Hermione sat at the worn kitchen table, curled in a chair wearing a pair of old sweatpants and a t-shirt of Ginny or Luna's that she had nicked from the laundry room. The mug of tea clutched in her hand was lukewarm, but she pressed it to her front all the same, as if she could leach the last bit of warmth from it.
She had woken up almost an hour ago in pain and hadn't had the heart to wake Harry. The rest of the house was also asleep and she slipped noiselessly down the stairs, forgoing the library for the brightness of the kitchen.
The potions cabinet hadn't revealed anything that could actually help with the after effects of Crucio, so she settled on tea.
The last few days had replayed in her mind as she wondered if they could have done something to help those students. She also felt guilt as she remembered the two years she had willingly rejected her magic. Even though she hadn't used it, she had still known it was there and felt its presence. She couldn't imagine not feeling that anymore. The thought caused her to shiver and she curled herself tighter.
What was clear was that whoever was behind these actions had a very deliberate, very diabolical plan, and they were committed to seeing it to the end. Who it was and why they were doing it were the two most important questions they hadn't been able to answer.
The door to the kitchen pushed open easily, and Hermione was pleased to see it was only Fleur carrying a sleeping Dominique.
Fleur looked slightly sheepish when she spotted Hermione, and began to say something several times before she gave up.
"Sorry I wasn't very good company last night," Hermione supplied as a way to minimize the discomfort.
"I'm sorry if I frightened you," Fleur responded. "Are you...better?"
Hermione nodded, "Somewhat."
"Can I get you a potion? Dominique woke me up a few minutes ago, but now she's fallen back asleep," Fleur said with a smile.
"No thank you. It was...it was crucio so..." Hermione answered in a low voice.
Fleur gasped and held the baby tighter. "I'm so sorry. Was anyone else hurt?"
A flash of Lazlo's body went through her mind and she had to swallow heavily before she could answer. "Harry and Ron weren't injured."
Fleur nodded, and Hermione wondered if she was aware of what hadn't been said.
"Could I hold her for a bit?" Hermione asked. The words had come out of her mouth before she could consider them.
"Of course. It's nice to have another woman around. She and her sister are overrun with uncles, I'm afraid of what will become of them," Fleur said with a smile, and handed the baby over.
Hermione took her easily, moving her slowly until she could rest on her chest the way she had been laying on Fleur. "She is a Weasley; you could be fighting a losing battle," Hermione cautioned and Fleur nodded sagely.
The area around the fire was overly warm, so Hermione took a turn around the room before settling at the other end of the table while Fleur put away last night's dishes.
The baby snuggled in closer and Hermione studied her petite features, not daring to touch the plump cheeks in case she woke her up.
In that moment there was no Lazlo, no death, and no one hunting them. She was very grateful she got to have this reminder of the good things.
The peace was broken by a loud scuffle and thuds coming from the hallway right outside the kitchen door. Without thought, she drew her wand and turned her body so the baby was the furthest thing from the door and any curse would hit Hermione first.
Her heart pounded, and when the door opened there was already a spell lighting the tip of her wand. Fleur hadn't even turned from the stove, but Hermione didn't notice that.
Bill and Ron came through with wild grins as they pushed each other like they must have when they were much younger. Ron noticed Hermione first and froze, the smile slipped off his face. He threw a hand across his brother's chest to halt his forward progress.
Her mind knew there was no threat, but she couldn't seem to drop her wand and relax.
Bill very slowly pushed Ron's arm down and approached with caution. By now she had blinked twice and let her wand hand sag as she tried to convince her body that they were safe.
"It's ok, Hermione," Bill said. "It's just me and Ron."
She felt herself nodding, and her wand fell even further. "I'm sorry we startled you," he said evenly, now only a couple of feet away.
With a gasp of air she came back to herself and dropped her wand to the table with a clatter. She shut her eyes tight for a moment, and then focused on the others around her. "Oh gods! Bill...I'm...I'm sorry, I just..." She ran a shaky hand through her hair and sank back into the chair.
Dominique shifted in her arm, and without thought she brought the baby to lie on her chest, bouncing her slightly to settle her back down and running a hand over her whisper fine hair.
