"Harry Potter!" Ron bellowed.
Hermione immediately stumbled over the pile of folders that littered her floor. Neatly sidestepping a row of Ministry files, Hermione finally wrenched open the magically protected door to find Ron Weasley clutching his ear.
"Finally," he muttered, inviting himself inside.
"Ron! What happened to you? What about Harry?" Hermione frenetically asked as her bushy hair waved in the slight breeze.
"Just hold on one second," Ron said as he rummaged through the medicine cabinet.
"Oh, let me," Hermione said. She took a gooey substance in a green jar and applied it to Ron's ear. Hermione watched as the wound closed almost immediately and the blood ceased to flow from the gash.
"Now, tell me what happened," Hermione stepped back with her hands on her hips, "And why did you say Harry's name?"
"Fastest way to get you to the door, I suppose," Ron shrugged as he collapsed on a nearby sofa. He exhaled deeply before turning to address Hermione.
"No doubt you've heard," he said, more as a statement rather than a question.
"Of course I have," she scoffed as she picked up the Daily Prophet, "How could I have possibly missed it?"
"Surely you haven't come all this way with a bloody ear to tell me about something I already know," she reasoned.
"Don't be so flattered, I have more important news," Ron waved his hand idly in the air.
Hermione bit back a sarcastic remark, mostly hoping to hear something Harry-related.
"I saw him."
Hermione let out a breath she did not know she had been holding. She sat straight, her back stiff and her eyes wide, awaiting more news. Unfortunately for her, Ron had decided to take a momentary vacation within his own mind.
"Ron. Ron," Hermione snapped her fingers in front of his eyes. He started before coughing and continuing his story.
"Right after noon, I got a letter from an anonymous owl. It said to meet him - yes, Harry - at Grimmauld at around 3. It's not like we haven't seen this before but there was something about the handwriting. Something so oddly familiar about it. We didn't have any other leads at the time, so I decided to give it a shot."
"You do know Grimmauld's been locked ever since - you know," Hermione said.
"Yes, yes, I know. Imagine what I thought when I got to Grimmauld and the pad was unlocked," Ron sat up straighter in his seat and Hermione inched closer, eager to hear more.
"We went in and everything was as creepy as usual. We start our routine investigation when I noticed the faucet was dripping - yes I knew, stop interrupting - anyways, the other two teams went down in a hurry - Hermione, let me finish!" Ron exclaimed exasperatedly.
"I'm sorry, but you have to explain everything in detail! The details are important Ronald!" Hermione countered.
"If you would let me bloody go on -"
"Why did you stop the story?"
Ron glared at her, obviously frustrated by her inquisitiveness.
"As I was saying, Thomas got knocked out while we were heading up the stairs and - well - I saw him," Ron finished dramatically. There was a pause as Hermione met his eyes.
"What did he look like? Was he hurt? Was there anyone with him? Did he have his wand? Was he alright?" her questions snapped off one behind the other in rapid form.
"Hermione, if you don't calm down in two seconds -"
"Can you please just tell me what happened?" Hermione pressed, now frustrated by the pauses.
"I can't keep going if you -"
"Ron, what happened?"
"Stop interrupting me."
"Fine."
"As I was saying again, I saw him. He was unkempt, wore Muggle clothing, carried a gun, and was a little bit…" Ron made a circling motion around his ears.
"Crazy?"
"He wasn't all set in the head," Ron said softly.
"I'm sure he was just disoriented. After all, he hadn't seen you in six years -"
"You don't know that."
"No, but it's the most likely possibility," Hermione chewed on her lip thoughtfully.
"Well, we started asking each other questions. Then, he started getting angry at me when I asked him where he had been for the past six years. He said something about being alone and that we weren't there and a whole lot of rubbish like that. I didn't really understand what he was saying but I know one thing for certain; he has no recollection of the past six years," Ron finally finished. Hermione was deep in thought and she broke down the different scenarios in her head.
She stood up and made her way into another room to gather some of her clothes.
"Hermione, where are you going?"
"To find him."
"Probably not the best idea," Ron said as he rose from the couch.
"Since when has that ever stopped us," Hermione said from her bedroom.
"Since when has that ever stopped you, Harry?" Hermione said.
"I'm just not too sure about this one," Harry said as he looked through a pair of Muggle binoculars.
"You're not sure about what?" Hermione asked again as she also peered through a pair of Muggle binoculars.
"There's just something strange about this guy," Harry muttered quietly.
The two of them were sitting on a tree branch underneath Harry's invisibility cloak. The person in question was a rich aristocrat who was suspected of funding previous Death Eater operations by converting Muggle pounds into hordes of Galleons. There was a tip off that suggested a meeting between an underground Death Eater and the aristocrat.
