The new face of evil - 8 years out

"I get around. Neville will be grateful when you succeed," Harry replied but Hermione thought she detected a sly smile.

"If we succeed. I shouldn't even be talking about that, it is one of our most secret projects," Hermione said still looking strangely at Harry.

The song ended and Harry said, "Then don't talk about it. Thanks for the dance Hermione." He ushered her back to the table.

Steffi was just coming back as well and she whispered something in Harry's ear. He quickly spoke up, "It's been good seeing you all again. Thanks for coming everybody. I hate being embarrassed without you guys around." Harry nodded to Hermione, which was quickly picked up by Ginny. Hermione watched as the couple tried to make their way out. They were stopped and said goodbye to many people on the way.

Hermione sat there totally confused. How had Harry known about the secret potion they were working on? What was she to make about his response to the raid in the Amazon? They had a pleasant conversation while dancing so maybe the talk tomorrow would go well. Hermione danced with Ron and another man that night before she and Ginny went home.

"So, what was the nod about?" Ginny asked.

"We're going to talk over lunch tomorrow."

Ginny looked concerned. "It's going to go better than last time isn't it?"

"I hope so. I really thought a lot about what you said to me after the last time. I should have just listened to you that night. I considered how I would have felt if he had done the same thing I did and realized I didn't handle it well. I had really only saw my side of it before and since he wasn't talking to me, I never really understood."

"Well hopefully things will get better between you two," Ginny stated.

"You were interrupted when I asked you the last time, but why didn't you two ever get together? You get along great," Hermione asked.

Ginny looked sad but said, "Don't get upset or anything, but I think it's because of you." Hermione looked shocked. "You know I actually thought we might when we were working together but then after you left and I saw what it did to your friendship, there was no way I would risk it and I'm sure Harry felt the same way."

"I'm sorry Ginny, I really didn't expect for things to go so wrong," Hermione said.

"That's ok, I'm over it."

"Obviously Harry is as well. He and Steffi make a good couple," Hermione said sounding a bit sad.

"Sure they do, but it won't last, it never does," Ginny replied quickly getting Hermione's attention. "He goes out with gorgeous, talented women who end up really falling for him. Then they want to get really close and he can't let them. They don't have the implicit trust we have in him so the part of his life he keeps closed off usually ends up coming between them. Kind of sad actually."

The two girls sat in silence for a minute before Ginny continued, "So, did you enjoy the party?"

"I still can't picture Harry doing things like that. All I remember was him playing Quidditch and working with the Unspeakables. Now he does this Marauder thing and charity work. That just amazes me."

"We thought he was joking when he told us he was going to start the foundation, but he's done some really good things."

"What's up with the other company, Marauders Inc? What exactly do they do?"

Ginny looked a bit nervous but said, "Some security work, that's all we know. Can you believe that editor is going to look at my designs?"

Hermione wanted to know more about Marauders but allowed Ginny to change the subject. "See, we all tell you they're good. I'm so happy that you're doing so well. You Weasley's are just charmed, you've all done great."

The girls stayed up late talking and went for a walk the next morning before getting ready and sitting in the kitchen waiting for Harry. Right before noon, Harry appeared on Ginny's back patio and knocked before Ginny called him in. He was carrying a large picnic basket and said, "Is a picnic acceptable to you Hermione?"

"That's fine with me. Don't want to be seen in public?" Hermione tried to joke.

"That's not it. After out last talk, I thought it would be safer to be somewhere in private in case there was yelling or one of us vanishes suddenly. I'd hate to see what the press would say if they got a picture of us screaming at each other," he said smiling. Hermione didn't know if he was joking or not. "Ginny, would you mind us having a picnic in your backyard?"

Ginny smiled and said, "Not at all. I'm going into the studio for a bit anyway."

Harry went out to setup the blanket and Ginny hugged Hermione. "Be honest Hermione. You know he doesn't talk about feelings much so you're going to have to just say what you want. He'll come around if you're honest with him."

Hermione walked out to where Harry had the blanket laid out. "This was a good idea."

"I'm glad you approve. It really wasn't because I don't want to be seen with you or anything. If we're still talking after lunch, we can go for ice cream." Harry smiled. Hermione appreciated the effort but still couldn't feel the normal warmth from him.

Harry laid out a tray of fruit, a tray of vegetables and two sandwiches along with some pumpkin juice. "If you'd rather have something else, I can go get it real quick," Harry said.

"This is perfect Harry. I wanted to explain..." Hermione started but Harry got stiff and interrupted her.

"I don't want to hear another explanation. If all you're planning on telling me is your explanation again, I can leave the food and go right now."