"It's ok," Bill assured her again, as he crouched next to the chair and laid a hand on his daughter's back. That action made her stomach drop as she realized exactly what she had done.
She blanched and made to give Dominique back to her father. Hermione's mouth was dry and she didn't think she'd ever find the words to apologize. "Here. I'm...so...I'm sorry if I scared you, I didn't..."
But for some reason Bill stopped her and held her hands over the baby's blanket. "Hermione, you thought there was a threat and you protected my daughter. Don't ever apologize for that."
She couldn't speak, but Bill didn't seem to mind. He dropped a kiss on Dominique's cheek and then crossed the kitchen to tell his wife good morning.
Hermione let out a shaky breath and sagged into the chair. She could feel Ron's eyes on her, but couldn't look at him yet.
When she finally raised her head it wasn't Ron she saw, but Harry.
"Morning, luv," he said quietly. She had no idea when he had entered the kitchen, or how long he had been standing there.
"Still a bit jumpy," she said with a half smile.
"Understandable," he replied and knelt down so he could see Dominique better. She had woken up and was studying Harry. "You seem to be more comfortable with her," he observed.
Hermione's cheeks flushed and she looked down at the baby who attempted to grab Harry's glasses. "It's not so hard really," she admitted, and sat Dominique up so she had a better chance to reach the metal frames.
Harry was focused on the baby, trying to keep her entertained and get her attention on something other than his glasses. When he spoke, he deliberately didn't look at Hermione. "That's good. That's very good." His voice was filled with emotion that betrayed the calm he attempted to project.
Her stomach flipped at his words, and the room tunneled down to just him, her, and the baby, and a future that she hadn't ever really let herself consider until now.
"Yeah, it is," she said, and they both knew she wasn't talking about her newfound ease with Dominique.
"How's your pain?" Harry asked after a long moment of silence.
"Better. Not as bad as last night," she said truthfully.
"Here. Take her so I can get another cup." She turned the little girl towards her for a moment. "Would you like to go see Uncle Harry?" she asked in a lilting voice and knew Ron would get on her for talking `baby talk'. Dominique gurgled her agreement, and Hermione transferred her to Harry before he could protest.
After a stutter of hesitation, he took her, settled her against him, and looked quite at home doing so. He grinned at Hermione proudly before he walked off to see Ron.
Fleur was still tending the stove and helpfully poured another cup of tea when Hermione came up next to her. She smiled her thanks and blew on the top before she took a sip. Fleur looked up and smiled at Harry, who was pretending to use one of Dominique's tiny fists to box Ron in the nose. The baby, of course, thought this was hilarious and giggled uncontrollably.
"Harry looks good with her, non?" Fleur asked with a sly smile, and Hermione had to duck her head into her mug to hide her pink cheeks. However, when Fleur's attention was taken by Bill, Hermione whispered, "Yes, he does."
By the time the rest of the Weasley's had risen, Fleur had prepared a breakfast even Molly couldn't have found fault with.
However, as each person entered and made their greetings she saw eyes slide her direction, and Molly dabbed at a tear as she headed towards the stove.
With a start, she realized they had heard her last night as she had lost control in the hallway. She must have been loud enough to wake the entire house.
Harry had given the baby back to Fleur and Bill and made his way to her side. His hand rested on her shoulder, but he didn't say anything. For that, she was grateful.
Ron dropped a plate in front of her and then sat to her left and began to inhale his food. She began to admonish him when she caught the glint in his eye; he was doing it on purpose.
"Thanks," she whispered, smiling as he ate at a more respectable pace.
Harry cleared his throat until everyone turned their attention his way, but he didn't move from his spot behind her.
"We don't have a lot of information to report. The German school was attacked last night." Molly's gasp filled the room and Harry only paused for a moment before continuing. "They used...they used a magical artifact that was stolen from a museum. When activated it removes the magical core of any wizard near it."
The silence in the room said everything.
"That's barbaric!" Percy bellowed.
