Chapter Three
Hermione was livid. The first thing she had planned on doing when she arrived back at her cottage was to fall onto her bed and sleep until morning. But then she noticed the two owls that had been sitting by her window, pecking the glass incessantly; she was surprised that the glass hadn't cracked. Quickly, she let them into the house. Both Pigwidgeon and Hedwig had letters tied to their feet. She thought the boys knew better than to send owls to her on such a sunny day, especially when she had owled both of them telling them that she'd be gone for a week. Well, she had come home early, because her colleague, Dennis Hampton, couldn't keep his hands off her thigh the entire time. She had used up all the different games in the book to keep him away, yet, he was so persistent and kept coming back!
There were messages flashing on her answering machine as well. Most of them were probably from her parents, telling her to move back to the city. She pressed the play button and listened to the messages while she made herself a cup of tea. But when she heard Ron's frantic voice over the machine, she paused in her movements. What could he want? And telling her to go down to Bristol as soon as she heard this message? What the hell was the git thinking? She had to work a night shift later in the evening. And she was knackered from five straight days of all-day meetings.
After sitting down in the living room with a can of diet soda in hand, she finally opened up the letters. She read the first one, in Ron's messy scrawl, repeating the message that she had heard over the machine. It wasn't common that her best friend would go through so much to reach her. She prayed that it wasn't the routine test results. Ron had gone through so much to be able to control the cancer. A year ago, Ron had gone through surgery to remove the metastasis in his liver. Then, after a strict regimen of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the cancer was finally gone. Of course, during the entire treatment period, she had been brewing him healing potions along the way. The oncologist specialist Ron had been seeing from Bristol had said that Ron was good to go, but she knew that the danger of recurrence always loomed over Ron's head. Since then, Ron had been visiting Bristol every three months to have routine lab tests done.
Ever since Remus Lupin had inducted Harry into his special bureau, Hermione had taken it upon her shoulders to be the one to care for Ron. She knew that the only reason Harry had agreed to join Remus' team was because she had promised to stay by Ron's side during the entire period he was sick. It had been very difficult at first, because after Ron's diagnosis, he had moved to Holy Oaks, a tiny suburban town just out of the boundaries of London, and she had been trying to finish medical school. A year ago, after she had received her license and was accepted into a residency program in the medical center, she moved to the town, found a small cottage right in the corner where the Muggle and wizard streets met, and moved into it within a week. Even though she was kept busy most of the time, at least she was close enough to Ron and Luna that she could keep an eye out for him.
Concern was written all over her brow as she quickly opened the letter from Harry. Most of Harry's letters had all been perfunctory. Due to the nature of his work, Harry was not free to discuss much in his letters. Hermione understood that. She was surprised, however, to see Harry's slightly messy scrawl take up almost an entire foot of parchment, especially after three years of receiving two to three lined messages. For the most part, she was glad to be able to hear from Harry from time to time. He spent most of his time outside of the country, tracing after missing people. The time he had spent inside the country during the past three years didn't even add up to a month. Overall, she missed him very much, and sometimes wished that he would stay in town more often than flying all over the world chasing after bad guys and trying to play the hero that everyone made him to be.
When she finished his letter, she quickly grabbed her overnight back into her room and dumped its content onto the floor. Going through her closet, she pulled out two more outfits and dumped her toiletries on top. Then grabbing her purse and keys, she headed out again. Hermione knew better. Something was definitely wrong, and both Harry and Ron wouldn't tell her unless they saw her.
Three hours of driving the highway down to Bristol was enough to rack her nerves. She had already gone through the many possibilities of what could have gone wrong with Ron's lab results. Oh, how she hoped that the cancer stayed away. Ron and Luna had gone through so much already! And not to mention Ginny's wedding and their own wedding coming up next year.
Hermione sighed in relief as she made the turn to exit the highway. Maneuvering the steering wheel deftly, she drove her way through the city, trying to recall the path to the Foundation. The last time she had been in Bristol was a year ago, when she, Ron, and Luna came to visit the specialist that Ron had decided to ask for treatment. Bristol itself wasn't very big, but Hermione liked it very much. The streets were clean, the buildings were kept nicely, and most of all she loved the trees. All kinds of trees dotted the city center. It was very relaxing. No wonder the Foundation had chosen Bristol to be their home.
When she finally pulled up in front of the Foundation, she noted that there were a few Ministry cars parked along the sidewalk. Harry's car was also sitting in the driveway. Outside the old church building, a few aurors were surveying the exterior. Hermione felt her heart pounding. Something was definitely not right. She jogged up the path to the church building, asked one of the aurors where Ron and Harry were. Then she pushed her way into the building, where she saw Ron, Harry, and Charlie talking to Tonks and Arthur Weasley.
