Things had been quiet on the Death Eaters' end. A bit too quiet, but Hermione chalked that up to them picking up the pieces after Little Hangleton. Biggs and Bix had gone back and torched the inferi pit while she and Cedric were sleeping. When they finally woke up, they spent the morning with her family before going back to Rosehill to keep things moving.
They didn't have many leads on the final horcrux, though, and it was driving Hermione crazy. She tried Hepzibah Smith's old house and scoped out London as well.
Cinta didn't know any more than they did. Just that it was a cup of some sort, which solidified what Voldemort was after but didn't help. Griphook volunteered to try and reach out to his contacts at Gringotts, but those came up with dead ends as well. Either his friends could not or would not talk about anything of that sort being in the vaults.
Hermione asked him if they needed to enact a rescue mission, but he was unsure. If they did in fact need help, it would be appreciated, but if the council had agreed to join forces with Voldemort, then going in would be deemed an insult and an act of war. It was a precarious position. He said it would be best and most respectful to wait until they asked for aid. He had defected when everything went belly up because he was in charge of the vaults, and if they were taken over, he didn't want to be ordered to open up vaults for any Death Eaters. It would be all too easy for them to try and lay claim to Muggle-born vaults.
Something the Weather had heard about on the grapevine, but hadn't been able to do anything about.
Hermione rechecked her map, inking out where the horcrux was not. She had looked there. And there. And all around there. She even astral projected to Hogwarts earlier in the month to see if he had placed his horcrux there, even as bait. No, with one (or two like he assumed) left and very few objects of importance worthy of him left in Britain, he would keep it safe.
Which meant it could only be in Gringotts. But why would he keep it in a place he knew could be broken into? For that matter, why would a Frenchman who had been around for centuries keep the Philosopher's Stone in a bank in England when he lived in France?
"Stupid!" Hermione spat and crumpled up the map. That wasn't enough, so she started ripping it up. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
Maybe they should just enact their plan. His body was mortal enough, just kill that vessel and in the chaos continue their search.
No, that wouldn't do, he had a slew of yesmen who were probably prepared to resurrect him.
Should they start luring out Snatchers? Take them prisoner? Interrogate them?
She was so fed up with this fucking war! She wanted to be done. She wanted to go out and have fun and get on with her life! Screaming, she threw her ink bottle at the wall and collapsed to her knees.
"Love?!" Cedric burst into the room. "Hey, what's wrong?"
She pushed it at him rather than speak. He sighed softly and pressed his head to hers.
"Just take a break," he said. "It's been quiet and you've been working so hard."
"Our supplies are already getting stretched," she said. "You notice they've stopped the trains. The money is starting to run out and how much longer until the sympathy of our allies does the same? If we don't end this war by the end of the year—"
"We'll have a meeting about it," he said. "We have food in our gardens. The meals would be very boring, but we won't starve. We have the cows for milk and the chickens for eggs. We can't feed all of Britain but we can feed ourselves and the children. Just take a breath."
"And do what?"
"Well," he said. "You can watch Esperanza's concert."
"Is that today?" she said. "I thought it was the day after the World Cup finals and everyone's talking about that."
"The World Cup finals were moved," he said. "Semis took too long. Both will be happening simultaneously. We're going to have a listen party in the library and a watch party in Hawaii. Seems our daughters are huge Esperanza Sanchez fans. They still can't believe they get to call her Auntie."
Hermione smiled at that. Esperanza was having a live concert, televised across the world. Venezuela was hosting the World Cup and Esperanza's concert was being held in Rio de Janeiro, so thankfully the kids wouldn't be staying up too much later, but Esperanza would no doubt be furious that the World Cup was moved so she couldn't see Viktor play.
After an early dinner, everyone gathered for their respective shows. The World Cup started first and Hermione lingered to hear the opening. Bulgaria had once again made it to the finals with the Sofia Lions representing them and they were up against the Cairo Steppe Eagles. Evidently, they had a very interesting opening with said eagles while Bulgaria maintained their (now unionized) Veela dance squad.
