Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, folks. I got sucked into a crappy shift rotation at work but I am heading towards my string of days off so hopefully I can update a little more frequently. Anyway, here is a new chapter and finally we get some insight into what Andromeda has been doing and what her plan is. Not everything is revealed, ofcourse, and there are several things I want to explore in future chapters for different characters. Enjoy the read and let me know what you think. Your comments have been amazing so far and I love to hear your thoughts. ~Cissy

Chapter 7

Infinity

Hermione looked out of the large floor to ceiling windows of the beach house and watched the sun disappear slowly behind the horizon. She could hear the sound of the waves rolling onto the beach and in the distance a seagull cried. She turned slowly when she became aware of the sound of soft footsteps behind her. Susana appeared from one of the two bedrooms, wearing only a white sheet she had taken from the bed. Her dark hair was a sharp contrast against the warm tones of her skin and the pure white of the fabric that clung to her body.

"What are we going to do with him?" Susana asked and pointed at the chained down form of Ollivander. The old man was asleep.

"Either he is going to tell me what he told Andromeda or he dies," Hermione said slowly and let one of her arms slip around Susana's waist, pulling her nearer. A smirk graced her lips as she leant in. Her warm breath ghosted over the Italian witch's skin. "Now that you know everything, will you promise to do everything I ask of you?"

"Anything," Susana whispered, planting her lips softly against Hermione's cheek.

Hermione took a step away from the raven haired woman and squared her jaw. Suddenly her eyes hardened and her voice lost its soft edge. Anger echoed in her voice. "Release him."

Susana summoned her clothes from the bedroom and changed back into the white trousers and black shirt she had worn before and left the white sheet on the floor. She circled around the coffee table and drew the tip of her wand across the shackles that bound Ollivander's ankles and wrists. They opened with a metallic click, rousing the old man from his disturbed sleep. Fear filled his eyes when he saw the dark haired young woman lean over him.

"Get him on his knees," Hermione instructed and watched as Susana obediently did what she asked. She grabbed Ollivander by his shoulders and ignored his whimper of pain as she shoved him off the sofa and forced him down onto his knees. Pleading eyes snapped up to look at Hermione.

"Miss Granger," he stammered. "Please..."

"Shut it, old man," Hermione hissed and drew her wand. The fear in his eyes only intensified when e spotted the piece of wood in her hand. "You know what this is. You know what it is part of and you have seen what it can do. Its twins are not here right now but that doesn't mean that its power is any less strong." She stepped closer to him. "Nor is it any less forgiving."

"Don't," Ollivander whispered. "It isn't worth it, I swear. Please, don't do this."

Hermione chuckled softly and her eyes snapped up to meet Susana's. The tip of her wand was pressed into the back of Ollivander's neck. She looked back at the old man. "I won't have to do anything if you tell me exactly what you told Andromeda." She leant in, bringing her lips close to the wand maker's ear. "Tell me what I need to know and I might just spare you."

Ollivander shook his head. Even in this moment, where he could almost see his own death, he still vowed to keep his word to Andromeda. Tears welled up in his eyes and he bit down on his lip, expecting the violent lashing of magic before it had even struck him. He had been here before, at the hands of the other two Black sisters when they demanded information about the third core. He had survived once. He hoped and prayed he could survive again.

"You idiot!" Hermione suddenly screamed and her wand came down in a slashing motion. Its tip grazed across Ollivander's cheek, drawing blood from underneath his paper thin skin. His defiance angered her. "Don't you know that I am going to kill you if you don't tell me what I want to know?!"

"I won't be worth anything to you once I'm dead," Ollivander managed to whisper. Blood began to seep into his mouth.

Hermione lowered her wand under his chin. "You won't be any good to her either," she hissed. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't slit your throat right here, right now?" She pressed her wand even firmer against his neck and felt his warm blood trickle onto the back of her hand. She took a deep breath and then suddenly she lashed out.

"CRUCIO!"