"Harry, there's a lot of evidence against this guy and he practically screams Death Eater. We just saw someone enter the mansion. Why are we still sitting over here?" Hermione pressed.
"There's just something off, Hermione. You wouldn't understand," Harry said again.
Hermione huffed and lowered the binoculars. She was deeply annoyed by Harry's impracticality, and she could not figure out a reasonable explanation of his actions. It seemed as if he was fearful of approaching this aristocrat.
"Hermione?"
"Yes, Harry."
"Have you ever believed in like - you know - higher life forms and such," Harry said slowly, still peering through his binoculars.
"What are you talking about, Harry?" Hermione asked as she examined his face. Harry's expression remained placid as he continued to look through his binoculars.
"Harry?"
"Let's move."
Puzzled by Harry's question, Hermione shrugged it off and whipped off his Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it in her pocket. She felt him grab her arm and the familiar squeezing feeling as she Side-Apparated to the front door of the Mansion.
"There's only two and I don't expect much resistance but be careful," Harry gave her instructions.
"I'll be fine," she said gruffly as she tied her hair into a ponytail. Harry nodded as he whispered Alohamora. The towering gates opened with a great crunch as Harry and Hermione swiftly made their way to the large, mahogany doors.
Harry nodded and Hermione swished her wand as the door exploded inwards into the house.
Harry stepped over the remaining debris and with a swish of his cloak, the resulting ashes of the door divided like a knife cutting through soft fabric. Hermione followed closely behind him in slight awe at Harry's unneeded dramatics but surveyed the scenario nonetheless.
The Death Eater, Jones, she suspected, looked startled at the sudden intrusion. The smug aristocrat, on the other hand, smiled when he met her eyes. A feeling of revulsion drove itself through Hermione's body as she raised her wand.
"DON'T MOVE," she roared.
While the aristocrat seemed to obey the command, the Death Eater clumsily rolled along the floor in an effort to evade any sort of jinx thrown towards him. It was to no avail, however, as Harry quickly stunned him in mid-spin. Unfortunately for the Death Eater, he had rolled straight into a large plant that was situated in a small nook of the enormous foyer.
Once they had established that Jones was completely incapacitated, Harry and Hermione focused their attention on the prime target of the operation. They stood there as if time was frozen in a strange vacuum. Hermione had her wand pointed at the aristocrat, but Harry's wand was at his side as he regarded the mysterious person with a strange face.
Hermione glanced at Harry out of the corner of her eye.
"By Order of the Decree of Merlin, I declare you, Mr…" Hermione started.
"Herm…ione Jane Gran…ger," the aristocrat said softly in a staggered speech. Hermione stopped as she struggled to regain her composure.
"More impo…rtantly, Harry J…ames Pot…ter," he said softly with a slight smirk on his visage in the same awkward voice. Harry did not respond as Hermione continued to regain her composure.
"I've been…waiting…for you," the aristocrat said in his stunted speech.
"Harry, what's going on?" Hermione whispered softly.
"Un…comfort…able, Ms. Gran…ger?" the aristocrat advanced towards them one step.
"Don't move," Hermione said. There was a strange tingling feeling in her spine as she tracked the aristocrat. There was something awfully wrong with this situation. No doubt he would be informed about the two of the most public figures in the Wizarding World but he seemed to have Harry in a sort of trance.
Deciding to take the situation into her own hands in lieu of Harry's stupor, Hermione raised her wand high to perform a complicated Transportation Spell. Before she could speak, however, the aristocrat interrupted her.
"I…wouldn't do that…if I…were you," he said.
Momentarily startled but resolute nonetheless, Hermione raised her wand again but not before a great bang knocked her off her feet. She felt herself hurtling through the air through the large foyer before crunching against an adjacent wall.
She struggled to maintain consciousness but the comforting arms of darkness overwhelmed her. The last thing Hermione saw before she fell into the darkness was Harry's blank stare.
The next day, Harry locked Grimmauld Place.
"Grimmauld Place," Hermione said while she packed her clothes.
"What's that?" Ron asked.
"Did you ever wonder why he went to Grimmauld?" Hermione said.
"Evidence points to the fact that…well…no one could get in," Ron shot off.
"There has to be something more to this mystery, Ron," Hermione poked her head in to shoot Ron a look.
"Harry just pops out of thin air and rambles about being alone for six years and the first place he goes to is Grimmauld Place? The Place he locked down. Do you remember that?" Hermione said from her room.
"Well, of course I remember it. To this date, I still don't know what exactly got into Harry the last couple of days before he disappeared. He was acting a little loony, don't you remember?" Ron wondered aloud.
