She approached, looking down on a picture of Dover Castle, burning to the ground.

REBELLION SQUASHED AT DOVER
by Rita Skeeter

She snatched up the paper, eyes scanning, heart pounding.

The Dark Lord is victorious again!

A small rebellion broke out at Dover Castle on Monday evening led by insurgents and Old Order sympathizers. The rocky beach at Dover provided minor cover for the rebels as the Dark Lord's forces gathered and vanquished their foes.

Hermione stumbled out of the kitchens, swallowing the information, and running for fresh air. She pushed through the front doors of the Manor, gasping at the morning breeze, and leaned back against the exterior wall. Her chest was tight, and her fingers trembled as she read on.

There were limited casualties for the Death Eaters at Monday's skirmish, but considerable losses for the rebels who scrambled back to their hole in the ground, their tails between their legs.

In the wake of the new Apparition/Land-Locked Legislation, the rebels — led by Undesirable No. 1, George Weasley — attempted to cross the Strait of Dover by boat, bypassing the Apparition line by non-magical means. Recently promoted General Lucius Malfoy was first on the scene, ruthlessly cutting off the boat supply and taking out several essential faces of the rebellion in the process, including elder brother to the rebellion leader, Charlie Weasley.

Hermione tore her eyes off the words, her fingers crumpling the pages, trying to piece together her spiraling thoughts.

Charlie was dead.

Lucius had killed him.

There were Apparition boundaries, limiting Apparition to inside the U.K. only. Although it was rare to Apparate across countries and large bodies of water, it wasn't unheard of. People with exceptionally powerful magic could manage it. But if there were actual magical limitations, that would make it incredibly difficult for people to get out.

Was escape the plan for the remaining tatters of the Order? Not fighting? Were the other magical governments accepting refugees? What did M.A.C.U.S.A. have to say about all of this? They always had something to say…

If Voldemort had landlocked the U.K., did that mean he had not branched out his rule?

Recently promoted General Lucius Malfoy.

George was Undesirable No. 1, and Lucius had killed Charlie Weasley.

She braced her hand on the Manor's exterior wall, feeling breath pull sharply at her lungs.

She'd had dinner with him only days ago. He'd followed her down a hill, and carried her in his arms like a child, back to safety.

Charlie's handsome face beamed at her in her memories. She'd knelt to the ground at some point, her knees digging into the rough pebbles and stones. Focusing on the pain, she forced herself to breathe.

How many others had died? The article only mentioned Charlie.

And through it all, the words "limited casualties for the Death Eaters" ran across her eyes like a snagged film strip. Was Draco one of the "limited casualties?"

She took a ragged breath and pressed her face to the sky, letting the sun's rays melt through her cold panic. A few moments later, a cup of tea appeared next to her, steaming. She sat and sipped, fingers trembling, watching the sun crawl toward the treetops. Beneath her shock and pain, beyond her fear and uncertainty, she pulled one thought forward and focused her anger towards it.