Ours to Catch Chapter 4

The now dark brunette head, that color wasn’t likely to stay for long, looked around the room as if just realizing she had interrupted a meeting of sorts when she had stumbled into the room. Looking at her aunts, she started to walk over but then did a quick double take of who the other person in the room was, who just so happened to have her wand bouncing from being aimed at the two sisters and Tonks herself.

“’Mione?” Tonks asked as she stopped moving further into the room. While she didn’t think the younger Gryffindor would actually attack her, Tonks could easily tell the young woman was tense and people were known to be unpredictable in tense situations. “What are you doing here?” She asked with a tilt of her head, she could have sworn she had last heard that Harry Potter and his friends were about to be rounded up at the Ministry; that was where she had thought Hermione was since the brunette was always with the Boy Who Lived and his ginger friend. In fact, the last Tonks had heard from both her cousin and Dumbledore that was setting up the rescue mission, Hermione was still there… at least, apparently that’s what her aunts wanted everyone to think.

“I’m trying to figure that out, but it’s not going very well.” Hermione answered while throwing a glare towards the two women that seemed completely nonplussed about their niece barging into the room and they themselves still having a wand pointed at them.

Tonks turned towards her aunts and raised one eyebrow in silent question, something that reminded them eerily of her mother, the same woman they had hoped would have been able to be there with them; Andromeda had always been the warmest of the three sisters.

With an exaggerated roll of her eyes and a puff of indigence, Bellatrix replied, “If you must know, she’s here because she’s the one we’ve been looking for and the reason why we called for Andromeda, not you.” Bellatrix said, then gave her niece a studious look, “In fact, aren’t there other places you’re supposed to be right now?”

“You wouldn’t be shirking your all so important duties with the Order would you?” Narcissa asked with no small amount sophisticated sarcasm that ensured Hermione wasn’t sure if Narcissa was teasing Tonks or legitimately making fun of the woman’s choice in joining the Order of the Phoenix.

“I’m not,” Tonks said in a defensive tone, “My mum sent me to here because she was busy with the Order and couldn’t leave but I’m supposed to be on my way to the Ministry for a rescue mission; so I have a few minutes to spare. But I guess since I was supposed be helping rescue Hermione, I’m doing exactly what I was told.” Tonks said then gave her aunts a confused look, “Why is she here again?”

“Don’t be daft.” Bellatrix said as she walked forward, taking a very expensive looking ring off her finger, “We wanted your mother here because she’s apparently a lot better with making people comfortable than we are.”

“Or so she says.” Narcissa said in a haughty tone, completely offended by her older sisters’ assumptions. She was the perfect hostess for any given situation; it wasn’t her fault people sometimes thought she could be on the ‘cold’ side.

Bellatrix completely ignored her sister’s interruption and continued talking, “But, since our time is a lot shorter than what we would have preferred, we would like for you to wear this ring; my House ring.” Bellatrix said as she handed the younger woman her family ring that was very important to her and very much unknown about outside of the family. If she could get Hermione to wear, there were several wards and protection spells on the wring, nothing too ornate but it would be added protection for their Gryffindor until all four women involved could sit down and completely talk about the situation. She knew there was no way she could talk the young woman into postponing her education until after the war was over and it was safer for them all to be together in one place.

Bellatrix held the black ring towards the teenager and Hermione took a step back, warry of taking anything from the dark witch that, according to practically everyone else, would sooner see Hermione tortured and killed than to give her jewelry.

“I don’t want that.” Hermione said, making sure to keep her wand as steady as possible as she pointed it towards the dark witch that had gotten much too close to Hermione for comfort. She started to take small steps towards Tonks, she knew the metamorphmagus would keep her safe; even though she was acting weird as she had a friendly conversation with her aunts that has supposedly kept her mother out of the family. “I want to know what’s going on and why you took me here.”

“I’ve been trying to tell you.” Bellatrix said with a huff, throwing the ring at her niece since she doubted her witch would willingly take at the moment, “But we keep getting interrupted.” She said as she threw a glare towards her niece, “You will keep that safe until Hermione will wear it; I want it back eventually.” Bellatrix said before returning to her seat, not worried about having her back towards the teenager since Bellatrix was sure the teen wouldn’t dare attack someone with their back turned.

