blue_paris - Gravity Keeper

A/N: A huge thank you to my wonderful (and rather speedy) beta, who wishes to remain anonymous.

~*~

It was a crisp, clear morning as Hermione began walking briskly down an old country trail. Something had motivated her to awake unusually early today – it was barely past six o'clock. She held onto her wand perhaps more tightly than necessary as her eyes scanned the grassy horizon.

Bang.

Hermione gasped and stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide in surprise. An attack? Here? She glanced in the direction the shot had come from. Not even thirty feet away, protruding from the sprigs of a fluffy bush, was the barrel of a gun.

Grasping her wand, Hermione took off without another thought. She was going to get some answers while she had the chance to.

Her feet pounding on the dirt, she kept her focus on the barrel as it was yanked back into the bush. As she reached the spot where the gunman had to have been standing, she saw a dark-clad figure hurtling into the eerie dark of the forest surrounding them.

Hermione stopped for a moment, drew a deep breath, and started running again, now being careful to keep enough distance between them that she could escape should he see her, but still maintain visual contact.

The figure darted between trees – he clearly knew where he was going. Hermione winced as she nearly smacked head-first into an evergreen tree, her palms receiving nasty scrapes as she deflected the wooden obstacle.

After several minutes, her lungs begging for more oxygen and her legs on fire, a small cottage loomed ahead. A shoddy wooden fence surrounded it, and a fire was clearly visible crackling in the garden.

The mysterious man came to a sudden stop in front of the fire, pulled something from within the folds of his cloak, and flung it forward into the burning pile of wood. It immediately turned a coruscating shade of green – Floo powder. "Borgin and Burkes!" the Death Eater roared and disappeared in a flash.

Hermione came to a halt several feet away from the fire, hesitant and chary. There was no way she could just Apparate or Floo after him – undoubtedly there would be other wizards in the shop, and none of them would be any too kind to an unknown witch appearing out of nowhere.

She took several deep breaths as she thought about her options. I'll start in Diagon Alley, she decided after several moments, remembering Luna's warning from the previous night, to stay away from Malfoy Manor.

Taking a last glance at the flames licking and curling around the rapidly decaying wood, Hermione Apparated with a pop that echoed in the dark woods.

~*~

Hermione surveyed the cobbled street and felt an overwhelming sense of grief. It was desperately empty now – just another sign of how absolutely the fear of Voldemort and the Death Eaters reigned over the wizarding community.

She began walking towards Knockturn Alley, a feeling of utter desolation creeping into her system. It was unnerving that not another soul was present. Shaking off the unpleasantness, she sped up and quickly reached the dark entrance to the other alley.

Ensuring her wand was easily accessible, Hermione peered around the corner, surveying the entrance to Borgin and Burkes for several minutes.

A lone figure ambled across the alley, entering a shop across from where Hermione was standing. She didn't recognize them – probably a good thing. After waiting another minute, she drew a deep breath and quickly pulled on the Invisibility Cloak she had... borrowed from Harry early that morning.

Hermione made her way swiftly towards the entrance of Borgin and Burkes, and after confirming that no one was within line of sight of the door, she slipped inside, closing the ancient wooden door behind her.

She moved around the magical objects and dusty shelves carefully towards the back of the shop, her eyes wide and alert. As she approached the back room, she could hear two clear voices conversing.

"There is no bloody problem with the shipment! I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

Lovely, Hermione thought. You can always be sure to find some display of gaucherie in this forsaken place.

She stopped outside the open door and peered inside. The two wizards were easily recognizable – Borgin, the owner of the shop, and Avery, the prominent Death Eater. Borgin was standing next to a disturbingly dusty cabinet; Avery was gazing into the crackling fireplace.

Borgin looked concerned; Avery looked rather disgruntled.

"If there was no problem with the shipment, why were there fifteen fewer guns than were ordered?" Avery asked sharply, his dark eyes narrowing as he glared at Borgin.

"Look, the man responsible for this entire gun parade will be here himself in a few minutes; you can bloody well ask him yourself," Borgin responded coldly.

Hermione's sharp intake of breath was thankfully masked by Avery releasing a long, exasperated sigh.

"All this foofaraw over Muggle weaponry." Borgin shook his head in disgust.

"Muggle or not, you can't deny that this plan is working out far better than any of us could have predicted," Avery answered. "The Ministry has no way of connecting our people to the deaths. It's quick, it's easy, and best of all, it's completely untraceable. That's exactly what we need."

Borgin grunted, his lips curling into a sneer. "Easy or not, with as many powerful wizards as we have on our side, we shouldn't have to be relying so heavily on Muggle contraband."

Avery sighed again, picking up a small statuette and idly twirling it in his hands. "Keep up with the times, old man. Soon we'll be utterly unstoppable. The Dark Lord knows what he is doing."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, wondering how many other Death Eaters were also vehemently opposed to the usage of Muggle weaponry. Perhaps a rift in their midst could be used to an advantage of some sort.

"That's the only reason I'm letting you lot plunder about my shop like it's your personal bloody playground," Borgin snapped. "Running around like headless chickens." He shook his head again. "It's not you I have confidence in, it's the Dark Lord..."

Avery glanced at him for a moment, his expression clearly conveying his boredom. "Yes, old man. It won't be for much longer."

The fireplace sparked and hissed, a familiar green hue taking over. The two wizards and Hermione turned to watch as a cloaked wizard appeared.

Hermione gaped and barely concealed another gasp. Oh, dear.