Hermione quickly grew disinterested.
"I'm going to watch Esperanza," she murmured and Cedric nodded.
Hannah stood, adjusting her hold on her newborn baby girl, Rachel.
"I'll go, too," she said. "I think it might get a bit rowdy in here."
They headed to Hawaii where there was a short documentary about Esperanza's group with footage of dance rehearsals and what all went into the show's production. Esperanza and Miguel were even interviewed.
Hermione sat down.
"Hola, Papí," she said.
He smiled and tapped his head to hers and wiggled his fingers at baby Rachel.
"So if you're deaf how do you sing?" the interviewer asked.
"Well, I use my hearing aids of course," she said, lifting back her hair to show one of them. "And that helps a lot for recording and rehearsal, but when I am on stage it is better to not wear them at all. All of our hearing dancers wear ear plugs because the speakers and amps make everything so loud that it is better to keep it internalized. All you need is the sound of the drums in your chest. I also keep a tuner nearby to make sure I maintain the right key. There was… an embarrassing moment a couple years ago. Even so, my name may be on the marquee but the real stars of the show are Miguel's dancers."
"It's a team effort," said Miguel. "You cannot have one without the other."
"Of course. Now, Esperanza, there are a lot of critics who say you are supporting obesity. What do you say to that?"
"I say that if they focused more on their own issues than what a person's weight is they will be much happier with their lives," she said with an overly sweet smile. "I hear someone say once that you could live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that are worth living to a hundred for. I am beautiful, I am fabulous, and I have a hunk of a husband who I completely adore."
"And I think record, VHS, and DVD sales beg to differ with those critics," said Miguel.
The interview closed out and there were a few commercials before the concert began.
Too bad they didn't have a better speaker system, the concert was really cool. It had everything. Good music, excellent costume changes, amazing dancing, pyrotechnics.
Esperanza sang her heart out, her voice as clear as a bell.
And then there was an explosion. The camera buzzed and people started screaming in terror as alarms went off. Esperanza stumbled away from the damage and was instantly swarmed by dark clothed people in skull masks.
Death Eaters. Hermione dove to the ground and clapped her hands over Chandra and Abigail's eyes while Manny covered Elizabeth and Pepper. Hannah held her baby to her chest. They all watched in slack-jawed horror as Esperanza was attacked.
One tried to put a bag over her head.
"NO!" Esperanza screamed, tearing off one of her shoes to use as a weapon.
The heel was driven into the eye of one of them and the other was knocked out cold by a well-placed punch.
Miguel tackled one of them off her. A green light wavered over him and he collapsed.
"NO MIGUEL!" Esperanza tried to run to him.
A red light hit her and she fell slack, then with a resounding crack, she was gone.
Those remaining were locked in a fight with her security. Green lights started flashing and dancers and audience members fell, never to get back up again. The fire was spreading.
Bernice turned off the TV.
"Papá, stay with the girls," said Hermione, jumping to her feet and running back to Rosehill.
She could hear the cheers and urges.
"Viktor Krum has caught the snitch!" the announcer cheered. "Bulgaria has won the World Cup! An excellent comeback from the crushing loss last World Cup!"
CEDRIC! Hermione screamed in her mind.
He jumped to his feet as if his seat had grown hot and looked at her across the room.
"Wait! What is this?" the announcer said. "Dark shapes are entering onto the field. They are surrounding Krum. He is fighting them off. His broom has fallen to the ground. A teammate is coming to his aid. OH, GOOD LORD SHE'S DEAD! Viktor Krum has been taken! Curses are being fired into the—"
There was an awful wheeze, followed by a crash. Terrified screams rose up and then were suddenly halted by static.
"LEE! EMERGENCY BROADCAST!" Cedric bellowed.
Lee nodded and ran to the broadcast room. Hermione followed and sat in her usual seat while he overrode all radio frequencies.
"Emergency! Emergency! This is not a drill!" he said. "Death Eaters have attacked the World Cup and kidnapped Viktor Krum."
