NOTE: There is a segment of chapter missing here on FFN due to its graphic nature (and trigger warning - it's a non-con scene between Bellatrix and Charlie). The last part of the chapter, with trigger warning, is available on the AO3 version of the story. Is it ok to post a link to that here? I'm not sure, so I won't, but my author name and the story name are the same over there. Enjoy!

Thursday, May 7, 1998; late morning

The atmosphere at the meeting was jubilant. Madam Pomfrey had grudgingly allowed Harry and Mrs. Weasley both to attend as long as they promised to return directly after. Molly was clearly wearing out fast, but Harry seemed to be gaining energy as he greeted each person and the general atmosphere of the room ramped up. Even Remus was somewhat happy, or at least deeply relieved, to see Harry.

If only Dora were with him to celebrate. This meeting was supposed to cover her rescue attempt, but the younger set were seemingly uninterested now. Did they even care that she was gone? He caught Kingsley's eyes and tried to convey that he needed the meeting to start. The other man inclined his head slightly, indicating that he knew.

Kingsley stood and waited a moment while everyone settled down. An excited Harry Potter was the last person to quiet. "As pleased as we all are that Mr. Potter and Mrs. Weasley are here with us again, that is not what this meeting is for." There were a few groans and mumbles. Some were ready for a few days of break. There was simply still too much to do, too many people to worry about to even think of taking the needed days to recuperate.

First, Harry was asked about Snape and he told the entire story, spilling secrets that the older man was quite unhappy with being common knowledge. There were many still disgruntled by his treatment of students over the years, but it was accepted that he wasn't actually evil. Everyone was talking loudly, arguing amongst themselves about how far Snape could be trusted when they were interrupted.

Kingsley raised his voice and spoke somewhat harshly, "He's one of us now. There are more important things to discuss. Tonks was captured during yesterday's mission. It is assumed she is still being held in the Manor. Meanwhile, the other prisoners from the battle are at Nott Manor. We will be sending two groups out today, one after another, to try and reach our people."

Ron stood. "With all due respect, sir, why are we sending the groups at separate times instead of together? Wouldn't it make more sense to either storm one at a time with full forces or divide and attack at the same time so that they can't call each other for reinforcements?"

"I think I've already come up with a reasonable plan. Sit down, Mr. Weasley and let the adults do their job. Without your plan for last night, we might not even need to do this."

Remus could see Ron fuming from across the room. He hated that his own harsh words had been so similar. One of the Aurors, Robards, stood. "Kingsley, the plan worked far better than we had imagined. The boy deserves some credit. We all know Tonks has a habit of falling into trouble." There were a few giggles, and Remus had to smile. His Dora was one of the clumsiest people he knew. She was also an excellent Auror, but how she managed while tripping everywhere, he would never know.

He shook his head and tried to focus on the plans. He would be traveling to Malfoy Manor with several Aurors and a handful of kids - Dean, Seamus, Susan, Luna, and the new Finian fellow - to try to sneak back in. The other team included Kingsley himself, Bill Weasley, a couple more Aurors, and some kids - Ron, Michael Corner, and Cho Chang. Until Nott Sr. arrived next week, it was known to be lightly guarded.

As they started to file out of the room, Remus felt a hand on his shoulder. "Professor Lupin!" Harry cried, throwing his arms around the man, "I'm so sorry about Tonks! I could come with you and help."

"No, Harry," Remus said. "You need to spend a few more days getting better."

Harry looked hurt and a little angry, but nodded. "Well then, don't do anything I wouldn't do while you're out there."

That made Remus laugh. "You sound just like Sirius."

"I am very serious." Harry winked and walked away. Remus headed out with a lighter step and greater hope that he would return with the love of his life.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooO

Hermione was feeling defeated. She had sent her message again twice today. The second time, she added The Burrow and Grimmauld Place as well. No one had come before and it didn't seem anyone would come this time either. She knew that many of them were still wanted Undesirables, so they hadn't been captured, but she wasn't sure where else they might be hiding. There was Hogwarts, of course, but she had no idea if they still controlled it or if the Death Eaters had it.

She knew it was silly to feel so down after only two days, but her emotions had been out of control today. She had snapped at Mimsy this morning when she insisted on reapplying the cream that helped her phantom aches. She cried when no one came to meet her at the wizarding pub she had indicated this time. All day she had felt a sense of loneliness and worry. The feelings of pain she had two nights before were no longer with her, but she was still thinking about them and wondering where they came from - and if whoever had experienced it for real was ok today.

Now, she was facing the necessity of finding some kind of work for tomorrow so they could pay again. They could go into hiding in the tent as she had been with Harry and Ron for the last year. She just wasn't sure she had the energy to do that again.

She looked around. This place, La Licorne Errante, was too slow, she thought, to offer work here. Plus she was using it as her meeting spot. If the Death Eaters intercepted her message, she didn't want them to see her here all the time, even glamoured. She had seen "Help Wanted" signs in a couple of shops, but she wasn't sure her French was solid enough to work in a busy shop.

