Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N: First things first, in my rush to get the last chapter up I forgot to add a very important thing. I forgot to thank you guys, the reviewers. I know I may sound goopy, but I truly appreciate the reviews. You guys are so AWESOME! Not only do some of you crack me the hell up, but I honestly think your input is helping me make a better story. When I look at the first few chapters to the ones now, in my opinion, my style and the story have improved. Of course I've been writing more and more (lol), but I guess that can't be helped. So if y'all want to write a dissertation (y'all know who y'all are MWAH) go right ahead. If you just want to say that you like it, cool. If you want to tell me it sucks, aiight. I might cry, but like Gloria Gaynor said...Anyhoo, believe me or not y'all are actually helping me strengthen my plot points. I can see what is working, what's not. I can see when my subtlety is working, I can see when I need to pull out the sledgehammer. I know I promised to replace the chapters with the fixed versions, but I didn't realize that to do so would wipe out the reviews. And I like the reviews. :). But I am going to start reposting the story elsewhere so when I do and you still want to see the more polished effort I'll tell you where.

I got an interesting criticism at ff.net that basically said that the story could be called Everybody Loves Hermione, or something like that. Well ya know what? I fully cop to that! HEE! I quite simply adore the girl and am her bitch! :) I think she is one of the best female characters EVAH! You are never going to find a bigger Herms in HBP apologist then me. LOL! It wasn't until I read one of the reviews at portkey *winks @ Luke* that I even realized that Herms IS the star of this story. I honestly hadn't intended that to happen, but I guess it just unconsciously did. Oh well! However, in my opinion, I feel that my version of her is as flawed and "human" as all of the other characters in my story. She just happens to kick ass a little more then the others. What can I say, I'm biased. :^D

Thanks to murphsmine (the best smut cheerleader a girl could have) and her Brit friend Pip! I did some major overhauling right before I posted this so all mistakes are mine. I just wanted to get this one out cause I'm going to be MIA for a little bit. A friend has asked me to collaborate on a two-act she is working on and it looks exciting. I AM NOT GIVING UP THIS STORY THOUGH!

Warnings: MAJOR flash! I'm actually nervous about this one. It's a little different from what I think I usually put out. I think its a little more action packed (for me that is) then the usual. I tried to decrease the dialog, but I guess I just need to embrace my strengths and just shut it! HEE! This one is also a little darker so...If incest and a very ambiguous suggestion of necrophilia gives you the major squick just turn right around. If you hate the idea of bad things happening to good nuns turn right around. If even the lightly implied idea of what Hr/R might have done together makes your eyes bleed I'm telling ya you are NOT gonna be happy with your bleeding eyes! But as I mentioned last time I threw in some H/Hr goodness through out to temper it all. Enjoy!

The Monastère Sainte Claire, that's where Boadicea DuManoir had been residing for 52 years now. At least that was Professor Sinistra's tale. If everything that the Astronomy teacher revealed was true, it was quite possible that DuManoir was in possession of the disguised Ravenclaw Penseive and more importantly one of Voldemort's horcruxes.

Of course some pieces of the troubling puzzle just were not fitting right, to Hermione's mind. No matter what Dumbledore said it still seemed inconceivable that Boadicea was some how descended from the Ravenclaw line. More then likely a grandmother or even a great grandmother of DuManoir's found it in some estate auction or in a trunk that had been tossed aside with no one knowing what treasure lay inside it. Also it seemed terribly implausible that Voldemort would have had a "mudblood" lover. Voldemort seemed the type who wouldn't sully himself with an undesirable like the former Head Girl. Maybe Professor Sinistra got it all wrong. All the information she had was second hand at best. Then there was the fact that Boadicea was insane. She killed a man, tried to kill her mum; maybe the great love affair she told her friend about was just a figment of her own imagination.

Then why are Voldemort's minions looking for her?

That was the sticking point that Hermione kept coming back to. He's looking for her. Why else would he be looking for her? Really, in some sick twisted way it was really brilliant thinking. Leaving a horcrux with one of his Death Eaters would be an expected move. But leaving it with some expendable 'mad muggleborn', to quote former Headmaster Black, was inspired. Who would ever think to look to her? Hermione could almost admire the boy who had been Tom Riddle. Almost. She just preferred to save her esteem for people who actually had souls.

The important thing right now was that Voldemort was looking for Boadicea. In fact, if the intel they had gathered way back was correct, he had been looking for her since August. The fact that he hadn't been able to find her yet gave them some hope. Harry had already informed them that Professor Dumbledore didn't believe that Voldemort could tell when a horcrux had been destroyed, whatever connection he had with that piece of his soul long gone. It was obvious that he couldn't tell where he had misplaced one either. This little nugget of information not only put them on equal standing with Voldemort, but actually tipped the scales in the Order's favor. They had a hot lead on where to possibly find one horcrux. They pretty much knew for certain what another one might be. Four of them were already destroyed. As long as Voldemort didn't know that they even knew what a horcrux was they had a fighting chance. Harry had a fighting chance!

Why is he looking for her then?

Did Voldemort discover that Harry and Professor Dumbledore had figured it out about the horcruxes? Or worse, could they have a double agent in their midst? Had Malfoy become a member of the Order for the sole purpose of spying on them? True, she had finally gotten to the point that she didn't want to hex that pointy arrogant nose off of his pointy arrogant face every time she laid her eyes on him; this development however did not negate the fact that Hermione trusted the wanker about as far as she could throw him. And to quote Ron, after many a dismally played round of Gobstones on her part, she threw like a girl! But before she could have Malfoy tried and found guilty of treachery by reason of being an enormous git, she quickly dismissed these thoughts from her head. She was starting to sound as unreasonable as Ron, or more like Harry these days. She was allowing her opinion of Malfoy to sway her view of the facts. Malfoy had brought them the Cup, had even told them how to destroy it. He was on their side now. He was still a vainglorious, supercilious, ill-tempered obnoxious jackass; but like themselves he was also an enemy of Voldemort and these days that had to count for something. Right?

Then why is he looking for her?

Whatever the case, the fact still remained that Voldemort was after Boadicea and there was no telling what he would do to her if he found her. The Order needed to intercept him before this could happen. That's why it was so distressing that nearly half an hour after being told where DuManoir was Harry, Malfoy, and herself were still stuck in the Headmistress' office.

"And furthermore," continued McGonagall who had been lecturing them for what seemed an entirety, "you are not to make a move without Remus Lupin's or Auror Shacklebolt's expressed approval. Am I understood Miss Granger?" Despite addressing Hermione the Headmistress' eyes were trained steadily on Harry.

"Of c-course Professor McGonagall," Hermione managed to stammer out as she and Harry tried to edge their way towards the door for a third time. Malfoy was practically out of it already.

"And that goes for Mr. Weasley as well," she called after them.

"Where is Gingerlocks by the way," Malfoy sneeringly asked as the three teens made it to the spiral staircase now going downward. "Still writing a letter to mummy all this time?"

Harry, who looked as though he was pulled as tight as a snare drum and just spoiling for a reason to snap swung around fiercely towards the blond.

"Malfoy, I swear I'm going to remove your big fat mouth from the rest of your face if you don't shut it," he growled as he made a move to lunge at the other boy. Hermione grabbed his hand and held him in place.

Malfoy grinned as he stepped on the staircase and looked over his shoulder at them. It was the smile the boys had designated as his 'I LOVE being a bastard' look. Harry and Hermione followed close behind.

"If that threat was coming from Granger here I might have taken it seriously. But I'm afraid Potty you just don't have her talent with a wand without the Half Blood Prince helping you out."

"Who said anything about wands," Harry seethed in a cold, chilling voice. The look he was giving him made the idiot swallow hard and quickly look away.

Hermione could feel the tingle in the air that Harry's emotions were putting out. Power. It seemed to be a living, breathing thing that emanated from him. It gave her a heady, almost light headed feeling. And ye Gods was it sexy! Harry's normal goofy cuteness seemed to just fade away at these times and be replaced by this sort of primal confidence that made him...dare she say it...hot! If she was the kind of witch that went in for that kind of thing she might have swooned at his feet. But she primly and firmly reminded herself that she indeed was not that kind of witch, that there were more pressing concerns right now, and if needed she wasn't afraid to turn her wand on herself and douse a brisk spray of water at her face to cool her down. Damned ruddy hormones!

"Could you two call a cease fire to this little battle of egos please," she reprimanded them both, sick and tired of their constant bickering. "How are we supposed to work together, much less save someone's life if you two and Ron won't stop attacking each other? It's so childish!"

Harry looked at her incredulously as he asked, "Oh? And what do you call it when you and the ferret are going at it?"

She opened her mouth to tell Harry that she had no idea what he was talking about, but before she could Malfoy took it upon himself to answer the question for her.

"Foreplay."

"Shut up Malfoy," she and Harry yelled at the git at the same time.

Harry looked like he was trying to restrain himself from tearing Malfoy's head off. He purposefully turned his body so he wouldn't have to look at the back of Malfoy's head and brought his gaze towards Hermione.

"We need to find Ron," he told her anxiously.

"He's probably off somewhere sulking," she said in answer. She knew that Ron would probably not speak to her for at least a whole day. He was sure to be embarrassed over the little joke she made about his mum. If he was still upset she couldn't muster up enough feeling to really care. Maybe a night with little "couple" interaction would do them a world of good. It definitely would do me world of good, she inwardly sighed as they neared the bottom of the staircase and the stone gargoyle started to move to let them out.

"Either that or stuffing his face," she continued right before her eyes fell on the crumpled form of her boyfriend by the wall facing the entrance into the Headmistress' office.

"Or just laying in a heap in the halls," Malfoy dryly quipped.

She and Harry practically tossed him out of the way to run quickly to Ron's side. Ron was out cold and the side of his face looked badly bruised, as if he had been on the loosing end of a fight with a sledgehammer.

"Ronnie," Hermione cried, kneeling by his side. She gathered him by the shoulder and gave him a desperate shake. She felt an immense wave of guilt pour over her as she recalled her disloyal and selfish thoughts just a scant few seconds before their discovery. How could she be so callous, Hermione wondered to herself. Ron was a good boyfriend! He deserved better then a fraud for his girl.

"Ronnie, please answer me," Hermione begged as she told herself over and over again that she would never forgive herself if anything happened to Ron. She promised, to whatever deities were listening, that if he would just be ok she would never raise her voice to Ron again. She would turn a blind eye if she saw him raise a fifth or sixth éclair to his lips. She would be the perfect girlfriend. She would even try not to roll her eyes the next time he talked about Quidditch incessantly. "Please Ronnie, this isn't funny! Wake up!"

Harry pulled her back a bit so he could get closer to Ron. He got on his knees and pulled out his wand from his back jeans pocket and pointed at their best friend.

"Ennervate."

Ron's body seemed to shiver for a moment before he opened his blue eyes and groggily stared at Hermione.

"Scabbers," he whispered with difficulty.

"Is that his pet name for you in the sack," Draco snarkily inquired from his place next to the stone gargoyle. "Romantic," he smugly stated.

"You arse," Hermione yelled as she looked over her shoulder at him. "It's not a pet name, it's his pet's name!"

Harry hovered near Ron, checking him all over for any other bruises or injuries. Although Hermione could tell that Harry had been deathly worried for his best friend when they first found him, he had effortlessly slid in to his role as leader now.

"Ron, who did this to you," he asked fiercely as though he were ready to take the offending party down single handedly.

Ron pulled himself into a sitting position, his chin resting on his knees.

"P-Pettigrew," Ron whispered, voice choked in pain. "Peter Pettigrew."

Hermione quickly looked at Harry and saw the intense fire that had lighted in his eyes the moment they found Ron now grow into a powerful flame. Pettigrew after all had been his parents' friend; their friend and partial executioner. He was the one who had betrayed the Potters to Voldemort, giving up the secret where the young couple as well as their baby boy had been hiding. It was also the appropriately nicknamed Wormtail who caused Harry's godfather Sirius to languish in an Azkaban cell for years, accused and believed guilty of the crimes that he had committed himself. If anyone should have been angry and bitter towards Pettigrew is should have been Harry. But when given the chance to have the ultimate revenge on the traitor Harry had chosen the higher road and begged for the pitiful man's life. Of course Harry hadn't been able to look into the future and see Pettigrew's subsequent escape and assistance in bringing Voldemort back into the world, still Harry's act of kindness back then amazed a young Hermione. Who in this world was that selfless? Who was that goodhearted? If Hermione hadn't been friends with him for nearly three years by that point she would almost think Harry Potter was too good to be true. These days though Hermione had to wonder what Harry would do to Wormtail if given a second chance, especially now after this assault on Ron.

"Pettigrew," Harry asked, a far away look in his eyes.

"He was here," Hermione asked Ron. "He was here in the castle? Are you sure?"

"What happened," Harry demanded firmly.

Groggily and a tad irritably Ron began to tell them how the side of his head met the acquaintance of Wormtail's magical silver fist. Part of his irritation was due to Hermione's attempts to try and heal the rather large, blueish black lump on his head that seemed to be growing by the minute. Being the best friend of the Boy Who Lived in the Infirmary one would think that Hermione would have known all there was to know about healing charms and spells. But the little feminist in Hermione protested this kind of thinking. Why should she play 'nurse' just because she was the female member of the group, she seethed inwardly. Let Ron open up a book for once! If he could memorize by heart the scoring average of the entire British Quidditch league each year, he could learn how to brew up a proper bottle of Pepper Up. But that was as likely to happen as Trelawney correctly predicting whether or not it would rain the next day, she archly conceded. So Hermione did learn a few of the necessary spells and potions that she felt would come in handy; incantations that would heal cuts, charms that would cool burns, draughts that would either cure you of your head ache or knock you out long enough that by time you finally came to your head ache was gone. But she only did so grudgingly. That was probably why she was lacking her usual brilliance when performing them. The fact that Ron wouldn't stay still long enough to let her get his swelling down was also not helping matters.

