Tuesday, late October

The Ministry of Magic

Hermione bit her lip again and checked her reflection in the mirror. Blonde, slightly curly hair, an upturned nose, green eyes and a more angular face. She didn't look at all like herself. Bubbly had helped her with the clothes, making her look like a Pure-blood witch in simple dark grey woollen robes with blue and green lace. The colour didn't do her new complexion any favours but together with a Notice-Me-Not she should be able to reach her goal undisturbed. Taking a large breath she pulled up the hood of the cloak and Apparated to the Ministry.

It felt good to have her wand back, at least. Her magic felt a bit unstable by disuse but she hoped it would come back to her quickly. Severus had brewed her a batch of special Replenishing Potion to restore her nutritional levels, but considering the deadline they were working with she was in far from ideal shape. He'd brewed her a new monthly dose of contraceptive potion too, since now wasn't the time to start a family. She was lucky nothing had happened during her captivity, everything could easily have been so much worse. Hermione shuddered at the thought, pushing the Lestranges and also what had happened earlier in her timeline at Malfoy Manor to the back of her mind, now vividly clear again after Bubbly's enchantment had faded. No time to ponder, she had to focus. She had only been back for just over a day and was already too busy to think.

The Ministry was busy as usual and no one spared her any look when she made her way to Amelia Bones' office, hidden in plain sight within the throng of people going to work or busy with errands. It felt like such a long time since she first met the older witch, a year and a month ago. So much had happened since then and by now she had definitely settled into her new life back in this time before her own even if she didn't think she ever would, back then.

There was another bored-looking clerk at the desk this time, a sandy-haired wizard who just pointed at the office with his thumb when she said she was expected. Amelia wasn't in her office, but Heliotrope Wilkins showed up in an empty portrait frame wearing her black robes and pointy cap. She nodded at Hermione who smiled back at her, and Hermione thought she saw the hint of a smile in the painted eyes.

"Ah, we meet again, Hermione Granger. Your path has been long and winding, but rewarding as well? And now you're standing close to the end of your mission."

Hermione smiled, not at all feeling as confident as Heliotrope indicated. "Something like that. Is Amelia out, Headmistress?"

Heliotrope nodded. "I sent word as soon as I saw you coming, she should be here soon. Tell me, how do you fare?"

Hermione pulled her cloak tighter around her. "It's close now, we think. I have too much to do and no time, and absolutely no clue how to do it."

The former Headmistress crossed her arms, shaking her head slightly. "Do not forget your allies, young witch. There are more allies available to you than you think."

"Perhaps, Headmistress."

The secret of Regulus' defection rather than death had to be kept even from most of the small group she had put together earlier as an alternative to the Order of the Phoenix, the Augurey Association. While she would trust Professors Vector and Sprout with the information she didn't dare to bring in her younger friends on the secret. It felt awful to keep everything from them, including her own liberation and survival, but it would be way too easy for information to spread to a too large crowd. Hermione hoped Rhea would know to keep quiet but she too would have a lot to lose if the truth came out. She settled in a chair by the fireplace, clearly meant for visitors. There were four chairs arranged in a semi circle, reasonably comfortable without being ostentatious, a low coffee table in front of them. An elf popped in with a tea set, depositing a cup in front of her.

A short while later Amelia showed up, looking much the same as ever in dark blue robes and her dark hair in a slightly messy chignon. "Hermione! I'm so relieved to see you, I heard you were missing! How are you?" She took a seat opposite Hermione, another cup materialising in front of her as soon as she sat down.

The smile froze on her face. "I… don't know?" The question felt completely impossible to answer, even as a rhetorical question. Hermione took her teacup in both hands and wondered where all her social skills had gone during the month she was kidnapped. "We're out of time, Amelia." The words came out in a whisper.

Amelia stilled, her hand halfway to her cup of tea. "I see. What do you need from me, Hermione?"

Hermione exhaled, not sure where to start. "I feel I only come here to complain, I'm sorry. We think he'll strike on Halloween. Godric's Hollow. I don't have the faintest clue how to stop him."

"Tell me what happened."

