The journey to Scotland was a bit different. We had decided especially that now we were such a large company, we should travel separately in small groups. Bill and Fleur had decided to go by boat. Luna, Rolf, Neville and Dean would be going by train. Kingsley and Winky would be making their way mostly on foot. Severus, Ron, Remus and I would be flying. We had scraped together the money for tickets and booked them under names of a few muggles who lived close to where we were staying. We would be altering our appearances a bit, to match them more closely, and had stolen a few pieces of their clothing.

Saying good-bye was a sobering event after a few days of happiness and time spent together, but Remus's earlier words still rang true. We had to hold on to hope that we would all have our senses about us and be aware and stay safe. It wouldn't even be a full day until we were reunited. Still, I didn't realize that I was chewing my nails and bouncing my leg nervously until Remus gently laid a hand on my knee.

"Sorry." I mumbled. I crossed my ankles and clenched my hands together in my lap in an attempt to not call attention to myself. The airport waiting area was crowded and I should have been scanning it for threats, but it all blurred together as I worried for our friends.

"Relax, Hermione." He said quietly. "There's no point in worrying. They'll either meet us there or they won't." I turned to search his eyes.

"How can you think that way?" I asked. Remus simply stared at me for a few moments.

"Because I've come to realize that some things are beyond my control." For an instant my eyebrows knitted together in confusion as I tried to understand – but then it all became clear. James, Sirius, Harry, Tonks… he'd lost them all. Perhaps understanding that he had no control over their fate was the way he coped with it all. As I looked inward, I realized that I was doing the opposite. Clinging to those who I loved because I couldn't bear to lose them as well.

"Oh, Remus." I breathed, reaching over to squeeze his hand. He leaned back in the hard, red chair as he gripped my hand in return. As he changed the subject and began talking a bit more loudly about attractions in Aberdeen, I peeked across the waiting area to where Severus was seated. He looked strange in regular muggle clothing, out of place and uncomfortable. He was staring our way, though not directly at us, and a strange expression was etched on his face. I tilted my head to try to silently ask what was wrong, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Now boarding for Aberdeen!" A voice called. Remus stood, pulling me up along with him. We grabbed our small bags and filed in with the other passengers. I could just see the side of Ron's face ahead of us, and I could feel Severus's eyes on me from a few feet behind us. Remus held tight to my hand and blended in perfectly as I struggled to not let my anxiety show.

We made our way to our row and took our seats, chatting away about the weather. Several minutes later when we were getting ready for take-off, I glanced over to find Severus seated across the plane from us, looking at us a bit sullenly. I shot him a questioning look, but he simply turned away. I only spent another moment gazing his direction before I returned to Remus's conversation. I wanted to talk with Severus, but it would have to wait until we were sheltered and settled. Instead, I glanced out the window as we took off and thought about our last night at the gardening shed.

The kiss Severus and I shared had been too short. After what seemed like only a few seconds, he had tilted his head forward, touching his nose and forehead to mine. His hands came up to gently hold my face while I clung to his arms. I could tell he was trying to control his breathing but otherwise he gave no indication of what was going through his mind. We stayed like that for only a short time until we heard Remus calling my name. I sighed.

"It's my turn to be on watch." I breathed. Severus nodded slightly and after a beat he pulled away, standing tall and folding his hands behind his back respectfully. I felt a pang of sadness that I couldn't stay with him longer, but headed back nonetheless. Severus remained in the field for a while, then came back around and briefly caressed my face as he went into the shed once more.

By the time my watch was over it was dark out. Inside the shed, only Kingsley, Dean and Winky remained awake. I glanced over and smiled a bit at the sight of Severus sitting against the wall, arms folded and head bowed as he slept. Kingsley was bent over some parchment, a copy of the Prophet in one hand and his quill magically scribbling his thoughts furiously.

"Do you want some help?" I asked quietly. He didn't look up. "Kingsley?" He still gave no indication that he head me.

"He's in the middle of a plan – he won't hear you until he's done." I glanced to my left to see Dean peering over his book at me.

"Ah, I see. I hope he manages to get some rest tonight though." I said as I went to sit next to him in the corner.

"Not terribly likely. When he's like this it tends to go on for a while."

"Oh?"

