Follow Sweet Children,

I'll Show Thee the Way, Through All the Pain and The Sorrow.

Weep Not Poor Children,

For Life is This way; Murdering, Beauty and Passion.

Hush Now Dear Children,

It Must Be This Way, To Weary Of Life and Deceptions.

Rest Now My Children,

For Soon We'll Away, Into the Calm and the Quiet.

-Come Little Children, Book of Shadow.

Chapter 15: I'll Show Thee The Way, Through All The Pain And The Sorrow.

August 1994-Home Base, Hook Norton

Digging through her collection of papers; Hermione finally found the address to the Riddle family home, written amidst the copies she had made of the arrest reports of Riddle's uncle. Looking around through an atlas she had picked up at a gas station, along with the report she had gotten from the Muggle library; she was also able to narrow down a general location of the cave where Riddle had visited as a child. She would only have time to visit one location this summer; tomorrow she would be leaving for the Burrow and would likely not be able to get away again until after school had begun. Deciding the Riddle house would be the easiest to get too, she set out early the next morning. Apparating to the Gaunt family home, more familiar with it already and knowing it wasn't far from the Riddle manor, she walked the rest of the way there enjoying the early morning stroll.

If there was no trouble, she could have a look around and be out with plenty of time to meet Arthur Weasley at the Cauldron before heading to the Burrow for lunch. She had let Ginny talk her into coming out a few days earlier, begging that her brothers were driving her crazy and she was desperate for some girl company.

She packed up her school things, making sure anything of a sensitive nature that wasn't going with her was locked safely in her store room downstairs. She would not be back here for a while, she would be staying at the Burrow for the remainder of the summer following the Quidditch World Cup.

This year McGonagall had not approved her for a Time-Turner despite her attempts at getting one. The Professor had sent a letter, requesting she change classes so that they would no longer conflict with each other. When she asked why she was not being allowed one again, her Head of House simply replied that the Ministry was not allowing any Time-Turners to be signed out for use at the school this year, due to circumstances that would be explained come the start of term.

This could only mean the Ministry was stepping up their security for the upcoming Triwizard Tournament. She would have liked to have the advantage of a Time-Turner again this year, but then again, nothing in her life ever seemed to go as planned, and so she was forced to drop her Muggle Studies class, at least for this year. There was always next year, after all, she might be able to pick that class up again if she kept up with that year's work, even if she didn't take the class. She had requested that the Muggle Studies textbooks be included in her school list, so that she could read up on the lessons and, depending on how the year went, attempt the exam at the end of the year. Even if she wasn't attending the class this year, she could still get a syllabus from the teacher and keep up with the class in her own time.

It might have been an arrogant idea thinking she could keep up with the extra class, one she really had no interest in, on top of everything else she was trying to do. But in the larger scheme of things and weighing her options, she figured it would be worth it in the end; to keep up the extra work and have the chance at the Time-Turner next year. Rather than simply cutting the class all together and have the opportunity to get one in her fifth year, but being a year behind would be unable to take up the class again, thereby not filling the requirement of conflicting classes to register for the Time-Turner. There might have been a chance; she could simply not do the work and join the fourth year Muggle studies class next year, but it seemed unlikely that would be allowed. She had never heard of any students doing so in the past, granted there were also no public records of other students using Time-Turners, but it seemed a student in another years class would be something that would get passed around the school's rumour mill at some point regardless of records.

Clearing the papers from her desk into a leather folder, she set it aside to take it downstairs. She didn't bother taking down her timeline that was spreading across one wall; now more intricate with a number of paper clippings and pictures branching off the main timeline, all connected together with different colored strings. Collecting the books that she had scattered about the room throughout her research, she went about returning them to the shelves where they belonged, before taking the folder and a small number of rarer books down to her store room.

The room was small, not much more than an enlarged closet, barely wide enough for her to stand in without one of her shoulders touching the walls on either side. The right wall was smooth and bare, the left had a large counter that was open underneath, a number of shallower shelves layered above it extending up to the ceiling. These were partly filled with the few rare tomes she had collected over the years and it was here she placed the books she had brought down. Resting on the large counter was the Pensieve Severus had retrieved from his belongings left at the school, something she had been thankful for since Dumbledore's had been broken when she found it in his office. In a rack alongside the shallow bowl was the bottled memories of Albus Dumbledore.

Kneeling down, she pulled out one of the two trunks stored under the counter. One was a typical polished wooden trunk magical folk used for general storage, it was this one she placed the folder containing her research in it. The Hex box containing the Ring she had retrieved from Riddle's family home was also locked securely inside this one. The second trunk was of a more muggle make, metal and much smaller; without any of the convenient little spells to extend its insides. The only magic on it was the spells that kept it locked tight, its contents meager but no less important to the witch. Everything she owned from a life that didn't happen; things she wasn't willing to display for all to see nor was she able to simply toss them aside.

Leaving the room, she activated the protection wards on the door, not taking any chances now that she had caught the attention of Lucius Malfoy. Hermione knew little of his part in the coming war other than he was a part of Voldemort's inner circle. She was sure that the elder Malfoy was not simply a blind supporter of Voldemort; a man with his kind of influence was sure to have more than one agenda. He was a supporter of Voldemort, this was common knowledge; even if most people chose to delude themselves into believing his Imperius story. What made her so unnerved by the man's attention was his hidden motive, his end game; driving out the muggleborns seemed too simple, and influence over the Ministry seemed unlikely, as the man already had a number of high ranking officials in his pocket. He was an unknown variable in her plans and she didn't like that one bit.

His son on the other hand, she had a better understanding of where he stood in her plans. He was more inclined to help her even if he didn't realize it; his actions while discreet had shown he was not altogether supportive of his father's ideas. She had not realized it at first, but after years of seclusion she had had plenty of time to ponder over the events of her school years. She had never told anyone how she had come by the information on the Basilisk in her second year, and no one had seemed interested in questioning the fact that the young witch, who took great care of her school things, especially her books, would rip a page out of one. She had never mentioned her displeasure at meeting Malfoy in the corridor to the library, where he had shoved the books from her hands in passing, spilling them about the corridor as he laughed with his two goons. It was only when she had bent to pick them up that she had found the crumbled page in their midst and realized what was terrorizing the school. She had briefly recalled a time in the bookstore the summer before her second year, seeing the boy ripping a page out of a book, while his father antagonized Mr. Weasley, and recalled how irritated she had found the action, when he could have simply had his father buy the book. It was only during her isolation that she had been able to link the two events together. He had known more than he had let on, when Harry and Ron had questioned him in the Slytherin Common Room.

