Author's Note: Chapter has been touched up here and there, hopefully it reads a bit better and the overall quality of it is at least better than the previous rendition of it. While it isn't perfect, I put some make-up on it so it can be a bit more shiner. Anyways, reviews are appreciated, so enjoy!
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended with this piece, since this is purely done for the sake of entertainment, not for profit.
[What did they witness inside of the village?]
Closer look: Hermione
I'm already having second thoughts about this entire venture.
We just came out of the Room of Requirement when the mercenary decided that we would be waiting instead of starting our journey. The only explanation that I was given was that it would be safer for both of us to move when there would be a smaller risk of getting caught.
Ew, that feels cold.
It is an agreeable move to be cautious in our excursion since there were no guarantees for our safety. Although I do have to wonder, would it kill him to engage me in a simple conversation? There is a limit on how long I can keep myself occupied with these mental exercises. I can only recall so much of the theories and textbooks that I've read before indulging in such activity becomes boring even to me.
I should've brought some books with me.
Recording a journal with my mind seems like a pointless enterprise. I'm going to forget most of this anyway, so why am I still doing this? Well, there is one thing that's been bothering me following our arrival here. Honestly, I'm still baffled by our location after coming out from the tunnel of the Room of Requirement.
Wait, I did do it right, didn't I? Let me go over the steps...
I took all the right steps in making the room appear and even ensured the contents would be reflective of my desire by keeping that particular mindset. Yes, I will not begrudge the fact that we were able to escape from Hogwarts without raising any suspicions. However, the expected place of our destination was Hog's Head, not the train station.
Why did we land on the train tracks? This is what has me confounded the most.
I want to discuss this with him, or anyone else, but the problem with this lies in the fact that I doubt Dragon knew about this mysterious room. I have my suspicions of his ties with the school, and I'll be testing them out later. But, if the other party has no foreknowledge of the previously mentioned topic, then it wouldn't behoove me to bring about such a discussion.
Now that I take a better look around, the place only appears to emulate parts of the Hogsmeade train station. Perhaps I missed it due to my initial shock of landing in an area that was out of my calculations but...
Where are we?
Draco stifled a yawn and rubbed the back of his neck.
To say that he had been surprised by the appearance of the Room of Requirement would not be accurate. The young wizard recalled personally leading Umbridge there, in hopes of getting Potter and his motley crew in trouble. However, the result of them going through a passageway directly from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade was something that he could not have imagined. Still, there wouldn't be any use for him to linger on this issue, since there was no chance he would be returning to school.
Draco felt his eyes droop from the sheer boredom of the situation.
They had been searching around the train station for roughly half an hour, looking for a way out of the place. He had an inkling that there were a few security wards and guards scattered about, doing their usual night routine. Now, if he had been alone, then getting past these would not have been an issue. However, this was simply not in the realm of possibilities, not with the contract hovering over his head, threatening to eviscerate his livelihood.
Letting out a sigh, Draco leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. He had already wasted enough time getting nothing accomplished, and if there was something that he learned from his previous experience, it was to keep himself active and guarded. Even though it was a temporary stop at Hogwarts, it had quietly managed to dull the instincts that he had sharpened before the pit-stop.
Shaking himself out of his stupor, the blonde rubbed the back of his head and began planning out his next course of action. What he needed was information, and he was going to start with the Mudblood.
"Hey," Draco hesitantly called out, walking over to the aforementioned female. He noticed that she was studying a particular section of the tunnel, which he promptly ignored. "What did McGonagall tell you about this mission?"
It wasn't as though he was going into this entire ordeal blind, that was hardly the case. But he figured that there were some things that were told to her that hadn't been presented to him.
"Well..." Hermione bit her lower lips and rolled her eyes to bottom right before replying, "I'm sure McGonagall told you everything you need to know. I don't think she told me anything different from what she's told you."
The blonde forcibly bit down on his tongue, knowing fully well what was about to tumble out from his mouth. Trying to stay in character, all the while being forced to fulfill the contract obligations was going to mentally tax him for the rest of this trip. At this rate, he knew that he was going to make a mistake somewhere and have everything blow up on his face, most likely from an oversight of his own negligence.
Stepping away from the insufferable girl, Draco peeled the mask off to the side and rubbed his eyelids. He smacked his mouth together and tasted blood. Disgusting. Spitting on the ground, he felt a surge of irritation roll off his shoulder. That was twice that the lowly Mudblood had forced him to draw blood. He didn't know how or when, but he would eventually get vengeance upon her.
Quickly refreshing his Occlumency barriers, Draco went through his other options. Since she was being less than cooperative with him, he would have to tackle the next item on the agenda. The blonde made sure to look over his shoulders first before crouching down to the floor. Taking out his wand, he began tracing a few lines and figures while muttering some words under his breath.
"Let's see...if I can remember this correctly, then the lower levels of the village have a few Death Eaters patrolling the area, but, it shouldn't be too long before they finish up and desert the area. If we can safely find a way out of here and get to Hogsmeade, then we can take that route and get to this meeting point without much of a fuss."
Draco let out a sigh and fastened the mask over his face. It felt cumbersome and heavy against his face, but it was a necessary discomfort that he had to put up with at the moment. Since the mission was going to be over with soon enough, there was no need to make things more complicated.
Get the job finished. Seek retribution.
Now that he thought about it, the two of them had spent an ample amount of time together in school, so it would not be a surprise if she was able to pick up on his voice after a while. Grumbling under his breath, he quickly casted a spell to assist in altering his voice.
There was no need to add an unnecessary dimension to the escort mission, not with their past history and the inevitable drama that would follow. As it stood, he would ignore her to the best of his ability and hold up his end of the bargain. But that didn't mean that everything would be done in a clean manner.
"That's why Gryffindors are weak, everything's straightforward with this bunch. Perhaps I should remind them of the perils of trying to make a deal with a snake," Draco thought to himself.
"Hey, Dragon," Hermione finally said, snapping the blonde out from his thoughts. "Would you be familiar with the Hogsmeade train station?"
No response.
