"Good morning, Lizzie", Reddington smiles when he walks into the post office the next morning.

"Red", she greets him in return.

"Hermione texted me the address on where to meet her", he says as Ressler walks into the room.

"Do you trust her?", Liz asks thoughtfully.

"I have to. If there is a person in this world that always had my back, it's her. Since I've known her, she saved my life more than once. You'd be good to trust her as well. Hermione is very loyal and has a gentle soul. She is no danger, or I wouldn't have introduced you to her", Red says with so much sincerity, that Liz finally believes him.

"Alright, that's enough for me, for now", she replies.

"Ready to head out? Dembe is waiting for us outside. Samar and Aram should follow in a second car", Reddington says.

"We will meet you upstairs in a few minutes", Ressler confirms, before heading off to get Agent Navabi and Agent Mojtabai. Ressler and Keen had already filled them in before Reddington arrived, so the two of them were just waiting for the go ahead.

When they got upstairs, Ressler took the passenger seat, while Liz got into the back with Reddington, with Navabi and Mojtabai following in a second car.

"Did you really think that I was romantically involved with someone like Hermione?", Reddington asks as soon as they started their journey.

"Like I said, you never know", Liz defends herself.

"When you get to know her, you will understand why it sounds so absurd to me, that you even considered it", Reddington says.

"Tell me something about her", Liz asks and Reddington looks thoughtfully out of the window for a moment before answering her request.

"She loves reading. It's not just means to an end for her, no, she actually enjoys reading. It's her escape. She reads anything. Textbooks, Historical book, romance novels. Whatever she can get her hands on she reads it. She soaks up the information and embeds it into her mind to never forget. That's why she is too smart for her own good and why I call her know-it-all in fun. She knows laws and stipulation and she can recite every case file she's ever read, every report she ever wrote. She never forgets."

"You seem to be rather fond of her", she remarks with a knowing smile.

"I am. I know quite a lot about her private life. I was there for some of the most important moments and as such I feel responsible for her. Not a lot of people know some of the things, so I made a promise to her, to always be there. Whatever she needs, she just needs to say it. That is why I bought her the house in Georgetown. She called me one day, saying she ended the lease on her apartment in London. It was around the same time I decided to hand myself over to the FBI so, I thought it would be a good idea to have her in the area. I knew she wouldn't settle down there as long as she was still on the chase, but I hoped it would be over sooner, yet here we are", he says.

"With our help, she might end the chase", Ressler says from the front of the car.

"We might."

"We're here", Dembe says, when they pull up outside what looked to be a mansion.

"Are we sure this is the right address?", Ressler asks, getting out of the car.

"It is", Dembe replies emotionless, getting out of the car himself.

"Good, you're here", Hermione says from somewhere to the right of the house, walking towards them with a smile on her face. She was dressed in tight black pants, black shirt and a dark grey jacket. Her hair was all over the place and not pulled up like the evening before. Ressler could tell she was wearing a gun around her waist, as well as two guns strapped to her legs over the black pants. She looked ready for combat.

"Dr. Granger", Ressler says in greeting, holding out his hand for her to shake.

"Now, what did I tell you Donald, call me Hermione", she corrects, while taking his hand in hers, giving it a light squeeze.

"Elizabeth, good to see you again."

"Please, Liz is fine", she says, offering her hand.

"Alright, Liz it is", Hermione smiles, shaking her hand.

"Ray", she teases, kissing both his cheeks.

"What's with all the guns, Hermione? Are you expecting someone else?"

"Precaution. You never know who might be working with them", she simply says.

"Hermione, these are Agents Samar Navabi and Agent Aram Mojtabai", Donald introduces the two Agents.

"Lovely meeting you. I already told Liz and Donald, that my team works on first name basis only, unless you insist on being called by your last name, we will be referring to you by your given name."

"That's fine", Samar says.

"Brilliant, lets head inside and I'll introduce you to the team", Hermione exclaims, leading them towards the house.

"Come with, Dembe. There is no need to wait in the car like the bloody butler Ray thinks you are. We will need your expertise anyway", she shouts over her shoulder, making Ressler smile to himself – or so he thought.

