"I should have brought all of them," said Hermione, staring down at the newspaper.

"We couldn't have known," Cedric murmured.

"Yes, we should have!" she snapped, knocking her mug of tea over and chipping the rim with her rings. "We know how he thinks, we know what he values, and we know he's furious about us keeping our losses so low for so long!"

This particular meeting was kept small. Just her, Cedric, Kingsley, and Chiara. Everyone else knew the topic, but Hermione didn't want to have a massive discussion about just how badly she messed up.

Hermione buried her head in her arms. Cedric rubbed her back gently and leaned into her. Her mind cried out in anguish, the pain from her injuries taking a back seat.

"I'm so stupid," she said. "I should have brought all the patients and Healers. We could have figured it out! We could've had Biggs and Bix make an entire hospital below the house. Stagger them through our bases! Used the gyrosphere to move them out or bring in supplies! We could have saved everyone!"

"We still saved a lot," said Cedric. "Everyone in the Janus Thickley ward. Some patients in critical care. And we have a good number of Healers."

Not a good number at all. Maybe fifteen of them. No more than twenty.

Hermione lifted her head to look at the newspaper again.

ST. MUNGO'S HOSPITAL NO MORE

The picture was of the street they had just been on yesterday morning. There was a pile of rubble where the hospital (and by extension, department store) used to be and the surrounding buildings were no better off. Hundreds confirmed dead. All the Healers and patients left behind, no matter their blood status, were murdered. Children, babies in the maternity ward. The potion supplies were destroyed too. The anchor stones had become rubble.

All that was left was a message.

Look what your savior has done.

That picture was above the fold.

Cedric turned the paper over so she wouldn't have to look at it.

"We could have done more," Hermione whispered, pressing her palms to her eyes. "We were in a position to do more and we didn't. We did the bare minimum."

"What about all the people that were saved?" said Chiara.

"What about the repercussions of not going above and beyond?" Hermione countered. "There was already a shortage of Healers, there's only one magical hospital! What are people going to do in a medical emergency?! The Death Eaters got a stranglehold on the apothecaries, they'll be fine because they have private Healers they can refer to! We just sentenced so many people to death because I couldn't think for one fucking second that maybe we should bring everyone regardless of stance! All those people were killed because of me!"

She started clawing at her face and chest in frustration as her emotions became too much to handle.

Cedric wrapped his arms around her, grabbing onto her hands so she would stop hurting herself.

"It is not because of you," said Kingsley firmly. "He didn't have to kill them. He chose to do it. You are not the sole director of this, Nia. Any of us could have made the decision to bring everyone along. We just… we did not consider that he would destroy a corner stone simply to make a point."

"Why didn't we?!" she shouted. "Why? We all know he's evil beyond reason! Why didn't we see this?!"

She couldn't know every possible outcome. Tormenting herself like this wouldn't bring all those people back.

"Let's just focus on the next step," said Cedric. "Okay, love?"

She inhaled sharply and nodded.

"The next step…" said Kingsley slowly. "Should be our usual objective. For now, that is focusing on horcrux destruction and the end of Our Good Friend."

"Right," Cedric agreed. "Let's call in the ones working on that."

Hermione shakily raised her hand, but couldn't seem to cast a spell. Cedric took her hand and kissed her fingers before swishing his wand around. An otter spun out, ready to pass on a message.

"Ron, Harry, Padma, Daphne, and Merula, please join the meeting." He flicked the tip of his wand and it shot through the door.

Moments later, there was a knock and Chiara got up to let them all in. Hermione downed her glass of water, then moved over to sit on Cedric's lap.

He held her tight, pressing his weight against her back and his cheek against her head. She rubbed her thumbs over her fingers and focused on the pressure.

"Right," she said once everyone was seated. Her voice was steady, giving no tell to her inner turmoil. On the outside it might've looked like Cedric was the one seeking comfort. "Where are we with the magic cancellation circle? Ron?"

"Well, we've been doing some testing," he said. "It suppresses magic, but with some darker artifacts they can still hurt you even within the wards. The effects aren't as bad or don't set in as quickly."

He gestured to the curse marks on his arms. Of course he would offer himself up for the testing portion rather than use something like a rabbit or a plant.