“None of this makes any sense.” Hermione finally said, nearly shouted from her frustration. “I thought you two were our enemies, especially me since I’m what you like to call a mudblood. You’ve even called me muddy while I’ve been here!” Hermione said, losing what little control of her emotions she had thought she had. “I don’t understand why I’m here and what you want with me.”

Bellatrix turned around and literally fell into her seat in the most un-lady like way possible that had her sister rolling her eyes at her. “Don’t you get it Muddy?” Bellatrix asked as she put her elbow on the armrest and leaned her chin onto her hand, “You’re ours.” She said the statement in such a flippant way that Hermione actually believed that Bellatrix truly believed it, truly believed Hermione ‘belonged’ to them.

She was about to open her mouth and tell them exactly what she thought about them ‘owning’ her, but Tonks beat her to the punch.

“Actually before we jump into to that stuff,” Tonks said ignoring her Aunt Narcissa’s indignant ‘It’s not stuff’ and kept talking, “Hermione, we should really get back to the Ministry before you’re actually noticed to not be there, I think the rest of your group finally congregated in the Death Room with Aunt Bella’s group and soon, I’m supposed to show up to get you kids out of there.”

Hermione had a million questions she wanted to ask Tonks. Like, how did she know that they were in the Ministry and hadn’t already sent help before she had been taken? How did she know where her friends were when she wasn’t even there and supposedly no one else from the Order was there or they would have tried to help Hermione and her friends from the very beginning, right? Shouldn’t Tonks be calling for the aurors to come and arrest at the very least Bellatrix since she is an escapee from Azkaban and possible Narcissa as well for harboring her? Hermione had thought that since Tonks was an auror herself, wasn’t she obligated to turn in Bellatrix Lestrange, probably the most wanted person in all of Britain?

Tonks held her hand out towards the teenager, afraid that with how tense Hermione looked she may just actually use her wand against the next person that moved as a reflex attack more than a formulated attack.

“Come on ‘Mione, we need to get back.” Tonks said with the most serious tone Hermione had ever heard the auror use. “I promise, after school is out, we can talk more. I’m sure you’ll be at the house and I’ll be going there a lot too.” Hermione didn’t know what to think about Tonks not calling the house the Grimmauld House, was it because she didn’t want her aunts to know about it; or was it because she couldn’t because she took an oath not to talk about the secret headquarters? Why was she going to talk with her aunts, one of which she theoretically shouldn’t be in contact with in the first place, at Black Manor when her own mother was kicked out of the family? There were so many more questions that Hermione had, that she was struggling to think past them all.

“Which side are you on Tonks?” Hermione asked, moving her wand to point at who she had thought was a fast friend but was starting to doubt the intentions the metamorphmagus had.

Tonks looked genuinely hurt that Hermione had asked her that. But in all fairness, both of her aunts, whom she had come to willingly visit and whom had accepted her into the room without a hint of surprise, were notorious blood supremacists. As far as Hermione knew and from everything she had heard from Sirius and other adults that had known about the split in the Black family, Tonks shouldn’t have had anything to do with either of her aunts. Hermione quite frankly, was very confused and the more they all talked, the more confused she got.

“I’m on your side Hermione.” Tonks said with just a hint of desperation, “I don’t want blood supremacy to rule our world and I don’t want our way of life and traditions to be lost. What the Dark Lord is doing and how he’s going about it, is wrong. Don’t ever doubt I don’t believe that.” Tonks said, then shook her hand in a way to get Hermione to take since they were nearly out of time, “Please trust, for just a little bit longer, and when we get to the house, I’ll explain everything. I’ll answer all of your questions.”

As much as Hermione wanted those answers right then and there, she knew that her friends were in very real danger and could have very well been hurt. By all means, she wouldn’t put it past Harry or Ron to say or do something stupid in the name of justice or to just look good. She needed to get back and check on her friends. And technically, if any of the three witches there had wanted to hurt her, they all easily outmatched her in skills and could have easily hurt a hundred times over by now.

Hermione put her hand in Tonks’ and no sooner did they have contact did Tonks whisk them away to the Department of Mysteries where Hermione would rejoin her friends.