Hermione took a sip of her tea and started to talk about what she knew so far, her captivity and what Severus had told her. Amelia listened, inserting questions and comments to clarify the overall situation. She tried to keep it short but it was well over an hour later when she reached the end of her story. She choked up a little when she talked about the Evanses, how her mental battle with Voldemort had led to their completely unnecessary deaths and the wards she'd put on their property had done nothing to warn anyone since she was stuck in a dungeon and had barely noticed when they fell.

Amelia called an elf to ask for some sandwiches. "I'm thinking of discussing some of this with Kingsley Shacklebolt. Do you mind if I call for him now or would you prefer not to be here?"

She thought about it for a minute, trying to weigh the risks against the potential benefits. "I can meet him if he accepts to take a wand oath not to reveal that I'm alive, it's probably a good idea to talk to him."

Amelia rose and walked to her desk where she penned a quick memo, folded it into an aeroplane with a quick wave of her wand and sent it off to find Kingsley.

Kingsley arrived not half an hour later and was quickly sworn to secrecy. He still looked so young, Hermione thought, comparing with her old memories of him at the Order headquarters. He wore standard junior Auror robes in a rusty red, not yet the blue and purple robes he'd sported later in his career. Hermione shook her head, trying to clear the tangled web of time.

"Hermione! So glad to see you, I heard you were captured? Evie said you were missing?" Kingsley took a seat next to her, an elf immediately bringing him a cup of tea. "What's the emergency?"

Hermione snorted. "Nothing much, just the end of the world as we know it, scheduled for this weekend."

Kingsley stilled. "Ah." He reached for his cup, letting Hermione do the talking.

When Hermione had talked herself hoarse again and reached for yet another cup of tea, Kingsley sat silent and rubbed the spot between his eyes with his thumbs, elbows resting on his thighs.

"What a right mess. I think you have to meet the Order, Hermione. At least some of them. I know it's not ideal but I don't think I'll be able to sway them by myself. Caradoc and the Prewetts should be on your side at least, but I'm not sure about Moody and some of the older members."

"It's Pettigrew that worries me most, Kingsley. He's a Death Eater and Professor Dumbledore won't do anything about it. Even if he isn't there, if word reaches him that I'm alive…" She trailed off, not sure how to word it.

Kingsley nodded. "Absolutely. I will take care of it. Caradoc should be able to help out, we'll make them take an Oath not to reveal anything to anyone not present and keep him out."

Hermione sighed. "Fine. If you can arrange something with the Prewetts, but please keep it small. Don't involve Moody, or Potter, Black and Pettigrew."

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Hermione carefully checked the Glamour again, pulling up the hood of the cloak as an extra precaution. Amelia had ensured that she could Floo directly to Gringotts instead of heading to the Ministry atrium, but she still didn't want to risk anything.

She'd made so many plans and plots and now when they were nearly out of time it was as if none of them had ever worked. She needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't try to come up with solutions or judge her failures. Not for the first time she found herself missing Luna Lovegood, or Ginny Weasley. If they failed, or if Voldemort simply didn't show up when they thought he would, the situation might go on for years and most of their efforts so far would be for naught. She shuddered at the thought. The idea of changing her identity completely to go underground and continue the fight didn't exactly sound like fun.

Gringotts was fairly empty when she arrived at the Floo spots at the back of the main hall. No witch or wizard paid her any attention, but she was certain the Goblins had noticed her and already alerted whoever should be alerted of her presence. She was never sure of what they noticed or cared about, she had bluffed her way in once as Bellatrix but after working with them for a while she wasn't certain the disguises had actually worked. Perhaps the Goblins had other reasons for allowing them entry.

Gargnak was waiting for her in his office, a cup of tea already waiting for her while he had a silver tankard of something traditionally Goblin, with white steamy tendrils swirling from the surface.

"Granger."