If it had not been for his intervention, she might not have found the information on the Basilisk in time. The school would have surely been shut down, and she would more than likely have been dead, had she not known to keep an eye out for the creature without looking directly at it. She doubted he had been doing it to help her, more than likely he had been more concerned that the school would be shut down rather than simply be purged of Muggle-borns. Regardless, she owed him and was going to find a way to repay him. Saving him from the Hippogriff last year might have been considered a repayment of her debt, but she had her own plans.

She had hoped that she might be able to convince him not to follow in his father's footsteps; but it was too early to tell. She hoped that her efforts last year had left some impression on him, that things regarding Muggles and Wizards were not as black and white, as he had been led to believe. After all, she doubted that any of the Death Eaters, even those in his inner circle, knew that the Dark Lord they practically worshiped was in fact only a half-blood. She could only hope for the future of the youngest Malfoy; after all Sirius had come from a similar pure-blood family and turned out decent enough, maybe Draco was more like his cousin than he would like to admit.

The Riddle home turned out to be much larger than the Gaunt family home had been. The house and grounds still seemed to be in good order if only somewhat rundown from not being occupied for years. Searching the grounds and outer buildings turned up nothing more than a few items that had been left behind after the Riddle family had been murdered. Unlocking the door to the house she was met with no resistance and began searching the bare rooms for anything that could hint at any place Riddle Jr could have hidden something.

She searched each room thoroughly and found no trace that Voldemort had left anything or had even been there. Given that the family had been Muggle and his dislike of them, she found it highly unlikely that he had ever even been to the house. Her search only strengthened that theory, as she found no sign that magic had ever been cast in the building, though that may have been due to the Ministry's clean-up after the arrest of Morfin Gaunt. Making her way upstairs she was searching through the study; checking under the scattered pieces of furniture and peering into the fireplace, in hopes he might have hidden another item in the same manner as he had the ring. A creek from the stairs drew her attention to the partly open door. Slowly moving away from the fireplace and slipping behind the door to the hall, she peered through the gap between door and wall to see an elderly man shuffling up the stairs. He looked to be the groundskeeper, judging by his attire and the cluttered key ring in his hand. The man paused at the top of the stairs to catch his breath before peering around the landing and calling out.

"Ello' who's there?" He paused for a moment, listening. "If that's you, Jefferson boys, I'll be having a word with your pa! I'll see he tans your hides good this time, I will, if ya don' get out oh 'ere quick fast," he snapped out irritably, peering into one of the bedrooms before heading toward the study. A quick non-verbal Stupefy rendered the man unconscious before he could fully enter the room.

Hermione caught him under the arms before he could hit the floor and moved him into one of the dust-covered, sheet-draped armchairs that occupied the room. With any luck he would think he had simply sat down to rest after the climb and drifted off. Disappointed Hermione headed downstairs; if there had ever been anything here before, it had either been found or been moved long ago. She had not been able to locate even a hint of magic in the house; let alone a heavily protected item like the ring had been.

Leaving the man to wake on his own, she headed out of the house. Walking a safe distance down the road, she stopped in a secluded spot and pulled out her shrunken school trunk from her pocket. Returning it to its usual size, she cast her slightly altered glamour on herself, giving her the appearance of having gone through a bit of a growth spurt over the summer break. Her current jeans and T-shirt would do, so she wouldn't have to change before Apparating to the Leaky Cauldron. Entering the establishment through the Muggle London side, she had barely taken a seat at one of the tables, when Arthur Weasley had entered from the Diagon Alley entrance.

"Hello, Hermione, are you sure this is alright with your parents?" he asked, flicking his wand and causing her trunk to levitate before she could move to pick it up. "We could have had the Ministry connect your fireplace to the Floo Network for a few hours, and you wouldn't have had to come all the way out here on your own."

"It's fine with them, they have been out of the country recently anyway. I've been staying with a family friend who was going to be running errands in Diagon Alley, so she dropped me off." she said, deciding it was time to begin to make use of her relocation of guardianship. It was, after all, why she had come up with the plan to begin with; her friends and their parents would become suspicious if her parents, who had been as involved as they could in her new life in the Wizarding World, suddenly stopped showing up completely. She had informed Ron, Harry and even Ginny that her parents had been busy moving their surgery and that was why she had not come to meet them over the summer, when she had been neck deep in her research. It was also why she had been alone, when she had gone school shopping with Harry and Sirius. "We don't actually have a fireplace in our house anyway," she replied, knowing Mr. Weasley would latch on to the information, as the pair headed to the fireplace to Floo to the Burrow.

"No fireplace, really? That is fascinating, but that would make sense, seeing as Muggles use cars and buses to travel and those wonderful telephones to contact each other. Fascinating things, those telephones; tried one out last year, it was marvelous. Here you go, on ahead with you, I'll bring your things through," he offered, holding out the bowl of Floo powder to her, as she stepped into the fireplace. Arriving at the Burrow in a flurry of green flames and ash, Hermione was greeted by Molly who wrapped her in a welcoming hug.

"Good to see you again, deary," Molly said before passing her off to be greeted by Ron and Ginny. Arthur arrived shortly after with her things, and she was ushered up the stairs to Ginny's room.

"How have you been?" she asked, stuffing her trunk in one of the few spaces big enough for it in the small room she would be sharing with the younger girl before throwing herself down on the small bed that had been placed there for her.

"A lot better, thanks to you," Ginny stated, seating herself on her own bed. Hermione could spy the small muggle book on meditation she had sent the girl over the summer, peeking out from under a pile of Witch Weekly magazines.

"Still having the dreams?" She asked, laying out on her own bed. After the few lessons they had had together since Ginny had approached her last winter, the girl had grown a lot more confident in both her ability to guard her mind and as a person. She hadn't been nearly as withdrawn as she had been at the beginning of the year, the knowledge that she could protect herself had been a great aid in helping her sleep through the night. There had still been bad nights; Hermione had expected as much, she still had bad nights herself, even years later. Usually Ginny would seek her out; late at night or early morning in tears, or simply too shaken to fall back asleep. They would sit and talk, Hermione had taken a page from Lupin's book, with an offering of chocolate from her hoarded stash. They didn't always talk about Ginny's dreams, sometimes it was simply a mundane topic to get the girl's mind occupied on something else until she could calm down.

"Not as often now," Ginny said, shaking her head with a smile, "I think being home had helped a lot."

"Good," Hermione acknowledged, anything else was cut off as Molly called out for lunch and she rose to follow Ginny out of the room.

At lunch she was introduced to Charlie and Bill who had come home to attend the World Cup with the rest of the family. Charlie she had never met, he had died before she had gotten back to London, but Bill she remembered. Bill had helped her forge all the documents she had needed for her family's relocation and her own custody transfer and false identity; it was strange seeing him smiling, so happy and cheerful. The Bill she remembered had been quiet and somewhat withdrawn, as the death of his sister had hit him and his mother particularly hard. Lunch was a happy occasion, as the whole of the Weasley family was together, and Hermione could not hide her happiness at witnessing that fact.

