(Untitled)
Prewriting thread for finding Hermione after her torture. Characters involved: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Hermione Granger, Etienne Abney
( It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us family. )
( It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us family. )
And now Potter wanted them to go back there to look for her?
He glanced at the watch skeptically, but it did appear to be the genuine - and quite expensive - article.
"It is highly unlikely she would be at Hogwarts if she was in 'mortal peril' moments ago," he said with an exasperated shake of his head. "It is impossible to Apparate into or out of Hogwarts, as I am certain you have been told countless times. Where else might she consider 'home'? Did she spend the majority of her childhood in one specific neighborhood or house, for example?"
He also didn't think much of sending two twenty-something Gryffindors with a known penchant for getting in trouble off together into a potentially dangerous situation.
"It also seems prudent to make a different division of searchers. Remus ought to accompany one of you to the Phoenix while I accompany the other in whatever other location might be thought of, to balance experience and capability of each party."
Not that he particularly wanted to be stuck with either boy, but sending an emotionally distraught Potter off on a rescue-mission with an equally distressed Weasley was simply begging for chaos.
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"Home!?" He looked just as shocked as the rest, staring at Harry as if he'd have the answer immediately. Where had Hermione considered home other than this apartment or...the Phoenix! So, when Remus mentioned going there, the young man immediately stepped forward, nodding and already heading for the floo. "We'll go. Keep trying to reach her, yeah? Come on!" He glared at the werewolf and took up more than enough floo dust. And, just like that he was off again, disappearing into the flames to search the old house, his heart and mind racing, spinning almost out of control.
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But that was neither here or there for the immediate moment. Hermione was the focus and if the watch was showing she was 'home' and she wasn't there...then finding where 'home' was had to be their first priority. Hogwarts might be home, but Severus was right, the timing was prctically impossible. Unless she'd been somewhere on the grounds. The Phoenix was the most likely option.
He was about to follow-up Severus suggestion with one of his own that he and Harry partner up to search one place and Severus and Ron take the other. But, Ron's enthusiastic response to the idea and automatic turn to Remus cut that short. With Hermione's life potentially hanging in the balance, he wasn't going to waste time arguing minor points.
Casting a glance at Severus and Harry to make sure they were okay with this development, he followed after the whirlwind that had been Ron Weasley.
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"Well, that was abrupt," he said sardonically as the floo returned to normal. "It is rather astonishing Gryffindors accomplish anything. The phrase 'Bull in a China Shop' comes to mind."
Shaking off the distraction, he returned his attention to Potter.
"Well? Where else would you like to search? If you are determined to go to Hogwarts, the quickest way will be to floo to Spinner's end and take the direct floo to our quarters. Can you think of no where else she might have gone?"
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"I don't know," he said, and it was true--he hadn't the slightest idea where she might be aside from the two places he'd suggested. It was as though he had simply lost his ability to think. He had, of course, forgotten about the no-Apparating law at Hogwarts, but it was still one of the best places he could think of to look. "Yeah, let's--let's just try Hogwarts. I know it'll take a while, but if we split up..." And while two people combed a dozen floors and hundreds of rooms, Hermione could be dying somewhere. There had to be a faster-- "Wait! The Marauders' Map!"
Unable to believe he hadn't thought of it before, Harry dashed into his bedroom to retrieve it from his special shelf. One quick survey told him that Hermione wasn't anywhere on the Hogwarts ground. His heart plummented. "Right...well..." He looked up at Snape as though hoping he might have the answer. "We'd better just go to the Phoenix then," he said finally. "Maybe they've found her, and if not, maybe Ron'll have an idea where to look."
Cursing his ineptness, he followed Ron and Remus by Floo, hoping beyond hope that they'd found her, though there had been no Patronus message. Why hadn't he sent Patronuses to everyone he knew? He should have had them all looking, if only he knew what the bloody hell "home" meant when Hermione clearly wasn't!
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Well, okay, yes it was.
Still, he had experienced a similar situation in his distress and the horrible aftermath when Mandy had disappeared. He did understand the need to be 'doing something', anything that might produce a result.
Additionally, he was not unconcerned about the young woman involved, himself. She was intelligent, unfailingly respectful, she'd helped him obtain Remus' Christmas present last year using the Muggle tools of eBay and the innernet and allowing him to use her Muggle address for the shipment of the packages. He would have helped look for her regardless of who did the asking.
