Research with Ron

Chapter 34

Research with Ron

Snape knew that he couldn't risk sending the information from his interview with Umbridge via owl post, so he opted to wait until the upcoming weekend to IM Miss Granger. He had sent another Patronus to Potter about planning a meeting, but Potter had responded that he was out of town. So as soon as Miss Granger's screen name appeared on his buddies list Friday evening, he began to relay his new information.

HalfBloodPrince: I had an enlightening conversation with our favorite toad earlier this week.

MuggleBornWitch: Perhaps she was as nice to them as she is to everyone else.

Snape snorted.

MuggleBornWitch: Did she mention when her ancestors settled in America? And what part? It's a big country, you know. And if I have to do any research on them, it would be easier to narrow down the search parameters.

HalfBloodPrince: Not necessarily. I went to primary school with a lad named Selwyn, and there wasn't a magical bone in his body. Besides, pure-blood families always home-school their children. They would never willingly expose them to Muggles in such a situation as a public school.

Hermione tutted to herself. Of course, she knew he was right about that. Too bad. It could really help foster better understanding of Muggles by pure-bloods.

Just then, Hugo and Rose came down from upstairs where they had been playing.

"Are you talking with Professor Snape, Mum?" Hugo asked.

"Yes, love. We were just finishing up, if you want to use the computer."

"Wait!" pleaded Rose. "I want to say, 'hi.' I've missed him."

"I'm sure he'd love to talk with you." Hermione turned back to the computer to let Professor Snape in on what was about to happen.

Rose took the chair that her mother had just occupied with great enthusiasm and barked out her greeting.

MuggleBornWitch: Hello, Professor Snape. I've missed you so much. I have all Outstandings in Potions, thanks to you.

MuggleBornWitch: I feel horrible about what happened. I ruined everything. I can't tell you how sorry I am.

Rose dropped her gaze to the keyboard as she awaited his reply.

Snape sighed and shook his head. He harbored no ill will towards the girl in spite of the rocky start to their friendship and all that had happened since. In fact, he cared for her deeply.

HalfBloodPrince: Don't blame yourself. Secrets have a way of getting out sooner or later. If you hadn't let it slip, someone else would have.

MuggleBornWitch: It's a deal.

***

That night, Snape drifted off to sleep with images of Miss Granger, Hugo and Rose dancing through his head...

"So, my love, are you enjoying yourself?"

Lucius became adamant in the face of Severus' lack of enthusiasm. "But think of it... If she and Weasley can create Rose and Hugo, think of the power your own offspring will no doubt develop as they grow."

"Behave yourself, Father!" Draco called after them as they twirled into the crowd.

And Snape twirled into a deeper, dreamless sleep.

***

The next morning, Hermione took a deep breath and stretched as she remembered her latest delightful dream. She had been dancing with her professor at her daughter's wedding to Scorpius Malfoy when Draco had cut in. He had actually been not only decent to her but charming. He no longer seemed to have a problem with her Muggle-born status. And he hadn't seemed to care that his precious little pure-blood son had fallen in love with a half-blood Weasley. Even less believable was her next dance partner, Draco's father. Not only had he been charming and delightful, he had tried to convince Hermione that she and Severus should have children of their own. She had made up her mind long ago not to have any more kids. But that was with Ron. As she searched her heart, she felt it open wide to the mere idea of making Severus a father. What a wonderful thought... to bear the child of Severus Snape. What kind of father would he be? Surely being a teacher for all those years would have taught him something about patience. And although he had never been nice to the other houses, he had always taken very good care of his Slytherin charges. If they both held positions at Hogwarts, there would be an army of house-elves to help her raise any new babies. Yes, the more Hermione thought about it, the more she liked the idea of Severus Snape as a father.

Hermione sighed. It was, after all, only a dream. Would Rose grow up to marry Scorpius? They certainly seemed to get along well at Hogwarts. Could Draco really change? Or Lucius? And would she and Professor Snape ever get together? I hope so, she thought to herself. For the sake of the wizarding world, I hope so.

But all the wishes in the world wouldn't get Hermione's work done for her. And now she had a problem. She needed to do extensive research on Umbridge's background, and she needed total secrecy to do it. If she signed out the ancient ancestral migration tomes from the 1600s, and Umbridge checked the sign-out book, she would surely get suspicious. Hermione was already in enough trouble with the whole debacle concerning her relationship with Professor Snape. She didn't need to be under any more scrutiny. She needed to be able to look at the books without signing them out. And the only person who could authorize such a need was Kingsley. It was Saturday morning. That old biddy, Oddfellow, would not be there after hours or on weekends. In fact, the Ministry would have very few people on staff from here on out through the New Year. Just like Hogwarts. The next two weeks would be the perfect time, if she could just convince Kingsley to give her permission.

