A/N. So, yes Hermione is alive. I love reading the theories and the comments. Thanks to all those who have reviewed.
This chapter was a struggle to write because I wanted to give you enough answers without ruining the end. It will be mostly about the mystery. Jessie and Warren first, then Hugo and Rose, followed by Harry and the Unofficial Minister.
Enjoy.
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Chapter 9 - The Unofficial Minister of Magic
The praying ended just as Jessie approached the bed, the ex-Auror right behind her. The group of nuns said 'hullo' and it took a few seconds before it sunk in who the 'Father Warren' they were referring to was. The 'priest' shot her a brief glare when she snorted involuntarily but after politely acknowledging the greetings her eyes were immediately back on the woman who Warren just confirmed was the real Hermione.
It had been months since she last saw Hermione. Aside from sporting recently haphazardly-cut shorter hair her friend did not look any differently and, in sharp contrast to the unrecognizable body found at the house, this Hermione was unblemished. If not for the tube in her mouth that was attached to the Muggle breathing machine and the various bags of fluids and medications hooked up on both her arms Hermione looked like she was merely asleep. Jessie glanced at the monitors and read the labels on the drugs she was on. From the Muggle Medicine course she attended years ago she concluded that Hermione was not doing well and all she could think of was the many ways she could call the arse beside her an idiot.
The visitors left at Warren's request. Finally. Warren instantly pulled the curtains around them and handed Jessie her wand back.
"Why is she here?"
"It's the only safe place she can get medical attention."
"Safe?!" she hissed, angry at his lack of urgency and his lax definition of safe, "This makeshift archaic Muggle hospital?! Are there even other patients here? A real doctor?"
"It used to be government run hospital but closed because of funding. The local church has run it for years mostly as an outpatient clinic, but they do not turn away sicker patients who have to stay over. A doctor comes once a day and the nuns do what they can in his absence," Warren answered.
The nuns? She bit her lower lip needing to filter her thoughts. She was born and raised a Catholic and did not want to be disrespectful.
After a few seconds, Warren asked her impatiently, "Well, what are you waiting for?"
"What?!"
"Aren't you going to do something to make her better?"
A disbelief (and panic) washed over her.
"Oh, was that why you made me come here?!"
"Why else do you think? To join the rosary brigade?!" he replied sarcastically.
"I'm a Forensics analyst! I'm not a Healer!" she declared, "And you're a moron! She should be in St. Mungo's or a magical hospital at least!"
"You took Healer's class," he pointed out.
"For a year then I dropped out. To be more accurate, I flunked out," she confessed, "Why do you think I ended up in Forensics?"
He was flustered. He was obviously misinformed about that.
"She said you fixed her up once."
Years ago Hermione injured her spleen badly but did not want to be seen at St. Mungo's. She asked Jessie to take it out. That was what clued her in that freezer woman wasn't Hermione.
"I almost killed her the last time. Or did she forget to mention that little detail too?"
"You'll do better. I have faith in you, child," he said in a mock priest tone.
"Shut up with this nonsense. Let's get her to a real Healer."
Warren wasn't budging. He must have a good reason for insisting; he better.
"You're good at finding out what's wrong. Find out what's wrong with her. You're the only one I trust."
He pleaded with his eyes and Jessie looked at Hermione again. She thought about it but realizing what was at stake, shook her head.
"I'm not doing this to soothe your paranoid ass. This is clearly way over my head. I only do dead beings."
"She's very close to dying. It won't be much of a stretch," came Warren's feeble attempt to make it sound logical, then tried to explain, "We don't have much time. We can't take her to a magical hospital. Malvado will know she's alive and then he'll come after her again."
"If you don't take her to a Healer she'll die anyway."
"She's as good as dead once Malvado finds out."
"The Ministry will protect her."
"They won't. And even if they tried, they can't. I can't. She barely escaped last night. She has to get better before Malvado realizes that she's not dead."
This wasn't his usual bullshit. Warren was telling her what he knew to be true.
Having worked on high security cases with Aurors and Unspeakables Jessie was used to cryptic information but the details were of no relevance to her at the moment. Right now Hermione needed magical healing attention.
