Forever Family

Chapter 30

Publish Date: 1/09/19

A few days had passed since Roberts had escaped, and Harry and the Weasleys came to the conclusion that Roberts' escape and Ron and Hermione's absence were correlated. Harry had been working for hours on end trying to get something, anything, on where he could find his friends, but to no avail.

"Harry." Ginny walked down the stairs that early morning, noticing his weary eyes and the way he was slumped forward in his chair. His eyes scanned the newspaper article for what felt like the tenth time in a row. "How're you doing, love?"

"Hey, Ginny." Harry looked up from the article at his wife. Ginny just wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace. Harry melted in to the hug, Ginny's arms creating a warmth that spread from his shoulders to his toes.

"Oh, Harry. You're all working so hard to find him." Ginny detached herself from Harry, moving to the kitchen to make him a cup of tea. She returned a moment later, with a steaming cup of tea in hand. "I know you'll be able to do it."

"Thanks, Gin."

A few moments of silence later, Teddy came stumbling down the stairs. His blue hair was tousled, and he was rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Mornin' Harry and Ginny."

"Morning, Teddy."

Teddy's eyes went to Ginny, who was standing beside Harry with the Daily Prophet in hand, then to Harry, slumped over in the chair. "Why does everyone look so sad?"

Harry hesitated before answering. "Uncle Ron and Aunt 'Mione are missing, Ted. And we can't find them."

"Oh." Teddy's face fell. "Well, have you tried looking in the last place you saw them? That always helps me."

Despite the circumstances, Harry managed a laugh. He stood up and opened up his arms, allowing Teddy to run in for a hug. "Thanks for the advice, Teddy. You're very smart."

Harry looked back at Ginny, who was watching them with a small smile and a gleam in her eye. Harry waved her over. "Get in here, Gin."

And so Ginny joined the hug. Harry, Ginny, and Teddy were standing there for a while, their arms wrapped around each other like the pieces of a puzzle that seemed to fit exactly right. It was a simple hug. Yet, somehow, it was just what they all needed.

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Hours later, at the Auror Office, Harry and the other Aurors were trying to track down Roberts. Harry was working with a small group of Aurors, trying to locate him. Still, Teddy's words kept coming back to him. Look in the last place you saw them.

Harry thought back to when he had last seen Roberts, excluding the trial. Back when they were still trying to locate 'the attacker' for the fake case.

Auror Roberts walked into the secluded area of the Auror Office, looking puzzled and thoughtful. "Think, everyone, think! Where could this attacker be hiding? I know I'd want to hide in a clandestine place—somewhere no one else would think to look."

Later that day, Roberts had led them to an abandoned Muggle warehouse, in hopes of finding the attacker. He said that he had "uncovered special evidence that led him right to this area".

They searched for a while, but found nothing. Eventually, Roberts let them all pack up and leave, but not before scanning the area one last time.

Harry realized now, of course, how unreliable Roberts sounded. At the time, he didn't even notice that the Head Auror had been withholding information.

Still, this memory brought new thoughts to the forefront of Harry's mind, which was now swimming with questions. Was this where Roberts was holding Ron and Hermione? What was going on there? How could he assemble a team and even get to Roberts in the first place? Or was he just jumping to conclusions, as Hermione would have warned him of doing?

Harry looked up again at the Aurors, who were still working hard. He realized with a jolt that it had gotten quite late. "Alright everyone, great work today. You can all pack up and head home for the night!"

One by one, the Aurors left for the night, leaving Harry alone in the Auror Office. He knew now what he had to do. There was know way he was keeping this realization from the Weasleys. With this in mind, he Apparated to the Burrow.

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Mrs. Weasley greeted Harry at the door when he arrived. She quickly opened the door to let Harry inside.

"Harry! Come on in, dear, come in. Is there anything you need?"

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. Actually, I need to call a family meeting." Mrs. Weasley looked alarmed, but regained her composure.

"Of course! Is everything okay?"

"Yes, yes, everything's fine," Harry assured her. "I just need to talk to everybody."

Mrs. Weasley nodded, and sent out a Patronus to the members of the family. Within ten minutes, everyone was gathered in the living room.

Ginny stood by Harry, holding hands with Teddy. George and Angelina were cuddled on the couch, and Bill, Fleur, and Victoire were standing cautiously in the doorway. Mr. Weasley was standing with his wife, waiting for news.

"Thanks for coming, everyone," Harry said, smiling at his family.

"Sure, Harry, but what do you need?" Ginny asked the question that everyone was asking themselves.

"I think—" Harry cleared his throat nervously and started again. "I think I know where Ron and Hermione are. Where Roberts is."

Silence greeted him at this news. "Well?" George spoke up. "Where are they?"

"I'm pretty sure that they're in an old Muggle warehouse outside of Muggle London."

"Pretty sure?" Percy inquired doubtfully. "I know you're in charge of the investigation, Harry, but we can't just jump to conclusions." A few adults in the family murmured their agreement at this.

"It's all we've got," Harry shook his head. "It's this or nothing."

"We may as well give it a try," Ginny spoke up. "If they really aren't there, then there shouldn't be any trouble, right?"

Harry nodded his conformation. People seemed to be pondering this possibility.

"I agree with Harry and Ginny," George nodded. "We should try it." Reluctantly, the others nodded.

"So it's settled, then? We'll go to the warehouse?" Harry asked. He received 'yes's from the family.

"When?" Bill asked. "When do you guys plan on going?"

"As soon as possible. Tomorrow," Harry decided. Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened. "We're going to save Ron and Hermione."

A/N: Hi here's a cliffhanger for you. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Wow 30 chapters already, that's a lot more than I thought I was gonna be able to do. Thanks for reading. 💛
Words: 1,050