Good thing that both of their homes were connected to the Floo network.

She waited until 10 a.m., just in case he liked to sleep in on the weekend. This gave her time to get the kids to Molly and Arthur's house, so she could go straight to the Ministry if the opportunity presented itself. Then Hermione stuck her head into her sitting room fireplace and called, "Kingsley Shacklebolt's home."

"Hermione!" Kingsley greeted her. "How nice of you to call. What can I do for you this morning?"

"Good morning, Kingsley, may I come through? I get dizzy if I try to carry on a long conversation like this, and I'm afraid this may turn out to be a long conversation."

"Of course. You're welcome any time." He stepped aside so Hermione could arrive in her entirety. In a moment, she had appeared and was employing a cleansing spell to her clothing.

"All ready for the holidays, I take it?"

"Not hardly," Hermione admitted. "The holiday break officially started today, so I haven't had a chance to do anything yet."

"Of course. How could I forget? You're back at Hogwarts as a teacher now. So, with only Fridays to work on our little case, how much progress have you been able to make?"

"That's what I was hoping to speak with you about, actually. I have come into some information that needs to be verified, and I'm afraid that if I go in and sign out the books as usual, my intentions will be discovered. As you know, it's imperative that we keep my real assignment under wraps as long as possible."

"Dare I ask as to how you acquired this new information?"

"Let's just say that I will have to verify all of it from a different source to make it admissible in court."

Kingsley snickered. "Let me guess... Severus?"

Hermione smiled but said nothing.

"And this information has to do with my Foreign Relations Secretary?"

"Right in one. But this time, there'll be no mistaking who I'm researching if I sign the books out of the archives in the usual way. I really need access to them when Mrs. Oddfellow is not around. It should be done in such a way that no one would ever know that I signed out the books."

"Yes, but then you still would not have a way to verify where you got the information, and it still wouldn't be admissible in court."

"Oh. I hadn't thought about that." Hermione furrowed her brow in thought. "What if you kept a secret book for me to use, and I had an Auror escort to witness me doing the research? Would that hold up in court? Or does it have to be Mrs. Oddfellow and her official Ministry Records Office Sign-Out book?" Hermione's voice rose about half an octave as she attempted to imitate Mrs. Oddfellow's irritating tone.

Kingsley's lips curled into a smirk. "I think we can work something out."

"I'll get with Harry. I'm sure he'd be glad to escort me."

"Yes, I'm sure he would, but I believe that he's in Ireland right now, and he'll be lucky to get back before Christmas. Would someone else do? Or can you wait until he returns?"

"Oh, dear. I'm afraid that time is of the essence. Perhaps Ron wouldn't mind. He's already been helping us by interviewing people. I guess he doesn't need to know what I'm looking up. He just needs to be a witness that I'm actually there using the books I claim to be using."

And so Kingsley conjured a Secret Records Sign-Out ledger for Hermione to use in the Ministry Records Office. Then he Floo'ed Ron's house personally and requested his assistance. Ron agreed, only too happy to help Kingsley. Then he gave Hermione the extra few security spells to get past the Records Office door, and she was on her way to meet Ron outside the Ministry.

Her assumption had been correct. Not only was Oddfellow absent, the Ministry was all but deserted for the holidays. As an Auror, Ron had security clearance to get them through the front door after normal business hours and, with the spells Kingsley had given to Hermione, they had successfully snuck into the Records Office in no time. It took a few minutes for Hermione to figure out Oddfellow's odd filing system, and even longer for her to find the books she needed.

As she made her way back from the depths of the archive room, Ron began to complain. "So all I'm supposed to do is sit here and watch you do research?"

"Yeah. It'll be just like back at Hogwarts."

"Very funny. No, really. You could be hours. What am I supposed to do with myself? Can't I help you somehow? I can read, ya know!"

"Yes, Ronald, I know you can read," she chided. "I'm just not sure it's a good idea to let you in on this case."

"Why not? Don't you think I can keep a secret?"

