The town of Witchbridge resembled Hogsmeade in winter with the thin layer of snow that was now covering the steep sloping roofs and narrow winding roads. It was not a particularly large town but it was densly built with magically stretched houses and shops that were significantly bigger on the inside.

I stood at the bottom of the main road that ran through the town with my feet resting in the snow. My warm breath quickly condensed and twisted away from my face in the cold air that encircled me and seemed to bite against my exposed skin that was not undercover. My nerves were still fraying from the encounter at the checkpoint and I wondered if the shaking in my legs was due to the cold or the adrenalin.

Suddenly my mind went to work. I was standing still for too long. The MSF spy network existed in every magical town in Britain and the slightest thing out of the ordinary was recorded and reported for investigation. An investigation often meant torture. I quickly tried to compose myself and began walking up the main road. I made every effort possible to make it look like I knew where I was going. I quickly made my way passed the rows of shops that sold various items ranging from clothing to exotic plants and even a few weapon shops. Despite the usefulness such a place would have to a resistance cell our group never entered those shops. They were almost always being observed by the MSF. We even suspected that several were in fact run by the MSF in an attempt to uncover resistance groups trying to arm themselves.

My heart still raced almost uncontrollably underneath my travelling cloak and I knew I had to calm myself down or I would start making mistakes. About halfway up the main road was a small cafe and so I decided to take a few moments to catch my breath and gather my thoughts. I walked through the door and a bell sounded my entrance. There were only six people in the cafe. Four of them were what appeared to be a small family on a shopping trip. On the other side of the room I saw that there was a young witch in her twenties sitting with a younger wizard. As her eyes met mine I suddenly realized that this was the same brother and sister who had gone before me through the checkpoint. We both shared a polite nod indicating we recognized each other and I suspected that she was interested in making conversation about my own experience after she had left but I made it clear that I wasn't interested in discussing it. It was not that I was particularly rude but rather I didn't want her to be seen with me if I was discovered as being a member of the resistance.

I stood at the counter looking up at the menu placed across the back wall looking for something to help with my nervous disposition. A woman suddenly appeared from the kitchen and walked upto me. She had dark auburn hair and a rather infectious smile, a rarity in this day and age.

"Hello love," she said beaming. "What can I get you?"

"Uh..." My eyes searched the menu almost desperately for something to order until they finally rested on Chinese red tea; a beverage known to have a calming effect on the body.

"Coming right up," she chirped as she went about making it for me. "I'm guessing you were stopped at the checkpoint they've set up around the town?"

I knew at that point that it must have been obvious that I was still thrown by the encounter and this made the tea all the more necessary for me. I nodded as she handed me the tea just after I gave her the money. To my surprise she suddenly tossed me a chocolate frog and said, "To help rebuild your strength."

I chuckled before thanking her and taking my seat near the window so I could keep an eye on events out in the street. The window had a long white net curtain hanging over it but was thin enough for me to be able to see in all directions and still obscure the features of my face to anyone looking in. The tea went a long way to calming me down. It tasted quite bitter but I was glad to have had it by the time I was finished. Sitting in the cafe I began to ponder my next move. I knew that to try and transport the supplies across the checkpoint was going to be almost impossible now and therefore I had to make arrangements to hide them just outside the town for retrieval at a later time when things calmed back down.

Having finished my tea I once again nodded my appreciation to the woman behind the counter and started my way out into the street. I made my way towards a shop at the far end of the town where I could buy Phalanx powder. Phalanx powder was a type of fertilizer that could be used to cultivate certain living plants like Mandrake in the colder temperatures of the British Isles. Using the right mix of Phalanx powder and Incentious Weed creates a rather impressive explosive force with only a small amount. Ideal for Gary's Snitch bombs.

It was as I passed the official Witchbridge Owlery that I noticed that a crowd had gathered outside the small building. They were looking at a poster that had been set up on the wall with some interest. Since there were so many people gathered around I felt that it would actually look more suspicious if I didn't see what the commotion was all about.

I slowly made my way through the crowd that was consumed with hushed whispers although I clearly heard one or two who were brave enough to utter the words, "Serves the bastard's right." I waited for the crowd to begin to disperse and allow me access to the poster. Several heads were still in the way when I heard someone say, "Bloody hell! She's alive!"

