¿Mixed Chemistry?

Chap

Hermione returned to work only a few days after the funeral. She needed to get her mind off things. She pulled many an overnighter. Harry and Ginny had tried to cheer her up; dropping by her office to take her to lunch or to just talk.

No one in the Order could explain what had happened the night of the offensive. The way Harry had put it; things were going as expected. They had captured three of the five targets before the explosions occurred. Two of the Order lost their lives that night. A tall blonde green-eyed Hufflepuff witch lost her life along with the former Gryffindor Quidditch keeper.

She took to using muggle writing instruments lately, placing her quill into her desk drawer. She tapped the eraser end of her pencil on the parchment paper. July had come upon her quickly.

Her report was half done. Paperwork used to be a breeze for her. It wasn’t as if it were homework assignments assigned by Hogwarts’ professors. She smiled to herself. Another school year at Hogwarts would have ended two weeks ago. She sighed as she remembered her schoolmates, the various professors, the halls, and the Quidditch pitch. She choked back a sob as she remembered the pitch with the three goal posts at both ends.

She closed her eyes as she thought about the events that happened during the past seven years. Her cheeks felt wet. She opened her eyes to see that several wet spots formed on the parchment as tears fell onto it. She placed her pencil on the desktop and quickly wiped her tears away with the back of her hands.

She quickly peeked at her watch. “Shit,” she said to herself. She quickly rose from her seat, grabbed her coat and exited her office. She headed for the lift as she put her coat on. She sniffled as she rode the lift down to the ground floor.

She quickly headed to the Leaky Cauldron. “Shit,” she muttered again as she exited the establishment onto the muggle street. She was supposed to meet her parents at their dental office fifteen minutes ago. They were to have lunch that afternoon.

She had to give them credit. They took the news of her being a witch thirteen years ago quite well. She took another deep breath. ‘I’m so lucky to have them,’ she thought to herself. She turned the corner as she pulled the lapels of her coat closer around her neck. For a July afternoon, the air was quite brisk.

She saw her parents’ dental office. Her mother nodded goodbye to a couple of her patients. They always closed at lunchtime. Hermione smiled to herself. She approached the office. Her father caught sight of her and then so did her mother. Mr. Granger turned the open sign over so that CLOSED in big red lettering showed. He waved at her. Her mother nodded her head and smiled as she approached.

* * *

That was the last thing she remembered seeing. She woke up in a hospital bed. Her head ached and her left side hurt as she had landed on it when the blast occurred.

Her eyes finally focused on a young redheaded woman. Her eyes fluttered for a moment. “Ginny?”

“Hermione,” Ginny came to her side, “We were so worried. Harry and Professor Dumbledore had a time getting you out of that muggle hospital.”

“Where am I?” Hermione said looking around the room.

“St. Mungo’s,” Ginny said rubbing Hermione’s hand gently.

“What happened,” Hermione’s eyes started to well up again.

“There was an explosion,” Ginny began. She looked into her sister-in-law’s eyes. “They didn’t suffer, Hermione.”

Hermione couldn’t stop herself from crying. Her eyes seemed to overflow with tears.

“I’m so sorry,” Ginny said pulling her into a hug, allowing her to cry it all out. She rocked her to sleep.

* * *

“The objective was not met, Mr. Conners,” the hooded figure hissed as he pointed his wand at the wizard. “Crucio.”

The scout writhed in pain. He spasmed and then fell to the floor. “Secondary targets were taken care of, my Lord,” he sputtered. “True, the primary target was not destroyed. But, we have broken her spirit. She will be the downfall of their side.”

“Do not take her for granted, Conners,” the hooded figure pointed a thin finger at one of his best saboteurs.

“What’s going on?” the platinum blonde young wizard asked as he entered the small room.

“Nothing, Draco. Just incompetence, that’s all.”

“Well, if you wanted something done right, you probably should have tasked someone better apt at completing it.”

Voldemort looked at the young wizard. He breathed in as he knew this young man could be an able successor to his plight for evil. He smiled.

“Just a little problem with a Mudblood nuisance, that’s all.”

Draco canted his head to the side, wondering what the Dark Lord had meant. What Mudblood were they targeting? Voldemort pulled the young man towards the exit, not mentioning the brown haired muggleborn again.

Draco would forget this incident. He walked with Voldemort as they spoke of future plans.