Many thanks go to thekingofsweden1, rpeh and brianna-xox for beta reading. Their work and diligence has improved the story a lot.

Chapter 16: End of the Line

London, Ministry of Magic, September 20th, 1999, 17.55 hours

Wand-Leader Hermione reached out and grabbed Luna's hand before the witch was halfway to the door of her room. "You can't!"

Her friend whirled around, and for a moment, Hermione was staring right at the tip of Luna's wand, aimed straight at her face. She had underestimated her friend's anger and desire for vengeance. She shouldn't have made that mistake. Luna had never been really angry about her own troubles with her fellow Ravenclaws. Whenever she had been angry it had been on Hermione's behalf.

"What?" Luna asked, trembling.

Hermione stood her ground. Luna was her best friend. No, more than that. She was the sister she had never had. The blonde witch wouldn't hurt her. As she had expected, Luna suddenly gasped when she realised what she was doing, and she hastily pointed her wand away. She was still crying, even more now.

"You can't kill him right now," Hermione said, taking a deep breath. "And you're not the only one whose family he hurt."

Luna frowned, then her eyes widened and she slapped a hand over her mouth, staring at Hermione.

The Wand-Leader nodded. "I found out that my parents didn't abuse me. I was taken from them by Obliviators right after I had first done accidental magic, and they were killed." She swallowed. It still hurt to say it. "As were most of the parents of the Wands."

"Merlin's Snorkack!" Luna mumbled, then hugged her.

Both witches remained hugging each other for a while. Then Luna asked in a whisper. "How long have you known about this?"

Hermione, her head resting on the blonde's shoulder, winced. "I've known it for three weeks."

"Oh Hermione!" Luna said, hugging her harder. "Have you told anyone?"

"I couldn't tell anyone. Even if they'd have believed me, the Minister could have found out when he read their minds." Hermione swallowed. "I told Dean a week ago. He had found out I didn't trust the Minister anymore." She felt Luna tense up in her arms, and knew her friend had to be hurt. Hurt that she hadn't been told. Hurt that she hadn't noticed.

Luna didn't say anything for a few seconds. She broke their hug and took a step back, looking into Hermione's eyes. "But you could tell him, then. So… you don't expect the Minister to read his mind." She paused for another second. "Not before you kill him."

Hermione bit her lip. Her friend had been in Ravenclaw for a reason.

Luna went on: "You met the ghost of my mother. You weren't investigating, you were looking for a way to kill the Minister!"

"Not exactly," Hermione said. "More or less." She sighed. In for a knut, in for a galleon. "I'm not alone. There are others."

"It's not just Dean and you then… Antoine!" Luna gasped.

Hermione told herself that Dumbledore would have expected this when he told her to inform Luna about her mother's ghost. She nodded. "He's actually not from Québec."

"What? He lied?"

She winced. "He didn't have a choice," she said. She understood his ruse, of course. But while it didn't hurt anymore - not really - it still irked a bit that she had not seen through the lie. She pushed the sentiment away. "You two actually met long before I met him."

"What?"

Hermione smiled at Luna. "He's Ron Weasley. Your former neighbour."

Luna stared at her, blinking rapidly. "Oh… Father was right then! He said he looked like a Weasley, even if he didn't have red hair!"

Hermione chuckled. "He dyes his hair. I've never seen how he looks without his disguise, actually."

"What? Are you serious? He's been wearing a disguise all of this time? What if it gets stuck on his face, and he can't take it off?"

"Err… his disguise is his dyed hair, and his beard," Hermione explained.

"Oh." Luna pouted, as she usually did when Hermione shot down a new theory of the blonde.

Hermione smiled. For a moment, the revelations about Luna's mother, her own parents and the Minister seemed forgotten, and it was like they were back at Hogwarts, talking about anything and everything.

The moment didn't last though.

"I'll have to tell Daddy." Luna bit her lip. "I don't know how he will take it. He misses Mummy even more than I do. He'll be back in two days."

Hermione nodded. She knew that, but she also knew that Luna rarely talked about it. It was too painful. And yet now her friend would not only be forced to talk about it, but to confront her mother's ghost as well.

"And you can't stay in the Ministry. The chance that you'll meet the Minister, and he'll read your mind is too great. It won't be for long though." Hopefully, the Minister would be dead before Luna's father returned to Britain.

