Disclaimer: In its use of intellectual property and characters belonging to JK Rowling, Warner Bros, Bloomsbury Publishing, et cetera, this work is intended to be transformative commentary on the original. No profit is being made from this work.
Chapter 1
July 1997
"He could have died." Ron's voice was broken.
Hermione considered Ron, sitting on the bed across from her and bent over, resting his elbows on his knees. She could see a small wet spot on the floor in between his legs. Another tear fell to the ground, barely making a sound as it hit the wooden slabs. She reached out and squeezed the side of his thigh in support. It was warm, like Ron was.
Harry had a hand on his upper back, and his face was contorted in pain and guilt. She knew what Harry was thinking. It was only an ear, but it was close. George almost died in order to move him from the Dursley's house. Mad-Eye Moody did die. Just a few months ago, Dumbledore had died. Prior to that, Sirius had died. And his parents. All to protect him and to defeat Voldemort, which they weren't any closer to doing. Harry carried that guilt with him all the time.
"Harry?" she asked softly. He glanced up. "Do you have that picture of your parents? The one with the Order members?"
She knew he kept it on him all the time. Like his guilt. He nodded without answering and reached around to pull the folded picture out of his pocket, handing it over to her. She sat back in her chair and gently unfolded the picture, scrutinizing the smiling faces of the twenty-somethings that had fought in the First Wizarding War. Only two people were still alive in that picture. One of them was a Death Eater, and the other was downstairs in the Tonks' kitchen.
"I'll be right back. Ron, can I get you something to eat?"
He shook his head silently and Hermione left the guest room, quietly closing the door behind her. She felt distraught. As her feet clunked down the steps towards the kitchen, the reality of their situation started to scare her. Yes, the Order had moved Harry, but they barely made it back to the safe-houses alive and their leader was dead.
Again.
Everything felt hopeless. Her parents were in Australia and she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that the remaining adults in her life, the ones that were leading this war, that were supposed to provide security and guidance, had no idea what to do.
She pushed open the door to the kitchen and stared at Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks, Remus Lupin, and Professor McGonagall all sitting around the table. The entryway must have been silenced since she had not heard the conversation which had abruptly stopped when she appeared. The four looked at her, tired and wary.
"Who's leading the Order?" she asked.
She guessed it would be Remus now that Moody was dead. McGonagall was Headmistress at Hogwarts, Kingsley was heavily involved at the Ministry, and although Tonks was an Auror, she was still over a decade younger than her husband. Lupin also was not currently employed. In confirmation, everyone's eyes shifted to him.
Remus didn't seem uncomfortable with the burden of responsibility that had been thrown on him, but it was hard to know if he was covering it up now that she was here. Hermione wondered if these four were the entirety of the Order leadership, sitting right here at the Tonks' kitchen table, or if there was anyone else.
"That would be me, Hermione," he confirmed his place in Order strata.
She nodded and, uninvited, took a seat at the kitchen table. Remus eyed her cautiously, waiting for her to explain her intrusion. She wasn't sure where to start.
"Is everything alright?" he asked.
She took a deep breath, and began to voice her worries. "We were outnumbered tonight even though we knew they were coming. Had the Aurors been at the Dursley's in full capacity, they could have picked up quite a few Death Eaters and thrown them in Azkaban. But they weren't because you don't even trust the Auror office. The Auror office," she repeated emphatically, slightly raising the volume of her voice. "So there's no hope for the Ministry, is there? And Hogwarts won't be safe either."
Hermione was breathing heavily at her outburst. She didn't mean to sound angry, but she was. Not necessarily at them, but at the desperation of their situation.
Remus contemplated her and sat back in his chair. "You're very astute. But there's no reason to worry yourself about these things. We were simply being cautious."
No one appeared willing to contradict his words. Hermione looked around the table, slightly irritated. Four adults and one seventeen-year-old girl. She felt like she was being patronized.
Remus continued. "The Ministry is still functioning and there's no reason to think that Hogwarts won't be safe. Minerva will replace Albus as Headmistress and there are several professors there on our side."
