Tension hung thick between the five of them as they crouched, frozen, in the wine cellar of the Alba fortress in which they were intruding. Draco's knuckles were white where they were clenched around his wand, and the fingers of his other hand pulsed and shone with the trapped magic of the lunar affiliation.

Silver swirls trailed down the length of his middle finger between his great-grandfather's ring, from the tips of his fingers to the lifelines on his palm.

Next to him, Granger released a quick exhale, her stare momentarily fixated on the magic pushing to break free. It took all of Draco's focus to keep the affiliation contained, knowing Alba was aware of their presence and rapidly on their trail.

"We move fast," Ben muttered under his breath, his words quick. "Don't hesitate—and something tells me they will cast to kill if given the chance."

Swallowing the thick lump in his throat, Draco squeezed Granger's hand, feeling the prickle of her magic bolstering his own.

It had been naive to think there would be no casualties in this war, especially when the first life had already been lost the last time they had visited Italy.

Vlad looked green as his gaze flickered to the door at the far end of the cellar—the door from which Hugo's Patronus had bounded—and Draco could hear numerous voices now, at least half a dozen or more, shouting in Italian with no consideration for stealth.

Which meant their small group was about to be outnumbered and likely overpowered.

At first, it had sounded like there were voices encroaching from both sides, but the concentration was coming from the far end, and he blew out a long, rattling breath, searching out the reassuring warmth of Hermione's stare.

"We need to get back to the entrance we came through," he hissed to the group, even as he didn't look away from her. "We're sitting ducks down here, and they know this place better than we do. We need time."

Following his line of thought, Granger's stare flickered from his to the opposite wall.

Magic shimmered and built, emanating from his hand and coursing through his veins. Ben gaped, staring down at Draco's open palm, before offering a brief hint of a nod. Rising to his feet, he ground out, "Do it—and we run."

Voices were just beyond the far door now, rapid footfalls slamming on the other side of it, and before Draco could think any further on the situation, he twisted his wrist into the air, his eyes fluttering shut as the magic of the moon poured from his hand, chasing forth as a ball of virulent power towards the far wall and colliding with the doorway.

The magic triggered a cacophonous roar.

Draco leapt to his feet, not sticking around to witness as the wall around the doorway collapsed into a heap of rubble, the magic shimmering around the doorway and creating a barrier to seal the door shut. Loud exclamations issued from the other side, and all he could hear was the sounds of glass bottles smashing to the floor as the magic absorbed and destroyed everything on the far side of the cellar in a blinding glow of white.

But they were gone, wands held aloft as they broke into a full on sprint up the stairway from which they had come.

"Cast your Patronus," Draco growled, and Granger nodded, her chest heaving with the effort of each breath as she scrambled up the stairs alongside him and back into the room with the old kitchen equipment. "Tell Hugo where we're going." Impressively, she released her fluttery white otter without stopping, giving Hugo a brief explanation without giving up their exact destination—presumably in case her Patronus was intercepted or overheard by Alba.

Jets of light flew back as Vlad cast a series of spells, but Draco didn't stop to see whether any of them made their mark.

Returning jets of red, yellow, and violet flew by, ricocheting off the walls as they barrelled on, and Ben fell back to join Vlad's barrage while Boris lead on. Draco could feel the heat of a spell whiz between him and Granger, just narrowly missing his ear, and he cussed, flailing a hand wildly backwards and releasing a beam of glowing magic between the guards.

With a grimace, he met Granger's stare, but his lips twitched as he heard the collision of magic on stone once more.

Ben huffed a laugh behind them, and though Draco didn't turn to look, he surmised it to be a good sign, coupled with several loud disgruntled shouts.

Releasing a great, emanating wave of scarlet magic, Boris led them back into the circular chamber—and through the far side, Draco could see the grungy side door that led to the stone passage they'd used to break into the fortress. They were close—but behind him he could hear the Alba guards gaining on them again.

Heart racing in his chest, Draco ran, firing blows of lunar magic over his shoulder towards the shouting voices. He did his best not to dwell on the fact that Hugo and his guards had yet to respond to Granger's Patronus, and he could only hope they were unable to reveal themselves. Or perhaps they had already escaped the fortress and made it beyond the Anti-Disapparition wards.

