Planning Stage 1: Hunting

August to October 1997

Camping was oddly peaceful. It didn't quite feel right, considering the reasons they were camping in the first place.

Once they had established a routine and divided all the tasks between themselves, the only real hurdle was acquiring food and managing their limited funds – which were really all Hermione's Muggle money. Unless they managed to get to Gringotts and back safely somehow, money was going to be their biggest concern in the long run it seemed.

Sure, unlike their own currency, Muggle money could easily be duplicated with magic, but Hermione wasn't the only one who was vehemently against doing that except for a last resort.

Besides, they would have to visit Gringotts because of the Cup sooner or later anyway.

For now, they would be fine.

Between them, they all had gotten little bags from Hermione that she and Theodore had charmed to be bigger on the inside filled, with essential necessities and certain foods like rice and dried beans and tea. Things like clothing, books and the tent had been divided between them. If they ever got separated, none of them were without the most basic items.

They occasionally went to nearby markets in pairs, disguised as a local Muggle couple, to buy things like eggs and occasionally vegetables and fruits. The forest they were camping in had an abundance of wildlife, mushrooms, even fish in the river next to their clearing, so they weren't in want of food for now.

Catching and preparing the animals for cooking always fell to Harry, Theodore and Lynea, being the ones used to handling cadavers. Skinning a rabbit and gutting a fish was not at all like preparing a body for burial, but between Lynea's experience with cutting up bodies for autopsies, their combined knowledge about dead bodies in general and the information Hermione provided about things she had read, they made do.

"Owl incoming!"

Harry looked up from the rabbit fur he was mending – you never knew what it might be useful for.

"What?" Ron cried from somewhere on the other side of the tent. "I thought we had put up wards against that!"

"It's just Hermes," Lynea called out, getting up from her place next to Harry to round the tent.

Harry looked at Theodore. "Hermes?"

"Rhea's familiar."

Harry had never met Rhea's familiar. Unlike Lynea, who had kept her cat around at all times before they had been forced to spontaneously flee from the wedding, Rhea was apparently not too fussed about having hers around. Harry vaguely remembered hearing her say something along the lines of their mental connection being more than sufficient.

"Dead owl?" he asked Theodore.

"Dead owl," Theodore confirmed.

Harry put down his rabbit fur. "Let's go and see what news he brings."

On the other side of the tent, sitting in front of the entrance, they found Ron and Hermione pouring over what appeared to be a copy of the Daily Prophet while Lynea was cooing nonsense at a definitely undead owl.

"Severus Snape confirmed as headmaster," Ron read out loud when he noticed Harry and Theodore approaching.

Snape.

Harry didn't know whether to be relieved or not.

The article further explained that Alecto and Amycus Carrow had been appointed as teachers for Muggle Studies and Defence Against the Dark Arts, respectively.

Lynea smiled. "Rhea is going to have so much fun."

Harry grimaced. "She will be the only one."

"Oh, I don't think so," Lynea said, amusement evident in her tone. "You'll see."

"Either way," Theodore said, "this is good news."

"How is this good news," Ron said flatly. "Snape's a bloody Death Eater. And I bet these Carrows are, too."

"They are," Harry confirmed.

"But Snape is one of ours," Theodore said.

Ron scowled. "No, he's not."

"Actually," Harry winced. "He kind of is."

Ron and Hermione turned to him with incredulous looks.

"So last year he, er," Harry ducked his head. "HemightormightnothavediedbecauseofsomethingIdid."

"He what?"

"Snape made an Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco and then Draco died, so Snape died too." Lynea shrugged when Ron and Hermione turned to stare at her. "Rhea and I turned him into an Inferius. Whether he truly was on our side before doesn't matter, because he certainly is now."

"And Rhea will be at Hogwarts," Harry said.

Lynea nodded. "Precisely."

"Right," Ron said. "Right, okay. So Snape – died. And you turned him into an Inferius. And that's why him being headmaster is a good thing." He looked to Harry for confirmation. "Because Inferi obey necromancers."

Harry nodded. "Something like that."

Ron exhaled slowly. "That's one thing less to worry about, I suppose. Ginny and the others will be fine." He turned to Lynea. "How safe is it to use that owl for correspondence?"

"Depends. If something were to happen to Hermes, Rhea would know immediately, so there's that. Since owls are nocturnal in nature, sending him out at night would be better. And maybe don't send any letters directly to their recipients – send them to Rhea at Hogwarts, where a lot of owls will be coming and going and she can take it from there. That way, no one will get a heart attack when a dead owl suddenly swoops into their home, either."

Ron nodded. "We need to make sure my parents and the Order know we're safe, but dad's Patronus said they're being watched. And maybe we can get updates from Hogwarts, too, just in case."

"We can always summon some of the ghosts to come here."

Ron's face twisted. "No, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

Harry sighed fondly and left them to their bickering while he returned to his rabbit fur, Theodore following quietly behind him.

o

Mornings were for peaceful breakfasts and hunting for food when necessary. Afternoons were for preparing dinner, going to the market and doing whatever tasks needed to be done around the campsite. Evenings were for discussions over dinner (usually cooked by Harry, sometimes Hermione), washing up and then retiring for whatever everyone did in their downtime. Hermione read. Ron listened to the radio. Harry usually sought out Lynea for necromancy lessons. Theodore either joined them or borrowed one of Hermione's books.

You could almost forget there was a war going on.

But, of course, they weren't doing this for fun. They were in hiding, after all, biding their time, trying to come up with plans to retrieve and destroy the remaining Horcruxes and then Voldemort, himself.