"No reason to worry?" Hermione couldn't believe it. They were all in denial. "It couldn't be more clear. The Ministry will fall and Hogwarts soon after. The Order is no better than Fudge if you all refuse to think ahead. What's your plan? Hope for the best? We'll all be dead. Like Mad-Eye and Dumbledore."
Remus narrowed his eyes at her.
Tonks leaned forward to defend her husband, eyes wet with unshed tears at the sudden loss of Moody. Hermione knew he had mentored her, and the two were very close. About as close as one could be with Mad-Eye.
"We've been working on that, Hermione," Tonks explained. "Losing Alastor and Albus doesn't change that."
Hermione turned to her, exasperated. Were they planning ahead or not? She greatly admired McGonagall and Lupin, and would have thought they'd be figuring out how to win this war. She didn't know much about Tonks and Shacklebolt other than the fact that they were Aurors, or how qualified they were for leading what was essentially an underground resistance.
"So what's the plan then? It's a war now. How are you going to win?"
The four adults shared a glance and McGonagall replied crisply. "Miss Granger, we have just been betrayed by someone that Albus told us to trust. While we do share information with you and others when necessary, the fewer that know our next move, the better."
Hermione understood that. She, Harry and Ron didn't discuss Horcruxes with anyone for precisely that reason. But there had to be some link between the Horcrux mission and the overall resistance strategy. She had no idea what that strategy was, and had a sinking feeling that they didn't either. Were they thinking long-term? It seemed like they were merely reacting to what Voldemort and his Death Eaters were doing. She understood why; the Order leadership had been killed. Twice now. But the reactionary thinking had to change. How else could they win?
She pressed on, undeterred. "The Ministry will fall. Hogwarts will fall. The Death Eaters will grow their army and pick us off one by one like they did last time. Do we even have enough safe houses for those that will need to go into hiding? Or are we going to be so outnumbered that it won't matter? The odds were… what? Twenty to one last time?"
"How did you know that?" Remus asked, staring at her.
Hermione held his gaze defiantly, but didn't answer the question. Honestly, why did people always think that knowledge was hidden? "So what's your next move?"
Remus leaned forward, speaking in a reassuring voice. "We're working on that, Hermione. Trust us."
She didn't know if it was because she was younger or because of the desire for secrecy, but it seemed that they weren't taking her seriously at all. Her anger bubbled over.
"Trust isn't the issue!" Hermione's voice rose in frustration and she smacked Harry's photo down, hard onto the table. They all leaned forward to see the picture. Remus' face fell, seeing so many that had indeed, been picked off one by one.
With a small sigh, Remus reached out, lifted the picture and stared at it sadly. His eyes traveled back and forth across the photo, momentarily lost in memories of those that were no longer here, and his lips lifted in a wistful smile. Tonks laced her fingers in his and he rubbed her knuckles with his thumb.
Tonks glanced over at Hermione in sympathy. "We're all upset, Hermione. I know what you did for your parents. We've all lost people we love."
Hermione ignored her and turned back to Remus. It wasn't sympathy that she wanted. Sympathy wouldn't get them anywhere.
"Don't you see? You're the only one left!" She sounded more accusatory than she intended.
His dark eyes slowly shifted to hers and he scratched his stubble with the edge of the photo. "So this is why you came down here, Hermione? You don't think we're planning ahead or figuring out how to win? Are you afraid we're going to lose?"
"How did you win last time?" she shot back.
After a brief silence his face hardened, clearly not liking the answer to her question.
"We didn't."
"Exactly," she replied.
They all remained silent, reluctantly acknowledging the truth of Remus' answer. The wizarding world got lucky. Voldemort tried to kill Harry and disappeared. Everyone thought he was dead. Because the Death Eaters had no central leadership, their tenuous hold over the Ministry dissipated and many were rounded up, tried and imprisoned. Although clearly, the inability and/or lack of desire to convict them all aided in Voldemort rising again.
Hermione continued, her voice rising. "The Order is always on the defensive, always reacting. Just like last time! You can't win a war that way! You have to think ahead! None of you told me to hide my parents! But I did! How many Muggle-borns and their families have to die before we start hiding them? And look at what happened tonight!"
