bruises, but for her wand that had flown away towards Jedd, who caught it. Hermione was now unarmed.
"Oh, no, my wand!" she said, regretting furiously for being caught off guard like that. She sat up and she saw Jedd sneering triumphantly just thirty feet away re-aiming his wand at her. If she didn't move quickly enough the game would be over, she thought.
She bravely got on her feet pretty fast and ran away as fast as she could. She could hear Jedd muttering curses from behind her, but luckily his aim wasn't that great. The curses just overtook her, and she could feel the heat whizzing past her ear. She used the trees in the park as cover very skillfully going from one to the other, occasionally looking back to see where her pursuers were; they were dangerously closing the gap pretty quickly.
She saw the rear façade Ministry Building about a hundred feet ahead of her. "Just a little more!" she said to herself, but dropped her breath when the wizard she saw earlier in the Leaky Cauldron was standing halfway between her and the Ministry of Magic. He was smirking in an evil sort of way at her and yelled, "Give it up, girl! Your side doesn't have a chance against the Dark Lord." Hermione knew he could have been one who tipped Jedd Wright about her early on, and what he said had confirmed her suspicions that these guys were indeed Voldemort's Death Eaters.
Hermione didn't have a choice but to look for another way to get to the Ministry, even if it meant doubling the distance - she had to get to the real Aurors. She turned right, ran, and entered an adjacent alley that seemed to be leading farther away from the Ministry building, but this was the only route that the Death Eaters hadn't covered, so she took it, hearing them cursing behind her.
"Gangway!" she hollered as she sliced through the shopping crowd. Witches were screaming as Jedd and his henchmen forcefully bullied their way through. There were some flashes and some people fell on the ground, sending everyone into panic.
Hermione had reached a fork on the alley. Under pressure of the pursuing Death Eaters, she hastily searched for her bearings and reckoned that going left would take her nearer the Ministry building. Without wasting any more time, she ran again following the path she took. The crowd seemed to have helped her a little, because the Death Eaters were still fighting through the crowd. The way she took was narrower and darker than Diagon Alley, and there were some stray cauldrons on the ground hastily dropped by alarmed shoppers. She tripped on one, sending her rolling down the cobbled road. Hermione struggled to regain her footing, and lost her sense of direction. Groaning, and feeling dizzy, she stood up and looked around. The area around her seemed to be swaying; she turned on the next bend that she thought led to another alley, but it wasn't. It was just a dark gap - a niche between two shops with some old boxes and an iron grille - a dead end.
She heard running footsteps getting nearer and she sunk herself deeper in the gap, fighting dizziness while sliding herself behind the boxes, hoping that the darkness would be enough to conceal her. A few seconds went by and she caught a glimpse of the Death Eaters go past her position - they didn't see her and they kept on running along the alley, looking blindly around for her. Hermione then thought she only needed a couple of minutes more or so before re-emerging and then she could double back towards the Ministry of Magic, relatively safer now. She could look for Donald Driepwet again who she thought wasn't a Death Eater and ask for his help.
As Hermione thought about that, she then began to worry what Donald Driepwet or anyone from the Ministry would think of her by running away. Jedd could just return there and tell everyone she took flight out of guilt, and that would make her task much more difficult than it was before. Still, she could just turn on the Sneakoscope in front of everybody then and that will shut everyone up for sure. The only thing that mattered most at the moment was to avoid Jedd and the Death Eaters as much as possible.
Hermione had regained her normal breathing, and hoping that the Death Eaters had lost her this time, she started to get out of her hiding place. She looked left and right through the alley, making sure it was safe. It looked devoid of people already, who had earlier scampered out for safety. Seeing nobody else around, she walked briskly, moving ever so silently as if anybody could hear her footsteps, and doubled back to where she came from. This seemed to be right thing to do for her, because she thought the Death Eaters would never think she'd go this way all over again. But when Hermione turned the next corner, she screamed.
Jedd Wright grabbed her arm and pulled her painfully back to the dark gap from where she hid. Hermione fought hard to break free from his grasp, but he was just too strong.
"Take your hands off me!" said Hermione fiercely. "Help! This man's a lunatic!" she pleaded with a shopkeeper who got out of his store to see what was happening.
"Oy! You!" the shopkeeper called Jedd. "What are you doing to that girl…"
"Get lost!" growled Jedd, pointing his wand at the shopkeeper while holding Hermione's arm with the other. "Stupefy!"
"Nooo!" Hermione screamed as the shopkeeper fell down on the ground. Other people who were inching their way towards her and Jedd disappeared again from sight in fear of being stunned.
"Give me the Sneakoscope, Miss!" Jedd said to Hermione menacingly, now grabbing her backpack. She fought to hold on to it as long as she can, but she lost her grasp when Jedd pushed her aside, banging her hard on the iron grilles. Hermione felt intense pain in her back that prevented her from standing up again. All she could do now was look up on the towering Death Eater standing in front of her, shredding her backpack in search for the Sneakoscope. A few moments later, Jedd whooped in triumph as he held the object tightly on his hand.
"What do you want with that?" said Hermione shrilly. "Someone's being prosecuted for a crime he didn't commit, and this is the only thing that could save him! Don't you see?"
"I know," Jedd said, smirking. "But I've been sent to stop you from bringing this to the Ministry. We always knew you'd show up in this part of town. How foolish and predictable of you."
"Who sent you? Why?"
But Jedd wasn't paying attention to Hermione. Flushed with his success, he didn't know that he was thinking out loud. "Ha, Lucius will be so happy to have this…"
Hermione's mouth hung open. She heard the name. Then Lucius was probably the mastermind of the conspiracy, she thought. Everything seems to fit - his hatred with Dumbledore and Ron's father, and the years of talk that he might be supporting Jack Chadron's studies at Hogwarts for whatever reason. Most of all, he'd do anything to keep his name from getting involved with the whole affair. The Sneakoscope revealed too much of Chadron's hand on the crime. Throwing in the instruction note, he'd be absolutely disgraced. This was too good a thing to pass up, and Hermione's determination to bring the Sneakoscope fired up again. Seeing that Jedd was still preoccupied with the object in his hands she stood up, fighting the pain on her back, and kicked Jedd on the groin.
"Arrrghhh!" Jedd said painfully, dropping the Sneakscope, which rolled off towards Hermione. Scooping it off the ground, she bravely limped to go past Jedd and out of the dark niche. But before she could get out clear of it, at least three new wizards appeared from nowhere and had blocked her only way out. Hermione didn't know what else to do. She didn't have a chance to think because she felt Jedd's other hand grabbing the back of her coat, pulling her inward the niche again. She then heard one of the wizards in front of her say "It's them!" before feeling the effects of a stunning spell rob her of all consciousness.