"Look," he lowered his gaze momentarily as if carefully contemplating what he was about to say, "You know who she is to me. Do you think I would ever endanger her life like this if I had a choice?"
She had to give him that. As much as Warren was a prick to most he was a passable human when it came to Hermione.
"Okay. I'll try, but if I'm stumped your Plan B better have something to do with getting her seen by a Healer."
Warren nodded, "Fair enough."
"And you have to tell someone. Hugo and Rosie, Ron; you can't just let them think she's dead."
"She would have wanted it this way."
"I disagree. I can't imagine her not sending word."
"It's for their safety," Warren replied, "But I'll think about it. Just make her better."
Jessie would have to make sure Warren followed through on that one. No matter what happened, her family needed to be here.
She asked, "Tell me how this happened."
As Warren told her what he knew, she raised her wand over Hermione's body and did a gross physical assessment of Hermione's condition, hoping her twelve months of Healing school and twenty years of forensics experience would be enough.
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He's not going to go for it.
Hugo had himself convinced. His father said so himself. If his Mum sent him away to keep him safe, there was no chance in hell he would be allowed to return.
Right now his Mum was just another statistic and would remain so until Malvado was put in prison. He felt he had to go back and help. His rucksack was packed but he was not stupid. It would be crazy to go back and find Malvado on his own. He was a kid and if his Mum, Uncle Warren and the IMP could not arrest the Dark Wizard it was delusional to think he could do so without help. He did not even know if Uncle Warren was still alive.
Getting Uncle Harry involved was a must. Really, if there was one person who could get rid of a Dark Wizard like Malvado it would be him. He had done it many times before and he wasn't Head Auror for nothing.
Uncle Harry...he felt resentment eating him up again. Before he found out who he really was 'Uncle Harry' was the coolest uncle anyone could ever have. But now, he was just the guy he hated for breaking his Mum's heart and getting off so easily. His Mum's words burned in his mind.
It wasn't his fault, honey. I never told him about you. You should be angry at me.
He was at first, but he couldn't stay mad at her. He understood what she was trying to do; the truth would hurt Lily and Hugo could not bear the thought of Lily hating their father like he did. And he couldn't bear staying in touch with the Potters either.
Seeing his father with Aunt Ginny in the Potter kitchen set off an intense emotion he could not identify. He had never seen his Mum with anyone that way and it was all Uncle Harry's fault...his because he chose Aunt Ginny.
He could not stand seeing this end result of his Mum's sacrifice years ago. Hugo wondered if this was what his Mum had to endure before they left four years ago and if so, why she hadn't left sooner. The Potters were happy. Lily was happy and he, Harry Potter's bastard, was the ticking time bomb that would end all that. Hugo had his Dad. He didn't need Harry Potter as a father. Lily, Al and James did.
It was for these reasons that Hugo wanted to stay away as long as he could. Last night was unexpected. When the Ministry sentry caught up with him he panicked and transfigured back, hoping he would be recognized as 'Al' and be in less trouble. By the time the Head Auror figured out he wasn't Al all he was concerned about was going back to his Mum.
But they were too late.
He thought back to their conversation earlier and he had read his father perfectly. Aunt Ginny would have to know and his Dad too. James, Al and Lily would be next and then all hell would break lose. He had to tell Rosie so she would be more prepared.
What a mess. It would have been better had he remained Ron Weasley's son. The last thing he wanted was to be outed but a part of him needed to know what the older man would do. And Hugo had to admit there was something satisfying about seeing his father's futile attempts to set things right. Hugo wanted to see him struggle just as his Mum did, to go through what she did. He was doing it for his Mum.
As he thought of how to get his father to allow his involvement on the Malvado case, he heard somebody knock on the door. He turned the knob, pulled it back, and was immediately on the receiving end of a bone crushing hug that reminded him so much of his mother.
"Oh, Hughie," his sister said, tears and concern in her brown eyes as she let go, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," he replied, trying not to stare at her pink hair, "Are you?"
That question triggered Rosie to sob uncontrollably. Hugo pulled his sister in an embrace, patting her on the back awkwardly. He had never done something like this before.
