When in doubt, go to the library; Harry Potter, closed.
As promised, Hermione was at the Ministry's library on New Year's Day. In fact, she was there from opening until closing for two days straight, until she was happy with the amount of information she was going to present to Harry. That was why she was on his doorstep earlier, when she ran into Ron Weasley, the prat
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She pulled over a few books, "When I realized that, I started to narrow down these cults. I tracked down the staff and the serpent to a Biblical story. The story itself isn't so important to explain, I suppose," she trailed off realizing this was definitely overloading Harry.
"So, if you just look for the religious cults that use this symbol, who are also known to burn witches, then the list is much less overwhelming." Hermione grabbed a piece of paper, with several slightly different serpent and staff doodles down the side and a list of names.
The Council of Elvira, established in Rome, 306 CE, known for burning pagans at the stake, thought to be dissolved a generation later.
The Arm of Pope Innocent VII, established in Rome, 332 CE, known for torturing and burning devil-worshippers, thought to be dissolved 692 CE
The Staff of Aaron, established in Germany, 1384 CE, known for kidnapping, torturing and burning witches, thought to be dissolved in 1542 CE
Christ's Inquisitors, established in France, 1659 CE, known for kidnapping, torturing and burning witches, thought to be dissolved in 1702 CE
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He paused, not quite sure what the right word was. He didn't know much about the BIble or religion in general. The Dursleys were the kind of people to go to church on Sundays. And then, well, the wizarding world wasn't exactly a beacon for god worshipping.
"Old?" he ventured, making a slightly absurd face. "I mean, is it possible that they a group from centuries ago could still hold a grudge?"
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"Look here," she said after reviewing several accounts where the supposed routines of these different organizations kept cropping up. She pulled out more of her own notes from under a few books, which described the certain modus operandi of each organization, and then drew connections from those historic events.
"Either these groups are still alive and well underground, or something, or crazies have identified with them over the centuries and copied them.
"But, if they've found a foot into our world, Harry... I would think they've been watching us for a long time. A long, long time."
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In the few years he had been working as an Auror, murders were never quite so violent and the cause was generally always discovered- whether it was the Killing curse or another Unforgivable or hex, even.
They always had the answer, even if they couldn't always catch the criminal.
But this was different. They knew too much, had access to places they shouldn't have been able to.
"You're right," he said, nodding his head. "So these are our four, eh? I suppose I could bring this back to our researchers- even run it by Fred and George and see if any of this sounds familiar. They're tracking the pubs, muggle and wizard alike-"
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That was when Hermione turned to the laptop. She had dozens and dozens of tabs open. Hermione ran the tip of her wand over the screen a few times, mumbling some incantations to herself, and then pointed the wand at a long, empty piece of parchment paper. It was instantly filled.
"From what I could find on the Internet, these are the churches that have been identified with markings, carvings, and stained glass of the staff and serpent, in the United Kingdom. Since the attacks seem to be isolated here, it seemed pointless to try to find churches or religious buildings elsewhere. But.. as you can see.. it's a long list.
"Few are active churches, and they don't appear to be connected with radical ideas, but most are supposed to be abandoned."
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"This is a lot, Hermione," he said, leaning his arm against the table and resting his head in the palm of his hand. "But it's brilliant- honestly, this makes so much sense- it's just... terrifying-"
It was the first time he had really admitted it, especially out loud.
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"I wish there was more I could do, but... I hate to say it, these books can only take us so far." And the Internet wasn't exactly full of people admitting to the murder of witches and wizards.
She placed a hand on top of Harry's. Admitting his fear didn't happen very often, and it struck her to the core. "But we're so much closer, now, Harry. You'll finish this."
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He paused, then, realizing that there a bit more on top of this whole case that he hadn't told Hermione about but perhaps now wasn't exactly the time. Still, his eyes drifted to the notes she had so diligently put together and his other hand reached for them.
"Can I take these?" he asked, glancing at her. "See if Ron and I can wrap our heads around this-"
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"Oh, bloody hell, take whatever you want, Harry!"
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"Alright, calm down-" he said nervously. "What's the matter?"
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"I might have gone looking for you in your flat first."
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Then, he thought about it and groaned.
"Oh- oh, Hermione, I'm sorry- did he do anything?"
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"Of course he'd tell you I started it, but really, you should have heard the way he was talking to me! I couldn't help it-before I really knew it, I had those birds I'm so fond of at him again."
"But only for a few moments," she added quickly. "A minute at best-worst."
"Then there was a lot of yelling. He threatened to arrest me! It was a total disaster, Harry! He's SO thick! What did I ever see in him..."
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"Fuck-" he said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I should have figured you'd come to the flat-"
He chewed on the inside of his cheek.
"The birds just went for him, right? I don't have to replace my couch or anything, do I?"
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She didn't blame Harry for what happened, she knew he would be apologizing to Skylar, but she wouldn't dare get anywhere that near to the Burrow just yet. She had thought Ron would stay there through the New Year, but those days were obviously long since past.
"It's not your fault, Harry. I was bound to see the prat sometime. I was just so focused on what I had found out that I didn't even give him a thought.
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"He's not exactly the same bloke you saw the last time you were here-" which was something that worried him probably as much as he worried other people. It was an odd situation to find yourself in- to worry about someone who's only acting in the same way you are.
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