"So it might not be enough to keep the horcrux dormant," said Padma. "It could still backlash when we retrieve it."

"Okay," said Hermione. "I still think our best bet is to take it to the Burrow immediately. We'll have the house-elves residing there move here when we enact our plan. Can you make it on a large scale?"

"Yes," said Ron. "But it seems that the bigger it gets, the less time it can hold itself."

"Meaning?"

"On the scale we need it would only last about thirty minutes," said Daphne. "Maybe forty if we can get the runes on a large scale and that's going to take time. And we'll have to make sure outside forces can't break it."

"We don't need to draw the entire circle," said Ron. "If we can just have the runes in the right place it will activate, but that drops its active time to about… Math?"

"Fifteen to twenty," said Harry.

Hermione worried her lip, thinking.

"Okay," she said. "So we'll have optimistically twenty minutes to get in, grab the horcrux, and get out. I think we can expect a full out battle, so I'm going to want all hands on deck. As for setting it up…"

"Can't Biggs or Bix just dig underneath and grab it?" Daphne asked. "Like Barnaby suggested?"

"If there wasn't an inferi pit directly beneath it, yes," said Hermione. "We can't risk activating that, it would cause so much damage and we're already dealing with this."

She gestured to the newspaper and inhaled sharply. Cedric grabbed her hand and rubbed circles around her palm. He didn't want to see her destroy herself over this.

"So," she said after taking a deep breath. "I think our best bet right now is to lie low. Provide aid where it's needed. We have the potential of false cries for help, but I think we should just treat them all seriously and just be cautious. We'll bring in supplies with the gyrosphere, we can live off the garden if we need to. It'd be boring, but we could do it. Things will be tight, but we'll manage."

"Right," said Cedric. "We'll expand the garden. The trees will start producing fruit thanks to Neville."

"While we're lying low I want everyone to train in hand-to-hand combat," said Hermione. "One of the downfalls of wizards is that they rely too much on magic."

"True," said Kingsley. "We will draw them into the bubble. It's a large enough space, we'll be able to get out of spell range easily."

"We're going to need some way to learn when the magic is back on," said Merula. "Once it is, we'll have to get out fast. Maybe fire a spell or two to cut the offense."

"We could add a charm to our bracelets," Padma suggested. "Like a physical charm that's sole purpose is to glow, made with arithmancy so it can't be undone, only suppressed."

"That would be the safest option," said Kingsley. "And the most subtle."

"So I'll get working on that," said Hermione, making a note. "I think we should just keep the entirety of the plan as a need to know for the time being. For now everyone just needs to start training for hand-to-hand combat and I want our Healers to start giving basic training while we lie low. Know what? I'll ask the house-elves who stayed to help if they'd be willing to learn. They're smart, intuitive. They could pick up healing quickly."

"House-elves?" Merula said incredulously.

"Yes," said Hermione firmly and silently challenging her to go with that thought.

"Fine. Why not? House-elves," Merula scoffed.

"So that's settled," said Hermione. "Anything else we need to go over?"

"You doing alright?" Harry asked.

"No." She paused the recordings and summoned all Weather members for a meeting in the library. In the safe houses at least one elf had a friendship bracelet to be kept in the loop.

Once everyone was gathered, Hermione cleared her throat and made a signal for their attention.

"What happened… was an absolute tragedy," she said and took a deep breath, holding out her hand to Cedric for support. He squeezed it gently. "And we can't undo it, but what we can do is focus on our next step. House-elves, I have a very important assignment for all of you should you choose to accept it."

Many of them perked up eagerly.

"I would like to assign you to the Healers we have with us and have you learn how to be Healers yourselves," she said.

The response to that was mixed on both sides, so she waited for them to settle down. Cedric stood by her. Her ideas might be strange, but they made sense.

"Hundreds of Healers, assistants, and potioneers were murdered," she said loudly, silencing them. "People still need help and I know how smart and capable house-elves are. You spend your entire lives learning how important cleanliness is. You care for students night and day. And memorizing recipes out of a cookbook is no different than memorizing recipes for potions. Your magic is strong, I'm sure you'd be able to learn the necessary spells required to do the job. I don't intend to let cries for help go unanswered. You're small and quick, so you can leave dangerous situations. I don't know how, but anti-apparition wards don't effect you either. Do you accept this mission? It's okay if you don't."