"They have also kidnapped Esperanza Sanchez-Zdravkov," said Hermione. "They have killed Miguel Morales and—and others. We don't have a head count yet."
"Be aware," said Lee. "Be on your guard. If you can get to a safe house, do so now. There is strength in numbers."
There was a high-pitched whine. Hermione pulled her headset off with a wince, then put them back on when it ended.
"This is the Emergency Broadcast System," said a cool, posh voice. "This is not a test."
"Hermione Granger," said a shrill, high-pitched voice that she knew well by now.
Hermione shivered and hugged herself.
"You think yourself clever," he said. "Making me promise not to kill your family, but you of all people know there are worse fates than death. You chip away at my forces and I will chip away at yours. You cannot hide in your little holes forever. When you venture out for food, for medicine, for aid, we will be waiting and ready. And I know how weak you are. I have taken people from across Britain. Those, I will kill. Unless… you meet my demands. I demand you return what belongs to me. My locket, my ring, my snake. You will also retrieve my diadem from the mirror in Hogwarts. Even I must applaud that trick, but the time for trickery is done. I also demand you turn over yourself and Harry Potter. Do this and I shall set everyone I have captured free. Fail to do so and I shall start killing. I am reasonable and I will give you time to acquire what I have asked for and a chance to say your goodbyes. By sunset September 27th, if you have not surrendered, I will kill one person per hour. Be quick though, I cannot always control what my loyal followers do to their prisoners."
He laughed and the air went dead.
Hermione leaned into the microphone.
"I believe you," she said and sliced her hand across her throat.
Lee shut off the broadcast. Hermione set her headphones down and stood, exiting. The house was in chaos, she could see that the family from D.R. had come through.
"Nia!" Abuela ran to her and grabbed her arms. "They managed it! They found an entrance through the mines! They have half our family, they burned down the girls home! I don't know who's alive and who is dead. I can't go back in for the clock until they're gone. The door is barricaded, I don't think they could see it."
Hermione froze and ran to the floo room, she threw open the door to Hawaii.
"Papá?!" she called out.
"We're okay," he said. "There's no one outside the house."
Hermione exhaled slowly and ran her hands over her hair.
"Mimi." Cedric pushed through the crowd. "You can't surrender."
"I don't exactly have a choice here, Cedric!" she snapped and pressed her hands over her ears. "I need to think."
She tapped her bracelet.
Stand By
"I need to think," she repeated. "Abuela, take everyone left here. Alejandro, request refuge for them at the Hearthstone, but first make sure it's still safe. Kingsley, organize places to sleep, do a supply check."
"Aye," he said.
"Tonks, Fred, George, Lee, Daphne, Padma, Neville, Merula, Diego, do a safe house check. Supplies check, be ready to take refugees there, too. We have three days to come up with a plan, but I want us to act before they have a chance to settle."
By eight in the morning London time, Hermione had a list of all who had been taken and all who had been killed. Draco was on edge because his mother had also been taken. Many parents of those in the rebellion had been taken. Including Amos Diggory. Cedric was quiet on the subject. There were also cihuacocouah and trollings venturing outside the Hearthstone were taken, though the underworld itself had not been breached. Quripuma assured Hermione that everyone in her village was safe and accounted for, as did Cássia.
"You know, if everyone could stop yelling at me to do something, I COULD THINK OF WHAT TO DO!" she screamed. "CARAJO, WHY DON'T YOU ALL THINK OF SOME IDEAS AND WE CAN BRAINSTORM!"
Cedric put a hand on her shoulder.
"You've been up all night," he said. "Let's get some quiet, okay?"
"There's no time for quiet!" said Ron. "I'm sorry, Mione, but he has my mum. He has Fleur's parents and Remus. Sirius wasn't home during the attack. We can't wait for this."
"So, what? You think she should give up?" Padma spat. "Sacrifice her and Harry?"
"No! Of course not, but we can't sit here and wait for him to get bored!"
"We could do a ruse!" said Fred. "Hide us all in Ced's backpack?"
