"Please Mr. Malfoy, have a seat. Join us." Dumbledore motioned to the chair beside Hermione. Malfoy reluctantly took the seat and continued to wear a nasty look as he waited for the Headmaster to explain himself. Hermione couldn't bear to look at him; Malfoy was the cause of so much torment to her. He was the one who called her a MudBlood, a witch or wizard who came from muggle parents. She wanted nothing more than to leave the room, but she was far too curious as to what Dumbledore was so concerned over to keep her out of school.

"I don't see why I am here. I was made headboy, I should be back…" Malfoy ignored the drink in front of him.

Dumbledore took another sip of his drink, "That will all come in due time. For now, let's enjoy our drinks."

"Sir…" Hermione pondered aloud, "If you are here, who is in charge at Hogwarts?"

"Ordinarily Professor McGonagall would be in charge, however she is away. So Professor Snape has stepped up for the role."

Malfoy nodded, "He is a fine teacher and will finally be able to teach some people the proper way of wizards."

Hermione's anger bubbled again; she knew the veiled reference was to her and her friends. She gripped the bug tighter in her hands to keep from saying something nasty back. Dumbledore motioned for another round of drinks. After a few more minutes of uncomfortable silence, Dumbledore finished his drink, stood up and motioned for them to follow.

"I believe we have a need for a more private space my dear." He slipped the waitressing witch a silver coin. She smiled and motioned to the first door down the hall. As the three stepped inside, the door closed on its own and a soft hum of magic sealed it tight. "Now onto business as I am sure you two are curious."

The Headmaster sat down at the head of the small table that filled the room, the students sat down in the other two chairs. A large map spilled over the edges of the table, Hermione stared at the map; she had seen this magic before. Harry had a map of his own called a Marauder's Map; it showed the exact detail of everyone in the Hogwarts castle. Only this map was huge, it showed all of London and its inhabitants. Draco's eyes bugged as he watched the tiny dots with the people's names wander about on the map.

"It's been brought to my attention that Voldermort has been spotted recently in London." Dumbledore started. "Myself and another wizard went to track him down, he eluded us from the very start. The red Xs on the map indicate where he has been, he has some sort of cloaking to shield him from these maps but it will show us his previous locations."

Hermione frowned, it seemed to her that he was up to something but this wasn't Voldermort's style. He never was one to lie low on the ground like the serpents he could speak with. The red Xs showed he was frequenting the areas where wizards were more of the norm but it didn't make sense that he wasn't making himself known is some fashion.

"As grievous as this new is, however we have reason to believe that the powerful wizard we know as Voldermort is no more."

"Wait…what?" Hermione glanced up from the map. Draco was frowning even more than usual.

Dumbledore sighed, "It has been reported that Voldermort, along with other witches and wizards, have had his magic power stripped from them."

Hermione's mouth hung open in stunned silence; she didn't even think that was possible. Draco beat her to the question, "Is that even possible?"

"It seems someone has found a way." Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully, "I fear we may be facing a far more terrible threat than Voldermort would have ever possessed. He only wanted to rule the magical world; this new person is seeking to destroy everything. A wizard stripped of his power…this has never been accomplished before. The two of you are to report to this address in an hour." A skinny long finger pointed to a small cottage just on the outskirts of where they were now. "A witch by the name of Minas Serude can answer more questions than I can."

Hermione sat back in her chair. She couldn't find words to explain what she was thinking. Draco was silent as well, he seemed to be paler than normal. The map's tiny dots continued to move about; the single dot inside the tiny cottage was pacing back and forth across her living room.