Hermione sighed and looked at him with empathy. "Look, I know you hate being kept in the dark. But I also know that if we don't convict the person we're after, it could go very badly for me and Harry, as well as anyone else that may be helping us. My reputation is already in question due to my friendship with Professor Snape. If you get involved in this case and it doesn't go well, we could both be ruined. Then where would that leave our children?"

"Jeez, Hermione, what have you and Harry gotten yourselves into?"

"We're going after a big fish, Ron. And if we're not careful, we could be the ones who get eaten."

"Then it sounds like you need my help more than ever." He smiled that 'I'm up to something' smile that used to always make her suspicious.

"Alright, I'll bite. What have you got in mind?"

"Well... I've already been helping you with the interviews, even though I have no idea what you're using the information for. What if you tell me what this case is about so I can give you opinions and ideas, but I keep doing things that make it look like I'm still in the dark about it?"

"Things like watch me do research?"

"Perhaps even help you do research so I don't go stir crazy while I'm sitting here?" he suggested hopefully. "A fresh set of eyes never hurt, ya know."

"You always were good at figuring out other people's strategies." Hermione pondered it over for a moment. "I've got an idea." She dug through her bottomless bag. "Here." She finally found what she had been looking for and handed it to him. "Here are all my notes on the case. Why don't you review these while I do my research? As I check out a book, I'll let you verify that the book I write down is actually the book I'm using. Then you can go back to your reading while I do mine."

Ron's face finally lit up like a Christmas tree in the Great Hall. "Thanks, Hermione. I won't let you down. You'll see. I'll help you and Harry crack this case."

Hermione showed him her first few reference materials, and he verified that what she had was what she wrote down, writing his initials in the margin. Then they both got to work.

It didn't take long for Ron to see who the obvious target of their investigation was. "Merlin's Mother, Hermione. Umbridge, a blackmailer? No wonder you've got to be careful. And she's up for Minister! Holy Shite! If she finds out what you're up to..."

"I know, Ron. That's why we have to be secretive about this. Tell no one. Not your parents, not our children, not Gabrielle, not your pillow! Understand?"

"I bloody well do now."

As they both continued their reading, Hermione realized that the wizarding population hadn't been nearly as large in the 1600s as it is currently, so she easily located birth records for both Black and Selwyn families in the late 1500s and early to mid 1600s. Then she cross referenced the names with the names of Hogwarts students, marriage certificates, and death certificates, some living well into the 1700s.

But a handful of names never reappeared after birth. This puzzled Hermione. There was no death record, no Hogwarts student record, no marriage record. Had these people grown up to be Squibs? Ron was a pureblood. Perhaps he could help her with this mystery as well.

"Ron, what do purebloods do with Squib children?"

"Raise them as best they can, I suppose. They teach them the basics the kids need in the Muggle world, reading, writing, basic math. I haven't heard of anyone having a Squib baby in all my adult life, so I'm not sure what would happen now. Back in the old days, if a kid had a bit of education, he could make his way in the world. But now, with all the technology that Muggles use, he wouldn't be good for much if he didn't go to university, would he?"

"Now doesn't concern me so much as back in the 1600s. What did they do with Squib children then? They didn't kill them," she asked with a shudder, "did they?"

"Oh, no." Ron scowled at her. "Although many tried to cover it up, though. It was, and still is, a blemish on the family name to produce a Squib, but if a child is of their own blood, magical or not, they would care for him." He laughed and shook his head as he watched his ex-wife let out a sigh of relief. "Even the Malfoys would have cared for a Squib child. Then, when he was old enough, the paternal wizard would probably have approached a local merchant and gotten the boy an apprenticeship or, if it was a girl, married her off into a respectable family. Then the wizarding family would probably have distanced themselves somewhat due to the possible embarrassment, as well as for the sake of the secrecy laws. It's also for the safety of the Squib."

"For their safety? How do you mean?"

"Guilt by association. Witch trials, remember? Back then, if a Muggle witnessed magic, the witch or wizard responsible would just Apparate away, leaving any Squib behind to face trial and almost certain execution. So for the sake of the Squib child, the rest of the family would see to their security and then keep their distance."

"They couldn't use Side-Along Apparition to help the child escape?"

"If they did, the child would never be able to join Muggle society. They would be forever associated with the witch or wizard that they Disapparated with. The shame of it was, they usually ended up dead anyway because even if they were left behind, they would then be known to be part of a magical family, put on trial, and executed."

"That's so sad."

"That's also why there are such strict rules about using magic in front of Muggles. Too many Squibs lost their lives because of it. Even a few witches and wizards couldn't escape being burned at the stake."

