Chapter 40

"Right. I'm Hermione Granger. I'm Harry's best friend and if you're here to help him, then we best get you to him," she stated forcefully.

She reached for his elbow but a simple sway was enough to keep her hands away.

"I can make my own way, as long as you're able to get us in," Matt told her.

"I suspect that physical contact will make the passage easier," Hermione counted.

A slight nod of his head allowed her to take his elbow and walk them the last few metres to the door that he'd been staking out. Her hand rose and something, a stick he thought – her wand? – appeared briefly before disappearing and they stepped forward.

There was a sensation that they were spinning in place, the door revolving around them almost too fast to comprehend, before they stumbled forward, out the other side into a place that was far too large for what the Woolworth Building should be able to accommodate.

"Why magicals insist on the most unpleasant methods of travel is beyond me," Hermione muttered, obviously a long-held resentment that she held.

Once again, Hermione made to grasp his elbow and he evaded her with a small sway.

"Lead the way, I'll be right behind you," Matt said.

He could feel her looking before she shrugged and took a moment to look around the great hall before striding off to their left. Instantly, Matt moved with her, allowing her, as the magical, to be half a step in front.

"Good morning," Hermione said to the man behind a large counter.

The man appeared to be slightly higher than they were, even though he was sitting, leading Matt to believe that he was on an elevated platform.

"Can I help you?" the man asked.

"We're here to see Harry Potter," Hermione replied. "I believe that he's being held here by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Sorry, Miss, no one gets to see the prisoner," the man replied.

"What about his lawyer?" Matt asked, stepping forward.

"Lawyer?" the man repeated, the sound of his clothes moving, followed by the swish of hair and the scratch of skin telling the story of the man's movements. "I haven't been told about any lawyer."

"My name is Matthew Murdock, from Nelson and Murdock Law Offices. I have been retained as Mister Potter's lawyer," Matt stated.

"And I'm his assistant, Hermione Granger. I'm from the British Ministry of Magic," she said.

Matt raised a single eyebrow at that, however, for now, he didn't question it.

"Well, I guess everyone's entitled to a lawyer," the man mused. "Right, let me see your wands so that I can register them, then I'll give you a pass to go down to the DMLE."

Matt waited patiently as Hermione handed over her stick (so, he was right).

When the man turned to him expectantly, Matt answered the unasked question.

"I don't have a wand; I'm non-magical."

"You're a nomaj? Well, I never. How'd you get in here, then?" the man asked suspiciously.

"I escorted Mister Murdock," Hermione replied. "Unless you'd prefer to bring Harry out to the foyer of the Woolworth Building?"

"No, no, can't have that," the man backtracked. "Right, put these on and follow the signs to the DMLE. It's on Floor Seven. They'll assist you from there."

A deft hand was required to snatch the badge from the man before Hermione could take it and attempt to pin it to him. Not that there was a pin, he found, nor anything sticky on the back. However, when Matt attempted to copy his new partner's motions by holding the badge to his jacket, he found that it stuck there by itself automatically.

Magic, he grunted silently. Guess I'm going to have to get used to that pretty quickly.

ooo00ooo

Harry barely managed to stand before a brown-haired missile impacted his chest, strong arms squeezing around his middle.

"Hi, Hermione," he said, "what are you doing here?"

Instead of replying, she pulled back, looked him in the eye and smacked his shoulder.

"You and your saving people thing!" she accused. "You could have been killed."

"Hey, I'm good. Fine, even. Not a scratch on me," Harry protested.

"Thanks to Charlie Weasley," she countered.

Harry gave her a confused look. "Charlie? What does he have to do with anything?"

"I saw you on TV, Harry; you were wearing the dragon-hide cloak that Charlie gave you," she replied.

"Huh," he grunted, "so I was. I was on TV?"

"The whole invasion and battle was," she replied.

"You know that you didn't have to come all the way over here just because I got arrested on some stupid charges. You know as well as I do that I have a legitimate defence," Harry said.

"I didn't come here because of that," she replied. "I didn't find out that you had been arrested until I arrived in America. I came because I was worried about you and that I had no idea how badly you were hurt – or even if in fact you had been hurt – and there was no way to contact you."

"I'm glad to hear that you believe you have a defence for your situation," the man that Harry had barely noticed entering with Hermione said.

Harry gently pushed Hermione to his side so that he could see the man properly. He was taller than Harry and he had the impression of a lot of strength hidden under his business suit. The man also carried a walking stick, which, when combined with his dark glasses, told Harry that he was blind.

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