Many thanks go to thekingofsweden1, rpeh and brianna-xox for beta reading. Their work and diligence has improved the story a lot.

Chapter 14: Hunting in the Woods

London, Ministry of Magic, September 14th, 1999, 08.30 hours

"The Minister will see you now!"

"Thank you."

Wand-Leader Hermione smiled politely at the Minister's secretary, Daphne Greengrass. The pureblood witch in turn was beaming at her, no doubt remembering the attack on her family's manor. Hermione didn't like to remember that night; too many of her friends had died, but that wasn't the fault of the Greengrasses.

She entered the office of the Minister for Magic with no small amount of trepidation hidden behind her Occlumency shields. In the past, she had simply hidden her true feelings about the Minister's son, but now she was hiding far more dangerous knowledge. If Malfoy's Legilimency probes slipped through her facade, she would doom not only herself, but Ron as well, and his family. And maybe even Dumbledore and any hope of freeing the Corps from serving this evil man.

"Wand-Leader Hermione, reporting, sir!" She saluted him.

"Good morning, Hermione." The Minister smiled at her, and she felt his mental probe entering her mind when he met her eyes. She focused on presenting the eager, inexperienced Wand the man was expecting. The naive witch in love with a foreigner, but remembering her … dalliances … with Draco fondly. The stupid girl admiring the man before her.

He withdrew from her mind rather quickly, without even coming close to her true thoughts and feelings. She hid her relief as well as she had hidden her hatred.

"I have important news for you. You will be reassigned to a new team."

"A new team, sir?" Hermione was surprised, and worried. She was a good Wand-Leader, and her team was working well.

"Yes. I've decided to form a special team to hunt down the half-naga. You've been doing excellent work in the Investigative Branch, but I think to end this menace, we need to combine the best Wands from the whole Corps to work together. This is not just a criminal investigation, and can't be treated as one if we want to stop this monster from attacking Britain."

A task force, then. It made sense, Hermione thought. Her team alone wouldn't be able to track the Dark Lord, and even in a unit as tight as the Corps, there was friction between branches and teams. "I see, sir." The Minister was not to be underestimated.

"I knew you would. The staff at Hogwarts tells me that you're the smartest Wand they ever taught."

"Thank you, sir." She didn't have to fake her embarrassment at that compliment.

"Good. Dean will take over your team and continue your other work while you're absent. I trust he can do this?"

She had hoped to be able to take her whole team with her. They were working well together, and they knew as much or more about the Dark Lord as anyone else in the Corps. And they accepted her leadership. Some of the older wands might not trust her due to her youth. "Yes, sir. Who will be leading the new team?" Probably Benjamin, she thought.

"My son. He has been looking forward to working with you."

It was a testament to her mastery of Occlumency that she didn't let anything of her reaction to that revelation show until she was out of his office, and behind a privacy spell in the bathroom.

London, Ministry of Magic, September 14th, 1999, 09.35 hours

"Now that everyone's here, we can finally start!"

Her Occlumency allowed Wand-Leader Hermione to show a polite smile to Draco Malfoy's declaration instead of her real thoughts. She and the other Wands were standing at attention while Draco was addressing them.

"My father has given me the order to personally hunt down the half-naga that has been eluding the Aurors and Wands so far. To achieve this I've gathered the best Wands from the Corps. That means you."

He smiled widely at them. Hermione managed to keep her polite expression on her face. She should have known what to expect, she thought, when she heard Draco was their leader. The six other Wands in her new team were all very competent and skilled. And all very attractive witches. It was rather obvious why Benjamin wasn't among the Wands selected for this task.

"This is a great honour for you all - to be the Wands who will destroy this threat to Britain under my leadership!"

Wand-Leader Jane was usually in charge of a protection detail for the Minister's family. She'd be Draco's bodyguard, Hermione thought, together with Jasmine, a witch a year below her, and Laura, two years above her. Hermione herself, as well as Benjamin's best witch, Cleo, would do the investigation. Teresa and Mabel were from the Combat Branch, and would likely be scouting when not fighting. At least that was how Hermione would assign the tasks.

"Hermione will be my aide." He smiled at her, just like he had smiled at her during their 'lunch date'.

Hermione felt ill. She hoped Draco would stick with trying to 'court' her, and that things at the Ministry would change before he lost his patience.

But then, should the Minister be killed while she was on this new team, then she'd have the best opportunity to take Draco out of the picture as well. And with Jane assigned to this team as well, the security detail for Narcissa Malfoy would be missing their best witch.

London, Diagon Alley, September 14th, 1999, 19.04 hours

Ron Weasley knew something was wrong when Hermione entered his room in the Leaky Cauldron, carrying take-out boxes again. Her expression was too calm, too controlled. He drew a hissing breath and asked: "What happened?"

