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SIYE Time:9:32 on 28th March 2024
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undercover
By lazyweekendmornings

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Category: Post-Hogwarts
Characters:None
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 37
Summary: A secret handshake, a series of imposter attacks, and a potential security threat. This can all only mean one thing: Harry, Ginny, and baby James need to go undercover.
Hitcount: Story Total: 13425; Chapter Total: 1526
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
sorry for the delay- hope you like it!




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Harry waits outside the room while the Healers work on Hermione. He has to, despite what he wants to do, to allow the Healers to do whatever they need to make sure she’s safe, along with the baby. Well, they don’t know about the baby yet, but Harry does. They don’t know that Harry’s here, either; as far as they’re concerned, Harry Potter dropped a Stunned Hermione Granger off downstairs and then Apparated away for some urgent Ministry business. He’s left his Cloak at home, but a Disillusionment Charm works just fine in a pinch. He’s sitting on an uncomfortable hard-backed chair in the waiting room of the fourth floor, waiting for the Healers to emerge or for Ron to get here.

He doesn’t know why he’s as worried as he as. Hermione’s dealt with more Stunnings than any other Healer in the room put together — they all have — but he’s worried about the baby, not to mention the alarming crack he had heard when she fell onto the road that he thinks means a broken bone or two. And that’s not taking into the account that their supposed safe house had clearly been watched. Neither he nor Hermione got a good glance at whoever Stunned her. It could be anyone, absolutely anyone. Anyone could be the perpetrator of the attack. He feels like he’s twelve again, with Hermione Petrified in the hospital wing with him having no idea who’s done any of it. He’s used to action, to taking any sort of action, and he hates the feeling of helplessness that’s overcome him.

He doesn’t have to wait long. Less than fifteen minutes later, Ron comes up in the lift, and starts making his way down the hallway. Harry watches as Ron walks right past him, pauses, and then turns around, fixing his gaze precisely where Harry is.

“You’re not meant to be here,” he says accusingly. “Robards is going to murder me if he knows I let you leave the house.”

Harry shrugs, realises Ron can’t see it, and then gets up. “I’m hidden,” he points out. There’s no one else in the waiting room, but he keeps his voice quiet, anyway.

Ron shrugs. “Fair enough. Do you know where she is?”

“Follow me,” Harry says.

Ron gives the smallest possible nod. Harry grabs the sleeve of Ron’s robe, and begins walking down the hallway. They reach the door of the room Hermione’s in just as two Healers walk out, seeming much calmer than they had when they’d kicked Harry out of the room.

“Well, I’d like to have her here overnight. We can’t be too careful, not with the baby,” one of the Healers, a tall woman holding a clipboard, is telling the other. Both stop when they see Ron, who’s eyes have gone wide enough that they resemble saucers.

“I’m sorry, did you–did you say the baby?” Ron demands.

The other Healer straightens up and clears his throat. “Mr. Weasley,” he says. That’s not a question. “I’m not sure if you’ve been cleared for visitation, and–”

“Ron?” says a small voice from inside, sounding exhausted.

Ron doesn’t hesitate before charging into the room. Harry hears the sound of a sob and then the unmistakable sounds of Ron and Hermione kissing. The two Healers look as if they might go inside to remove Ron, so Harry has no choice but to release the Disillusionment Charm and reveal himself to the two Healers, both of whom jump back with gasps.

“He’s been cleared for visitation. He’s Hermione’s husband and emergency contact. And her attack is an Auror investigation now, so she needs to be interrogated by Aurors to know what she’s seen. Which is where I come in,” he says. He hates to pull rank, but he needs to speak to Ron and Hermione. He won’t trust that Hermione’s alright unless he sees it for himself. “You can always take it up with the Ministry of Magic if there’s a problem.”

A few moments later, he’s allowed into the room, and he closes the door firmly behind himself. Hermione’s lying on the bed, looking pale but otherwise unharmed except for a bandage around her head. She’s firmly holding Ron’s hand.

“Blimey,” Ron says, barely looking up to acknowledge Harry before looking back at Hermione. “A baby.”

