Jisoo had barely slept last night. Of course, she's been working on this for only 16 hours but her body needed rest. She needed sleep, and especially with all the apparating and spell-casting she had done all day. Not to mention, every bit of information Sowon confided with her was still lingering in the depths of her consciousness, making her unable to have a good night's rest. It had been such a long day yesterday, she had been so close to death too so she needed all the rest she could get to relax her body and renew her energy. She wasn't at her peak performance or best shape these days. 

When night falls, Jisoo sleeps with one eye open. Paranoia was eating her from the inside out, her brain would not shut up. Vivid images of Death Eaters of counter-attacking her protection charms and breaking down her door play in her head over and over again until the sun rises.

Jinyoung had sent her a letter yesterday via his personal owl. He told her he wouldn't be in the office for the afternoon and evening and whatever information she had gathered could wait in the morning, so they can talk face to face in the protection and privacy of his office. Jisoo thought it was a good idea, they couldn't risk passing along information through owls because of the lack of security and animosity. It was better if they had talked about it personally without the risk of the information she had with her falling into the wrong hands.

"I'm glad you're still in one piece then," Jinyoung says as his way of greeting. Jisoo didn't expect him to be here so early in the morning, though he looked just as tired and sleep-deprived as she was. "But nowhere near getting to Taehyung?" 

Jisoo resists the urge to roll her eyes. She huffs in indignation. "I'm getting there." She says, false confidence clinging desperately onto every word. "I need a map of the country that shows areas where there had been recorded Death Eater activities." 

"You can get one from, Nayeon." He plants his elbows on the table and crosses his arms on the surface. He was waiting for whatever news she brought with her. "After you tell me what you've got."

She gets right into it. Jisoo does not waste a second as she relies everything Sowon, the late Joshua Hong's wife, had told her. From her presence during the raid, to the raid turning out to be an ambush set up for them, to the Death Eaters flying east after the damaged they've done. She also tells him she's planning to look at the most recent Death Eater activities that happened in the east because of this, hence the map. But Jisoo does not tell him about her promise to Sowon, the one where she said she'll avenge all the Aurors they killed that day. She didn't think she needed to say that out loud anyway, it was an unspoken promise every Ministry employee carried within them everyday: to avenge the fallen. 

Jinyoung's forehead creases the way it does when he's thinking hard, he's not even looking at her. He's looking at an empty space beside the fireplace and rubbing his chin in deep thought. Jisoo stares at him, waiting for what he'll say and perhaps, what he'll tell her to do after.

"It's getting bad," Jinyoung murmurs, but she had still heard it. There's worry and concern laced in his voice. "I had no idea the raid was a set-up. We were called because -" he stops suddenly. His eyes flicker to Jisoo standing in front of him and she tries to ignore the fact that Jinyoung had almost let slip why the Death Eaters were raiding Gringotts in the first place. Perhaps, that's something she should find out on her own but she's not even sure if she wants to find out. Such valuable information might cost her her life if it was so important that even Jinyoung couldn't tell her himself. 

But still, it's been in Jisoo's nature as an Auror to be prying and nosy. "Was Gringotts part of the mission Seulgi's handling? The one you can't tell me about." 

He gives her a sharp look. "You know I can't answer that."

"Fine," she snaps, regretting right away why she had even asked when she knew Jinyoung woudln't budge. But she had the confirmation she needed, she could see it in the way he straightens his back while avoiding her eyes. It was a yes. She decides not to push him further since she had to focus today. It's going to be another long day, she can already feel it. 

"Jisoo, it's been over 24 hours." Jinyoung says to her. "And it's been a quiet 24 hours, too quiet to my liking. They might be plotting something big again, so be prepared to be called any time today or tomorrow for back-up. I know we've assigned you to a specific task but we're short of wands, I hope you understand." 

Jisoo nods. "Of course," she says immediately. Something in her attitude towards working under the Ministry and with the Aurors again had changed over the last few hours. She thinks maybe it was because after a year of being idle and wallowing in her own self-pity, she found a purpose again. She found a cause she could contribute to, she found means of redeeming herself and putting the past behind her. She feels useful for once. 

The Head of the Aurors gives her a grateful smile. "If you want that map, go to Nayeon. I'm leaving you to deal with this however you please, but if you find anything again, tell me straight away."

Jisoo nods once. "Sure, but can I ask you one last thing?" 

"Alright," he sighs the word out, the smile already disappearing from his face. 

"What are you going to do about the mole?" Jisoo lays it on between them thick and bare; the haunting discovery that someone could be betraying the Ministry, the Office of the Aurors, from the inside. "Sowon said that Joshua had complained about Death Eaters always being one step ahead of the Ministry, they were ambushed in Gringotts. I was ambushed back in Dedham. It's obvious now that -"

Jinyoung interjected before this could conversation would take a turn for the worst and could escalate further. "We've taken care of the matter, Jisoo."