"I got reassigned to a task force to hunt down the 'half-naga'."

"Wasn't that already your mission?"

"In the Investigative Branch. Now I was pulled from my team and put together with Wands from all branches. And the team is led by the Minister's son."

"Merde!" Ron said, snarling. He had the sudden urge to go and kill that foul cretin. "Did he try anything?"

Hermione frowned then shook her head. "Not really. Just what he thinks is flirting."

Ron nodded, making an effort to calm down. He didn't like the jealous, even possessive feelings that had filled him. Hermione would like them even less, he thought. "But that means you'll be under closer surveillance."

"Yes. He didn't like me 'going off', but didn't try to stop me." Hermione sat down at the table. "On the other hand, I'll be in a good spot to deal with him, once needed," she added in a cold voice.

Ron nodded. "We are getting close to killing the Dark Lord for good. That's just another reason not to wait much longer to assassinate the Malfoys." A very good reason, he thought privately.

"It won't be easy to get to the Minister and his wife though," Hermione said. "They have improved security procedures since the Department of Mysteries."

"I'm certain Dumbledore has that covered," Ron said. He checked his clock. "How likely is it that the cretin will try to disturb your evening?"

Hermione pursed her lips. "I don't know. I doubt he'll do that on the first day, but if he's taking a page out of the book from my old instructor… " She winced. "We had a night exercise on the first day in the Corps."

"Merde. We better not risk going away then." While they could take the vanishing cabinet back to Britain in a second, traveling back from the safe house would be a problem.

"Yes." Hermione sighed. "I'll check Draco's schedule, to see if he'll be busy with a ball or party. That would allow me to leave Wizarding Britain for a few hours."

"Unless he takes you with him. As bodyguard or aide."

"That would be possible," the witch said. "I might have to organise a cover. Something very boring, but time consuming."

"Meeting an expert for nagas?" Ron said. "We could fake one. Or find a real one."

"Others might want to come with me. Or have the expert visit the Ministry instead." Hermione shook her head. "I don't know why he's after me. There are far prettier witches in the Corps. I doubt it's just the fact that I have a boyfriend."

"He just wants the best witch in Britain," Ron said, which made her smile, and blush a little. "Dumbledore will visit Britain anyway, so we might as well meet in Diagon Alley. I'll arrange a room under a fake name."

"That might get noticed. We're monitoring new tenants, in case the enemy tries to infiltrate the Alley that way," Hermione said. "It would be safer to use this room. They need to be able to vanish quickly though."

Ron chuckled. "Well… the easiest solutions are usually the best."

He didn't like how this development affected their plans though. And he was certain Draco would become an even greater problem.

The sooner the Malfoys died, the better.

Beauxbatons, France, September 14th, 1999, 22.14 hours

Albus Dumbledore read the note from Young Mister Weasley. Miss Hermione's new assignment complicated matters somewhat. On the other hand, her position would make coordinating the killings of the Malfoys a bit easier, even if it put the witch at risk.

"If you had acted as ruthlessly in the last war, you might have won."

Albus looked up at the interruption. Pandora was floating in front of his desk. He raised his eyebrows at her. "Pardon?"

She scowled. It seemed that even dying hadn't made her any more patient. "Planning the assassination of an entire family… if you had done that back when the Dark Lord attacked Britain for the first time, I doubt we'd be here."

"Perhaps. But it would not necessarily mean that things in Britain would be better. What kind of country would we have become, if we had started to act like our enemies?"

The ghost scoffed. "A lot of people would still be alive."

"Namely you."

"Exactly." She smiled, then grew serious again. "If you had killed Malfoy twenty years ago, he wouldn't have been able to betray everyone. The Ministry might not have fallen, even."

"Or someone else, someone worse, might have triumphed."

"Who?"

"Augustus, for example," he said, watching her closely. She had spent years as a ghost with the man, so she would know him well.

Her expression grew angry. "He wouldn't have had the guts to do what Lucius did. He was no leader, no matter what he thought."

"He led the Department of Mysteries," Albus pointed out.

"He administered it," Pandora retorted. "He had plans to take over the Ministry, for over a decade, but never acted on it."

"That might just have been caution on his part."

"Which proves my point. He would never have dared to gamble like Lucius. He went along with it, but he'd have fled rather than initiated that ploy." The ghost stared at Albus.

"You said that he planned to betray Lucius," he prompted her.

"Yes." She floated a bit to the side.

"Would you mind telling me how?" Albus asked, smiling.

"What will you offer to me in return?" she asked, grinning.

"The satisfaction of helping to defeat the man who murdered you?"

She snorted. "You will kill him anyway. You're already planning his death."

