Draco glanced up from idly mashing herbs, feeling a ripple across the protective wards of the property. Instinctively he reached for his wand, his fingers grazing the belt of his jeans instead with a scowl.

Hermione and Hugo had been gone for long enough that his nerves had begun to take over, leading him into the potions lab in an effort to keep his hands busy. Feeling tension roil within him, he cracked his neck and spoke aloud. "Podski."

The elf snapped into sight moments later, flashing a wide grin. "What can Podski do for Master?"

"The wards flickered," he mused, and when the elf confirmed with a nod, he sagged. But a faint alarm bell pealed in the back of his mind. "Is it Hermione and Hugo?"

Podski frowned. "There is four magical beings on the grounds, Master."

Draco froze, his gaze flitting towards the door that would lead him back up to the main floor of the villa. "Four? Are you certain?"

Four people didn't make any sense. Hermione and Hugo had departed to retrieve Dagomir, so even if they'd confirmed he was safe enough to bring him back to the villa, he couldn't imagine who the fourth was.

A frisson of unease crept down his spine, forcing a shudder free as he grappled once more for his wand and cursed under his breath.

He had seen the breadth of the wards Hermione and Hugo had put in place, and he couldn't imagine anyone breaking through them without an understanding of the intricate layers.

Not for the first time, he fumed at the silence in his veins where once his magic had thrummed. Podski stared at him with wide eyes, fidgeting with the fabric of his outfit.

Quietly, Draco asked, "Can you tell who it is?"

Podski narrowed his eyes for a moment in intense concentration before shaking his head. "They is shielded."

He had to believe it was Hermione and Hugo with Dagomir, but as he wracked his brain, he couldn't figure out who else could be with them. For all he knew it was someone from Avance and they were in trouble. Drawing a deep breath, he ventured up the stairs and into the villa, glancing each way before emerging into the sitting room.

Then he froze, stunned, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

Beside the mantle, elegant as ever but looking a little wan, stood his mother. Her eyes snapped to his, her tight expression wilting with relief upon seeing him.

"Draco," she huffed, striding forward, "thank Merlin you're alright."

Without a second thought, he drew his mother into a tight embrace, feeling some of the tension sink from him at last, before he pulled back to hold her arms. Searching her gaze, he breathed, "And you. What happened?"

It was only then that he noticed his Aunt Andromeda perched on the sofa as if she wasn't quite sure she wanted to be there. And then Draco was reminded of the two other signatures.

"Andromeda," he rushed with a nod. "Who else is here?"

"I ran into trouble leaving Italy," Narcissa said, her words clipped with an edge of anxiety. "I thought I was being followed, but I was able to escape to Andromeda's house. We had to make our way here with caution."

Draco released a sigh, sinking into the sofa as he ran a hand through his hair. His mother took a hesitant seat on his other side.

"What happened? Where is Hermione?"

The shame of everything that had happened since the battle in Italy once again settled in his gut with an insistent churning sensation. Idly, he flexed his hand where it rested on his thigh.

"Hermione and Hugo have gone to meet with Dagomir—to determine if he's safe and trustworthy. They should have been back by now," he groused, casting a glance towards his watch. Feeling his mother's and aunt's stares on him, Draco looked away. "When they seized the affiliation, the spell either damaged or stole the rest of my magic."

He felt a hot sting claw up his throat towards his cheeks and rose from his seat again to pace the sitting room. "I nearly died—I'm not even sure how I didn't—but I can't use any magic, which is why I'm not out there with them."

Speaking the confession aloud slammed the weight of the truth into Draco all at once, and to his horror, his eyes stung with the effort of withholding tears. Turning back to his mother, he forced a thick swallow and said, "Who else is with you?"

"They're outside," Narcissa returned, a hint of caution lingering behind the words. "I didn't want you to be upset because they aren't Nocturnus, but when I responded to one of Theodore's many owls—"

"Theo," Draco choked, incredulous. "Theo's here?"

