The Minister's Daughter

7. Columbus

One hour before the train was supposed to reach its final destination, Kath and Maurice arrived at the city of Columbus. Even though the train had left New York almost two hours before they did, they had arrived first - one of the good things about driving.

The last time they had stopped for gas, Kath had purchased a street map of the city to find the location of the train station. She had marked the spot so they could easily pinpoint the way they had to go.

Since Kath was driving (Maurice just couldn't get the hang of driving on the wrong side of the road), she handed the map to Maurice so he could direct her. They had been driving around the city for almost half an hour when Kath began to wonder if Maurice was giving her the right directions.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" she asked when she realized they were driving by a street they had already passed. "We've already seen that magazine stand twice before!"

Maurice turned the map around and stared blankly at it, but he didn't reply to Kath. Kath groaned in frustration. As soon as she found an empty spot, she parked the car and grabbed, in one quick movement, the map from Maurice's hands.

She analyzed the map for a while silently, thinking about the turns Maurice had instructed her to take. Suddenly an angry look came upon her face.

"Maurice, you idiot!" she said and slapped his arm. "You gave me the wrong directions. This..." she said, pointing to a spot in the map. "...was supposed to be a left turn. You told me to go right. You've taken us to the other side of the city!"

"Are you sure?" asked Maurice, incredulity in his voice. He was still sure that he had read the map correctly.

"Of course I'm sure!" spat Kath furiously. "I never thought you didn't know how to read a map."

"I do know," replied Maurice in an offended tone. Kath looked at him, sarcasm in her expression, but didn't say a word. "Alright, alright!" he finally admitted. "You win. I screwed up, okay? What matters is... you know how to get us to the station, right?"

Kath sighed resignedly as her eyes went back to the map. After she analyzed it for a while, she finally looked up. "Yes," she said, staring the car. "Just pray we still make it there on time."

......................................

A little after 5 p.m., Harry and Hermione arrived at the state capital of Ohio, the city of Columbus. It was a warm, sunny mid-June day. As the train continued all the way to the station, two pairs of avid eyes admired the skyline of the downtown area from their compartment window.

When the train finally stopped, they walked out into a busy and crowded station. Hermione stood still for a while, taking in her surroundings. To avoid losing her, Harry grabbed hold of her hand and pulled gently at her.

"C'mon," he said. "Got to find out about the train to Chicago." Following the signs posted on the walls, they found the area where a couple of women stood behind a tall counter, assisting travelers, selling tickets, and checking luggage in.

There was a long line of people waiting to reach the counter. Harry and Hermione turned to see each other. Neither of them fancied standing in line, but they had no choice. They let go of their hands as they were walking towards the end of the line. Just then, Harry noticed a train schedule posted up on a bulletin board.

He walked over there and tried to locate the schedule for the Chicago train. Hermione, who hadn't noticed Harry walking away, turned to ask him something only to see he was not there. She looked around and quickly spotted him, waving at her to join him.

"Look!" he said. "The train to Chicago doesn't leave until tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow at 8 a.m.?" Hermione exclaimed as she look at the schedule. She shrugged her shoulders and looked up at Harry. "Oh, well... We're just going to have to wait until tomorrow, then."

Harry looked around at the crowded station. He didn't fancy staying in that place for more than 12 hours. "Wait?" he repeated with a hint of incredulity. "Here?"

"Not here!" Hermione quickly replied. "We can take the opportunity to look around the city. I'm sure we can find something interesting to keep us busy until tomorrow morning."

Harry was not as excited as Hermione about the idea of wondering around a city neither one of them knew. He, after all, was supposed to keep her from doing anything dangerous. "You know," he said tentatively. "It's still not too late to go back to New York."

"C'mon Harry," said Hermione, grabbing hold of his arm and pulling him towards the exit. "Where's your sense of adventure? Don't tell me you're afraid of getting lost in the city."

Harry stopped just before they exited the station and, taking her hand in his, made her stop and turn around to face him. "I just don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Hermione looked right at his penetrating green eyes. It was as if he wanted to see deep inside her. Feeling hypnotized, Hermione stepped closer to him and placed a hand on his chest, which felt strong and firm under her touch. She raised her chin to maintain their eyes locked.

"Nothing will happen to me..." she whispered. "...as long as you're by my side."

Without realizing what he was doing, Harry started to lean down towards her. It was as if her eyes were pulling him closer and closer, like a magnet. All he could think of was the brown of her eyes and the incredible way they shined. Harry had never seen eyes like hers that looked right through you.

Their faces were so close that their noses almost touched. Harry lowered his eyes and looked at her shiny, pink lips. Unconsciously, he licked his own in anticipation.

When he was just about to close the distance between them, two kids ran into them and pushed Hermione aside. Thanks to Harry's seeker reflexes, he was able to grab hold of her elbow and keep her from falling to the ground.

The kids turned and shouted a hurried apology. Hermione, smiling at them, waved her hand and yelled out an 'it's okay' reply, completing forgetting what had almost happened.

Harry felt torn in two.