"I want to help!" Luna took her hands in hers. "Please!"

Hermione sighed, and nodded. That was how Ron must have felt when Ginny had arrived in Britain, she thought.

"Let's go and meet my boyfriend."

London, Diagon Alley, September 20th, 1999, 18.20 hours

Ron Weasley hadn't been looking forward to apologising yet again for having lied about his identity. Especially not to Luna - the girl just had a certain innocence that made him feel really really bad for deceiving her. But he had known that he'd have to, since she was Hermione's best friend, and he was serious about the Wand-Leader. Very serious.

He had just hoped it wouldn't happen this soon. But Hermione had to inform Luna about her mother's ghost; Dumbledore had been quite clear on that, even though he hadn't gone into many details. And so Ron had spent the last hour or so preparing his apology.

He stood up when the door opened and Hermione and Luna entered, but before he could start to deliver his prepared speech, Luna was in front of him, peering at his face with narrowed eyes.

"Hello Luna..." he asked more than greeted her.

She frowned, then turned to Hermione. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to shave him. It won't work otherwise."

"What?" He stared at the blonde, then looked at his girlfriend, who was smiling weakly at at him.

"Hm?" Luna glanced at him. "I said we'll have to shave you. And probably check your ears, if you didn't understand me."

"No, no, I heard you just fine, I just… why would you want to shave me?" he said.

"So I can see how you look without your disguise, of course." Luna nodded, as if it was self-evident.

"Luna," Hermione said. "I told you I don't care about how he looks without a beard."

"Of course you wouldn't! Love is blind, after all. That's why I'll check him. I'm objective." Luna nodded to her own words, and pulled her wand on him. "This will only take a second!"

"Luna! He can shave himself!" Hermione yelled.

"But…" Luna pouted. "Fine!"

Ron looked at Hermione. She pulled out a vial from her robe. "I've got a hair-regrowth potion here." When she handed it to him, she added in a whisper: "Please. She's not taken that well to the news about her mother."

He winced, and nodded, and pointed his wand at his face. A simple charm later, his cheeks were smooth for the first time in weeks. And the two witches were staring at him. Then Hermione cast a Colour Change Charm.

"He does look like a Weasley!" Luna exclaimed. "Just like on the old pictures." Her face fell, and Ron realised that she had probably lost those pictures when her home had been destroyed by Voldemort.

"I used the same colour as his sister's hair," Hermione said.

"All of us have the same hair," Ron added quickly.

Luna was studying his face again, going as far as poking him with the tip of her wand. After about a minute, she nodded. "He's handsome enough. Your children will not be ugly," she said to Hermione.

"Children?" Hermione asked.

"Of course. He is looking for a place to raise a family, isn't he?" She frowned at him. "Or was that a lie as well?"

Yes, Ron thought, Luna was still feeling hurt about his subterfuge. He shook his head. "No, I want to have a family." They hadn't talked about that, though. Not before, and not after he had told her his real name.

"With Hermione." Luna nodded.

"If she'll have me."

"And if you two stop talking about me as if I'm not in the room," Hermione said in a flat tone, though she was blushing a bit. He hoped that was a good sign.

"Sorry," Luna said.

Hermione opened her mouth, probably to say she shouldn't be sorry, but closed it again without saying anything.

"I'm sorry for lying to you, Luna," Ron said. "But I couldn't tell you the truth."

"I understand. It still hurts though," the blonde said. "But I suppose seeing your old home razed to the ground hurt you as well."

He didn't have actual memories of the Burrow, but he had seen pictures. And it had hurt. "Yes."

"But you will return, will you? Your entire family? Once the Minister is dead." Luna sounded hopeful. "It would be nice to have neighbours again. Even though we can apparate and floo all across Britain, neighbours are special. We could rebuild together. Save some costs. Maybe build matching homes. Two Rooks!"

Luna's smile started to slip a bit, and her eyes started to fill with tears, Ron noticed. He nodded quickly. "My parents have always told us that we'll be returning to the Burrow. We will come back and rebuild." He doubted that all of the family would move to Britain though. Some, like Bill and Charlie, had a life they loved in France. And witches too. And he was not certain what Ginny and Harry would do. And he hadn't even asked Hermione where she wanted to live. She hadn't even met his parents yet. But it wasn't the time to mention that.

The blonde witch's smile widened, and she nodded several times. Then she hugged him.