"Dammit Hermione,"Ron gritted out through his teeth, "that hurts!"

"Well if you would stop fidgeting about like you were hopped up on sugar quills I could fix it for you," she barked at him, her annoyance making all her vows of a minute ago take a running leap out of the window.

Malfoy's snort of disgust made her turn to him as he sauntered over to her side. "Move Granger," he pompously sneered as he motioned her out of the way. Hermione haltingly did so and before she or Harry could do anything to stop him Malfoy drew his wand on Ron, placed it's tip on the injury, and said "integrosectum". Before their eyes the bruise began to go down and Ron's face returned to it's natural color.

Although Hermione should have been grateful for Malfoy's surprising, yet helpful assistance she instinctually knew that he was going to find some way to rub his act of "kindness" in her face. She knew him pretty well by now. He hadn't helped Ron out of the goodness of his heart. He just wanted to show her up. Hermione got up from her position on the floor as Harry began to get the rest of the story out of Ron. Hermione stepped a few paces away and of course the prat took this as an opportunity, while Harry's attention was diverted else where, to annoy the hell out of her.

"Looks like we finally found your Achilles Heel," he smarmed near her ear. "And I don't mean your boyfriend."

Hermione rolled her eyes and let out a vexed sigh as she folded her arms in front of her.

"I knew there had to be something you weren't good at."

"One or two things, but not much else Malfoy," she grumbled crossly, her nose upturned. She would have slapped him about the head, but she didn't want her hands to be covered in the hair product he used to slick his hair back.

Malfoy's cold gray eyes raked up and down her for a moment before his face broke out into a smarmy leer that made her skin crawl. "I'm almost intrigued enough to test out your claim."

"Ugh," she sputtered as she threw her hands in the air in disgust and tramped her way back towards Harry and Ron, his evil sounding chortle following after her. Malfoy was always saying things like that these days. He lived for getting a rise out of Ron mostly, Harry mainly. As of late though she had noticed that Malfoy had begun looking at her with a bit more...interest in his eye. She would have been lying if she said that some small section of her female vanity wasn't flattered by it. Still she swore if the smug arse even thought of trying something on her she would give his other cheek a smack to match the one he received from her back in third year when he taunted and insulted Hagrid so cruelly. As if she would even let him touch her. Hmph!

"So tell me again," she heard Harry say to Ron as she settled at his side and peered down at her boyfriend, "are you sure that Pettigrew was listening at the door?"

Ron shook his head in an up and down motion. "I'm telling you Harry, I came looking for you and Hermione. When I didn't find you two back at the room I went into your trunk and got out the Marauder's Map. I saw the little Harry and little Hermione dot in with McGonagall, Sinistra...him," he snarled as he threw Malfoy a nasty glare, "but what I didn't expect to see was the little Peter dot that looked like it was outside the door."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, both of their faces registered shock. Hermione sunk to her knees.

"There's no way we could have missed that," Harry exclaimed.

Hermione anxiously bit down on her lip. "If he was in Animagus form we would have," she said in a weary voice. "He probably even got up the stairs when we went. I bet that's how he got into the castle." She closed her eyes to stop the tears that were about to fall. "He heard everything!"

"And why not," Harry shouted harshly as he pitched himself from the ground and began to pace the hall back and forth. "Riddle already lost his inside man in Snape," he proclaimed.

Hermione could feel Malfoy's heated stare at the back of her head, but she ignored this and tried to concentrate on making Ron comfortable where he was.

"Wormtail would make the next best spy, wouldn't he" continued Harry. "Riddle just traded in one rat for another."

"Yes...well...it looks like your div of a best friend let him get away," Malfoy drawled in a bored voice as though he were completely disinterested in the whole drama unfolding before him.

"I did not let him get away!"

Malfoy's taunt had incensed Ron so much that the redhead had jumped up, ready to strike out at the Slytherin. But he was obviously still woozy from his encounter with the Death Eater and shakily slid back to the ground as Hermione tried to keep him calm.

"By time I had got over here he was coming from behind the gargoyle. He wasn't Scabbers by then. I tried to surprise him, throw a leg locker at him or something, but..." Ron paused and swallowed nervously, "I don't know how to describe it! He threw that...that...hand up in front of him. The spell bounced off and came back at me. I had to drop to the floor to avoid it. That's when my wand slipped from my hand."

Hermione couldn't control the disappointed groan that slipped from her mouth.

"It rolled to his feet and he scooped it up and pocketed it in his robes. Before I knew what, his fist was coming at my face and then...blackness."

"Oh Ronnie, if you would have just practiced your non-verbal spell usage more..."

Malfoy sniggered loftily as he leaned back against the wall. He seemed to find all of this entertaining. Hermione was about to toss off a cutting remark to him, but Ron beat her to it. The only problem was that he directed it towards her.

"Yes, yes Hermione, I'm a dumb stupid git" he snapped. "I'm already down, are you sure you want to keep kicking?!"

Hermione pulled back from Ron, shocked at the venom in his words. She knew she was only trying to help him, she wasn't trying to put him down. Why couldn't he see that? Why couldn't he and Harry understand that sometimes this was the best way she could show them how much she cared for them and loved them? She was sure she was about to cry right then and there.

"He didn't mean it Hermione."

Harry had dropped down to Hermione's side. She hadn't noticed him make the move, but there he was; his sad green eyes trying to convey to her that he did understand what she meant by what she said.

"Tell her you didn't mean it Ron," he said a tad shirtilly to his best mate. Ron however turned his head and muttered a few indignant words under his breath. Seeing that he wasn't going to get the answer he wanted out of him Harry switched gears.

"Did Pettigrew say anything to you Ron," he asked.

Ron looked back at Harry, completely avoiding the miserable expression on Hermione's face. "He did actually. Something about...about..."

"Spit it out man!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sent Malfoy their best death glares.

"Maggot face, I did just get my head bashed in. Sorry if I'm a bit slow at the moment." The three friends then focused on each other again as Ron said, "Right before I lost consciousness he did spout some nonsense about his master being pleased that the blood traitors found his toy for him." Ron then looked between Harry and Hermione who were gaping at each other. The terror filled expression that both wore was not loss on him. " Then he turned into Scabbers again. What did he mean Harry?"

As if answering Ron's question Harry simply said to Hermione, "We have to move now!"

Hermione felt a nervous pull in her stomach at these words. Something in his tone called up memories of their unfortunate trip to the Department of Mysteries, Sirius' subsequent death, her own near fatal injury. For a moment she almost protested.

"Harry..."

Harry's exasperatedly straighted his glasses on his nose as he sternly stared at her. "We can't wait on the rest of the Order Hermione. Pettigrew has a head start on us. For all we know Voldemort is already on his way to Boussac."

"But Harry..." she tried again.

"What? Going to accuse me of playing hero again," he chided her resentfully.

A lone tear cascaded down her cheek. Hermione simply brushed it off and looked Harry square in the eyes.

"I wouldn't do that," she simply said. "Never again."

Harry looked completely chastised by her statement, but before he could open his mouth to offer an apology she cut him off.

"You're right."

Her words not only stunned him, but seemed to baffle Ron as well.

"I am?!"

"He is?!"

If the situation wasn't so serious she might have laughed at their bewildered faces. But time was of the essence and they couldn't spend the rest of the evening lollygagging about.

"We have to be quick about it though!" She got up from the floor and Harry followed suit. Both of them reached down to help Ron to his feet.

"We could apparate," Ron offered.

"Yes and splinch your self in the process," she calmly dismissed. "Who here has ever been to Boussac?" She looked between Harry and Ron as both boys muttered their negative replies to her question. "Hell, raise it if you've even been to France?"

"Ahem," called Malfoy from his place on the wall opposite them. His right hand was elegantly raised in the air.

"You would," Ron enviously grumbled.

"Jealousy doesn't become you Weasleby. Well," Malfoy paused, gave Ron a superior look once over and said mockingly, "neither does that head of hair of yours, but I suppose you can't help that."

Ron made a move to lunge at Malfoy, but Harry and Hermione each grabbed an arm to hold him back.

"The Malfoy name is still very powerful in French wizarding circles. I've often visited my cousins at their villa in Provence."

"Unfortunately for us it looks like they had the good sense to send you back every time," Hermione snickered, effectively knocking the conceited, self-satisfied smirk off of the blond's face. Ron looked like he was ready to kiss her for the comment, any hard feelings from before wiped away in her defense of him. Harry however looked peeved.

"Listen," she said as she turned her attention back to her boys, "trying to apparate there would be folly. Besides not knowing exactly where we are going, it also is too far of a distance. We need...we need..."

Hermione desperately tried to wrack her mind trying to find a solution to their problem. Then the answer seemed to jump out at her all at once.

"That's it," she beamed as she quickly turned to Harry. Harry opened his mouth to question her, but she was already ahead of him.

"You and Ron go up to the room and get your brooms," she instructed them. "Harry, get your invisibility cloak as well as some thick coats for all of us to wear." All four of them were dressed simply in jeans and jumpers. The warmth of the castle hardly gave a hint of the true temperature outside. But it was Fall and at night the air was nippy. As high up as they were going to be Hermione figured it might just be near arctic. They were going to need some form of warm clothing.

"Once you two are done meet us at Hagrid's." She then looked at Malfoy. "You're coming with me."

She sent both Ron and Harry a look that told them that she was not to be debated on this. She hated to do it, but the boys just might try to kill him if she sent him off with them. She turned and began to walk pass Malfoy. He pushed off from the wall and practically swaggered towards her.

"Trying to get me alone?"

She swung in his direction, ready to change her mind and hex the nose off...or at least give him a good kick in the shins. "Bugger the hell off Malfoy!"

"Lovely," he drolled. "Kiss your mum with that mouth?"

"I always knew you had a mind like a sewer, but even I didn't think you capable of those kind of kinks!"

Hermione and Malfoy were about to turn into the next corridor when she heard Ron say to Harry, "You ever get the impression that when those two get started they forget that there are others in the room?"

"Oh shut up Ron," was the wrathful reply Harry gave to him.

As she and Malfoy rounded the corner she heard poor Ron's faint voice bewilderedly ask, "But what did I say?"

~~**~~~~**~~~~**~~~~**~~

As Hermione hastened her footsteps towards Hagrid's hut she had to wonder what foolishness actually sent her out here, on this chilly October night, with out a coat on. She was freezing! She had her arms wrapped around her trying to ward off the chill, but that was of little help. It also was not helping matters that Malfoy was trotting beside her as though it were a sunny Spring day. He was babbling some nonsense about it being beneath a Malfoy to shiver like a commoner. Idiot! However she knew that she had to take care of a few things before the other two boys showed up.

Once they reached Hagrid's Hermione went towards the pumpkin patch. She knew that if Hagrid was here he wouldn't mind that she was about to borrow his friend, but the half giant was off with the other Order members and he wasn't that much of a concern to her right now. She came around to where the fence was and found exactly what she had been looking for.

The gray coated creature studied Hermione and Malfoy sharply with it's orange colored eyes. Actually it seemed to be paying particular attention to Malfoy as it ruffled it's wings menacingly and took a few jerky steps on his hooves towards them and then backed away. The creature clicked his talons together and made a stabbing motion with his steel-colored beak at the air. Hermione however knew that there wasn't much to worry about since the animal was tethered to the fence post. At least for now. As she cautiously ambled closer to the beast she had to remind herself over and over again that there was nothing for her to be scared of. He would remember her. She prayed that he remembered her. She kept steady eye contact with it and when she reached the point that she felt was close enough, she bowed before it. She kept her head down for a mere second or two before she looked back up to see if she should make a run for it. The creature however had already sunk to it's scaly knees and was standing up. Hermione exhaled the breath that she hadn't been aware she was holding.

"You know this chicken," Malfoy asked obnoxiously from behind her. Hermione could feel the hairs on her neck bristle at the very sound of his voice.

As she looked over her shoulder at him she hissed through clenched teeth, "Yes, and you do too. So if you don't want to spend the rest of the evening picking your entrails from out the grass I would bow."

Taking the threat in her voice to heart, Malfoy looked straight into the hippogriff's eyes and bowed slowly. For a moment the hippogriff regarded Malfoy with an odd tilt to its head. Hermione quickly searched her head for a spell that was strong enough to incapacitate a full grown hippogriff long enough so she could get Malfoy away from here. Really she shouldn't have been so surprised should she? Hippogriffs ate ferrets after all. But before she could settle on what to do the hippogriff repeated the same bow it did for her to Malfoy and then straightened.

"Fuck all," Malfoy whispered in a strained voice. Hermione glanced at him again and saw the realization that was in his eyes. "I thought this...this...thing had escaped."

Hermione smiled at him with a gleeful smugness that surprised even herself, before she turned and faced the hippogriff. "You thought wrong. Witherwings, meet Malfoy." She then looked back at the boy behind her. "Malfoy, meet Witherwings. Or as his friends like to call him...Buckbeak." Hermione had no idea that Malfoy's pale, pinched face could loose even more color. She almost reveled in his fear.

"That...beast was supposed to be destroyed for what it did to me." Malfoy looked at Buckbeak hostilely. He was smart enough to take a few steps back however.

