Four
Hermione couldn't believe the tape itself at first. Harry had called Ron into the room after they stopped the tape, and Ron began to recount the conversation once again. In a way, she was glad that Ron wasn't the target; she didn't want him to go through more than he had already been going through. But she couldn't help but feel a little nervous that someone was crazy enough to be tracking her.
"You're taking this really well, you know, better than I thought you would."
Ron had made the remark in an unbelieving, almost accusatory tone of voice. He and Harry were waiting for her to rethink the information and reorganize her thoughts, their gazes on her intent as though she was a butterfly trapped in a glass container.
"To tell you the truth, I'm still having a difficult time believing that this all happened, and in a dream nonetheless," she responded. "I don't really want to believe that all this was true."
"Well, you'd better believe it. This is something that we aren't going to take lightly," Harry replied cautiously.
"What about that woman Narcissa? I'd hate to believe that what he did to her was true. He's not making this up, isn't he?" she asked.
"He was fuckin' bragging about it!" Ron nearly shouted. Harry glared at him as he muttered sorry under his breath.
"But is there any evidence? It's still so unbelievable," she shuddered.
Harry replied, "We've run the name through our databases for a match up, but so far, nothing came out. The auror database carries information of all homicides and dark activity. Hopefully, something will come up."
"I believe what he said, Hermione. Don't ask me why, but it just felt like he was telling the truth."
"And you probably didn't get a glimpse of his face, did you?"
"That's a really bright question from you. It was all in a dream, you forgot?"
Hermione shot Ron a dirty look; then she hung her head low, thinking once again. "I'm actually surprised, you know. About this."
"You are?"
"Legilimency."
Harry nodded. "I agree."
"He's not stupid. He covered his voice well. I couldn't recognize his voice when I listened to the tape."
"I still can't stop thinking about him."
Ron was frightened. Hermione could tell that her dear friend was shaken by this incident. Even though he was trying to remain calm for her sake, she knew that his hands were sweaty from nervousness and fear. She could see it in his eyes and in his voice when he spoke again.
"Nothing's going to happen to you, Hermione," he said fervently, receiving a nod from Harry. "We're going to protect you, isn't that right, Harry?"
Hermione didn't say anything for a long while but instead stared at the patterned tiles on the floor. She was feeling dizzy with this entire situation.
"Why are you so blasé about this?" Ron demanded.
Hermione looked up at him. "I'm not. And you know that I'm more than capable of protecting myself too."
"Why are so calm?"
Hermione covered her eyes with her hands as she bowed into her lap. Calm? No, she was definitely not calm. Sure, she had always been a master at hiding her emotions. Though Harry and Ron probably knew her better than anyone else, she had always kept her emotions behind a veil. She'd done it for years, and she was surprised that neither of them could see through it. Truth is, she felt like a grenade, that was on the verge of exploding. She was anything but calm.
"What do you suggest I do then, Ron?"
"Leave Holy Oaks, Herm. I don't care where you go, just don't stay in that stupid town. Get as far away as you can. Move to America, or Iceland, or Afghanistan. Just don't stay in town anymore," Ron answered, arms flinging dramatically. "You can't stay in town until Harry's caught the bastard."
"You know very well that I can't leave, Ronald Weasley. And I'm not about to let a psychopath ruin my life. Ginny's wedding is coming up soon, you do realize that too? And she's already asked me to be her maid of honor. I can't bail out on her like this. Then, there's the hospital. I have my duties to my patients. You can't tell me to leave them like this."
"It's just temporarily, Herm. Just until they catch him," Ron pleaded.
She pushed past Harry and Ron and walked quickly to the kitchen. She couldn't stand it anymore.
Ron called out after her, "Where are you going?"
"Just going to make myself hot chocolate."
He gawked. "With this weather? You got to be bloody kidding me!" But he proceeded to show her where the supplies were kept.
Harry watched Hermione as she poured milk into a saucer and heated it on an oven. After she dumped a few spoonful of cocoa powder into a large mug, she rested her hip against the counter and stared at Ron carefully. "I have to really think about this."
"Herm, you're not staying in town and that's that," Ron stated firmly once again. "I won't have my best friend who's almost my sister be in danger."
"Maybe you should ring up the local sheriff?" Harry suggested.
Ron snorted. "Sheriff Marshall? Hmm, maybe you're right." He'd forgotten about the sheriff until Harry had reminded him. "So, while I'm gone, Harry, you convince her. Tell her to pack and leave town." He added with a frown to Hermione. "She can't be so stubborn about this. She has to understand the situation."
"I'm not being difficult," she argued. "I just need to think things through, that's all."
Ron shrugged his shoulders as he left the two of them alone in the kitchen once more. Harry pulled out his mobile and called Remus. While he was talking to his superior, Hermione made her hot chocolate and carried it to the table by which Harry was sitting.
