"How did they even figure out where you were?" asked Theo.
"Fenrir connected the dots between my departure from Bleidd and the base in Uganda being destroyed the same day... He assumes I'm responsible," explained Draco.
"Talk about crappy luck. Flawed assumption, though it may be, it still leads them straight to you," said Theo with a shake of his head. "Tell me you've at least moved to a different location?"
Draco did not say anything. Theo blinked a few times.
"Unbelievable! You've relocated your sons, even though they are the least in danger. Knowing how much the Dark Lord is interested in the twins—after all, they are the only success story he has to show for all his ungodly experiments—you can be certain that neither Lucius nor Greyback would dare harm your sprogs, BUT, you move them." Theo's voice took on a sharp tone, "Meanwhile the rest of you, who they have NO reason or desire to spare, continue to stay camped within a stone's throw of the Death Eater base! There are other cities you know, it's not like Uganda has the same travel restrictions as we do—did."
Draco did not share Theo's certainty concerning the safety of his sons. Now that Fenrir was gradually losing his mind and growing more irrational by the day, he could not be sure that Fenrir would not try to hurt his pups as a way to punish him. Theo was right about moving though. It was a huge risk to stay so close to the Death Eater base, especially since they were more likely to try to kill than subdue him and his pack. Yet, some instinct told Draco he was in the right place and as Oskar often said, instinct was nothing but the fates giving you a nudge in the right direction.
"I have a lead on Hermione..."
"Oh... I wasn't sure how to say this to you before but I think Mr. Beefcake knows something about Granger—He's DEFINITELY hiding something."
"Why do you say that?"
Theo shrugged. "He just acts very cagey anytime I mention Granger and he refuses to tell me how he managed to return to England. I know when someone's keeping something from me and he's hiding something... Also, isn't it odd that you learnt about Greyback going to Uganda from Narcissa?—Convenient for you that she has a piece of jewellery she never takes off. Makes me wonder if I should start wearing my signet ring, in case I have need again in the future for this kind of scheming and planning. If only, the damn thing wasn't so huge and gaudy. Unlike the Malfoys and the Blacks, the Notts believed in flaunting it—"
"Theo..."
"—Of course, this would be something I could only consider in the future. Couldn't risk it right now. People would notice if I suddenly started wearing—"
"THEO," Draco called forcefully enough to catch his attention at last, "...you were saying about Gunnolf?"
"Yes, I'm getting to it. As I was trying to say, before I was rudely interrupted, Mr Beefcake was sent to Wolf Castle to keep an eye on Greyback, but he hasn't given me any useful information so far. In fact, the only update I got from him this week was about the fuckfest Greyback's been having. Unless... Do you think it was a signal? It's hard to tell over the floo, but maybe he was coming on to me—he does strike me as the type who would be bad at flirting. Nevertheless, isn't it odd that he never mentioned anything about Greyback making war-like preparations for Uganda?"
It was hard to tell if Theo's paranoia was warranted or just the side-effect of the high amounts of cheering potion he was consuming these days. His unnaturally bright eyes, uncharacteristic babbling and animated gestures suggested the latter. Although it was odd that Gunnolf failed to mention Fenrir's plans to Theo in any of their recent conversations.
"Can you check up on Gunnolf?"
"I spoke with him a couple of days ago, he's fine."
Draco could not explain the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach but he knew better than to ignore his instincts. He had spoken with Oskar about his inability to sense Gunnolf. At first, both men presumed the distance was affecting the bond, but when Draco described the emptiness that had replaced his bond with Gunnolf, Oskar concluded that the bond had been severed. In all likelihood, Fenrir had noticed Gunnolf was no longer bonded with him and forced him to accept his alpha bond.
"Find some excuse to go there and check on him in person. Please," requested Draco and Theo begrudgingly agreed.
"So what is this lead you have for Granger?"
"Uagadou."
"Ah... yes!"
Theo jumped to his feet and began to pace in front of his fireplace as he spoke so all Draco could see of him were his legs.
"We went there to look for her. Didn't find her, of course, but the entire time I couldn't get rid of the feeling like they were hiding something from me. I doubt they'll be any more forthcoming with you—Wait a minute, they just might! The people there really do have a thing for creatures. You should play on that. By the way, who's been advising the Order lately?"
"Hmm?"
"Come on," said Theo in a tone Draco could practically hear him roll his eyes, "after all this time, out of the blue they decide to switch strategies like that? Can you imagine the kind of interrogation tactics they used to get someone like Yaxley talking? Even their plan to attack the WWN and the Department of Magical Transportation—nothing like the Order we've known all these years. Definitely some new influence there."
It was not just those things. Draco had called Harry soon after Theo told him about agents from the MACUSA joining forces with the Death Eaters against the Order. Harry's reaction to the shocking news was suspiciously tame. Draco's knowledge of what went on within the Order was limited to whatever Harry told him and Harry appeared to be holding his cards close to his chest.
