Kapitel 41: Diplomacy
"Hermione?" it was Ginny's voice from outside her home office. It was the first time anyone had tried to speak to her since Ron had left her home office two days ago. Hermione didn't reply. She didn't want to speak to anyone. She had barely left her office during those two days. There had been owls from Ethel and others, but she had barely had the strength or presence of mind to reply. Ron had not said a word, though the occasional sandwich had made its way to her desk in the rare moments she had been out of the office.
"Hermione, Harry's in the fire. He has news you need to hear." That made Hermione leap to her feet. Why had Harry not gone into this fireplace and told her directly? Was the news so bad he felt they needed to be all together?
She tentatively went into the living room. Ron, Ginny and Albus were there. None of them looked at her as she entered. Harry's head was framed by the flames from the fireplace. She didn't say anything, she just sat down next to Ginny.
"Please, Harry," Ginny said. "Tell us, what happened?"
Harry looked at Hermione. She only managed to give a nod.
"We found the likely location where the boat would land and quickly took out the welcome committee that was there to pick them up. It was clear that they meant to hide on that island, there are caves there that were prepped with beds and supplies. We laid a plan to ambush them when they arrived. The Death Eaters soon found themselves surrounded. Rose was right there with them. We were at a standstill." Harry paused there, to let that sink in.
"Then, all of a sudden, Rose moved. It was impossible to see if she tried to run or was pushed. But she shouted, in surprise or anger. Just as she did that, all the Death Eaters started attacking."
"That was deliberate." Ginny said.
"Yes, that was my thought as well." Harry replied. "Sadly, I didn't have time to explain that, as we were all fighting for our lives. The Death Eaters used lethal force from the start. We far outnumbered them, but most of the Norwegians there were inexperienced. We captured them all, though the end result is 30 dead."
Dead. The word hung in the air between them.
"What about Rose?" Ron asked. "Did you see her?"
"Yes. But she was Stunned. She tried to run for safety, but Lestrange was right behind her. I got turned around and didn't find her again until it was all over."
"So, is she okay?" Ron asked. He looked like he feared the worst.
"What? Yes, she is okay. Or, at least, she is alive. But the Norwegians arrested her along with all the others."
"What? Why?" Ginny exclaimed.
"They saw her shout something and start this whole battle. I have tried to explain it, but they are not prepared to simply take my word for it. I have no real authority here."
"What are you saying?" Ron demanded. "Are you saying that the Norwegians have arrested Rose as a suspected Death Eater?"
Harry paused. "Not that exactly. But they are holding her pending an investigation. They are not willing to simply release her into my custody. I have not been allowed to talk to her yet, so I don't know her condition. But she walked off the boat on her own, not resisting."
"That was probably because it was useless for her to resist." Hermione said, opening her mouth for the first time since entering the room. "Didn't you explain her situation before they arrived?"
"I did, but even then, they seemed sceptical. Hermione, try to see it from their perspective. They don't know any of these people. They have little experience with open attacks by Dark Wizards. Right now, everything is still a bit chaotic. I will try to get Rose released, but it won't be a quick and easy process. They will probably insist on an interrogation at the least. The only thing I have been able to make sure of is that she is not placed in a cell with any of the others."
Hermione's eyes darkened. "I'll try to contact the Norwegian Minister directly. There must be a better way of fixing this." She rose to get back in her office to start working on it.
"No, Hermione!" both Ron and Harry said together. She gave a start at this and sat back down.
"Hermione, if this had been anyone else, I would have agreed with you" Harry said. "But since this is your daughter, they will not listen to you as a Minister. The Norwegians are very strict on that rule. I can say what needs to be said. If you can, send me an owl with arguments I can use. You are better at diplomacy than I am. But you must let me, or at least another representative, handle this." Harry said.
"Hermione, they won't listen to you. Right now, you can only make it worse" Ron said at the same time.
Hermione just sat there for a moment, glowering at the two of them. Then all her recovered strength ran out of her again. Chaos. Complete chaos. This was almost the worst thing that could have happened. She felt tears running down her face again. But at least Rose was alive.
"Do you think they will let her go?" Albus asked in the awkward silence that followed.
"Eventually, yes, I do think so. She didn't have a wand, though one was found near her. Her history and background should also indicate that she would not go over to them. I think they just want to make a statement, to show that they won't just accept our version of the story, especially since it can be said that we created this mess."
Harry deliberately did not tell them about the special room the Dark wizards had made in the hideout they had discovered, clearly meant to hold a prisoner. It had chains and a bed, but little else. The family did not need all the details. Hermione especially seemed at the brink of collapse as it was, he didn't want to give her more fuel for her anger. That was also why he didn't go into detail about the battle, why it had turned into such a disaster. He did not need someone from Britain as much as hinting about wrong priorities by the Norwegians. That would just make the situation turn into a diplomatic nightmare, and Rose would be stuck here for even longer. He hated keeping things from Hermione, but she couldn't be involved in this.