"We were with him for a bit after the battle. This happened a lot before we got separated." He said, slipping a scrap of paper in his book and resting his head back against the wall. I laid my head against the wall as well and found Winky directly across from me, curled into a tiny ball, wringing her hands and staring at the floor.

"How did you find her? How did Neville and the others find you?" I asked. Dean sighed quietly and concentrated fixedly on a spot on the ceiling.

"There were more of us… after Kingsley even. Hannah Abbott, Ernie MacMillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Seamus Finnigan, and Susan Bones."

"Oh! Are they all right? What happened to them?" My mind was racing, wondering how we could find them all. Five more fighters would be wonderful! From the way Dean paused and swallowed hard, I had a sinking feeling that wouldn't be possible.

"We were found one night. We had been staying in the tunnels around the school for a while. Winky had been staying in the kitchens but, well, she was still…" He trailed off, looking sadly at her defeated form.

"Butterbeer?" I asked in a whisper. Dean looked at me gratefully and nodded, before continuing his story.

"Anyways, they were cruel to her. She was disheveled and unable to do most tasks and they would beat her for it. So, one day, Justin, Susan, Ernie and I decided to sneak into the castle to free her. It went well until Justin accidentally ran into a suit of armor and sent it flying. The noise in the middle of the night was deafening and in no time at all, we were being chased down." I covered my mouth with my hand, hanging on his words as I waited for things I didn't want to hear.

"Susan went down first. I had Winky in my arms, so Ernie was shielding himself and us. Justin was zig-zagging and throwing spells over his shoulder, but she was disarmed almost immediately. She stopped and turned instinctively, but that moment was all it took for a killing curse to hit her square on the chest."

"Oh no." I breathed.

"Justin wanted to stop but we told him not to. We got out of the castle and blocked the doors, but then the Carrows arrived and we thought we were done for." Dean lowered his head to his hands.

"How did you escape?"

"Justin." He said simply. He looked up at me with red rimmed eyes just then. "He forced us to go. They didn't kill him. His screams came on quick though. We learned that he was put in the dungeons with the other muggle-borns. The torture he must've endured…maybe it would have been better if he died."

"No! Dean. You cannot think that way. He'll live. We'll find him and free him and he'll help us defeat them. You'll see." Dean nodded halfheartedly. After a moment or two I sighed. "So how did you get separated from Ernie then?" Dean sighed and rubbed his face.

"Well, we made it back to camp, but so did the Death Eaters. I told Ernie to get Hannah and they managed to escape, but the only way I got out was Seamus's sacrifice." Heaviness settled in the air around us. "He shoved Winky into my arms again and told me to get her to safety. He said he had an 'explosive' plan." He said with a soft chuckle. I couldn't stop a small smile, either. It seems he had embraced his talents after the fiasco with the bridge in the battle.

"And did he?"

"He did. They took him down but not before he rigged the exit. Took out every single one of them. I still had to be careful, but he rid us of the danger we were running from. I wasn't even completely sure where I was going, but one day we were sleeping in the preserve and woke up to hearing your name called over and over. It wasn't long until I tracked everyone down." Silence stretched for a few moments.

"I'm so sorry, Dean." I said finally, turning to look at him. "But I am very glad that we found you. And thank you for rescuing Winky. I promise we will do our best to find Hannah and Ernie." Dean nodded slowly as if he didn't believe me. As I turned back to gaze at Winky once again, I realized I wasn't sure I believed it, either.

"Hermione?" Remus's concerned voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, sorry. I was just thinking about something Dean said." I shook my head to clear it and ignored the worried expression on his face.

"We're about to land." I looked out the window and was a bit relieved to see the city growing closer and closer. Knowing that soon we would all be reunited, I felt my spirits lift and smiled at Remus.

After we landed we had all climbed in a taxi cab and now found ourselves milling about Union Square Shopping Center. It was the rendezvous point before we headed to our planned shelter. Time ticked away slowly. We had staggered our departures enough that we'd all be arriving in Aberdeen around the same time, but the wait was agonizing. My heart beat wildly as my eyes scanned the crowd, looking for friendly faces.

"Hermione Granger? Ron Weasley?" A voice said behind us. In no time at all, spells were cast to make us less noticeable and to shield us. My hand flew to my sleeve, but Severus and Remus were already in defensive stances, wands out and ready. Ron had his wand out, but held it against his chest. I turned and froze, looking incredulously into two sets of familiar brown eyes.