"You really came up with all of these?" Hermione asked, looking over the twin's list of products they had printed out on order forms for their Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes.

"I have a business proposition," she offered, resolutely seated in the room they were sharing with Ron who had run downstairs to make a grab at some snacks for them, while his mother was out in the garden. The twins shared a look before seating themselves on the bed across from her, folding their arms in unison like they were sitting down at a table for a business meeting.

"We're listening," Fred stated, Hermione leaned back more against the wall she was propped against and crossed one leg over the other, giving the two a long calculating look.

"I've got quite a bit of money saved up, and I have been looking for a good way to spend it," she began. She knew just how brilliant the pair were, in school she had always scorned them for their pranks and mischief making; but now she knew just how useful their inventions could be.

The ball she used to cover her magic use; a prototype meant to help underage kids to get past the No-Magic-During-Summer ban, innocent enough intentions for the use of children, but when used in other situations proved just the thing for people like herself to remain under the Ministry's notice. Instant Darkness Powder; something the twins of this time had yet to invent judging by their product list, but those of her time had pur to good use, had been invaluable when it came to evading Death Eater attacks and smuggling out Muggle families, sadly it had been in short supply with their limited resources. There had been other things, likely just as useful that had never made it past the planning stages, the Twins had been reportedly scammed out of most of their hard earned and meager savings during the World Cup.

She didn't have a lot to spare; with no income and living on her savings for food and supplies for school and her side projects, she had to watch her spending carefully. Sirius had been generous enough to pay her back for room and board for the months he had been living in her house; from the money he had gotten from his uncle, the Potters, as well as a large sum he was due for the years he spent wrongfully imprisoned. He had offered more, but she had only consented to the amount she had added up for his stay in her house. From what she could estimate, she had enough to last her through the rest of school or until Voldemort was dealt with, whichever came first. "I would like to make a contribution to your work, whatever you have saved up, I will triple it."

"You would do that?" Fred asked, mouth agape at her statement.

"You?" George added just as shocked, "but aren't you the one who is all 'breaking the rules is up there worse than the prospect of getting killed'."

"Yes, well, I might have been a little gung-ho about following the rules to the 'T', but — being Harry's friend — you can understand, sometimes the rules need a little bending," she admitted, causing the two boys to grin knowingly, "but I do have a few conditions."

"There are always conditions," George mockingly whispered to Fred who put on a look of a wounded man.

"Can't you just be doing this out of the kindness of your heart?" he said, with a pleading look, holding a hand over his heart.

Hermione could only smirk as she crossed her hands over her chest. "Then there would be nothing in it for me."

"Knows what she's doing, she does," Fred whispered to his brother, as the two shared a look.

George nodded, "Alright, what sort of conditions?"

"First," she said, holding up a finger, "my involvement remains completely anonymous."

"Of course," Fred said knowingly, "wouldn't want to ruin that goody two-shoes image of yours."

"I'm serious, you tell no one; not Ron, not Harry or anyone else." She might have asked for it in writing, but that could have led back to her; also it might have seemed rather suspicious about the lengths she was going through to keep her involvement a secret. It might keep them from telling anyone but it also might just peak their interest enough to do some digging on their own into her secrets. The twins agreed, seeming content that she was trying to uphold her rule abiding reputation.

"Second," She held up another finger, "no more trying to test your products on me. I get full immunity from all your pranks." The pair seemed reluctant to lose one of their most challenging targets, so she decided to compromise. "In return, I could test out some of your products on others, but I reserve the right to refuse certain people should they come up."

"Done," the pair agreed, jumping at the offer to get another person on board to help with their testing.

A third finger went up, "Third, I want the first look at any new products that you come up with, before they are released." They paused again, before nodding.

She raised a fourth finger. "Finally, fourth, I get 80% discount on purchases and no questions asked about my uses of them."

"No questions asked?" Fred commented suspiciously.

"A girl's got to keep some secrets," she offered noncommittally and with a teasing tone.

Fred nodded in consideration, before countering shrewdly, "10%."

"60," Hermione offered.

"25," George added.

"50," the witch bargained.

"45," the pair said and unison and Hermione paused to think it over.

"—And no questions?"

The twins extended their hands to her. "45% discount and no questions asked."

"Good to be in business with you," Hermione said, shaking each of their hands in turn. A moment later Ron came in with a stolen plate of pies.

"What's going on?" he mumbled, mouth full and looking at the three.

"Nothing, just promising no more pranks to Hermione here," Fred said, a grin pulling across his face.

"What about me? Can I get out of your jokes?"

"You, dear brother, never!"

"It's beautiful, Ginny," Hermione praised, as Ginny showed off the dress robes, and she did indeed look lovely in the pale green and pink dress with its flowing layered skirt.

"You like it? Mum made it for me," Ginny said, holding the dress up to herself on its hanger and twirling around to show off the skirts.

"Yes, really, she has a talent. You're lucky, my mum was never much of a crafty person," Hermione admitted, recalling her mother's attempts at making her Halloween costume when she had been eight. They had ended up making a last-minute run to the store to get a Red Riding Hood outfit, after the one her mum had made nearly fell apart when she put it on.

"What's your dress robes look like?" Ginny asked, staring at herself in the mirror before returning the dress to her closet.

"Eh," Hermione said sheepishly.

Ginny gave her a calculating look, before asking, "You do have a dress, don't you?"

"I was going to pick one, when I went shopping with Harry for school things," she said slightly embarrassed, "I sorta got caught up looking for a book and forgot." Not an entire lie, she had indeed forgotten and admittedly avoided going looking for a dress while out with Harry and Sirius. Knowing along with her, the two males wouldn't enjoy the process that came with picking out formal attire when one was of the female gender. Not only that but she hadn't trusted Sirius to control his mouth; he would have likely made a lude or suggestive comment that so frequently colored their usual banter, but would have been completely inappropriate given her current underage appearance and present understanding that the shopping trip was their 'first meeting' according to Harry and any one who might be around.

"Don't worry, I can ask mum and we can go get one. We could make it a girl's day!" Ginny practically squealed excitedly and dashed out of the room to ask her mother before Hermione could fully register what she was being dragged into.

Hermione groaned as yet another dress was shoved at her to try on. She had never been much of a clothes shopper, even as a child; but years of wearing what was available had left her for an eye for what was more practical than what was fashionable. She found it awkward; trying on gown after gown and wondered why she even bothered on the dress. While not immediately important, Hermione still wanted to check out the cave Riddle had gone to as a child; with no trip home for winter break this year and slipping out after curfew or during a Hogsmead trip was simply not going to leave her with enough time. That said, she didn't want to leave the cave un-searched until the following summer; especially with whatever Voldemort had planned for the end of the year. She made the decision that slipping out while everyone was distracted with the Yule Ball and festivities would be the best time. The Ball would likely be the only chance during the year she would have, which meant there was no point in shopping for a dress she wasn't even going to be able to wear.

