The three of them watched the man from afar. His cloak was flapping around his ankles as he walked speedily towards the gates of the Riddle House. He pulled the hood of his cloak a bit away from his face, revealing it for the guards. Though Ron, Hermione and Ginny weren't able to see him. They were far on a foothill, hidden behind the bushes, watching his every move. The could see the huge Riddle House and it's large Victorian Gates. The could make sense of the road as the wizard walked away. Hermione wasn't sure why it was so necessary for him to show his face whilst leaving.
"So, it's only this one man who's been leaving the house since two days consistently," Hermione analyzed, "Tonight, we spy. We'll find out if Voldemort really did hide Harry here. Only one of us can go, and that'll be me."
She looked at Ron and Ginny. Both of them looked as if they didn't believe her words. They were both baffled.
"No, Hermione," Ginny complained, "You can't go. Not alone!"
"We have no other choice, Ginny," Hermione said, getting up from behind the bushes to follow the wizard.
"It's dangerous, Hermione," Ron stopped her, "I'll go."
"No. You two will stay here and keep watch on the house. If something wrong happens. Well, we'll see if or when it does," she assured them, though they did not look pleased, "And anyways. It's not like I'm going to save Harry or fight Voldemort. I'm only going to make sure he's there."
Ron and Ginny tried to persuade Hermione, but she did have a point. This man was the only one going in and out of the house every evening and it was too risky trying to get in at broad daylight. The three of them followed the wizard quietly, making sure they were at such a distance that he would not find out.
They followed him to a place where they were sure they would be out of sight of anyone.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
The man fell face first to the ground, motionless. Hermione was sure he must have broken his nose, judging by the way he fell, not that she cared. Ron advanced towards them, turning him over.
"Karkaroff..." Ron said bitterly, not able to believe that it was actually him.
Hermione snatched some hair from his balding head and poured it in the polyjuice potion while Ron pushed Karkaroff's heavy body towards the bushes by the road. Ginny watched Hermione, as she gulped, disgusted and quickly drank the potion. She felt nauseated at both the fact that Karkaroff's hair was in her mouth (she had not gotten used to it yet) and that she had become him too. She had never turned into a man. She'd never had to. Ron snatched the cloak off his body, handing it to Hermione.
Hermione's jeans had now reached her ankles and her sweater was a bit ripped. At this point, she decided that the next time they would be going on such adventures (which she hoped wouldn't be necessary), she would bring bigger clothes too. She used Karkaroff's cloak to cover herself but it still didn't feel right. Of course it wouldn't, it really wasn't right. For a slight second, she couldn't believe what she was doing. She sighed, reminding herself that this was all for Harry.
Hermione cleared her throat, "Hello?... Hello..."
As Hermione tried to deepen her voice in attempt to sound like Karkaroff, Ginny burst into a fit of giggles.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
Hermione stood straighter and tried to walk more like the wizard.
"His feet are awfully big!" she complained.
Ginny couldn't stop laughing, and even Ron had a smirk on his face, despite the profound seriousness of the situation, and Hermione looked almost offended at this. She told Ginny and Ron to go back to the hiding spot and continued to walk on her own back towards the house. Ron and Ginny kept watch on her from afar, perturbed. Hermione walked towards the gates, trying to look and act as Karkaroff as possible.
She asked the guards to let her in, almost politely, though she knew better than being polite in the form of a Death Eater. The guards took hold of her arm to have a look at the dark mark. Hermione was glad that she had already pushed the sleeves of her sweater above her elbow. A few minutes of verifying her later, she was allowed in.
Hermione walked through the gates. She was a bit afraid to go alone. She had done this sort of stuff before but Ron and Harry had been with her. Tonight, she was unaccompanied. Hermione sighed. 'For Harry,' she thought. Giving Ron and Ginny's hiding place a quick and uneasy glance, she walked through the large doors of the Riddle House, unsure of what was to come next.