The Wand.

Sitting in the headmaster's office, squashed between her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger was barely listening to the Order meeting which was going on around her. Every meeting was the same, with the group just going round in circles, and Hermione had long since ceased to get anything useful out of the meetings. Even a meeting like this one, which was deemed important enough to be held at Hogwarts during term time, had stopped being informative as the conversations going on were the same as what had been going on for months.

"Hermione," Ron suddenly hissed, elbowing her in the arm.

"What?" Hermione asked, rubbing her arm where Ron had nudged her.

"Are we keeping you from something, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked condescendingly. "If you would rather be elsewhere, all you have to do is say."

"Sorry, I zoned out for a moment," Hermione apologised, biting her tongue to stop her from saying what she really thought of the old headmaster.

"I can't blame you there," Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, snorted. "We're going around in circles here."

"On the contrary, I have news," Dumbledore announced. "As you know, we've been tracking down the location of the next Horcrux. And as you also know, our leads led us to a remote cottage owned by the Malfoys. I can now confirm that the house is indeed playing host to a Horcrux."

"So, when can we go and get it?" Harry asked excitedly. The search for Horcruxes seemed to be taking an age, and he was eager to get them all found so they could then destroy them and focus on taking down Voldemort.

"We've encountered a slight problem," Dumbledore admitted with a grimace. "As with all Malfoy properties it is protected with a lot of skilful magic. I can't get through the protection spells without alerting the Malfoys to what is going on."

"So that's it then," Ron sighed. "We can't get to this Horcrux, and if we can't get to it, we can't destroy it. We're screwed."

"Don't be so defeatist, Ron," Nymphadora Tonks, an Auror who had been part of the group checking out the Malfoy cottage, said with a grin. "We can't break in, but we do know how to gain access to the house."

"How?" Harry asked.

"A wand belonging to a Malfoy," Remus Lupin, a former Defence Professor, replied.

"Well that's easy then," Ron snapped sarcastically. "Let's just ask Lucius Malfoy if we can borrow his wand, shall we?"

"Ron, don't be so rude," his mother, Molly Weasley scolded.

"We are aware we can't use Lucius's wand," Tonks said. "And the chances of getting hold of Narcissa's is slim."

"But there is another member of the family," Lupin added as his gaze fell to Hermione and everyone else followed his eyeline, putting the Gryffindor witch centre of attention.

"Yeah, because he's going to just hand over his wand," Hermione snorted in derision. "In case it slipped your notice, the plan to get close to Malfoy is hardly working. We were put in Head Dorms together so I could gain his confidence, or at the very least overhear something that might be useful, but we've got nothing. He hasn't fallen into our trap. He pays no attention to me, and he's very careful not to say or do anything incriminating."

"He might not hand over his wand, but you could steal it," Sirius suggested. "You are in close proximity to him."

"I am," Hermione conceded. "But he doesn't leave his wand lying around. No self-respecting wizard does. We may share dorms, but I still don't have access to his wand."

"Can you not take it while he's sleeping?" Tonks suggested.

"I could try, but what if he has an alarm on his bedroom door, or even on the wand itself?" Hermione questioned. "It's not like he trusts me."

"A sleeping draught would ensure that he wouldn't wake up even if there was an alarm," Dumbledore mused. "I'm sure you could find a way to slip it into his drink and then once he was asleep, you could take his wand. If we time it right, we might even be able to return it before he knows it missing."

"No," Severus Snape said sharply, causing most people to turn and look at him in annoyance. Even though he was part of the Order, and acted as a spy in the dark camp, he wasn't trusted by everyone and he certainly wasn't liked by everyone.

"And why not?" Sirius snapped, glaring at the wizard he so detested.

"Draco is allergic to a vital ingredient found in any sleeping draught," Severus explained. "If you slip him a sleeping draught, you're effectively poisoning him. At the best, you could make him severely ill, but at the worst, you could kill him. And I'm sure no-one here wants Miss Granger to face a murder charge."

"Why would Hermione get the blame?" Ron demanded.

"Any investigation would reveal that she would be the only person with the opportunity to slip him the sleeping draught," Severus explained. "But even if she avoided the blame, the school would still come under fire. Do you really think Lucius wouldn't retaliate if his son was hurt, or worse, killed?"

