Pilfered Progeny - Stolen Dreams

Hermione stepped into Pansy\'s office, feeling very apprehensive. She\'d been avoiding Pansy for the past several days but the summons on her desk was unmistakable; if she didn\'t respond this time, there would be consequences that could result in her arrest. It had been a full week since the recital and the revelation that Harry knew what she\'d done for her friend… her life would be over if he found out what else she\'d done.



She stifled a sigh as she closed the door behind her. "I really don\'t have much time; the Zabini\'s are due here at any moment…" she said quietly.



"Excellent!" Pansy was sitting behind her desk with its white marble top, dressed in one of her designer suits. "That\'s going according to plan… so tell me, Hermione. Why haven\'t I seen your husband yet? He was never this rude in school; I invited him to come to tea and he hasn\'t bothered to call."



"He\'s been very busy with the team; I\'ve barely seen him since he began his practice with the Canons."



"Get him here." Pansy\'s voice was dangerous, a sweet smile on her lips. "We need his donations to our stock; we need to expand our options for our clients."



"He won\'t come, Pansy." Hermione said softly. "He hasn\'t any reason to even want to donate… he has no reason to come here."



"Give him a reason." She growled, eyes narrowing slightly. "A national team representative would be a good seller…"



"Well, what about… what about Charlie\'s husband Blaise? He\'s been on the team longer than Ron. I\'d have a better chance of getting it from him than Ron; they have no children."



"I want your husband\'s as well. If he won\'t come in here, you WILL use the spell I\'ve taught you. I want a minimum of twenty portions here by the end of the week."



"Pansy, please… I can\'t…" Hermione started.



"You will! Don\'t you dare tell me you don\'t have sex with your husband! You know how to extract it; you know how to preserve it! You will do that, or you will bring him in and I will take matters into my own hands!" she snapped in a tone that allowed no argument.



Hermione bit her lip. She couldn\'t… she just couldn\'t… but she had to say something or Pansy would follow through on her threats. She was about to subject her husband to the same thing she had done to everyone; he\'d never trust her again. "Fine." she whispered, defeated.



Pansy\'s tone and manners changed instantly and she smiled warmly. "Good; that\'s what I needed to hear. Now, can you handle the Zabini\'s or do I need to go and take care of them while you pull yourself together?" she asked in a clearly acidic tone.



"No… No I can… Terry is a squib; they\'ll need special care."



"Go on, then. And I expect to see an addition to our donor list by the morning." She said with a sweet smile.



Hermione moved to the door, feeling that her life was crashing out of control. How in Merlin\'s name was she going to get out of the mess she\'d found herself in? She managed to slip into her own office without talking to anyone, taking a few minutes to try to calm down. She had to take care of the Zabini couple; she didn\'t want Pansy getting involved with them at all. She heard a knock on the door and she jumped at the sound then berated herself for reacting so; it wouldn\'t be Pansy. Not after she\'d just talked to her. She turned, taking a deep breath as she moved to answer.



"The Zabini couple is here, Mrs. Weasley." the nurse named Amber said.



"Good – thank you. Please show them into Room 1; I will be with them in a few moments." Hermione said, feigning calm. She wouldn\'t be able to work like this… she waited until the nurse left, then she pulled open a filing cabinet and got out a calming draught, downing it quickly. She waited a moment more, to let it take effect, and then she strode to the door and headed out to meet them.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.



Terry looked up nervously as Hermione tapped on the door before entering. "Good morning… how are you today?" Hermione asked, smiling at Terry.



"I\'m nervous…" he admitted.



"I understand that, but you really don\'t have to be." she reassured. "We\'ve done this many times before. It\'s a bit more complicated since you\'re a squib, but it\'s nothing that we can\'t handle… There will be potions you will need to take throughout the pregnancy, and a bracelet you will wear to store the magic that is needed, but other than that, you\'ll do fine."



Damitri smiled softly at the way that Hermione was handling Terry. He appreciated the fact that she didn\'t just plow through everything and leave little Terry confused and lost; she took the time to watch for Terry\'s confusion and explain every little detail clearly until Terry\'s worry began to fade. It was a shame, really, that she was involved in all this. This young woman had quite a talent for working with people and easing their fears.



"So let\'s get started, shall we?" Hermione smiled. "The first potion will be a bit uncomfortable; it is to help your body create a womb for the baby. You can take a sleeping potion and nap right through it if you wish; the sleeping potion won\'t have any negative effects and the first potion will take a few hours to complete its work."



"I\'ll stay right with you, love." Damitri assured Terry when he looked up at him nervously.



"Well… okay…" he agreed.



Hermione smiled reassuringly at him. "It will enable you to be the mother you wish to be." She said, gesturing to a rather comfortable-looking bed. Terry moved to it and sat down, testing its firmness as Damitri sat beside him. Hermione brought over two bottles, one was a solid earthenware bottle, the second a clear small bottle with a colorless liquid inside. "Here you are; this one is perfect." she handed him the earthenware bottle. "This one you must drink completely. As I said, it will be rather uncomfortable. This second one…" she handed him the clear vial. "…take only if you wish to sleep."



"All right." Terry took the first and unstoppered the bottle, then drank the contents down completely, making a face at its taste. "Can I… just keep this one if I need it?" he asked timidly as he lay back upon the bed.



"Of course you can, not to worry. And we have a house elf on the facility who will serve your needs while the potion takes effect." she smiled warmly.