Approaching Buckbeak with a bit more confidence now, Hermione reached out a hand to pat his beak. He allowed her to do so and closed his eyes as though he were enjoying the feeling immensely.

"Aww Malofy," she cooed in a soft mellow voice used to soothe the hippogriff and mock the blond, "I guess daddy couldn't manage to get everything you ever wanted for you, now could he?"

It wasn't until the final word left her lips that Hermione realized what she had just said. She might dislike Malfoy...greatly, she might think that he deserved to be taken down a few pegs, but this did not merit the cold cruelty she had just used to taunt him about his father. In her opinion Lucius Malfoy was a heartless fiend who she hoped, if their was any justice in this world, was in Hell getting a sunburn. But he was Malfoy's father and she knew that the teen still mourned his passing. If he loved his dad even a fraction as much as Hermione adored and treasured her own father she knew that her low blow had been uncalled for. Hermione had to wonder what changes this war was making in her for her to say something so unfeeling.

"I'm sorry Malfoy," she apologized as she made her way back to him. He preferred to not look at her and kept his eyes on the grass. "I shouldn't have said that. I guess...I guess I just got carried away."

"Whatever," he sullenly mumbled, still avoiding her eyes.

She hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze of comfort. "I am truly sorry," she said again. "I mean it."

This time Malfoy only nodded his head.

"What's going on here?!"

Hermione took a step back from Malfoy and pulled her hand from him as though she had been burned. Both she and Malfoy turned to see Harry and Ron trudging their way towards them, both of their arms laden down with items. Hermione couldn't understand why she felt so rattled by Harry's accusing tone. She hadn't been doing anything to warrant the look that he was giving her. All she was doing was standing in the middle of a pumpkin patch with a hippogriff and a ferret. What the hell did he think she was doing?

"Yeah Hermione, what's going on," asked Ron.

"Nothing," she stated righteously. She then looked to Harry. "Did you get everything I told you to get?"

Harry stared at her then at Malfoy for a moment before answering. "We did, but..." he began, then paused as though trying to figure out the best way to phrase what he wanted to say. "Help me out here Hermione," he continued. "Merlin knows that you've been saying and doing some things lately that have been confusing the hell out of me ever since..."

...you drank out of that Cup. Harry didn't bother to finish the sentence, but they all knew that was what he was thinking.

"But...um...aren't you afraid of flying," he finished as he looked at her, uncertainty in his eyes. It had been obvious that flying to Boussac had been part of Hermione's plan all along.

"More like a afraid of falling," she said as she walked towards him and Ron and took a winter jacket from each of them. She turned to hand one to Malfoy and began to put the other one on. "But right now we have to fly. It's the quickest way."

Ron came up beside her and threw an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry Hermione," he said reassuringly. "As long as you hold on tight to me you have nothing to worry about."

For a moment Hermione just gaped at him, unsure of how to explain to him that what he was suggesting was not part of her plan. Ironically it was Malfoy who helped her do so.

"I'm not riding with him," he shouted as he pointed a finger in Harry's direction.

Before Hermione could yell at the prat for being such a childish oaf Harry raised his own finger at him.

"He's not riding with me!"

"Unless Potter here buys me dinner and takes me dancing first none of my bits are rubbing up against any of his!"

"Shut up Malfoy," shouted the Trio in unison.

Malfoy was of course broomless. The night that Hogwarts was breached he didn't have time to retrieve his precious Nimbus. He probably assumed that he and the Death Eaters would have come out of the melee victorious so he didn't have to worry about it. Once aligning himself with the Order he had the opportunity to use any one of the school issue brooms that Madame Hooch kept locked up, but when Hermione had once suggested this to him he sniffed disdainfully at the idea. A Malfoy wouldn't be caught dead riding a Shooting Star, he arrogantly informed her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed out a weary sigh. "Look, if it's such a big deal Malfoy can ride on Buckbeak," she said as she pointed out the hippogriff.

Malfoy balked at these words. "Not on your life! Are you mad?! That thing..." He paused, realizing that his voice was a bit loud and that Buckbeak had suddenly found him interesting again.

"That thing has already tried to kill me," he spat in a hushed whisper. "If you think..."

"Buckbeak wouldn't try to kill me, would he," she asked, cutting off the rest of his endless whinging. He stopped short to look at her. "You'll be riding with me."

"Well I guess I can make the sacrifice," he sniffed haughtily.

Harry and Ron however did not take this news as lightly as he did.

"Hell no," Harry informed her firmly. Before she could respond to him Ron got into the act.

"There's no way I'm letting Malfoy get that close to you," he said. "He might try to knock you off!"

"Hey," exclaimed an insulted Malfoy.

"I forbid it!"

Hermione's eyes seemed to outgrow her face as she turned on Ron, hands placed firmly on her hips and seethed, "You forbid it?!"

She couldn't believe that Ron actually had the audacity to say such a thing to her! Just because they were together that didn't give him the right to order her to do anything. She was about to pull out her wand and show Ron just what she thought of him asserting his "boyfriend's rights" when Harry grabbed one of her arms and pulled her a few steps away from the other two, nearer to Buckbeak.

"I think we're being grossly unfair to Granger here," Malfoy called after them right before Ron stepped up to him and began calling him every name in his arsenal. Malfoy matched him insult for insult. Both boys were so wrapped up in their war of words that they completely ignored Harry and Hermione. Harry quickly bowed before Buckbeak and the hippogriff wasted no time bowing back. He and Harry were old friends after all. Harry approached the hippogriff and gave him an affectionate pat to the head. Buckbeak playfully nudged him. Harry continued to pet the hippogriff as he focused his attention on Hermione.

"I don't like this at all,"Harry said to her.

"And you think I do," she asked. When Harry didn't answer her she changed tactics.

"Harry, if Malfoy and I ride along with you and Ron where do we put Boadicea?"

He resolutely sighed and she could tell that she had got her point across.

"I have an idea," Harry said loudly, drawing the attention of the other two boys back to him and Hermione. "Ron, you take my broom," he said looking at his friend. "Malfoy can ride yours. I'll ride with Hermione."

Hermione could only wonder at Harry's insistence that Malfoy get no where near her. Did he think she couldn't take care of herself? Although it warmed her at times to know that he was so protective of her she couldn't help the irritation that bubbled up inside whenever he and Ron treated her like some...some...girl. Hermione also didn't care for the idea of being so close to Harry for what would be a long period of time. Hermione didn't think her sanity could take it, much less her heart.

Like herself, Malfoy didn't seem too enamored of the plan. Then again he had totally different reasons.

"A Malfoy wouldn't sully himself with an inferior broom bought second hand," he obnoxiously told them. Ron's ears went red at the statement.

Harry positioned himself right in front of the jerk. Their nose were almost touching.

"A Malfoy is going to be sitting in the dust alone in the dark if he doesn't shut the hell up," he coldly informed him. Before the two of them could come to blows, Ron spoke up.

"Don't you t-think," he said haltingly as Harry turned his green lamp like eyes on him causing him to stammer a bit. "I mean, shouldn't I ride with Hermione?"

Hermione felt that her fuse was getting shorter and shorter by the second. Did these prats forget that she was standing right there? They were acting like she was some old quill that could be passed back and forth between them. Because she was too busy being huffy about the ill-treatment she felt she was receiving she hardly noticed the peculiar expression that passed quickly on Harry's face.

"You're right Ron," he said calmly. "You are her boyfriend." Hermione pursed her lips at the sentiment. "Be my guest," Harry said as he looked between Ron and Buckbeak.

Ron's eyes left Harry's face and goggled at the hippogriff. Although he had helped feed and tend to the animal before, back when Sirius and Buckbeak were hiding at Number 12, Ron had never considered actually riding the creature. He loved to fly, but racing brooms were more his speed. Brooms did not have the tendency to gut you if they were feeling fussy.

As the redhead took a timid step towards Buckbeak he nervously swallowed and closed his eyes for a minute. Buckbeak reared up on his hind legs and came down with a hard thud. Ron scuttled backwards to where Malfoy was standing.

"On second thought..." he managed to squeak out as he threw his Cleensweep at Malfoy and grabbed Harry's broom from him.

For once Malfoy couldn't muster a snide remark to throw at Ron. Even he must have been aware of the hypocrite he would be if he had.

"So what's the plan," he asked instead. "Grab the barmy old crow and run?"

In answer, a dark figure stepped out from behind a wide oak tree nearby.

"Sounds like fun," she said mirthfully. "Can anyone join?"

Nymphadora Tonks made her way from the edge of the woods that surrounded Hagrid's hut, dressed in her scarlet colored work robes. From the neck down she looked all business, an Auror who was not to be messed with. But the look of amusement on her heart shaped face coupled with the peppermint green color of her hair belied this fact.

"Tonks," Hermione gasped.

"I've never met a witch who was more commitment-phobic about a hair color," Malfoy drawled in disgust.

Tonks brought her delighted attention towards him and smiled jovially. "Hi'ya cuz."

Malfoy snorted. He and Tonks had been at odds for the last few weeks. When he had first joined the Order he tried to pretend as if he and Tonks weren't related at all. He would constantly make comments about her appearance, her lack of coordination, and her boyfriend. Tonks took great enjoyment of reminding him that their mothers were sisters and thus they both swam in the same gene pool. Then one night during a impromptu party to celebrate Headmistress McGonagall's 72^nd birthday it looked like Malfoy had decided to make friends with his first cousin. They had been drinking out of two mysterious goblets and singing a few Weird Sister songs together. No one really seemed to pay much attention to this odd occurrence. Just about everyone had been in a good mood that night actually, most of them coming to the conclusion that if this was going to be their last year on this Earth they wouldn't let a single occupant of the castle have a birthday without some fanfare. That night in the Great Hall Hermione had been positioned in a corner with Ron's arms wrapped about her shoulders as he and Harry shared a bottle of Firewhiskey between them. She had wanted to scold them soundly, but Harry's long face stopped any nagging words that might have come from her mouth. He must miss Ginny dreadfully, her melancholy thoughts told her. These thoughts almost dulled her to the rest of the goings-ons of the room; the Headmistress laughing flirtatiously at a joke Charlie was telling her, Professor Flitwick looking skeptically at a plate of treacle fudge that Hagrid was offering, Ron whispering feverish pleas to go off somewhere in her ear. But even Hermione couldn't miss it when Draco Malfoy jumped up on one of the tables and started doing a dance that looked rather like the Macarena, in Hermione's opinion, before their very eyes. What they wouldn't find out until Tonks mischievously told them later was that she had secretly slipped a bit of Scintallation Solution into Malfoy's goblet of mead. The brew caused the drinker to be the life of the party. And make an ass of themselves obviously, Hermione reckoned. Thinking that the grumpy Slytherin needed to loosen up, Tonks considered herself doing a kindness for a beloved family member. Malfoy tried to avoid her as much as he could after that incident.

"So, what are my little charges up to this fine night, hmmm," she playfully asked as she looked back and forth between all of them.

"We...er..." sputtered Harry.

"Well Tonks, its like this...you see..." chimed Ron.

Malfoy scoffed disgustedly at their attempts to try to get one over on the Auror. "You lot can't lie for shit."

Hermione, ignoring Malfoy's insulting words, stepped towards Tonks purposefully, shoulders set.

"I'm going to be straight with you Tonks, because we've already lost enough time," Hermione said to her. "Remember that "thing" Voldemort was looking for?" Tonks shook her head affirmatively and Hermione continued. "Well it was actually a person and we think we know where she is."

"Blimey," was all that Tonks said in shocked answer.

"But the thing of it is that Voldemort might now know where she is too."

Hermione then quickly filled her in on the whole Wormtail situation.

"We can't wait for the Order," she explained as she tried her best to express to Tonks why the four of them had to make a move now. "We have to get there first. And..." Hermione swallowed as she pulled her wand out of her jeans pocket and held it on Tonks in desperation. The three boys simultaneous intake of breath sounded like an explosion in her ear. "And I won't allow you to stop us," Hermione continued, her brave words sounding false to her. "I'll hex you if I have to." She stiffly lifted her chin.

Pleasedon'tcallmybluff. Pleasedon'tcallmybluff. Pleasedon'tcallmybluff.

Tonks eyed the young girl up and down, sizing up the situation. Although she could tell that Hermione didn't want to go to the extreme measure of threatening her, if push came to shove she wasn't so sure that the teen aged girl wouldn't go through with it. Tonks couldn't help but admire that kind of pluck.

"I believe you," she said, not blinking an eye. The simple statement seemed to rattle Hermione and for a moment her wand arm wavered. But the honesty in Tonks words made her slip her wand back into her jeans.

"Besides, who said I was going to stop you?"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked between each other, shock registering on their faces.

"You're not," Ron asked.

"But aren't you supposed to be spying on me," Harry asked, his words coming off slightly bitter. "Making sure I don't do something brash and stupid?"

Tonks impishly grinned. "I believe Remus' exact words were 'keep an eye on him'. He never said where I was supposed to keep an eye on you. So I'm coming with."

They were completely bowled over by Tonks' words. Hermione tried to form several sentences and failed. By Ron's befuddled expression one would have thought he had entered his bedroom only to find the N.E.W.T.s examination board. Poor Harry just seemed worn and exhausted. Only Malfoy looked as though nothing his cousin could say would ever really surprise him.

"If you lot tell me this is important then I believe you," Tonks clarified. "I recognize the fact that you aren't children anymore and I don't think you deserve to be treated like you are. You're Order members. Merlin knows you all have gone through more then anyone your age has a right to. When I was your age all I had to worry about was whether or not Charlie would ask me out for a Hogsmeade weekend."