However, had it been in his power to lead the endeavour, he would have conducted it in a much more organised fashion. As it was, this flitting about from Floo to Floo after one another seemed very unlikely to accomplish anything but the soot-soiling of a perfectly decent set of teaching robes.
He wasted no time - nor any additional Floo powder - following hot upon Potter's heels as he stepped into the green flames and gracefully out again on the other side.
"Potter! This is ridiculous," he snapped, irritably. "You are not doing Miss Granger any favours with this random flitting about! As soon as we reconnect with Remus and Weasley, we must take a few precious moments to attempt to devise a plan."
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He could hear Remus' and Ron's footsteps from upstairs, and Ron loudly calling Hermione's name, probably going from room to room doing it. That told him clearly that she hadn't been found here, and probably wasn't about to be. "Ron! Remus! We're here!" he called out automatically, and then he rubbed his forehead with his hand, feeling the beginnings of a pounding headache. He was such an idiot. One of his best friends was badly hurt somewhere and he couldn't even get it together enough to find her without wasting time and going back and forth.
He stifled the urge to run around looking for Hermione himself, and instead took out the pocketwatch. Hermione's hand was still pointing at home, despite his vague hope that it would be somewhere else now (anywhere other than mortal peril). "It still says she's home," he said, grinding his teeth in frustration. "But she's not here, or at the flat, and probably not at Hogwarts..." There had to be some place he was missing.
What had Snape said about childhood homes before?
"Her parents' house! Why didn't I think of that before?" He could have kicked himself, but at the same time he felt a surge of hope--surely she would be there, if not here or at the flat? He knew Snape was going to think him a moron for running off again, but he couldn't stop himself. "I've got to go see if she's there."
He strode to the foot of the stairs and yelled up, "Ron, Remus, I think she could be at her parents' house back in London! I'm going--I'll send a Patronus if I find her!" Ron knew where it was as well; if he and Remus wanted to follow, Remus could just Side-Along Apparate. He looked at Snape again, daring him to protest this next move. "Are you coming?"
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Especially when he had already asked if there was a childhood 'home' where the girl would likely have gone!
Subtlety had never been Potter's forte and certainly was unlikely to become such, now.
"Of course I'm coming. I know the address, we will meet you there."
Because Severus was not about to entrust Ronald Weasley with side-along Apparating Remus anywhere! He fully remembered Weasley's struggles to learn the technique to begin with.
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He went quickly to the door, wand at the ready, but it was unlatched and opened when he turned it, the door creaking slightly on unused hinges. He stepped inside cautiously, lighting the tip of his wand with a muttered, "Lumos.
"Hermione?" he called out, proceeding further into the house. There was no answer, but he could see a light emanating from somewhere, soft and silvery--his Patronus, he realized--and Harry's heart leapt. She was here! He followed the light of the Patronus down the hall, entering into what must have been a guest room, and he stopped short as the light revealed two figures--Hermione slumped on the bed, and a man he didn't recognize standing over her.
He had his wand pointed at the man before he even knew what he was doing. one quick glance at Hermione told him she was badly hurt, bloody and bruised, and clearly unconscious if not...no, she couldn't be. Sudden rage made his fingers flex on the wand and the thought of killing the man here and now--there was no doubt, no doubt at all in his mind that he had done this to her--crossed his mind.
"Get the hell away from her," he said tightly.
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"We'll be down in a moment," he shouted back down before turning to Ron. "There's really nothing more to do here. I don't think this is the 'home' we're looking f--"
Harry's voice, shouting still, interupted once more as he bellowed out information. The sound of rapid footsteps followed and Remus gave up rational, methodical searching in favor of racing down the stairs to try and catch Harry before the young hothead ran off pell mell once more. It was inconceivable to him Ron would not be hot on his own heels.
"Harry! Wait!"
It was too late by the time Remus hit the ground floor just in time to hear Severus' last words and see Harry wink out of sight. Sighing explosively, he passed a weary hand over his eyes and shook his head. And Harry had been concerned over Remus' recklessness?
"Go on," he said to Severus. "We all know the location. Hopefully we can catch him before he plows into trouble."