With a demure smile, Narcissa finished, "They wouldn't let up and demanded to come with us."

Turning to look through the window, Draco felt a lurch in his chest when his gaze landed on Theo and Blaise, his two best mates. They flashed him a grin before darting inside. For the first time since everything had gone so wrong, Draco felt a true smile stretch across his face.

He clapped each of them on the back in a brief embrace before drawing back.

"I don't know what you said to convince my mother to bring you along, but I'm glad to see you," he admitted, shaking his head.

Blaise's stare flickered to where Narcissa and Andromeda sat with a one-shouldered shrug. "It wasn't that difficult. We've all been worried about you, and when your mother said things had gone wrong—"

"Wrong doesn't begin to explain it all," Draco huffed, sinking into an armchair by the fire. Every so often his gaze flickered between the Floo grate and the grounds beyond the window, even though he knew he would feel the wards ripple again once Hermione and Hugo returned with Dagomir.

Fatigued but feeling a thrill despite the strain of it all, he launched into a cautious retelling of everything that had occurred since the battle in Italy, leaving out certain details, but he included the way he had lost his magic and how he, Hermione, and Hugo had spent a few days with the Arcands before relocating to the villa in Spain.

When he was done, four wide sets of eyes stared at him in disbelief.

"You have no magic?" Blaise asked, frowning.

Draco shook his head slowly. "None."

"And the Order," his mother said with a frown, "are no longer loyal?"

His stare tightening, Draco eyed her for a moment. "I wondered whether your loyalties would have shifted but evidently not. Hugo said he'd remained loyal because the vows of the council are more specific."

"As were mine," Narcissa announced as she cleared her throat. "But even so, as if any magic could cause me to turn on my own son."

Draco felt a sweeping wave of gratitude even as Hermione's continued absence lingered along the fragile existence of his heart. He couldn't help but wonder whether something had gone wrong. It had been a dangerous undertaking to begin with, and he would never forgive himself if they were injured. He refused to let himself think about any other alternative.

He could feel Theo and Blaise watching him, but surprisingly they'd taken the story well enough. And even though they weren't Nocturnus, nothing about the situation was particularly precedented as far as he was aware, and at the moment Draco couldn't be arsed about sharing privileged information.

It wasn't as if the rest of the Order were there. All they had at the moment was a small group of friends, and Draco had learned the hard way, years ago, about leaving his friends out of his deepest struggles.

Podski rolled in a tea cart and, as if she couldn't bear to sit still any longer, Narcissa set about preparing several cups of tea. Draco blinked, unable to remember the last time he had seen his mother prepare her own tea.

But before he could say anything, another flicker crossed the back of his mind, and he leapt to his feet.

"Hermione," he breathed, making his way towards the door before he paused. "Podski?"

The elf's wide eyes swivelled to his. "Four more signatures, Master."

Idly dragging a hand through his hair, Draco cursed under his breath. Four signatures didn't make sense—again. The situation might have been amusing if it wasn't so tense.

Hermione froze as Dagomir swung an arm in front of her, halting her progress. He tensed as if listening for something, and then he glanced sidelong at Hugo.

"There are others here," Dagomir announced as they lingered just inside the boundary of the villa's wards.

"Others?" Hermione breathed, a sudden swell of panic rising within her. "We left Draco here alone because it was safer for him to stay here than to come with us."

Hugo stepped forward with his wand drawn, Madeline lingering behind as Dagomir's binding spell kept her on the spot. Quietly he asked, "Who else is here?"

"I don't know," Dagomir said, beginning a cautious approach towards the home. His own wand brandished before him, he led the small group, keeping Hermione slightly behind though she had her own wand and was fully capable.

Never mind the fact that she felt the power of the affiliation pulsing in her palm at the thought of anything happening to Draco.

