Secrets and Masks

17. A Weasley, not a Potter

4th March

"We need to find her!"

"We will, Kingsley sighed. "Potter, I promise we will. It won't be much longer-"

"It's been months!" Harry shouted. "We should have found her by now!"

"I know, Kingsley sighed again, trying to mask his growing irritation. "Please, calm down.

But Harry was not in the mood to cam down. He was seething. "We've wasted too much time! If she's alive, Voldemort would have used her draw me out by now!"

"I'm sure she's still alive.

"How?" Harry shouted. "How could you possibly be sure of that?"

"Because she's too valuable to kill, Kingsley answered simply. His tone was cold and detached, as if he were talking about an obscure item or a missing wand and not a person. Not Harry's best friend.

"Do you think so?"

Kingsley nodded once. "They'd be fools to kill her, and they know that. Make no mistake, they've probably tortured her in every way possible, Kingsley carried on despite Harry's wince. "But I have every confidence that she's alive.

There was a long, strained silence between them. Harry knew it was silly to get upset. He knew that Kingsley could be trusted, and that he was doing everything he could, but he couldn't help it. He was angry and on edge. Although his life had never gone the way he'd expected it to, he always felt in control. Always had an unwavering belief that everything would be alright, and that good would prevail in the end.

But since Hermione had been taken, he'd felt lost and frayed. As though his life was a tight, closely-knit ball and her capture had pulled a thread and caused everything to unravel. It felt a lot like in his fifth year at Hogwarts, when he'd been alone, terrified and plagued with scathing voices that told him he was useless while the world went to shit around him.

If he didn't have Ginny or his children, he swore he would have lost his sanity by now.

"We need to find her Kingsley," Harry said. "She can't be a prisoner for them any longer- she just can't."

"We're doing everything we can to get her back-"

"WE'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH!" Harry started to pace Kingsley office. He kicked a nearby chair and sent it careening into the wall. "I should be out there right now!"

"I can assure you, I am doing everything I can. Granger is imperative to our victory, we've lost countless soldiers since her capture, and we cannot afford to lose an asset as lethal-"

Harry stopped his pacing and glared at his superior. "Don't do that!"

A line appeared between Shacklebolt's brows. "Do what?"

"Talk about her like all she is is a soldier! She's a person! She's my best friend, and we need to get her back!" He took this fresh wave of rage out on a cupboard, leaving a boot sized dent in the oak.

Kingsley tensed in his chair. "Potter, I won't tell you again - calm down. We sent scouts out this morning to round up hostages that we can interrogate-"

A glint appeared in Harry's eyes. "When did they leave? Where are they?! I'll go help-"

Kingsley raised his hand sharply, palm facing Harry and squishing his hope as quickly as it had sprung to life. "I'm still waiting for a report. Our scouts often don't come back at all, or only pieces of them do," he said, calm and composed, as he always was. "We need to proceed with caution.

Harry ground his teeth together. "How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long have they been gone?" Harry bit, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.