Hermione joined them and ran a hand over his cheek.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"I think I do."

He wanted to kiss her, but Luna still had her arms wrapped around his waist. Hermione grinned at the sight.

Luna sighed and released him after a few more moments. "So… how do we kill the Minister?" she asked, sounding far too innocent for her question.

"Dumbledore has a plan," Ron said. Not that he knew anything about it. Operational security.

"Does it involve Erumpents? Or Nundus?"

"I don't think so." And he fervently hoped Dumbledore wasn't planning on using those animals.

"Aw. What about Lethifolds? Or Manticores? Maybe Acromantulas? There might be some survivors in the Forbidden Forest looking for a new home. There had been a colony there, you know. Or… a Tebo?"

"How would you capture a Tebo?" Ron was quite certain that the Professor's plan didn't involve any animal. But talking about them was a fun way to pass the time until Dumbledore's arrival, without opening any more old and new wounds. And he was certain Hermione was as glad as he was to see Luna acting again like she usually did.

London, Diagon Alley, September 20th, 1999, 19.30 hours

"Good evening, Miss Lovegood," Albus Dumbledore said, after stepping out of the Vanishing Cabinet in Mister Weasley's room at the Leaky Cauldron. It was a bit risky to leave it there, instead of in the basement of the safe house, but they would need to be able to react quickly as soon as Severus managed to convince the Dark Lord to let him kill Lucius, and that meant they needed to be able to apparate without alerting the Ministry. The longer they waited, the bigger the chance that their conspiracy would be discovered.

"Good evening, Mister Dumbledore. Or would you like to be addressed as Professor Dumbledore? Or Chief Warlock in Exile? Or Albus?" the blonde witch asked, looking at him with open curiosity.

"Please call me Albus," he said, smiling.

"Alright, Albus!" Luna chirped. "You can call me Luna then!"

"With pleasure, Luna." When he saw the expressions on Mister Weasley's face, and on Miss Hermione's, he had to refrain from laughing. Even in exile, his reputation diminished, far too few would dare to address him as a friend, rather than a superior.

"So, Albus… where is my mother's ghost?" Luna asked.

She sounded earnest, but there was something in the way she held herself that made Albus think she was not quite as eager as she sounded.

"She's in France. I did not want to bring her with me today, in case you might prefer to have your father at your side for the occasion."

"Oh," Luna said, briefly biting her lip. "I suppose that's a good idea."

She sounded relieved in Albus's opinion. Understandably so. He didn't press the point. "When will your father be back in Britain?"

"He'll be back the day after tomorrow."

Albus nodded. "I can arrange for a meeting then, or the day after, barring circumstances outside my control." Like Severus's success.

"Such as?" Luna asked at once.

"There are plans in motion already, and their consequences might require immediate action."

Luna blinked. "Did you trap Lucius's wardrobe with a lethifold, and don't know when he'll try to wear it?"

"Something like that."

"If it is a lethifold, then I hope it won't get a stomach ache from digesting that murderer!"

"I do not think that will be a danger," Albus said. The girl certainly had imagination, something many wizards and witches seemed to lack these days.

"Good. As much as he deserves to die, his death should not lead to others' suffering."

"I am afraid that this cannot be avoided. The Minister's death will cause many of those he has fooled over the years to mourn him," Albus said.

"Yes. And more will be afraid, and ready to surrender to the Dark Lord," Hermione added.

"The Dark Lord?" Luna's eyes went wide.

"The half-naga is actually the Dark Lord, returned from death," Albus explained. Apparently, Miss Hermione and Mister Weasley hadn't told the witch that yet.

"How did he do that?" Luna asked. "Did he fall victim to a failed self-transfiguration? A potion mishap?"

"I am sorry, but he did not share what he did with me," Albus said. It wouldn't do to tell anyone about Severus's sabotage of that particular ritual.

Luna pouted in response. "And I doubt he'll tell us. After a second, she grew serious again. "If you arranged the death of Lucius Malfoy by lethifold, what about Draco?"

"I have not been able to arrange a similar fate for Draco and Narcissa."

"I could ask Daddy to get another lethifold for Draco."

Luna looked actually serious. Albus almost winced when he imagined what would happen should Hagrid and the Lovegoods meet. "The timing needed makes another trap unfeasible. I am afraid that in those cases, more direct action will be required."