The majority did and Hermione promised to finalize the arrangement of their study, silently hoping that most if not all the Healers would agree to take them on as apprentices. Cedric didn't like some of the thoughts he was picking up about her, but so far no one flagged as immediate trouble.

"We also have a horcrux site," said Hermione. "However, the only way to retrieve it will require cancelling all magic for a set amount of time. It will undo all the wards at once, but not before notifying Our Good Friend. We have to be prepared to fight. Every single one of us. It will be big, potentially messy, but while we finalize these plans I want every able-bodied person to learn hand-to-hand combat. I will be in charge of your training."

There was a wave of groans.

"You won't have use of your magic," said Hermione. "Neither will they. If we can draw them in, we can take many of them out. Many of you are way too reliant on your wands for everything."

"Do we have to train with you?" Ben asked.

"Well, I could have you train with Cedric."

"NO!" several Hufflepuffs shouted.

The older adults looked confused.

"Cedric's Quidditch Practices were the stuff of legend," said Char.

"Wood was infamous for scheduling a lot of practices," said Angelina. "But Cedric?"

"They were nightmarish," said Ernie. "Hell on Earth."

Cedric grinned toothily at old members of his Quidditch team. A couple had gone on to the professional leagues and he could see that their practices were slightly less grueling.

"I meant more if we could just train on our own," said Ben.

Others nodded in agreement.

"Okay," said Hermione. "Anyone who can best me in hand-to-hand combat can train on their own."

Barnaby started raising his hand, which was pushed down by Badeea.

"Right," said Hermione. "There are a lot of you so I'll be creating a schedule to stagger it out. Biggs, Bix, can you create a training room fit for fleshbags? Hand-to-hand combat, weapons no bigger than a bo staff."

"We can have one adequate enough in a week," said Bix.

Hermione nodded. "Please and thank you. Right, everyone be ready to receive their training schedule, if you have a preference for morning or evening, please submit it in writing that will be first come first serve. That will be all."

"Where is the horcrux?" asked Hestia Jones.

"I'm keeping that classified until we're ready to act," said Hermione. "I don't need anyone trying to play the hero. We need to be careful."

"We've been careful and look what still happened!" Ben argued.

"I say if you know we need to act now," said Dedalus. "We cannot give the Dark Lord a chance to move it!"

"He can't add anymore protections without causing a complete collapse and I doubt he'll want to move it now," said Hermione. "We'll keep an eye on it. If he does decide to move it, then we can act quickly."

"If all of us act then certainly we could retrieve it," said Professor McGonagall. "Some of the best Curse-Breakers in the world are in this room."

"Dumbledore would have us act now."

"Dumbledore couldn't even retrieve it," said Cedric. "He had tried."

Those in the Order of the Phoenix fell quiet.

"I won't risk your lives by acting brash," said Hermione. "This site is dangerous and I have looked at every option. This one is the best way to ensure it will be successful. Anyone else want to question my authority or objectivity?"

"I question you!" said Dedalus. "Tell us where the horcrux is!"

"I won't let you kill yourselves over it! None of you are expendable!"

"Miss Granger, we are capable, not children," said Professor Flitwick. "We have been fighting this war since before you were born."

"You said you'd have full transparency!" Ben argued.

"Nope. No." Hermione shook her head. "I'm not telling this time."

"Then we'll just have to seek it out ourselves," said Hestia. "Without your so-called guidance."

The boxes in her mind were leaking. Her temper surged up, hot and boiling.

"Fine," she said. "You want to get yourselves killed then be my guest! The horcrux—"

Cedric put a hand over her mouth.

"You're going to have to trust us!" he snapped. "Our Good Friend wants us to act irrationally! He wants you to question Hermione as the leader because if we have all this in-fighting then we can't focus on stopping him!"

"How is hiding away and doing nothing stopping him?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"We're not doing nothing," said Hermione, pulling Cedric's hand down. "We're training! We're answering distress calls, isn't that risk enough?"

"No!" someone shouted from the back. "You're in here turning everything on its head!"

"I know what you're really after! Letting the Dark Lord have his way before you take over in his place!"

Oh hell no.

Hermione inhaled sharply and stormed forward. "SAY THAT TO MY FACE!"

"How dare you accuse her?" Fleur demanded. "The world should change!"

"Oh and I suppose werewolves and house-elves will run it in place of wizards!"

"With that sort of thinking why are you even here?" Fred spat. "We are fighting for a new and better world!"

"With half-breeds in charge?"

"Fuck you! The opposite of this world is not trading one oppression for another you absolute fuckwit!"

"This pacifism is going nowhere!"

"You call cutting You-Know-Who's arm off pacifism?!"

"Is there even any proof she did that?"

"Well, we can dig it up!"

The room erupted into chaos, shouting, accusations. Hermione covered her ears and shook her head, Cedric lowered his hackles and hurried back to her side. Her mind was spinning.

"How come she's the leader and not Kingsley or anyone else?! Who died and named her leader?"

"If some kid has to be the leader then why not Potter? He's the Chosen One!"

"I don't want to be the leader! My job is to fight Our Good Friend."

"And yet you're too afraid to say his name!"

"We can't say his name, it's Taboo!"

"That's hogwash!"

"No it's not!"

Biggs stepped forward and roared, silencing the room. Hermione removed her hands and stepped down from her soap box.

"You don't like how I run things, you may return your bracelet and I will remove your access to this household," she said, her voice on the edge of breaking. "Chiara, will you please handle assigning mentors to house-elves?"

"Of course," she said.

"I'm going for a walk," said Hermione. "If you want to challenge me as leader, please submit it in writing."

"That's the problem with you Ravenclaws," one of the Order members sneered. "Doing a whole lot of thinking and not a lot of acting!"

"Excuse me?" said Professor Flitwick.

"I was in Slytherin," said Hermione.

"That's even worse!"

"I beg your pardon?!" Professor Vector gasped.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "I won't have any of that division bullshit in my house! You think me being a Slytherin is some great mark of evil, hand over your friendship bracelet and get the hell out! Ay carajo! I've had enough of this bloody place and half of you bitching and whining about how I'm not doing enough when you can't even take a shit without someone else giving permission—"

A curse shot out, hitting her blind eye. She screamed and held her hands over it as it swelled shut.

Cedric gasped and cupped her cheek. That's it. He whipped around, growling, and charged into the pit to tackle the one who fired the spell.

"How dare you!" he spat.

Chaos ensued. Fighting, arguing. Hermione knew it would split them apart, Cedric had just hoped she'd be wrong. He was nearly blind with rage. She put so much work into this rebellion and they couldn't afford her any decency or respect?

"Easy, Cedric," said Professor Sprout, pulling him off the wizard in question. "Leave him to me, you go check on Granger."

He looked over his shoulder to find she was missing. Where did she go?

Hurrying back to the spot she once stood, he sniffed and focused on her trail. The door to the lab was open as was the back door. He ran to look in the barn then realized her scent moved off the property. He went to the mudroom to grab his cloak, then followed her.

Oh… he knew this path.

He knew it very well.

The trail was familiar. What had once been a well worn path was now overgrown, but he could walk it in his sleep. The air was cold and the sun was setting. Cedric shivered slightly. He had visited it in the past year. Particularly when his heart had been aching for Hermione.

He'd fixed it up, cleaned it, made it almost like it used to be.

Thankfully, Hermione was there, sitting on the swing. She must've been freezing. In her haste to walk away, she hadn't put on shoes. Her feet were bare and she had dressed in a simple skirt and a jumper that morning. No armor, no pouch, nothing but her splints.

Her face wasn't all that swollen, just her eyelid and some numbness. He hated sensing the numbness in her chest as well as her skin.

Standing behind her, he ran his hands up her back then across her shoulders.

"You alright, love?" he asked, hoping she'd talk to him instead of bottling it up.

"Am I being too woe is me about this?" she asked softly. "For all I know, this is what leadership is all about and I'm just being too sensitive. I don't want to be a dictator or I'm no better than Our Good Friend."

"And your eye?"

