Dangerous Ties

Hermione Granger walked up the slippery steps of the large stone mansion she shared with her friends. The building was extremely large--it had a huge kitchen, a formal dinning hall and a regular dinner room; five floors, each with a few bedrooms and bathrooms. Hermione saw the house in a Muggle newspaper while visiting her parents--it was scheduled to be torn down. Instantly falling in love with the manor, she begged her friends to lend her money to purchase the house and surrounding land; within six months she had all of her things moved in and she had persuaded her school friends to move in, since it was so large.

"Home at last," she sighed, wiping her brown bangs out of her face as she pushed the squeaky, oak door open. It was pitch black inside, not a single light on. She sighed and whipped out her wand. "Lumos," she muttered, directing the light towards the wall, looking for the power switch. "Aha!" Hermione flipped the old switch and the huge chandelier illuminated the entryway. "Nox," she muttered, extinguishing the light illuminating from her wand. To her left was a large spiral staircase, which led to the upper floors. To the right was a door that led to the parlor, and straight in front of her was a corridor that led to the kitchen.

"I finally get back from a big trip and nobody's here. How typical." She hung her cloak on the coat rack and headed into the kitchen. "Time to find something to eat." As she reached the refrigerator, she found a note scrawled on yellow parchment with blue ink.

Herm,

I know you're supposed to get home tonight, but Cho and I had to go into London for a big game, Ginny is visiting our parents and Harry's off in France hunting some dark witch. We'll be back tomorrow morning. We love you!

Your fiancé,

Ron Weasley

Hermione held back a tear when she read the note. Ron had proposed to her only two months earlier, while the electricity was off in the house, during a rainstorm. They'd been dating since their sixth year at Hogwarts, and she began wondering when he was going to propose to her. He'd finally done it, and she was happy as she could be. She had a great job, good friends, and a wonderful fiancé.

She set the note down on the counter and opened the refrigerator and scanned the shelves. "Beef stew...that sounds good." She pulled the container out of refrigerator, along with a bottle of white wine. "Bowls...bowls...where are you..." Hermione opened the cupboard next to the refrigerator. "There, bowls!" She took one down and grabbed a wine glass from the rack. Warming the food up, she poured herself a glass of wine. "I can't believe I'm drinking this stuff. I hate it. I must be really depressed." The fo finished and she took the bowl and went and sat down. "I wish someone was here...hell, Draco Malfoy would be better than nobody."

Hermione had been away in Canada for a month, on a business trip researching a newly discovered species of unicorn for the Ministry of Magic. She had really hoped that she'd be warmly welcomed when she came home. Sighing, she finished her meal and put the dishes in the sink. "I might as well go to bed, it's already midnight..." Leaving the kitchen and hall light on, she started the long trek to the third floor, on which was the bedroom she shared with Ron. "Argh, it's dark up here, too. But what's that?" There was a light coming from an open door at the end of the hall, where her study was. "Oh no..."

She whipped her wand out and walked slowly towards the end of the hall. "One, two, three..." she counted to herself as she jumped into the doorway. She raised her wand and was ready to cast a spell, but the room was empty. All her things were scattered around on the floor; quills, pieces of parchment, research scraps, books. "It's so cold in here," she said to herself, then noticed the window was open, the red satin curtains flapping in the wind. She pulled her robes closer to her body and walked over to the window and pulled it closed. "It doesn't look like anything is missing, except my book on the Dark Arts. But...it had my research in it..." Hermione looked horrified. "Oh no... Only a Dark Wizard could have broken into this house...we set up security hexes and charms all over it..." She spent the rest of the night cleaning up the room.

Early the next morning, Ron and Cho arrived home, dirty and happy. "That dive was brilliant, Cho, bloody brilliant. I wonder where Hermione is?"

"Nice change of subject." Cho laughed. "She's probably upstairs, in bed. That's normally what people do at night."

"Oh, right...I'm going to go wake her up. Can you fix breakfast? I'm starving." Ron asked, already walking up the stairs, not waiting for Cho to answer.

