Will You Ever Return to Me?

Chapter 24.

The phone rang. Hermione yawned, sat on her bed, and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hermione," Lydia said. "You've got to come--"

"What? I just got home, I'm--"

"If you want it to be an order from Colonel Hemmings, I can arrange that," Lydia retorted. "We've got an emergency."

"I'll be there." Hermione hung up. Damn.

She got dressed and headed downstairs. "Hermione?" Ron asked. "What--"

"I've got to go," she said. "Lydia says it's an emergency there."
"I don't like the sound of that."

"And you think I do? That's why I'm going."

"I won't talk you out of it, will I?"

"No, you won't."

"Just... be careful. If I lose--"

"Hush. I'll be back in to time."

"I love you."

She kissed him. "I love you, too." Then she Disapparated.

Fifty-One appeared no different than usual... until she walked into Lydia's office. "When was the last time you slept?" Hermione asked her. Pieces of paper were strewn about the normally neat office, about twenty empty coffee cups stood on the table, the computers' cases were mostly open, with cables showing, all connected to the large server they stole from the Phoenix offices, and Lydia herself looked... well, it was enough to say that at the moment, Hermione's hair was the neater of the two.

"Happy New Year to you, too," she said. "Take a look at this."

Hermione looked at the laptop screen. She scrolled down... and opened her mouth. "Lydia?"

"It's no mistake," she assured her.

Padma walked in. "What's going on--Lydia, are you all right?"

"Never mind that." Lydia thrusted the laptop towards her.

"Please tell me it doesn't mean what I think it means," Hermione said.

Padma looked at her. "I could, if I felt like lying. Are you--"

"Positive," Lydia said.

"The Colonel--"

"I called her. She should--"

"I should what?" Hemmings asked. "You better have had a damn good reason for waking me, Jones, or--"

Lydia showed her the laptop. Hemmings looked at the screen, and Hermione knew exactly when she reached the critical piece of information. As if hit, Hemmings reeled back. "No..."

"I'm afraid so," Lydia replied.

Hemmings took her military radio out of her belt. "Captain Sherman," she said. "Meet us at secure area 2C. Full gear. Hemmings out."

She looked at Padma and Hermione. "Do you want body armor?"

"No. I need freedom of movement," Padma said.

"She's the Auror," Hermione agreed. "I doubt he'll use a gun against us, anyway."

"It may do some good," Hemmings said. "But it's your choice. Wait for me."

When she left, Padma looked at Hermione. "You okay?"

"How did we all get--"

"It's okay--well, no it isn't," Lydia said. "But we never really thought about it, did we?"

"No clues! Not one until now. You should get a medal, Lydia."

"I will take successfully doing our job, thank you. And it's you who have the hard part of it." She shook her head. "Good luck. You're gonna really need it this time."

"Thanks. You--"

"Everyone ready?" Hemmings asked. Hermione blinked. Their commander looked very different in a full BDU, helmet, and an M-4 carbine slung over her shoulder. "What?" she asked as the other women looked at her. "I haven't forgotten my basic training. If one of you can Apparate me--"

Padma volunteered to do so. Hermione was grateful. She didn't remember the last time she worried so much. Maybe there wasn't one.

XXX

"What did you do?"

"Various things," Hund replied. "Special operations, infiltration--sometimes we were called upon to treat wounds Muggle medicine wouldn't be able to handle. In the end, we were no different than the Muggle soldiers we served alongside with. I stayed in Vietnam for seven years. I could have continued--I've heard the CIA ran something along similar lines for several years after the war. But I didn't, and I didn't because I wanted to be near my family--both to spend time with them, and to protect them from Alan."

"He threatened?"

"I was afraid. To this day, I can't say whether I was more afraid in Vietnam, where we were getting shot at, or when I came home on leave, to find that my brother had invented some new Dark spell and was eager to test it on someone--which made me wonder whether he'd done such "testing" when I was away. Then there was an incident with his wife."

"Wife? He married--"

"He did. Right out of school. And then, he threw her out on the streets for giving birth to a Squib."

"But you can't determine if a newborn is a Squib," Ginny protested. "It usually happens when--"

"Alan created a potion that he claimed would be a foolproof test of whether a person is a Squib. He said his daughter tested positive."

"He trusted--"

"Alan trusts himself and his knowledge--always did. In this instance, I believe him--that the potion indicated the child was a squib. Whether the potion actually worked the way he claimed... I can't say. He never told me how to make it. I also don't know what happened to his wife and daughter--I offered help, but you can imagine that once he threw Rebecca out, she didn't want anything to do with our family.

"It wasn't the best of times, certainly. Alan sinking deeper into the Dark Arts, followed by both our parents dying at home, and in Vietnam, we had to do our job, knowing we weren't going to win single-handedly--knowing we weren't going to win at all. On my last leave, Alan said he'd make his life's work to overthrow the U.S. Muggle government, and wanted to enlist me in the endeavor--saying the connections I made while working for the military will be very useful in that. And that's when we broke, and turned our wands on each other. He said that when he takes over, he'll remember who helped him--and who didn't. And yes, I took that as a threat against me and my family.

