It was late April, slowly melting snow and ice still blanketed everything in the northernmost reaches of Norway, making a stealthy approach impossible with the crunching underfoot. Abdelaziz, Markus and I'd been tracking a pack of werewolves for the last month, and they'd managed to vanish every time we came within a hundred yards of them.

     My shoulders tensed as I heard a loud crunch behind me, and I turned on my heal to glare at the two Auror's.

     "That's going to get incredibly cold in a few minutes," The polar bear sized Ellison Markus complained as he pulled his leg out of an icy-wet hole he'd made with his large foot. Water was dripping down his dark-clad shin, and his disgruntled facial expression was comical.

     Yasmine Abdelaziz shook her head slightly before sending a spell at his leg that cleaned and dried it with a hushed hair dryer sound.

     "If you value your life, you'll be quiet!" I snapped in a hushed tone.

     Markus's right eye began twitching in a way that I'd come to learn meant that he wanted to say something - again. He seemed to shift uneasily for a moment before the silence filled with his rumbling Quidditch announcer voice, "I've never had the pleasure of fighting one before, but you needn't warn me; I'm as quiet as a ninja."

     I gave him a long look of disapproval and noted Abdelaziz's shoulders had slumped at hearing the blonde's reassurances before continuing.

     Walking a bit longer with Markus rambling off facts about the surrounding vegetation, I noticed the tracks we'd been following had become scattered and more abundant as opposed to a path.

     I suspected we were drawing close to our destination and slowed our pace even further until finally stopping behind a large tree. Staying hidden, I pointed at an old rundown cottage with smoke lazily drifting from its small crumbling chimney. "I believe we've arrived."

     "Looks like we might finally get close enough to catch them this time," Markus smiled happily.

     "That would be ideal," I stated as I thought over our plan of attack.

     "What do you want to do?" Abdelaziz asked, looking pumped up about finally getting into some action.

     "From the footprints leading us here, there are seven or eight of them. Quietly knockout or immobilize and then cuff. Even though it would make me feel exceptionally better ridding the world of one or two now, we need them alive to stand trial in front of the Ministry."

     Markus's eyes twinkled as he rubbed his hands together, "You said alive, not unharmed."

     Nodding, I continued, "Werewolves are not known to be kind. Use force if it's needed, but staying quiet is paramount. No one is carrying food, especially beef jerky, are they?"

     Abdelaziz and I stared at Markus.

     "Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked.

     I cocked my eyebrow at him, wondering if he was carrying any one of the many snacks he tends to have on hand. When he didn't remove anything from his pockets, I continued, "I'll make my way through the front. You..." I looked at the sharp-eyed female Auror, "...circle around to the back, get inside, and we'll meet in the middle."

     I appraised the loquacious Markus for a few moments, "You keep an eye on the perimeter and if they make a run for it - take care of them with your ninja moves."

     I heard a light chuckle from Abdelaziz before she quietly slipped away.

     Turning on my heel with my wand at the ready, I proceeded to the weathered porch of the old rundown hideaway.

     A cleaning charm made quick work on a small portion of the dirt and dust coated window. Peering through it, I noted the fireplace held burning coals that produced the smoke I'd seen but would only last a few minutes more. The darkened room held a plaid couch, a few matching armchairs and coffee tables sitting on a worn wooden floor and patchy scattered rugs. A small round table sat in the far corner that had styrofoam containers and dozens of wrappers from takeout food covering it. 

     By the looks of things, they'd been here for a few days but had left within the last thirty minutes. I could feel my irritation growing at having the murderers slip through my fingers once again.

     Looking over my shoulder to where I knew Markus would be; I pointed to my eyes, then him and made a circle in the air so he'd know to look around the building's perimeter. I'd hate to get inside, and the wolves come charging from the forest, locking us inside and burning it down. I'd seen that done before and it wasn't a pretty sight.

     I quietly moved across the porch to the door and listened for movement inside - just in case. The old warped door squeaked as I slowly pushed it open, sending adrenaline through my body and tingling along my spine. I did a quick visual examination before entering the dingy space.

     After closing the noisy door and making my way further into the uncomfortably warm room, my heart jumped into my throat as the fireplace roared to life with vibrant red and orange flames. The room brightened, casting light on three people where there hadn't been any a moment ago.

