Hermione waited for them at the Apparition point. Tension instantly drained from her face as Draco, Ginny, and Blaise appeared.

"Thank Merlin you're here," she bit out, striding away and expecting them to follow.

Draco skipped a step to catch up with her. “Any chance you’ll tell us what’s going on?”

For once, Blaise refrained from any snarky remarks. He understood the gravity of an emergency summons.

Ginny remained silent as well, her face tight. Hermione didn't panic easily, and this definitely qualified as a panic.

“Even better -- I’ll show you.” Worry lines etched into Hermione’s brow as she continued her brisk stride down the hall. “It might not be urgent, but I wasn’t about to risk being wrong.”

Draco raised an eyebrow inquisitively at Ginny behind Hermione's back. Ginny shook her head. No, she didn't know what was going on any more than Draco did.

Hermione stopped outside a window of thick, spell-proof glass. "This was just dropped on the Ministry's front door, gift-wrapped and tied with a bow. Literally." Beyond the window lay a single white room, protective enchantments flickering around three Aurors inside. Each Auror cast spell after spell on--

"A body?" Ginny's face twisted in confusion.

“That’s Mulciber,” Blaise frowned.

Draco pressed up against the glass. "So that's who I killed."

"We're assuming so," Hermione replied tightly, "since the package was addressed to you."

The others spun to stare at Hermione. She grimaced, pulling a scrap of paper smaller than her palm out of her pocket. "We checked it for all magic, Dark, or otherwise. It was totally clean."

Draco took it from her. The paper crinkled as he smoothed its creases. It simply read:

Draco Malfoy:

You're next.

Draco's throat closed. "They don't waste time, do they?" he said casually, with only a slight frown.

"Please take this seriously," Hermione implored. "It might not have been coincidence that we got this while you were in public, a perfect target."

He forced a chuckle. "What do you want me to do -- lie low? Maybe at a secret location surrounded by Aurors?" The shrug came easily. "I was already taking their threats seriously."

Blaise nodded agreement. “They’re being vague to cause more fear. They might not even be planning anything specific.”

"But the threat was on me before," Ginny corrected. Her eyes watched Draco closely, waiting to catch his true reaction. "What does this mean, now that your father isn't protecting you?"

With one last look at the useless paper, Draco tucked it into his own pocket. "It means that he was before," he replied simply. "Or else targeting me wouldn't be an occasion worthy of such a grand declaration."

"Is that all it means?" Hermione's piercing eyes watched him.

Draco threw up his hands in exasperation. "How the bloody hell should I know?! I never studied the etiquette for proper corpse delivery!"

Blaise pressed against the glass, ignoring Draco’s outburst. "Any wounds on the body? Any distinguishing marks?”

Hermione shook her head, brown curls swinging. "None. Only traces of the Killing Curse. No marks, not even bruises."

Ginny frowned, the pieces not making a full puzzle yet. "Any changes in the Death Eater Polyjuiced to be you?"

"Yes, unfortunately." A grimace split Hermione's face. "She's still in a coma, but we figured out she was one of the junior secretaries for the Ministry. Just a clerk. Not sure where that will end up taking us."

Still, Blaise studied the corpse, searching for answers. "The injured Aurors?"

"It's still not hopeful," Hermione replied. "I don't know how this would relate to them, though."

"I don't either," Blaise replied. “But if they’re planning something -- and that’s definitely an if -- this could be a diversion.”

Ginny nodded agreement. "I can't see Death Eaters going to all this work just to spook us."

Draco snorted. "My father would."

"There's no one else?" Ginny asked. "No one we’re not thinking of that could be in danger?"

It was as if a brick slammed into Draco's gut. "Theo," he realized. "Where is he right now?"

"He's in a holding cell until his hearing tomorrow." Hermione paused. "You think he's in danger?"

"I think he's every bit the target I am," Draco growled. "Having a vindictive Death Eater for a father isn't good for anyone's health."