"Severus is right, it's too dangerous," Dumbledore decided. "I will not endanger the life of a student. We must find another way to get hold of Draco's wand."

"What about a distraction?" Sirius asked as a slow smirk appeared on his face.

"What sort of a distraction?" Harry asked. "It would have to be good to get him to leave his wand unsupervised."

"We distract him using his other wand," Sirius replied, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Sirius," Molly scolded, blanching at his obvious euphemism.

"Just what are you suggesting, Sirius?" Hermione questioned, suspecting that she was a key part of his plan.

"The best way to make him forget about his wand is to make sure his mind is occupied with more important matters," Sirius explained. "And to a teenage boy, what is more important than sex?"

"Not just a teenage boy," Lupin muttered, throwing his best friend a knowing look.

"Trust me, this will work," Sirius insisted. "All Hermione has to do is seduce him, and when he is well and truly distracted, she slips his wand into her bag or something. And even if he does suspect her of taking it, he can't prove it. Chances are he won't even remember where he last had it."

"We can't do that," Ron protested, his face red with anger at the idea. "You can't ask Hermione to prostitute herself."

"I'm not saying she has to actually have sex with him," Sirius argued. "There is plenty she can do without having to go that far. All she has to do is go far enough to get him to lose focus on his wand."

"But what if he's not interested in her?" Tonks asked. "No offence, Hermione. You're a lovely witch, but we can't ignore the fact you're a muggleborn. There's a chance Draco won't take her up on her offer."

"He's a teenage boy, he'll take her up on it," Sirius predicted with confidence. "After all, we're not talking marriage here, we're talking about a bit of fun. Unless he's gay, he'll fall for it."

"But has anyone bothered to check if Hermione would be up for this?" Harry asked. "It's all very well saying she won't have to actually sleep with Malfoy, but she will have to do other stuff. And chances are she will have to remove some of her clothes. I don't think we can ask her to do that."

"It does seem rather inappropriate," Dumbledore agreed, not quite able to meet Hermione's eye.

"Fine, don't do it," Sirius huffed. "But I'd like to see anyone else come up with a plan to get his wand."

"Quidditch practice, or a match," Ron suggested brightly. "We can take his wand from the dressing rooms."

"The team keep their wands locked in a secure box while they are playing quidditch," Severus informed the group. "You won't be able to get to them. Not without alerting everyone that Draco's wand has been stolen."

"And the idea is it take his wand without him knowing it's been taken," Dumbledore said. "Ideally, it would be good if we can use it and return it without his knowledge, but if he does realise it's gone, it's better he thinks he's just misplaced it."

"You know my thoughts on the matter," Sirius said smugly. "And can I just point out that Hermione never refused to help with my plan."

"That's right, you didn't," Ron said accusingly as he turned to his best friend. "Why didn't you object?"

"You and Harry seemed to be doing that for me," Hermione answered with a shrug.

"But would you do it?" Harry asked, looking rather uncomfortable at the idea of his best friend seducing their enemy.

"If there was no other way, I guess I would be willing to try my best," Hermione admitted. "But I wouldn't guarantee results. I've been sharing dorms with Malfoy since the beginning of the year, and he's never once looked at me that way. I honestly don't think I appeal to him."

"Offer yourself to him, and he won't say no," Sirius advised. "You're gorgeous, Hermione. No red-blooded man would refuse you."

"Thank you, Sirius," Hermione said with an embarrassed blush as Harry's godfather received a few wary looks from the others.

"So, do we have a plan?" Tonks asked cautiously.

"We do," Hermione decided. "How about we do it tomorrow night before I change my mind. It gives us enough time to pull a plan together."

"Let's get cracking then," Dumbledore said with a decisive nod of his head. "With any luck we can take the wand and return it without Draco being any the wiser."

With a plan to enact, the Order sprang into action and Hermione couldn't help but think about how long it had been since she'd seen such an animated discussion in a meeting. It had been a long time since the Order had planned anything significant, and it was clear that so many of them were itching for action. Hermione just hoped that they got some action and that their plan would work and she was able to seduce the Head Boy.

…

"I still don't like this," Ron grumbled on the day the plan was to be set in motion.

