"No," Granger said. "Absolutely not."

She sprang up from the couch, but seemed to realise that her head wasn't fully recovered. Grumbling and massaging her forehead, she sat back down. Theo had moved closer to them, and Keela was sitting next to Draco.

He was still holding the Scavenger uniform. "Granger—"

"Are you trying to get me killed?" she snapped. "I thought players couldn't leave the Empire."

"They can't, but this is important." He tried to sound firm. He felt this situation was important.

"Do they know?" she asked. "The leaders… Yaxley?"

"Course not," Theo retorted. "And they can't know."

Draco could see her mind was whirring. Things were moving too fast, and he wasn't being careful. He knew. Only yesterday he had told her about things not being black or white. About dreaming of leaving.

"Surely you understand why I don't want to." Her voice was tired, smaller.

"Is it the uniform?" he asked, throwing it away on the couch.

She followed the movement with her eyes. "I don't want anything to do with that uniform and the role it means."

"Surelyyou understand wearing the uniform doesn't actually make you a Scavenger, right?" Theo quipped. "It's just a costume."

Granger's eyes burned into him, taking in his own uniform. "Is it a costume for you? You're wearing it every day."

Theo sighed, looking at Draco, ignoring her. "I thought you talked about this. You told me she understood."

"I told you she was trying to understand," he replied.

Granger rose from the couch, slower this time. "Don't talk about me like I'm not right here!" Anger had surged in her voice, booming in the Room.

Theo opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "Forget about the uniform. What happens if they find out I was gone?"

"They won't," Draco deadpanned.

"You don't know that."

"They can't trace you. Your tattoo doesn't have a trace."

Her lips closed in a thin line and she sighed deeply. A few moments passed before she looked down at the uniform on the couch, reaching for the fabric with the tip of her fingers. "What is it? What's so important?"

Draco and Theo glanced at each other. "It's best we show you," Theo said.

Her eyes fluttered up to Draco. "You promise this won't put my parents or me in danger?"

He hated making promises—if he could avoid them, he did. Nothing ever happened the way he expected, the promises were just fantasies of things he wanted to be sure of. "Nothing will happen."

He waited for the resolve to settle on her face. And it did. Her eyes narrowed on them. "Can you turn away, please?"

Theo was the first to turn his back, and Draco did the same, walking towards the back of the room. Granger stripped out of her uniform, the rustle of the fabric falling down. Something was swimming in his head, drowning any logical thought. He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, imagining that about now she was stepping out of the uniform and into the black clothes.

A part of him wanted to glance back. He swiped his tongue over his teeth. He was better than this.

"You can look now," her voice rose behind them.

He turned back, and a knot in his core untied. The garments he had selected were female, smaller and tighter. The trousers fitted around her legs, making them look longer. For the first time, he noticed how skinny she was—he didn't like it.

She didn't look physically strong. But the black made her look fierce, threatening.

Theo snapped him back to reality. "Are we ready?"

"Is Keela coming?" she asked. "And what should I do with my uniform?"

"Put it over your clothes," Draco replied. "You'll have to walk out of the castle." He walked to her, and Theo joined them. "And yes, I never leave Keela alone in the Empire."

She nodded, scratching the top of his dog's head. Keela looked up to her, spellbound by the attention, and blinked slowly. Great. Now his dog was getting infatuated with Granger.

She proceeded to put her player jumpsuit over the black clothes and while she did that, Theo caught his stare. He silently nodded to Granger's back, and winked.

Draco's breath hitched in his throat. Yes, she looked good in black. He just didn't want fucking Theo to notice it too.

"You'll side along with Theo," he said coldly, "and I'll bring Keela." He wished the positions were reversed. But he would never let anyone attempt disapparating his dog. "We'll walk back outside, and you'll follow in ten minutes."

Granger's eyes flicked up to both of them. "Wait. Can't you tell me how I should act?"

"It's getting late," he answered. "We won't encounter any trouble. Act normal."

"Besides, we're going directly somewhere," Theo added. "We're not gonna wander in the city."

"But—"

"Just act normal, Granger." Theo narrowed his eyes on her. "You have nothing to worry about."

Draco and Theo walked to the exit, Keela following close. "See you in ten," he called.

They walked out of the Room of Requirement, and the door closed behind them.

"She will freak out", Theo said after a moment, while they were getting down the stairs.

"What if he tries something?"

"I don't think he will."