Hermione's Patronus burst from a wand he hadn't seen her draw. "Tell Tonks to reinforce the guard around Nott's cell immediately." Message received, her otter scampered off. Hermione turned to Draco, Ginny and Blaise. "Let's solve this right now, shall we?"

"Better late than never," Draco muttered, stalking after her as she strode down the hall.

Hermione sent out a flurry of messages as they hurried to the holding cells. By the time they arrived, a small army awaited them.

Two Aurors stood sentry at the entrance, watching Hermione, Ginny, Draco, and Blaise enter. The guards watched as if even those famous (and infamous) Aurors could change into Voldemort at a moment's notice. Draco thought this was unfair, as only one of the four of them even had a Dark Mark.

Beyond the thick doors of the holding area, they spotted Theo's cell. It wasn’t hard. His glass cell was surrounded by seven more Aurors in their traditional staggered circle. Some faced in, some faced out, but not a single square inch was left unwatched. What was once a dignified way to wait for sentencing had become little more than a fishbowl.

Theo’s normally curly hair fell limply across his forehead, his thin frame practically swallowed by the pale grey robe he'd been given. He was not Yaxley, to turn his cell into a throne and treat the Aurors like his supplicants. Instead, Theo looked like the lost, abandoned boy he'd just become.

He spotted Hermione and his three teammates coming, rising to press his palms against the glass. Four wands followed his every move. He backed away from the glass, hands up in a gesture of goodwill. His Auror guards took no note of his goodwill. Their wands continued to track him.

"Hi guys," He tried to sound casual -- and failed. "Has, uh, something happened?"

"Yes, Theo." Hermione was sincerely apologetic. "We're going to have your hearing right now, if that works for you."

Shock ran across his face. Scrubbing a hand through his hair, he tried to take it in. "Right now? As in now?" He blinked hard, getting a grip on himself. "Yeah, sure, I guess. It's not like I have anywhere better to be."

At a sharp nod from Hermione, the guarding Aurors opened the door. Wands raised, they started casting the binding charm on him.

"We can handle him," Hermione cut in. Confused, the Aurors lowered their wands.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief. There was such a thing as too much caution. "Constant vigilance?" he whispered mockingly to Ginny.

But she shook her head. "There's a whole different holding cell for suspected allies who change side. Plush, comfy and whatnot," she whispered back. "If he's here, it's because we told them to worry about his safety in the other one."

"They seem to have forgotten the point of the switch rather quickly," Blaise drawled.

Ginny nodded. "Constant vigilance indeed."

Warily, Theo stepped out of his glass cage. He tried to surreptitiously watch every Auror watching him, but gave up rather quickly.

“This way,” Hermione headed down a small corridor. Three Aurors broke away from the guards, encircling the group.

Theo moved closer to Draco as they followed after Hermione. “They’re not going to send me to Azkaban, are they?” he whispered.

“They’d better not,” Draco growled. “If that’s their idea of a warm welcome, we have a senior squad waiting to tell them otherwise.”

The younger man nodded uneasily, not reassured in the slightest. He paused as his brain caught up with what Draco had said. “Wait, which senior squad?”

“Senior Squad Slytherin,” Ginny grinned. “Kind of catchy, actually.”

His eyes went wide. “We’re the senior squad?! I thought that took years!”

“We’ve been around for years,” Draco growled. “Everyone’s always forgetting that.”

“Oh?” Ginny raised an eyebrow teasingly. “Those glorious years before my time where you went on a single, solitary mission?”

Blaise kept his face straight. “Some of us forget on purpose.”

Ahead of them, Hermione pushed open a plain wooden door. The escorting Aurors waited outside as the rest walked in, prepared for the worst. Kingsley Shacklebolt stood as they entered, greeting them warmly. Harry inclined his head from the other side of the simple table.

Theo looked around the plain room in surprise. “I’m not getting a formal trial?”

