Isolation

38. Again

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Draco stretched out his legs and tilted his face up to the morning sun. His thoughts were rather jumbled today - perhaps from his early start - and the warmth of the reaching rays seemed to steady him for a moment.

It had been four days since Hermione had barged into the kitchen and shouted at Potter, Weasley, Theo, and himself, and aside from a few snarky yet harmless comments the following day, things had settled down remarkably quickly. Andromeda had even had a private word with him and commended him for his 'maturity', but the fact of the matter was it had all seemed to dawn on everyone that there was simply no room for schoolyard grudges when the world was falling apart.

And that was the odd thing.

They still all gathered around the radio, listened to crackling Potterwatch broadcasts about Muggles being tortured, Muggle-borns being slaughtered, and the death-toll rising and rising. The pace and brutality of the War seemed to accelerate everyday, and yet at Tonks' home, where one-time enemies had managed to reach an unvoiced vow of amity, there was a bizarre sense of peace. It was disconcerting; it almost felt like they were detached from it all, but of course they weren't, and a glance at Granger confirmed that.

In the past couple of days, she'd been waking at dawn to practice spells with Remus and Tonks, insisting she needed to get used to Bellatrix's wand. He'd decided to watch her today, coaxed outside by the sun and also intrigued to see how she handled the unfamiliar wand, and so were his friends apparently. She was a fair distance away from where he was sat with Theo and Blaise near the front of the house - maybe fifty or so feet away - but he could see the thin gloss of sweat streaked across her brow as she discussed something with her two companions and shrugged out of her jumper. Before he even had a chance to realise he was staring, Theo spoke and shattered his trance.

"It's the last day of April."

Draco frowned. "So?"

"So remind me to punch you for first of the month tomorrow."

.

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Hermione nodded and raised Bellatrix's wand, hunching her shoulders defensively as Tonks and Remus took a few steps away from her.

"Ready?" asked Remus, and she nodded again. "Go!"

"Stupefy!" she yelled.

He blocked it effortlessly, and she twisted her body to try and deflect the spell Tonks had fired at her, but she was still a little unstable on her legs. The moment her back was turned, she felt magic scalding her skin, and when she turned back to Remus he was already aiming his wand for his next move.

"Wait, just wait a minute!"

"You think a Death Eater is going to give you a chance to recover?" he retorted.

"No, I know that, but-

"They're going to know you're reluctant to use Dark Magic, and they will probably recognise Bellatrix's wand," he continued. "On top of that, you're reciting your spells. In doing so, you're telling your enemy what your move is-

"I know, but Bellatrix's wand is resisting me, and-

"You can do this, Hermione," he said firmly. "Brightest witch of your age, remember? Now come on, you are better than this!"

"Remus, give her a moment," sighed Tonks. "Perhaps we should just practice one-on-one-

"No, he's right," said Hermione. "The Death Eaters are hardly going to play fair, are they? I need to be prepared."

Remus gave her an approving look. "Exactly. Ready?"

Drawing in soothing breath and gripping Bellatrix's wand tighter, she focused on the tingling heat gathering in her fingertips. Her magic. Bobbing her head, she crouched a little and bent her knees, her eyes steady on Remus as he began to tilt his wrist for a spell. Without uttering a word, she extended her arm, and a bright, violent light shot out of Bellatrix's wand, and Remus stumbled back, his hand reaching up to shield his eyes. Spinning around, Hermione narrowly missed Tonks' Stupefy and hurled back an Impediment Jinx that caught her right in the stomach, sending her flying backwards several feet.