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Here we go.

[ Harry takes a deep breath and then, just to be safe, casts a spell to make sure they're not overheard. Yes, they're in the middle of nowhere, at the side of a road, but he is not taking any chances. ]

There's two main things, first there's a secret group of people here, former shardbearers, who're working to keep the courts in balance. If either wins, it's a disaster, and right now, your Queen is deathly ill. Remember when those stars fell? She needs as many of them as possible. I've brought mine, so you can give it to her.

The stars - you mean the ones people kept?

[ And, suddenly, Hermione feels a wave of guilt. She still has hers, after all, and she hesitates before she nods her head. ]

I'll take it to her as soon as they're letting us see them again. I - I had no idea that she was that poorly.

I'm going to try and get a few more from the other Unseelie, but I can't promise too many.

[ Maybe Waver? Alice? Faolan? But beyond that, who can he safely approach? ]

This secret group, the Covenant, they're also planning a few other things. One of them is to hire shardhunters to kill Unseelie and give our shards to your court.

I'll hand over as many as you want, really. I'll do whatever I can for her.

[ She shakes her head, leaning a little closer, food forgotten. ]

But that's barbaric! How do they decide who gets to kill who? And, I mean, you're proof that not all the Unseelie are bad. They can't just go around killing people.

And if the Seelie were winning the war, they'd sent the hunters on you and yours. I don't know the details, but I'm fairly sure it's going to be a general bounty.

[ He's already had some time to digest this, but it's not a message he ever wanted to pass on. ]

So no matter what we do there are going to be people coming to try and kill the shardbearers to help even things out?

[ It sends fear running down her spine and, for a moment, she is beyond terrified. ]

No, not if we can balance the war. So long as it's balanced, we've got a shot.

[ Harry doesn't have the heart to tell her that even if the Covenant doesn't want to balance things, there are plenty of others who'll collect shards for their power. ]

So we have to try and balance things out. [ She purses her lips before she shakes her head, looking over at Harry with a raised eyebrow. ] About as simple as finding Horcruxes, right?

...which brings us to the second thing.

[ Harry shrugs and does his best to look sheepish. They're going to have to save the world.

Again. ]

[ She raises an eyebrow. ]

... What second thing?

The Sundered Courts. There used to be more than two courts and there was talk that we could raise one of them, and they'd help balance the war - a tripod is more stable, right?

But then they got to talking about what's needed: a place of power, a pile of shards, and all the sigils. I thought about who had those things.

[ click. click. ]

Please don't tell me this Reynard the Fox is trying to make a third court, Harry.

That what I said, and they told me that was impossible. That no one knew where the sigils where, that something so magically powerful couldn't be easily hidden.

[ See where he's going with this? ]

And by right of the Midnight Court, by the way she was challenged and ...and killed, everything that was Alyosha's is now Reynard's if he can take it.

Except for somewhere where magic doesn't work. Because of blood granite.

[ Hermione's heart is beating wildly, now, from fear, and she reaches out to grip Harry's hand. ]

No, we can't - we can't let that happen, surely. There has to be something we can do to keep him away from here, so that he can't take her things.

There is and I'm working on part of it, but I need your help. Reynard has a host of men, over a thousand strong, and we can hold them off for a time. There's also a matching force being gathered to fight him, but we need time.

[ Harry holds her hand tight, and leans in to support her. ]

And more than time, we need your brilliant mind and the Seelie library. Instead of finding horcruxes, we need to hide them. As many as possible. As deep as possible.

Of course, I'll do everything I can to help.

[ She swallows back her nerves, leaning close. ]

Like, actual Horcruxes? Or - or shards or something different? Tell me what to do and I'll figure it out.

They're fragments of the world before the big shard broke and shattered. Powerful, strange, and hard to hide.

For now, we can move them surrounded by blood granite, but we'll need something new and stronger before long. They've been hidden for centuries and can't stay here any more.

So you want me to do some reading, see what I can dig up to try and build something that'll hide them, right?

[ She shifts, moving a little closer to Harry, basking in his closeness to soothe her. ]

I can do that. I can definitely do that.

Several somethings. It won't be safe to rely on one trick. Although, the Mirror of Erised was a good one.

[ He moves to wrap an arm around her, holding her close. ]

I know you can, but you don't have to do this alone. I've a friend at my court, I want you to meet him. He's brilliant, a great researcher, and between the two of you, you'll be unstoppable.

Is this something I need to keep quiet from the Queen? I mean, does she know that all this is going on?

[ She nestles a little closer, breathing out hard. ]

That sounds good. I'll do everything I can, Harry. I promise. Even if I have to make another Mirror, I'll do it.

If she finds out, then Morla will know, and I'll...

[ They're both technically working against the courts with this. ]

Well, the less said about how either court treats traitors the better.

Right. I'll keep it quiet, I'll - I'll look in the library.

[ She swallows, squeezing his hand. ]

I'm going to talk to John about this, and maybe Thranduil. I - I trust them both with my life and Thranduil has magic that even I have no idea about. He might be able to help us.

[ A pause, and - ]

And he doesn't really want much to do with the courts, I think.

If you need to, you can tell them that I found this out, but don't mention the Covenant. It's not my secret to share that freely and if we fail, they'll need to keep on out of sight.

[ He smiles and tucks a bit of her hair behind one ear. C'mon, it's going to be fine. They're good at this. ]

I'm going to arrange a service, a wake, for Alyosha. When it's over, and we're all together, we can meet about this again? It'll be good to see faces from both courts, to know that we're in this together.

I'll only tell them what they need to know, I promise. I won't tell them all of this - and thank you, Harry, for telling me. For trusting me.

[ She leans into the touch a little before she nods her head. ]

I think so. You know where I am, where I'll be. If anything changes I'll tell you.

[ Harry isn't sure he should tell her about Alyosha's return, as it's not his secret to give but it might be important. ]

I do, and you know where I am, but there's one last thing. It's not bad news, it's good news.

...of a sort. Do you remember how tired I was when we last spoke? That I spent the night with Alyosha? It wasn't a gut wound. I mean, she'd been stabbed through and through, but I couldn't kill her when she fell and the Brucolac, he moved so fast.

He's a good man and I trust him, and his condition saved her, but she spent the night going through, well, it was like hours and hours of Cruciatus, and she still died, but she rose up again. She's with us, but undead. Abdead, is the term they use.

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