A/N: It was a bit hard to do this chapter and it may look more than a bit choppy...Here we go, then...

The gargoyle guarding the headmistress' office moved aside without a word from Harry. He didn't bother waiting for the stairs to transport him up, instead he jumped three steps at a time and knocked rather loudly. Minerva called him into the room, currently occupied by the headmistress, Severus, Kigsley, Robards and two aurors.

"What's going on?" Harry asked softly, still battling with his emotions.

"We managed to catch the Slytherin students who had been identified in Mr. Zabini and Mr Finnegan's memories. They are being held in an old classroom with Filius and Sinistra guarding them." Minerva explained. "I alerted the Head Auror and the minister. They just arrived a moment ago. We were about to go question them."

"Hermione woke up for a bit." Harry offered.

"Did she speak?" Robards asked immediately.

"Better, she gave me memories… I need to view them. She was tortured and it is not something that should be seen by everyone…" He glared at the suddenly curious looking aurors. "Hermione has entrusted me with this so… Severus will come with me, to identify the asshole if possible. Robards?"

"I will accompany you…" Robards nodded.

"Unless you think it necessary, I believe Minerva and I will go with the others to question the teens." Kingsley offered.

"Thanks, Minister." Harry bowed slightly. From what he was told, Hermione was more or less naked when found and he didn't want just anyone seeing her like that. Robards was a necessary evil.

"Very well. We shall be in the rooms opposite the History room." Minerva nodded at them and led the party of four out the office, leaving the pensieve on the table. Harry poured in the memories and with a nod to the head auror and Severus entered the memory. A moment later the older men joined him.

Minerva led the three ministry personnel down the hallway and to the room where the children were kept. It saddened her that yet again her pupils had chosen a wrong path; the path of hate and violence, a path leading away from humanity. She steeled herself before entering.

"Let us go! We did nothing." The girl screamed at her.

"We have evidence to the contrary." Kingsley said coldly. The girl paled at seeing him and clamped her mouth shut.

"Blood traitor." The boys weren't so smart. Kingsley's eye twitched.

"Auror Jones."

"Sir?"

"Go get the veritaserum from the ministry. I am authorizing its usage against terrorists."

"Yes sir." Jones hurried away.

"You can't do that!" The taller boy shouted.

"Minerva, perhaps it is best to separate them." Kingsley suggested. Minerva nodded and the three friends were put in conjured cubicles, unable to see or hear each other thanks to Filius' charm work.

The auror returned huffing and handed a vial of the potent truth potion to the minister. The minister nodded and handed it to the other auror to administer.

"Start with the girl." He could see Minerva was emotional so decided to take control of the investigation. The Auror forced the teen's mouth open and let three drops fall on her tongue. His hand forcefully closed the mouth before she could spit it out and massaged the throat to make her swallow involuntarily.

"What is your name?" The Auror asked.

"Leslie Marie Gigot." She answered in a monotone voice and a slack face.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"She is ready sir."

"Thank you auror." Kingsley nodded.

"Did you assist in the kidnapping of Hermione Granger?" Kingsley asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"The boys were being idiots." She intoned.

"Who are these boys?"

"Jeff Winters and Loki Hans."

"They abducted Granger?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It was their task."

"Who tasked them with it?"

"The Shadow."

"Who is the Shadow?"

"They…" She seemed to struggle with it but her face slackened once more. "…are a group."

"What are their aims?"

"To annihilate the enemies of the dark lord and to continue his work."

"Are they responsible for the abduction of Severus Snape?"

"Yes."

"Who is the leader?"

"The Master."

"What is his name?"

"No one knows."

"Who are the others in this group that you are aware of?"

"Jeff Winters, Loki Hans, Gregory Walsh, Cornell, Gunter."

"Why did you join them?"

"Because they killed my family."

"Who?"

"The Light side."

"Who did they kill?" Kingsley asked softly.

"My father and my elder brother." She spat.

"Were they death-eaters?"

"Yes."

"That will be all. Auror Jones, the antidote." The auror who had retrieved the veritaserum rushed to do as he was told. The girl immediately started cursing and then dissolved into tears. Eventually, they stunned her to get things going.

The boys had even less information than Leslie. Apparently, they received their task through Leslie Gigot who was also the one who gave the task to the other three kids involved in the poisoning attempt. They had met The Master only a few times but apparently his presence was unmistakable as were his brilliant hazel eyes were distinctive. How Hazel could be distinctive they weren't able to explain.