He fell backwards, hitting his head on the table. Blood began to pool onto the floor as Ollivander's body began to convulse. Susana leapt away from him, her bare feet now standing in a growing sea of blood. The old man's eyes rolled back into his head as he fought for every ragged breath. His weakened body didn't fight the curse. Instead the pain spread into every cell of his body and reached his brain, forcing him to relive the horrors from his past. The bone chilling cry of his sister mere seconds before being butchered by a Death Eater echoed in his head.

"Tell me what I want to know!" Hermione demanded as she walked over to Ollivander's still jerking body. She lowered her wand and the convulsing stopped. He inhaled deeply, tasting his own blood on his tongue, and his eyes were wide open and his pupils dilated. Blood stuck to his head, his face and his hands and had started to seep into the floorboards. She ignored the feeling of the blood underneath her feet and between her toes as she hovered over him. "Tell me or die!"

His breaths became more and more ragged and every breath was shallower than the one before. Hermione dropped to her knees beside him, grasping him by his shoulders and pulling him into a half seated position. Her hands were covered in the old man's blood. Her hazel eyes pierced into his. She shook him violently, causing his head to lull sideways. "TELL ME!"

Ollivander's eyes started to go dull, losing the light of life. Hermione's hand shot down to his chest and she could feel his heartbeat fade out under her fingers. She desperately clung on to him in a bid to find out his secret. She leant in. "Tell me and I'll let you live. Give you another chance at life. Tell me what you told Andromeda and I will send you back to England. I'll see to it that Bellatrix and Narcissa will never find you. I'll hide you myself!"

"Fiend... Fiendfyre..." Ollivander's voice was but a whisper and desperate eyes searched Hermione's face. "Fiendfyre."

"Andromeda and Fiendfyre?" Hermione whispered and Ollivander nodded. "She thinks it can destroy the Cores?" The wand maker nodded again and suddenly she let go off him. He lost his balance and fell back onto the bloodied floor. Hermione slowly stood up. Blood had stained her clothes, her hands and her face. Her eyes were hollow and empty and she slowly raised her arm, pointing her wand at Ollivander's chest.

"Avada Kedavra."

The green flash of light briefly lit up the old man's eyes and then it was gone. His eyes were still wide open but void of life. His last ragged breath died on his lips and his body lay limp and destroyed in the pool of blood.

"But you said..." Susana whispered, looking slightly horrified.

"I know what I said. I was never going to save him. I just needed him to believe that I was," Hermione whispered and turned away from Ollivander and the blood. She slowly walked back to the window. The sun had fully set behind the horizon and soon darkness would be here. Andromeda was out there somewhere, believing that Fiendfyre was the way to destroy the Cores. Hermione wrapped her arms around herself as she arranged her thoughts.

"What is Fiendfyre?" Susana asked curiously and walked up to Hermione. "I have never heard of it before."

"It is Dark Magic," Hermione answered. She had heard the term once or twice in her life and had read about it back at Hogwarts. "It is a very powerful fire spell that cannot be simply put out with an Aguamenti Charm or any other form of normal water. The blaze is so strong that it will destroy anything that comes onto its path. It is almost impossible to be stopped."

"She believes it can destroy the Three Cores?" Susana questioned and rested her head on Hermione's shoulder. "It doesn't make sense. She would have to burn all three of you to do it. You're not just going to throw your wand into the flames, are you?"

"That's the part that bothers me," Hermione answered. "There has got to be more to it. Knowing how to use Fiendfyre and using it isn't going to be good enough and Andromeda knows this." She chewed her lip and took a deep breath. "She knows something else. Something she didn't tell Ollivander or something he didn't tell us." She glanced back over her shoulder at the dead man in the pool of blood. "He wouldn't have lived long enough to tell me the full truth anyway. He was beyond saving."

"Do you know how to use Fiendfyre?" Susana whispered. She kissed the back of Hermione's neck.

"It is difficult to control. The flames are enormous and take on the shapes of serpents and dragons. They will change constantly," Hermione explained. "I have never dared to use the spell, not even when the Three Cores are united. It requires an immense control. The flames possess the ability to follow an intended victim, as strange as this may sound."

