Chapter Four - Grand Mistakes

Author's Notes: This story is, obviously, not DH-compliant. Um, oops.

Mark...Hermione was pretty sure his name was Mark, anyway...stopped in the doorway long enough to jerk his head towards the main room of the flat and then gave her an expectant look before disappearing from sight. Feeling more than a little apprehensive, Hermione squeezed Neville's hand in her own before getting up and leaving the room. She stepped carefully through the dark, still trying to get accustomed to the layout of the corridor. At some point before she'd come to London, the electricity in the city had been shut off...no one knew if the Muggles had done it or the wizards...and their supply of other light sources was running dangerously low, so they spent most nights in complete darkness.

Things had gone surprisingly well so far, at least, and she was thankful for that. It had been two days now, and no one was at all suspicious, but Hermione worried that could change if Neville were to wake up. The others had insisted that she begin helping to search for food, now that she'd had a chance to rest, and though she'd protested quite a bit at first, she was afraid to argue too much. The last thing she wanted was for them to think that she had something to hide.

Not that they'd been overly open and honest with her. With the exception of Laura and Emily, the little girl who had found them in the alley, no one had bothered to tell Hermione their names. She'd learned most of them by listening to them talk to each other and argue, as they often did, about who would go out searching for food and who would stay behind to watch Emily (and, Hermione thought, probably to keep an eye on her and Neville as well, just in case). It wasn't the ideal place to be stuck without a wand, but Hermione could think of worse situations she could have just as easily found herself in, and so she resigned herself to remaining with the small group of Muggles until she could either find an opportunity to get Neville's wand back or find a way out of the country. The idea of Apparating away stayed in the back of her mind, an ever-constant option, but with everything being as chaotic as it was, she didn't see how Apparating into a completely unknown situation without the protection of a wand would be any better than staying right where they were. At least here they had nearly a dozen heavily armed Muggles protecting them at all times.

When she joined the Muggles in the main area of the flat, they were preparing to go on another food search, loading guns and trying to hide their nervousness. But today, instead of barely acknowledging her presence, the leader of the group, Ben, looked right at her and asked, "Ever used a gun before?"

"No," she answered quickly, hoping that he'd decide he didn't have time to teach her. Instead, he shrugged and offered one to her anyway, along with a large cloth bag with a strap, which she shouldered reluctantly. "Where did you get all of these?"

"Gun shops. Dead policemen. Anywhere we could find them, really," he told her. "It's loaded, so be careful." She cautiously took the gun from him and held it with a trembling hand, as far from her body as she could manage.

"If you see one of them, point and shoot. Preferably at their head. If you miss, they won't give you a second chance, so I suggest you aim carefully and stay out of sight."

"I...." She paused, glancing at the weapon in her hand and trying not to picture herself using it to shoot anyone, Death Eater or not. "I'm not sure I can do this. Maybe I should stay here with Neville... in case he wakes up."

Ned only shook his head and opened the door of the flat, allowing the others to file past him as he looked expectantly at Hermione, waiting for her to follow. Trying to quell the nauseous feeling that had settled in her stomach, she hurried out the door.

As they moved through the streets, Laura alternated between casting worried glances at Ned, constantly concerned for her husband's safety even though she was in just as much danger as he was, and keeping Hermione from making any mistakes. Hermione, on the other hand, had all of her attention focused on following the others...who all seemed to have a good idea where they were going...and on not accidentally shooting herself or someone else. Just the very idea of having a gun in her hand, knowing that she had no idea how to use it, terrified her.

Creeping carefully through the shadows took quite a bit longer than walking nonchalantly down the street, Hermione quickly realised, and it took them nearly an hour to get only a few streets away. They paused to rest in an alley, and Laura motioned for Hermione to follow her, pointing in the direction of what seemed to be an ordinary intersection of two streets. But when she looked closer, shapes began to become clearer in the darkness. She could see dead bodies scattered around the ground and, just past them, what appeared to be some sort of large crater, so wide that it took up the entire intersection. Hermione couldn't help but wonder if those people had been trying to get out or in when they'd been killed.

"That's the nothing place I told you about," Laura explained. "We don't ever go near there.... No telling what those people might be hiding down there."

Hermione nodded solemnly, careful to memorize exactly where they were. She'd only been to the Ministry a handful of times, and always via Floo or Apparition. This was the first time she'd seen the Muggle street that ran above the underground facility.