"I can't believe she's gone...I've been such a brat...I was just so angry when I found out..."
"She understood Rosie. She knew what you were going through."
Hugo reassured his sister. He overheard her Mum and Uncle Warren one night talking about Rosie and about him. Uncle Warren was trying to comfort her that they would be fine but that they both needed time to think things through.
"I'm so sorry..." his sister continued.
"No need to be."
Rosie pulled away and asked, "Was she angry at me?"
"No. She told me to tell you that she loved you."
That made Rosie cry even more. His shirt was all wet from her tears just as it was the night before from their Mum's. He cried too as he remembered.
…in case I'm delayed, take care of Rose...
Rosie has always been a good sister. Before she left for Hogwarts she looked out for him, taught him what she learned and always made sure he wasn't left out during games. It was by accident that she found out about the big secret over the summer.
"I was just so stupid, so full of myself. Dad doesn't know yet, does he?"
Hugo shook his head, "Uncle Harry does."
"You should stop calling him 'Uncle Harry'."
"Well I'm not calling him 'Dad'."
"It wasn't his fault."
It irked him sometimes how she sounded just like their mother.
"Don't you take his side on this. I'm still not calling him 'Dad'."
Rosie let the matter go, for now.
"What happens next?"
"He's telling Aunt Ginny and Dad later today."
"Oh no!"
"What?"
Rosie hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell him her thoughts, "Don't get me wrong. I really think you should stop hiding behind the brown hair and brown eyes. But I just hope that before they decide to tell anyone else they think about Mum and make sure she's remembered for who she really was, the good she did, the reason she was killed, and not for... you know..."
She couldn't finish. They couldn't talk about their Mum that way but she was right. He didn't want his identity to detract from what the rest of their Mum's life was about and it would once the press found out.
"I'll make sure," he told her confidently.
They heard hurried footsteps in the hallway. He took a deep breath as the door to Al's room swung wide open. The first person in was a red head who immediately hugged him.
"I'm so sorry Hughie," his half sister said while his other siblings looked on.
He nodded but couldn't find the words to go with the action. He felt tears in his eyes again. It killed him that he was about to hurt them. They were so going to hate him after they found out.
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Sometime before Rose arrived at the Pitch, Harry received a troubling but not surprising report from Forensics. Borgin, Grawp and Phil were all killed by the same two murder weapons used to off Burkes. Too revved up to wait, he remotely ran a database query on the 'V' or 'W' tattoo Jessie had seen on the wrists of Burkes' murderers. The first one done by Ted yesterday did not return a single match but with the dead thief's mention of the Master of Death and Hugo's information that Malvado was claiming to be it, he went on a hunch and did a specific search for drawings or markings associated with Salazar Malvado.
Harry left home right after a quick shower, Flooed into the Ministry and headed straight to his office. His assistant, Leila, was already in and preparing for the meeting he had called. When he got to his desk Leila handed him his usual black, unsweetened coffee.
"I am very sorry to hear that Ms. Granger has passed away," she said to him in private.
Her sympathy wasn't earnest but then Harry didn't expect her to say anything at all. Leila and Hermione never got along. She hated how Hermione refused to ask for appointments to see him and how she used to drop by his office without notice, ignoring and messing up his schedule which Leila had meticulously prepared the day before. She even accused Hermione of having an illegal copy of his timetable because the latter always seemed aware of changes seconds after they were made.
It was partly a territorial thing for the older woman, that and the fact that being old-fashioned, Leila did not think his close friendship with Hermione was appropriate. He even suspected his assistant had something to do with the press drumming up an old story about them having an affair weeks before Hermione resigned four years ago. At the time Leila had been Harry's assistant for less than a year and Harry almost fired her had Hermione not intervened and told him she was the best person for the job.
"Thanks," he was sure his reply sounded as hollow.
"Auror Lupin left a message for you to call him when he gets in and the Minister can't meet until the afternoon."
Harry let out a frustrated sigh and nodded, wondering if Leo was avoiding him. Leo had declined his invitation to the 7am meeting too. Deciding to call Ted later, he got on the Ministry database and accessed the query on Malvado.
