The flight back to the base was uneventful, but for Hermione it was nail-biting. She now understood better the danger Harry was in. The drug they were using to knock them all out was obviously lethal. They survived the first time, but she couldn't tell how long were they out. And by her reckoning, Harry was now out for at least 4 hours, maybe more. She has to convince Father Paul that they are not a threat, and do it fast.

They landed in the base and the prisoners were quickly being unloaded from the helicopters. She was more interested in the 3 men approaching her.

"Congratulations Miss Granger. Come inside with us. We need to debrief you."

"No.", her hand was slipping downwards.

"I would not reach for that wand if I were you, Miss Granger."

"Just tell me the truth, is Harry going to die? Is he already dead? We almost killed two prisoners back there, and he has been drugged for hours now."

"Mister Potter is fine at the moment. The tranquilizer lethal dose depends on the weight of the subject. We knew Mister Potters exact weight, and are using different chemicals and keeping him under constant observation. He will be fine for the next few days, until we interview the prisoners and decide on our next step. Now come."

Much more relaxed Hermione followed them inside. As they were walking down the stairs, she realized she was starting to get oriented around the base. They were now walking down the corridor that leads to the mess hall. They stopped a few doors before reaching the hall and entered a small room. Father Paul sat behind his desk while the three of them were left standing.

"Please, sit down. Welcome to my office Miss Granger."

This was his office? Hermione expected comfort and perhaps even some grandeur. The headmasters office at Hogwarts was really the only thing she could compare to this room, and that was filled with pieces of Hogwarts history, the portraits and frankly very comfortable sofas. This was bare and cold. Even the chairs were there just to fill a specific purpose, a surface you can sit on, and absolutely nothing more. They were not even comfortable for goodness sake!

"They are normal chairs, no need to worry. Please, sit down. Now, shall we begin?"

Hermione nodded.

"After each mission we conduct debriefing sessions with all participants. Since you are slightly different, I believed it would be best to debrief you alone. Debriefing serves two purposes. First, we will simply talk and share information. It makes sure everyone is aware of everything that happened during the mission. Second, it helps us to asses what your next mission, if any, should be. Please feel free to talk openly during this, it's the only way to make informed decisions. Now, could you please describe in your own words how the mission went. Just tell us your story."

"Where should I start?"

"It is entirely up to you. This is completely your time. We will not interrupt you until you are finished, unless you ask us questions."

Hermione sighed, "I suppose for me it all started in the 'gear room'. A curious name. I changed clothes and was surprised when I had to point out my wand. To be honest, I still don't believe you really gave me my wand back. I was expecting it to be a joke. Later on when the young deacon gave it to me, I was almost sure it was going to be a fake.", she looked at the men intensely, trying to figure out if this was something they considered doing.

"As we reached the roof I was surprised to see the helicopters. I have never even seen one up close until now. I was expecting much more noise. I can see how you keep yourself secret. The black color against the black sky is almost invisible, and the sound was pretty muffled too. After a short flight we reached the plain and jumped out. As they prepared everything, I sat down and triggered the Taboo.", she abruptly stopped. She knew what she was about the say next, and she just couldn't. She was responsible for two deaths, just a few hours ago. And whatever they say, it was not combat. In combat the other person has a chance. The two werewolves they killed didn't even hear the bullets before it was too late.

"I triggered the Taboo and then people died. Because of me. And before you tell me they were only werewolves, I will tell you that werewolves are people too. For 29 days of the month in any case.", she was surprised that they didn't even try to argue. They were all listening her intently but their faces were blank. Two thoughts passed through her mind at the same time: either they were extremely serious about not interrupting her, or they were making sure that she learns no information from observing them.

"People died, and more will die. We almost lost two more to the tranquilizer. This made me think of Harry and getting back here as fast as possible. I didn't even think about the two dying prisoners until now. The last I saw they were still treated by the medical staff. What will happen to them?", before any of the men could answer she added, "What will happen to the rest of the prisoners while we are at it?"

The men were still looking at here, in a brief moment of silence. "I take it your story ends here and we can speak now?", asked Father Paul.

"Yes, please. I need to know."

"All right Miss Granger. The two men who had a reaction to the tranquilizer are in the secure area of the hospital. The reaction they had is not uncommon. It is impossible to guess the dosage of the tranquilizer beforehand, so we don't even try. Luckily the chemicals we use are relatively easy to counteract and the prisoners almost always recover after a while. If treated in time.", he took a short break, looking away from her for the first time. "As for your second question. The remaining prisoners are being placed in containment units as we speak. They will be woken up in a few minutes and then we will find out what they know about Mister Potter, you and us."

"How do you plan to find that out? I would be surprised if they even talked to you. These are Snatchers, to them you are less than human."

"Well Miss Granger, we are the Inquisition after all. We will do what we have always done. We will ask them."

Hermione blinked. This was so unexpected she had to take a moment to process the information. "You will, ask, them?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry but you are not really well-known for asking people. Historically the Inquisition is associated more with torture and death.", she hoped she didn't go too far with this, but the old priest just chuckled.

"Yes, some of that reputation is well deserved. But usually we do first ask. And we will do so this time as well. The information provided freely tends to be most accurate. Of course, we will also ask them a bit more enthusiastically if they do not feel like cooperating. Or we think they are lying."

Hermione wasn't really too shocked. The memory of what they did to Ron was still too fresh in her mind. So they really are the Inquisition. And they... plan... to torture... the prisoners. The prisoners for which she was responsible. Suddenly the two deaths didn't seem like the worst consequence of her actions. She couldn't live with herself if she allowed this. She would need to act fast. She slowly started to move her hand down towards her wand, all the while making sure to use her other hand to adjust her hair nervously. If she can make them think for a few seconds that she was just upset that they will torture the prisoners, she can touch her wand, apparate right behind the old priest, use him as a shield and stun the other two.

A small shallow breath, tensing up.

"No!"

She grabbed her wand and apparated right behind the old priest. Unfortunately for her, he spun around impossibly fast and instead of surprising him from the back, she apparated directly in front of him. Two well placed slaps on her wrist and hand simply batted her wand out of her hand. It was all over in less then a second. The two other men were not standing idly by either. Both had weapons aimed at her. There was only one thing left, defiance.

"You will have to kill me, I'm not going to allow you to torture and kill people I helped capture."

Surprisingly , the old priest started laughing. He waved down the other two guns, laughing all the time. Reaching down to pick up her wand, he was still smiling. Hermione could not believe what was happening as the old priest handed her wand back to her. Obviously, she could have just apparated out of there, but she was just too shocked.

"Miss Granger, please don't do that again. It was not even a bad effort, but you forget just how long we have fought wizards. Come with me, there is something you need to see. And put that wand back in your pocket. I appreciate that you were acting with extremely noble intentions this time, but next time I will not bother disarming you. You will not use it inside this base unless I personally ask you to do it."

"This was a test, wasn't it?", she asked. It was the only thing that made sense.