Ron entered the bedroom he shared with Hermione and noticed she wasn't there. "She probably fell asleep in her study again..." He hit the light switch and closed the door, heading down the long, shadowy corridor until he reached the illuminated study. "Figures." Ron proceeded to wake up Hermione, who was slumped over her desk, her nose in a book. "Hermy..."

He shook her lightly until she woke up. "Huh...? Ron...? But...RON!!!!" Hermione nearly fell out of her chair trying to sit up and hug the man standing behind her. Once she finally stood up, she kissed and hugged Ron until the events of the previous night sunk in. "I hate to spoil our reunion, but someone broke into the house while I was away. They stole by book on the Dark Arts, along with my research notes."

"Dark Arts? I thought you were in the Protection of Magical Creatures bureau at the Ministry of Magic," Ron asked, looking suspicious.

"I am, researching the Dark Arts is sort of a hobby...don't worry, I'm not going all dark and evil on you. But this is a serious matter; those notes contained information on alto of dangerous curses," Hermione replied. "It must have been a seriously powerful dark wizard already, because you know how many protection spells and charms we set up on this house when we bought it."

"Oi...this is terrible...why didn't you tell us you had research on the Dark Arts in here? We could have tried to protect it better," Ron said, scratching his back.

"I'm sorry, I just never thought that someone would break into our house and steal my notes...but it's not like there's that many people who know I even have notes on the Dark Arts! Only a few people from the office, and Harry," Hermione answered, thinking about everyone that knew how interested she had become in the Dark Arts the past few years.

"Well, how come you never told me? Any specific reason? I AM your fiancé, you know."

"I just never thought it was a big deal; you know me, I like to brag about accomplishments, and don't talk about my hobbies too often. I bet you didn't know that I'm a huge Anne Rice fan."

"Who's Anne Rice?" Ron looked confused.

"She's a Muggle writer," Hermione explained. Just then, Cho came into the study.

"Breakfast is read. Come down before I eat it all," she laughed and went back down to the kitchen. Forgetting about the burglary for a moment, Hermione left the study, her hand in Ron's.

While at the breakfast table, Hermione fiddled with the gold engagement ring, not interested in the Quidditch talk. Cho, realizing her housemates hadn't seen each other in over a month, stood up. "I think I'm going to unpack my things, I'll be back in a few. Do the dishes for me?" she added with a wink.

"I'd rather not..." Ron started, but Cho was already heading up the marble staircase. He rolled his eyes and stroked his recently-grown goatee. With a start, Hermione realized what he was doing.

"Ron! What is THAT?" She stood up and walked over to look him in the eyes.

"It's a goatee," he replied complacently, looking at his fiancée's narrowed brown eyes. "What's wrong with it?"

"It's revolting! Go shave it now!" Hermione demanded, stepping back.

"But it's my face," Ron replied indignantly, glaring at Hermione.

"But I have to look at it," Hermione replied, glaring back the redhead man in front of her. "And I'm not fond of it. Not in the slightest bit."

"Herm... it's not that bad! What if I grow a mustache to go with it?" Ron suggested. "Compromise?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Fine... at least it won't look so foul," she replied, reluctantly. Ron smiled and reached out for Hermione, pulling her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're finally home," he murmered, gently stroking her bushy brown hair.

Hermione melted the minute he touched her. All of the sudden, tears welled up in her eyes and she began cry silently into Ron's chest. "I've missed you so much," she sniffled; the tears kept coming.

As luck would have it, the couple's romantic moment was interrupted by a loud CRACK! and a tall, thin man with jet-black hair appeared in the kitchen, standing behind Hermione. "Bad timing?" he asked, grinning. His black hair was disheveled (more so than usual) and greasy; his clothes were dirty and torn and he looked like he hadn't shaven in a week. His round glasses were visibly smudged.

The tears welled up in Hermione's eyes again as she saw Harry. "Harry!" She cried, enthusiastically. Pulling away from Ron, she tackled Harry and nearly knocked him over onto the shiny kitchen floor.