"Can we kill Draco? Hermione, Ron and I? Narcissa never did anything I know of, but Draco..." Luna growled.

"We haven't been able to reliably predict his schedule," Hermione said. "Mainly because he has no schedule and does what he wants on a whim. That makes planning his assassination a bit difficult."

"Daddy says that with the right bait, any creature can be trapped. And Draco certainly qualifies as a creature."

Dumbledore nodded. He had had similar thoughts. The problem was to find the right sort of bait. Since Draco seemed to have given up his attempts to seduce Miss Hermione, the most obvious solution was no longer workable. Although a similar bait might work.

London, Diagon Alley, September 20th, 1999, 20.00 hours

"You want her to get close to Draco?" If not for her Occlumency training, which had included exercises to keep her calm, Wand-Leader Hermione would have been yelling at the Professor. She noticed with some satisfaction that Ron was looking outraged as well. And she noticed with dread that Luna wasn't looking outraged.

"Not in the sense you might be assuming, Miss Hermione," Dumbledore said, perhaps a bit more quickly than he usually spoke. "But while I have not met him myself, from what I deduced from various sources, he is a tad vain, and would not be averse to having an interview with a trusted journalist, or having her accompany him on an outing."

"There would be guards with him on both occasions," Hermione said. "And he might mistake professional interest for personal interest."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Luna said. "If he wants to sleep with me, that would be helpful in separating him from his guards, wouldn't it?"

"Luna!" Hermione gasped. Her friend couldn't plan to…

"What?" Luna frowned at her. "Why can't I use my wiles to lure him to his death? Do you think he'd not fall for such a ruse from me?"

"No, no!" Hermione was quick to say. Luna didn't need to doubt herself. "But if you get implicated in his death, then the Corps will at the very least interrogate you." She smiled wryly. "And the odds that I will be doing that are not very high."

"Oh." Luna looked disappointed.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I was not planning to use such a ploy to directly kill him." He looked at Ron. "Your brothers have developed a device that allows us to track Draco. Quite subtle, and I doubt that anyone is aware of it, much less has developed countermeasures for it."

"Ah! I can do that, easily!"

Luna sounded pleased, but Hermione that knew her friend was putting on an act. She had done the same back at Hogwarts, before Hermione had found out about her troubles. But the Wand-Leader also knew that Luna needed to do something, or she'd get worse. To find out about the murderer of her mother, and not being allowed to do anything against him… Hermione knew how that felt; she hadn't been able to touch the murderers of her parents yet. They needed to be alive so others could find out the truth from them, later. And she was certain that Luna's father would insist on helping as well. Which was another problem that would need to be handled. Xenophilius Lovegood was usually a very friendly wizard, but she didn't doubt for a moment that he'd be enraged once he heard about his wife.

"That still leaves us with the problem that according to your plan, all of our available forces are committed to attacking the Malfoys' home in Diagon Alley. Who would be available to attack Draco?" she said. She didn't really think that Luna and her father were the best choice for that. They could bring in Dean - but Hermione didn't know how he'd take this second major secret she hadn't shared with him.

"You are correct. And while there are measures that would require fewer wands, they would be a bit too destructive to be used with a clear conscience."

Hermione noticed that he hadn't actually said that they wouldn't be used.

"We can also assume that as soon as Lucius is dead, his son will be taken to a safe place by his security detail."

"That's standard procedure, yes," Hermione confirmed. Procedure Draco had known about, but not followed himself.

"We will have to trap this place then."

Hermione hesitated. She knew where Draco was to be taken thanks to her past assignment. And she knew where to check if that had changed. But she also knew at least four Wands would be apparating with him. And she didn't really want to kill them along with Draco.

Dumbledore smiled. "Do not worry. The trap I have in mind will only kill Draco, and not harm any of his guards."

Hermione nodded, but she was still a bit hesitant. This sounded a bit too good to be true. But would Dumbledore try to deceive her, knowing she'd find out? He had been open with her so far. And she didn't think he'd plan to get rid of her. Probably.

"Though Draco's been known to override such procedures," she said.

"In that case we might have to improvise. But even if he should live, his reputation has suffered greatly among the Wands, hasn't it?"

"Yes."

"His power would be limited then."

"Not that limited. Wands are trained to obey. Grudges or even doubts wouldn't change that much."

"We can but do our best, Miss Hermione."

