Hermione was awoken to Harry shaking her roughly and Ginny and Ron bickering in the background. She almost smacked the blur of black hair above her, but stopped when it very excitedly told her someone had destroyed an entire base of Death Eaters just like Dortmouth.

"I'm sleeping," Hermione grumbled in reply, though she doubted she'd be able to fall back asleep now. She sat up and crawled to the end of her bunk bed so she could climb down. "How do you know anyway? It's barely morning."

"It's almost nine o'clock," Harry told her. Hermione frowned and looked toward the tent door to see how much light was outside. "Kingsley came by personally and asked if Ron or I had led the attack which is how I found out. No one knows how or who, but the Death Eaters took a major hit last night."

"Any idea how many they lost?" Hermione asked. Malfoy hadn't cared to tell her, so if Harry knew anything, she'd take it. Harry shook his head, however, and Hermione almost groaned. All she wanted to know was how many Death Eaters there had been.

"Kingsley asked if you'd led it," Harry said, eyeing Hermione briefly. "I told him you'd been in the tent all night."

"I was," Hermione said. Harry pursed his lips but didn't argue, so Hermione changed the subject. Harry had lied for her and she didn't need him taking it back. "Ginny's been discharged from medical."

That drew Ginny and Ron's attention back to them and they turned away from each other to join Harry and Hermione. Ginny excitedly reminded them all she'd be released to fight in a matter of days which prompted both Harry and Ron to tell her it was alright to wait. Hermione just smiled and sat back as Ginny very passionately told them they could fuck off.

"Merlin, Gin," Ron grumbled, glancing at Harry. "We just want you to stay safe."

"I'll be just as safe fighting as I was before," Ginny said hotly. She looked at Hermione and Hermione's eyes flew wide open. "We're going to breakfast, Hermione, and I do so hope we stay safe."

Ginny left the tent in a flurry and Hermione hurried after her, casting both Ron and Harry apologetic looks. She caught up to Ginny and the two of them made their way to the breakfast tent where they ate quietly then parted ways. Ginny was hoping to talk to Kingsley about leading her own attack while Hermione wanted to get to the medical wing before Malfoy wrote again.

It occurred to Hermione as she was leaving the medical tent that she should probably talk to Kingsley to see if there was any information or updates he wanted from Malfoy when she met him, so she changed directions and walked toward his tent instead of where dinner was starting.

Moody stepped out of Kingsley's tent right as Hermione arrived. She stepped aside, but Moody barely glanced at her as he passed. Frowning, she ducked into Kingsley's tent and cast a sound-proofing spell before he'd turned to face her.

"Hermione," he said in greeting. "I'm sure you've heard the news."

"I'm going to meet with our contact tonight about it," Hermione said. As the Order didn't know that much about the attack, she could use that as an excuse for leaving that night. If Harry was telling the truth about Kingsley asking after her—and he had no reason to lie—then Kingsley was sure to be keeping a closer eye on her. "What do you need me to bring back?" Hermione asked.

"I want the name of every Death Eater killed," he said immediately and Hermione could tell he was itching for the knowledge. "Any suspects they have or information on the attack, I—the Order will want it all."

Hermione nodded, waiting for him to demand more but he didn't.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"Yes," Kingsley replied. He didn't dismiss her and Hermione was a little hesitant to leave too quickly. After staring at her for several seconds, he said, "You may leave now."

Hermione turned on her heel and walked out of the tent without a word. She pulled her notebook from her robes as she walked across camp to find dinner and was unsurprised to see Malfoy had written a note requesting they meet once again. Wondering if it would be for information or another attack, Hermione took a second to summon her quill and write back. She hadn't even closed the notebook when Malfoy wrote back.

Both.

She stuffed the notebook back in her robes and continued to dinner. Instead of staying to eat, she took her food to go and went back to the tent, hoping they wouldn't need any bombs since she hadn't made more. She'd have to remember to tell Malfoy to inform her ahead of time when they met. She couldn't very well make them moments before they left; they took half a day to make when she had all the ingredients ready to brew.