Kingsley turned to him. “Not at all,” he said in his deep, even voice. “However, we will have to give you Veritaserum, to make sure your report is accurate.”

“You can say no,” Hermione put in gently. “Helping us like you did is enough to clear your name, but we need the details before you can rejoin the squad.”

Slowly, a grin spread across Theo’s face. “Sure, I’ll do it. No problem.” He pulled out one of the seven identical chairs, pausing with his hand on its back. “You won’t ask me anything too embarrassing, right?”

“No promises,” Harry chuckled. “But we will try to stick to the facts.”

Theo frowned, but sat.

Hermione pulled out the glass vial, conjuring a shot glass of water. The two drops of Veritaserum dripped into the water, disappearing instantly. Bracing himself for the worst, Theo drained the glass.

"State your full name, for the record," Kingsley said evenly.

Theo's eyes looked a bit distant. "Theodore Cantankerous Nott the Second. Always hated my full name." His face twisted. "Or being called 'Junior'. What kind of an ass names his kid after himself?"

Draco suppressed his laughter as best he could. Ginny didn't bother, snickering openly.

Hermione sighed. "How perfect. He's sensitive to Veritaserum."

Theo's eyebrows rose. "Does this mean I'll say things I'll regret?"

Blaise tried valiantly to keep his voice solemn. "I believe you already have."

“Tell us what you remember about the events of Yaxley's trial," Harry said. "Start at the beginning."

Theo frowned, racking his brain. "All of us went down in the elevator. There were a lot of people crammed in, and having a Weasley there made it awkward." Ginny stiffened instinctively next to Draco. "I don't remember what she said, but Dad reacted against it. I could see it. He really, really hates her, for being a blood-traitor, and having the audacity to count that the same as being a pureblood."

Theo shrugged. "Anyway, we got to Yaxley's cell, and it was kind of nice to see him again, I guess, but he wasn't any less creepy than I remembered." A sudden thought hit him. "That's right! Weasley mentioned catching Rowle. That's how she made it awkward." His face fell. "I always liked Rowle..." Suddenly, he jerked his face up to Hermione's. "It's not a crime to like a Death Eater, is it?"

The muggle born witch looked conflicted. "No, not a crime. Unless you helped Rowle at all?"

His face crinkled in thought. "He stayed in our summer home. Not while I was there, though."

The mood around the table instantly turned uneasy. The Nott's had already been cleared from their involvement, but if Theo admitted to anything new...

"Your father's summer home," Draco clarified.

"Yeah," Theo replied easily. "Dad didn't tell me Rowle was there till after he was caught." He pouted. "No one ever tells me anything."

All the senior officers breathed a sigh of relief. No one wanted to imprison their unexpected turncoat.

"What happened at Yaxley's cell?" Harry prodded.

"We got him out and brought him to the trial room. Then we had to stand around all boringly. We're apparently supposed to scan for threats and stuff?" Theo shrugged again. "I figured with nine Aurors doing it, they didn't need a tenth. So I just searched through the crowd for hot witches."

All eyes turned accusatorily to Draco. The Captain threw up his hands. "Why is his stupidity my fault?!" he demanded.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Training scores, results, noticing that he doesn't take missions seriously?"

"Oh, I can pay attention in training just fine," Theo cut in. "Daphne's taken, Astoria hates me, and Weasley wasn't there. Well," he equivocated, "even if she had been, she's still a Weasley." He stated it matter-of-factly, as if it explained everything.

Now everyone turned to Ginny, although with sympathy. The Lieutenant dissolved into a fit of giggles. "Wow, he's a cad!"

With a wry grin, Blaise shook his head. “And here I thought he’d learned anything since Hogwarts.”

Draco wasn't sure whether to be angry or amused. "I'll also add that that was his first mission."

"What happened after that?" Hermione gritted out, far less than amused.

Theo shrugged. "Goyle did something, Macnair started fighting, it was all a blur. I didn't know what was going on. And then I wasn't there anymore."