Laughing, Harry hugged her back after recovering his balance. "How was Canada?" he inquired, looking at his friend. "Do they really all say 'eh' all the time?"

Hermione laughed, shook Harry off of her and punched him lightly in the arm. "That was mean!" She wiped the tears off her face and stepped back as Ron came forward and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Welcome back," Ron said, smiling. Harry had been his best friend since he was eleven; they'd practically grown up together. "It's good to see you again. Have you seen Cho--?" Ron started, but was interrupted by a pretty, raven-haired woman.

"HARRY!!" Cho shrieked at the top of her lungs after entering the spacious kitchen and seeing the filthy man standing in front of her housemates. She dropped the plates she was holding and ran at him, almost knocking him to the ground like Hermione. "You're back!!" She planted nearly a dozen kisses on his lips before he had a chance to say anything.

Smiling, Harry put his arms around Cho's waist. "Glad to see you too," he laughed, leaning in to kiss her. As he did, Cho turned her head to stop him. Frowning, Harry started to say something but Cho cut him off.

"Your whiskers hurt!" She glared playfully, forgetting Ron and Hermione were there. "You need to shave. A shower wouldn't hurt, either," Cho giggled, putting her hands on his cheeks. "Speaking of showers... I need one too," she winked, and despite having complained about Harry's whiskers, she pulled his head down to kiss her.

Ron and Hermione stood there, laughing silently and shaking their heads. "Alright, you two, get a room," Ron complained, looking at the two. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about the stolen notes.

Harry continued snogging Cho; however, he silently lifted one hand from her waist and raised his middle finger at Ron. Ron shook his head and laughed while Hermione slapped Harry's hand, making him drop it a little lower than it had been before. Cho didn't seem to mind, and appeared to purposefully kissing Harry harder and louder.

"Fine, you've made your point!" Ron said, attempting to sound serious; he was still laughing at Harry. "Enough with the snog-fest!" Hermione laughed, and then snorted. Her face immediately turned red and she covered her mouth with her hand.

Cho seemed to notice, as she stopped kissing Harry and giggled. "Hermione--you--snorted!" she finally managed to say after her fit of giggles.

Hermione glared and said, her face still red, "I'm quite aware of that, thank you very much!"

Cho laughed some more and said, "No need to get all huffy about it, I was just joking." Changing the subject quickly, Cho pried herself away from Harry, flipped her dark hair and gestured at her dirty Quidditch robes and her dusty ponytail. "I'm going to take a shower." Turning, she added to Harry with a provocative grin, "Care to join me?"

Ron whistled and Hermione giggled again, but stopped herself from snorting.

Smiling, Harry replied, "Of course," and took Cho's much smaller hand and was lead away to the spiral staircase, leading to the second floor, where they entered the second door on the left, next to a suit of armor and a painting of a grumpy-looking woman.

An hour or so later, Harry and Cho emerged from the bathroom; Harry's hair, although still untidy, was clean, as was his face; Cho's black hair was done up nicely, as opposed to the messy ponytail she had earlier in the day after arriving home from the Quidditch match. Taking a few steps away from the bathroom, Harry said, "Do you want to go see Ron and Hermione are doing? I have the day off, I figured that we could do something together."

Cho nodded, smiling. "They're probably upstairs." She walked slowly towards the staircase, waiting for Harry. "Are you coming or not?" she asked, giggling. Harry thought she seemed to be very happy about his return home. He figured she had good reason to be; he'd only seen her once in a two-month period due to their hectic work schedules. He was an Auror; she was the Seeker and Captain for the Tutshill Tornadoes. And he'd been dating her since he was fifteen.

He grinned and followed Cho up the flight of stairs to the second floor. It looks almost exactly the same, except for the statues and paintings were different. The door was open at the end of the hallway; the light was also on. "Looks like they're in Hermione's study," Harry said, walking down the long corridor. As he approached the door, he heard familiar voices--Hermione's and Ron's. Stepping in the doorway, he knocked on the open door.