"I wouldn't say that I'm an expert with things such as infrastructure since they aren't a main focus of any of the curriculum being taught in Hogwarts. But what I do know is that, presuming this is the same train station connected to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade...we aren't exactly inside the village."
This certainly got Draco's attention.
"I can't say for sure, but, it might have to do with where we came out from the hidden passageway," the witch began to babble. "You see, every time that room appears, the tunnel would usually be connected to this room in the Hog's Head. But for some reason we were displaced at a much further location. So, if—"
The blonde got up from the walls and shook his head before responding, "Granger, get to the point before you bore me to death."
Hermione huffed and glared at the young man. "I believe we didn't fully go through the passageway and the perceived back-end of the station is probably the continuation of said tunnel."
Draco stared at the girl for a few seconds before looking at the tracks that were extending deeper into the tunnel. Blinking a few times, the blonde shook his head before heading down into the aforementioned section. However, before he could go any further, his advancement was impeded by an invisible barrier. He tried getting through a few more times from different angles and entry points, but each of them was met by the same result – failure. Crossing his arms, he turned around to face Hermione.
"What exactly happened here?" The blonde asked in an increasingly irritated tone.
Hermione shook her head and answered, "I haven't had any time to properly research the properties of the Room of Requirement, but I would have to say that someone or something managed to interfere with the process."
"Granger," Malfoy cut her off and stamped his feet impatiently, "Get to the point already."
Letting out a sigh, she replied, "Look, all I know is that some type of rune inscription, and wards have been placed in the vicinity somewhere to make it seem as though we're in the train station."
"Why would they do that?"
Hermione once again shook her head, "I don't know...I just recognized some of the patterns that were etched onto this stone here. I do have to say, that whoever did this made quite an elaborate design just to make this whole thing appear...real."
There were many reasons why something like this would've been created, but until they were told its actual purpose, everything would be mere speculation. Not wanting to dwell on the subject any longer, Draco rubbed the back of his head before asking, "Since this is supposed to be an illusion of sorts, I'm guessing that the exit is over there?"
Getting a nod of confirmation, the wizard pointed to the dark entrance. "We've wasted enough time, let's go."
When the two finally emerged from the connected passageway, they found themselves on top of a grassy hill, just on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Normally, the view from the apex of the cliff would have been labeled as beautiful with the sight of Hogsmeade and all its surroundings being seen from the vantage point. But, the ongoing war had warped the landscape to produce a scenery that was less than pleasant.
"This...is Hogsmeade?"
Hermione stared in horror at the present state of the once great village. It was easy to discern the catastrophic battles that took place from all the wanton destruction that was on display. Taking another look at the destroyed scenery, the brunette began to run down the hill. Slightly blindsided by the girl's impulsive action, Draco cursed under his breath and stumbled upon his first step before steadying himself and following her.
Stopping just short of Hogsmeade's walls, Draco was able to grab hold of the witch's arm.
"Granger, what the bleeding hell do think you're doing?"
Forcibly pushing him away, Hermione snapped. "Is this worth it?" she asked. "All this senseless violence just to follow a stupid belief that hinges upon the fear of the old and established families. Is this desperate attempt at keeping such an archaic system alive, just so that the purebloods can continue to harbor this false sense of superiority, worth sacrificing everything?"
Again, no response.
"Tell me," Hermione said in a cold tone, "do you enjoy witnessing the world that you grew up in tethering on the brink of destruction?"
By now, Draco had walked away from the Muggle-born and was investigating the Hogsmeade outer shell. Tapping a cracked section with the back of his hand, he asked, "Think you can get up this wall?"
Hermione bit her lower lip, "I-I'm not too sure..."
Nonchalantly shrugging, Draco told her, "The nearby entrance is most likely barred with some type of security. I'll scale the wall and try to find a way for you to get in, so stay here, and wait for me to come back, alright?"
"Why can't we just go the village instead?"
She saw him stop in the midst of his preparation to climb the wall and answer, "Most established villages and cities like this, especially those with protective barriers surrounding it, usually have patrol units and security wards all around the place. Yes, it would be much easier to go around, but the risk is simply not worth it. If I was alone I might've been able to but with the contract..."
Hermione frowned as she watched the hired hand steadily walk away from her. He troubled her on two fronts. The first was his response, or lack thereof, and she didn't know what to make of it.
Did he not care for the turmoil that the country was currently going through?
She understood the position of the mercenary, as explained by McGonagall, which was neutrality and only offering their services to those that paid their fees, but the way she viewed it, this was being a coward at its finest. Instead of choosing a side, they would simply go to the highest bidder and then declare themselves a denizen of the winning side once everything was finished.
At least the Dark side had chosen something to fight for—even if it was for all the wrong reasons.
This unresponsive nature tied in with the second issue: Dragon's identity. Just when she thought she could narrow down the choices of those that the mercenary could be, his professional disregard to her views was making her rethink her options.
While climbing up the jagged, broken wall, Draco did his best to collect his composure. The temptation to blast the Mudblood in the face became too alluring for him to resist. It took everything in his willpower, and then some, to simply walk away without uttering back a single argument.
He figured that at this rate, it wouldn't be any outside influence that had the greatest potential to disrupt this mission, but rather the constant fighting between them.
Getting to the top, the young man quickly flattened his body down onto his stomach. After taking a breath, he scanned the town and took note of the different illuminated areas. There weren't enough lit buildings to help stave off the growing darkness—perfect situation that would allow the two of them to sneak in and get out without drawing much attention.
"Dragon, do you see anything up there?"
Not bothering to answer her question, Draco carefully gripped the edge before hanging off the opposite side. He then took a deep breath before uncurling his hands, letting himself drop to the ground. Upon landing on the concrete, he immediately found himself rolling on the ground.
"Ugh," the young man grunted in pain. "That could've gone a lot better...at least none of the Death Eaters were around to hear me."
Leaping back up to his feet, the wizard ducked behind a nearby building. Putting a hand on his chest, he waited for his heart to stabilize before calmly exhaling and allowing his mind to get to work. Since he had a general outline of Hogsmeade drawn up in his head, all he had to do was find an opening for the girl.