"Wipe that smile of your face, Donald", Red bites from next to Hermione.

"Stop bickering", Hermione smacks Reddington upside the back of his head, almost flipping his fedora off.

"They step into the hall of the mansion, looking around in wonder. Everything is decorated tastefully, yet very expensive.

"Let me take a guess. This is Malfoys house?", Reddington says with a pointed but pleased look.

"Of course, it is! You know Hermione can't pick out anything nice to save her life", the arrogant voice of Draco Malfoy rings through, having stepped out of a room, further down the hall.

"Shut it, Draco", she snaps with a glare, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There are more important things in life than how expensive something is or how nice it looks. It needs to be practical!"

"More important? Like what? Let me guess! Books?", he quips.

"Oh, don't you dare pretend you don't like to read a book once in a while, Mr-Always-Second-Best!"

"Can you stop bickering like an old married couple for just once, we'd all be grateful", another voice snaps at the two.

"We do not bicker like an old married couple", they both snap back at the newcomer making them laugh in turn. At least they agreed on something. Draco slings an arm over Hermione's shoulder, turning to face the FBI Agents.

"It's nice to see that some things never change", Reddington comments, making Draco's eyes light up.

"I'm so glad you're back, Raymond. Those miserable fools were driving me mad", he says, stepping away from Hermione.

"Glad to be of service", Reddington says.

"These are my colleagues Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini", Hermione gestures to the two men, standing at her side.

"These are Samar, Aram, Liz and Donald."

"Good, now we better get back to work", Blaise says, turning around, heading back into the room he and Draco stepped out only moments ago, with the rest of them trailing behind him.

"You weren't exaggerating, when you told us about the reading", Liz jokes, looking around in the large room. The walls are lined with bookshelves, bursting from every shelf. Books were stacked in corners, on tables and on any available chair.

"He told you I was an insufferable know-it-all, didn't he", Hermione turns to her, before giving a glare in Reddington's direction.

"Without the insufferable", Liz confirms.

"Thought so", she murmurs under her breath.

"Are there more on your team?", Ressler asks, looking around the room, but not seeing any more people.

"No, it's just us", Blaise says, from his desk in the far corner.

"No wonder you've been on this chase for 16 years", Samar says.

"We don't need any more agents and there weren't a lot of volunteers to join our team", Draco remarks from next to Hermione.

"What do you have so far?", Samar asks, walking over to the white boards, lined up at one end of the room. Hermione had worked all morning to make the house look as muggle as possible.

"Their last heist was in New York City, but they are no longer residing in the area, they moved on two days ago", Blaise says.

"You know where they are?"

"Not yet, we traced them all the way to Baltimore, but we lost them just this morning."

"Any crimes committed in Baltimore?"

"Not that we know of, we checked with the local law enforcement, but nothing was reported as of yet", Draco says, leaning against a desk.

"How do they kill their victims?", Aram asks, looking at the pictures of the victims.

"We can't tell you", Hermione says.

"So, you know how they break into prisons and how they kill people?", Ressler asks astounded.

"We do. We are not at liberty to reveal the information on their means. You don't have the clearance, I'm afraid", she apologizes.

"How can we be of help if we don't know all the details?", Liz asks, eying the three British agents with calculating eyes.

"We need to find out everything we can about their victims and why they committed the crimes, that is something we don't know", Blaise says with hesitation.

"I thought they were on a mission to find those responsible for the death of his wife. What's her name again?", Samar asks.

"Bellatrix Lestrange", Draco replies bitterly.

"She was a batshit crazy woman. Killed and tortured for nothing but fun. She was the most loyal and most dangerous follower of the death eaters. I never saw her have a sane moment. She was only truly happy if she inflicted pain and misery to those around her."

"You never saw her have a sane moment? What does that mean?", Ressler asks in confusion.

"She was my aunt", he says with a grim look.

"Your aunt?", Liz asks with her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.

"My mother's sister", he confirms again.

"So, you were…?", Aram asks leaving the question unfinished.

"One of them? Yes, I was", Draco answers without hesitation, but with a look of annoyance as well.

"I think someone needs to explain this to them", Reddington suggest.