"It's just a stinging hex, it'll open back up later," she said. "Everyone is on edge, it was bound to happen."

"If I didn't think waiting was our best option I would have said so," said Cedric, rubbing her shoulders. "You're not acting alone and Kingsley agrees with us. He just doesn't agree with answering all cries for help, but I think as long as we keep that on a volunteer basis, knowing the risks, then it'll be fine. Everyone is just… riding off the tragedy and that's just what he wants. The kids are going to be alright as long as the rest of the residents are around, so let's just let the adults duke it out."

Hermione huffed softly. Cedric kissed the top of her head, then stepped back, pushing her. The rope creaked, but the branch was strong.

As she gained momentum, Hermione embraced the sensation of swinging back and forth. The wind on her cheeks. The chill in the air.

"I think you're just going stir crazy," said Cedric. "You spend so much time worrying about everyone and the only breaks you're taking are to recover from injuries."

"I just worry," she said. "What if this whole attack was a result of my curse? It seems to be getting exponentially worse for me and I think it's starting to affect those around me."

"You said last time you could sense an invisible force," said Cedric. "There's still some month left. Maybe you'll get a concussion or ruin the big soup pot or maybe you'll get knocked up. No! I mean banged up— Er… I'll shut up."

"No, keep going," she said, leaning back. "I want to see how deep you can dig."

He chuckled and caught her, enfolding his arms around her. He pressed a kiss to the crook of her neck. She rested her hands on top of his.

"Let's go up," he said. "They can deal a little longer."

She agreed and they both climbed up into the tree house. She sent soft baubles of light floating to the ceiling. Thankfully it wasn't too dusty since his last visit. Cedric swept it away with the flick of his wand. The space was still smaller, more cramped, but that was alright.

He replaced the cover to the bottom and cast warming charms.

"Not quite like old times," he said. "Don't have much in the way of comic books."

"I'm sure we can find some way to pass the time," she said shyly.

Cedric grinned and sidled up next to her.

"You are so beautiful," he murmured.

She smiled softly, rather than deflect it. Inside she was certain that she looked horrible. Her eye was swollen shut and she had more scars than she could count.

Cedric kissed her lightly. She was radiant. Her goodness shone out of her like sunbeams. She put so much work into each and every day.

When all was said and done, he was going to take her away somewhere. Somewhere she could relax and the most stress she got was trying to find a place to throw her trash away.

"I adore you," she murmured, gazing up at him. "I'm so glad I met you that day."

"Me too," he murmured and kissed her deeply.

He leaned her back onto the floor, bracing a hand against the nape of her neck and settling onto her. He kissed her chin, along her jaw, and down her neck.

"I love you," she breathed.

"I love you, too."

They rarely had time alone like this. Usually the most they got were the precious seconds between tasks and the minutes before falling asleep. Cedric longed for the day when they would look at their schedules and realize neither of them had anything to do.

She seemed to feel the same.

In this moment, all he would focus on was kissing her. Distracting her. Give her mind a moment to rest. It seemed to help so far, but she had gotten good at blocking him off when she wanted to.

They had been working together when they could. Legilimency and Occlumency training. The residents all had some Occlumency training now.

It was a necessary skill.

Cedric focused only on her, paying no mind to anything else. He loved her. He had only planned on kissing, but then neither of them could stop. Tension. Frustration. The need to melt away and forget the world. The lack of restraint could have been for any number of reasons.

After the fact, they lay entangled together with his cloak draped over them.

Hermione traced the tattoos on his chest, her buzzing worries halted for the moment.

"How's your eye feeling?" he asked.

"Swelling's gone down some," she said. "There's still a film over it. It should clear up soon, and if not I might need to flush it out with some saline eye drops."

Cedric kissed the top of her head.

"We have the gyrosphere," he said. "Maybe you should take a holiday."

"A holiday?"

"Yeah. A leave of absence. Not long just… a few days. The Hearthstone or maybe visiting a couple other friends in South America. You said you never got to visit Cássia or Quripuma's homes."

Hermione hummed, considering his words. The last few times he brought up her taking a holiday it ended in a huge row.

"It might be difficult. The I.C.W. could be calling for my arrest any day now," she murmured. "I didn't just break the Statute of Secrecy, I completely blew it."

