Unofficial Portkey Archive

Chapter 2: Perspective Altered

They followed the stranger into the street in a dreamlike state, and once there he removed a dented golden bicycle bell from his pocket and held it out for them to touch. As though hypnotized they both reached out to the object and in a dizzying swish they were ripped off their feet, hurtled through space and landed firmly in the middle of what appeared to be a massive library.

As soon as Harry's feet were firm on the ground, the drug like effects of the hypnosis he was under vanished and he quickly grabbed Hermione as she staggered to gain her balance. His other hand deftly moved for his wand and in a split second he had it pointed at their plump kidnapper.

"Start talking" Harry growled, keeping Hermione close by his side. Out his peripheral he noticed that she had her wand poised as well.

"I'm sorry for the tricks, but I had to get you here somehow and I couldn't have you making a scene about it. Everything concerning my department is very secretive you see."

"What did you use on us? Imperius?" Harry asked, already knowing that it hadn't felt like imperius at all. Imperius he could sense and fight. Whatever the stranger had done to them felt like a pleasant floating sensation and dimmed his awareness and inhibitions entirely.

"I used this" the stranger explained, pulling a amethyst medallion out from under his frayed black robes. "It allows to the wearer to exude total control over those around him. Sometimes it takes a little while to take effect and it only lasts for a short time, but I assure you it's quite safe. It only works if the user intends no harm to the subject."

"Intends no harm eh?" Harry responded skeptically. "Why didn't you just ask nicely then instead of using some... some whatever that is on us?"

"Would you have really come? You would have stunned me and taken me in for questioning. And we haven't the time for all that. I have brought both of you here for an urgent matter."

"Where is here?" Hermione asked wearily, speaking for the first time.

"The Department of Ancient Magic" the stranger said, and Hermione's eyes lit up instantly.

"I thought it was just a rumor" she gasped, letting go of Harry's arm and lowering her wand. She began to turn around in circles, gaping at the incredible number of books and scrolls surrounding her. The shelves went to high up she could barely see the top, and small candles floated around, casting dim light into what looked like a vast cavern.

"Nobody is meant to know about this place" the stranger conceded. "The secrets we house here make the Restricted Section of the library at Hogwarts look like a child's playpen."

"It's incredible" Hermione smiled. Harry was not as easily pleased however.

"That doesn't answer who you are or why we're here."

"My apologies. My name is Broderick Caldwell and I am the sole guardian of the Department of Ancient Magic. I am a glorified librarian of sorts."

"What does a librarian want with us?" Harry asked, confused.

"I will be glad to debrief you on all of that if you will just follow me." Harry wanted to protest but Hermione took his hand in such a gentle fashion that he sighed, un-tensed a bit and slowly lowered his wand. He did not however, holster it.

They seemed to walk for over fifteen minutes, just passing row after row of books until finally they reached a set of dusty marble stairs with grand banisters adorned with mythical creatures. Two bright torches burned magnificently at the top of the stairs and Harry realized that his eyes had become so acclimated to the dark that he had to squint to readjust to the new brightness.

At the top of the stairs was a large room with a tile mosaic on the floor. Like everything else in the place it was dusty and thus making out the designs was difficult. From what he could see however, there were various runes and depictions of ancient Gods. In the room were several rows of desks, each equipped with a roll of parchment and a quill and inkwell. The room in and of itself wasn't what was interesting however. Harry's breath was nearly taken away when he turned around to gaze out at the cavern. At this height he could see above all the shelves and realized how far they went on, the floating candles bobbing up and down in a swaying motion for row after row. Even more breathtaking was the fact that he could see the top of the cavern and could now tell that neon blue lights lined the craggy ceiling, giving it a mysterious glow.

He hadn't felt so wowed since he had first set eyes upon Hogwarts those many years ago. However, Hermione looked even more stunned by it, tears stinging at her eyes as she took in the majesty of it all. It's probably all the books Harry thought with an inner smirk.

"Ah hem" Broderick cleared his throat to regain their attention. "I have brought you both here because the Department needs you help."

"If you're looking for someone to help your file books away you might have looked elsewhere" Harry quipped, and Hermione nudged him in the ribs.

"I can take care of the books thank-you kindly. That is not why I sought the two of you out. Recently, there has been a series of attacks on Muggles. These attacks are worldwide and seem to be random as far as I can determine. The only thing they all have in common is that the muggle victims were killed by a cursed object in every case."

"Why haven't I heard about this?" Harry and Hermione asked simultaneously.

"Because, Ancient Magic was used in every case. Magic that nobody ought to know about except me, magic that has been locked deep underground and guarded throughout time. It is very puzzling, but worse yet, it is extremely dangerous. Counter spells to ancient magic often require using ancient magic. Even when we do find these cursed objects, they are exceedingly difficult to diffuse."