"So what happens now?" Susana asked. "Where will you go?"

"Back to England," Hermione answered. "Andromeda has gone home, carrying with her knowledge that could potentially destroy us. I need to know what it is she found and what she intends to do. Besides, the Cores cannot be separated for long." She remembered leaving Ginny in the care of Bellatrix and Narcissa and smirked. "There are things that need to be taken care of." She turned slowly to look at the Italian woman. "You can come with me if you like."

Susana suddenly smiled. "Sounds to me like you have enough on your hands, my love. Perhaps I ought to stay here. There are people who like what you are doing. I can find them for you."

"Build an army abroad," Hermione answered and leant in. Her lips brushed against Susana's and she pulled her closer. "I like the way you're thinking."

"I don't just like the way you're thinking," Susana said knowingly and brushed a strand of hair out of Hermione's eyes. "Whenever you need help, call for me and I will be there. I will find those willing to support you. Plenty of people here heard about that Dark Lord you mentioned. They liked him so they'll like you."

"Perfect," Hermione breathed against the other woman's cheek, "I do hope you don't mind me not taking him?" She pointed at Ollivander. "I'm sure you can think of a way to dispose of him."

Susana smiled and pointed through the window at the incoming tide. "There is an ocean on my doorstep. He'll never be found."

~()~

"Get up!" Bellatrix growled and her fingers tangled in strands of red hair, yanking Ginny Weasley to her feet. The young witch almost immediately lost her balance, collapsing onto her knees. A soft whimper of pain escaped her but Bellatrix dealt an unforgiving backhand and Ginny's head jolted backwards, revealing the dark purple bruises across her face. Her eyes were both swollen shut, her lip was split and she was missing a front tooth.

"Up, I said!" Bellatrix scoffed and her strong hands grabbed the reluctant young woman by her shoulders and began dragging her out of her cell. The wizard that had been assigned to guard the dungeons looked on without flinching. Ginny's knees scraped across the floor as Bellatrix continued to pull at her arms.

"For fuck sake, I don't plan on dragging you up those bloody stairs," Bellatrix hissed once she had managed to drag Ginny out of her cell. She let go off the girl's arms and she collapsed again. Bellatrix kicked her into her side and Ginny curled up into a ball. "Either you walk or I'll force you up!"

Ginny managed to stagger to her feet, grabbing the stone wall for support. Her head was throbbing and she could barely see where she was going. With every step her body ached and her stomach growled in persistent hunger. All she had been given in her cell was some luke warm water. She managed to reach the stairs and slowly lifted up one leg to start climbing. Bellatrix was standing behind her, impatiently poking her wand into her back.

"Get on with it, you worthless piece of shit!"

It took ten minutes for Ginny to reach the top of the stairs. She tripped over the last step and fell face first onto the cold marble. The horrible feeling of sickness returned and her stomach turned. The vomiting that followed produced only bile and resulted in Bellatrix shrieking in outrage before forcefully using her foot to shove Ginny further into the room.

"Disgusting," she hissed. "You're lucky I haven't killed you right here!"

"Ah, look what we have here," said Narcissa as she rose up from the chair she had been sitting in. She scrutinized Ginny's bruised face from where she was standing. Purple bruised were bleeding into bright red marks and already slightly discolouring yellow and green. "If it isn't the little treacherous rebel."

Ginny lay on her side and felt Bellatrix's rough fingers brush her hair aside. The raven haired woman revealed the burn mark in the back of her neck and she flinched when cold fingers pressed against the swollen skin. Tears sprung into her eyes when Bellatrix pressed a little bit harder and Ginny clenched her jaw, hoping to smother her own outcry of pain.

"It's festering," Bellatrix said and Narcissa moved closer too.

Bellatrix was right. The blisters of the burn had popped and now the skin underneath lay exposed. The first signs of infection had started to show. Yellow scabs had begun to form around the wound and the red inflammation of the skin had spread all the way down to Ginny's back. Soon the wound would be filled with puss and the infection would spread into her blood, slowly poisoning and killing her.