She was certain he had another plan, in case Draco managed to succeed his father, but she nodded. The die had been cast, after all - she was now as much a part of Dumbledore's forces as Ron was.

"So… can Daddy and I join in the assault on the Malfoys' home then? We can dress up as Death Eaters too!"

And even though she knew it hadn't been her fault, she felt as if she had dragged her best friend into this as well. Seeing Luna eagerly asking to be party to killing the Malfoys was disturbing. Her friend had not yet recovered from the shocking revelations, Hermione realised. It had been too much, too quickly. The murder of her mother. The murder of her friends' families. Draco's behaviour towards witches. But, she was certain, Luna was hurt most by the betrayal. She had thought the Minister was a good man. Had looked up to what she believed was a friend of her family.

Hermione knew how her friend was feeling. But she didn't know what killing the Malfoys would do to Luna.

London, Diagon Alley, September 21st, 14.30 hours

Ron Weasley didn't like this part of the plan. Not at all. But Dumbledore had thought of it, and Luna had volunteered, and even Hermione had, after some arguing, agreed. And so he was - discreetly - watching as Luna was flirting with Draco Malfoy.

Technically, she wasn't flirting, just being her usual friendly and cheerful self. But the little monster facing her would certainly think she was flirting. Ron knew men like him, who took every smile as an invitation for more.

He hadn't made any advances so far, but the two were in public. He wouldn't try anything there. Still… he didn't like Luna being so close to the Minister's son. Even if it would lead to the scum's death.

The blonde laughed, pointed at something on the parchment her Dicta Quill was scribbling on, then handed it to Draco. Ron, hidden behind a Daily Prophet and spying on them through his enchanted glasses, tensed up. But nothing happened when Draco took the parchment into his bare hands. The coating of the parchment didn't register as a poison then. His own spells hadn't detected it either, but there had always been the possibility that Draco was protected by more powerful or sensitive spells.

He still didn't like the setup. Luna should be protected by an alchemical concoction of Dumbledore's that covered her skin, but he knew he wouldn't be able to relax until the witch had finished her 'interview' and Draco was gone.

Yorkshire, Nidderdale, September 21st, 1999, 23.21 hours

"Does every safe house look like a cottage or hut?"

Wand-Leader Hermione snickered at Ron's question. "Not every one. The house in Diagon Alley that the Malfoys use is quite impressive. But for a safe house, something less ostentatious seems better. Less obvious."

Ron grunted. "If every safe house looks like that, it's becoming obvious."

Hermione refrained from pointing out that there were far more huts and cottages than impressive estates. Her boyfriend was just a bit unhappy that yet another night was spent mostly on a broom. Even though she didn't mind sitting behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist that much.

"Well… you said there are guards?" Ron asked, pulling out bag from his enchanted pocket.

"Yes. Two Wands and one Healer are stationed there," Hermione said.

"Are they rotated in and out?"

"No. They stay there for as long as the safe house is in active use - usually a period of months. Otherwise, too many would know about its location."

"Wow. That's some boring post." He shook his head.

"While it's against regulations, I do think we can expect the defenses to be a bit more lax than they should be," Hermione said.

"They would still be enough to stop us. If this thing doesn't work…" Ron shook his head and put what looked like a miniature muggle vehicle down.

"Your brothers swore it would work," Hermione pointed out.

"Yes, I know. And I trust them. I just remember them when they were younger, and less trustworthy." He put the thing down and held a box in his hands with a few buttons and levers. A very long cable connected the two.

"What is it exactly?"

"The twins called it a 'remote-controlled miniature Jagdpanther'," he said and pushed two levers forward. The small vehicle started to move forward, then stopped. "Well, it works. So far. Now it has to pass through the wards." He pulled a invisibility cloak over himself and stood up so he could see over the low wall they were hiding behind, then set the small vehicle down there and sent it forward.

Hermione put on her own cloak and stood next to him. She could barely see the dark cable that trailed behind the 'Jagdpanther' and it would be close to invisible from inside the cottage, as the vehicle itself was, if anyone ever looked outside. Ron could only control it thanks to spelled goggles, or he'd lose sight of it as well.

"Close to the wardline… and we're through."

Hermione held her breath. If the theory of the twins had been wrong… it wasn't. Since the thing was devoid of any magic, and technically completely harmless, the wards didn't detect, much less stop it.

About ten minutes later the small thing had reached the cottage.