Hermione was shocked by his seriousness. "I'm just bad at this Harry." She hesitated and tears formed in her eyes. "I'm sorry Harry. I'm so sorry for the way I handled everything. I never meant to mess things up so bad. The last thing I ever intended was to hurt you." She started crying openly now. The next thing she knew, Harry had slid next to her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I believe you Hermione. The thing that hurt as much as anything was that you never even tried to apologize to me for what you did. I would have done anything for you back then and when you messed up, you wouldn't even apologize to me. I still can't believe that," Harry said but didn't let go of her.

Her head was buried against Harry and the tears were flowing freely. "I don't know what to say. I felt so bad but just threw everything I had into my job instead of trying to fix things. Look what I've done. None of my friends treat me the same and you can't stand being near me. How could I have let this happen?"

"It's ok Hermione. If the roles were reversed, they would all be treating me worse. Ron would have tried to kick my ass multiple times. You're making an effort to fix things with Ginny and I know she appreciates that. Ron will be easy to fix as well."

"But what about you?" she asked.

Harry hesitated. "Well, you know me. I've been told I can be pretty pig-headed on occasion, but I'd like to give it a shot. No promises, but if nothing new comes up, I'm sure it can be better than it has been," Harry said and gave her a squeeze. "So come on, it'll be ok."

"But Harry, you don't know how bad things are. I really don't like my job and I don't have any real friends. Even the way Ron and Ginny treat me here, they're better then anyone I know in Venice." Hermione couldn't believe how easy it was to open up to Harry. She missed having someone she could talk to like this.

"Then find a new job and don't spend so much time in Venice. Those things can be fixed easily," Harry said still hugging her.

"But it's the top research facility in the world and I don't get much free time."

"All I can say is that you're the smartest witch I know and you could work anyplace you choose. Don't ever feel like you're trapped. If the job and Venice are making you unhappy, change one or both of them. You can do anything you want, I know you can."

She hugged him very tightly. "Oh Harry. I've missed this so much."

"Me too. C'mon, it's going to be ok. I went through the trouble to fix this lunch, we should eat it," Harry said.

"Oh, I'm sure you went through a lot of trouble. Had your house-elf whip it up no doubt," Hermione said wiping her eyes.

"I guess I can't pull that one by you. Now eat or Winky will be disappointed."

It ended up being Hermione who talked nearly non-stop through lunch. She described the place she worked and how interesting parts of Venice were. She had cheered up a lot but suddenly got a serious look on her face. "There is one other thing I want to say about what happened." Harry put his glass down and looked at her. "I don't regret what we did. I regret not being upfront about Venice and how things went after, but I don't regret that night."

"I regret it," Harry said quickly, causing Hermione to hold her breath, "It would have been the most special memory in my life if we had stayed close, but now it's my biggest regret. That wasn't something I used to do unless I planned on being with the person for a long time," Harry said.

"I know. I just wanted to tell you that." She paused. "What did you mean it wasn't something you used to do?"

"Oh...Don't get upset, who knows it may be just because I was getting older or maybe because I date models who are usually shallow, but it doesn't really mean the same thing to me anymore. I haven't really felt it was special in a long time. That's my issue though, nothing for you to worry about." Harry gave a weak smile.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea," Hermione said and hugged him.

"Don't think about it. We haven't killed each other so do you want some ice cream?"

"That sounds nice. But I do want to ask you something. What was the Amazon all about and how do you know those things about what I work on?"

"Can't answer either of those but I'd be glad to buy you some ice cream."

"I know something's going on with you. You go away for weeks at a time. You know things about top-secret projects. You hide your talks with the Minister of Magic. Something's going on."

"As you've probably seen when our other friends have been around, I come with a don't ask, don't tell policy. Take it or leave it." Harry gave her a look and she knew he was very serious.

"Fine. I won't push it...yet. Now let's get some ice cream," Hermione said. They went to Florean Fortescue's parlor and each had a cone before returning to Ginny's.

"I need to go. Thanks for suggesting the talk. It was nice," Harry said.

"Thanks for forgiving me Harry, I'm really sorry."

"That's enough apologizing. Just seeing you reminds me enough of it, you don't have to bring it up any more. I'll work on getting over it. Come back when you get a chance," Harry said.

"I'll try to do that. Take care Harry," Hermione said.

"You too Hermione," Harry said and disappeared.

Hermione began owling Ginny on a regular basis but hadn't sent Harry any yet. She hadn't asked him if it was ok and didn't want to push him. Ginny had invited her back for another weekend and Hermione promised herself she would ask Harry during that visit. When she and Ginny attempted to contact Harry, Winky had told Ginny that Harry had been gone for a couple weeks and she didn't know when he'd be back. Hermione was disappointed but still had a nice visit with Ginny and things between the two girls were getting better fast.