"Well, when you get to see her, if you can, tell her that Scorpius is doing a lot better. In fact, he remembers who she is now, and he has also remembered most of the events of last year. He says he keeps dreaming of her. Now he finally has a name to connect to the person. He remembers most of the rest of us as well." Albus said.
"That is great news!" Harry said. "I'll be sure to let her know that, if I have the chance. It might cheer her up a little."
"She has the right to speak to a representative from her country," Hermione said. She had recovered again and was now running through arguments and scenarios in her head. "So has the other Death Eaters, though they will probably not need it or want it. But that should ensure that you, or at least one in your group, will be allowed to talk to her, to explain the situation." She took a deep breath. "I will send a fast owl with processes and diplomatic relations you need to know. If it takes more than a day, I will send a representative from the Department of International Magical Cooperation as well."
Harry smiled at her. He had done this deliberately! He had made her confront this in front of the rest of the family.
Hermione got to her feet. She went over to the table and started writing. She needed to inform the appropriate departments of what had occurred. Both about the Death Eaters capture, and Rose's arrest. She looked over at the fireplace, where Harry still lingered. She gave him a grateful smile.
"Will the Norwegians keep the surviving Death Eaters, or will we get them back?"
"They are keeping them. They are quite adamant on that point. They committed murder on Norwegian soil, they will need to answer for that. These kinds of things don't happen very often here. Even though they are already arrested and convicted in Britain, they insist on keeping them. Quite frankly, they don't trust that we can keep them secure, and I see their point. I am honestly tempted to let them keep them."
"Me too. In fact, I think that sounds like a splendid idea, if they have a secure location to put them in. As long as they promise to keep us informed of their state once in a while, I really don't care what happens to them, as long as they are not set free. But we shouldn't give in that easily when they are being stubborn. That can be one of the concessions we make down the road." This was one of the things she was good at. As Harry had said before he left, she had made many of these rules when she had worked to strengthen international ties between magical communities. She wished she could go to Norway herself, but Harry was right. The Norwegians would not let her be involved in a case that involved her daughter. She should be glad that they let Harry be involved in it. That may be because he had been part of the whole process. Or because he was Harry Potter.
"Did we lose anyone?" she asked. "You said 30 dead, any of them ours?" She sounded callous and she knew it. But there wasn't a good way to ask such a question. In the back of her head, she also wondered a bit about the high death toll. But maybe that was including the dead Death Eaters?
"30 dead that we have found so far. 10 Death Eaters, including Avery. He is the only one I have been able to confirm so far. Lestrange is not one of the dead ones, more's the pity." Hermione gave him a stern look. Harry didn't look apologetic, but he was definitely trying to avoid telling her something. He sighed. "2 dead Aurors. Mason and Eugenie. They both went down protecting a group of Norwegians that had become surrounded."
Hermione stopped writing. Eugenie. It was the first time in a long time that she had lost someone she knew. There was an unspoken anger in Harry's voice. He clearly was not pleased with how this had gone down, but that was not a discussion to be held in front of the family.
"I will see to contacting their families directly. And that could be another good argument to use with the Norwegians." she said, though her hand was trembling. But her thoughts quickly returned to Rose and her situation. "Have you heard if the Norwegians have any regulations regarding using Veritaserum during interrogations?"
Harry smiled again. He had clearly thought of that too. "They occasionally use a form of truth serum, but the target has to consent."
"Rose would consent to that!" Ron exclaimed.
"Yes, she most likely will. But remember, truth serum can only make a person speak what they think is the truth. It just means that they can be sure she is not lying. But I will suggest it." He seemed to be listening to something happening on his end.
"I have to go," he said. "Please, if you can Hermione, have that letter sent here before morning. I doubt I will be able to do much right now anyway, and diplomacy is always easier when the adrenaline rush has gone down, and the initial anger has receded. Right now, everyone here is still in shock."
"Thank you," Hermione said. "Thank you for letting us know what happened."
"Just doing my job, Minister." Harry said. But his mischievous smile said it all. With a large PLOPP, he was gone.
Ron breathed a huge sigh of relief. "She's alive," he sighed. Albus went over and embraced him, also clearly relieved. Ginny, however, went over to Hermione. "It will be okay." she said. "We will get through this, as we have everything else." Hermione gave her a grateful hug. Ron also came over. He sat down next to her and held on to her. In just a few moments, they were both crying in relief on each other's shoulders.
"I'm sorry Ron. I'm so sorry."
"I know. But she is alive. It will be alright now."
When they looked up again, Ginny and Albus were gone. That suited Hermione just fine.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein