She didn't get much of a chance. Not that anybody at the Manor knew about the little deal Dr Jamie Duncan had made with herself. No one was much interested in questioning her anymore.

There'd been a good bit of wrangling around the Manor. How to handle the two prisoners, where to keep them. How to manage their own… justice.

First, they were put into two of the more remote outbuildings. But this proved harder to guard and the guards were necessary. Not so much for the prisoners themselves, who were easily contained with magical wards and sealing charms on the buildings. The guards were there to keep some semblance of order amongst the overeager tenebris ones at their new Manor guests.

Also difficult - the lack of a true cell-like space. Getting meals to the prisoners had to be managed. Duncan was easy in this regard; Jackson, not so much. Jackson was inclined to provoke a physical encounter. It was plain the man wanted his death to hurry up and arrive.

Another quandary: visibility.

Everyone wanted to watch. But they didn't have the sort of one-way glass interrogation room of the detention facility. Now, everybody tried to crowd in together and no one could keep quiet. It was chaos, complete disorganisation.

Hermione, for the first time in months, threw her weight around as the lead Healer on the property. Harry backed her as the Auror in charge. Together they were the decision-makers of all Manor-related difficulties.

Hermione declared that a space had to be created to suit their needs. They mimicked the previous room to the best of their ability. She chose one of the closer buildings to the Manor itself for proximity, and she directed the team of Aurors to split it into quadrants.

Two cells against the back wall, soundproofed to each other, solid wall between them. The front half of the building was for 'viewing,' in a manner of speaking. The wall facing the cells was transfigured into a sort of glass not unlike the one-way mirror. It would allow the tenebris ones who were interested to watch the goings on in the cells, but they couldn't shout out their own questions or contributions. They couldn't interrupt.

Harry confided in Hermione that he wasn't sure they'd be able to find out anything new. He'd been surprised by the unorthodox bartering of the Wizengamot to send the prisoners here, but he didn't really care. What he did care about was keeping order.

The tenebris seminio themselves all approached the prisoners in different ways. Some still wanted to interrogate them. They had burning questions and wouldn't be satisfied until they got to ask them, even if the Ministry had already asked. They wanted to know for themselves. Duncan's bartering was occasionally useful - to her, anyway - but they didn't learn anything new.

Some wanted to punish them. Harry had cleverly crafted boundaries around this motivation by providing specific wands for use. They could only inflict certain types of damage to a certain extent. No individual tenebris one could kill the prisoner. After all, the rest still deserved a turn at justice.

They did have a couple of near incidents, necessitating a constant guard of Aurors inside the cells as well. Plenty of people didn't need or want a wand to confront the prisoners. Physical altercations were just fine.

Jackson was an expert at instigating these. He didn't even seem to mind the brawling, in fact. Hermione thought he rather enjoyed it, which somewhat defeated the purpose. Harry considered banning physical attacks on Jackson but the tenebris ones liked them.

Those who were annoyed that Jackson didn't seem to mind fighting simply went back to wands, inflicting pain in other ways. Those who wanted to hit him kept hitting him.

Hermione struggled. She knew why they were there. She knew every person who'd been a lab subject deserved retribution, and only they could determine when they had closure. Each one was different. She still hated the Healing of the two prisoners, over and over and over again. Finally, Draco went to Harry about it over Hermione's wishes. It had to stop somehow.

He suggested that Hermione and Padma teach any Aurors who were interested in some basic Healing spells and charms.

Hermione was still called into service on occasion, as was Padma, but it greatly reduced the amount of injuries she had to manage.

A side effect of this Hermione tried not to think about was that several of the tenebris ones themselves were also interested in learning. They wanted to prolong their 'sessions' with the prisoners. Hermione set her jaw and taught them all as much as she could.

'Do no harm.' That was the core medical tenet, the one mission all Healers tried to abide by. Hermione tried to look at it in a certain way: she had two opposite groupings of people with competing interests. She couldn't prioritise both. Her priority was her own patients and their healing. That was who she was helping now. And they deserved her help.

ooo

Ronan was an avid visitor to the prisoner building. Hermione and Draco were both relieved. He finally had all the access to them that he could want.

Even Rose seemed less tense, as if Ronan finally having an outlet was benefiting her, too. Probably it was.

"Did you hear?" Hermione asked her during Quidditch one evening. "For the full moon on Saturday, the Aurors are going to take down the soundproofing and let them listen to the werewolves roam."

Rose looked at her with wide blue eyes. "Really? Is it safe?"

Hermione knew she wasn't concerned about the prisoners' safety. It was more about not allowing any possibility of the werewolves attacking people. Something like that could never get out, even if the ones attacked had been prisoners in the first place.

"Harry told me the wards will be the same as on the Manor. But they'll be able to hear them howling right outside their walls all night."

Rose grinned widely, showing her teeth. "Good."

Hermione couldn't help but agree. This was the sort of thing she did approve of.

"No one's heard anything new out of the interrogations, though, have they?" Rose asked, curious.

Hermione shook her head. "Not that I've heard."

"I had an idea. What if -" the blonde stopped, searching for words. "What if we tempt them somehow, about O'Leary?"

"What do you mean?"

"Tell them we have her. We can lie. Or tell them we know she's trying to find them. Wind them up."

Hermione considered. She didn't think anyone had tried that. She could ask Harry, of course, but no one had mentioned anything like it.

Rose was picking up speed. "Actually, I think both would work. I think telling Jackson that we have her might spark that drive he has to protect her. And I think if Duncan thinks O'Leary is trying to help her, trying to get her out, I think she'll trip all over herself."

Both of these assessments were probably spot on, Hermione thought. Once again, the Veela's cleverness with the psychology of it all was captivating.

"I wish I could do it," Rose was saying now in a wistful voice. "I wish I could tell them. I'd love to talk to them."

"We can ask Harry if -" but that was silly. Hermione shook her head. Rose had been in the labs. She had every right to go in and say anything she liked. It was Ronan who wouldn't permit it.

She thought Ronan probably had a point when it came to Jackson. The man could physically overpower Rose with no effort at all and he would try. That was a shame because Hermione thought if Rose cranked up the female Veela charm, something she always tried to rein in by nature, it would be interesting to see Jackson's response to her. But it wasn't safe. Duncan, though… Duncan wasn't a physical threat.

Hermione found that she also would like to ask. Would Draco allow it? Then something else occurred to her. "Would Duncan recognise you, Rose? If you did go in there?"

Rose shrugged. "I have no idea. I didn't recognise her from being in the lab, but that doesn't mean she was never there."

This was a valid point to consider, though. For Rose's suggested tactic to work, it had to come from somebody who could believably be working for O'Leary on the sly. For Jackson, it didn't matter. That angle could come straight from Harry - 'We caught her.' Standard issue.

Hermione's mind was whirling with the possibilities. She really thought this could get them somewhere new. Where, she didn't quite know. But she thought getting either one of them - or both - all spun up about Raquel O'Leary in a fresh way could be useful.

"Rose, I think you're a genius. Let's go talk to Harry."

Both witches stood at once to move away from the game. In what felt like the same moment, Hermione saw Rose physically flinch as Draco barrelled down the thread with concern. Where was she going?

To talk to Harry, that's all, she tried to broadcast.

He didn't like it. That was out of sight of the Quidditch pitch. Harry was by the outbuilding they were using for the prisoners.

They wouldn't go in, Hermione reassured him. Neither of them would set foot through the door. She promised.

He was reluctantly agreeing and she knew he'd keep constant tabs on the thread. But Rose was having a difficult time of it with Ronan. It was obvious. Her face was scrunched in distress and Hermione wondered exactly how their mental conversation was going.

Finally she looked at Hermione in clear disappointment. Before she could say a word, Ronan sped off on his broom and Rose brightened. "He's going to get Harry to come to us."

Well, that was an acceptable compromise. Draco agreed.

ooo

Harry brought along Ron, leaving two other Aurors on guard duty for the time being. They both thought Rose's idea was brilliant. The execution of it was up for debate.

Hermione felt Draco's distraction. He was only half-playing at this point. A few more moments passed and his boots thumped onto the ground near her just behind Ronan's, and now they were a group of six.

"You should go in," Ron was telling Harry. "Jackson's used to you."

"That could be a reason for me not to. He knows I try to throw him off. You'd do better for this. He doesn't know you at all."

"But he might see the trick coming if we suddenly send in a different Auror."

"He's a clever one," Harry agreed. "He's accustomed to the tricks. He's going to suspect it either way, I think."

"But you've heard him talk about O'Leary more than anyone else who's interrogated him," Ron insisted. "I think it's best if it's you."

Hermione privately agreed without really knowing why. It was a hunch. Harry had been very good at getting under Jackson's skin, as much as the soldier tried to hide it.

Finally it was decided that Harry would go into Jackson's cell, and Ron would do Duncan. She'd never seen him and he could plausibly be working for O'Leary.

"I want to watch," said Rose eagerly. Her mate reacted at once, grabbing her arm and pulling her to him.

"Ronan, she should," Hermione said before she could think it through. Draco growled low in his throat but it was too late now. She'd started. "She's really good at this. I think Rose hearing it would be helpful."

"The wards are solid, mate," Ron stated flatly. "You know they are. You're in there all the time. She'd be on the other side of the wall."

"Please?" Rose whispered, looking up at Ronan. "Please, love? I just want to listen."

"It was her idea in the first place."

Draco growled again, deep, and Hermione tried to soothe him. But she was going to stick up for her friend. Rose deserved to be in there.

In the face of his mate's clear happiness, Ronan finally caved and the six of them entered the cabin. It was a good thing the other two guards remained outside the door; six in here was quite cramped. Hermione spent as little time as possible here, ordinarily, but it didn't take long to get her bearings.

Two cells in front of her, spanning the full length of the wall, identical and opposite to each other. The one-way glass was in place. Duncan was sitting on the edge of her cot. It looked like she might be trying to meditate and Hermione was amused. She didn't think that was something that this particular scientist ever had much use for, until her incarceration.

Jackson was laying on his back on his own cot, arms folded behind his head and ankles crossed. If anything, he looked comfortable.

"Have we let them interact with each other?" Hermione whispered to Ron as Harry prepared to enter Jackson's cell.

Ron shook his head. "We don't know what we'd get out of it. Both are too smart to talk openly. They assume we listen. Now, if we caught O'Leary, that might be a different matter."

"Well, she's smart enough for that too, I'm sure."

"Yeah, but they both tend to lose their heads a little about O'Leary. I think there's a chance they'd slip up with something. But maybe we'll get that right here, anyway. Let's see what Jackson does."

Harry cleared his throat and Hermione realised with a start that Ron had said, 'if we caught her.' Did he think they might not? She was about to ask when Harry began.

"I thought you should know, Ezekiel: we caught Raquel O'Leary."

Jackson hadn't moved from his cot. He stared at Harry for several long moments, impassive. Hermione had begun to wonder if they'd read him wrong after all when he finally swung his feet off the side of the cot to sit upright.

He sat perfectly straight, feet square on the floor. His tongue wet his lips before he spoke. "Why should I believe you?"

This was a fair question and he'd clearly anticipated some sort of manipulation. Harry dismissed it outright.

"It doesn't bother me one way or the other, if you do or don't. I just thought you'd want to know. Once we get what we need out of her, your… imprisonment here will come to an end."

Hermione saw a gleam in the man's eye. She knew he wanted that. But if his was going to end, that meant the two womens' prison terms would also end. Once again, he took his time before responding.

She thought she could detect a slight pattern of perspiration on his dark brow. It was hard to tell.

"I know you won't tell me where she's being held."

Harry scoffed. "Nope."

"Is it like this, though?" Jackson gestured around.

"Exactly like this."

Jackson surveyed his surroundings without moving his head. He'd done this a million times, undoubtedly, but now he was assessing it with fresh eyes. He was picturing O'Leary in a cell like this one.

What bothered him more, Hermione wondered? The idea of her imprisoned like this, or the idea of her being executed soon? Even if he didn't believe Harry, he had to consider the possibility that it was the truth. She could practically see the man's brain churning.

"She didn't do anything, you know," Jackson said at last. "She shouldn't be treated like Duncan and me."

"Well, we don't know that, yet. We'll find out, though, starting tomorrow. First thing in the morning. Don't worry. We have plenty of people… eager to find out. You've met most of them by now."

Harry smiled at him maliciously, and for the first time, the man looked truly uncomfortable. He knew how that would go. His chest was rising and falling a little faster, although he was doing an impressive job keeping his expression steady.

"Well, that's all I came to say, Ezekiel," Harry rubbed his hands together. "Time for dinner. I heard it's steak tonight. I can't wait. You didn't have steak, did you?"

Jackson gave Harry a malevolent glare. Of course he hadn't. He'd probably have killed for some steak but it was just another reminder of the treatment O'Leary would also be going through.

Harry turned back at the door with a playful lift of his eyebrows. "Oh, one more thing. Full moon this weekend."

Back on the outside, he asked the group, "Well?"

Hermione and Rose exchanged a look. Ron gave a shrug. "I don't know what we'll get out of him for it, but I like letting him sit on the knowledge. It'll bother the shite out of him. I bet he doesn't sleep all night."

Time for Duncan. Hermione was more excited about this one. Jackson was too cool a cucumber for this sort of thing. Not the scientist.

"Wait, Ron." She'd had a sudden idea and went to Rose to confer. There was a notepad on a small table by the door. Hermione ripped off a sheet and grabbed a quill. Together, she and Rose began to write.

ooo

Ron entered Duncan's cell with a furtive slinking movement, looking over his shoulder. He shut it quickly behind him. Duncan's eyes opened at once, puzzled.

"What -"

Ron held a finger to his lips and knelt down by the cot the scientist was perched on. He fumbled in his robes and withdrew a shabbily-folded note. "For you."

"What -" Duncan began again, and Ron shushed her once more.

"There's no one out there - or there wasn't a moment ago. But we have to be quiet."

Duncan nodded. She obviously wasn't thick; she knew something was going on. But her bewilderment only increased. She looked around her cell as if something could have changed.

Hermione's nose was actually touching the glass. Harry had his wand tip against it and was broadcasting the hushed voices for his and Hermione's benefit. Everyone else could hear perfectly well, of course, even Rose.

Duncan snatched the paper from Ron's outstretched hand and unfolded it, desperate.

Hermione held her breath. Her shoulder touching Hermione's to the right, Rose did the same. They'd taken a big gamble that Duncan wasn't intimately familiar with O'Leary's handwriting. Hermione's writing was tiny and neat, studious. Good for essay writing. Rose had a beautiful flowy script that Hermione was envious of, and she'd done the actual writing on their note.

Jamie,
I'm so sorry you've been there for so long. Hold on just a little longer and I'll get you out of there.
R

Duncan's eyes scanned it rapidly. Once, twice. Her mouth echoed the words silently as she read. Hermione didn't think she was even aware of it.

The 'R' was Rose's idea. It made it sound like a more familiar, private note. A note to a close friend, perhaps. Something to somebody who wished they could know her only as 'R.'

She looked up at Ron as if he were the sun rising in front of her. "How?" she breathed.

He gave a quick shake of his head. "I don't know yet. Do you have any ideas? I wouldn't mind a heads-up about what I'll have to do."

Hermione winced. That was obvious, in her opinion. She felt Draco's glee at her dismay in this tactic.

But Duncan didn't hesitate past a moment of thought. "Beats me. If she knows where we are, she must have a way to get in and out."

Ron rolled his eyes and chased this trail. "Yeah, fine, but I don't even know who I'm supposed to work with yet."

Duncan looked at him quickly. "Josiah. You can trust Josiah."

Merlin. Hermione's shock kept her rooted to the spot. Harry jolted next to her in surprise but kept his wand tip against the glass.

Ron nodded quickly, not reacting to this at all. "Right. Brilliant. I'll see if he knows what we're supposed to do. Where do you think we'll be going?"

Hermione cringed again but Duncan only considered the question. She inhaled slowly and took her time.

"For us? Somewhere out of the way. She won't stay with us, though."

Ron let his face fall precipitously, looking down at his hands. "She won't?"

Duncan looked at him with clear derision. "No. She won't."

"What will she do, then?"

"She'll get us out and disappear. We'll be better off separated. That was the original plan anyway. I'm… amazed she's coming back at all. I never expected… "

The look on Duncan's face as she trailed off was such blatant love and awe, Hermione nearly felt sorry for her. Nearly.

Even Ron seemed to know it was unwise to prod further about O'Leary's probable plans. He stood up.

"Act like you don't know me."

Duncan scoffed at the absurdity of this. "Don't worry."

"I'll see you soon." Ron turned back as he moved towards the door. "Shit. I have to take that with me. I almost forgot." He motioned towards the note and Duncan looked stricken. With one more good read through it, she reluctantly handed it over. Ron pocketed it at once.

Hermione was reasonably impressed with the exchange, but Ron surprised her again. His hand on the doorknob, he looked back over his shoulder one final time. "I hope it's somewhere like Iceland. I've always wanted to see the Northern Lights."

Duncan snorted. "Try Saint-Tropez. Try Ibiza."

ooo

"She was saying that's where we might end up, not O'Leary," Ron insisted.

"I know, but that doesn't make any sense." Rose was emphatic, pacing. "Your statement was referring to you, you and Duncan. Duncan's response is where O'Leary has mentioned before. I'm sure of it. It was almost off-the-cuff. She answered automatically."

Hermione didn't know one way or the other. She watched the exchange, deep in thought.

"She sounds like the kind of woman who wants to be around the rich and famous. She wants to hobnob, feel important. Feel like she belongs there. Those are the exact kinds of places she'd want to be."

Everyone was watching Rose now, who looked vaguely uncomfortable with the direct attention but soldiered on. "Why would she send you and Duncan there, after you were sprung free? To wealthy party beaches, crawling with millionaires? She wouldn't. She'd send you somewhere quiet and hidden. Somewhere just like Iceland, maybe. But Duncan knows O'Leary would want to be there. Like I said, she's probably talked about it."

Harry was making notes. "We'll have Kingsley look into all three."

"Is there anywhere else like those places?" Hermione asked, both curious and oblivious. Rich socialite hangouts weren't her area of expertise.

Draco nodded from behind her. "Plenty. The Gold Coast in Australia, Lake Como in Italy, maybe. There are several in North and South America, but we think she's gone further from home - don't we?"

"Probably," Ron nodded.

"We'll have to check with Parvati, but Trevor seemed confident she wasn't in the States. Whether that extended past their borders, we don't know."

"What about in France? Bridget's friend Katy said Raquel loved France. Paris, maybe?"

"We did look into France, after you said that when you got back from Ireland. But at least this is something new to go on. Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky," Harry stated flatly.

"And she trusts Ron," Hermione added. "We can keep that going, too."

"For a while. Sooner or later, she'll expect me to sneak her out of here," said Ron. "How long do we think we have before this runs its course?"

"Probably less than a week," said Rose. "I don't think O'Leary would have sent someone in at all unless the 'plan' was close."

That seemed reasonable enough.

"Okay, then. We'll let them both sit overnight. Next order of business," Harry looked at Ron, "where is Josiah Whitlock?"

"Merlin, I can't believe he's in on it. I can't believe she told me! He's -" Ron racked his brain. "I think he has a shift here tomorrow. I'll have to check the rota."

"Was he part of Dubh's guard detail?" Hermione asked curiously.

Both Aurors exchanged a glance and shrugged. They'd have to check.

"Wait a minute. If Josiah isn't on our side, what if there is a plan to break them out already in motion? Or what if his job here is to help these two 'commit suicide' when the time comes?"

"We'll find out," said Harry, but Rose interrupted.

"There's no plan to break them out. She doesn't care about these two. And we've had them long enough to have gotten all the information from them we can already."

"To that point, why bother killing them at all?" Ronan asked, the first time he'd spoken. His arms were crossed as he leaned against the wall, but his eyes were locked on his mate.

Rose considered this as she stopped pacing. "I think… she either wants loose ends tied, just to be thorough, or she just enjoys the fact that she can do it. She might like the challenge of it. Maybe the ability makes her feel powerful."

"So we assume Josiah is here to kill them, sooner or later?"

"If he is, it'll be later," Ron said cautiously with a shrewd look at Harry. "Not too soon."

"Why not? Why waste time?"

"Because then, Josiah might not have an excuse to be part of the investigation. He wouldn't be needed here at the Manor, for sure. I bet part of this is just him passing information. For all we know, that's all it is and there are no plans to kill them at all."

"We'll find out," said Harry again with an eager look on his face. Hermione just bet they would.