"I don't see any way around it," Hermione declared. They were sitting around the tent as they discussed possibilities for where Voldemort may have stashed his other two Horcruxes. "We will need to go to Hogwarts."
Ron shook his head. "Uh-uh, I don't like it. It's walking straight into the lion's—er, snake's den."
"I don't like it either, Ron, but she's right." Harry sat opposite the redhead. Ron was backwards on a chair while Hermione and Draco occupied their bed.
Ron glanced at Draco, usually his ally when it came to the cautious route. Draco lifted his hands. "No, don't look at me. Hermione is the one who knows him best."
"I'm telling you," she insisted, "the journal must be one of them. He's never without it."
"Then won't it be with him?" said Ron.
"And I'm fairly certain he doesn't want to leave the school. He loves Hogwarts. It was his home when he was a child," she replied.
"Exactly." Harry thumped a fist against the flat of his palm. "I'll bet galleons his other one is there, too. Maybe it's hidden, or maybe it's in his quarters, but my dad told me there is nowhere safer than Hogwarts, not even Gringotts."
"But where would it be if it's not with him?" She thought they should have an exhaustive list and several plans before they made any attempt to enter the school.
"Maybe one of the hidden rooms? We can use the map and—"
Something niggled at the back of her mind. Hidden rooms, hidden room. "Didn't you say there's a special hidden room, Harry?" He knew them all from his father's exploits.
"Sure, but then Riddle could have put it in any one of its versions," he replied.
She nodded. "Perhaps we could ask if it would take us there?"
"He'll have asked for somewhere it wouldn't be found, I'm sure," Harry rejected the idea.
"Then we'll ask for that." She shrugged. "A place things won't be found."
Ron frowned. "Wouldn't that negate the purpose of asking for a place things won't be found, by using that request to find such a place?"
"Magic is often not the most logical, Ron," she pointed out. "It's one of the things I've come to expect from it. In fact, I use logic quite frequently to get around magical problems."
Ron considered that and nodded along. It made a certain sense to him.
"Do you have the map, Harry?" she asked.
Harry grinned. "Do I have the— I'd hardly go on an adventure without it." He pulled it from the rucksack he had packedc in preparation for whatever happened to them. Of the three boys, he was best prepared. Ron was next, whereas Draco seemed woefully ill-informed on what an 'adventure' might require. It was good for him that Hermione had prepped for all of them just in case.
"We will visit Mr. Malfoy morning after next and then we will finalize our Hogwarts attack plans from there," she said. "Hopefully we will have a Horcrux destruction method to take into account by then."
That settled, they began to discuss the best ways to enter the castle.
"I think it's gotta be the Whomping Willow," Harry said. "It's hard to get through so they won't see it coming. They'll hardly expect anyone to be able to get around it, much less four teenagers on a mission to destroy them."
Hermione pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Tom knows your father was part of the Marauders; he'll expect that you or the Aurors working against him might come that way."
"We could send a distraction through then." Ron was aces with strategy.
"That's an idea," she concurred. "We could contact the Order of the Phoenix."
"How? Owl post is being watched," Draco interjected.
"So we go in person," said Harry. "To Godric's Hollow."
"Harry, that's suicide," said Hermione.
"Hardly. We're the best duellers of Hogwarts. And my dad is a powerful Auror. If anyone can do it, we can," he said.
She thought his view might have been colored by longing to see his family. It had been too long for him, too unexpected. They had been unable to get word to anyone since they went on the run, so the parents must have been as clueless as Voldemort.
"We'll come back to it," she promised. "It'll be one of the plans."
He nodded solemnly. She could see that he wanted to keep arguing for it, there was that glint in his eye that spoke of stubbornness and need, but he was smart enough to listen to her when she spoke up.
"What about the Floo?" Draco asked after a moment.
They all turned to face him. "What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
He sat a little straighter. "Depending on who the Headmaster is, we might be able to Floo in. If it's McGonegall, she'd let us in without an issue."
"And if it's Tom himself or one of his Death Eaters?"
"You go in as a distraction while we sneak in via other means," he said. "It's risky, but if we can find the Horcruxes—"
"Draco, that's brilliant!" It wasn't that Hermione wanted to put herself at risk, and it most definitely wasn't because any part of her missed Tom. It was merely the best play they had at their disposal, pending whatever Hocrux-destroying method Lucius Malfoy gave them.
"No," said Ron.
"Absolutely not," argued Harry. "We are not putting you straight into his hands."
She clicked her tongue. "He'll think I'm coming back to him. Don't you see? He trusts me, and when you lot have destroyed the Horcruxes, then I can disar, him and make him surrender. It's perfect."
"Hermione, I don't think Riddle is just going to surrender," said Harry.
"He'll have no choice. He'll be wandless and at my mercy." She felt light, like a weight had been taken from her shoulders. "Perhaps we should see Lucius tomorrow instead. I'm eager to get started."