Assuming Hermione could get Draco's wand, she would then meet them in Dumbledore's office and the headmaster would take them to meet the others at the Malfoy cottage. They would then hopefully break in, retrieve the Horcrux and return Draco's wand before he even realised it was missing. By morning it would all be over.

"You're not the one doing it Ron, so be quiet," Hermione snapped. "Besides, we don't even know if it's going to work."

"Do you know what you're going to do?" Harry asked.

"Not really," Hermione admitted. "I thought I would wait and see how things went. I should be going, so wish me luck."

Harry and Ron did wish her luck, but neither sounded too keen on doing so. Although Hermione knew it was down to the fact they both had mixed feelings about the plan. As eager as they were to get into the cottage and get hold of the Horcrux, neither were comfortable with how they were going to achieve it. Although Hermione wasn't really sure what their problem was as she'd agreed to the plan, and if she was happy to go along with it, then it shouldn't bother them what she did.

When she arrived at the Head Dorms, she found the Head Boy lounging on the sofa, reading a quidditch magazine. As usual, he didn't even glance up when she entered, and Hermione had to go and stand in front of him before he even noticed her presence.

"Can I help you, Granger?" he asked, arching a pale eyebrow.

"It's time," Hermione replied with a smirk.

"They really think this is going to work?" Draco chuckled, discarding his magazine.

"Of course they do," Hermione returned with a shrug. "They're convinced you'll not notice your wand is missing for a few hours. They're also convinced that by using your wand they'll gain access to the property without your parents being any the wiser."

"And it never occurred to them that my parents might question what I was doing at the cottage in the middle of the night while I'm supposedly tucked up safely at school?" Draco interrupted.

"No, because that would mean using logic," Hermione replied. "It hasn't occurred to them that if something of value is being kept on the property, then extra precautions are going to be taken. To be honest I think they think your father just dumped the Horcrux in the cottage and forgot all about it."

"Idiots," Draco snorted.

"I have to agree," Hermione said with a nod of her head. "Although I have to tell you, they don't have a high opinion of you. They all seem convinced that you'll be so eager to get me into bed that you won't notice where your wand is. Apparently, you're a teenage boy and you wouldn't refuse any witch who offered herself to you."

"That may be the case for some people, but not me," Draco huffed. "I am very picky who I take to my bed. And only one witch meets my high expectations."

"I'm glad to hear it," Hermione replied with a slow smile. "So what do you want to do? We'll have to wait before I leave. We have to make it believable that I've had time to seduce you and steal your wand."

"If you don't get on with it, you'll never get my wand," Draco said, smirking at Hermione.

"Get on with what?" Hermione frowned.

"Seducing me," Draco replied with a low chuckle. "You didn't expect me to just give you my wand, did you?"

"Yes," Hermione admitted. "You mean you're not going to? But it's vital for the plan that I have your wand."

"If you want it, come and get it," Draco taunted.

"You're evil," Hermione hissed.

"Merely going with the plan," Draco laughed. "Come on then, prove Black right. Prove I'm a typical teenage boy who gets easily distracted by a witch offering herself to him on a plate."

"You're really going to make me do this?" Hermione pouted.

"It's not like you haven't done it before," Draco replied with a shrug. "And we both know you'll enjoy it. Besides, we need something to do in order to pass the time."

"In that case, I'm going for a shower," Hermione said, stalking off towards the stairs.

"Is that your big plan?" Draco called after her. "You can't seduce me from the shower, and you certainly can't get my wand from there."

Ignoring Draco, Hermione headed into the bathroom where she stripped off and enjoyed a brief, refreshing shower. Once out of the shower she magically dried her hair and smothered herself in her peach body lotion. Then without bothering with clothes, she sauntered out of the bathroom and called down the stairs to Draco.

"Can you come up here a minute? I need you."

"Very subtle, Granger," Draco chuckled. "Let's guess, you're going to accidentally drop your towel."

"Come and find out," Hermione called as she darted into the Head Boy's room and settled herself atop of his green bed-covers, absolutely stark naked.

It didn't take long for Hermione to hear footsteps on the stairs, and she heard Draco checking both the bathroom and her room before he finally entered his room. Whatever he was going to say upon entering the room, died on his lips as his mouth dropped open at the brazen display Hermione was putting on.