She had simply tried to get the first one she had picked out, but Ginny had been insistent that it wasn't the right one which led to the current pile of dress robes she was working through. Slipping on what had to have been the tenth dress Ginny had tossed over the door since she had entered the changing stall, Hermione sighed at the hassle she was going through. Molly had left to do some errands, since they were bound to be a while before they would be ready to leave and Ginny seemed to be raiding the whole store for her to try on.

"Well, if it isn't the Weaslette, shopping for dress robes? I didn't know your family could afford such a luxury," Malfoy called, standing from the chair he had been seated in utter boredom until catching sight of Ginny, as she milled through the racks of dress robes that had been set out due to the number of students buying them this year. "I have mine already, made to fit, of course, not something so common as off the rack," the Malfoy Heir stated smugly, plucking up one of the garments in her arms and holding it out. "A little big for you, don't you think?" He asked, mockingly as Ginny snatched the robe back.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She snapped, flushing an angry red near enough to match her hair.

"Nothing," He remarked cockily, shrugging his shoulders. "just passing the time and you're a good distraction."

"I'm not here for your entertainment, Malfoy." She huffed angrily before draping the dresses from her arms over a stall door and heading off deeper into the shop. Draco laughed as she hurried away and retook his seat.

"Mr. Malfoy, if you are quite done," Snape commented, straightening his white button-up shirt, as he came out of one of the back rooms used for final fittings and adjustments on garments with his jacket over one arm. "I believe our business here is finished."

"Can we go for ice cream now, Uncle Sev." The teen asked, bordering on whining as he jumped from his chair.

"Gin, what do you think of this one? Where did she—" Hermione's voice trailed off, as she came out of the dressing room, half turning as she looked for the red head only for Malfoy to nearly knock her back into the stall when he passed.

"Watch it," she snapped before realizing who it was that had bumped into her. "Oh joy, what are you doing here, Malfoy. Come all the way to mingle with us common folk."

Draco turned, having not really paid much attention to who he had knocked into, but recognizing the voice immediately. He opened his mouth intending to retort back only for the words to die in his throat, Snape too turned to see what had the boy gaping like a fish, and nearly snorted in amusement at the reason for the teen's current speechlessness.

Granger stood there, looking mildly amused, arms folded over her chest in a manner that said she was irritated but was lessened by the fact she was garbed in a formal dress. Her hair was thrown up in a messy haphazard bun, strands were sticking out as if to defy being restrained; still, it did not diminish the elegant look of the dress on her. It was a dark green silk that was gathered and draped over one shoulder in a toga-like fashion, leaving her other shoulder bare. The scar, the one from her run in with a Hippogriff last year, plain to see as it trailed down over her shoulder and disappeared into the bodice of the dress. The fabric was stretched over her chest tight enough to show off her figure, but loose enough to form stylish ruffles before the remainder of the fabric fell to her feet in a waterfall of green, broken only by the mid-thigh slit exposing one of her tanned legs as she stood there impatiently tapping one barefoot.

"Good afternoon, Professor," she greeted politely, turning her attention away from the youngest Malfoy. Who still didn't seemed to be able to do more than open and close his mouth, as he tried to reconcile his mind with the current image of Granger in a shade of green that could easily pass as Slytherin, with the one that had been firmly rooted in his mind as 'The Mudblood'.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Granger," Snape said curtly, as he slipped on his jacket over the white button up shirt. "Shopping for your formal robes, I see."

"Yes, Ginny insisted," she replied, looking with dread at the growing number of dresses Ginny had hung over her door to try on. Her dim look at the prospect of spending much of her day trying on dress robes, only to find one that she most likely would wear for the one occasion seemed to cause the Potions Master great amusement.

"I was under the impression a girl your age would be jumping at the opportunity to spend money on frivolous clothes."

"I could think of a number of things I'd rather be buying or wearing for that matter. The dresses are nice and all, but the heels are completely horrendous."

"Best of luck with your endeavor," he said knowing by the look of the number of dresses the young Weasley was approaching, the Granger girl would not be escaping her fate any time soon. "Come along, Mr. Malfoy," he said, exiting the shop, his words pulling a flustered Draco along with him.

It was another hour before Hermione exited the shop, having finally found a dress that suited her tastes and had been given Ginny's and Mrs. Weasley's stamp of approval before heading to look for shoes and a few accessories to match.

The day before the World Cup was to take place found Hermione, Ron and Ginny entering the kitchen to meet a grinning Harry who had just arrived with Sirius and Remus.

"Wow, look at you, Harry, what happened to your glasses?" Hermione asked, as he exchanged friendly embraces with her and Ron. Glancing at Ginny who had remained in the doorway revealed the girl had frozen and was turning a bright shade of crimson.

"Sirius's birthday present to me, he got me started on some potions to correct my vision," Harry said, shifting self-consciously as he talked, "I didn't even know they had things for that. He says they should be finished by next year if I keep taking the potions regularly, so until then he got me Muggle contacts in the meantime. It's great but I'm still getting used to not having to keep pushing my glasses up." Indeed, Harry was sporting a new look. Not only was he looking far healthier than he ever had after a summer break, but he had traded in his glasses. His black hair was still unruly and longer than it had been at the end of school and nearly covered his scar completely; his bright green eyes stood out more noticeably now that they were no longer blocked by bulky lenses and frames.

"Don't let Mr. Weasley hear you say that, he will be wanting you to show him how they work and everything," Hermione advised, causing Harry to look around to make sure Arthur wasn't around, luckily he still seemed to be outside talking with Sirius and Remus.

Dinner was moved outside that evening, as the usual dining area was not large enough to accommodate the number of people present. The meal was delicious, as was all of Molly's cooking, and as the group scattered to do their own things afterward she informed Sirius and Remus they needed to talk, before she headed inside to help with the clean-up from dinner.

Afterward she headed outside, she was watching Crookshanks prowl the garden hunting gnomes, when the Marauders approached her.

"What's going to happen that has you so worried?" Sirius asked softly, coming to lean against the garden fence beside her.

"I can't be sure," she began, leaning on the fence, looking out over the grass field that served as a Quidditch pitch for the Weasley family. "If things go as they did before, then after the Cup is won the Death Eaters will attack those that stick around to celebrate afterwards."

"You're sure of this?" Remus asked, rubbing his chin in thought, "wouldn't the Cup be something they would avoid hitting, I mean, they are not as strong without You-know-Who, wouldn't they pick a place with less security?" Hermione fished in her jacket and grabbed her journal, pulling a clipping out from between the note-filled pages and held it out to the pair. Remus took the yellowed, aged newspaper clipping, there on the page was a picture of the Dark Mark in the sky above a number of charred and burned tents. 'Terror at the World Cup' boldly written across the headline of the paper dated the day after tomorrow.

