Hogwarts: Era of Darkness

Watching from the rooftop, their target remained in the park for over an hour before finally taking action. After walking around a few times, checking every bench and bush, he was finally brave enough to get to the tree. Gently but rhythmically tapping it with his wand, the bark slid open like a little door, revealing a package within. He was clearly hesitating to take it away, but then the rat on his shoulders moved, standing on its hind legs as if whispering into his ears.

"That is not a normal rat." Neville concluded at once, making the others nod in agreement.

After the boy collected the dead drop, he left in a hurry, taking long strides, making the group act and apparate from one rooftop to another, keeping a bird-eye view, watching the young man hurry through the streets.

"Quick! Down!" Hermione yelled as they teleported down into an alley thirty meters away, almost ending up in a trash bin because of their hurry.

Luckily, they managed to get out onto the main street in time to see the boy head down the stairs leading into the subways. Hermione took the lead, guiding them through catching up to the boy at the station, waiting amongst many other muggles for the train to arrive.

"It is rare to see a wizard so used to muggle technology and navigating their world..." Neville whispered, leaning close to Hermione.

"Spy?" Krum questioned, but even if he was, nobody knew which side he was on.

"Stay natural." Hermione answered, keeping her eyes on the clearly nervous man. "We don't want to tell him that we are following him; he is nervous enough."

"Maybe first mission."

"Or we are looking at a hostage situation." Hermione countered, making Krum nod while Neville raised an eyebrow.

"Death Eaters? You can't think..." He mumbled, watching Hermione's serious look, but she intentionally didn't answer him. But... she wasn't so sure the Order wouldn't stoop to the same lows that a Dark Wizard would utilize. They can simply cover their tracks, saying it is because of the hard times, desperation, a rouge agent, or what they have already heard a few times, and she felt disgusted by it all the time: For the so-called greater good.

After the train arrived, with Krum accompanying them, it was easy to be a bit more aggressive, pushing forth and boarding the same train as their target, able to follow him all the way to the last station. The only problem was that people were getting fewer and fewer as the stations went on, making them stick out more until only half a dozen others remained in the same cabin.

"He noticed us!" Neville groaned because the moment they exited the train, trying to look for the guy, he stepped back into the cab at the last moment, watching them with a panicked look as the doors closed before him.

"Victor!" Hermione shouted, but he had already acted.

Without waiting for the train to speed up, he apparated, unafraid, and his eyes locked onto the young boy's body from the start. Appearing inside the cabin once again, right behind him, was not something the boy was even considering as a possibility.

"Sorry!" Krum exclaimed while using something he had learned from the fight against the red-haired nuisance. 

"Huh-?!"

It was too late for him to do anything as Krum's fist connected with his jaw, knocking him out in one punch. The moment the boy flopped and collapsed like he was nothing but a ragdoll, the rat on his shoulder squeaked and was about to jump towards the nearest bench and try to scurry away. Of course, Krum was ready and wouldn't let it just go, shooting a spell that quickly threw sparks everywhere, scaring him enough to stop briefly. It was enough for him to use another spell and bind the rat with an invisible shackle, lifting it into the air.

"After them!" Neville shouted, wanting to jump onto the tracks, but was yanked back by Hermione, who ran to the stairs leading towards the opposing lane.

"Don't be stupid! This is the last station. The train is going on a loop and will come out on the other side. Hurry!" She shouted while those muggles who were still around looked on, shocked at what was happening. Some even tried searching for cameras, thinking they were in some kind of prank show or a movie shoot, unable to believe what they were seeing.

There was no time to think about the consequences, so Neville simply followed along, running, arriving at the same time as the same metro car reappeared from the curved tunnel to the shock of the onlookers. They couldn't be blamed because inside, there was a floating, screaming rat, a knocked-out guy, while another man held both of them with a murderous gaze.

"We go. Now. Help!" Krum stated simply, and Neville didn't waver, grabbing onto the unconscious boy and apparating to their predetermined destination.

"That was... cool..." Hermione murmured, making Krum smile before they also disappeared, bringing along the captured animagi, still under Krum's binding spell, preventing it from changing back.

...

....

......

Far away, at an old stable near an unused farmhouse, the trio were getting ready to examine the still unconscious, captured boy while the rat was still held in the air by Krum's spell, preventing it from squeaking or wiggling around.

"How hard did you hit him?" Neville chuckled, feeling that not even the stunning spell would be this potent and knock someone out for this long.