"We have one of their people. She's in custody at the Ministry right now. Hopefully we'll be able to get more information out of her. She's Dolohov's daughter." Harry's hand tightened on Hermione's shoulder, and Ron shifted in the chair next to her.
There were sounds of surprise at this revelation.
"Harry, it seems like they're still five steps ahead of us. Who are these people?" Charlie asked with frustration evident in his voice.
Harry just nodded his agreement, and she knew the guilt he was feeling because she was feeling it as well.
"We're getting closer. Kingsley has doubled the teams at the other schools, and we may be making recommendations that they withdraw their students soon. It's not...it's not worth the risk unless we can get a lead that directs us to whoever is behind this." She knew that taking the students out of the schools would be tantamount to admitting defeat, and that was the last thing Harry and the Ministry wanted to do.
"You weren't at the school, when it..." Molly asked in a scared voice. "You're not..."
She was asking if they were squibs.
"No, Mum. We weren't at the school when it happened," Ron answered.
"Then how did Hermione get hurt?" George asked, not even noticing the glares sent to him by half of his family.
Hermione blanched, and Ron's hand shot out to cover hers where it was clenched in her lap.
"There was...there was an incident with Dolohov's daughter and another one of their lieutenants," Harry supplied quickly.
"You said you have Dolohov's daughter in custody, but what about this other one?" Charlie asked perceptively.
"He's dead." Harry answered back so quick and with such venom in his voice, no one dared ask anything else.
Hermione slid her hand over Harry's and tugged until he dropped into the chair next to her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Percy actually open his mouth, but she fixed him with a look that made him reconsider.
Arthur twisted to look at his son and then turned back to Harry. Before he could speak however, Fawkes appeared on Harry's shoulder to drop a parchment and then vanished just as quickly.
Harry unrolled the paper and read it before he performed Evanesco with a wave of his hand. He looked over at her and Ron as if they were the only people in the room. "Kingsley wants us at the Ministry."
The breath she had been holding came out in a rush and she couldn't find a voice to respond, so she settled on nodding instead.
Ron had already gotten up from his chair.
"We'll be in touch," Harry said, his hand on the small of her back as they exited the room.
As soon as they were in the hallway Ron turned. "Is that all it said?"
"Yeah, just that he wants us there as soon as possible," Harry answered.
Ron's response was to take the stairs two at a time and disappear into his room to change.
Hermione was quiet until they entered their bedroom. The door shut behind her and she leaned against it while Harry stripped off the shirt he had slept in and dropped it on the floor. They hadn't had time to unpack; in fact she wasn't even sure who had gone back to the hostel to get the rest of their things. She assumed that had happened while she was unconscious.
"What do you think he wants?" she asked quietly.
Harry was pulling on boots when he looked up. "Not sure." He seemed uneasy and she wasn't sure why.
Hermione pushed herself off the door and sat next to him on the bed. "What's wrong?"
His hands paused tying a shoelace. "I haven't been back there since..." She knew what he meant. They hadn't been at the Ministry since they had gone there Polyjuiced and had barely made it out with their lives.
She took a shuddering breath as she remembered racing through the main hall and past that horrible statue. "I haven't either," she admitted.
He finished with his shoes and took her hands in his, bringing them to his lips. "Guess we'll have to get through this together then."
"Good thing we've got experience in that field," she replied, and then forced herself to stand up and pull fresh clothes out of the pack propped up against the dresser.
Black jacket, black shirt, black pants, black boots, hair pulled back in a low ponytail; she was ready.
Ron was waiting for them in the hall and had put on his `war time' outfit as well.
"Ready?" he asked unnecessarily.
Harry's answer was to head down the stairs.
Thankfully, Luna was the only one waiting in the foyer. Ron gave her a forced smile, but it fell as she approached Harry instead of him.
"Good luck, Harry. You'll have answers, but many more questions. Don't despair." Her soft voice hung in the air, and neither Hermione nor Harry moved as Luna glided to Ron to say goodbye.
Harry led them into the library and took the floo powder container off the mantle.
"No offense, mate, but I thought we'd have to go through those magical toilets again." Ron said, not understanding why they were floo'ing in.
