A/N Sorry that this one is so short! But it's pretty important. I'll try to write more soon! Reviews are greatly appreciated :)

Chapter 3

Hermione was going through paperwork on her desk, trying to brainstorm ideas on finding the remaining Death Eaters when she heard the flap of paper. She looked around; there were no papers on her desk moving. Something bumped into her arm and she looked down to see what it could have been. Of course! How could she have been so stupid? It was just a note. Instead of owls the Ministry charms the note paper to fly to its recipient. It makes the cleaning staffs jobs much easier. She grabbed the fluttering note and opened it:

Hermione,

Please come to my office as soon as you read this. It's incredibly urgent.

Kingsley

Hermione's stomach dropped as she read the note. Incredibly urgent usually meant that something was wrong. Hermione disposed of the note and headed for the Ministers office right away.

"Kingsley what's going on?" She asked, not even bothering to knock on her old friends door. She stopped in her tracks when she saw who was sitting across from the Minister. "Oh. I'm sorry. I'll just wait outs-"

"No Hermione. I need to speak with the both of you. Shut the door please." Said Kingsley. Hermione did as she was told and took the seat next to her favourite Death Eater, shooting him a disgusted look.

"What's going on…?" She asked worriedly. Hopefully this wasn't about her breaking his nose or being so cruel to Malfoy. He deserved it all, and she most definitely didn't deserve getting in trouble for it. After all that he had done to her, she should be aloud to get a little payback.

"I've just finally had the chance to talk to Draco about everything he knows. I've got some really awful news." He said, worry written all over his face.

"Just come out with it Kingsley." Hermione said nervously. She felt as if her insides were all tangled up and what not.

"There's another horcrux." Hermione's head snapped up. Whatever she had been expecting to hear, it certainly wasn't that. Her, Ron and Harry had destroyed all the horcruxes- even the accidental one that Voldemort had made out of Harry. They had gone into peoples memories, lived in the forest for almost a full year and almost gotten killed on several different occasions. They had done everything they could to make sure all of the horcruxes would be destroyed. She had thought maybe a break out of Azkaban or something that would require a little bit of extra work, but this was much worse. This meant that Voldemort could be revived again.

"How- What- I thought-" stammered Hermione. She was so stunned she couldn't even get full sentences out. There were so many horrible thoughts running through her mind. At the same time, she was also planning how to hunt it down and destroy it.

"Draco, could you please explain to Ms. Granger about the ninth horcux?" Kingsley asked Malfoy. Malfoy turned to Hermione, and for a quick moment she thought she saw something other than contempt for her written on his face. Had it been worry? Sadness? Whatever it was, it was gone now.

"Voldemort had figured that Slughorn would remember the time he had inquired about horcruxes when he was still just a young boy. He knew that he had mentioned the magical number of seven. Although the Dark Lord desperately wanted the significance of seven horcruxes, he knew that his immortality could depend on having an eighth. To him, immortality mattered much more than significance. He hadn't expected all seven to be found, but you can never be too cautious. He wanted to be certain. The few remaining Death Eaters were planning on finding it and reviving him yet again. When I left they hadn't found it, but they were getting pretty close."

"Bloody hell." She said, using Ron's favourite term. She didn't know what else to say. For the second time within a few minutes, she was speechless. She saw Draco smirk, and she knew that it was because for once, the chatterbox was quiet. Hermione always had some sharp retort to fire back at him, or the answer to a complex question. She was hardly ever rendered speechless.

"I'm assigning you and Draco to this mission. You're to try to find the horcrux and destroy it as soon as you find it. I'll send you with a supply of basilisk fangs, as they're much easier to transport than a huge sword." Kingsley told them, referring to the sword of Gryffindor. He began to go into more detail on the mission, but Hermione hadn't been able to get past the fact that her and Draco were assigned to this mission. How could the minister do this? Why not her best friend and fiance? They certainly had plenty of experience in hunting horcruxes. "Hermione?"

"Yes?" She said, her head snapping to attention at the sound of her name. She looked over at Malfoy, who looked equally as upset at this news as her.

"Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?" asked Kingsley.

"You expect me to work with him? Are you out of your mind Kingsley. We can't stand to be in the same room, let alone go out on a mission alone together. How do you know we won't kill each other?"

"That's why you're here and not Ron or Harry. They very likely would kill each other, but you're much more logical than them, and I trust you to keep your emotions well enough in check. I'm sure you can push your differences aside long enough to save the world from the return of Voldemort." Hermione took a deep breath. Kingsley had a point there. She had much better control over her emotions and impulses than Ron or Harry. Getting rid of a horcrux trumped her hatred for the tall blonde sitting next to her.

"When do we leave?" She asked finally.