     I couldn't believe that I'd forgotten to cast a disillusion spell and walked right into the middle of a trap like some first year at Hogwarts. I sighed heavily - Markus must have infected me with some of his particular brilliance.

     Two vaguely familiar people stood either side of the scarred and haggard-looking Fenrir Greyback. The wand armed guard-dogs were malnourished with a sallow, sickly skin tone, and their eyes looked empty as if there wasn't anyone inside their body - it was incredibly eerie.

     When I locked my eyes back on the dangerous werewolf, my surprise shifted to excitement as I realized this was a better hunt than I'd anticipated. I couldn't wait to throw this piece of garbage into Azkaban Prison.

     "Finally! I can't believe how long it took you to show up Snape." Greyback's gravel voice chided while he shook his head in pity.

     Quiet footsteps sounded behind me just before a light shock zapped me in the back, "I believe it would be in your best interest to put your wand away... before I forcefully remove it."

     Doing as he said, I maneuvered enough to see the ugly boxer-built man with short dark hair and matching eyes that just assaulted me. I also noted another member of Greyback's pack in the far corner of the room, and a petite figure was hiding in the shadows.

     Abdelaziz had made her way inside and was off to the right, quietly making her way down the hallway towards us. I twitched my finger, and she stopped moving while giving me a slight nod to let me know that she'd stay put and out of sight - for now.

     I stared back into his menacing blue eyes and slowly spoke as if he was mentally stunted, "Greyback, I thought you'd howled at your last moon with your master back at Hogwarts."

     "You know what they say..." he lit up a cigarette, taking a long drag before continuing, "...can't keep a good dog down."

     I jutted my chin at his sickly looking companions, "New pets?"

     Fenrir laughed menacingly, "You don't recognize your girlfriend's parents?"

     My eyes snapped worriedly back to the sickly people. I couldn't place the skinny brown haired man, but the woman's face looked very much like an older version of Hermione, except for her green eyes.

     My heart jumped into my throat, and confusion wracked my mind. There was no way that these two could be the Grangers because they both had wands pointed at me like they knew how to use them and it's a well-known fact that Hermione's parents had zero magical ability. After carefully studying the couple for a few moments longer, dread weighed my body down when a mental picture of them appeared, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that they were, in fact, the Grangers.

     "In case you can't read, Skeeters' latest articles in the Prophet have indicated that I have several girlfriends, so I've no idea to whom your referring," I tossed my head uncaringly while scanning the room for a way to safely collect them and apprehend Greyback without anyone being seriously injured or die.

     "That's Wendell..." his sharp-fanged smile growing more prominent as he pointed to the thin brown-haired man.

     An arc of yellow-brown lightning shot from Mr. Granger's wand, hitting me painfully on the left side of my ribcage and I staggered backward with a grunt.

     I held my newly damaged chest in shock while sucking air back into my thirsty lungs. Something warm and wet oozed passed my fingers, and I pulled them away, revealing a surprising amount of blood. My heart rate tripled as claws of dread scratched at my troubled mind, wondering what Granger had hit me with and how the hell this could be happening.

     I stood up as straight as I could when the floor started swaying, making me feel like I was on a paddle boat in a tsunami and waited for the Snatcher to continue with his show.

     "...and his lovely wife, Monica Wilkins."

     A glowing green snake with its large fanged mouth opened to sink deeply into me had escaped from the small brunette's wand.

     Every moment had become excruciatingly slow. The walls of the room were breathing in time with me; in, one - two - three. Out, one - two - three.

     An electric blue net sluggishly escaped from the tip of my wand, wrapping around the snake where it appeared to take three times longer than it should have to reach the ground. The glowing beast slowly twisted and thrashed around as the ropes sizzled against it, sending out smells of rotten burning flesh before gradually shrinking into nothing.

     I lowered my wand so that no fighting would ensue, but I didn't have any intention of letting them further injure me.

     Greyback's piercing blue eyes sparkled in delight as he continued toying with me, "Or should I say, Granger?"

     Abdelaziz froze, her face scrunching in confusion at Greyback's comment.

     Suddenly, the wall to my left rumbled before sliding sideways to reveal all the Auror's in the office gathered in the Ministry's break room. They were all drinking a beverage of their choice and were animatedly chattering.

     "When I was on my last assignment, I found out that Severus Snape is with Hermione Jean Granger?" Abdelaziz uncharacteristically said in a scandalized voice.