Just as Hermione was getting ready to leave for Grimmauld Place, Ron and Harry came bustling into the tent. They were laughing about something, but as soon as they saw Hermione with her bag, they paused.

"Where are you going? It's late," Ron said. Harry skirted around him to rifle through his dresser but Ron didn't look like he would be moving.

"I have to run a message for Kingsley," Hermione answered, adjusting her bag on her shoulder and glancing at both of them. "I'll be back late, so don't wait up for me."

"Kingsley's sending you out?" Ron asked. Hermione gave him a look and he glanced at Harry.

"Let her go, Ron," Harry said, yawning as he spoke. He grabbed his pyjamas and looked at them both. "If Kingsley wanted us to know, he'd tell us and if Hermione were in danger, she'd let us know."

Hermione gave Harry a grateful smile, but he didn't react.

"I'll be perfectly safe," Hermione promised. She wrapped her cloak around her tighter and before apparating, she said, "I'll be back by morning."

She landed in Grimmauld Place hardly a second later and was thrilled to discover she'd beat Malfoy for once. Her moment alone was short lived though as a crack sounded behind her and Malfoy stepped into the house.

Before he had even said hello, he held out a rolled piece of parchment for her to take and said, "Information on a scheduled attack in Wales. The Dark Lord wants anti-apparation wards set up all along the southern England coast this week as well starting in Plymouth."

While the Order did not run rescue missions or escape missions in the area, there were several safehouses on the southern coast that acted as a first means of contact for those looking for safety. It would be good to evacuate all locations until they got word the Death Eaters were done setting up wards, so Hermione made a mental note to mention it to Kingsley first thing in the morning.

"Kingsley wants all the information you have on our attack last night," Hermione told him, stuffing the parchment scroll into her bag. "Names and death count as well as any suspects."

"Does he suspect us already?" Malfoy asked.

"No, but he does hate not knowing," Hermione answered. Malfoy nodded and promised he'd give her the information in the morning through the notebook. "Speaking of that, it takes several hours to build the bombs and I don't have any, so if we're going to need some, you'll have to let me know ahead of time."

Malfoy nodded, but apparently this attack wouldn't need them. Remembering how the last time had gone, Hermione made him explain what they were heading into before agreeing to apparate.

"Rookwood, Mulciber, and Amycus Carrow are meeting tonight to discuss something I've only heard rumours about," Malfoy explained. "The meeting isn't approved by the Dark Lord but neither is it expressly forbidden."

"So we're going to eavesdrop like we're first years at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked. Malfoy glared at her.

"If you don't want the information, you're free to return to the Order," he snapped. Hermione scowled in return but didn't say anything. Taking it as a win, Malfoy smirked and said, "Good. This isn't an attack, more like a means to gather forbidden information."

"Information is the most expensive thing in a war," Hermione said. Malfoy nodded and held out his arm to her. As she had the night before, she stepped forward and grabbed hold of him. The second her grip was secure, they were whisked off to their destination.

Rather than drop into a room, they appeared in a forest. Hermione released Malfoy's arm and looked around, unable to make out anything in particular with the trees hiding the moon.

"Where is it?" she asked, glancing back at Malfoy who was also looking around the forest.

"I only know it's in the forest," he said, glancing at her in reply. "I don't have the exact coordinates."

Hermione grumbled to herself and started walking through the forest. She didn't light her wand in case it drew unwanted attention, but her eyes slowly began to adjust to the darkness. Behind her, she could barely hear Malfoy's light footsteps as they both walked through the forest as silently as they could. Part of her wanted to cast a detection spell and make the trip easier, but the other part of her worried it would be detected by one of the Death Eaters before they ever found them.

