A/n: So I just want to apologize in advance for the fact that my updates might be a little spaced out because of my stupid busy life…I literally work 12 hour shifts six days a week…and I travel for work so on my only days off I am usually driving. I am still in it for the long run though and I do plan on finishing this fic by Christmas time…it may not be Christmas time this year, but still. I know that is it uber cliché for writers to beg for reviews but, I have to do it…

PLEASE DO IT! I live for them, and it is really nice to hear peoples input and it feels really good to hear praise for my hard work!

Disclaimer: I am obviously not the original owner of anything that has to do with Harry potter or his little school friends…or foes in this stories case. The characters are not mine, and if I had created them most likely I would not be writing fanfiction….though I am still to this day almost positive that J.k probably reads, if not writes dirty Harry Potter smut…and if she doesn't, there is still a decent possibility that she at least fantasizes about some of her characters getting it on…and J.K if you are out there, you had better be rooting for Draco.

And last but certainly not least thank you to the worlds best beta…she even tweaked this while moving house AND training a naughty puppy! *mocking fancy announcer voice* And the beta of the year award goes to Tonii! Chapter Two

The sun shone through the window and onto her face, causing her eyes to flutter open. Her pupils dilated, and the sting brought tears to her eyes as they slowly adjusted to the bright light that was flooding the room. The smell of sweet rolls hung in the air, testament to the fact that Molly was up and preparing breakfast for everyone in The Burrow. Most of the Weasleys were no doubt planning on going out and enjoying the last few days of summer, but Hermione could not entertain the idea of joining them due to the list of tasks she had to accomplish before she departed with Harry and Ron. Ginny was aware of the plans the three had made, but had sworn to them that she wouldn't breathe a word of it to anyone. It was imperative that they were able to keep their plans secret, because if anyone were to find out what the trio had planned it was almost guaranteed that they would attempt to stop them.

Hermione rolled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, doing her best to prepare herself for the busy day she had ahead of her. Looking in the mirror, she noticed the beginnings of dark circles under her eyes, caused by too much worrying and not enough sleep. She swallowed any traces of self pity and sighed in resignation. The morning always came much faster than Hermione was prepared for, and another ten minutes in bed would have been ideal. But ten minutes would have turned to twenty and Hermione couldn't put off the day, no matter how much she had been dreading the pressure that the research was putting her under; it was research she had been doing all summer and despite hours with her nose in a book, and all the notes she had made, it was still not complete and there were already too few days left. She reminded herself that the great were great because of the way they performed under pressure. Hermione was just now realizing that everything was happening so quickly and before she knew it they would be off and once they'd embarked on this seemingly impossible journey there would be no time to pause or turn back. This was all or nothing and Hermione had no choice but to give it her all.

She dried her face off and applied a thin layer of mascara to her already thick and curly lashes. She pulled on some beige shorts and a cobalt collared shirt, gathered her satchel and headed downstairs.

"I'm at my wits end Ronald, it has been eighteen years and you still leave your dirty wash lying on the floor! Is it too much to ask for you to put it in the wash bin?" Molly nagged Ron as she drizzled a creamy sugar syrup over the sweet rolls.

Hermione padded in and took a seat next to Ginny, smiling to herself at the familiar feeling in the room. It was almost as if nothing bad was happening in the outside world. Everyone in the room was smiling, and it made little sense to Hermione but it almost felt nice hear Molly chastising her son, as everyone in the room sniggered behind their hands.

"Found it," Hermione mumbled while she grabbed around impatiently for her pen. She bit down on her lip as she scanned the words on the page of the book open in her lap. She blinked, as she processed the information she was taking in, the library's dim light casting a yellowing glow over the text that was on it thrilled Hermione to her very core. She had been searching for weeks for this one small paragraph.

Seytar root is most commonly used for almost instantaneous healing, and has the powers to deal with almost any ailment. It is particularly popular for use during battles. Although it has many uses it is not an easily acquired substance. The Seytar root is not publicly available because of its dangerous properties. Pure juice from the Seytar root is invariably fatal, so most do not dabble or experiment with its uses. When the Seytar root is finely ground up it produces a thick blue syrup and when mixed with the same quantity of mortuus vir ornus (more commonly known as dead man's ash), it can be used to heal potentially deadly ailments.

"Dead man's ash:" Hermione stared at the page, desperately trying to remember if she had ever dealt with dead man's ash. "Bloody Hell, what is dead man's ash?" Hermione whispered hoping no one was taking note of the conversation she was having with herself."Dead man's ash is the ash of the bark from a Yellow Horn tree. It is a very rare tree, not many have ever had the pleasure of finding one." Hermione looked up, surprised by the answer that came from a voice that she had surely heard before. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the man that stood before her. It was the man that she had bumped into in her parent's muggle town while buying her copy of the daily post.

She tilted her head to study him. He was now in loose fitted blue jeans and a jade and cream colored sweater. "Who are you?" Hermione came off a little more brash then she had hoped. She was alarmed by his presence which was menacing in a way she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"That's neither here nor there." The man said as he looked down his nose at her. "What does seem to matter, however, is what such a pretty young girl like you is doing nosing around for information about dead man's ash." The words he spoke seemed innocent on the surface, but some underlying note made Hermione's skin crawl. She shivered slightly, hoping he didn't notice her moment of weakness.

"You are aware, of course, that Dead man's ash is associated with dark magic?" The man just hinted at it being a question.

"I'm not looking to use it for dark magic," She shut the book in front of her when she saw his eyes lingering on it, as if he was trying to read the contents. "Who are you?" Hermione repeated, her voice stronger now.

