Rabastan was feeding his mudblood in the same way he fed Luna at the very , very late breakfast of which she insisted. He was buttering a croissant with such care that one would think he was presenting it to the queen. This was his way of saying thanks, but she didn't seem to care for it. They were all crowded in a small kitchen with an english breakfast on tea stands that were so high, they had to accio food from the highest platter. It was a raucous breakfast. Owls delivering letters, Yaxley and Rodolphus in lively conversation over another cock up at the ministry, a potion steaming in the sink.

The kitchen wasn't gaudy like the rest of the manor as much as it was old. Old wood, old cabinetry, and countertops that were stained with the remnants of a thousand dinners gone by. Pots and Pans floated above their heads as early afternoon light streamed it's way across the floor.

She was irritated that Rabastan chose to feed her, which pleased Antonin to no end. "I was not the one that was bleeding all over the foyer last night." She said grabbing a croissant from him and glaring. "Explain yourself."

He found that he was jealous of the ease that Rabastan had with the two witches, always doting on them, always near them.

Rabastan looked over at Rodolphus and then to her. "Well, it's kind of a long story actually."

She actually rolled her eyes at him. The most feared brothers in the Dark Lord's employ didn't seem to phase her much. "We have time."

"We don't actually," Yaxley interrupted and gave him a strange look before producing a bag, another bag like the one from before Harrod's .

She let out a bark of laughter "You went to Harrod's?" Her face suddenly changed, and she seemed to realize what company she was keeping "Keep it."

The table went quiet, and the bag transfigured to a copy of the prophet. "Is this more your taste, love?" Yaxley asked waving it at her.

She looked shy for once, he liked this look, and a small hand darted out from under the table to grab the newspaper.

MUGGLE MINISTRY IN CHAOS

Hermione looked up from the headline to Rabastan who gave her a mischievous look over the top of his china.

"Idiot."

"Of course." He said, his words muffled by the empty cup.

She opened up the paper, and looked up, as if waiting for someone to chastise her for reading at the table, but breakfast resumed, and it was only after a few minutes that Yaxley interrupted her.

"Alright love, time to get ready to go, it's a bit of a hike to visit Fenrir."

She closed her eyes briefly, and he wondered at that moment what she was thinking because a few emotions flickered across her face before she opened her eyes to stare out the window.

She wore a strange combination of clothing as Rodolphus fussed over the girl. Some of it was clearly Bellatrix's, a long black skirt paired with the white button up shirt she slept in, her hair was a tousled mess and she had bunched the sleeves around her elbows.

Yaxley was waiting next to him, his hands clasped behind his back as he watched them at the foot of the stairs. "Rodolphus lost a daughter." He said quietly "She would be the same age as our little prisoner, so I think he sees his child in her."

The mudblood was swatting at him as he tried to fix her hair.

"What happened to the child?" asked Antonin.

"Bellatrix killed her when she was only two." Yaxley sounded pained "She didn't like sharing. Rodolphus loved that child. He still does."

Antonin knew the witch was mad, but to be mad enough to kill her own child? He looked at Rabastan who was conversing with the house elves just off in the sitting room because he didn't want Rodolphus to see the pity in his eyes. A daughter, Merlin, the same age as the girl he had slept with last night. He was truly going mad. Not a girl, not even human. A part of his mind shot back. Mudblood, mudblood.

Yaxley walked over to Rodolphus and transfigured her clothing to fit her, the skirt no longer sagged off her thin body, but hugged her waist, and the shirt was well fitting, the boots she had picked, tightened around her feet. He handed her a copy of the prophet and gave her a wink. His mudblood always needed to have the paper it seemed. She looked down at it incredulously, but then Rodolphus started messing with her hair again.

"Stop it, stop it!" She cried, irritated "Let's just go , I'm not going to the Yule Ball, appearance doesn't matter."

"And you're sure?" Rodolphus said.

She tugged at her tight white shirt, annoyed and shot him a glare. Then she turned on Yaxley. "Loosen this. Immediately. I look like a tart."

