Chapter Three

"Poppy!"

Wide eyed, Madame Pomfrey looked up at the person who stepped into the Minister's office shouting her name. There he was, one of the terrors of Hogwarts during his days as a student . . . Sirius Black. Oh, how many times had he ended up in the hospital wing—or landed one of his friends there—because of some fool prank he'd believed would simply be so hilarious?

She'd thought taking a post within the Ministry following the Second War was going to be a calmer job than her previous employment at the school. At some point during her long life she must've angered some ancient deity, she was certain.

Miss Granger and Mr. Potter exchanged a glance, visibly trying to hold back laughter as Mr. Black swept across the length of the room and scooped the poor elderly Medi-witch—already seeming weary from his presence as though the entire world hadn't thought him lost forever these past nine years—into his arms like they were old friends.

She let out a notably displeased sound of surprise to find herself in the air. "Yes, yes. It's good to see you, too. You can put me down now, Mr. Black."

"Sorry. Just how long I've been gone is only now starting to sink in," he said as he set her on her feet. "Last night, it felt like no time had passed at all, but since waking up this morning, it's slowly becoming something I can feel. It's making me aware of how long it's actually been since I've seen familiar faces."

"To saver us all a little time, I asked Poppy to come here so that she could check you over while we discuss a rather pressing matter," the Minister said from where he stood beside his desk.

Sirius whirled on his heel. "Kingsley!"

"Don't you dare!" Kingsley held up a finger in warning.

His blue-grey eyes rolling as his shoulders slumped, Sirius huffed. "Can see nine years hasn't changed everyone. You're still no fun."

Kingsley's large frame seemed to crumble for only a split second before he drew himself to stand upright once more. "It's good to see you again, Sirius. Still not letting you hug me and whirl me about the room." Not that Sirius Black would actually be able to lift Kingsley Shacklebolt in order to whirl him about, yet the Minister was certain the attempt, alone, would be embarrassing not only for the two of them, but for everyone present.

Poppy nodded at the table that had been brought in for his exam. "C'mon, Mr. Black."

Sirius was, of course, about to utter some cheeky reply, but Kingsley preempted him, speaking as he rounded his desk to take his seat. "Harry, Hermione, if you would please sit and we'll get this started while Poppy deals with him."

Hermione bit her lip, once more trying not to laugh as Sirius made another less-than-appropriate comment while he turned and pushed himself to sit back on the exam table. For his part, Harry snickered as they seated themselves in the armchairs stationed before the Minister's desk. "It's refreshing."

"That he hasn't changed?" she asked, grinning.

"That we're old enough to get that half of his jokes that went over our heads before."

The pair looked up to see Kingsley Shacklebolt staring at them, his hands folded before him a top a pile of parchments, scrolls, and haphazardly torn open envelopes. He appeared to—none too patiently—be waiting for them to give him their undivided attention.

"Sorry," they said—all three of them—as one voice while Sirius turned under Madame Pomfrey's murmured instruction for a portion of her wand reading.

Clearing his throat, Kingsley nodded. "Thank you all for coming in on such short notice. I understand you two are probably both still a bit worn out after last night." He gestured off-handedly from Hermione to Sirius, and back.

"What?" The startled little slip of a question was out of Sirius' mouth before he could stop it.

Hermione turned her head, catching his bewildered gaze over her shoulder. "Because I disenchanted a powerful and unimaginably ancient magical artifact, and you were trapped in some mystery dimension for nearly a decade?"

Immediately Sirius understood why she would think he reacted to the statement with confusion and just a hint of panic. She assumed it was on account of her secret, and he supposed in a sense that was true. God, he was going to have to find a time and place to tell her the full story of what happened last night. Just as it was those eyes that had stopped him from being able to tell her the truth back at Grimmauld Place earlier, it was the way she was looking at him right now that made him think he would not be able to bare keeping a secret from her long—especially this secret.

