𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍-𝘏𝘈𝘙𝘙𝘠 𝘗𝘖𝘛𝘛𝘌𝘙

Chapter 12

Lovesbitca8 TAKES CREDIT THIS IS HER WORK - FOUND ON AO3

Waiting for Draco to recover from his injuries was somehow even more agonizing when they were only separated by a wall. She suspected his condition was serious, but not critical. Narcissa and Mippy kept a near-constant vigil in his room, but Lucius was nowhere to be found, apparently traveling again. Hermione left the door to her suite cracked so she could hear the comings and goings in their shared hallways. Whenever Narcissa's delicate footsteps clicked toward his room, she'd place her ear to her door and hope to hear some muttered conversation as she entered. Once the footsteps trailed away from Draco's room and down the stairs, she'd creep to his door and stand there until the dragon's mocking green eye forced her hand.

But every time she tried the door herself, it wouldn't budge. She attempted to open it with magic on several occasions, but without success. She wasn't sure if it was because she was wandless or if there was more than a simple locking charm, in which case Alohomora wouldn't work even if she had a wand.

One the second day, she snuck down to the kitchens and shuffled around until she located several old Daily Prophets stacked in the corner. Snatching a few with recent dates, she rushed upstairs, tucking the papers under her jumper and running back to her room. Once she'd locked the door behind her, she sunk to the floor and began to read.

Headline after headline of rebellions being squashed by the Great Order — the name given to the new regime. It felt like a slap in the face to the Order of the Phoenix, to be erased in such a way and written over.

Rita Skeeter certainly had a way with words. Hermione knew this from growing up with the woman "buzzing" around her, but it was only her familiarity with Skeeter that allowed her to read between the lines.

The words "small rebellion" and "dozens of casualties" appeared together several times, making Hermione question the actual numbers Skeeter was reporting. Also, she found several articles that referenced back to the Dover Castle Massacre instead of focusing on the details of the skirmishes published, as if the outcomes were never as positive for the Great Order as they were at Dover.

The most interesting piece of information she was able to glean from the articles came in a brief mention of an attack in London three days before the Malfoys returned:

A Muggle cafe was brutally attacked last night by Undesirable No. 1 and 2, George Weasley and Angelina Johnson. The Dark Lord's forces were drawn to the cafe from a sighting report, and proceeded to engage in combat with the two criminals. The skirmish left several Muggles dead or wounded, proving once again that the rebels care little about the lives of the very population they claim to be defending. (Turn to pg. 3 for a full listing of the Undesirables.)

Hermione's eyes narrowed at the words on the page, taking note of the obvious lies and omissions to suss out the truth. The article didn't mention anything about George and Angelina's capture or death. And there was no way they had purposefully killed Muggles at the cafe. Her breath hitched at the reference to a list of wanted rebels.

She flipped to page three, and found half the page taken up by George Weasley's face, grinning in a flamboyant suit, the sign for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes dipping into the top of the frame. Below the fold, Angelina Johnson stared up at her, wearing her Gryffindor Quidditch uniform.

Taking a deep breath, she realized that if Angelina was on the run, then she was the prisoner that had escaped Macnair's estate, not Ron. Hermione dropped her eyes to Angelina's description, and saw "Wanted for the Murder of Walden Macnair" among her list of crimes, confirming her suspicions.

So where was Ron? Had he not been at the Macnair estate when George came for Angelina? She remembered what Draco had said about Voldemort "requesting" him shortly after the Auction. A pale chill of dread shuddered her.