Meanwhile, Harry was trying in vain to calm his magic and was more or less wrecking Minerva's office while Severus tried to sooth him and Robards tried to stay out of the way. It took him fifteen minutes to calm down enough to ask the most important question.

"Do either of you know who the bastard is?"

"He looks familiar." Severus frowned. "But I have never seen him before."

"But he is familiar? Perhaps family to someone you know?"

"He reminds me of of the Rogers family." Robards mused, now sure he wasn;t going to be blasted into the wall.

"Rogers?" Severus nodded thoughtfully. "He has the distinctive nose and chin… but that family was never involved in the war."

"Perhaps distant family?" Harry asked, trying not to snap at his friends.

"I can check the records." Robards offered.

"Maybe Narcissa is able to help. I can project the image to her." Severus offered.

"Alright. I have… other things to attend to. Keep Draco company for me." Harry requested. Snape momentarily hugged the young man and let him march off; he knew he was probably contacting his group of guards.

"I will see you, Head auror. Let Minerva know if you find anything. She is the best placed to pool information from all of us."

"Indeed." Robards nodded and left via the floo. Severus warded it, deciding to walk down to the apparition point instead of using the floo.

Harry stormed into the headquarters looking angrier than anyone had ever seen him. How dare they hurt his Mione that way? His expression was so stormy that the loud discussion petered out into deathly silence.

"We need to move, as soon as possible." He announced.

"What happened?" Someone asked.

"Hermione was attacked, tortured and nearly… right in the castle. We have a face. We will convene bright and early tomorrow… full meeting. Whatever Minerva and Kingsley find ought to throw some light on the situation. Be ready for updates and moving at a moments notice."

"Should we alert our allies?" A female asked softly.

"Might be for the best. Supply coins to them in person and explain in vague terms. Should be enough." Harry said thoughtfully. "What't the status on the hive?"

"Not much. There have been groups of five max meeting."

"They will meet in larger numbers once the news of arrests gets out." Harry told them grimly.

"We snuck in and set up our instant ward apparatus."

"We can activate anti-travel wards within seconds."

"And of course, the alerts are still in top shape."

"Perfect." Harry grinned. "They will rue the day they messed with us." A chorus of 'yeah!' went around before Harry checked on various things and took his leave.

Draco and Ron were sitting in silence lost in their own deep thoughts on the latest situation while Narcissa and Severus went into the pensive to take a look at the supposed leader of the bad guys. Draco was feeling utterly useless, knowing his previous actions basically took him out of the fight. Harry had enough help to have tactical advantage especially when Ron and Severus got going.

Ron was of two minds about Hermione. She had been his best friend for years and it enraged him that someone dared hurt her- even Severus looked murderous so it had to be bad. On the other hand, her latest actions left much to be desired. She had proposed killing Harry's child, tried to separate Severus from him thereby endangering them both and had been generally unsupportive and an antagonist. Then again, she had saved both himself and Severus from the poisoning attempt and according to Harry her intentions had not been all that malicious all along.

Neither boys managed to reach a decision when the two adults returned with frowns.

"So? Any luck?" Draco asked immediately.

"I don't know. The man is familiar. He is a man, dark hair, hazel eyes, the straight nose typical to purebloods. Rather than having met him, I believe he reminds me of someone I know." Narcissa mused.

"The problem, in this case, is we have no clue as to who." Severus nodded grimly.

"Don't be silly, godfather." Draco scoffed. "You have his image. Thereby you have plenty of clues to identify who this man might be related to. What is his most striking feature?"

"Eyes. They are a most curious shade of Hazel. Deep but oddly light with a red tint rather than the usual green." Narcissa was proving to have an eye for detail.

"Do we know any families who have a propensity for hazel eyes?" Draco demanded. "I know the Jetsons and Figgs had the trait."

"Potters as well." Narcissa said amused. Severus made a face remembering James.

"All three are light families… Well, Jetsons are neutral." Ron noted. "From what Severus said, this group has been formed as retaliation for our actions in the war… so we can strike those off."

"Indeed." Severus nodded. "Any dark families? I saw most of the… people…" He desisted from the use of a more colorful word due to the twin grey glares. "…in masks. Cissa?"