"But why--"

"How would I hide from him? I knew I couldn't, not really. He knew me too well. The only way to do it was to make sure he wasn't looking for me. He'd vanished somewhere--which by then, wasn't enough to raise my suspicions, since it happened before. So, I told my superiors about this, and what I wanted done. The next time I went to Vietnam, they arranged an accident. Officially, Samuel Hund was killed in an ambush by the NVA in October of 1972.

"I took on my new identity as Cade Wilson. Until this year, I connected to my old life only once. In 1975, I sneaked into Saigon to watch it fall. I saw Alan working aiding the Communists."

"What? He--"

"I don't know if he did it for a reason, or simply for his ego. You see, one of the things he enjoys most is lying by telling the truth."

"I think I've experienced that," Harry said.

"I'm sure you did. He'd just love to talk about this. He'd say that he, like me, fought in the Vietnam War--and conveniently omit on which side."

"That sounds like him, all right."

"Well, that's where he's coming from. Now, I'm going to tell you something else. Four months ago, I've had a visitor whom you're both familiar with. A certain Hermione Granger."

"It's Granger-Weasley now," Harry said. "Why'd--"

"So she did marry your brother," Hund said, looking at Ginny. "Anyway, she came with a fake identity, claiming to be from the MLEA investigating the attack on the school. But I recognized her from the photo the Daily Prophet printed shortly after the defeat of Voldemort. And even if I hadn't, I knew their--her and her companions'--story was a sham. Two of them were Muggles, one either military or ex-military. She's working for some other organization, and I'd guess their main target is my brother."

"You didn't tell her--"

"That he is my brother? No. First of all, I couldn't--there were too many people around. Second, I wasn't going to. Whatever Hermione works for, it's part of the government--magical or Muggle. And that means other people besides them know what's going on--which means that Alan will be able to find out whatever they know.

"And now, Mr. Potter, I'm going to make you an offer. It'll be suspicious if you just start coming around here, but I've been handling Defense Against the Dark Arts classes myself since Mrs. Patrick got killed, since no one applied for the job. How'd you like to take the lower years?"

"A teacher--me--but--"

"Look, right now, Alan believes you're in a Muggle prison. He'll find out that you aren't quickly, but that doesn't translate into quickly finding out where you are. He'll suspect Salem, but Diana probably put in some protections specifically against him, and it'll take him awhile to thwart them--and Diana will know."

"You think he will get into Salem eventually?"

"I know he will if he is determined to. Building defenses isn't enough, you need people. If he does make that attempt, it'll come down to him against Diana."

"And you don't--"

"Diana Clarence is brilliant. She knows more magic than I ever will. But she is not as smart as she thinks she is, and Alan knows that. So in that contest, Diana is going to lose."

Harry didn't know what to say, to either the offer of the teaching position or to the assessment of Diana Clarence. "How are we going to keep Hund--Alan--from finding out by having me teach here? You know schools, when students learn Harry Potter is teaching--"

"Do you think I'm stupid? You'll take the Identity Potion, like I do. You'll be a different person."
"Oh. Well..."

"Where else are you going to go? To Hermione? To Salem? Back to England?"

"No, since I don't want to put her and Ron in danger; no, because there's really nothing for me there; and no, because if I'm recognized, they'll send half the Aurors after me, and throw me back into Azkaban."

"So... where?"

"I could wander--"

"And run into one of Hund's--sorry, Alan's--minions who'll report it back?" Ginny asked. "Brilliant plan, Harry."

"Well... all right. I'll teach till summer. Then we'll see."

"Fair enough," Samuel Hund said. "Well, we'll have to prepare the potion... and then... you've got classes on Monday. All I can say is... good luck. You're going to need it."

XXX

"I still find this Disillusionment creepy," Sergeant Anderson said.

"Quiet," Captain Sherman replied.

"Hermione, you didn't forget the Secrecy Charm?" Padma asked.

"No."

"Ready?" Hemmings asked.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Do it."

Padma raised her wand. "Reducto!" The door in front of them was blasted apart. "Protego!" Hermione and Padma yelled as they rushed into the room.

"Hands up!" Hemmings demanded. She and the two Delta Force soldiers aimed their rifles.

"What's the meaning of this?" Joseph Stone asked.

"You're under arrest," Hemmings said.

"On what grounds? Do you have a warrant?"
"As an employee of Area 51, you're under military jurisdiction. We don't need a warrant. The charge is treason. Surrender your wand."

"You know what? I don't think I will," Stone said.

Hemmings aimed squarely at Stone's head. The wizard burst out laughing.

"Cathy, don't ever play poker. I'm calling your bluff. You're not going to kill your own father."