Draco undid the mask and stowed it into the robe, the cool breeze lightly brushing against his face. Calmly reaching into his pocket, he blindly groped around for a few seconds before his fingers lightly brushed over the item that he was searching for – the cigarette. Plucking it between his thumb and index finger, the young man shoved it into the corner of his mouth. The entire moment was quickly ruined when he discovered having no means of lighting it.
Grumbling at the unfortunate circumstance, he spat out the cigarette and watched it roll around the ground. Taking a deep breath, Draco took a look around before quickly dropping to the floor and picking up the discarded item. He carefully snubbed out the lit end before safely dropping it back into the inner pocket of his robe.
"Waste not, want not, huh? What a strange Muggle saying..." Draco mused to himself before getting back to the task at hand. Finding a torn-down building, he crouched down before hiding behind it. Using the leftover debris and the evening skies as a cover, the blonde carefully began to make his way through the streets. He also made sure to analyze as much of the local surveillance teams and the inner layout of the village as possible.
"Judging from the patterns I've been able to notice, the patrol groups in this area contain either two or three Death Eaters. They also seem to be staying near the roads and that building as well."
Clutching at the edge of the building he was hiding behind, Draco slid forward and took a better look at the infrastructure that they patrol units were tightly guarding.
"Hm...compared to the other houses in the village, that ones much smaller than the rest. The material that's holding the foundation together looks flimsy too. I wonder if I can somehow break into it?"
The blonde weighed his current options and chewed over his available actions. Looking over the ground, he picked up a nearby brick and gripped it in his right hand. He then waited for an incoming patrol unit to walk near his hiding location before tossing the slab to a far distance.
"Oi, rookie, did you hear that?"
The accompanying Death Eater swiveled his head around trying to locate the source of the sound. Giving a nonchalant shrug, he then answered, "It's probably nothing."
"I don't care, we have to do our due diligence just in case. That's an order."
Hearing a sigh come out from the other person, the other person curtly responded, "Right."
Draco considered the plan to be successful since he had managed to isolate the nearby Death Eater. Sneaking up behind the lone individual, the blonde swiftly wrapped his right arm around the guard's neck while covering the mouth with the other. He held the Death Eater in the chokehold for a few more seconds until he felt the body become limp. Dropping the guard, he quickly swapped robes and transferred his inventory before walking out into the open.
Even if his physical description didn't match the previous robe's owner, he figured that none of them really knew each other. Plus, the shroud of darkness was providing an extra source of camouflage for the disguise.
Draco made sure to stiffen his stance and pull down his hood, all in an effort to mimic the patrollers. In terms of priority, he knew what he had to do, however, the prospect of leaving an unknown area unexplored, especially one that was close by, did not sit well with him. Walking over to the marked building, the wizard reached out and took hold of the door knob.
It was locked.
"Hey!"
The young man blinked as he turned around to face the speaker.
"For Merlin's sake, I know what the captain said, but stop checking that door, we already confirmed it being locked like a million times already. The coast is clear, let's go check the next sector."
While it might've been easier for him to knock this one out and go back into hiding, he was bereft of important information. This would be an excellent opportunity for him to gather any intelligence while continuing to scope the village. If push came to shove and he was on the verge of getting caught imitating the downed Death Eater, he could always retreat to the background again.
With his mind firmly made up, he obediently followed along while letting the other person do all the talking. Draco almost came to regret this decision as the topics ranged from borderline useless to being outright inane. Luckily, his sanity and patience were spared from further torture when they passed through a burned down building.
"Ah, right! You weren't here with us when this happened, but you see that part of the wall over there?"
Draco traced his eyes around the Hogmeade borders and easily noticed an area that was covered by some wooden planks. Curious as to the reason why this was brought up, he tilted his head before nodding in confirmation.
"That's the hole that those bloody Evolved used to penetrate Hogsmeade."
Draco's altered voice matched the man's he'd knocked out well enough, so he chanced speaking so as to not seem suspicious, "Is it just covered with-?"
"Loose material? Yeah. Of course, there's always someone standing guard at that-" The man paused and squinted at the apparently abandoned post.
The speaker scratched his head while searching around for the aforementioned guard. Either the man was wildly hallucinating, or this Death Eater was risking the entirety of all those barricaded inside of the village by abandoning the post.
"Wait, where's the damn pillock that was supposed to be stationed here?"
"Should we go look?" Draco asked, trying his best to stay in character.
"No, you stay here and keep watch, alright? I'll go do a status check, there might be a report about this somewhere."
Draco watched the higher ranking Death Eater walk away from the improvised barricade. He stood still for a second, wondering if this could be some sort of test, or a trap. This was much too convenient and easy for his taste.
Need to find an alternative entrance? Check.
Be left alone so that he could sneak Granger in undetected? Done.
Have everything completed without raising any suspicions or detections? Odd.
This last item on the list was the one that worried him the most, since things never went this smoothly. He had learned early on, both from his years in Slytherin and tangling with Potter, to always be skeptical of every outcome until the last possible second. Even if everything seemed to be running in accordance to schedule, there was always the chance of a mishap – or Potter and his ilk interfering in his business.
Draco would, at least for now, proceed, but he would do so with extreme caution. Walking over to the poorly mended wall, the young wizard gave it a few taps with his hand. He wasn't a carpenter by any stretch of the imagination, his snobbish upbringing and surroundings looking down upon those that dirtied their hands. However, even he was able to ascertain that the patchwork job was done without much thought put into it.
"I'm sure they at least put enough work into it so that I won't be able to kick it down."
He was completely wrong in his assumption.
Draco swiftly thrust his foot at the wooden planks, which resulted in his leg shooting straight out through to the other side. He paused for a moment, wondering if the loud noise that he had manufactured would alert any nearby Death Eater.
His luck was still intact.
Draco briefly wondered if these fortunate turns of events were being set up so that he would fail that much harder in the future. Not wanting to dwell on such speculations, he stuffed the thought deep into the recesses of his mind. Destroying the rest of the makeshift wall, he then walked past the outer shell and was greeted by the outdoors.
"Hm, maybe I should've just left some parts of this intact so that I could cover it back up. Well, what's done is done, I have to hurry and find that Mudblood and get back before that captain person returns."
