The three of them soon arrived at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and both Ron and Harry paused their brooms, hovering in the air. There was no way of judging whereabouts within the Forest LeStrange, the Carrows and Molly were. Even if they flew up high above the tree tops, the foliage was so dense that they would simply see the tree tops. From their position there was no way to know where they were.

"Any ideas?" Ron turned to Harry who shrugged in reply. "We may as well land." There was no point in attempting to fly through the Forest due to the dense growth. Both men lowered to the floor and climbed off of their brooms, Ron waiting until Hermione had first.

"What are their motivations?" Hermione pondered out loud and then answered herself, "The Carrows want revenge for Voldemort's destruction, so maybe the clearing where he thought he'd killed you?"

"Maybe," Harry considered. "Unless LeStrange is the mastermind. If this is his plan, then he wants revenge on Molly which has nothing to do with the Forest."

"Mum killed Bellatrix in the Great Hall, though. There's no way their heading there now. Not with everyone else there."

"We can't just stand here." Hermione turned toward the Forest with a defiant look upon her face. "I may not be an expert, I recommend we head to where they all thought Harry was dead. Go from there."

"It's better than wandering the Forest aimlessly," Harry agreed as he joined Hermione at her side.

"If we see any bloody spiders…" Ron's threat tailed off as he walked side by side with his two friends into the Forest. Only Harry knew the exact location of where he had been killed so the other two followed his directions. Their wands were out and ready, prepared for the impending danger. They kept their footsteps light and as silent as possible so that they would be alerted to any other noise and hopefully prevent any of the three remaining Death Eaters from sneaking up on them. For Harry, the act of walking back into the Forest was accompanied by very odd sensations. This was the place where everything had become clear within his head and he had realised what was needed to be done. Now, he was returning, not as a teenager with a life mission, but because it was his job and because it was a member of his family in danger. Worry filled him because this time he should know what he was doing and there could be no mistakes. Hermione had been correct in saying that he now saw it as work and that he did not want his friends involved. He worried too much for them and he felt as if he needed to carve something new into his life. He was no longer the Boy Who Lived, with a destiny and purpose. Being a successful Auror was his new purpose and this night was going to be his first test.

Narrowly avoiding a cobweb, Ron hated the fact that he was entering the Forbidden Forest once again. The fact that it was his mother in danger made the feeling ten times worse. There was nothing in the world that was going to prevent him from going into the Forest when his mother was the one at threat from a Death Eater. After the death of Voldemort, Ron had believed that all of these shenanigans were over. Every night he listened to Hermione's nightmares and promised her that he would never allow anyone to hurt her ever again. He would do everything within his power to keep all of his family from ever being hurt, yet over the past twenty-four hours he had allowed Hermione and his family to be hurt. He risked a glance at Hermione and was relieved to see that she appeared okay. Her hair was more dishevelled than usual, but he put that down to a combination of being tied up and then being pushed out of a window by him. Ron could not bear the thought that she had been tortured again. Would she forgive him for not keeping her safe?

She felt his eyes on her and Hermione had to try her hardest to not glance back at him. She tried to keep her mind focussed on the task ahead, ignoring what had occurred to her over the past few hours. It was difficult to when she was still in the situation. After being in the library and becoming transfixed by a wrongly coloured book spine, Hermione had returned to the flat with Ron and fallen asleep; she could not really remember anything including the journey home. When she had awoken, Hermione had been in the Astronomy Tower tied to a chair with Narcissa, Andromeda, Teddy and Luna nearby. Her mouth had been gagged and the restraints around her wrists had cut into her skin. It felt as if the restraints were still upon her now, the pain still throbbing. She had shared looks with the others concerning their fear, but none of them could communicate. Hermione had no way of knowing how much time passed between awakening in the chair and the arrival of their captors with Ginny and Molly. Ginny had been bound and gagged, unconscious as she was tied to an awaiting chair. It had been Molly who had tied her own child down, clearly Imperiused. Then the bouts of Crucio had begun. LeStrange had taken it in turns around the six of them so that as one person's screams quietened, another's began. Hermione had tried to remain strong, but she had screamed at her own pain and cried at the others'. Then the Carrows had joined in until they set in motion the plan to lure Harry and Ron to the Tower. LeStrange had no desire to hurt Harry or Ron; he was content with the six females he held to blame for Bellatrix's death. It was the Carrows who wanted Harry with Ron just collateral damage. Hermione had known as soon as they taunted that Harry and Ron would come to their rescue that it was true. Neither man would stop until they rescued all six women and Teddy.

The three of them paused when they heard a noise ahead of them. Crouching, they each sought cover behind fauna and moved forward a bit more so that the source of the noise could be seen. Hermione was behind a tree on her own, she met the eyes of Harry, then Ron who were both hiding behind a bush. In front of the three of them were their objects.

"Go!" LeStrange commanded to Molly and she immediately began walking off, in a direction away from the others. "Do what you need to do. I don't care about any of them." LeStrange then started to follow Molly.

Ron turned to Harry and whispered, "Harry?"

Harry nodded, understanding immediately his friend's question and Ron moved away circling around the Carrows to find the trail of his mother and LeStrange. Turning to Hermione, Harry pointed his finger down towards the ground, indicating that they should remain where they were for a moment as the Carrows were no immediate risk. Both of them waited patiently and quietly as the siblings talked to each other in hushed whispers.

"You heard him," Amycus huffed taking a few steps away from his sister. "We need to fortify the enchantments."

Both Carrows started muttering incantations under their breath, Alecto slightly more reluctantly than her brother. Hermione instantly recognised them and turned to Harry, a concerned look on her face. He nodded and as one they stepped out from their hidden position both declaring: "Expelliarmus," before "Petrificus Totalus." Alecto fell first from Harry's spells, soon followed by Amycus. Hermione ran to the opposite side of the slight clearing, retrieving the wands of the Death Eaters and Harry walked over to her after checking on the siblings.

"You know what they were doing?"

Harry nodded. "They're using protective charms to hide themselves. Like we did all of last year."

"Harry, Ron might already be within one. We'll never be able to find him. He'll be alone with LeStrange."

"Go on, go. I'll stay here with these two. They're wandless now."

Hermione nodded and did not wait another second as she ran off in the direction that LeStrange had gone a few minutes earlier. She ran as fast as she could, keeping her senses on high alert. She tried to keep one eye on the ground so that she could leap over or duck under stray branches or roots. Her hair whipped around her, alternating between getting in her eyes to getting pulled by branches. Nothing was going to slow her as she leapt over another root and immediately darting to the left to avoid a tree. Hermione tried to keep her ears open, but she knew it was pointless if the silencing charms were already active. The shoe tracks on the ground ended abruptly and she skidded to a halt. They must be somewhere nearby, Hermione knew, but if the protective charms were working correctly she would not be able to see or hear them.

She turned on the spot, searching all around her for any sign. She thought she heard something and she tried to control her heavy breathing. Then she heard it again:

"I'm glad that you're here, Mr Weasley." It was LeStrange and he sounded incredibly close by. "I spent the past year wanting nothing more than revenge on the six I blamed for my Bellatrix passing and do you know what I came to realise?"

"I don't really give a crap." Hermione snapped her head to her right, the direction from where Ron's voice came. It sounded as if she was standing directly in between them although she could see neither of them.

"You will do. You see, Weasley, you and I … we're not that different."

HP – HP – HP