Yaxley laughed and walked out the door, waving for everyone to follow, but Antonin waited until his mudblood was standing next to him, looking up at him expectantly. "Ready?"

He studied her, clean and dressed up she looked like a woman, almond shaped eyes that saw more than anyone else. She was diminutive in size compared to the rest of the men, only coming up to his chest, her hair gave her a few extra inches in height. She had a folded up copy of the Daily Prophet in her hand.

She stepped into doorway, watching all the other men who were milling about in the gravel in front of the manor house. It was bright outside and the light filtered in, giving her a striking glow. The mudblood looked back at him and gave him a shy smile "Dolohov."

"Daylight is burning!" yelled Yaxley.

The way she said his name, even if it was just his last name, was on repeat in his mind for the next hour.

She was slow , mudbloods, he decided, were not built for hiking, more often than not they would get twenty or so paces in front of her before they waited

They had started too late, she was too slow, the forest was too dense, and he was irritated. The sun was low on the horizon as they walked uphill on a barely worn path, it caught on her skirt every so often and she had to spend an extra minute untangling things.

"What is wrong with you?" He seethed as they stopped for the sixth time in since they had set off two hours ago.

She was panting and ripping the skirt again, some kind of bush had come out and grabbed it, it's thorns dug into the fabric. She shot him a glare "Do you think , Dolohov, that putting on some kind of velvet skirt was what I had in mind to walk up a ruddy mountain?"

"Antonin," Rodolphus said spelling her skirt free and then blasting the bush into pieces "Temper."

He was always short tempered, he knew it wasn't something he should be proud of, but why was she so useless ! If she wasn't laid up in bed, she was getting tortured. If she wasn't getting tortured, she was slowing them down.

"We have to get there before nightfall, or we might as well just wait for them to come and eat us." Antonin snapped.

Rabastan, who was in front of the mudblood, offered his hand out to her. "We'll walk at your pace, Hermione."

She didn't take his hand but instead trudged up past all of the men, and in front of him. "I'm not weak and I can do this thank you very much." Her face was flushed red and she was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, her hair sticking to her skin as she looked back at them expectantly "Well?"

Yaxley scourgified her again and she was clean. "Enough! You insufferable man!"

He laughed, Antonin wondered if he had ever seen his friends in such good spirits before.

She was at a good pace for all of twenty minutes, and then she began to slow, Antonin walked beside her "Useless mudblood."

"Disgusting deatheater." She said and increased her pace again.

" Otrod'ye ." He shot back and walked faster to catch up.

"I don't need to know Russian to know you're being a prat, Dolohov." She was now running to catch up with him.

"Spoiled br-"

She fell into him with a quiet "ow" and he turned to catch her but she was already on her hands and knees on the dusty trail.

He hoisted her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Put me down, Dolohov! Put me down!"

It took all of ten minutes for her to stop protesting and remain still as they made their way up to Fenrir's camp in half the time it would have taken if she walked.

He liked the way her face changed when she saw something unexpected, a moment of surprise and then calculation. Fenrir's camp was definitely something unexpected. Metal buildings and barracks, children running around the square, women in quiet conversation on benches and tree stumps. He lived on top of a mountain, as close as he could get to the moon and the furthest he could get from people.

As they walked through the busy square, interrupting a game of tag around a campfire that was only ashes in the late afternoon sun the din of the village died out. Wizards had come, wizards and a small girl. They were foreboding in their dark death eater robes, his mudblood was not pleased when they donned them just outside the walls of the werewolf village. She asked if they would at least keep their masks off. He found it to be a reasonable request. Sometimes, when she was not being useless, she was reasonable.

Rodolphus stayed close to her, with Rabastan trailing behind his older brother. Yaxley was chatting up some women who were leaning against the largest building, every so often they'd look away from him and to the children who were still as they watched the group of non-werewolves interact.

Yaxley pointed to a large wooden cabin up against the treeline and Rodolphus grabbed her arm and whispered something furiously. She shook her head quickly and looked back at him. Her eyes grew defiant and she walked ahead of all of them. Antonin found himself following her just to see what the plan was.

