A/N: Hey guys another chapter for you to (hopefully) enjoy. Thank you, as always, for your support, reviews, follows, favourites and messages. I hope we are all safe and doing okay. Disclaimer: All characters (except the ones you don't recognise) belong to J.K. Rowling.

Hermione had never known a rush like it. Once they arrived back at the cottage, she had to take a moment just to process what she had just done.

"I helped destroy most of the Ministry," said Hermione, more to herself.

"And a bloody good job we did too," interjected Bellatrix, still smirking. "More importantly, we got what we came for."

The brunette looked at her and it was clear the adrenaline was beginning to wear off. Hermione paled as she began to think about what could have happened to everyone once the Atrium ceiling came down.

"Oh no, don't start with the guilt and regret rubbish," scolded the dark-haired witch. "Besides, the ceiling didn't come down on them, technically. It came down in between us and them. Like I've told you before, I'm not some heartless killer. Plus, the spells I sent into Cypher's office would have just knocked them out, it's unlikely any of them died. Well, unless they were really unlucky."

Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Well, if people didn't think I was guilty before, they certainly will now."

Without giving Bellatrix a chance to respond, the brunette ran to the cottage. Andy and Narcissa jumped up when the door opened, but Hermione ignored them. She raced up the stairs and into an empty bedroom, throwing herself down on the bed. Everything that had happened recently finally became too much. She allowed the tears to fall, soaking the pillow. Since when had she become this person?

XXXXX

Andy and Narcissa were arguing quietly when Bellatrix came in the cottage. They took one look at their sister before launching into an interrogation.

"What happened?"

"Why is Hermione upset?"

"Why are there reports the Ministry's been attacked?"

"Did she get hurt?"

Bellatrix ignored them and moved past to sit on the sofa. Her sisters shared a look and hurried after her. They were about to begin a fresh barrage of questions, but the dark-haired witch stood up suddenly holding her hands out.

"Enough!" shouted Bellatrix. "Jeez, you're worse than mother was."

"I'm serious, Bellatrix, what happened to cause Hermione to run upstairs crying?" demanded Andy, folding her arms.

The dark-haired witch looked concerned and her gaze went to the ceiling. "She's crying?" Bellatrix gave herself a mental shake. Since when did she care? "Look, it went fine. We got what we went for anyway."

"What does fine mean?" asked Narcissa. "Your version of fine and everyone else's mean two different things."

Bellatrix had to fight not to roll her eyes. She hated how ridiculous and worked up her sisters would get after something like this.

"It means," replied the oldest Black, "that we got out of there in one piece and neither of us was hurt."

"So why is Hermione upset?" Andy glared at her sister and Bellatrix couldn't help but feel that bad things would happen if she didn't answer her sister properly.

"Well…she's feeling a bit guilty," replied the dark-haired witch, but under her sister's piercing gaze she knew that more of an answer was required. "Fine! We broke into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as planned, but we may or may not have set off every alarm in the sodding place and alerted the Aurors that we were there. To get out of that sticky situation we may or may not have jumped out of Cypher's office window into the Atrium and we may or may not have had to engage in a few duels."

Both Andy and Narcissa were stunned into silence.

After a moment, the blonde cleared her throat. "So, how exactly did you get out of there."

"Well…we…I…we might have…" mumbled Bellatrix, knowing that Andy was going to hit the roof when she found out.

"What?" growled Andy, through gritted teeth.

"Now, see, we were in a bit of a desperate situation. There seemed to be dozens of Ministry employees that would have liked nothing better than to see myself and Granger locked up with the Dementors and I think the important thing here, is to realise that we both got out alive and well…"

"Bellatrix Druella Black what the hell did you do?" snapped Andy.

"I might have brought most of the Ministry ceiling down," replied the dark-haired witch, wincing.

Sure enough, Andy exploded.

Bellatrix wasn't sure how long the shouting went on for. All she knew was that she hadn't seen her sister as angry as this since they were first reunited after the war. Raw magic was pulsating in the air and for a moment the dark-haired witch actually feared for her safety. Narcissa even seemed stunned at their sister's outburst and seated herself in an armchair. Bellatrix caught only a few words of Andy's tirade. The words 'irresponsible', 'unbelievably stupid' and 'lunatic' were repeated several times. The dark-haired witch so no point in trying to stop her sister, eventually it would fizzle out.