"Hermione," Kingsley called her name thoughtfully. She paused in her rant, breathing heavily, and turned to face him. "What would you have done differently?"
Her eyes opened in surprise.
Kingsley had been silent throughout the entire exchange. His arms were crossed and he tapped his index finger on his upper arm, looking at her pensively. She didn't know him at all before this evening when she was suddenly thrust into a life-or-death situation with him; riding on the back of his thestral and scared out of her wits while shouting curses at their pursuers.
"Differently?" she repeated dumbly and he nodded. "About tonight?"
"Mmm-hmmm."
She already knew what she would have done differently. This whole operation was pointless but she didn't want to say it in those terms. That would imply that Moody's death was pointless.
"I wouldn't have sent Harry back to the Dursley's at all."
Kingsley's eyebrows rose in interest.
"But he had his family's protection until he came of age," McGonagall explained in crisp tones. "Albus always said it was the safest place for him outside of Hogwarts."
Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes at how safe Hogwarts really was. Life and death situations occurred there at least bi-annually.
"For a month! What's the point of sending him to a place where no wizards lived and he couldn't even do magic until he came of age? Staying there didn't stop the Dementors from attacking him fifth year."
"That was outside the house," McGonagall corrected her. "He promised to confine himself this summer."
Hermione didn't bother replying and turned to Tonks. "Why didn't we bring him to your mum's directly after Hogwarts? We're here now anyway. Or to the Burrow? Where the wedding will be next week?" She shifted her gaze back to Remus. "We knew he'd be attacked when you moved him. He'd be more vulnerable then. Why plan to thwart an attack that you know is coming instead of removing the reason for it entirely?"
Remus peered back at her thoughtfully. "You're not wrong Hermione, but it's always easier to find fault in retrospect."
"But that's exactly my point!" She smacked her hand on the table again.
"Calm down, Miss Granger!" McGonagall admonished her. "We're all on the same side."
Hermione's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. She hadn't realized how loud she had been.
"Sorry, Professor."
The older witch's expression softened in sympathy. "It's been a terrible night, hasn't it?"
Hermione nodded quietly. Mad-Eye was dead. George lost an ear, and he was lucky. She and Kingsley had so many close calls, she couldn't even remember them all.
"Alright," Kingsley said, rubbing a thumb against his smoothly shaven jaw. "We've established that the Ministry and Hogwarts will fall. What should we be doing?"
Hermione blinked at him, mouth partly agape. He was testing her; she was sure of it. She had spent many nights staring at her ceiling, contemplating the future with worry. That's why she Obliviated her parents. That's why she came down here now to talk with them all. But she hadn't put much serious thought into detailed solutions. Her focus had been her parents and she didn't know enough about their current situation.
But Kingsley asked. He expected an answer. What should they be doing?
Wars couldn't be won without money, soldiers, weapons and intelligence. Her mind raced through the implications on the current state of affairs. The latter three were all dependent on money, and the better the quality of those three, the better their chances were of winning. Tentatively, she started with the most important one, that all else hinged on.
"We should be finding a source of funds."
No one replied, and Kingsley's face remained impassive. She continued, not knowing whether to be encouraged or discouraged by his silence.
"Known Order members like the Weasleys won't have an income once they're forced into hiding – and they will be. And then there's the Muggle-borns and their families. They'll be targeted and need to be hidden. Yesterday. And I bet many of them would fight. They have the most to lose if You-Know-Who wins." She picked up steam and spoke faster. "And on that note, we need to actively recruit. Again, money to support recruits. We need full time Order members and those that are still working at their old jobs, undercover Order members that can supply us information in the areas of society that they still interact with," she looked over at Kingsley. "Like you in the Auror office. And Professor McGonagall at Hogwarts."
Hermione shifted her gaze to Tonks and continued. "But not you. You should go into hiding now. They know you're married to a previous Order member and your father is Muggle-born. Why wait for the arrest warrant to come out? You should use your clearance to raid the Auror office before it's revoked. Because it will be."