Ron's mouth fell open at the admission. "You fancied Charlie?"

"Madly," Tonks exclaimed. "But he went for the pretty, witty types and I had a hard enough time not tripping over my toes," she chuckled. "Luckily Remus finds it cute."

"The klutz and the lycanthrope, a tale of star crossed lovers," Malfoy annoyingly grumbled.

Tonks heard him and sauntered over to where he was standing, a great big smile plastered on her face. "Since I left my broom at the castle I'll just ride along with you Angelface."

Malfoy grimaced. "Goodie."

"Y-yes...w-well..." stuttered Hermione, trying her best to regain her control. "Now that we've settled the seating arrangements I think our best bet is to get on our way. It's going to be a long trip."

Ron rubbed at his stomach forlornly.

"We're going to need to head south first and then...and then I guess once when we get near Central France we could ask for directions." For the first time Hermione started to sound a little unsure of her plan.

"I think if any Death Eaters were looking for us they would expect us to go that route," Tonks said. "We might try going over the Atlantic and then hooking a left."

Hermione's throat went dry at the thought of flying over all of that water. Maybe she could handle flying with Harry after all.

"I...I...I..."

"Granger, your yapping is wearing on me," Malfoy said dismissively as he trudged up towards her, took a shiny gold object out of his pocket, and tossed it at her.

Hermione caught the object before it beaned her on the head and took a good look at it.

"A compass," she asked anemically. Then she opened the 'compass' and gasped.

"Gee Malfoy, there's a little spell called Point Me. Ever hear of it," Ron smugly asked as he and Harry traded smiles.

"You idiots," rebuked Malfoy harshly. "That is a Psychopompus."

"Guider of the lost," Hermione whispered in awe. Inside of the compass-like casing, instead of the usual arrow and lettering, a tiny red ball of energy floated. The ball was no bigger then a large pebble, but it pulsed and throbbed like a living organism.

"It can find any thing, any one, any place. Even if its unplottable."

Malfoy's little curio rendered Hermione speechless. She had read about the Psychopompus, but never dreamed that she would actually hold one in her hands one day.

Nearly 2000 years ago, in the ancient and doomed city of Pompeii lived a priestess of the fire God, Vulcan. Her name was Trivia and she was a witch. Trivia was also what was called an Imbuer. She had the ability to transfer fragments of her own magical energy and infuse them into objects to create powerful relics. It was an incredible power that came with a huge cost. Each time she used it she took years off of her life. But it was no matter to Trivia, she knew that her destiny would end in ashes. But Trivia had three sons; Evander, Latinus, and her favored child that was consecrated to her God, Mulciber. On the eve of her death she gave each young boy a Psychopompus she had made for them. Inside the Psychopompi she placed what remained of her magical essence. She told them that they were to flee the city and that they should use the Psychopompus to take them wherever they wanted to go. All they had to do was tell the trinket where that was and it would lead them to it. Latinus chose to find power. He settled in Albion, what would one day be England, and became the lord of a great tribe. Evander chose to find his heart. He eventually wound up on an island in Oceania, the husband of many wives. Mulciber however refused to leave his mother's side. The next day was the Vulcanalia and he and his mother went to the temple to preside over the burnt sacrifices offered on the feast day as they usually did. However that year there would be no festival. Vulcan chose to claim all of Pompeii as his sacrifice instead. Whatever became of Trivia and her son was never really known. Some say that Vulcan took pity on his beloved priestess and changed her and her son into cormorants. But others believed that Trivia and Mulciber used the last bit of her magic that she stashed in his Psychopompus and disappeared from this world, never to be seen again.

For years many a witch and wizard hoped to find one of the remaining two Psychopompi which had fallen into legend. Some said that Merlin had once been in possession of one. Numerous great explorers through out history were accused of using a Psychopompus to direct them to new lands and discoveries. Hermione had even read once that Albus Dumbledore was believed to have one hidden somewhere in Hogwarts. Then again Professor Dumbledore had also been rumored to have a scar above his knee that resembled a map of the Underground. Hermione used to think that story was as much twaddle as the Psychopompus. Then Draco Malfoy practically dropped the magical object in her lap.

"You've had this all this time." Harry tersely asked Malfoy.

The blond pompously lifted his chin in the air and sneered, "How do you think I found Durmstrang?"

"We could have used this thing to find all the other horcruxes by now!" Once again Hermione felt that pulse of energy coming from Harry. He was livid!

"Couldn't have expected everything to be handed to you, now could you Potter?" Draco was sneering at the black haired boy contemptuously, but Hermione hadn't missed the first expression that had flickered on his face. Astonishment. Draco hadn't withheld the Psychopompus from them to be a brat, he simply hadn't thought of using it for that purpose. And to think he was a pretty good student! They should have thrown him back to the Death Eaters, let them suffer!

Harry seemed to bristle at the answer, but before he could start an argument with him, Malfoy walked over to Hermione and lifted the Psychopompus out of Hermione's hand.

"All you need to do is tell it who or where or what you are looking for. The more specific you are the better. Like this," Malfoy said as he concentrated on the small ball of energy. "Rego rexi rectum."

At these words the little red ball turned blue.

"Take me to..." he said, pausing to look at the faces surrounding him. As his gaze settled on Harry an evil and malicious smile coiled its self on his lips. "Take me to the nearest virgin."

The blue ball of energy began to softly hum and sprang into life. But before it could get very far Hermione snatched the Psychopompus out of Malfoy's hand and snapped the little ball back into its case. However it had been very obvious to all what direction the Psychopompus was heading in. If Draco's laughter hadn't given the fact away Harry's very pink cheeks would have.

"Knew it," Malfoy smarmed.

"You are such an odious little pygmy troll," Hermione retorted as she restrained herself from slapping the bastard and stamped away from him instead. She tried to ignore the eyes on the back of her head that she knew belonged to Harry.

She went to the rope that tethered Buckbeak to the fence and unknotted it. Next she untied the rope from Buckbeak's neck and was preparing to mount him when she suddenly saw his head snap back. The quick movement unsettled her at first until she realized that the hippogriff had the bloody carcass of a ferret in his beak. She couldn't stop herself from smirking. As the hippogriff bent down to finish his snack she turned around to see Harry standing close by and the smile slowly faded away from her lips.

"I figured Buckbeak would like a treat before we got on our way," was all he said. Hermione curtly nodded her head.

The air of awkwardness that laid between them was palpable. Malfoy's little joke opened up a can of worms that she preferred to not dwell on. She used to think that she didn't want Harry to know what all went on between her and Ron because she didn't want him to feel lonely and left out. But now you know different don't you, she downheartedly told herself. Hermione tried to focus her attention on anything but Harry's eyes. She glanced over to her right to see Ron and Malfoy bickering while an amused Tonks looked on. Before she could walk over to see what the trouble was she heard Harry softly call her name. She looked back to see that he had already mounted Buckbeak and was offering his hand to her to give her a lift up. Hermione tentatively took it and felt herself effortlessly raised up and placed in front of her best friend. Once the other three members of their party realized that Harry and Hermione were ready to go they all prepared to lift off on their perspective brooms. Malfoy and Ron awaited their signal, Harry and Hermione were going to go in the lead. Harry gave a gentle nudge with his right foot to Buckbeak's hindquarters and the hippogriff unfurled his wings. It scratched at the ground for a moment before taking a running start and then soaring into the sky.

"Hermione," she heard Harry's worried voice call to her. At the time it sounded a bit muffled, but that was only because she had her face pressed firmly into Buckbeak's feathers. Her eyes were closed, and she held the poor hippogriff in a death lock about the neck.

"Are you alright Hermione," Harry asked, his voice almost drowned out by the wind.

Hermione turned her head slightly and tried her best to look over her shoulder at Harry.

"Why would you ask?"

"It's just that...you screamed."

Hermione's cheeks would have turned pink if that weren't already that color due to the cold. She hadn't been aware that she had made a sound.

"Force of habit I guess," she sheepishly said with a tiny smile.

She sat up as straight as she could muster and held the Psychopompus before her. She opened the clasp and watched as the little red ball hovered up.

"Rego rexi rectum." The ball glowed blue. "Take me to the The Monastère Sainte Claire in Boussac," she said to it as it began to hum and float off before them. Harry placed his hands around her so he could get a good hold on Buckbeak to help steer him. Hermione sat up, steel spined, so that she wouldn't rub up against Harry. Both of their eyes were focused on the blue orb in front of them. They flew like this through the night sky for a good length of time, neither saying anything to the other. Hermione had no clue as to what Harry's thoughts could be, but all she hoped was that he didn't ask her any questions about her and Ron that Malfoy's little stunt might have brought up. The way that Hermione's stomach was boiling she just didn't think she could handle that at the moment. Not at this height at least.

"Um, Hermione?" Harry's voice sounded nervous and uncertain in her ear.

Circe!

"Yes Harry?" She figured that she sounded no better then him.

"You could...um...I mean, if you want, you can lean back on me. You know, so you aren't uncomfortable or anything."

Thank Merlin!

"Oh. Ok then. Thank you."

That hadn't been what she expected him to say to her, but for this she was thankful. Truth be told Hermione had been a little stiff sitting so straight and upright for so long. She cautiously laid back into Harry and he instantly guided one of his hands to her hip. A burst of warmth seemed to fill her through out. She sighed. Although she knew the move was done to keep a good hold on her she couldn't help the emotional flutterings in her stomach that it produced. Normally she would have chastised herself for being such a silly goose, but for once she decided to just live in this one moment. Harry was always being such a good friend to her; looking after her, protecting her, taking care of her. It wasn't his fault that she felt things for him that she shouldn't. He wasn't the blame of the complications that she was bringing into their lives. He couldn't help it if he would never look at her the way that she looked at him. But high up in the sky, amongst the clouds, she could pretend that none of that existed. Up here there was no boyfriend whose heart she could break. Up here there was no girl for him to go home to. Up here it was just Harry and Hermione.

And she could pretend.

~~**~~~~**~~~~**~~~~**~~

"I still think we should have gone with the ones I transfigured."

"Nuns don't dress like that anymore Tonks!"

"But I saw it in a film once. There were nuns and Nazis. People dressed up in tacky curtains. And singing. Although that was the part that was a bit confusing."

"It was a musical and that film is over 30 years old Tonks."

"Well how was I supposed to know."

Hermione shook her head wearily. She was tired to the bone, they still hadn't found Boadicea, and Tonks was chatting and chirping about as though they were on a picnic. Sometimes Hermione found it hard to believe that the woman was actually an Auror. Though her wand work couldn't be denied, Hermione had practiced dueling with her before and had received a nice set of boils on her forehead to prove it, she still wondered if Tonks ever took anything seriously. Besides Professor Lupin, that is. Like when they first touched down in front of the cloister. It was decided that she and Tonks, being the women in the group, would sneak into the nunnery and look for DuManoir. The boys would act as their guards. Before the dust had settled from that decision Tonks had already pulled out her wand and transfigured her robes and Hermione's clothes into a proper nun's habit. A proper nun from the 1800's. The long black tunic, the scalpular, the white bib, cap, and various veils and under veils; it had all been way too much. The boys had practically rolled around in the grass, laughing at the two of them when Tonks was done. Tonks seemed to think the whole thing jolly fun as well. Hermione had threatened each boy that she would hex off something that they would be sure to miss if they didn't shut up and then promptly changed Tonks and herself into an outfit that was more workable. They were disguised as novitiates in simple black skirts and blouses with a white veil over their hair. She asked the boys how they looked. Malfoy told her that the skirt made her look fat. Harry and Ron had to restrain her when she made to tear him limb from limb.

After using her wand to get into the cloister Hermione took out the Psychopompus and told it to lead them to DuManoir. Tonks carried Harry's invisibility cloak in her arms. They were currently descending a long flight of stairs that seemed to lead into a basement. As far as they knew they had miraculously gotten there before the Death Eaters. Surely there would have been a dark mark above the monastery if they hadn't, right?

"Are you sure it was such a good idea giving your wand to Ron?"

"Yes, we needed a clear cover," Tonks said from behind her. "We couldn't leave him out there defenseless. If something were to happen he would be a sitting duck other wise." In a way Hermione guessed she could see the sense in that.

"Besides, I don't think I have much to worry about with you leading the way," Tonks continued airily. "You're pretty sharp with a wand and I've seen the security crystal captures of that night at the Department of Mysteries. You'd make a pretty good Auror one day."

Hermione's brow wrinkled as she turned to look back at Tonks. "But I got hit!"

"And," asked Tonks. "I did too. It happens. I still think you would be brilliant. I could see you and Harry making quite the team."

At the comment Hermione bristled. What the hell was Tonks getting at? What was she trying to imply?

"Why me and Harry," she asked, a tad too roughly. "Why not me and Ron?"

Tonks seemed to stew on the question for a bit before innocently saying, "Dunno. Ron wants to be an Auror?"

Hermione sighed. Of course Tonks wasn't trying to insinuate anything.

"No," she simply said in answer.

As of late Ron had been talking about his future plans, their future plans, a lot. He had already constructed huge castles in the sky for them where she was his wife and he was something amazing, he just didn't quite know what yet. She did know that he had long ago put away any ideas about being an Auror. He often said that once the War was over all he wanted was his girl and his broom and he would be happy. His blue eyes would always take on a bright, giddy glow whenever he told her about these dreams of his. And her heart would always feel like someone was squeezing the pulp out of it.

