Hadley had walked into the Ministry building more than a hundred times since she first started her Auror training. And for the first time, it felt like she was walking into a foreign place, the enemy's den, none of her allies with her. Her uniform felt stiff and uncomfortable, despite the fact that she had worn it several times before. She felt wrong being there, felt wrong still coming in knowing that the Ministry was under the full control of Death Eaters.

She could feel people staring at her as she walked through the main building to get to the Auror wing, most of the people she made eye contact with looking as scared and nervous as she was inside. Thankfully, she had gotten a moment to breathe as she was alone at the lift, but dread kicked in once she had arrived at the Auror wing, feeling the tension in the atmosphere.

Julien Price was no longer sitting in the office close to the training room, but instead was replaced with someone she had never seen before. He didn't have the same comforting presence that Mr. Price did, nor did he have the warmth in his facial expressions. They were cold and icy, Hadley immediately looking away as soon as she locked eyes with him, hurrying into the training room.

She had tried to get out of the country after the Death Eaters ambushed the wedding, but was unable to make it through before they locked everyone in the country. She had no choice but to go back to her residence, and three days after, she was asked to go back to work.

Mr. Robards was also replaced by a man names Antonin Dolohov. His mere presence was threatening, enough so that Hadley had complied to his wishes when he personally visited her at her flat after she ignored their letters asking her to come back.

They only managed to scare less than half of the trainees into coming back, a good number of them, including Florence, were in hiding or on the run. It felt wrong without her, not seeing Florence's face the moment she stepped in to the training room. In a way, she was her safety, her first friend. Now Hadley didn't even know where she was.

After putting her things down, she joined the rest who were sitting timidly in the middle of the training room. There wasn't much happening learning-wise ever since they replaced everyone, and was more on trying to push their Death Eater propaganda.

Hadley sat on the padded training room floor, listening to another Death Eater prattling on about their cause, her chin propped against the palm of her hand. The door opened, Antonin Dolohov emerging, the sight of him enough to drive fear into her heart, more so when he locked eyes with her, "I need to see Miss Kalkowski." he told his colleague, not tearing his gaze away from Hadley, who stuck her chin up as she stood, trying not to give him the satisfaction of looking afraid in his presence.

They walked to the Head Auror office, Hadley lagging a few paces behind him for safety measures. Once inside, he asked her to shut the door, Hadley doing so while planting herself as close to the exit as possible, "You can sit, Miss Kalkowski."

"I'm fine here," she said curtly, eyes averting to the floor, "...sir."

The corners of Dolohov's mouth curled, sitting behind the desk that once belonged to Mr. Robards before leaning forward, "I'm sure you know why you're here, saves us a bit of time, don't you think?"

Hadley refused to meet his gaze, focusing on the potted plant at the other end of his office, "No, sir, I don't think I do."

"Well then," he said, a bit of annoyance evident in his tone, "Sources tell me you are Miss Florence Price's closest colleague. In fact, you were at the wedding of William Weasley upon her invitation, no?"

"I was there because a friend invited me to go as their plus one, not Florence." she said, seeing Dolohov's jaw tense at her reply, "But you and Miss Price are close regardless?"

"You could say that,"

"So you know where she is?" He asked her, looking intently at her facial expression as he dropped the question. Hadley looked rather relieved, due to the fact that she genuinely did not know where Florence was. She was not confident in her ability to lie, and was thankful that she didn't have to lie to protect someone she cared about. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes, "No, I don't."

He leaned back against his chair, "See, I don't think you're telling me the truth. You know where she is. And Sloan and Julien Price, who have been missing from their posts since the beginning of this month."

"I don't think you care that much about them missing their posts seeing as you've already replaced them." Hadley shot back, "But I'm telling you, I don't know where they are. That's the whole truth." she said, a determined look on his face, which left Dolohov unfazed and unconvinced, "You are aware that we have other means of getting the truth from you, right?"

"Very much aware. My answer will not change whether or not you subject me to such methods. You will get nothing from it, from me." She said firmly, "Florence Price and I talked briefly during the wedding, and when chaos ensued I had no knowledge of her whereabouts, or who she was with when she escaped."

"And this man you attended the wedding with, your friend, he will vouch for you?"

"Yes, she will vouch for me, and will tell you the same thing I did."

Dolohov flinched visibly, a new repulsion evident on his face as he stared Hadley down, "Your family is one of, if not the most well-known pureblood family in your country, yet you still find means to tarnish your name."

"My preferences should have nothing to do with my name." she replied critically, "Now, if all you're going to do is sit there and shame me for attending a social function with another woman, you might as well just let me go back to the training room because I assure you there's nothing I haven't heard before."

Hadley steeled herself, the anger now very evident on his face, "Get out of my office."

She did so without another word, Antonin Dolohov speaking once more before she could open the door, "You better watch your words, Miss Kalkowski. Times are changing. Soon there will be no one to protect people like you."