Remus knew exactly where the house was. He had only been there the once, but, on such an occasion, one does not forget many details. The Dark Mark floating above the house had ensured no one who had been in the small party of Order members who went with Hermione to investigate would ever forget the sight that awaited them inside the house. That had been the day his own paternal instincts had kicked into full drive where the young witch was concerned.
Paternal instincts that now had him hurdling through time and space with the hope they wre not about to witness an encore of that night.
Landing outside with an impatient Crack!, Remus took a moment to take stock of their location, listening for any sounds from inside the house as the sounds of multiple apparitions faded away before they went charging into the house after Harry, who had obviously not waited for back-up.
There was definitely going to be some instruction in teamwork inthe boy's Defense revisions very shortly.
Satisfied there was nothing outside the house meaning them harm, he moved cautiously to the still open door, breath catching in his throat as he heard Harry's voice from further inside. The words may have been indistinct, but the tone was clear enough and Remus made his way quickly and carefully down the hall to come up silently behind Harry, his own wand drawn.
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Etienne's hands still held tight over her stomach, trying to staunch the flow of blood with material. It had slowed a little, but it was clear that she had been growing weaker. He hadn't been able to keep her fully awake for some time.
"She's bleeding," he said pleadingly. He couldn't let go of her until he was certain they would help her. She'd asked him to do this, to keep the pressure on her stomach, he couldn't relinquish the task.
His wand lay at the end of the bed, quite forgotten since it's last use. He did not intend to defend himself against her rescuers if they attacked him. Etienne felt he deserved whatever they did with him, if not worse. These were good people, people who cared about each other, and he...he wasn't sure about himself anymore. Hermione had looked at him as though he was evil, and perhaps he was. He had never really given thought to his moral stance; he liked people, and people generally liked him. Since he'd come to England, somehow that had become not enough.
He didn't want to believe that he'd been misled, not yet. This had to be his fault. His father had trusted Lucius Malfoy, and Etienne had thought that he could too. Perhaps he had misunderstood what he had been asked to do, perhaps Lucius Malfoy had been confused himself.
He looked over at the two wizards, desperate for them to do something. Anything.
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He also knew how to space himself from his companions to provide maximum coverage from hostile-fire. Wand in-hand, he glanced about the empty street, several yards away from Remus' arrival point.
Disgusted with Potter's recklessness, he was hot on Remus' heels as they rushed into the house. Severus had not Remus' heightened senses and so could not scent the changes in the air which might have told the tale of what had happened. On the other hand, long-exposure to the kinds of magical signatures which lingered about his Master set his hackles on-end the moment he entered the house, as though the taint of lingering Dark Magic residue was static electricity in the air.
It only required a moment's evaluation to take stock of the room, the bleeding girl, the reckless Boy Hero, his lover, and the stranger. Scarcely older than Potter - perhaps not older than Potter, the stranger was covered in blood as well, though it had darkened as it dried - clearly not his own.
From his location in the doorway, it was impossible to fully assess the girl, but he managed a surreptitious diagnostic charm from where he stood. He almost cringed from the information it returned - too much blood-loss, and the unmistakable signature of the spell he had invented more than two decades ago!
A spell which, with the notable exception of Potter, was known only by Death Eaters.
"Death Eater," he breathed, so quietly that perhaps only Remus would hear the warning.
"Give Potter your wand and move away from the girl," he commanded. He trusted Remus' reflexes far more than Potter's - let Remus be the one to keep his own wand trained on the stranger while Potter was distracted in collecting the wand. "She will die, and soon, if she is not treated."
He was too far away to tell what other injuries she might have suffered. For all he knew, it was possible she was already too-far gone for his paltry assistance.
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He barely paid attention to either of them, but when Snape ordered the man to give his wand to Harry, it occurred to him that he didn't see a wand anywhere on his person. After a cursory glance around the room he spotted the wand on the end of the bed where Hermione lay, and he slowly moved forward, keeping his eyes and his wand trained on the stranger, until he could grab hold of the wand and store it away in one of his pockets.
"Move," he echoed Snape in a growl, jerking his chin to one side. "Let him help her." It didn't take a genius to work out that Hermione had been struck by one of the awful spells Snape had invented, Sectumsempra. Harry ought to have known it, having used it on Draco Malfoy once years ago. He also knew that Snape was adept at treating it.
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