November 6th

For the first night in many, sleep was not elusive. Whether it was because of the poor sleep she'd had the night before or the large amount of alcohol she consumed while sitting at the bar of the Three Broomsticks waiting for Thorfinn to return from wherever he'd run away to, Hermione wasn't sure. When she returned to her temporary home in the iconic tavern, she'd been surprised that her massive blond shadow was nowhere to be seen. She was concerned that he'd run off to find Antonin to tell her husband about how close she was with Rodolphus. One more mark on her poor report. She wanted to speak candidly with the wizard who was supposedly just playing a part. Wanted to let him know that she wanted even less to do with Rodolphus than he did. But, to her disappointment, he never showed back up.

She'd managed to drink enough to help her forget at least temporarily that she wasn't sure what to do next. Once she took care of making it seem like Ron was attacked, she planned on just going down the list and picking out the ones she loathed the most. After his attack, she worried that there was already someone out there who was aware of her plans. Someone who would stop at nothing to make sure she didn't succeed. It was enough to make her want to take Oliver out of school and leave just the two of them for Brazil on their own. Not that Antonin would allow that. Nor would Oliver for that matter. He would want his father to come with them or he wouldn't want to go at all. And if she was perfectly honest, Hermione didn't understand the first thing about being a good mother. She needed help.

When she'd had too much to drink and was in danger of making a complete fool of herself, she found her own way up her bedroom. Alcohol didn't make her feel as numb as her potions, but it was better than nothing. She laid down on her bed fully clothed. Within moments, she was deep asleep.

Her entire room was cloaked in darkness when she opened her eyes again. Still exhausted and feeling the effects of the alcohol, she hadn't been asleep very long. The clock on the bedside table showed the time to be just a few minutes after three in the morning. No sounds from downstairs drifted up to her ears. The streets outside were silent as well. Everyone else in the world, it seemed, was tucked away safely in bed.

But she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd been woken up for a reason. Her instincts might have been rusty, but she was certain that something was off. Careful not to make too much noise or movement, she slid her hand underneath her pillow slowly to clutch her wand. Once she was secure in her grip, she rolled over and leapt out of bed in one single, fluid motion. She was poised to strike, ready to curse whomever was foolish enough to break into her room in the middle of the night when she was sleeping.

Charlie Weasley simply smiled when she pressed her wand under his chin. Completely unfazed by having a Death Eater attack him in the dark, he was amused. Once she realized who the intruder was, Hermione relaxed only slightly. Even though she wanted to speak to him in private, she wasn't expecting it to happen so soon or when she wasn't prepared for it. He held up both of his empty hands to prove that he wasn't armed.

"I understand you wanted to talk to me."

"How did you get in here?"

His smile grew wider. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but she could've sworn he winked at her.

"This isn't exactly the first time I've snuck into a pretty witch's room in the middle of the night."

Hermione was caught off-guard by his remark. Laughing to herself, she removed her wand from under his chin.

"Of course it's not. I should've guessed."

"Be honest with me. There was a time when you would've loved for me to sneak into yours."

She was almost embarrassed by his statement. Of course there was a time in the distant past when she used to imagine that very scenario. Nights at the Burrow when the entire Weasley family was gathered led to all sorts of fantasies that she would've been mortified for anyone else to know. Did Charlie always know she fancied him? She laughed again in an effort to show she wasn't unnerved.

"Another life. It could've been fun."

He nodded and smiled, but said nothing else. Like the snap of two fingers, the atmosphere in the room turned serious again. They were past the greetings. She hoped that they would be able to discuss everything she wished. There was always a chance that Charlie wouldn't want to hear what she had to say about his younger sister.

"I had to sneak out of my own home to come here. Thanks to you, my sister and my niece have taken over my house. I understand you're responsible."

"If you're waiting to hear an apology from me for what I did to that horrible man, you're going to be disappointed. I'm not ashamed of killing him. Not after what he did to me."

"I always told Will he was playing with fire. Should've just left you alone, but you became an obsession once he saw you in Edinburgh."

"I don't want to talk about him."

There was only a finite amount of time they had to possibly talk. Why they were wasting their time discussing the fate of William Wood was frustrating to Hermione. She never wanted to think of that idiot again for as long as she lived. While the murder of his brother was one that still haunted her every day, she would never lose a moment's sleep over William. He got exactly what he deserved. How many times did she warn him to leave her alone? He should've listened.

"All right. Fair enough. What do you want to talk about then?"

"Your sister is a spy working against the Resistance for Rodolphus Lestrange."

No longer was she content with just speculating. All signs pointed to Ginny being on the wrong side of the conflict. Why else would she lie to the other Resistance leaders? And she couldn't shake the feeling that she was responsible for what happened to Ron. There was more than just grief on her face that night as she watched her older brother be dug out of the rubble of his home. If there was another person alive who understood what guilt looked and felt like, it was Hermione.

"That's a very serious accusation, Hermione. Why should I believe you over my own sister?"

"What is Rodolphus Lestrange's animagus form?"

Charlie looked at her as if she was speaking a language he didn't understand. At least it seemed obvious that just like Aberforth, he was unaware that the Resistance had been harboring a fugitive from the Dark Lord for years. He sighed.

"He's a Saint Bernard."

"How did you..?"

"I talked to Aberforth. He told me. I already knew your feelings about Ginny before I came here. And your belief that she's a spy."

Hermione wasn't sure what to say next. He'd already had plenty of time to think over her accusations. Knowing that Ginny was living in his house, it was also possible and even quite likely that he'd already discussed this topic with his sister. No longer was Charlie smiling. All hint of amusement was gone from his face. He just simply looked tired. Hermione could understand his feelings exactly.

"I'm worried about my sister, Hermione. She hasn't been herself for a very long time."

"Before or after she gave birth to my husband's daughter?"

Without missing a beat, Charlie replied.

"After."

"How long have you known the truth?"

"From the beginning. She's not as sneaky as she thinks she is sometimes and then Dolohov was looking for her at the same time she was hiding her pregnancy. Wasn't hard to put the pieces together when Maisie was born and she looked nothing like Will or Ginny, for that matter."

It still bothered Hermione to keep such a major secret from her husband. Even though she no longer believed he would run off with Ginny to start a new family, she couldn't shake the jealousy. Her own insecurities often came back at the most inopportune times to plague her. Perhaps there would never be a day when she wouldn't fear that her husband was only waiting for the moment that a fertile and willing witch was willing to give him what he desired to run away. It made even less sense considering how rocky the current state of their marriage was. There was absolutely no reason to believe that they would ever be able to reconcile their differences. He didn't trust her. She didn't want the same kind of future he did. If there was a better definition out there of an unhealthy relationship, she couldn't imagine it.

"Do you think Ginny is a spy, Charlie?"

He sighed again, worry heavy on his shoulders. She would've liked to have spent hours with him learning everything that she could about what was happening with the broken factions of the Resistance, but there was not enough time. With both Thorfinn and Rodolphus sniffing around the Three Broomsticks at frighteningly frequent intervals, she couldn't afford either of them discovering that she had the wizard in her room. Rodolphus might kill Charlie on the spot and she worried what Antonin would think when he heard from his best friend that she'd been alone in the middle of the night with a handsome dragonkeeper.

"If she is, she's not one willingly."

His statement made a lot of sense even if Hermione was often quick to think the worst she could about the other witch. There was a certain type of person that willingly became a spy and quite honestly, that wasn't Ginny. Maybe there was something to Percy's earlier observation about his sister the day they were in Ron's kitchen together. She'd apparently been very different since she brought her daughter back to the country. Was it possible that Maisie was in danger? There was very little that a mother wouldn't be willing to do if the safety of their child was at stake. Including kill her own brother. Was Rodolphus controlling Ginny with threats of harming her child? It was exactly the sort of diabolical act he was capable of committing.

"I understand that Lestrange has been fairly adamant about you leaving the Three Broomsticks and moving in with him."

"How do you know about that?"

"Ahh, Hermione, you underestimate my charm." He winked, some of the heaviness of their earlier conversation lightening. "I have my own eyes and ears around this village too."

He wouldn't give her any other information about just who it was that was passing him along bits and pieces about Hermione's life. Didn't really matter. She knew better than most that it could be any number of people.

"If you're really interested in bringing Rodolphus and his allies down, then might I suggest doing whatever it takes to earn his trust? You could take them down from the inside."

His idea was an interesting one that she was embarrassed to admit she hadn't considered in too much detail. Being that close to Rodolphus on a regular basis frightened her beyond words. She wasn't sure that she could remain calm enough to be a spy herself.

"I'll keep on eye on my sister. See if she's in some sort of trouble."

Charlie left her room moments later. While she was satisfied that he would be checking up on his sister, she felt guilty about not telling him her suspicions about Ron's attack. Would it have mattered? She crawled back into her bed with her mind no longer at ease.