"What do you mean?" Shacklebolt frowned.

"Dad Side-Along Apparated me out," Theo explained. "I was back home, behind our wards, before I knew what was going on."

"Why didn't you alert anyone at the Ministry?" Hermione asked. "Or leave?"

"I was scared out of my mind," he admitted, Veritaserum keeping any shame at bay. "I'd never been a Death Eater, but now everyone assumed I was one. I can’t cast a Patronus and was terrified they'd catch an owl if I sent one. So I..." his voice faltered. "I just went along with it," he ended softly. "They had me torture the Aurors, laughing when I cringed. I hated it so much and wanted to be anywhere but there."

A fist clenched around Draco's heart. He understood that completely. And Draco hadn't even had the excuse of it not being his own choice.

Imperceptibly, Ginny's hand twitched, the side of hers brushing against the side of his. Draco smiled. That woman was too perceptive for her own good.

“He did as little as possible.” Blaise confirmed in a soft whisper. “Even to the non-Slytherin Aurors.”

"Why didn't you just Floo out?" Hermione pressed.

Theo threw his hands into the air. "I was afraid they were monitoring it! They had wards everywhere, even at Jugson's house, and they said that those weren’t even half as good as where they were going!"

Draco's stomach dropped. Around him, conversation continued.

"What were you afraid of?" Harry asked.

"That they'd send a Death Eater after me and kill me on the spot," he stated as if it were obvious. "I heard them joke about violently murdering anyone on Slytherin Squad who didn't join them. No way I would be left out if I ran away."

Blaise chimed in. “Goyle and I gave half-hearted answers, as I said in my debrief.” Hermione dipped her head in acknowledgement. “Said we needed time to think it over still. Theo didn’t have that excuse.”

"What else did they mention about where they were going?" Draco asked, trying to keep the anxiety of his suspicions at bay.

Theo's face scrunched as he tried to remember. "Called it an enemy stronghold, that's for sure. Oh, and one of them laughed and said it wouldn't have worked if Lucius hadn't brought the Dark Mark back. Nothing else I can think of."

A fist of ice slammed into Draco's gut. He tried to keep his voice calm through his worst fear. "And this was in reference to retaking the 'enemy stronghold'?"

Theo nodded. “I don’t think I heard anything else though. They rarely talked about anything important in front of me. Or anything at all.”

“And definitely not in front of us prisoners,” Blaise added, studying Theo.

“Do you think…” Draco asked Theo slowly, “that they could have been referring to Malfoy Manor?”

All eyes turned to Theo as he pondered the question. “They didn’t mention it till after Blaise and Goyle were captured,” he concluded. “So… maybe?”

“Any other scraps of information you can think of?” Hermione prodded. “Even one detail might be instrumental in taking them down.”

He shook his head. “I can tell you how each of their families are doing, if you want that. But most of them are in hiding far, far out of the country.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Honestly, I would have told you guys all of this without Veritaserum. All of the important, non-embarrassing things, at least.”

“So, less than half of everything you said?” Blaise raised an eyebrow.

“Yep!” Theo replied cheerfully.

Hermione turned to Shacklebolt. With a nod, Shacklebolt proceeded. “Theodore Nott Jr, you are hereby acquitted of all charges, declared an Auror in good standing, and released back to your Captain for further orders.”

Theo sighed in relief. “Oh, thank Merlin. I knew sooner or later I’d end up calling Granger a Mudblood.”

Ginny bit her lip to keep from laughing.

“I’m giving him the antidote now,” Hermione said stiffly.

Wearily, Shacklebolt massaged his face. “Please do.”

The other vial was brought forward, and two drops administered from that. The moment Theo downed the glass, shocked horror exploded across his face. He slumped to the table, head collapsed on his arms. “Please kill me now,” he whispered.

“Don’t tempt Hermione,” Harry chuckled.

A long-suffering sigh escaped Hermione. “Being a pig is not a crime.”

