Prologue

Looking back, she supposed she should have skipped out the minute the couple had walked into the coffee shop. The whole thing just seemed off. Sure, she had seen more than a few people wander in who just seemed...edgy. Usually sauced, she figured. Working late shifts at a place that offered sober-up juice near more than a few bars and nightclubs gave her a more thorough education of liquor scents than she ever needed or probably wanted. The couple was different, though. They didn't seem intoxicated, weren't stumbling their way to the counter, didn't slur their words, didn't sneak open-mouthed kisses in between the request for coffee. In fact, they didn't say much at all.

When Hermione offered a cheerful hello after the door chimed, all she received in response was a tight-lipped smile from the woman. They hastily made their way to the counter and the man, while requesting two coffees, black, never made eye contact with her once.

"Of course, sir," Hermione replied, bending to retrieve two cups from the shelves beneath the counter. "Would you like a donut with those?"

The man didn't answer. He didn't even seem to have heard her, eyes trained on the front windows. The woman was equally occupied with the street, but she still turned and answered, "no thanks, honey." Hermione smiled in response, and turned to pour the drinks from the urn. She was rewarded with only a few drops into the bottom of the ceramic cup. Out. It figured. That urn hadn't done its job properly in weeks.

"I'm so sorry, folks," she apologized, turning back to the counter, "but it looks like the last batch didn't brew. I'll get another started right away." The woman nodded in response, hurriedly pulling off her gloves and beginning to knead the fabric in her hands. Hermione frowned slightly at the nervous action, but said nothing and headed for the back to fetch another bag of coffee beans. She would have to grind several more batches to get through her shift, thanks to the urn wasting what she had already prepared. She had just picked up the bag when she heard it.

Two pops, and then a third. They were breathtakingly loud, echoing painfully in her head, and for an instant her brain couldn't even figure out what the sensation was. In the next instant, she had placed the sound as gunshots, and she immediately dropped the bag she'd been holding. It split on impact, sending coffee beans scattering across the back floor like marbles and sending a sure calling card of her presence to the outer room. Hermione dropped to the floor, hugging her knees and waiting for another pop to find her. But after a few painfully long moments, she could hear nothing at all, and decided to take a chance on peeking behind the counter.

Moving forward in a crouched position and taking care not to show her head above the counter, she looked towards the counter seats and almost vomited. Hermione had never seen a dead person but she knew without touching that the man was done for. He lay sprawled on the freshly-swept floor, a rapidly growing rotunda of blood staining his coat. His eyes were still open, open, and staring right through her with an expression of horror preserved in death.

Hermione shut her eyes, willing the image out of her head. This was not happening, could not be happening. She gasped for breath and extended a hand towards the woman, who was slumped over the counter. Hermione could not see anyone else in the shop, so she took a chance and straightened a bit.

"Hey," she took a step forward and almost fell over something. She looked down and found donuts strewn behind the counter, shards of glass decorating the mess. The plate must have fallen in the...whatever had happened. "Hey," she tried again, shaking the woman's shoulder, "are you okay?" All she received was a groan in response. She was alive, but barely holding on judging by the blood that Hermione now noticed on her back, pooling in two spots but rapidly coming together to form one stain. Two shots...but she was still alive. Hermione was about to make a dash for the phone on the wall when a hand grabbed her wrist. She half-screamed, strangled into more of a gasp, and the hand sought out hers.

"You...y...have to…" The woman was barely able to speak, each word a desperate bid for the air to form it. Her hand found Hermione's and placed in it a folded slip of paper, spattered with blood in the corner. "You have to take...thi…" The woman's voice was fading now, her hand slipping from Hermione's and falling limply over her head. "G-go now. They will nev...never stop i...if you don't take that t...to Mi..."

Hermione's mind was spinning. "Who won't stop? Who is Mi...whatever you said?"

The woman lifted her head just enough to make eye contact with Hermione, her hat slipping from her hair to land on the floor by Hermione's feet. "Voldemort." Then her head fell, and Hermione tried again to shake her shoulder. She did not respond and Hermione was left to stare, shocked, at the paper in her clammy hand.

She had to go, needed to get out. She needed to escape, forget this ever happened. But the shop only had two entrances, front and rear. Hermione was sure going out the same door that whoever had done this undoubtedly had used could only be bad news. They could still be there, just waiting to see if anyone remained in the shop. The back door? No, it led to an alley, and who in their right mind wanted to escape a scene like this through a dark alley where it could so easily-

Her train of thought was cut off abruptly by that very same back door opening. There was no time to move and nowhere to hide if she had. Hermione was left standing directly in front of whoever had turned that knob, and he would certainly see her. A figure stepped into the shop, tall and lithesome, brim turned down on his hat, and a gun, oh god a gun, in his hand. His eyes immediately found her, piercing her face with tortured grey. She didn't move, didn't dare to, and she was sure she was experiencing her last living moments.

"Well, well," he stated almost dully, "didn't I find a dish?"

Author's Note:

I don't want to promise a regular update schedule on this since so much is a complete mess in my life right now. Too much on my plate! However, I will do my best to keep up with it. I have a fair amount pre-written already so we shall see how it goes. Please review if you liked it or have constructive criticism, and thank you so much for reading! I am very much looking for a beta reader for this story right now, so please shoot me a message if you would be interested.