"Wind's blowing from the correct side. I'm releasing the 'payload'," Ron said, pushing another button. Hermione imagined how the gas was released, and entered the cottage.

They waited five more minutes, then Ron made the vehicle drive back. Not all the way though - neither of them wanted to be close to the thing now. Even if the gas it had dispensed was supposed to be harmless by itself. They mounted their brooms and flew away, dragging the thing behind them on the rest of the cable, then vanished it as soon as they were out of sight and range of the cottage.

London, Ministry of Magic, September 22nd, 1999, 20.05 hours

"Your Advisor in Defense Matters has arrived, sir," Daphne Greengrass said, standing at the door.

"Thank you, dear. Send him in please."

Minister for Magic Lucius Malfoy took care not to show his curiosity, nor his - slight - anxiety. He had to appear both confident and calm to his subordinates, even if Severus wanted to meet him with 'urgent news' and such a message from his spy among the Dark Lord's ranks was more than enough cause to be concerned.

Severus entered, and Lucius's secretary closed the door behind him. The potioneer sat down in his usual seat, looking around.

"We're alone," Lucius assured him. He rubbed his artificial left hand with his right.

Severus nodded. "Good. This information cannot leave this room. It's too dangerous." He leaned forward and dropped his voice to a whisper. "I've looked into the matter of the ambush Draco almost died in."

Lucius leaned forward as well, taking a deep breath. His spy hadn't known about the attack on his son in advance, which had thrown some doubt on just how much the Dark Lord had trusted him.

"You know that the Dark Lord wants your entire family to die."

Lucius nodded. That wasn't exactly a surprise. Lucius had known this was the result of giving Draco the task to hunt the Dark Lord. Had even counted on it. Severus wouldn't have considered this urgent news though.

"He has a plan to assassinate you, and has trusted its execution to the same person who planned the attack on Draco."

Lucius blinked and felt fear rise inside him, before he fought it back down. The Dark Lord had wanted to kill him for over a decade, and hadn't managed so far. "Have you found out how he plans to kill me?" He was well-protected, but if he knew more he could foil any plan.

Severus nodded. "Poison."

Lucius's eyes widened. "Poison?" That was a surprise. With detection spells and numerous antidotes available, poison didn't seem to be a very likely means to assassinate him. "I assume then that the Dark Lord has obtained a very exotic poison that he thinks will get past my defenses."

"Yes." Severus nodded. "He discussed it with me."

Again, no surprise. The Dark Lord certainly would have discussed such a poison with his best potioneer, and asked for advice, since he thought Severus was his loyal spy and was meeting regularly with Lucius. And, Lucius realised, not for the first time, the Dark Lord might not be wrong. If Severus ever thought that Lucius was losing this conflict, he could easily switch sides.

The question was: Did his spy think that? And if so, were the precautions Lucius had taken - he glanced at the crystal on his desk, which was still inert, and the panel in the wall to his side - sufficient to protect him? He didn't have to fear Severus drawing his wand on him, not in this room, but his spy was a potioneer...

"Which poison is it?" Lucius asked, not showing any sign of his growing anxiety. He couldn't afford to appear weak. He blinked.

"It's a muggle one."

Lucius chuckled. "A muggle one?" A bezoar would counter anything the muggles could concoct. Anyone who had passed their N.E.W.T.s exams in Potions knew that. But why would the Dark Lord stoop to such measures?

Severus didn't share his mirth. "I should be more precise. It's a poison adapted from a muggle invention."

Lucius blinked. "A muggle invention?"

"Yes. A binary poison."

Severus was stalling, Lucius realised suddenly. He would not usually take his time in displaying his knowledge. And if he was stalling, then that meant… he blinked again. Was his vision getting blurry?

He slapped his left hand over his mouth and swallowed the bezoar hidden in his palm. His wrist-holster shot his wand into his hand, but he fumbled the catch, and it clattered on his desk. He tried to grasp it, but his wand arm didn't seem to work anymore. Nor did his voice seem to work anymore. Or his lungs.

His left arm did, though. As did the surprises he had built into it. Thin needles shot out of his fingers, but the traitor had dropped to the floor, out of his rapidly diminishing sight. He wished he had installed a trap in his arm, like Antonin. But he had other means to get revenge. He smashed the inkwell on his desk, alerting his guards.