The mission had already gone awry, and Draco couldn't handle the thought that they might not all make it back out. Not with the way Alba were steadily gaining on them.

But Boris grabbed hold of the door and they were into the passageway; the man lingered behind to cast a few hasty wards on the door to buy them time before his footfalls sounded heavy behind them once more, Ben slipping seamlessly into the front as they grew steadily closer.

He didn't know how far out the Anti-Disapparition wards would extend, but they broke through onto the grounds, and Draco could still feel the bristle of magic across his own. The sun was well on its way into the sky now, and he could see along the edge of the fortress to the point where they had Apparated in.

"Close, Lunae," Ben huffed, his voice breathy and fatigued. "As soon as we break the wards—"

"Hugo!" Granger gasped at his side.

Draco froze, following her stare; relief flooded through him as he noticed Hugo leaning against the edge of the stone wall, fear flashing in his eyes. "Hugo," he said, sweeping a hand through his hair. "Thank Merlin, we were—"

"Lunae, get out of here," Hugo said, eyes darting rapidly. "Run."

"No," Draco scoffed, reaching for the man, but a frisson of fear chased up his spine as he came up against an invisible wall separating him from that segment of the fortress. "Hugo, what the fuck?"

Blowing out a long breath, Hugo clenched his jaw, his eyes pressing shut. "Ben—go now."

A new, sharp voice intruded into the moment. A woman's voice. "No one is going anywhere."

Draco's eyes narrowed of their own accord as a woman walked around the corner from behind Hugo, and the young man swallowed as the tip of her wand pressed into the skin beneath his jaw. She wore all black with gold embroidery, and pin-straight black hair fell to a stern shear at her shoulders. Her eyes were so dark as to swallow up the light around her. Cruel malice played upon her lips as she pressed her wand deeper into Hugo's throat. He only thinned his lips, his face tight.

A breath hitched in Granger's throat as Boris, Vlad, and Ben took up a formation around them, their wands ready.

But Draco held up a hand, staying their advance. "Release him—Cosette."

A slow, menacing smile spread across the woman's face. "Commendable," she drawled, "that you've learned as much as you have already."

He couldn't tell whether her English was intoned with French or Italian lilts and surmised it to be a twangy mixture of the two. The endless chasm of the affiliation pulsed and twinged in his hand. Holding Hugo's stare, Draco idly toed at the invisible wall, measuring the curve of it.

Dragging his stare back to Cosette, he smirked. "Perhaps you shouldn't be surprised that I'm not stupid."

"Could have fooled me," Cosette snapped, the smile dropping from her face. "Given you walked right in here today."

Either she was testing him or she didn't yet realise her captives had been released; Draco didn't know the status of the situation in France yet, so it was likely the latter. It meant they had an edge—if they could escape before the truth of their intrusion was discovered.

He trailed his fingertips along the small of Granger's back, allowing his magic to play along the edges of hers. Turning back to Cosette, he lifted a brow. "I suggest you release him."

Cosette canted her head to the side. "I don't think I will. Because I would like to find out, you see—how much does Draco Malfoy value Hugo Bergen?"

The guards hissed, their expressions stoic and wands level, at the affront. Draco didn't respond.

But Cosette carried on, adjusting her grip on her wand. "Your treasurer, isn't he? Seems dispensable—if not for the fact that he's the son of your chief adviser. See, Draco Malfoy, I've done my research as well. Long before you even entered the picture."

At his side, Granger leaned back closer into his palm on her back, her silent stare fixed on Cosette. He flexed his palm, making his best effort at reassurance as he dragged his toe along the ground, nudging the wall.

Draco drawled, "And I know all about that as well, of course. How you orchestrated this entire thing to draw me into the seat of Lunae Ortus—to release the lunar affiliation so you could steal it."

"Nocturnus stole it in the first place," Cosette hissed, the first break in her irreverent facade. "You don't deserve it."

Releasing a breath, Draco rolled his eyes. "For argument's sake, let's say I don't. And what do you hope to accomplish by killing my treasurer?"