"While, I did have to host the lot of them… None come to mind." She admitted.

"What about other features?" Ron asked.

"Nothing spectacular." Severus sighed. "Dark hair, fetching but common features… pale skin like most British and about five-eight in height."

"Do you the transcript?" Ron asked suddenly.

"Of?" Severus blinked.

"Of what was said. I don't want to invade Hermione's privacy but it shouldn't matter if the conversation was written down." He reasoned.

"Ah… It did not occur to me." Severus admitted.

"I have a spell to make it happen… though one of you should probably cast it." Draco grinned.

"A spell?" Severus looked curious.

"Something random I picked up. Mitsy!" The elf popped in with a curious look. "Can you get me the book named 'Esoteric Spells Through Sands of Time' from my personal collection?" The elf took a few seconds to locate and bring it. "Thank you." Draco smiled down at the elf who blushed promptly and disappeared rather loudly. Draco flipped through the book until he saw the spell he had in mind and handed it over to Severus.

"This is a useful book." Severus commented, looking at a few other spells in the book. "Where did you procure it?"

"Second hand in Knockturn. It's out of print for whatever reason." Draco grumbled. He liked having the newest version and did not appreciate having to get something second hand… even if it was a book.

It took a few minutes for Severus to practice the wand movements and the incantation. He used a copy of his memories to test it on and once assured of the spell's accuracy, he used it on Hermione's memories. It was lucky he had been given charge of them until needed. Copies of the transcript were made and four heads bent over them thoughtfully.

"He said Hermione killed his brother…" Draco muttered.

"What? Where?" Ron asked and stared at the words with wide eyes.

"During the final battle?" Narcissa gasped.

"It seems so…" Severus growled.

"I know how to narrow the search…" Ron said suddenly.

"How?" Draco arched his eyebrow.

"Hermione is very organized." Ron explained. "When the battle was over all of us had plenty nightmares… she told us writing it all down would help."

"You think she wrote down something?" Cissa asked confused. "How will that help?"

"She is very thorough. She had procured a list of all the dead that day and I am pretty sure she narrowed down the list to those she herself battled…."

"But why?!" Draco asked.

"She felt guilty." Severus murmured. "She wanted to know who she had hurt and perhaps pay some sort of penance…" He flushed when the other three looked at him. "It's something I myself have done to help… It was difficult to be unable to help victims so I wrote them down to remind myself what to fight for… and to pay respects to those who passed on."

"I see." Draco nodded thoughtfully. He himself had not seen much death, at least not at his own hands but he did feel guilty about those he was unable to help. Maybe he should go visit their graves or something….

"Hopefully, this will give us a smaller list to pick from. Once we have a plausible name, we can hunt down the ba… bad guy." Ron corrected himself hurriedly. Even Severus was starting to glare… this pregnancy thing was difficult.

"We should go then."

"No, I'll go. You've been hopping around all day and it can't be good for you to be so stressed. Stay here with Draco and Cissa while I go search Hermione's stuff for clues…"

"I can…"

"I know, love. For one, you look very tired. Secondly, even if we aren't talking, I know Hermione would be embarrassed if her professor had looked in her personal things. It's bad enough I do it." He grinned. "Rest." He rose and kissed Severus chastely and hurried to the floo.

Ron didn't think much when he rushed to the their tower, having apparated just outside the gates of Hogwarts. His only thought was to get into Hermione's trunk and find some hint as to who they were dealing with. He only stopped once after he was forced to run up several sets of stairs to get to the portrait hole. Thus, he might be forgiven when he completely forgot about the charms on the stairs leading to the girls' dorm until he found himself sliding backwards and falling gracelessly on his bum.

"Uh… whuh?" He looked around confused and momentarily at a loss as to what had happened.

"Weasley… What the hell are you doing?" Millicent Bulstrode demanded, her hands on her hips and a glare firmly in place.

"Um…" He blinked up at her, aware he was just making whatever it was worse.

"What is going on?" A stern voice demanded through the snickers around the common room.

"Professor Vector!" Ron looked around to spot the professor, who was assigned to the eighth year dorms, as the girl pointed at him rudely. "Weasley was trying to get into our dorms."

"Is this true, Mr. Weasley?" Vector asked sternly.

