Harry Potter: The Price of Silence.

The wind howled furiously around the open coastline. Waves crashed against the base of the cliff beneath them, smashing into the rocks to create loud booms as the earth was worn away by the sea. It was the perfect cover for their mission. Hermione couldn't have planned it better herself. Maybe the hum of a tank's engine wouldn't have been that noticeable after all. She would need to keep working on her cloaking spells, maybe there was a way they could be utilized on the field more if the weather conditions were similar to this.

The carriage came into view over the hilltop at 2:53; right when Medusa said it would.

The large, ordinary wooden box was pulled by two Thestral's, and twelve cloaked figures flanking all sides. Eleven Black Masks, and one Gold Mask. Medusa had been right. Voldemort wasn't taking any chances this time. He was looking for blood.

The group waited silently, pulses noticeably quickening as the carriage and its guards neared the trap.

Despite the unexpected cover of the wind, Hermione still held her breath, still kept herself as still as possible as the targets neared the others. She narrowed her eyes as they passed the concealed forms of Hannah and Lee. The cloaks of the Black Masks must've been inches from them. Their boots must've been practically brushing against Hannah as they made their way past.

One of the black masks stopped suddenly. So did Hermione's heart.

The cloaked figure - the smallest of the group - turned slightly, and stared down at the exact spot where Lee was crouching. They tilted their head to the side, shuffling awkwardly on their feet as the other Death Eaters and the carriage continued with their route, pulling further away from them.

Hermione's grip tightened on her wand. They couldn't see Lee; she knew that they couldn't -

The small Death Eater took a cautious step forward.

Tonks inched around the corner of the lighthouse, wand drawn and pointing at the enemy.

Hermione aimed hers as the Black Mask raised their hand, reaching towards Lee.

Their fingers stretched outwards, searching for purchase -

"Parkinson," the Gold Mask shouted, voice cutting through the tension like the crack of a whip."Get back into formation!"

The Black Mask instantly snatched their hand away and turned to face the carriage. "Sorry, sir," a feminine voice answered. She quickly re-joined the group and resumed her place guarding the right side of the carriage.

Pansy Parkinson; Hermione had wondered if she was still alive. Apparently so, although she'd not managed to work her way up the ranks yet. Still at the bottom of the pile despite her father's undying loyalty and servitude to Voldemort.

Hermione's heart restarted, and seventeen seconds later, the carriage was in the centre of the trap.

Everyone leaped into action. Kyle and Harrison disarmed the Death Eaters that guarded the left side of the carriage; Hannah and Susan did the same on the right.

The Thestrals squealed as the Order members popped into existence. Startled, they reared onto their backs legs, and flapped their wings defensively while the Death Eaters drew their wands.

"A trap!" a Black Mask shouted as he moved to disarm Josh and Robert. "Call for backup!"

The Gold Mask reached into his pocket and tapped something. Hermione tried to stop him, casting a strong knock-back jinx at him as she sprinted into the battle, but he blocked it with a simple flick of his wrist.

Non-lethal spells always were easier to block. It was one of the reasons why she hated using them on the field. They were pointless. Child's play.

She could feel the Gold smiling under his mask as he threw a green curse at her. He knew they were using less dangerous magic. He knew they undoubtedly had an advantage.

This was not good. This was not fucking good. They needed to wrap this mission up, quickly.

Hermione duelled the Gold, knowing she was the best equipped to keep him occupied whilst the others fought the Black Masks. If she couldn't kill him, she could at least distract him and stop him from killing her friends.

Tonks disarmed one Death Eater easily. She snapped their wand the moment it landed in her palm, and then cast a charm that encased their body in thick metal chains to prevent their escape. She always followed her instructions to the letter.

Hermione knocked the Gold to his knees, and was just quick enough to cast a shielding charm in front of Robert before an Avada could connect with his chest, saving his life by less than a second.

"Eyes open!" she shouted as the Gold Mask pulled himself to his feet. A green curse shot from his wand. She deflected it with a shield. "Immobilise the others! We need to get this over with quickly!"

Curses and hexes of every colour shot around the field. White. Blue. Orange. Red. The vast majority were that deadly, sickening shade of green. The Death Eaters weren't taking any chances.

Several narrowly shot past Hermione, just missing her elbow, her legs, her head. Her shielding magic was always just quick enough to protect her. It seemed that she was the primary target, which wasn't a surprise really. She was the leader of this group, and one of the most lethal members of The Order. It made sense they would want to take her out quickly. Eliminate the biggest threat first, and then watch the rest crumble. That was exactly what she was doing with the Gold Mask.

She forced her eyes forward when she heard an Avada collide with someone behind her. Forced herself to keep calm, keep her composure, and only cast a Stupefy at the Gold when Susan Bone's ear-piercing scream resonated through the air and her corpse fell to the ground.

The Gold chuckled from under his mask when her curse missed his chest, shooting over his shoulder and disappearing into the thick clouds behind him. Her anger was affecting her aim more than it should be.

Hermione saw red, and started to cast any hex she could think of in quick succession. The curses fell past her lips quicker than ever before, each one forcing the Gold Mask back another step. She wasn't allowed to cast lethal hexes, but surely if he retreated to the edge of the cliff and fell, that wouldn't count, would it?

"Your cadets aren't doing too well without your help," the Gold said, his arms swinging violently in every direction as he attempted to deflect her advances. "Don't you want to help them?"

"I will," she spat as a powerful white light almost broke his shield, inching him back several paces. "After I'm finished with you."

Hermione was so absorbed in her duel that she didn't see Xander fall. So overcome with rage that she didn't see his chest explode from the force of Parkinson's hex, decorating the once beautiful meadow of grass crimson, organs and blood mixing in with the dirt. The sight made Hannah vomit.