"I could force you to tell me," he pointed out.

"Albus Dumbledore, using such distasteful means? Torturing a poor soul for information?" She scoffed.

"You said it yourself: You're not a soul, just an imprint left behind."

He thought she flinched, but it was hard to tell. "I still haven't seen my family."

"Arranging such a meeting is not easy, given the current events in Britain," he pointed out. "They are still living in the Ministry."

"Why are they there, anyway? I'm no expert, but that strikes me as very unusual."

"Your daughter's best friend is a Wand-Leader. She and another friend saved your family when the Dark Lord attacked."

Pandora stiffened, then nodded. "I can see how that will complicate matters."

"Indeed. But I'm confident I will be able to arrange a meeting with your family, given a bit more time." He smiled. "Now… what had Augustus planned?"

"He had worked out how to transfigure Basilisk poison into an inert aerosol that would not trigger the detection spells in the air ducts. That way, it could have spread through the building, ingested or inhaled by everyone, and once the transfiguration ended - instant massacre."

"Brutal." Very brutal.

"Yes. And that's why he didn't do it - it would have killed too many, and left the Ministry too weak. He could have used it to kill Lucius, but without taking the Wands out, he'd likely have been killed as the first suspect. And if he had killed the Wands as well, the Dark Lord's followers would have stormed the place." She grinned.

"You would have done it."

She stiffened, then nodded. "I probably would have, if I had wanted to take over. That crazy witch and her husband and brother-in-law could have been dealt with without the muggleborn guard."

Albus nodded. There was a reason he had kept an eye on Pandora at Hogwarts, and later on. She drifted away and he returned his attention to his files. He would have to check the notes he had taken from Augustus's office. Nicolas would be interested in this discovery as well.

His mentor had a stock of Basilisk poison too.

Kent, Britain, September 15th, 1999, 14.52 hours

Wand-Leader Hermione Granger stared at the forest across the field. It was a small one, not much dense underbrush, just enough foliage to block sight. The kind of terrain that screamed 'ambush ahead' in her old instructor's voice.

"We'll search the woods, and find their tracks!" Draco announced.

Hermione glanced at the others in the task force. Teresa and Mabel frowned. Cleo didn't show any emotion past a polite smile. The report from the Obliviators was a day old. Someone had apparated into the woods, but not out. They hadn't found anything when they had arrived yesterday, but they hadn't looked for anything but muggle witnesses. Of which no one had been found. But it had been the second such report in two weeks.

"It's likely that there won't be tracks. This could be simply a convenient spot they apparate to, before taking a broom," Hermione said.

Cleo nodded. Draco scoffed. "People always leave tracks. We just have to find them. Hermione, with me!"

Hermione didn't roll her eyes, but she felt like it as she followed Draco across the field towards the forest. Teresa and Mabel were already sprinting past, moving ahead of them to scout the edge of the forest before Draco entered effective spellcasting range. Despite her expectations, she was reassured when the two witches signalled the 'clear' before their nominal team leader had reached the forest's edge himself.

Then two hours of combing the forest followed, with Cleo and herself looking for magical residue that would have faded already.

She exchanged a glance with the older witch. "The last time I did this was in training."

Cleo snickered. "Oh, Merlin, yes! The 'Find the needle' exercise?"

Hermione nodded. "We found it, after four hours."

"Good on you. We took five." Cleo shook her head. "I'd never have expected to do this for real."

"Well, it's not as if we have a chance to find anything, unless the Obliviators' reports are wrong," Hermione said.

"I doubt that," the other Wand said. "They're the most trusted ones in the Ministry." 'Other than us' remained unsaid, but every Wand knew that by heart.

"'Trust no one'," Hermione quoted their instructor. She looked around. No one else was nearby. Draco had, after two hours stopped following her and distracting her with compliments, and was now 'planning' in the wizard tent they had brought with them. His guards were with him.

Cleo laughed. "Not really practicable, is it?"

Hermione shrugged. "I'm not certain I'd agree. The Obliviators are a very small team, and they operate in the muggle world - without any outside supervision. Who but them could prove it if a report was faked? And if their teams stay the same, it only needs two to work together, and they can do what they want among the muggles, with no one the wiser."

Cleo raised her eyebrows. "If you put it like that… aren't there inspections?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not to my knowledge."

The other witch narrowed her eyes. "Have you been investigating them?"

Hermione nodded. "They were among the wizards with the skill and opportunity to manipulate employees in the Floo Network Authority to sabotage the network during the attacks by the Fanatics."

"Did you find anything?"

"Nothing that tied them to the sabotage. But… there were financial irregularities," she said.

"Bribes?"

Hermione shrugged. "If they are being bribed, then it happens in the muggle world."