"Well I see Ron going for something flashy. Something to make him stand out from the rest of the redheads," Tonks said as they left the staircase and stared following the little blue ball down a narrow hall. "Now that cousin of mines on the other hand..."

Tonks almost hooted at Hermione's stunned expression.

"Draco Malfoy? An Auror?"

"He has pretty good natural instincts."

"Honestly," Hermione dismissively said as she rolled her eyes, "Draco Malfoy would have to care about someone other then himself for that to ever happen."

Tonks softly chuckled. "Aww...Angelface can't help the way he was raised. I almost feel sorry for him in that respect."

"Yes, but he can help the person he's going to become. You know the saying, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. All of his family are monsters." Hermione paused to look at Tonks. "Present company excluded of course." Tonks laughed.

"Besides he can't be an Auror. He'd be a liability. The bad guys would smell all the product in his hair coming a mile away."

Tonks nodded her head affirmatively. "True. And it would be such lovely hair without all of that goop," she said fondly.

"You almost sound like you have a crush," Hermione said wryly, looking at Tonks from the corner of her eye. They had just made a sharp left only to end up in another narrow corridor.

"Well I'm not blind," she exclaimed. "If I was a bit younger I wouldn't mind kissing that cousin. What about you?"

"Pardon me, I think I vomited a bit in my mouth."

Tonks laughed outright at the comment and Hermione had to remind her to be quiet. She was acting as though they were at a sleepover giggling over which boy they fancied.

"What about Harry?"

Hermione's foot steps halted and she turned around to face Tonks fully. Tonks paused as well.

"What about Harry," Hermione cautiously asked.

"You think he might become an Auror?"

Hermione mulled over the question for a moment before continuing on in the direction they had been going. Tonks followed suit. They were just in time to see the Psychompus make a right around a corner and hurried along after it.

"I don't know," she finally said in answer, her voice sounding almost lifeless. "Harry used to talk about it, his future. But he doesn't much anymore." Hermione's yes began to burn just thinking about this. "He has these dreams you see...Sometimes I get the feeling that he doesn't even think he'll have a future."

Tonks seemed oblivious to Hermione's depressing state.

"Well I bet there's a certain red haired girl who could convince him otherwise," she said cheerily.

Hermione turned her sad brown eyes towards Tonks and frowned. "What?"

Tonks smiled brightly. "Ginny," she replied as though it were the most obvious answer in the world. "I saw the way the two of them were huddled up at the funeral. Almost gave me the habdabs actually. Thought that Lily and James were back from the dead."

Tonks giggled, but when she caught a glimpse of Hermione's downcast face she stifled her gaiety. The girl obviously didn't find the humor in what she said at all.

"Sorry," she offered. "Tact was never my strong suit. As I was saying," she continued, "all he has to remember is that he has that waiting for him and Harry should perk right up."

Tonks then winked conspiratorially at Hermione. Hermione smiled back at her weakly. It was all she could do other then run her own head into the wall over and over again. Luckily, before she could give herself a nasty case of brain damage they came before a door and the Psychopompus ceased humming and turned red again. Hermione took out it's case and trapped it back inside of it.

"Oh look, we're here," Hermione drolled as she placed her hand on the doorknob and gave it a turn. It was locked so she pointed her wand at it and smiled when she heard the click that meant it was unlocked. Once again she turned the knob and as it gave way she gently pushed open the door and made her way into the small sparse room. It was almost like a cell. There was no hint of ornamentation anywhere, just a small cot and a stone floor. She'd expected it to be dark, but surprisingly enough the room was all aglow from the light of over a dozen lanterns. For a moment Hermione thought to herself how odd this was for such a late hour, but then she looked towards the window, at the room's only occupant, and all thoughts of what was odd and what was weird left her.

The girl looked to be about 17 or 18 years old and was dressed almost similarly as they were. Her long ebony hair hung down pass her shoulder in waves. She stared out at them with unblinking, violet colored eyes and seemed to tilt her head as if to see if they were really there or figments of her imagination. A set of full, thick lips sat under a nose only Modigliani could have painted. She had a round face with dimpled cheeks. This fact, added with all of her other more mature features, would have given her face a certain little girl adoreableness if only there had been some sort of expression on the girl's face. Instead she was giving them her best impression of a blank slate and for what it was worth, it unnerved Hermione greatly.

"I think that thing is broken," Tonks whispered near her ear, in reference to the Psychopompus.

Hermione never took her eyes off the girl. "I don't think it is," she whispered back as her eyes drifted upwards and settled on the hair ornament fixed in the girl's hair.

Hermione took a few nervous steps forward and asked, "B-Boadicea?"

The sound of the name actually culled a reaction from the girl. Fear.

"Oui. Qui est vous? Que voulez vous," she screeched, her panicked eyes looking back and forth between Hermione and Tonks.

"Son of a bitch," Tonks swore. "I thought this one was supposed to be Sinistra's age," Tonks said as she came fully into the room and closed the door behind her.

Hermione turned to look at her companion. "She is," she answered her.

"Son of a bitch," was all Tonks could muster again.

"Qui est vous?! Qui est vous," Boadicea demanded over and over again. Her cries were so loud that Hermione quickly pointed her wand at the door and placed a silencing charm on it. Boadicea, who hadn't noticed the wand before, went wide eyed at the sight of it now.

"Vous n'êtes pas censé être ici."

"Shouldn't she speak English? Didn't she go to Hogwarts," Tonks bewilderedly asked. "What is she saying?"

"At first she wanted to know who we were and what we wanted," Hermione said as she took a few cautious steps towards the girl. "Now she says we shouldn't be here. I don't think she speaks English anymore."

But for some odd reason Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that Boadicea still understood it.

"Je suis Hermione," she said as she placed her hand on her chest, "et Tonks." She pointed back at the Auror. "Nous sommes amis. We're friends." Hermione held a hand out slowly to her.

Boadicea looked at Hermione suspiciously before scurrying to her little cot in the corner of the room and sitting on it.

"Que voulez vous?!"

Hermione wracked her brain for the best way to explain to the girl what was going on.

"Nous sommes venus pour te retire d' ici," answered Hermione slowly. "We've come to take you away from this place."

At this statement Boadicea's alarm seemed to slacken and she slowly rose up from the cot. A ghost of a smile danced on her lips before she asked sweetly, "Tom?"

Merlin! Sweet Circe! Dear merciful God in Heaven!

"Est-il venu pour moi?"

She wanted to know if Tom had come for her. All these years she must have sat at that window and waited for the day when Tom Riddle would come and take her away, Hermione achingly thought. Boadicea was still in love with him. Even after everything he had done to her, she still loved him. Even after he had cast her aside. To her mind she still belonged to Tom Riddle, time had changed nothing for DuManoir. In fact, it would seem that time had stood still for her somehow. Now she was ready to go back to the love of her life, and Hermione could not allow that to happen.

"Tom," she asked again, hope brimming in her eyes.

Hermione shook her head yes and smiled kindly at the girl. "Oui. Nous vous lui porterons."

Boadicea let out a jubilant cry before pitching herself into Hermione's arms and hugging her tightly. She began spinning the both of them around like a school girl. Her laughter filled the room.

"What just happened here? What did you say," asked Tonks. She couldn't make heads or tales of the situation.

"It doesn't matter," Hermione said assertively. She pulled Boadicea along with her towards the door. "We just need to get out of here now!"

Just one lie, that was all it is. Just one lie. It was a lie for a good reason. That's all it is. That's all it is.

Hermione's hand was on the door knob when all of a sudden she heard a loud thud coming from outside. It sounded like someone was stumbling their way down the hall towards them. If she was hearing correctly it sounded like it was more then one of them.

"I still thin' we took too long interroga'in tha' wi'ness, love," she heard a high pitched, female voice say from outside.

A slurred, baritone voice answered her back in the same Cockney accent she used, "Master said we were to get 'is toy by any means Sissy. And the Mummy Superior wasn' bein' 'elpful. I 'ad to find some way to convince 'er."

The female must have found what her friend said extremely funny because she let loose a cackle that set Hermione's teeth on edge.

"I don't thin' Master 'ad tha' in mind," the high pitched voice said back.

"But she 'ad such a pret'y mauf. Seemed a waste not to use it."

Once again that bone chilling cackle rended the air.

"Oh shit!"

Hermione turned towards Tonks and nearly went white at the expression on the older woman's face. Tonks was sweating bullets, despite the cold bite of the air, and she looked absolutely scared shitless.

"What's wrong," Hermione worriedly asked her.

Tonks glanced at Hermione, then back at the door. "Death Eaters. And from the sound of that laugh it could only be Alecto and Amycus Carrows. Sid and Nancy look like the Weasleys compared to them."

Hermione looked fearfully at the door and then towards Boadicea who had a far off dreamy look on her face. It couldn't end like this, Hermione's racing mind shouted out again and again. It just can't end like this!

"But I read about the Carrows. They helpedbutcher a whole family once, or something. I thought they were siblings, a brother and a sister."

Tonks and Hermione's eyes locked. "They are."

This was bad. This was bad. With no time to digest what Tonks could possibly mean by that Hermione walked closer to the door and contemplated putting a locking spell on it. She was just about to do so when Tonks swore again.

"What," Hermione nearly cried, her heart in her throat.

"We have more problems," Tonks responded. "Anti-Apparation ward."

"Fuck!"

It had just gotten worse.

Hermione had often heard the saying, "blood ran cold", but until that very moment she never knew that it was an actual phenomena. She was sure she could feel the jagged edges of little icy chips floating through her blood stream. They couldn't apparate out. Tonks didn't have a wand. They were as good as dead.

"Thin' Master will whip us?" By now Hermione could only assume that the female voice belonged to Alecto Carrows.

"'Ere's 'oping."

She saw the doorknob begin to slowly turn. Without very much thought Hermione did the first thing that came to her mind. She grabbed the invisibility cloak, pushed Boadicea into Tonks arms, and before the Auror could offer any protest threw the cloak over the two of them. They disappeared before her eyes. Thinking fast, Hermione dropped her wand down the front of her blouse. She might have been able to stun one of them, but she was never going to be able to take both out single handedly without some sort of miracle being involved. Hermione quickly made the decision that maybe, just maybe she could bluff her way out of the door. Right now anything was worth a try.

"Well, well, well," said a squat, rolly polly man dressed in soiled black robes from the doorway, a stubby wand in his hands. "What do we 'ave 'ere?"

Hermione almost suspected that she was going to loose her lunch if the man kept leering at her the way he was. But she called upon every bit of Gryffindor courage she could muster and innocently turned large, round eyes on him.

"Que voulez vous?"

"Vu, vu wha'?

"Pardonnez-moi," she said as she gave the man a small bow of her head. "Je pense que je vais maintenant. Je dois bientot commencez mon priere du matin." She then tried to walk effortlessly by him, but nearly gagged on the smell of his body stench and the scent of stale ale that clung to him.

"Not so fas'," Alecto Carrows said as she stepped into the room and into Hermione's way. She was about her brother's size and was dressed in robes that matched his, only hers were slightly cleaner. But not by much. The two siblings resemblance to each other was so strong that Hermione had to wonder if they were twins. Neither masculine nor feminine, the pair seemed to revel in their androgyny. If not for their voices she wasn't sure if she would have been able to tell them apart. Both of them had chin length gray hair that was dirty and stringy and severely lined faces. A bulbous nose, only a mother could love, sat in the middle of both faces. Two sets of dark brown eyes roved every hill and valley of her body and when she shuddered involuntarily she was greeted by identical thin lipped smiles.

Hermione quickly backed away from them, but gave no hint that there were two other people in the room with her.

"I know you," she said as she eyed Hermione from head to foot. "I've read abou' you in the paper once. Your famous." Alecto then smiled proudly displaying her 5 missing teeth. "Still Potter's lit'le mudblood 'hore?"

Although Hermione tried not to show any emotions she couldn't control the rage that swirled through her at these words. Her nostrils flared. Her eyes narrowed.

"Is tha' a no," the wench taunted. "Got tired of you, did 'e?"

Hermione's eyes burned furiously in the woman's direction, but she refused to give her any satisfaction.

"Where's the other mudblood," her brother asked casually as he came further in the room.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Hermione stubbornly.

"I thin' she's lyin' Ahmy."

Amycus smiled at her feraly as he twirled his wand in his fingers. "Naugh'y lit'le girl. Workin' you're way to a spanked bot'om, you are."

"No fair Ahmy," chided Alecto as she pouted in her brother's direction. "You got to 'ave fun with the las' one."

An annoyed, belligerent look flickered upon Amycus' face. This was sibling rivalry at it's best.

"But remember Sissy, you got to kill the nun."

Apparently Alecto didn't find her act of cold blood murder quite fulfilling enough. She stuck out her bottom lip so far Hermione was shocked it wasn't gathering dust from the floor. This seemed to be Amycus' undoing. He pulled his sister into a quick hug and gave her a loud smacking kiss on her forehead. He then turned to Hermione and leered at her menacingly.

"I jus' can' deny my Sissy anythin'"

His yellowish, canine like teeth almost made Hermione, beloved daughter of two dental practitioners, weep.

"Come now poppet, you don' really expect us to believe tha' you're 'ere all by your lonesome. Tell us wha' your frien' is using," the disgusting little man said as he took a step closer to her and swayed on his feet. That brief little movement awakened a well of hope so deep in Hermione that she almost did a cartwheel. The man was drunk! The sister didn't seem to be, but the fact that he was intoxicated was all she needed to know.

"A disillusionmen'? Transfigure themselves?"