There were a few returns. Among them, the exact letter symbol just as Jessie described only it was not a V or W, but an M, slightly stretched out to form the base of a vulture. The info on it was that Malvado marked those in his inner sanctum with the symbol, the branding a rite of passage reserved only for those who could equal his lack of respect for life. It proved that the robberies and the murders were connected and that connection was Salazar Malvado.
Robberies, murders, Master of Death…
Malvado was looking for something and Burkes knew where it was. Did he think the other murder victims knew? Did he ever find it?
The involvement of the Death Stick did create a bit of a dilemma about how to proceed with the case. It was not supposed to exist and it was preferable for it to remain nonexistent. At the time of the Gaunt case it had been revealed to a select few in the Ministry and Auror Office and Harry was inclined to do the same, at least unless he was certain there was no other way to move the case forward without mention of it. The difficulty would be how to keep it off the discussion. If they were able to make the connection as teenagers it would be discouraging if the Aurors didn't.
He made a few copies of the vulture symbol and was about to head for the conference room when Leo Jericho knocked on his open door. Seeing the Minister there was a surprise.
"I didn't think you could make it," he told the Minister.
"I actually can't. Max will be there," Leo admitted, "We do need to talk before your meeting. Unofficially."
Leo went in and shut the door behind him, took one look at the leather visitor seats in front of Harry's desk and decided not to sit. The Unofficial Minister went directly to Harry's window gazing at the projected view of Muggle London as it was coming alive. Harry understood to join him.
"I am sure you have questions about Hermione's death and about the mention of 'Jean Peverell'," he said then paused, looking for a reaction. When Harry remained stoic, he asked, "Should I start?"
"I'm listening."
Harry figured a composed explanation would be better than a pointed interrogation. While the Minister would have likely rehearsed it, it would certainly give Leo more rope to hang himself with if he was lying.
"A year ago we were approached by the IMP to rein in a rogue Canadian freelance operative they had sent undercover to infiltrate the Malvados. You know him. I believe he was briefly your partner."
"Warren Gates."
Leo was a bit taken aback that Harry seemed to know where their conversation was going.
The Minister continued, "Gates had lost his entire team and stopped communicating with the IMP. It was believed that he had turned and the IMP wanted him neutralized before he could do more harm. They first looked to the Canadians but the Canucks didn't have the resources. Knowing that Gates had worked here for some time, the IMP asked us next. So, we searched our ranks for qualified personnel and came up with a short list of two. But I was quite unwilling to send my Head Auror overseas for an undetermined period of time. You can guess who the other person on that list was."
Harry understood why their names came up. While there were certainly other active personnel who could have done the job, the results were based more on familiarity of the target than skill. And besides, having worked with Warren he knew there were very few who could match his wand proficiency at dueling.
"Of course, I took into consideration that Hermione had not worked in the field for quite some time. It still seemed that she would be the right person for the job."
"You asked her during her Mum's funeral," Harry challenged, "A bit low, wouldn't you think?"
The Minister blushed beet red, "It was an urgent matter, Harry. The IMP needed an answer. She didn't seem to mind."
"You were aware of the gross conflict of interest."
"You're talking about their previous personal history. Yes, and she pointed that out herself but I trusted that she would do the right thing," Leo replied, "She was cognizant that we were counting on that aspect of her relationship with Gates to help with the mission."
"And she agreed to it?"
"Not right away, but she had been receiving warnings from Malvado and was very motivated to help the IMP. Even then she had several stipulations; among them that she would do it her way and report only to me."
"And you didn't tell me because..."
"She asked me not to discuss the case with you or Ron until it was over."
That was likely true. Ron had always shared his distrust for Warren and Hermione, aware of how they felt, had decided long ago that the less detail they had about the extent of her association with Warren the better. Ron was more vocal, maybe playing the 'he's not good for the children' card more times than necessary. He, on the other hand, never said what he wanted to. It was none of his business who she chose to be with. But although he never said it, Hermione knew how he felt. She always had the knack of knowing without asking.
The Minister interrupted his thoughts.
"It wasn't long before she was able to draw out Gates but she persuaded the IMP to keep him in and talked me into allowing her to continue and work with Gates on his original assignment."