     "Granger saved him, so they are friends." Another female Auror said.

     "No!" Abdelaziz exclaimed, twinkling in her dark eyes, "They're in a romantic relationship!"

     Sharp intakes of breath came from the group gathered there. I cringed away from the emotional sting of being gossiped about like this at work. It reminded me of my days at Hogwarts.

     "What!? He could be her father!" One of them said.

     "I wonder what her parents would say?" 

     "She's too much for the old codger to handle," I felt myself bristle at the comment, knowing I'd be more than capable.

     I shook my head to clear away the worrisome hallucination, and the world swayed, doing its best to knock me over. I locked my eyes on Greyback to help focus myself, and I felt like a drunk slowly picking out my words to hide my level of intoxication, "Everyone knows that the Grangers are muggles, so this isn't them."

     Laughter from those surrounding me seemed to beat against my skin, like bass at a dance club. Greyback taunted, "Are you sure?"

     "You could try to convince me." My heart was pounding hard, and I felt like I was having an out of body experience as I watched all the furniture begin to melt onto the floor.

     "I don't have to," he shrugged. "You already know it's them."

     "Not even the most brilliant minds over all the ages have been able to get muggles to use magic as if born to it. I couldn't possibly believe that a dog like you somehow came up with a way to accomplish such a feat."

     "Careful what you say, traitor!" The ugly wolf-man warned as a stabbing pain shot through my back.

     Greyback walked closer and sucked in a lungful of nicotine before blowing it in my face. His eyes grew cold, "Monica!"

     "Crucio!" The frail-looking brunette commanded.

     It felt like the air was knocked out of me while watching Wendell drop noisily to the ground, screaming and twitching in pain.

     "Enough!" I heard myself yell as bile rose in my throat from the sickening and inhumane sounds Mr. Granger was eliciting.

     "Monica!"

     Wendell's screaming eased to light whimpers and then heavy breathing after his wife instantly obeyed Greyback.

     The werewolves malicious eyes bore into mine, "I let you catch up with us today so I could relay a message."

     I twitched uncomfortably at him, claiming that he allowed me to catch him. "What could that possibly be?" Disdain dripped from my words.

     "You're a nuisance and have come to the attention of some important and incredibly powerful people. As you can see, they've figured out how to improve muggles." He nodded towards the Grangers. "They've asked that I tell you to stop pursuing any pure-bloods."

     "You and eventually your owners will go before the Wizengamot to be judged and put in Azkaban; just like every single Voldemort loyalist that I've had the pleasure of delivering to the Ministry." The heat from my angry words seemed to have enveloped me, and sweat dripped down my forehead.

     "Wendell!" Greybacks eyes twinkled in delight.

     "Crucio!"

     Monica curled into the fetal position on the floor, screaming in agony as her eerie blank-eyed husband tortured her.

     A look of sexual gratification that I'd seen in Bellatrix's eyes when she was torturing Hermione was twinkling brightly in Greyback's, and I wanted more than anything to kill him with my bare hands.

     Monica's screams were like little claws, shredding my eardrums to pieces as well as rightfully accusing me of the pain inflicted on her.

     "Stop!" I yelled at the crazed werewolf as well as the floorboards that were rolling like waves under my wobbly legs.

     Greyback took his time before signaling to Wendell.

     I could see her slowly quieting whimpers warp the air as it made its way to me. Cramping seized through all my muscles and scorched my eye sockets as the airwave pushed through my body.

     "Stay away from me and the pure-bloods." His cold eyes sent chills through me.

     "That all?" I asked, trying to sound nonpulsed, but the werewolf's body had twisted and morphed into his full moon form right before my eyes. I swallowed hard, wondering if Wendell had infected me with a hallucinogen or poison; with my luck, it would be the latter.

     "If you do something upsetting, the Grangers have things that they're willing to cut off and send to you." He licked his teeth, "Don't dentist's need their fingers?"

     A wave of nausea hit me at the idea of receiving rancid and decaying body parts, so I focused on evenly pacing my labored breathing.

     "You're looking pretty bad," Greyback chuckled. "Maybe you should leave the hunting up to the physically able."