"Potter said the plan to attack the WWN was Luna Lovegood's idea."
"Looney Lovegood?"
"The same."
Theo got back down on his knees so Draco was able to see his face again.
"The radio program is immensely popular. Don't know about Mulciber, but his wife sure enjoys it. In fact, as per Pansy, many Death Eater wives have expressed their pleasure over how nervous their husbands have become in recent times... Draco," said Theo, looking pensive all of a sudden, "it's time for that talk with the Order."
"So soon?" asked Draco. "You think people are ready? Shouldn't we at least wait till the Dark Lord is dead?"
"The tide's been turning for a while, but now we finally have some momentum... The only thing that can ruin it is if people start worrying about repercussions. Without assurances, they will not act."
Draco nodded. It was time talk to Harry about the future.
"So Lucius is now helping Greyback, who has figured out that you're in Uganda?" asked Harry.
Draco had just finished telling Harry about the Dark Lord's directive for Lucius and Fenrir to work together to find and kill Draco and his pack of militant werewolves and return to Britain with his sons and Ginny as their captives.
He nodded.
"Didn't you have someone watching Greyback?" asked Harry.
Draco had previously mentioned that he had a spy at Bleidd. Like Theo, Harry also questioned why Gunnolf had not been the one to send the warning.
"Yes, Gunnolf. He would run the pack in Fenrir's absence. Fenrir doesn't know it, but Gunnolf's loyal to me and has been passing along information about the happenings at Bleidd."
Harry did not look too convinced but let it go.
"What's your plan to stop them this time?"
Draco shook his head.
"Nothing, I don't think I can put off this confrontation any more. At least my pack is well rested and fighting fit right now."
The pack was restless and eager to move out of their temporary abode. They also did not like being separated from the twins. The pack adored Draco's sons, who they saw as a manifestation of the promise Luna had made to their kind so long ago. Draco's decision to have the twins living away from the pack was taken as a personal insult by each were. To them, it meant their alpha did not deem them capable of protecting his pups. Instead of being afraid, they were almost relieved by the news of Fenrir preparing to come to Uganda. They believed they would finally be able to move on with their lives once Fenrir was dead. Consequently, they were looking forward to the fight.
Harry wore a deep frown of what Draco thought was disapproval until he asked, "What can I do to help?"
"I actually wanted to talk about a different matter. I had planned to discuss these things with you at a much later stage but with how quickly things have progressed within just the last month perhaps it is time we spoke about the future."
"What do you mean?"
"What happens after the war, Harry? As winners of the war, how do you plan to deal with those of us who didn't always fight alongside the Order?"
"What makes you think we'll win... or that we'll even survive this war?"
"Must be the Slytherin in me, I know I'll do whatever it takes to survive— it's just how I am. What will happen to people like me, like Theo, my mother and others like her?"
Harry stared at him, brow furrowed in thought. It was likely Harry had never considered these things before.
"Many Death Eaters are ready to defect, what is the Order willing to offer them in exchange?"
"What do you mean, Draco? What other alternative is there, but to join us?"
Draco shook his head. "If joining the Order means having to face a tribunal after the war and being tried for their crimes, then people may choose to maintain the status quo."
"What do you want?" asked Harry, appearing to understand at last.
"What can you give us, give them?"
"I don't know. Never really thought about it before."
"Well, I'm telling you to think about it now. Talk to your people and decide what kind of a deal you can live with."
"What else?"
"Go on your radio show and offer full amnesty for any defector who was only carrying out orders." Draco could tell that Harry wasn't too pleased with the idea so he quickly added, "More people will be willing to defect if you do so. You can properly prosecute those belonging to the Dark Lord's inner circle—they chose to act of their own free will. But anyone who was simply following orders—"
"You're suggesting we let all these people walk away without facing any consequences," Harry shook his head, his frown deeper than before. "Where's the justice in that? Are we supposed to pretend like the past few years never happened? Things would not have gone on for as long as they did, or become as bad as they did, if it was only the inner circle committing these atrocities.
"People were raped, tortured and killed for sport. People were enslaved, stripped of their basic rights. Instead of a well-rounded education at Hogwarts, children were corrupted with Dark Magic and trained to become his soldiers. So many lives ruined... So many lives lost. And you say we should offer them absolution for their actions because they are willing to join us now?"
"Yes," replied Draco with brutal honesty. "You, your people, may not be happy about the situation, but you need to accept that you can either hold out for justice or offer clemency to the people who hurt you and your loved ones as the price to put an end to this war. But while you're trying to be all noble, bear in mind that without the support of the people, you may succeed in killing the Dark Lord but we'll never be free of the Death Eaters."
Forehead vein bulging, Harry ground out, "Too much blood has been spilled—"
"And a whole lot more will be spilled before we ultimately defeat the Dark Lord's army," Draco snapped at him. "People are selfish and will always want to protect their interests first. Don't expect them to do the right thing just because it is the right thing to do... especially not if it's going to hurt them in the future."
