Tam looked around, confused. She was standing in her garden at home in Peebles. It was dark, except for the few enchanted light globes that Severus had put in to illuminate the stone path. Normally when she came out here to sit it was a full moon, and she would rest on the bench to speak out loud to Remus, wherever he was now. It was her monthly ritual.

The ghostly glow of the globes was the only light tonight, as the moon was not full, and what there was of it was hiding behind the clouds. There was no breeze, and all was still.

"Such a pleasant garden you have here" said a voice from behind her.

Tamara's eyes widened and she spun around. "I'm dreaming" she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm really asleep, still in Spain, aren't I?"

Remus smiled, and nodded. "Yes, for the most part. A bit of you is here, with me, though, and I think we need to talk."

Tam flopped onto the bench next to him and threw her arms around his neck. "After all these years, when I've missed you so much for so long, now we need to talk?"

He nodded again as he hugged her back. "I'm afraid so. For all these years you have been tended very well by Severus, and therefore I could get on with my afterlife without worrying about you. Now that you have rather cruelly chucked him out of your life, however, I thought it was time I stepped in as a voice of reason."

"I didn't chuck him out of my life. I just… I can't face him right now. Not until…" She shook her head. "It's a long story."

He grabbed her shoulders and gently pushed her back so he could look her in the eye. "Don't you think that I've been watching?"

"Have you?" she wiped some of her tears away with her hand. "I always wondered."

Remus grinned. "Of course. I love this garden, by the way, and I enjoy our talks out here. I apologize that they are so one-sided, but I do listen. We all do."

"That's nice to know" she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Dora likes to check in on you and the children when you are sleeping, and Sirius always comes round at Christmas to hear you sing." He grinned at her. "Oh, and Fred is very glad that you've kept in touch with his family. He worries about his mum, and George, particularly."

Tam laughed, the weight on her heart so much lighter.

"The point is" he continued. "We are not so far gone, and you don't need to despair so. In fact, right now, I think if you should be missing anyone it should be…"

"Severus."

"Yes. He's suffering terribly."

Tam sighed. "I know, and it is entirely my fault. I made such a huge mistake, and now I don't know if we can ever be the same. I do miss him Remus. I miss him, and I miss my children. I just can't bear to face them after what I've done."

"Oh rubbish" he scolded. "You always look for the best in people. It is one of your best qualities. Your present companions are proof of that. So many would not be able to see past their mistakes and misdeeds, but you trust them with your life. You befriended me with no hesitation in spite of what I was. Sirius told me that when you met him he was filthy and smelled like a dead troll yet still you rushed to hug him without batting an eye. Then of course, there is your husband, whose prickly exterior kept most from getting too close, but not you. Not our Tamara. I often wonder now if we shouldn't have just sent you after Voldemort. I wouldn't put it past you to have befriended and reformed him and saved us all a lot of trouble."

She snorted. "Even I have my limits."

"No, I suppose not even you could have gotten through to that monster. Regardless, I don't want you to blame yourself anymore. Your family doesn't blame you, and neither does Severus. In fact he is currently very busy blaming himself, and wallowing rather miserably in a sea of self-loathing."

Tam groaned. "Oh Merlin... I don't want him to do that. Why does he do that?"

"Because he loves you, and he holds himself to very high standards, as you know. I understand what you are doing in Barcelona, and I agree that you must see it through. Make sure that degenerate doesn't hurt anyone else. In the meantime though, send him an owl, would you? If ever a pair of people needed each other, it was the two of you. Don't let this tear you apart."

Tam nodded. "You're right, as usual. I will. Thank you Remus." She smiled. "Teddy's grown up brilliantly. Severus and I have always been grateful for his influence on Sevarun. He's a wonderful young man. I love having him in class."

Remus grinned again. "I know. We're very proud. He's everything we ever hoped he would be. I'm glad our children are growing up together Tam. It makes me very happy."

"Me too. Remus, will I see you again?"

"Of course you will. I promised you that, didn't I? Although this time, let's hope you don't have need of me until you're ready to join me for good."

Tamara opened her eyes to see Draco sitting in a chair not far from the bed she was laying in. He was watching her with apparent concern.

"Are you all right? You were talking in your sleep."

She nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Where's your dad?"

He tilted his head towards the door that led to the sitting room just as Tam heard a light snore from the direction of the sofa.

"Lucius even snores with refinement. Bless him" she giggled.

Draco smirked. "It's my turn to keep watch. We don't exactly trust the one outside."

She shrugged. "He means well. I'm not sure he understands what he's here for though. I haven't been taken very seriously. The majority of the people I've met here have been wonderful, but I don't think these government guys believe me." She looked hard at him, and studied his face. "You miss your family, don't you?"

Draco nodded. "I've gotten rather used to being a homebody. It took some getting used to, but I quite like it now. It's all right though. If this had happened to Astoria… Let's just say I'm glad to help."

"Thank you. I appreciate it. I'm up for anything we can possibly do to catch that pig and get this whole mess over with quickly." Having a sudden silly thought, she giggled again. "If he isn't tempted enough by me we could always dress your father up in some of my clothes and put some makeup on him. With that hair of his and his pretty eyes he is quite stunning."

"I heard that" came a drowsy grumble from the other room.

Draco snickered. "That's a thought" he laughed. "If we did that we'd have to owl Professor Snape first."

Grinning, Tam nodded. "You're right. He'd never forgive me if I let him miss it."

"I am not dressing up as a witch" insisted Lucius, appearing in the doorway. "I do care a great deal for you my dear, but I do have to draw the line somewhere. Draco, go and get some rest. I'll take this shift."

Giving Tam a smirk, the younger Malfoy vacated his chair and headed out into the sitting room.