"No, he might be expecting something like that and could give a kill order," said George.
Hermione stared down at the world map she had laid out, noting where everyone was taken from. The runes on her spine began to burn and she rubbed the back of her neck. It increased to a painful degree and her head began to throb like some force was knocking against it.
"Come in," she said.
Everything went alight, similar to how she felt under the cruciatus curse. Her body bent backwards until all sense of self disappeared. She just… was. She could sense the ley line network coming to life. The anchor stones were speaking to each other. They had been disturbed after the destruction of St. Mungo's. She could see all. Everyone who was missing was in England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, France. Twenty-five bases. Within range for quick orders.
Hermione slammed back into reality and looked at the map to see she had marked each place with a pin, despite not feeling her body at all. Her skin emitted smoke and was hot to the touch, sweat prickled on her scalp, her skin was returning to brown from an ashy grey. Her mouth felt cotton-y and her brains were mush as she tried to make sense of what she saw. Slowly, she raised her eyes to those crammed into the war room.
Eyes were wide and bodies were frozen in shock.
"You've been accepted," said Bix, breaking the silence. Xe tapped the runes on her spine. "When this war has ended, you will need to sever the bond. You're too fragile to serve as host."
Hermione's voice reverberated and doubled. "They're all angry about St. Mungo's. There was an understanding that it was neutral ground. Our Good Friend betrayed that. Think of it… as a root system. So many voices crying out. The natural order is disturbed."
Cedric wrapped his arms around her, pressing his weight into her back and she grounded.
"Stay here with me," he murmured. "What did you learn?"
"These are the locations they're being held in," she said, her voice returning to normal. "Which means their forces are spread out. So just like for Little Hangleton, we'll need every able fighter we have. While Harry and I are surrendering, we will attack as one."
"You can't—" Cedric started, but stopped when she looked at him.
"We have twenty-four hours to gather our forces," she said. "Rest, eat, prepare. I want everyone in this room to focus on that. Except my team. I need Cedric, Harry, Biggs, Fleur, Rikki, Tikki, and Draco. The rest of you are dismissed."
"Dobby wants to help too!" said Dobby.
"Okay, you can stay."
"Why me?" Draco asked.
Hermione waited until everyone had left. She closed the door and put up a barrier to keep their conversation private.
"He's holding a handful at Malfoy manor again," she said. "I'm betting only his most trusted will be there and I need someone who knows the property. Now, here's what we're going to do…"
It was hectic all day, as each cluster of fighters arrived, she took them aside to tell them the plan. The kids wanted to help, so she set them all on making colored bands for each team with fabric Esperanza had left behind at the house in D.R..
Despite their eagerness to go right then, she ordered everyone to rest. Even if they just closed their eyes and thought over the plan until she rang the breakfast bell in the morning.
She had everything checked over for herself. Her armor, her weapons, and just in case she packed everything she acquired. The horcruxes, Dumbledore's wand, and her horcrux hunting kit. Just in case.
She couldn't fall asleep yet though, her thoughts stewed as she ran over her plan.
Cedric was awake too, tracing the runes tattooed up and down her spine.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
"How much I love you," he said. "And how terrified I am for you. Mimi."
She glanced over at him.
"Channeling this sort of power… I'm afraid of what it will do to you," he said and ran a white loc between his fingers. "I feel like more of you gets washed away each time. What if it tears you apart completely and… and you can't come back?"
Hermione shifted onto her side to face him.
"I promise I'll break the line when Our Good Friend is defeated," she said. "I just can't right now. Without that connection, I bet we would only be attacking the bases I saw when I was captured."
She moved closer and swept his hair back.
"We just… have to trust that everything will work out," she said. "That's all we can do."
"I don't know what I would do if I lost you," he whispered and pressed his forehead to hers.
"You'd keep your promise," she said. "You'd keep going and not try to join me. But… I couldn't truly live without you, either. I love you, Cedric. So… we just both have to be careful and fight for all we're worth. And I'll keep my promise too, if I die I won't stay dead."
