On the Way to the End - Dramione

Hermione Granger sat with her back pressed against the wall. She looked out the window to the dusky sky as rain hit the glass pane. Small drops made their way down the glass, traveling in wavy patterns as they merged with other diamond like pearls. The warm glow from the room she was in reflected in the water as it slid to the bottom of the window, like dozens of tiny sparking stars against the gray background. Papers sat in her lap, but the young woman found herself reading the same lines over and over. Mostly due to the commotion in the room around her. 

At a table, a few feet away sat her best friend, The Boy Who Lived. He sat at a large dining room table that stretched the length of the room, along with a group of people, including Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and a few others. They were discussing Horcruxes. A topic which Hermione would normally participate in, but she had already said all she needed to say. 

Turning back to the composition on her lap, she sighed. The parchment had lists and lists of information; content which she was supposed to be looking through to decipher, with little avail. Her auburn eyes scanned the inked scrawlings. They seemed important. Hermione guessed they had to be, as they had previously been snatched from a Death Eater base just outside of Ireland a day prior. Hermione was often put on tasks like this, as she was particularly good at connecting dots and putting seemingly nonsensical fragments together. But their talk of Horcruxes had her mind jumping all over the place. 

And today, she was particularly frustrated with the conversation at the table, as it was one she had heard nearly everyday as of late. This was because they were all absolutely clueless after Voldemort made a new Horcrux and they had no idea what, or where, it could be. At first, it was upsetting they had lost out on their chance. Then it was a rush to identify the new Horcrux in order to destroy it and make a new plan. But after weeks of no avail, everyone was feeling a impending sense of hopelessness that grew nearer each passing day. 

The chairs had been full when their meeting started, and while her friends opposed her standing while she was a part of the discussion, she was now grateful, as after she said her piece, she slunk down the wall and sat in the corner. The wooden floor beneath her was somewhat uncomfortable, but her view of the window was nice, and she was glad that when she was out of sight, she was also out of mind, which meant she wouldn't be called on for much of the discussion continuing on. 

Eventually, Hermione realized she was making no progress with discerning the notes on her lap, and she turned back to watching the rainfall. Besides, the small print and rubbish handwriting was earning her a headache. She looked over to Ron who was sitting across the way from her, in an armchair away from the table. He had been participating in the ongoing conversation, but mostly he was focused on rewrapping his hand with a bandage. 

Hermione thought back to the events leading to the gash on his hand. It had happened just the day before, when they had been trying to get information on what the Horcrux could be. A small group from The Order, including Hermione and Ron had discretely traveled to a shop down Knockturn Ally. This had been after Lupin mentioned he had a contact there who offered that they were willing to give up information. They had known it was risky, but they were quickly exhausting options and gaining desperation. 

The Golden Trio, accompanied by Lupin and Tonks, had gone to speak to him. They had taken precautions, but there ended up being a few too many Death Eaters in Knockturn Ally. Their group had to abandon the mission without obtaining any information at all. And of course, they didn't get away without a few spells flying their way, including one that caused a cut across Ron's hand. Hermione could only assume they were aiming for his face, but his reflexes avoided a slit jugular thanks to the hand he used to block the spell just as five of them apparated away. He was lucky.