November 10th

Saturdays in the village of Hogsmeade were not easy days for Hermione. Not when the students were released from the castle and allowed to wander the streets. It made her miss her son. And the innocence that she once possessed. Too often she would hear laughter from students and imagine those days a long time ago when she was a student. She wondered if she would ever be able to move on from the losses of her former life.

But, mostly, she found herself looking into every young face that entered the Three Broomsticks, hoping that Oliver was one of them. He was too young to be allowed out of the castle for Hogsmeade Saturdays, but that didn't mean she didn't hope that she would see him. She wondered if he was doing all right following his last spot of trouble with Professor McGonagall. Every time she started to write him a letter, she stopped herself. The last thing her son needed was to worry about his parents. She wasn't sure what she could say in her letters that would hide the truth from him. Lying was exhausting. It felt wrong to do it to her son. Besides, she didn't know if Antonin was writing him. Would her letters contradict something he'd told him already? It was best that she just leave him be for the moment. He wasn't used to a lot of communication from his mother anyway. It might confuse him even further.

Thorfinn was seated at his usual barstool doing his best to ignore the sounds of the happy children behind him. His two eldest daughters were old enough to join the fun in the village. At each ringing of the bell over the door, his blue eyes cut to the entrance. If he was anxious to see Daisy or Emmy, he certainly didn't seem like it. Taking pity on the man, Hermione sat next to him just as she'd done days earlier. He didn't speak to her, but he didn't insult her either. Progress was indeed being made.

"I made a promise to Augie that I'd kill his new wife once he secured his position on the Wizengamot. Rodolphus hasn't been eager to trust him considering our past."

His head turned slowly in her direction. He was intrigued. Though she'd worried a great deal in recent weeks and months that she was making poor decisions, this wasn't one of them. Hermione knew that if she wanted Antonin to know something, all she needed to do was tell his best friend. No doubt Thorfinn was eager to use his mirror to tell him everything. She didn't care what anyone said. Men were worse gossips than women.

"I promised Hannah that she could help me kill Alecto. Not as good as her brother, but it was something. You said you wanted to rip him apart. Want to settle for his sister?"

He really was a handsome man when he smiled. Hermione hoped that there would be plenty of occasions in the future where the rest of the world could see it for themselves. Occasions without blood even. As much as she enjoyed the prospect of causing horrendous pain to the wretched woman, she didn't want the rest of their lives to be nothing but blood and guts. Surely there was more out there? Even for murderers like them? Thorfinn was intrigued.

"When do you want to start?"

"Now seems as good a time as any."

His response was another pleased smile. Hermione liked that they were moving back towards how they used to be. There was a time when she trusted very few people in the world more than she trusted Thorfinn. She thought that maybe he felt the same way. After Hannah's murder, she was afraid that they would never find common ground again. Not that she would blame him. What he'd gone through in such a short period of time was heartbreaking.

There was no reason to linger any longer in the tavern that was quickly filling up with students. Once outside, they both Apparated to London. Hermione arrived first. Perhaps it was because she'd recently been to the location or because Thorfinn was already drunk. He landed moments later, just long enough to make her start to second-guess herself. While there was very little that she wanted more than to make Alecto bleed and cry, she wondered if she shouldn't have been more careful. Eventually she would start killing people that Rodolphus would be angry about. Was she prepared for his wrath?

"Come on, Hermione. We don't have all day."

She knew he was right. The longer they hesitated, the more of a chance they would fail. To their advantage, the offices of the Daily Prophet were almost completely empty. Saturdays were generally a slow news day. Only the most diehard workaholics would be inside. Or the poor souls stuck with the terrible weekend schedule. Hermione knew that the newspaper's newest senior reporter would be there working. Alecto was desperate to prove herself worthy of the position. She knew it was something that the older witch had secretly wanted for most of her life.

"I'll go into her office and distract her. You clear everyone else out."

It felt more like old times again when Thorfinn gave her an order. She used to defer to his experience when they were on missions together. Without hesitation, she did as he bid. To be honest, she wanted to spend as little time with Alecto as possible. Thorfinn was the better bet at getting her guard down. Alecto never made it a secret that she would've loved to invite the blond into her bed. He'd been fortunate enough to stay out of it for over twenty years.

All of the offices were empty except for Alecto's. Once Thorfinn made his presence known, the reporter dropped everything she was doing in order to entertain her new guest. She didn't even bother looking outside of her door for any other unexpected visitors. Hermione continued her search for anyone else in the building. Nervous at first to walk up to Albert's office door just in case he was there, she relaxed when she saw it empty. She wasn't sure she would ever be ready to face that man again after what happened the last time they were in the same room together.

