Semper Fidelis

Chapter 15.3

Rose's tears did spill as Ron gently sat her on the reading nook cushion which was relatively unharmed compared to the couch. "Those bastards..." She mumbled, eyes still looking through the room.

Remus crouched in front of her. "Miss, the rest of the Gryphons who are here are Auror Malfoy, Auror Tonks, Auror Cheng, and Auror Potter, our captain. This man is Ron Weasley and he is a friend of the team and works for the Ministry of Magic." Remus introduced everyone in the room without bothering to differentiate between the other Aurors. Rose smiled faintly at Ron (who was the friendliest of these people so far, she thought) and he gave her a small grin back. "First, may I ask what your name is?"

"It's Rose. Rose Green."

"And what is it that you do, Ms. Green?"

"I'm a doctor of pediatrics." She grabbed the ID which hung around her neck on a lanyard and held it up to Lupin's face. He nodded.

"What is your relationship with Ms. Watson?"

"Hermione is my friend."

"How is it that you know my Ms. Watson?"

"I met her at Kings Cross. We were dropping our kids off at the station and got to talking," Rose replied, her eyes downcast. "She had been a great help to me these past two months. I'm... I'm not a witch. I didn't know my daughter was either until we got her letter. Hermione had been helping me come to terms with magic."

Remus nodded understandingly. "When was the last time you saw Ms. Watson?"

"Just last night!" Rose replied. "I was here at this house. I helped her with decorations and then we handed out candy to trick-or-treaters. I can't... I can't believe this happened."

"Why were you back then, Ms. Green?" Remus continued his questions.

"I work at the hospital a couple of blocks from here. I pass by this house every day on my way to work," Rose replied. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the state of the front."

"Do you know what Ms. Watson does for a living?"

"Yes, of course. She's a freelance researcher. She told me she usually works with different government groups or museums."

At the mention of museums, Harry's eyes met Draco's.

"Do you know what project she was currently working on?" Remus asked.

At this, Rose bit her lip as she paused to think. Hermione had mentioned it before but the full picture evaded her. "She was working for someone in Greece. Actually, she was in Athens sometime in September, but soon after she got back from that, she flew to Toronto..."

Remus' brows furrowed. "Do you remember how long Ms. Watson was gone for? Can you remember exact dates?"

"I... I think so? Her birthday was the 19th and she and I celebrated together, so she was already back in London at that time. I think she was in Athens a week before on the 12th. She said she needed to visit the libraries there and the person she was working for wanted to meet her. I remember her being back for less than a day before she left for Toronto! That one was a short trip, not even a day trip, before she came back to London. She didn't really tell me why she needed to go to Toronto," Rose paused and frowned. "But I remember her being so tired when we celebrated her birthday since she had just gotten home then."

A silent communication passed between Harry and Draco. Something happened in Toronto and they needed to know what that was.

"Thank you, Ms. Green," Remus said. "Going back to the project she was working on, did Ms. Watson ever mention any names?"

Rose squinted her eyes in thought. "Actually, yes. Before she left for Greece, she said she was meeting a Mr. Demos. I'm sorry but I can't remember his first name or what he does."

Remus patted the woman's clasped hands. "Please don't be sorry, Ms. Green. You are being so helpful. I only have a couple more questions. Did Ms. Watson ever mention any other family members apart from James? Other friends? Do you know what relationships she has?"

Rose frowned and her eyes turned downcast again. "Hermione was very private and I never pried since I haven't known her for very long at all," she began. "I don't think she has any other family since she doesn't talk about them. She mentioned that she was dating a bloke named Lukas but had broken it off this past summer before James went to Hogwarts. I don't think it was very serious." She said. She glanced up and was startled to see the dark haired wizard - Harry? She remembered Ron saying - looking almost angry at her statement. "Most of her friends were parents of James' friends, and I've only met one friend of hers who is magical."

Remus looked confused at her statement. "You met a friend of hers who was a wizard? Where did you meet this person and who are they?"

"It was my daughter's birthday early in October and I wanted to send her a gift that was magical. So I asked Hermione to go to Diagon Alley with me. I had only been there once before with Eleanor to get her supplies and I knew I couldn't enter by myself," Rose began. The wizards around her were looking at each other with confused eyes and she continued her retelling of hers and Hermione's trip to the magical part of London earlier that month. "She led me through the barrier at the pub and we went shopping. I got my daughter an enchanted necklace at one of the shops as well as some sweets and we were stopped by someone - a man - on the alley. They were friends so we were led into his shop and we chatted for a bit before we left."

"He had a shop in Diagon Alley? Who was her friend, Ms. Green? Who was this man?" The Auror named Harry asked her abruptly.

"I've met him before with my daughter. He owns the wand shop at Diagon Alley. Ollivanders? That was his name, Mr. Ollivander." Rose answered.