"Is it too much?" she asked with a pout, her hands moving to cup her breasts. "Would this not work, if it was for real?"

"You mean this isn't real?" Draco asked, sounding slightly breathless as his grey eyes hungrily roamed her body. "You're not trying to seduce me?"

"We both know I don't need to seduce you," Hermione chuckled. "I ask you nicely, and you're mine. I just thought I would try my hand at seduction. So what do you think? Would it have worked?"

"I hate to admit it, but Black was right," Draco confessed. "It would have worked on me. It has worked on me."

"So I see," Hermione purred, eyeing up the bulge in her boyfriend's trousers. "Do I get your wand now?"

"That you still have to earn," Draco replied as he stalked towards Hermione and bent over her. "I'm not that distracted, yet."

"Then I better get to work," Hermione said, reaching up and lacing her hands behind Draco's neck and pulling him towards her.

The second their lips touched, Draco collapsed onto the bed next to Hermione, and she heard him chuckling as her hands instantly ran down his body, patting at his pockets.

"As if it was going to be that easy?" he muttered against her lips.

"You've left it downstairs, haven't you?" Hermione grumbled.

"No, I've got it with me," Draco promised her. "You just have to take it without me noticing."

"That's easy," Hermione remarked, flipping Draco over and straddling him. "I always know how to distract you." Smiling down at Draco, she was aware that his eyes were firmly fixed on her breasts. "You're so easy," she laughed.

"I'm easy?" Draco countered. "You're the one whose naked in my bed."

"I can always leave."

Hermione managed to swing one leg off Draco before he grabbed her and held her in place.

"I rather like you where you are," he informed her.

"I always knew you wanted to be dominated," Hermione purred, leaning down and softly brushing her lips against his, her breasts rubbing against his chest as she did so.

"Only by you," Draco replied huskily.

As Hermione deepened the kiss, she momentarily forget all about getting her hands on Draco's wand as his hands skilfully roamed her body. Meanwhile her own hands got to work on shedding Draco of his clothes. Although as she slipped his shirt from his back, her hands automatically felt for his wand. She also did the same with his trousers, but neither time did she feel the hard length of his wand secreted among his clothes.

"Are you sure you've got your wand?" Hermione pouted once Draco was down to his underwear.

"I'm sure," Draco smirked. "You haven't finished undressing me yet."

"Seriously?" Hermione laughed, looking down at Draco's underwear and spotting nothing but his crown jewels nestled inside the black material.

"Why don't you have a look," Draco urged with a smirk.

Not needing a second invitation, Hermione slid down Draco's body and slowly peeled his underwear down his legs. As she did so, her hand brushed against a solid piece of wood slipped into a hidden pocket and she laughed as she removed his wand from it's hiding place.

"How long have you kept your wand in your underpants?" Hermione asked, twirling the piece of wood around in her fingers.

"I thought since you wanted it, I would put it in a pleasurable place for you," Draco returned with a smirk.

"Whether it's pleasurable remains to be seen," Hermione challenged with a smirk as she placed Draco's wand on the bedside table, already knowing that when the time was right, she would take it and go to the Order.

"It always is," Draco retorted cockily.

"Promises, promises," Hermione laughed as Draco flipped them back over so that she was the one lying underneath him.

Anything else she might have wanted to say was cut off by Draco slanting his lips over hers, and within seconds all thoughts of talking were vanquished as the couple lost themselves in each other. As their bodies moved in perfect harmony together, it suddenly didn't matter that Hermione was seducing Draco. They were both getting what they wanted, and as always the temperature soared whenever they were together.

"I think you should seduce me more often," Draco panted as Hermione wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him deeper inside of her.

"I'll remember that," Hermione chuckled, her eyes bright with passion as she gazed up at Draco.

Dropping his head to hers, Draco rejoined their lips as their passion reached fever pitch and with virtual simultaneous cried of ecstasy, they tumbled over the edge together. Collapsing in a tangle onto the sheets, Hermione's fingers absent-mindedly trailed through Draco's soft hair, while his fingers traced circles on her bare skin.

"I need to be going," Hermione finally muttered, even though she was reluctant to leave the comfort of Draco's arms.