"Why would anyone be doing this?" Hermione gasped, thinking of those innocent victims who died in fear, not knowing what was happening to them.

"We have no idea. Clearly it is someone who has a vendetta against muggles, but I can't guess at what they hope to accomplish."

"Who else knows about this?" Harry asked sternly.

"Only myself, the Minister of Magic, and now the two of you. As you can imagine, we must keep this very secretive. If even a few of the secrets kept here were discovered by the wrong person the results could be disastrous. That's why you two were specifically chosen. Your dealings with the horocruxes proved you have great resolve then it comes to combating evil and overcoming the effects of dark magic. Additionally, Mr. Potter's impressive career as an Auror makes him well equipped for hunting down our culprit, while Ms. Granger's brilliance with research will help you determine how to counteract these cursed items. Finally, it is not a secret that you are a great team when you work together. You work together like the head and the heart one might say."

Hermione blushed slightly at these compliments, but kept a steady head. "We will need a lot more back-up then just us two. Who else works for this department?"

"I am all that's left" Broderick said, a hint of sadness creeping into his tone. "I had several apprentices studying under me, but they were all killed in an attempt to deal with this issue."

"Woah, if it's that dangerous Hermione should not be involved" Harry said suddenly. "She is a mother and she isn't field trained..."

"Don't speak for me Harry. Do you really think I'm going to let innocent muggles be killed and do nothing about it? Even my job in magical law comes with its risks and enemies; it's a lifestyle I learned to live with being your friend. What I want to know if what sort of help we can hire to help us stop this lunatic."

"You can't" Broderick said sternly. "In fact, you can tell nobody about this new assignment. It took me a month of careful calculations to determine if even the two of you could be trusted. The Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, had every faith in you but even still... the magic you will be dealing with is unlike anything either of you have studied. It can seep into your soul, it can infect your very being. It's instable and highly unpredictable. I understand I am putting you in a difficult position by burdening you with this. But I will need you to decide now. If you refuse this mission, I will have to erase your memory of me and of this place."

"I will do it" Hermione said immediately and Harry tugged her to the side so they could talk privately.

"You can't do this Hermione, this sounds incredibly dangerous and you have kids and..."

"You have kids too Harry, and you can't do this without me. You know that." She looked into his eyes, challenging him to disagree but she could see from his gaze that he knew it was true. She put a reassuring hand on his arm. "We need to do this Harry. Besides, you've always taken care of me. I'll be fine."

"Now you're just trying to appeal to my ego" he said with a smirk. "Fine, let's do this."

*****

Several weeks passed after their decision was made and they heard no word from Broderick. Both the Auror Department and the Department of Magical Law were informed by the Minister himself that Harry and Hermione were being reassigned. It caused quite a stir since both of them were integral parts of their respective offices, but the Minister made it amply clear that he had no need of them and the details were not to be discussed.

With all the business of clearing out their belongings and transitioning their roles on to a successor, neither of them saw each other until it was time to bid their children farewell at the Hogwarts Express.

When Hermione, Rose and Hugo arrived at Platform 9 3/4 Ron was already waiting there, his hands awkwardly stuffed into his pockets. Since the incident with Rose running off, they had agreed to open better communication between the two of them, but it was very strained still. She couldn't believe how much it still hurt her just to see his face. "Ron" she said as a way of greeting.

"Hermione" he responded with a stiff nod before giving each of his kids a big hug. "I'll miss you guys so much! I'll see you at Christmas and I'll certainly sneak by to catch one of your Quidditch matches Rose. Show those Slytherins how a Gryffindor does it! And listen up both of you, don't do anything I wouldn't while you're at school."

"That's not saying much Dad" Hugo laughed. "You, Mom and Uncle Harry were always getting into trouble. And now that James has the Marauders map..."

"Hush!" Rose snapped and Ron gave them a wink of approval while Hermione just rolled her eyes.

"I was not a troublemaker" she corrected Hugo, straightening out his tie. "It was just that your father and Uncle were always dragging me into their mischief."

"Don't listen to a word she says" quipped a familiar voice from behind her. "You mother was absolutely wild in her youth. She was the one that corrupted your father and I."

"You're a bad liar Uncle Harry" Rose smirked. "Let's go Hugo, I want to sit with James and Albus and Lilly."

"Forgetting something?" Hermione asked before they could run off. She took her time hugging each of them, trying not to think about her new mission and what it would be like for them if something were to happen to her. She whispered final words of advice to each of them and reminded them to write frequently unless they wanted to be on the receiving end of an embarrassing howler. "You already saw yours off?" she asked Harry once she'd finally let Rose and Hugo go.

"Yeah, we got here super early. They were all far too excited about getting back to school to start mischief. Lilly is determined she will make the Gryffindor team this year."

