A/N: Thanks to my beautiful reviewers, especially Mandi, who's just so damn dedicated in her reviews! Thankyou so much, it's absolutely appreciated! Oh, and I'm not so sure about the 'romance' aspect- we'll just wait and see what eventuates, shall we?

Chapter 38

"We're all ready?" Adrienne confronted the small band of enthusiasts that greeted her outside the Hogwarts gates. They respectively nodded their heads as she eyeballed each one. She nodded her head, her tightly bound hair shining in the moonlight. "Lead the way, Seeker. Where are we Apparating to?" Seeker grinned showing maybe a little too much tooth.

"Signet Avenue. Grab hands in a circle, and I'll lead us." The group reached out and clasped hands- some reluctantly, it must be admitted- and concentrated. They saw a picture of an elegant, paved road with beautiful houses on either side of the road. Then there was a quiet hush in their minds, and a gentle tickling on their fingertips as they were whisked through nothingness and deposited at the destination they had envisaged.

"Good work, Seeker," Adrienne whispered. "Where to now?" She crouched instinctively, remanent of her many years of sneaking at Hogwarts. Seeker turned and beckoned the others to follow him. They snuck down the road, through bushes and over walls. Finally they arrived at a high stone wall, covered entirely in ivy.

"What now?" Adrienne hissed at Seeker, who was standing tall with his head cocked, listening. He waved a hand at her to keep her silent. After a long time, he nodded and began to climb the wall. Adrienne just shook her head and followed, pulling herself up to the top of the tall wall on slightly protesting arms. Some ivy splintered under her weight, but most of it had been growing there for longer than she had been alive, and bore her weight as it bore the years. Soon they were all perched on the top of the wall. Seeker sniffed the air, looked intently at the dark mansion, and eventually began to skulk down the other side of the wall. Lianna and Draco began to chant softly under their breaths. Adrienne considered asking them what they were doing, but decided against it.


They scrambled down into the yard, all silent. Their eyes glanced at each other warily, trying to communicate without words. Seeker turned to lead them through the carefully cultured garden. The turf under their feet cushioned their footfalls so that the only sound to mark their passage was the quiet drawing and exhaling of breath. The darkness covered and carried them.

When they reached the door, however, Seeker turned them aside and led them down a path beside the house. They reached a window, but he didn't look through it with anything more than a cursory glance. What he was looking at was the window on the next floor up. From that window peered a pair of eyes surrounded by fuzzy brown hair.

~*~

"I think it's safe for you to be untied now," Kirati had said, untying her feet first, then her hands. Hermione had rubbed her hands and feet in consternation, feeling the sharp pins and needles of blood being restored to their capillaries.

"Thanks, ever so," she had muttered. Kirati seemed to ignore this, however.

"I think it's time for me to tell you the story of your friend Kate." She announced in a sad, withdrawn voice. She began the story, leaving Hermione to catch hold of the thread of her story and ride. When she had finished, Hermione's face was aghast; her mouth open, eyes wide.

"She really did that? Why did you let her go?"

"Well, I had given my word. Word is deed, to Blackhawks. I wasn't about to lower myself, if she was a backstabber, to her level. I did, however, bide my time. You just happened to get in the way of a blood-war."

"Why did you leave it for so long?" Hermione knew that her mouth was not very pretty when open like it was, but she couldn't for the life of her manage to get it closed. There seemed to be some electrostatic repulsion between her top and bottom jaws.

"I wanted to make sure that it wasn't revenge- that it was justice. I had to wait for the feelings to fade. I wanted to act, not react. I hated that about my parents- they never took the initiative. They were sitting ducks; they knew what was going on, but didn't seem to care. They wouldn't do anything until something happened to them. Something did happen to them- by then it was too late to act, however. I never wanted to be like that." Kirati stopped and looked bashfully at Hermione. "Sorry about the babbling, there. I don't normally have a captive audience." She smiled wistfully at her pun.

Hermione somehow found the energy to push her jaws together. "Oh," was about all she could manage. "I guess that explains the Blackhawks."

"Not really," Kirati answered, more than willing to expand on the fruit of her labours. "The Blackhawks are an army of invisible warriors intent on justice. Aurors don't even infringe on us- we are absolute. We do collect evidence, but we also get paid. We could be assassins- or we could be justice-seekers. It's all about perspective. I mean, light and dark are equal opposites- who is there to say that one overcomes the other? There are equal amounts of day and night over the year; there is sunrise and sunset; light overcomes the darkness, but the darkness endures the light. Even in midday light there are shadows; even in midnight darkness there are the stars. In the bright light of day, Blackhawks exist; even in midnight darkness Aurors roam. We aren't mutually exclusive, nor even opposites. We just have different aims. Aurors serve to make the public safe; we seek justice for individuals. We can't really even exist without the Aurors; but they couldn't exist without us either." Kirati smiled at Hermione. "Perhaps I could convert you?"

Hermione laughed. "I'm not even a very good Auror anymore. I've been a teacher for too long. I've grown to used to thinking, and not doing. I'm too world-weary to even accept the notion of true justice." Hermione could see a sparkle in Kirati's eye, but she couldn't identify it.

"Why did you destroy the Death Eaters?" she asked, curious it seemed, yet with an edge to her voice that told Hermione to be very careful about her answer.

"They ruined so many good people," she eventually said, after a few long moments of consideration. "And when I arrived under cover, they raped me repeatedly. After that, I was so violated and angry that I even threw away the notion of capturing them, and just let my fury loose. I was barely aware of myself. When I realised who I was again, it was three or four months later and I was pregnant." She looked down at the grey wool blanket that lay crumpled on the bed beside her. Kirati made a little nod with her head.

"There's nobody you want to punish? I've realised that I like you, Hermione. If you ever need justice, come to us?" Hermione smiled a little- unsure what to make of the offer- but nodded.

"Of course, Kirati. Would you tell me about Sarah?" Kirati narrowed her eyes a little.

"Ok. What would you like to know? About how her parents and family were destroyed?"

"No," Hermione replied, "About how she is with these Blackhawks."

"She's safe," Kirati shrugged, her eyes skittering to the edges of the room. "She's not really close to anyone here, but she's not exactly outcast. She came to us when there was nobody else. She is family."

"But not every family is perfect," Hermione replied, before turning her head away from the woman to look out the window. The day had somehow disappeared in between the visits she had had, and now it was dark. Hermione caught a hint of movement in the garden. Kirati was about to reply, when Hermione hushed her with her hand.

"There's people out there," she said quietly, moving closer to the window. She peered out.

Down below, she caught three sets of black eyes, and two sets of identical blue eyes. Pulling back with an exclamation, Hermione turned to Kirati, saying, "We have guests. I was talking about family? Well, mine's here." With a wry smile, she opened the window and hung her head out.

"Hello, darlings. How about you come through the front door? We'll have hot chocolate together." The shocked expressions were worth it. Kirati- who had joined Hermione at the window- sniggered at them.

"Intrepid explorers," she commented.