The next week passed slowly as Hermione had to catch up on paperwork at the Castle and was dragged into never ending Death Eater strategy sessions. She was surprised how many meetings villains were required to attend. She thought it was only the Order that had a love of sitting around a table rehashing the same bullshit again and again while coming up with hours of red tape and redundant procedures, but apparently completely useless and forever waffling middle management existed in all facets of life.
Moody had become as bad as Bella in his obsession with the exception of his lack of interest in bedding her. The owls were coming regularly and were starting to raise suspicions. She was surprised no one had questioned her about them yet but knew it was only a matter of time. When yet another owl from Moody questioning her loyalty and telling her to keep her eye on the prize arrived she finally lost her patience. She wrote him back and told him to get bent and stop risking exposing her with these owls. Of all the mistakes she would make as a spy, this is the one that cost her most and she would regret that owl to her dying day.
A reply owl came back two hours later that said, "learn your lesson well child, next time you cross me I will owl your potion to Voldemort and your fate will be sealed."
She didn't know what the son of a bitch had done but she knew whatever it was would not be good. She spent the rest of the day trying to owl Pansy but she hadn't heard back from her. She tried to contact the Parkinsons and even apparated to their house but no one was home. Severus was also trying to find them as he knew how unstable Moody was now. She was in a full panic by that evening when the Dark Lord called her to the throne room where he stood with a grim looking Bellatrix.
"What has happened My Lord?"
The Inner Circle had gathered around him, but the rest kept their distance knowing their place.
"The Grangers and the Parkinsons are dead. Pansy was with them and there was a Morsmorde over the house. They were found in what I presume was a safe house for the Grangers with Kingsley Shacklebolt who must have been their guard. It was made to look like the Parkinsons had betrayed us and we took our revenge. This is being done to cause dissension in the ranks."
He took her hands in his and continued, "Hermione I am a cruel man when I need to be and if I thought your girlfriend had betrayed us I would have ordered you to kill her or I would have killed you with her. This was done to sow seeds of discontent and lash out at you."
She knew it was the truth. One of the fears she always had had was he would make her kill her own parents to prove her loyalty but Pansy was a well-respected pureblood, he wouldn't have gone after her without proof of betrayal. More importantly, he would never do it like this; he would make a public spectacle of the affair. She knew it was Mad Eye; he had finally completely lost his marbles. She felt like she couldn't breathe and it was taking all of her willpower to stand upright and not break down. She couldn't acknowledge the pain even though everyone in the room knew it was there. Severus poured her a drink and she steadied her hand to down it and not reveal how badly she was shaking.
"My Lord may I go?"
"Yes, the Grangers were mudbloods but they raised you and if anyone was to take their life besides me it should have been you. They took Pansy from you and murdered her parents. The Parkinsons have no heir so it is your place to avenge them" he then spoke loud enough the rest of the Death Eaters could hear, "someone has countermanded my orders or has stolen my Mark. Find them and end them. Take who you need."
He took his throne and waited to see what she would do. She took Lucius, Draco, Severus, Bellatrix and Yaxley with her. She saw the Dark Lord approved of her choices. Calm heads except for Bellatrix who would be the incarnation of hell itself if needed. He used legilimency to provide the location and the six apparated to the site. When she arrived at the site she almost lost her legs for a second as she became lightheaded. It was one of the apartments that she had given to the Order. There was no way a Death Eater would be able to find it and this had to be Moody. She looked up and saw the Morsmorde in the sky lighting up the neighborhood with its green glow.
The Aurors were finishing up and she kept them in the shadows while they waited for them to leave. The investigators left but they hadn't brought in the squad assigned to transport the bodies and clean the magical evidence. They left two Aurors on guard at the site. It was Proudfoot and Savage, both of which she knew were friendly with Tonks. Yaxley stepped out of the shadows before she could stop him but she quickly realized she didn't have to. The two Aurors greeted Yaxley and lifted the wards so the rest of them could enter. They nodded their respects to Hermione as she passed. The two were Death Eaters in the Auror ranks and no one had a clue and now she had no one to tell. She went into the apartment and found her parents, Kingsley Shacklebolt and the Parkinsons in the living room. Severus put a hand on her shoulder while she closed her eyes and took comfort in his presence. She steadied herself and took a moment to control her emotions.
She realized Kingsley must have gotten in the way and when he did Moody killed him. Kingsley on his worst day would never let Moody do this.
"My parents and the Auror were killed here. It looks like Shacklebolt was poisoned, will you check Severus. My parents were Avada'd but the Parkinsons weren't. They were dropped off here."
Severus smelled Kingsley who had foam around the mouth and nodded. He had been poisoned.
Yaxley looked at the Parkinsons, "How do you know they weren't killed here?"