“I know,” Hermione whispers. “I only found out this morning, or I would’ve told you, I promise.”

“No, I mean… a baby,” Ron says reverentially.

“It’s good news, isn’t it?” Hermione asks, sounding tentative.

“Good news? Bloody hell, good news was when the Cannons finally won a match last season. This is more than good news. It’s… it’s…” Ron trails off, lost in thought about a suitable adjective.

“Great news?” Harry suggests.

“Great news,” Ron repeats. “Amazing news. The best news ever. We’re going to have a baby. A little baby Granger-Weasley.”

Hermione chuckles, sounding teary, and then looks up at Harry, seeming to only notice him right then. “Thanks for bringing me here,” she says.

“Of course,” Harry says, stepping closer to Hermione. “The–er–the baby’s alright, then?” he asks.

“Yes. It was only a Stunning and a bit of a fall. And a concussion. But the baby’s fine,” Hermione says.

Harry nods. He’s glad. “Did you…” he asks, and then trails off. She’s only just recovered from the Stunning now. It might not be the best time for an interrogation.

Luckily, Hermione seems to know what he’s asking. “I’m sorry, Harry. I didn’t get a proper look at who did it at all. It was just–a flash of grey and then nothing. It all happened so fast, you know? I really wasn’t expecting it…” She sounds genuinely regretful.

Harry shakes his head. “I didn’t see anything, either. You don’t have to apologise,” he tells her.

Ron looks at him then, and seems to only register his presence at that precise second. “You’ve got theories, don’t you? You always do,” he says, sounding almost accusing.

Harry shrugs noncommittally. Walls have ears, after all. He can’t be too careful, not after what’s happened. Constant vigilance and all that.

Hermione looks from Ron to Harry and then says, “How about we come over tomorrow, once I’m discharged? We can talk about it then.”

“That’s a good idea,” Harry says, grateful.

Ron nods. “Alright, then. Tomorrow,” he says and turns back to Hermione. “I still can’t believe it. A baby,” he whispers.

They start to kiss, and Harry slips out while they’re otherwise occupied. Now seems as good a time as any, and he definitely doesn’t have any interest in seeing Ron and Hermione like that. He’s suffered enough for a day.

*

He gets home to find Ginny in the bedroom upstairs, perched on the bed with Jamie asleep in her lap.

“I couldn’t put him down,” she says quietly, by way of greeting.

Harry sits down next to her, and wraps his arms around her, around the both of them. His family. “You probably want to know what happened, right?” he asks.

Ginny shrugs, rests her head against his shoulder. “Hermione was Stunned,” she says.

“Yeah. As soon as she was out of the house. Just past the boundaries of the Fidelius,” he says.

“Is she alright now?” Ginny asks. “She’s pregnant, too. Merlin. It’s like war time all over again, isn’t it? I haven’t felt this anxious in years,” she admits. Coming from Ginny, it’s a huge admission, and he tightens his arms around her.

“It’s going to be alright. She’s fine now, and we’re going to figure out who did it,” Harry says, hoping against hope that he sounds far more confident than he feels. He wishes he had the right words to reassure her, that he could just wave his wand and disappear all of this away, but he can’t. He feels just as anxious as she does. It was different when it was just his own life at risk. Now it’s Ginny and Jamie, not to mention Hermione. His family.

Ginny surprises him by saying, “We know who did it.”

“We do?” Harry asks.

“The same imposter from the Ministry. Or someone working with them. It can’t be anyone else, can it?” Ginny says.

Harry nods, and then lets go of Ginny to lie back in bed, completely exhausted. All the adrenaline is leaving his body, leaving behind bone-deep weariness. “It can’t be anyone else,” he echoes.

Ginny moves to lie down, too, settling Jamie down in between them. “Let’s get some sleep. We’ll figure this out tomorrow,” she whispers.

“Will we?” Harry asks helplessly.

“Yes. We will. And then we’ll get the son of a bitch,” Ginny promises, leaning in to press a feather-light kiss to his cheek. “We’re safe for now.”