"Thank you." Damitri said as he took Terry\'s hand.



"My pleasure… please feel free to call if you need anything at all." she smiled, moving out to let them have some privacy.



Damitri stretched out beside Terry on the bed and he cuddled close in his arms.



"I don\'t care how much it hurts, Dimi… I just want it to work."



"That\'s my brave little lover." Damitri smiled, kissing him tenderly and relaxing to wait out the activation of the potion.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.



Two hours later, Hermione knocked softly and upon Damitri\'s response, she moved into the room. "Let me just check on how you\'re coming along, shall I? Lie on your back, please…" she said, moving to the side of the bed. She produced her wand and murmured "Revlare…!" and the wand activated with a soft blue light. She held the wand out over Terry\'s abdomen and an image in pale blue light appeared over his body, a reflection the organs directly under the wand in a reverse conical shape. "Ah, yes… very good. You\'re almost done." she smiled, drawing the wand away.



"What do we do next…?" Terry asked timidly.



"We need to get a sample from you, Damitri, and that\'s when we\'ll do our part of the work here. Before your next appointment, we will take the donor essence and yours as well, Mr. Zabini, and merge them with the donor eggs. When you return in a fortnight, we will implant any viable embryos that result."



Terry\'s eyes grew wide, excitement clear. "I\'ll have more than one?"



"It\'s a possibility." Hermione nodded.



"If there\'s only one, Terry, we can always do this again." Damitri smiled.



"So if you will just supply the sample we need, I will get everything ready in the lab."



Damitri smirked at her. "Just leave the specimen cups and give us some privacy; I don\'t think getting you a \'sample\' will be difficult." He said and Terry giggled, blushing softly.



"Of course; I\'ll lock the door and silence the room for you as well." Hermione assured, producing the two specimen cups. "We\'ll need as much as you can supply to ensure we get as many viable embryos as possible." Damitri took the cups and settled back on the bed with Terry snuggled close to him.



Hermione slipped out and performed a silencing spell and a special locking charm on the door before she turned from the room. She then moved to the break room, pouring herself a strong cup of tea. She had to find a way out of this. She couldn\'t bring Ron in, and Harry… she didn\'t want him to hate her forever; she had never meant to hurt him. She had to find a way to fix things, there had to be a way…



"Miss Weasley!" Amber smiled, moving into the room. "I never get to have my break with you. Its good to see you\'re actually taking one today!"



Hermione smiled faintly at Amber; she was a squib, but infinitely useful in the workings of the clinic. Pansy treated her like she was an idiot, but Amber had gone through twice the schooling that Pansy had and Amber was actually quite intelligent. She\'d definitely have been Ravenclaw if she\'d been born with any magic at all. "I just have a little time today." she told Amber.



"We have two more successful pregnancies." Amber told her in a singsong voice, helping herself to some of the tea.



"That\'s wonderful! Who are they?"



"Helena Bullock – she\'s the one with the muggle husband who\'s in a coma. And the other is the muggle girl Trudith Barstow. Trudy\'s carrying twins." her eyes sparkled as she moved to take a seat with Hermione.



"Brilliant… I know they\'re excited."



"Helena cried when I gave her the news. She\'s so sure her husband is going to die. She\'s still trying to get St. Mungo\'s to accept her husband as a patient and get him out of the muggle hospital."



"I\'m glad we finally succeeded with her… It\'s horrible what she has had to go through. I\'m so happy she\'s going to have a baby."



"She\'s hoping so hard for a boy. She\'s not even out of her first trimester, it\'s much too soon for muggle technology."



"She\'ll won\'t be able to use the spell to reveal the baby\'s gender until she reaches the second trimester; I\'m afraid she\'ll just have to be patient. I hope she gets her wish." Hermione found her tea was already gone and she rose to her feet. "Well, I had better get back to work."



"You need to sit and visit more." Amber frowned, scolding her gently. "You work much too hard. Parkinson needs to leave you alone…"



"I have to pay for my schooling." Hermione sighed, going to rinse out her cup.



"I don\'t think I\'ve ever seen you take a full break… we\'re entitled to it, you know; you need to stop letting Pansy drive you so hard."



"I have so much to do, Amber, I really don\'t have the time." Hermione gave her a smile and then moved out. Amber watched her go, then shrugged and relaxed back to enjoy her tea.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.



Hermione returned to work, feeling Pansy\'s eyes on her every moment. She finished the work for the Zabini couple, setting them an appointment for two weeks in the morning. She gave Damitri a supply of potions to maintain and establish the magical womb in Terry\'s abdomen, and specific instructions on dosage and timing. When she was sure even Terry understood what was to be done, she sent them on their way.



She turned and went back to her office. She hadn\'t even opened her notepad to document her activities with them when Pansy descended upon her, excited, perching on the edge of Hermione\'s desk. "Be very sparing with those samples, Hermione. Get them three, maybe four viable embryos then just keep the rest; you know the deal." Her eyes gleamed as she spoke.



"I know what to do." Hermione said softly, opening her book.



"And you know, Hermione; I think I\'m working you much too hard. You should take the rest of the day off." she smiled at her suggestively. "Go and spend it with that husband of yours; I hear that it\'s an off day from training for the Chudley Cannons, it\'s your perfect chance…"



"I have classes today."



"Oh, not for at least three or four more hours." Pansy said, glancing at the time. "You know what I want, Hermione. You will go and make your husband happy."