He chuckled and kissed her. He pulled away briefly to look at her face. He stroked her cheek and kissed her again. Tenderly, desperately.
Hermione melted into him with a soft sigh.
~o0o~
After a breakfast of rationed rice porridge with the choice of either a slice of bacon or an egg as the protein, Hermione sent her teams off to their bases. They had the same trolls from Little Hangleton and three cihuacocouah including Márcia. Watches were synched and everyone would be getting into position and waiting for Hermione's signal.
They were stretched thin, but they had to hope that Voldemort had stretched his side out just as thinly.
The order was that as soon as the captured were freed and brought to a safe house, the teams would move on to aid others. No being the hero. In and out as quick as could be.
Hermione, Harry, and Draco apparated to the forest around Malfoy Manor. After a few moments of orienting themselves, they were on their way. Harry was under his invisibility cloak. Hermione had put on what she called her Hannibal get up. She donned a muzzle and big, heavy handcuffs that caged her hands. They stopped just outside the border.
Draco kicked a rock into the border, setting off an alarm. The Death Eaters at home pulled their little smoke trick and landed within the border. Bellatrix Lestrange was in the center. On one side was Lucius Malfoy and the other was the witch that had sewn Hermione's mouth shut in January.
"Draco!" gasped Lucius.
"Father," said Draco with amazing calmness. "Aunt Bellatrix."
"Little Drakey," said Bellatrix. She'd had the baby. Based on how tight her corset was, she had it a while ago. "You dare show your face?"
"I dare," he said. "Thought I'd see how the old place was. Is my mother here?"
"Oh, yes," said Bellatrix. "And acting like quite the spoiled kitten, won't give dear old daddy the time of day."
Hermione tapped her bracelet with her fingertips.
"I'll have you know," said Draco. "This is a trap."
He threw a spell at Hermione, knocking her down, and then fired a spell at Harry. He dropped to the ground and the invisibility cloak was blown off him.
"She never intended to go quietly," said Draco. "And these trinkets?"
He shook the box and tossed it onto the ground. Everything inside tumbled out. He pointed at it with his wand and the objects returned to the jewelry from the Pretty Pretty Princess game the girls liked to play.
"I am so sick of being her personal monkey!" Draco spat. "She had to go all noble and save my life?! I owed her a life debt and that debt has been repaid. I am so fucking sick of this namby-pamby, equal rights! It's disgusting! For far too long I have been doing servant work! Breaking bread with house-elves! As if they were equals!"
Bellatrix gasped in horror.
"So here I am! Delivering her and Potter on a silver platter! The idiot thought I'd been on her side this whole time, but I was just biding my time. I even fooled that dope of a wolf of hers. Uncle Severus taught me well in Occlumency."
"Glad to know you aren't a disappointment after all," said Lucius with a smile. "Come Draco. The Dark Lord will be pleased. He is at Hogwarts for the moment, but we can call for him."
No doubt a precaution. Hermione removed her false bindings and leaped to her feet.
"I won't be your prisoner again!" she screamed and ran off into the woods.
"Get back here!" Draco spat. His curse hit the tree, sending splinters of bark her way.
She raised her hand to block them and kept running.
"You're mine, Mudblood!" Bellatrix growled savagely, giving chase. "I'll do what I should have done in January and gut you like a fish!"
Hermione tripped and stumbled, sobbing uncontrollably while Bellatrix cackled.
"I'm going to get you!" she said as if she were a mother chasing a small child. "Going to get you! Your luck has run out you itty bitty otter!"
She was catching up. Hermione could sense her right behind her, reaching out to grab her hair. Hermione shrank to her otter form and dove into the thicket. Bellatrix shrieked.
Squelch!
Breathing deeply, Hermione crawled out and returned to human form.
Bellatrix's pale face had gone red as her eyes bulged. She scrabbled at the spike that had been planted.
"Let's see if this works," said Hermione, taking two bottles out of her bum bag. She ripped out a chunk of Bellatrix's hair before pouring the contents of one of the bottles into her mouth.