Not long after they began walking again, Ned led them into a dark block of flats and to the door on the first floor. They broke in as quietly as possible, and Brian, another one of the men in the group, stayed behind to guard the door while the others made their way inside, searching the rooms for anyone who may be hiding there. When they didn't find anyone alive, they went into the kitchen and took as much food from the cupboards as they could fit in the bags they carried. They took anything and everything that wouldn't require cooking or refrigeration, packing it carefully so that it wouldn't rustle or shift too much as they made their way back through the streets.

Once they'd made it back to their own flat, and Hermione had ensured that Neville hadn't woken up while she was away, she relaxed quite a bit. They'd be going out again in a few days, though, and that worried her. His fever was practically gone, and he should have woken up by now... he was bound to do so any day, she hoped. She could only hope that Neville regained consciousness before she was forced to leave again.

Fortunately, Neville woke up the following morning, confused and in pain. Hermione had been resting beside him on the bed...the only place she had to sleep besides a hard, uncomfortable chair...when he'd suddenly tried to sit up and then groaned loudly, flopping back onto his pillow.

Jumping up, startled, Hermione instantly ran to close the door, hoping that no one had heard him. As quickly as she could, despite the fact that he was barely awake, she explained everything to him, comforting him as she told him what had happened to St. Mungo's...and what fate had probably befallen his parents. By the time David came to check on him, Neville understood enough of what was going on to keep from letting anything dangerous slip, and the Muggles assumed that the tears in his eyes were due to pain or the shock of learning that they were in the middle of a war.

~*~

Though awake, Neville's strength refused to return quickly. Even with the Muggle medicine and sterile bandages, the wounds on his chest were showing no signs of healing...but, thankfully, the infection seemed to be gone. Hermione continued scavenging for food with the Muggles nightly, and Neville stayed in the flat, sleeping more often than not. Little by little, he gained the strength to walk around on his own, but wasn't nearly well enough to go out with the others at night.

The days crept by slowly, and the sounds of planes overhead were often the only things to break the silence. Hermione would lie awake and listen as they passed, wondering where they were going, hoping that it wasn't London they were headed for. The only planes to be seen these days were sent by the military. The only other sound they ever heard outside their flat was much rarer...the sound of gunshots ringing through the empty streets.

Things went on in much the same way until the night Neville glanced out the window and said, "Looks like it will be a full moon tomorrow," eyeing the street below them nervously. "You think there are any werewolves still working with Voldemort?"

The thought hadn't occurred to Hermione before, but now it overwhelmed her thoughts. But what could she do? They were supposed to go searching for food the night of the full moon...with so many people staying in the tiny flat, the food ran out quickly, and it was easier to make their way around London if the moon was creating at least a bit of light to see by. But how could they go outside, knowing that werewolves may be wandering the streets? And how could she warn the others without them realising that she knew far more about the wizarding world than any Muggle should?

She spent most of the following day considering her options, going over a dozen different scenarios in her head. The idea of pretending to be sick and staying behind crossed her mind, but her conscience wouldn't allow her to just let the others walk into harm's way without at least trying to warn them, and so as the sun began to set, she went into the kitchen, where most of the others were gathered around the table, and sat down, hoping that she'd have some sort of sudden inspiration and find the right words to convince them to stay home without giving too much information.

"I... I think maybe we shouldn't go out tonight," she said softly, looking at Ned, and he frowned, his face barely visible in the dwindling light.

"We have to. We're almost completely out of food," he pointed out, giving her a curious look. "Why, what's going on?"

"It's just that, well, it's the full moon," Hermione answered, trying to keep herself from looking too nervous. "I know that usually doesn't mean anything, but with things as they are now, who knows? The stories have always said that magic is stronger or more dangerous on the night of the full moon, you know, and... well, a lot of other stuff that we thought was made up turned out to be true. Maybe there really is a reason to be afraid of the full moon. I just don't think it's worth the risk."

"That's stupid," Mark said simply. "There's nothing to be afraid of except those wizard people, and they're already more powerful than we are, so it's not like that would be anything new. We're all hungry and we're out of food. We have to go tonight."

"I just really don't think it's a good idea," Hermione insisted again, and maybe the very real fear that she knew was reflected in her eyes stirred something inside the others, because Laura glanced nervously towards the window and folded her arms protectively across her chest.

"Maybe she's right... We really don't know what we're up against here, right? Why risk it?" she asked, frowning. "We've all gone longer than a day without food before; we can do it again."

"This is ridiculous. Come on, it's getting dark and we're wasting time," Mark said, standing up, but only a few others joined him. "You can't be serious?" he bit out, giving them incredulous looks, and then shook his head. "Ned, tell me you're coming, at least."

