Over a thousand dead in one day.

Her anxiety bubbled to the surface, and the bookshelves in her mind shivered. New images flitted through her mind. Bill and Fleur collapsing with countless others, their faces swollen and blue. Had Draco been there with the other Death Eaters, prowling the clouded streets? Or had someone from the "True Order" gotten to him first?

Her chest seized and her fingers clenched. She closed her eyes and imagined a lake with still waters until she could breathe freely again. After an hour of meditating, she went to the library and buried herself in her books until nightfall.

The next morning, there was no paper under her coffee cup. She wandered down to the dining room and found it empty. Narcissa's study was empty.

She called for Mippy, and the elf appeared immediately.

"Was there no Prophet today? Or the Ghost?"

Mippy shifted from foot to foot. "Mistress tells Mippy to take papers away." Her bright emerald eyes couldn't meet Hermione's.

Her heart thumped in her chest. Something had happened.

"Can I please have them?" Hermione asked with a thin voice.

Mippy wrung her hands. "Mistress says… it's better not to..."

"Then can you take me to her? I understand if you've been forbidden, but I need to know what happened."

Mippy played with her apron. "Mistress is needing to be left alone, Miss. Mippy hasn't been forbidden from giving the paper." And with a flick of her small wrist, the Prophet appeared in her waxy fingers.

Hermione took the pages and thanked her. She turned away quickly, distracted by the picture of Draco on the cover, standing beside the new puppet Minister. His eyes were empty.

EXECUTIONS IN ZÜRICH: DARK LORD WELCOMES SWITZERLAND TO GREAT ORDER
by Rita Skeeter

In the wake of the Great Order's defeat of the French rebels in Switzerland, the Dark Lord appeared in Zürich last night to accept Minister Egger's pledge of support. General Lucius Malfoy joined him, having returned from Austria in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The Prophet has learned that the executions of ex-Minister Vogel and two of his cabinet were carried out by General Draco Malfoy shortly after Switzerland was retaken. In a statement to The Prophet, General Bellatrix Lestrange was quoted…

The paper fell limp at her fingertips. She felt ice in her throat, slicing her neck on every breath.

Perhaps there had been a mistake. Perhaps Bellatrix had cast the curses instead. Rita was notoriously misinformed…

She scanned the rest of the article. His name wasn't mentioned again.

She sat in the library, staring out the window for the rest of the day, in a haze of confused grief. Narcissa's reaction indicated that Skeeter had been telling the truth. She wasn't sure what she'd expected. Draco had been sent to the battle lines to fight for Voldemort. Did she really think his hands would remain clean?

But there was a stain on her heart, black as ink, festering deeper and deeper with each passing hour. He'd killed three innocent people. She could only hope it had been the first time. But he'd likely be expected to kill again.