"Do you have to?" Draco pouted.

"I have to," Hermione confirmed, giving Draco a quick kiss before disentangling herself from him and getting off the bed. "I'll see you soon," she said, picking up his wand. "And thanks for the wand," she called as she headed towards her own room.

"It was my pleasure," Draco called back.

"And mine," Hermione retorted, poking her head back into Draco's room and grinning at him.

Promising to see him soon, Hermione quickly dressed and checking she didn't look too flushed, she departed the Head Dorms. Making her way to the headmaster's office, she smirked at how the plan was coming together and how hopefully the rest of the plan would work out and the evening would turn out to be a truly victorious one.

"Did you get it?" Ron asked warily when she entered the headmaster's office.

"I did," Hermione confirmed, pulling Draco's wand from her pocket and twirling it in her fingers before handing it over to Dumbledore.

"Do we want to know how you managed it?" Harry questioned with a grimace.

"Let's just say Sirius was right, and Malfoy is a typical teenage boy, unable to resist the lure of the opposite sex," Hermione replied.

"Did you actually have to do it?" Ron asked, making a crude gesture with his fingers.

"No," Hermione lied. "I just used my oral talents to distract him."

"Too much information," Harry grimaced.

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed, looking uncomfortable at the way the conversation was going. "We really should be going. Everyone will be waiting for us, and I don't want to have Draco's wand for too long."

"Will he miss it?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Hopefully not," Hermione replied. "I said I had to cancel plans with you two in order to get away, but Malfoy is expecting me back."

"He thinks there's more to come?" Ron sneered.

"He does," Hermione answered with a nod. "So with any luck he won't miss his wand unless we're away for hours. Then he might start getting suspicious."

"Let's go then," Dumbledore said. "I've lowered the apparition wards around my office so that we can leave. If you all hold hands, I can take you all at once."

As Harry and Ron looked dubiously at each other, clearly not wanting to hold hands, Hermione got herself in between them and held onto them both. Harry then placed his hand on Dumbledore's arm and with a loud pop they all vanished into thin air as they headed to the Malfoys cottage, unaware of just what awaited them.

…

Sirius, Lupin and Tonks joined the quartet at the Malfoys cottage, and Dumbledore easily used Draco's wand to gain them access to the property.

"This is a cottage?" Ron scoffed as they entered the airy two storey building.

"It is to the likes of the Malfoys," Sirius chuckled.

"We don't have much time, so we need to move fast," Dumbledore interrupted, not really caring about whether the building they were in was a cottage or something else. "How long do you think you can stay away without Draco getting suspicious, Hermione?"

"I'm not sure," Hermione replied. "An hour and a half, two tops."

"What if Hermione went back to Hogwarts now?" Tonks suggested. "We're already inside, so we shouldn't need Draco's wand again. She can get it back to him before he's any the wiser."

"I'd rather keep the wand with us if we can," Dumbledore admitted. "We don't know exactly how the wards work, and they might register Draco's wand leaving while there is still someone inside the place. Let's just move quickly and find what we need to do."

"And what exactly are we looking for?" Ron asked. "You said a Horcrux was here, but which one?"

"That, I don't know," Dumbledore admitted with a shrug. "I do think we can safely rule out the snake, as she rarely seems to leave Voldemort's side."

"So that leaves us with the Cup, Locket or Diadem," Harry deduced. "And we're not a hundred percent sure what any of them look like."

"Gather every cup, locket or tiara you can find and I can check them out," Dumbledore ordered as the group decided to split up.

While Hermione headed upstairs with Harry and Sirius, Ron remained downstairs with Lupin and Dumbledore, while Tonks descended into the basement to check it out. Even though Hermione knew they would find nothing, as the Horcrux in question had been removed earlier that day, she put up a good show of searching the property.

"Nothing," Harry muttered dejectedly, half an hour later. "I can't find one thing that could be a Horcrux."

"Me either," Sirius agreed with a sigh. "And I'm guessing they haven't had any more luck downstairs, or they would have let us know."

"I thought Dumbledore was sure there was something here," Hermione remarked. "This was supposed to be a quick trip, due to the fact we knew what we wanted was here."

"Could it have been removed after Dumbledore confirmed it was here?" Harry asked.