Hermione nodded in response and sipped her tea. There was something about this office and the old Goblin's presence that made her thoughts slow down to nearly normal speeds, losing their usual frantic edge. She closed her eyes, holding the cup of tea close to her face, breathing in the scent of tea and finally feeling the slow thrum of the Bank through her soles. With a mental nod to Luna Lovegood she grasped her wand and whispered a spell to remove her shoes and socks, putting them next to the chair. The contact with the cold stone floor intensified the connection several times over. She closed her eyes and sank deeper down in the chair, seeking the connection again. She could sense Gargnak's amusement nearby, but further away there were other Goblins working, the clerks in the entry hall and others down in the upper levels of the cave system. She focused on the office she'd appropriated and with some effort she could even sense the web of equations she'd set up what now felt like an eternity ago. There was a discordance to them, something not quite right, which was perhaps not so surprising considering all that had happened over the past month.

The Bank hummed around her presence, almost like a living thing. There were Goblins working at the lower levels too but when she reached out towards them Gargnak somehow pulled her back up again, his presence feeling almost like a warning. When she opened her eyes the Goblin was practically staring at her from across his desk, fingers tented in front of him and teeth bared in what probably passed for a Goblin smile.

"Yes. Now you get it, Granger. You are never alone inside the Bank. We might make a Goblin of you yet."

He pushed a plate of very decadent-looking scones her way, with clotted cream and jam, and a fresh pot of tea. Hermione hadn't realised how hungry she was until she bit into one, the crumbly texture absolutely perfect.

"We think… Halloween. A few days away. I don't know how to do this. I'm not prepared."

"Then don't be." Gargnak shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "It will happen, or not. Go check that web of yours again, look for what has changed. We'll be here. The Bank survives."

"The Bank survives," Hermione echoed. It was strange to find comfort in that statement, but she did. The Bank would live on, the world would continue even if she failed. "Will the Goblins stand up for what's right?"

Gargnak shrugged. "Perhaps. If you call the Stone the Bank will answer although not always in the way you expect. However it's a long way away and Gringotts has no presence there. Goblins cannot travel through thin air the way wizards do."

She wanted to protest that it wasn't enough, that Voldemort's forces were too much for a few Order members and whoever else they could scrounge up, but then thought better of it. This was a Wizarding conflict, not a Goblin war. She could still feel the slow thrum of stone under her feet.

"Thank you."

Gargnak bared his teeth again and bowed his head. Hermione nodded at him and quietly rose from the chair, closing the door behind her.

Her web of Arithmancy probabilities and potential outcomes was still humming gently in her office, almost mocking her with its inaccuracy. A flick of her wand showed her the connections and time points as bright threads of light in many colours curling around each other, like a multi-coloured big bowl of the spaghetti her mother used to make. She started adding in her capture and the other information she had from Severus and the others, rebalancing the equations and adding more knots and turns to the threads of light. It didn't feel right, something vital was still missing and the whole thing was becoming more and more unstable, the threads vibrating between magic potential wells and different probability wave functions. The imbalance was getting worse and worse, threads shifting faster and faster until the whole thing looked like an angrily humming ball of magical energy, changing shapes constantly until the whole thing somehow twisted around itself, turning itself inside out before disappearing into a small black dot with a surprisingly silent pop. Hermione sighed and lowered her wand. Arithmantic Inversion was a rare phenomenon, one she should tell Septima about but it didn't help much in her current state. Apparently the future was too uncertain even for her Arithmancy to work.

"The Bank survives," she muttered again and left for the Floo. There was nothing for it, they would have to continue without calculations and predictions, facing the future without any guidance whatsoever.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Wednesday, late October

Spinner's End

Severus carefully poured exactly seven drops of Horklump juice into the cauldron and stirred three times counterclockwise. Swirling blue fumes rose from the cauldron where he was brewing a large batch of Healing potion. He was trying to stock up for the upcoming battle without knowing exactly what the situation would be like. Healing potions would be useful no matter what, at least.

Hermione had only been back for a few days and they were already deep into plotting. She had left the house to meet a few of her allies and trustworthy Order members while Severus was busy brewing potions. He expected the Dark Lord to call on him soon and had carefully worked to hide anything related to Hermione and Regulus behind smoke screens, false memories and fake devotion to the Cause. Occluding too strongly and too often gave him a vicious headache but it was better than the alternative, and he needed to practice.