Hugo's green stare snapped to his. Jaw clenched, the man only mouthed, 'Get out.'

When Ben shifted uneasily at Draco's other side, drawing Cosette's eye, he dipped the hand on Granger's back lower, grazing the curve of her arse, before snaking along to her other side.

Cosette shrugged. "One less Nocturnus in the world makes it a good day for me. Although—it would be three, wouldn't it, Hugo?"

At the flash of sorrow in Hugo's eyes, Draco's heart sunk. He hadn't wanted to acknowledge the fact that Hugo was alone, without his pair of guards. The truth of it slammed him in the chest.

Granger shook her head, folding her arms as she spoke up for the first time. "If you were going to kill Hugo just for the sake of it, you'd have done so already. Are you trying to bargain or something?"

"The Lunae Amor," Cosette said, her tone full of mocking disdain. "We know all about you as well. The relationship between the two of you when you were in school—the way you nearly broke poor Draco's nose." Her lips curled cruelly again. "Brilliant as they say—I am offering a bargain. And we will see what sort of a leader your precious Lunae Ortus really is."

Draco didn't like the sound of that, but he kept his gaze on Hugo's as he waved a dismissive hand. "Or you could just release Hugo and lift the wards, and we'll all walk away."

Cosette let out a cold laugh, and a shudder swept down Draco's spine at the tone of it. The woman gave him the utter creeps. But she only folded her arms, wand hanging idly in Hugo's direction. Some of the tension sunk from his shoulders. "I'll consider releasing Hugo if you tell me what it is you were after today."

Heaving a sigh, Granger rolled her eyes, leaning on one hip and idly toeing the ground; her foot grazed his. "We aren't telling you that."

"Fine," Cosette drawled, jabbing the point of her wand into Hugo's throat once more. "Then I'll spill his blood—and believe me, nothing would give me more pleasure. Unfortunate, though—he is quite pretty."

Hugo's lip curled as his eyes narrowed; Draco fought a snicker at the reaction.

Gaze flickering between Cosette and Draco, Hermione turned to face him, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth. In a hushed voice, she muttered, "I mean, we didn't even find it, so…" He nodded, blinking evenly. Huffing, she announced, "An artefact. We heard there was an artefact here—but the source must have been outdated. All this hassle for a bunch of poor wine vintages."

"Poor vintages," Cosette exclaimed, nostrils flaring. "As if you thought you would simply waltz into our stronghold and seize any artefacts. Perhaps you aren't so smart as they say."

Surrounding them, the guards stood at arms, silent and waiting. Draco met Ben's gaze briefly. "Perhaps we should just level this fortress after all."

Cosette released a cackle, throwing her head back, her wand jamming further into Hugo's neck and forcing his chin up as he swallowed thickly. "Draco Malfoy, you forget—I know everything about you. I know you're a coward."

He ground his teeth, staring blankly at her. The word lanced through him like a blade.

"Even with Hermione Granger at your side," Cosette jeered. "You'll never be a true leader, which is why it will be so easy to dismantle your organisation from within. Starting with dear Hugo here."

She lifted her wand, determination crossing her face, and several things happened at once. Granger cried out, reaching towards Hugo as Cosette initiated a twirl of her wand. The guards released a barrage of spells into the invisible wall but the magic melted away, absorbed into nothing. Cosette cracked a wide, mocking grin.

Seizing her distraction, Draco released his hold on Granger, giving a great flourish of his wrist towards the base of Cosette's protective wall where it met the grass. The strength of the affiliation eclipsed the wall, illuminating the area even with the sun rising in the sky. The white ball of power blinded the woman, and as she lifted a hand to shield her eyes, the protective wall collapsed down around her.

Releasing hold of Hugo, fear flashed through her eyes—and it was the last Draco saw before she Disapparated.

Silence fell across them, stark and tense.

Hugo dragged a hand across his neck where Cosette's wand tip had been jammed, and Draco noticed his fingers were trembling. Averting his gaze to allow the man a moment of privacy to pull himself together, he turned towards Ben, feeling his heart lodged somewhere in his throat.