This was quickly followed by, "She's a bloody murderer! All she's done is make things worse for the rest of us."

By now my mind had reached a conclusion but I had to confirm it. With a new vigor I began to push my way forward until I had a clear view of the poster. There on the poster was a moving picture of Hermione in a red dress. It had clearly been cropped from a larger photograph and I could see an arm draped around her shoulder. She looked genuinely happy in the scene that was playing out on the magical image. It was a happiness I had never really seen from her in the time that I had known her and although it was her face I didn't truly recognize the girl in the image. The Hermione I knew was that far removed from the one in the image.

Snapping myself out of the near hypnotic glare I had put myself in I looked at the words written underneath;

REWARD 25,000 GALLEONS
Hermione Jean Granger
Wanted for murder and acts of terrorism against the state.

Underneath was a physical description of Hermione including her typical bushy brown hair. I was stunned at the sight of this poster. We had been so certain that they would want to keep knowledge of Hermione being alive a secret. We had assumed that they would want to prevent her becoming some kind of martyr and yet here they were appealing for information. Clearly Byars was adopting different tactics to his predecessor. As more and more people started to push in to see the poster I decided to carry on up the road. Suddenly a voice boomed up the road. I turned around to see that an MSF officer had stood up on a podium that he had brought with him in miniaturized form before returning it to its full size to speak in the middle of town.

"May I have your attention please!" he called out with his wand pressed against his neck to amplify his voice. "May I have your attention? Citizens of the magical community of Witchbridge; a darkness has descended on our pure and honest way of life. The terrorist and murderer Hermione Granger has struck again! Last night she and her accomplices murdered an MSF Captain in the course of his duties. We now know that it is this vile and despicable witch who disgraces our world that has been carrying out the muggle gun murders. This woman has no care for wizarding life! She and her associates have proven themselves willing to kill indiscriminately. Until now we have decided to keep the full extent of what these terrorists have done under wraps not to alarm the general public but now we have been forced to reveal the true horror of what these self proclaimed resistance fighters have done. It is your right to see just what these...people are capable of!"

The MSF officer took his wand and pointed it underneath the podium. Stacks of paper began to levitate from behind the podium and were soon making their way through the crowd. I waited until one of the stacks floated passed me and I took one off the top to look at it. There was a smaller version of the picture of Hermione on the wanted poster at the top of the page but there was a second picture at the bottom. I recognized the scene immediately. It was a picture of Goldstein's dead body slumped over in the farmhouse with the bullet hole still in his head and a pool of blood all over the floor.

It soon changed and displayed a picture of Borgin's body. It then continued to change and displayed every single person we had killed since we began our offensive. As I looked at the images looping on the piece of paper it felt as though my nightmares had been turned to magical print and handed to me. The MSF officer returned his wand to his neck and began to speak once more.

"I know that these images are quite alarming. You would not be an honest and true witch or wizard if they did not disturb you. But for your own good you must know what Granger and her terrorists are capable of. I know that some of you may have heard the propaganda that is being spewed out about these people. The romanticizing of Granger's terrorist cell must end. They are nothing more than criminals who wish to harm you, your family and our way of life! Are you going to just allow this bloodshed to continue or will you make a stand? Tomorrow this Owlery is going to be replaced by a new Ministerial Security Forces recruitment office. If you have the courage and moral fibre to fight the tyranny of Hermione Granger and are willing to do something about it then I implore you to sign up and help us fight this WAR!"

I had to confess that the speech was quite rousing but its impact on the crowd was mixed. There was a lot of chatter about the grotesque images looping on the handouts and for that I could not blame any of them but I was genuinely worried about what some of them were thinking. Some of them were buying into what the officer was saying and soon the crowd was awash with discussion about who was right and wrong. Voldermort's propaganda machine was in full swing.

Given the atmosphere that was forming in the town I decided to abandon the supply run altogether. It simply wasn't safe to continue with it. I was sure that Luke was going to be quite displeased by my failure but I took the attitude that it was better to play it safe.

Besides, Hermione had to hear what was being said about her.