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance between themselves, one Hermione didn't see because she was too focused on writing down notes for her new Number One strategy to get into Hogwarts.
"Then you all can come in, hm, maybe send the Order through the Whomping Willow, and you lot through Honeydukes." She listed down a few names from the Order and began making teams of them. "At least one Auror with each group for the sake of experience…"
"What happens if you can't disarm him?" Harry hazarded.
"Then you lot have to rescue me." She shrugged. "Or I get away on my own. I still have my ring." She thumbed the gold-and-ruby gift Harry had given her for Christmas. "You keep the box. We set the password already, so we are good."
He nodded. "That's true. Just... don't be afraid to use it, Hermione."
She smiled, her eyes lit with hope. "I won't," she promised.
The next morning, Hermione was up before the sun. She watched it rise, the first rosy fingers the only warmth in the chill air. It was beautiful and she hoped it was a sign that her plan was going to go well. Not that Hermione Granger believed in omens or portents, but there was no harm in take heart, was there?
Harry joined her next, tossing his throw blanket across her shoulders and huddling with her in the twilight. Ron came bearing cups of tea for the three of them.
"Draco is still sleeping?" She knew he was, but asked anyway. Ron nodded and sipped his tea. He wasn't much if a morning person, but she appreciated his attempts. He and Draco grudgingly held that in common, so she noticed he was always reluctant to wake the blond.
They'd always gotten on least in their little quartet. Hermione was sure that if it weren't for her, Ron would never have agreed to befriend the son of Lucius Malfoy. They often went at it cats and dogs, and with just as much miscommunication, she secretly thought. If they could learn to get past their own viewpoints they might've found themselves getting along.
She finally woke Draco once the morning mist had dispensed across the land. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, but trudged out of bed with nary a complaint. It was quite impressive for him.
"Are we all set?" she asked the boys as they stepped out of the tent. There was a round of nods. She began the process of removing the wards as they dismantled and packed the tent. It was all very much down to a science by now.
The boys gathered around her as they all finished. She took a hand from two of them and the third laid his own on her shoulder, and the apparated.
This time, it was straight to the family apparition point in the house. Lucius Malfoy had not set anything against them, so she thought it was fair enough. He'd have warning from the wards as much as he did last time.
They fanned out after Harry and Ron each gave her hand a squeeze, walking down the wide hall toward the drawing room. That was the most likely place to find him at this time of day, or in his study, but they could try that later.
Their first inclination was right.
Lucius Malfoy looked better than when they'd last seen him, more rested and put-together. He wore smart clothes that were primarily charcoal with gold edging. "You've come sooner than expected." He'd been perusing the Daily Prophet , which featured a picture of a stern Riddle like she'd never seen him before.
Hermione frowned and picked up the paper before she could remember her manners. Dark Lord to Ministry "Fall in line or get replaced." Tom wore all black, his usual curls brushed back sharply, his skin somehow paler against his robes. He stood tall, his cheekbones sharp at razors and his eyes searing even through the black and white photo.
The illustruous Lord Voldemort has been using his force of Death Eater to fight against lazy Ministry bureaucrats and deeply-ingrained systemic injustices.
This reporter sat down with the young lord. Dear readers, he is even more handsome in person than in print. His crimson eyes pierce to the truth of matters and…
Hermionesneered in disgust. Tom must have had an insider at the Prophet if this was how they were reporting him. It was absolutely dreadful.
She had heard about attacks on families who spoke out against him. That coupled with his muggleborn initiative was painting a dire picture for her. Yet wizarding public was in love with him, and hiding its head in the sand when it came to his violence (as evidenced by the below-the-fold story Suspicious attacks on Ministry officials continue that had a photo of the Dark Mark curling and curving over a house).
"Tell me you've had luck," Hermione said as she threw the paper down on the coffee table. "We need to get this done with."
Lucius lifted a brow and Hermione backed away as she realized how close to him she was. "I've not had much luck, no. There is a merchant who travels through southeast Asia says he can procure some Basilisk venom, but that will take some time. Customs are bearing down on non-British traders."
"What can we do to speed that?" Harry asked.
"Nothing, unless you can convince Riddle to walk back some of his policies on foreign trade," the man said. "They are currently harder to bribe than ever."
"Perhaps," Hermione began, only for Draco to interrupt.
"You are not going to him before we have a way to destroy the Horcruxes," said her friend.
"You could gather them all and then send me the signal," she replied. "It's the same thing, just a slightly different order of operations."
"Draco's right," said Ron. "Too risky. What if he doesn't surrender because he still has the Horcruxes? And what would happen if you tried to kill him without them gone?"
Hermione clicked her tongue. "He wouldn't risk his life, Horcruxes or not. He's too careful for that."
Harry eyed her skeptically. "I think caution is the better part of valor here," he said.
Hermione huffed but took a seat at one of the chairs in front of the hearth. "What is our backup plan for the moment?"