Gets a little dark in the beginning. Not a little. Medium dark. Maybe.


"All they wanted to was see who you were talking to and who was coming over the house!"

Hermione dragged the knife down his sternum and placed the tip at his belly button.

"And?" she asked.

"That's it! That's all I know!"

Hermione clicked her tongue and slowly inserted the blade into his stomach, smiling the entire time. "Are you sure?" she whispered.

Bill screamed, and Hermione waited for him to catch his breath.

"Are you sure?" she repeated.

"Yes! Yes, there's nothing else!" he cried. "Please, I beg of you. There's nothing else!"

Hermione knew he was telling the truth, but she was frustrated the Order went to her home. The home that she felt just as safe in as the manor. Hermione tightened her hold on the dagger. She was tempted to pull it out and leave him alive, but where would be the fun in that? A point needed to be made. Hermione twisted the dagger from side to side slowly. Bill whimpered as he tried not to cry again. She looked him in the eyes, and he unintentionally let her into his life. Hermione watched his memories like a short film. Being the eldest brother seemed more like a challenge than a blessing. Hermione pulled out of his head and hummed under her breath.

"This is the part where I would normally lie and tell you how I would love nothing more than to send you back to your family with a few scars," she said. "But I am in no mood for false placations. My family is the most important thing in the world to me, and you threatened it."

Bill trembled as he stammered his way through pleadings and apologies. Hermione flicked her wrist, and his mouth sealed shut.

"As much as I enjoy hearing people scream, I need to concentrate. If you want to live long enough to watch the show, then I suggest you stay very still."


Lucius tried so hard not to gag while he and Tom watched Hermione almost eviscerate Bill Weasley. Tom was unfazed, but Lucius knew that was only because Rayna had done much worse to men and women alike. He, however, was not witness to any of those events. Just someone fortunate enough to hear about it after the fact. Hermione was completely silent, though he could hear her mutter something under her breath now and then. Blood splattered against the cement walls, and Lucius dry-heaved into his handkerchief and turned around. Tom patted him on the shoulder.


Jean munched on apple slices out on the patio.

"Well, if it isn't the witch who became a muggle."

"I was wondering why it'd gotten so cold all of a sudden," Jean sighed.

"Must you two start this again?"

"Of course. We would not be family if we didn't," Jean teased.

Narcissa smiled and sat down at the table while Andromeda chose the seat next to Jean.

"Where's your husband?" Narcissa asked. "He's usually not too far from you."

"You're one to talk. And I slipped a potion into Dan's tea. He should be sleeping peacefully in our room."

"Why?"

"Dan isn't a fan of magical travel. He nearly puked on Hermione when we got here."

"Poor thing."

Jean shrugged and pushed the apple slices to the center of the table. "When he wakes up, we will have to go back to the house and get our things. Hermione has been silent on her plans," she said.

"Plans for what?" Narcissa asked.

"I- have you not seen Hermione yet?"

"No? Has something happened?" Andromeda asked.


Hermione had blood everywhere. She scratched at her nose and admired her work. She absentmindedly unlocked the cell door behind her.

"Is this a big enough distraction?" she asked.

Tom and Lucius entered the cell. Lucius pointedly stared everywhere but the body. Tom came up beside her. He cocked his head and nodded.

"I believe so."

"Good. But first, I need to make sure Dan and Jean get the important items from the house. I will find them another place to live in tonight as well."

"Why not here?" Lucius asked.

"Too easy. Also, don't touch the body! I'll be back for it later."

"Do you have plans for his…um…"

Tom gestured to the item in the corner, and Hermione snapped her fingers.

"Oh! Thank you. I need to take it with me."

"Why exactly do you need his," Lucius paused, "brain?"

"Because I need it destroyed the best way possible, and what better way than fire?"

"Dare I ask what you're about to do?"

"Dare I ask how you removed his brain?"

"No, and with a knife, Uncle Lucius. It isn't that hard."

"You've done it before?" Tom exclaimed.

"Bella talked me through it."

"Oh. So, you two are speaking again?"

Hermione pursed her lips and apparated out of the cell. Lucius clicked his teeth and glanced back at the body.

"I'm almost afraid of what she's going to do to him next."