Once side of him, the professional Auror one, was glad about the timely interruption. Those kids had stopped him from making a huge mistake. He had almost kissed the Prime Minister's daughter! He would definitely get in trouble if he mixed his personal feelings with his job.

Still, there was another part of him that felt disappointed. He had been so close... and he hadn't been able to enjoy what he so much wanted to do. He had to admit it. He was dying to kiss her.

While Hermione waved and smiled at the running kids, Harry took the opportunity to take a couple deep breaths, normalize the beating of his heart, and get his cool back. He didn't want her to see how much the interruption had upset him.

Finally, Hermione turned back towards him, a smile still on her face. Not wanting her to make any comments about the awkward situation, Harry quickly stepped forward and held open the door for her to walk out, carefully avoiding her eyes.

The fresh air helped Harry to clear his mind and appear as if nothing had happened. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and was surprised to see she seemed as normal as before the incident. Just then, she turned to face him and gave him a huge smile.

"C'mon Harry," she said, grabbing hold of his hand. "Let's see what this city's got to offer."

...........................................

Getting back on the right way to the train station had taken longer than Kath had expected. It was rush hour and traffic had not helped much.

As soon as Kath found a spot to park, she and Maurice sprinted out of the car and ran to the station's entrance. They were late. They had waste too much time lost in the opposite side of the city.

Once they stepped inside the station, they headed to the information desk. A tall black man, dressed in a security guard uniform, sat on a stool reading the sports section of a newspaper.

"The train coming from New York, has it arrived?" asked Kath without further ado.

"It arrived fifteen minutes ago," the man replied without even raising his eyes from the paper.

Kath and Maurice looked at each other and then scanned their surroundings. The station was packed with people. Travelers and local commuters filled the hall around them as well as the boarding platforms. To locate two people among that crowd was not going to be an easy task.

............................

Hermione's eyes were eagerly taking in the streets and people of Columbus. To be in a city in the other side of the ocean with nobody trailing after her was exhilarating beyond reason. She felt like she could do anything, like she had wings and she could fly if she wanted to.

Any little thing in the city seemed wonderful to her - a flower shop, a couple of girls eating ice-cream, kids running down the street along with their German shepherd. Of course what really amazed her was the simple fact of being there to see it all.

With a smile of contentment in his face, Harry took in every expression on her face, glad to see she was enjoying herself. It amused him to see her acting like a little kid who had sneaked into a candy shop.

Eventually, their feet led them to a park full of people. Curious to see what was happening, Hermione headed in that direction. Harry hurried after her.

There seemed to be some kind of a festival going on in the park. Several canopies had been put up along a stone trail. Underneath, stands offered a wide variety of crafts, hand made garments, hats, and even small pieces of art. A contagious rhythm was heard throughout the stands. Hermione guessed it'd be samba due to the strong drums leading the beat.

They spent a couple hours lost among the stands going through all the items. When they reached the end of the stands, they noticed a stage had been set up in the center of the park where the music was coming from. A group of about twelve people played the great music they had been listening as a group of six girls danced to its rhythm.

Hermione grabbed hold of Harry's hand and pulled him through the crowd as close to the stage as she could. She was fascinated by the way those men were able to create such wonderful sounds by hitting their drums with their bare hands. Hermione thought the girls dancing must have extra flexibility in their bodies. Otherwise, she couldn't understand how their bodies contorted in such way.

It was amazing to see them dance, but their costumes were even more amazing. The girls were wearing shiny, diminutive bikinis that barely covered the essentials while huge astonishing feathers covered their rears. Similar feathers were also arranged nicely in their headdresses.

As Hermione admired them, she could feel the thump of the drums deep inside her, and before she realized what she was doing her own hips began to move as if on their own.

Harry looked down at her and smiled. Soon after, she was clapping to the rhythm. Harry imitated her, and moments later they were dancing nonstop.

................................................

After spending more than an hour at the train station trying to spot the brown curls and the slender figure of the Prime Minister's daughter, Katherine and Maurice decided to move their search outside the station.

Kath had already spotted the same train schedule Harry had noticed and knew they were stuck in the city until the next morning.

"We could ask for police assistance," Maurice suggested as they sat down in a restaurant to eat. They had barely eaten on their way from New York. Not wanting to arrive after the train, Kath had limited their stops to the bare minimum, which meant 'for gas only.'

"You know bloody well what the Minister would say about that," replied Kath in a tired tone. She was exhausted. "He would not like it if the press got wind of what's happening, and if we ask for police assistance... it's bound to happen. We have to do this ourselves."

"It's not going to be that easy," said Maurice with a sigh. "We should just wait for tomorrow and get her right before she jumps into the train again. We could do with a few hours off and a good night's sleep."

"Don't let the Minister hear you saying you rather rest than find his daughter..."

"Oh! C'mon, Williams," whined Maurice. "Don't tell me that you're not tired!"

Katherine threw him a disapproving look. "I am, but we have a job to do," she said in a stern tone. Then, looking at Maurice's puppy-eye look, she changed her tone. "We can rest for a few hours, but we'll search the city later."

Mocking a salute with his right hand, Maurice quickly replied, "Yes, sir!" But he was glad to know that she'd at least let him rest for a while.