"Ron!" she cried out. "What do you think you were doing telling me to come to Bristol without saying as much what was wrong? You have no idea how worried I was! Was it your test results? Please don't tell me that the cancer has come back!"
Ron turned around at her voice, his face dark and grave, as he gave her a quick hug. "No, Herms, they messed up with my tests. So I still have to go back for another blood test. But, it's good to see you. I'm glad that you made it. You had no idea how worried I was when I couldn't contact you."
Hermione pulled away from his arms and glared at him. "Of course, you git. I was in Paris for the week, remember?" She turned her attention to the other people in the room. When she saw Harry, she walked toward him and gave him a hug as well. "Harry, what are you doing here? I got your message as well. But you didn't make any more sense than Ron here."
Harry bent down to kiss her cheek. "It's good to see you too, Hermione. We'll talk about this in a bit. Why don't you go with Charlie and get a drink first?"
Hermione stared at him. "Just tell me what's going on first! I didn't come down to Bristol for nothing! And I want an explanation."
Harry turned to Charlie, pleading for help. Charlie nodded as he gently placed his hand under Hermione's arm and led her to the kitchen. "You'll find out in a bit. Let's go to the kitchen first and get a drink."
Hermione bit her lower lip as she followed Charlie. There was something going on, and from the serious looks on both Ron and Harry's face, she really wondered what could be bothering them. Charlie wasn't any much help either. He sat her down at the counter and poured her a glass of lemonade from the refrigerator. Then he sat with her for a few minutes, until Harry came in to talk to her.
He moved quietly around the kitchen. Grabbing a glass from the cupboard, he poured himself a glass of water and sat down next to Hermione. Without saying anything, he sipped his water, his eyes fixed in a point ahead, as if he was deep in thought.
Hermione had always appreciated the gentle movements that had always defined Harry. Even though he was tall and well built, years of starvation and suffering at the Dursleys still shadowed in his build. The first time she had met him, she remembered him as a scrawny boy dressed in oversized rags behind glasses. Seven years at Hogwarts had been good for him. By sixth year, he began to fill out, and Quidditch helped him stay in shape. She looked at his profile. Signs of fatigue showed on his face. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, his cheek bones stood out more prominently than the last time she saw her. What bothered her most was the haunting look in his eyes, and a glance at his shaking hands told her that he was nervous.
"You know, Harry," she began, breaking the silence between them. "You could at least tell me how you've been. It's been three years since we've seen each other."
Harry turned at her, smiling apologetically. "I know. Sorry, Herm. Remus does keep us busy. Never thought that he'd be a slave-driver that he is."
Hermione's face softened with a small smile. "I read in the Daily Prophet on my way back to England that you finally cracked that case you were so hush hush about. You must be relieved, aren't you?"
Harry's face darkened again. "Yeah, I suppose. But it's something that I don't like to talk about.
It's a closed case, after all."
Hermione nodded. "But what are you doing here? The last time I heard from Cathy, she told me that Remus was releasing you on break. I figured that you'd be in your flat or might be in town to visit us." Cathy was Remus' wife.
"I am on holiday. For three months. Remus was very kind. But I'm sure he'll have a cauldron full of cases for me as soon as I go back." He grinned at her suddenly. "You know, you look quite good for yourself. What did you do? Go and get an entire makeover in Paris?"
Hermione laughed as she playfully punched his shoulder. "Yeah, and I quit my job and took up modeling for Vogue. Really, Harry, I still look the same."
"Of course you do. Still beautiful as always," Harry whispered.
Hermione blushed a little and turned her face to hide her embarrassment. "You don't look half so bad yourself."
Silence veiled them for a while. For the first time, Hermione wondered with a silent jealousy whether or not Harry had a girlfriend. He never divulged in his private life during the time he was gone. Though she knew that he had been too busy for any kind of social life, she still wondered.
By the time they both finished their drinks, Ron came in, still looking deadly serious. He pulled a stool across the counter from the two of them and sat down. Hermione reached for another glass and poured him some juice. He looked at them, one after the other, and said, "We have something to tell you, Herm."
Hermione nodded. "That's what I have deduced, from your voice messages and letter. So what went wrong with the tests? I'm surprised that the lab techies messed up. They usually are good with these things."
Ron shook his head. "I don't know. Doc called up and said that they had to re-do the lab work. I'm supposed to go back for another blood test. And I'm also going in for another MRI."
Hermione frowned. "Well, I hope it's nothing too serious. You should have told me nonetheless. So, if that's not the case, then what's the problem?"
Ron and Harry glanced at each other, communicating silently. In the end, Harry nodded as Ron began. "Herm, you know how I usually help out with the counseling when I'm in town, right?"