He still didn't quite understand why she gave an interview, but it was done.

She sighed and shifted closer to him.

"Maybe… just a few days. I think this curse to the eye was my bad luck anyway," she said. "I'm just so tired, Cedric. I wish I could send everyone now to get the horcrux."

"And we'd lose most of them doing it," he replied. "We're figuring it out and then there will just be one more to go and then the big battle. The battle to bring the war to a close."

Her thoughts buzzed.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm scared," she said. "Of what each day will bring. I used to be worried about the dumbest things and now… Will you promise me something?"

"Anything," he said.

She propped herself up to look in his eyes, wincing at the pain in her shoulder. She didn't look at him directly, her gaze still shifted elsewhere, but it was close enough for her.

"If I die during this war, please keep living," she said. "Continue my work."

"Love, what brought this on?" he asked. "Do you think someone in the house is out to get you?"

"No, no. I just… I worry. Each battle seems to take another piece of me. I know that if you were gone… Really gone… I don't think I could truly live without you. A part of me died when you left."

He winced and cupped her cheek. Now he knew what she was saying. And yes… the time he thought she was dead was the darkest time of his life. If he lost her again… She wasn't saying he couldn't mourn, she just didn't want him to waste away or purposely join her.

"Okay," he said.

"Cross your heart?"

"Only if you promise that if you die during this war you won't stay dead," he said.

Rather than get mad at him for making light, she chuckled and made an X over her heart with her pinkie. He did the same, then drew her in and kissed her.

She gazed at him intensely. The gears in her head were clearly turning, but her walls were strong.

"What is it?" he whispered. "What aren't you letting me see?"

"You might think I'm mad," she said. "Or at the very least a tease."

"Your madness is one of the reasons why I fell for you," he said. "And you are many things, my love, but a tease isn't one of them."

Hermione hesitated and sat up to get dressed. Cedric followed suit. Was she scared to bring it up… or worried about how he'd react?

"Do you want to go back to the house?" he asked.

"We've been gone for a couple hours now," she said. "Should probably head back and smooth things over with anyone who is left."

"As you didn't officially dismiss them, I don't think they actually went anywhere," said Cedric.

"Mm… maybe."

"What's on your mind?"

"It can wait."

"Alright." He kissed her twice. "We'll get you something for your shoulder too."

She transformed into an otter so he could carry her down and they walked back together.

It was dark as they walked back to the house. Cedric offered up his shoes, but she cast some charms on her feet to keep them protected long enough.

She leaned into his side.

"I think a holiday would be good," she said. "We'll take the kids. Just… recuperate and come back with fresh eyes."

A group was standing outside, clustered together. He wasn't sure who, the wind was blowing from behind. Hermione didn't seem to know either, her magic eye still swelled.

"Mm… time to face the music," she said.

He sobered and squeezed her gently. Time to pick their worries back up. Figure out what to do.

Hermione broke away from his side and jogged over.

"Hey, what are you waiting around for?" she asked.

They scattered from their cluster and Cedric's heart fell into his stomach.

Snatchers.

"You," said Scabior.

Before she could react, she was stunned and whisked away. All of them vanished, the thought of keeping her contained outweighing their worries about anyone else.

Cedric's spells hit dead air. Why was he so slow? Why did this happen so fast? Were… were they betrayed?

They had to have been.

She was gone.

"Hermione?" he whispered and staggered around, then shook his head and ran inside.

They were still arguing. Most of the room was sitting and waiting for Hermione to come back.

"SHUT IT!" Cedric bellowed. "ONE OF YOU IS A MOLE AND NO ONE IS LEAVING THIS BLOODY HOUSE UNTIL I FIND OUT WHO!"

He pointed his wand at the wall and it wavered, creating an anti-apparition ward. Biggs and Alejandro each took guard at an exit.

"What happened?!" Daphne asked. "Where's Nia?"

"She was taken," he said through gritted teeth. "By Snatchers! They were waiting for us! They were ready, they took her and— and whoever the mole is better hope that she walks through that door in thirty seconds splattered in someone else's blood!"