She nodded to Severus, "it's his curse, Sectumsempra." Moody used it to send her a message about her friendship with Severus, "The results are a bloodbath. There is no blood anywhere near their bodies. They were dumped here after they were killed. Our Lord was correct, it was made to look like they had betrayed us and were murdered for it. "
She found Pansy in one of the bedrooms and she wasn't as lucky as the others. She had been tortured before her death. She had gotten control over her emotions but now they were threatening to break free again. She stood over her silently for a few minutes, tears streaming down her face and kissed her girlfriend goodbye.
No one said a word; there were none to be said. She wanted to scream and yell, to pick up Pansy's body and run away, to do something to show the grief she felt but she did nothing but wipe away her tears. She needed to stay focused now she would deal with the rest later. She would mourn after she avenged them.
She saw nothing to reveal the killers and she imagined they didn't leave enough behind to help even the best trained Aurors find them which meant no one would attribute the killer's death to her, not that she cared at this point. She still needed absolute proof. She was about to systematically hunt down and execute an Order member and she wanted a smoking gun. She decided to use pureblood ignorance to her advantage. She went outside the apartment and looked around until she found what she was looking for.
There was a HSBC branch across the street. Not as fancy as Gringotts but unlike Gringotts they had cameras in their ATM. She went to the door to look inside. She knew the branch was closed but in a neighborhood like this they probably employed a night guard. She could see the glow of a small television and even make out what looked like a football match. The others were extremely confused on what she was doing, but she told them to trust her and transfigured their robes into suits. She transfigured two rocks into small wallets and took her earrings off which she turned into badges. She gave one to Severus who had caught on to what she was doing and then she banged loudly on the door until the guard came to the front.
When he peered out to see who was ruining his night they flashed their badges and Severus yelled "DCI Sullivan and Inspector Ashurst" she smirked at his reference and readied her wand behind her back. When he opened the door she cast an Imperius curse underneath the range of the cameras. The now pliant guard followed her instructions and took them back to the surveillance room. It turned out the bank had several cameras trained on the front and she had the guard replay the night's footage on all of the cameras much to surprise and awe of her fellow Death Eaters. She had never thought about it before but if a muggle obsessed wizard like Arthur Weasley couldn't sort out a rubber ducky there was a good chance that none of these wizards knew how far muggle technology had come. She wondered how they would react if she told them about space travel. How could they protect themselves when the last technology they embraced was the radio?
They scanned backwards through the footage for about 10 minutes until she saw the Aurors out front. She had him slow down the cameras and watched as Mad Eye Moody and Sirius Black left the building. Mad Eye cast the Mordsmorde and the two apparated away. She understood why now. Mad Eye was making sure she stayed angry and kept on her mission but what was Sirius doing? She knew he was a violent man and she presumed he had something to do with Pansy's treatment. He was willing to kill Pettigrew and more damning, he had set up Snape to die while they were still students at Hogwarts. She knew Remus had expressed remorse and James had stopped it from happening but Sirius was never apologetic about his attempted murder nor did he ever get called to task for it. She was pretty sure he was a sociopath in his own right. Albus did seem to be fond of the cruel, violent and criminally insane.
She wondered how Moody convinced him to kill Shacklebolt and her parents. She looked at Severus and knew he was thinking the same thing. She had the guard print out the pictures of the two and then reset the cameras. After he walked them out she obliviated him, he would remember watching the football match all night and since nothing out of the ordinary happened the footage of Hermione and the others would never be reviewed and would be taped over a month's time.
If for some reason the file was viewed they would see inspectors entering the bank, viewing footage and leaving. Either way it would never come back to them.
They saw movement in the sky and Hermione realized the next squad of aurors were finally on site. Bellatrix went to engage them but Hermione pulled her back. She motioned for them to be quiet and pulled them into the dark alley.
"I can still get close to Mad Eye and Sirius. If we fight then they will know we are here plus we will expose Savage and Proudfoot. Knockturn Alley." With that she apparated and the others followed. She was furious and she no longer cared about being exposed. She would avenge her parents and Pansy tonight if it was the last thing she did.
When they appeared in the dingy alleyway she leaned in close to Bella and pulled the dagger from her rather clever hiding place with a promise to return it. She told them to wait where they were and she cut up to Diagon Alley. She released her some of emotions and allowed the tears to fall and then started banging on the door of Eeylop's Owl Emporium. She knew the owner would rent owls and lived on premises and that he was also sympathetic to the Order. When the door opened she started bawling loudly that the Death Eaters had killed her parents and she needed to contact the Ministry.
The man brought her inside and lent her an owl. He excused himself claiming he was going to put tea on while she was writing her owl. She addressed it to Severus explaining what she was up to and to hold position. She knew Eeylop would secretly be sending one to the Order as well. She sent her owl out and when he returned she sat on the sofa and had tea with the shop owner while she waited for 'the Ministry to come'.