Hermione nodded. "Of course. It's very mature of you to do so. Though I hope you do give sound advice and not tell kids to skive off school and watch Quidditch."
Harry stifled a laugh as Ron stuck his tongue out at her. "Well, for your information, I actually do tell them to watch Quidditch, just after school. But anyway, that's not the point. Yesterday, I was helping out again while Charlie took care of some errands. It was hot, and no one had come in for anything. I fell asleep. But it didn't feel like I was sleeping. All of a sudden, I was in the confessional."
"What were you doing in a confessional? You're not Catholic, and you definitely don't look like a priest."
"Yeah, that's the odd part. I was actually the priest. Or at least the man in the confessional thought I
was."
"Didn't you set it straight with him though? You know you're not supposed to do things like that. Leave it to you to something like this. Honestly!" Hermione rolled her eyes impatiently.
"Of course I know! But the guy wouldn't give me a chance at all. He started saying that he needs absolution, and that he wanted to confess a sin that he was going to commit, but it didn't sound like he was really sorry at all," Ron explained.
Hermione's brows wrinkled. "Hold on a sec! He wanted to confess a sin that he was going to commit?"
Ron nodded. Then he proceeded to tell them the rest of his dream. Hermione started feeling light and dizzy from the story. Harry sensed Hermione's feelings and placed an arm around her shoulder to steady her. By the time Ron finished, Hermione was clutching Harry's other hand with both of hers.
"But this is just a dream, isn't it?" Hermione asked in a shaky voice.
Harry patted her shoulder as he said, "I'm afraid it's not just a dream, Herm. It was quite real."
"But, I don't think so. What's a big deal about this dream? It just sounds like a really scary nightmare to me." But somehow she knew that it was more than that.
Ron gazed at her for the longest time. He sucked in a few breaths, not sure how to put it. Closing his eyes, he thought back to his initial reaction to the entire incident. He knew that Hermione was waiting for an answer, but how could he tell her, when it was all confusing to himself?
Hermione sighed as she waited for Ron to continue talking. She didn't notice that Harry had an arm around her shoulder until he got up to leave quietly, at the sound of Tonks' beckoning. Standing up behind her red-haired friend, she gently hugged him, trying to comfort him, even though she was trying to convince herself that it was just a dream.
The two of them stayed in this position for the entire time Harry was outside. Hermione began to flip through the memory banks in her mind, searching for any recollection on the kind of dream that Ron had. If what Ron had said was true, then, whoever had been sick enough to play such a cruel joke wasn't a practical joker then. Worse, this character was messing with dark arts. She shuddered at the thought. Seven years of calm after Voldemort threatened to crumble right under their noses. A cloak of security had veiled many dark activities, but now?
Harry returned to the kitchen a good fifteen minutes later. Hermione released her hold on Ron and went up to him. He looked at her with an expression that worried her. Quietly, he held out an opened envelope that Ron had found in his office after his dream. She looked at him questioningly, but Ron explained what it was.
"That's what I found when Charlie came back. The entire conversation in the confessional was recorded. I don't know how he did it, but that's what it is. Hermione, you need to listen to it. Then you'll understand," Ron said.
Hermione nodded. "All right. Does Charlie have a tape player anywhere?"
"In his office. If you don't mind, I think I want to sit out on hearing this again." Ron shuddered.
Harry led Hermione to Charlie's office. They found the player and inserted the tape. Hermione sat down as she pressed play. Her eyes widened at each horrific statement, all the while Harry clenched his fist in silent anger. By the end of the recording, she was pale and stiff, unable to make any sound come out of her mouth. Harry squatted down next to Hermione and held her hands in his.
"You understand, don't you?" he asked quietly.
Hermione nodded. "He wants me, doesn't he?"
Harry closed his eyes, wishing for all of this to go away. When he opened them again, he saw Hermione's frightened eyes fixed on him. He squeezed her hands tightly as he whispered, "Yes."
All right, this definitely isn't my greatest chapter. Hopefully it makes sense… but just to clarify a few items that many of you have concerning the story:
Ron was sick. He was diagnosed with cancer, but Hermione, Luna, and he had found an oncologist who was able to manage Ron's cancer. Thus, he's better, but just needs to do routine lab work.
Hermione is a Muggle doctor. No questions about it. Well, she IS still a witch too. That didn't change.
Sister is Nancy Lammeter's sister. The name Nancy Lammeter was originally from George Eliot's Silas Marner, and even though this Nancy is a far cry from the one in the book, I just like the name.
I think that's about it. Thank you all for reading and hope you enjoy this chapter. More Harry, Ron, and Hermione coming up next.
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