"Speaking of Severus" Lucius spoke up; as he sat down in the spot his son had just left. "I received another owl from him today. He's worried sick. I'm running out of excuses to make as to why he hasn't heard from you."

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to communicate with my husband for me. It's really quite pathetic of me, I realize. I'm going to write him in the morning. I've been really horrible to him. He deserves better than this."

"Nonsense. You've had quite a trauma. He knows that."

"Well, trauma or no, I think it's time I pulled myself together. I also think we should step up our efforts to lure in Calderon. I don't want to keep you and Draco away from home any longer than is absolutely necessary… and I know that I can't keep putting off dealing with my own family either."

Lucius leaned his head back against the wall. "Hmm. Yes. Well, if you were willing to risk it… I do have an idea."

Severus re-read the letter once again, trying not let himself get choked up. It was such a relief to finally have heard from Tamara herself, rather than getting any more of Lucius' excuses for her silence. She had told him that she was very sorry, and promised that as soon as she felt confident that Calderon was not a danger to anyone else, she would return so that they could talk properly. She said that she loved him, and missed him very much, and she told him that he had better stop blaming himself for her situation because it was not his fault. One line did worry him a bit. She said Remus had told her that he was suffering, and Severus did not understand that at all. He made a mental note to ask Lucius to make sure she was keeping a nice firm grip on reality.

Sevarun shoved open the door to his father's office and, followed closely by Sevina, dashed inside. "Dad, we've got owls from mum!"

Severus smiled. "Really? So have I. She must be feeling a bit better. I told you we'd hear from her in time. Are you willing to share, or is it none of my business?"

"She just said that Spain is really nice, but she misses us, and wants to come home soon" Sevarun explained, grinning.

"She also said that we should be looking after you for her" Sevina added, quietly smirking.

"I can't say that I am surprised, but all I want you two to be looking after at the moment is each other and your grades. I'm perfectly capable of seeing to myself, I assure you."

In truth, he was so relieved that things seemed to be looking up, he felt like saying sod diplomacy, and apparating back to his wife's side immediately. What stopped him was the idea of leaving the children yet again, and the lingering fear that Tamara might panic and send him away once more. That, he really didn't think he could stand.

When he'd managed to convince Sevarun and Sevina to get back to the Slytherin dormitories he took out some parchment to write back. He sat for a long time with his quill poised above the paper, unsure of what to say. He wanted to gush to her his gratitude for her finally writing him, to declare his undying love, and beg her to let him come back to Spain. A combination of pride and insecurity eliminated that as an option, however.

He was still struggling with what to write when another owl arrived.

Severus,

I was having a discussion with your wife the other day when she mentioned to me a particular piece of jewelry that you had given her as a gift many years ago. As it seems our target is unwilling to make any further appearances here, I was thinking it may be wise to give him a bit more incentive. If you could be so good as to locate that piece of jewelry and send it along to me, I believe I may be able to get us closer to our ultimate goal of ridding the world of that lecherous vermin, and reuniting you with your dear Tamara. Once you've sent the item, all I ask you to do is muster up a bit more patience, and await the signal.

Trust me,

Lucius

Severus stared at the letter. Naturally, he knew exactly what gift Lucius was referring to, and he did in fact know exactly where it was. Ironically, he had been thinking a lot about that particular item lately. If Tamara had been wearing it when Calderon had cursed her, the protective charm likely would have prevented the spell from affecting her, as well as alerting Severus to the fact that she was in danger. It had saved her once before, causing the curse thrown at Remus Lupin by a death eater in Diagon Alley to throw her into a building, rather than inflicting the potentially fatal damage it had been intended to. After that incident Severus had, without telling her, added an additional enchantment that would let him know whenever the necklace was hit by a curse, as well. He never wanted to need to be fetched by a third party again in the event that Tamara was injured.

If she'd had her necklace on the day she'd been taken, this whole mess could have been avoided. Unfortunately, in the years after the war, she didn't wear it as faithfully anymore, not seeing the need. Instead, she kept it hanging on their bedpost, explaining that while at school she didn't want to show favoritism towards Slytherin house any more than what was already implied.

Severus knew that this request meant Lucius was planning to up the stakes. He wasn't stupid. Even though Malfoy hadn't come out and said so, he was aware that between the two of them, he and Tamara had certainly been trying to lure Calderon in by making her appear vulnerable. Apparently it wasn't working, and Lucius was ready to take a more drastic course of action. More risk to Tamara's safety did not sit well with him. On the other side of the argument however, was the fact that by involving his wife's charmed Slytherin crest, he himself would be a large part of her protection once more. He trusted Lucius more than he trusted most people, though admittedly not as much as he trusted Potter or Minerva, and his knowledge of just how vicious he could be when necessary had been a comfort during this nerve-wracking time. That didn't change the fact that he would much rather be looking after Tamara himself. Also, getting this over with and getting her back here with him was a very tempting prospect.

With a sigh, he stood up and went to retrieve the necklace. As he gently removed it from its place on the bedpost he smiled, remembering the night he'd given it to her. It had been her second year teaching at Hogwarts, the year Lupin had the Defense job. He'd been struggling then with what exactly to do about the unwelcome affect the young Performing Arts teacher had on him, and he'd been horribly jealous of her friendship with Remus. What had started out as a little trinket bought on a whim, had shortly after become a means of protecting her from the perceived threat of Azkaban escapee Sirius Black.

She had loved the present, and he was rewarded by the privilege of spending the night in a chair with her snuggled up in his lap. The memory made his chest tighten and his eyes water a bit. What he wouldn't give to have her here cuddled up with him now, uncomfortable damn chair or not!

The letter Lucius received from Severus in reply contained the item he'd requested along with one simple sentence.

This had better work.

Smiling, Lucius turned to his son. "Draco, we're taking her to Scotland."