Ron turned around from Hermione's desk and smiled at Harry. "Hey, Harry," he said, then added, "have fun in the--" but stopped as Cho appeared in the doorway.

Cho threw a glare at Ron and then came into the room to stand by Harry. "Harry and I were planning on doing something today, we wanted to know if--" She began, but cut herself short when she noticed Hermione's worried look. "Hermione? What's wrong?"

"Somebody broke in and stole my research papers last night," she explained to Cho, who looked completely confused.

"Research papers?" Cho asked, befuddled; "How could someone have broken into this house?" She asked. Hermione and Harry had set up close to a hundred protection and anti-burglary spells on the house when they moved in. "Could someone have been powerful enough to break them all?"

"I research the Dark Arts in my spare time; it's kind of a hobby." Hermione stood up from her desk chair and walked to the window. "When I got home last night, the window was open and my notes were gone."

"Why didn't you say anything at breakfast?" Cho inquired, still confused about how the whole thing happened. She turned and looked at Harry, who seemed to be deep in thought.

Hermione sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I didn't think about it," she explained, evidently annoyed at herself. "I was too interested in seeing Ron again, you know? I've been doing work in Canada for a month."

Cho nodded, thinking about Harry. She had hardly seen him in the past two months; whenever she came home from her Quidditch matches, he was either getting ready to leave or wasn't even there. "That's what I get for falling in love with an Auror," she thought, but quickly put the matter out of her mind to concentrate on Hermione's predicament. "I know exactly what you mean."

Harry, standing silently at the door, his arms crossed, smiled slightly. "Hermione, how do you think someone could have gotten inside this house? We put nearly a hundred protection spells on this place. I have a hard time believing any ordinary person could have just walked in to steal your notes."

Suddenly, a blonde figure appeared in the doorway, clutching a rolled up newspaper. "I think I may have your answer," she said dreamily, leaning on the doorway. She thrust the rolled-up paper at the group, grinning.

Harry started and turned to look at the woman that just entered. "Luna!" he said, surprised. "How'd you get in?"

"The door was unlocked," she replied, a trivial tone added to her normally absentminded speech. "I rang the bell several times and didn't get an answer, so I entered myself.

"Anyway," she continued, tossing Harry the paper. "It seems like someone has broken in to a number of wizarding houses; you weren't the only ones hit. The Ministry is already ruling out suspects, I suggest you go down there sometime soon and tell them that you've been robbed."

Ron groaned and rolled his eyes. "Great," he said loudly, not hiding his disgust, "I better not run in to Percy while we're there."

In the summer between Ron's fourth and fifth years, Percy had walked out of his family. His job turned him against his family; Arthur Weasley, Ron's father, had tried talking to him shortly after, but got the door slammed in his face. Ron had had little contact with his elder brother since then.

Hermione placidly smiled at Ron. "Don't worry. It'll be okay; nobody said we had to talk to him even if we do see him."

Ron sighed and entwined his fingers in Hermione's. "I suppose," he answered, though he didn't look comforted in the slightest.

Later that night, Hermione lay awake, absorbed in thought. She was snuggled up against Ron, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest as he slept. Thoughts of waking up to hear of violent murders and images of Voldemort and his Death Eaters torturing and killing innocent victims raced through her mind.

"This is bloody stupid," she mumbled as she slowly pried herself away from Ron and walked quietly to the spacious bathroom across the hallway. "It's just a bunch of bloody notes. Nobody could do any damage with them," she assured herself, although she knew she was lying to herself.

As she turned the handle to the bathroom, Hermione started to feel like she was being watched. Hastily, she scanned the dark hallway for signs of movement. With a quick jerk of her head, she stepped into the bathroom and fumbled for the light. She flipped the old switch and strode over to the sink, then turned the ornamental faucet until extremely cold water flowed from the faucet. She splashed her face and reached for a towel hanging on the wall, but something in the corner of the bathroom caught her eye and she whipped around to face a black-veiled man.

"Hello," he said coldly. Hermione could have sworn she'd heard that voice before; only it sounded much crueler and had a hard edge to it.

Hermione bolted for the door.