She tried to spit it out.
"Uh-uh." Hermione clamped her mouth and nose shut.
She swallowed just enough and the change took place. Hermione put some of the hair in a baggy and a single strand in the other bottle, knocking it back.
"Yegh." She shuddered and put everything away.
Once the transformation was complete, Bellatrix spat up some blood and went still. Guess her innards didn't like wiggling around on that thing.
Hermione stood next to her and did a swap on their clothes, then mended the hole in Bellatrix's.
"Damn, lady," she said. "Why does this corset need to be so tight? You're as crazy as a cuckoo clock, but you got good taste in clothes."
She stuck her splints in her pockets and relished in feeling no pain in her hands. She grabbed Bellatrix's wand and found it immediately accepted her as master. She flicked it. It was unnerving to see her own corpse in the air.
Hermione returned to the edge and started skipping.
"Got the Mudblood! Ha-ha-ha! Idiot ran straight onto a tree branch! Come along, Duckie, let's see if we can't get you settled in your old room. Mumsie might feel a little different if you're back on the right side."
He relaxed at hearing the nickname he hated so much and they all walked into the house, using a spell to carry an "unconscious" Harry inside. Hermione looked around. The baby was upstairs. Viktor was in the parlor. There were several people in the basement. Ten Death Eaters in total.
She could hear cruel laughter.
"Having a party without me?" she said, striding into the room.
What she saw was nearly enough to make her break the ruse. The majority of the Death Eaters were surrounding Viktor. He was beaten and bloody and his eyes… oh his eyes…
"Sorry, Miss Lestrange," said one of them. "Just thought we'd keep him warmed up for you. He'll crack. Can't keep his secrets forever. Is that Granger?"
"In the flesh," she said, letting the body drop.
"Nia?" Viktor moaned. "Help…"
"Oh, she's not helping anyone anymore!" Scabior laughed. "If your blood wasn't so pure, you'd be joining her."
His face twisted up and he fell limp.
"I'll talk…" he croaked.
"Oh goody! Where is the filth you're protecting? Where are the bases?"
Viktor whispered. One Death Eater went over, dropping her ear to his lips to hear.
"What was that?"
"I said—" he bit down hard and she screamed.
If Hermione hadn't already seen so much gore in her life, she might have fainted.
"Crucio!"
He screamed and a woman's voice screamed, too. Far away, but clear enough to be heard.
"Viktor!"
Esperanza.
The mission. Hermione grabbed the backpack off Harry. He peeked one eye open then closed it as he was let down to the floor.
"Give him a break for now," she said. "He won't crack, the old pain is just dulling the new one. Have at little baby Potty for a bit, see if you can't find out what he's got in this ickle bag. Once Duckie is presentable, we'll call for the Dark Lord."
"You don't want to call him now?" Troiani asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Why not savor the victory?" she asked. "That one is dead, she can't run off anywhere. Her taste in jewelry is hideous, but a trophy is a trophy."
Hermione rattled her wrist so the bracelet jingled.
"Come Duckie, see if you can't make Mummy see sense."
"Yes," said Lucius, glowing with pride. "I'm sure once she sees you've forgiven me, she'll come back to me."
We'll see about that.
Lucius led them down to the dungeons, undoing the enchantment on the doors. Hermione conjured things to keep them open, just in case. The dungeon held her family. Esperanza was doing an excellent job breaking down the iron door with brute strength. Her hair was still stiff with hairspray, she was covered in glitter and still dressed in a bedazzled bodysuit. Her hose was torn and she was barefoot.
She roared and shook the bars again, sending dirt clattering down.
"Get back scum!" Lucius sneered and sent a curse her way.
Esperanza backpedaled, cradling her burned hands, and Josefina hugged her.
"Cissy," said Lucius, kneeling down. "You have a visitor."
Narcissa sat primly on the ground and looked up. Her statue face cracked into shock.
"Draco!" she gasped. "Why are you here? Lucius!"