"Just one hit. Medium?" He answered, thinking about it, making Hermione shrug, summoning a ball of water, letting it drop on his head, and immediately waking their 'hostage' up.

"Please, don't!" He shouted at once, looking terrified.

"We are not here to hurt you!" Hermione spoke, trying to sound soft and non-threatening. "We only wanted to talk with you because we are looking for Conrad!"

The moment she said the name, the young man snapped his head towards the rat, then back to them, trying to figure out what they were trying to say. He watched as Neville picked out a familiar notebook, enlarging his eyes and making him slowly stand back up.

"Sorry for punch." Krum exclaimed.

"You saved me before..." He mumbled in answer, rubbing his jaw, "So... whatever."

"Oh." Krum hummed, squinting, but he couldn't remember his face.

"I was part of the group that you helped escape on the ship of your school."

"I see. Why run then?"

"You are with the Order." He answered, getting nervous once again, "If I make contact with you, my sister will die!"

"What are you on about?" Neville asked, now looking confused and hoping it wasn't what he was thinking about.

"My name is Kirk Robertson." He answered, scratching his throat, "I was a Hufflepuff, 7th year. After everything went down, because of me being not from a pure family, with multiple half-bloods in the lineage, I was not in a position to not go back! I slipped back while the confusion was still high and avoiding detection..."

"But?" Hermione asked, seeing him fall silent.

"This one is a Death Eater." Kirk continued, visibly angry, pointing at the rat, "Worse, he is an ex-Professor, the fatty pervert, Wormtail!"

"Isn't he dead?" Neville gasped, sounding shocked as they thought he was killed by Sirius in the battle at Hogwarts.

"Apparently not. My sister is attending Hogwarts; she is still only a 3rd-year student! This bastard found out about my escape and that I am in connection with... Conrad. He wanted to learn more, or otherwise, he would make sure my sister suffered an... accident!"

Neville was about to answer when the door was almost blown open, scaring everybody, watching as Sirius Black walked in, followed by Ron Weasley. 

"PETER!" He roared, his wand already halfway down, ready to use the killing curse to end the rat's miserable life, blinded by the rage he felt after hearing everything.

Yet, before he could do it, a loud pop resounded, and his wand was flung away. Nobody could tell how or when, but Dumbledore himself appeared between the group, holding the Elder Wand, soon followed by two separate pops as Moody and McGonagall also apparated into the barn.

"We will take it from here." Dumbledore exclaimed calmly while McGonagall moved to stand between Sirius, Ron, and the group.

"We will deal with this one, kids." Moody grunted, taking over the captured Wormtail and the confused Kirk.

"About what happened in Manchester..." Dumbledore spoke again, his voice calm and unbothered, "We will deal with it; you don't need to worry about it. Good job, Neville, Mr. Krum, Miss Granger."

"You were following us?" Hermione asked, glancing at Neville, who slightly shook his head, telling her it wasn't him who called them. They knew Neville had to be under their surveillance, so they were not that surprised. Still... their appearance was abrupt.

"No, Miss Granger." Standing with her back to them, McGonagall expressed, looking at Sirius and Ron, "We were following them because they were acting weirdly and not responding to our calls and orders."

The moment they heard it, Hermione's eyes snapped to the scratch on Krum's neck, no matter how weird the idea sounded in her head.

"The book, Neville." Dumbledore exclaimed, reaching out with one hand, shocking everyone once again.

"But... you gave it to me to-"

"You already completed the mission for what I gave it to you. Now, return it, please. It is an important asset to the Order to capture two dangerous fugitives."

"...!" Hermione was about to say something but was stopped by Krum, who placed a hand on her shoulders, making her flinch and gulp back her words at the last moment, listening to him.

"Neville." Moody added, looking at him while his magical eyes remained locked on the rat and the terrified ex-Hufflepuff student.

In the end, Neville couldn't help but let out a long, frustrated sigh, giving the diary back to him.

"Thank you." Dumbledore smiled amicably at him before looking at Sirius and Ron, "We will discuss this in private."

Without waiting for any answers, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Moody took everybody away forcefully, only leaving Neville, Hermione, and Krum in the abandoned stables as if nothing had really happened.

"I-"

"We know." Hermione exclaimed, stopping Neville from starting to try and convince them he had nothing to do with it. "My question is, how did those two knuckleheads follow us...?"

"What?" Krum asked, looking at her.

"Let's get that scratch of yours examined..."