With the route secured, he began to walk towards where he last left the witch. He grimaced while put on the mask. Now that Draco thought about it, even though he had told her to wait for his return, he highly doubted that she would listen to him. Letting out a sigh, he could only hope that she was still right where he left her.
[She let out a small sigh before telling me that Draco went to go look for Hermione]
Hermione watched the mercenary rudely ignore her and disappear off into the depths of Hogsmeade. She folded her arms against her chest and stared off into the sunset, feeling the cool breeze brush against her hair. Perhaps Dragon was used to having subservient people around him and having them obey his commands. Maybe the witches in his life were the type that waited for things to be done for them.
Surveying the desolated land, the witch let out a sigh and shook her head. While the landscape of Britain was going through such destructive changes, she had been wistfully ignorant of the entire situation. She hated to admit it, but if the school invasion had never occurred, then she would have been blissfully insensible of the conditions that the war was creating.
Hermione felt the cool air brush against the side of her head, lightly sweeping her bangs to the side. A small smile graced her face. It would be unfortunate for the hireling, but he would have to learn that this witch did not like to approach life in a passive manner. Instead of sitting on her hand and letting the mercenary do all the work, she was going to make some contributions as well.
She followed the circular path of the wall, tracing her fingers along the cold surface. The night was oddly void of any noise that indicated the usual melodies of life, replaced in its stead by a hoot of a singular owl. Even if this was just but a microcosm of the war's devastation, she now had a feel for the utter despair that the victims were experiencing.
Hermione stopped herself when she came to the Hogsmeade entrance. A frown entered her face after she realized that the masked man was correct in his assumption. The large front gates to the village were closed while being heavily barred and bolted from the inside. She had almost overlooked the wards that were placed on the outer edges of the doorway. So even if she managed to overcome the obstacles that were obstructing the gate, there was no telling how the wards would react.
Sighing once again, she discarded the idea of going through the front gate and figured that she had wasted enough time. Slightly disappointed with her lack of success, she began the trek back to the waiting spot. However, her venture was short lived when she heard hints of agonizing pain off by the dark woods.
Hermione cautiously walked over to the source of the voice.
"Ugh... h-hurts...w-why me..."
Hermione's natural desire to assist those in need quickly began to surface, as she started to approach the sick sounding individual. Her interest in the matter decreased when she took note of the person's garments, which indicated the person being part of the Dark side. Slowing herself down, she hid behind a nearby tree and watched the Death Eater with a sense of morbid curiosity.
The Death Eater was hunched over near a tree, violently shivering and rocking while holding the base of their left arm. Hermione bit her lower lip as the quandary was upsetting the balance of her sensibility.
What was the right thing to do in this situation?
The aforementioned person was an enemy that belonged to the other side and would have no hesitation in murdering her if they were to ever meet on the battlefield. Heck, forget the war, just from the status of her blood they would outright kill her without second thought. Everything about the war should be straightforward: black and white, dark versus light. This should not even be an issue for her since it was clear which side she was fighting for.
However, that was the source of her inner turmoil. Should she ignore those that needed assistance, even if they were considered the enemies? Would she be considered a traitor if she helped an ailing Death Eater? There were so many other questions that were muddling her mind. None of this had ever cropped up when she was running around with Harry and Ron, but now that she was essentially alone, she was being exposed to the raw realities of the brutal war.
Still, at the end of the day, they were all human beings, and they all depended on one another to uphold the standards of society. To forego this very fact would not make them any better than menial, mindless creatures.
"Gah...stop! I-I didn't know...please h-have mercy..."
It was a terrible sight to behold as the lonely Death Eater suddenly collapsed to the floor and vomited a thick black liquid. Afterward, he unfurled the sleeves of the robe, exposing the insignia of those that followed Voldemort—the Dark Dark. The mark itself was giving off a dark purple glow but did not appear to be radiating magic.
Hermione couldn't help but have her inquisitive mind run down some hypotheses and theories on what she was currently witnessing. From her previous Intel and research of the Dark Mark, she knew that only certain inner members were given the 'honor' of such branding. There was also the matter of its usage and how it normally reacts. However, it would seem as though everything she knew about the Mark was totally being negated by the scene in front of her.
Was the Dark Mark given to anyone now? Was it altered to give it different functions? Could that even be the genuine article? There was no possible way for her to answer any of these questions without doing another in depth study of the Mark.
Any possibility of her making a decision was taken away when the Death Eater suddenly stopped shaking and slowly rose to his feet. Covering the still-glowing mark, he steadily began to walk back towards the village. Not seeing any other available option, Hermione decided to follow the person in hopes of both finding a different entryway and an opportunity to further investigate the new Dark Mark.
Just to be safe, the brunette made sure to keep a fair distance between herself and the individual that she was tailing. She had a hunch that the man's discomfort from the strange condition would distract him from being able to give proper attention to his environment. Regardless, she decided to throw caution to the wind and followed through whenever there were enough trees between them.
Eventually, Hermione saw the Death Eater stop in front of a wall, give it a few taps, then jump straight into it. Approaching the same section, the witch reached out and touched the solid base of the outer fence. She was surprised at having discovering that such an intricate design had been plotted in the area. If her conjecture held true, then the core magic that held this together was essentially the same as the one from platform nine and three-quarters.
Closing her eyes, the young woman took a deep breath as she emulated the movements from the previous Death Eater. It was just but a brief moment for her to switch from the outside to the inner walls of Hogsmeade. However, the aftermath of the instantaneous warping had left her feeling a bit disoriented and queasy.
"That definitely wasn't the same, in fact it felt like I just did a Side-Along-Apparition, but with unknown coordinates to the location, the caster being very sloppy with the entire procedure, and then almost botching the landing."
Holding her stomach with the left arm, Hermione closed her eyes and took a few seconds to regain her balance. When the orientation of the room stopped spinning for her, she opened her eyes and immediately went to investigating her surroundings. The inspection was short lived since she had quickly come to a realization of where she was. But this brought about a whole new set of questions that she knew would continuously plague her.