They walked through the woods in silence, stumbling over low branches or coming very close to falling at the slightest slope of the ground. After almost an hour of walking, Hermione stopped abruptly. Malfoy hit her back and hissed, but they didn't breathe a word. There were voices echoing from somewhere nearby and while Hermione couldn't quite make out what they were saying yet, she knew where they were coming from. As quiet as she could, she crept to her right, straining to make out what was being said.

"—told not—attention of Order—"

The words were difficult to make out and Hermione knew she was missing parts of information, but she could make out four dark figures ahead and didn't dare creep closer. She cast a nonverbal spell to enhance her hearing and suddenly she was able to make out what they were saying.

"—Revels are enough for now, but soon they won't be," Amycus Carrow said. Someone grunted in agreement. "Mulciber's slave trade could give a new life to them."

"The Order would notice," Rookwood objected, but he didn't seem against the idea. "They won't ignore a slave trade going on under their noses."

"The Order has been falling for weeks now," Mulciber cut in sharply. "They got lucky at Dortmouth and Bristol; we shouldn't be worrying about them much longer."

There was a stretch of silence and Hermione found herself leaning forward in an attempt to hear more. A slave trade was an interesting idea, but she couldn't think of why Voldemort wouldn't approve such a meeting. And what were these revels they had mentioned earlier?

"I think—"

Something moved sharply between the figures and Rookwood stopped speaking.

"Someone's here," Amycus Carrow whispered.

Hermione cursed silently and turned to look at Malfoy and warn him they'd been discovered. She never got the chance too, though, because before she opened her mouth, Malfoy was shoving her to the ground as a jet of blue light soared toward them. They hit the ground with a loud crash and Hermione knew they'd be found now. Quickly, Hermione grabbed hold of Malfoy's arm tightly and apparated them both back to Grimmauld Place, hoping no one had been able to recognise them.

They stumbled as they landed back in Grimmauld Place and Hermione reached for the wall to stablise herself. As soon as she felt like she could breathe again, she let go of the wall and looked up at Malfoy.

"What are revels?" she asked, finding that was the thing that stuck out the most to her. Slave trade was easy enough to understand despite how horrid it sounded, but revels were unfamiliar to her.

Malfoy grimaced at the mention of them and Hermione frowned.

"Every weekend, a different Death Eater throws one," Malfoy told her. His face was blank as he said, "It's an excuse for everyone to get drunk and do terrible things. Some wizards bring in muggles for entertainment while others are content to drink themselves into a stupor."

"And the slave trade they were talking about? What do you know of it?" she asked.

"Not much more than you," Malfoy answered unhelpfully. "It was Mulciber's idea and he's been rallying for others to agree. From the sound of it, he's got Carrow and Rookwood in so it's just a matter of time."

"What is it?" Hermione demanded. While it seemed straightforward, she never could be sure with the Death Eaters. If this was going to catch the Order's attention like Rookwood had said, she wanted to be able to recognise it as a potential trap immediately.

"A gathering of all muggleborns, blood traitors, and unfortunate muggles," Draco said. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, only vaguely registering that he'd said muggleborns and not Mudbloods. "They'd be sold to the highest bidder to be, well, a slave. The topic has come up at revels before, but if they're meeting about it now, they're likely looking to put it into effect sometime soon."

"If it's a secret meeting in the woods, it can't be too certain, can it?" Hermione asked. Death Eaters owning muggleborns, blood traitors, and muggles was not something she could even pretend was okay.

"On the contrary," Malfoy replied. "Amycus Carrow seems pretty invested in it so it has to be within reach. The git loses interest in things too fast for Mulciber to have consulted him otherwise."

"Great," Hermione grumbled. She'd have to keep an ear out for news about missing muggleborns or an increase in Death Eater gatherings.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds before Malfoy spoke up and said, "I should go. I'll send you the rest of the information on the Bristol attack in the morning."

Hermione just nodded once, watching him apparate first before returning to the Order herself.