Cleo nodded. "I see."

"And there was that attack on a retired Obliviator. Very atypical for a raid by Fanatics," Hermione added.

"A lone attacker, using non lethal spells. Atypical indeed." Cleo looked pensive now. "A co-conspirator?"

"Maybe. If we had permission to observe the Obliviators in the muggle world we might find out more, but…" Hermione trailed off.

"We're not going to get that," Cleo said.

"No, we're not." Hermione sighed. "Instead, we're combing a forest for residue that has faded already."

Cleo chuckled. "At least Draco's not hounding you anymore. Why's he so stuck on you, suddenly?"

Hermione looked at the witch, then sighed. "I don't know. He ignored me for a month or more, and suddenly, he's trying to seduce me as if I was a pureblood." She shook her head. "Maybe the fact that I've got a pureblood boyfriend makes him jealous?"

"So, those rumours are true?" Cleo grinned. "How did that happen?"

Hermione had to revise her estimate of Sally-Anne's gossip network. Apparently, not the entire Corps knew about her and Ron yet. She smiled. "I met Antoine during the first attack on Diagon Alley, actually. He's a veteran from Québec, and jumped in to fight the Fanatics. He asked me out after I interrogated him."

Cleo perked up. "That sounds like straight out of a wireless show!"

"Well, without the drama and misunderstanding. But we were together at Luna's, when the half-naga attacked."

"How good is he?"

"Well, he's got experience, but he's not used to working together as well as we are."

Cleo snickered. "I meant as a lover. Or were you talking about his experience in bed?"

Hermione gasped. "Cleo!"

"He has to be better than Draco, or you'd not have stuck with him."

"Well, yes," Hermione said.

"Mhh. Maybe I should be looking for foreigners myself. Does he have a brother?" Cleo actually looked interested.

Hermione shook her head. "No."

"That still leaves friends and comrades." Cleo prodded her. "Come on, hook me up!"

"If you have a foreign lover, it might cause Draco to hound you," Hermione pointed out.

"But he'd stop bedding me."

Hermione nodded. She could understand that argument. "You could always pick a Wand."

"There's no one I'm interested in. I could fake a relationship, but it would feel like treason somehow, you know?"

"I know. He's not the Minister, but he's his son."

"If he was more like his father…" Cleo trailed off, grinning.

Hermione forced herself to nod in agreement.

London, Ministry for Magic, September 15th, 1999, 18.17 hours

"That was good work, everyone. While we didn't find the half-breed yet, we're on the right track. Sooner or later, the Fanatics will make a mistake, and we'll find their hideout."

Hermione didn't quite cheer at the words from Draco, but she managed to smile like everyone else. It wasn't that the plan was a bad one, but she knew that the Minister's son was severely underestimating the danger he was risking.

"And as a thank you to you all, I'm inviting you to dinner." Draco flashed a smile at the group of witches.

Hermione's first impulse was to cite a prior engagement, and beg out, then she reconsidered. Refusing the invitation would be a snub, under the circumstances. It wasn't as if he had invited just her, after all. And the presence of the other witches should keep him from being too forward.

"Where will we be eating?" Jane asked. She sounded somewhat tense, as far as Hermione could tell - she was probably already planning the security measures.

"At my home," Draco said.

Hermione saw Jane nod, and relax a bit. Security would already be in place, after all. The Wand-Leader was grateful she hadn't turned the invitation down - she'd be able to find out more about the security measures protecting the Malfoys' home. Just in case.

"I'll just call Antoine and tell him he doesn't have to wait with dinner," Hermione said. It wouldn't hurt to remind everyone that she was taken. She shook her head when she spotted Cleo grin, and nudge Teresa.

Draco's parents were not at home, as he told them when they stepped out of the Floo connection a bit later. Jane entered with the air of long familiarity, as did Jasmine and Laura, but the rest of them looked around with open curiosity. Draco grinned, and led them on a short tour through the house.

"It's just a temporary home, of course, until the manor is rebuilt, so I'll ask you to excuse the cramped accommodations," he said while showing them the entrance hall, which was probably greater than the entire Leaky Cauldron. And Draco seemed to be serious even.

Hermione used the opportunity to peer out of the windows, and find out where the home was located. They were in Diagon Alley, to her surprise. And judging by the neighbouring buildings, the Minister's temporary home looked far less impressive from the outside. Good camouflage, she thought as she noted where the guards were placed. And winced when she saw Sally-Anne was one of the guards. Half the Corps would have heard about Draco's 'new harem' by tomorrow.

"And here's my room. It's quite modest, but everyone has to make some sacrifices until we've finally dealt with those criminals." Draco smiled and looked directly at Hermione while he opened the door to an opulent room with a bed that could comfortably fit four people.