"I'm at the Hog's Head inn, more specifically, it's where I expected Dragon and I to land after going through the Room of Requirement. For some reason, the secret passageway got transferred and connected to a different part of Hogsmeade. I'm definitely going to do further research on this after the war is finished."
Mentally adding the task to her growing list, Hermione rubbed her eyes and berated herself. She had almost forgotten the initial reason in following the Death Eater through the portal-like entrance. Having accomplished the primary goal of infiltrating the village, she walked over to the door to find it unlocked. Rather than going back to the secret passageway, she decided to explore Hogsmeade for a bit.
The first thing she noticed when she walked out of the tavern was that the streets were pitch black. It was incredibly difficult to see anything in front of her, with the only hints of illumination hanging from a few selected buildings.
Using her memory of the village as a map, she carefully guided herself to the first available light source. But, as soon as her perception of the scenery became clearer, she felt someone grab the back of her hair.
"Well, well, well—what do we have here?" a low scraggly voice sneered as a Death Eater came into view. "How did such a pretty little thing like you wander into our territory, hm?"
Hermione cursed at her own naïveté. She should've been more careful and avoided going directly to the light. But, considering just how hard it was to even see a few yards without assistance, she had believed that the shroud of darkness would provide enough of a cover for her.
Of course, there would be guards stationed around the village.
Luckily for her, this one appeared to be dimwitted and without any nearby help. All she had to do was take out her wand, stun him, and then get away before anyone noticed it.
"Hey Lyra! I caught this one stumbling around here!"
Much to Hermione's chagrin, her chance to escape vanished when the guard's partner came out from behind them. Still, the appearance of another Death Eater would not necessarily mean that she had become their prisoner. It just meant that-
"How many times do I have to tell you not to use my name? We're part of the Death Eaters now, act like an anonymous soldier for once. Also, why are you holding her down from the hair?"
The one called Lyra seemed to be the smarter one between the two and was female to boot. A small smirk started to form at the corner of Hermione's lips as it reminded her too much of the dynamic that existed between her, Harry, and Ron. All they needed was a third member to be added, and it would essentially be the 'dark' version of them.
"Make sure you keep her incapacitated by pinning her wrists together behind the back. Just remember that a low probability means that it's not zero, got it? Also, where is Third Silver? Did he not say that he was using the restroom? Is he not back yet?"
"Third Silver...you mean Adrian?"
Hermione was thankful for the blinding darkness as it hid the smile that was currently gracing her face. She was sure that if neither of them were forced to choose a side, then they would have become fast friends, either that or great rivals. It was saddening to note that she would be unable to further pursue any kind of relationship with the Death Eater named Lyra.
Perhaps if both of them survived the war, then she would look into befriending this person. For now, they were enemies, and she had to find a way to liberate herself. Lightly struggling against the new bonds that were placed around her wrist, the bushy-haired witch grimaced when she felt her captive swat her head.
"Hey! Don't think I don't know your trying to pull," the Death Eater grunted as he pulled against her restraints. "Don't even think about it, yeah?"
He then spat on the floor before continuing to speak, "Now see here missy, I know that we can't be using our spells around here, at least not freely anyway. But these ropes are mighty swell in holding you down, yeah?"
Hermione's ears perked up when she heard the Death Eater make mention of not being able to use magic. As far as she knew, McGonagall only gave her a warning not to wield it during the trip. No rhyme or reason had been given as it was presumed that the trip would be short enough not to raise concerns over the matter. Plus, if she did get into trouble, then the hired wand was supposed to aid her.
Speaking of the mercenary, she wondered just how incensed he would be to find her missing once he returned from trying to discover an alternative route. She supposed that she could regret the decision in trying to further explore the village. However, this would not be the appropriate time to be mulling over the results, but rather obtaining her freedom.
"So tell me," Hermione said in a tone barely above a whisper. "With all these impressive wards you guys installed all around the village, why can't you freely use magic?"
She was both fishing for information while trying to stall for time in hopes of finding a viable means of escaping.
"Well, as ya know, the Evolved love ta hunt in pack and group, with lots and lots o' magic in places, yeah?"
"Seamus...?" Hermione caught herself saying as the speaker began the explanation. The accent was similar, but the tonality was a lot deeper, plus she had just left him back at Hogwarts. Speaking of the school, she wondered how everyone was doing? She shook her head and turned her attention back to the Death Eater.
"Well, it turns out that the wards ain't good enough ta hold a group of 'em back, ya know? So rather than risk 'em coming to us, we just keep a low enough profile and have all of our spells down to a minimum, right Lyra?"
"That's an awful lot of information that he divulged to me. I'm surprised that he's given me so much information without any consequence from the others. Unless he believes that this isn't anything important to withhold? And what was it he said, the Evolved?" Hermione thought to herself. Looking over to the female Death Eater, she swore that even with the mask on, she could see the scowl on her face.
"Shut it you fool, it's bad enough that I'm stuck here with you babbling with the prisoner and answering her questions unnecessarily, but Third Silver seems to also delight upon practicing insolence, rather than obey simple orders from the captain."
Luck was not on the girl's side as another Death Eater seemingly popped out from the corner. The trend of the growing numbers of gathering guards began to alarm her. From the way things looked, she wouldn't have to be worried about the success rate of her escape plans, but rather surviving an ordeal of being held hostage by the dark.
No, that absolutely could not be allowed to happen. Under no circumstance would she concede to being held in captivity by the Dark Lord and his lowly cronies. Still, her steeled conviction would all be for naught if she was unable to do something about her unfortunate circumstance.
"Third Silver, I know you were given permission to use the bathroom, but did you lock the door to the access waypoint after using it? Also, were you not told to report back to me when you were done? Where did you go afterward?"
The one that was holding onto Hermione rubbed the back of his head before quipping, "Come now Lyra, cut the guy some slack will ya? He had the...what ya call it? Arm fire or something? So he was real safe, ya know?"
"First of all, it's firearm you twit," Lyra snapped back. "Secondly, there's a reason why rules and protocols exist, and breaking them serves us no real purpose except to hinder our ability to survive within the walls of this forsaken village!"