"You - huh?" She finds herself  backing down immediately. Jinyoung looked angry, but the anger was not directed at her, it was probably reserved for the employee they were suspicious of. Who it could be? Jisoo thinks she'll never find out through Jinyoung. He doesn't look like he'll be sharing more information with her other than the ones that are directly related to her mission concerning Taehyung. 

He exhales, eyes closing for three seconds before opening them again. He turns his head to Jisoo with a cold, hard stare. "If you want that map, you can get it from Nayeon." He repeated, his voice just as hard as his look. 

Jisoo zips and looks down at the clock on Jinyoung's desk. They were at a time crunch, she understands how nobody could afford slacking off. Their days were numbered so everyone had to move fast because all their lives depended on it. "Okay," she says before turning around to leave his office without another word. 

It wasn't that hard to find Nayeon, she was at her desk a few feet away from Jinyoung's office door. Jisoo never understood what she had been promoted to, but it was more of a desk job than a field one as Nayeon was always in the office attending to papers and typing up letters on her typewriter. If Jinyoung was the Head then Nayeon seemed to support him and the entire office like a spine. 

Nayeon handed her a map the size of an A4 bond paper and it was decorated with red dots all across the single page. It was enchanted of course. Each dot symbolized reported sightings or Death Eater activity. The only prominent red dot east of Diagon Alley was...

"Dedham?" Jisoo says out loud, failing to hide the shock in her voice. They had completely disregarded Choi Seungcheol as an informant so they all agreed to cross out his testimony. But the map was enchanted to have a detector of its own, a red dot would appear if strong Death Eater or Dark Magic activity was present in the area. This red dot on Dedham might have appeared because of Lee Taeyong and Park Jimin yesterday, but it's the only place east of Diagon Alley. It could be wrong, they could have secret hideouts undetectable by the magic of the Ministry elsewhere. 

Something from the depths of her memory pokes at her brain. Dedham was a mining community, and that means they had caves.

Jisoo had seen them for herself when she apparated down to the base of the mountain and looked up; there were holes embedded on the side. No, no, not embedded. They were man-made, dug up and mined. Those were the caves. And Seungcheol, that worm, had said Death Eaters frequented the town and one of them was Taehyung. Could she believe that part at least? 

It's a long shot, but it's worth a try. Still, the idea of her going back there is making her nervous. If she remembered correctly, and she knows she does, she had almost died the last time she went. 

"Jisoo? Hey, are you okay?" Nayeon had left her seat behind the desk and her hand was suddenly on Jisoo's shoulder. Jisoo hadn't even realized she was shaking until Nayeon's voice cut through her. 

"No, no, I'm fine - it's just..." She doesn't want to risk another run in with the Death Eaters, they could be hiding in those caves or worse, they could be waiting for her to go back. She couldn't go there alone again, she'd easily be outnumbered. She had to be extra cautious this time but she still doesn't think it's the safest idea for her to go by herself. 

Jisoo looks at Nayeon. "I need some back up incase things get rough - no, slash that, I need someone to go with me right now. Are you free? Can I take you?" Suddenly, Jinyoung's previous proposition yesterday for her to have a partner on the job was very much welcomed, but she doubts they have anyone who's available right now. As Jinyoung said, they're short of wands and he has everyone on high alert. 

Nayeon looked taken aback by her sudden request. Her big eyes looked at Jisoo apologetically. "I can't, Jisoo. I'm not a field Auror, you know that. Jinyoung's going to be out later today and I can't leave the Office unmanned." She says while frowning, sounding like she was afraid her words must have hurt Jisoo. 

"You can just pass that job for the kids in training," she said, referring to the newly graduated recruits that were still under training before being pledged as Aurors and dispatched. Seulgi was not an option as well, and Jisoo didn't even think to consider her because she knew she was busy with her own problems. 

"I'm sorry, Jisoo." Nayeon shakes her head. "You know if I could, I would really go with you but you also know how things work here... Jinyoung would go ballistic on us both."

Jisoo rakes a hand through her long and dark locks, sighing. "Yes, yes, I do know." She feels the panic rise up to her chest. 

She slips her hands in the pockets of her coat to keep it from shaking so badly. In her right pocket, a small metallic object grazes against her knuckles. Surprised, she takes the object out and sees that it's a silver ball resembling a snitch, the ball they use in Quidditch. Only this one didn't have wings that flapped around, but it did have another important purpose. 

Nayeon peers at the ball in Jisoo's hands. "What's that?" Then she looks up at Jisoo with confusion-filled eyes. "What does it do?" 

She has an idea. She doesn't like it one bit. But putting it up for comparison to going alone and being outnumbered, this idea of hers is much more realistic and preferable. She has to it up. "It's going to take me to an annoying ." 

It's better this way, she doesn't necessarily favor the idea nor does she think of it as good one but at least she'll be lessening her chances of dancing with death for the second time this week. 

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