"I've got direct access to the Ministry floo network, I've just never used it before," Harry explained as he grabbed a handful of powder and threw it into the fireplace.
"Ministry of Magic. Special Auror Harry Potter and two guests," he said loudly before stepping through. Hermione followed, and Ron was right after her.
She stepped out cleanly. The atrium was the same as she remembered. The reflective greenish tiles looked the same, and wizards and witches were bustling in every direction.
Harry's fingers brushed the back of her hand and she gave him a tight smile. He looked calm, but she could see the subtle way his eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched.
The hub of this level was the same, except that horrible statue was gone. In its place was what appeared to be some sort of memorial. Ron fell behind them, and she and Harry approached it slowly. It was in fact a memorial from the war, but as she walked slowly around the base, she realized it wasn't just for the one that had ended four years ago. As she studied the names and looked at the dates, she realized it was to remember everyone who had died during the entirety of Voldemort's reign.
Harry was a few steps ahead of her and moved just as slowly, until he stopped suddenly and looked as if he had been punched in the gut.
She closed the space between them and laid her hand on his arm before she followed his gaze to where it was locked on the carved black marble.
The names Lily Potter, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Alastor Moody, Fred Weasley, Albus Dumbledore...There they were, all together. Every single name that could have possibly brought him to his knees individually were grouped together to be seen all at once; it was both comforting and devastating.
Her fingers tightened in the cloth of his jacket as she took this in as well, not sure she had remembered to breathe until Ron joined them and dropped a hand on her shoulder.
"You've seen this before," she said to him, barely audible even to her own ears.
She saw him nod out the corner of her eye. "Yeah, I was here...I was here for the dedication. They wanted me to give a speech but...you know that's not my thing." He said the words nonchalantly, as if it hadn't been a big deal; however, the words he hadn't said were so loud they were almost deafening. `You and Harry weren't there and I had to do this alone. You and Harry weren't there and they came to me as a last resort.' She felt all the bitterness, guilt, and abandonment he must have felt and took a deep shuddering breath.
Harry still hadn't moved. She released the grip she had on his jacket and let her hand fall to cover his. He grasped it tight, but that was the only indication she had that he was conscious of her presence.
She had no control over how her attention kept going back to the names, and when she saw Dobby, a free elf, her eyes began to blur due to the tears that came unbidden.
"Wonder if they left any blank space," Harry said suddenly, his voice dark and disgusted
She looked at him in shock, too surprised to reply.
"They've got about two hundred Norwegian school children to add to the list here. That's going to take up some room," he bit out, and she gasped at the words that were so unnaturally cruel.
He turned to look at her, and his eyes were narrowed slits behind his glasses. "What the hell are we doing, `Mione? Why put this damn thing up if people keep dying. It's not over. It may not be Voldemort this time, but the outcome is the same; dead witches and wizards and me trying to stop it." His eyes cut one more time to the names before he stalked off towards the lifts.
She heard Ron sigh behind her, and then she took off after Harry.
She caught up before he made it to the hallway where the lifts were, and then she and Ron had flanked him. She knew he had spoken out of anger and pain, and she chose to shelve this conversation until later.
They had managed to avoid notice until then. Suddenly though, it was as if a bulletin had been sent throughout the entire building simultaneously that had announced their arrival.
Once people started looking their direction, it didn't take long for others to follow.
She was self conscious as she could feel the stares on her and hear the whispers. "It's the Trio. It's Harry Potter. Where have they been all these years?"
Her pace quickened, and Harry and Ron followed her lead as she stared straight ahead and entered the waiting lift.
When the car arrived on the correct floor, the tension amongst the three of them was so high it was almost tangible. Even seasoned Aurors were turning their heads to stare, and Harry's stride became more staccato as he marched to Kingsley's office.
The door was open and Harry didn't even bother to speak to the wizard who sat in the anteroom. The look of complete shock on the poor man's face at seeing the three of them walk through was enough to know he wasn't going to stop them.
Kingsley's desk was strewn with files and newspapers and he barely looked up as they entered.
Harry shut and sealed the door with a flick of his hand before turning his attention to his boss. "You wanted to see us?"