"Proof enough for you?" she challenged, as Remus sat down on the fence as he took in the contents of the clipping, handing it off to Sirius with shaky hands.

"It looks so old, and it hasn't even been printed yet," Sirius observed, reading over the partial article below the picture.

"It's over five years old," she said as explanation.

"I know you said you were from a different time, but this—" Remus breathed, shaking his head, looking slightly pale.

"What did you think — I was some kind of loony with rather accurate information on both of you? Thanks for the vote of confidence, Remus." she commented dryly.

"No… no, I didn't think that. Merlin's beard," The werewolf groaned frustratedly as he defended himself, "I guess it just never sunk in till now. I mean, you know things no one should know, but this…" he gestured at the paper in Sirius's hand, "just made it feel a lot more real." The moment was interrupted by Sirius who was reading the article on the opposite side of the page and had begun chuckling in a manner that could only mean he was up to something.

"How come you didn't say you knew the winner of the Cup, we could have been placing bets all this time," he smirked, waving the paper only for Hermione to snatch it from him and stuff it back in her journal that was returned to her jacket pocket.

"You see, that's the exact reason I didn't tell you," she said, smacking the back of his head. "The point I was trying to make is that you two need to convince Mr. Weasley to leave the Cup right after it ends. We could send an anonymous tip that there might be an attack, but there is only so much they can do, but we might be able to get all the kids out of there before the shit hits the fan."

"We'll talk to him," Remus promised, running a hand over his face tiredly. "Sirius, you will be going to the Portkey with them, right?" Sirius nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yeah, Arthur could use some help keeping track of everyone till you lot decide to show up," the Dog said, elbowing Remus in the ribs. Only Sirius, Arthur, Hermione and the children too young to have taken their Apparation test would be leaving early to catch the Portkey to the Cup tomorrow. The rest of the group would be arriving later through Apparation.

"I'd rather be Apparating too," Hermione admitted, before bidding Remus goodnight, who was heading back to Grimmauld Place for the night and heading back inside the Burrow with Sirius.

Harry tossed and turned in his sleep, mumbling into his pillow in hissing phrases, as his fingers dug into his hair above his scar; Hermione entered the room to wake the boys and caught sight of him.

"Harry, wake up Harry," she said, gently shaking his shoulder. Harry jerked awake, panting, as he blinked around the room.

"What—the man." he gasped, trailing off as he realized where he was.

"You were dreaming," she offered, moving to wake Fred and George. "Come on, wake up, your mum's got breakfast ready," she said, moving over to Ron who was still sound asleep and snoring.

"Wake up, Ronald," she said, shaking him, only for him to roll over, pulling the blankets up over his head and continuing snoring. Hermione glared at him before glancing at the twins who were watching her with interest. Walking out of the room, she returned with a mop a moment later, unscrewing the end and setting the handle aside, she returned to Ron's bedside.

"Last chance, Ron, get up." There was no movement from the boy. Sighing irritatedly, she raised her voice, "LOOK AT THAT HUGE SPIDER!" before moving the mop head up the lump of his body and dropping it on his blanket covered head. Ron let out an almost girlish shriek and jumped straight up in the air, flinging sheets and pillow off him, as he all but climbed onto the headboard of his bed.

Looking around in a panic for the spider, he was met with laughter, as George and Fred lost it, laughing so hard Fred fell off the top bunk of their bed and landed on George who was doubled over seated at the edge of the lower bunk. Harry even found himself laughing though he tried to hide it, Hermione stood there, arms folded, watching him with a satisfied smirk.

"Oh, good, you're awake, your mum wanted me to tell you breakfast is ready," She's said innocently, before strolling off out of the room, confident he would not be going back to sleep.

"Bloody hell, Hermione," Ron shouted, chucking a pillow at the now empty doorway.

Breakfast was spent in a rush, as everyone ate their fill as quickly as they could so they could leave. Ron still found time in between bites to send glares Hermione's way as she ate across from him. The twins had been more than happy to reenact the whole scene for Sirius, when they finally came down for breakfast.

They left afterwards and began the long cold trek to Stoutshead Hill, the closest Portkey to the Burrow. The early morning air was chilly and the hill slippery in morning dew as they began their climb. By the time they reached the top the group was panting and Sirius was clutching a stitch in his side, Hermione could only roll her eyes at the lot of them, it hadn't even been that steep of a hill and they were already panting. She had let herself lag behind as Ginny kept slipping and tripping on the climb up and would have more than likely slid all the way down had Hermione not steadied her on several occasions.

"Arthur, hello," a man called who approached them with an old boot in one hand and his other raised in greeting; an older teen walking beside him.

"Amos, good to see you, ah, I see you have found it," Arthur greeted, gesturing to the boot. "Children, this is Amos Diggory, he works at the Ministry and his son Cedric, I am sure you know." They did indeed know him, the Hufflepuffs seeker, Harry had nearly lost the snitch from them in their last game in third year.

"Was your trip long?" Amos asked conversationally, as they waited on the Portkey.

"No, we live down that way a little ways, so not too long."

"Lucky, Ced and I were up at two to get here," the man supplied, looking around at the group. "Tell me, Arthur, are all these yours?"

"Oh goodness, no, just the red-headed ones," he exclaimed, introducing Fred, George, Ron and Ginny.

"This one is with me," Sirius said, finally having caught his breath, coming over to rest a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Sirius Black, pleasure to meet you, and this here is Harry Potter." Hermione had stuck to the back of the group, out of the conversation with her hands tucked bordly in her jean pockets. Suddenly she was tugged forward by Sirius and into view of a wide-eyed Amos Diggory. The man seemed stunned but before he could begin to make any comments about Harry or himself, Sirius moved the conversation along by introducing the remaining member of their group. "And this is Hermione Granger, a friend of Harry and Ron," pushing Hermione forward as a distraction.

"Er, hi," Hermione said, mentally grinding her teeth, "I'm so glad to be going to the World Cup, I'm a Muggle-born, you see, so my parents don't understand how much of a big deal this all is. I'm hoping Ireland wins." Amos didn't seem to know how to react as Hermione went into lecture mode almost automatically and began babbling about the last time the Cup had been held in Britain, all the while she had taken a measured step back so that the thick heel of her hiking boot was square on top of the toe of Sirius shoe. Before she could really get going Arthur cut off her brain to mouth babble to inform them they had less than a minute before the Portkey would activate.

Arriving at the landing point, they met a wizard by the name of Basil; who directed them and the Diggory family to their respective camp sites. Heading down the path, Sirius had a notable limp as he walked; when questioned by Harry, he sheepishly replied that he had stubbed his toe when they had landed.