"Right, sorry." He shook his head. "I suppose this is still a bit of a . . . surreal situation for all of us."

Feigning a calm smile, she returned her attention to the Minister. "Sorry. It was something of a long night. Um, you were saying?" She was completely oblivious—or at least appeared to be—of Harry pursing his lips as he spared a moment to glance back and forth between Hermione and Sirius.

"Yes. Assuming Poppy gives Sirius a clean bill of health, I would suggest none of you gets comfortable very long. I will handle all Ministry and public media matters regarding Sirius' return as I cannot afford for you to concern yourselves with such frivolities at present. There's an urgent matter which requires your attention. As such, I can grant you another two days to ensure you're both recovered from your ordeals, but no more."

Harry was the first one to speak up, holding a hand in the air. "Whoa, wait. Um, sorry, but why us?"

Kingsley once more cleared his throat as he pushed the pile of documentation across the desktop toward them. "I'm sure, Hermione, your research turned up that the Arch was only one among many gateways through the Veil, yes?"

Hermione had a sinking feeling as she reached for the paperwork, her entire body seemed to slump beneath the weight of it. "Oh, no."

The dark-skinned wizard nodded, his striking features pulling into a thoughtful scowl. "When your disenchantment destroyed the Arch, you set off a chain reaction throughout the Wizarding world. Other such gateways became . . . unstable. By the time the sun came up just a few hours ago here in Britain, those other artifacts lay in ruin."

"Why do I get the feeling that's not all that happened?"

A deep sigh rumbled out of Kingsley. "It seems, once it was learned that there was no way back from wherever these gateways led—no way back until last night, anyway—some ancient Wizarding cultures used them as prisons."

"I wasn't the only one who got free, I take it?"

Wincing at Sirius' question, Kingsley shook his head. "Afraid not. There are reports from all over of at least one or more . . . beings escaping during the destruction of the other gateways."

"Beings?" Harry echoed, his brows jumping up over the wire rims of his glasses.

"Well . . . ." Kingsley seemed unsettled in a way that was not very common for Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt. "As it happens not all of these prisoners are human."

"So, we're talking, what?" Hermione's brow furrowed. "Werewolves? Vampires?" Oh, sure, they weren't talked about often, even in the Magical community, but they were as real as werewolves, simply . . . more taboo, for some reason. "Fair-folk?"

Kingsley nodded. "And some dark creatures that were, at the time, not able to be identified by their captors."

Hermione and Harry exchanged a worried glance, but left the question unasked. Dark creatures? Did that mean . . . demons? Well, now, that would be a new one on them.

With an awkward clearing of his throat, Harry said, "Okay, perhaps we can loop back around now to 'why us?'"

Nodding, Kingsley pursed his lips and dropped his gaze to the paperwork he'd pushed toward them. "Given all of her recent, extensive—literally exhaustive—research on the Arch, Hermione Granger is currently the most knowledgeable living person with regard to the Veil's gateways. Aside from the escapees, Sirius is the only person to have returned from time spent beyond the Veil. There's a chance he might be able to . . . forgive me, this sounds ridiculous, but a chance he might be able to sense those others who've dwelled in that place."

"So, that's my purpose in all this?" the wizard in question asked as he hopped down from the exam table. He strolled up behind the armchairs in which Hermione and Harry sat and braced his hands over the backs, leaning between them a little. "I'm some sort of escaped-and-possibly-terrifying being detector?"

"In not so many words, yes. I fear that if anyone not so familiar with it as the two of you are attempted to apprehend these beings, they will not be prepared for what may follow. And I would assume you, Harry, would simply refuse to let them tackle this problem without your assistance." Kingsley lifted his hands. "You are also one of the most gifted Aurors in Britain."

"So I'd be the muscle?" Harry spared a second to look down at himself, what with his frame that was just as wiry as when he'd been a teenager. "Magically speaking, of course?"

Hermione uttered a scoffing sound. Since when did she need a bodyguard?