"But if he does?"

"I'm disapparating her. And you take care of it."

Draco nodded. "Works for me."

Once outside the castle, they wait in the darkness, leaning against the stones. Keela was chasing bugs and sneezing. After a few minutes he estimated it amounted to ten, the doors opened again and Granger appeared.

"Okay," she said simply.

Draco whistled gently and Keela scuttled to him. He laid a hand on her collar. "We're going to England, so we have to make two jumps." He looked at Theo. "Ready?"

"I have no wand," she whispered.

"You have us." He disapparated, not waiting for her reply.

He landed in Coldstream, a small village in the Scottish Borders. All they had to do was cross River Tweed and they'd be in England. Coldstream was one of the main Apparition points that Scavengers used when they had runs in England. A bridge over the River had been built six years ago to facilitate crossing the border.

Keela went to the shore and lapped at the water. He listened for the wind rustling in the leaves, the jangle of the water cascading around and over the stones. Five seconds later, Theo and Granger appeared with a crack.

Keela lifted her head, water dripping from her lips.

Granger groaned, a hand to her head. Then, she hissed, clasping her palm over her inked wrist.

"Sorry," Theo mumbled. "I don't do Side-Alongs often."

Draco walked briskly to her and took her arm. He deactivated her tattoo.

"Thanks," she said quietly. She blinked, looking at her surroundings. "Oh. I've been here before. When they brought me." Her eyes skated the grounds, searching. She pointed to a spot near the shore where Keela was. "I vomited near there."

Theo guffawed, then bit his lips when she glared. "Sorry. It's the way you said it."

"Can we cross or do you need to vomit again?" Draco asked, the shadow of a smirk on his lips.

Her face remained devoid of expression. "Let's go."

"First, remove your uniform and leave it under the bridge."

She didn't ask questions and did it. She rolled her jumpsuit and tucked it under a stone right under the bridge.

"We'll come back here," he clarified. But just by precaution, he applied a Disillusionment charm on the uniform—now it was the colour of stone.

They crossed the bridge. Keela tried to munch on a wooden post, and he whistled to get her attention back. On the other side, he crouched next to his dog. "Try to go smoothly this time," he told Theo.

He apparated and landed in Brighton, in front of the old building shrouded in the night. The windy air from the sea wrapped around him and he tightened his coat. Distant waves crashed on the nearby shores, and Keela angled her head towards the water, smelling the salt.

"You okay, Kee?" he asked softly, scratching the top of her head. Sometimes, two jumps made her sick. She licked his fingers and nudged her nose on the side of his knee.

Two heartbeats later, Theo apparated with Granger. He tried to determine how she was feeling. The bruises of her ex-broken nose curved under her eyes, giving her a raccoon look.

She tucked a piece of her unruly hair behind her ears and looked around, taking in the sea, the long stretch of coast.

"Where are…" Her gaze settled on the building behind Draco. "Brighton?" A sparkle in her eyes. "Brighton's aquarium?"

"You know the place?" Theo asked above the wind.

"I went twice, with my parents."

Draco heard the stitch in her voice. "We shouldn't waste any time."

They strided onward, Keela's claws clicking on the stones. They entered by the main entrance, sneaking by the gate that had remained ajar, right under the huge SEA LIE letters on the facade. They walked by the fallen F letter. Draco kept his fingers around his wand.

The entrance was fenced, guiding them down two flights of stone stairs before the main building, faced with arched, darkened doorways.

"The fog," Granger noted. "It doesn't smell here."

"It's the sea," He shot her a sideways look. Her face was focused, and she was detailing everything her eyes landed on. "The wind wipes it away." When it all started, the oceans were probably the safest places to be. But the Dark Lord had commanded to eradicate all ways of muggle travel—that included seaports and boats.

He remembered watching the immense cargo ships sink, smoke billowing in the skyline, and wondering how the ecosystem underwater would cope.

Theo guided them in the first doorway, muttering a Lumos.He did the same. The four of them, bathed in two bright halos, advancing in the heart of the aquarium.

The corridors were wide, covered with real stones on the ground and some plastic stone on the walls. They walked by huge empty fish tanks, but he figured there must be some slimy creatures lurking inside. The tips of their illuminated wands reflected in the glass around them. Only Theo had been here yesterday and had urged both him and Granger to come back.

"Before we go any deeper, there's something I have to do," Theo announced, before quickly departing. "Stay here, I won't be long."