Tonks' lips lifted in a small smile, the first one Hermione saw this evening. Did she have an ally?
Hermione pressed on, and sat up straighter, encouraged by Tonks' reaction. "We won't be able to use St. Mungo's, so we need Healers, and hospital beds. And spare wands. We'll need to buy medical supplies, potions ingredients and other items to aid in skirmishes. Like Portkeys. In the First Wizarding War people disappeared all the time. We need Portkeys above all else so people can get safely away out of anti-Apparition wards. And we need space. Space to live, space to train fighters, space to heal, space for prisoners. Again, all this requires Galleons."
"That's quite the list, Hermione." Remus leaned back in his chair, looking faintly amused, but he was taking her seriously now. "Anything else?"
"Well…" She took a deep breath and leaned forward. "We should be proactive and go on the offensive. We don't know anything about what You-Know-Who is planning. Domination of Wizarding England is somewhat vague," she quipped. Kingsley laughed softly. "We can't rely on the Auror office to punish Death Eaters for killing Muggle-borns and their families. Instead, we could kidnap and interrogate them. Once the Ministry falls, Death Eaters won't be in hiding anymore. We can go nab them off the street. Or in their homes. And we need to recruit spies and use that information to hone our offensive. And we should be using Muggle weapons."
At this, everyone raised their eyebrows. Tonks' lips lifted again. She definitely had an ally here.
"Yes," she repeated, feeling more confident at Tonks' reaction. "Muggle weapons. They're devastatingly effective."
"If you're thinking of guns," Tonks replied, "It only takes one Summoning Spell to disarm everyone. You may knock a few out with the element of surprise but they're not worth the time and effort to procure or to train in the usage of. Muggle communications devices can be easily disabled within a given radius using a simple anti-electronics charm. And many of the higher tech weapons of Muggle militaries are operated electronically – same problem. You've essentially got one shot to catch them off-guard with electronics-based weaponry before they're forever neutralized. They're not worth the effort and as you've noted, we have limited funds. Chemical weapons are made obsolete by bubblehead and body charms."
Hermione blinked. She was floored that Tonks not only knew the details of Muggle weaponry, but had thought through the implications of using them. But she had a Muggle-born father. It made sense that she would.
"Explosives," Hermione countered, finally finding her words. "Blast containment charms are ineffectual. Unless you know where the explosive is, the damage is done before you realize you have to cast them."
"Dangerous and require specialized training," Tonks replied without missing a beat. "Especially if you're going to operate them without electronics. We'd be more likely to kill ourselves than the enemy."
"We could acquire that specialized training."
Tonks sat back and looked at her in thought. "It's a long game. We wouldn't see an immediate pay off."
Kingsley, Remus and McGonagall watched their discussion quietly.
"We are playing a long game," Hermione replied. "The last war was eleven years. We can hire a Muggle ex-military explosives specialist and train a few people in homemade bomb manufacture and deployment."
Tonks rubbed her finger tips together in reply.
"Which we'd also need money for," Hermione continued. "Of course. Like everything else. That's not a reason to forego explosives use."
McGonagall looked down her nose at her former student. "None of this is easy, Miss Granger."
"I didn't say it was," Hermione protested. "Look," she explained, digging her thumb into the wood grains on the kitchen table. "I have no idea what any of you are planning and you put me on the spot with that question." She snuck a glance at Kingsley thinking she may have overstepped some bounds, but he still appeared interested in what she had to say. "Maybe I don't know enough about what happened twenty years ago or what's happening now. But it seemed like there was no strategy in the First Wizarding War. No real plan to win. A few brave people tried to stay ahead of the kidnapping and murder of those trying to take down You-Know-Who and ultimately…" She gazed up at Remus apologetically. "They failed."
She watched the four eye each other silently for a few tense moments. Tonks raised an eyebrow at Remus and he nodded.