"Before you know it the whole damned team will be all Weasleys and Potters" Ron laughed and Harry acknowledged him for the first time, shaking his hand. Ron looked bashful, not quite able to meet his best friend's eye.

"Ron will be serving as Head Auror in my absence" Harry noted.

"So I heard" Hermione said slowly. "I think you made the right choice Harry. Ron will do a good job." She looked at her soon to be ex-husband and there was a look of gratitude in his eyes that was so sincere that she thought he might cry.

"I should say hello to my sister" he said, abruptly excusing himself. Hermione watched him walk over to Ginny, who was standing with her fiancé. The fact that Ginny had brought him with her made Hermione's heart hurt for Harry and she looked to him to see a look of utter sorrow in his gaze.

"Do you still love her?" she heard herself asking, and immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry, it's none of my business."

"It's fine" he shrugged. "I don't think I do really... I just miss what we had, what we could have been... mostly every time I think of her I think of all the ways I failed our marriage and I hate myself for it."

She wanted to tell him that none of that was true, that he had been a faithful and doting husband and an incredible father, that she often envied Ginny for the love Harry had shown her. She wanted to tell him that all he had done wrong was be the hero Ginny had wanted to marry from the start, and that is was Ginny's fault for not being more patient and understanding. But she knew that none of that would make him feel better, because she knew exactly how he felt. While it had been Ron who had ruined their marriage in the end, it had been on a downward spiral for a long time before that. They had always bickered but as they got older it turned into all out fights where the littlest thing he did would get on her nerves and he would always accuse her of nagging. It was for these reasons that she secretly felt that maybe she had driven him into the arms of another woman, that maybe she was un-loveable.

In addition to all their differences, Ron also had terrible jealousy issues that did not dissolve with time. It was always about Harry she remembered, wondering for the thousandth time if there was any merit to his jealousy. Did I not love Ron well enough?

She was so wrapped up in these thoughts that when she turned to find Broderick standing directly behind her she nearly jumped five feet in the year. "It's time" was all he said, and he held out the dented bicycle bell and Harry and Hermione reached out and touched it at the same time.

*****

"I have discovered that there have been multiple reports of muggle deaths in the surrounding the city of Portland, Maine, all of which have one similar peculiarity; the victims did not have a brain when they were discovered."

"So you think a cursed object is responsible?" Hermione deduced and he nodded an affirmation.

"Take the night to research whatever you can about ancient magic that has these effects. We can't wait much longer than that I fear, there have already been five deaths. We have access to the international flu network which will take you to the Portland hub. From there you will have to blend in muggles most often to investigate. That is another reason you were both ideal candidates; you were raised in muggle households."

"I think I get it" Hermione nodded, eager to get to researching. Harry was far less eager, but once the process had started he felt like they were back at Hogwarts again as Hermione kept sending him to find books in the massive library and she eagerly poured over volume after volume. Harry resolved that the next time they had to do research he would bring his broom so he could fly around the room instead of walking. He guessed he'd already walked several miles just fetching books for her.

"There's so many things it could be!" Hermione groaned hours later. The cavern was as dark as ever but Harry's watch informed him that it was nearly 4 AM. They were running out of time.

"Well, let's go over what you've found so far" he offered, glad to sit down and take some weight off his feet.

She chewed the tip of her quill pensively and he found himself thinking that she looked quite adorable. Don't think that the angel on his shoulder scolded himself.

Almost immediately the devil chimed up, Why not think that? It was one thing when I had these thoughts back when she was with Ron and I was with Ginny, but we're both single now. What's the harm?

She's your best friend! the angel reminded him. She's never thought of you in that way and would be disgusted if...

If what? the devil laughed, she would be disgusted if she knew how sexy you find her?

"...then there's another curse that allows you to enchant any common beetle to be possessed to crawl into someone's ear and eat their brains..."

"What?" Harry said suddenly, snapping away from his thoughts so loudly that she stared at him sternly.

"Were you even listening?"

"Sorta" he admitted sheepishly.

"Honestly Harry, you were the youngest Head Auror in history and have been chasing evil since you were a child and yet you still have the attention span of... of... Ron!"

"That's harsh" he smirked and she found herself laughing.

"Sorry, I guess you really aren't that bad. To summarize, we could be looking for any number of things, I'm really not sure and I don't have time to keep researching."

"Well, that's that then" he shrugged. "We'll just have to go investigate and hope something matches up with what you were able to find."

She looked reluctant to stop researching but saw the logic in what he was telling her. Broderick adjusted the wards so they could apparate in and out, allowing them to go home and pack. Once they returned he gave them some American cash and a few other items that they would need to blend in. Finally, he wished them luck and sent them on their way.

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