The new face of evil - 8 years out

"You? How did you get it?" Hermione asked.

"Did you think I was ever going to chance this falling into the wrong hands? How many people do you think died over this stuff? Until there is a counter potion or spell, this can't fall into the wrong hands," Harry said still looking very menacing.

"Without Stonham Research, how will there be a counter potion? Who can research it?" Hermione asked.

"Sirius and I know people. They're working on it," Harry said this as if it was the obvious answer.

Hermione again seemed shocked and asked, "How? Who could do that?"

Before anyone could answer, Ron yelled, "That's all well and good, but what about Parvati and Ruth?"

"There's no way I'm going to let something happen to Parvati and my goddaughter. And, after we've got them, I'm going to rip the people that took them into little pieces," Harry said with no hint of amusement.

Everyone took a step back from him and he continued talking, "We'll do just what they want. A girl from work will use polyjuice to become Hermione and will take the parchment to them. Then the girls get out and I go in and pull them apart. End of story."

Everyone was too intimidated to say anything until Sirius spoke up. "Do you really think they'll just let the girls go once they get the formula?"

Harry calmed down a little. "No, that's just what I wanted to happen." Everyone relaxed a bit. "Once fake-Hermione gets taken to the place, Sirius and I will Apparate there. Sirius will get Parvati and Ruth out, fake-Hermione will leave and I'll take care of the slugs."

"How are you going to know where they take Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Muggle technology," Harry said holding up a medallion on a chain. "This is actually a transmitter. And this," Harry held out a small electronic device that showed numbers, "is the tracking part. It shows the location of the transmitter. Hermione wears the medallion and when they take her, Sirius and I just Apparate to wherever she's at."

They all seemed impressed at this. "You're not going without me," Ron stated.

"No way. Sirius and I have a bit of practice with this stuff," Harry replied to his friend.

"I'm serious Harry. This is my wife and daughter. You have to take me," Ron pleaded.

Harry looked at Sirius, then Sirius handed him a cigarette lighter. Harry turned to Ron, handed him the lighter and said. "Sirius thought you'd be like this. This is a portkey. Sirius made it so that it will return back to here. You open the top and then when it closes, you come back here. You can go only if you promise that all you'll do is get to Parvati and Ruth and activate the portkey. No looking around, no spells, nothing else. That's the deal, take it or leave it."

"I can do that. All I want is to help get them back," Ron said examining the lighter.

"I'm not letting someone become me either. What if they ask a question about the formula? I'm the only one who can answer," Hermione said.

"We hope they won't have time to ask," Harry said.

Sirius spoke up, "It may be safer to let her go, just in case some other researcher is in on this."

"Fine, let's just make this amateur hour," Harry said in exasperation.

"Harry. I know you're good and Apparation's kind of your thing, but can you really Apparate to a GPS location?" Hermione asked.

Everyone was looking at Harry who just shrugged and said, "I don't see why not. I mean you just pick a spot and go, right?"

Everyone groaned. "You've never tried it?" Ron exclaimed. "We can't screw this up."

"You don't have to come Ron. Sirius and I can do this alone," Harry said without emotion.

"Ron, Hermione will have the formula so even if we miss, she'll give them what they want and maybe they will all go free. Or, at least maybe they'll look at the formula for a bit and give us another chance," Sirius told them.

"I won't miss," Harry firmly stated.

Fred, George and Ginny were going to stay with Ron to help keep him sane that evening, and Brian was staying with Mr. & Mrs. Weasley. Hermione offered to stay but Ron didn't want her there since he was irritated it was her formula the kidnappers wanted. Back at the home, Harry handed Hermione another lighter. "This is your portkey. If things go poorly, use it," Harry told her.

"I'm not leaving if Parvati and Ruth are still there," Hermione said.

Harry looked at her and Hermione knew he was angry, but he calmly said, "Fine. I'm giving you a way out. You're a big girl and can make your own choices." He turned and went to the kitchen to get some juice.