"I guess there is that possibility," Sirius conceded. "We've been watching the cottage and haven't seen any movement, but we could have missed it. Especially since the Malfoys would have known exactly where the Horcrux was and wouldn't have had to scour the house as we're doing."

"Damn it," Harry swore, just as Ron's voice called up the stairs, inviting them to come and see what the group down below had found.

"This might be it," Sirius said excitedly as the trio headed down the stairs.

However, when they saw the annoyance etched on Ron's face, they knew the news wasn't good.

"What is it?" Harry asked his best friend.

"Come and see," Ron grumbled, leading them down a corridor and into a dining room.

Lupin, Tonks and Dumbledore were all in the dining room, and they were standing in front of a cabinet containing an expensive looking dinner set, decorated with golden peacocks. Once they were all gathered around, Dumbledore pressed Draco's wand to a hidden panel in the side of the cabinet and the shelves containing the dinner set began to rotate. A minute later the dinner set had vanished and the shelf they were faced with was bare, although it bore the distinct trace of something circular having recently sat in the centre of the shelf, which was slightly dusty.

"This was it, wasn't it?" Harry asked, gazing at the circular pattern in the dust.

"It was," Dumbledore confirmed. "And from the shape of the mark it's left, I would say it was Hufflepuff's Cup. I would also say it was recently removed."

"The question is, why?" Tonks muttered. "Why remove it unless they knew we were onto it."

"Even then, why remove it?" Lupin countered. "They should have been confident we couldn't gain access to the cottage. As it was, we had to steal a wand to do it, and they couldn't have predicted we would do that."

"Right now, I don't think it matters why they moved it," Dumbledore said. "The point is, they have moved it. Therefore our presence here is unnecessary. I say we retreat and gather out thoughts."

"And get Malfoy's wand back to him," Hermione said.

"Quite," Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "Let's get out of here."

Returning the cabinet to it's rightful state, Dumbledore led the way back to the front of the cottage. However, when he tried to open the door for them to leave, nothing happened. Using Draco's wand, he once again tried to open the door, but sparks suddenly flew from the wand and Dumbledore's dropped it as he cried out in agony, blisters forming on his hand where he had gripped the wood.

"What the hell?" Sirius muttered, wincing slightly at the painful looking blisters Dumbledore had suddenly developed.

"Hermione, don't," Tonks called as Hermione reached down to pick up Draco's wand.

"It's fine," Hermione said, twirling her boyfriend's wand around in her fingers.

"Do not try and use it," Tonks warned. "I think the wards are keeping us inside, and for some reason they're not reconsigning Draco's wand."

"How can that be possible?" Ron demanded. "We used the wand to get into the place."

Before Tonks had a chance to venture a theory there was a loud rumbling sound and the windows of the cottage began to shatter. Since there was a large window above the front door, everyone ducked and shielded their head as sharp glass rained down on them. When she finally lifted her head, Hermione saw that both Harry and Ron were sporting cuts to their hands where the glass had hit them. However, she didn't have a chance to notice if anyone else was injured as the front door blew open and five figures stepped into the cottage.

"How nice of you to drop by, Albus," Lucius Malfoy drawled. "And you've brought along some friends."

Before anyone from the Order could draw their wands, stunning spells were shot at them and they were all frozen in place. Voldemort then stepped forward, with Lucius standing at his right hand side and Bellatrix Lestrange flanking his left. Narcissa Malfoy then stood next to her husband and beside Bellatrix stood a smirking Draco.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice my missing wand?" Draco tutted, directing his question to Hermione.

As Draco spoke, Hermione felt the stunning spell she'd been hit with fade, but she still didn't move and reveal to the rest of the Order that she was free.

"Did you really think we wouldn't notice you checking out this place?" Voldemort asked with a low chuckle. "Seriously, Dumbledore, do you think I am blind and stupid? Oh, I forget, you can't talk." Flicking his wand, he released enough of the stunning spell on Dumbledore so that his head could move and he was free to talk.

"You couldn't possibly have known our plan," Dumbledore hissed. "Even if you knew we were watching the place, you can't have known we would use Draco's wand."

"Can't I?" Voldemort chuckled, turning towards Sirius who was clearly trying to fight and stunning spell and speak. "Do you have a theory, Black?" he asked, releasing his head from the spell.