Hermione bowed her head. This was the last thing she wanted to do. "All right." she mumbled, defeated.



"The lab work for Zabini will still be here when you come back in the morning; I know how you like to take a personal interest in these cases, but I really don\'t understand why. Its only money. And if things fail, we get more money." she said, coming to her feet.



Hermione didn\'t answer, so Parkinson laughed and strolled out of the office. Hermione gathered her things and headed out to the car. She couldn\'t do it… she couldn\'t destroy Ron\'s faith in her any more than she already had… she just couldn\'t. She just… didn\'t know what to do… there wasn\'t any way out for her…



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.



Ron was relaxed in the living room, looking through a book on Quidditch teams of the world class level. He was having a lot of trouble focusing lately and the coach yesterday had warned him that he needed to get his mind back in the game or he stood a chance of sitting out the season on the bench. He\'d decided that reading up a bit on the trademark moves of the various players he would have to be facing soon would help him get his mindset back; Rosie was off at school and Hermione at work, so he wouldn\'t have any interruptions…He heard the door open and looked up, rather surprised to see Hermione come in.



"Monie? Hi…" he said softly. "Is… is everything all right?" he asked, closing the book and setting it aside.



"No, it isn\'t…" she dropped her things in a chair, feeling like the weight of the entire world was on her shoulders. "I… Ron, I think… You need to go and stay with Charlie for a few days."



"What…?" he frowned, moving to her side.



She stiffened, feeling his touch. Merlin, she loved him so… but she had to do this or all was lost. "You\'ve got to… school… its school… I\'m so stressed I\'m at my wits\' end… I don\'t think I\'m going to make it…"



"You, Monie? You were always brilliant in school…" he ran his hand over her shoulders, leaving his arm resting there.



With a herculean effort to stifle the pain she was causing herself for doing so, she shook his arm off and stepped away from him. "Between work and school, I can\'t… I just can\'t. Take Rosie, and go to Charlie\'s…"



"But Monie, I make more money now. You could just quit that stupid clinic…" he said hopefully, his hand reaching for hers.



She saw and turned away, folding her arms to hide the fact that her hands were trembling. "I can\'t… I owe the clinic more than you will ever know… I can\'t quit…"



He frowned and pursued her, taking her shoulders in his hands, gazing down at her bent head. "To bloody hell with every one of them, Hermione. I don\'t need them and you don\'t either. You could quit now, Hermione. You could be a real mom and get that teaching job you wanted, and…" This was it; she was done with the clinic and they could get out of all this shit with Harry\'s help… hope welled in his heart.



Tears rolled down her cheeks and she averted her face from him, turning out of his hands and taking several steps from him to show him only her back. "Please Ronny… I… I just need some time…" she said, voice shaking slightly.



He stared at her, confused and feeling like he was completely missing something. His hope crashed down to his feet. "So you… you really want me to go?" he asked softly.



"Yes… just for a while, Ronny. I love you, but…"



"But nothing! You\'re my wife! We can fix anything together if we just…"



"You can\'t help me with this, Ronny! I just need to be alone for a while." She interrupted him. "Just… just for a while…"



"I wish I knew what the hell I\'ve done." he said softly in a hoarse tone.



"Its not you…"



"It is or you wouldn\'t be sending me away." He said, turning away from her. "I\'ll give you your time, Hermione… I\'ll give you all the time you want. I just wish to hell you would talk to me."



"It won\'t be long… I promise I\'ll figure something out…" She didn\'t dare look at him… if she did she would break down and he would take her in his arms… and Pansy would get everything her greedy heart desired.



Ron glanced back at her, his own eyes wet with tears. "I don\'t understand any of this… and I don\'t know how much more of this I can take." he left the room and went quickly to the bedroom. In minutes he had thrown a duffel bag together for himself and two bags for Rosie, using his wand with trembling hands. He was completely confused and his heart felt like it was breaking… what was he going to do…? Stay at Charlie\'s a day or so but… but… she was throwing him out…



Hermione moved out the back door, sitting on the steps, knees pulled up tight and head bowed. She HAD to be strong, just a few minutes more... she had to do this…



Ron dropped his bags at the front door, and then went to the kitchen door as well, trying to find the words. He knew what was happening, and he wanted to help her… he wanted to keep his wife. "Monie… are… are you sure…? I can help you, we can work together; you know I\'m better than I used to be at spells and charms…"



"No… Ronnie… please, just… just take the bags and go." She whispered, sniffling and trying not to break down completely.



Ron stepped back as if slapped in the face, and then bowed his head. "I still love you Hermione… I always will." he whispered. He turned and hurried to the front door, grabbed up the bags and was gone in moments. Hermione wrapped her arms about her legs and began to cry.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.



Blaise opened his door and was surprised to see Ron at the door. He had bags at his feet and stood with his head bowed and shoulders slumped, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. "Ron…?" Blaise asked, instantly concerned.



"She… Hermione… she threw me out." He said, his voice rough with emotion and withheld tears. "She told me to come here… take Rosie and come here…"



Blaise took the bags and tossed them inside the door, then turned to his friend, drawing him into a hug. "It\'ll be okay, Ron." he whispered softly. "You\'ll stay here with us until we can work this out."