"Let's all sit down, and we will tell you everything we can", Hermione nods.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment, I don't need to hear it again", Draco says, leaving the room without another word. When everyone was seated in a chair, Blaise and Hermione stood in front of the white board.

"The leader of the death eaters is called Tom Riddle. He had a very sick mind, representing everything evil in this world. He was crazy and somewhat deranged and when he was told by a fortune teller that there would be born a boy, who would defeat him one day, he made it his task to prevent it from happening. When he found the family, who he thought have birth to the boy, he went to their house and killed the parents, but when he turned to kill the boy, he failed. He fled the scene, leaving a hopeless boy with his dead parents.

After that everyone thought he would be gone for good. Nothing was heard of him again and after a few years, he wasn't spoken of anymore. That little boy happened to be Harry and trust me if I would have known then, I would have stayed away as far as I possibly could have. Anyways, we soon learned that the world isn't just black and white, not everything is always as it seemed, and Tom Riddle wasn't as dead as everyone though.

Over the years of our schooling he turned up at the most inopportune times, terrorizing our lives, his only goal to kill Harry. As we grew older the more violent it turned. We had various confrontations with his followers until Tom Riddle was finally dead for good", Hermione explains without telling them too much.

"On the other side of the story were Draco and I, though Draco had a much more unfortunate fate. His father was deeply involved with Tom Riddle, he acted much like his right-hand man. Draco grew up to believe everything Tom Riddle believed in. His father had it installed in his head, that Draco would one day serve Tom Riddle, just like he himself did for so many years. When Draco came to the school aged only eleven, he was already filled with so much hatred, it was too late. He hated Hermione for just being Hermione. He hated everyone that was against Tom Riddle and made their life a living hell. He didn't know any better. He was misled. As much as his mother tried to raise him differently, his father's influence was too strong. When Draco turned 16, he was initiated as a member of the death eaters, by his father's wish.

Draco hated it, but Tom Riddle threatened his mother's life. He didn't know any better, he grew up to follow orders. Every one of the death eaters has a tattoo on their forearm. A symbol that will always be associated with the evil that was installed by it. My parents were neutral during the time of Tom Riddles rising, but Draco was my best friend and I stood with him through everything. When the time came, Draco switched sides. He will hunt down every last death eater alive and bring them behind bars. That's why he is on this task force with me and Hermione", Blaise explains without interruptions.

"We would like for you to not speak of this to anyone outside this room, including Draco", Hermione says when he is finished.

"We won't. Thank you for being honest with us", Ressler says, before anyone else can respond.

"I think you will understand better, when you work with him", Hermione replies with a small smile, standing up and heading out of the room, to see where Draco disappeared to .

"Are they an item?", Liz asks.

"Draco and Mione?", Blaise asks laughing.

"Not in a hundred years!"

"But they overcame their differences?"

"Sure did, I'd even say they were friends, but don't let them hear it, or you'll never hear the end of it", Blaise says.

"So, back to the case. We thought they were hunting down everyone involved in her murder, but everything from the last two years is out of character for them. It just doesn't fit. None of the people murdered were on their list. None of the places they broke into stand in any relation to her death. We assume they work on something different now", Blaise says, looking at the board in front of them.

"What if they work for someone else now?", Samar asks suddenly.

"You mean someone hired them?"

"Yes, how else would explain the change of direction? You said it yourself, all of them were great followers. What if they found someone to follow again?"

"They wouldn't just follow anyone. They would only follow the most powerful and the most dangerous person out there. They would never settle for something small. They get off by killing, raping and torturing others, they would need someone to support those means", Draco says, walking back into the room, followed by Hermione.

"Who would be big and powerful enough for them, Ray?", Hermione asks Reddington who had been remotely quiet over the last minutes.

"David Kaczynski", Red says suddenly.

"Isn't Kaczynski the Unabomber?", Liz asks, remembering the name from one of her profiling classes.

"That is his brother", Red replies.

"David Kaczynski is the person behind the Unabomber. He used his brother's abilities for his own gain and when the time came, he helped the FBI arrest him, while in the eye of the law, he remained innocent", he explains further.

"Is he still active?", Ressler asks.

