Chapter 3

(Nov.2,1998)

"Hermione!" I heard Harry scream my name from some distance away.

I didn't respond. I was staring at Dennis Creevey in shock. He looked gaunt and very dirty but the telling feature was his half-crazy eyes staring at Theodore Nott. I stepped in front of Nott, cutting off his line of sight.

Dennis looked confused for a moment but then tried to look around me and towards Nott. "They all need to die. They can't be alive. They can't. They deserve to die! I'll get rid of all these disgusting Death Eaters!" he yelled as he tried getting out of the bonds but to no veil.

"You will do nothing, Dennis," said Harry as he stopped on my left. I didn't have to look back to know that Ron was with him- as well as half of the Aurors. Harry then stunned him and turned to look at me. I met his gaze briefly before looking back down at Creevey. We had spoken about the likelihood of it happening months ago. Even Ron had said that he'd heard talks of revenge.

A rumble rolled through the sky.

I felt a hand curve around my jaw, forcing me to look up. Locking my eyes to Harry's green eyes. He had a frown on his face, his hair falling into his eye as the rain began to drizzle down on them.

Rubbing his thumb across my cheek in an unsteady rhythm before speaking, "Teddy appeared in front of me while I was talking with Remus and Bill. He was screaming at the top of his lungs and kept looking around as if searching for you. Malfoy handed him to us right away but before he could tell us anything your otter came bounding in," he said with a bit of repressed fear in his voice.

He let go of me all of a sudden and moved away from me to pinch the bridge of his nose. Ron came towards me and was reaching for my shoulders but instead slid his hands down my back. As soon as his hands made contact with my back I cried out.

"Hermione!" he cried as he let go of me abruptly. I staggered forward, my legs almost giving out.

Harry and Ron grabbed an arm each so that I didn't fall on the wet cobblestone. "Let me take you to St. Mungo's first while Harry takes Creevey in," said Ron.

I tried to nod but it shot pain down my back.

"Is Nott in on this too? Hermione?"

I gasped, "Not the way you think."

I looked towards where Nott's voice. Standing behind them was Nott, unbothered by the rain. He was being questioned by Harry and didn't look rattled at all. His face was completely void of emotion. I looked back down onto the floor where Dennis was.

The cloak wasn't the same as the one from the cloaked figure she has seen first. Dennis's cloak was dark green with clear markings of silver at the hem.

That was what had bothered me before. A gut feeling that told me that I was right. I glanced around but knew that said cloaked figure was long gone from the scene that was crawling with Aurors.

A sharp pain lanced up her back and she blinked slowly.

Fuck. The wound.

/\/\

I smelled potions first but the distinctive sound of Harry and Ron was more than obvious. I was in St. Mungo's. I likely fainted from the blood loss like a silly twit.

Opening my eyes, I moved my head to the side to see Harry and Ron standing by my bed. Lightly moving my right hand they turned as one and immediately moved towards me.

"Mione," Ron said quietly. Harry grabbed my hand, giving it a firm squeeze.

"You scared us a bit there," Harry said as he looked down at me in worry.

His eyes had a little stormy look to them. I lightly brushed my thoughts against his which helped reduce it a bit. "I'm fine, pretty sure it was only blood loss since I got hit with several splinters from the door as well as the glass."

My back didn't hurt anymore but it did feel a little tender as I tried sitting up. Ron moved to the other side of the bed and both boys helped me up. Feeling a little more composed now that I wasn't laying down on my back I looked around for my wand.

Before I could ask where it was, Harry handed it to me. "I'm guessing you questioned Malfoy and Nott?" I asked as I grabbed both of their hands. Trying not to notice their slight trembling.

"We asked them what they were doing there and what happened from the moment they came into contact with you. They both said it was a coincidence that they bumped into you. Nott said he had been late meeting up with Malfoy." Harry said as he rubbed his thumb back and forth across the top of my hand.

If a stranger happens to look upon us now they would think I was in some relationship with this two.

But that wasn't the case. Nothing could ever happen between us three.

I was about to tell them about what I had seen before the attack but the door to my room opened. Both boys let go of my hands and put their bodies in front of me. Just like I had done for Nott. Brushing the thought away, I looked around their bodies to see a rumpled Remus with a sobbing baby in his arms.

Teddy looked widely around before locating me behind my boys. He started crying loudly, hands extended out towards me. I nodded at Remus's unspoken question and patted my covered lap. He handed him to me immediately.

"Teddy, don't cry anymore. I'm fine." I kept repeating that over and over again as he grabbed the hospital gown in his tiny fist and sobbed into my chest. "Shhh, it's okay."

The boys had moved aside and let Remus stand at the foot of the bed. "He wouldn't calm down at all. I tried everything but he just kept crying and looking around for you."

I just kept on whispering soothing words till I just ended up humming the same song I always did for him. It took him a couple of minutes to calm down and just lay on my chest with a few sniffles.

"I think Creevey was attacking alone. Before I had gone into Flourish I'd seen a figure a few blocks away. He had a black cloak on while Dennis had a dark green one. I should have been able to see it even from that far away. If it weren't for Teddy, I would have gone after that person. Although, the figure seemed to be staring at me before Nott had shown up. So, Dennis was after any 'free Death Eater' while the other was more focused on me."

