A/N – I would like to thank everyone for their amazing support of this story. I really appreciate all the feedback I receive.
I also just want to mention that this chapter flicks forward a few months.
Putting aside her paperwork, Hermione began to tidy up her desk. She and Lavender were off for an inspection of the magical creature's sanctuary, and the shopping centre. Both the magical creatures sanctuary and the shopping centre were almost up and running after months of hard work. As far as Hermione knew the only thing left to do at the sanctuary was source the animals, and last time she'd spoken to Charlie he was making good headway with that. As for the shopping centre, it was just undergoing last minute alterations and within the next couple of weeks they would be handing over keys to all those that had leased a shop.
While Hermione's business ventures were going well, things with the Death Eaters were less than satisfactory. Despite all their efforts the person killing her Death Eaters was still at large. As feared Alecto's body had been found and in the months since then she'd lost three more wizards. However the attacks were too spaced out and had no pattern, so it was particularly hard to find the culprit. Hermione was still convinced it was someone in the Order, but proving it was another matter. Since they never knew when another attack was coming it was impossible to put tails on every member of the Order. Hermione just had to hope that whoever was killing her Death Eaters would slip up enough to give them a clue as to who they were. If not, she would be forced to resort to using her father's tactics and that was something she was hoping to avoid unless strictly necessary.
Putting thoughts of killers out of her head, Hermione grabbed her jacket and bag and made her way out of her office. Lavender was in the outer office, already wearing her jacket and her bag was sitting on her desk.
"Have I kept you waiting?" Hermione asked.
"No." Lavender shook her head.
"Let's get going then." Hermione said.
Lavender grabbed her bag and the pair left the office, chatting happily as they made their way outdoors. Once they were outside they headed to a nearby apparition point and apparated to the magical creatures sanctuary.
"Wow, this place is looking amazing." Lavender remarked.
The once barren land now housed dozens of different sized enclosures, just waiting for their animals. There was also a large white building, which housed the offices for the staff, a few indoor breeding rooms and a classroom for when children from school came to visit.
"Yes, it is." Hermione agreed. "Let's go inside so Charlie can give us a tour."
Since the visit was pre-arranged, Charlie was waiting in the reception area when Hermione and Lavender entered the building. After exchanging greetings with the two witches, he took them of a tour of the building, showing them all the sights and where everything would be located once they were set up.
"Have you thought about staff yet?" Hermione asked as they wandered around the building.
"I have a few people in mind." Charlie replied. "I'm making a list, I thought we could discuss it when I've finished."
"Of course." Hermione nodded. "Just let me know when you're ready."
"Do you want me to hire some sort of teacher?" Charlie inquired as they entered the classroom and he showed Hermione around the large room.
"I'm not sure if that's necessary. I've spoken to Lucius and we're going to arrange trips with Hogwarts as well, but obviously they'll be bringing their own Professor. As for the younger students, they'll also be coming with a teacher of some sort but I was thinking one of the staff from here could be on hand to deal with the actual lessons." Hermione replied. "Of course if you're not happy with that, we can hire some sort of teacher."
"We'll try it your way first." Charlie said, after briefly debating the options in his head.
After finishing off the tour of the building, Charlie took Hermione and Lavender outside and gave them a tour of the enclosures. As they toured the grounds, he told Hermione about what animals he was hoping for and the enquiries he'd made. Hermione was impressed with how many animals Charlie was looking into getting. If all his plans came off the sanctuary, it was going to be very impressive.
"I've also got first refusal on some dragon eggs from my old sanctuary." Charlie told Hermione as they started to head back to the offices. "Before I get any though, I need staff in place and some more equipment."
"Get any equipment you want, and we can start getting staff as soon as you're ready." Hermione answered.
Once they arrived back at the offices, Hermione and Lavender said goodbye to Charlie and headed to the shopping centre. Like the magical creatures sanctuary, the shopping centre was also looking very impressive. The building that was once pretty old and dilapidated had been totally revamped and now looked brand new, Hermione just hoped the inside looked as good as the outside.
When the two witches entered the building there was a few workmen around, doing last minute jobs. Hermione greeted a couple of them, but saw no sign of Vince, who was supposed to be in charge. Figuring they'd run into him as they had a look around, Hermione and Lavender started their tour.
"Do we have many empty units?" Hermione questioned as they walked around and checked out the building.
"Half a dozen or so." Lavender replied. "But a couple of them have interested parties."
"Did Gringotts ever sign up?" Hermione asked.
A few weeks ago the bank had enquired about opening a small branch in the shopping centre, but they'd encountered a few problems. The goblins in charge of the bank wanted a three story unit, which wasn't a problem as some units were two storeys and a small handful took up three. However the bank wanted to bring a dragon with them to guard any money they would have stored in the premises, and that was something Hermione couldn't agree to. She couldn't risk the safety of the shoppers and other shop owners to accommodate Gringotts dragon. If somehow it escaped the bad publicity could totally ruin everything she'd worked so hard for.
"They did." Lavender nodded. "They leased the big unit in the far corner of the building."
"What about their dragon issue?" Hermione asked. "Last time I spoke to them, they were refusing to budge on the topic."
"They've found an alternative way of guarding their money apparently." Lavender replied. "The goblin who signed the paperwork said they were offered help by an outside security firm. This security firm will ensure the money is safe and can't be accessed by anyone other than a Gringotts employee."
"I'll have to thank the security firm." Hermione said. "Having a Gringotts branch here is a major draw. They've never operated outside of Diagon Alley before."
