Everything I Do, I Do It For You

Chapter 31:- Freedom Comes at a Price

As the days went on to weeks and the weeks turned into months, Cornelius Fudge’s popularity grew within the wizarding community. He had captured no fewer than twelve Death Eaters; well, not him personally, but the Aurors he had placed on the case to rid the Wizarding World of Voldemort’s evil. He had then put them each on a public trial in front of the Wizengamot, which had sentenced them all in turn to Azkaban, to await the Dementor’s Kiss.

He had left no stone unturned, no loose ends, as he liked to call it. No possible way to be linked to Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

True, he had once been one of those men that he had put on trial, but he really hadn’t had a choice now, had he? It was either reform or be killed. He was thankful that Voldemort was so paranoid that he never had the Death Eaters come before him without their masks in place. He had said very little during these so called “meetings,” as the Dark Lord preferred to call on him in private. He only went to a handful of congregations where all the Death Eaters were assembled.

The only other Death Eater who would have known of his alliance would have been that little rat, Peter Pettigrew, as he hardly left Voldemort’s side. He was always snivelling in the corner somewhere where, Cornelius knew, he had heard a lot more than he had let on.

He detested that man and had hoped that he had met his end out there on the battlefield. Unfortunately he had yet to find Pettigrew’s body, but he had little doubt that Peter would have been believed anyway, and it was only a matter of time before he showed up somewhere. Cornelius was anything if not patient and would bind his time until Pettigrew surfaced once more.

Yes life was looking up for Cornelius. All reports from Robert Finn were looking hopeful, as Hermione Granger could not remember a thing about her past and was therefore no longer a threat to him. He had told Mr Finn that the potion was targeted directly for Hermione; well, perhaps not the first bottle, but he had made sure to make the next one match her exact signature. It would make her forget everything and anything about the Wizarding World. He hadn’t expected the side effect of her not remembering anything about her parents and her life before Hogwarts. However, that just made his life easier, as it made it seem like she had true memory loss and the doctors in the Muggle hospital would probably mark it down to some kind of trauma.

’No,' he thought, 'the only witch that can place me at the Final Battle working with Voldemort and his Death Eaters is now rotting away in that Muggle institution.' A hefty grin passed over his face, lighting up his eyes.

Cornelius was a very perceptive and intelligent man, and he made it a point to know everything that was going on, not only in the Wizarding World but also in the Muggle world.

’It’s true what they say,’ he smirked to himself. ’Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.’

Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster at Hogwarts, no longer paid him any unexpected visits; he had enough of his own worries to deal with, thanks largely to Cornelius.

He was also thinking about Severus Snape. It wasn’t good that he didn’t know what that sneaky Slytherin was up to.

’No matter. I will bide my time and when he does show his face again, he will just be added to the growing list of the causalities of this war.’

***

Unbeknown to Cornelius, Severus Snape was in fact doing rather well, having taken up residence in Tolmie Crobobin’s manor in Little Hangleton. Severus rarely ventured outside as his life revolved around the potion that, he hoped, would find Miss Hermione Granger.

He had not really taken the proper time to eat, and he rarely slept anymore. It was like this potion consumed every fibre of his body. When he did sleep, he dreamt of nothing else except the potion. It devoured his every thought, and Severus soon came to the realisation of why this potion was classed as dark magic.

Tolmie was the only one who he trusted to get all of the potion’s exotic ingredients. He had delivered; Severus was a little surprised by his cunning but made no comment on it.

Tolmie was, after all, the closest thing that he had had to a friend. Someone that would never question his motives and knew him almost as well as he knew himself, due too his powers of empathy. Tolmie was someone who wanted nothing in return.

True, Dumbledore was a friend, but it seemed that he too, had ulterior motives behind the friendship. True, he cared for Severus’ well-being; however, he never once told him not to go back into the folds when he had suspected that Voldemort had known of his double dealings.

***

Peter Pettigrew was bored.

’How long are they going to keep me here, he thought. Well at least they are feeding me and I have this roof over my head.’ He looked up towards the ceiling.

“More like my prison,” he remarked out loud, looking around the room that had held him for the last seven months or so.

“Well, it could be a lot worse,” he spoke to no one in particular. “I could be in some damp, dark dungeon wasting away.”

Yes, boredom he could tolerate; it was the waiting game that he could not.

’I wonder what that crafty old devil is up to now.’ He pondered on this for a bit whilst slinking around his room.

Finally giving up, he threw himself into the only chair that adorned the room and exhaled loudly.

***

Dumbledore knew his castle from the inside out. There was not one niche or cranny that he didn’t know about. He had his own means of keeping an eye on all its inhabitants. There were, of course, the many portraits that had taken up residency within the castle’s walls, strategically positioned to maximise the flow of information that reached the Headmaster’s ears. Then there were the suits of armour, and the many other inanimate objects located around the castle. He considered them all important pieces in his arsenal, acting like his own eyes and ears in these trouble times.

Although the threat of Voldemort was no more, he felt an upsurge of new powers bordering on the Dark Arts, and this troubled him greatly.

Peter was a puzzle that Albus had thought about on many occasions. No one, besides Severus, knew about his stay in the castle. He thought it best that way. The last thing he needed was for Sirius or even Remus to march down to the dungeons and avenge James’ and Lily’s deaths.