Moody showed up with Sirius and Remus in tow about fifteen minutes later. He thanked Eelyop for his service to the Order and pulled her back into the alley. He whispered in here ear, "you foolish little chit, what are you playing at. I told you not to try me, you think I won't expose you? That I can't?"
Sirius and Remus were heading up the street making sure no one came upon them and couldn't hear what was being said between the two.
"How did you convince Sirius to murder Kings?"
"Simple, I told him I had evidence that we had leaks in the Order and that Harry was right about you. You know he thinks his godson is the second coming of James. I brought him for surveillance when you had a meet scheduled with Kingsley. He bought it without a word. He has been pent up in Grimmauld Place and isn't exactly on the right side of sane since Azkaban and he was all too happy to aid in this endeavor. Nice necklace by the way, you know I can see its darkness with my eye. How come you never mentioned it? I think you are going dark and you need to mind your place. You realize I am the only one who knows where the potions are now. Get in line or I will make sure no one celebrates you as a hero. You will die a monster and no one will save you from your fate, in fact I will be a hero for stopping a vicious Death Eater and no one will be the wiser. I might even let Sirius play with you a bit first just like your little slut girlfriend, he didn't get any company in that dismal shack he called a home. Now let's talk about how you are going to stop fucking the enemy and do your job" with that he started dragging her down the street.
She looked up at the man responsible for her parents' death. Here was the man who had abused and murdered her girlfriend. She knew that she was cutting the only tie she had left to the light. She didn't care about the light or the dark, about this bloody war and their silly sides. She imagined him hurting Pansy or encouraging Sirius to rape her and she saw red. She was done with the sanctimonious hypocritical bastard. She smiled at him and said, "I was counting on your hatred, it's how I knew you would come. You're right Moody, I am a monster and a vicious Death Eater now and the world will absolutely will know after tonight!"
With that she slit his throat. He had been guarding against her wand and both his eyes had been focused on that hand. He never saw the blade coming. As his hands went up to his throat to stop the bleeding she used both hands and buried the knife in his chest. Sirius and Remus raised their wands to attack and started running back towards her when the other Death Eaters came out of hiding from Knockturn Alley firing stunners as they ran towards the two marauders. They took them alive but Hermione wasn't worried. The two thought she was a traitor to the Order and Moody was dead. The only risk she had of exposure was if the potions were found because now only Severus knew her secret and Severus would never betray her. They hauled the two back to the Castle to face the Dark Lord.
It was almost three in the morning so it was decided that they would keep Sirius and Remus in the dungeons until the Dark Lord was awake the next morning. Hermione blew Sirius a kiss goodnight as Yaxley and Severus shackled him. She could tell Severus was making sure the shackles were tight and he didn't let up until Sirius winced. Bellatrix wanted to take out Sirius and Severus had some payback to handout for his Hogwarts days to both of the Marauders. She imagined their fate wouldn't be good but she wanted Sirius herself. She never intended for Lupin to get caught up in this mess but if she had to choose between him and Severus there was no contest.
She made it to her quarters and she began to heal her hands which were cut up and bleeding from the knife. She had never used one before and her inexperience showed. She stepped into the shower to wash the blood off. She would burn her clothes when she was done. She finally truly released her walls and curled up on the floor and began to mourn her family and Pansy. She lost track of time as she let everything go but eventually she felt the water stop.
She looked up to see Bellatrix and Narcissa standing over her with towels in hand. They got her up and dressed her in clean clothes. She was still sobbing as they brought her back in the bedroom and laid her down on her bed. Severus came and lay next to her holding her. The two sisters sat on the edge of the bed with her as well. She held Narcissa's hand and Bellatrix wiped the tears from her eyes and stroked her hair. She closed her eyes trying to keep her sanity but was failing.
She tried to tell herself that nothing had changed she would still save her friends but as she opened her eyes and looked around she saw her problem. She looked at the three on her bed and then to Lucius and Draco who had come in with the Dark Lord. The three were sitting at the table sharing a drink. As Lucius poured her a drink she looked down and saw that Nagini had curled up by her feet on the bed and had laid her head on her thigh. She knew she would protect her friends, but exactly who were her friends.
The next morning she woke up to hissing and found herself wrapped up in snake. She smiled at Nagini who was trying to convince Namdi not to wake her.
"You can't eat my house elf baby" she hissed. The snake nuzzled her with affection and let the elf pass.
