In lifetimes before;
And I promise you never,
Will you hurt anymore.
“We’re going after Greyback personally. Lupin thinks that he can lead us to more supporters of Voldemort who didn’t take part in the battle. If we can stop him, we might be able to stop them all.”
Hermione didn’t know how to respond to Harry’s words. She stared at the dancing yellow and orange flames in the fireplace and tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. She was shocked that Lupin wasn’t going to be the one to track Greyback down. She wanted to know about the plan of action, but at the same time, she wanted to walk away from the situation. Instead, she blurted the one thing that she had been trying hard not to think about. “And what about Dolohov and Rookwood? Are we just going to forget about them, Harry? Are we going to forget about what they did?” Her words were harsh and panicked. She would have thought that, considering what Dolohov had tried to do to her, they would have been going after him.
Harry closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. “Lupin and I both think that Dolohov and Rookwood followed Greyback. Since we think Greyback is trying to gather all of Voldemort’s supporters, it would only make sense that they’re with him.”
Hermione raised her eyebrows. “What if they’re not?”
Harry glanced at her before concentrating on the fire once more. “If they’re not, we’re going after them as well. I haven’t forgotten what they’ve done, Hermione, and I’m not about to stand by while they hurt innocent people.”
Hermione nodded mutely. This side of Harry was new to her. He wasn’t the carefree boy that he had once been. He was a serious, determined young man. “Why don’t you think Yaxley and Travers are with Greyback, then?”
“Lupin remembers hearing them talking about going to Glasgow until everything had died down. He said that they were going to try and find people who supported Voldemort’s cause, but didn’t act on it. Ron contacted Lupin yesterday. He said that there has been no sign of Yaxley or Travers, but he has heard people talking about them.”
“What are we going to do?” Hermione asked, bracing herself for what was going to come next. The plan was certainly going to be dangerous “ deadly, even. After being a part of the fight against evil for the past eight years, Hermione would have thought that she would be used to hearing about the risky things that needed to be done; she obviously wasn’t.
Harry took his time before answering. Hermione knew that he was going over his words in his head. He did that often now, leading Hermione to think that he didn’t want to disappoint anyone with what he had to say.
“We’re going to have to blend in as much as possible, while trying to find information about their whereabouts. Lupin suspects that Greyback might have brought them to a pub in Manchester where many dark wizards frequent whenever they’re in the area. We’ll have to get inside that pub. Know everyone’s name, age, status; everything about them. We’ll have to know who the regulars are and at what times they usually visit. We’ll have to keep a sharp eye out for anyone who looks remotely familiar. We’re not going to be able to make any mistakes now.”
Hermione nodded once again. “Where will we be staying?”
For the first time in weeks, Harry allowed himself to smile. Hermione was delighted that she was able to see a glimpse of the boy she used to know. “I haven’t any idea,” Harry chuckled.
“I have an aunt who used to live just outside of Manchester,” Hermione said. “She moved to London a few years ago, but she didn’t sell her house, just in case she ever wanted to go back. I could ask her if we could stay there for a while.”
Harry nodded. “We’ll stay there, then. It’s probably for the best, anyway. We won’t be drawing too much attention to ourselves that way.”
Hermione smiled. “When are we leaving?”
Harry checked his watch and looked at her, his green eyes glowing. “In about an hour.”
***
Hermione pushed her hair out of her eyes and let out a breath that she didn’t know she had been holding. Less than a half hour ago, her best friend had been explaining how the two of them were going to attempt to destroy the rest of Lord Voldemort’s ‘army.’ It was an unsettling thought, even to a girl who had experience in the matter.
Sighing, Hermione at the contents of the green suitcase on her bed. So far, she had packed three sweaters and a single pair of pants “ hardly enough for over three weeks.
Three weeks. It sounded like such a long time. Of course, she would probably be gone for more than three weeks; fate had a funny way of doing that to her “ making her believe that something won’t take long when it’ll really a prolonged amount of time. It happened when she, Harry and Ron were searching for Voldemort’s horcruxes, and Hermione had the distinct feeling that it was going to happen again.
Hermione took a seat beside her suitcase and put her head in her hands. Realization hit her like a bus zooming out of control “ half of her friends’ lives had been ripped from the face of the earth like they were pages in a book. She would never again see Neville, George, Lavender, Charlie, Padma, or even Fleur and Percy. Bill and Ginny were both heartbroken; the loves of their lives were eternally sleeping. George and Parvati had lost both their twins and their best friends. Ron and the rest of the Weasleys would never be able to welcome Percy back into the family, or hear Charlie’s tales of dragons and foreign wizards.
Hot tears spilled out of Hermione’s eyes and onto her cheeks. She let out a small sob and wrapped her arms around her waist, seeking comfort. She didn’t want to put her life “ or anyone else’s lives “ in jeopardy, but at the same time, she didn’t want to live in fear anymore. She didn’t want to have to keep a low profile in both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds anymore, but she didn’t to die just so she could do so. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple, trying to figure out what she really wanted to do.
She made up her mind however, when she heard the voice of her best friend whisper, “Hermione,” in her ear and envelop her in a hug.