A Time to Heal….
"You may want to sit down for this," Harry suggested.
"No thanks, I'll stand," he said, reluctant to give Harry any more of himself or his time then he had to.
"Suit yourself," Harry said as he found a spot on the floor as close to Hermione as he felt she would allow. The sounds of her cries no longer echoed throughout the corridor; the occasional shudder of her body was now the only indication that she hadn't quite let go of the pain.
"Well," Harry began, "it all started the night Cedric died…" He looked up at Mr. Diggory expectantly and the man hesitated only briefly before deciding to join Harry on the floor.
Harry smiled knowingly; that was a good first step toward achieving his goal. As Mr. Diggory struggled to make himself as comfortable as possible on the floor, Harry proceeded to tell him about how emotionally upset Cho had been since the night Cedric was killed. He told him about the plan she had been developing to take away from him the one person he loved most in the world. That she was so focused on his being in love with Hermione that she had tried for years to get him to realize it just so she could take it away; just so he could feel the same loss she'd felt. He even told him about the time he and Cho had spent together and how it had all been a set up.
"So you're telling me that Cho Chang, Cedric's girlfriend, had been devising a plan to take revenge on you for his death?" Mr. Diggory asked in complete bewilderment.
"Yes," Harry replied, "unfortunately that's exactly what I'm telling you. I'd find it hard to believe myself if I didn't have actual proof."
"Proof? What proof? You didn't mention actual proof." He said, intrigued.
"Professor Dumbledore gave me a journal that was found with Cho's body the night she was killed. There was a witness there that night that saw her aim the curse at Hermione. When she tried to retreat two people tried to stop her. They both cast a spell at her at the same time and apparently it was the combination of their spells that killed her. Shortly after that those two were killed."
"Who were these two and why, after they killed Cho, were they, in turn, killed? Who killed them?" He asked, seemingly more intrigued then before. The story had been quite unbelievable and he was now at the point where he needed to hear more.
"Draco Malfoy and Millicent Bullstrode," Harry said observing him closely for a reaction. He wasn't sure what he expected to see but at the mention of the name Malfoy he wasn't surprised to find Mr. Diggory's eyes opened to twice their normal size.
"Malfoy?" He asked incredulously. "Lucius Malfoy's son? Are you sure about that? Why would he care if Cho attacked Miss Granger? No Malfoy has ever cared about our side or the well-being of a mu…muggle-born."
"We don't really know why they were there or what their true intentions were," Harry replied. "Although, Professor Dumbledore and I both agree that them killing Cho was an accident. We both think they'd only meant to restrain her so they could turn her in. As for why they were killed, I suppose that should be obvious now, shouldn't it?"
Mr. Diggory nodded. "Betrayal."
"That about sums it up," Harry said, feeling disgusted. "People like the Malfoy's aren't supposed to defy their families for any reason. The punishment, in this case anyway, was death. The witness I mentioned sent an anonymous letter to Dumbledore, he said he didn't recognize the two men who killed them but they appeared to have come from among the Death Eaters."
Harry had done a pretty good job thus far of keeping his feelings in check but talking about it so casually was beginning to take its toll on him.
Mr. Diggory nodded, his face a reflection of dislike as he thought about the Malfoys and other families like them. Not wanting to discuss them any further he looked at Hermione and said, "So tell me now about Miss Granger. You told me about Cho but I still don't understand the connection."
"Well, I can't say I completely understand it either but it has something to do with the unforgivable curse that Cho used. You know there has to be a certain level of emotion behind an unforgivable curse, you have to really mean it or it won't work properly," he said, pausing to look at Mr. Diggory who was nodding his head. "When Cho cast the spell she was full of emotion but it wasn't the kind that she needed in order to kill Hermione. Instead of anger and hate she cast it with anger and jealousy. Somehow it caused Cho's emotions…those particular emotions…to transfer to Hermione."
"Unbelievable," Mr. Diggory said softly. "I've never heard of such a thing."
"I'm not sure that many have," Harry replied.