"Very much so. He is on my list, but not much had come up about him lately, so I didn't bother. David is a very smart man, though no one quite knew of his intellect. He must be around 70 years old now."

"What is it he does?"

"Ever since his brother was arrested, he worked from the underground. Money laundering, murder, torture. He offers various services. If you need information, he either has it or can get it for you. He has a network like no one else. No wonder, he came into contact with the likes of our suspects. It was only a matter of time."

"But what does he want?", Liz asks.

"I can't see them following someone without a bigger plan?"

"He wants to free the world of corruption and heavily criticizes the industrial revolution. That's not really what Dolohov, Lestrange and Greyback want. There must be another plan, that we don't know of", Hermione says.

"Until we know we can only assume. We should try to figure out the significance of their crimes and maybe then we will understand the motives behind it."

"You can all grab a desk in this room or in the room across the hall, we must ask you that no files or intel leaves this house. It's too much of a risk. We work on this case form here. I already informed Director Cooper of the nature of this case, for when he returns to work next week. He is invited to join us here so long as you work with us on this case", Blaise says and without asking questions Samar, Aram and Liz grab a table each. Before Ressler even has a chance there are no more tables left.

"Come with, I'll show you the other room", Hermione says, from his left, leading the way into the room across the hall.

"That is my desk and that over there belongs to Draco, the other three are available for you, Raymond and Dembe", she says, walking into the room and Ressler felt like he walked right into a library again. Even more books were stacked against the walls and shelves and Hermione's desk was overloaded with books and papers.

"I'm not usually this messy, but when I research something, I need every source available next to me", she apologizes to them.

"Don't worry, Hermione. It's perfect", Reddington says, taking a seat at the very end of the room in a big brown leather chair.

"I bet this is your spot", he chuckles.

"It's comfy, within reach of the shelves and with a good view to the door and out the window."

"It is, she is paranoid", Draco says, walking over to his own desk and sitting down.

"I just like to stay on top of everything and I quite enjoy the view out the window", she says with a huff.

"It's got a good advantage point over the room", Ressler comments while settling his things down at a desk.

"See, Donald understands it", she exclaims pointing at the FBI Agent.

"He's probably just as paranoid as you", Draco chuckles. Before long they work in silence, everyone going over their respective files, trying to find the connection. Red was still sitting in the armchair, reading one of Hermione's books, probably Hogwarts a History. It was his favourite book, because it explained all the essentials about magic and the world, she grew to be a part of. Hermione had concealed all their magical equipment and stationery, so their quills looked like regular pens and parchment like regular paper. Neither of the Agents has commented on the fact that there were no computers anywhere in this house. Aram had brought his own with him and the others were fine with paper files. The later in the evening that it got, the more Hermione's hands began to shake. Draco noticed and rushed out of the room without a word, returning moments later, with a cup of water and a vial that had some light green liquid in it. She downed it without hesitation and took a large gulp of water afterwards. Ressler observed all this and saw her relax within a couple of minutes. He doubted she was taking drugs, but it wasn't regular medicine that a doctor prescribed you. He dared not to ask, because it was none of his business, but he wanted to know why she needed to take it anyway.

"Still having your little troubles?", Reddington asks, having clearly observed the exchange.

"I told you they would never go away", she says annoyed at him.

"I was hoping for you that they would."

"They're not so bad, the little ointment I make myself, helps relax. If I take a little bit of it every now and then, I won't even know I have the jitters at all", she explains and Ressler looks on in wonder, what they might be talking about.

"Sorry, Donald. You must feel so left out. A previous injury causes my hands to tremble and my muscles to tighten. A friend of mine gave me a recipe for an ointment that helps relax said muscles. Nothing illegal, I promise", Hermione explains to Ressler, without him having to ask a single question.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, but thank you for telling me anyways", he says with a small smile, touched by her attention to her surroundings, knowing that it might cause him discomfort to be left out and to speak above his head.

"Wouldn't want you to feel left out, that is. Too damn nice, sometimes", Draco grumbles to himself.

"I can hear you, you know", she muses, earning herself a glare from him.

"You were supposed to, damn Gryffindors", he says, not caring that Ressler wouldn't know what a Gryffindor was. Hermione turned to look at him, seeing confusion written all over his face.