"Yeah, I guess." Ron scowled at the smug looking girl; he didn't have time for this. "It's urgent and I forgot the wards." He sighed. "Could you help, professor?" He asked distractedly as he glared at the stairs.

"Why would you need to go up there? This is highly unconventional." Vector scowled at him.

"I need to get into Hermione's stuff." Ron explained in a huff. "It's about the attack and I know her passwords and stuff."

"That is a job for the aurors." Vector folded her arms over her bosom.

"Ugh… just…" Ron slowly became red until he recalled he could call for help. He whipped out his wand (not noticing a few people drawing their own to defend). "Expecto patronum." To more than a few people's astonishment a terrier jumped around Ron. "Minerva, need to get into Hermione's stuff. Help. Our Common room. Go to Minerva." He glared at the whole room.

"Wha…" Vector stared disbelievingly.

"Ronald?" Minerva stepped out of the fire only a moment later, without anyone noticing.

"Thank Merlin! I need to get to Hermione's stuff."

"Why?" She asked but was already disabling the wards.

"Have you seen the memory?" Ron asked, relieved she was helping.

"No."

"It seems the bastard is possibly related to someone who died on the battlefield. I'm hoping Mione had notes." He explained, removing a parchment and handing it to her. He then rushed up the stairs to Hermione's room.

"I see."

Most of the curios crowd followed them up but the majority left when they saw both Ron and Minerva reading through Hermione's things. Some more curious ones stayed. Among them was Neville and Susan Bones. Neville quickly offered to help and found himself a spot to settle down and skim through loose parchment, looking for anything that might help. Susan floundered a bit but eventually settled for pulling out all the books from the trunk and sorting them into notebooks and textbooks and others category.

They worked for over an hour before something resembling a list of names was found. In fact, two such lists were found out by the time the whole trunk had been searched. One was a list of people who died on the 'light' side and the other for those who perished from the 'dark side'. A few names were highlighted on both lists. Ron recognized the ones on the 'light' list.

"She highlighted the ones she feels responsible for." He muttered, a slow smile spreading on his face, despite himself; it was just so typical of his friend.

"She what? How do you know?" Susan asked.

"We were together for most of it." Ron shrugged. "I better take both the lists."

"Wait… why is Lovegood on it?" Neville asked as he accidentally spotted the name.

"We failed to help Luna's dad…" Ron said softly. "Anyway… I think this will help a lot." Ron declared.

"Send a copy to Robards." Minerva reminded as Ron practically ran out of there. "I hope they find him." The headmistress muttered. "Thank you for your help, Neville, Susan." She smiled at her students who looked surprised at her use of their names. She figured since they were technically adults, and were fellow soldiers, it was fine.

"No problem, ma'am." The two chorused and promptly blushed.

"Keep this quiet, just in case." She told them before busying herself with setting Hermione's trunk to rights.

"Terrance Jordan." Narcissa breathed.

"What?"

"Jordan family has a distinctive eye color. Hazel with a reddish hint. As well as typically dirty blond or brown hair… But I am unsure of a brother…" Narcissa admitted.

"That is easily solved if we can refer a genealogy tome." Severus suggested.

"Yes." Narcissa nodded. They found themselves in the library hunting down a tome that would show the Jordan family. It took them well past midnight before they located the tome, By that time both Draco and Severus had retired and Ron was close to dropping off himself.

"I have it." Narcissa cheered, well as much as her upbringing allowed her to.

"What?! What happened?" Ron looked around wildly making the elder woman laugh.

"I found our likely target." She explained.

"Brilliant! Who is it?"

"Jasper Jordan. Younger half-brother to Terrance who was a death-eater… according to Hermione's list, she sent a diffindo at him."

"Now we have a name to track down." Ron grimaced. The guy had seen his brother get cut down; that had to leave a mark… not that Ron wanted to sympathize with the bastard who wanted to hurt his family….

"Well, he is the last in the family and probably has access to all the properties. If I remember correctly, the Jordans have a mansion in Scotland, a small manor in Ireland and only one or two small dwellings in England… But that is all for tomorrow. For now we must rest and recuperate." She ushered the tired boy to the room Severus was already slumbering in and turned in herself.

A/N: It's really hard to get into the mood to write battle oriented scenes when my mind is in humor/romance mood. -grumble- but I will try get the next chapter out soon- strategy, suspense, maybe a bit of fighting and drama?