“Are you alright?” Ron asked Hermione.
“I’m better,” she said quietly. “I’m very sad and I’m worried about a lot of things. But I’ve been talking to Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick and that helped.”
Harry gave her a quizzical look.
“I didn’t say anything about the items you are looking for,” she added hastily. “Not to anyone. I’m worried about my parents. Muggles are so vulnerable. Professor Flitwick charmed an owl so it could fly real fast and he got word to my parents to not meet me at the station. They’ve been told to get out of the house for a week and hide in a hotel until I can get some proper protective charms put on our house. I’ll be staying with some members of the Order for a few days.”
“That’s good,” Harry said. “If you’re the only witch in an unprotected house you wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.”
“We might need some information from the library this summer,” Hermione continued speaking to Harry, seeming to ignore Ron. “You know… about… the items.”
“They’re called chamber pots,” Ron said, grinning.
“Professor McGonagall agreed to let me return to Hogwarts whenever I need to,” she said. “She’s giving me a part time job as an assistant librarian. I’ll also get an official pass that will allow me to enter the Ministry of Magic Archives on Hogwarts business. They’ve got some books that aren’t found in the school library about Dark Magic. I didn’t tell her why I needed those privileges, but she agreed to do as I asked. ”
“That might be useful,” Harry admitted.
She put her hand on Harry’s shoulder.
“You have to live with the Dursleys for two weeks Harry,” she said with a sigh. “But you are not going to sit around doing nothing all day,” she added emphatically. “Action, motion, that’s what you need Harry. And whatever happens, remember that you’re not alone.” She gave Harry a gentle squeeze on the shoulder and added almost as an afterthought, “Isn’t that right Ron?”
“Absolutely Harry,” Ron agreed. “We’re with you all the way.”
Harry imagined a chess board that had a white king and two other pieces facing the whole black army on other side. It would be better if he was alone, he thought.
“So did you have a nice chat with Lavender?” Ron asked Hermione as he looked around the compartment in a failed attempt to appear nonchalant.
“I didn’t want her to go home with wrong ideas about me,” Hermione said. “The magical community is really like a small town you know. And between Rita Skeeter, Dolores Umbridge and Marietta Edgecomb, I probably have enough enemies.”
Ron was silent. Hermione stood up and looked out the window. They were approaching King’s Cross station now.
“I wish no one had wrong ideas about me,” she said with a sigh.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were met on Platform Nine and three quarters by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Fred and George. Ginny, who had gotten off the train with Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom, came running up the platform.
“We’ll be taking Ron and Ginny home,” Arthur Weasley said to Harry. “With six of us we should be pretty safe. Remus and Tonks will be seeing that you get home Harry.”
“I’ll be sending you an owl to let you know the plans for Bill and Fleur’s wedding,” Ron said to Harry. “And don’t you go running off to Godric’s Hollow without me!”
As the Weasleys walked away, a group of six wizards and three witches approached Harry and Hermione.
“Harry,” Remus Lupin said. “Nymphadora, Dedalus and I will be taking you home.”
“Remus, please don’t call me Nymphadora,” Tonks said. “Harry, I’ve got a car from the Ministry. We’ll be driving it to the Dursleys’ house.”
Dedalus Diggle picked up Hedwig’s cage and the four of them made ready to leave.
“Just a second,” Harry said to the others. “I want to say good-bye to Hermione.”
Harry walked over to where Hermione was standing with Professor McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Professor Flitwick, Mad-Eye Moody, Sturgis Podmore and Hestia Jones.
Hermione glanced over towards the magical barrier as the Weasleys vanished then she looked at Harry. “You didn’t give Ginny a kiss good-bye,” Hermione observed.
“I broke it off with her, just after the funeral,” Harry said sadly.
“Why?” Hermione asked. “She’s pretty and brave. She cares about you and she’s a good Quidditch player.”
“I don’t want her to be in danger,” Harry said.
“I thought so,” Hermione said.
“It looks like you’re in good hands,” Harry said.
“I’m part of Professor Flitwick’s escort,” she said smiling. “I’ll contact you when we get your house ready. If you don’t hear from us in three days, contact Ron. Don’t come to Twelve Grimmauld Place until you hear from us.”
“I’ll see you soon,” Harry said.
As Harry walked out to the car with his three bodyguards, he remarked to Lupin, “Hermione has quite a group protecting her.”
“There’s a possibility of them running into Severus Snape at Twelve Grimmauld Place,” Lupin said grimly. “Or more likely, he may have gone there and set traps. But there’s safety in numbers. Hermione wants to learn how to put a strong Fidelius charm on her parent’s home. Flitwick will teach her the best.”
Harry arrived at Four Privet Drive as the Dursleys were sitting down for dinner. They had set the table for three and seemed very disappointed when they learned that Harry would be joining them for the meal.
“You got in a bit later than usual,” Uncle Vernon observed. “Are your people having trouble getting their trains to run on time? Maybe they’re not quite up to handling railway operations in a normal fashion. ”
“The train left the school a bit later than usual today because Dumbledore’s funeral was this morning,” Harry said.