There were two men, barely clothed, that sat on the steps to the cabin, tanned and dirty, their hair matted, they sniffed the air like dogs before turning towards her.

"I would like to request to see your alpha." She said, holding her hands out, palms up and empty. He saw the scratch marks from where she had fallen earlier.

One of the men, a dirty blonde with a large scar running down the side of his face got up and walked around her before heading inside.

She looked back at them and the confidence was replaced with a slight tinge of fear. A few moments passed in silence, the sun now completely gone from the sky, the shadows grew long, and the crowd behind them grew larger. Antonin found himself annoyed by the situation. Why were they waiting? Why not just go inside and have him kill her quickly?

The blonde came out with another man, this one dark haired and wearing more clothes. He looked almost respectable. The mudblood looked at him and showed him her hands again "I would like to request to see your alpha."

The respectable man looked back at the wizards and then to her "Alone?"

She shook her head "I will bring one of my pack with me, as is customary."

Customary ? Where the hell did she learn what was customary for a bunch of savage werewolves?

"That one." He said and pointed towards Antonin "That one will do."

Rodolphus looked away at the woods, trying to hide his disappointment.

Antonin stepped up behind her, feeling strangely protective. He noticed that her hands were shaking and wanted to do something to make it stop. She hiked up her skirt and walked up the steps into the cabin, giving one last look at the remaining wizards before they shut the door.

"So you're going to be nice before they eat you?" He asked as they waited in the large den for other men to arrive.

"No," She replied, pacing in front of the fireplace "Many people do not know that werewolves have customs and courtesies. I did a report on them in my fourth year."

It was sweltering inside the cabin and they were alone for five or so minutes, her fidgeting was driving him mad. Finally, the great hulking man, Fenrir Greyback, came with the dark haired respectable man from earlier. Fenrir had dirty blonde hair, which, like the rest of him, was absolutely dirty. Did the man ever shower? He collapsed on the large leather chair closest to the fire, and motioned for him to do the same.

"No," she hissed pushing him to the side "You're my envoy, just stand like he is."

Did the mudblood think he was better than he was? How dare she think that she could boss him around! She sat in the chair quickly, pulling her hair back away from her face and exposing her neck, he was surprised to see Fenrir do the same.

She smiled and settled back into the seat, his fingers gripped the top of the leather wingback chair. She was sweating again, but didn't show her discomfort.

There was a few moments where nothing happened and then the hulking werewolf spoke. "It has been a very long time since a wizard has come to show me proper manners!" He laughed "I have been told you were coming Hermione Granger."

"Good." She said "Have you been told why I am here?"

"You are what the Dark Lord intends to placate me with." He snarled "A girl that's all bones in exchange for tracking my entire family."

"I probably could do with more food." She said and gave him a smile "I haven't eaten dinner yet, I might get thinner even still."

He turned to the respectable man and said something Antonin couldn't hear before the respectable man left through a side door into another room. "Let's eat! Let's eat then, before I decide to eat you."

She had her hands folded in her lap, and no one spoke again until a large platter of meat and mead came out She waited for him to begin eating before she picked at some meat on the platter and then spoke with the drumstick in hand.

"I am here to give you something you want, and if you do not want it, Alpha Fenrir, then please eat me."

"What could a whelp like you possibly have?" He lowered his gaze to her lap "If no meat, then perhaps you're old enough to bear pups?"

She laughed. "While it would be an honor, I'm sure, I have something of greater value."

Antonin felt his blood boil, how dare this savage think of fucking his mudblood. His fingers made a noise as he tore the fabric of the chair.

She looked up at him, a flash of nervousness in her eyes before turning back to Fenrir. She tossed him the newspaper she was holding. "Some interesting news I've been reading lately." She took a sip of the mead and laid back against the seat, crossing one leg over the other.

MAGICAL CREATURE REGISTRATION ACT

He growled low and his eyes turned on her, he looked furious. "You've come into my home to make a mockery of me?"

"Alpha Fenrir, muggles have a saying, never judge a book by it's cover." She tore the drumstick apart delicately.