"You do have one of these, don't you?" Harry asked when he finally finished his conversation with Remus.
Hermione nodded. "The hospital requires us to carry one, as well as a pager. But other than when I'm on call, I don't usually turn it on. Holy Oaks is a really small town. Everyone knows each other. There really isn't a need for one, except for the hospital."
"And you had it turned off while you were in Paris," Harry stated. "That was why Ron was popping an artery when he couldn't find you. And no one in your town knew where you were. Ron was ready to call the authorities had you not come when you did."
"I've told him and Luna that I would be gone. It's not my fault that he doesn't listen to what I say. And my neighbors knew where I was going."
She picked up the parchment on which Harry had scribbled a few notes from the recording and scanned through it. "I'd like to listen to that tape again."
Harry nodded as he went into the office again for the tape player. After setting it up on the table, he glanced at Hermione and asked. "Ready?" He pressed button as she nodded.
Hermione's reaction to the recording wasn't as shocked as it had been the first time she heard it, but she was still alarmed. However, hearing the voice once again only made the horror seem even more real to her, and she couldn't help but shudder at the thought that some maniac was after her. By the time the recording ended, she felt slightly nauseated.
"My God," she whispered.
"Did you recognize the voice this time?"
Hermione shook her head. "No. He was smart to keep it to a raspy whisper. I could just barely hear him. But my God… I should listen to it again, just to see if I can pick up any more clues, but not right now… but…."
"Some of what he said was deliberate," Harry said. "He planned to spook Ron. Very meticulous, very calculating. Everything he said was planned, at least that's what I've been thinking."
"And he succeeded. I don't think Ron's been afraid of many things. This man clearly got to his bones. Well, of course, other than spiders." She couldn't resist a smile at this thought. "Anyway, this isn't good for him."
"You got to be more realistic, Herm," Harry said sharply. "Of course Ron'll be worried. Hell, I want to lock you up in a safe house just to be sure that this killer doesn't get near you!"
"I know, but it…"
"Then what?"
"Ron's gone through enough. This is too stressful for him. He's been fine for the past few months, and he's been building back his strength, but…."
Harry noticed that Hermione was chattering again. For all the years that he'd known her, she was usually calm and collected. Oh, occasionally she would go crazy and obsessive, but she had always managed to keep her emotions behind a façade. Not many people noticed, but he knew that when Hermione was nervous or anxious, she would start chattering non stop.
"Why me?" she asked. "Why me? Of all people! I'm such a boring person. I wake up, get dressed, go to work, and if I don't have to work late shifts, I come home, read, and go to bed. Who would pay attention to me? It's not like I'm Claudia Schiffer or …."
"A lot of maniacs don't make sense," Harry interrupted. "There was a case. This bastard did six women before he was finally caught. You know what he told them when they asked him how and where he usually pick his choices?"
Hermione shook her head.
"At a grocery store. He'd stand out in the front and smile at women who walked passed him. And the first one that smiled back at him, that's the one he wanted. Ordinary women, Herm. Very ordinary women. You can't reason what's in the minds for them, or try to figure them out. Leave that to the experts."
"Do you think the man is a serial killer?"
"Maybe," Harry replied. "And maybe not. He could be just a beginner. The profilers would have to take a look into the tape. They'll try to run a match."
"What do you think?"
"I'm not too sure. There are a lot of inconsistencies."
"Like what?"
Harry shrugged. "Well, for one, the woman he'd said he had done. He told Ron that it had been a year ago."
"Mmm-hmmm."
"Well, then he said that he's developed a taste for it. The torturing and the killing. If that was the case, then what he said about the first woman wouldn't be true. He would have had done her more recently than one year ago."
"Harry, he also mentioned that he's already notified the authorities."
"Well, if he had done so, it would be difficult to trace, since he didn't tell us how he did it. If he were to drop a note, then, yes. They could probably run a fingerprint check, but I doubt they'd be able to find anything."
"What about the tape?"
"Actually, there was a print, but not our man's. It was from the kid who sold the tape. The only reason we found out so quickly was because the kid had only started this job because of his probation officer." Harry explained.
"I doubt he'd remember who bought the tape then. They usually go through about a couple hundred customers a day."
"Right. And it was a cash only register. There was no way we could have found him through a credit card registry."
"He's very smart, isn't he?"
"Yeah, and they're usually not as smart as they make themselves be." He gave her a crooked smile. "And besides, you're much smarter."
"I guess that's what we have to do then, right?"
"What?"
Her expression was grim. "We're going to be smarter."
This story, is being based more on the book as I thought. But I still have my twists and turns planned . I apologize beforehand if this is yet another boring chapter. You'll see a few more of these coming.
Anyhow, thank you for reading! And again, please don't forget to review and let me know what you think!
Take care and have a good weekend.
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