"So Mundungus stole the Locket from Kreacher, but he doesn't have it, anymore."

Harry nodded. "The easiest option would be to ask him directly, but I don't want to give our location away."

"Do you have someone tailing him?" Theodore asked.

"A few helpful spirits, yes. They find his escapades fascinating."

"How hard would it be to ambush him, relocate to some desolate place to interrogate him and then leave him there?"

"If we time it right, not that hard, I think." Harry frowned. "He frequents the more unsavoury parts of London quite often."

"Then all we need is some desolate place and decide who gets to stun him."

"Or kill him," Lynea said.

Ron stabbed his fork in her direction. "You can't solve all our problems by killing them."

"Oh, quite the contrary. Dead people tell the best tales. And all we would need to get the Cup is to figure out who the vault belongs to, kill them, turn them into an Inferius and then order them to retrieve the Cup for us. Or kill one of the Goblins and have them steal the Cup for us. Piece of cake."

"And Nagini?"

"We already got Snape. He can do it. Or even Draco."

"The only issues here," Hermione interjected, "being that we currently don't have any means actually capable of destroying a Horcrux on our hands – and that we really should not murder people just because it might make things easier for us."

"And here I thought Rhea was the only one down for murder," Harry muttered.

"She certainly enjoys it more," Lynea said. "I'm simply practical."

"No killing unless we can help it," Ron said decisively. "Let's deal with Mundungus first. Harry is going to determine the best time and place for an ambush for us. Lyn and Theo can figure out some desolate place to bring him to that won't implicate our current camp in any way. The three of you will wait there while Mione and I take care of the ambush. We'll have to borrow your cloak, Harry. Then we interrogate him, wipe his memory and leave him there."

Harry smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

o

"We are not going to infiltrate the Ministry, are you mad? Just figure out where Umbridge lives, how her home is warded and ambush her at night. Steal the Locket, wipe her memory. Same as Mundungus."

"Replace it with a fake. No one will ever know."

"Yes, thank you." Ron paused. He slowly turned to Lynea. "You are not going to suggest we kill her?"

"No, your plan is good as is. Worked with Mundungus. I am still all in favour of turning her into an Inferius, though. Imagine all the possibilities."

Ron's expression turned contemplative. "That is true. Umbridge has a lot of influence within the Ministry. I'm not saying murder is the right answer, but it is worth some consideration. Maybe the Imperius instead? She would certainly deserve it."

Harry looked between Ron and Lynea and a sudden shiver ran down his spine. He could have never guessed putting them in a room together to strategize would end up being this scary.

o

They were slowly running low on Polyjuice and money. They wouldn't be able to delay the inevitable trip to Gringotts for much longer.

It was also getting colder as October went by and winter approached. Ron kept complaining about it despite the warming charms and the fire they kept going. Hermione was currently trying to figure out how acquiring a small house could work for them. Their best option at the moment would be a small hut in one of the milder regions with basic plumbing installed or something. Even with rent out of the way, electricity and running water and central heating in modern houses required payment from an income they didn't have.

Harry, to be honest, doubted a simple hut would actually satisfy Ron any more than their rather luxurious tent with its kitchen, bathroom and several bunk beds. (Hermione didn't know how exactly the kitchen and bathroom worked, either.)

Then again, they could always put the tent inside the hut.

The colder temperatures also made it harder to forage in the wild for food, herbs and whatever else they needed around the campsite.

"We will need to be careful not to neglect our practices," Lynea murmured one day in late October, when they were wandering through the forest looking for herbs. "It wouldn't be a problem, were we working with a mortuary or a funeral parlour. But with winter approaching, our income of corpses will dwindle significantly."

Harry frowned. "Why is that going to be a problem?"

"During my first year at Hogwarts," Lynea began, looking into the distance, the plants she had been picking seemingly forgotten, "I returned home for the winter holidays with a rather persistent headache that had been plaguing me for months. My grand-aunt took one look at me and instantly knew I had been neglecting my practices of the Forbidden Arts. I still remember her exact words." Lynea closed her eyes. "She said, 'As Necromancers, we Lémures are so closely linked to Death that we can't help it – we have to practice the Forbidden Arts. It's a compulsion we can't resist.'"

"Like an addiction."

He saw Lynea hesitate.

"Yes," she replied eventually. "In a way, it is."

"What did you do? To combat it."

"We brewed a potion using only Old Magics."

"That's it?"

"It was a potion used for maintaining Inferi." Lynea tilted her head. "Not necromancy, necessarily, but it is the intention that counts, remember?"

Harry took a moment to think, absentmindedly plucking some mushrooms he knew were edible. "So we will be fine even without animals to kill for food and necromancy. At least on the necromancy part, not the food part."

Lynea nodded. "I came with you, because I knew neither you nor Theodore would know to look out for the signs. To remind you to keep practicing."

Harry turned to her in surprise. "Not because of Vol– because of him?"

"We serve the dead, Harry, not the living."

"But if he wins that would change your lives – your situation, too!"

"Not as much as you think it would." Lynea paused. "Believe it or not, Rhea would have been more likely to support you against the Dark Lord than myself. Albeit not out of the goodness of her heart."

Harry huffed. "Rhea would simply have fun with it."

Lynea rose from her crouched position. "Let's return to the campsite. This should suffice for the rites."

"How are we going to conduct the main ritual? We're missing two people."

"Four would work – or even three in a pinch. I think Ron won't mind joining us."