...............................................

Harry and Hermione stayed at the samba festival as long as their feet allowed them to. They did their best trying to follow the rhythm with their bodies, though it had not been that easy. "Those dancers must spend countless hours practicing," Hermione said to Harry.

After such exciting hours, their stomachs began to complain, forcing Harry and Hermione to search for food. They found a quiet little café just two blocks away from the park. Since the café offered outside seating, Harry and Hermione took advantage of that.

Once they found a table, Hermione dropped her body tiredly into a chair with a sigh.

"Tired?" asked Harry.

Hermione nodded. "Exhausted!" she replied. "But I feel great. I had never had so much fun."

Harry smiled, pleased by the happy look on her face. "I'm glad you enjoyed it," he added after a few minutes.

"Wasn't that music wonderful," continued Hermione. "It gets under your skin and makes you feel ... different, like you're someone else. It's like... magic."

Harry almost chocked on the water he was drinking when he heard her saying that word. He stared at her. Feeling his gaze on her, Hermione quickly spoke again. "You must think I'm crazy."

"No," Harry replied. "Not at all."

"It's just that... I happen to believe that there's magic in every single thing." Hermione looked at her hands for a while and then continued. "My mother taught me that. She could find magic everywhere, even in the simplest things like the sunset, the smile of a child, the love two people share. She showed me that with a little faith, magical things can happen. We just need to learn how to distinguish them for what they really are."

Harry's face illuminated with a smile. He had listened intently to her words and couldn't feel happier hearing her say that. "Your mother was a very smart woman."

"She was," agreed Hermione. "I'm sure she could've done anything she wanted, but she was not ambitious. After she got married, she decided to stay home and be with me."

"That was a smart decision," said Harry, looking right at her eyes. "She chose to be a mother, and I can see she did a great job."

Hermione smiled at that. "You're right," she said softly. "She did a wonderful job."

For a few minutes, they remained silent. Harry could see in Hermione's face that she was thinking about her mother and the times they had shared. He was afraid to break into her memories. Finally, Hermione looked at him and smiled warmly.

"You miss her, uh?" Harry said. "How did she...?"

"In a car accident," Hermione interrupted before he could finish. "We were in France for my birthday. It was a rainy day, and the visibility was not good. I don't remember much about it. I just recall hearing a loud crashing noise. After that, it all went dark."

Hermione said nothing for a while, as if trying to remember any more details. Then, she spoke again. "There's just one thing I'm not sure if I dreamed or if it really happened. I think my mother pulled me to her, just before the crash, and... hugged me tight."

Harry leaned forward, placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his palm. "So you were in the car, too."

"Yes," she responded looking down. "I almost didn't make it. I was unconscious for days. I even spent my birthday in the hospital. My father took me back to the UK because he was afraid he might lose me, too. When I woke up, I found out I was eleven and that I had lost my mum." After a while, Hermione added, "It was the worst day of my life."

Knowing perfectly well how she must have felt, Harry placed a hand over hers and gently caressed it, trying to soothe her pain away.

After a while, the waiter came and dropped the bill on their table. "I'll get it," she said quickly grabbing the paper. Hermione took her handbag and opened it to extract the money, but she didn't find it where it was supposed to be.

"That's weird," she thought as she searched for her money. "It's not here!" she said, looking at Harry. "Harry! My money is not here!"

A couple sitting next to them turned to see her as spoke a bit louder. Harry noticed the couple's curious stares and leaned closer to Hermione.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly.

"Yes!" She replied firmly. But after Harry placed his hand on her arm, she softened her voice. "I'm telling you. It's not here," she said as she showed him her moneyless handbag.

"Ok," Harry replied with a sigh. "I'll get it." He placed his hand inside his jeans' pocket, but his wallet was not there. Feeling a little panicky, he grabbed his backpack from the floor, where it had been lying, and searched for it. Nothing.

Seeing his expression, Hermione immediately guessed. "Oh, please don't tell me... It's gone too." Harry nodded silently. "Thomas," said Hermione. "It must've been him."

Harry groaned inwardly. "I knew the moment I saw him that I shouldn't trust that bloke," he replied, feeling angry with himself for letting his guard down.

"You can't blame yourself, Harry," Hermione said quickly. "There was no way for us to guess what he was up to."

Still, Harry couldn't help feeling guilty. "I couldn't help falling asleep," he said more to himself than to Hermione. "I was so tired. I just couldn't..."

Hermione smiled warmly at him, trying to give him a confidence she didn't have. She had no idea how to solve their problem. Meanwhile, Harry's mind was desperately trying to find a solution without getting Hermione in trouble.

"I know," he said after a few silent minutes. "You just walk out and wait for me around the corner."

"Leave you alone with this problem?" she asked him. "No way!"

"Hermione, please. Just do as I tell you." Placing a hand over hers while locking his gaze on her brown eyes, he spoke reassuringly. "I know what I'm doing."

Hermione still doubted for a while longer. Finally, she agreed. Biting her lip, she stood up. After a deep breath, she took her handbag and walked out of the restaurant.