The Fallout by EveryThursday (reposted)

Twenty-Eight

Day: 1462; Hour: 17

"See, the first couple nights we went to places that were empty. Remember what they said? They were going to send us to places that they knew were abandoned the longest or new locations that had turned "old" and were going to be, or already were, abandoned soon. That's why we didn't get anything. Then...bam. But now they know we're on to them, so they're packing up and moving on."

"Thanks for that, Justin," Hermione mumbles, plugging her nose as she steps closer to the body on the ground. "I think she was a Muggle. Jeans, blouse..." She can't make herself look at the face, because that makes it real.

"Could have been an Innocent." Justin shrugs, waits a beat, and then rushes on. "I mean, from the wizarding world. I'm really happy we aren't on the run from the Ministry and Order anymore, as we can do...this."

He levitates the woman, wrapping her up, and placing the Portkey on her without raising anything besides his wand. Hermione ignores it because she doesn't want anything to remind her of the way those bodies felt against her rubber gloved hands. He follows behind her as she enters a side room, both of them tearing through drawers to find any papers.

"You really scared us, Hermione. I mean, Ginny was really worried, but we told her - she was coherent, she wasn't bleeding, she's getting help from the best Healers in the world. But then she started talking about how that didn't help her family any and...you know. It was a bad subject."

"I'm fine."

"Now, yeah. But all of us, except Fitz of course, went to Mungo's after. Draco showed up too. I thought Harry and Draco were going to kill the Healer when she said we couldn't go into your room, and she wouldn't give information. Not even to Harry! Then everything went crazy in your room, and it took seven guards to hold us back - they had to use spells, you know."

"I was dying." She doesn't know why she admits to this, and she hurries to open more drawers to hide her face.

"I know," Justin whispers. "We all knew. Ginny and Lav were crying, Harry punched a guard in the face... It was... I..."

"Let's not talk about it, Justin."

"Okay." But he doesn't sound like he agrees, so she isn't surprised when he follows her out of the room and starts talking again. "Lupin gave Mungo's a list of who was allowed in your room. You could only have three, and he put him, Harry and Malfoy on it. Why... People weren't very happy when they found out Malfoy was on it. I mean, Harry had Ginny sneak in one time, but, you know. Malfoy went back every night but one, always before or after Harry. I--"

"Justin," Hermione sounds exasperated because she is. "You never babble on. Never."

She looks up from the empty drawers in the second room. The entire place was empty, left behind, and everything important was taken with whoever left. They still checked anyway.

"Sorry."

"No. What's wrong? Seamus? Are you worried?"

"No, he's supposed to be back tomorrow."

"Then wh--"

"I think I may have... I think I might have gotten pregnant." Hermione stares at him long enough for him to change his sentence. "I mean, that is, I think I got a girl pregnant. A woman, actually, because...well, yeah. Yeah."

Hermione stares at him with wide eyes for a moment before dropping them to his shoes, scratching her shoulder as a way to distract his attention from her awkwardness. She didn't even know he was sleeping with anyone. "Who?"

"Margarete Ust." He looks sheepish and Hermione actually chokes a little.

"What?"

"She... I don't know! I checked on her at Mungo's the next day after everything, and she was being released and... You know! Drinks, conversation, she...she was wearing this really pretty dress, and...you know!"