Hermione followed a bit later. "Do you think this will work?"

"I'd feel better if you and Ron weren't going. Actually, I'd feel better if I knew the location and went by myself."

"Harry, you can't do everything by yourself," Hermione said firmly.

Harry looked her directly in the eyes and said, "Hermione, you have no idea what I'm capable of."

This actually frightened her but she tried not to show it. "Ron and I will be fine. We want to help," Hermione said. "I want to help since it's my fault."

"Now, all through school you kept telling me to not blame everything on myself. Take some of your own advice. This is not your fault. There are evil people out there who will use anything or anybody to get what they want."

"But I feel like it is," Hermione said hugging him.

"I know how you feel. Remember, it's how I felt all those years, and every time you would yell at me for thinking it was my fault. Why don't you go to bed?"

Hermione agreed with that idea and went upstairs. Harry sat on the couch for a while before falling asleep. The next morning, Hermione came down and found Harry asleep on the couch, obviously having a bad dream. She knelt down and started stroking his head and he relaxed a bit. Then she heard a little pop and saw Ginny appear a little bit away. Ginny gave Hermione a strange look and asked, "What are you doing?"

Hermione didn't stop stroking and softly said, "He was having a nightmare and this always helped."

"Oh." Was all Ginny said before she walked over and gave Harry a light kiss on the lips, which woke him up quickly.

"Hey. What are you two hovering over me for?" he said with a smile and then remembered what they had to do. "What time is it?"

Ginny said they received instructions at Ron's house and Hermione was supposed to start walking down the street away from the Leaky Cauldron at 11:30. The guys were supposed to be having lunch outside at that time as well.

Harry went up and took a quick shower before they all went to Ron's. The mood was very tense. Ron and Hermione were pacing, Sirius was sitting reading the paper, Harry was staring out the window while Ginny was rubbing his back. When Sirius said it was time, Harry leaned to Ginny and whispered, "Want to stay over tonight after we bring them back?"

She looked into his eyes and gave him a very deep kiss, not caring about the others. "Definitely. Be careful."

The four of them walked past the barriers and apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione stayed inside and the guys went to an outdoor restaurant and ordered. Harry paid ahead of time since he knew they would be leaving. They all acted like they were reading things. Sirius was reading a paper, but Harry was looking at the GPS receiver and tracking Hermione's location. Ron was nervous and kept asking where Hermione was. Harry always answered, "A few meters from where she was the last time."

Hermione was walking down the street and when she got about ten blocks away, a car pulled up and threw a small box on the ground in front of her. A man said, "Pick it up." And then the car sped off.

Hermione looked around then slowly bent to pick up the box. A soon as she touched it, she felt the familiar pull of a portkey. When she landed and looked up, she saw three men pointing Muggle guns at her. Glancing around, she saw Parvati and Ruth sitting in the corner with two more men pointing guns at them. Parvati screamed and Hermione said, "I'm here to give them what they want. Then they'll let us go."

The Muggle closest to Hermione laughed. "That's not likely. Give me the formula." Hermione handed the parchment to the man who glanced over it. The man put the parchment into a tube and when the top was closed, the tube filled with smoke and the parchment disappeared.

Hermione started fumbling in her pocket and found the lighter. She quickly though about using it but couldn't bring herself to leave Parvati and Ruth, so she removed her hand.

"You've got the formula, let us go," Hermione demanded.

"You were supposed to die the last time. My employer was very upset that you didn't. This time you won't be so lucky. Think about it, we take you away from the show off and then Weasley has to live with the loss of his wife and daughter. My employer will be very pleased. The only thing better would be if we could kill Potter at the same time."

At the restaurant, Harry sat up straight. "She either apparated or used a portkey. She just moved at least 5km. Ok, grab my arm," Harry said. "No wands Ron; when things happen go straight for Parvati." Ron nodded and they vanished.

