After the dawn on the eighth day, Harry called a meeting. The loft was cramped with everyone sat around but there was little else they could do. Up here, they were safe from any wandering Restless that might appear without warning. Hermione sat under the eaves of the roof, trying to listen to what the others were saying. It was rather hard to contemplate what they were discussing, that those they had left with Sybil were dead and not going to turn up. The very thought of that happening, after everything they had been through, sent a cold wave through her. It pooled at the bottom of her belly and left her feeling as though she had been turned into lead.

Remus was the first to voice this thought, despite the fact that they had all been thinking it, "We cannot wait forever," he said slowly, "Regardless of whether they're alive or dead, we can't sit here waiting."

"Remus is right." This time it was Severus who spoke, "We need to ensure we are able to survive. This loft isn't big enough for all of us, nor is this location particularly good."

"Why not?" asked Ron, "We're close to Hogwarts after all and that's what we wanted."

"There are countless Restless in Hogsmead, we have no idea how many are at the castle itself," Severus said, "How long will it be before they realise we are here and come looking for an easy meal?" he explained. This managed to silence Ron well enough and he grumbled while sitting back.

"What about our plan?" Harry asked after a pause, "The only reason we are up here is because you thought you knew how to fix this problem. Does this mean we can't continue?" he said. There was a pause. Everyone seemed to turn towards Severus and hold their breath.

"Of course we can continue," he snapped. There was a trace of his former waspishness in his voice and Hermione wasn't sure whether to touch his hand or not. Perhaps he was as eager to get the whole situation fixed as she was. The thought that they would fail did not even cross her mind. "It's not going to be easy but I never said it would be. I suggest what we do is make our way to Hogwarts and see how bad it is."

Harry nodded very slowly at that, considering the options it seemed, "I snapped the Elder Wand while I was on the bridge," he said, "If we need to find the pieces, there would be a good place to start." A couple of murmurs agreed with this and Hermione found herself nodding too.

"We'll help you Harry," she said.

"'Course," Ron said. She gave her two best friends a smile, glad that they could still work together and agree on something. Ginny cleared her throat as if to say something but a look from her brother silenced her. Hermione couldn't help wonder what it was that she had been about to say. She knew there was a rapidly developing romance between the two but hadn't had a chance to question either Ron, Harry or Ginny about it. They'd been apart for the best part of three weeks after all and not had chance for a catch up yet.

"We'll gather what supplies we need then and spend the rest of the day getting ready." Harry said. The general consensus was that this was a good idea and so it was put into action. Hermione returned with Ron to the store while Harry, Remus and Tonks took to the hardware store. While they walked to the store, Ron began explaining what had happened along the way.

"We came across a couple of groups of Restless," Ron said. She was glad he had returned to calling them that, rather than zombies. It might be a false hope, but it was something to cling to if nothing else. "I mean, that's nothing new but bloody hell, I'll never get used to it. We had to fight through this one group and man, I'd forgotten how much they stink!" he said. Hermione smiled at that.

"Tell me about it!" she snorted.

"Just disgusting, anyway. Ginny's knife got stuck in this one's eye socket and another came from the side. She didn't see it but Harry did. Thank Merlin he did else I'd be the only Weasley left." He shook his head a little at that thought, sobering as it was, "They've been all clung to each other since," he gave her a sly look, "Bit like you and Snape," he added.

Hermione flushed a little at the friendly barb and shook her head. Ron held up his hand so she didn't make any protests to the contrary and laughed, "It's OK, even if it is a little gross," he added. Ron opened the door to the store and they stepped inside. Hermione's eyes quickly adjusted to the gloom and she led her friend to the shelves.

"There's not much left," she said with a shrug. "Most of the tins are at the loft anyway and the other stuff has mostly perished."

She watched as Ron looked at the packages. He did swipe a couple of the remaining chocolate bars and tore open one of them. The look on his face when he bit into it was positively erotic and Hermione couldn't help but laugh at him. He gave her a look before handing one of them to her. She opened it and did as he had. Why she hadn't thought to do the same earlier on she had no idea. Ron leaned against one of the shelves and turned to her. "Want to know what I miss?" he said.

"What?" she asked.

"Pizza."

Hermione laughed, "Pizza?" she raised an eyebrow at him, wanting more of an explanation.

"I dream of eating melted cheese and soft warm bread," he said, "Some days it's all I can think about," he admitted. Hermione stopped laughing and let out a small sigh.

"Want to know what I miss the most? Food wise?" she said. Ron nodded as he scanned the shelf for further food that would be of actual use.

"Cookies. I would commit murder for fresh cookie," she said. There were a couple of red packets of Maryland Cookies still sealed but she knew better than to try them. The date would have long expired and they would be soft mush by now. Turning away from them, she saw Ron nodding out of the corner of her eye. "If this works, if the world returns back to how it should be, I'm going to make the biggest batch of cookies and eat them all!" she said. Now it was Ron's turn to laugh at her and she found herself giggling.

They lasped into silence once more and returned their attention to the task they had actually been set – refilling their supply bags as much as they could. It didn't take all that long and before they knew it, they were walking back to the loft. Harry met them on their way. He had several large knives in his hands, hunting blades like the one that was constantly at her hip, as well as a couple of other weapons. "There are more in the loft," he said, "This is the last of them."

The moment they had all settled back upstairs, they looked over what they had managed to scavenge. There was a crow bar, a fire axe and a couple of machetes. Added to the weapons they were already carrying, they now looked as though they would be able to fend off a small army. Hermione hoped that it would be enough. Looking at the food they had, starving was not going to be a problem in the short term.

"How are we going to do this?" she asked as she pulled a blanket around her shoulders.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"I mean, we're not going to be able to just wander up to the place, find what we want and leave again." She said, "Hogsmead was overrun after all, Hogwart's is bound to be the same."

"What makes you think that?" Ron said.

She rolled her eyes at his denseness, "It's the epicentre of magic for the country, and it's bound to have attracted rather a lot of them." Ron considered it for a moment and nodded, realising the logic of her thoughts.

"We'll all go tomorrow, check out what's there and then come up with some form of plan." Harry said, "There's no point going overboard with a plan that we might not be able to use," he added. She was forced to agree to that.

Severus sat down beside her, lifted the blanket and pulled her close. She settled against his shoulder, hoping that she would be able to get enough sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day and she would have to be wide awake if they were going to succeed. Hermione let out a sigh and began to settle. Her eyes drifted shut and she willed herself to not think anymore; there would be time enough for that in the morning.