"Go on," Mr. Diggory encouraged anxiously, "I know there must be more."
Harry nodded. "When something happens that would make Cho particularly angry or jealous Hermione can feel it. The more time that's gone by since she woke from her coma, the stronger the feelings have gotten. In the beginning she was able to fight against it even though none of us really understood what was happening. Now that more time has passed, Cho's emotions have grown stronger somehow." He looked at Hermione and discovered that just like the other times, she had fallen asleep. He rubbed her arm gently and then combed her hair back from her face. He looked up to find Mr. Diggory watching him with a sad, somewhat distant expression. "Like now," Harry said softly, driving his point home, "when you first noticed the change in Hermione it was Cho's anger at me that made her react that way. After she heard what you said about Cedric's love for her, other emotions like hurting, sadness, heartache…the ones that make us human, that make up who we are ... the ones that should belong to Hermione, were stolen from her to soothe Cho's grief."
"So you're telling me that really wasn't reverse psychology? That was a part of Cho?" Mr. Diggory asked in an unmistakably disbelieving voice.
"Yes," Harry replied. "Hermione is not a woman who feels a lot of hate, anger, resentment, or jealousy as a normal thing. She has a lot of love and forgiveness and patience but the longer she remains locked in this hell with Cho, the more of herself she loses and I can't let that happen," he looked pointedly at Mr. Diggory and asked, "can you?"
"Me?" Mr. Diggory said, shocked. "What do I have to do with this?
"That's why we were looking for you. There is something that we think might work but we need your help," Harry answered; he was starting to get anxious.
"My help? What can I do?"
"We need to know what happens with the wands found with the bodies of those who were killed during the battle."
"Whatever for? What good will that information do you?" Mr. Diggory asked.
"The only way we know to save Hermione is to set Cho free." Harry replied. "Do you think it'll work? You're the one who did the Prior Incantato spell the first time I'd ever seen it. We want to try it to see if we can set her free."
"All of the wands were brought here, Mr. Potter, but as far as I know that's already been done," he said.
"WHAT?" Harry yelled, jumping to his feet.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter," he said truthfully, "I had no idea."
"What do you mean it's already been done? What happens to the wands?" Harry asked in near hysterics.
"We have a few witches and wizards in our department that were sent to the battle site. It was their job to identify the deceased and to place the wand into a labeled container and return it to the Ministry. It has always been the practice of the Ministry to clear, or clean, the wands of deceased wizards whenever possible. You can learn a lot from a wand, Mr. Potter. Oftentimes we are able to identify what the wizard was doing at the time of death, or we may be able to ascertain whether or not illegal magic had been performed, and numerous other things along those lines. The wands from the battle were labeled with the name of the wizard and where the wand was found. From there, they were brought back here and to the best of my knowledge, they have all been cleaned already." He looked at Harry as though he wished he could take it all back.
"You say `to the best of your knowledge' they were all cleaned," Harry said hopefully, "does that mean there's a chance that the three we need weren't?"
"It's highly unlikely, Mr. Potter, but yes, I suppose there could be a very slight chance. But I don't like to get your hopes up," he said.
"Why not?" Harry asked sounding somewhat defeated. "You've basically said already that you hate me and that you blame me for Cedric's death. What difference does it make at this point if you get my hopes up?"
"I must apologize, Mr. Potter. At the time of Cedric's death no one wanted to believe that He-Who…Vol…" he took a deep breath and cleared his throat unnecessarily, "…Voldemort was back. It was so much easier to lay the blame on you without having to believe that he'd returned. Through the years I've been unable to let go of that anger, do you realize that anger can fester if you don't find a way to release it?" he said off-handedly.
Harry looked at Hermione now lying peacefully where she'd fallen. "Boy do I ever," he said softly.