Hermione squinted her eyes toward the one called Third Silver and chewed on her lips for a few seconds. The person definitely appeared familiar to her, yet there wasn't a name or value attached to this individual. Realization hit her once she recognized that it was the same one that she had found hurling out near the trees. Although she was still disgusted by the memory, curiosity over the Mark and the person's condition superseded the former. The timing for her question never came when another Death Eater walked up to them.
"Oh! Captain, sir! Silver unit one-three-five reporting for duty," Lyra said bowing to the person while straightening her back and standing at attention. The other two guards emulated her actions.
The brunette saw the one labeled captain stare at her for a few seconds before looking back at the other soldiers. She found it incredibly vexing with doubt beginning to creep into her mind. Did his eyes latch onto her because he was able to distinguish her identity? Worse, did he have some sort of malicious intentions forming in his mind?
"Captain?" Lyra repeated. "Has there been news from the superiors?"
Even though Hermione was surrounded by the enemy, she couldn't help but feel something off about the one labeled captain. Her suspicions were only further confirmed by the way the current speaker was reacting.
"Are you alright sir? Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No," the captain finally responded in an odd, low gravelly sounding voice. "Leave the hostage here and return to your posts. Immediately."
Hermione could tell that Lyra wanted to oppose the command, but rather than articulate it, she merely nodded before following the orders. After getting roughly shoved into the waiting hands of the captain, the rest of the members quickly dispersed and began to return to their designated post.
The two walked in silence before the lone Death Eater pushed Hermione against a building. For a moment fears for the worst began to creep into her mind.
"Why the hell are you here?!"
Hermione opened her mouth then promptly closed it and blinked a few times. She didn't know how, but it seemed like Dragon was quite a competent mercenary since he was able to rescue her without causing a single ounce of trouble. Perhaps McGonagall's faith in this one wasn't unwarranted after all.
"I got caught by the Death Eaters," she deadpanned once she was able to regain her wit. The brunette wasn't going to admit it, but she was grateful for the relief that flooded her once she realized who the captain was.
"You gobby little shite, I mean, why the fuck were you in position to get caught in the first place?"
Hermione shook her head, not feeling up to keeping pace with the caustic argument. Not only were her wrists still bound, but she was also growing tired of the trip. All she wanted to do now was meet up with the Order and take a long nap.
"Look, I'm sorry alright? It's just that I saw a sickly Death Eater at the outskirts of town and then became curious at the odd behavior of the Dark Mark. One thing led to another, and I somehow ended up following him through a secret passageway straight into the inn."
She heard the other person slam his hand onto the nearby wall, "Your safety is my responsibility, and I will not risk the wrath of the Order just because you decided to satisfy your Gryffindorish whims. So when I tell you to..."
An awkward pause came between the two, with the sound of their breaths being the sole sounds to be heard. Hermione was unable to understand this sudden moment of hesitation from Dragon. It was still too dark for her to see anything clearly, but she was able to tell that something was definitely bothering him.
"Dragon, is something-"
"Out of all the stupid things!" Draco mumbled under his breath. When he initially went to go find the Mudblood, she was nowhere to be found. There were no signs of where she might've disappeared to, and on top of that, he had the difficult task of returning to the heavily guarded village and act like nothing had happened.
He had to do all this within a very short time constraint. The only thing he could go by was the fact that there weren't any signs of a struggle anywhere. This meant that she was being a typical Gryffindor and had went off into Hogsmeade by herself. He really hoped that he could reach her before things became too hectic.
[Draco went back to Hogsmeade...he then...]
Of all the luck, he had to find her captured by a group of Death Eaters. Still, he was fortunate in the fact that they believed everything they were told and didn't question a single command they were told. "We need to get out of here, now," Draco said in a resolute voice, untying the girl's wrists. Shaking his head, the Malfoy heir added, "There's no time for this, we have to leave before the place gets overrun by the Evolved"
Once again, her knowledge, or lack thereof, was apparent in situations like this, which gave her no choice but to obediently follow directions. The pair had not gone very far when they heard a bloodcurdling scream from within their proximity.
"Alright, that's our cue to go in the opposite direction and avoid the place where the scream came from Granger. Granger...?"
Draco looked over his shoulder and saw the reason why he was not getting a response back from the female – she was gone. Whipping his head back around, he saw a familiar silhouette having already gone a good distance ahead of him. He had no idea what was going through the girl's head, but he was not about to become a Squib due to the girl's reckless behavior.
Cursing inwardly at himself for both accepting the mission and taking the damning oath, the blonde hurried over to Hermione.
"You bloody twat, what did we just talk about a few seconds ago? I told you that we have to leave right now!"
Instead of the expected curt apology that was usually followed by a sarcastic comment of some sort, all Hermione did was silently point. Draco couldn't help but swing his attention toward the location.
The Death Eater named Lyra had been holding the body of Third Silver while he went through another violent bout of intractable shaking. He was also letting out low moans that were more akin to a dying animal rather than a human. Then, everything changed in an instant.
The sickly Death Eater collapsed to the floor, causing him to stop his groaning. This in turn caused Lyra to check on her fallen comrade while the third person of the group suddenly dashed up to her and started to pull on her.
"L-Lyra! W-we have ta get out! C'mon! I-I've seen something like this before, and it ain't pretty. Just leave him, 'cause if we don't leave now, then we're gonna die Lyra!"
"What? I can't just do that! We have to take him to a mediwitch to check his conditi-oof!"
It happened too fast for anyone to react in time. The hooded figure that had fainted suddenly rose to his feet and thrust his left arm out, firmly taking hold of Lyra by the neck. Then in one fell swoop the revived Death Eater threw the female Death Eater down to the hard concrete floor.
Crack!
The unadulterated sound of flesh meeting hardened cement brutally rang in the air.
"Aaaaah!"
The remaining sane and conscious Death Eater screamed in terror, immediately running away from the horrible scene. Ignoring the fleeing person, the rejuvenated individual looked back at the unconscious woman and stopped.
"H-hungry...feed..."