"He came of his own volition," said Lucius smugly. "He's seen the error of his ways. He turned over Granger and Potter. Soon as we leave the dungeon, we're calling the Dark Lord."
Narcissa curled her lip and turned her nose up.
"No," she said.
"My darling, why don't you see reason? You can't honestly be happy with their lot!"
"Oh, but I am," she said. "I rather like the Sanchez women."
"Yeah, she does," said Maite, resting a hand on her knee.
Lucius stiffened.
"I—You—NO! YOU VOWED TO BE WITH ME!" He slammed his hands against the bars. "You've chosen the wrong side, Narcissa! Spent too much time with your foolish sister Andromeda and these… these…"
Hermione slammed his head into the bars and he slumped to the ground, knocked out. She found the key on his belt and used it to unlock the door.
"Hola, family," she said. "Don't worry, it's a disguise. I'm actually Nia."
"Mum!" Draco ran in and hugged Narcissa. "You okay?"
"I'm fine, Draco," she said, brushing his hair back. "I'm sorry, I didn't want you to find out like this."
"It's fine," he said. "We'll talk about it later. Come on, we should go now."
"Not just yet," she said. "Nia, with me. Draco, get the others to safety."
"Viktor!" Esperanza bolted up the stairs first.
There were sounds of fighting. Hermione followed Narcissa up the stairs to the small magic source. She opened the door to reveal a nursery straight out of the Addams family. A baby was wailing. Hermione ran over to the crib and looked in.
The baby had pale skin and a dark swath of hair. They spotted her and flinched as if expecting pain.
"Oh! Oh you poor thing," said Hermione, snapping her fingers.
The polyjuice façade fell away and Hermione loosened the corset before it could squeeze the life out of her. The baby stopped crying, bewildered by what they saw.
"Come here," said Hermione, scooping them up into her arms.
Narcissa finished throwing baby things into a bag.
"You don't seem surprised," she said.
"I saw Lestrange was pregnant back in January," said Hermione. "I know who she belongs to."
Narcissa nodded and ran into the bedroom across the hall. She went to a desk and tapped open a secret compartment on the bottom, taking out a diary and a key, then snatched up a locked box on the vanity.
"Let's go," she said.
Hermione nodded and they apparated back to Rosehill, she tapped her bracelet to send a message to her team specifically that she was out. She carried the baby to med bay where they had cribs stationed. They would be safe there for the moment.
Esperanza ran in, carrying Viktor.
"I need help!" she cried, setting him down on the closest bed. "Stay with me bomboncito, I'm right here."
Hermione rolled up her sleeves and washed her hands before pulling a Healer's smock over her clothes. She got to work tending the injured as they were brought in. Those that seemed grievously so were taken care of by the professionally trained. She focused on undoing curse effects, mending broken bones, passing out blankets, bandaging up cuts, and putting cream on bruises.
"Hermione!"
Cedric ran over to her and nearly tackled her to the ground in a hug.
"Hey, I'm okay," she said. "You knew that was the plan."
"Still," he said and kissed her twice. "Seeing you like that…"
"I know Farm Boy, I know." She pressed her forehead to his. "We'll talk later."
She tapped her bracelet.
Check in - Dinner - 3 hrs
She went up to the kitchen and directed a team of people and house-elves to get dinner going. She got out a pot the size of a bathtub and used all the burners to keep it going. Cedric opened the windows and set up an industrial fan in the door to keep the smoke out.
It was going to be tough stretching their food for hundreds of people, but a food line was the best way. To stretch what they had even further, she made sancocho in the Rosehill kitchen and had Tavi lead a team in making rice and cookies in the Dominican kitchen.
Once she rang the dinner bell, she had Cedric take roll call as everyone got their rations. For the children (and some adults) who wrinkled their noses at the strange curry-like dish, she had sandwiches and carrot sticks ready.
"Cedric?"
Cedric flinched almost imperceptibly and made a mark on the clipboard.
"Amos," he said cooly.
Hermione looked over at Amos Diggory. He was worse for wear. She saw him in the infirmary, but didn't really register he was there.
