Something almost like pity crossed Pansy's eyes as she stared at her. She stoppered the vial and turned to Draco. "You'll need a dress for her."

Hermione's mouth fell open as they both looked at her. "It won't be like Edinburgh? It's formal again?"

Pansy snorted. "Granger, you'll be sharing a table with the Dark Lord. You can save the négligée for another night."

Draco jerked a nod. "Yes. So, Pans, if you—"

"I have the perfect thing," said Pansy with a grin. "Anything else?"

Draco winced and ran a hand through his hair. "Well… Granger will need a wand…"

Hermione glanced up at him. She would need one — she hadn't even thought about it. They couldn't ask Narcissa after what had happened.

Pansy lifted a brow. "And you want…?" She barked out a laugh and waltzed down the stairs, calling out, "Daph, Draco has something hilarious to ask you."

Draco cursed under his breath.

~*~

A very awkward ten minutes later, they were arriving back to the Manor with Daphne Greengrass's wand. She'd never seen Draco stammer so much in one conversation. Daphne had finally handed it over in exchange for a promise that he'd give her up-to-date information about any future attack on Canada, especially near Montreal.

The next several days, Hermione tried to get comfortable with Daphne Greengrass's wand. It was a 12 inch mahogany with unicorn hair, and quite inflexible. It barely responded to her the first day. It almost needed to be wooed.

Their days quickly became filled with planning. They spent hours arguing with Blaise and Pansy through the Floo, and ended up agreeing on a version of Blaise's original plan. Once Draco had the basilisk fang, Blaise and Pansy would help them leave without being seen.

The next step of the plan — destroying the Horcrux — was trickier to reach an agreement on. Hermione didn't speak to Draco for a full day until he finally conceded that she, not Blaise, had to be the one to come with him. The following day, Draco worked on how to transport them over to Romania while Hermione tried to strengthen her atrophied wandwork.

At night, she and Draco would use books transcribed by the library catalog, researching what kind of wards and curses Lucius and Voldemort might have used to secure the Horcrux at the Malfoy property. Draco had gone white when she told him that there were Inferi in one location, but to his credit, he'd clenched his jaw and said nothing.

"How will we be able to find it?" Draco asked one evening. "It could be anything."

"We'll know," she said, flipping a page. "Trust me."

They took a break from countercurses later that evening, and Draco found a book on Parseltongue. With Hermione's help, he quickly mastered the correct sibilant sounds to say, "Open." She didn't need a Pensieve to remember the way it had fallen from Harry's lips.

A few days before the anniversary party, Draco went to Grimmauld again for Blaise's birthday gathering, at which he promised her that they would finalize their plans. Hermione took that evening to herself, practicing defensive spells in a cleared guest room, and getting used to pulling Daphne's wand from its position on her thigh.