AN - This chapter's a little shorter, but I'm hoping that it'll pick up a bit really soon. For Justin's physique and physical features, since he doesn't show up too much in the movies, I've used young Jeff Ward as inspiration. Also, Hannah's character is based off of model, Kelsey Olsen. Of course, you can interpret them however you'd like, just sharing my ideas. :) Again, J K Rowling is responsible for the amazing characters and such. Thanks for reading!

- Chapter Three - June 13th 1999 -

- Polyjuice and Pucey -

After a month of brewing, the polyjuice potion was finally complete and ready to be used. Hannah clapped her hands triumphantly at the sight of Hermione bottling potions into little vials for transport. Some of the ingredients, such as lacewing flies, were hard to get and Hermione beamed at her proud friend. It felt good to achieve something tangible after such a long while.

Since it was a Sunday - Neville's day off - he was out finding a suitable muggle or two to gather some hair from. He was due back anytime. It had taken the whole day because every witch or wizard who had sympathized with Harry during the war had been marked with a trace and therefore any Apparation would be cataloged.

Hermione was to pose as a ministry employee that would be numbly following the crowd. The second batch of hair would be to throw anyone off her scent if she caught too much attention in her first disguise.

When they heard the intricate locks to the door begin to click, Hannah squealed and clapped her hands. "I knew he'd get back safe." She said, more to herself than to Hermione.

Hannah swiftly ran to the bathroom to fix her appearance. Hermione rolled her eyes. Hannah's actions were in vain. The young woman was beautiful. With rosy plump cheeks and a perfectly curvaceous pear figure, Hannah was the epitome of feminine beauty.

Hermione turned to greet Neville and almost screamed at the sight she saw. Neville was there, but he was clutching a body of someone almost unrecognizable. Neville grimaced and murmured a short "Hermione," as he dropped a small bag on the table. He began to drag the body to his and Hannah's room and Hermione followed him.

"Neville. Is that Justin?" She didn't want it to be true. Who would do such a thing to such a sweet wizard?

A gurgled "Hullo" accompanied with a feeble wave was all the evidence Hermione needed.

Justin Finch-Fletchley was covered in blood. He had black bruises over every limb and avulsions that made Hermione cringe. Though matted curly hair and swollen eyes that were almost shut gave him a ghastly look, Justin seemed to be remaining calm through the pain. Neville must've used some extensive numbing charms on the wizard.

Hermione raced to her bag and shouted "Accio dittany!" With stuttering hands, she uncorked the bottle and began addressing his wounds. Justin was laid on the bed; blood pooled onto the sheets. Just as Hermione began to wrap Justin and put pressure on his worst cuts, she heard a scream.

Hannah stood shocked in the doorway. "Justin!" She cried out, "Who did this to you?" The fierce protectiveness for her fellow Hufflepuff came out in a rage. The young woman stormed over, almost knocking Hermione to the side and began reciting advanced healing spells. Her lips moved quickly and her hands flew in complex patterns.

Hermione quickly layered her magic with Hannah's, muttering a few 'episkeys' where they were applicable. She ran to grab some other healing potions she had and when she came back she caught the tail end of Neville's conversation with Justin.

Neville stood tall at the foot of the bed while Hannah sat on the side of it. He had a hand on her shoulder, stroking her skin with his thumb comfortingly. Justin's hand was covered by Hannah's as she reached out to her friend. "And they did this to you?" Neville's voice held apparent disgust.

Justin Finch-Fletchley was a muggleborn like Hermione. He had gone into hiding with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. The two groups had lost touch after that. It was hard to communicate in times such as these. He was always the friendly type, but being kind was certainly not going to dissuade the Death Eaters nefarious actions.

Nodding, Justin coughed a bit. "Yeah, I'm fine though really, girls." He smiled wanly at the two worried witches fretting above him. "Well, I was preparing some food for the group of us, and I got Seamus' fox telling me to get out of the house as soon as possible. Turns out one of the guys we were housing was actually a Death Eater undercover waiting to rat us out and get back in the Dark Lame-o's good graces. I really should have seen it coming"

Justin's vitals seemed to be doing well; he just looked awful from all the lashes and blood. Once his blood was replenished, he would recover quickly. He was a strong wizard too, his inner magic would help him speed up the recovery.