He wouldn't get through to Harry this way. Draco softened his tone. "The only way to destroy the Dark Lord's army is to make them turn on their own. Harry, we need to regain control of the Ministry—for which we will need the backing of many influential Death Eaters—otherwise we may very well find ourselves in a situation where it is the Order, and everyone who fought along with you, who will be tried as criminals for killing the Dark Lord."
Hermione believed she had collected whatever evidence she could hope to obtain on her own. Would it be wiser to first alert Draco using Harry's two-way mirror or head straight to Uganda and surprise him? Either way, she would need Draco's help if she wished to get any proof from the Purebloods so the completion of her project would have to wait until after her reunion with Draco. Thinking of seeing him again filled her with both, dread and longing so she thought of the other person in Uganda she was looking forward to meet, Cora.
Voldemort had personally been involved in the experiments conducted on the werewolves, the outcome of which was the most commonly used version of the Fero potion. Who better than Cora to testify to the crimes committed during the potion trials? With her medical background and dispassionate manner, Cora could convincingly provide her expert opinion on the things she had witnessed in the dungeons at Bleidd. Typically, Cora refrained from getting involved in anything that did not directly concern the pack or their kind, but given the nature of Zoey's death, Hermione suspected she would be highly motivated to speak before the ICW.
Now that she was no longer warring with herself all the time, Hermione found she had a lot of free time to think. For the most part her thoughts were occupied by her sons, Draco and the pack... in other words, her future. She wanted to talk to Cora to learn more about what was done to the werewolves at Bleidd. Draco had tried to explain it to her, but lacking any formal medical training, he himself had understood little of the procedures only that some form of gene manipulation was involved.
Hermione questioned whether her children existed because Draco's genes had been altered by the experiments or because she was Draco's true mate and their children were the 'fruit' mentioned in the ancient prophecy? What did the prophecy really mean? How would her sons break the curse of lycanthropy? The key to solving the puzzle lay in first understanding what it was Voldemort had done to the werewolves. The more Hermione thought about it, the more she felt like this was what she needed to pursue once she wrapped up her current project and submitted all her evidence to the ICW.
Still in the midst of her ruminations, Hermione had an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. The source of her distress was Gunnolf, or more accurately, she could sense his distress. The problem was that she did not know where he was. Short of sneaking into the Ministry and questioning Theodore Nott about Gunnolf's whereabouts, she had no idea where to even start looking for her beta.
Just then, Harry walked into her line of sight, looking troubled. He quickly told Hermione about the conundrum Draco had placed before him. Harry's area of expertise lay in hunting and defeating Dark wizards. Forced to deliberate the cost-benefit of forgoing the prosecution of individuals who may have been complicit in committing genocide and other war crimes was giving the poor man a headache, so it was understandable that he did not tell her about the rest of his conversation with Draco until later, the same day.
"Lucius and Greyback have discovered where Draco is hiding. They're going after him."
"No, he's mine," yelled the she-wolf leaping towards the exit.
Harry jumped after her, grabbing her by the waist in his attempt to stop her. He realised too late that it was the wrong move. Quick as a flash Hermione had transformed and grabbed his scruff with her teeth.
There was no need to imagine what was going through Harry's head at the time—his scent said it all. It did not make Hermione think any less of Harry. Watching her transform and attack him, would have been terrifying enough even if she were a normal sized wolf.
Hermione dropped Harry to the floor and circled his prone form. He had the good sense to keep his head down and stay still, so it took only a few minutes for her to relax enough to slip back into her human form.
"Hermione, what was that?" Harry asked her when he eventually found his voice.
Undoubtedly, he had been shocked by the discovery that a werewolf could transform without the influence of the full moon. Like most wizards, Harry would not have known of the special powers alphas possessed to enable them to protect their pack. Would it serve any purpose to betray the secrets of their kind by telling him?
"I think it's a side-effect of the potions they fed me," she lied. Harry may be her best friend, but he was not pack.
"I'm sorry for startling you the way I did," said Harry, most likely attributing her reaction to trauma from her rape. He was usually careful about touching her for the same reason and Hermione had felt no need to correct him. If believing what he did prevented Harry from making any kind of contact her wolf may perceive as a threat, she would never have cause to beat her friend into submission.
"I have to go now, Harry," she told him. She needed to get to Uganda before Fenrir got there... before Draco killed him. Fenrir was hers and no one was going to steal away her chance for revenge.
Hermione suddenly shouted and fell to the ground, crying out in pain—except it wasn't hers. The excruciating pain was coming through one of her pack bonds.
Gunnolf.
It felt like an eternity passed before her agony ended and then suddenly there was nothing. Just like that, where she had once felt Gunnolf linked to her, all that existed now was emptiness.