Andy had shouted herself hoarse by the time her temper abated. She was still glaring at her sister, but her gaze softened as they all heard movement from upstairs.

"I should go check on her," murmured Andy.

"No," said Bellatrix, getting to her feet. "I'll go. It's the least I should do."

Before Andy could protest, the eldest Black was at the stairs and climbed up, being carefully to not move too quickly. She had been impressed by Granger at the Ministry and it surprised her how alive the brunette had made her feel. It was unlike anything she had experienced before. Fighting alongside Granger had been exhilarating and it had shocked Bellatrix how well they worked together.

Bellatrix frowned as she saw which room Hermione had deposited herself in. She knocked quietly on the door and opened it. The brunette was sat on the bed, staring into space.

"This is my bedroom you know," murmured Bellatrix, leaning against the door frame.

Hermione looked up startled. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying and Bellatrix couldn't stop the lurch in her chest at the sight.

"I…I'm sorry, I just…" stammered the brunette.

Bellatrix held up a hand. She hated seeing the younger girl so upset, something which surprised her.

"No, no it's fine," said the dark-haired witch. "I just came to see how you were?"

There was no reply. Hermione was once more staring into space. For the first time, Bellatrix felt a little unsure. Reassuring people and cheering them up had never been a strong point of hers and yet know she was confronted with that very situation she tried to avoid. Bellatrix moved over to the bed and sat down next to Hermione. Somewhat awkwardly, she wrapped an arm around the brunette's shoulders.

"You don't do this very often, do you? Comforting people?" asked Hermione.

"Never in my life," replied Bellatrix.

The brunette couldn't help but chuckle. She was touched that at least the dark-haired witch was trying.

"I'm not upset about what you did with the ceiling," Hermione explained. "It's just everything that's happened. You know, with…everything."

Bellatrix placed a hand delicately on Hermione's. "I understand. If I seemed heartless it's only because I've become so accustomed to it all."

The brunette nodded. "I guess you have."

"Nothing is ever easy, Granger, but know that we are trying to protect everyone and sometimes that means we have to do something drastic," murmured Bellatrix. "You aren't a bad person. Far from it in fact."

Hermione nodded. They fell into silence. The brunette expected it to feel awkward, but surprised herself at how comfortable she felt. Without being able to help herself, Hermione suddenly started laughing again.

Bellatrix looked concerned, as if the brunette had just lost her mind. "Er…what's so funny?"

"It's just…it's just," replied Hermione, struggling to get the words out through her laughter. "If you'd told me a month ago that I would be sat on a bed with Bellatrix Black, in the middle of nowhere, having just broken into the Ministry together and caused all manner of chaos, I would have said you were insane."

The dark-haired witch smirked. "I was thinking the same thing."

A knock at the door caused them to both look up and Bellatrix quickly removed her arm from around Hermione's shoulder.

Andy poked her head in. "Everything okay up here? Why are you both laughing?"

Bellatrix hadn't even realised she had.

"No real reason," replied Hermione. "We were just talking about how crazy this entire situation was."

"I see," said Andy. "Well, are you ready to show us what you found?"

The brunette stood up and nodded. "Yes, of course. Sorry, I just needed a moment."

"That's completely understandable," said Andy, hugging Hermione. "You've been through a lot this evening if Bellatrix's account is anything to go by."

The three of them went back downstairs to find Narcissa with a bottle of wine and four glasses. "I figured we might need this."

"You have no idea," replied Hermione.

They all helped themselves to the generous glass of wine Narcissa poured and seated themselves comfortably.

"Well, can I just say that you are both idiots," scolded the blonde, sipping her wine and glaring at them. "Has Bellatrix told us the truth? You jumped out of Cypher's office window and into the Atrium?"

Hermione took a nervous sip of wine herself. "Erm…yes, pretty much."

"Are you insane?" yelled Andy.

"Quite possibly," muttered Bellatrix, into her wine glass.

"Oh, you're one to talk," growled Narcissa, turning on her sister. "You brought the ceiling down. The ceiling Bellatrix!"

The dark-haired witch did roll her eyes this time. "Don't you start! I've already had Andy yelling at me for it."

"It was the only way we could have made it out of there," piped up Hermione. "We couldn't have fought them and if we didn't find a way of stopping them they could have followed us through the fire. Yaxley did that to us once."