The odd elf Hermione had rescued had made itself scarce as soon as Hermione had left, thankfully. Having an elf in the house made him uneasy. Elves belonged in fancy Manors where Pure-bloods never had to lift a finger to put a kettle on. He had already needed to have some serious discussions with the elf about being able to brew his own tea and that the Potions area was not to be cleaned, upon pain of clothes. At least he knew that much. The elf had bared its teeth and flapped its ears but had at least agreed to leave those areas alone.

It had been a strange autumn, ever since he finished his Mastery and was permitted to make his own plans. He had done some half-hearted attempts at ingratiating himself with the Death Eaters by providing them with potions of the more interesting variety for recreational purposes but there hadn't been enough time or social events for that tactic to actually pay off. When Hermione went missing he'd lost his focus completely, only brewing what was in his contract with St Mungo's and a few vials of Befuddlement Draught and some other potions for the Dark Lord. He'd tried to be useful, a good little Death Eater doing what his Master wanted, participating in raids and providing what information he could while at the same time trying to soak up as much information as possible, but it didn't feel as if he'd made much of a difference one way or other.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

The call came a few hours later. Hermione was still out. He left a note on the kitchen table before donning the cloak and mask and letting the pull of the Mark take him away.

"Walk with me, Severus."

They were at Malfoy Manor, walking through the gardens. Carefully designed charms ensured the gardens were at a comfortable temperature even for the ladies, with fireflies providing lighting along the various paths. The charms made it all look like a summer evening, but only a few yards away from the path the autumnal decay was clearly visible. Lord Malfoy was arranging a discreet soiree with the wannabe top echelons of Wizarding society, which naturally didn't include one such as Severus Snape. However, his arm had burned with a Summons and he soon found himself by a large oak near a pond in the gardens where the Dark Lord waited.

"I had high hopes for you, my boy." The Dark Lord walked half a step ahead of him, dressed in dark robes that shifted in greens and blues almost like a dark dragonfly, wings represented also by a sheer, almost see-through black cloak with a subtle shimmer in purple and blue as if made from Magick itself. He was clearly dressed for a Pure-blood social event, not for raids and destruction. "I took you under my wing, made sure you got your Mastery."

Severus bowed his head but kept silent. He had donned his Death Eater cloak as soon as the call came but now felt oddly mismatched compared to his supposed Master.

The Dark Lord turned slightly to face him. They had almost rounded the small pond. There was a clearing with a marble statue of a witch whose cloak turned into wings at irregular intervals. It was a rather gaudy piece, but the odds were equal between it being an ancient heirloom and something Lord Malfoy's wife had bought on a recent trip.

"Now I wonder, Severus. You have pulled away from your brothers. You aren't providing me with information of value, and while the potions you deliver are good they are uninspired. Drab. Where's your spark, my boy?"

"My Lord," Severus began slowly. "I know as well as you do that my life and my future are in your hands. If you decide I am of no use to the cause there is nothing I can say or do to sway your righteous anger. I would also hope my achievements speak for themselves. I dealt with Regulus Black, I have delivered poisons and potions on your behalf, interrogated people, uncovered secrets for you. I am yours, my Lord."

"Indeed." The Dark Lord looked down his nose at Severus despite them being pretty much the same height. "I do wonder, though. First Regulus and now that girlfriend of yours. Did you know she regularly met with Regulus? She knew the Prophecy too."

Severus bowed his head. "My Lord, I haven't heard from her since last month. I suspect she wasn't telling me the whole truth."

The Dark Lord smiled tightly before looking away. "I might have some clarity for you there. She was a traitor working against our Cause and she met her demise in the Lestrange dungeons this weekend as the whole building was consumed by Fiendfyre. Unfortunately both Rabastan and Rodolphus perished as well. They will be missed."

"That is unfortunate, my Lord. Fiendfyre is fickle, however. An experiment gone wrong?"

The Dark Lord shrugged. Without warning he stepped closer, locking Severus in place with a modified wandless Petrificus which made it hard to breathe and impossible to move a single muscle. The Dark Lord tore through his mind like a whirlwind, upending everything and anything in his path.

