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Chapter Fifty: Stormy Weather.


"They should have been back by now." Hermione hissed at Draco as he re-entered the Infirmary, "What if something went wrong?"

"This is Potter, something will have gone wrong." He drawled.

However, despite is nonchalant demeanour, concern gnawed at his stomach too. Pansy and Blaise had sworn to send word if they were caught or needed help, but neither had reached out to him. They were two hours behind schedule and should have returned by now. Their plan had been to get in and out of Gringotts within two hours, including travelling time. Already, Luna, Percy, and Tonks had come into the Infirmary questioning the three's whereabouts. Many Order members were beginning to question their whereabouts, but Hermione and Draco excused their absence each time, though they knew they couldn't lie much longer, as the Order's suspicions grew and would soon draw the right conclusion.

"Harry would have sent word if it was safe to do so, he'd let us know if they were running behind for a plausible reason." Her fingers worried at the edge of her sleeve, "I wish I knew they were safe. I wish I was there with them."

"There's no use wishing for something that can't happen." He replied sharply, his uneasiness causing him to become impatient, "They'll be back soon anyway. I bet not a single one of your plans have ever gone right, yet you're still alive."

"Barely." She whispered to herself before scowling. She would not wallow in self-pity. She would not complain when she was lucky to be alive, unlike so many others who had been killed in this war. It would be selfish to belittle her survival. Inwardly berating herself, she continued to fiddle with her sleeve.

In times of stress, she would have found a good to occupy her mind, but she was no longer able to indulge in that distraction. At the present moment, she would give anything to read a good herself. Malfoy had been attempt to alleviate her desires by reading to her, which was very thoughtful of him, and something for which she was entirely grateful for, but she couldn't help but miss her favourite pastime. As the seconds ticked by, she felt an eternity pass, and her teeth sunk deeper into her bottom lip with concern.

Draco could see how wound up with worry Granger was becoming, but he couldn't find it in him to console her. His two remaining friends were currently at the mercy of Potter's hapless planning. While he knew Blaise and Pansy to be great magicians, he knew they wouldn't be able to defend themselves against the gathering of Death Eaters that regularly frequented the Diagon Alley area. He'd instructed them to escape at the first sign of trouble, physically dragging Potter away if necessary, but he knew they were as desperate as him for this mission to be successful. Voldemort's horcruxes must be destroyed before the Order could incite a final battle to end this horrendous war. His own anxiousness proved to be as unhelpful as Granger's, even if he hadn't started pacing the floorboards yet.

"Where's Harry, Hermione?" Lupin demanded as he burst into the Infirmary. Tonks followed, carrying a fussing Teddy.

"Uh-" Before Hermione could formulate a reason for his absence, Draco interceded.

"He, Blaise, and Pansy have gone to Gringotts." Everyone stared at him in disbelief.

"They are where?" Lupin yelled, before rounding on Hermione, "I told all of you that you were not to go on any more unsanctioned missions!"

"I'm sorry, but we had to do this." Hermione looked down guiltily, "Harry has his orders."

"You tell us Harry has orders from Dumbledore, but you never tell us what they are! Have you ever considered we could help you?" He thundered, causing Teddy to begin whimpering in Tonks' arms, "We are at war! One day, one of you will get killed! You can't keep gallivanting off on mysterious mission, expecting to come back alive or unharmed! Look at what happened the last time you went on one of your jaunts!"

"I know." She frowned before sighing, "But we can't tell anyone. I wish we could, but Professor Dumbledore strictly forbid it."

For a moment, Lupin opened his mouth to reply sharply to her shallow excuse. Clearly, this was not the first instance Lupin had argued with any of the Golden Trio about their repeated disappearances. When the Ministry was invaded, Harry, Hermione, and Ron had escaped together. It took Lupin weeks to locate the three and force them into the Order's safe house. In that time, they had managed to evade the Order to go on hunting mission, attempting to locate and destroy the horcruxes. Each time they returned, they came back less luckier than the last, with injuries and near scraps with Death Eaters and Snatchers. The senior members of the Order would chastise the trio, to little successful. When they had escaped from Malfoy Manor, Lupin had made each Gryffindor swear not to leave again, but his demands were ignored, as they deemed this task too important to disregard.

As the tension grew, Tonks took Teddy out of the room, bouncing him agitatedly, as concern shaped her features in a disapproving frown. Once the door slammed shut, Lupin seemed to shudder and be taken aback by his own wrath. He took a breath and collected himself into a sterner, controlled manner, but his anger made his eyes burn with fire. Draco had never seen the ex-professor so enraged. Both teenagers watched the werewolf calm himself, before he turned to Draco.

"Did you know about this mission?" The question was simple, but Draco couldn't answer it. Hermione had explained to them that no one was to know about their quest unless told by Harry, if the information was accidentally leaked back to the Death Eaters or Voldemort, they would fail and the Wizarding World would plunge into darkness.

Draco was saved from answering, as the radio on the makeshift nursing station suddenly crackled to life, capturing their attention. It spluttered for a minute, before a voice was discernible.

"…do you read? We have a new weather report; lightening as struck. I repeat; lightening has struck…"