Harry Potter and the Stitch in Time

Part 62

Chapter 62

Any idea of the Three Broomsticks for dinner was abandoned as they waited for the Aurors to get there. Harry had to mollify the wizard who had had part of his house destroyed by guaranteeing that he would pay for repairs. It didn't really appease the man, but it made him a lot quieter. Madame Rosmerta had emerged from the pub and, seeing the aftermath of what happened, disappeared back inside only to come back a few minutes later with a tray filled with hot mugs of tea. It was surprising how much the tea helped. It gave them something else to focus on. For Ron it was the sweet taste, for Harry it was the warmth seeping into his fingers. Anything that wasn't how close they had all come to dying.

The Aurors arrived and immediately took all the teens into custody. They weren't arrested, but it was made clear they were going to the Ministry to answer questions. The Aurors portkeyed them all together. Because they were minors, the Aurors couldn't question them without a guardian and they also couldn't just throw them in cells until their guardians got there. So they all sat in an interview room with a young female Auror who said her name was Jones.

Susan was pretty shaken by the whole thing. Hermione, though, was just staring into space. Harry was just getting worried about her when the D.M.L.E. medi wizard turned up to look them all over. One quick spell had Hermione diagnosed with a concussion. It had to be Harry's fault. Hermione had banged her head on the floor when he tackled her out of the path of the killing cure. Fortunately for her, the cure for a concussion was a simple enough spell. Unfortunately for her, the side effect was one killer headache.

Ron and Susan were pretty lucky Susan's aunt and Ron's father both worked in the D.M.L.E., so it was a matter of ease for them to come and sit with their wards while they were interviewed. Harry and Hermione, however, were left in the Interview room for quite a bit longer. It took time for them to contact Charlus and have him leave the school and come and Help them.

While they waited, Hermione moved from dazed and groggy to angry and moaning about her terrible headache. Harry of course asked about pain relief for her, but unfortunately the Auror on guard said that there was nothing that could be done. Hermione could drink an entire cauldron of pain relief potion and it wouldn't touch the type of headache you get when a concussion is fixed. The Auror was rather sympathetic, having experienced what Hermione was going through a number of times. Apparently concussions were quite common in the line of duty for Aurors.

Once Charlus arrived, it was time for the questioning. The process was very similar to what had happened after the riots at the World Cup. The Aurors asked questions, Harry told them his point of view. They asked more questions, Harry told them what he saw. They asked the first questions again and Harry told them again what happened from his point of view again, and again, and again. He now understood that the repetition was a good way for the officers to get the details of a situation, but he did find the constant repeating of himself to be very annoying.Every time he had to explain it he had to live through the terror he had felt at seeing Malfoy's wand pointed at Hermione. It made his chest feel tight and made him feel like he was going to throw up. It made recounting the incident again and again quite distressing.

Eventually they were finished and Harry was led out to where Ron and Susan were waiting. They weren't allowed back in with Harry and Hermione after they had answered their questions. Probably some protocol to keep them from coordinating their answers. Harry only got a glimpse of Hermione before she went in for her own questions, but was relieved to see she looked less insane now and more annoyed. Harry knew she hated the idea of being the 'damsel in distress,' she would especially hate the idea that they were attacked and all she did was bounce her head off the floor. Not that she would have a problem with Harry saving her, she wouldn't blame him for that. No, she was going to be beating herself up inside her head.