Everyone but Jane made the impressed sounds Draco would expect, though Hermione thought that at least Cleo wasn't actually impressed. She couldn't tell what Jane was thinking, but she had to be completely loyal to the Minister to have been trusted with the Malfoys' security.

On the way to the dining room - Jasmine and Laura were almost giddy at the thought of eating where the Malfoys usually ate - they passed the rooms of the Minister and his wife. Draco didn't show those, but Hermione made a mental note of their location. She planned to hand the memory of the visit over to Ron, but it didn't hurt to keep track of those things.

"Dobby!" Draco said, once all were seated - with Hermione to his right, an honour she could have done without, especially given the glances from Jasmine and Laura. The house elf that had survived the collapse of the Malfoy Manor appeared and started to serve the entrées.

"Dobby's been in our family for decades, and he cooks very well," Draco explained. "You've had already had the pleasure to enjoy his cooking, Hermione."

She smiled, despite the fact that the memory of that lunch date didn't fill her with joy, but apprehension. "Yes. He is very skilled." Poisoning the family would be out then, house elves were notoriously hard to bypass.

Cleo came to her rescue before Draco could really start with his flirting. "What does your boyfriend think of Britain's cuisine, by the way?"

"Oh, he said it's taking a bit to get used to." Hermione grinned. "I'm certain he'll learn to appreciate it though.

"He has fought our target before, right?" Teresa asked. "When the Lovegoods were attacked."

"Well, we exchanged a few spells, but quickly retreated since we were outnumbered," Hermione tried to downplay the battle. A glance told her that Draco was frowning. Hopefully he'd not try to match spells with the Dark Lord himself in an attempt to outdo Ron.

Jane must have had the same thought, since she said: "Once we've found the enemy, the Corps will take all of them out."

Hermione nodded. "Indeed. That'll be a mere formality. Finding them is the real challenge," she lied. She felt relief when Draco perked up and smiled.

She really could do without their new leader deciding to attack the Dark Lord with just this group.

London, Diagon Alley, September 15th, 1999, 19.46 hours

Ron Weasley finished his meal and looked at Dean, who was sitting across from him. "Do you eat take-out every meal?" he asked, mostly to break the silence they had spent the last twenty minutes in.

"Not every evening," Dean said.

"Ah," Ron said. He didn't really like the Wand, but he knew they both cared for Hermione. And the silence felt awkward indeed.

"So, Draco's inviting his new all-female team to his home, which is considered a great honour in the Corps since that has never happened before. To a Wand at least."

Dean nodded. "Didn't she tell you that already?"

"She did, though not in that many details. She was rather short when she informed me she couldn't eat with me today." Ron didn't hide his frown. "I guess that's why you decided to keep me company."

"Yes."

"You know she won't really like it if she thinks we're keeping something from her."

"Yes."

Ron sighed. "So, why did you come? To tell me once more you'll hurt me if I hurt her?" The protective brother routine was getting old. Ron and his own brothers hadn't been that bad. At least not when Harry had started dating Ginny. Or the other way around.

"No." Dean sighed, through clenched teeth. "I'm mostly here because you're the only one apart from her who knows about Malfoy."

Ron understood. "And you don't like passing time with the rest of the Wands, who don't know the truth."

"Yes," Dean said. "It's even worse now, with Hermione in that other team."

Ron nodded. "So, what exactly does the Corps think about that?"

Dean frowned. "Someone nicknamed the team 'Draco's Harem'."

Now it was Ron's turn to grind his teeth. Dean didn't grin, at least.

"Word from the security details is that this was the Minister's idea, and that his wife doesn't like it," Dean said.

"What's her problem with it? Does she hate her son sleeping with muggleborns?"

Dean shrugged. "That, or she thinks it's too dangerous. Or both."

Ron nodded. Narcissa likely knew about the Dark Lord. "And what do they think about Draco?"

Dean shrugged. "He's his father's son, but he's not his father."

"Fortunately not!" Ron said. "He'd have half the witches in the Corps trying to get in his pants otherwise."

Dean snorted. "More than half, trust me. And a part of the wizards too."

"Did the Minister ever take advantage of that?" Ron made a vague gesture with his hand.

"No. He doesn't cheat on his wife. Which is part of the reason that makes him so popular in the Corps." Dean sighed and leaned back. "He was our father. Still is."

"That's why he did it. To get a loyal force of soldiers." Expendable soldiers, Ron thought.

"Yes," Dean spat out. "And that's why he'll die."

"Easier said than done." For Dean and 'Antoine', at least. Dumbledore sounded as if the Minister was living on borrowed time.

"We'll find a way." Dean grabbed another butterbeer from the basket he had brought.