She immediately stopped speaking. Just thinking about her time with the boys caused pain to shoot through her heart.

Bellatrix noticed this. "Look, we aren't going to achieve anything by going over the choices we made. We got out, we're alive and that's all that matters."

Narcissa sighed and glared at her glass, as if it had personally caused Bellatrix to bring the ceiling down.

"Right, so what did you find?" asked Andy.

Hermione reached into her pocket and brought out the papers from Cypher's desk. She had shrunk them and slipped them into her pocket before jumping out the window. The brunette laid them out on the coffee table and all four witches leaned forward to get a better look. There was silence as they poured over the information.

"Well, some of this is just case information," said Narcissa. "Probably cases that the League wants to influence."

"Yes, but this here," murmured Bellatrix, she pointed at one sheet of paper. "It's a list of names, but I don't recognise any of them."

Andy pulled the sheet closer. "No, I don't recognise any of them either. Hermione?"

The brunette took the parchment and carefully looked at each name. This was where her time spent in several Ministry departments came in handy. It meant that she knew quite a few people, but none of these names were people she was familiar with.

"No, I don't know them either. Do you think they're from other countries?" suggested the brunette.

"Maybe," replied Bellatrix, "but some of these don't seem like names at all."

"Could they be code names, or code words for something else?" said Narcissa.

Hermione frowned. "Possibly. There's no way we can figure this out."

"Agreed," said Bellatrix, with a nod. "Unless…"

"Unless what?" asked Andy, apprehensively.

"Unless we ask the man himself?" replied the dark-haired witch.

XXXXX

Hermione had been in several ridiculous situations over the years, but none like this. She was currently sat, hidden in a random child's treehouse with Bellatrix Black.

Despite protestations from both Andy and Narcissa, both Hermione and Bellatrix had decided they wanted to confront Cypher, albeit for different reasons. The brunette was determined to get answers from the Head Auror and part of her was desperate for revenge. Bellatrix, it seemed, wanted answers, answers about the names on the list they had stolen from his office.

Andy and Narcissa's protests about the plan were sensible. They were right that Cypher would realise that something had been stolen from his office and the Prophet had printed a story the following day letting everyone know who was responsible for the carnage at the Ministry. So, going to Cypher's house was probably the stupidest thing Bellatrix and Hermione could do at this point, but neither saw another option.

The outcry at the news that Hermione Granger had been spotted with Bellatrix and fighting alongside her, no less, was unlike anything the brunette had seen before. She thought Harry had got in bad in the wake of him revealing Voldemort's return and no one believing him, but this was something else entirely. People were out for blood and demanding the Dementors Kiss for both witches when they were caught. Altogether, Hermione realised that her life as she had known it was over. Even if they were able to prove the existence of the League, no one would ever trust her again.

Instead of feeling heartbroken about it, the brunette used the pain, the anger and funnelled it into what she was going to do. There was no use wallowing in self-pity, that would achieve nothing. No, she was more determined than ever and that, that made her incredibly dangerous. So, she had agreed with Bellatrix, despite Andy and Narcissa trying to persuade them otherwise, that they needed to speak to Cypher.

The dark-haired witch had surprised Hermione by revealing that she knew exactly where the Head Auror's house was. Now they were sat in the treehouse belonging to the house opposite, waiting for night to fall.

They'd been watching the house for hours. Cypher hadn't left all day, which surprised them both. Hermione had expected him to be at the forefront of the manhunt to find both witches, but instead he had spent the day at home. It made them nervous, but there didn't seem to be anything untoward. Aurors had been posted outside his home. They were currently posing as gardeners, but the sun was beginning to set and Bellatrix told her there would soon be a switch. It was clear the dark-haired witch had been keeping an eye on Cypher for some time.

"Stop fidgeting," growled Bellatrix, as Hermione once more shifted her position.

"I'm sorry," snapped the brunette, "but we've been sat up since this morning and we've barely moved and my muscles are beginning to protest."

"Well, if you need me to give you a massage, you only have to ask," said Bellatrix, seductively.

Hermione gaped at her and then scowled. "As if I would let you anywhere near me."

"Uh huh, whatever you say, princess," smirked the dark-haired witch, once more returning her attention to Cypher's house.

"I am not a princess," argued Hermione. "I…"

"Shhh," interrupted Bellatrix. "The Aurors are switching over."