The campground they were located at turned out to be run by a Muggle who seemed to need almost constant Obliviation as the wizard campers poured in. They sorted out the Muggle money with a little help from Sirius, who added a few bills of his own to the stack of paper. That was then turned over to the Muggle before they headed off to find their spot

Due to their staying at the Muggle campground, magic use was kept limited. So when it came time for them to set up, Mr. Weasley was more than enthusiastic to try setting up the tents the Muggle way. Hermione stood there and watched, as Sirius and Arthur attempted to pitch the tents, and began to wonder if their incompetence at the task was a wizard thing or simply a guy thing. Picking up the case the tent had come in, she turned it upside down and as expected the instructions fell out at her feet.

"You want some help?" she asked, watching the men; Sirius was nursing a growing lump on his head, where one of the polls had come back to smack him in the face. Arthur was nowhere to be seen, but movement under the patched green fabric indicated that he had somehow managed to end up with the majority of one tent on top of him.

"Yes," Sirius hissed, lightly holding his head where the lump was already beginning to swell and turn purple.

"Maybe a bit of help would be welcome," Arthur admitted, as he excavated himself with Ron's aid. Glancing at the paper, she passed it to Ginny.

"You want to get that one?" She gestured at one tent before the two went about setting them up properly.

"Marvelous." Arthur beamed, watching the tents take shape.

"They teach you that on your little island vacation?" Sirius asked, watching her hammer the last stake in on her tent before returning the tools to the tent case.

"To read?" she asked smugly, shoving the instruction sheet in his hands. "No, my dad did." She pointed at his injury in passing, advising. "You might want to get some ice for that."

With the tents finally set; Sirius, Harry, Ron and Hermione were nominated to go get water, while the other four gathered wood for the fire. The trip to the tap was quite the scene, as they passed magical folk from all over the world; Ministry security was scattered trying to keep magic use among the crowds to a minimum. On the way back the group was nearly run down by a sock-wearing house elf riding by on a color-changing llama; the security seemed to be having quite a time wrangling the pair before any muggles could spot them.

Arriving back at camp; found Arthur attempting to light the wood in the fire pit, only managing to burn his fingers more than the wood. After watching the failed attempts for a few minutes, becoming increasingly more twitchy; she stood from her seat on a log between Sirius and Harry and went into the tent. Coming back out with a drawstring bag from her pack.

"Here, let me try," she offered a little clippedly, kneeling down beside him. After spending years where fire had been a key indicator of if she would have a hot meal, clean water and a warm place to rest; the Wizard's fumbling attempts to properly produce a flame was becoming triggering and making her unreasonably uneasy.

Pulling out the larger chunks of wood that had been haphazardly thrown in the pit, she shaved off some fine strips of wood from one of the larger chunks with a small knife from her boot. Gathering the few sticks that had been picked up, she broke these into smaller pieces and set them aside. Arthur watched in wrapped fascination; as she piled the kindling in the pit and pulled a cylinder object from her small bag. Striking her knife against the flint, she soon had the small wood shavings smoking and a lick of flame beginning to form as she added the broken twigs bit by bit as she blew on it. Soon there was a happily blazing fire crackling away; as Hermione slipped the knife back in her boot and put the flint away. Returning it to her bag, that had still yet to be unpacked; not with the chance of a quick retreat in the near future. She had also managed to convince Ginny to wait on her things as well, claiming there would be time for it later.

"That I did learn on my vacation." she said softly, to Sirius in passing and ducking into the tent she would be sharing with Ginny.

Soon lunch was cooking and the rest of their group began to show up; first Bill and Charlie, followed by Remus, and finally Percy. They had just finished lunch when Ludo Bagman stopped by for tea and a chat, as he was going around from camp to camp taking bets. The twins had Practically jumped at the opportunity to place a bet and expand their resource fund; before they could agree to anything, Hermione said if they were going to start betting away all their money then she was going to take her savings and take it elsewhere rather than risk it all in one bet. The two reluctantly agreed and let the conversation end, as Arthur inquired about a missing Ministry member, Bertha Jorkins. Soon Ludo left them, the group left to relax and enjoy the time they had before the game began; much of the free time was spent watching the many Ministry workers moving up and down the line of campsites.

A salesman came by at one point selling souvenirs; Ron bought a shamrock hat and a figurine of Victor Krum that was so small it could walk across his palm. Hermione picked out a green scarf and a set of Omnioculars. Catching Ron eyeing her pair longingly, Harry whispered something to Sirius before paying for their own things. Sirius had gotten hats for him and Harry along with two pairs of the Omnioculars. Handing Harry his hat and both pair, the teen went over to Ron and handed one to him.

"Wow, thanks, Harry," he said excitedly.

"Don't thank me now, you're not getting a Christmas present this year," he replied grinning. Hermione was fiddling with her own Omnioculars, figuring out how they worked, pausing and replaying the people that walked by the campsite, when Remus came over with programs for all of them.

"I think I'm really going to like these." she said to him, taking a program.

"I see you're having fun," he remarked, watching her continue to fiddle with the device before glancing around cautiously like the Death Eaters might pop out at any time.

"No one is trying to kill us yet, so why not," she stated softly, shrugging. "I can worry about the life threatening stuff when it comes up, there's nothing to be done now, so why not enjoy the festivities."

"We are going to talk to Arthur right after the game," he said under his breath, eyes fixed on the passing people as he sat down beside her, "I just hope he will listen."

"His children are here," she whispered back, turning away to watch Weasleys of varying ages milling about the campsite, "he wouldn't risk their safety."

Leaving her pack in the tent, Hermione grabbed her handbag before the group left to head to their box, stuffing her hooded sweater inside, as she exited the tent.

"I'm guessing that's a Muggle shirt, isn't it?" Sirius observed with a raised eyebrow, in another situation she might have lightly whacked him for the look. Having removed the jacket that she had been wearing since that morning, when they had left in the chillier morning hours, leaving her in a plain Muggle outfit of worn hiking boots, loose jeans and a green T-shirt that read 'Kiss Me I'm Pretending to be Irish' in bold white letters, her scarf draped loosely around her neck with its pulsing green and silver stripes.

"It was the only thing I had irish-y," she said with a shrug, as they headed up to the stadium.

"What did I say: prime seats," Arthur declared, as they entered the Minister's box where Ludo would be doing the announcements for the duration of the game. Some of the seats had already been filled, forcing the group to split up somewhat. Bill and Charlie sat with Ginny, Arthur sat with the twins and Percy. Harry, Ron and Remus sat at one end of the front row, while Hermione and Sirius sat in the row behind them so they could still talk to each other over the seats. Sirius had taken the end seat so Hermione could sit behind Harry and Ron, leaning forward between their seats she pointed out something in the brochure about the team's mascots before the game. Over the next half hour the box began to slowly fill till there were only a few seats left.