"I feel… so lost…" he whispered, standing almost as if numb from the pain. "I… I don\'t wanna be in your way, but… I\'ve nowhere else… I…"



"You\'ll never be in the way here." Blaise soothed, leading him inside the house and shutting the door. "It\'s all right…"



Ron began to tremble, the caring tone and simple friendly warmth exuded by his old school crush getting past the wall of pain he felt trapped behind. Suddenly the dam broke, and he began to weep harshly; he couldn\'t keep any of it blocked up any longer… Blaise led him over to the couch, sitting down with him, whispering soft words of comfort to him and holding him, allowing him to cry until he could cry no more.



Slowly the tears stopped but Ron remained leaning against him, feeling both physically and emotionally drained and exhausted. "Merlin… I feel like… like everything has come to an end…" he whispered.



"Ron, you know I have no control over what happens between you and Hermione. But I want you to know this for certain; you and Rosie will always have a home, here with Charlie and me. Blaise said reassuringly.



"Just for a while… I… I can\'t thank you enough, Blaise… I can barely think right now, I hate all this…" he murmured softly. "Hell; I\'d hardly seen you in four years and… and now, I\'m moving in with you…"



Blaise smiled. "I don\'t mind Ron." he said, running his fingers through Ron\'s tousled red hair. "Are you hungry? I can fix you something."



"Merlin… I haven\'t been eating much at all lately but… no. I can\'t, I just… my stomach is all in knots…" he said, eyes downcast.



"How about some broth and crackers? Something really simple; easy on your stomach... You need to eat, Ron."



"I\'ll… I\'ll try." He agreed, though he was sure he would throw it up. He raised his eyes and they fell on the clock. "Merlin, I can\'t… I have to get Rosie soon…" a pained expression crossed his face again. "How will explain all of this to her?" he whispered.



"Let me call Charlie; he can pick her up. Where is she?"



"Dance class… in the school gymnasium…"



"All right, then. You just relax, and I\'ll tend to everything." Blaise said firmly.



"I can\'t ask you to do all of that… she\'s my responsibility, I have to fetch her."



"It\'s no trouble, Ron, really. You know that Charlie adores her."



He bowed his head and nodded. "Yeah, I… thanks…" He murmured, slumped back on the cushions of the couch.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.



Pansy sat glaring at the painting that hung on the wall opposite her desk in her office. It was of herself at seventeen seated in an opulent bedroom. The painted Pansy gazed back at her in worry, silently waiting for her to say something. Damn that Hermione anyway, little Gryffindor bitch…! She\'d come to the office this morning empty handed, spouting some nonsense about a fight with her husband that had resulted in his leaving her along with their daughter. She\'d checked into it, and it seemed she wasn\'t lying, at least about the fact that her husband was now residing with Blaise… it was amazing what you could get house elves to tell you with the proper inspiration.



The only thing that had come positive of the entire mess was that losing her husband seemed to have improved her attitude with her lot in life… Hermione seemed to be content now to deal with her life as it was, and less likely to balk and go do something stupid. She seemed to be done with her ridiculous attempts to back out of things. She hadn\'t said one word in resistance to her all morning… Well. She wasn\'t ignorant of that little ploy; she had every intention of keeping a very close eye on her.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.



Hermione worked through the morning, quietly complying with every little demand of Pansy\'s… to a point. Pansy had come into the lab while Hermione was preparing the eggs and she had told her to go ahead and fertilize them immediately to avoid having to wait to see how much would be remaining… Hermione had not done that. She\'d continued with her careful preparation of the eggs, following every medical process she\'d set in place herself for the procedure. She didn\'t allow anyone else to assist her; she was certain this was the last set she would ever prepare to help a wizard gain children and she was determined this would be a success the first time around. Damitri Zabini and his sweet husband Terry deserved nothing less than her best effort.



She finally glanced at the time, rubbing her neck to relieve it of a strained muscle from so many hours with her head bent over her work. She rose and stretched, putting the eggs back into the storage tank before she moved past Pansy\'s office and to her own to pull her phone out. She spelled the room for privacy and silence, and then dialed the number she knew so well.



"Potter here…" Harry said, not bothering to check the caller I.D. He immediately wished that he had.



"Please, don\'t hang up on me Harry." Hermione said quickly. "There\'s a lot more to this whole mess than you could ever guess at… and… and I\'m not asking you to help me for me; I\'m asking you for Ron and for Rosie… please… I really need to see you…"



Harry was silent a few moments, considering. Finally he spoke. "I have an appointment at lunch, but should be free afterward… if you wish to speak to me, you need to come to my office."



"I\'ll take a late lunch… thank you Harry." she said softly.



Harry did not answer, hanging up the phone on her. He pushed away from his desk and rose, walking over to Damitri\'s office. "Hey, boss…" he started.



Damitri looked up and chuckled softly. "After this many years in business together, I think \'partner\' is more appropriate… come in, come in."



Harry shrugged. "It\'s more habit than anything else…" he admitted. "Hermione just called me… she said she wants to meet with me."



"Did she?" he said thoughtfully, reflecting on the behavior he had seen demonstrated by her on that first day and every time that she saw Pansy when they were in the clinic. "Well, we\'ll listen to her of course. She doesn\'t have any idea how much we already know. I\'ll be sure to change the nameplate on the door and downstairs on my way out… will she floo over or drive?"



"She didn\'t say… should I set up the recorder?"