Hermione ended up coming back in two weeks for the twin's birthday party at the Burrow. She arrived with Ginny to everyone else's surprise. "You've been back more so far this year than in the previous four Hermione," Fred joked.

"I can bet it wasn't because of our birthday," George added.

"Shut it you guys or you'll deal with me," Ginny said and it actually shut the twins up. The party was a lively affair with many practical jokes being played. Hermione tried to stay out of the line of fire and kept looking for Harry.

After a couple of hours, Mrs. Weasley came outside looking flustered and said something to Mr. Weasley who went directly into the house. About five minutes later, Harry followed Mr. & Mrs. Weasley outside. Hermione could tell he wasn't in good shape; he was limping and favoring his side.

Upon seeing him, the kids ran over. "Uncle Harry! I knew you'd come," Ruth said and the kids started hugging and beating on him. Hermione saw Harry try to keep a smile even while wincing from the pain.

"I couldn't miss a Weasley birthday party. I brought you something," Harry reached into his pocket and brought out three magical eggs that each opened to find smaller eggs inside. Each time one was opened, it flashed a color and said something in Russian. Liz and Brian didn't think that much of them since they were so young but Ruth loved her gift and hugged him tight.

Harry waved to the rest of the guests but didn't move much; he stayed close to Mr. Weasley. Ginny, Ron and Hermione went over to him. "Are you ok Mate?" Ron asked.

"Oh yeah. Must have eaten something that didn't agree with me. Just like me to get something the day of a party," Harry tried joking. His friends were looking at him with very worried expressions. "Glad to see you made it Hermione. Everyone is starting to get used to seeing you here. Don't go disappearing again."

"I was back a couple weeks ago and Ginny and I tried to see you but you weren't home," Hermione said.

Hermione noticed Mr. Weasley shift uncomfortably. "Oh, you know out running around I suppose. I'm really sorry but I should go home and lie down for a bit. Winky can make me something. I'll try to be healthy the next time you come Hermione." Mrs. Weasley hugged him lightly and he disappeared.

Mr. Weasley quickly tried saying something to the twins to get everyone focused on the party. Hermione was having none of that and pulled Ron and Ginny off to the side. "What's up with him? It wasn't his stomach. He was limping and holding his side," Hermione asked.

Ron glanced at Ginny and they looked at Hermione guiltily. "We really don't know. We can't even ask about it without mum and dad jumping all over us. And you know Harry; he won't say anything at all."

"I want to go see him. Ginny, come with me," Hermione demanded.

"He won't like that Hermione," Ron said shaking his head.

"Ginny will you come with me? You can say I forced you to come," Hermione pleaded.

Ginny looked really worried for a minute but then said, "Don't tell anyone Ron. Say we went up to my old room. We'll be back later."

Ron shook his head again. "Hermione. You're pushing things."

Ginny and Hermione went inside and apparated to Harry's living room. They were suddenly terrified when the first thing they saw were four wands pointing at them. Harry, Sirius and two medi-witches all were ready to blast them.

"What the hell are they doing here?" Sirius yelled lowering his wand. "I told you not to go over there."

Harry lay back on the couch and said, "You two shouldn't have come. I suppose this was your idea Hermione."

"I knew something was wrong and we wanted to make sure you were all right," Hermione said and stepped closer. She and Ginny saw that Sirius was having a broken arm mended. Harry only had his shorts on and had a very swollen knee and a gash in his side that the witch was healing. There were bruises on both of them.

"I'm not being mean Hermione but for four years you haven't given a damn if I was all right or not. Why the sudden change? Ginny knows I can take care of myself," Harry groaned.

Hermione and Ginny moved next to him while Sirius put his shirt back on. "I have worried about you Harry. What have you gotten yourself into?" Hermione asked.

"If you say anything, I swear I'll wipe her memory," Sirius yelled.

"Trust me Sirius, please. I won't say anything important. It'll be ok. Get a fresh robe and go kiss your wife," Harry said sitting up now that his wound had been closed. The two medi-witches told them both to drink some potion and get some rest, and they left quickly. Sirius ran upstairs and came down with a new robe and tossed Harry one as well. Looking at him you couldn't tell anything had happened.

"Good to see you Ginny. You shouldn't have come you know," Sirius said. "I meant what I said Harry. I'll wipe it," Harry waved and Sirius disappeared.

Hermione started to say something but Harry quickly interrupted and pulled the robe around him. "I can't say anything about what happened. Ginny knows that already. Now, if you two want to sit around and talk about other things, I'm fine with that. If you want to badger me about something I can't answer, I'd rather you leave so I can rest."

"Can you at least tell us where you were?" Hermione asked.

Harry's eyes almost twinkled. "I'm sure you will figure that out in a couple days Hermione. If you haven't already."

Hermione looked around a bit. "I miss this place. You still have the library and it looks like there are more books than I had."

