"I simply must protest Minister!" Hermione's curls were flying around as she paced the huge office of the Minister for Magic. She briefly considered that a protection charm would be needed on the carpet soon if she continued in this way. The expression on her face could not be mistaken for anything other than pure fury.

"Miss Granger," Kingsley sighed, five months of constant strain, chaos and lack of rest was evident on his strained face, "I am well aware of your feelings on the matter. However, I cannot simply ignore the..."

Kingsley held up his hand as Hermione started to interupt.

"Murders, Hermione. Torture. Undeniable evidence of criminal behaviour. Now I have been able to spare him a trial, and his sentence has been significantly reduced. There is nothing, nothing, more I can do."

"Exactly my point Kingsley. No trial. He deserved a trial. A trial that could have spared him a sentencing. A trial which could have resulted in his freedom. I cannot comprehend how you could have done this to him Kingsley," Hermione's voice increased in pitch as her indignation became prominent. Portraits began to scatter to escape the shrill.

Hermione's new project was just one in an incredibly long list that Kingsley had to contend with. He did not have the energy for another argument with the women. He tried to placate her,

"Hermione, I implore you to see reason. He would not have defended himself at a trial. He would rather have died, or lived out his life in Azkaban than allowed the contents of those vials to be released into the wizarding world. There was no possibility of a fair trial. That would have needed him to lay his soul bare in front of the court. The deal I made with the Wizenmagot was the only option I had." Kingsley's tension was evident as he followed up with a cooling charm. It was far too stuffy in the office.

Hermione had graduated to shouting from her frustration, "He would not have had a choice in defending himself. He is too sick to argue about anything."

"Therefore, Hermione, a trial would have been deferred. That could have taken months, years even, all the while he rotted away."

"He's rotting away now!"

"Please Hermione. Please see that what I have done was the best possible course of action. He will have his life back much sooner this way.

Hermione finally slumped in the luxurious arm chair across from the Minister's desk with a sign. Her fatigue at talking in circles overruling her indignation. There was no doubt in her mind that Shacklebolt was right. Out of the possible outcomes he posed, this did see to be lesser of evils. However, to her, it just seemed incredibly unfair.

"Please Kingsley, isn't there anything I can do for him? Anything that could make this situation better?"

Kingsley regarded Hermione's honest and sincere face. The idea that had been rolling around in the back of his mind returned to prominence. He stared at the celebratory photograph of the Order of the Phoenix, taken after the war was over, as an internal debate occurred. The fairness of whether he should propose such an idea when there was little doubt that she would not agree. The commitment and responsibility it would impose on a young woman who had already suffered through so much. And yet, there was no one else who would take on that responsibility. Merlin knew he had made the request to everyone who was even as a potential candidate.

Knowing she would never speak to him again of he did not at least inform her of the possibility, and that she would undoubtedly and eventually discover the loophole herself through countless hours of research, Kingsley began cautiously, "There is one option."

Hermione sprang up from her seat so fast that the files in her hand went flying.

"Nothing that would permit his full return to society," Kingsley hastened to add, flicking his wand to clean up the mess. "However, it may, shall we say, ease the experience of his sentence.

"Tell me, I am prepared to do whatever it takes." The urgency in Hermione's tone could not be mistaken.

Kingsley's muttered reply sounded like "That's what worries me."

A little louder, he continued, "It would involve a binding of your magic. His to yours. A re-programming. But Hermione, a binding..."

Hermione looked determined and confused all at once, "I know what it is involved in a magical binding, Kingsley. But I had no idea such magic could still be performed, that anyone alive was capable of doing so. And I fail to see how that would help the situation, except to impose more restrictions on his freedom."

"It would allow weekly, excursions, you could say, from Azkaban. It could give him the opportunity to receive treatment. I mean, more advanced treatment than Azkaban resources could provide. It would provide relief from the institutionalisation, the monotony of prison routine, and quite frankly Hermione, it could save his life."

Kingsley's ability to talk around the point frustrated Hermione to no end. "Could you just say frankly what it is you wish to say Kingsley, I'm tired of dancing in circles?"

With a large breath Kingsley launched into his request, "A binding of his magic to yours would enable your control of his magical signature. It would fully ensure the safety of others if the court were to allow a weekly visit, from Azkaban, to a location of your choosing. Hermione, he could spend one a day for the entirety of his sentence with you. I know this level of control and restriction is not something you would wish, but Hermione, you can help him get proper treatment in St Mungos."

Hermione already knew what choice she would make, but she wanted to be certain, "So, just to be clear, he would be discharged to my care once a week. I would control his magic to ensure safety, and I could choose for him to spend his time receiving proper medical care? But I would not have thought that such an arrangement would be allowed. That it would even be legal?"

The minister gave his first genuine grin for weeks, which Hermione returned in earnest, "It's not, but who in the Wizarding world would've have read such detail on wizarding prisoner law?"