“Being a pig in my thoughts,” Theo corrected weakly, not raising his head from the table.

Slowly, Hermione turned to him, fiery fury building in her eyes. Still collapsed on the table, Theo missed this critical warning sign. “Please tell me how basing your ability to work with your team on their attractiveness and relationship status is confined to your thoughts.”

He slunk lower into his arms. A soft, faint voice said hesitantly, “Less than half of the team?”

Physical steam would start pouring from Hermione’s ears any moment now.

“His critical lapse in discipline at the Yaxley trial is more concerning,” Draco cut in before it could get any worse. “I’ll deal with that as soon as I can, and hopefully it won’t happen again.”

Hermione’s bubble of anger popped, deflating harmlessly. “See that you do.”

“I could help you with that, Theo,” Ginny grinned wickedly. “I’m great at ignoring hot witches.”

“Now I want to die and kill all of you,” the bedraggled Auror muttered into his arms.

Shacklebolt massaged his head again. “Auror Nott,” he said wearily, “you are free to leave anytime you wish.”

Draco added, “Join Daphne and the team in our Training Room.”

Blaise smirked. “That is, if you think you can resist her charms.”

Without another word, Theo bolted from the room.

The door creaked open as the guarding Aurors stuck their heads in. “Uh, sir? Was that supposed to happen?”

Shacklebolt’s voice bore the weight and weariness of his lofty office as he replied with a straight face, “Yes, that was supposed to happen.”

Harry felt no such weight and weariness, dissolving into a fit of laughter. Eventually, he regained composure, wiping at his eyes. “Can we find something else to charge that kid with? I’m going to miss him.”

“I won’t,” Hermione snapped. “If we can get on to serious business?”

As Harry struggled with fresh laughter, Shacklebolt turned to Draco. “How likely do you think it is that they moved into Malfoy Manor?”

Draco frowned. “Very. Unless you know of other territory they could have conquered? Something with strong wards, that could be called an enemy stronghold?”

“And something to do with the Dark Mark,” Ginny mulled it over.

Harry snorted. “Just say the words ‘Dark Mark’ and I think ‘Malfoy Manor’.” At Draco’s glare, Harry threw his hands in the air in protest. “But in all seriousness, I think you’re right.”

An alarm screeched throughout the Ministry, its cry echoing through every room. “The Ministry is under attack,” a witch’s soothing voice said with incongruous composure. “Please remain calm. Exit the building by Apparition or the nearest Floo. I repeat, the Ministry is under attack…”

Everyone exploded out of their seats.

“That’s a ward being tripped!” Hermione yelled. “Everyone, grab me!”

They did as commanded. Hermione Apparated them directly into the War Room. She rushed to the table in the middle, the map across it flashing red. At a touch of her hand, it zoomed in to show the problem. Hundreds of black dots closed upon the Ministry, and quickly.

“Dementors,” Hermione breathed. Instantly, she regained composure, issuing commands like the trained soldier she was. “Harry! Get Ron and the Captains!”

Tonks popped in, knowing exactly where to go in a crisis. “My squad’s ready. Where’re we hit hardest?”

“Atrium,” Hermione shot back. “45 seconds before Dementors flood it.”

“Got it!” Tonks Disapparated.

Ron and the other Captains popped in, the Captains quickly disappearing as Hermione gave orders. Ron stayed, taking over seamlessly in this real-world chess game. Draco wasn’t about to distract anyone for a second by reminding them his squad stood ready.

The moment Hermione had a chance to breathe, Ginny stepped forward. “What about us?”

The Head of the DMLE looked up at her friend, evaluating the misshapen game piece she’d forgotten she had. “Ginny, you’re the only one with a battle-tried Patronus on your squad. I can’t risk you or your squad like that.”

“So send us to Malfoy Manor,” Draco volunteered quietly. “Let us counterattack.”

Steel filled Hermione’s eyes. “Go.”