Harry doesn’t know if that’s true. Hermione was attacked here, right here, just past the front door. It was just a Stunning, but it could’ve been more. And with her pregnant, too…

“Harry,” Ginny says, sounding more frustrated than before. “I can basically ­hear you overthinking.”

“She checked,” Harry says, “for someone following her. As soon as she got home. Homenum Revelio. But someone must’ve followed her, if they got her as soon as she left the house.”

“It could’ve been luck,” Ginny says.

“It could have,” Harry says. Neither of them seems very convinced.

They don’t say anything else, but Harry’s sure that her sleep is just as uneasy as his is that night.

*

“We need to investigate,” Ron says the next morning as soon as he and Hermione walk in, without so much as a hello. Hermione’s looking a bit tired, but otherwise perfectly fine. It’s like she never got hurt at all, thank heavens.

Both Harry and Ginny are sipping lukewarm tea, and Jamie’s amusing himself with banging a spoon against the kitchen table. Ron sits down and gets out a blank folder from the pocket of his robes. He sets it on the table and taps it with his wand. Instantly, the folder fills up with papers, no longer empty or blank. So he brought the case file home, then. Harry’s grateful for it.

Hermione sits down next to Ginny, and Jamie offers her his spoon and a bright smile immediately.

“The way I see it, there are two possibilities,” Ron continues. “Someone followed Hermione home and hid from her somehow, or someone got there in between her getting here and her leaving.”

“How would they know where to come, though?” Hermione says. “No one knows for sure where you are, except Ron, obviously.”

“They don’t need to know exactly. As long as they know the approximate location, they can watch out for any trace of us,” Ginny says.

Harry lifts up his tea to take a sip, and then pauses. He thinks about Dobby, in the Dursleys’ house when he was twelve, and a letter from Magical Law Enforcement. He thinks of Riddle, able to get away with what he did to the Riddles and the Gaunts because there were other wizards nearby.

“What is it?” Ginny asks him. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Any trace of us,” Harry says slowly. “The Trace. Is there… is there any way they could’ve detected the spell Hermione did outside the house?”

“What spell?” Ron asks.

“Just before I came in. I checked if anyone was following me. Homenum Revelio,” Hermione tells Ron. “But, Harry… we’re all of age. There’s no way to put the Trace on a wizard unless they’re underage.”

“Exactly,” Harry says. “And it’s impossible to get the Trace off you if you’re underage. But what if there’s an underage wizard near us? Then the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will get notified as soon as they use magic, right? Or if someone uses magic near them. Remember Dobby?”

There’s a pause while they all seem to process what Harry’s said.

“How would we know who it is?” Ron wonders. “Surely knowing who it is will put us a step closer to finding out who attacked Hermione, right?”

“Ra ra ra,” Jamie puts in, straining to try and tug a lock of Hermione’s bushy hair.

“It’s almost definitely the person from before, too. The imposter who escaped. Same method of attack, and it’s too unlikely

“The answer’s obvious, isn’t it?” Ginny says impatiently, getting to her feet and getting her wand out. “There’s only one place that keeps a record of every underage wizard and their addresses. And we’re close by, too. We’ve got to go to Hogwarts.”

“You’re meant to be staying undercover here, though,” Hermione says.

Ginny rolls her eyes, and looks at Harry. “We’re not doing that,” she decides.

Harry is about to agree with her, and then considers it for a second, turning to glance at Jamie. If they’re attacked on the way, they can defend themselves, but Jamie…

“What about if you take Jamie to the Burrow?” he asks Hermione. She was hurt just yesterday, not to mention the fact that she’s pregnant.

“I’m more than capable–” Hermione starts.

“I know. Which is why I think you’re more than capable of keeping Jamie safe,” Harry points out.

Hermione seems like she’s about to argue, but then looks at Ron, who’s been looking at her worriedly for the last few minutes. “Well… alright, then,” she agrees reluctantly, much to Ron’s relief.

“So it’s settled, then?” Ginny asks.

Harry stands up as well, and leans over to take her hand. “It’s settled. We’re going to Hogwarts.”

 

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