Namdi had brought tea, which Hermione thanked him for, and the elf popped out before the snake decided on making him a midmorning snack. She drank her tea and thought about the night's events. She started crying again as the grief overcame her. She wrapped her arms around Nagini and let herself break down fully one last time. After about an hour she pulled herself together, promised not to cry over it again and washed her face and went to see the fate of the prisoners. Her life was most likely going to be way too short for wallowing, it was time for vengeance.
Nagini lead her to the throne room where she found Sirius and Remus tied up by their wrists, suspended from the ceiling by coarse ropes. They had clearly already started as both men looked to be battered blood dripping down their arms as the ropes cut into their wrists. The Dark Lord was sitting in his throne and rose when Hermione entered the room. He met her as she approached and wrapped his arm around her as he escorted her to a chair next to his throne. The act was powerful and sent a message to everyone in the room, we protect our own. It unified the Death Eaters and solidified their support for him.
She thought she should be horrified by the scene but she was too angry to feel anything but hate. Sirius' eyes were swelling shut but he cracked them open long enough to see Hermione. Bellatrix hit him with another hex and he shook with pain. As the tremors stopped, he laughed at Hermione and started to taunt her. He called her a traitor and started describing his time with Pansy.
He was hoping to goad her into killing him and end his suffering. It would have been a clever ploy but it had the opposite effect. She turned to ice and he had just given her the strength to take her revenge. She looked at the Dark Lord who nodded his approval. She stood up and approached him.
"Sirius, you fucking psychopath. Do you really think you are going to taunt me into giving you relief? You mistake me for a fool."
If she had looked down under her shirt she would have seen a light glow of the necklace as it helped feed her rage. She looked to Bellatrix and whispered, "show me how" and with the enforcer's instruction she set out to try and recreate everything Sirius described doing to Pansy right back to him. She thought someone would try and stop her but they all just sat back and watched. She never knew she was capable of so much evil but the rage was consuming her and Sirius' pain was like a balm on her torn heart. He took everything from her and he would pay.
Draco vomited at one point and fell to his knees. She knew he would leave the room and he would be seen as weak for the display. It would destroy him in the eyes of the Death Eaters. He was ghastly pale and his hands were shaking. She debated a second and then chose to protect him. She walked over to him and put a bloody hand on his shoulder and whispered encouragement in his ear. He looked into her eyes and found the mettle he needed, Pansy was his best friend and Sirius was going to pay for her death. He managed to help her finish with Sirius earning the respect of the others. Draco would be able to walk away from today with his head held high.
Towards the end, Sirius begged for his life. He cried out to everyone including Severus who just laughed at him. When he finally died Remus started to weep. He had been through many hardships in life but he didn't want to die this way. He wasn't there that night and she had no desire to torture him. Unfortunately he had done quite a bit of damage to Severus in his Maurader days including trying to eat him. Although the trying to eat him (twice actually) was no fault of his own, the aiding in the constant torment of Severus was though and his days of bullying were and they were going to cost him now. Hermione cut Sirius down so Nagini could have breakfast, kissed Remus on the cheek and apologized and passed Severus the knife.
"So now what? Fuck Severus, I just tortured and murdered Harry's godfather Severus! You weren't exactly kind with Remus either. What did we just do? What have I just done? My family is gone Severus, dead by the Order's hands." she threw down the Daily Prophet, "and I responded with cruelty and hate. I am suspected for the murder of Moody, and the disappearance of Lupin and Black. They have taken everything from me, my family, my girlfriend, potentially my freedom and now my soul."
He took her hand in his, "not all of your family is gone Hermione, you still have me and frankly none of the three will be missed, hell you will probably get a medal for Black. He was a wanted man. You lost yourself to the darkness in your grief as I did in my anger. We are still salvageable Hermione, don't give up." She smiled and squeezed his hand.
"What now? I can't be a Death Eater. I can't do this. I have become a monster. I murdered and tortured and I liked it. What's happening to me? Severus, what do I do?"
"That is the effect of dark magic Hermione, I feel it too although it is stronger on you now. We do what we must and we stick to mission. Think about who Albus trusted most, me, you, Alaister, Sirius. He has always favored dark souls to do the most important jobs. War is not the place for saints or children Hermione. It is a world where logic must overrule emotion. Nothing has changed Hermione, he knew we would go through this and would be able to press on. It is why he chose us."
"Do you really believe that Severus, do you really think he would know how this would end?"
"I don't know Hermione, but I need to keep telling myself that so I don't fall back into the dark. We will either be the ones to save the world or damn it. We gather the Horcruxes and we put ourselves in the position to choose our own fate. We will do well in Voldemort's world but we will have to truly sacrifice our souls to do it or we can save the light but we will spend the rest of lives on the run being hunted if we do. We are damned if we do and dead if we don't and I don't want to make this choice now. We find a way to destroy the Dark Lord and keep our lives. We must stick to the mission."