The Metamorphagus changed her hair from blond to pink and leaned forward on the table, speaking directly to Hermione. "I've been copying classified documents for the past half year regarding known Death Eaters and spying on my colleagues that we suspect are sympathetic to You-Know-Who. And I'm not the only one of us in the Auror office. I'm just the only one you know, aside from Kingsley. We won't lose a presence when I go into hiding. And don't worry," she gave Hermione a genuine smile. "I'm going into hiding."
"Oh," she replied softly.
Hermione felt ashamed. Of course they have other people in the Auror office. Of course they'd been preparing. They weren't stupid. These four leaders of the Order had a huge responsibility on their shoulders. They were planning ahead. She could trust them.
She wondered what else had been happening behind the scenes while she did essentially nothing over the summer, worrying about her parents. She wanted to ask, but felt it wasn't her place given the distrust and borderline disrespect she had shown them earlier.
Kingsley cleared his throat. "We haven't yet worked out a financial source. As you may have guessed already, many of the rich, Pure-blood families are funding You-Know-Who already either willingly or not. We have a few leads both domestic and international, it's our top priority." Hermione looked up in surprise. He was informing her of the financial situation which, as she had guessed, was urgent. His lips spread in a thin smile. "I'll be receiving a promotion soon and leave the Auror Department for the Office of the Deputy to the Minister."
Hermione's eyes widened. "Why would you do that? Tonks just said–"
He nodded. "When the Ministry falls, which office do you think they'll target first? There's no point in being stationed in a doomed department. And I'll have wider access from the Office of the Deputy."
She furrowed her brows. "But you're a known sympathizer of Dumbledore. You tried repeatedly to warn of You-Know-Who's return. Won't they come for you like Tonks?"
A wicked gleam formed in his eyes. "Not after I help them dissolve the Auror Department."
Her lips parted in confusion. "Why would you that?" She looked to Tonks to see how she was digesting this news even though the Auror must already know.
He shrugged, but looked extremely pleased with himself. "They'll do it regardless. If I help, my loyalties to the new regime based on blood purity won't be questioned. I was sorted into Slytherin, I'm Pure-blood and Sacred Twenty-Eight. I'll have a wider berth to act without suspicion if they believe I'm on their side. My promotion to the Office of the Deputy has a dual purpose."
Hermione couldn't believe it. She was both appalled and relieved at how devious they all were and covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have accused all of you of not planning ahead. Of course you're trying to win the war. I don't know what's gotten into me." She stood up from her chair and turned to go.
"Where do you think you're going, Miss Granger?" McGonagall's voice sounded as if she had caught Hermione wandering the halls at Hogwarts out past curfew.
Hermione turned back to see the Headmistress giving her a scolding look. "Sit down."
Slowly, Hermione slid back into her seat and looked shyly at the four pairs of eyes staring at her. She felt silly and disrespectful. They were right to chastise her. She should never have said anything.
"Well, we shouldn't be surprised." Remus spoke to the rest of them, his voice warm with a hint of pride. Hermione flicked her eyes up in surprise and he turned to face her. "She figured out I was a werewolf when she was only thirteen."
"I've taught Miss Granger for six years." McGonagall gave an uncharacteristic snort. "I'm not surprised in the least."
"It'll be a long night of planning," Kingsley warned her. "Coffee?"
ooooooooooooooo
August 1997
Hermione crouched in the bathroom, holding Mary Cattermole's trembling hand while Ron Silenced and Disillusioned the three of them. Dean Thomas and Cho Chang had run out the back door with Mary's husband, Reginald, the moment they realized anti-Apparition wards had been put up. Three Death Eaters chased after them blasting hexes; but she couldn't tell if anyone had been hit.
This was the first time Hermione had encountered Death Eaters while trying to get Muggle-borns into hiding, and now they couldn't leave. She hoped the Death Eaters thought they had all escaped out the back door. She was afraid to move, not knowing where they were or if anyone else was in the area.
Umbridge's Muggle-born Registration Commission had attempted to round up their victims but thanks to Hermione convincing the Order to shift focus, many could not be found. At first, the most difficult part in getting Muggle-borns to go into hiding was convincing them to part from their homes and possessions. But as the propaganda coming out of the Ministry became more hostile, folks were more willing. When news of arrests and trials spread, there was even more of a sense of urgency until some Muggle-borns could not even be found by the Order, having already gone into hiding.