     Menacing laughing sounded around me before I spoke, "Hunting keeps me young, I couldn't possibly give it up." I held my hands in surrender so the unstable werewolf wouldn't flex his muscles and more harm befall the Grangers. "But, I will do as you've dictated." I hated the sour taste of defeat coating my mouth as I bent to his will. However, if an opportunity to safely take Greyback and the Grangers into custody made itself known to me, then I'd take it without hesitation.

     His wolfish face sneered at me, "There are two of them; so I won't hesitate to kill one - if the need arises."

     "You mean I don't get to have a live one now? To show the Ministry some good faith in our new understanding?"

     As he opened his mouth, I quickly amended, "Just asking."

     I cringed as the giant werewolf slid a paper into my breast pocket and patted it. "To remind you of what else you have to lose."

     Ice ran through my veins, having a good idea of what I'd see on that paper and I clenched my jaw while glaring at his retreating figure.

     At that moment, Abdelaziz shifted, causing the floorboards to loudly creak and groan as they reverberated throughout the cottage; as if the building was stretching and yawning after a long nap.

     Greybacks head snapped to look at Abdelaziz and pointed his finger. He'd opened his mouth to say something but the building went quiet enough to hear a pin drop, and everyone seemed to be cautiously taking in their surroundings. 

     The floor started rumbling and swaying, reminding me of an earthquake. Floorboards here and there snapped and broke, shooting splinters of wood violently through the air, cutting Yasmine's cinnamon-hued cheek.  

     "Only Snape needs to leave here alive," Greyback yelled over the growing noises.

     The Grangers began attacking Abdelaziz relentlessly and she quickly shielded herself before any of the spells could damage her while Greyback watched with amusement on his scarred face.

     The floorboards under my feet snapped and rolled, knocking me into a backward spin, as I blocked a stunning spell from ugly wolf-man. 

     Casting incarcerous silently, the wolf was instantly wrapped in a chain that had dropped him to the floor like an overgrown metal worm. I threw stupefy duo, so I'd not have to worry about him but it was blocked by Monica as she began sending various attacks my way.

     Backing up towards the nearest wall, I continued blocking flying debris and bolts of light from spells that were landing too close for comfort. The room filled with various pieces of flying cloth, wood and pulverized stone chunks intermixed with smoke and the smell of sulfur; making it hard to see everything.

     Out of nowhere, an eagle-headed man appeared by Wendell's side, pointed his wand at a nearby wall, "Confringo!"

     The building shuddered with a loud bang that slowed the world even further. Tiny dust motes were floating in the air being caught by the sunlight, reminding me of dancing fireflies on a warm summer's evening.

     Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a barrage of glowing yellow arrows arcing towards me and my silently summoned shield sprang into place. I deflected several flashes from spells and more flying debris as I moved towards the Grangers in hopes of capturing both of them along with Greyback.

     Abdelaziz had the same idea and waved her wand; red bricks stacked themselves in front of the newly made entrance. She kept delaying them without inflicting damage, all while blocking their attempts to harm her.

     Unfortunately or fortunately - I wasn't too sure anymore - the Grangers were adeptly protecting themselves and Greyback as if they had been trained by the most skilled of spellcasters.

     Another wave of nausea shot through me as the world tilted, sending me staggering into the wall. I regained my balance just as a hungry looking fire crocigater advanced on me.

     I struggled to lift my heavy feet and realized that I was sinking into the floor. I knew I was hallucinating some of this, but I was having a hard time differentiating between what was there versus what wasn't.

     Another loud crash sounded as Markus broke through the front door and extinguished the predator who'd been headed towards me before he began throwing spells at ugly sneaky wolf-man.

     Bile was eating the lining of my throat, so I swallowed to force it back down and rid myself of the uncomfortable feeling burning there. I hope I don't end up hallucinating that Abdelaziz or Makus was something other than themselves.

     Slowly turning, I managed to pull my feet out of the quicksand floor. I wasn't positive, but it looked like a small blonde exited through the hole where Abdelaziz's bricks had just been dismantled, followed closely by the ringleader.

     Abdelaziz voice dreamily echoed as she prodded me for a decision, "It's your call, Snape!"

     I hated letting them go, but I didn't think we'd be able to catch them safely. We'd scour the place once they vacated the premises and collect as much data as possible before making another move against the werewolves or their owners.

     "Let them go!" I shouted and noticed Abdelaziz nod as she switched to defensive spells only and blocked another bolt sent by Monica.