It was a battle, made even more impossible by the fact the Dark Lord couldn't know they were in one, that Severus' Occlumency skills were more than he let on. Memories of Hermione flew past without rhyme or reason, random snippets of their interactions. Death Eater meetings, brewing for St Mungo's. His Apprenticeship and the other Apprentices. Severus had hidden the past few days with Hermione deep, layers within layers of misdirection and obfuscation, the false memory of his duel with Regulus followed by utter mundane tasks such as brewing, making tea and talking to Menace.

The Dark Lord finally withdrew, eyeing Severus with a raised eyebrow. He released the Petrificus and Severus took a deep breath when the pressure let up.

"You truly haven't searched for your girlfriend, have you. I'm almost impressed."

Severus shrugged but kept quiet, letting his mind fill with that certainty. No he hadn't searched for her, he didn't miss her. She was nothing to him. Only the Dark Lord mattered, only the Cause.

The Dark Lord smiled thinly. "I met her at Lestrange Manor a few days ago, before it burned. She gave me names connected to the Prophecy. Did you know? James and Lily Potter and their ugly little spawn. Wasn't Lily the one you were besotted with? The Mudblood? I must say your taste in witches leaves something to be desired, Severus."

Severus felt his heart clench. "My Lord… Please… Not Lily too. I realise I don't have the right to ask anything of you, but please, if you would, spare her."

The Dark Lord looked at him for a long time. Severus hardly dared to breathe. It was a bit of a long shot, trying to make the Dark Lord believe he was still fixated on Lily Evans Potter, anything to keep his mind off Hermione.

Finally the older wizard spoke.

"I have one task for you, Severus. Deliver James and the baby to me, and I will bind Lily Potter to you. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee anything."

Severus bowed his head. "Your will be done, my Lord." He hoped Hermione wouldn't be too furious with him, that it would never come to pass.

The Dark Lord inclined his head. "If you say so. I must go entertain my guests, Severus. Make me proud."

He turned on his heel and strode off towards the Manor, his shimmery cloak whipping behind him, subtly illuminating his silhouette in a faint purple light.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Wednesday

Home and Away

True to his word Kingsley sent an owl the next day asking her to go to the Prewetts' office on Diagon Alley the same evening. Hermione had refrained from going back to Gringotts, instead staying at Spinner's End and trying not to fret about everything. She'd gone shopping for a few groceries and other supplies in Birmingham, avoiding the magical quarters and hiding within the relative anonymity of Muggle crowds.

"Bubbly?"

The elf materialised instantly, almost colliding with the table. She'd found some old cloth somewhere and had fashioned a simple grey wrap dress for herself. It was better than rags, at least, but Hermione made a mental note again to try to figure out how to get elves to wear better attire. Perhaps if they were gifted a book on home sewing?

"Miss Pris… Madam Hermione called?" Bubbly said, flapping her ears.

"I'm going to Diagon Alley, will you be okay here for a while?"

Bubbly nodded, eyes widening. "Can Bubbly clean the bookshelf? Madam must be careful."

"Hm, just the rightmost shelf, but could you clean up the kitchen cabinets? And feed Crooks and Menace?" Hermione knew Severus was rather protective of his books and several of them were quite dangerous.

Bubbly got a gleam in her eyes, nodded vigorously and took off to the kitchen.

With that taken care of Hermione Apparated to the Alley, pulling the hood of her cloak up higher. The Alley was mostly empty, and several shops were boarded up. A few stragglers were making their way home from work, or heading to the pub. After ensuring no one looked her way she made her way quickly to the building where she had accidentally stumbled upon the Prewetts on the day the Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley.

After knocking on the door one of the twins ushered her inside and reinforced the wards on the door. Hermione looked around and pulled down her cloak. She spotted Kingsley and the Prewetts, Caradoc and Frank, and one witch she didn't recognise. Kingsley swiftly arranged a Wand Oath from all participants not to disclose anything about Hermione, and introduced the new witch to her as Emmeline Vance. The name was familiar but Hermione wasn't able to place it, perhaps from an overheard Order meeting back in her old timeline. With a shake of her head she tried to clear the old memories away and focus on the present.