“Dumbledore?” exclaimed Harry’s overweight uncle. “Wasn’t he that old codger that picked you up last year? What did he die of? Was it slow and painful?
“He was murdered by a dark wizard,” Harry snapped angrily. “A teacher at the school, a man we trusted, ended up being a follower of Lord Voldemort.”
Aunt Petunia dropped the bowl of mashed potatoes splattering Dudley heavily. She stared at Harry in open mouthed horror. They all understood that Dumbledore had cast the spells that protected their home from the Dark Lord.
The rest of dinner passed in cold silence. Harry didn’t want to talk and the Dursleys were too afraid to say anything. The evening passed in silence also as Harry sat in his room. For lack of anything better to do, he let Hedwig out to go hunting and then opened a schoolbook to see what he could learn about the Fidelius charm. But he couldn’t concentrate on the spellwork and ended up just pacing around the room. He heard his Uncle turn on the television to watch the late news. Harry knew that the war in the wizarding community sometimes spilled over and affected Muggles. There might be some news about the war with Voldemort even if the Muggles didn’t recognize it for what it was, so he trudged downstairs.
“I doubt if there will be any news about your kind of people on the telly tonight,” Uncle Vernon said unpleasantly.
“I hope not,” Harry said, “but I’d like to catch the weather forecast.”
His Uncle grunted and focused his attention on the television screen. Then he shifted his backside a few inches in his chair as if that would put him farther away from Harry.
“A shocking multiple murder shakes Northwest London this evening,” the news reader began. “Kingsley Shacklebolt, secretary to the Prime Minister, and a woman in his party were killed at the dinner hour this evening when they were ambushed in a Northwest London Alley.”
Harry nearly fell out of his chair as a photograph of the tall black Auror flashed on the television screen.
“Blacks in the government, Humph!” Uncle Vernon muttered. “Probably up to something crooked.”
The scene shifted to an eyewitness report, a man was standing beneath a signpost that said Grimmauld Place and talking into a microphone held by a reporter.”
“I ‘eard some crackin’ noises that could ‘ave been gunfire” the man said. “There was a lot of shoutin’, and flashin’ lights. Then when it quieted down, I came out here real cautious like. There was four dead bodies in the alley. This black fellow and his girlfriend was over there and there was two dead men over that way. And there was this group of people that was runnin’ away. They just disappeared real quick-like.”
“Did he say a girl was dead?” Harry asked in a panic. “Or was it an older woman?”
“What’s it to you?” Uncle Vernon snarled.
The scene shifted back to the news reader.
“Police say Mr. Shacklebolt’s party was attacked by two assailants who managed to kill Mr. Shacklebolt and a female companion before they were killed by return fire from other members of the Shacklebolt party. The Prime Minister’s office declined to offer an explanation for Mr. Shacklebolt’s presence in the alley, but a spokesman for the Minister said that Mr. Shacklebolt’s service to the government had been exemplary and that his presence would be sorely missed.”
The news reader moved on to a story about a multi-car accident near Reading, and Harry dashed out into the garden. He scanned the sky and the trees and quietly but urgently called for Hedwig. He found himself hoping that Hestia Jones had been murdered. It was a sick thing to hope for, and he felt ashamed of himself for thinking of it. She had been a member of his escort two years ago. But there had been only three females in the group with Kingsley Shacklebolt: Hestia Jones, Professor McGonagall and… and… Hermione.
Where was that owl?
Harry searched the sky and the trees in the garden once again for Hedwick. Then he moved around the house keeping in the shadows as much as possible. When he made it to the front of the house he looked up and down the street.
“Hedwig!” Harry whispered urgently. “Hedwig, where are you?”
Hermione had been with Kingsley Shacklebolt when their group had been attacked. Harry had to know what had happened. He considered trying to apparate to Twelve Grimmauld Place, but he was under age and hadn’t passed his apparition test. Then he remembered that a member of the Order of the Phoenix lived just down the street. He started off towards Mrs. Figg’s, but had passed only a few houses when a snowy white owl landed on his shoulder.
“Hedwig! Good girl!” Harry whispered to the owl. “I’ve got to send a message to Hermione right away.”
Harry had no parchment or quill so he had to dash back to his room to write the note:
Hermione,
I saw Shacklebolt on TV.
What happened?
Are you OK?
Harry
He stuffed the note into an envelope and hastily addressed it simply: Hermione. Then as an afterthought, with a sense of dread, he added: or Professor McGonagall. He tied the note to Hedwig’s leg and sent her off into the night sky. Then he sat down heavily on his bed to wait sleeplessly for a reply.
Author’s Note:
In chapter 24 of HBP (pg. 514) Hermione calls Ron a “Coward” and in chapter 25 (pg. 536) Hermione rolls around laughing when Ginny insults Ron’s manhood by saying that she told Romilda Vane that Ron had a Pygmy Puff tattoo. Most girls who have a crush on a guy don’t go around insulting his manhood. Maybe, just maybe, Hermione doesn’t have a crush on Ron.