     A big crash sounded, and I looked to Markus who had just been smashed into the wall by the sneaky wolfman. Blood was running from his face as well as down his arm and pooling onto the floor.

     Flicking my wrist, a white light shot from my wand and connected with Markus's attacker on the shoulder just before he left the cabin.

     I glanced back at Monica and Wendell who just slipped outside, and I blocked several more spells from the eagle-headed man before he made his exit.

     I scanned the room for Abdelaziz just as a loud slam sounded against the outside of the cottage wall, and I quickly made my way there.

     The small Auror had the sneaky wolf hog-tied, and he was yelling obscenities at her. As Abdelaziz moved towards the angry man, a chilling howl sounded from the forest.

     "Wait!" She froze, and the tied man started laughing hard.

     "That's right Snape, you better let me go, or your girlfriend's parents are gonna get hurt." He spit out, "Better yet, I'll just visit Hogwarts and show that sweet little piece of ass how a real man does things!" He began making obscene faces and rocking his hips.

     Rage filled me, and I spoke in an icy cold voice, "I'll take great pleasure in ripping you to tiny pieces if you even look at her." I lowered my wand and took several calming breaths so I wouldn't kill him - even though I could feel the killing curse ready to leap from my tongue.

     "I'm getting hard just thinking about fuc-" Abdelaziz kicked him in the face, knocking him out.

     "Filthy pig!" She pulled out a gun of some sort and shot him just above his hairline on the back of the neck. Standing up, she replaced the gun in her hand with a black device of some kind from her pocket and started pushing buttons.

     I stood there a bit surprised as I waited for the quiet spectacled Auror to speak, "I know we're letting him go, but I wanted to try something if I had the chance. It's a muggle tracker for animals." She smiled mischievously, "Omar."

     "When did he come up with that?" Omar was Yasmine's brother who was fanatic-level obsessed with muggles and their technology. He also happened to work alongside Arthur Weasley at the Ministry, and they were always on about the newest muggle technologies - including the internet.

     "We were playing one of his muggle video games when I'd informed him that we were tracking werewolves. He'd made a joke about how muggles use trackers on their animals. After thinking about it for a while, I realized that it would work better than using appare vestigium or any other magical tracking spell since they'd expect something like that from us."

     "Good thinking," Abdelaziz had been continuously doing the unexpected from the first day we'd worked in the field together, and it always paid off. I placed a tracking spell on the filthy dog, "They expect it, so we should give it to them. It could help hide your gadget."

     She became serious, "Whatever type of relationship you have with Hermione Granger is none of my business and will stay that way unless it becomes a liability. I'll never utter a word about it. However, if someone happens to ask me directly, I won't lie."

     "You don't think that letting them go was a liability?"

     She shook her head no, "How else will we learn who they are and how they mutated the Grangers? I get the feeling that Greyback and his pack are the hired muscle and we're dealing with some very clever pure-bloods. Even if we pushed him hard, Greyback most likely wouldn't have told us anything more."

     "Agreed, and thank you," I appreciated the levelheaded Auror's council.

     Pointing to the unconscious man, she said, "That's all yours and I'll see to Markus." She walked into the cottage, and within moments, I heard mumbling from the two Auror's exchange.

     Flicking my wand at the ties to unbind the irritating man who was face first in the snow, I rolled him over with my foot. My photographic memory sifted through all the files I'd studied over the last seven months to see if I could recognize him. It didn't give me any idea of who he was but one thing's for sure, he was a scrapper. His face and visible skin were covered in scars, old and new. I committed every detail of him to memory as I'd be sure to hurt him as much as possible when I caught him later.

     "Legilimens!"

     His memory surrounded me.

     It was a warm night in another forest. Black-hooded figures stood evenly spaced in what appeared to be a large circle. Slapping noises and panting could be heard echoing from that direction.

     The wolf-man was too low to the ground to see anything more and moved through the bushes quietly to get a better look.

     He froze in surprise when seeing three figures on an intricately carved dark purple amethyst altar in the center of the circle. Their faces were covered, but they were completely naked and fucking like bunnies in heat.

     What in Merlin's beard did this werewolf see and know about all this? As I probed more in-depth, I felt a combination of whatever Wendell infected me with, and the wolfs animal instinct shut me out of his memories.