They took a seat around a large dining table set a bit haphazardly in the middle of the office. One of the Prewetts brought out some simple sandwiches, Butterbeer and tea for everyone since apparently people had arrived directly from work.

"Thank you for coming, Hermione," Kingsley began. "As we discussed, I arranged this meeting with a few of the Order of the Phoenix in order to discuss the information you have."

He nodded at her and reached for a sandwich.

Hermione looked around the table. "We're out of time," she simply stated. "We believe he will strike this week since it is Halloween which as we all know is a time well attuned to Dark Magic, and that the target is the Potters at Godric's Hollow."

She braced herself for the kind of pandemonium which usually accompanied statements at Order meetings, but none came. Caradoc merely nodded at her.

"What do we do?" one of the Prewetts asked.

"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "It's going to be awfully dangerous to try to fight him in the open. Do we just wait it out?"

"No, we need to counter him," Vance said. "It's too good of an opportunity if we know when and where he will strike. You think he'll come there himself?"

Hermione shrugged. "I would expect him to."

Kingsley spoke up. "What if we set up a trap?"

Hermione sat back and listened, letting the others do the planning for once. The debate was intense but respectful, and the most insane ideas, usually by the Prewetts, were met with reasonable counter-arguments and turned into creative but still workable solutions.

Suddenly the door slammed open and a cloaked wizard stumbled inside. Hermione immediately shrank back into the shadows but didn't have time for even a quick Disillusionment. One of the Prewetts jumped up, wand in hand, but quickly sheathed it when the wizard pulled his hood down. Sirius Black.

"You called an Order meeting, without us? What's the meaning of this?"

"Sirius —" Kingsley tried.

Hermione ducked into the kitchen and tried to look as if that was her plan all along while Kingsley and Caradoc talked Sirius down. She smiled vaguely at Emmeline who had also retreated to the kitchen, but the other witch didn't appear to be interested in chatting and merely nodded at her, settling in a kitchen chair by the window.

"What did you do to Remus?" Sirius' voice called behind her.

Hermione spun to face him. Sirius wasn't smiling, for once. He glared at her from the doorway, arms crossed but his wand surely within easy reach.

"Has he contacted you?" She hadn't heard anything from Remus or Vulchanov since sending them off to Albania on a whim. "It's really important, Sirius. Have you heard from him?" Hermione had her wand ready too, not that she feared anything drastic from the young, cocky Pure-blood wizard. He was good at posturing but she doubted he'd pull a wand on a witch if she didn't hex first.

Sirius frowned but relaxed a fraction. "No, he just disappeared one day. Moody keeps saying you know things you shouldn't, that you're up there with them, hanging out with Snivellus and playing with the bad boys. You sure you don't know where Remus went?"

She shook her head in response. It was, after all, technically the truth. She knew whom he went searching for, but not exactly where they'd ended up. Or if they'd succeeded, or if there was anything at all to find. Perhaps it was just a wild idea, a false trail, or perhaps they would simply fail to find the item, whatever it might be. Perhaps — if there was something to find — they'd already died in the attempt. She shuddered at the thought. No, they simply had to survive, had to find and neutralise whatever might be hidden in the forests of Albania, if there was anything.

The Pure-blood wizard leaned in closer, raking a hand through his hair. "My brother is dead. Did you know? He was apparently a traitor all along, he wasn't a loyal little Death Eater. Father's beside himself, I've heard. He even nodded at me when I ran into him at the Ministry the other day. I just don't want to lose Remus too, so please if you know anything, tell me where he went."

Hermione's heart clenched. She'd pretty much forgotten about Regulus, at least when it came to his brother. He definitely wasn't someone who could learn the truth. "I'm truly sorry, Sirius. Your brother was brave, I'll miss him."

Sirius nodded sharply. "Right. Thanks." He deflated a bit more, looking lost and very young. "You really think James is a target?"