"I didn't realize you were back in the country," Amos said.
"You're holding up the line," said Manuia, glaring daggers at him.
Amos narrowed his eyes and grabbed his tray, moving along.
By the end of it, nearly everyone was accounted for, Chiara brought up a list. It was a quick run. In and out. Those who were dead had died during the initial attack.
Hermione and Cedric took their own dinner in the kitchen, knowing they would need to set up the sleeping situation. Sleeping bags, cots, anything. Good thing the trolls expanded Rosehill downwards. They would have to mark a space for people to be in for the moment but hopefully it wouldn't be too long.
The last horcrux…
"I think I need to talk to Narcissa," said Hermione, stacking her dishes by the sink.
Cedric followed her down to med bay. Though Narcissa wasn't injured, Maite had been and she was also focused on the baby.
"I didn't know any babies were kidnapped," said Cedric.
"She wasn't kidnapped," said Narcissa.
"But—oh!" He made a face. "Egh… but she looks… like a baby. Smells like a baby. Sounds like a baby."
"She is in fact a baby," said Narcissa. "I need to talk to you, Nia. Is there a place we can speak in private?"
"Sure, come up to my office."
The baby started crying.
"Oh, you poor thing," said Cedric, picking her up out of the crib. "Come here. You've been left alone so much, haven't you?"
They headed upstairs to Hermione and Cedric's room. Hermione put charms on the door to prevent eavesdropping.
"First off, does the baby have a name?" Hermione asked.
"Delphini," said Narcissa. "It's tradition for the Black family to use astronomical names or, at the very least, Greek in origin. But… if we keep her name the same, she might figure it out. Have questions."
Hermione nodded. "No chance for a happy family reunion like mine. And if she is the spawn of Our Good Friend… well, why place that weight on a child?"
"Cassiopeia," said Cedric. "Cassie for short."
"Perfect," said Narcissa. "I'll raise her. Maite and I will raise her. I think if she's raised with your family, Nia, she will turn out just fine."
Cassie gurgled and sucked on her fingers.
"I know where the final horcrux is," said Narcissa.
"I thought you might," said Hermione. "When you were so quick to grab those items. I thought, 'If they were hers she would have taken them before the divorce.'"
"Astute." Narcissa took the items out of the borrowed satchel across her chest. "Yes, Bella had tried to get me to see reason, too. Thought maybe I had been cursed or was just being prideful. She said that the Dark Lord trusted her more than anyone. That she was in charge of something that would ensure his eternal rule. Well, naturally, I deduced that she meant a horcrux and anything worth keeping she would keep either in this jewelry box or in her vault. I used to steal her diary, so I knew where she kept the key."
She wiggled the diary.
"She goes nowhere without it," she said. "So I thought if I stole it along with her chest, we might keep her death a secret?"
Hermione twitched an eyebrow. "Good point. In all the chaos and confusion…"
"We should act now then," said Cedric. "Before he even has a chance to recover."
Narcissa nodded and unlocked the jewelry box. She withdrew a gold Gringotts key.
"Okay," said Hermione. "Okay. One second."
She hurried out and ran to the staircase, holding a finger to her throat to amplify her voice.
"Bill Weasley, Fleur Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Fred Weasley, Ron Weasley, Biggs, Griphook Ironwood, Daphne Greengrass, Harry Potter, and Shaylyn Ramsey, please come to my room for a special assignment."
They were all the least injured out of her team and many had good knowledge of Gringotts. When they came up, she closed the door once more. Special assignment didn't always mean a mission, many have learned that sometimes 'special assignment' meant keeping the kids occupied.
"What do you need, Mione?" Ron asked. "Please don't say K.P. duty."
"No," she said. "The last horcrux. Potentially. All of us are going to retrieve it and then go to the Burrow to destroy it. The circle is still intact last I checked."
"Really?!" Fleur squeaked. "It's almost over?!"
"Well, we'll still have a showdown at Hogwarts, but yes." Hermione smiled. "For once it looks like the end is in sight. So, here's the plan…"