The Ministry must have known that the Order was behind the disappearance of so many wanted wizards and witches, and she wondered if the three Death Eaters here today were part of a larger effort to round up them all up at once. Hermione had suspected Voldemort's army would try something like this, and had requested more members to accompany her and others for the past week in case they were attacked.
Thank Merlin she did.
She heard three cracks of Apparition, faint in the distance, and sighed with relief. They must have gotten out with Reginald. Ron knelt down next Hermione and whispered, "Do you think they're gone?"
In answer, they heard the door slam as the Death Eaters burst back into the house. She jumped, her heart thudding in her chest. A male voice yelled out, "Fuck! He'll have my head for this!"
Hermione recognized Dolohov's accent immediately from the Department of Mysteries. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and she absently fingered her side where he had cursed her. Mary tensed next to her and squeezed her hand.
Hermione leaned over and whispered with more confidence than she felt, "They don't know we're here. Just wait."
As she had predicted, pro-actively reaching out to Muggle-borns and their families to get them into hiding proved to be an effective recruitment tactic, and now they had Dean and Cho, among others. Families with fighting age wizards and witches were usually prioritized for that very reason. Mary was a Muggle-born healer at St. Mungo's. It was hoped that after getting them to safety, she would help them set up an infirmary once a safe house could be purchased and secured. They needed more funds for that. Space was getting tight.
"Let's get of here."
"Who's that?" Hermione whispered to Ron, not recognizing the second male and clearly annoyed voice. Ron knew more about Death Eater profiles than she did.
"Buckley? Berkley?" he whispered back, unsure. "Whoever he is, he's not Inner Circle like Dolohov."
"This was supposed to be easy!" Dolohov shouted, kicking something and shattering it. Making all three of them jump. "How did they know? Crucio!"
Immediately, they heard someone drop to the floor and another male voice scream in agony. Hermione gritted her teeth at the sound. She couldn't listen to anyone in pain like this, it didn't matter who it was. Mary whimpered beside her and whispered, "It's not right."
"Antonin! What the hell are you doing?" Buckley/Berkley yelled.
Hermione crawled forward towards the crack of the door to see. She had line of sight for both Death Eaters. The lower ranked Death Eater was pulling on Dolohov's arm but he shook him off, holding the curse while the third screamed on the floor. That third wouldn't be able to do anything, it didn't matter if Hermione could see him or not. Ron pulled on her shoulder so she would stay back out of sight, even though she was covered by the Disillusionment charm.
She whispered furiously. "You stun Dolohov; I'll get the one on the right. On the count of three."
The screams intensified. Ron's breath came in short pants as he leaned over her to see out the crack of the door. Adrenaline shot through her and she carefully aimed her wand.
"One, two, three!"
"Stupefy!"
Both Death Eaters fell simultaneously as Ron and Hermione ran out of the bathroom. She eyed the Death Eater on the ground, now moaning and cradling himself in a fetal position. They bound all three and Hermione collected their wands. Without wasting any time, she started patting down one of the bodies as Tonks had instructed them, looking for objects of interest.
Dean and Cho burst back in through the front door, wands out, eyes widening as they saw the three bound and gagged Death Eaters on the floor.
"Cho," Ron waved her over. "Get Mary out of here."
Mary exited the bathroom, a frightened look on her face. "I can't thank you all enough."
Hermione whipped around from her position on the floor. "You're welcome, but we don't want to stay too long. Is there anything you need besides your wand?"
Mary nodded and ran up the steps, her feet thudding heavily on the second floor. Dean motioned towards the three Death Eaters, panting from running back inside. "What do we do with them?"
Hermione finished padding down one of the Death Eaters and took off his mask. This one wasn't Dolohov and she didn't recognize him. She looked back at Ron in question and he peered down at the Death Eater's face.
His lip curled in disgust.
"Bixley. That's his name," Ron recalled as Hermione waved her wand to check for magical objects or charmed items. The Death Eater didn't have anything on him.