"Did you ever think about just leaving? Moving to another country?"

"And leave my friends following a man who had their families killed?" Dean scoffed.

"And if the alternative is death?"

"We'll find a way. I trust Hermione," Dean added, with a slight sneer.

Ron frowned at the implied barb that he wouldn't trust Hermione. "Maybe the half-naga will kill the Minister."

Dean narrowed his eyes, and for a moment, Ron thought he had made a mistake. The Wand was a member of the Investigative Branch, after all. Did he deduce that it was actually the Dark Lord?

"That would mean a number of Wands would have been killed as well."

"Right. But you already lost a lot of Wands fighting that monster."

"Even with the Minister dead we'll fight to protect Britain."

And that was the problem, Ron though. As long as the exiles were seen as Britain's enemies, at least.

London, Diagon Alley, September 15th, 1999, 22.31 hours

Wand-Leader Hermione pulled the memory out of her temple, and guided the silvery ribbon towards the vial Ron was holding.

"That's the memory of my visit to the Malfoy's new home."

"Great!" Ron said, then winced. "I mean… it's not great you had to visit, but it'll help us."

"Planning their assassination, you mean," she said.

He nodded. "I reckon so, yes. We're getting close to killing the Dark Lord, and we need to be ready."

"I wish we could tell the Wands the truth," Hermione said. "There has to be a way."

"If you can think of one, I'm certain Dumbledore will listen," Ron said. "But I can't think of a way that won't endanger everyone."

Left unsaid was that Dean's knowledge already endangered them. Which was the reason her fellow Wand didn't know about the exiles' involvement. Hermione frowned. She hated to admit it, but she couldn't think of a safe way to convince the Corps. And she had spent all her free time thinking about this lately.

"Well, Dumbledore will visit us here tomorrow evening. I'll get the cabinet tomorrow." Ron grinned. "Ginny wanted to come as well, but everyone stood their ground. Even Harry. So, you'll have to wait a bit longer until you can meet my little sister."

Hermione nodded. She wasn't that eager to meet all of Ron's family, if she was honest. She still felt a bit jealous at him having so many siblings, while she was an orphan. The Wands were supposed to be her family, her siblings, she knew, but keeping secrets such as hers made her feel more distant. As did the prospect of Ron and his family fighting them.

She still didn't know what she'd do. She didn't want to fight her fellow Wands, but to let them hurt Ron… She ground her teeth.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, sitting down next to her.

She shook her head. "I'm just frustrated with the whole situation."

"Ah… things will get better, trust me. You won't have to suffer Draco for much longer."

She didn't correct his assumptions, even if it made her feel a bit more guilty. She was keeping far too many secrets lately, from everyone.

London, Diagon Alley, September 16th, 1999, 21.17 hours

"Thank you, Miss Hermione. That should greatly help our cause."

Albus Dumbledore pocketed the vial of memories he had been given and smiled. It felt good to be back in Diagon Alley, in the Leaky Cauldron even. The memories those walls held… maybe it was a good thing that Mister Weasley had chosen a room that opened to the muggle street, and not the alley itself.

"I hope so, sir. And may I ask what you are planning to do with them?"

The young witch calmly looked at him, and Albus lost his smile. "Indeed, if anyone has the right, it's you." He sat down at the table. "As you might already know, we are, as the saying goes, closing in on the Dark Lord. I do not think I am overly optimistic when I say that his unnatural life will soon be cut short." He noticed Harry nodding in grim agreement, and as often, felt a pang of guilt at subjecting the boy to such a burden. But fate didn't want to bend to the will of an old man. "But I have come to the conclusion that the Minister and his likely successors have to be dealt with before that."

'Dealt with'. A nice turn of phrase. Gellert would have mocked him for being squeamish with words, but not deeds.

"Killed, you mean."

Albus nodded at the young Wand. "That is correct, Miss Hermione." The thought of kidnapping Draco and Narcissa had entered his mind more than once, but it was simply not practical. He was not about to risk his allies' lives to save those two, nor was he willing to risk another war should they escape and press their suit with support from the population later. Although that could be avoided by various, if often unsavory means.

She nodded. "I guess I'll be tasked with killing Draco."

"Only as a last resort. If things go according to plan, then the Minister will be killed at a time when his family is at home. Though your assistance in entering said home would be appreciated," Albus said.

"Ron and his brothers will be attacking the Malfoys then."

There was the slightest hint of accusation in her gaze, though whether it was aimed at his ploy to secure her help by putting young Mister Weasley in danger, or the likelihood of them fighting the Wands guarding the Malfoys, Albus couldn't tell.