He opened the folded paper and three parchments fell out from inside. He thumbed through them and looked up at her, surprised. "Copies?"

Antonin looked down at her but the way she was sitting he could only see the top of her head.

"Originals." She said "While I do not like you personally, Alpha Greyback, I do not agree with this law either. It's criminal to track people and single out people as second class citizens simply because they are werewolves. I know a very kind werewolf who has suffered long due to his... gift …" Here she struggled for a minute, Antonin tried to peek at what she had given Fenrir "this law is just another wrongdoing in a list of wrongs by the ministry, and of course, your lord."

Fenrir read over the parchments before looking up at her again "What do you want from me?"

"Two things" She said setting her wooden mead pint down on the table again. "I want you to burn that list, and I want you to kill me."

It was the first time Antonin had ever seen Fenrir Greyback look upset "You give me a great gift and ask me to take your life?"

"No," She said shaking her head "I want you to tell everyone I died here. I wouldn't ask you to take my life."

He got up and tossed the parchments into the fire. "That's all?" He turned back to her, and Antonin realized that Greyback was even taller than he was. If he attacked them now, it was all over for the both of them.

She nodded. "That's all."

"Granted." He said, he smiled and they both could see his canines.

She let out a breath she had been holding and smiled up at him. It was radiant. He felt his heart beat a little bit faster in his chest and he was sure that it was fear that Greyback was going to kill them both.

Greyback grabbed her hand and pulled her up painfully fast. "Come," he said pulling her along "This is not food . I will get us food."

He was being too rough with her, pulling her along behind him like she was some ragdoll. She moved jerkily, her feet struggling to keep up with the werewolf's long strides. Didn't Fenrir know that she was just a mudblood? That she was fragile and weak?

"Don't touch her!" Antonin said grabbing her other arm.

She looked at him, confused, and Fenrir stopped. His joyful expression became dark. Confusion turned into a false smile and turned back to Fenrir.

"Dolohov, go get the others, everything is fine, this is customary."

There was a lot that the mudblood knew about werewolves, and it was evident the longer she spent talking to the most fearsome werewolf alive that she was quick on the uptake. She sat to Antonin's left, picking at different meats that were presented to her by the respectable werewolf, Donovan was his name, Rodolphus sat across from her, and Rabastan next to him.

Eating with werewolves was loud , everyone had a conversation and no one had manners. The square had been turned into a long dining hall, a bench that stretched more than thirty feet and an equally long table. A fire was at one end where the food was cooked, and was passed up the line, starting with Fenrir first, Donovan and then his mudblood got third choice.

"Rodolphus went to the Ministry with me and got the list of registered wolves last night." Yaxley said picking at some deer meat that had come by just recently. "Now that she's dead, there's no more danger, everything has sorted out nicely. Bellatrix is such a little fool, thinking we needed access to the list for a murder. I suppose, in a way, we did."

"Cheers to that!" said Rabastan across from them.

She was looking down at the food she had chosen pensively, listening to Greyback tell a very long winded story about his father and how wolves used to live before the muggles drove them off the land. It was a familiar story, it was the same as Antonin's story afterall. The top of the mountain was old magic, druids thousands of years before had driven any non-magical beings away. Myths of werewolves kept even wizards away for hundreds of years. "It's safe here," he insisted "for my pack, for everyone."

She looked up from her plate "Why did you join Vol-" Antonin nudged her sharply "the Dark Lord if you despise wizards?"

"Our Lord despised muggles, no offense mudblood, but he promised my pack protection from the thing that killed off my ancestors. Muggles invade, they build, they colonize, and they kill ."

"I've heard it before." She said "But children, Alpha Fenrir? Cruel."

"Ah, well," he looked a bit cowed at this "It's savage to you, of course, but if they are pups they transition easier, they won't die when they are young, the wolf is young within them, a weak wolf, a weak child, a successful transformation. A weak wolf, an unwilling adult, they get stuck between."

"Between?" She perked up at this "I've never heard of a between, a type of werewolf?"