"Yeah, I'm coming," Ned said with a sigh, looking slightly reluctant, and in the end a small group of five tiptoed out the door, heavily armed, and slipped away into the shadows.

Feeling as though she'd just let them walk into certain death, but too afraid of what would happen to her and Neville if she were to let on that she knew far more things to fear during the full moon than she really should, Hermione curled up in a chair near the window overlooking the street. Neville joined her a moment later, standing behind her with one hand on her shoulder.

The others who had been left behind exchanged worried glances and tried to make small talk, and as an hour passed and then another, and their quiet chatter filled the room, only to be suddenly silenced by the echo of howls ringing through the empty streets. Hermione grabbed Neville's hand where it rested beside her, and the two of them turned and glanced out the window, half-expecting to see the source of the noise right outside the building.

"Must be wild dogs," one of the other men muttered, looking completely unconvinced by his own words, and everyone seemed to huddle a bit closer to each other.

"Oh my God, is that them?" a woman...Nancy, Hermione's mind told her, and she brushed the thought aside...asked, and they all leaned towards the window and peered cautiously outside to see three men come racing down the street towards the building.

"Where are John and Bri-" Laura began to ask, her voice sounding panicked, and then promptly forgot the rest of her sentence as what appeared to be two massive wolves turned a corner and bounded after the men, barely visible in the moonlight. One of the men...it looked like Ned, but it was hard to tell, it was so dark...stopped long enough to turn and fire a shot at the wolves, but either he missed or the single bullet wasn't enough to do any real damage...the creature overtook him a second later and dove on top of him.

One of the women in the flat began to scream, and Neville reached over and clapped a hand roughly across her mouth, hoping that no one outside had heard her over the yells of the men in the street.

The second wolf pounced atop one of the other men just before they fell out of view, and everyone rushed to the door of the flat, listening intently for the hurried footsteps of the third man. Hermione and Neville stayed at the window, watching in horror as the wolves turned to look at each other before one tossed its head towards the building and then looked directly at them. They jumped back, exchanging worried glances, and then carefully peeked outside again only to see the wolves heading for the block of flats, leaving the men they'd attacked unconscious or dead on the pavement.

"They're using Wolfsbane, aren't they?" Neville asked softly, and without waiting for an answer, turned to face the others in the flat and shouted, "Don't open the door!"

It was too late, though...the door flew open to let Mark get inside, and the werewolves were already bounding down the hallway.

"Damn thing bit me!" Mark was shouting, cradling his arm against his chest, and the others quickly slammed the door shut.

"How quick do they turn? Will he turn tonight?!" Hermione asked Neville, ignoring the odd looks as she pointed at Mark openly.

"I don't think so," Neville answered, already moving behind the sofa. "Help me get this against the door."

"What's going o-" Laura began to ask, but was interrupted by a loud bang as something was thrown up against the door. The werewolves were trying to break through.

"Get over here!" Hermione shouted, already helping Neville, jumping as the wolf lunged at the door again and a large crack appeared in the wood. Somewhere in the back of the flat, Emily started screaming in terror, and that seemed to put everyone into action; without further argument, they began barricading the door with anything they could find and finally leaning against it all themselves. After nearly an hour, the wolves seemed to give up, and the inhabitants of the tiny flat watched from the window to make sure they'd left the building.

"They'll be back as soon as they're human again, and that door isn't going to keep them out for a second," Neville said, watching them go, and Hermione nodded. "We need to get out of here, all of us. As soon as the sun comes up."

"If we can get to your wand, we can protect everyone. We'll need another building, but if we could ward it heavily enough, they'd never find us." She turned and eyed Mark's bite warily, realizing that there was no way that he could go with them. They had no way of getting him Wolfsbane potion, and without that, he would be a danger to them all. But as she glanced around at the others in the dim light, she found that they were taking wary steps away from her and Neville.

An instant later, Mark raised his gun with his good arm, pointed it at Neville's chest, and hissed, "I knew there was something wrong with you two. You're wizards, aren't you?! You probably led those things here!"

Filling with dread, Hermione realised that the real trouble had only just begun.

Author's Notes: Ok, so I lied. No Snape yet. See, originally this chapter was so very different, and I ended up rewriting and reworking the whole thing. It ended up much longer than I'd originally intended, and so instead of Snape appearing at the end of this chapter, his entrance has been pushed back to the first page of chapter six. But then won't leave again for the rest of the story (which should be another seven or eight chapters at least), so it's not all bad. :D