Hermione shrugged. "I know he is, all three of them are. I'm sorry about your brother. About Remus… as far as I know he's alive, and doing something potentially very important. I cannot say more and if you so much as breathe a word of it to anyone he's as good as dead. That includes James and Wormtail."

"You're serious? No, I'm Sirius!" He grinned as if the joke had been funny even the first time around.

Hermione glared at him. If it had been Harry she'd have whacked him with a pillow and he would have laughed and apologised for his poor jokes. This immature, self-assured Pure-blood wasn't even worth the effort of a good pillow, however. She simply couldn't be arsed to deal with him. Instead she turned to find Caradoc and Kingsley to see if they had anything more to share before taking off.

Severus wasn't in when she returned, but Bubbly had rearranged and cleaned the cabinets and even updated the paint on them to a peculiar shade of sky blue. Hermione merely shrugged at the sight, hoping Severus wouldn't go ballistic over it. She settled in to wait for him on the couch with Crookshanks, hoping he wasn't out somewhere getting himself hurt.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Halloween

Not A Good Place To Be

He had been jittery all day, waiting for the summons he both expected and dreaded. Hermione had been rather disgruntled after her meeting with the Order, saying she wasn't sure they'd be able to protect Lily and that they hadn't done enough to prepare for a proper confrontation, and with good reason since they didn't exactly have a great army of experienced wizards on their side. The Aurors were not to be trusted and Dumbledore's Order was unreliable and lacked direction. They had barely talked all day yesterday, sharing a nicer dinner than usual of some kind of stew the elf had made and a bottle of red wine, and had retreated to bed early. She'd kissed him as if he was gone already, urgency tinged with desperation and a wish to stop time right then.

The Mark burned with an intensity he hadn't felt since joining. Severus cursed and gripped his left arm with the other hand, trying to brace himself. Menace cawed at him from his perch. Fumbling around for his wand he hastily put the potions he was working on in stasis, wondering if there was any point to keeping them or if he should just Vanish them instead.

The Mark brought him to Rowle House and the scene displayed in front of him made the hairs on his back stand on end. The lawn was full of people in black robes and silvery masks, with more people arriving every minute. Some of the newer recruits had black cloth masks instead, making him wonder if it was a sign of lesser status or if the Dark Lord had run out of silver.

The Dark Lord appeared as if by magic, standing on a platform raised by magic in front of the entrance. He was flanked by a few of the senior Knights of Walpurgis, all with their hoods up. Severus thought one of them might be Lord Malfoy, there was a strand of long white hair escaping the hood.

"My people, my brothers. You have waited for so long. Spreading my message, working in the background to make sure the Wizarding world — indeed, all of the world — is ready for my reign. You have worked in the shadows at the Ministry, making sure those who are loyal are promoted, and you are working to eliminate those who dare oppose me."

Cheers went up around Severus, half-hearted at first but then growing in strength as if everyone was anxious not to be seen as a downer.

"As soon as my reign is secure you will all be richly rewarded, brothers. Power, influence, whatever you wish for shall be yours. Witches, if you so wish, and more Galleons than you've ever dreamt of. I shall give you all of that and more in return for your loyalty and support."

The cheer was a bit louder this time around. Severus moved slowly around to the edge, trying to both get closer to the Dark Lord and away from the crowd. He thought he spotted Lucius, a bit to the side of Bellatrix and Yaxley. What were they doing there, hadn't they been thrown into Azkaban already? He had heard nothing about Death Eaters being liberated from imprisonment, neither from Hermione nor from the Death Eater crowd, so it must have happened very recently.

The Dark Lord spoke again. "It's time. I know where they are hiding. My enemies. We take them out now, and no one will stand in our way. To Godric's Hollow!"

The lawn howled, and they were off. Severus had no chance but to follow, with no way to warn Hermione that Bellatrix was back.

*x*x*x*x*x*x*

A/N: Still writing, promise! Sorry for the slow updates. Life the universe and everything getting in the way but we're getting close and I have this thing fully planned out already.

The chapter title is from The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett, as illustrated by Paul Kidby. "We who are about to die don't want to."