"So Warren…Gates had not turned after all?"
"Hermione didn't think so but she wasn't sure," Leo answered, "She said she needed more time."
This was not the impression he got from Hugo's story.
"But she blew her cover?"
"She said that was the only way to get him to show his true colors."
"What was his excuse for not checking in?"
"He was at a crucial stage of infiltration and was being watched. He said he did not want to compromise his cover as the rest of the team foolishly had."
"A year. Seems a bit long to get to Malvado."
"It wasn't my show. I'm not a law enforcer, Harry. I was busy running a country halfway across the world. I had done my part to help the IMP and what Hermione wanted to do was not something I could influence or control."
"You could have given her back-up."
"She insisted on working alone."
"You should have insisted back! We never let our agents work alone, no matter what!"
"Gates was with her."
"Gates isn't one of us!"
"What do you want me to say, Harry? Nothing will bring her back!"
"An apology? An acknowledgment that you screwed up?"
"I pulled her out of the case. She wouldn't listen."
"You should have thought that would happen when you sent her in! She never left a mission unresolved in her career, never left a partner on his own! She wasn't going to start now!"
There were no more rebuttals from the Minister after that but there would be no apologies forthcoming either. Leo Jericho was a proud man and if not for the fact that he knew Harry was right, would not have allowed to be talked to that way. Harry's breathing and heartbeat finally slowed to normal pace.
"You said you pulled her out."
"A few days ago. She asked me to check on the Elder Wand and I found out it was missing."
Harry thought that odd even when Hugo told him.
"You took her off the case when the Elder Wand was possibly in the hands of a dangerous wizard?"
"I did not want my Ministry involved. The implications, the complexity of sending more Aurors…the stone is missing too…" he stammered through but Harry, remembering Hermione from Hugo's memory, did not let him continue.
"She asked for your help and you refused."
Unbelievable. There seemed to be no end to how much disgust he could feel towards the Minister. The latter's expression had hardened.
"It wasn't my problem and I wasn't going expose more Brits to danger halfway across the world and definitely not after what happened the last time that wand was involved in a case."
"Well, guess what? Since you chose not to get involved, here's an up-to-date body count of Brits killed by Malvado on your soil. Four and counting. But you knew that already before you came in here, didn't you? That's why you came."
They stared each other down.
"What did Malvado's men want with Burkes?"
"They were looking for something."
Duh!
"What? What's the Keeper keeping? Is it the cloak?"
"I can't tell you."
Harry lost patience once again.
"Quit jerking me around! If you want my help tell me what this is all about!"
"You know how the Unbreakable vow works! I want to tell you but it will kill me if I do!"
"Who did you make the vow to?"
He answered with reluctance, "Hermione."
"Montague said it was Borgin who hired him and Bole. Was Borgin looking for the same thing?"
"Yes."
"Did Malvado hire Borgin?"
"No, I did," Leo said without batting an eyelash, and then added, "Unofficially."
"To look for the same thing that the Keeper is keeping?"
"Yes."
"Did you find it?"
"No."
"Did Malvado?"
"I don't know."
"Who's the Keeper?"
"I don't know," Leo repeated his last reply and Harry must have glared at him again for he responded, pressured. "It was Hermione but the Fidelus hasn't broken. She must have passed on the Keepership to someone else."
"Who do you think she passed it on to?"
"I suspect Gates."
"Then we should ask him."
"We can't. Gates blatantly refused his supervisor's order to pull back and report on what happened to Hermione last night. He resigned and we've lost all contact."
"He's gone under again," Harry said to himself, trying to figure out why Warren would do something drastic at this stage of the case.
"A warrant for his arrest has been issued. We think Gates sold her out, Harry. We think he told Malvado she was Jean Peverell."
"Why would Malvado care that she was?"
The Minister of Magic was pale as he wiped the sweat off his brow.
"Because Jean Peverell was the mistress of the Elder Wand."
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A/N : Is Gates good or bad? The Minister?
Up next - not sure. Which would you like to read first? The Harry-Ginny and Harry-Ron conversations about Hugo or chapters of the past?