Mumbling to herself about how ridiculous the dark-haired witch was, Hermione looked at the front of the house. Sure enough, the Aurors were packing away their garden equipment, which hadn't been used much, and got in the truck.

"Something's not right," whispered Hermione. "Where's their replacements?"

Bellatrix shook her head. "Well, it's not like they can be out in the open all the time. It would look suspicious. They're out there alright. Look."

Hermione followed where the dark-haired witch was pointing. There was a car that drove up and parked, but no one got out of it. "I don't get it."

"Well," said Bellatrix, "the Aurors spend the whole night sat in that car, watching the house. You didn't think that they were going to leave the Head of the Auror Office without protection, did you? No, the Aurors watch him constantly when he's at home."

"How are we going to get in?" asked the brunette.

"Simple," replied Bellatrix. "The Aurors aren't going to be expecting an elderly couple out for a night-time stroll."

"But…" began Hermione, but before she could point out that they weren't an elderly couple, the dark-haired witch produced two phials of Polyjuice Potion from a pocket of her dress.

"I had this made up already," explained Bellatrix. "It's a couple that live down the road from here, so it won't look suspicious. They are away on holiday at the moment, so there's no chance of them creating an issue."

"I still don't see how that gets us into the house," said the brunette.

"Easy," replied Bellatrix. "We look as if we're out enjoying a walk and then stun both Aurors before they realise we are there. After that we can sneak into the house and confront Cypher."

Hermione doubted that it would be a simple as that and whole-heartedly believed that something was going to go wrong, but for now she stayed quiet.

The Polyjuice Potion tasted like it had done every other time she had taken it, that is to say as if she was drinking blended cooked cabbage. Once the standard pain and contorting of her body was over, she resembled a man in his early seventies.

"Why do I have to be the bloke?" she whined, looking at Bellatrix, except now she saw a woman with perfectly kept hair, also in her seventies.

"Because there's no way I'm growing a penis," stated the dark-haired witch, simply.

Still scowling, Hermione clambered down the ladder attached to the treehouse and strolled out onto the street. As the car was hidden slightly from view, the Aurors wouldn't have noticed an elderly man scrambling through a bush to get to the pavement, quickly followed by an elderly woman.

"Now, act natural," said Bellatrix.

Rolling her eyes, the brunette reluctantly offered her arm to the older witch, who looked at her with horror.

"Come on," prompted Hermione, "we have to act natural and most elderly couples stroll arm in arm."

Muttering under her breath, no doubt complaining, Bellatrix and Hermione wandered down the street arm in arm. The brunette felt a rush go through her body as they approached the car. She was in her element now. The Aurors were watching them as they approached the car, but to them it was just an older couple paying them no attention. Quick as a flash, both Bellatrix and Hermione flicked their wrists and both Aurors went out cold. The two witches didn't even break stride. They had agreed to no use wands, doing so would have meant there would be a delay between getting the wand into hand and casting spells. That would have roused suspicions straightaway and no doubt the Aurors stationed on this protection detail would have quick reflexes.

Making sure that no one had noticed what had just occurred, or that there weren't other Aurors hidden away, Bellatrix nodded her head and lead Hermione down the street. When a puzzled look crossed the features of the gentleman Hermione was impersonating, there was a shake of the head in return.

"We just need to make sure," muttered Bellatrix. "We'll do a quick stroll up here, cross the road and go in. That way it doesn't look suspicious."

When it was clear that there was no one else around, they quickened their pace and approached Cypher's home. On the pretense of examining the rose bush by the door, Bellatrix checked the door for protection charms. There were none, so with Hermione keeping watch, the dark-haired witch flicked her wrist again and the door clicked open. They hurried inside and shut the door after them. From within her pocket, Bellatrix produced another phial and handed it to Hermione.

"It's a reversal for the Polyjuice Potion," whispered the dark-haired witch. "I invented a while back."

Taking a swig from her own phial, the elderly lady's face contorted in pain, before her features changed to once more resemble the dark witch. Hermione copied and soon the pair of them were stood in Cypher's hallway.

"Where is he?" murmured the brunette. "We haven't seen him leave."

A sound from the kitchen answered their question and, being careful to make as little noise as possible, they walked down the hallway. At the door to the kitchen they paused. Sharing a look and Bellatrix nodded.

