A/N:
OMGosh, I am sooo sorry. Ok, I sounded like a girl there (no offense), so let's try again. I'm really sorry for the delay, but our cultural education system has created the Devil Incarnate, a.k.a Finals, along with his demons, studying. Anyway, I had absolutely no time whatsoever to write, although that probably had less to do with studying and more to do with the fact that I was making a movie during my spare time (autographs later :) ). So here's #7, sorry it's so short. I realized I don't have much plot left, and I wanted next chapter to have all of the, well... don't want to give it away, now, do I? Anyway, we'll see how many more there are, as we are drawing to a close (aww...). Enjoy!
Harry Potter and all related people and items are copyrighted and registered trademarked to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I get absolutely no fiscal benefit from this story, though I do get emotional benefit from other people's enjoyment of it. c.148
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Confused: Chapter 7 by CleanFics (gl1346)
Day 2; 7:25 AM GMT
Harry woke up, looked at the clock, and jumped up. For the first time in his career he'd overslept. He turned around to find a note from Ron on the night table.
Hey Harry, didn't want to wake you. I told your boss what happened, and he was very sympathetic. See you around J
- Ron.
Harry smiled in spite of himself. He was his boss, so it was kind of an in-joke. At any rate, now wasn't the time for jokes. He had to get to the office and quickly. Activating his counter-spells to turn off all ministry security defenses, he apparated into his office.
"Anything happen while I was gone?" he asked his secretary.
"No, sir. Just the standard intelligence reports on your desk. I'll get you your coffee."
"Thank you."
Harry went back to his desk to take a look at the reports. There were the standard updates on the various neo-death eater groups, which he just scanned over, until a certain paragraph made him double-back.
Name: Unknown
Location: Newark, New Jersey, USA
Main objective: Standard NDE activity, with emphasis on foreigners
Muggle Connection: Most stay away, knowing of an unknown danger.
Last known operation: Upstate New York, Recon of unknown target
Action being taken: Standing by for further info
Something struck him about that group. Although "unknown" groups crept up all the time, and the term "Standing by for further info" usually meant nothing, he usually didn't think twice about it. Most countries were responsible for their own wizards, and countries didn't get involved in each others' affairs. But now, now something was different. Hermione was in trouble, and he was going to do something about it.
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Day 2, 12:45 PM EDT
Hermione got up, got dressed, and went out to the park she had heard about in the flyer. Walking around, she finally got a chance to think. What would happen if she asked and he said no? Wouldn't that just destroy whatever they already had? But if he said yes, they'd be all that better off. So what to do? She realized it was a gamble. She had no idea how he felt, and it could either get better or a lot worse. Then was the issue of whether a girl was supposed to propose at all. Wasn't that the boy's job? But in this case the boy obviously had no intention of asking, so wasn't this an exceptional case? It was all too confusing. And as she pondered her plight, she was so involved she didn't notice the pair of eyes following her from the bushes.
After an afternoon of introspection, Hermione returned to her apartment. Opening the door and, once again, collapsing on the bed, she tried, in her organized way, to sum up what she had just thought of.
1. It was up to her.
2. She had to act quickly, before he started dating seriously.
3. She had to be ready to accept the consequences, even if it meant having to move out of the house.
With this last thought in mind, she let the jet lag kick him, and dropped off.
As soon as they sensed the sleeping figure inside, the team sent to take her out jumped into action. They set up a perimeter and prepared to infiltrate the area. Their scan for protective shields proved positive, and they got to work dismantling them. It would take a while, but in only a few short hours, the woman who had assisted in the termination of their Master would be gone.
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Day 3, 2:00 AM GMT:
Harry paced his office, back and forth. To act, or not to act, that was his question. Technically he was breaking international regulations, but on the other hand, this was Hermione they were talking about. Was it worth it to keep a few rules and lose the life of his almost life-long best friend? He finally breathed a sigh of relief as Ron walked into his office.
"What's up, mate? It must really be important for you to call me out this early"
"Oh, believe me, it is. I know you're going to think I'm being paranoid, but I think Hermione's in real danger."
"Does this have anything to do with yesterday?"
"Everything. I tracked her to the same location as a Neo-Death Eater group, and"
"You think they're after her?"
"Well, the evidence does seem to point towards it and…"
"Come on Harry. Just because some Neo group decides to check out a supposed Muggle doesn't mean they're going to attack her."
"You don't understand, I…"
"Harry, I hate to say it, but you're pushing to be the hero. In this case I don't think…"
"Ron, you don't understand. I wasn't going to say anything, but…"
"Fine. What is it." It was more of a statement than a question.
"You know that note I showed you?"
`Yeah. What about it?"
"Well, actually, there was something I didn't tell you."
"What was it?" Ron was starting to get a little more worried now.
"That wasn't the only letter she wrote."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," and here Harry had to pause for breath. "That Hermione wrote a second letter."
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What did it say? What impact does that have on the danger Hermione's in? Next Chapter will clear up everything. After that it's just wrapping up. I'd say two more chapters probably. Thanks for your reviews. Please continue. The summer's about to start, and I'm going to start getting bogged down. Every review I get is a reminder to write, so please review, even if you've done so on previous chapters. Even if you're reading this after the story was completed, please review. I'd still love to hear from you.
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