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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.

[ Alyosha isn't entirely dead. She's undead -- which, really, they've not had too much experience with before and it's not something she knows about, extensively, but it's important. Hermione nods, reaching out and gripping Harry's hands. ]

Abdead. Alright, I - that's a good thing, right? She hasn't died. [ She frowns, tilting her head. ] Being undead, though, means she can't exactly come back to Redgate, can she?

And, I can't tell you if it's a good thing or not. She did die, was cold and still for a day, and now she's gone into hiding, to raise and army to stall or stop Reynard. Other than those of us who were there, no one can know.

[ Now it's Harry's turn to look unsure. He remembers how happy she was when she saw him and it is a good thing, she seemed glad at the opportunity to keep living, but...but she's already given up so much. ]

[ Hermione nods; she intends to keep that as quiet as she can. There's no real reason for anyone else to know - it's not related to the mission to protect the shards or anything Harry's asked her to do. It's private, something he's given her in trust. ]

I hope she does alright. I - I'm sure this can't be easy for her, at least. Is there anything I can do? Potions or - or magic?

A pint if all goes well?

[ Har. Har. That's not even funny, Harry. ]

[ She nudges his side. ]

A pint? Really?

Okay, maybe a half-pint.

[ ...Harry briefly looks shifty. ]

With a small paper umbrella in it.

[ She sighs, shaking her head. ]

You're awful. But we'll see.

[ Harry nods solemnly, before picking up a piece of cheese and turning it into a hibiscus. Okay, it's still cheese, but it's shaped like a flower. ]

Shall we eat? And what's the news from your court?

[ She looks at the cheese before she shakes her head, handing him a sandwich. ]

Nothing too much is going on, really. Like I said, Thranduil is back so Legolas should be happy - and I used up the last of my dittany to save one of his friends. I'll have to see if I can get some more.

[ With a shrug he eats the flower and accepts the sandwich. ]

We should see if we can grow it here. The gardens at Scima are chock-a-block with poisons and moon-flowers - if you ever want datura, we've more than I've ever seen.

I don't see why not. Maybe when the next gifts come around I'll ask for a little spot to garden some? It couldn't hurt.

[ Content with this, Harry is happy to eat his sandwich, drink his lemonade, and chatter about the general goings on at Redgate and Scima. It's nothing too exciting, but it feels familiar. All they really need is to start worrying about grades and exams and it would be business as usual. ]

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