Alina and Mal were a different story. For starters, Mal was a muggle, she was a witch, and even if Hermione knew from the file the Ministry had provided, it was still surprising to hear her talk about how she’d met the Darkling, how he had tried to lure her into the Second Army before Baghra, the old Divination professor at Durmstrang, had told Alina to run away. She’d gone back to Mal, hiding her magic in fear, which unexpectedly backfired, making her so sick there had been no chance but to leave Mal and return to Wizarding society to see a healer, only to be immediately poached by the new Russian Minister of Magic, Nikolai Lanistov. She could get into the Second Army, tell the Darkling she had changed her mind about his offer and help them take him down from the inside. In exchange, Russian Magical Law would be bent in her favour, she could be with Mal and he would not be Obliviated, he would be allowed to know about magic. It was a story similar to Hermione, although there was no one she was doing it for. But she, too, had been chosen because of that one moment of hesitation that Draco Malfoy showed her before disappearing.