He continued his tale, "So, I packed up what I had, left a snarky note and booked it. I had heard that there was a safe house hidden out in the open in Diagon Alley, must of been a right trick though because I got jumped as soon as I Apparated into town. I'm such a fool." Justin's head hung low. He must not have known about the trace.

He continued mournfully, "I'm sorry that I won't be of much aid while I'm healing, but as soon as I'm well, I want to help out as much as I can." Justin's light green eyes shone brighter at the thought of helping a cause.

"I'm so sorry to hear of what happened to you Justin," Hermione said softly, "but I urge you to rest as much as you can. Don't be silly and waste your energy on us." She poured him another spoonful of blood replenishing potion and handed it to him carefully.

"Yeah, you're such a sweetheart for asking to help. But we care about you and you need to get better." Hannah affectionately patted Justin's arm before getting up and hugging Neville close. Justin would most likely heal in a few days due to the superficial nature of the injuries and bruises; magic was always a useful tool for healing wounds.

When Neville and Hannah left to head over to their flat, Hermione sat beside Justin in silence. She and him were never particularly close in school, but he was kind and the two of them had worked on an astronomy project together when Hermione had been fighting with the boys one year. Justin was not considered brainy, but he could hold his own and Hermione admired that. He was very useful when their telescope broke though; he had the contraption fixed in less time than it took for Hermione to panic about their OWLs.

After a little while, Hermione looked to Justin to see if he was sleeping. When he looked up at her with a smile, she returned the gesture. "Justin," she started, "if you really want to do some good, I may have something of your interest…" Hermione waited for an affirmative nod before leaping off the bed with a grin in search of her battered notebook.

Justin chuckled at Hermione's exuberance and eagerly awaited her return; he really did hope he could do something of use. The past year had been difficult on him. It had been difficult for all of them.

He had been cooped up in a small safe house with Dean and Seamus. They were nice enough to him, friends even, but their incessant and noisy shagging kept him up at night. It was an escape for them and their love for one another made Justin feel more alone than he did when he was travelling solo for a short while. Many nights, Justin lay in bed thinking about his life to dissuade the loneliness that only war brings.

When Adrian Pucey came up to Dean Thomas and Justin on their way home, asking for refuge, Justin was elated to have another companion to talk to. Dean and Seamus weren't easily convinced, but Justin wore them down to let him stay. He begged for them to give him a second chance. He knew that forgiveness was a key facet of living in the Light.

Pucey had lied when he said that he had learned from his errant ways. Justin was quick to let him in, a welcome change to the hormonal couple he was enduring.

"I'm telling you mate, potatoes can be mashed up with soup to make a gravy. It's not as good of course but, you know." Justin walked along with Dean and tried to help his friend feel better about their poor scavenging skills of that day.

Dean scoffed. Justin knew that the wizard was mainly ashamed and merely wanted to impress his lover. Despite what his former classmates believed, Justin grew up no more wealthy than the next student. He had experiences eating what classmates would jokingly tease him were 'simpleton foods' plenty of times at home, but it was exhausting to squash a deeply rooted rumor.

"I guess. I just miss staying with Molly and Arthur for that short while." They both smiled at the memory of the mothering witch and the muggle fascinated wizard in a safe house somewhere unknown. "She could make a feast out of sticks and leaves!"

Whatever it was, tiredness and exhaustion, or the dire need for a lighter mood, the two young men burst into raucous laughter. It was a shorter walk when they were laughing.

Justin was wiping gleeful tears out of his eyes when he saw a figure heading towards them. His hand was on his wand in a moment and he heard Dean shout, "Who's there?"

It was Adrian Pucey. Barely recognizable, he was so thin. A tormented face told an even more horrific story. He spoke about how he had come to his senses and was brutally thrown out of his old life to walk the streets looking for food.

Justin's heart went out to the poor wizard. He didn't know much about the Slytherin who was a year ahead of him in school, but he didn't hesitate to offer a place to stay.

Dean wasn't so accepting. "What are you spinning us, you foul snake?"

"Let's give him a chance Dean. I feel like we should trust his story."

Looking back, he felt like such a fool. Of course that slime ball would be a spy. Justin was easy prey, a trusting soul.

He shook the memory away as he listened to Hermione's plan. The spark in her eyes as she explained her plan couldn't help but make him excited too. They sat on the unfamiliar bed together late into the night.