They threw the door open and charged in, to find Cypher sat casually at the kitchen table, a glass of whiskey in his hand.

"I wondered when you'd show up," he said, smirking at them.

"You knew we were coming," replied Hermione, immediately on high alert.

Cypher nodded. "I suspected you would. Don't worry, no one has been alerted to your presence."

"Why?" questioned Bellatrix.

The whole situation felt off to Hermione and it was clear from how tense the dark-haired witch now was that she felt the same.

"Well, after your little breaking and entering, I knew that you had stolen some of my papers, not that you'll be able to understand what any of it means." Cypher took a swig from his glass and poured himself another. "I figured you would come to me for answers sooner or later. I hoped it was sooner, so I thank you for being so prompt." He raised his glass to them both.

"We shouldn't linger," muttered Hermione to Bellatrix. The calm and easy attitude that Cypher was displaying had her on edge. The dark-haired witch nodded her agreement.

Cypher laughed. "Leaving so soon? You haven't asked me about those papers yet."

Something was really off about him at the moment.

"You won't tell us a thing," said Bellatrix. "It's in your eyes. It's the deranged look I know so well. You're in so deep that there's no way out right now."

"Quite right," laughed Cypher. "Quite right indeed. You breaking into the Ministry and stealing those documents has got me in more than enough trouble with the powers that be."

"Would you be talking about the Ministry, or the League?" asked Hermione, glaring daggers.

This time he didn't laugh, instead he lost a lot of the colour from his face. "Yes, well my boss isn't particularly happy with me at the moment. Thinks I've put our entire operation here at risk. They've done their bit of course, running around the Ministry sorting it out as much as possible."

"You're not the one in charge, here in Britain I mean?" The brunette was stunned. She had always imagined it as him.

"No, no I'm not. There's someone far more senior than me, in fact. They're the one or ordered your arrest for the murder of Lock," replied Cypher, that smug look back on his face.

Bellatrix was suddenly on edge more. "Granger, we should leave. I know he said that no one has been alerted, but we don't know how often those Aurors outside are supposed to check in."

Hermione ignored her. She was too focused on finding out all Cypher knew. "Answer me!" she demanded. "Who framed me? Who tried to have me killed?"

Cypher smirked. "You know, the League are very good at infiltration. We managed to involve ourselves in most of the major organisations during the war. Voldemort's ranks, the Ministry, even the great and noble Order of the Phoenix wasn't beyond our grasp. Didn't you ever think it strange that someone like Kingsley Shacklebolt was appointed Minister, having had no leadership responsibility at all? Who was it that shut down your little investigation into the League and had jurisdiction over the case passed to me and my department? Haven't you ever wondered why he wasn't investigated at all and has managed to stay in power for so long?"

"You liar," shouted Hermione.

She tried to launch herself at Cypher to hurt as much as possible, but Bellatrix grabbed her. For a brief moment, the brunette tried to wrestle out of the tight grip holding her, until she noticed the knife Cypher was holding. Bellatrix had just stopped her from getting stabbed.

"Except on this occasion, you know I'm not lying," laughed Cypher.

"I will reveal everything," spat Hermione. "I'll find proof and when I do, the world will know what you've done and then you'll be the one left to rot in Azkaban."

He gave a dry chuckle, this time devoid of all humour. "As if. Do you honestly think the League is going to let me live after this? No, I've already told you, my boss is not happy with me at all. But, I won't allow them to frame me, or ruin me. No, I'm going to do this on my terms. What makes this all the more beautiful, is everyone is going to think that you've done it."

"Done what?" asked Hermione, but she soon got her answer.

Cypher raised the knife and the brunette held up a hand ready to deflect it away from her. With horror, she realised that it wasn't pointed at her. Cypher turned the knife on himself and, with a twisted grin on his face, plunged it into his chest. He let out a rattling breath, before his eyes closed and he slumped forward onto the table.

Hermione stared in shock at what they had just witnessed. The next thing she became aware of was Bellatrix wrapping an arm around her middle and attempting to drag her away.

"We have to leave, now," hissed the dark-haired witch.

Nodding, Hermione turned and followed her out of the house. They ran down the street, not caring if anyone spotted them.

What neither witch saw was the cloaked figure emerging from the side of Cypher's house, a small smile tugging at the corners of their mouth.