"Uh, uh," answered Alecto for her. Her eyes were glued near the floor. Hermione eyes turned to see what she was looking at and nearly cried out at the sight of Tonks and Boadicea's feet fully unveiled for all to see. From what she could tell someone, more then likely DuManoir, had been trying to lift the cloak off of them.

"Come ou', come ou' wherever you are," Alecto sing songed as she took out her wand and waved it like a conductor leading an orchestra, "There you are. Accio invisibility cloak."

The cloak went flying off of Tonks and Boadicea. Tonks, Merlin bless her, tried to catch it and pull it back but it was no good. The cloak landed in Alecto's hands. The sight of that...that...woman touching Harry's cloak, the cloak that he treasured, the cloak that had belonged to his father sent a lightning bolt of hatred and wrath through Hermione that she was almost made sick by it. Suddenly all of the lanterns in the room dimmed and everything seemed to go still.

"You give that back," she growled as she reached her hand down her blouse and slowly pulled out her wand.

"I don' thin' I wan' to," the bitch said. She then turned to her brother. "Jus' thin' Ahmy, we could fuck righ' under this with other people in the room and no one would ever know the difference." She gave her brother a sickening grin as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Like tha' ever stopped us," he cheekily responded, then let out a wheezy, drunken giggle. His sister joined him with her own cackle. Then she pressed her lips onto his and the two commenced to eat each others face before their disgusted captive audience. At least that's what it looked like to Hermione. Even Boadicea seemed to be disturbed by the vulgar display.

"Ugh," gasped Tonks as she looked at the pair, disgust radiating from her eyes.

Alecto paused in mid-snog to spare a glance at Tonks.

"You're a Black," she stated.

Tonks, gaze never wavering, said, "Yes."

Alecto's face scrunched in distaste. "I don' like you Blacks."

"I'm broken up inside over the fact."

"Bunch of fuckin' poncies," she snarled as she disentangled herself from her brother's embrace. "First Regulus, then Narcissa and 'er lit'le pup. An' tha' Bellatrix thin' she's too good for the res' of us. I'm gonna enjoy killin' you."

Tonk's merely smiled coolly and calmly at the threat. "You can try."

And for the first time Hermione understood clearly why Nymphadora Tonks was an Auror.

"Listen my lit'le lovelies," Amycus cut in, seemingly growing tired of Tonks and his sister's battle of wills, "you two 'ave somethin' that we wan'." He looked at Boadicea and the girl slowly backed herself into the wall by the window to get away from his lecherous stare. She slid down the wall and brought her chin to her knees. She began rocking back and forth silently mouthing the same thing over and over. Tom. Tonks went over to the young girl and got down on the floor to comfort her.

"Me an' Sissy aren' let'ing you out the room until we get it. Now it can either be easy or it could be 'ard." He started that wheezy giggle of his that seemed to amuse his sister since she started clapping her hands merrily. "Personally I like 'ard."

"Empty threats Carrows," Tonks shouted back at him confidently.

"Wha'? Thin' the calvary is goin' to ride in," asked Alecto mockingly.

"If you had any frien's out there I assure you tha' they been picked off one by one by one." Amycus seemed almost saddened that he would miss out on such carnage.

"It's only fair," chirped Alecto. "Our back-up deserved some entertanmen'. I'm afraid tha' me an' Ahmy got...detained a bit." She and Amycus looked at each other and both burst into laughter. If anything Hermione wanted to hex the two of them for their annoying laughter.

"Your frien's are dead," said Amycus.

"An' soon you will be too," added his sister.

"You can kill us, but Harry will not rest until that souless monster is dead," Hermione said in a low steady voice, eyes unblinking. "And that is a promise." Her wand was pointed at Amycus, awaiting the perfect shot. She and Amycus eyes then locked as both sized each other up.

"This one 'as spunk," he said. Alecto gave her a disdainful once over and sniffed. "I 'ate spunk."

The comment caused a smirk worthy of a Malfoy to alight Hermione's face.

Amycus pointed his wand at Hermione, his hand wavering slightly and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could utter a word Alecto placed a halting hand on her brother's arm and looked at him wondrously.

"But Ahmy," Alecto gasped, "aren' we going to play with them firs'?"

Amycus eyes darted towards his sister and smiled wickedly.

"After."

And that was just the moment Hermione needed.

"Accio wand!"

Amycus' wand sailed out of his hands and Hermione plucked it from the air. The Carrows looked quite frankly shocked for a second, but before either could compose themselves Hermione turned her wand on Alecto.

"Conjunctivitus!"

"Argh," screamed Alecto in pain as she dropped the invisibility cloak and a hand went up to her eyes. She still held her wand on them though.

"You bitch! I can' see! I can' see," she said as she stumbled back and forth. Amycus looked at his sister and then turned vengeful eyes towards Hermione. He let out an unearthly, almost animalistic sound before he went charging at her. She flicked her wand at him.

"Impedimenta."

The spell knocked him back to the wall giving Hermione just enough time to turn to Tonks and throw his wand towards her. Alecto kept yelling, "I'm gonna ge' you! I'm gonna ge' you! I'm gonna ge' you, jus' you wai'!"

"Here," she shouted over her shoulders as Tonks lept from the floor to catch the wand. As Hermione turned back around she saw Alecto still stumbling about, waving the wand furiously every which way.

"Avada-"

"Noooooooooooooo!"

The spell could have hit anyone of them. Hermione had no time to make judgment calls. She just sent out silently the first spell that entered her mind.

Alecto staggered back as though an invisible hand had pushed her. Her eyes widened. She looked down at her chest to see the fabric of her robes ripped and a wide red slash across her bosom. She pressed a hand to the wound and let out a blood curdling cry when she turned it up to see it covered in red. If she could have seen what Hermione could she would have found similar cuts on her face. Blood oozed out of all of them."

"Ahmy," she wailed, the voice of a frightened little girl. She wilted to the floor on her hands and knees. She dropped her wand and didn't seem to notice it as it rolled on the floor away from her.

Tonks came up beside Hermione and looked on the scene.

"What the hell spell was that," she asked in awe. She had already changed back into her Auror robes.

"Sectusempra."

"I've never seen anything like it."

"Neither have I," Hermione droned mechanically.

"Ahmy," the blood soaked woman wailed again from the floor. By now she had turned on her back. "Ahmy, where are you? I can' see you Ahmy, it's so dark." Hermione however had already ended the jinx on her.

By this time Amycus had regained consciousness and when he saw his sister lying in a bloody heap he ignored the rest of their presence and crawled across the floor to her. He gathered his sister in his arms and ran a loving hand over her cheek, smearing his hands with her blood.

"Wha' happen' to your pret'y face, love," he sobbed as tears worked their way down his face. "Who did this to you?"

"The mudblood Ahmy. She didn' play fair," she sniffed. "It hurts Ahmy, make it stop." The siblings cries and wails were almost maddening.

"Take Boadicea and as soon as you can apparate outside do it. Get her as far away from here as you can." Hermione told Tonks, eyes never wavering from the Carrows.

"Hermione-" Tonks began in protest.

"He doesn't have a wand," she said as she looked over at the older woman, "he can't do anything to me. Get her out of here," she said firmly. Tonks, seeing the hard, steely look in Hermione's eyes let any objections she might have raised fall. She went to Boadicea and pulled the girl up by the arms. The two of them ran out of the door and as soon as Tonks reached the hallway they disappeared in a loud pop.

Hermione slowly inched her way forward and dropped down on her heels to retrieve Harry's cloak. As she was rising up Alecto's whole body began to seizure. Her eyes closed and her mouth contorted in a silent scream of pain. Her whole body shook as though electricity was surging through it. Amycus called out her name over and over again. And then just as suddenly as it began it stopped.

Alecto Carrows never opened her eyes again.

"Is she dead," Hermione asked wearily, praying that she didn't loose it right then and there. Amycus didn't hear her, or if he did he ignored the sound of her voice.

"I-I..." Hermione stammered haltingly, "I didn't mean for...I mean...I didn't want to..."

Hermione searched for the best way to apologize for accidentally killing her own would be murderer. Killing Alecto had never been Hermione's intention. But the Death Eater had been about to cast the Killing Curse at them. She had to defend Tonks, Boadicea, and herself. She had just used the first spell her mind hit upon. Sectusempra. The Half Blood Prince's very own creation. The spell that Harry had used on Malfoy. The very spell that Hermione had berated Harry over and over again for using. The spell that even he regretted turning on the Slytherin. And here she had used it on another human being.

But she shouldn't have died, Hermione's tortured mind told her.

What Hermione didn't know was that Alecto Carrows had a bad heart. The shock of her attack had killed her.

Giving up on trying to offer any condolence to Amycus, Hermione quickly made for the door. But before she could cross the threshold Carrows' low, deep voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Everythin' you ever love you mudblood bitch," he said as casually as though he were telling her directions. Hermione turned around to look at him, but he kept his back to her.

"Anyone you ever care about, anyone who ever loves you I'm goin' to destroy." He then tossed her a look over his shoulder. "An' then I'm gonna drin' your tears." There was a promise in his words.

"Yes...well...good luck on that," she replied with as much fortitude as she could manage. She then turned around, exited into the hall, and apparated outside.

~~**~~~~**~~~~**~~~~**~~

The scene behind the cloister of the Poor Clares was a madhouse. Everywhere Hermione looked she saw wizards and witches dueling, wands pointed here and there. Or she saw bodies scuffling in hand to hand combat. Chants and incantations filled the air as well as shallow breathing and noisy grunts and screams. The battle was fierce. As much as she didn't want to she couldn't help but notice the bodies that were lying on the ground, unmoving.

And somewhere in the middle of all of this is Harry, Hermione worriedly thought as her teeth began to gnaw madly at the corner of her bottom lip.

There were men and women dressed in Auror as well as mundane every day robes. Hermione easily recognized the various members of the Order of the Phoenix. There were also several dark cloaked, hooded figures running about. In fact she saw one chasing after Tonks and Boadicea as the two of them fled in the direction of the woods in back of the nunnery. Buckbeak and Harry and Ron's brooms were in those woods. She saw the hooded figure raise a wand towards Tonks, but instantly the person went down. His knees had been tuned backward. Hermione swung her head to the right in time to see that Ron was the one who had jinxed the Death Eater so expertly. She couldn't stop her squeal of triumph, nor could she control the gigantic grin that came along with it. Before she could call out Ron's name however she same him begin to duel with a reedy looking fellow who was hoodless. Hermione was almost certain the man had been one of the Death Eaters who participated in the fight at the Department of Mysteries almost 2 years ago. Ron and the man circled each other for what seemed like forever before the man sent a spell at Ron's head. Ron dropped to the ground, rolled, and pointed his wand at the man setting his robes on fire. As the man ran off in a panic Ron turned back to the battle and headed straight in again.

Hermione heard a noise in the sky and turned her face upwards. She saw a red blur fly from out of the trees. It looked like Tonks and Boadicea, but from the distance she was at Hermione couldn't be sure. What Hermione did see was the pink, rosy hue of dawn breaking across the sky. It almost surprised her that it could actually be a new day. She felt certain their nightmare night would play endlessly on loop, but so far they had actually lived to see another morning. So far at least. Hermione almost gave into the giddy headed feeling of joy until she looked behind her and saw the dazzling green skull with its serpent tongue hanging in the air over the monastery.

Hermione turned around just in time to see the crowd clear and got a good view of Harry chasing down Walden Macnair. Macnair appeared to be wandless. Macnair also appeared to be terrified of the young man who was stalking him as if he were a gazelle. Harry flicked his wand out at him and shouted "encapsilaria". The Mime spell effectively trapped its victim in an invisible cage. Macnair pitched forward and hit an invisible wall causing him to bounce back. He soon found himself trapped in on all sides. He turned towards Harry and shouted soundless epithets at him. Harry reached him and was staring admiringly at his work when suddenly his head swiveled around in her direction.

"Hermione," he shouted frantically as his hand raised up quickly before him. Hermione felt some form of heat or energy pass by her quickly over her shoulders and when she turned around she saw the body of a female Death Eater fly through the air and hit the wall of the building. It made a loud thud before falling down to the ground. Hermione took a shaky step backwards as she realized that she knew the black robed woman...more like girl. Carmen Calatrava. The petite brunette had been a prefect in Ravenclaw House. Calatrava had just left Hogwarts two years ago. She had asked to borrow a quill from Hermione once. What kind of madness is this, Hermione's overwhelmed brain asked. She then anxiously turned around saw a sight that nearly stopped her heart from beating.

Off in the distance Harry had been preparing to run to her when Peter Pettigrew snuck up behind him and bashed the side of his head with his silver fist. Harry, surprised by the sneak attack barely made a sound as his body crumpled to the ground like a rag doll.

"Harry!" Hermione screamed his name with all her might. She screamed so hard she felt the inside of her throat go raw. She tossed the invisibility cloak over her and took off running through the endless sea of bodies that battled it out on the small stretch of field behind the nunnery. Hermione didn't care about all that now. She hardly noticed Mr. Shacklebolt holding off two enormous sized Death Eaters at once; a fellow who looked like an even larger version of Gregory Goyle and a big blond whose face looked like it had been bludgeoned by the ugly stick. She barely took note of Charlie limping away off the field. When she tripped and fell and found herself looking into the sightless gaze of poor Old Mr. Doge she only took a moment to close his eyes before she sprung up to her feet again. She just had to get to Harry. She needed to save Harry!

She was almost near him when she saw Wormtail straddle the unconscious boy. The foul little man had Ron's wand in his hand and had its tip pressed harshly into Harry's throat.