In the next second, the three men appeared in the same room with Hermione with Ron only a meter from Parvati. Harry quickly yelled, "Don't move."

"Very good Potter," the Muggle said. "I see you're familiar with guns. Tell them what will happen if anyone moves or twitches their wands"

Parvati was crying, hugging Ruth tightly and Ron wanted nothing more than to run to them. "Ron. Muggle guns are much faster than spells. There's no way for you to get to her before they shoot. No way."

"That's right Potter. This will be interesting. I've been told you're good. You may actually have a chance at saving one of them, but not all three. Who do you save? The school sweetheart or Weasley's wife and daughter?"

"Why don't you let them go since you have the formula? I'll even go with you," Harry offered.

The Muggle laughed. "That's not what I'm paid to do. Someone will die here and you have to choose. Who do you protect?"

Harry, Ron and Sirius had already talked about what to do in case things turned bad. Ron and Sirius were waiting for Harry to do something before they acted. Harry looked down and Hermione could feel the waves of magic flowing off of him. Suddenly, he was gone and she saw the shimmer of a shield in front of Parvati. Before she could turn back, she saw something dark in front of her and heard the gunshots and then the spells. A second after the gunshots, she felt someone fall onto her and as she was falling, she saw Ron, Parvati and Ruth disappear. She then heard a couple more spells and then there was silence. Suddenly aware of the weight on top of her she looked up to see a mass of dark hair and knew someone was on her. Struggling, she tried to move but the body didn't budge. She started to yell but felt the body being pulled up and heard Sirius scream, "Harry! Are you ok?"

There was no answer and when she finally sat up and looked, Sirius had rolled Harry onto his back and she saw the front of his shirt covered with blood. She screamed but Sirius was trying to wake Harry. He seemed so lifeless. She crawled over to him thinking he must be dead but then saw him give a bit of a gasp, and his eyes fluttered open. Sirius started to say something but Harry choked and said something barely audible. "Safe?"

Sirius understood and said, "Yes Harry, they got out safe. Now hold on and we'll get help."

Harry rolled his head to the side and Hermione saw a look that confused her. It wasn't fear or pain, it was almost peace. She started to reach for him when he suddenly disappeared. Hermione screamed. "Harry!"

Sirius quickly pulled her up. "Hermione. Go back to Ron's. I'll come there when I have some information. Don't go looking, you won't find him."

"No! I want to go with you. Where did Harry go?" Hermione demanded.

"You can't get in. When I know anything I'll come straight there."

"What about them?" Hermione said pointing to the stunned wizards. Then she noticed that Sirius had been shot in the shoulder as well. "And, you're shot."

"I'll be ok and someone will be here to pick them up. I need to get to Harry, right now. Go to Ron's," Sirius said and vanished.

Hermione looked at the bodies of the wizards and after deciding she had no choice, used the portkey and quickly went to Ron's. There was a flood of sounds when she appeared.

"Hermione!"

"Where's Harry?"

"Oh my god, you're bleeding."

Hermione looked down and saw the front of her shirt was covered in blood and then saw everyone staring at her. "It's not mine," she said, not wanting to blurt out whose it was.

"It's Harry's isn't it?" Ron asked. "I thought I saw him fall when we were leaving."

Hermione didn't answer at first but Ginny screamed, "Is it Harry's? Is he ok?"

Hermione knew she had to answer. "It's Harry's. He apparated in front of me to stop the bullets. They must have gone all the way through him." Just thinking of the implications of this caused her to start crying.

"Where is he?" Ginny demanded. "Is he ok?"

"He just vanished. I don't know where he is."

"Where's Sirius?" Ron asked and Ginny screamed, "Is Harry ok?"

"Sirius was shot in the shoulder and said he was going to Harry." Hermione looked at Ginny with such sorrow in her eyes. "I don't know if Harry is ok. He didn't look good." Ginny almost stumbled before Fred caught her. Hermione went on to tell what she knew. "So, after he asked if everyone was safe, he just vanished."