Hermione turned to face Dean. "We need to get them out of here now for questioning. To Pinner safe house. Can you levitate him to the border of the wards and side-Along out of here?"
"Yeah," Dean replied, pointing his wand at the Death Eater, carefully levitating him up. "I'll go now."
Remus drilled everyone in Apparition and side-Along Apparition until they could do it in their sleep. Dean kept his eyes on the floating body, his tongue partially sticking out of his mouth in concentration Walking backwards out the door, he was careful not to bump Bixley on the door frame.
Hermione started padding down Dolohov when Mary ran back down the stairs, clutching a few books and what looked to be a medical bag. Her greying hair was slightly frazzled with the last-minute scrambling. Hermione smiled inwardly. That looked promising for their future prospects at Healer recruitment.
Cho reached out for Mary's hand. "Come on, Mary. We'll meet up with Reginald."
Mary stared down at the Death Eater, still tied up on the ground, trembling and clenching himself in the fetal position.
"Wait," she told Cho.
Mary extended her wand, pointed to the small of the Death Eater's back and muttered a charm. They all watched as a golden glow emanated from her wand tip, shone brightly in his lower back and diffused throughout his body.
Hermione looked up at her, curious. "What was that?"
The Death Eater, still bound by his restraints, released a soft moan in relief. His shaking stopped and they watched as all tension left his limbs.
"Muscle relaxant," Mary explained. "Without any potions, it's the only thing you can do after the Cruciatis Curse." She paused for a moment and added, "No one deserves that."
Hermione nodded, remembering his screams of agony with a wince. "I agree."
"I don't," Ron retorted. Mary glared at him in disapproval.
"Go on," Hermione told Cho, urgency in her voice. "Get Mary out of here now." Cho and Mary ran out the back, the screen door slamming shut behind them.
"Nothing on Dolohov either," Hermione lifted the mask off, and shuddered at the memory of him cursing her. "Can you get him back now, Ron?"
"And leave you here alone with that one?" He motioned to the Death Eater on the floor.
"It's Dolohov," she turned to him, exasperated. "We need him back right now for questioning."
Ron hovered next to her, hesitant at the thought of leaving Hermione alone during what had essentially turned into a raid. That was against procedure. Hermione understood his concern, but Dolohov was a big fish they couldn't risk losing. The Order would be able to get a lot of information out of him.
"Even if he wasn't bound, he's not in any shape to attack me. And I've got his wand. I won't be long; I just need to make sure he's not carrying anything dangerous."
Ron still wavered, unsure of what to do.
"Look, if I'm not back in ten minutes, come get me. Send a Patronus to…" She eyed the unknown Death Eater lying on the floor, shifting his arms bound tightly in front of him, but no longer groaning in pain. Even if he was captured, it wasn't a good idea to let him know the Order hierarchy. "Send it to Moony immediately. They need to question Dolohov sooner rather than later."
Hermione was excited. They hadn't captured a Death Eater yet, although Tonks had been pulling together a few plans to do so. Now they had three. And Dolohov was Inner Circle.
"Ten minutes, Hermione." Ron's eyes showed concern, but he understood they had to leave quickly and didn't argue. "No more."
"Ten minutes," she agreed.
Ron squeezed Hermione's shoulder protectively and left out the back balancing Dolohov in the air with his wand. She heard a thunk as Dolohov's head hit the door frame on the way out.
"Oops," said Ron, with no hint of apology in his voice.
Hermione turned back the last Death Eater, lying bound on the floor. He had remained silent up until now. Anxious to complete the body search and Apparate out of here, she removed his mask, pulling back his hood in the process, and nearly fell over in shock.
"Malfoy?"
Chapter end notes:
This is the longest fic I have ever written. It's a pandemic project. Also, it is finished, so no worries of getting attached to an abandoned WIP. I'm just polishing it up.
One more thank you to my beta, bek_48, who is CRIMINALLY underrated as an author. If you're looking for something different and extremely well written, check her out!
And many thanks to my alpha, slytherdor99.