It was then the black robes slipped off, revealing just about the entirety of his body. One of the major things that were noticeable on the individual was that he was completely pale. There were also long, thick veins that visibly ran all across his body, with outlines of his ribs awkwardly showing on his torso. His face also appeared to have lost much of its humanoid characteristics, with pupils missing from both of his eyes and disgusting foam that was dripping from its lower jaw.
Despite all these changes, the most glaring one had to do with the Dark Mark. The usual insignia of the complete Dark Mark was a skull with a long snake slithering out from the mouth. Strangely enough, the one that was shown here had the snake swallowing the skull. Not only that, but the contours of the emblem were glowing yellow while the inside was shaded with that of a teal color.
Hermione couldn't stand to watch any longer as she gripped the base of her wand and was prepared to jump in front of the transforming Death Eater. Being on alert this time around, the masked blonde grabbed hold of the witch before she was able to fulfill the Gryffindor stereotype.
"What in the name of Merlin's saggy tits are you thinking? Did hanging around with Pothead and the Weasel really make you become this barmy?"
There was something awfully familiar about the way that the derogatory comments were framed within the insult. Still, she didn't bother pursuing this since there was a much more pressing issue at hand. Doing her best to swat the other person's arm away from her, she hissed back, "Why are you stopping me from saving her? Do you really only take action when you get paid to do so? If so, then you're a completely despicable person, Dragon!"
Angrily yanking the witch down, he spat out, "You really are lacking in common sense, aren't you Granger? I told you, my job was to get you safely to the meeting point so that I could transfer you over to the Order member. Also, at this point magic doesn't affect it at all, unless you can cast a killing curse that's strong enough to penetrate a troll's skin. It's far too gone and has pretty much become one of those things we call the Evolved."
"The Evolved...?" Hermione repeated back in a softer tone.
"Yeah," Draco nodded and discreetly looked back at the thing that was now called the Evolved. A shudder ran down the core of his spine with the remembrance of his past encounters with the creatures flashing before him.
"Unless we have this powerful artifact called a firearm, there's no possible way for us to do anything about the Evolved. Now come on, if we stay here any longer, then we'll just become like Muggles in a Death Eater raid."
"Wait, you said firearms, right? Dragon, wouldn't you rather be well equipped, just in case of emergencies where neither of us could avoid an encounter with an Evolved? Well, if I can remember their conversation, then I do believe that the transmogrified being had the item on him. But, if he were like every other Death Eater then..."
Draco sighed as he knew where her train of thought was leading to. Slinging his left hand onto his right shoulder, he swung his right arm in a circular motion while cracking the tense muscles in his neck.
"I don't know what you're planning Mudblood, but don't you dare step out of line this time, got it?"
Before the conversation developed any further, the transformed Death Eater went right back to work. Stretching its left arm out, the pale creature picked Lyra up by her head and dangled her unconscious body in the air. Unfortunately for the imprisoned female, she had taken this exact moment to become responsive again.
"Nggh...huh? What? I-I-I-I ah...m-my h-h-h-h-h-h-he-ad h-urrrrrrrts..." Lyra slurred out the last word before slumping back down once again. The Evolved did not appear to be deterred in the slightest by its victim awakening as it continued to squeeze her head. As soon as she became frigid, the Dark Mark began to unceremoniously blink in a slow and controlled succession. Once the insignia returned to its core colors, the pale creature carelessly dumped the body onto the ground.
The Evolved wasn't finished just yet. Lifting its left arm into the air, it balled its hand into a tight fist before jamming it straight down Lyra's mouth. After leaving it in for a few seconds, the pale creature finally appeared to be satisfied. Slipping its arm out from the disheveled corpse, the transformed person finally walked away.
"I'll be right back; I'll just do a quick check and return, alright?"
Hermione nodded as she released the breath that she hadn't known she was holding. She couldn't help but fall to the floor and shakily lean against nearby debris. After witnessing something so grotesque unfold before her eyes, her mentality and fatigue were rapidly coming to a climax. But, she could not show weakness now since admitting to her own condition would only bring her own ruin. She would have to do her best to control her growing impulses, at least until she reached the next hideout.
Draco, on the other hand, was busy scavenging through the discarded robe and the female Death Eater's body. He had managed to find an extra set of ration cards, along with a sleek, black hand cannon. Taking a peek at the end of the barrel, he randomly aimed it at a wall before pulling the trigger.
Click click click
"Worthless thing's probably broken," Draco muttered to himself and proceeded to discard the item until he was stopped by the witch.
"Oh, that's the firearm huh?" Hermione said as she tilted her head and examined it a bit closer. Draco couldn't help but blink a few times as he saw the garment that she had decided to don. He was not going to loudly admit it, but he had to give her, begrudgingly, some points for adapting to their current predicament. She had taken the dead Death Eater's robe and placed it over herself.
"Yeah, it's a gun alright. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I believe I've seen and read enough about them to know how to operate, at least on a very basic, fundamental level."
The masked blonde blinked a few times and then shook his head while mumbling something incoherent. Ignoring the inaudible insult, Hermione quickly examined the gun herself before giving him a quick guide on the mechanism behind the firearm.
[It was here that she had a slightly panicked look on her face while informing me that they collected their gatherings and began to run away]
Draco slowed himself down to match Hermione's pace before pushing her off to the side. Looking over his shoulder, he then dashed around the corner and dove underneath a pile of rubble. Feeling a tickle at the back of his throat, he quickly covered his mouth to block any chances of his cough from becoming audible.
"Where did those intruders go?!"
"You, stay here and check the area, the two of us will go on ahead and give the rest back-up against the rampaging Evolved. Remember, even with the anti-Apparition wards and the temporary isolation debuffs, using any kind of magic will only attract the Evolved to your location."
Doing his best to protect his face from the falling detritus, Draco began to slowly crawl out from his current position. Just when he was starting to gain some ground, he heard the lone Death Eater yell.
"You're one of the intruders aren't you? Don't move, or I'll kill you."
Draco felt his blood freeze for a second, wondering just how the guard had been able to discover him so quickly. This notion was dismissed when he heard a feminine voice answer back. Grumbling to himself over this mishap, he quietly rolled out from the collected debris and leaned against a destroyed building. Making his way to the edge, he then cautiously poked his head out and looked toward the direction where the conversation was occurring.
