1998 - Early 2002
During the first few years after the Fall of Hogwarts, there had been small pockets of resistance fighters all over Europe. Both Pansy and Draco were part of an elite team of young wizards and witches with proven battle skills, sent on missions to find targets in other countries, with instructions to either capture or kill.
One evening, the envy Draco drew from his peers as the number of his solo assignments grew, came to a head.
"What the fuck makes you so special, Malfoy?" Marcus Flint demanded over drinks out in a pub.
"Yeah," Graham Montague chimed in, "who are you sucking off to get such choice assignments?"
Draco sneered. "Flint, no one is going to be sending you to a country where you need to speak French, Spanish, Italian, or Russian to fit in, when you barely speak proper English. Graham," Draco continued, turning his contemptuous glare onto the other man, "I saw your mother sucking off Macnair at a revel last week. Is she getting sent on missions now too?"
Blaise Zabini nearly choked on his scotch.
"The Dark Lord trusts me to do what needs to be done. Can't say the same for you, Flint, after you let Cho Chang get away." Draco enjoyed watching Marcus squirm. "If you have an issue with how our Lord makes assignments, take it up with him."
No one dared to do so, leaving Draco able to be gone for long stretches without suspicion.
It was easy enough for Draco to follow Pansy on a mission intended to weed out a couple of old wizards causing trouble in Amsterdam, and then make it appear as if she had run afoul of them, rather than implicating himself or George.
Whether the few still out there suspected something was afoot, or perhaps, there just wasn't anyone left, Draco wanted to know.
Which led to him using every last bit of magical energy he had to see if Parkinson knew anything about Granger's whereabouts.
He poured an immense amount of his power into pulling magic out through the runes he had carved into her, using the energy to power a simultaneous Crucio and Imperius upon her.
He broke her mind and her body, without getting the answer he sought. Not because Pansy was hiding anything; only because she did not know anything.
George had stayed behind in England only as long as it took for Draco to send him a Patronus from the Netherlands, letting him know the bitch was not going to be an issue anymore. Even if Draco could have kept him there as a contact, George had outgrown his usefulness. Finding Ron had been a big score, but they both knew no one else had contacted George in months.
As far as Pansy knew, the last anyone had seen of Granger in public was during the week following the death of Potter. Granger had broken into St. Mungo's, had looted a handful of shops in Diagon Alley, and finally, had been seen sprinting across the grounds at Hogwarts, making it into the relative safety of the forest before anyone could stop her. Each time, she had been alone.
At St. Mungo's, she had stolen more supplies and medicinal potions than could be catalogued.
In Diagon Alley, she had made it into Ollivanders, Slug Jiggers, and Obscurus Books; each on three separate visits.
No one was quite sure what she had been doing in Hogwarts. After taking away all of the bodies after the battle, only a couple of lesser Snatchers had been left behind, stationed there to keep an eye on the place. Most of it had been deemed unsafe. There were still occasional walls crashing down and random suits of armor wandering around at that point in time. It had not occurred to anyone that there might be a reason to go back so soon.
While the Death Eaters had been busy roaming the countryside, rooting out wizards and witches from obscure hiding spots, mercilessly hunting down their enemies, newly minted Enemy Number One, Hermione Granger, continued to operate in plain sight for those few days.
The last report presented to the Dark Lord concerning her had ended with the sight of her hair whipping in the wind as she made it to the treeline surrounding Hogwarts.
Draco neglected to report the little river otter who lived on his estate beginning the summer of 1999.