Pouring herself another cup of tea, she bit her lip as she pondered all that Miguel had said.
"So this 'Brotherhood'... Voldemort was part of it?" she questioned, frowning into her cup as she inhaled the soft aroma of the Earl Grey tea.
"Yes. Everyone assumed he was working alone with his own agenda but he wasn't the first Dark wizard to rise to prominence. For centuries there have been Dark wizards, mostly from Persia, some from Europe, but all connected to this secret organization. They have one goal in mind: Immortality. Blood purity is part of their doctrine because they believe only pureblood witches and wizards deserve immortality, and they seek dominance over the entire world- both muggle and wizard."
Harry spoke up, confusion marring his brow. "I don't understand..why are we only just hearing about this now? We fought a war in wizarding England to defeat Voldemort, and we fought in the Middle East to stop Dark wizards from coming into Europe to take his place..we had intelligence, we had covalent operations, but we didn't know about this." He stole a glance at Hermione, who put her cup down on the saucer and sighed.
"We did Harry, we knew they were coming to Europe and we knew they had purpose, we just didn't know they had an agenda that Voldemort was part of." She turned to Miguel. "What else do you know?"
Miguel pulled the files out of the boxes. "We know that for some time there has been an increase in smuggling activity all along the Mediterranean, particularly around the Bay of Cadiz and Venice. We know that both routes are via Morocco. Several aristocratic families from across Europe have been targeted. Almost all have links to Voldemort and were his followers."
"How many kidnappings?" Draco asked, the tension in his voice apparent.
Miguel sighed and past him the files, "Five, including Ms. Parkinson."
"Leads?"
"Our department is looking into that," Miguel answered, looking away.
"Why have they been kidnapping people linked to the Death Eaters?" Hermione asked, the pieces of the puzzle clicking in her mind.
"We think Voldemort had something in his possession that 'The Brotherhood' needed in their quest for immortality," Miguel told her, passing her the intelligence reports.
"The Philosopher's Stone " Hermione murmured, causing Harry to look up sharply.
"The stone was destroyed," Harry reminded her carefully.
Hermione pulled her notebook from her briefcase and flipped through the pages. "I knew something about all this sounded familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it before. The darkest books in the Zabini library, the ones Bill had to help me with, they all spoke about The Elixir. But that could have been anything so it didn't click before. Now, I know they were talking about The Elixir of Life. Yes, the Stone held by Nicholas Flamel was destroyed, but it might not have been the only one in existence." Flipping through a few more pages, Hermione narrowed her eyes at the words written there. After a short pause, she continued, "And even if it was, only we knew it had been destroyed and we assumed Voldemort wanted it to regain his corporeal form. When he came back we were concentrating on the horcruxes, but if you think about it, if he had horcruxes, he didn't need the Stone for immortality- he achieved that without the Stone. There must be something more, something we are still missing, and it must have to do with the Elixir of Life."
She watched as realisation dawned on Harry and Draco's faces.
Draco was the first to speak. "So the increase in activity we have seen in the smuggling of Dark Artefacts, that is because they are looking for a Stone to create the Elixir of Life?" he asked, trying to gain insight into his wife's ruminations.
Hermione frowned. "There must be something else they are looking for, an artefact that goes with the Stone." She turned to Harry. "Remember Flamel could only retain his immortality all the while he was able to produce the Elixir? What if there was more to it than that?"
Harry smiled. "I know where you are going with this."
Hermione pulled a piece of parchment out of her bag as Draco groaned, watching the smile on her lips as she penned her letter. When she finished, she handed it to Miguel, who looked at each of them in turn, wondering what he'd missed.
Draco huffed, "I should have expected you to end up in a library on our honeymoon shouldn't I?"
.
Placing the cup of espresso down on the table, Blaise strode into the villa as he heard her call his name. "Hermione, mio amore, how was Spain?" he asked her, embracing her warmly.
"It was beautiful. I just wish it hadn't been cut so short," she sighed, looking up at him, seeing the same look in his eyes she had seen in Draco's. They were all deeply worried about Pansy, but none more than Blaise and Draco, who considered her a sister.
"Where is Draco, piccolina?" he asked her, his face showing his concern.
"He went straight to the study. He isn't happy." She grinned at the confused expression on her friends face. "Putting the honeymoon on hold to find Pansy would be one thing, especially if we were staying in Spain. It's the fact that I cut it short to come here to use the library that is causing him to sulk."
Blaise sat down on the sofa, mulling over her words. "Is he upset because…"
Hermione sensed where he was going with this. "Of course not; he was already mad at me for being typically stuck in books."
Blaise chuckled loudly. "Oh mia bella, I can sympathise with the poor man, but really, he should have upped his game then."
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with my game," intoned Draco as he strode into the lounge, going straight to the sideboard and pouring himself a double Firewhiskey before turning to the pair.
"We need to find her Blaise," he told him, as they shared a silent look.
"I know," he agreed somberly. "I think you need to speak with Ron"
"Yes, where is he?" asked Hermione, growing concerned. "I thought he would be at the Ministry in Spain."
Blaise shook his head. "Molly and Arthur have been here to help look after Cosimo. Ron hasn't left their suite since he returned. He is distraught. Binny is beside herself as she cannot get him to eat anything."
Leaving the two men behind, Hermione rushed towards the suite on the third floor.
Draco held Blaise's gaze as Hermione left the room. "What aren't you telling me?"
Blaise sighed.
"Pansy was being blackmailed."
.