Then his sight faded completely, and the burning in his lungs grew painful. He heard the door opening, heard a shriek, and then nothing anymore.

London, Diagon Alley, September 22nd, 1999, 20.15 hours

"I am sorry, sir, but I have never encountered a Snorkack on the continent. Although I cannot claim to have been…"

Albus Dumbledore had expected it, and so he didn't jump up when a glowing white doe appeared in Mister Weasley's room in the Leaky Cauldron and announced "It is done" in Severus's voice.

The others though had jumped up, and Miss Weasley had even drawn her wand. He had expected that as well, and didn't comment on it. Instead he slowly stood up and said: "Lucius Malfoy has been killed. The Ministry will be in lockdown soon, and the Wands on high alert. Let us be off so we are ready."

Messrs Weasley were the first. Smiling widely, they grabbed their brooms, disillusioned themselves, and disapparated.

Mister Lovegood, with whom he had been discussing various fascinating animals, was next. He hugged his daughter, then dropped a small piece into a vial. A gulp later, his body started to shake and tremble, then blur, and the Dark Lord's inhuman form stood in the room. He blinked, which was a very disconcerting sight for those not used to chimeras, then smiled. Which was even more upsetting. "Marvelous! That's how it feels to be a half-naga!"

His daughter cleared her throat. "Daddy, you need to be off now. Remember the plan!"

"Of course I remember, my little darling! I'll be scaring Hogsmeade and Hogwarts!"

"Be careful!" Luna said, right before her father disapparated.

Miss Hermione pulled out a vibrating stone. "A general alert. I've to report to my team," she said, smiling grimly. She exchanged a hug with Mister Weasley, then disapparated herself.

That left Sirius, Harry, Mister Weasley, Miss Weasley, Luna and Albus himself. Half a dozen - a quite typical number for a Death Eater raiding team, at least in the last war. He smiled at them. Brave young wizards and witches, all of them.

When they appeared in a side alley of Knockturn Alley, wearing the garb of Death Eaters including the typical masks, they heard screams from afar. Messrs Weasley had started to set fire to roofs then, using incendiary draught. Not quite as dangerous as Fiendfyre, nor as deadly, but the fires it started would take some effort to put out, tying up forces from the Ministry. Albus cast a quick spell. Draco was in Diagon Alley, but far from their position. Onward then.

He led the group, disillusioned, to the back of the Malfoys' home. Then came the risky part - taking down the wards. He had studied the wards the day before, and he was confident that, with the help of the wand he had won from Gellert, he could take them down quickly - they weren't old wards, created by blood sacrifices, like those on many manors of old families. The question was: Would he be quick enough so the expected response would not arrive? Messrs Weasley would have finished their arson campaign by now, and would fake an attack on the Ministry, but once the wards of the Malfoys went down, the Wands would react. And if they appeared while he was still taking down the wards, the backlash would be terrible.

But the spell had been cast, the fight was on. He raised his wand and started to tear down the protections on the house.

It took him five minutes to take the wards down, and he felt more exhausted than he had hoped. Rushing things, he thought, breathing heavily, always led to more effort than needed. Out loud he said: "It's done!" while sealing the windows on this side of the house with a flick of his wrist.

He immediately focused on what he had seen in Miss Hermione's memories, and apparated into the house, right into the room with the Floo connection. He had an Anti-Apparition Jinx covering the building, preventing anyone from fleeing or coming to their rescue, before the two guards realised he was there.

The Wands there were quick and skilled, but they had been covering the Floo connection and the door, and he had appeared in the corner of the room. The first Wand was down, smashed into the wall, before she could react, the second's first spell was stopped by his shield, and the Wand didn't get another spell off before he too joined his comrade at the wall with broken bones.

He didn't like to hurt them so, but if he just stunned them, some would suspect foul play. Even them surviving would be suspicious to Miss Hermione's colleagues. Hopefully, Sirius and the others would not have to kill anyone, other than Narcissa of course.

Albus transfigured the Floo connection into a flowerpot, sealing it off - and stopping the Thief's Downfall above it that would remove both disguises and compulsions from any passing through. Then he cursed the two Wands with a slow-acting, exotic, dark spell he knew that St. Mungo's had the counter-curse for, and strode out of the room. Time was of the essence.