"Think Master will think kindly on poor Wormtail if I kill you for him little Harry," the pale faced, beady eyed rat asked Harry in his frail squeaky voice.

As if hearing the answer he wanted, Wormtail pressed the wand into Harry's throat even more forcefully and had opened his mouth to speak.

"Avada...umph!"

Draco Malfoy had just came out of nowhere and threw himself at Pettigrew, knocking the man off of Harry. The two of them rolled around on the grass before coming to a stop, Draco on top of the balding little man. Draco began to pummel the man's rat like face over and over again until he pulled back his fist and suddenly grabbed his arm in pain. By this time Hermione had reached Harry and had him safely in her arms. She threw the invisibility cloak over them so they couldn't be seen. Hermione looked in the direction the spell that hit Draco had come from and saw a simply gorgeous specimen of man sauntering up. With his long dark hair and bedroom eyes he looked like he had stepped off the front cover of a romance novel. Draco, still sitting on Petter turned to look at the man.

"Uncle."

"Draco."

"Aunt Bella here?"

"No, she finds such outings beneath her. How's your mother?"

"In hiding."

Hermione felt as though she had wandered into another dimension. Draco and his...uncle were acting as though it was the most natural thing in the world for them to have a family chat while people lay dying near them. Draco's uncle still held his wand on him.

"Oh nephew, what would your father say if he saw the riff raff you've aligned yourself with," the handsome stranger tsked.

"Not sure. Would be a pretty good trick. See, my father is dead. Your master killed him, remember?"

For his impertinence Draco's uncle hexed his other arm. Draco fell off of Pettigrew and clutched at the bicep. His face was a sickish gray color. Wormtail took this as an opportunity to revert to his Animagus form. The little nebbish man transformed himself into a rat with a little silver paw and scurried away through the field and into the direction of the woods. Hermione saw her chance, while Draco's uncle's attention was diverted, to reach for Ron's wand that lay in the grass near where she sat. As she was reaching her hand out though she heard Draco's agitated voice call out the word "no". Hermione's eyes swiftly looked to where Draco was, still clutching at his arm, and saw that he was looking right at her! Actually, he was looking at her hand. She had stretched her hand so far that it had come from under the invisibility cloak and unlike the rest of her body could be seen. Draco's uncle who had been watching Wormtail scamper off was just about to turn around to face her when he heard Draco's cry.

"No," the man asked with a hateful sneer. "'No'....what little dragon," he condescendingly asked again as he brought his attention back to Draco. Hermione quickly grabbed the wand.

Draco looked his uncle in the eyes and said slyly, "Know what my father would say to me?" Though Draco looked like he was in a great deal of pain he still seemed to hold his own with the older man.

"I await it with bated breath."

"In the end," the young Slytherin began confidently, "Malfoys always come out on top!"

The man chuckled wickedly. "So much arrogance for one so young," he snidely said. "I love it in comrades, absolutely abhor it in enemies. I guess it can't be helped though. Humility was never in large supplies on either side of your family tree. But take heart little dragon. Because you're family, I'll kill you last," the dark eyed man magnanimously said as he turned his back on Draco. That was when Draco took out his wand from his pocket and shouted "incarcerous". Thick ropes suddenly appeared from no where and wrapped themselves around the Death Eater all the way to his feet. The man fell forward cursing Draco's name.

" Because you're family Uncle Rodolphus, I won't kill you," Draco said as he shakily stood to his feet and stumbled up to the man. He slowly turned Rodolphus Lestrange over, conjured a hankerchief, and stuffed it in the man's mouth. Draco then made his way close to where Hermione and Harry were and fell into the grass near by. Hermione pulled the cloak off of them.

"You ok," he tersely asked her. She shook her head yes.

"You?"

"My hair hurts," he muttered.

Hermione timidly reached out a hand towards Malfoy. She barely touched his arm when he reared back in pain.

"And my arm! And my arm," he yelped through clenched teeth.

"What happened out here," she asked him.

"Not too long after you and Tonks went in the mark," he said, looking up at the sky, "went up. Your two wankers nearly lost their shit and tried to run in after you, but we got ambushed. Luckily the Werewolf and the others came riding in soon after. Who was the bird Tonks came running out with?"

"Later. I promise. You're going to want to be at full strength for this." Hermione positioned Harry so that he could be comfortable and she could look him over to make sure he wasn't too badly hurt. His head was in her lap. There was a painful looking red mark where Pettigrew had practically punctured Harry's throat and one of the arms of his coat was tearing at the seam. Other then that Harry looked none the worse for wear. She stroked his hair maternally as she looked about her. The battle was over and it looked like the Order had come out on top. She saw Aurors Proudfoot and Savage collecting the Death Eaters who hadn't managed to escape, Lestrange included. She saw the able bodied helping assist the wounded. She saw the dead being floated away. The sky was full of brooms flying off. Unfortunately she didn't see Carrows anywhere.

"You saved Harry's life," Hermione remarked as she turned to face Draco again. Although she tried to disguise the shock in her voice it was there as plain as day. "Why did you save Harry's life," she asked him.

Draco held her gaze for a moment, searching for something to say before drawling, "I have a bet on Potter winning Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile next month. I plan on collecting."

Hermione quirked a half smile. "Malfoy, I guess I was wrong about you. I'm sorry," she said genuinely. "I've never been so happy to be wrong about something in all my life!"

Malfoy looked gobsmacked by the declaration. She could practically see the gears turn in his head as he searched for some kind of reply to give her. Finding none he settled on huffing, "Well...I wasn't wrong about the skirt. I still think it makes you look fat."

Maybe it was because she was tired. Maybe it was because she had almost lost her life several times today. Or maybe it was simply because she found the joke funny. Whichever the case, Malfoy's snide comment elicited a belly laugh from her so deep and powerful she felt she had to hold her stomach to keep it in. In fact she laughed so hard that Harry stirred to consciousness.

"Hermione," he said weakly as he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

She smiled down at him. "Uh huh."

He smiled. "Your alive."

"I am," she said as she smiled sunnily at him. "And thanks to Malfoy so are you."

The smile that had been playing at Harry's lips suddenly came to a halt and he looked towards Malfoy as if to hear him deny Hermione's obviously delusional words. Instead Malfoy smiled a Cheshire-like grin. Harry turned his head back and glumly said, "I think I would have preferred the Avada."

Hermione giggled.

"Hermione! Harry!"

Hermione looked up to see Ron bounding towards them. His face was smudged with dirt, his jumper looked like it had been through a shredder, but he looked bright eyed and exhilarated. He dropped down to the ground beside Hermione, grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her in for a kiss. Hermione was just so happy to see that he was whole and not in pieces that she tolerated the affectionate display more then she would normally have had. Malfoy made a gagging sound. Harry jumped off her lap lightning quick.

"Were you hurt," Ron asked. She shook her head no as she handed his wand back to him and he made a delighted sound.

"Alright Harry?"

Harry slowly shook his head as he pushed his glasses back up on his nose. "Yeah." Ron smiled happily at both of them before Malfoy made a huffy noise and brought their attention to him.

"Fine. Just don't ask about me."

Ron's lips curled in distaste. "I wasn't planning."

Ron then began to excitedly babble on about the battle they had just participated in. Harry indulgently listened to the redhead go on and on with a huge grin on his face. Neither saw it when Hermione mouthed the words "thank you" to Malfoy. They both missed it when Malfoy curtly nodded his head to her.

Auror Shacklebolt and Professor Lupin then came near them to check if they were all ok. Instead of receiving the tongue lashing she thought they were going to get Shacklebolt commended them on a job well done. He informed them however that they needed to get out of there quick before the Ministry officials showed up to obliviate any poor nuns who happened to see the early morning skirmish. Also the muggle authorities had been notified and were on their way to collect the Mother Superior who had the misfortune of meeting the Carrows. Shacklebolt made no mention of Alecto and although it made Hermione's stomach boil she didn't either.

Hermione helped Harry up and Ron floated Malfoy. They headed back into the wooded area where Buckbeak and Harry's broom was. Ron took every opportunity he could to knock Malfoy into a tree. Both looked displeased that they would have to share a broom, but since neither found the prospect of riding Buckbeak palatable they both shut up. Once they had gotten high up enough in the sky Hermione pulled out the Psychopompus. She was just about to say the incantation that activated it when Tonks and Boadicea appeared seemingly out of thin air. The two of them had been flying around under a cloaking spell, waiting...hoping for the four of them to show up. Her sudden appearance however spooked the hippogriff so badly that Buckbeak started flying wildly sending the Psychopompus out of Hermione's hands. Unthinkingly she reached after it as it went hurtling to the ground. She almost followed it. Luckily for her Harry caught her about the waist and pulled her back firmly on the hippogriff.

"Dammit Harry," she wrathfully yelled at him as she turned as far sideways as she could. "How could you do that?"

"Do what," Harry bewilderedly asked.

She stared at him reproachfully. "You're a seeker Harry! You could have easily caught it!"

Harry looked at her as though she had gone mad. "But who was going to catch you?!"

"I'm expendable! You might have found the rest of the remaining horcruxes!"

"And we will," he plaintively yelled, the wind drowning out their voices to everyone but the two of them, "but not without you!"

The statement seemed to make Hermione aware all at once just where she was. High up. In the sky. On a hippogriff.

"I almost fell," Hermione said as her throat constricted at the thought.

The left corner of Harry's lips tugged up in a smile. "Yes you did."

Her head swam momentarily and she had to fight off a bad case of nausea and dizziness. She just reminded herself that if she fainted up there it would not help matters. It was a long way down and from their height she wouldn't look too good once she hit the ground.

Harry, sensing Hermione's distress pulled her back so she rested against him and rubbed her arms reassuringly and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I've got you. I've got you. I'll always catch you."

The little group eventually made it back to Hogwarts.

Alecto Carrows' body was never found when the Ministry and the muggle authorities searched through the Monastère Sainte Claire. Her brother Amycus disappeared as well. The rumor that went around was that the siblings were hiding in fear from Lord Voldemort due to their botched handling of the mission he sent them on. Stories popped up all over of the two being seen in the most unusual places. Sunning in Monaco. Hiding out in a missionary in Manila. Leading boat tours in St. Kitts. Hermione however knew the truth. She knew that Alecto was dead, she had watched her die, she had played a part in her death. And she knew for whatever reasons her brother spirited her body away. Hermione told only two other souls about the experience in Boussac, Harry and Ron. The night she sobbed the story out to them they both told her without hesitation that she did what she had to do. That of course they knew she didn't mean to kill the woman. That if she hadn't done what she did she and Tonks could have ended up dead. After awhile their reassurances made her feel better and she began to believe them. This was after all a War. Casualties happened. What was just one more death in the scheme of things? After awhile none of them ever brought up the name Carrows again, it was anathema. Of course she left out Amycus' threats, but she did that only because she didn't want to worry Harry and Ron. She was starting to become an old hand at keeping things from her boys anyways. Besides, it was only an empty threat. She was sure of it. She tried to put the whole ordeal out of her mind. Hermione had almost accomplished it.

Then her parents' brand new car plunged off a simple country bridge on a cloudless, perfect day. And she knew. If Hermione needed anymore proof, a few months later she received a note written in a straight , no nonsense hand that confirmed it for her.

Everything you ever love.

"I never heard from him again after that," Hermione said as she looked sadly at her old house. "I don't know if he died or if he just got bored playing with me but...there you have it." She turned to look at Harry. "I'm a right Lizzie Borden I am."

Harry's face wrinkled in confusion. "Who?" He then shook his head. "Never mind that. Hermione, when your parents died the Ministry did a thorough investigation, remember? It was found that their accident wasn't caused by magical means."

"Wrong. Although no magical means could be determined, it could not however be ruled out. The findings were inconclusive." She looked straight at Harry. "I read every memo, every piece of paperwork that was filed. Don't you get it Harry? He wanted me to know. Carrows wanted to make sure I knew exactly why my parents were dead. To everyone else it would just look like some poor muggle schmuck drove him and his wife off a bridge. But I knew."

"I remember Carrows from the night Dumbledore died," Harry told her absentmindedly. "Him and that face ache of a sister of his. Hermione, why didn't you ever tell me all of this before?"

"I didn't want to be a bur..."

"If you say burden so help me..." Hermione only sighed as she looked away from him. "So I'm the only person who knows about this," Harry asked.

Hermione didn't say anything, but the way her teeth started working on her lip told him the answer.

"Who did you tell? Ron?"

She was going to draw blood soon.

"Malfoy?!!" Harry could barely contain his outrage.

She dismissively waved her hand. "I didn't tell Draco anything. He forced it out of me, the prat," she grumbled. "Draco was there in my office when I got that last note. I tried to burn it, but he snatched it out of my hands before I could."

Although the idea that Draco Malfoy could ever know something about Hermione that he didn't made Harry want to drown the git in a shallow pool, Harry chose to be a bigger person and not dwell on it. For now at least.

"Why would you think you were somehow responsible for your parents' death? Carrows was the sick fuck responsible, not you."

Hermione regarded Harry for a moment before taking the conversation in a completely different direction.

"I almost went to a different school," Hermione told him in a false, cheery voice. "Did you know that?"

Harry sent Hermione a baffled look, but chose not to interrupt her tale.

"École La Découverte de Mme Dupont. That's the school I would have went to instead of Hogwarts. Madame Dupont's School of Discovery. 'Where young girls become young women'. It was in Zürich. Ever hear of it?"

Harry shook his head.