"Not wolf, not human, between . When you are stuck between, you are killed. Betweens have no mind, they have no wolf, they are no more than a sack of flesh." Fenrir was handed a platter of meat by a topless woman "Children will survive and flourish, adults...if they are unwilling, they will suffer."

"What of the adults who you turned as children who are still unwilling?" She shot back, obviously this was a personal topic to her. She had that fire in her eyes, her posture was tense.

"A werewolf who denies his wolf is going to suffer, if you denied your magic, wouldn't you suffer?" He waved her off as if she was speaking nonsense "Wolves who deny what they are are fools. It will eat away at them."

"Your lord wishes to deny me magic." She said haughtily, now no longer even picking at her food. " You do his bidding."

"I would not deny you magic, pup, mudbloods are not my reason for following him, muggles are. Don't be daft, you heard my story."

"Is it really you?" A voice called on the other side of Antonin. She froze.

"Dolohov." She bowed her head and grew very still beside him. "Please, we need to leave."

He stood up quickly and Fenrir did as well, suddenly half the table was up save for her.

"Hermione?" the voice called again, a man's voice. "Hermione Granger!"

Antonin looked over to see a thin man in patched robes who had just wandered into view, dark circles under his eyes, and messy light brown hair.

"Well," Fenrir said and clapped his hands, "Come crawling back to me Remus? Sick of fighting your nature?"

"I came to retrieve the girl, Greyback." The man named Remus had his wand out and Rodolphus made a quick move for his own. "You will not be taking another under your wing ."

Fenrir darted his eyes to her and then back to the man "Mind your manners, whelp." He growled

Antonin hoisted her up from the table and she stepped behind him, he could feel her back to his, she was shaking. Who was this man? Even before Bellatrix LeStrange she was not this terrified.

Yaxley stepped back to see her, holding a drumstick in one hand and a goblet of wine in the other. "What's the problem, love?"

"The Order is coming, we have to lead them away, or we've as good as killed all these wolves we just saved." Her voice was shaking "We have to go back down the mountain."

"Miss Granger," The man named Remus approached them with his wand out and Rodolphus and Rabastan were both walking backwards away from him. "No need to worry, friends are on their way."

"We can't." She pleaded "We have to go, they'll kill them all."

"Fine," Antonin said, not sure why he was agreeing with her, who gave a shit about a few wolves? He frowned. She did apparently, that's all that seemed to matter to his friends lately. "I will ca-"

"No, I will run, and you will follow." She said "It'll mislead them, they only are here for me. Fenrir will start a fight, it'll put everyone in danger."

"Idiot girl."

"Dolohov." She said in a whisper "Cast a tracking charm."

His mind ran through about seven, but finally, he settled on one. She glowed a dull orange that blended in with the bonfire behind them before it disappeared. He could sense her now, it was like a magnetic pull that he had to try and ignore. His heart was beating wildly, he realized how stupid this plan was, how stupid they all were for following her.

"Wait here for The Order, follow me after you make sure the wolves are safe."

Bleeding heart mudblood. He turned around to tell her what an idiot she was, but there was no time.

"Professor Lupin! Help!" She screamed and the whole camp was thrown into chaos as his mudblood ran off into the woods and the wolves dispersed. The magnetic pull between them growing strong and stronger as she went further and further away.

Yaxley continued to eat his drumstick as the wolf called Remus, followed by Donovan, and Fenrir chased after her. "She's clever, that one." He said with a mouthful of what he assumed was chicken.

"Idiot girl, stupid, idiot girl." Antonin growled.

Rabastan looked nervous next to Rodolphus "We should just kill The Order, and be done with this damned war and get back to normal." The younger LeStrange said, looking back over her shoulder.

"Not tonight, Rab." Rodolphus said "Let's not get our hands dirty while your arm is still healing up. By the looks of things, Fenrir and his pack will take care of it for us."

Yaxley sat back down at the table and started cutting up his venison, shoving a few forkfuls in his mouth before something that sounded like a crack of thunder blew through the trees. The campsite was empty now, the wolves had scattered.

Yaxley took a forkful of meat, and a tankard of mead and began to walk towards the treeline. "Come on, we have a job to do."