But as they neared the house, tense and alert, Hermione froze when the door swung open and Draco strode out. Relief flooded her chest as she darted forward, finding herself momentarily caught in his embrace before he drew back, a smile tugging at his lips.

"You're back," he murmured, planting a kiss to her temple before releasing her and turning towards Dagomir.

As Draco clapped the man on the shoulder, Dagomir bent his neck into a deep bow. "Lunae Ortus," he said, "I am so relieved to see you well."

Offering a grimace, Draco opened his mouth to speak when his gaze landed on Madeline, bound a short distance away.

"It's a long story," Hermione began, eyeing the other girl closely as her expression shifted, conflicted, before falling neutral again. "She isn't strictly loyal to either side." Her gaze drifted to Draco again, heart leaping as the fear settled away, but something else looked different about him. He carried a confidence she hadn't seen since Italy. "Who else is here?"

His lips curled with a smile. "Come and see."

Draco eyed Hermione with cautious optimism bubbling in his chest. It was the first time in days they'd seen anyone other than the Arcands, and it felt like good news.

After a brief visit with everyone who had arrived at the villa, Draco, Hermione, Hugo, and Dagomir had retreated to another room in the villa to confer. Madeline, although they didn't know whether they could trust her with information, also couldn't be left alone. Draco didn't want her near his family or friends until they understood the situation better, so they had left her in the adjoining room, warded and bound, and Dagomir had cast a revealing spell on a portion of the wall so they could see her.

Although Hugo had been disgruntled over the way she was being treated, Draco couldn't trust anyone who he didn't know was loyal—and he knew Hugo understood that. He didn't have any aversions to Madeline staying in in the villa—provided there was no way for Avance to track her down—but they would need to operate under certain precautions.

Dagomir approached Draco upon breaking off from the rest of the group, emotion heavy in his face, and clapped him on the shoulder. Understanding the sentiment, Draco murmured, "I'm glad you're safe."

"And you, Lunae Ortus," Dagomir returned, his voice gruff. Then he rummaged in his pack and withdrew Draco's old familiar hawthorn wand.

Staring at the wand in disbelief for a moment, Draco curled his fingers around the handle. The quiet emptiness of his magic resounded in his soul, but there was comfort to be found in the familiar feel of it.

"You risked your life to retrieve this?" he asked quietly.

Dagomir only bowed his head as he had done outside when they had first reunited. "I held onto the hope that you would one day need it again."

Despite everything—including the abrasive fact that he couldn't actually use the wand—the thought of it bolstered his spirits in a way he hadn't expected. The ash wand he had purchased on their visit into the wizarding community of Vilnius was useless at his hip, but Draco tucked the hawthorn wand in alongside it.

A small table sat in the centre of the parlour, and as their half of the council was down to four, they had decided to utilise it as a makeshift council room.

Although the circumstances were vastly different from their final council meeting in the Nocturnus castle, it was the first sense of normalcy Draco had experienced in days as he gazed upon the three that remained loyal.

Seated to his right, Hermione took his hand into hers, entwining their fingers.

"This is not how I anticipated we would next meet," he mused to a soft chuckle from the others. "But this is where we're at, I suppose. What do we all know about the situation?"

Dagomir, having been the one on the move without them, spoke up first. "The situation in Italy remains dire. The allegiances of most of the Nocturnus Order have shifted to follow the lunar affiliation."

They all glanced towards the magically transparent section of the wall, through which they could see Madeline idly reading a book.

"It is fascinating to me that Madeline's loyalty has wavered," Draco admitted, glancing towards Hugo. "It means the shift isn't infallible."

"Indeed it does," Dagomir affirmed, his stare lingering for a moment longer. "As we know, Elias and Tressel have betrayed their council and their order. As oathbreakers, their retribution will come—but we do not yet know what that is. The situation with regards to Glenneth is uncertain, but we do know at the battle he was under the Imperius Curse. We can yet hope that his loyalty remains here. No one has seen Oro—he is presumed missing."

