"Who's missing?" Professor McGonagall asked when she reached Dumbledore's office.

"Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Seamus Finnegan."

McGonagall blanched. "Oh dear god." She placed her fingers to her temples. "Finnegan told me, he was standing right there, he told me where he was going with them. They're going to find Voldemort."

Dumbledore nodded. "I thought as much. Alexei Federov is missing as well."

"Federov?" McGonagall said, feeling faint.

"I believe under the alias Misha Vladmirovich. He has been after Harry for years, he has no objectives but killing Voldemort."

"What do Granger and Finnegan have to do with it?"

"Hermione is Harry's girlfriend, I'm sure she insisted on going, and Finnegan, well, I'm not really sure what he has to do with anything. He seems to be involved with everything though." Dumbledore allowed himself a small smile.

"How can you smile?" McGonagall shrieked, bordering on hysteria. "This is a death wish!"

Dumbledore's face sobered and he reached out to pat McGonagall's arm. "Misha, or Alexei or whatever you wish to call him, has not a lost a man yet."

"He's a child Albus!"

"Calm down Minerva. Harry Potter was an infant when he defeated Voldemort. And Misha was thirteen when he defeated the Russian Ministry." He set a comforting arm on McGonagall's shoulder. "They need to do something, can you imagine having no idea what's going to become of you?"

McGonagall's mouth was set in a grim line, she was clearly torn between allowing the children freedom, and marching out of the school to drag them back and give them detention.

"It's out of our hands Minerva." Dumbledore said gently.

"I must go inform the parents." She did not meet his eyes as she left and Dumbledore sat down at his desk, silently cursing.

~*~

They continued to walk. Seamus had a long stick in his hands that he carefully notched at the end of each day. He would notch it and sigh loudly, muttering "I wonder when we'll get there." Misha's eyes would bulge slightly and he would wander off on his own. On one of these such nights Harry, Hermione and Seamus sat around the fire, silent until Hermione spoke.

"What will become of us?"

"What do you mean?"

"When we die. What will happen?"

"Well, if you want to be buried you'll be embalmed and put in a box, where your flesh will slowly decompose-" Seamus said knowledgeably.

"No, no, no. I mean our souls. What happens to our souls?"

"Who has a soul? No one, if they do it's cold, black and empty." Harry looked at Seamus, awed at this insight, until Seamus spoke again. "Heh! That was a haiku."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Glad to see we're all so serious here."

"I'm serious!" Harry said indignantly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Where's Misha? He's serious."

Seamus looked at Harry and rolled his eyes. "I said no flirting with anyone."

"I wasn't flirting with anyone!" She said angrily.

"But you were thinking about it."

"Just because you can't get any Finnegan." Hermione said grumpily.

Harry looked at Seamus, wondering what he would say. Seamus leaned close to Hermione and said, with a slow smile, "You'd be surprised my dear, at just how much I can get." He lunged at her, but pulled back before they made contact. He winked at her as he rose and left.

Hermione shuddered. "He's such an animal."

Harry laughed. "Come off it Herm, he's just trying to get a rise out of you. And obviously it's working."

Hermione shook her head. "He's so uncivilised and oh I don't know."

"Funny."

"Harry! I can't believe you of all people find him funny."

"Oh relax Hermione."

"Yeah Hermione, relax. We should call you Hormone."

"UGH! Why are you back? Why didn't you just fall into a hole? Or get kidnapped by gorrilas, or something to get you away from me?"

Seamus wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "That really hurt. I was only trying to have a bit of fun..."

"Oh Seamus, I'm sorry. It's just I'm not used to this not knowing where I'm going."

"Yeah well, you still have to wonder who lit the fuse on your tampon."

Hermione backhanded him and he grinned, massaging his cheek. "I'm sorry, I know it's tough. I remember my first mission."

"Really?"

"Actually no. I was so loaded up on whiskey to keep my nerves down that it's all a big blur."

Much to Harry's relief Hermione smiled. "Is it hard, what you do?"

"Not as hard as not doing anything would be."

"Aren't you scared?"

"Why? Seems to me that most of us end up dead in the end anyway." He grinned and shrugged. "It's a living."

They sat in silence for a while, something that Seamus was for once not having trouble doing. He stirred the fire with a stick, watching it crackle and burn, until Misha returned, with a girl.

Seamus rose suddenly as she walked in the clearing. She was very pretty, Hermione thought. She had long white blonde hair and pale blue eyes. She was wearing a long white dress and seemed to radiate something, a glow. Seamus grinned and took her hand, kissing it. When she spoke, her voice tinkled softly, like bells. "The one you are waiting for is just a ways back. Catch her if you can young Seamus."

Thinking the woman meant Voldemort, Hermione almost screamed as Seamus bounded off alone in the direction the woman pointed. Then she heard the same tinkling voice "Seamus! Put me down! Seamus!" Harry and Hermione both expected a girlfriend perhaps, but Seamus came bounding back, holding a miniature version of the blue-eyed woman in his arms. He set her down when they returned, and she frowned at him and stomped on his foot.

He grinned. "No way to be greeting your greatest admirer."

The girl frowned and then jumped into Seamus' arms. He went over to Misha and the blue-eyed woman. They talked in hushed voices for a moment, then Seamus turned to Harry and Hermione. "Harry, over here a moment." Harry looked at hermione who shrugged, and got up and walked over to the small group. Seamus set the little girl on the ground and told her to go sit with Hermione. The girl frowned.

"I don't want to go sit with that human."

"Well you can't stand with these ones either m'dam so you may as well go sit with her." He paused and leaned close to her and whipered so only she could hear. He face broke into a large grin and she kissed Seamus and ran over to sit with Hermione.

Harry looked at the tall woman with raised eyebrows. She smiled. "Being naturally nosy, Seamus stumbled upon us last year, was charmed by Eve, and has become one of the only people she'll listen to."

Seamus grinned. "What did she mean "I don't want to sit with the human?" Is she into a fairy kick or something?" Harry asked.

"In a manner of speaking." The woman said. "You've come into an area of the forest ruled by fairies."

"You don't look like a fairy." Harry said stupidly.

"That's kind of the point." Seamus said, embarassed. "If they run around with wings and sparkles people would know they'd found the fairies and they'd hang around."

The woman smiled kindly. "It's for the better good of the fairies that we remain hidden, as wizards choose to remain hidden from Muggles. The fairies in your classroom are actually a species of pixie." She smiled at Seamus, trying to look stern, but instead looking loving. "Normally we do not allow people to travel through our wood, but Seamus has become especially dear to the fairy people, and I could never forbid him entrance to our home. However this is troublesome."

"Why?"

"Fairies have never been targeted in battles like this one, and we would rather remain neutral."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but she continued. "However, I cannot deny you the right to continue this journey you have embarked upon with the intention of helping others. You can continue on your way, I will doubtless see you again." She smiled and Seamus kissed her hand again, then she called for her small daughter and disappeared.