Harry's jaw ticked. Ron's hands balled into tight fists. I passed Teddy, who had fallen asleep, to Remus and moved my legs onto the side of the bed where my boots were. Harry looked like he was going to protest but chose not to. Smart boy.

"I think you shouldn't go out alone anymore. But we don't have men to spare at the moment since we have already assigned groups. I know that what I'm going to say might piss you off but listen to me first, okay?"

I stared hard at him before nodding. I wasn't going to argue with him until I heard everything first.

"Since you need to find out the locations of most of the missing Death Eaters, it would work in our favour to ask Malfoy and Nott about information. If they step out of line or if you feel like you can't do it, We can do something else."

I looked down at my boots, which had been cleaned almost perfectly new again. I understood the why but it rankled that I had to deal with both boys again. Knowing I would do anything for all of this to be over with was one thing. But this…

It was asking a bit too much. I had been tortured by Malfoy's crazy psychotic aunt. Nott, who I didn't know much about except he'd stayed in the library back in Hogwarts as much as me, wasn't exactly a friend. It wasn't like I knew them any more than Harry or Ron. But it all came down to the fact that I was a muggleborn.

I was the very thing they had fought against during the war and even now. I knew that those Death Eaters wouldn't meekly stand down or give themselves up without a fight. I had to find them.

No matter what.

Nothing could or would get in the way of that. Not even old-school rivalry or prejudice could.

"I'll do it. They have to be caught before they do anything more harmful than stalking me or anybody else. I'll owl Malfoy and Nott about it. But the question is if they would help me. People don't change that much and especially them." I said as I stood up with the help of Ron.

Harry moved over to my side of the bed, "Just be on the alert with them. I'll keep questioning Dennis about what he did and try to find out if his working by himself or if he knows somebody that feels the same way as he does." he said as he handed me some clothes that vaguely looked like his. I quickly changed into some sweatpants and a loose sweater. They smelled like Harry's musky scent. Lastly, I pulled on my boots and put my hair up into a large bun.

Remus, who had sat near the window with Teddy, looked up at me. "Are you still going to be able to look after him? It's fine if you can't."

I was already nodding, "I'm fine enough to take him. My mother should be home now so she can help too."

Turning towards Harry and Ron, I was about to ask about my bag but stopped when I saw Ron reach behind him. "I saw your bag earlier and picked it up after we brought you here."

Bag in hand again I turned towards Remus and took Teddy from him. "I'll just floo home from Fabian's office."

I was almost at the door when I felt two separate hands on my shoulders. "Please be safe, Hermione. You really did scare us today." Harry said quietly as he leaned his head on my shoulder. Ron didn't say anything but I could also feel his desperation and fear beating at my mental shields.

Swallowing hard against the knot in my throat, "I will. You stay safe too. I can't lose you both. I'm tired of burying friends and family. I don't ever want to do it with you two."

I left before a floodgate of emotions could take us.

Briskly walking down the hall which was thankfully near Fabian's office. He wasn't inside so I quickly used the floo.

I arrived in my living room for what felt like the hundredth time today. I looked around but saw no sign of my mother. A small snore filled the silent room and I smiled down at Teddy who had a frown on his baby face. I walked into my room to set Teddy down on his crib and set a monitor with a few charms so I would know the minute he awakened.

Leaving the door slightly open I headed back downstairs. Pulling off my bag in the kitchen, I put away all of the food and items she had bought.

Pulling out several pieces of parchment, I quickly but neatly wrote down a letter to Malfoy and Nott.

Malfoy,

I am writing to you about some information you may have on the missing Death Eaters or if Professor Snape has some ideas that he hasn't shared with the Aurors. I'll be waiting for your reply.

Hermione Granger

It was formal and informal at the same time. I didn't hold respect for him but I did for Snape. At least enough to be polite to his godson. I wrote a similar letter to Nott. I walked over to the window which was above the sink and opened the window. I tapped three times, waiting for Soa to come to me. She was an owl that I had saved a few days after moving here. Soa had all black feathers except for one feather on her neck that was red.

Soa landed on the window with flared wings. Smiling at her dramatic drop I ruffled her neck feathers.

"Hey, Soa, I need you to take this to Draco Malfoy and this other one to Theodore Nott," I said as I tied each separately on each leg. I reached over to the side of the sink where I had her stash of treats and pulled out a large meaty treat. "I'll leave this for you here so when you come back just eat it okay."

Soa flapped her wing, the one that had been broken before, and took off the ledge with a picturesque flap of her wings. She was such a show-off sometimes.

I hadn't known she was a magical owl until I had been speaking to my mom about getting an owl. I had left the window open during our conversation and had not seen the little owl sneak in. She had flown towards me and pecked me on the nose.

It had brought out such delightful laughter from my mother that I hadn't gotten mad about it. My mother had rarely laughed before that day and the sound of it had filled me with such sadness and joy since I knew that my father's death had almost stolen that ability from her. S

Soa had prattled about the table with her head held high and dramatically prancing around. I had gotten the message. She had chosen me and I wasn't about to go and get another owl since I already had her.

Leaving the window open since there was only a slight drizzle outside, I walked into the living room with a book I had been given by Poppy during my regular visits to her office.

Magical Healing Arts. I had asked for something that only existed in this book. I needed this to achieve this new idea of mine.

\/\/\/