He would question him again shortly; he knew he had more information to give, though what, he didn’t know.

For now, however, he was too busy to contemplate marching down to the dungeons. The more undesirable characters that were taking up residency with the castle’s walls were motioning his every move.

With the students gone for the summer break, the castle seemed oppressive and bleak. There was always someone lurking in the shadows waiting for him to slip up. He never saw their faces but he could feel their presence. No doubt they were hired by the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, though what they were waiting for, he was not sure, so he kept his guard up.

Perhaps he was paranoid. However, who really knew. Having lived as long as Albus had, one didn’t survive without a little bit of suspicion.

***

Sitting down at the table in the familiar room that she had dubbed “the room” not seven months previous, Hermione was starring out into space and was only semi-aware of the presence of Doctor Lopes in the room with her.


“What’s on your mind?” Andrew asked.

Hermione snapped her head up to meet Doctor Lope’s eyes and smiled. “I’m just a little confused,” she confessed.

“About what?” Andrew asked, smiling back.

“Well, the idiot who said ignorance is bliss obviously didn’t have his life ripped away from him, not being able to remember the first part of it,” she replied with a preoccupied look on her face.

“It takes time, Hermione,” Andrew replied, laughing. “However I feel you have made real progress here with us.” He looked at Hermione seriously once more. He was twiddling his pen between his fingers.

“I know; I don’t expect a miracle, it’s just …” she paused and placed a finger under her chin.

“Go on,” Andrew encouraged.

“Oh, I don’t know, I guess I’m just a little frustrated,” she answered.

“That’s totally understandable,” Andrew responded. “Severe memory loss, like yours, can take years to come back, if it comes back at all.” He looked steadily into Hermione’s face. “We just have to make the best out of a bad situation and move on with our lives.”

Hermione nodded, understanding what Doctor Lopes meant. “I know,” she said, sounding defeated.

He studied her for a moment, her eyes gazing at some unseen object contemplatively.

“Which brings me to the next point of discussion,” Andrew said in a cheerful manner.

Hermione brought her head back up to search Doctor Lopes’ eyes. He was still smiling at her and she smiled back, still exploring his eyes for a hint of what he was about to say.

“I feel that you have come a long way in the time you have spent with us here in Calan Park,” Andrew started.

Noticing the fearful look in her eyes, he chose to ignore it and continued. “That is why I feel that I have done everything possible for you. I really feel it is time for you to leave us, Hermione.” He paused, still searching her eyes.

“I have set you up with an apartment not two blocks from here, and a job at the corner grocery store.”

Hermione couldn’t believe it; she opened her mouth to say something but no words came out.

Andrew, feeling her discomfort, continued on.

“You will, of course, still have to take your medication. You will come here to get the refills. You will also be attending outpatient treatment, with once-a-week group therapy lessons. In time, we will move to once a fortnight.”

Hermione, finally finding her voice, asked in a whisper, “How am I supposed to know if I am doing it right?” At Doctor Lopes’ look of puzzlement she quickly added, “I mean the job, life in general.”

Andrew gave a quick bark of laughter before settling down and swiping his hand through his hair. “Hermione, life is the greatest mystery of all; most of us just go through it playing our part to the best of our abilities. There are no answers to your question, and it is something you have to figure out for yourself.”

Hermione just nodded her head solemnly and didn’t reply.

“I will give you the number to my personal mobile phone, and I want you to call it whenever you need me,” Andrew said, afraid that he would lose her again to that pit of despair she was in not six months ago. True, she had made leaps and bounds, not only in group therapy but also in her everyday living, and he truly thought that without her memories, there was little else he could do for her.

’What the hell am I doing,’ Andrew thought to himself whilst he studied Hermione. She seemed to pick up a little on his last promise, but to offer anyone his own personal mobile phone number … he figured he was breaking at least ten different codes of ethics in regards to doctor/patient relationships in that one promise. However, right now he couldn’t care less.

***

A/N:- Okay I know what your all thinking, What happened when Hermione had to bring a support person with her to group? Am I right? Well seeing as she had no one to bring, no one came. I am trying to move this story along a little as my muse seems determined to find Hermione sooner rather than later so here you have it. You can make Hermione’s stay in Calan Park as pleasant as you want it. She is being released, get over it.

John was disfigured a week later by Jennifer who, in a flood of jealousy, poked his eyes out, using her thumbs, in the common room. Does that make you feel a little bit better? Hmm, maybe not. Well you can use your imagination as to what went down between John and Hermione. Perhaps she just told him she’s not interested.

Thank you to all of my kind reviews, and to answer Muggleman’s question as to why Hermione was starring at her shoes though the whole group it is simple, she didn’t feel comfortable enough with everyone in the group to add input to it and add the fact that she just came off some pretty heavy meds herself. There, is that what you wanted to know?

On Whispers I have a really nice review from the Administrator of the website, Hermione, and if you just go to the opening page of Whispers and scroll down to the bottom you can read the review. *BLUSHES* or go to this webpage and check it out:- http://www.thepotionsmaster.net/whispers/

As always my sincerest thanks goes out to my beta, LydiaCarol… Cheers.

Disclaimer:- Although the plot is mine I take no credit for the characters that you recognize.