"What a horrible way to die. Just because you're different."

The room fell silent for a moment. If Voldemort had won the war twenty years ago, Hermione could have suffered a similar fate just because of her blood lines.

"Ron, you said earlier that producing a Squib child would blemish the family name. Even if the immediate family loved and cared for the Squib child, how did other witches and wizards treat them?"

"Not well, from what I heard. They would be teased and taunted by magical children and scorned by the adults outside of the family. Sometimes the family would try to keep their Squib children a secret, locking them in dungeons or closets, convincing all involved that it was for the child's own protection. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them even died of neglect and were secretly buried by the families."

"That's horrible!"

"Not sure what's worse, being loved in a closet, or hated out in the open."

"That's not a choice I'd want to be faced with."

"As the child or the parent?"

"I'm sure it wasn't easy for either."

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about it now. Even if one of ours had turned out to be a Squib, look at Filch and that lady that was Harry's neighbor growing up."

"Mrs. Figg?" Hermione supplied helpfully.

"Yeah, that's the one. The kids tease Filch, of course, but both he and Figg still associate with the wizarding world, although she lives in the Muggle world. Squibs don't have to hide anymore."

"Perhaps these missing names were Squibs, then. That's why they never attended Hogwarts or showed up anywhere else in wizarding records."

"Either that, or they left the country before the age of eleven. From what the kids tell me about your computer, you might be able to find out by doing some research the Muggle way."

"Oh, yes. I'm sure if they did emigrate to America I could find their names on a ship manifest somewhere on-line." Hermione smiled at him. "I've never done genealogy research on the computer before. This will be fun."

Ron shook his head at her idea of fun. "Better you than me, love."

"But before I rush home and turn on my computer, I need to make a list of names that seem to disappear after birth, and then I must find out exactly which year Umbridge came to the UK."

Ron helped her to compile the names, then they located the books that would give the date of her immigration to England. Between the two of them, it didn't take long to find. "You said her maiden name was Selwyn, right?" Ron asked as he peered at the small faded print in the overly large tome.

"That's right."

"Then, I think I've found it. Says here that Dolores Jane Selwyn arrived at the Ministry of Magic to apply for citizenship on July 15th, 1965. Her status is listed as pureblood."

"But as we know from her very own research on other immigrants, she may not be telling the truth. Let's make a note of which book you have there." She marked the page then flipped the cover over and wrote it in Kingsley's secret ledger. Then Ron initialed beside her name. She wrote the info on Umbridge onto the parchment that she had been taking notes on all day, and they only needed to return the books to their proper places on the endless shelves to be finished.

"Thanks, Ron. You really were a big help to me today."

"Don't mention it. Do you think you could let me have a copy of your notes on the case? I have an odd feeling about this whole thing. It's too obvious. Umbridge is shrewd. She's smarter than this. If she were behind this, she would have covered her tracks better. I really don't think she's the blackmailer."

"Really? That's what Professor Snape thinks, too."

"You mean to say that Snape and I see eye to eye about something? Something besides how wonderful you are, that is."

"Thanks." She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Are you sure you still want me there for Christmas Eve?"

"Sure, I'm sure. Gabrielle's OK with it. She knows you'll be bunking in with Rosy. And the kids wouldn't have it any other way."

That last comment made Hermione glow with pride. "I'll have copies for you then."

As they Disapparated their separate ways, Hermione contemplated her current relationship with Ron. She and Ron were so much better as friends. Sometimes she wished that they had never gotten married. So many years spent in turmoil that could have been spent in friendship. But then again, if they had never gotten married, what would her life have been like? Who would she have ended up with and where? Would she have been able to wiggle her way into Professor Snape's life eventually? Or would she have ended up alone? He could be so stubborn... it most likely would have been the latter. But then she wouldn't have Rose and Hugo. And that was a reality she could not imagine. No, she did not regret marrying Ron and bearing him two amazing children. But she was glad they were no longer together. And their current friendship warmed her heart for him just as it had back at school.

A/N: I know some of you will be upset with me for letting Hermione still care for Ron, but I felt it was necessary. She needed to move on, and part of that process included forgiving Ron. He's not a bad guy, in spite of what he did. And I just wanted the goodness of Hermione's heart to show through. They have been through so much together. She can't just sweep all that aside and forget about it. And the kids are still a big part of her life. For their sake it is better if she and Ron are on good terms.