"But, Sirius must know where he went. Maybe he went to St. Mungos," Ron said.

"Sirius said not to go looking because we wouldn't find him so I don't think that's where he went," Hermione said.

"You saw him before he disappeared. Do you think he'll be ok?" Ginny asked softly.

Ron spoke up, "You know Harry, he'll be ok."

Ginny screamed at her brother, "Look at all that blood! How can he be ok?" Then she turned to Hermione. "All to protect you!"

Hermione was hurt by this and thought about trying to comfort Ginny but she had already been pulled into Fred's arms. Hermione checked on Parvati and Ruth. They both seemed fine and Hermione was at least happy to see that their captors hadn't done anything to either of them. Ruth didn't want to leave Ron's side and Ron wouldn't leave Parvati's side. After a couple hours, Hermione approached Ginny. "I'm sorry Ginny. If anyone can pull through, Harry can."

Ginny looked up with swollen, red eyes and said, "I know. I shouldn't have said that to you. I'm just so worried." Hermione hugged her friend to let her know she cared. "I can't lose him, I just can't," Ginny sobbed.

"You won't Ginny, you'll see," Hermione said, trying to sound like she meant it, but the image of Harry lying there in all the blood didn't help. About an hour passed when Sirius' head appeared in Ron's fireplace.

"Harry's stable and it looks like he's going to be ok. The bullets missed vital organs, but he lost a lot of blood."

"I'll donate some," Ron yelled and all the others quickly offered.

"That's generous, but Harry won't use anyone else's blood. He donates as often as he can and it's stored for him," Sirius stated. The implications of this immediately hit his friends hard. They all felt so bad knowing Harry was hurt often enough that he had to store his own blood. Sirius' voice pulled everyone back. "Ginny, Hermione, if you'd like to see him, you can meet me."

Ron protested. "I want to see him." The others stated they would just go to the hospital as well.

"Technically, he's not in the hospital." Everyone looked confused. "There is no record of him being there, none of the doctors would have seen him. He's not there. That's all I can say. Please don't go down there asking to see him. Imagine if the press heard that all of Harry Potter's friends were at the hospital wanting to see him." "Ron I doubt you want to leave Parvati's side right now anyway." Ron kind of nodded. "I've received clearance to take Ginny and Hermione with me. Apparate to the lobby of St. Mungos."

"But I thought you said he wasn't there," Hermione stated, sounding confused.

"He's not, but I can get you to him from there. Let's go," Sirius said and his head vanished before there were any more questions. Once the girls arrived Sirius said, "Follow me and please don't ask any questions." Sirius led the girls down a hall and turned into a corridor that they never would have noticed. After walking for a bit, they didn't look like they were going anywhere, Sirius stopped, took out his wand and tapped an area on the wall then said, "Walk through here," and then he stepped through the wall.

Once they were through, both Girls looked around in shock. It was a small hospital. There were three rooms and a few people busying themselves. Sirius walked through one of the doors and then they saw Harry on a table. Ginny started to run over but Sirius stopped her. They watched as a female doctor poured something into Harry's wounds. What was strange was that she was standing about a meter away from Harry and doing this with her wand. Harry was obviously still unconscious.

"Why is she standing back?" Hermione asked.

"There is a shield around him," Sirius said.

"Why? Who would hurt him here?" Ginny questioned.

"It's not for his safety, it's for ours. He's woken up before and...well...bad things have happened."

"What is she pouring onto him?" Ginny asked.

"Probably phoenix tears," Sirius said. "Fawkes almost seems anxious to produce them so that we can store them here."

Hermione looked at the doctor and thought she recognized her. "Sirius. Is that Dr. Antoine?"

"Very good Hermione. Yes, she works here," Sirius said.

"She was one of the top medical researchers in the world and then just dropped out a few years ago. She was running her own center and everything," Hermione said stunned that such a prominent researcher was standing a couple meters away.

