Stay with Me | Hermione Granger x Female OC (Book 4)

Infiltrating the Ministry

It was September 2nd, 1997.

After a full month of detailed planning, the quartet had finally decided it was time. Ellie and Hermione hadn't had much time together, considering every day was packed with things that needed to be discussed. On top of that, Hermione lead the group with her critical thinking and excellent potion-brewing skills. Meanwhile, Ellie helped Ron and Harry with their defensive spells, attempting to perfect them in preparation.

Though the four of them agreed to split up at the Ministry, Hermione had insisted she pair with Ellie, claiming her girlfriend often acted upon her emotions, which could possibly interfere with their mission.

—

Ron and Harry rounded the corner, carrying the last of the unconscious Ministry workers needed to be impersonated. Hermione and Ellie stood together as the Gryffindor plucked the final hair from the woman's head, dropping it into the last vial of Polyjuice potion.

"Right, remember what we said. Don't speak to anyone unless absolutely necessary. Just try and act normal. Do what everybody else is doing. If we do that, then with a bit of luck, we'll get inside." Hermione ordered as she handed out the vials to her friends. "And then..."

"It gets really tricky," Harry interrupted.

"Correct," Hermione confirmed.

"This is completely mental," Harry shook his head.

"Completely," Hermione confirmed once more.

"The world's mental," Ron added.

"I wish this potion didn't taste like absolute shit," Ellie muttered as she scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"Come on... we've got a Horcrux to find," Ron finalized.

The four of them took one final look at the unconscious workers and took a sip of their respective vials. Within seconds, they started to morph into different people, changing into their clothes.

The four of them made their way to their respective portals, Ron and Harry splitting with the two girls.

Upon their successful entrance inside the building, Harry met up with Ellie and Hermione, who were staring at the stone statue in front of them, showcasing muggles being squashed by the stone.

"Are those..." Harry trailed.

"Muggles," Hermione confirmed in a disgusted tone. "In their... rightful place."

Ellie clenched her fists tightly. "I swear I'm gonna hex the Minister and his goons..."

Hermione inconspicuously placed her hand over Ellie's, squeezing it. "Emotions, Ellie. Don't let them get to you."

Ron came up beside them. "Gotta tell you, I'm starting to freak out a bit."

"How long did you say this batch of Polyjuice would last, Hermione?" Harry asked.

The curly-haired girl paused for a moment, a sheer face of panic flooding her consciousness. "I didn't," Hermione replied nervously.

They looked to each other in fear, their eyes wide. The quartet eventually found their way to the elevators, stepping inside. Just before the gate was to close, a man with braided hair appeared.

"Cattermole. It's still raining inside my office. That's two days now," He said, staring at Ron menacingly.

"Have you tried an umbrella?" Ron gulped.

"You do realize I'm going downstairs, don't you, Cattermole?"

"Downstairs?" Ron squeaked.

"To interrogate your wife. Now, if my wife's blood status were in doubt... and the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement needed a job doing, I think I might just make that a priority. You have one hour," the man warned before leaving the group.