——————

"Florence, its time to eat." She heard Sloan call from the kitchen, but deciding against getting up from her cot. It had been raining heavily outside, her lonesomeness as well as the weather keeping her in the comforts of the thin mattress on the floor that she now calls her bed. She rolled over to lay on her side, pulling the blanket above her head, "I'll eat later, I'm not hungry."

Sloan pursed his lips together, before putting away the plate he had set for her, him and Julien eating their lunch in silence.

"Has she moved from that spot at all since I left?" he asked his son in a low voice, Julien nodded his head, "She got up to have some tea... sat by the window again. Then went back to bed." he told him, "I don't know how much of this she could take. All the uncertainty. She doesn't even know where any of her friends are."

"Its hard, but it's what we need to do to survive." Sloan replied, Julien sighing at his attempt to sway his father, knowing fully what his response was going to be, "I've gotten ahold of the Order, or what's left of it. Sirius and Matthew are at the Manor with Remus and Tonks. I've written to them to not let anyone else in the Manor, it might compromise their safety."

"Any word on Florence's friends? Clearwater, Haddlowe and his sister?"

"I'm afraid not. Though getting away would be easier for them, as the Death Eaters have nothing against them so long as they're not muggle-borns." Sloan told him, "I wish I could say the same for the three of us."

"We could just assume new names, take pureblood surnames... right? Like what you do when you go out to get supplies." Julien asked, "Maybe then Florence can finally go look for Fred and George, wherever they've gone off to—"

"That's not the wisest idea. That strategy has worked so far but we don't know to what extent. We might push it one day and the price we'll be paying is our life." Sloan replied, his eyes not leaving the food on his plate, "So please, Jules, I know what I'm doing. I don't want to hear you questioning my decisions anymore. It's final, we're going to stay here for as long as we can. That's the plan."

"Except it's not really a plan, is it?" Julien said, dropping his utensils on his plate, "We're going to stay holed up here until what? This whole thing blows over? The Order is in pieces, we only know where some of the people are. You told us when we first got here that we'll wait on Kingsley's orders; but he hasn't given any." he told him, the tone in his voice getting distressed by the minute, "We need to do something, Dad. We can't just sit around in this cabin and wait for things to fix itself just because you're scared."

"That's not why we're here." Sloan replied curtly, Julien's brows drawing together.

"No?" he asked, challenging his father, "Then please, Dad, enlightened me. What are we doing here if its not because you're scared?" he pressed on, his voice dropping in volume for the next few words that came out of his mouth, "And you're making me lie to my cousin. She's miserable without him, you know it. And you won't even help her do anything about it."

"I'd rather have her miserable than dead." Sloan said, "I'm keeping her safe. I'm keeping you safe."

Julien let out a hollow laugh, "Me? You're keeping me safe?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sloan frowned.

"I just think its funny, because all my life you never really cared about keeping me safe. No, you cared more about teaching me how to keep myself safe. And you choose now to start worrying about how you can keep me safe?"

"Are you implying that I've never cared about you?" Sloan snapped, "That's a load of rubbish, Julien. That's ridiculous. Where is this even coming from?"

"I guess I'm just tired of always doing what you want me to do without even giving me any actual reasons for it. And I do them even though sometimes your plans don't make sense; and I don't even question it! I don't question it, Dad, because I want to be a good son to you but I guess I'm just tired of that." he told him, not even realizing how loud his voice had gotten until they heard a pair of footsteps shuffling towards the dining room, Florence coming into view with a curious look on her face, "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"Its nothing," Julien said quickly, Sloan shaking his head, "No, its not nothing. You want to know why I've insisted on staying here?" he said, keeping his intense gaze at Julien. He stood up from his seat with so much force that the legs of the chair made an uncomfortable scraping sound against the floor. Sloan dug into the pocket of his coat that hung on the rack, fishing out a crumpled up sheet of parchment and slamming it down on the table.

Julien frowned, straightening out the parchment, his eyes skimming through the contents of it, "What is this...?"

"Its a bounty list." Sloan said through gritted teeth, "Every person on that list is called an Undesirable. And for each corresponding Undesirable, there is a monetary reward, which will be given to anyone who is able to turn them in to the corrupted Ministry.

It was quite a long list, spanning up to more than a hundred names, with Harry Potter being at the number one spot. Julien went down the list, seeing names of distinct Order members as well as high-ranking Aurors such as Gawain Robards who, Julien deduced, was not supportive by the Death Eater takeover within the Ministry and the Auror force. And closer to the end of the parchment, numbers 78, 79 and 80:

Price, Florence — 1,800 Galleons
Price, Julien — 1,675 Galleons
Price, Sloan — 2,500 Galleons

"A lot of people fear Voldemort, but I know a lot of people will also abandon their beliefs for money that big." Sloan told Florence and Julien, who were still reeling from the new information that they had gotten,  "There are bounty hunters now. All over the country. Trying to hunt these people down name by name and collect their reward from the Ministry. That's why we're safe here. No one knows about this place, and its far from big cities."