"We'll need to collect—"

"There," Hugo choked, his voice hoarse, as he waved a hand around the corner of the wall where he still stood. "Lunae, I'm sor—"

"Don't you dare apologise," Draco snapped, scowling at the man. His expression softened with a grimace. "I thought you were dead."

"I couldn't," Hugo said, gaping as he watched Ben and Vlad disappear behind the building. "I couldn't save them. She had guards with her and—"

"Hugo," Hermione said, her voice quiet, eyes glassy with tears. "There was nothing you could have done. We need to get out of here."

It was only then that Draco noticed Hugo push away from the wall with a wince, and he gingerly set down one foot on the ground. He muttered, "Think my ankle is broken."

Boris strode past, levitating the bodies of the two fallen guards before him, his expression blank. Draco looked away, feeling a clenching in his chest, and turned to Granger. "We need to get past the edge of the wards and get back to the castle. Before Cosette comes back or sends another guard contingent after us."

"She's playing a long game," Hugo said, sweeping a hand through his hair. "Or trying to, anyways. I think she would have killed me, though."

Slinging an arm around Hugo's back, Draco muttered, "I know. And she's going to pay for it."

"Even if she thought I was cute." Hugo jabbed an elbow into his ribs as he leaned the bulk of his weight into Draco's hold, and Ben came up along the other other side. Hugo shook his head and ground out, "You should have left when I told you to."

Draco met Granger's gaze for a fleeting moment, and he watched a tear break from the corner of her eye before she hastily swiped it away. If they had left when Hugo's second Patronus had warned them, Hugo would have been left behind. And likely killed.

Releasing a long, steadying breath, Draco managed a tight, "Not a chance. We're a bloody team, yeah?"

Hugo huffed a laugh, the sound fading as a grimace flickered across his face when he put too much weight on his bad ankle. "Don't you fucking go soft on me now."

A short distance ahead, Boris Disapparated with the two fallen guards, and bittersweet relief chased through Draco when he felt the Anti-Disapparition wards ripple away.

Granger released a sort of sad chuckle and mused under her breath, "You two."

Shifting his hold on Hugo, Draco waited until Granger Disapparated with Vlad before turning to Ben. With a nod, he dragged Hugo into Apparition, and Ben landed at the castle shortly after. The pair of them helped Hugo into the castle and onto a sofa in the entry parlour, and Draco felt the welcome wash of their own wards against his magic. Ben announced something about retrieving a healer and vanished; Vlad lingered near the entrance of the room but out of earshot.

"So," Hugo prompted as he propped his ankle up on an ottoman. "Be honest—you only waited for me because I'm Secret Keeper of Arcand's safe house; and on that note, please tell me you found his daughter."

"We found his daughter," Hermione said, dropping to the edge of the ottoman as she leaned in. "If everything went better on that front than it did on this one, the Arcands should be reunited."

"And we have control of the French Ministry," Draco added, a half-hearted grin spreading across his face. It had only been a few hours since they had gathered in his quarters in Malfoy Manor, but he was exhausted. Using the affiliation had taken a heavy toll, and he made a mental note to practice with it more. "Good thing Cosette didn't realise the truth of why we were there—I don't think she would have let us leave so easily if she knew we were doing a little dismantling of our own."

Hugo snorted, glancing away. "Not likely." But his expression sobered, and he looked each of them in the eye. "Thank you—for waiting for me."

Draco dragged a hand through his hair. "I think it was due, anyways, after the last time."

Eyes tightening, Hugo released a sigh. "We aren't keeping score, you know. You should have left me to die."

"That," Draco breathed, "would have been unacceptable."

A fraught silence fell across them all once more, Granger idly twisting a curl in her fingers with a far off look to her.

"What will be unacceptable," Hugo finally said, "will be my father's reaction when he hears about this."

Huffing a laugh, Draco felt a grin cross his face as he shook his head. "My father's like that, too—but he's in prison. We'll deal with your father together."

Granger gave a watery laugh and tugged his hand into her lap. She only muttered again, "You two are ridiculous."

Author's Note: Hi friends, thanks so much for reading as always. I hope you're enjoying the story. Always happy to hear your thoughts and theories. And a very happy early Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!

Alpha and beta love to Kyonomiko, LadyKenz347, and ravenslight.