A Wand was running down the stairs, saw him and stopped, wand rising. Albus hit her with a stunner before opening a hole underneath her, sealing the witch into the stairs. Another spell made it appear as if the cracks in the stone allowing her to keep breathing were the unintentional result of a curse aimed at her during the fight.

He sealed the front door and windows while Sirius entered the hallway. "Back's clear. Two Wands down and cursed," he announced, rushing up the stairs followed by Harry, Mister Weasley and Miss Weasley.

Luna though - he recognised the marker he had left on her disguise - wandered over to him. "We should head to Draco's room," she whispered.

"He will have been evacuated to the safehouse by now," he said.

"Mh… we should still go to his room."

He took a look outside. No reinforcements were arriving so far. Nodding, he led the witch upstairs, past a whimpering, suffering Wand on the first floor. Sirius's work; Harry didn't use those kind of spells.

They arrived in front of Draco's room thanks to Miss Hermione's memories. The door was closed and - as a spell told him - locked and reinforced. It wouldn't stop him, of course.

"Please open a mouse hole in the wall."

Intrigued, he did as Luna asked. She nodded, and he just knew she was smiling behind her mask, then knelt down and pulled out a small box. A spell later and a mouse hurried through the hole he had opened.

"Snuffbox to Mouse," she said, standing up. "Many think it's not a useful spell, but I think it's just overlooked, and deserves its chance to shine. Although it's not really a snuffbox, if it contains no snuff, is it?" Then she swished her wand.

"Finite."

Despite the situation he smiled behind his own mask and aimed his wand at the door. It wouldn't take long for the second part of the binary poison that Luna had just released to take effect.

A few seconds later, the door was opened and a Blasting Curse stopped by his shield. A Banishing Charm threw the witch trying to rush out back into the room, despite her Shield Charm, and into the wall. The other witch, kneeling next to a body on the ground, sent a volley of curses at him which he sidestepped, ending her Shield Charm, then hitting her legs with a Bone-Breaking Curse. She collapsed, screaming, before a Stunning Spell knocked her out.

Draco lay there, twitching. The Wands had been trying to save him - Albus saw vials of what had to have been antidotes, and a box with bezoars on the ground. Not that either would have worked against the poison Albus and Nicolas had created.

"He might have some Atlantean Cockroach in his line, they are very hard to kill after all," Luna said, staring down at Draco. Lucius's son was foaming at the mouth and making gargling noises with each breath he took. When the foam turned red, Luna shook her head. "But even those cockroaches die to the right kind of poison."

Draco stiffened, then relaxed, his open eyes staring sightlessly at them. Luna shrugged and picked up the snuffbox she had transfigured earlier, sealing it up before storing it inside her robe. Albus approved of her caution - they were protected from the binary poison's effect, but it was better not to take too many chances. It was not quite basilisk poison, but it was a serious threat even to alchemists, if they were careless.

"How did you know he was here?" Albus asked.

"It was an easy deduction. Draco always ran to his parents if there was any trouble. With his daddy dead, that left his mummy," Luna said.

The two left the room and headed to the uppermost floor. Sirius and the others were already there.

"My dear cousin's dead," the wizard announced. "She never was as good with curses as she thought. Unlike Bellatrix. I've used a family curse. If the Wands are clever they'll track it back to Bellatrix; it was a favorite of hers."

Right then the house shook. "Reinforcements have arrived," Albus stated calmly. "Please mount your brooms." He did so himself, then aimed his wand at the ceiling.

"Bombarda."

His spell blew most of the roof away, opening a hole for them to fly through. The debris thrown up had hampered the flyers who were not chasing after the twins, and their scattered formation was not able to stop them from flying outside the Anti-Apparition Jinxes and apparating into a forest near the one Draco had almost died in.

The Wands wouldn't apparate blindly into another possible ambush, so the group had ample time to shed their disguises and vanish them.

"That's the end of the Malfoy regime!" Sirius declared. "The end of our exile!" The others cheered and Luna did a little dance.

Albus let them enjoy the moment, before they mounted their brooms and set out to return to London. The Malfoys were dead, but that didn't mean the exiled British could return. And the real enemy was still alive. And Tom would now be aware that someone else was involved in this war.

Severus planned to lay the blame for this on Augustus, making Tom believe the man had survived the incident in the Department of Mysteries, but Albus didn't think the Dark Lord would fall for that ruse.

No, the fight against Voldemort would not be quite as easy as ending the Malfoys had been.