"I made a note of the firm, but its back at the office." Lavender replied. "It was called something protection, some sort of gemstone I think. I can't really remember."
"Emerald protection." Hermione suggested.
"I think so, that sounds familiar." Lavender said. "Do you know the firm?"
"It's part of Draco's company." Hermione answered. "It's the firm he uses to secure his offices and buildings."
"So Draco was the one that ensured that Gringotts would rent a unit off you." Lavender smiled. It was obvious to anyone how much Draco loved The Dark Lady, and this was just further proof of what he'd do to ensure she was happy.
"It would seem so." Hermione said. "I'll have to thank him later."
Still talking about various shops and businesses that had rented a shop, Hermione and Lavender carried on their tour. When they'd toured practically the whole place and still Hermione hadn't spotted Vince, she called for one of the workmen and asked him about his boss.
"He's probably out the back." The wizard told Hermione. "There's a bit of work outside that was just finished, he's probably checking it's okay. He likes to be thorough and make sure everything is at a standard he's happy with."
Hermione smiled at Vince's good work ethic. Both he and Greg had proved valuable to her and she had plenty more work lined up for them. Her school idea was starting to spread into Europe, and she planned on having the pair of them travel and scout out suitable buildings and draw up plans for the schools.
"Let's head outside and see if we can find him." Hermione said to Lavender. "I just want to double check everything's on schedule before we leave."
The workman pointed Hermione and Lavender in the right direction and the two witches set off outside. The back of the shopping centre was for staff use only and would basically be used for deliveries and stuff like that. When the pair first left the shopping centre they couldn't see any sign of Vince.
"Vince." Hermione called.
Not getting any response, Hermione decided to check around the side of the building. As she walked around the side of the building she passed the bins and something caught her eye. Turning to her right, she peered into the darkness between the large industrial bins. Right beside the wall her Death Eater was lying face down on the pavement.
"Vince." She gasped, spotting his prone body. Hermione immediately dropped down onto her knees and began checking for signs of life.
"What's wrong?" Lavender called as she spotted her boss kneeling down beside the bins.
"It's Vince." Hermione answered.
Lavender rushed over to where The Dark Lady was kneeling and gasped as she saw Vince's lifeless body lying beside the wall. Even though The Dark Lady was checking him over, they both knew he was dead.
"Is he gone?" Lavender whispered.
"Yes." Hermione replied sadly.
Standing up, she closed her eyes and sent for Lucius via his mark. It took nearly five minutes before there was a crack and Lucius appeared in the courtyard behind the shopping centre. By this time she'd sent Lavender inside to sit down as her P.A wasn't reacting well to seeing a dead body.
"My Lady." Lucius bowed his head respectfully as he waited to see what Hermione wanted.
"Vince is dead." Hermione said, her voice cracking with emotion. Losing her other Death Eaters had been tough, but this time it was personal. She hadn't just lost a follower, she'd lost a friend.
"What?" Lucius's grey eyes widened in shock as he stepped around Hermione and peered down at the wizard he'd known for so long.
"Obviously we're going to have to send for the Aurors, but I don't want Blaise and Theo showing up unprepared." Hermione said. "If they come, they need to know what to expect."
"I'll see to that." Lucius replied quietly. "I'll head back to the Ministry and talk to them. Someone's going to have to stay here, and because you found the body the Aurors will want to talk to you."
"I expected as much." Hermione said. "I can stay here until the Aurors arrive."
"What about Draco and Greg?" Lucius asked. "They need to know what's happened, as do Vince's parents."
"Can you handle that?" Hermione asked.
Lucius nodded and put a comforting arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Are you sure you're going to be alright until the Aurors arrive?"
"I'll be fine." Hermione whispered, leaning into Lucius slightly. "We just need to catch whoever is doing this. I don't want to lose anyone else."
Lucius gave Hermione a hug, before releasing her and heading back to the Ministry. Once she was alone, Hermione couldn't help but have another look at Vince. When the tears began to fall, she turned away from his body and wrapped her arms around herself. Hermione was aware that the Aurors could arrive at any second so she forced herself to stop crying and pull herself together. The tears had just dried when Lavender reappeared from the building, her own eyes red from the crying she'd done.
"Do we need to call the Aurors?" Lavender asked shakily, refusing to look anywhere near the bins.
"It's all in hand." Hermione replied. "We just have to wait for them to show up."
"I'm sorry." Lavender said, taking hold of Hermione's hand. "I know Vincent was your friend."
"He was." Hermione nodded, fighting back the tears.
Just then there was sounds of apparition and a team of Aurors descended on the shopping centre. Hermione explained what had happened and while a couple of Aurors checked over Crabbe, a couple more spoke to her and Lavender. While Hermione was speaking to an Auror, she spotted Blaise and Theo arrive at the scene. The pair looked as white as sheets and she had to look away when they headed over to where Vince was lying.
By the time Hermione and Lavender were finished with the Aurors, Blaise and Theo were standing waiting for them. Hermione gave both men a hug and checked they were alright. As she was checking on Blaise and Theo, there was more movement in the courtyard and Lucius appeared with Draco and Greg. Lucius ensured that both Draco and Greg got a final look at their friend, before they made their way over to the others. Greg was already in tears and Hermione vaguely registered Lavender taking hold of his hand before Draco wrapped her in his arms and she buried her head in his chest so the others couldn't see her tears.
"I think you lot should leave now." Lucius said quietly. "I'll stay here and check everything's okay."
"Make sure you keep us informed." Draco told his father.
"Of course." Lucius nodded.
With one final look towards their fallen friend, the group apparated away, while the Aurors continued their investigation.