"I do read Hermione. What else would I have to do on evenings like this?" Harry said trying to joke.

"Don't joke about this Harry. You know we all get worried about you," Ginny said.

"And I love you all for caring but I'd rather you not worry. Today was bad timing. If the twins had been born one day later you two would have never known anything happened. I'm going to have to complain to your parents." Harry smiled. "So, what all pranks happened at the party?"

Slowly Hermione and Ginny told Harry all about the party. Discussing the twins lifted the mood between the three but before long, the two girls could see Harry fighting to stay awake so they announced they would be leaving. Ginny came over and asked, "You're not mad at me for coming are you?"

Harry smiled, hugged her and said, "When have I ever been mad at you?" He then kissed her on the cheek and looked at Hermione. "Besides, I'm pretty sure it wasn't your idea." He pulled back from Ginny and addressed Hermione. "My godfather takes our security very seriously. The world isn't all corporate politics and backstabbing. You should really be careful." Hermione was almost shocked to see the look in Harry's eyes. There was none of the playful boy she had grown up with. Then suddenly a twinkle appeared. "Maybe next time you're around I'll watch what I eat so I'm not ill." He sat back on the couch slowly.

"I hope you do. Will you be up for lunch tomorrow?" Hermione asked.

"Tomorrow's bad. Sirius and I have some things to finalize in the morning and then I'm off to some fashion show in Milan. You know I've got to keep making contacts so that Ginny doesn't boot me from the company for not pulling my weight." Harry smiled.

"I'll see you next time then. Do be careful," Hermione said.

Harry waved and they both left. He sat there and thought that he really needed to do some thinking about what he wanted. The last talk with Hermione had caused an enormous weight to be lifted from him. He had carried around unresolved issues for a long time and it had affected many things. Before the night with Hermione, he had actually been thinking about pursuing something but dropped all thoughts of seriously being with the woman after it. With the weight lifted, he wondered if it was still possible after all this time. He knew it would be a risk, but couldn't decide if it was worth it or not. He fell asleep before coming to any conclusions.

When the girls came back outside, Ron gave them a quizzing look and when they were near him he asked, "Well you're in one piece. But, do you remember anything that happened?"

Hermione just said, "Of course." But then sat down and didn't say much.

Ginny made it clear later that night that she wasn't going to talk about any of it. "Harry's probably my closest friend Hermione. I worry about him a lot but know that he and Sirius know what they are doing. I really don't want to even think about any of that part of his life."

Hermione knew she was serious and didn't pursue the issue. She just concentrated on getting back into Ginny's life more. Hermione and Ginny spent the next day in town and then Hermione went home that evening a little depressed that she didn't get to spend any time with Harry. The next morning at the office, Hermione finally got around to looking at the paper.

Another Potion Smuggling Raid Wounds 15 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Russian Ministry Special Agents raided the offices of Stalantic Inc, a business used as a front for trade in illegal potions and drugs. The business was said to be one of the largest suppliers of the drugs to Western Europe. The offices sustained major damage but amazingly, no Agents were wounded. Three of the top officials of the company along with twelve of their security force were wounded in the raid. This raid should cause a major interruption in the worldwide smuggling operations that have sprung up over the last few years.

Hermione put the pieces together quickly. Harry had given the kids magical eggs that spoke Russian and then told her she would figure it out soon. He had obviously been in Russia. And the last time he was in the Amazon and there was a big raid there as well. Hermione had the connection, but didn't have a clue what part Harry and Sirius would be playing. She also knew she had seen the company Stalantic before. It had been discussed at the office.

Hermione remembered Harry's birthday was coming up. They had each still sent cards on birthdays but there were never any words. She decided to try and see him this year so she wrote a note.

Harry.

I know your birthday is coming up soon and wanted to see if anyone was having a party for you. If not, maybe we could go out to eat with Ron and Ginny. It would be my treat.

I hope you don't mind me writing, you know I've never been very good at trying to make friends and trying to get back into the good graces with old friends is just as hard for me.

Let me know if we can get together for your birthday.

By the way. You weren't in recently in Russia by any chance were you?

Hermione.

She sent the note with her owl and was actually getting a little excited about seeing her friend again. She had been checking for a reply every day and finally one came.

Hermione

Thanks for thinking of my birthday. I haven't really celebrated it much in the past few years. I will be out of the country during my birthday so I'll have to miss seeing you. I'm sure Ginny will still want you to come over.

I didn't properly thank you for our talk when you came over. It did me a world of good talking about things with you. It made me realize that things could have been better if I had handled things differently. I'm sorry I wasn't feeling well on your last trip.

Now, what would I be doing in Russia?

I can't believe you've been coming back so often. Are you sure one of those potions you work on hasn't affected you?

Harry