"At the school we went to, we were sorted into four different houses, depending on our strength and weaknesses. One of the houses was called Gryffindor. Apparently, they house was named after one of the founders of the school, but no one really knows", she explains with a patience that clearly got lost on Draco Malfoy.

"How do they decide what house you get into?"

"It's like a personality test, where they determine in what house you would fit into best. Each house has different qualities and according to your test results you were sorted with the best fitting house."

"What qualities were those of Gryffindor?"

"Bravery, daring, nerve and chivalry", Draco spits out.

"I take it you were not in Gryffindor?", Ressler asks with a raised eyebrow.

"You do catch on quite quickly", Hermione laughs.

"Draco was sorted into Slytherin. Slytherin and Gryffindor have always been the most hateful houses towards each other. Some people would even say they are polar opposites, but I think that is rather farfetched", she explains further.

"So, what were the Slytherin qualities?"

"Ambition, resourcefulness and cunning", Blaise says walking into the room.

"But ambition was always mistaken for arrogance, cunning was taken for cowardness. Lots of misunderstandings going around. At the end, it didn't really matter what house you were sorted into. You still made your own choices and did what you thought was best."

"The test results were not always clear. Professor McGonagall told me that they didn't know where to put for a really long time, because I had an affinity for all houses", Hermione shrugs.

"You would have made a horrible Hufflepuff", Draco snorts.

"Why is that then?"

"Because you have no patience", he chuckles.

"Liar, I just don't have patience for morons", she fires back.

"Hufflepuff was all about hard work, dedication, loyalty, patience and fair play, while the fourth house – Ravenclaw was all about knowledge, wit and intelligence", Blaise explains to Ressler while the other two continue to bicker back and forth.

"I can tell why they wouldn't have known where to put her", Ressler chuckles, watching the two of them.

"It sure sounds like a weird school!"

"No, it wasn't weird at all. It was the most magical place you can only imagine. It was home, more so than home. The castle was everything you could have dreamed of as a child", Hermione says dreamily.

"So, a private boarding school, hosted in a castle somewhere in England, that no one ever heard of before? How did you lot even get in?", Ressler asks.

"Some families, like Draco's and Blaise's always get their children into the school. Money can buy you almost anything. People like me get invited in. You can't apply – you wouldn't even know it exists until you get invited. It's all very secretive. But they bring out the most intelligent, hardworking and selfless graduates, all taking important positions with the government, the industry or the financial sector and some of us go into something similar to law enforcement", she says.

"I still say it was a mistake they invited you in", Draco says, throwing a smirk in Hermione's direction.

"You stupid little ferret", she says, getting off her chair and moving towards him with her hands on her hips, the air around almost cackling with anger.

"What did you just call me?"

"You heard me damn well!"

"Well you're just a bookish little beaver", he almost shouts, eliciting a gasp from Hermione, before she continues on stepping closer, narrowing her eyes as if they could spew fire. Draco noticed the change in the atmosphere and stepped back with his hands raised in the air, as if he was surrendering himself to her.

"She has him wrapped around her little finger", Blaise chuckles, looking at Ressler, who was watching Hermione in interest.

"She is the best there is, you know", he says suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"She has all those qualities that the four houses held important, she has them all and even more. I've never met anyone quite like her, but she has a temper that you do not want to be at the receiving end of, trust me", Blaise says with a small laugh. He knew exactly how Ressler was looking at Hermione. He found himself looking at her like that from time to time, though his own feelings were more platonic.

"They bicker like little children – will they every grow out of it?", Reddington says, stepping up to the two of them.

"At least it's friendly bickering, you should have seen them during school. It was downright terrifying."

"Enough with the playtime kids, get back to work", Reddington shouts over the almost shouting match that was going on, over at Draco's table. Hermione turns around with a huff, sitting back down at her table.

"He just knows how to get under my skin", she murmurs to no one in particular.

"Just try behaving yourselves while we have guests", Blaise say, getting up and leaving the room.

She's the best there is. With that in mind, Ressler returned to his files, sprawled out on his desk, while stealing little glances at Hermione whenever he thought no one was looking.

T.B.C.