"You dare point that wand in my direction and label me an intruder?" Hermione responded, holding her head up in the air while giving off a sense of aristocracy.
"Uh...huh? But why were you..."
While the lone Death Eater was distracted in obtaining more information from the witch, Draco had taken the time sneak up behind the person. As soon as he was in position, he leaped forward and tightly wrapped one arm around the guard's neck while positioning the other on top of his face, effectively blocking his nostrils and mouth. The guard flailed around for a brief moment before his movements ceased struggling.
Draco retrieved another ration card from the body before casually dropping the inanimate guard onto the ground. Hermione bit her lower lip as she shook her head before asking,
"Dragon, did you have to kill him? Couldn't you have just knocked him unconscious?"
Draco looked straight at the speaker before responding, "My job is to keep you safe Granger, at least until we reach the designated spot. Keeping the enemy alive means that there's a likely chance for them to come back and turn everything into utter shambles." Giving a slight pause, he then added, "But no, he's not dead."
Not wanting to waste any more time, the pair began to head for the exit again. It was a tricky situation to traverse through since the village was now on high alert. There were numerous times when they were forced to duck behind covers or take a detour from their route. Their troubles did not stop when they had reached the exit.
"This is complete bullocks," Draco hissed under his mask, observing the multiple units that were patrolling the area. Here they were, just one exit away from their destination, yet it felt completely out of reach.
"Dragon," the bushy-haired witch murmured, poking him on the shoulders. "I'll say this quick since we don't have much time. Let's just get out of Hogsmeade for now and try again tomorrow, after all the commotion has died down?"
"Hey! Look, over there! I see something!"
Both Draco and Hermione jumped to their feet and ran out from where they were hiding.
"I think those were the intruders! Don't let them escape, after them!"
While the two were chased through the dark alleyways of the village, minor spells began to fly in their direction. Confused by the sudden usage of magic, Hermione lost her balance for a second, which threatened to have her topple over and land flat on the floor. Luckily for her, Draco was close enough to scoop her up from behind, helping her quickly regain her balance.
They were able to get right back on track without the enemy gaining too much on them. Making a sharp turn at the corner, the pair spotted an empty building and immediately went inside of it. Both of them held their breath as they heard sounds of footsteps going straight past them. However, they knew that it was only a matter of time before the Death Eaters began their search of the adjoining infrastructures.
Going over to the opposite side of the building, Draco waved her over and began to walk across the backyard. He was only able to take a few steps before the path in front of him became impossible to traverse. There was some type of large ditch that unequivocally separated his side from the rest of Hogsmeade. Before he could make sense of what the gigantic hole was for, he felt someone push him from the back.
A sense of panic hurriedly filled Draco when he saw himself falling straight into the empty ditch. Not thinking about his actions, he attempted to latch onto the nearest thing to help him out of this situation. Unfortunately, this turned out to be an equally confused and shrieking Hermione, which made her tumble down with the falling mercenary.
"Fuck...I guess you Mudbloods are just as clumsy as your blood status indicates."
Just when Hermione was about to retort, she decided to hold herself back as both of them heard a Death Eater loudly shout.
"Hey! I think I heard something down at the water tunnel!"
"I have an idea, just place your Lumos down there, and let's see if we can see what caused that noise. No need to risk going down there if it's one of those magic-sucking creatures."
Promptly getting back on their feet, the duo started to move again. At this point, they had no clue where they were heading, but it was apparent to both of them that they could not afford to stay exposed in open space.
The two of them did their best to avoid being caught by the searching spotlight. They made sure to press their backs against the wall and only advanced when the spell's attention was shifted to another direction.
"Are you sure you heard something? I don't see anything down here!"
When the pair reached the end of the irrigation tunnel, all they saw was a rundown shack. Not bothering to wait, Draco pointed to the tiny building as he said in a whisper.
"Granger, go check to see what's inside and wait for me there. I'm going to see if there's anything we can use to get us out of here. So don't move, alright?"
Hermione bit her lower lip and decided to listen to the directions that were given to her. She knew that this was not the right time or place to be quarreling with the mercenary. Walking over to the door, the witch found no locks placed upon it. Swinging it open, she stepped inside and took a look around the shack.
It was a dusty tool shed, with most of the items seemingly untouched for what appeared to be ages. Identifying an unused candle on the desk, she picked it up and stared at it for a few seconds. Taking out her wand, she then cast a small spell to light the tip of the wax stick.
Even though the unwritten agreement for all the inhabitants of the magical world was not to use magic, for some odd reason she found these particular Death Eaters contradicting that very rule. She had a feeling that it had something to do with the wards that they had used in response to the sighting of the Evolved, but without a clear explanation she was unable to confirm her suspicions.
Hermione let out a sigh as she stared off at the window. Was this not supposed to be a simple trip, one where she went from the school to the hideout? Why did things have to go horribly wrong? She supposed that she could thank her lucky stars that she was still alive and in one piece.
Hermione's musings were interrupted by the sudden entrance of the hired wand. Instead of greeting her, the young man went straight for the table and splayed a map on top of it. Squinting at the scroll, he then waved her over.
"Granger, bring that light over here so that I can see this thing better."
It was a simple procedure, at least compared to all of the events that had transpired between them. However, after transferring ownership of the candle over to blonde wizard, Hermione stood frozen on the spot. For a second, she did not know how to react or respond, chalking up her wild imagination to fatigue.
When she rubbed her eyes and looked at the mercenary's face again, there was no doubt that her mind was not playing any tricks on her. Then in a flash, all of the past emotions that she had repressed after the passing of the former Headmaster began to return with a vicious twist of vengeance.
Draco Malfoy.
Out of all the students, this one was the reason that the Death Eaters had been able to invade Hogwarts.
It was him that led to the death of Albus Dumbledore, one of the only wizards that still made Voldemort fear mortality.
He was also the bane of her existence and had made it his life mission to constantly remind her of her inferiority within the magical community.
Draco fuckin' Malfoy.
Hermione slowly reached into the robe and tightly gripped her wand.