     Staggering backward, I threw up rainbow colored worms that were still wiggling around, and I wondered what I could have possibly eaten. The world was getting hazy and tilting side to side as another wave of nausea hit me.

     In an unexpected moment of clarity, I remembered Greyback's little reminder in my pocket and took a few calming breaths before pulling it out.

     My chest squeezed with deep longing when looking at the picture of Hermione. It was last year before my trial, and I'd been tucking the hair that was giving her grief behind her ear. My fingers began tingling as I remembered the silky strands; then the smell of her filled my lungs and began torturing me with the overwhelming desire to be near her.

     Hermione's pictured velvet-chocolate gaze silently pleaded with me to help her parents. I slid the photo back in my pocket, vowing that I would do everything in my power to safely reunite the Grangers.

     I was shaking violently and enraged that anyone, especially Greyback, knew about my feelings for her. Without intention, my boiling fury exploded, shooting pain down my arm as it lashed out to my side, sending a ball of fire at a nearby tree - igniting it. Within moments it's pine needle covered branches were engulfed in large flames, and red embers were glowing brightly at its gnarled roots.

     Exhaustion gripped me, and I dropped to my knees to avoid passing out. I watched the sizeable evergreen burn for a few minutes; allowing the warmth to penetrate my cold face and hands as I took slow calming breaths. My heart rate slowed, and the world became solid under me once again.

     I waved my wand sending a shield around the whole tree before it caught any surrounding vegetation on fire. After a few moments, it exploded into a cloud of ash, looking like a giant black snowglobe.

     I felt terrible for wasting a tree like that, but whatever was in my bloodstream seemed to be amplifying everything; at least that's what I was attributing my actions too.

     I lowered the tree-shield before making my way back into the cabin and Abdelaziz was using a mending spell to help close up the large wound across Markus's arm.

     "Snape, I don't mean to rush you, but I need to get Markus to St. Mungo's to get a look at his eye and to make sure that he's not infected with lycanthropy. You were hit with something too - are you feeling okay?"

     She cringed a little when looking up at me, and I figured that whatever was in my system was making itself visibly known.

     "I'll need treatment for poison - I think." Focusing on anything was getting harder by the second as things around the room were slowly morphing into strange geodesic shapes with bright, colorful designs. I kept my breathing steady and tried to remain calm so the poison wouldn't be pumped through me any faster than it already was.

     "There were several people were surrounding the cabin," The towering blonde suddenly stated in a pained voice.

     "How many?"

     "Three that I saw before you two riled up the dogs in here and I had to come to save you."

     "Sure, Markus," Abdelaziz shook her head. "I need to get him to a healer now." She stood before helping Ellison to his feet.

     "I'll be there soon, but I want to take a quick look around."

     "I'll alert them that you're coming in and if you're not there in another twenty minutes, I'll be back for you." With that, they swirled from my vision with a popping sound.

     I quickly searched the back two bedrooms, finding nothing substantial there. The bathroom and kitchen were just as unremarkable, leading me to believe they stayed near the fireplace most of the time. 

     When I'd made my way back into the main sitting room; shredded cushions, papers, and broken glass were strewn everywhere. The crunching under my feet suddenly pierced my eardrums, and I froze as needles dug themselves into every inch of my body. I felt like Nagini's venom was burning through my system once more - trying to kill me. I begged Merlin, if was the case, my suffering would quickly pass and this not be my pitiful end.

     Hermione's beautiful face appeared, and her smile slowly soothed me as I desperately focused on only her until I could breathe easily once again.

     When it finally subsided, I levitated things here and there. Finding nothing of significance, I walked on wobbly legs to the hole in the wall. Once I came to stand in front of it, I noticed a logo on a paper bag I recalled seeing once upon a time, crumpled up on the floor. I placed it in my pocket for later inspection and stepped outside to search the perimeter of the cabin.

     I dodged several angry trees related to the whomping willow and quickly confirmed that there were twelve different footprints, including the three in my party. I was reasonably sure that there was more of them even further out but didn't think wasting my time with prints was going to tell me anything. On top of that, my vision was getting darker by the second.

     I apparated to St. Mungo's within ten minutes of my co-workers and barely made it inside the front door before falling to the ground. The last thing I remember thinking before blacking out was how long I could delay in hurting Hermione with this news.