Broken Bits

22. A Bother

Hermione followed the guards down a long hallway, until she's thrust into a room then abandoned.

It's a small four wall room, with a table set in the middle. On either side sits a chair. Hermione chooses one, and sits.

Then she waits. She waits for what she knows is only a few minutes, but she can't help the antsy feeling that skirts up her legs. It makes her uncomfortable, and she finds herself fidgeting in her chair.

She should have kissed Fred one more time. She should have held him, and told him how much he meant to her after only a short amount of time. She should have said sorry. Sorry for lying, and doing something without telling him. She should have said a lot of things, but she didn't.

"Ms. Granger?" Hermione looks up to see a tall, beer belly type of man with curly wired hair all over his dark olive skin. His smile is tight lipped, and Hermione can't help but feel at fault for the man's clear annoyance.

"My name is Detective Yukon, I have a few questions for you." The man states, welcoming himself into the room, he takes a seat across from her.

"Well, that looks uncomfortable." Yukon smiles, flicks his wand and Hermione's hands fall free. She brings them to her chest and rubs her wrists gently, not yet wanting to meet the man's eyes.

"Tea? Water?" He asks, and Hermione finally allows herself to meet his eyes. Settled beyond a pair of glasses, they look kind and warm. It startles her for a moment, and she finds herself flicking her eyes away before she answers.

"Water please." Hermione says softly, Yukon nods and produces a cup of water, a mug of tea for himself.

"Have you been told why you are under arrest?" Yukon asks, flicking open his legal pad. Hermione is surprised to see him produce a muggle ball point pen, and begins to write.

"For..going against the Ministry, and breaking my parents out of St. Mungo's, unauthorized." Hermione answers, and Yukon nods as his hand fly's across the paper.

"You are under Australian law, therefore we cannot criminalize you for going against a Ministry that we are not a part of." Yukon smiles, but this doesn't warm Hermione's heart in the slightest.

"We were contacted by a Mr. Thorington about your whereabouts, he's in England. We did not provide him your location, as you are under our jurisdiction." Yukon continues, and Hermione's stomach clenched.

She doesn't recognize the name Thorington, nor why he was looking for her. But perhaps he could have helped her, perhaps he could have been her unlikely savior.

"On the accounts of what criminal act?" Hermione asks, and this seems to be just the insert that Yukon needs.

"The kidnapping, and the hiding of one Mr. Granger and one Mrs. Granger." Yukon says, he subtly winks at Hermione and that's when she realizes they're being watched. He's hiding something.

"Unless you tell us the whereabouts of your parents Ms. Granger, I'm afraid I can't help you." Yukon says, he folds his hands and absentminded taps a ring on his finger.

Hermione pauses before she answers. Taking in the sight before her. A man she did not recognize, knowingly aware of where her parents really were yet he was openly lying about this knowledge. She did not know who he had lie to about her whereabouts, but she was suspicious that her it was only for her protection.

Hermione then recalls a name plate she had seen on a desk just over a week ago.

"I do not know where my parents are."

Harry brings Ron back down a short hour later, just as everyone had finished getting bandaged up. Harry forces the story out of Ron, pressing for details. Using all of his investigative Auror knowledge, Ron eventually breaks.