Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. This fanfiction is not written to make money. No
profit is being generated and no copyright infringement is intended. All events in this story are based on the Harry
Potter series.
Chapter Four
"Well, what did you learn from him?"
"Nothing. He couldn't describe the man accurately, and we find that insufficient to incriminate anyone," Harry said.
"What? But he described the suspect to us quite clearly!" Bradsheet said, looking surprised.
"Did he?" said Hermione, feigning a look of surprise. "Well, maybe he's lying to us. Anyway, we'll come back to question him again. We have something important to deal with for the meantime. Thank you for your assistance, Inspector," she added, offering her hand to the officer. Bradsheet shook hands with Hermione, then with Harry. As the inspector turned his back on them, Hermione put a Memory Charm on him.
"There. They wouldn't remember us being here."
As they passed the officer at the information desk, Harry waved at him, and he waved back, but Harry muttered the incantation as he did so. Wand-less magic was no difficult task for him or Hermione. She, in the same manner, took charge of the constable who escorted them to Bradsheet's office. As they exited the front doors, Harry performed an immensely complex but feeble Memory Charm for the lobby at large. It was complex because he had to do it without his wand, and he had to direct it to a large area; feeble because he just had to make them forget having seen him and Hermione. As they passed the gate on the way out, Hermione performed the charm on the sentry and his partner.
"Whew! That was brilliant!" she exclaimed as Harry drove them back to the Ministry building.
"Yeah," Harry agreed, grinning at her. "Now we'll only have to check the wizard's registry to see if he has a match."
Upon arrival at the Ministry, Harry and Hermione headed straight to the wizard registry and checked to see if the suspect's sketch matched any wizard's profile. After about five minutes (thanks to the Picture Identifier and Matching Device at the registry office), the witch at the registry informed them that a certain Mr. Aloysius Turner matched the suspect's sketched portrait. They saw that the two pictures were indeed identical. They took note of the man's profile and thanked the registry witch.
"The only problem now is finding out where he is, since he will never be in this address" Harry told Hermione, indicating Turner's address, as they headed to the Ministry café for lunch.
"Well, Kingsley said we have carte blanche on this case, didn't he?" Hermione said, as they sat down on their favorite table with their orders.
"Yeah, so?" Harry said, ladling beef casserole onto his and Hermione's plates.
"I have an idea on how to trap him, Harry! It's so simple, and if we manage it, we can even take him alive!"
"Yeah, what's that?" asked Harry in between mouthfuls.
"Do you still have your Invisibility Cloak, Harry?"
"Yeah, it's upstairs - in our cubicle, remember?" said Harry, now loading up his plate with lamb chops. Hermione took a swig of pumpkin juice, then wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
"Oh - right! Well, we can use it - we know the last victim's address, right? We'll just go down to the Department of Mysteries and -"
"Hang on," said Harry, cottoning on, "I know what your idea is! We'll go back in time, using a Time-Turner!" Hermione nodded, beaming.
"We'll enter the house of the doctor on the night of the murder, then we will catch the killer! That's it, isn't it?" Harry said excitedly, brandishing his fork at Hermione.
Hermione shook her head. "Not exactly. We'll bide our time, Harry. We cannot change time so drastically; it might cause catastrophes. We'll just wait inside the doctor's house, witness his murder, put a Homing Charm on the culprit, so that we can find him wherever he Disapparates into."
"Then, when the timelines merge, we'll arrest him?"
"That's right, Harry," she said, smiling triumphantly.
Harry couldn't help but be impressed. He always knew that Hermione was brilliant, but she still surprises him sometimes. Harry knew that without her, he would never have solved their cases so easily. He could've solved them, true, but it would have taken all his time.
"Brilliant!" he breathed, looking at her in admiration, as Hermione started on their favorite dessert, pumpkin pie. "I always knew you're dead smart, Hermione - but you always amaze me!"
"Oh, cut the flowery words, Harry," she said, a little pink in the face, and resumed eating.
They finished their dessert while still discussing their plans, and afterwards went upstairs to change their clothes. Harry got his Invisibility Cloak from their cubicle, and Hermione retrieved her cloak. Then they went down to the Department of Mysteries to get a Time-Turner.
Harry was saddened with the memory of their fifth year when Sirius had died in the Death Chamber because Harry was stupid enough to fall for Voldemort's trick. Even Hermione's expression sombered as they remembered their battle in the Time Room, and the office off it, where Hermione had received a curse that nearly killed her.
They stood for a moment, trying to comfort each other from the bitter memories of that year. Harry held Hermione's hand and remembered how he had nearly lost her during that battle. He gave her hand a light squeeze, and she squeezed back, correctly interpreting his thoughts. And as they looked into each other's eyes, Harry felt a sudden, inexplicable, intense emotion. He had fully recovered from Sirius's death (though that took some time) with the help of Hermione, Ron and the other Weasleys (except Percy), Lupin, Hagrid, and Dumbledore, but somehow Harry thought that if it had been Hermione who was taken from him that night, he would never have recovered. Harry closed his eyes and tried to push from his mind the image of Hermione dying. He'll never bear it, because she meant everything to him; his life, his strength, his happiness, his wisdom, his reason, his conscience, and his love.
Harry's eyes flew open. Love? Whoa, where did that idea come from? Harry shook himself mentally and as he did so, he felt a sudden surge of fear. Did he love Hermione more than just as a friend? Is that the reason why he always finds her beautiful, whatever her outfit is? Is that the reason why he feels a twinge of jealousy whenever she talks about her boyfriend, or whenever he sees her with him? Is that the reason why he had nearly killed Hermione's previous boyfriend when he cheated on her and made her cry? Is that the reason why he was so distressed when Hermione was injured during their last assignment, even if it was just a minor injury? Is that the reason why he never lasted more than a couple of weeks in his relationships? Is that the reason why he always sees Hermione's face everywhere he looked and why he always smiles whenever he thinks of her? Harry was scared to admit it, but somehow he thought that the reason for all this is because he loved Hermione. Not the sort of love that a brother feels for his sister, or the love of a friend for his best friend, but the love of a man for a woman - a love that is pure, intense, and unconditional. Had Harry been stupid enough not to realize this? Had Ron been right in saying that Harry feels something "more than friendship" for Hermione? Harry vaguely remembered that he'd only laughed when Ron had suggested it, but now, he thought, Ron would be the one to laugh. "I told you, Harry!" Ron would probably say.
"Harry?"
Harry was jerked out of his reverie by the sound of Hermione's voice and he looked down to see her staring at him, her hand still in his, and with a puzzled expression on her face. For a fleeting moment, he felt like expressing his feelings to her but stopped himself just in time. She doesn't love me like that, he told himself firmly. She loves me as a friend, nothing more.
With a sigh, he let go of Hermione's hand, muttered "Let's go," and led the way out. He didn't see Hermione look at him sadly, and her face showed not pity, but disappointment.