"Yes. It doesn\'t hurt to have recorded evidence as well as pensive evidence for the courts… so tell me, how did she react when she saw Angel with you? You mentioned that she was at the recital…"



"She broke down… started crying about how she never meant to hurt me, how she was only trying to help her friend and that she had never done anything like this before Angel… She claimed she would have told me when Angel\'s mum died, but the fire that killed her mum happened right about the time that we lost Andie."



"The timing is easy enough to verify on that bit. Just judging by her behavior that I\'ve seen at the clinic, I believe that Parkinson is holding something over her. Parkinson has complete control over her actions. I don\'t believe that Hermione has been a willing participant in what is going on for quite some time. Without a clear way out, though, it isn\'t surprising that she has felt she had no choice but to continue."



"That may be… but she\'s the one who started it all… she started it with my Angel." Harry said shortly, angered and betrayed by the thought.



"Yes… a little one who is a blessing to your home and family." Damitri advised thoughtfully. "Hear her out. And use veritaserum on her, put it in her tea. Ensure that she is telling you the full truth. I have two bottles in stock, in the lockup…"



Harry sighed, frowning. "Am I wrong to be so angry, Damitri? I trusted her; she was one of my closest friends…"



"No… I don\'t think you\'re wrong, Harry. I\'d be furious were I in your shoes. But you need to deal with the anger eventually. Hearing the full story may help you to do that someday. You don\'t have to do it today, not by any means, but it will need to be done in the future…"



"I just hope I don\'t lose my temper at her today…" Harry muttered."I could stay… I could cast a glamour…"



"No… I don\'t want you to blow your cover." Harry said immediately. "You and Terry really do need a baby. I\'ll be okay. I\'ll just take a calming draught before she gets here with my tea."



"All right… and you know, Harry… if I\'m right about her, it won\'t matter if you explode at her or not. She\'ll stay no matter what you do. If I\'m wrong… well, she\'ll run. But I\'m sure she\'ll just sit there and take anything you throw at her."



"Okay, Damitri." he sighed. I\'ll go get the recorder set up."



"And I\'ll set the door plates…" he assured.



Harry moved back to his office, setting everything up for his meeting with Hermione. Damitri moved out to lunch early, leaving Harry and the secretary there. He changed all the signs to reflect Harry as the main investigator and Wentworth as his partner. He then called the chauffer to drive him to his planned lunch with Terry.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.



Hermione walked into the office, her purse strap held tightly in her hand. She stopped at the reception desk. "I\'m here to see Harry Potter, please…?"



"Who should I say is here?"



"Hermione Weasley."



"Just a moment, please." She smiled at her, touching the intercom on her desk.



"Mr. Potter? I have a Mrs. Weasley here to see you."



"Send her in."



"Follow me." She smiled, rising to her feet. She led Hermione back to the office door and opened it, admitting Hermione in.



Hermione moved in, feeling nervous and nauseous and even terrified, but she was determined. It had to end. "Hi…" she murmured as the door closed behind her.



"Mrs. Weasley, have a seat." He said in a detached, rather cold tone.



Hermione moved to the desk instead; she drew her wand, handle first, from her pocket and laid it on the desk before she turned and moved to a seat, sinking into the soft leather. "Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Potter." she whispered, eyes lowered.



"Would you like something to drink?" he offered.



"I… yes… anything is fine." she said, her hands tightly clasped in her lap.



Harry poured her some tea with the veritaserum in it, not trusting her to tell him one bit of truth without it. He set the glass beside her, and then returned to his seat.



She drank a bit, having to hold it with both hands to keep it from spilling. "Thank you." she murmured out of habit, and then looked up at him. "I can\'t keep doing this, I can\'t do any of it anymore… I… I feel like its all eating at my heart and my soul… I can\'t even look my daughter or my husband in the eye anymore."



"What\'s going on?"



"It\'s all a big scam." she whispered, feeling tears well and roll down her cheeks. It didn\'t matter; she didn\'t sob. She just let them fall. "None of our best donors even know they\'re donors…" she forced her voice to remain steady.



"If you want to come clean Mrs. Weasley, now is the time." Harry said coolly. "I need to know absolutely every detail. This is the only chance you may ever get."



Hermione nodded, head bowing again. "There are eight wizards right now, who are donors and they don\'t know… but I think there may be nine after next week. Damitri Zabini will likely be added to her list then…"



"Who\'s list?"



"Pansy Parkinson\'s." Hermione whispered.



"How did you get involved?"



"It was six years ago. You and Draco had started coming in for treatments… Tara and Melissa came to me for help. We went to elementary school together, Tara and I; we were best friends… she asked for my help to have a baby. I sat down with her and tried everything I could to figure a way she could afford the clinic, but I was barely scraping by at the time too… Ron was going through that slump and with school… I couldn\'t help her. I didn\'t mean to do any wrong. I know that\'s no excuse, and I should never have, but… well, anyways, after it was done I got back to regular life. My college class charges doubled, and we fell behind on our house payments." she bowed her head and drank another few sips of tea, gathering her courage to go on. "Pansy told me that she had a plan to help me; the scholarships couldn\'t suffice anymore no matter how many I applied for…"



Harry knew the more tea she drank the more she would be unable to lie to him. She didn\'t seem to be lying at all; even the little bit of veritaserum she\'d gotten with those first couple of sips would have made it difficult for her to lie to him. "And you trusted Pansy Parkinson?" Harry asked in a sour tone.