"It will not be just them. A number of others with ties to Britain will be joining us." Nymphadora was still being treated, but her safe houses would be able to house Kingsley and the others. He smiled. "They will be joining us, and hopefully the Wands, in fighting the Dark Lord." That should help smooth the takeover of the Ministry later.

"That means they cannot be seen attacking the Malfoys. Or rather, that there cannot be any witnesses."

The girl had a talent for spotting the problems of his plan. He nodded. "Correct. I hope we can accomplish our task without killing anyone other than the Malfoys." There was Obliviation, of course.

"But you don't expect things to go that smoothly."

He shook his head. "No, I do not." There was a way that would all but ensure it, Nicolas had had the marvelous idea of adapting Augustus's work with Basilisk poison to the Draught of Living Death, but using it on this mission would likely preclude its use on the Ministry, should that become needed later. And as much as Albus hated it, he'd rather see a few Wands killed defending the Malfoys, than far more die in a pitched battle for the Ministry.

"Plans rarely go as planned," Harry cut in, grinning, "But we usually make them work anyway." The young man grew more serious again, and looked at Albus. "I'll be there as well, of course."

"Mec..." Mister Weasley started, but Harry cut him off.

"Forget it. I'm not going to let you risk your life without me."

"Good," Miss Hermione said, with a glance at Albus.

"I will, of course, join this undertaking as well," Albus said. And not just to protect Harry, even if Miss Hermione's comment might hint at that. It wasn't as if he would be planning anything else for the day the Malfoys would meet their fate.

The two young men grinned, but Miss Hermione didn't look that convinced. Albus should have expected that - young people rarely adjusted quickly, or well, to having their most trusted authority figures being revealed as frauds.

He feared that Wizarding Britain would be in a similar state, after this war was over.

London, Ministry of Magic, September 18th, 1999, 16.25 hours

"Wands!" Draco Malfoy stood up, discarding a paper aeroplane. "I've just received a notice! The Obliviators have detected another apparition in that forest we visited earlier this week! Everyone up, we'll move at once! This time we'll catch the culprit!"

The son of the Minister was brimming with excitement. Wand-Leader Hermione, temporarily - very temporarily she told herself each day - attached to this task force had to admit that she didn't know anyone in the task force who was that enthusiastic or motivated about apparating into forests anymore. Not when they hadn't caught anyone all week, apart from a couple meeting in a 'romantic muggle forest' for a tryst. In every other case the mysterious apparating wizards had left already when the team had arrived. They simply couldn't react fast enough to catch anyone who did not linger.

"Come on!" He clapped Hermione on the shoulder as he moved towards the Apparition area in the Ministry.

She winced behind his back. Draco had been touching her more and more lately. He had stayed within the boundaries of proper manners, so far. Mostly pats on the shoulder like the one she had just received, but she really didn't like where this seemed to be going. His flirting was bad enough. At least he would be busy staring at trees for the next half an hour, instead of staring at her. She still didn't know why he was fixated on her. He had slept with Jasmine and Laura this week, and neither had seemed to mind his advances.

Cleo shook her head at her, smiling wryly. "You'll be able to meet your boyfriend after this. The boyfriend you still haven't me introduced to," she whispered, grinning.

"Sorry," Hermione said in a low voice, speeding up a bit to keep pace with Draco, "we tend to get, ah…"

"Frisky?" Cleo grinned.

Hermione nodded. It wasn't entirely wrong, but she still felt bad for lying to Cleo, who had quickly become a friend.

They passed a team of Wands, Combat Branch, guarding the Apparition area. There were traps ready as well, Hermione knew. Runes inlaid in the floor, wards ready to be deployed. Intruders would have a very hard time entering through that area. It could be circumvented, though.

Hermione had a feeling she might be called on to do that, sooner rather than later. She hoped she would be doing the right thing then.

They arrived at the edge of another forest in Kent. Teresa and Mabel immediately split off and entered the forest. Jane, Laura and Jasmine surrounded Draco, then followed them a few yards into the forest. Cleo and Hermione exchanged glances, and followed their example, checking the area with their wands for magical residue. As expected, they found nothing but their own.

"Pretty dense foliage," Cleo commented.

She was right. The underbrush seemed denser than normal, for the area - after half a dozen such trips, Hermione was now somewhat knowledgeable of the local plant life. "Yes…" She couldn't hear any animals either. Or any Wand.

"Ambush!" Jane shouted. "Apparition-Jinxed!"

Hermione dropped to the ground at once. A second later, a tree detonated near Draco's position. She cast a Shield Charm, followed by a Human-presence-revealing Spell. Cleo joined her on the ground, panting and covered by a Shield Charm herself. More explosions followed. Further away though… and her spell didn't reveal anyone hidden nearby. With the underbrush and trees limiting line of sight, why didn't the ambushers move in, press their advantage? Her instructors would have failed her, had she done the same. Then she blinked. Had that bush just moved?