In the end she only found three others inside the building. Simple Imperius curses sent them out into Diagon Alley. Hermione locked and sealed the doors. There was no sense risking being caught while they were in the middle of their odious task. Someone out there might actually want to stop them. Difficult though it was to imagine, she wanted the building secure.

Her stomach roiled when she pushed open Alecto's door to find the two inhabitants locked into a fierce kissing session. The witch didn't even notice that she was no longer alone with her blond conquest. Thorfinn's eyes were open. Once he saw Hermione enter, he held up Alecto's wand behind her back. A summoning spell sent it shooting across the room into her hand. When it was evident that their prey was unarmed, she slammed the door shut, startling the reporter.

"Cheating on your new husband already, Allie? How naughty."

Alecto's eyes grew wide as the seriousness of the situation she was in became clear. Frantically searching for her wand, it didn't take her long to realize how utterly fucked she really was. Hermione held up the bitch's wand for her to see. It was amusing to her that so many had been so reckless with their wands in recent days. They'd all gotten soft and complacent. Clearly very few remembered how dangerous their world had become again. For too long the worst of the Death Eaters lived in the relative security of their proximity to the head of the regime. With the Dark Lord dead, they would all need to relearn how insignificant they really were. Any one of them could be dead.

"What do you want, Hermione? Why are you here?"

It was amusing to see Alecto try to hide how frightened she was. Holding the power of another's life entirely in her hand was an intoxicating feeling that Hermione didn't think she would ever grow tired of. She became a Death Eater because she was tired of feeling weak, tired of feeling like she had to rely on others to keep her safe. Knowing that she was going to kill another, especially one that had brought such misery to her in life, made her feel empowered. No longer was she the trembling girl in the broom cupboard.

"I made a promise to your husband recently. I promised him that the moment he was finally admitted into Rodolphus' confidence that I'd make him a widower."

To Alecto's credit, she didn't cry or plead or beg for her life. She knew that the moment she'd been dreading for her entire wretched existence was finally upon her. Perhaps she was even relieved that she no longer had to keep fighting. It was how Hermione felt the day she was tied to the chair in Aubin's cottage after all. Though it wasn't as much fun killing someone who didn't try to fight back or who wasn't sobbing, nonetheless Hermione took her time. She wanted to extend the process as long as possible. Her training and expertise meant they could have remained in that small office for many, many hours if she so desired. There was an art to keeping a victim alive while still inflicting maximum pain. Only Thorfinn's impatience and his reminder that they couldn't remain in the offices for long sped up the process.

Slicing her throat open would've made it all too obvious who was responsible for her murder. As much as Hermione wished to feel the warm spray of Alecto's life blood splash across her face, she knew that she couldn't make it obvious that she was the culprit. Rodolphus might've been angry to discover what she'd been up to. So, she settled for an abridged session. Thorfinn used his brute strength to break some of her bones. Not for the first time, Hermione considered the fact that she'd never even thought about recruiting the wizard to her former Department in the Ministry a shame. He would've done well.

Thorfinn's wand cast the Avada that finally ended the wretched bitch's life. As her mangled body lay cooling in the chair she'd been so desperate to earn, the two murderers passed her private bottle of fire whiskey between themselves. Each of them were satisfied with the kill.

"This was always the plan. Augie and I discussed it before he went to France to divorce his first wife. He's still on Antonin's side."

"And you?"

"I don't know whose side I'm on beyond my own. Antonin doesn't seem to want me anymore."

A heavy sigh exploded out of the wizard. He took a long draw on the bottle before speaking his mind. It wasn't always easy to listen to the truthful words that came out of his mouth even though she appreciated and respected him. Too many people took one look at his massive frame and his penchant for violence to assume that he was nothing but an ignorant brute. That observation couldn't be further from the truth. There were very valid reasons why Thorfinn and Antonin had been best friends for decades.

"You're wrong about that. He's scared, Princess. Scared that he can't protect you from Rodolphus fucking with your mind again."

"I don't need him to protect me."

"Never said you did, but it's instinctive in us to want to keep our witches and children safe. We don't actually mean to be obnoxious. Blame biology."

His wink made her laugh. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed her old friend. Still clutching the almost empty bottle in his hand, Thorfinn stood.

"I'm going back to my favorite table at the Three Broomsticks and drinking until I forget I ever pressed my lips against hers."

With another laugh, Hermione grabbed his collar and pulled him down until she could brush her lips against his. Over almost as soon as it began, he raised a single eyebrow and smiled the same grin she loved so much.

"Does that help?"

"It does, but not enough, I'm afraid."

Each of them left moments later. Before she walked out of the office, Hermione made certain to take one final look at the bitch who'd worked with Rodolphus for so long to bring misery into her life. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face if she tried.