"What are we going to do with her?" Narcissa asked, fixing her blue eyes on her sister.

"I say we ask a few more questions," Bellatrix laughed and drew her wand. She aimed it at Ginny and her charcoal eyes were alive when the curse rolled off her lips. "Crucio!"

~()~

The Three Broomsticks only catered to resistance members these days. There was hardly anybody else left in Hogsmeade and the pub had become the standard place for people to meet. Almost every night people came in looking for the latest news or to make new plans. Rosmerta gladly offered her services and had proven herself to be rather strategic.

Andromeda looked around the group of people that had gathered tonight. Seamus and Dean sat at the bar, each clutching a bottle of Butterbeer. They had not said a word since coming in. The table closest to the bar was occupied by Hannah and Marcus and they had been joined by Katie Bell, an old friend of Harry's who had played Quidditch with him. She had only arrived in Hogsmeade an hour ago after fleeing her parents' house in Leeds. She had heard about the resistance and joined, reminding Dean and Seamus that it was like Dumbledore's Army and they needed to do something.

The atmosphere in the pub was solemn. Everyone knew they had lost at least four of their members tonight. Fred and George were dead. Andromeda didn't even question that fact. Bellatrix and Narcissa had no reason to leave them alive. Rolanda and Poppy were dead too. Dean and Seamus told her that they had tried to go back to find their bodies but all they found were smouldering heaps of ash. Nobody dared to think about what had happened to Ginny.

"What happened to Ollivander?" Tonks asked, rousing her mother from her thoughts. The question had been burning on the tip of everyone's tongue.

Andromeda looked around. Rosmerta was leaning against the bar. "I found him in Italy and he gave me the information I needed. However, Hermione found him too and it came to a clash inside Saint Marc's Basilica. I tried to protect him but Hermione and Susana, the girl that was with her, were too quick. Hermione attacked me. Once in the church and once before that. They grabbed Ollivander and disappeared. Merlin knows where they went."

"Who is this Susana?" Rosmerta asked.

"Lucia told me that she is a bright and clever young woman. She is a little strange apparently. She has a deep fascination for the Dark Arts and never quite overcame the fact that the church burnt both her parents on the stake. Lucia explained to me that Susana was looking for something to give her life meaning again but she was so full of rage and anger that it was very hard to control her," Andromeda said. "The y tried to guide her in the right direction but the darkness inside of her just grew. In the end she would always fall for the Dark side, Lucia said. It was just a matter of time."

"Sounds like somebody else we know," Tonks said dryly and her mother's eyes met hers. "So she is with Hermione now?"

"I have no doubt Hermione will be coming back to England sooner rather than later. She knows I went home and she will want to know what I know," Andromeda said slowly. "She'll be back."

"What are we going to do about Ginny?" Dean asked. "Bellatrix has her. I don't even think I want to know what she's doing to her right now."

"We can't do anything," Andromeda sighed. "Not until we find Gregorovitch and he can help me with the rest of the plan."

"What exactly is your plan?" Rosmerta asked and suddenly all eyes were focused on the dark haired witch. "You found Ollivander and he told you something. What is it he told you?"

"Only he could tell me if what I wanted could really work. He is the man who created the Three Cores. I needed to know if he believed something could be created to break them apart, destroy them," Andromeda answered. "When I met with Ginny in his old wand shop, I spotted something he had been w0rking on. I saw pieces of paper stuck to the wall of his office, detailing the outline of a wand that could hold a whole new kind of Core. However the papers were badly burnt when the Death Eaters torched the shop."

"There are many kinds of wand cores. What makes you think this one was any different?" Tonks asked.

"I merely relied on the belief that if Ollivander knew what he had created, he would have tried to destroy it. He didn't have much time, which is probably why he never got to finish it," Andromeda explained. "I needed to ask him what he had started, what he knew. If there is a way to destroy the Cores then he could very well be the only one who knew how."

"And did he?" Seamus asked.

"Up to a point, yes," Andromeda answered. "How many of you have heard of Fiendfyre?"