Kingsley glanced up for a moment and then sat heavily in his chair. He swept a hand in front of him in open invitation for them to sit as well.
Harry paused for a moment before he sat gingerly. Hermione knew he liked to have the space to pace and move when he was thinking or troubled, so being confined to a chair was not going to sit well with him.
Ron and Hermione took Harry's lead and sat as well.
Kingsley slipped off his glasses and rubbed tired eyes. "There have been some developments."
"The body you sent here, this Lazlo; we were able to determine that he is the nephew of Igor Karkaroff." Kingsley said, not taking the time to ease into what he knew.
Harry finally slid a look in Ron's direction. "Seems like you had the right idea."
Kingsley quirked an eyebrow at Harry's comment.
"Ron made the observation that we have little to no intel on the family of former Death Eaters. Like Seraphina Dolohov and Lazlo Karkaroff have just proven, this is an area for potential recruitment by the other side that we've ignored," Harry explained.
Kingsley nodded. "Quite right, Mr. Weasley. Well done."
To his credit, Ron didn't so much as flush at the Minister's praise.
"Dolohov has been interrogated further and we've discovered some interesting information. She was, in fact, sent to spy on Ms. Granger. She had minimal contact with her father and other members in an effort to cut down on the possibility she could be caught. What we do know is this plan was developed prior to Voldemort being defeated in the war. Apparently even his top Death Eater's weren't sure of his success and may have thought the opportunity would present itself for them to advance after his demise." Kingsley fell silent and let this news sink in.
Harry let his head hang forward supported by the palms of his hands while his elbows rested on his bent knees. Hermione sat stunned.
"Who could be leading this?" It was Ron who spoke up in a voice far stronger than she felt she would have been capable of.
"We've narrowed it down to Voldemort's top advisors: Dolohov, Macnair, Rookwood, and Carrow. That being said, Carrow doesn't strike us as someone who could coordinate something of this magnitude; however, that doesn't mean he still couldn't be involved. Based on the information you brought back from Russia, we know Rookwood does have a hand in this, and it could be he's our man. He was an Unspeakable, so he knows how the Ministry works."
"What about Dolohov?" Hermione asked, as she willed her voice not to shake.
Kingsley nodded before answering. "It's possible. His daughter has confirmed he's a member, whether he's the one in charge...that's what we need to determine."
The Minister looked hard at Harry until he finally lifted his head and stared back. "We also know the first part of their plan. The reason you three were targeted was no accident. They intended to take you all out before anything else, before they moved on the schools, and before the rest of their plan was enacted."
Hermione felt a small charge in the room before Harry got control of his magic. She reached a hand towards him, but he leapt out of his chair before she could make contact. He began to pace in the area behind the chairs.
They had known they were targets. They had known they were being hunted. But to have it confirmed was sobering and sent a shiver down her back.
"Why did they move forward if they hadn't succeeded?" Harry ground out, his track taking him back to the fireplace at the end of the room. He paused in front of it and rested a heavy hand on the mantle.
"We don't know. It could be that they tried twice, weren't successful and decided to move on to the next step regardless. Dolohov didn't have specifics, just that they wanted to proceed and...continue their attempt on you three at the same time," Kingsley supplied.
"That's why they went after Hermione at the club," Ron said, and a strangled noise from Harry made Hermione whip her head towards him in time to see his fist crash down on the mantle.
"Har..." she began, but he cut her off, so involved in his thoughts he probably didn't even hear her. A stray thought flit through her mind that maybe she should have found the time to talk to him after the incident at the memorial.
"What are we doing about this, Kingsley! Why can we find nothing about who is doing this and why!" Harry shouted, as he spun to face them again, but didn't wait for an answer. "And now you're telling me that this has been going on since the war! That I've traded one psychotic megalomaniac for another! That we're the top three on their hit list again! What the hell do I have to do for this to end? Because I've already died once! And I have lost EVERYTHING! I'm not sure that's going to work again. So you may want to come up with a different plan." Harry's eyes were ablaze as he stared down Kingsley and then turned heel to stalk from the room.