Once they returned to the house, Dan and Jean immediately went upstairs. Dan ran into their bedroom while Jean ran to their bathroom. He snatched every certificate, passport, and important document and threw them in their go-bag. Jean appeared with her own go-bag and dropped down to the floor. She opened the safe under the television and removed their guns. She placed both in her bag, and then she removed a chain with a massive black stone at the end. Dan stared as Jean tucked it under her shirt.

"Is that-

"Yes. Come on."

Dan and Jean go back downstairs, where Hermione waited for them with a bloody bag in her hand. Dan shivered again when he saw her. She was covered in so much blood. That poor boy was definitely no longer alive. Hermione yawned a little and smiled.

"All done?" she asked.

"Done."

"Good. Take me to this friend of yours."

"Um."

"I will change, I promise."


Hours later, a house in a suburban neighborhood suddenly exploded. The neighbors ran out into the streets, staring at the blazing inferno.

"Oh no! The Grangers!" someone shouted.

"Does anyone know if they were home?" someone else shouted.

"I'm calling the police!" another yelled.

The fire burned as if it had a mind of its own. So, by the time the firefighters arrived, the place was a lost cause. Once they got the fire under control, they found enough bone fragments in the ashes for two people. The Grangers were presumed dead.

"What about their daughter?" someone shouted.

"Has anyone seen Hermione?" another one asked.

The police turned their attention to finding and informing a teenage girl that her parents, her home, were gone.


Later that night, Hermione sat with the Order. It was a somber affair. Apparently, Bill's body had been found at the Burrow. Someone stripped him naked and placed him on a pole. They tied his hands behind his back and crudely etched into his skin:

'The New Dark Lord - He Rises.'

But what made most of them wary was the fact Bill's brain had been taken. No one said anything for the first ten minutes. Hermione fought her sleep. She genuinely was tired. Tonks "found" her in Muggle London. Harry and Ron tried to get more information out of her when she arrived, and she said whatever family emergency they had was taken care of. At first, McGonagall questioned if the children should be involved. However, after what happened, Molly didn't want to be away from her children, which most people understood.

"The New Dark Lord," Sirius repeated. "What the hell happened to the old one?"

"Language," Molly corrected half-heartedly.

"Severus informed me Voldemort has been preparing a successor," Dumbledore sighed.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Sirius exclaimed.

"Because there was no further announcement."

"What does that mean?"

"It means," Severus drawled, "that the Dark Lord went underground. He has not called a meeting since."

"You're telling me you had no idea this was going to happen?" Sirius scoffed.

"That is exactly what I am telling you, mutt."

"You better-

"Enough," Dumbledore ordered. "We need to focus on the second part of the message. They would not have said it if it were not important."

Molly and Arthur flinched. The rest of the Weasley's looked down. Hermione subtly watched Fred and George. While they seemed sad, they didn't seem as torn up about it as the others. She turned back to the conversation right when Harry spoke.

"It said he, which means the successor has to be another Death Eater."

"Lucius," Sirius growled.

Severus rolled his eyes at that, and Hermione tried so hard not to snort out loud. The conversation became throwing out potential new Dark Lords, and Hermione yawned behind her hand. Soon, the conversation became about her father. Some of the Order thought it was a ploy by the Potions professor to get their guards down, which Severus shot down very quickly. Harry then referred to his scar, saying that he hadn't felt Voldemort for a few days. Hermione made a mental note to ask her father about that, but what Harry said changed the group's thought process. Some were afraid of what it meant, while others were reluctant to believe it. Hermione zoned out a little and retreated into her mental cocoon.

Hi, my love. How are you today?

Tired mostly.

Same. I have something to ask you.

Yes?

How does one miss a person they only know in their minds?

I miss you too, Calliope.

I hate that you got yourself put in there for me.

I will make it up to you, I swear it.

For eternity?

For eternity.

Hermione was jostled out of her head by Tonks, who had a grim look on her face. Hermione looked around the room. She spotted the letter in Dumbledore's hand, and she frowned.

"What?" she asked.