Thick unease hung in the air over the small table, and Draco averted his stare from Hugo's.

Dagomir carried on. "The Nocturnus guard had to fight to escape the Nocturnus fortress when the tides of battle first shifted. Those who survived remain loyal to this council and their Lunaes. I will send word if this is to be our new base of operations."

With a shrug, Draco glanced at each of them in turn. "I don't know of anywhere better right now. It isn't as big as the Manor, but it should hold everyone well enough. We may need to establish temporary barracks on the grounds."

When Dagomir fell silent, Hugo was the next to speak up. "Although our forces are small, our adversaries remain, and they will only seek to grow stronger. I think it's in our best interest to keep an eye on Avance. Dagomir, do you know where they are?"

"I am not certain," Dagomir returned, his expression apologetic, "but from what I have heard in the days since the battle, I am led to think Avance has taken up residence in Nocturnus Castle."

The words seized Draco's heart like a vice, sending it plummeting into his stomach as betrayal and nausea crept, insidious, into the back of his mind. Icily, he ground out, "They've what?"

Hermione sucked in a sharp breath, tension in the lift of her shoulders.

Hugo slammed a hand to the table, his jaw clenched tightly and lips thinned into an angry line.

Drawing in a long, steadying breath, Draco scowled at the wood grain of the table. Bergen knew how important the castle was to them—Merlin, the sentimental value went far deeper than the fact of being an old Nocturnus seat. His gaze flickered to Hermione, who worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

"There is no way," he bit out at last, "that isn't targeted. Avance knows what's important to us—this is a taunt."

"Of course it is," Hugo snapped, rage simmering to the surface. "He has no fucking idea what he's—"

"Hugo," Hermione said, and the man stilled, sinking back into his seat. "Anger won't help us right now. What we need is to begin to sort out a plan." Dropping her voice, she added, "Revenge will be that much sweeter when we're prepared and they're not looking."

Draco grimaced even as he gave her hand another soft squeeze. "The problem is we're vastly outnumbered and underpowered, and we have no way of getting to them as it is right now. Approaching the castle with such a small force would be akin to suicide."

Having relaxed slightly, Hugo clicked his tongue. "Recall, Lunae, that our forces within Nocturnus are presently small and, quite frankly, we don't stand a chance against Avance. But we have friends outside of Nocturnus."

"I will reach out to my friends in the British Ministry," Hermione spoke up. "And Claude Arcand spoke of the French community."

"I believe there's something else," Hugo began, moistening his lips, "that Dagomir doesn't yet know."

Dagomir sat upright in his seat, waiting.

Catching on, Draco nudged Hermione in the shoulder. Idly, he mused, "While I have no magic, and certainly no control over the lunar affiliation…"

A dull hint of colour crept into Hermione's cheeks as she extended her palm, her gaze tightening with concentration. Little by little, silver light began to accumulate at the tips of her fingers, spreading into the lines of her palm, until the affiliation flared to life in the dimly lit room.

Dagomir gaped at her, his brows lifting high on his forehead in surprise. "Lunae Amor—you possess the lunar affiliation? This is unheard of."

"She's been working on it for a long time," Draco said with a frisson of pride as he gazed at the way she manipulated the magic. A quiet hint of envy sat below the surface of his heart, and he wished he could feel the wealth of magic rush through his veins again. "But we kept it quiet—it appears now that was for the best."

"Avance does not know," Dagomir confirmed. Hermione shook her head, dispersing the magic into the room like a blinding firecracker. "This is welcome news indeed. So we are not completely behind in every aspect."

"No," Draco said wryly, "just most."

After a long, hectic day, Hermione sank into bed at Draco's side. Between retrieving Dagomir and Madeline—Hugo and Dagomir had ensured the wards on Madeline's room were strong enough to contain her in case she went rogue during the night—and the unexpected arrival of Draco's friends and family, it was a welcome consideration to think that something had gone right.

