Will You Ever Return to Me?

Chapter 2.

There is a place in the Nevada desert which very few people have seen, and even fewer have been inside. The lack of information doesn't stop people from speculating on what is really going on in there. Some ideas even come close.

Among other things, Area 51 has the largest group of Muggles who know about the wizarding world. Surprisingly, there is a great deal of cooperation between them and wizards--that is, after all, the facility's purpose. Area 51's research laboratories are devoted to experimental magic, experimental technology, and blends of the two. Although the technology eventually evolves beyond military applications, and the magic is taught at wizarding schools, the inventors, magical and Muggle, remain unknown. Even their immediate families are usually forbidden to know anything more than their spouse or child works at Area 51.

Hermione Granger-Weasley was one such person.

"Do you know the problem with computers?" Hermione asked her partner, a Muggle woman named Lydia Jones.

"There's no problem with computers," Jones replied. Hermione shook her head. Lydia was precisely the wrong person to ask that sort of question. She never had trouble getting computers to dance to her tune. Hermione had heard rumors--unconfirmed, of course, as employees of Area 51 were forbidden to reveal such information--that Lydia ended up working here because she hacked Area 51's network, which was supposed to be impossible.

"The problem," Hermione said, "is that you can't hex them. Or rather, that you're going to end up with a pile of junk if you do."

"Well, excuse us Muggles for not being able to create computers that think for themselves," Jones said sarcastically. "Besides, if we did, what would people like me do?"

Hermione smiled. When they were assigned to work together, Lydia had been very excited about seeing magic at work. And they learned a lot from each other over these months. Hermione still wasn't sure what to make of Lydia's claim, after witnessing the process, that spell design was similar to computer programming, not knowing enough of the latter to judge. To Lydia, though, the similarity was perfectly clear.

The phone on Hermione's desk rang. She hoped it wasn't her supervisor, demanding progress on the (inaccurately named, according to Lydia) Digital Pensieve project. An attempt to transfer Pensieve images into computers so far produced nothing but headaches on both sides of the aisle. She picked up the phone.

"Granger-Weasley," she said.

"Hello, Granger-Weasley," Ron said, chuckling. "I'm sorry, Hermione, but I think you should come home as soon as you can."

He sounded worried. "Is Ca--"

"Caroline is fine," Ron reassured her. "It's... well, you'd better see it for yourself, or you won't believe me."

Ron seemed absolutely certain. "All right," she said.

"Thanks. Love you." He hung up.

"Family trouble?" Lydia asked.

"May be, but I don't think so. I haven't heard that tone from him since the war. Anyway, I'd better take a look what this is about. See you tomorrow, Lydia."

"Are you going to--" Lydia began, but Hermione already Disapparated. There was no need to bring Lydia into this, but she was far more worried than she let on. That she Apparated directly out of her office--something that violated workplace regulations of Area 51--indicated that.

"Ron, what--who's that?!" she demanded, seeing a sleeping man lying on their living room couch. "What did you--"

"Take a closer look, Hermione," he said.

She did. To her surprise, she recognized some of the man's features, and then her eyes jumped to his forehead. "Ron, you couldn't--"

"He had it covered by makeup when he arrived," Ron said. "That convinced me. No, it isn't Polyjuice. I don't think you can use if the real person is dead, and it would have worn off by now."

Hermione looked from the man on the couch to her husband. "How?" she asked.

"I think we'll have to ask him ourselves. But let's let him have something to it first, okay? Just look at him." Hermione had to agree. The man definitely hadn't been following proper nutrition.

Hermione approached and put her hand on his cheek. "Harry," she whispered.