"I was desperate." She answered softly, staring at her hands. They had hurt so many people… "The work I did at first was strictly lab work, after my regular hours… preparing the eggs, removing the chemical markers and imposing those of the new father… basic lab work. I had no names of donors, nor even the names of those receiving the embryos I was creating. I just thought it was extra work that she had found for me to do, something to allow me to work overtime and earn the money I needed. I\'d come in early before the sun rose, and usually wouldn\'t leave until after sunset."



"I remember…" Harry said softly. "There were about six months when Ron was over all the time with Rosie."



She nodded, not looking up. "I was so busy I didn\'t even see Rosie\'s first steps…" she whispered. "It was actually about eight months… The pool of selected donors was only three at that time; all I ever saw was the sample number." She said softly. "Then Pansy said I\'d worked hard enough. She insisted I come to a party at her house. It had been a long time since I\'d done anything but work, and since I saw Ron so rarely it would be nice to get out for a while; I accepted. I should have known better." her tone was bitter. "The party was at Parkinson Manor. Everyone invited was a pureblood witch or wizard, and I was snubbed repeatedly and ignored as a mudblood, muggle offspring… I stayed near Pansy and the snubs seemed to be less. She told me the party was a bore and asked me to come with her to one of the sitting rooms for a while; there was a wizard in the sitting room when we entered. I almost left but she told me to stay…" her voice cracked a bit and she cleared her throat. She took a moment, drinking a bit more, shaking and frightened but plowing on. This had to be done…! To save her family, to save her husband and daughter she had to damn herself. "It was Xanthus Bulstrode, passed out on the settee… she used her own wand to cast a spell to keep him asleep and lock the door… then she demanded my wand."



"And you gave it to her?" Harry asked incredulously.



"She told me if I didn\'t she\'d just call the Aurors in… that she had three Aurors here at the party and she\'d have me arrested. I knew the Aurors were there, I\'d seen them. I was confused, I demanded to know what I\'d done and she told me I\'d been fertilizing eggs with stolen sperm for months."



"You said you didn\'t know whose they were…"



"I swear on Rosie\'s life I didn\'t know."



"Why didn\'t you come to me then?" Harry asked. "You had a choice. I would have given you the money; all you had to do was ask."



"You were so busy with Draco, I didn\'t… I was afraid to even ask… I didn\'t want to put any stress on him; he\'d just had that first miscarriage…" she whispered. "I would have jumped into a nest of Dementors to keep either of you from going through that grief and hell again… I absolutely was NOT going to be the one who caused him to lose another… I had no idea I was doing anything wrong, Harry… and Pansy paid me very well for the work I was doing. I didn\'t see anything wrong with the money I was earning; I was putting in forty or fifty hours of overtime in every week… the money was good, but I was really working hard... Everything seemed to be on the up-and-up…" she said softly.



"What did Pansy do with your wand?" Harry asked.



"She used a spell… said it was a \'harvesting\' charm… she used the spell to get sperm from Xanthus as he slept…" she said, head bowed. "I was trapped… I didn\'t mean to hurt anyone…"



"You\'re trying to tell me you didn\'t think it was wrong…?!" Harry asked, flabbergasted. "Do you know how insane that sounds?! What\'s not wrong about theft? About rape…?" Yes, Hermione, RAPE! Bulstrode was not willing…!"



"The lab work… I meant the lab work…" she could barely see through her tears but she had to finish… she had to tell him. "I didn\'t know it was yours and Draco\'s sperm we were using… I didn\'t know she was selling it to the highest bidder… I had no way to know… I know what… what was done to Bulstrode was wrong. Once she did that… with my wand… I was stuck… I knew I would go to Azkaban." she whispered, head bowed.



"So what\'s changed now, Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked acidly, his anger roused. "Not getting enough money? Or do you have enough to retire comfortably?" he scowled at her, leaning back in his seat.



"It was never really about the money… at first I convinced myself I was helping people, helping them to have babies… it wasn\'t until just last year when… when I realized that the pre-screening wasn\'t being done on Pansy\'s special donors… most of the money has gone into Gringott\'s in an account locked to Rosie only. I paid off the house and the car… and when I realized… I returned what I could and put the money away… donated some… I just… I can\'t bear it any longer… I\'ve destroyed a relationship I held very dear… I hurt you, Harry…" she whispered. "I\'m hurting my husband… and hurting my daughter. I\'d rather go to Azkaban than continue to hurt those I love a moment longer…" she whispered. "I knew I would have to take the blame for all of it… Pansy uses my wand every time she \'harvests\'… she usually harvests by having sex with them; she says its their willing donations that are hers to use as she pleases, since they\'re more than happy to leave it with her… but every time she uses the spell she takes my wand…"



"You know I have to report this." Harry said, frowning at her.



"I know…I expect to be locked up for a very long time. It\'s all right, Har… Mr. Potter. Its all right…" she wiped at her cheeks with a trembling hand. "I can\'t… she… she wants me to harvest Ron… I can\'t… I sent Ron away…"



"So anyone else is fair game, but not your husband?" Harry sneered.



She flinched at his words, but would not counter anything he said. "I\'m telling you everything, I swear it… I did the lab work… and used sperm left by donors… Pansy built the bank. She wanted me to start… harvesting… and start with Ron… she wanted me to harvest Ron, and Blaise as well." Hermione\'s voice trembled. "She was furious with me when I came in empty handed…" she explained. She knew he was right and she had no defense; she would not even offer one.