"Snape," Sirius spat. "I always said we couldn't trust him."

"I didn't get the information from Severus," Voldemort admitted. "My source is much closer to home. Aren't you, my dear?"

"I am," Hermione purred, stepping forward and holding Draco's wand out for him. "Thank you for giving me your wand, Draco."

"As I recall, you took it from me," Draco retorted with a smirk. "I seem to remember you stripping me so you could get your hands on it."

"Thank you Draco, we did not need to know that," Bellatrix scolded her nephew. "I'd rather not hear what shenanigans you and my daughter get up to."

Laughing lightly, Hermione turned back around to see how her friends were reacting to the news of her deflection to the dark. Ron had turned a nasty shade of purple and Hermione knew if he could move and speak, he would be ranting and raving at her. As for Harry, he looked pale and stunned and Hermione was guessing he was struggling to come to terms with the fact his best friend had betrayed him.

"Can you drop the spell on Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked Voldemort.

"With pleasure, sweetheart," Voldemort replied, flicking his wand in the duo's direction and releasing part of the spell on the pair.

"Evil bitch," Ron shouted the second his head was free. "You twisted evil, cow."

"Watch your tongue, Weasley, or I'll rip it out," Bellatrix warned in a low hiss. "I will not have you speaking to my daughter like that."

"But it's okay for her to shag her cousin," Ron spat in disgust. "Inbred scum."

"Draco and I are not related," Hermione laughed. "Bella is my adopted mother."

"That's all right then," Ron sneered. "How could you do this, Hermione? How could you turn on us this way?"

"I didn't turn on you, because I was never with you," Hermione pointed out. "My entire reason for being at Hogwarts was to get close to Harry. I was always going to be the one to lead him to his downfall."

"But I loved you," Harry whispered, finally finding his voice.

"I know," Hermione smirked, moving closer to Harry. "And that made it so much easier. You've never once suspected me of working against you."

"Please, Hermione, you don't have to do this," Harry begged. "It's not too late. I can forgive you."

"Look around, Harry," Hermione laughed. "You're trapped. Ron's trapped, Dumbledore's trapped. Everyone is trapped. None of you can get away."

"So what happens now?" Dumbledore demanded.

"Now, we end the war," Voldemort cackled. "I have a few things to work out with Potter, so he'll come with me. As for the rest of you, this is where it ends for you."

"Will we be needed any-more?" Hermione asked.

"No," Voldemort replied. "You and Draco get back to Hogwarts. And don't forget, as far as the rest of the Order is concerned, the plan failed. You never get hold of Draco's wand."

"I guess this is goodbye," Hermione said, turning back to Harry and Ron. "Goodbye, and thank you both for being so trusting. I really couldn't have done this without your cooperation."

Waving goodbye to her two friends, Hermione gave her mother a quick hug before she and Draco left the cottage and headed back to Malfoy Manor. From there they flooed back to Severus's office at Hogwarts, and then they returned to the Head Dorms, where they stayed for the rest of the night.

The following morning when it became clear that Dumbledore, Harry and Ron were missing, Hermione played innocent. Since Ginny had been told of the plan, she confided in her that it hadn't worked and that Draco hadn't fallen for her seductions, so as far as she was concerned the plan hadn't gone ahead. Of course, when the remaining Order stepped in, the first place they searched was the Malfoys cottage, and to everyone's devastation they found the bodies of Dumbledore, Lupin, Tonks and Sirius on the boundary line. Officially, it was decided that they had tried to break into the property and had been killed by the security charms.

As for Harry and Ron, they'd seemingly vanished off the face of the earth. At least they did for a few months, until Ron's body turned up one night at The Burrow. A week later, Voldemort launched an attack on the Ministry, where it was revealed he was holding Harry as his prisoner. In full view of the Minister and half of the wizarding world, he executed Harry and took control.

And for Hermione, she was finally able to step out of the shadows and be herself. She'd done what she'd been trained to do by Bellatrix, and she'd delivered Harry Potter to The Dark Lord and had enabled him to win the war. She was a hero, at least to those who supported Voldemort, and her prize was a trusted position among his Death Eaters and a happy life with Draco.