He scanned their eyes and zeroed in on the wizard who was saying the Taboo was bollocks. The man made eye contact, straight down the barrel. A while ago, he had loudly announced that the Taboo was bullshit and he was going to prove it. He had broken it twice and when nothing happened, arguing had commenced about a leader. About what to do.

Cedric's lip curled back in a snarl.

"You fucking idiot!" he snapped.

He wanted to act. To tear his throat out, but that wouldn't help Hermione. Even so… Why would Voldemort keep her alive? Perhaps to try and get the secrets…

That was it.

"Hermione knows everything!" he said. "If she's not dead already then Rosehill might become compromised. Her mind is strong, she would die to protect the secrets, but I don't know how much stronger a legilimens Our Good Friend is than I am. And he might do anything necessary to weaken her. We can't wait to find out. Biggs, Bix, I want you to take the children to the Hearthstone. Residents, go and help them pack. Explain as best you can. That this place isn't safe that… Mum might not come home but would want them to go where they'll be safe. Bring the hospital patients and the Healers, too. Use the van if you must. I know we haven't been able to test it but we can't wait to see if Hermione escapes. If she could… she would already be walking through that door."

The pair nodded and Biggs opened the doors. Tonks, Fred, George, Lee, Daphne, Padma, Neville, and Hannah hurried out. Cecilia was frozen in place for a long moment.

"I… I'm going to call the family," she said.

"Please," Cedric said and whipped around. "As for the rest of you! I'm the leader now and you will do as I say. We proceed as planned. We may have to find a new headquarters, but until we know what Hermione's fate is go back to your homes and bases. Be prepared to accept residents from here. I'm going to stay behind in case they come."

"Don't do anything brash," said Fleur, though she was shaking and itching to break Taboo just so she could shake them down for answers.

That would be a very bad idea and wouldn't be guaranteed to find out where Hermione was being held.

Cedric raked his fingers through his hair and breathed deeply.

"If you didn't like Hermione as the leader, you'll like me even less," he said, addressing the room. "Get ready. As soon as this base is no longer compromised, you're all starting on training."

"Some of us are seasoned veterans, young man!" said Dedalus. "You should show us respect."

"RESPECT?! Don't make me laugh!" Cedric snapped. "Maybe we're not old as dirt, but everyone in this room has seen enough action to last a lifetime! Why don't any of you show respect to your leaders? Or is it because we're not Gandalf with centuries of life experience wandering in to make cryptic messages!"

He was furious. He couldn't lead them like this. Hermione… She was in a place to start looking ahead. To stop blaming herself for everything that went wrong. To actually plan a future in spite of everything.

"You're dismissed! Get out of my sight!"

"Now hold on! I'm not going to let some brat who's never been in a real fight tell me what to do!" said the Taboo-breaker.

"Never been in a real fight?" Fleur snapped. "You only joined us a month ago!"

Cedric's temper was falling over the edge. She was gone. Her worst fear had come to pass. He was there and he did nothing. Was this how she felt all the time?

He shuddered and snapped his attention towards the wizard. His skin prickled and his muscles writhed.

"You have five seconds to leave this place!" he roared.

His bones snapped and crunched as his skeleton shifted into something more canine. American werewolves could sometimes shift into their wolf form outside of a full moon. The one who infected him could, but she didn't think the ability would be passed on.

Seemed it could. He was angry enough. Scared enough. His safe space was invaded. His leader and mate taken, perhaps forever. Forget even giving her a proper burial.

Fur sprouted from his skin and his prosthetic dropped to the ground. He fell to his front paw. He didn't care if he was attacked. If those who thought he was scum killed him for being what he was, so be it.

"Cedric, please!"

Fleur knelt down in front of him, breaking his attention. He smelled fear, the air was permeated with it. He panted heavily, drool dripping from his jaws. His fur stood on end, he shivered with cold fury.

"Don't," said Fleur, touching his face. "Nia would not want this."

"Hand over the bracelet, Jonesly," said Kingsley. "You have betrayed us, you are no longer welcome."

"You're going to answer to a halfbreed, Kingsley? You?"

"Yes. I am. You did not trust our leader and you have sentenced her to death. Go."

Cedric clacked his teeth.

She was gone.

She was gone.

What was he going to do?