"Isn't that the Dark Magic fire that destroys everything it encounters, using just about anything for fuel?" Tonks asked, relying on her Auror training. "It takes on the shapes of serpents and dragons and requires someone really strong to control it. I have seen it used once and the flames hunted down the person the spell was aimed at before turning on the person who cast it. Needless to say neither of them survived. Why would you think of Fiendfyre?"

"Because it was written on one of the notes," Andromeda answered. "I didn't understand it at first because you cannot use fire, or a flame, as a wand core. It would just incinerate the wood. But Ollivander explained something else to me. He said that if Fiendfyre is allowed to burn unchecked for too long it can produce something called an Ashwinder."

Rosmerta frowned. "What the bloody hell is an Ashwinder?"

"A serpent that is created from the remains of any magical fire when left to burn," Andromeda answered and the term serpent immediately made her think of Hermione. "They are pale and thin with red eyes. They'll rise from the embers of a dying fire and slither off to lay their eggs in a dark corner somewhere. They leave an ashy trail behind. Once they have laid their eggs, they die. The eggs will ignite and eventually burn the building down."

"I see. Fiendfyre never really dies down unless the eggs are destroyed," Dean said. "But what has this got to do with Ollivander and his wand?"

"When I asked him if some element of Fiendfyre could be used as a wand core, he confessed he had been experimenting with it but he couldn't figure out how to add the fire to the core. He had been looking for a way to use a destructive fire as a magical wand which meant that any spell it casts would immediately burn whatever object it strikes," Andromeda explained. "Fiendfyre looks like our only chance to destroying the Cores."

"But how do you add it to a wand?" Katie asked. "Ollivander just said that he couldn't do it. All other wand cores are solid. Unicorn hair, dragon heart string, phoenix feather. How could he use something that is liquid?"

"It was something only one man ever managed to do before," Andromeda said. "Gregorovitch once succeeded in using a liquid core made out of frozen dragon blood which was then allowed to melt inside the wood. Now blood has a whole different structure than fire, not to mention it doesn't destroy everything in its wake but Ollivander hoped that Gregorovitch would be able to help." She looked at her daughter. "We know he's in England but we have to find him first."

"What about the Elder wand?" Rosmerta suddenly asked.

"Come again?" Andromeda asked. "I don't think I have ever heard of it."

"Do you know the Tale of the Three Brothers?" Rosmerta asked. "The first one asked for a wand so powerful it could rule all others. The second brother asked for a way to be reunited with his lover who had died and the third one asked for a way to cheat Death?" A few people in the pub nodded. "I once heard a story that said that it wasn't just a fairytale and those three items actually exist. The Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak. Together they form the Deathly Hallows. They are said to make one the Master of Death."

"I think I have heard a story about the Death Stick before," Tonks said and glanced at her mother. "And this time I am not referring to Hermione's wand." She sighed. "But everyone always said it was just a fairytale. You know, something a parent made up once to tell their stubborn child before going to bed at night. Nobody knows if the Deathly Hallows actually exist."

"We can't sit around and wait to find out if they exist or not," Andromeda said and rubbed her eyes. It was late and she was tired. The lack of sleep was beginning to catch up. "We need Gregorovitch if we want to find out if he can help us or not."

"The search resumes first thing tomorrow morning," Tonks said and stood up. "We travel in groups. Meet me down here at eight o'clock tomorrow and we'll discuss exactly where we're going with this. Try and get some sleep tonight. I know it's been a hard couple of days and we are all worried about Ginny but our best chance at saving her is by being rested and alert."

A handful of people were staying at the Inn whilst others had found accommodation in the village. Rosmerta saw those who were leaving out and then bolted the front door. When she turned around she found Andromeda climbing the stairs, with Tonks behind her. She followed them up and on the landing they went their separate ways.

"How much chance do you think we've got?" Tonks asked her mother before opening the door to her room.

Andromeda rubbed the arm where Hermione had burnt her. "I don't know," she answered. "I really don't know but we have to try. If we don't, all might as well be lost."