It was as if time had stopped. Hermione didn't breathe. No one moved. The door slammed behind Harry and reverberated around the room before it finally rang quiet.
She jerked herself out of her stupor and looked from Ron to Kingsley to the door Harry had just exited. Ron looked stunned, and Kingsley looked resigned and tired.
Hermione didn't think, just rose from her seat and jogged to the door. She threw it open to see the same poor wizard staring, mouth agape, in the direction Harry had just gone.
She went down the hallway to the lifts and saw one as it just left. She sighed with irritation, and as she turned to wait she saw him. There was a small alcove set into the wall, designed to look like another doorway, except there was no door, just a niche with a low bench.
She didn't say anything, just went and sat next to him.
"Hermione, I need some answers. I need some direction. I'm operating blind here and everyone seems to think that I'm going to be the one to save them again, and no one seems to understand that I don't know any more than they do!" His hands came up and grabbed fistfuls of his hair in frustration. "Why me? Why us? Am I really the best the Ministry has? I know I've been doing this for a couple of years officially, but I'm by no means the highest ranking Auror on the payroll. I don't know if..." he trailed off, the hands falling from his hair to scrub over his face.
"You don't know if what?" she asked evenly, her heart breaking for him.
"I don't know if I can shoulder this again. I don't know if I can risk losing...you and everything we have." He sounded so tired and so old that it took everything in her not to march back into Kingsley's office and tell him to figure it out himself and leave Harry alone.
"You're not going to lose me," she said fiercely, moving now so she could kneel in front of him, her hands resting on his knees. "I know it's not fair. I know you've done more than anyone should have ever asked of you. But Harry, you are good at this, and not just because there was a prophecy involved last time. You'd make an excellent Auror regardless. But above anything, we have experience. We've done this before and we won. You and me and Ron. We're good at this. So we just have to keep being good. We will end this, again, just like we did last time. Except for one difference." Her voice became stronger the longer she talked, and it broke with emotion. She waited until he looked at her expectantly.
"The one difference is that when this is finished, you and I will not be apart. Never again." Her eyes burned with determination and she saw him slowly nod his agreement before cupping her face in his hands.
"Gods, I love you," he whispered and gently pulled her towards him. "You're amazing."
"I love you too," she answered quietly, and then without thought to their location, closed the gap between them.
When Harry finally pulled back, he looked more at peace and had a new glint in his eye that let her know he'd be alright.
She sat back down next to him and leaned heavily into his side. "Can I ask you something?" she said, and it was a surprise to both of them.
"You can ask me anything," he answered.
"Have you seen Teddy?" she asked and felt him start next to her. "It's just earlier, at the memorial, I saw Tonks and Remus's names and...I just wondered."
He was silent and she was worried she had upset him. "I send him gifts for his birthday and Christmas, but..." he trailed off, clearly not pleased with how he had taken on the role of godfather.
"Hey, it's ok. After this is over maybe we can go see him," she said in an attempt to soothe him.
He looked at her from below his metal rims and gave her a half a smile. "Yeah, I'd like that." She laid her head against the hard edge of his shoulder and smiled to herself.
"Shall we head back?" she suggested, rising to her feet and making to pull him up with her.
"I suppose I should go apologize. I did yell at the Minister of Magic," he said with half a smile
"I should say so," she replied with just the amount of reproach she knew he was expecting.
The wizard outside Kingsley's office had just settled back to his work when they came back in and hopped to his feet once more.
When they entered, Ron and Kingsley were still speaking where they had left them.
"Sorry, for earlier," Harry said, with only a touch of contrition.
Kingsley waved him off. "Harry, we've been asking too much of you your entire life. And I'm afraid I'm asking you once again. It is understandable to be displeased with the circumstances."
Harry nodded, and reluctantly sank back into the chair he had vacated.
"I've been discussing things with Ron. I agree that we were naive in believing the Death Eaters themselves were our only worry. I've asked him to oversee a task force designed to bring us up to speed on exactly what this new generation could be up to."
Harry and Hermione both turned to look at Ron, who flushed pink and also looked a bit overwhelmed by this turn of events.