Hermione stared unseeingly at the horizon as the priest prayed. Two boxes on a pedestal were all she had left of Jean and Dan. At least, that was the idea. Dan and Jean were resting comfortably at a private estate in Spain, far away from the reach of the War, and eager to take advantage of the home Hermione purchased for them. She was glad Dan had contacts who could get them both new identities with a short turnaround and with no questions asked. Narcissa, Ted, and Andromeda were eager to join them at some point. Lucius claimed he hated the sun but would send a housewarming gift in his place.

Hermione looked up when the priest called her name. She rose to her feet and made the small trek to the front of the crowd. Hermione glanced at those in attendance. Harry, Ron, and Ginny were front row and center. The Weasley family, minus the twins, wept openly and sobbed for two people they never really met. Fred and George sat as far away from their family as they could. Their hair was dyed black and had it not been for Ron screaming at them in the church, she would've never recognized them. Dumbledore and McGonagall stood off in the corner, solemn but unwilling to shed a single tear. The rest of the Order was there. Severus sat near the back with the same dull expression on his face. Thankfully, when they asked about the lack of family on Jean and Dan's side, Hermione quickly told them Dan was an outcast due to his marrying Jean. Jean had no living relatives after her parent's died. Everyone seemed to take it in stride.

Hermione unfolded the piece of paper in her hand. She stared at the words typed by Luna shortly before the funeral and inwardly rolled her eyes. It was all flowery language, bullshit about Jean and Dan being in a better place, and that they were at peace. Hermione ripped it in half. She should've known Luna would be a dick about it.

"I refuse to stand here and fill your heads with platitudes," she said. "My parents are dead. These boxes are probably filled with what remained of the house rather than my parents. Though the police are not to blame. It is not their fault my home exploded and left them with bone fragments and smoked maple for evidence."

Cue the awkward coughs flittering through the audience and the barely-there smirk on Severus' face.

"My mother was an amazing woman. She fought for me and supported me in everything I did," Hermione paused, "she was my rock. My foundation. There would be no me without her. And my father, he was a strong man. He was brave, intelligent and taught me that books were more important than any television show. He taught me different languages, to respect different cultures, and treat everyone with respect. He protected me. They both did. I was their child. Nothing I did could change their love for me. That kind of unconditional love is hard to find."

The tears flowing down Hermione's cheeks were as real as the emotions fighting for dominance in her chest. Hermione put her hands in her pocket, fingering the wand in her coat for comfort.

"I will miss them every day," she said.

Hermione released her anger and pain through an exhale before she went and sat back down. As the funeral continued, Hermione felt eyes at the back of her head. She twisted around and met Dumbledore's gaze head-on.


After the funeral, Hermione refused to comment on where she would be spending the rest of her summer. She simply said she had a hotel room for the next few days, and that's where she would be. It was only a few hours later did she receive a visitor. She stood out on the balcony overlooking London and leaned down on the railing.

"Good evening, Professor."

"How did you know?" the woman asked.

"Your perfume."

There was a brief pause as the two witches watched the city life beneath them.

"Why are you here?"

"The Headmaster is worried about you," she said. "As am I."

"Worried I might throw myself off this balcony in a fit of grief?"

"Hermione-

"I am fine, Professor," she interrupted. "The Headmaster should mind his own business."

"Miss Granger!"

"It's the truth," she scoffed.

"But you're vulnerable. What if You-Know-Who discovers you're alone? You must come and stay with me, at least for the rest of the summer."

"Or what if I were to go away?" she asked softly. "To not be bound by war, to be free of death and pain and destruction?"

That question came out of her subconscious, and Hermione knew she needed to end the conversation quickly.

"Please tell the Headmaster to leave me alone. Tell the Order to do the same. I just lost my parents. The last thing I need is to be suffocated by all the well-wishes and poor attempts at distraction. Now, please hit the light on your way out. I will be retiring to bed soon."

Hermione turned back to the city. For a moment, Professor McGonagall stood there, shocked, but ultimately conceded the discussion was over. Once she was gone, Hermione walked back into the room. She shut the doors and closed her curtains. Hermione waved her hand around her bed for extra protection. Satisfied, Hermione flopped onto the mattress and hugged a pillow to her chest. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes as the silence and emptiness of the room threatened to swallow her whole.

For the first time in a long time, Hermione felt that familiar loneliness creeping into her bones. The last thing on her mind before she fell asleep was Azkaban.