On her walk back to the hotel, she happened by a bookshop with dirty old windows you could hardly see through. What little she could see, though, appeared to be stacks and stacks of old books. It was squeezed so tightly between two other buildings that she wondered if it had been there all this time. There was a sign on the door wanting a helper, but Hermione wasn't certain it was recent. It may have been there for years by the look of it, but she decided it was worth checking and headed in.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooO

Thursday, May 7, 1998; evening

Both raids were back now and the castle was in chaos again. Harry could only observe parts of it, still stuck in the hospital wing. There was an unfortunate amount of excitement here, though. Seamus and Dean were brought in by a man Harry didn't recognize - Finian, a wizard they had freed during the first mission. He answered all of Harry's questions about how it happened.

One of the Aurors had been killed almost as soon as they arrived, and Seamus and Dean had been injured shortly inside the grounds. No one even made it into Malfoy Manor. Still, they made more progress than the team at the other manor. Nott Manor was so well warded that Bill and Kingsley together couldn't break through to it. They had to leave when guards started running toward them.

Harry, shooed away from Seamus and Dean by Madam Pomfrey, made his way over to the Weasleys. The family was all so relieved Molly was awake now, even if she was still weak. Madam Pomfrey was just a little miffed at them all for feeding her the magical pie. Apparently, she would have benefited from a few more days of outright rest before waking. Her condition was quite a bit more physically taxing than Harry's had been. As best as Madam Pomfrey had been able to explain it to him, it had been more of a mental or maybe spiritual block on coming back.

As he approached, Harry held out his arms to Ginny, who ran into them gratefully. They hadn't officially restarted their relationship, but unofficially they couldn't get enough of holding one another and talking quietly about absolutely everything. Ron rolled his eyes at them, "That's my sister, you might remember," he good-naturedly ribbed his best friend. Harry grinned at him, not loosening his grip in the slightest.

"Harry dear," Mrs. Weasley called softly. She embraced him in a hug and fussed over how skinny he was, but she couldn't squeeze him as she normally would, and they weren't in her kitchen where she could try to fatten him up. Harry still appreciated the motherly care, but it felt off coming from her this way. As he glanced around, he could see worry in Arthur and Percy's eyes, a dull kind of acceptance in George's. Ron and Ginny didn't seem to notice how weak she was, but that was probably for the best.

As he was pulling away, before Ginny grabbed him again, Harry revealed his purpose for coming over, "Ron, can we talk over at my bed?" Ginny looked curious, but let them go with a sigh.

The tall, ginger boy followed him down a few beds to Harry's own, and they began to whisper. "What do you think went wrong?" Harry asked. "With the mission?"

"What went wrong?" Ron repeatedly incredulously. "The idiots thought they could break in in broad daylight as just a force coming to the gates. Not that they would have fallen for the same trick as last time anyway, but you can't just knock on the door and ask for a fight." He was raging and his skin had all turned a bright red. "Now we've lost a good man - Nelson, pretty new, but well-trained - and we have two more good men injured. Seamus is in bad shape. Dolohov must've been there. What the spell did is sickening."

Harry nodded along. "What would you do instead?"

Ron took a deep breath. "First, they either wouldn't be splitting up or they would split up at the same time. Second, we're not going to be able to use the front gates again anytime soon. The wards are a problem, but if Bill worked at them in a secluded location, he could get them down. They're not as intricate as the ones at Nott Manor from what I've heard. Now that we've tried a few times, I don't think large teams are a good idea for these raids. Just a couple could get in, maybe on broomsticks after someone got past the wards, grab the prisoners, and get back out. The same basic idea as before, but without the distraction of another battle. Quietly, this time. It's important to keep changing tactics on them so they never know what to expect."

Harry stared at him for a moment. "When did you get so good at this stuff?"

Ron scoffed. "Who was the chess strategy champ first year? I've always been good at planning this sort of tactical stuff. There just wasn't a use for it until now."

"We've got to get Kingsley and Lupin to listen to you!" Harry said excitedly.

Ron shook his head. "I've already tried. They're blaming me for Tonks getting captured. That mission was my plan."

"What!?" Harry nearly shouted, quieting down at a vicious look from Madam Pomfrey. "That's not right. You rescued Neville and gathered all kinds of information. You couldn't predict someone getting captured."

Ron shrugged. "I'm glad we went in, but I feel awful that she's there, now, too."

"Too?" Harry queried. He suddenly remembered a question he had been meaning to ask but had a sick feeling he already knew the answer. "Ron, where is Hermione? I thought she must be off researching something somewhere, but it's not like her to have not made it by to see me. Or to miss the meeting this morning."

Ron's freckles stood out against his pale skin. "We don't know. She was supposed to be at Malfoy Manor, but no one could find her. No one knew anything about her. They obliviate everyone all the time, I guess. Leave them with a sense of pain and dread, but no memories of what has happened to them. Another form of torture, I guess. Or they want to be very sure no one knows what happens at their Revels and in the halls of their Headquarters."

"How do you know so much about it then?"

"Charlie told us all he could, Bill and I. He belongs to Bellatrix, so he hadn't been obliviated lately. We couldn't get him out of there, but he told us all kinds of stuff. He's how we know the prisoners are at Nott Manor. And Finian knows a lot about how things work."

"But Hermione's a prisoner somewhere, for sure?" Harry looked somewhere between devastated and furious. Ron could only nod.

Harry got that determined look on his face. "They're going to listen to you, Ron. We're breaking in and we're going to get them out - all of them!"