"That's what I hear," Sirius responded.

"Can we go to him?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, but you can't go past the shield, not until he wakes up."

"But he won't hurt me," Ginny said.

"Ginny, those are the rules here, actually those are Harry's rules, he insists," Sirius said and the three walked over near Harry.

Hermione thought he already looked a lot better than when she saw him before. "See Ginny, he'll be ok." Then Hermione noticed the doctor and asked, "He will be ok, won't he?"

"Yes Dr. Granger, he will." Hermione was surprised the lady knew her name. "He was very lucky though. A centimeter either way on any of those bullets and he wouldn't be. You're Miss Weasley aren't you?" Ginny nodded. "Well, we hope he'll wake up before long, but until then you can't get too close."

Ginny walked as close to Harry's head as she could and began talking to him. "Harry. Can you hear me?" She waited for any sign before she started just talking to him calmly and saying nice things.

Hermione was watching her friend when the doctor came over. "I'm sorry you can't get closer right now."

Hermione looked startled and said, "Oh, I understand. I've seen him wake up from nightmares before. You're Dr. Antoine aren't you?"

"Yes I am." The lady shook Hermione's hand. "I was glad to see that whole mess with Stonham Research didn't drag you with it."

Hermione looked confused. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here? You had one of the top Research Centers in the world and then you just quit."

The doctor chuckled a bit and said, "Take a walk with me; I think you'll be interested in seeing something. We'll come back if Harry wakes up." The two women walked in silence through a couple doors and then Hermione stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the next room. It contained equipment and a potion store that looked at least as good as the one from Stonham Research. The doctor could see Hermione's confusion. "I thought you would recognize the potential."

Hermione looked up at the doctor in awe and the lady went on. "I finally realized that everything I had poured my life into wasn't what I wanted. I kept fighting to be the best and one day I looked back to realize that I didn't like what I had been fighting for. It cost me a marriage and most of my friends. Then I realized all I had was my job, so I gave it all up."

"One day I was sitting in a small Muggle café in Paris and noticed Harry eating alone. It seemed so absurd that probably the most powerful wizard of modern time was sitting, reading a book in this little Muggle café. I knew who he was of course and had always wanted to meet him so I introduced myself and we started talking. He was so much different than I ever imagined. He told me about you and that you were the smartest witch he ever knew and about how proud he was of you working for Stonham. We talked for a while and got on the subject of wanting to do things for children and doing research on things that would make a difference and not necessarily money. One thing led to another and after about three months of back and forth conversations, I came here. I do research on things that we think will really make a difference. Harry and the Foundation provide a lot of our money and in return, Harry gets free medical care. He jokes that it's cheaper to fund the foundation than to keep paying for his care."

Hermione was just floored thinking about this. "You work for Harry?" Hermione asked bewildered.

"Oh no. The Foundation funds most of the center, but within the center, I make the calls. Not many people know about us and I like it that way. Now, what about you? What is your plan now that Stonham is shut down?" the doctor asked.

Hermione went on to tell the whole story of how she didn't like her old job and that she didn't know what she was going to do. After about 30 minutes of this the doctor asked a question. "Why don't you come to work here? At least until you decide what you want to do long term." Hermione looked speechless. "We pay a fair wage. Nothing like you could make in the real world, but we also do things differently. We don't do things for money; we do them because we think they will help."

Hermione brightened and then asked, "Did Harry ask you to offer me a job?"

The doctor laughed. "No, he would never do that. He did mention that he wished you would find something you liked close by though. I wouldn't offer a job just because Harry asked anyway. However, if he didn't want you here, I wouldn't ask. His opinion about people means a lot."

"I'd like to think about it, this is all so sudden and I'm still worried..." Hermione was cut off by a slight rumble.

The doctor stood up. "I would guess that Harry's awake." The two women walked quickly back to Harry's room.