"My name is Sebastian, and I think it's about time that I'm not here." He turned on his heel and left. Hermione shook away her confusion and was annoyed at the mysterious man's second unnerving exit, following their second conversation which had been equally as odd and awkward as the first.

She gathered her things together in a haze and quickly left the magical public library.

"So what you're saying is that all we have to do is mix it up and it will cure anything that

happens to us?" Ron said, with a furrowed brow.

"Not quite," Hermione stared off into the distance of the darkening countryside that surrounded the burrow. "It's more like you can temporarily heal yourself quickly but it wouldn't solve the problem permanently."

Hermione thought back to the information she had come across earlier in the day but she couldn't stop picturing the mysterious man from the library, and considering the implications of his two appearances to her in recent days. She wondered to herself if it would be a good idea to bring this up to Ron. After a moments consideration she decided against it. It would be better to not overload Ron, she knew that it would only stress him out and that was the last thing she wanted to do before they left.

"Hermione," Ron said as he pushed her shoulder a bit. She looked up into his eyes and blinked them into focus, "Are you alright? You just zoned out there for a few minutes, almost like you couldn't even hear me."

Hermione swallowed a lump in her throat and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I am just a little..." she hesitated, grasping for the right word, "drained."

"Maybe you should go to bed for a bit, you need your rest. Harry will be here before we know it, and as soon as he is it'll be crunch time." Ron said as he got up and turned toward the burrow.

Hermione didn't follow him, staying sat where she was, digging the end of a pointed stick into the soft earth beneath her. "You coming?" He finally asked after watching her for a few seconds.

"I think I'm going to stay out here for a little while and clear my thoughts before I go to bed." She finally looked up into his eyes, only to realize how vulnerable and fragile he looked in the dim twilight. "Sleep well though, I'll see you in the morning."

The field in front of her faded out of focus as she stared blankly at it. Eventually the world faded out of focus in her mind as well.

In time she couldn't focus on anything but the bitter wind that was tangling her hair and chilling her to the bone. She could go inside, but she was lost in a daze of sorts that had her planted in the same spot she had been in since before Ron left for the comfort of his warm bed.

A loud shattering noise jolted Hermione to awareness. She frantically scanned the edge of the field, squinting her eyes to make out what had caused the earsplitting noise that she had heard. Surely, she thought, the entire burrow would be awake by now. She turned around to stare up at the house. None of the lights were being turned on and there were no sounds coming from inside. Hermione got the chills as she turned around and stared back out over the field. Hermione watched a group of shadowy figures approach quickly. Too quickly. This was no social visit. Something was happening, and this unsettled Hermione. She ducked down and did her best to hide her location. She was terrified that the group that was fast approaching were nothing but trouble, but she didn't want to so much as move because it would do nothing but alert the intruders to her whereabouts. She wasn't far from the front door but she just couldn't risk it. After what seemed like an eternity the group made their way into Hermione's view.

Death Eaters. There were six of them, and Hermione was paralysed with fear as she frantically reached into her pocket for her…

It was gone, her wand was gone. It wasn't in her pocket as it always was, and she silently cursed to herself when she remembered that she had left it in her day robes, which were upstairs in the guest room she always stayed in. Three of the Death Eaters approached

The Burrow, and the other three spread out around the edge of the field. Hermione moved backward slowly, staying crouched down as low as she could, trying her best not to make any noise.

Hermione felt powerless to alert the Weasleys to the unwelcome visitors. She had two options, either she could hide and pray that they did not find her, or she could run through the field and pray that they didn't hear her, or worse yet, catch her. For the moment she watched silently as the Death Eaters examined the windows on the ground floor, obviously looking for a way in.

Hermione held back tears, watching them and hoping that they weren't able to find a way in. After what seemed like an eternity a light flicked on, and Hermione's heart dropped. One of the masked Death Eaters whispered something to another, and they crawled into a recently tugged open window.

Hermione backed up quickly toward the field, keeping her eyes on the three robed figures scanning the perimeter of The Burrow's grounds. She whirled around and without a backward glance took off at a run through the field. Immediately, and as she had feared, the Death Eaters were alerted to her presence by the sound of the plants and earth below her being disrupted by her frantic attempt to escape. Within seconds three of the six Death Eaters were on her trail, and Hermione was practically tripping over her own feet to ensure that she was quicker than them. She was silly to run. She already knew what was going to happen, but in her mind it made perfect, logical sense to run, because it would take some of the attention away from The Burrow and possible give the Weasleys a chance to prepare themselves for what Hermione had already seen coming. It was only seconds before a spell struck her and she landed face down in the dirt, paralyzed momentarily from the hit square in her back. A set of rough hands grabbed her arms too tightly and hauled her into a sitting position. She did her best to curl into a protective ball, but when she did the hands grabbed her chin and she was forced to look up at the mask that the Death Eater wore. She spat into the metal grimace. He back handed her across the face and she was thrown backwards into the ground. He laughed a hoarse, throaty laugh and lifted his mask, staring down at Hermione.

It was the man she had run into in the store and the library. "You" She whispered and paused for a few seconds, "Sebastian. You have been following me."

"Aw, that is so observant of you, you little mudblood." He smirked down at her and put his boot on her chest and shifted his weight enough to make Hermione gasp for air.

"Perhaps you should have done something with that little bit of information slightly earlier and we wouldn't be talking right now." He looked up and nodded to another death eater that was hovering in the background, "Take her away."

That was the last thing Hermione saw before they pulled a cover over her head.