Pansy uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, her eyes locked on Draco.

"Pansy—"

"You owe me this." Her tone was soft, but it echoed around the walls with finality.

Draco's throat clicked, and he flicked his wand to cast a Muffliato at the doorway. He turned to Blaise. "He can be killed."

Blaise settled back in his chair. "By you?"

Draco hesitated. "It's complicated." He turned his chin in Hermione's direction, and some of the tension in her spine eased.

"There are steps," she said. "A certain sequence of things we need to do in order to kill him. The first is getting a basilisk fang."

A snort from their left. "You're going to kill the greatest Dark wizard that ever lived with a basilisk fang?"

Hermione ran her tongue along the inside of her teeth. She was still hesitant to tell anyone else about the Horcruxes. Every new person who learned the truth was another liability.

"Pans, we can't tell you anything else."

Pansy stared them down through lidded eyes. "Fine. You need a basilisk fang. What is Blaise supposed to do about it?"

Draco swiveled to face Blaise again, pushing to the edge of the sofa. "Help me get one from the Chamber of Secrets. There's one down there."

Blaise tossed his head back and laughed. Spots of pink appeared on Draco's cheeks.

"So you want me to go sneaking around Hogwarts with you when the castle is crawling with Death Eaters, and help you break into one of the most impenetrable chambers in the castle—"

"Not all that impenetrable—"

"—and grab a fang to... smuggle out of the castle? Or do you intend to stab him right there over dinner?"

Draco gritted his teeth. "All I'm asking is for your help creating a distraction so I can get away for twenty minutes. I can get the fang myself, but I'd prefer if someone was watching my back."

Irritation bubbled in Hermione's chest. "I already told you I could help you! Clearly we're wasting our time—"

"Not now, Granger—"

"What grand Gryffindor scheme have you fallen victim to, Draco?" Blaise's eyes narrowed at him, and then slid to Hermione.

Hermione crossed her arms and pressed her lips together. Draco's feet shifted on the carpet.

"Things are changing, Blaise," Draco said. "I'm sure the True Order will mount an attack soon, given what just happened in Canada. And they won't hold back this time."

His words pelted against her skin like hail.

"If the Great Order falls, my father falls, and so do I." Her heart thumped harder as the silence stretched. "I've made my peace with it."

Her vision blurred. She wouldn't let that happen to him.

She wouldn't.

"But the Dark Lord…" He glanced at her. "He will not fall. He will survive and start again."

Hermione blinked several times, tucking her fear and grief into the closest book on her shelf. She nodded. "It's true. He can't be destroyed unless we can get our hands on basilisk venom."