Playing with Fire

Chapter 80

On Friday there was still no sign of Blair or Hermione's parents, and it was starting to stress her out. It was clearly starting to stress the students out as well, because Barty had given them the responsibility to find Blair. If they would fail, he would punish them for it, or at least the sixth-years. The tension in the Great Hall during dinner was really intense. Everyone was quiet, staring at their plates, while no one even knew why finding Blair was so important. Neither Hermione nor Barty had told any of the students that Hermione's parents had been abducted. She could feel that Barty was frustrated as well. Maybe not so much because he was worried about Hermione's parents, but more because he saw it as an attack on his family. It was a direct act of betrayal in his eyes, and if there was anything he couldn't stand, it was disloyalty. It did feel good to know that Barty was doing everything in his power to find Blair. It meant that she would get her parents back, no matter the costs.

After desserts, just before they wanted to drink a glass of wine before returning to their quarters, a girl came rushing into the Hall, a small piece of parchment in her hand.

"I know where he is, sir, ma'am! Blair, I know where he is," the girl panted when she had reached the teacher's table.

Hermione smiled at the girl, a fifth-year Ravenclaw, but Barty didn't follow her example. His expression remained cold and impassive, as he beckoned for the girl to come closer.

"Then where is he?" he asked coldly.

"In Wales, sir, my father works for the Ministry, he is involved with magical communication. I asked him to trace an owl we sent to Blair, saying that it was a direct request from you, sir. So he got a license to follow the owl that was sent to Blair, in the hope that Blair would not have thought about making his location untracable for owls. He didn't, so we found him in Wales, sir, I've got the location written down. There is minimum protection barriers, just the usual, but the small house is not further protected with guards," the girl placed the piece of parchment on the table, and Hermione picked it up.

"How certain are you about this?" Barty asked, still suspicious.

"Absolutely certain, sir. My family and I are loyal to you and the Dark Lord, sir," the girl replied.

Of course the girl would never have even come to them if she weren't one-hundred percent certain about her case. She was risking a lot if she was lying to them right now.

"Very well... Well done, you may thank your father for me as well," Barty said.

"And fifty points to Ravenclaw," Hermione added, as she didn't want to let the girl go without some kind of reward.

Hermione didn't waste any time after that, and with the piece of parchment she rushed out of the Great Hall, ready to get her parents back by any means necessary. She didn't care it was already eight o'clock in the evening, she just wanted to know that her parents were still fine. She could hear Barty running after her to catch up with her, and when she had reached the Entrance Hall, he stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"What are you going to do, apparate there and duel them all? We have no idea with how many they are, Hermione."

"Then get backup if you think we can't handle a boy and some people he probably bribed into this. If Blair does have an army in that tiny house, which I don't expect, we'll just offer them twice as much as Blair is offering them."

"He could have them under an Imperius Curse, love, it's not that simple... I'll get some backup and then we can leave, alright?" Barty said calmly.

Hermione nodded. She knew he was probably right about this. So she waited for him to return with four wizards and two witches who were part of the guard at Hogwarts. He sent them away, since they couldn't apparate from the Hogwarts grounds. They had to apparate from outside the gates.