Myrtle12

As day dawned over the zoo and the animals began to stir their heads, Harry, Sirius and Lupin let out a sigh of relief. They had got baby Sirius out in time and Harry was certain that Voldemort had been unable to rise. If the resurrection had been successful, Voldemort would have hung around to finish off his enemies. Harry’s scar was now pain free. Voldemort had to be back in his grave.

The hooded figure too had vanished, it was doubtful that he survived his encounter with Voldemort. As the three searched around the grounds, there was not a trace of the hooded figure anywhere. The body of Jim, the groundskeeper lying dead on the ground outside the snake’s enclosure was all that was left of his handiwork.

“Let’s go Harry.” Lupin said softly. “We can’t help him and it isn’t safe for us to be around when the Muggles get here.”

They began to walk out of the large gates leaving the zoo behind them and entering the world that they had perhaps saved from a second reign of darkness.

******************

“What happened to cause the injury?” a bossy receptionist was throwing questions at Hermione as baby Sirius was taken into the emergency room.

“He was cut with a knife. Please leave this until later. I want to see my baby!” Hermione was becoming impatient.

“And how, may I ask did a child of that size come into contact with a knife? Tell me, does your family have a history of domestic violence?” A blob of green chewing gum was emerging from the receptionist’s mouth as she spoke.

In her anger, Hermione rose. She pointed her wand at the receptionist’s face and yelled, “Why don’t you just shut your mouth! I haven’t had any sleep for days. I’m tired. I don’t know where my husband is. I want to see that my other children are safe, but you just don’t get it. You think I should have to fill out forms. I don’t want to! So stay the hell away from me!”

“I’m going to have to report you to security. Behaviour like this isn’t tolerated by the Ministry in their facilities.” She retaliated in the same calm voice she always had. “They’re going to have to escort you to the Ministry for questioning.”

With that, two burly guards approached Hermione’s chair and escorted her out of the building without her even having a chance to explain to them who she was or without her even seeing that Sirius was OK.

The guards led Hermione down into the basement of the hospital and instructed her to touch the chair that had been left there, most obviously a port key. Hermione laughed to herself under her breath. She knew how to override port keys with a simple spell. Being a housewife did have its high points; she always had time to brush up on a little extra reading in ancient magic books.

As she began to recite the words of the spell in her head, a voice stopped her.

“Miss Granger, you cannot possibly expect to do this. Getting into trouble with the Ministry isn’t something you want right now. The time will come when you have to fight them. But for the minute, go along obligingly.” She heard a twinkle in the voice that spoke to her from inside her head.

“Dumbledore?” Hermione’s voice was quivering with fear. It was hardly possible that she could have worked out how to communicate with the dead.

“I suppose I should be calling you Mrs. Potter, Hermione. And I do understand that I’ve confused you. Shall I attempt to explain?” He said, leaving no time for Hermione to answer. “Before I left the wizarding realm, I was working to perfect an inter-realm communicator that allowed us to speak to the dead, it was to be a present for Harry. I couldn’t protect his parents from Voldemort like I had hoped. I felt I had to make things better for the boy that had what we could describe as a disruptive childhood. But I didn’t finish it. And now it seems all my work will be for nothing. Unless..”

“I’ll do it Dumbledore.” She replied.

“You can never tell Harry though. The prospect of speaking to his parents again will eventually distract him from the tasks that lie ahead. I cannot pretend that I haven’t seen the grim reality that you will all face in the not to distant future, though for safety’s sake I will not divulge the information I have learned. Heaven knows that if we all knew the future it would not be worth our while living for it, even when the circumstances we face are horrendous. I shall guide you in completing my work, but don’t think for a minute that you cannot do it without me. I wouldn’t have entrusted it to anyone else. Now, I best let you on your way to the Ministry. I trust meeting the new Minister for Magic will be an honour beyond your beliefs.” Dumbledore giggled slightly as the sound of his voice disappeared out of Hermione’s head.