Harry sighed. "I need to call Tonks…" he grumbled, rising.



"Thank you." She said softly. "I can\'t do that…"



He paused, eyeing her again. "Why can\'t you?"



She tried to answer but all that came out was a strangled gasp; her airway sounded as if it were being cut off at her attempt to speak. She bowed her head, trembling worsening. "I have to get out of this… I know my wand will damn me but I don\'t care… I have to get out. Please… call them…"



Harry studied her a moment. "Are you bound in some way…?"



She tried to answer again, and then struggled to get her breath back, biting her lip. "I… I can\'t… there are a lot of things I can\'t talk about… especially to Aurors." She said softly. "I\'m surprised I could say all of this to you…"



Harry moved to the fireplace, tossing in some floo powder. "Ministry of Magic, Auror\'s office… this is Harry Potter. I need to speak with Tonks."



A few moments passed before Nymphadora Tonks\' face appeared in the coals.



"Harry! Long time no see, mate… you have trouble?"



"Unfortunately… do you have a moment…? I need you here…"



"Sure… be right there…" she winked then her face vanished. The fireplace flared bright green.



Hermione didn\'t even look up when Tonks stepped through. Harry moved back to his desk, sinking into his chair. "Have a seat Tonks… you know Mrs. Weasley?"



"Ron\'s wife, right? Yes, of course…" she agreed, frowning as she studied Hermione. The brown-haired woman\'s hands shook slightly; she had them clasped together but the shaking was still visible.



"Would you like some tea, Dora?" Harry asked.



"No, thank you Harry… so; what\'s up?" she asked. Harry sighed, and then gave Tonks a brief outline of all that happened. She listened attentively, glancing at Hermione as Harry spoke. "I see… and why now? Why turn yourself in, Hermione?"



Hermione looked at her, her eyes and nose reddened from tears. She struggled to speak but could not; mouth working but only choking as she fought to get past what bound her. She finally stopped trying, gasping for air as she looked at Harry. "I can\'t talk to her… I can\'t…"



"You\'ll have to talk to someone. If not, you\'ll be in Azkaban before sunset."



"I WANT to!" she wept. "I can\'t… I want to…"



"…but you\'re magically bound not to; and bound not to even tell that you\'ve been bound." Tonks said.



Hermione nodded vigorously, looking greatly relieved. "Yes, that\'s it…"



Tonks frowned thoughtfully. "We could use Legilimens to take the memories from her…"



"She\'s given over her wand already." Harry gestured to it on the desk. Hermione made no gesture to even think of retrieving it.



"Good; we\'ll need that to pull the spells off it for the trial as well… we\'re going to have to do this at the office… take what evidence her mind gives and put it away for pensive testimony…"



"I\'m sure Harry has an audio of everything I\'ve said as well." Hermione murmured. "I\'ll do anything thats asked of me."



Tonks rose to her feet, taking up Hermione\'s wand. "Coming, Harry?"



"No. I\'ll leave this one in your hands, Dora. I\'ve obligations at home."



"All right… I\'ll have to see if I can roust old Shacklebolt out of bed… he\'s bloody brilliant at breaking through magical bindings like I suspect you have, Mrs. Weasley."



Hermione nodded mutely, afraid to even try to speak. She wouldn\'t resist at all; she had to end it…



"Keep me posted." Harry rose, taking Dora\'s hand in a warm handshake. "And give Teddy and Remus a kiss for me… and give the old snake one while you\'re at it…" Harry teased.



She laughed. "I will, Harry. And you make sure to keep my cousin Draco happy, eh?" she pulled him into a hug.



He returned it, smiling finally. "That is my one goal in life…"



"Tell him we\'ll do dinner at our place this weekend."



Harry nodded. "Will your mates be there?"



"Remus will; Severus has to work late, but he\'ll be home by eight."



"We\'ll wait for him. Draco does love spending time with his godfather."



Hermione hated to break in, but she had to ask. "Mr. Potter… should I… should I call in…?" she asked softly. "I\'m supposed to be at lunch."



Tonks looked thoughtful and appreciative that Hermione had thought of that. "How much time do you have left?"



Hermione glanced at the time, then at her watch. She kept her eyes on Harry and was able to speak. "I can take up to an hour more without raising any suspicions…" she said softly.



"It will do your case good, Mrs. Weasley, to work with us and uncover every detail of what\'s been going on out at your clinic." Harry answered her. "Discuss it with Tonks."



"I…" she began, and then nodded, looking down again.



"I\'ll get Shacklebolt. If you\'re willing to work with us." Tonks said.



Hermione looked relieved and nodded again.



Tonks moved to the floo, setting it only to link to the ministry until Hermione was in custody. "Step through." She instructed. Hermione took a deep breath and stepped in; she was whirled away in green flames.



"I\'m investigating this as well; Tonks… let me know if she says anything more than what I told you, would you?"



"Not a problem, Harry… I\'ll send over a report."



"You\'re the best, Tonks. I\'ll send you a transcript of everything she\'s said here."



"I better go…" Tonks grinned and released the lock on the floo before she stepped in.



Harry sighed. "What an absolute mess…"



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.



Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived within twenty minutes of the call, dressed in a simple dark brown wizard\'s robe. He greeted Tonks briefly then set directly to work on Hermione. Before long it was obvious that the spells that bound her were linked to a painful curse; each time he began to work she was put through excruciating pain. Hermione did not even attempt to complain, clinging white-knuckled to the arms of the chair, enduring every moment of the torture without a word and barely a sound.



"Interesting…" he grunted, sitting back to think a moment as she gasped for air, white-faced, slumping in her seat. He looked at Tonks. "Has she said how she was bound? It would help in releasing her from this…"



"No, she seems to be forbidden to speak to Aurors at all." Tonks answered.



He nodded, turning to open the bag he had brought along with him. He pulled out a potion and opened it, giving it to Hermione. "Drink this." He instructed. She took it and held it in both shaking hands, drinking it all down, eyes closed.



"Your cooperation with us will help your case. I won\'t promise that it will drop any charges at all, but it may reduce your stay." Tonks told her.



Hermione nodded to indicate her understanding yet she did not open her eyes, her cheeks wet with continued tears.



Kingsley scowled slightly. "Not only bound but linked to the Cruciatus curse; quite the interesting binding. She is tortured every time she attempts to speak or to have the spell broken…" he grunted as he began his work again.



Hermione sat silently, not offering any resistance despite the pain which had been lessened by the potion. Nymphadora paced, watching impatiently. They only had a short time to work and get answers before people back at that clinic would get suspicious. Hermione suddenly drew a sharp breath, eyes closing. "Oh… Merlin…" she whispered.



"Try to speak." Kingsley said. "Look at me, and speak."



She looked at him, fear clear in her eyes. She bit her lip a moment, but then opened her mouth to speak. "Thank you…" she said softly, then tears of relief welled in her eyes. "It\'s gone… oh Merlin thank you, it\'s gone!"



Kingsley stood, stretching his back, satisfied with his own work. "You\'re welcome." He said smoothly.



"Now, Mrs. Weasley… can you tell me everything you know?" Tonks prompted.



Hermione launched immediately into an explanation of everything. She began with Harry and Draco\'s attempts to have a child, then their success and failure. Her friend\'s plea and her own use of seemingly unwanted sperm left for over a year in storage, then Pansy\'s introduction of the new position and extra money. She then described the party of mostly death-eater and pureblood families, and how Pansy had taken her to the sitting room.



Tonks frowned. "Why would Dark Wizarding families want just Potter\'s sperm? He\'s not even pureblood."



"I don\'t know; I never asked…" Hermione said, looking a little confused.



"Why wouldn\'t they want him?" Shacklebolt asked, sitting at the table, looking quite weary. "Potter defeated the Dark Lord. There\'s power in his blood; old family power. Malfoy\'s too. I\'m assuming theirs were the samples you were using?"



"At first, but I didn\'t know until the party when Pansy told me…" she said softly, looking down. "And then… Xanthus Bulstrode was in the sitting room." she went on to explain how Pansy had spelled him to sleep, then used Hermione\'s wand to extract sperm from the unconscious wizard. "She told me that I was bound from then on to do her bidding… that all the money I\'d gotten was tainted, and… and that all the blame would be on me, because my wand is the only one that has ever been used to harvest."



"Smart witch, that Pansy…" Shacklebolt said. "Tonks, I think that you will be needed to take over for Hermione at her work; we need to find out just what she\'s been up to."



"I have no problem with it, Shacklebolt, but I\'m no medic."



"I\'ll do anything you want me to." Hermione said immediately. "I want to cooperate as much as possible… this has to stop. I can take care of the patients; I have one in particular I want to ensure get to have a successful pregnancy… and I\'ll switch out with you whenever you wish me to…"



"Is that patient buying their sample from the special stores?" Tonks asked.



"Oh… oh Merlin…" Hermione looked pained. It was… she couldn\'t help the Zabinis any longer…



"I\'ll look into that one, of course, but we will see if you can proceed." Kingsley said thoughtfully.



"Yes, sir." Hermione murmured.



"Maybe Harry will loan me his cloak; that would help." Tonks mused.



"Good idea." Shacklebolt pushed himself to his feet with a slight groan of pain. "Ah… I\'m going to leave you to it; I\'m going back to my garden and blithely ignoring the world in my retirement."



"Yeah, right... You\'d die of boredom, old man." Tonks laughed.



He chuckled in his deep voice. "Call me if you need me." He winked at her, and then moved to the fire and threw in the powder, using the floo network to spin away.



Tonks pulled out a bracelet and fixed it to Hermione\'s wrist, sealing it with a touch of her wand. It was silver, twined and twisted metal, and quite attractive. "This is a tracker… you\'re basically under house arrest until everything goes down. I\'m also holding your wand. Anytime you use your wand, I will need to be present to monitor you directly. Do you work tomorrow?"



"No, I have classes."



"Okay; that will give me time to get with Harry about his cloak."



"I should get back to work…" Hermione said softly. "I\'m still doing the clinical part of the lab work; I won\'t need my wand at all this afternoon."



"Good. Try and stay away from Parkinson."



"That\'s easy enough… she hates to come into the lab." She said, rising. She found she felt weak and exhausted after her ordeal of the last couple of hours. "And she\'s not really expecting anything from me right now. I sent Ron and our child away to keep them safe…" she looked down. It hurt so bad to think she may never see them again…



"Call me if anything happens." Tonks nodded.



"I will… I just want this to all end… I\'m so tired of hurting people." she murmured as she picked up the pot of floo powder.