Sooner than she could voice protest, however, Kingsley locked his eyes on hers and shook his head. "I do not question your abilities as a witch. We are all aware how very formidable you are in your own right, Hermione, but we do not know precisely what you might be going up against in some of these cases. Many of the records from the days these creatures were imprisoned have been lost or destroyed as a matter of maintaining secrecy, stupid as that now seem—"

"I can't go," Harry blurted out.

Everyone in the room turned their attention on him.

He met each of their gazes in turn before heaving a sigh. "I didn't want to say anything, yet, because it's still quite early, but Ginny's pregnant."

Sirius' brows shot up and his jaw fell while a smile broke across Hermione's face. "Oh, that's wonderful! Why didn't you say-?"

"Because even though it's only early, it's been a bit rough on her." Harry swallowed hard, nodding. "It's not like I believe we won't all come back from this task in one piece, but if . . . ." He shook his head, forcing a mirthless smile as he fixed his attention on his best friend. "If something happened to her, or our baby, and I wasn't here? I'd never forgive myself."

Her shoulders sloping downward, Hermione clasped one of Harry's hands between both of hers. "Oh, no, you should definitely stay here with Ginny! We can manage, I'm sure. And I want updates as often as possible!"

At that, Harry chuckled softly. "If I survive her finding out I told you all before she was ready for anyone to know."

"Okay," Kingsley said, nodding. "So, Harry will stay behind. I'll make arrangements for you to be accompanied by an Auror from the Wizarding government of whatever country you're currently visiting."

Hermione didn't spare the matter another thought. This was serious—dear, it was strange thinking that word with Sirius standing right there next to her—and needed to be dealt with as quickly as possible. They should get started immediately!

Glancing at Sirius before giving Kingsley her most seri—her most stern expression, she said, "There's no need to rest. I'm fine, and I'm sure Madame Pomfrey's given Sirius a clean bill of health?"

Poppy, who'd been quietly sitting while observing the meeting, piped up in response. "Yes, he seems his old self. Perfectly healthy."

Holding one hand palm up in a 'there you go' gesture, Hermione said, "Then Sirius and I can leave right now."

Sirius coughed out a sound of surprise. Wincing, he leaned down, speaking so low into the witch's ear, he wasn't even entirely sure she heard him, "That might not be the best idea, little love. What if we get into an altercation at one of these sites and you're knocked unconscious?"

Hermione repressed a shiver, wondering briefly if he was aware that his lips had brushed her ear, because she was sure he hadn't a clue what the warm ghosting of his breath tingling over the side of her throat was doing to her. He leaned back from her and she could only stare up at him for a few heartbeats.

Clearing her throat—she thought the way he tapped at his collar bone, indicating the necklace she was distinctly not wearing right now, was lost on Harry and the Minister, and even if it weren't they'd have no idea what the signal meant—Hermione dropped her gaze back to the desktop before her. "Um, you know what? Yes, perhaps a day, or . . . even just a few hours, really, before we're expected to leave would be good."

"Very well." Kingsley stood from his desk. "Then I will expect you two back here in, say, twelve hours to depart for France?" The pair nodded in reply and he continued, "Good. That should give you both long enough to rest up a bit more and for me to make arrangements without wasting any more time than necessary. Harry? My best to Ginny. You will let me know if you need anything?"

"Of course. Thank you."

Harry and Hermione stood, following Sirius to file out through the Minister's office door. Harry could not help hanging back a moment, his gaze on the witch and wizard ahead of him. He turned his head, catching Kingsley's eyes. The Minister's brows shot up and he shrugged, shaking his head.

Oh, Harry wanted to believe that whatever little moment had gone on when Sirius was whispering in her ear just now had been completely innocent, but clearly Kingsley was thinking along the same lines. It was a strange time to wonder given everything else going on, but exactly how much bonding had taken place between Hermione and Sirius after he'd left them at Grimmauld Place last night?

Was it wise to leave them alone together, or was he reading too much into things?