He had already disappeared before they could say something, footsteps retreating in the dark. Draco sighed and sat back on his heels, reaching for Keela. He absentmindedly started to pet her before noticing that Granger had scooted closer to him, or the light, maybe.

The silence stretched for a few seconds and he felt he had to break it. "How's the head?"

Her arms crossed across her chest. "Fine. Thank you. For the potion." She took a sharp breath, but no words tumbled out.

"What is it?" He straightened up and Keela strolled away.

"I wonder what happened to the fish, and the animals." Her eyes kept darting around the corridor, counting the tanks. Jumping over the labels that identified the species.

He did the same. "I heard Wizards tried to move them in the sea. A long time ago."

Her brows drew together. "But not all marine life belongs to the sea. They have unique habitats and—"

"I don't know what to tell you, Granger," he snapped. He couldn't hear her ramble about marine life. "It's what I heard." The echo of his voice caromed off in the corridor, and he realised how loud he'd been.

"Sorry," he muttered. She looked at him blankly. "For what happened with Rathmore."

She shrugged it off. "It's fine."

"She's cruel."

He saw her throat bobbed, and he knew she couldn't deny it. But she didn't answer, because suddenly the world around them exploded in colours. A whirring sound reverberated in the corridors, bringing all the lights to life. The tanks brightened up with various shades of blue, green, pink, turquoise and purple. The roof sparkled with blueish neons, buzzing with strain and electricity, flooding the entire place with an oceanic glow.

Footsteps echoed behind them, and Theo reappeared, panting. "Told you!"

Granger's eyes were glinting with awe, dancing around them. "What did you do?"

"There's a generator in the basement," he explained, and Draco didn't know what that was. "I guess it hasn't been used in a long time."He looked pleased with himself.

Draco called Keela back to him. She emerged from somewhere, tongue hanging out. "Nox," he said, the light dying on the tip of his wand.

"This way," Theo ushered them further in the aquarium. They took turns and entered other doorways, before they arrived in an underwater tunnel.

Draco stopped dead in his tracks, and Granger smacked into his back, starting to tell him off, before she turned quiet. The tunnel formed a semicircle above their heads, and the water was illuminated by blue lights dancing in the current. Algae and aquatic plants swayed with the movement of the water and a swarm of tiny fish wriggled their way along the right side, just above a pink coral.

Lights were flickering on Granger's bewildered face. Her eyes were cast upward, following the curve of the glass, and her eyelashes seemed to brush her brows. And suddenly—

It hit him how striking she looked.

He wished there were more fish for her to look at.

"Come on," he said instead, tearing his mesmerised stare away from her.

They continued walking. And finally, they reached the food court. There were countless round tables and chairs, some in place, some overturned. The trash cans were overflowing with debris, paper cups and foam plates. The walls were painted a bright blue, with cartoon sketches of fishes, dolphins and whales. Above their heads, the massive frame of a blue whale hung by wires as thick as his wrist. The whale was sculpted in a movement, so its tail was curving up, and the fins curled.

But they hadn't come here to look at the whale.

The male figure, propped against a nearby settee, was hunched over himself, blond hair falling over his face like a curtain.

Draco's grip tightened around his wand. Granger seemed to notice him only a second later, and she halted.

"He requested you," Theo explained. "And you only."

She approached the man. Took in his yellow garments, his green cloak, the dirty strands of his hair. He was rocking slightly back and forth on his seat, clutching a potted plant on his lap.

"Mr. Lovegood?" she gasped, before rushing to him. She kneeled in front of him and touched his knee. His eyes blinked up to hers, and a flicker of recognition passed in them, quickly swallowed by a dreamy haze.

"It's me," she said softly, "it's Hermione Granger."

Draco didn't know how much they were acquainted. Theo told him that his name was Xenophilius, Luna's father, but he had never met him.

"My Luna, my Luna, my Luna," Mr. Lovegood whispered, eyes boring into Granger's.

"No, it's Hermione," she answered quietly.

Xenophilius kept rocking, muttering to himself, and her gaze darkened on Draco. "What happened to him?"

"Theo was the one to find him." Her head swivelled around to Theo.

"Went mad, I think," Theo said.

An uncomfortable itch crept up Draco's spine.

"Why did he request me?" Her voice had risen a notch, worry and confusion etched in the fabric of it.