Theo and Blaise hadn't been able to stay past dinner, but Hugo had prepared each of them customised Portkeys so they could access the villa—but, in a tricky bit of magic, he altered them to ensure only the owner would be able to activate it.

But Narcissa and Andromeda had decided to stay in the villa, and it was nice to have some good cheer over a meal. Podski had been overjoyed at the thought of preparing a meal for so many again.

"Tomorrow," she mused quietly, "I'll Floo call Harry."

"Good idea," Draco said, stifling a wide yawn behind his hand. "It'll be good to learn what's going on back in England. And obviously having connections with the British Ministry won't go awry. Without Arcand blocking relationships between us and England, we'll be able to reach out to Shacklebolt freely."

She gave a slow nod, the action of it feeling clunky with fatigue. "Exactly."

Draco dragged a hand down his face, shaking his head. "I still can't believe how everything's gone—but if nothing else, it's nice to see some friendly faces. I think these last few days I'd started to believe everyone was against us."

"We learned a lot today," Hermione said, leaning into his side. Taking his arm between her hands, she swept her thumb along the crescent marking on his wrist. Her gaze flickered to his as she chewed on her bottom lip. "May I?"

He shifted, a bit of a grimace flickering across his face, but he nodded.

Hermione swept her thumb along the mark, watching his face carefully, before pressing a soft kiss to the skin. Draco only frowned, shaking his head with a quiet, "Nothing."

If the crescents were the outward embodiment of the bonds between them, it suited logic to think that the way she might access his dormant magic—if it was dormant, as she so hoped—would be through the mark. Idly she pressed her own against his; in her own arm she felt the connection, but his expression didn't change.

Defeat chased through her as she blew out a breath.

Discouraged, Draco made to retract his arm from her hold, but her fingers tightened. She clenched her other hand into a fist, concentrating on the affiliation and drawing a small measure of the glowing magic to the tips of her fingers. As it extended outwards into her palm, she pressed her palm against the mark on his wrist.

Once again, Hermione could feel the echo of her own magic bouncing through the empty bond that had once felt so vibrant and alive. Releasing a sigh, she began to withdraw her hand, when she felt something and jolted to a stop.

It could have been nothing, faint though it was, but then she felt it again. Almost like a soft thud of a pulse.

Fixing all of her focus, her intention, and every last shred of magic she could summon, she pressed her thumb against the crescent.

A sharp intake of breath from Draco was the only indication that he'd felt anything, but tears welled in her eyes all the same. The soft, gentle thud against her thumb, then again, until it was a soft, barely-there rhythm.

Draco flexed his hand, almost an instinctive movement, and Hermione felt the flicker travel back towards her. He stared, incredulous, at his hand, his chest still as if he didn't dare breathe.

"Do you feel that?" she whispered.

She watched as his throat bobbed with a swallow and he breathed, "Only just. I felt a flicker of something. Like… I can't explain it."

"Like a jolt," Hermione returned, nodding. Again, she traced her fingers along the crescent, infusing as much intention into the affiliation as she could manage. She still didn't have the ease of control over the magic as Draco had before he'd lost it, but she could feel the shimmer of it bending to her will.

In the back of her mind, she could see Muggle films, where they would boost someone's heart to bring them back to life.

Even though she dreaded what might happen, she breathed, "Try something."

Draco hesitated before reaching for his wand in the nightstand. After several attempts, wherein nothing occurred, he sighed, casting her a grimace. "Still nothing."

But then, almost of its own accord, a single silver spark fell from the end of the wand, fading into nothing against the quilt. Draco huffed a sharp breath as they both stared, and Hermione, at last, felt the first shred of hope.

Author's Note: Hello, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm so happy to be sharing this story as we gear up into the heart of part three, and I'm so glad to have you along for the ride. Thank you for reading friends!

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