"Anyway, as I was saying, this is probably long overdue, but I realize, after talking with you now, that you really aren't to blame. For years I've needed to blame someone because its helped, just a little, to relieve some of the pain," he said. He looked directly at Harry. "Cedric had a great deal of respect for you, you know? He talked about you often and he was actually excited when your name was pulled out of the Goblet of Fire. He would never admit it to anyone else of course, but being in a competition with you outside of Quidditch meant a great deal to him. He was determined to prove that he, too, could be great. He would have beaten you, of that I'm certain."
"He did," Harry replied. "He did beat me."
Mr. Diggory smiled and nodded his head slowly. His eyes had moistened with unshed tears as he remembered how proud he'd been of his son and how great a man he would've become, had he been given the opportunity. "Thanks," he softly.
Harry nodded. Maybe he's not so bad after all, he thought.
"So," Mr. Diggory began, "now we need to figure out what to do about Miss Granger."
"We?" Harry said hopefully.
Mr. Diggory nodded. "Yes, Harry, we. I think you've suffered enough as a result of that night and if there's anything I can do to help, all you have to do is ask."
"Thank you, sir," Harry said, relieved. He suddenly felt as though a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders and he knew he was well on his way to healing Hermione and forgiving himself for Cedric's death.
"Forgiveness is a wonderful thing, Harry," Mr. Diggory said suddenly. "I feel lighter somehow. Thank you," he said. Harry could tell by the look in his eyes that he'd meant it…he was no longer guilty in the eyes of Cedric's father.
Harry had no words.
"You know Harry, I'm new to this position at the Ministry. It's very possible that I could be wrong about the process in which the wands are cleared," he said. "Well…maybe not the process, but the time-frame. Maybe they haven't cleared all of the wands yet. There may still be a few out there."
"May I ask you something, sir?" Harry asked, eyeing him curiously.
"Yes, anything," Mr. Diggory replied.
"How did you get this position? Haven't you been in the magical creatures department until now?"
"That's a good question, Harry, I really wish I had a good answer," he replied. "Yes, I have been in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for years. The only thing I can say with any certainty is that however I was transferred, the request must have been made by someone with a lot of clout because under ordinary circumstances there's no way it would have happened, especially now with the end of the war. Regulation and control of magical creatures has always been a full-time job and there aren't nearly enough of us in the field as it is. You know, what's most strange is that I didn't even request the transfer, I just got the notice and had no real choice in the matter."
"Dumbledore." Harry said. He looked down at Mr. Diggory. "Do you think it could have been Dumbledore?"
"Anything's possible at this point," he replied.
"How do you know who the wands really belong to? I mean, just because a wand is found near a body doesn't always mean the wand belonged to that person, does it? Aren't there times when there's more than one body near a wand?"
"For times like those we generally ask Ollivander," he replied. "We've actually had to utilize his services quite often since the end of the war. He has an incredible gift for wands. If he sold it, he knows who bought it. He has been quite helpful to the Ministry since the end of the war."
"Mr. Ollivander…of course," Harry said to himself. He looked down at Mr. Diggory once again. "One more question?"
"Okay."
"How did you really know to find us here?" he asked.
"Another good question and one more I can't give you a straight answer to," he replied.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not sure I know the answer myself…"
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A/N: My chapters are short because when I get to a spot like this I have to stop. Also, the updates would be much slower in coming because I would have to learn to put aside my mental block when I hit a point like this one at the end of a chapter. Hopefully I'll have another chapter posted soon with a lot more info and some action in it. The action is coming…this is all build-up.
I had to make a slight change to Chapter 33 because Amos Diggory does not work in transportation as is reported on one of the more popular HP sites. He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
I forgot to mention this earlier and while it may be too late now, I'll mention it anyway. I loaned out my copy of GoF about 3 months ago and I haven't gotten it back yet…this means that all events in this story that relate to GoF are pretty much done from memory and the occasional glance at the book my daughter checked out of the library (which she takes back to school with her everyday). My point is, if there are any blatant errors between the book and what I've written please don't hesitate to let me know. I'm trying very hard to stick close to what JKR has written because I want the story to seem as though it actually could happen…no matter how far-fetched it may be.
Also, don't read too much into the A/N on my last chapter.
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