Kingsley continued, "That's one of the reasons why I asked you three to come here. I'd like you to center your operations out of the Ministry. You'll have access to all of our resources. I understand it may be a bit unconventional, but Aurors or not, you three have the most experience of anyone in this building when it comes to fighting Death Eaters outside of myself. I'd like to extend the title of Special Auror to both you, Ron, and you, Ms. Granger, which will allow you to move freely about the Ministry and make it easier to liaise with other Ministries."
Before they could even process what it all meant, Kingsley slid two badges across his desk, one towards her, and one towards Ron. Hermione took hers out of instinct and held it in her hand without even looking at it. She couldn't imagine what Harry was thinking.
Kingsley apparently decided that it would be best to keep going while they were still trying to comprehend what was happening. "Hermione, I've seen you in battle, and I've seen your test scores. In fact, I believe the Ministry offered you a position several years ago that you turned down." Hermione lowered her eyes at his remark and didn't miss how Harry's head turned in her direction at what Kingsley said. "You and Harry have a partnership that cannot be taught or trained, it simply is. I'm sure with your considerable skill he will be more than successful in his new role." Harry now had his full attention on Kingsley.
"New role, sir?" Harry asked quickly.
"I've arranged a room for you to operate from. Harry, there are several team leads waiting to give you updates from the past twenty four hours. This is now an official Ministry operation, and you're Head Auror." He held his hand up immediately to silence Harry's protests. "It's not open for negotiation."
A wave of Kingsley's wand, and the badge Harry had pinned to his jacket flashed once and then said `Head Auror'.
"I'm not just using you as a figurehead," Kingsley stated, bringing up a concern that Hermione knew Harry would have. "Yes, your presence at the top will help, I won't deny that, but as Minister it's my responsibility to run this office to the best of my ability and put in place the people who are going to help me do that most effectively. I have complete faith that you're the wizard for the job."
Harry sat back heavily and studied Kingsley, a silent battle going on to which no one else was privy. He ran one hand through his hair and then stood up and extended his hand across the desk. "Alright, show us this office and let's get started."
The Minister allowed a broad smile to crack his face and rose to clasp Harry's hand in his. "Excellent," he said, relief evident. "You're on the second level. They're expecting you. I can have Wallace show you the way if you'd like." Hermione assumed he was referring to the wizard in the other room, whom they had startled more than once today. She wondered if he could handle a direct interaction with them.
"That won't be necessary. I remember the way," Harry said, and without a word to either her or Ron, turned around to leave.
"Oh, Hermione, one more thing please," Kingsley called out and she turned back to him. He held out a thin chain with an odd looking key attached to it, and she took it without thought. As soon as it was in her hand a rush of magic went through her.
Hermione's wand flashed up and she had the Minister of Magic blasted to the back wall of his office to hang pinned three feet off the floor.
"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, but she saw him and Harry come to either side of her, both with their wands drawn.
" `Mione, what happened?" Harry asked in a barely controlled voice.
Hermione ignored both of them and advanced on Kingsley as he attempted to struggle out of her spell. "What did you do?" she ground out, ashamed at her own stupidity for taking the chain before asking any questions.
"It's just a key, Hermione," Kingsley said, strained.
"A key to what?" she asked.
"To the Department of Mysteries," he gasped, and she wanted to believe him.
"Harry, check the key," she said over her shoulder, but never took her eyes from Kingsley. "What was on the chain? A curse? A charm? I felt something when I touched it."
"It's tied to your magic so you're the only one who can use it," the minister said. "I thought...I thought there may be some answers there."
"Since when does someone need a key to enter the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked darkly.
Kingsley's eyes leveled on his. "Since your fifth year," he spat back, his patience now worn thin.
Hermione kept her wand trained on him and she saw Harry kneel down to perform detection charms on the key.
When he stood up he dropped his wand and turned to her. "It's clean, like he said. There's nothing else there."
A flush crept up her neck and threatened to overtake her entire face as she released the spell and had the presence of mind to lower the Minister to the floor instead of allowing him to fall.