"Ah, there you are, Lucius," came the voice of Minister Fudge, bringing Hermione back from her people watching, as she scanned the crowd with her Omnioculars, reclined back in her seat with her feet propped on the backs of Harry and Ron's seats, who didn't mind much, seeing as they were leaning forward looking over the railing.

Lucius introduced his son and wife to the Minister, who greeted each of the Malfoy's before moving on to introduce the Bulgarian Minister and Arthur.

"Good lord, Arthur, What did you sell to get such seats? Surely not your house, I dare say it wouldn't fetch enough for one ticket," Lucius exclaimed softly, looking the eldest Weasley up and down in disdain, as Draco entered a glaring contest with Harry who had turned in his seat with Ron.

Breaking contact with Arthur, Lucius led his family down the aisle to the remaining seats. Dropping her Omnioculars from her eyes, she glanced over just in time to see Lucius Malfoy seat himself next to her, followed by Draco and then his wife.

"Ms. Granger," Lucius said, eyeing her up and down, but refrained from saying more, not while the Minister was nearby; he had appearances to keep up, after all.

"Mr. Malfoy," she replied before returning to look at the crowd through her Omnioculars.

"Long time no see, Lucius," Sirius greeted the man before leaning forward so he could see past Lucius and Draco to Narcissa. "Hello, cousin," he said chipperly, only to start grinning as she looked as if she had smelled something nasty. "Aw, don't be like that, Cissy, and this must be your son. Draco, right, not seen you since you were a baby. I'm your mum's cousin, so I guess that makes us second cousins."

"Ignore him, dear," Narcissa chided, wrapping an arm around her son's shoulder.

"Party pooper," Sirius mumbled, causing Hermione to snort out a laugh.

Soon Bagman stood and started the games; beginning with the showing of each team's mascots. Then the balls were released and the match was on.

The game had gone on for over an hour, when Hermione excused herself to the restroom. Slipping out of her seat, she headed out of the box and down the hall where the mass of yelling crowd wasn't so loud. Finding one of the small windows that opened to the outside of the stadium, she leaned her head against the glass in an attempt to lessen the headache growing in her temple. She had gotten over her uneasiness of crowds after she had gotten back from the island, but the constant tension of the man seated beside her and the deafening roar of the crowd was beginning to get to her. She almost wished the game would end early so that she could leave already, or at least work off the tension.

"What brings you out here, all alone?" A voice like cool cultured silk said behind her.

"I'm not much of a Quidditch fan," she replied easily; a cover to hide her unease as she turned to face Lucius Malfoy, who was strolling down the hall.

"I find that fact oddly unsurprising given your… upbringing," he said, leaning his weight casually on his cane and looking both utterly unimpressed with an undertone of danger.

She leaned against the wall by the window, rubbing at her temple trying to relieve the dull ache there. "What do you want?" She asked, the man reminded her of, though she loathe to admit it, a snake. Not the flashy ones, with colors and rattles that's screamed death if they bit you. No, Malfoy was one of those big snakes that were noticed only when they wanted you to know, and if they got a single coil around you, you were as good as dead; slowly tightening their hold on you with every breath and struggle until you could no longer breathe at all.

"So blunt, what makes you think I want something?" he asked, dusting an invisible spot of dust off his vest front.

"You're following me, like some strange stalker." she remarked blandly, lowering her hand from her temple and folding her arms over her chest.

"Perhaps I was simply out to stretch my legs," he countered easily, pulling a watch from his pocket and glanced at it.

"Then don't let me hold you up," she replied, gesturing down the hall opposite the way back to the box. "Carry on with your walk, I'm sure finding me was the last thing on your mind." Moving away from the window, she attempted to leave back toward the box, when Lucius stepped in her path.

"What are you up to, I should wonder?" His voice was cool and smooth, like a dagger right before it slipped between your ribs. In a slow and fluid gesture he unsheathed a wand from his cane. "Tell me, little Mudblood, what interest do you have in the Dark Arts?" He asked, prodding her chin and forcing her to look up at him.

"None," she said, ignoring the wand tip pressing into the underside of her throat, forcing her head up, as she glared at him. "Now, would you remove your wand, I'm sure you're just trying to get a good look at the local Muggle-born," she bit out in a pleasant tone that did nothing to hide the hissing snarl behind her words. "I'm afraid to say, I have some nasty habits that come up when I'm feeling threatened, and I wouldn't want to do something that might cause a misunderstanding."

"I'm sure I have nothing to worry about," Lucius said in a condescending way, as he stepped forward, forcing her to step back by the pressure on her neck. An obvious power play on his part, asserting his control over the situation despite her lack of fear toward the wand at her throat. "Now tell me, why were you so interested in that book at Borgin and Burkes?"

"You really don't want to push me, Malfoy," she growled, bringing a hand up to grip at his wrist, holding the wand at her neck.

"I think you should be the one worrying about me, little Mudblood," he replied, as she increased the pressure on his wrist. Suddenly a voice called from down the hall.

"Hermione, is that you?" Hermione pushed his wrist down and away, when Lucius turned his head to look where the voice had come from, releasing him and stepping out from behind the wand. Sirius came around a corner and was met by Hermione who brushed past him, he paused to look at Malfoy before following after her.

"What was that about?" he asked, catching up to her before they could re-enter the box.

"Later," she said, stepping in and retaking her seat.

Malfoy Senior arrived a few minutes later, flexing the wrist she had grabbed, trying to get the feeling to return, as the pressure point she had hit had caused his wand hand to go numb. Not acknowledging him, as he retook his seat, they all sat and watched, as Krum caught the Snitch ending the game. Ireland had won.

The group was soon caught up in the crowd, pouring from the stadium to the camp sites, and soon enough the group had made it back to the camp. Most of the Weasleys were celebrating in the boy's tent, when Hermione slipped into her and Ginny's tent. Pulling her sweater from her beaded bag, she loosened the drawstrings so it opened more and stuffed her much larger pack inside before tying it closed and slipping it on over her shoulder. Pulling her hooded sweater on over the bag, she slipped out of the tent and pulled her wand. Outside she could see Remus pacing the edge of the camp, his wand out but down, as he scanned the festivities around them. Catching his eye, she nodded before he ducked his head in the tent and said something that was drowned out by the joyous shouts inside. A moment later Arthur and Sirius came out and moved over to a more quiet spot to talk in private, as Hermione crouched by the fire as she kept watch for any sign of the coming attack.

"What has you both looking so glum, Ireland's just won the World Cup," Arthur declared, looking from one man to the other.

"We need to leave, now, Arthur. We have it on good authority that there is going to be a Death Eater raid tonight."

"That can't be, there hasn't been a raid in years and certainly not on an event this size. Where are you getting this information from?"

"A friend, they sent word that there was going to be an attack," Remus said seriously.

