Hermione was holding Harry's hand as he lay on the bed. The drip that was keeping him in an induced coma was removed some time ago and the doctors told her he should be waking up soon. He almost looked rested, certainly better than in the past few months. She tried to come up with a good way of explaining their new situation to Harry, but had come up blank. The problem is that Hermione couldn't quite explain their new situation to herself. She wasn't quite sure if she was slowly being recruited to the Inquisition or did they just form a temporary alliance. Those were the two better options. It was also highly probable that the Inquisition was just using her for their own goals. But why did the old man say that they had to vow and she only had to promise.

The small movement in her hand focused her attention elsewhere. Harry slowly started to wake up, squeezing her arm weekly. She leaned forward, stroking his hair.

"It's ok Harry. You're safe. Just keep calm and relax."

"'mione? Where are we? Am I dead?"

If the situation had been less serious, she would have laughed at that question. It was a question straight out of a bad joke. It was much less funny when the real answer was "not yet", though.

"Relax Harry, we are still in the Inquisition base.", knowing what his next question is going to be she continued, "I managed to convince them to wake you up.". She was not really proud about the next part of the story, but she had to get it out as soon as possible.

"Harry, I helped them set up a trap for the Snatchers.", she could feel him struggling to get up so she moved her hand from his hair and gently pushed his chest back down on the bed. "Relax Harry. As you can see I am here. But things did change.". She went on and described the sequence of events that led to the capture of the prisoners.

"They wanted me to interrogate them Harry.", she had to stop here. His hand reaching up to her hand and gently holding her gave her the strength to continue. "Harry, I was so sure. I was ready to fight to protect their lives. I felt so responsible for their capture and was sure I will be responsible for their deaths. I was already responsible for two dead werewolves, I just couldn't take more. But then I talked to them.", she was making a real effort not to burst into tears. "Harry, this is so real. We have been facing cartoonish evil creatures for years now, but this is something completely different. These are just small people who made the wrong choice. They are not death eaters and dementors. But in a way, they are worse. The one I interrogated is personally responsible for at least ten arrests.". She couldn't hold it any more, tears started flowing as she spoke the next words, "I was ready to kill him right there and then Harry. In the end I didn't, but I think I might have sentenced them all to a fate worse than death. I allowed the Inquisition to ship them to a remote monastery in South America. Their wands will be destroyed, and the only escape is a deadly path through the jungle. I sentenced them to a life of hard manual labour. Never to use magic again, until the day they die. And the Inquisition doesn't take their magic away like the Ministry would, so they will still feel it calling them. Every, single, day.". Sobbing was making it hard for her to speak. "Harry, I feel like I am turning so dark."

Harry was listening to the story with disbelief. The tears flowing down Hermione's face were real though, and he had to do something for her. She was still holding her hand on his chest, so he couldn't get up and hold her, but nothing prevented him from pulling on her hand until she collapsed in his arms. He was hugging her as hard as he could, each sob painfully shaking his chest.

"Hermione, it's not your fault. You are not a bad person for doing what you did. You may have sentenced them to life in prison, but they did much worse. And they would have continued doing so. You gave them much more choice than they gave their victims.". His words reduced the strength of her convulsions. "You are not turning dark. The difference between you and darkness is that darkness targets the innocent."

The last sentence stopped her sobs. She was still in his arms, and he wasn't sure what to do next. Part of him was enjoying the physical sensation. Part of him felt bad about enjoying. But mostly, he wanted to know what happens next. The story she told him was scary but it didn't really explain why they trusted her with a wand or why they agreed to wake him up.

"Hermione, why do they trust me now?"

"They don't." She pushed herself back up in her chair. "If you wish to stay awake, and alive, you will have to vow to follow my orders. And I think they mean the unbreakable vow."

The ensuing silence lasted for minutes before Harry finally spoke: "I don't think I can do that Hermione. I don't mind following your orders, but this is insane. I'm already fighting for control of my life with a prophecy. How can I give my free will away?"

"I understand that Harry. I would never ask you to do this. I don't want that kind of power over anyone. But they will kill you otherwise Harry. And if you don't do this, there is no way I'll be able to convince Ron to do it."

Harry was struggling internally. He would rather choose death than lose his free will. But he would be risking other people's lives as well. And he wasn't directly giving up free will. He was just vowing to follow Hermione, something he would do anyway.

"Hermione. I trusted you with my life. You have stood by my side for seven long years. You were the only person in my life that never abandoned me.", he was looking straight into her eyes, "I will vow to follow your orders."

Hermione expected to be relieved, but she wasn't. It was just an additional burden placed on her shoulders. It was a horrible idea for her, being responsible for other people's lives. How could anyone want such power over other people?

"Hermione?", a thought had struck Harry. "Do you think they would accept some slight changes?". He now had her attention back. "I was thinking, what if I vow to follow your orders, but only until Vold..."

"HARRY! NO!", Hermione panicked.

"Oh. Right. Taboo.". He realized that talking and thinking too much after being knocked out took a lot of effort. "But what do you think of the idea? We could vow to follow your orders until, you-know-who, is destroyed."

"I don't know Harry. One thing I did learn about Inquisition is that they are not as unified as you might think. Father Paul might accept your idea, but Piotr will probably try to use it against us."

"Oh. That's another thing. What if somebody takes you hostage and uses you to control us. What if you order me to curse you? I would never be able to harm you! We need to try to put that in the vow as well."

"Oh Harry. Thank you. But they will never agree to that. It is essentially what the Inquisition is doing to me, using me as a hostage to keep you both in line. But thank you for that."

"You don't have to thank me Hermione.". He was reasonably sure that if it came to that, and he had to choose between harming Hermione and death, he would rather die breaking the vow. And not just Hermione, Harry would rather die than harm any of his friends. "Hermione, what happened to Ron? Is he okay?"

"The last time I saw him he was recovering from his wound. He should be fine by now. Would you like to go and see him?"

"Do you think they will let us go?"

"I'm sure they will.". Hermione sighed. "We need another wizard to make the vow."