"Father?" Hermione nearly dropped her wand. "What--"

Hemmings frowned. "It is, indeed, an uncomfortable fact that half my DNA comes from this son of a bitch," she confirmed. "Tell you what," she continued, "if my mother didn't live on welfare, if I didn't have to go into the Army to get through college, then maybe, maybe, you would have the right to call yourself my father. As it is--don't call me Cathy. Ever. Only my mother called me that. Do you even know she is dead? Your wife, the one you dumped because you thought she gave birth to a Squib? You were right about that--aren't you proud of yourself?"

"How--how did you know all that?" Sherman asked. Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Joseph Stone--"

Stone laughed again. "Joseph Stone is a fiction. A convenient fiction." He glanced at his watch. "I haven't taken the potion. And I don't suppose you'll let me." Stone suddenly stopped talking and began to change. He grew taller, his mop of white hair was replaced by a buzz cut of dark brown, he stood more erect... and he was giving everyone a very nasty grin.

"You... you're Hund!" Padma said.

"Ding-dong! We have a winner!" he announced.

"You!" Sergeant Anderson was shaking. "What--"

Hund snorted. "Imbeciles. Cathy, I have nothing against you. And I am powerful, you know that. I am becoming more powerful. I will take revenge, and I want you out of the way. Come with me, Cathy."

"Revenge?" Captain Sherman said.

"You be silent. Scum like you sent my brother to die in Vietnam. Payback is sweet--I'm sure Earhart and Bloomberg would agree..."

"Stupefy!" Padma shouted. The spell bounced off Hund's cloak and nicked a wall.

"Auror Patil, that was a surprising demonstration of incompetence. Well, come on. Cathy, you're still my daughter."

"No--"

"You are. You're not going to kill me. And you're not going to order them to kill me either. As I said, don't bluff. You're not good at it."

"Actually, I've always done quite well in poker," Hemmings said. Hermione raised her eyebrows. "And it was because--" Hemmings fired a burst from her carbine-- "I don't bluff." Hund fell to the floor with a hole in his chest.

As soon as he did so, his body began to change again. The dead man in front of them had long, blonde hair and was much thinner than Hund. What's going on...

"Poor guy," a voice said from behind. "Well, he volunteered."

Hermione turned to see Hund. "You! How!"

"The Imp--Sectumsempra!" Hermione barely registered the fact that Hund held two wands at once when a scream caused her to turn. Blood was pouring out of Captain Sherman's throat.

Sergeant Anderson and Hemmings aimed their rifles and fired... Except Hund was no longer there. The building was shaking as an enormous gray elephant was trying to fill a hallway too small for it. Hund's an Animagus... Then the elephant vanished.

Hemmings dropped her gun. "What--"

Padma grabbed Sherman's body and Disapparated. Hermione first wanted to follow her, but stopped. "Let me see your rifle," she told Hemmings.

"Why? What happened--"

"That's what I want to know." Hermione took her wand out and tapped the gun. "Well..."

"What is it?"

"He turned the bullets into Portkeys."

"And--"

"I guess they're not big enough to kill an elephant--and they would do the job of securing his escape."

Hemmings looked thoughtful. "All the bullets turned into Portkeys?"

Hermione nodded. "All the ones in this clip. What're you thinking? Using them to follow him?"

"We can do that?" Sergeant Anderson demanded. "Then why are we standing around talking? Let's--"

"Sergeant," Hemmings interrupted him.

"What? We have to--"

Hemmings thought for several seconds. "No."

"He was right, wasn't he?" Anderson said with contempt. "He's your father--"

"That has nothing to do with it, Sergeant! We're tired, we're not on our best, only three of us are here--and who knows where these Portkeys will take us. It's too big a risk. We stay and regroup. Take us back to Fifty-One, Hermione."

Hermione made them hold on tightly before she Apparated. As soon as they appeared, they were met by Padma and Lydia. One look at their faces was enough to tell that something else went wrong.

"Sherman--" Hemmings began.

"I got him to the emergency room," Padma said. "It's up to the doctors now." She lowered her voice. "It doesn't look good."

Anderson's face turned to an expression of rage, and he began moving his rifle. "Stupefy!" Padma cried, and dropped him. "Sorry. This won't make him like wizards any more than he already does."

"We've done all we can. All of us," Hemmings said. "I'm not going to ask you to put any more now. Go get some rest. And that includes you, Jones. I'll arrange for someone to take care of Sergeant Anderson. Get out of here. That's an order."

Hermione immediately Disapparated, and found herself in her living room. Ron was sitting on the couch, writing a letter.

"Hermione!" he said.

"I..." And she rushed to him and buried herself in his arms. "I can't take this anymore, Ron. I don't know what will happen, but I can't take this anymore. Soon, either you'll know everything, or I'll leave that place. If I can't rely on you to support me, I'll go crazy."