"Of course I remember Harry's existential crisis. How could you not? Listen, forget about that for one second and help me figure out where Harry could possibly go next…"
***
Ron and Hermione sat on the top floor of the Shrieking Shack, an inordinately large telescope pointing out from the single window facing Hogwarts School. Hermione was sipping from a mug of Butterbeer while Ron quickly digested his fifth Pumpkin Pasty.
"You think he'll really come here?" Ron asked through a mouthful of food.
"He's been to the Burrow, to the Ministry, and to Grimmauld Place. If he's acting the way I think he would be acting after spending several years in some sort of supposed isolation then he's looking for answers. Hogwarts offers him those answers," Hermione repeated her logic to Ron for the umpteenth time.
Hermione saw Ron shrug out of her peripheral vision but said nothing. The soft mist was splattered along the ground in small patches which obscured Hermione's vision. Occasionally wisps of the mist would curl softly into the air as if an arm were rising out of the ground. Hermione shivered slightly and pulled her robe tightly around her, savoring the warmth. This night eerily reminded of her of another night that would forever confuse her.
Lost in the depths of her own musings, Hermione did not hear Ron's exclamation until he continually snapped his fingers in front of her face.
"Ronald. Stop it. I hate it when you do that," Hermione snapped. Ron did not reply but instead pointed at the telescope wordlessly. Hermione looked through the scope and gasped at what she saw.
A heavily clothed figure was making its way from the Forbidden Forest, laying quite low and undoubtedly almost invisible to the naked eye. Luckily for Hermione and Ron, their telescope had been charmed to perform special maneuvers.
"Telescope, Zoom and Track," Hermione said clearly. The telescope immediately extended and refocused its lens as it tracked the figure with a slow whirring of its gears. Hermione whipped out a notepad and began scribbling.
"What are you writing?" Ron asked. She didn't reply, and Ron leaned over her shoulder to see her drawing an outline of the distant figure.
"Hermione, we know it's Harry," Ron covertly whispered.
"First of all, no we don't. Second of all, I do believe that a sketch of the figure in question is in order anyways. Last of all, there's really no need to whisper," Hermione said. Ron wrinkled his nose in slight agitation but said nothing. Instead, he peered through the telescope to see the figure rapidly approaching Hagrid's Hut.
"Hermione, we need to move," Ron said as he packed up the rest of the surveillance equipment with a flick of his wand.
Hermione nodded and quickly moved to her feet. Ron and Hermione raced their way through the underground tunnel that connected the Shrieking Shack to the Whomping Willow. Poking her head outside, Hermione determined that the coast was clear and proceeded to tap the knot and make her way to Hagrid's Hut.
As she approached the aging Hut, Hermione listened closely to the sounds within the cottage. She could hear Hagrid's gentle snoring and Fang's slight yapper and concluded that Hagrid was still asleep. Ron tapped her on the shoulder and made a sign with his hands to indicate that he should go through the back door. Hermione nodded in agreement and crouched towards the front door.
A rush of emotions threatened to swamp over her as she made her way through the mist and to the front door. Swallowing the knot in her throat, Hermione gently turned the door knob and softly pushed it forward.
"Harry," Hermione said softly, her voice seemingly floating along the air waves as it traversed across the nearly empty room.
Hermione crossed the threshold to see that slightly hunched figure holding an undoubtedly stale loaf of bread half-way to his mouth. Hermione stood as if she was mesmerized by his very presence. His green eyes still shone brilliantly underneath his ragged hood.
Hermione fought to keep in the tears that threatened to overflow the dam. Had it really been six years since she had last laid her eyes on her best friend? Had it really been that long? Although they were just a few meters apart, Hermione felt as if there was a vast abyss that divided them.
Wordlessly, Harry put down the loaf of bread and brushed his hands on his sides, attempting to clean them. Hermione almost giggled at the incredulity of the situation when Harry made an attempt to straighten his robe by smoothing out the sides.
Their eyes met again and Hermione felt her body unconsciously take a step towards Harry. As if by magic, Harry took a step forward as well and lowered the scarf that covered his mouth, finally revealing his face to Hermione.
A sob finally wrenched itself out of Hermione as a tear slid down her cheeks. She watched as Harry's face turned from slight optimism to a troubled frown as he took another step towards her.
"Harry," a voice said from behind him.
Quick as a flash, Harry tucked himself into a ball while turning around to face the voice. Hermione could not even get a word out before a loud bang resonated throughout the tiny hut.
Hagrid gave a startled yell as he picked up his pink umbrella, and Fang's incessant barking could have woken the whole School had it been in session.
Harry cursed profusely as he crawled on all fours to Ron.
Ron was holding his stomach in obvious pain and Hermione could see the reflection from the blood that was quickly pooling around his waist.
***
Sorry for the lack of updates, school's really been tough.
I will be continuing this story.
Review please!