"He said—" Theo stopped himself, frowning, trying to phrase it right. "I'm not sure exactly…"

"Just say it," she pressed him.

"He said… things about bodies, and fog, and water. I think?"

Her mouth clamped shut and she looked to Draco, as if searching for confirmation.

"Where's Luna?" she asked sheepishly to them, then repeated the question to Xenophilius. He simply gripped the plant harder, and the leaves rustled.

"He's soiling them," he blurted out, voice gravelly. The blue of his eyes was piercing. "But bodies decay, bodies decay, bodies decay."

She tried to catch his eyes with an ever-patient tone. "Whose bodies?"

"Their bodies— they, they, they never die."

"Do you mean Vold—"

"I can't s-swim." Xenophilius' words slurred, and tears welled in his vacant eyes. "I-I-I don't want to-to end up like them."

"It's okay," she said softly, trying to encourage him along. Draco already had the urge to shake him out of his mental haze. If he stared for too long, the man's face started warping into his father's face.

"No," Xenophilius hissed, eyes sharpening with a strange clarity. "They never die."

"Mr. Lovegood—"

"He-he'll make other Empires." His words were stark. "Around the world."

"The fog is already everywhere," she said.

"Numb…Numb… Numberland will franchise."

Granger's face paled, and she looked at Draco, eyes narrowed. "The Dark Lord will create Numberlands around the world?"

Theo and Draco looked at each other. "It's a very long-term plan," Draco said.

She frowned, muttering to herself. "And you didn't think that was important to—"

Xenophilius spoke again. "The prophecy can't be accomplished. The Chosen One died."

Her breath hissed through her teeth. "I know…"

"If… If… If you can't—if you can't kill him, trap him. Inside."

"Trap him… how?" She sounded out of breath. "Where? Inside what?"

He blinked rapidly and shook his head. He started rocking again, and she sighed. His large hands were pressed against the pot, fingers splayed evenly.

His stare came to a frightening focus on her and he stopped rocking. "Hermione."

"Yes," she huffed, "it's me."

"You have to understand. You have to save us."

A few heartbeats passed, and his body resumed his rocking. "I-I-I saw… arrows. To God."

Granger looked absolutely lost. But something sparked inside Draco.

"Arrows to God?" he repeated. "What does that mean?" Zabini had heard about that too.

"They're… They're the highest—" Xenophilius shuddered and interrupted himself.

"The highest what?" Granger pressed.

But the man didn't answer, returning to an insane place inside his mind. A minute passed, and Draco bit the inside of his cheeks.

Xenophilius mumbled. "Don't go swim, don't go swim, don't go swim…"

"Where's Luna, Mr. Lovegood?" Granger murmured. "Is she okay?"

His hands pushed the potted plant on the edge of his lap. "She, she, she…" He started huffing, before tears rolled down his cheeks. Then, he wept.

She sat beside him and hooked an arm around his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mr. Lovegood," she said faintly. "I wish there was something I could—"

"He destroyed it," he said through his sobs. "Our world. Nature. Animals. Mind. Body. Soul."

"I know…" she whispered, and Draco's heart tightened at the sorrow etched around her words.

"But they never die," Xenophilius wailed. "Hesoilsthem."

"Who are you talking about?"

"Granger, we should go," Theo asserted.

She looked up at him. "What are we going to do with him?"

"I don't know yet."

Her eyes slid to Draco. "What do you think?"

Draco examined the blond man shaking with sobs. Something uneasy had settled over his stomach. "I think he lost his mind. There's nothing much we can do." Loony like his father had been.

"I meant—what should we do with him? We can't leave him here." There was an edge to her voice, words cutting through across the room.

"Take her, take her, take her," Xenophilius chanted, face soaked with tears. "Take Luna."

All of their eyes narrowed on him. He was holding the potted plant, knuckles white around the curved edge of the pot, tilting it towards Granger. Some dirt fell on her knees.

"What?" she stammered.

"She remains."

"Where is she?" She sounded desperate.

Xenophilius shook the pot, and when she finally seemed to understand what he was saying, she bolted on her feet.

"Mr. Lovegood… is Luna…" Her throat constricted, breaking as her words pushed out. "She's… gone?" The smallest of whimper escaped her, and she inhaled shakily.

Xenophilius's sobs doubled, tucking the plant against his chest. He inhaled one of its leaves, tears falling on the soil. "She's still here…"

"What did you mean about swimming?" Draco interrupted his babble.