"It should have been called Mrs. Dupont's Holding Cell for Crazy Rich Girls," Hermione said as she mirthlessly smiled. "Cause that's what it was. It's where the wealthy sent their daughters when they didn't know what else to do with them. Drug addicts, girls who were a little too fast and loose with the boys, and the insane girls. Guess which one I was?"

Harry shook his head disbelievingly at her. "Why would your parents ever send you to a place like that?"

"Because they were at their wits end Harry," Hermione explained. "They didn't know what else to do. They felt like they had no choice in the matter."

Seeing Harry's mystified expression Hermione tried to explain things the best she could.

"I still remember that story you told us, me and Ron, about you ending up on the roof when those muggle hooligans tried to chase you."

A small smile grew on Harry's lips. He always thought of those times as the BTMs, the days before the magic. Before he knew that he had a gift and that he wasn't a weirdo and a psycho like his Aunt and Uncle tried to browbeat him into believing.

"Once when I was 9 or 10 both my parents had to go into the office so they sent for a sitter. Usually one of them always tried to be home with me when I came home from school, but this day I guess it couldn't be helped. Usually when this happened they got Old Mrs. Crittenden from a few houses down to look after me. I liked her," Hermione smiled. "She made good biscuits. Whenever Mrs. Crittenden stayed with me she would take me for a walk to Holland Park to look at the peacocks."

Harry sniggered. For some reason he found the idea of Hermione looking at peacocks humorous.

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Sue me, I was a child. I liked to look at the peacocks. So," she continued ignoring the grin on his face, 'this one particular day it was bucketing down out real hard so she told me that until it stopped we couldn't go. I must have sat at my window for ages, wishing over and over again that it would just stop raining outside. And then just like that it did."

"Okay," Harry said warily, "that doesn't sound so fantastic. So it stopped raining outside."

"Exactly," she replied. "It stopped raining outside and instead started raining in my bedroom. The whole place was soaked. Of course by time my parents had come home it had stopped, but the damage had already been done." Hermione shook her head ruefully. "I was always doing things like that. I had no way to control it. And worse, my parents knew I was doing these things but had no idea how I was doing it."

"So they thought you were mad," he asked incredulously.

"It's not like they wanted to," she defended, "but it was the easy answer. It may be wrong most times, but the easy answer is easy for a reason. See mum had this friend, Janice." As Hermione said the name her words practically dripped with disgust. "They went to uni together. Janice was a psychotherapist. Janice was also a cow," Hermione added nastily for good measure. "She somehow convinced my parents that all of these "stunts" I was pulling were cries for attention and that since I was such a loner I was destined to be some social deviant."

Harry gaped at her in horror.

"I know," she said in answer to him. "I told you she was a cow! She's the one who convinced my parents to send me to that school. To this day I'm convinced she was getting kickbacks from Madame Dupont."

"My opinion of therapy isn't that high," Harry told her. "I wouldn't be surprised."

Hermione didn't seem to hear him though. Her eyes were focused completely on her house. Her home.

"My parents loved me. They wanted the best for me. If sending me away to that school would help they would do it. But then my Hogwarts letter arrived and everything was explained. I wasn't crazy, I was a witch!" She smiled sadly. "We were so happy! Now all these years later all I can think is if I had just gone to Madame Dupont's my parents would still be alive. If I wasn't a witch, if I didn't go to Hogwarts, if..."

"You hadn't met me," Harry finished for her.

Hermione turned her big sad brown eyes towards Harry. She looked at him as though he were babbling gibberish.

"That's not what I was going to say," she stated.

"But if you had never been my friend the war would have never touched you. You would have never ran up against Carrows and his sister."

"But then I wouldn't have met you. I don't blame you for my parents' death."

He took her by the shoulder and turned her around to face him. "Good. Then you shouldn't blame your self either. Your parents loved you. We're so proud of you. I remember that year we ran into you and them in Diagon. They stuck out like sore thumbs." Hermione softly chuckled at the memory. "But the way they looked at you...It was like you were their whole world. Especially your dad."

He slid one of his hands down her arm and took one of her hands in his. He playfully swung it back and forth. "Did Ron ever tell you about that night we had to get you out of there," he said motioning towards her old house with his head. She shook her head, but was completely interested.

"So your parents show up, days before you told us they were supposed to. Everyone was already at Hogwarts by then. Me and Ron were still there because we hadn't decided on a way to move you. We were still hoping you would wake up because the prospect of getting you up on one of our brooms and you coming to up there..."

"Jesus," Hermione exclaimed, the very thought of it giving her the willies.

"Exactly,' he smirked. "Merlin only knows why we didn't just apparate you out."

"Trying to apparate an unconscious person is virtually impossible," the know-it-all in her explained. He quirked a smile at her and she bashfully smiled.

"Well there you go. Only a certain sleepyhead wasn't around to tell us this. Guess you were too busy dreaming."

The smile slowly faded away. "I guess."

Harry's smile faltered too. He was about to ask her what he said wrong when she asked, "So what did you two end up doing?"

Harry's smile came back even bigger then before. "Wrapped you up in my dad's cloak and Ron threw you over his shoulder."

"What a plan," she mockingly said as she laughed.

"It was a good plan," he insisted, tongue planted firmly in his cheek. "It worked. Or it at least it almost did. When your mum asked where you were Ron told her that you had gone off to school ahead of us, but had left some things and sent us for them."

She turned to walk back in the direction of the truck and he followed. They were still holding hands. "Let me guess, both your arms looked completely empty."

He boyishly smiled down at her from her side. "Of course. The way Ron was holding you it looked like he had a herniated disk."

Hermione laughed outright at that.

"We were almost out the door when your father asked to speak to me for just a moment. Ron kept going, wanker." Hermione gave him a playful shove for that. "I turn to look at your dad and he has the strangest expression ever on it. I turn to see what he's looking at and its your feet sticking out from under the cloak."

"Goodness," said Hermione stopping to look at Harry. Her eyes were filled with laughter.

"It wasn't funny," Harry protested though his own smile told her it was. "You're father was a pretty imposing bloke. I never imagined a dentist could be so intimidating outside of his office. I was convinced he was going to throttle me."

The image that Harry was painting for her was absolutely hysterical to her. She was practically crying with laughter.

"But all he said was 'take care of her'"

And with that she was just crying. Harry pulled her into a deep hug and comfortingly rubbed her back. He murmured nonsense words in her hair that made no sense, but made all the sense in the world. He also didn't notice the mess she was making of his shirt.

"What do you think your parents would say if they knew that you had carried this guilt inside you all this time." he whispered near her ear.

She sniffed as she pulled back from him and opened her purse to look for her handkerchief. "Dad would tell me to stop being a goose," she said as she found it and rubbed it against her red raw nose.

Harry looked her in the eye and in all serious said, "Stop being a goose."

His solemn order only made her laugh as she dabbed at her red rimmed eyes and returned her hanky to her purse.

Hermione had lived with her guilt for so long that it would take some time for her to let it go. She would always think to herself, "what if". What if she hadn't gone along to Boussac that night? What if they had just waited on the Order before they went? What if she had simply used a disarming spell? Hermione however knew that Harry was right. Her parents would want her to find some measure of peace, not continuously blame herself for something she couldn't have controled. They would want her to live, not live under the shadow of what a mad man had done. As Harry tenderly looked down into her face she had to wonder why she hadn't just told him all of this in the first place.

"You were a daddy's girl weren't you," he asked.

"Terribly so," she admitted. "Mum used to joke that I had an Electra complex. I was 10 before I found a book that told me what that was and instantly wanted to scrub my eyes out with soap for reading it."

"I'm more then half that age and have no clue." She stifled a giggle. "But I tell you what, if you don't start smiling more I'll have Ron read to you from his journal."

"Are you trying to cheer me up or torture me?"

Harry grinned. "He's writing his own vows you know. Told me so himself. Quite proud of the fact. "

Hermione bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. "You've accomplished the unimaginable. You've made me feel something other then contempt for Lavender Brown. Poor woman.

"Ah...ah...ah, that's Lavender Brown-Pye soon to be Weasley."

"Woman has more surnames then a bloody directory," Hermione muttered archly. That got a belly laugh out of Harry and she finally released her own smile to match his.

"But at least she has a place to live," Hermione said forlornly. "This whole day has been a waste."

Harry grabbed at his chest. "Like a knife to the heart," he quipped.

"Well not a total waste," she giggled as they continued on their way. "But I still need a place of my own," she stated. "Don't get me wrong, Molly and Arthur are sweet for letting me stay, but the Burrow is much too cramped. Just this morning I accidentally walked in on Charlie in the shower."

Harry's footsteps stopped and he swung around to look at her. "You what?!!"

She shook her head up and down innocently. "And let me tell you, I now know for a fact that no two Weasley men are created equal."

Harry grabbed her arm and hooked it in his own as he started moving again and she got pulled along. "Yes, we need to find you a new place," he said tensely. "In fact..."

Harry stopped again and Hermione looked at him curiously. A delighted smile slowly worked its self on his face and Hermione couldn't help but think how adorable it was. Like a little boy trying to please his mum.

"I can't believe that I didn't think about this before," Harry said to her. "I know the perfect place for you. All the room you need."

"Sounds good so far."

"It's a bit out the way though."

She chuckled. "I can afford the petrol. How's the rent," she asked.

"I'm sure the land lord would be more then willing to cut you a deal," he said, practically bouncing on his toes.

The more Harry talked this place up the more she liked the sound of it.

"I'm intrigued. How does he feel bout house pets?"

Harry naughtily grinned. "He has no problem with them. In fact he might even be willing to throw in a wide, open back yard for that Shetland pony of yours to run around in."

She playfully swatted him for disparaging a lady's weight. "Lizzie is just big boned."

He laughed.

"I don't know Potter," Hermione said, feigning distrust. "Place sounds too good to be true. Why hasn't it been snapped up by now?"

Harry's huge grin tapered down to a small smile at the question, but he never took his eyes off of her. "Waiting for you I guess."

Hermione tried to ignore the faint color that tinged her cheek at his words. She was just being silly. She bent her head over her purse, trying to hide her face, and pulled her keys out.

"Well, why are we standing here," she airily asked, looking back at him. "Let's go." She began to walk towards the direction of her truck. He grabbed her arm to stop her.

"No, not that way," he said as color slowly rose in his cheeks as well. "I-I can get us there quicker. I can have us there in the blink of an eye." He held out her hand to her. "Trust me don't you?"

Hermione ruefully smiled at the question. As though he even had to ask.

"Of course," she said in answer.

He looked around to make sure no one was looking and said, "Then let's go."

She stepped closer to Harry and placed her hand effortlessly in his hand. It was warm and he gave her hand a small squeeze as he winked at her.

And like that they were gone.

AN: Wonder where Harry has in mind? ;)

Now y'all see why I had to split this bad boy. Even I'm not crazy enough to have y'all read a chapter that is over 100 pages long. LOL!

Next chap will feature an impromptu house warming, a trip into Ravenclaw's Penseive, the end of Boadicea's sad tale, and UST out the yang! Whoot! Sadly Couple Blonde Ambition (D/Lu) aren't in it (they are still getting the "present" from chapter 10...heh), but they get to have their very own reunion with Herms in the chapter following it. Now I know I said this one was going to take two weeks and I got it out faster. But the fact that I hated having that "TO BE CONTINUED" hanging and the complete BALL I had writing this one hurried it along. As I explained up top the next one will be two weeks. Maybe longer. But hopefully not by much.

A pyschopomp is a term used for a spirit, angel, deity, or what have you that guides souls thru the Afterlife; Anubis, Hermes, Charon, Micheal the Archangel. That's where I got the idea for the Psychopomus. History channel RAWKS!

Trivia and her story are all mine, but of course the tale of Pompeii is not.

I think the Malfoy/Buckbeak chicken line might be similar to one in the movie POA. I know it's not in the book, but I can't shake the feeling that I heard something similar to it somewhere. But I'm not the biggest fan of the movies and I've only seen it twice.

Amycus and Alecto are canon. They fight in the Battle of the Tower at the end of HBP. As you see however I had my fun with them. I tried my best to produce the Cockney accent, but I had to do it lightly or you wouldn't have understood what the hell they were saying. This isn't the last you'll see of Amycus, but I'm not saying that he will pop up again in this story. Mwahahahaha!

Carrows' line about hating Hermione's spunk is of course a Mary Tyler Moore reference. I've never even seen an ep of that show, but that line in ingrained in my consciousness.

The idea of drinking someones tears I fully cop to borrowing from the classic and bestest episode of SouthPark of all time Scott Tenorman Must Die. Yes, Eric Cartmen would make a hell of a Death Eater. LMAO!

As I've mentioned my French is really really rusty. I can understand Haitian Kreyole, but my French...is no so good. So here is a rough translation of what was said:

Oui. Qui est vous? Que voulez vous?=Yes. Who are you? What do you want?

Vous n'êtes pas censé être ici.=You aren't supposed to be here.

Je suis Hermione et Tonks. Nous sommes amis.= My name is Hermione and Tonks. We're friends.

N ous sommes venus pour te retire d' ici.= We're taking you away from here. (very roughly)

Est-il venu pour moi?=He's come for me (very very roughly)

Oui. Nous vous lui porterons.= Yes. We'll take you to him.

Pardonnez-moi.=Pardon me.

Je pense que je vais maintenant.=I have to go now.

Je dois bientot commencez mon priere du matin.=I have morning prayers to go to.

Unfortunately all my friends speak Kreyole as well so they are of no help. If anyone can help me clean this up it would be greatly appreciated.