"Merlin! It's a trap!" Cleo shouted. "The plants are moving!"

Tentacles shot out of the densest bush, towards Hermione. The witch rolled to the side, but one of them clipped her shoulder, adhering to her robe.

"Evanesco!"

She vanished the tentacle with part of her robe, and moved towards the edge of the forest. Cleo was there already, but stopped near a tree. Hermione reached her side. The field looked clear, but...

On their right side, a marker appeared - a disillusioned wizard. Or witch, seeing how it had had come from the spot where Jane and the rest were. She started to run over the field. After about 10 yards, the ground erupted around her, and tendrils wrapped around an invisible figure. Then they constricted, and Hermione heard a short scream. Laura. The scream cut off, and blood covered the ground, attracting more tendrils.

"Merlin…" Cleo said. "We'll have to fly."

Hermione looked up. A dozen markers hung in the sky. Disillusioned wizards.

"We can't," she said, then yelled "Ambushers in the sky!"

"Plants getting closer!" Cleo shouted. "Fire's not working on them!"

Hermione glanced behind her. Tentacles were writhing on the ground, held at bay by Banishing Charms from Cleo. Her friend wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. And there were more spells flashing towards where Jane and the others were with Draco.

"Use Vanishing Charms on the plants!" Hermione shouted. Another tree exploded above her, and splinters pelted her shield. She ducked reflexively. How long would the enemy flyers wait for them to try to flee over the field, before attacking from above?

Fire bursting above her answered her question. A giant snake made of flames and smoke broke through the canopy, and slid down a tree trunk, setting it aflame. Fiendfyre!

"We can't stay here, and they want us to flee on the field! We need to charge ahead!" she shouted to Cleo while sprinting towards Jane's last position. More tentacles shot at her, but she managed to evade them. Judging by her cursing, Cleo did as well. Behind them the fire spread, and chased them.

"We can't go through those plants!"

They met Jane, who was kneeling next to Draco, shielding him with her own body. Jasmine was there as well, driving the plants back. Laura was shooting curses at the field. More Fiendfyre was ravaging the forest.

"We need to get through those plants in the forest!" Hermione panted. "It's the only way!" If she could transfigure a tunnel, or a breach through them… but could she do that fast enough to outrace Fiendfyre? If she closed the tunnel behind her...

"Saddle up! We'll fly - through the forest!" Draco yelled, pulling out and unshrinking his broom.

Hermione gasped. Flying through a forest? At high speed? She wasn't that good at broom riding! But the cursed fire was close, and would soon reach them. It was their only chance. She pulled out her Nimbus, and kicked off. Draco was already speeding ahead. For all his faults, the wizard could fly. For a moment, Hermione contemplated following him, but he was too fast. Instead, she followed Cleo, hoping the witch was a better flyer than herself.

She heard a scream behind her, and glanced over her shoulder, almost freezing at the sight. A hydra made of fire had broken through the canopy, and several of its heads were diving at Jasmine, who must have been slow to mount her broom. The witch and her broom disappeared in an instant, and the fire was chasing Hermione.

She leaned forward, reducing air resistance, and shot after Cleo, who was weaving around trees. Hermione tried to copy her friend's moves, and not to think about the monster made of cursed fire chasing after her. If the ambushers had spotted them, and were racing to cut them off at the other edge of the forest…

She almost crashed into a tree Cleo narrowly avoided, and her right foot caught on a branch, wrenching her off-course. She managed to control her broom enough to follow Cleo again, but she had lost time, and to the left of her, the trees started to catch fire. Had the others set the whole forest afire?

She sped up, but had to brake again when she barely avoided flying into a tree trunk. The roar from the fire sweeping through the woods grew louder, or so she thought. She had lost sight of Cleo, Draco had disappeared long ago, and she hadn't even seen Jane since they had taken off. It was just her, the trees, and the fire.

And the fire was gaining. Or she had veered off-course without noticing. She wasn't a scout, she was in the Investigative Branch! Tears ran down her face while she weaved around a pair of tree trunks. She didn't want to die, not like this, not on a broom, burned alive.

To her right, a tree crashed to the ground, sending sparks up into the canopy. She pulled to the left again, away from those flames. Smoke started to overtake her - the wind was driving the flames towards her, she realised. She didn't dare slow down to cast a Bubble-Head Charm, and breathing grew more difficult. If the smoke started to grow any thicker, she'd not be able to spot a tree before crashing into it.

And then she was out of the forest. She bent down and accelerated as much as she could, trying to apparate, all the time expecting a curse to hit her.

Her third attempt worked.