The man sniffled, wiping the snot off his face with the back of his sleeve. For a few moments, he gazed up at the giant whale hanging from the ceiling. His face was contorted with indescribable sorrow.

Then, his eyelids fluttered close. "He hides them in the depths, the cracks, the sewage."

"Hides what?" Granger asked. "Are you talking about the Dark Lord?"

Draco grunted in frustration and strode away from the madness. Keela followed him. Her tail wasn't wagging and she was whimpering with confusion. Too many memories awoke in him, memories of his own father blathering with drool at the corner of his mouth.

"Hermione," Xenophilius whispered. "Trap him, please. Inside. Save us."

Draco turned around to watch them. Granger was rubbing her forehead, looking tired. The bruises under her eyes had darkened even more. They had already spent too much time here. "We have to go," he said.

"Malfoy's right," Theo nodded.

"We have to do something," she pleaded.

"We have to go," Draco repeated, weighing every word. He didn't feel good about the bright lights and the buzzing electricity attracting people—he didn't want a group of curious Scavengers, Muggles or Wizards wandering in the aquarium. They were less and less scattered underground, crowding the surface like they used to.

He remembered what Rathmore had said. Redbridge was overrun.

They would kill Granger only because she wore a Scavenger uniform. And he didn't want that happening.

She didn't move.

"He survived this long," Theo said between his teeth. "He'll be fine."

"You won't take him in?"

Theo looked baffled. "Take him where?"

"To play. For next year."

A grimace broke out his traits. "Merlin, no!"

"Granger." Draco hurried towards her. "Let's go." They started to turn back the way they came.

Panic shattered Xenophilius' face. "Take her, take Luna!" His scream was dripping with despair. They whirled around to him once more. He was extending the potted plant to them, watery eyes begging them, begging her.

Draco met Theo's eyes.Granger choked back a sob, clamping a hand on her mouth and dashed away, disappearing in the corridor. They followed her, not looking back.

Xenophilius' cries wafted behind them until they were back in the underwater tunnel.

"What a lunatic," Theo muttered.

Nobody said a word, and Draco tried to process everything that had just happened. Obviously, Luna's father had lost his marbles. But—why? And what did he try to tell them about the Dark Lord? About the sewage, the arrows to God, and them never dying? Who? Why asking for Granger? What prophecy? Xenophilius had never set foot in the Empire—how could he even know a single thing about the Dark Lord's plan?

They walked back the corridors, Draco and Keela closing the line. He followed Granger outside while Theo shut down the power source.

Wind whipped at her brown curls. She stood unmoving, facing the sea. Keela got to her first, and Granger acknowledged her with a scratch on the head.

"What do you make of it?" he asked from behind.

An imperceptible shake of her head. "Nothing, really. But—" she exhaled a sharp, annoyed breath, "I really wish we could find the Order. They should take care of him. He was trying to tell me something important, but there's nothing I can do."

He nodded, before realising she couldn't see him. She hadn't even turned around. So he stepped forward, stopping beside her, shoulder to shoulder. Looking at the sea.

He slipped his hands in his coat pockets. And stared.

The faraway waters. Their rising was like one powerful lung breathing.

He wished he could sail away.

"He lost Luna." Her voice was scratched with emotion.

He frowned. Thought of this loopy girl clutching The Quibbler against her school uniform. "You think?"

"I know." She swallowed. "He has that look in his eyes."

He fiddled with the hem of his shirt, feeling tingly. Xenophilius' nonsense sounded somewhat close to his father's nonsense. And it made him feel out of place. Not knowing where to set his foot down. "I didn't understand a bloody thing about what he said."

Her eyes shot up to him, hair twisting in the salty air. "Are you okay?"

His jaw clicked, and he kept looking at the ocean. "My father killed himself," he blurted out, wondering why he felt compelled to tell her the truth.

He watched for her reaction. Her eyes were tracing the contours of his face, but there was no pity. "That's awful," she said quietly. "I'm… really sorry."

He scoffed. "Come on, Granger, my father hated you."

"It doesn't matter. Losing a father this way is awful."

He said nothing, his throat bobbing. He had never stopped searching for a chocolate frog.

"What happened?" she asked quietly after a while.

In two sentences, he told the story of his father progressively losing his mind. She listened intently, watching his mouth move, with a frown creasing between her brows. When he finished, she didn't comment. She turned to face the ocean again, and together, they watched the sea dance.