As Kingsley straightened his robes, words stuck in her throat. He must have seen her struggle because he summoned the key and held it out to her once again. "This is a key to the Department of Mysteries. There may be answers there for you to discover," he said deliberately, in an effort to repair the damage they had both just done.
"Thank you, Sir," she said and took the chain once again. As she dropped the key over her head she had to suppress a shudder. Ever since the Horcrux hunt and the locket, she hadn't been able to wear necklaces.
There was a decided air of unease in the room and she managed to stutter out an apology. Kingsley accepted it with a nod and perhaps a bit of respect at her suspicion.
There was a long moment where she wondered if he was going to push this further but his face wasn't schooled enough to hide his decision to drop it. "Second level then," he said with only a touch of edge, and they exited quickly.
They stood at the lift once more, quiet, until Ron broke the silence. "Wow," was all he said, but it was effective and succinct.
Hermione's fingers reached out and touched the back of Harry's hand, a bit of tension leaving her when his reached back and gave a quick squeeze, as he let her know he supported her.
Harry glanced down and saw the badge she still had clenched in her grasp, the metal biting into her flesh. "You may want to put that on, they can get a bit tetchy about proper identification in the Auror department."
"Is that an order, Sir?" she asked with a wry smile, before she took the badge and affixed it to the belt at her waist.
Harry opened his mouth to protest, and then caught on that she was trying to make him relax.
The lift arrived and Ron grinned at him as they stepped in it. "I don't actually have to call you `Head Auror Potter', do I?" Ron asked sardonically.
"You two through?" Harry asked, as he sent Ron a mock glare.
Level two was a flurry of activity. They were being passed by wizards and witches of all sorts. Some in dark Auror robes, others, who must have been undercover, were in everything from rags to Muggle clothing. There were even some with mismatched features who were partway through an expiring polyjuice potion.
Harry walked through the main office where the Auror cubicles were located, when suddenly the call of `Head Auror!' rang out and everyone around them froze like they had been hit with a hex.
Aurors snapped to attention and waited for Harry. Hermione watched him and saw as he went from slightly insecure and unsure, to completely in control and in charge. His head came up, his back straightened, and he looked very much like the man that had surprised her in that room in France all those weeks ago.
"As you were," he said in a firm voice, and after staring for a moment they began to move again.
A confident looking witch approached. "Head Auror Potter, I'm Chelsea Worthington. The Minister asked that I show you around and make sure you were caught up."
"Thank you, Ms. Worthington. I'd appreciate that."
"If you'll follow me, Sir." She clutched an overstuffed portfolio to her chest that reminded Hermione of her school satchel from Hogwarts.
Chelsea led them through the maze of cubicles to a wall in the back with one very large wooden door. "Typically, the Head Auror would have their own office, but the Minister insisted we give you this," she said by way of explanation.
The door already had a placard hanging next to it with their names engraved. Hermione wondered if it had only looked like that for a few minutes, or if Kingsley had merely presumed they wouldn't turn down his offer.
Before they could truly register what they were seeing, the door was being pushed open and they were ushered inside.
It was a war room, no use denying it.
One large table ruled the center of the room, while smaller tables and desks ringed the outside giving them plenty of work space.
"Now, you have five team leads waiting to speak to you. Yaslow is only available by floo call, but he's on standby at your convenience. The other four would like to be seen as soon as possible, especially Calum, as he's needed back in Japan immediately. There is a daily briefing scheduled in one hour. There has also been a request for an appointment with you from Bill Weasley of Gringotts. I've had all reports held until we knew where you would be setting up office, but I'll have them delivered here." Chelsea hadn't taken a breath, and with a wave of her wand, three one foot tall stacks of files and papers appeared on the closest table.
Without giving Harry time to even begin to process what was happening, she turned her attention to Ron. "Special Auror Weasley, the Aurors that the Minister selected for your team are waiting to meet with you. I'll set the meeting in thirty minutes time if there are no objections." Ron could only mutely shake his head in response.
"Sir, I'll set up that floo call now if you'd like." Chelsea said, and Harry nodded his agreement. However, before she could take a step, the door burst open and a young Auror came barging in carrying a copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Sir! Sir! Something's happened! You need to see this!"