Arthur seemed skeptical at the vague statement. "How do you know this person can be trusted, a Death Eater raid is not something to be joked about."

"I would trust them with my life," Sirius said fervently, "I'm taking Harry out of here. You should come with us." Arthur seemed to hesitate, trying to sort through the information.

"Do you really want to take the chance that we are right with your family?" Remus asked, glancing over at the lively tent where Arthur's children were currently celebrating.

"How are you planning on leaving, there are no Portkeys scheduled to leave until tomorrow?" Arthur asked, taking off his glasses and wiping at his face tiredly.

"There is a safe place to Apparate from just outside the camp ground in the trees, all those who can Apparate can Side-Along-Apparate with a younger one. It's not the best mode of transportation for the kids, but at least we can get them home safe." Arthur sighed, nodding, before heading to the tent and calling the group to order and gather their things.

There was quite a bit of grumbling, but in the end bags were gathered and everyone filed out of the tents, the tents themselves were left up and would be gathered tomorrow if they were still standing. Everyone was assigned an Apparation buddy before they left, the adult was in charge of making sure their younger partner made it to the Apparation spot. Arthur was with Ginny, Bill and Charlie were taking Fred and George, Percy was with Ron much to the younger boy's displeasure. Sirius would be taking Harry, while Remus would be accompanying Hermione.

Setting out, the pairs moved through the festivities as the celebrating was beginning to pour out of the camps and into the streets. Arthur walked with his arm around Ginny who was beginning to look like she might fall asleep on her feet, Ron and Harry were looking just as tired after the early wake up they had had that morning. They had just reached the edge of the camp ground, when the screaming started.

Hermione stopped at the edge of the forest before turning back, Remus paused with her.

"Make sure they get out of here, I'm going to see if I can help." she ordered, pulling up the hood of her sweater.

"What if they ask where you are, we're supposed to stay together?" he asked uneasily, watching the rest of their group rush off into the trees, as more campers began heading the same way.

"Then don't let them see you, just make sure no one falls behind. I'll catch up with you," she promised, running off back into the campground.

"Be careful," he called, turning to follow the group.

Dodging through the panicked crowds and burning tents, she caught sight of four floating bodies above a crowd of laughing masked figures as they marched through the place. Slipping her wand into her holster on her arm, she closed her eyes; wandlessly she cast an altered Lumos spell. She had come up with it several years back when dealing with patrols in low light on the island, less familiar with the spell while using a wand, she preferred to cast without. A blast of bright light went off in the midst of the Death Eater party with the force of a flash bomb, blinding those who happened to have their eyes open at the time. The group scattered and stumbled in their sudden blindness.

As the group dispersed, the spells holding up the Muggle family they had been tormenting faltered. A wandless Cushioning Charm softened the drop of the two adults, as they landed roughly on the ground. The older child she caught in the same manner, when the spell holding her up faltered, but the younger was in the process of being spun like a top. As the spell failed, the small child was sent flying off to one side as if shot from a marry-go-round. The Muggle woman screamed in terror as she watched her youngest heading for the ground at an alarming speed; slowing the child's flight Hermione managed to get under her before she could hit. The force of the girl hitting her was enough to send the Witch off her feet and flat on her back on the crumbled remains of a tent.

The sobbing child still in her arms Hermione sat up, the Muggle family stumbling over still in their nightwear. She passed the child off to her distraught mother and told them all to run to the woods. The family had barely time to move away from her when a Bludgeoning Spell slammed into her back, sending the Witch to the ground. She rolled with the hit, using the momentum to roll up onto her knees and fired her own spell, it caught him in the legs and the Death Eater went toppling over on to the ground.

Stiffly climbing to her feet, she ran over to the Death Eater as a barrage of spells glanced off her shield. Grabbing his wand hand by the wrist, she sidestepped and twisted till it gave a sickening crack before grabbing him by the back of the hood and slamming his face into the ground, shattering the mask covering his face; it wasn't anyone she recognized. Pulling his hood off, she left him for the Ministry to find, before heading back toward the woods. The Death Eaters were still about, but had scattered and had become disorganized after she had freed the Muggles from them.

Entering the relative shelter of the woods, she headed toward the place she was supposed to meet Remus, when a spell was sent her way from a cluster of trees, dodging she fired a Stunner back, not knowing if it was a Ministry person or Death Eater. Ducking behind a tree, a dark robed Death Eater came out with a wand raised toward her hiding spot.

Slipping soundlessly from her spot in the cover of the night shadows; this was her element, creeping through the woodland cover; far more dangerous things had tried and failed to catch her in such settings. She slipped up behind him, before he could react she grabbed his wand arm, pulling him forward. He stumbled with the sudden movement right in time for her to slam his masked face right into her waiting elbow. He stumbled backwards stunned, as she pulled his wand from his loose fingers. Glancing down at the wand in her hand, she turned and slammed her fist right into the remains of the fractured mask. The Death Eater dropped like a rock, fair blond hair peeking out around the broken portions of the mask.

Dropping the wand, she headed to meet Remus feeling extremely satisfied, leaving Lucius Malfoy to be found by the Ministry or regain consciousness. Either way, she was sure she had broken his nose and he would more than likely have a nice collection of bruises to show by the next morning. Not that they would last long with a few quick Healing spells, but punching him had made her feel a whole lot better.

"Everything okay?" Remus asked apprehensively, as he watched her enter the clearing.

"They've scattered for now, but they are still—" Her words trailed off, as a flash of green illuminated the sky above.

"We should go." Remus whispered, Hermione could only nod as they Apparated back to the Burrow under the light of the Dark Mark glowing in the night sky.

Author Note: Well there is the end of the Summer before Fourth Year, this is the last we will see of dear Lucius for a while, I should probably send him an ice pack after that. I really do like him and have no idea what I'm going to do with him. Just needed someone to liven up Hermione's summer. So if your wondering what part he is playing in this plot, get in line cuz I'm just letting him sorta have his way. The Draco helping with the Basilisk part was inspired by a theory I read on Pinterest about why he was ripping a page out of a book in the movie, it doesn't happen in the books; but I always found it odd Hermione ripped a page out of a book. I would have expected her to write it down or bring the book with her.

On to the Triwizard Tournament prepare for some major changes! I've got a lot of SS/HG planned for this year, though don't expect any romance yet, but they are going to be getting closer and be spending more time together as the Tournament progresses, you will see why ;DAlso super excited I have finally hit that big landmark for fanfiction writers of 100k word count for the first time. Help me hit another by making this the chapter to reach 100 reviews. I can only do that with you, the readers help!

Next Chapter 16 Know Who Your Friends Are-The start of fourth year. Hermione gets a furry little friend and returns something of Snape's before finally dealing with an impostor in Hogwarts.

Edited-07/17/18

German Translation by the wonderful and patient Alea Thoron.