"I know you must think badly of me but I would endure that everyday if it meant keeping the both of you safe."

"Dad..." Julien started, not really knowing what else to say, "Dad I—"

"Its okay." Sloan said, "I never expect you to understand my ways, son. And I'm fine with that. What I'm not okay with is you thinking that I don't care, because I do. Merlin, Jules, I do. You're my son and you mean all the world to me—"

They heard a sharp knock on the door, Sloan and Julien immediately reaching for their wands at the sound of it, Sloan gesturing to Julien to stay where he was as he walked towards the door.

"Dad? What—"

Sloan shushed him, "I had a feeling." he whispered, "I had a feeling I was followed here...." he sighed, before turning to Florence, "Get your emergency bag and stay in the room. Don't let them see you."

"But—"

"Florence, go."

She pursed her lips, hesitantly nodding before retreating to her room.

The knocking didn't stop until Sloan opened the door, throwing it wide enough for Julien to see who it was, dread setting at the pit of his stomach at the sight of three strange men, who looked as though they had not showered or changed their clothes in days. They knew exactly what they were and what they were there for from the dopey looks on their face.

The one who had knocked on the door tipped his hat towards Sloan in an attempt at a friendly greeting, though their greedy expressions betrayed them, "Good day to 'ye, sirs. 'Me mates and I were passing through when we saw the lights on in yer cabin." he told them, "So we just wanted to come by, see if you and yer lad are okay."

"Yes, we're fine, thank you." Sloan said curtly, moving to close the door, only for the man to wedge his foot between the door frame before it could shut completely, before pushing the door close, "Well now, why in such a hurry, sir? We just want to ask you a few questions."

"What's your name?" one of the men standing in the back asked, clearly growing impatient, a copy of what looked like the Undesirable list in his hand, "Now, now." The other man spoke, "That's no way to talk to our new friends."

"Your friend is right," Sloan said, "Its awfully rude to demand something from someone you've just met."

"My apologies, sir. 'Ol Tommy can't control himself sometimes." the man chuckled, "But I'm sure you get it, right? Everyone gets overeager sometimes!"

"I suppose," Sloan muttered, "Pardon my lack of enthusiasm, but you had caught my son and I in the middle of our meal, which was rather inconvenient timing."

"'Pologies again, sir. If we could just get you and your son's names, then we'll be on our merry way."

"I don't owe any of you answers." he told them as calmly as he could, "My so  and I are just enjoying a weekend away from the city. Whatever it is you think you can get, you won't get from us."

"Well we'll see about that once you give us your name, sir." The man said, Sloan steeling his expression as the rest of his friends looked at him and Julien like they were lions that had just spotted their next meal, "Come on, sir, just a name. Its all we need and we'll leave you alone."

"No," Sloan said firmly, "Our names are none of your business."

"Dad..." Julien said, Sloan holding a hand up as if telling him to be quiet

"He seems suspicious." one of them said, "We'll just take them and have the Ministry identify them."

"Yeah, we're wasting daylight!"

"Hey!" Sloan snapped at them, "I don't know why you lot are choosing to disturb us, but we can't help you. Please leave, you are trespassing on private grounds—"

"Crucio!"

Sloan gasped, the sound of his wand clattering to the ground following as he crumpled to his knees, Julien watching, horrified as one of the men aimed a curse at his father. The man closest to the door seized him as he was still withering in pain, Julien managing to shoot a stunning spell as he dived behind a piece of furniture, hearing one of the men yell.

He watched as his father's weak body was being dragged across the grass by one of the men, while the other laid crumpled on their porch. The third man, Tommy, came lunging towards Julien upon spotting him peeking behind the couch.

With another flick of his wand, Julien managed to close the door and lock it with a quick spell, before running to Florence's room. He could hear Tommy trying to physically crash the door by slamming in to it repeatedly, Julien ushering Florence to the closest window and opening it, "You have to go."

"No." she said, "Jules, they have Sloan. I can't go. I can't leave you alone."

"Yes you can." Julien instead, "You have to. Here's why."

He took her hand, dropping her necklace onto her palm before closing her fingers around it. Florence goggled at him, "Where did you—?"

"I'm so sorry, Flo." he said, the two of them flinching at the sound of the door finally breaking, "I love you. Go to Fred. Find him."

"Jules—"

"Go!" he yelled, as the footsteps grew louder and louder.

Florence slipped out the window, landing harshly on the dewy grass shoulder first. She flinched, but managed to stagger back up to her feet. She looked back in time to see Julien through the window, a fierce look on his face as he raised his wand at the man.

Then she took off towards a thickness of shrubs and bushes, running and running, putting as much space as she could between herself and the cabin.