"From one master to the next." Groused Antonin as he followed the shorter man.

"Don't let her hear you compare her to the Dark Lord." Rodolphus said behind him and they all stood just within the forest, a few feet away from the beginning of the clearing, shrouded in darkness. "She'll throw a fit."

The Order, which was mostly Ministry aurors, from what Antonin could tell, walked into the clearing, wands drawn and lit with dim lumos .

Mad Eye Moody, how on earth was that man still alive , the animagus woman that was related to Bellatrix, the black auror Kingsley, and some others he didn't recognize.

"Gone, blasted scum." Mad Eye's gruff voice carried over the clearing. "Where are the wolves? I wanted Greyback."

A silvery wolf, a patronus, bounded into the clearing "In the woods, chased, need backup."

"No time for Greyback," Kingsley said "We have to get the girl, Dumbledore's orders."

"Time to go." Yaxley said beside him and unsheathed his wand, tossing the goblet of wine into the bushes. "Give us a distraction Dolph."

" Lumos Maxima ." hissed Rodolphus, there was silence, and then a boom as the clearing was filled with a blinding white light.

The four men fled deeper into the woods, following behind Antonin who was blinding following his tracking charm. The blind leading the blind.

"It says she's here." Antonin said, pacing around a tree for the third time. "I can feel her pull."

A rustle of leaves, and Rabastan cast a lumos, he could hear the Order not too far off, had she already been caught? "Are you sure you cast it right?"

Rabastan was an idiot, Antonin decided. He was furious, he knew he cast the spell correctly.

"Up here !" A voice said overhead, they all looked up to see their mudblood sitting on a tree branch, rattling it to get their attention.

"For Merlin's sake," Rodolphus said beside her "Get down girl."

She looked over at the trunk of the tree and then back at them. "I'm stuck, I don't really like heights you know."

"No, we didn't know." Antonin said, his fury seeping into his voice " doora , stupid girl."

"I can't move." She said "I'm just going to fall, okay?"

"Mudblood!" Antonin hissed and the voices around them grew louder. "Don't you dare."

She slid off the branch and made a little squealing noise.

" Locomotor Mortis ." Yaxley said beside him, and she fell down slowly onto the forest floor.

She was shaking and gave him a weak smile. "Thanks."

There was a bounding of feet and suddenly Fenrir and two other wolves appeared next to them. "Leave, we take care of our own." He barked at them.

Antonin dragged her up to him and with a crack, he apparated them both out of the forest.

Why didn't she want to go back with her friends? He had kidnapped her, cursed her, insulted her, and worse. She was terrified when someone recognized her, more terrified even than when Bellatrix had found her.

"Like it or not," she had said before she disappeared to take a shower "I am here to stay, for a little while at least."

He was still sitting in his room, her room now, she had co-opted it after Rabastan had bled all over the bed she was recovering in. A house elf was waiting with food for the Young Mistress and both him, and the elf, listened to the hiss of the shower and the steam billowing underneath the dark wooden door.

Rabastan popped in only once, asking if she was out yet, but he looked at the bathroom door and shrugged, disappearing back downstairs. Yaxley was pacing outside the room, still dirty from the forest. How pathetic they must all seem to be at the beck and call of a young girl.

Hermione popped out, covered in towels, her hair done up in some kind of wrap, he could see the scar he gave her shining white against her red scalded skin, small scratches covered her arms and legs. "Okay, okay, I'm ready to talk."

"Young Mistress must eat." The kitchen elf Winty squeaked next to her, in a new outfit, a yellow sundress with green socks. "Old Master orders her to eat."

"Of course he does." She eyed Antonin who was sitting in a chair with a bottle of firewhiskey in one hand and an empty glass in the other. "What are you doing, Dolohov, trying to get a peep?"

"I don't like children." He growled. She certainly didn't look like one at this moment, his mudblood was dripping wet and looked like a water sprite.

"I'm not a child, Dolohov."

"Fifth Year."

" Eighteen , thanks to my time turner."

He looked away then, pouring another shot for himself.