Yes, yes. I know it's supposed to be a lot harder to master being an animagus than it was for the Golden Trio, but I just chock that up to the fact that they're the Golden Trio. Haha. Thank you guys for all of your reviews. You all encourage me to keep going, though I've gotten quite stuck while writing chapter 13, which is why I'm taking longer posting these than I'd like to. *frowny face*. But alas, here's another chapter. In this one, our favorite begrudged couple make a decision that will change their relationship forever. Bwahahaha…! I love this chapter too. So enjoy…
CHAPTER 9:
Hermione hadn't gotten any sleep at all, even knowing that she had class in a little over nine hours. She had stayed up, staring at the ceiling with the curtains around her bed closed so she didn't have to face the questions her roommates would have been sure to ask if they had seen her wide awake. Finally, Hermione looked at her clock and it read 11:30. She figured she would need a half hour to find the Slytherin on the map she had borrowed from Harry when they had returned to their House. He had narrowed his eyes curiously at her for a second when she asked, but he didn't ask any questions.
Hermione slowly crept out of her bed, fully clothed, and headed out of her room and down the stairs to the common room. She didn't see anyone sitting around so she just crept quietly out of the portrait hole.
"Lumos," she whispered as she pulled out the map. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," she whispered again with her wand against the tattered piece of parchment.
Hermione opened the folded paper and examined it closely. Finally, she saw the small black dot labeled Draco Malfoy and headed to the seventh floor corridor in which the dot was pacing.
With every step Hermione took closer to where she knew Malfoy would be, she got more and more nervous. She didn't know why he had wanted to meet with her in the first place, let alone why that urge had been so bad for him that he had even said 'please'. She shook her head at the memory and ordered her feet to continue along.
When Draco heard the small footsteps approaching, he stopped his pacing and spun around. His heart sped up as he looked at her. The light from the moon shining through one of the hall's windows lit up Hermione's wild curls like a halo. Draco felt his breath catch, then scolded himself. He shouldn't care what the moonlight did to the Mudblood's hair.
"Hello," Hermione whispered. She had no idea why she was feeling so breathless looking at Malfoy looking at her. His silver eyes were like mercury pools glistening in the moonlight. Hermione took a step closer involuntarily and noticed her surroundings.
On the wall to her right she noticed a very familiar painting and she gasped. Malfoy had brought her to the Room of Requirement.
Draco noticed her taking in her surroundings and felt a slight flush rising to his cheeks. He silently thanked God that it was too dark for Granger to notice. Malfoy's don't blush. He had thought long and hard about where he wanted to meet her and it just so happened that the Room of Requirement was the perfect place, even if it brought back memories for both of them of that horrible night so many months ago.
Draco turned around, paced back and forth three times in front of the blank wall opposite the painting with a look of concentration on his face. After he was done, a door appeared and Draco opened it, motioning for Hermione to come inside. She obliged.
When Hermione stepped into the room, she noticed that one of the walls was mirrored. Against the wall opposite the mirrors, there was a large plush sofa. A table sat in front of the sofa with a small glass pitcher of what looked like ice water and two glasses. Other than that, the room was rather empty, compared to what Hermione was used to.
Draco walked to the couch and sat down. Hermione followed him and was surprised when he picked up a glass, filled it with water, and handed it to her. She wasn't used to him being gentlemanly. It took her off guard.
"So I guess you're wondering why I brought you here," Draco looked up into Hermione's eyes. She nodded slightly, urging him to continue. "Well I wanted to try and teach you how to become an animagus."
Hermione flushed. She was still quite embarrassed that she had failed so horribly before, especially in front of Malfoy. "Well I don't need you to try and teach me. It's obvious it's just not one of my talents," she snapped and stood up, fully intending to walk back to the door and out of the room.
"Wait," Draco said as he grabbed her wrist gently. "Don't go. I think you will learn it if I teach you," he whispered.
Hermione exhaled slowly and turned around to face him. She noticed how tall he was when she turned and came face to chest with him. She stumbled back quickly and pulled her arm away from his gentle grip. "Fine," she muttered and walked to the middle of the room. Draco followed.
"Okay. Firstly, I think it will be a lot easier for you if you let go of all of your book knowledge and all of the things you THINK you know about the transformation. Forget all of that. It isn't of any use when you're actually trying to transform." Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Draco raised his hand and said, "Just trust me. I've made the transformation many times. I was just like you in the beginning, thinking that all I needed was what I'd learned in the books I had read. I was wrong. Those things just hinder you. Let go of them."
Hermione sighed and closed her eyes to try and do as he suggested. She focused on every detail she had learned about animaguses and concentrated on putting those things to the back of her mind. It took her a little while, but Draco stood by patiently. When Hermione opened her eyes again to look at him, his breath caught in his throat. Her eyes were heavy-lidded, like she had just awakened.
"Okay. Now concentrate on your animal nature. Focus on the sounds and smells and feelings around you," he whispered, so as not to startle her out of her trance-like state.
Hermione closed her eyes again and did as he asked. She inhaled deeply and concentrated on what she smelled. Suddenly his scent hit her senses and her eyes flew open. He smelled delicious, like hot spices on a summer morning, mixed with a musky, purely male scent. She couldn't stop herself from taking those steps toward him, until she gently took his shirt in her hands, held it up to her nose, and inhaled deeply. Hermione almost growled he smelled so good.
Draco was startled when the small brunette stalked over to him and placed her face in his shirt, but he didn't say a word. He knew that she was no longer thinking like a human, but like an animal. She was just a step away from her transformation.
Draco whispered even more quietly, "Now pick up your wand and say the spell, Granger."
Without stepping away from him, she pulled her wand out of her pocket and said, "Animagus Mihi."
Next thing he knew, Granger disappeared and he was looking into the rich chocolate brown eyes of a sleek black panther. The panther looked at him in surprise.
"Good job, Granger," Draco whispered with a self-satisfied smile on his face.
Hermione looked down at her black, long-clawed paws and exhaled. It took her a couple of seconds more to overcome the shock. When she looked up into Malfoy's eyes again, the surprise was replaced with a look of mischief. Malfoy's eyes narrowed at the look and he took a step back.
Hermione crouched down with her front paws and the panther part of her was excited when he backed away even further. Suddenly, she pounced on him, her front paws colliding with his chest, sending him sprawling backward. His back collided with the floor and she was face to face with him, standing on his chest. Draco cursed roughly until he met the chocolate eyes of the cat's that were so like the human's.
Hermione was taken out of her playful mood when she saw Malfoy's eyes becoming heated. Next thing she knew, she was back in her human body, but she was still laying on Malfoy's muscled chest on the floor. Hermione's breath caught again. What had she just gotten herself into?
Draco exhaled roughly and cursed under his breath for what he was about to do. He just couldn't handle it anymore. Draco wrapped one of his arms around Hermione's small waist, plunged the other long, pale hand into her mane, and crushed his lips to hers. She went completely still for the first second, then quickly responded with the same fervor. She shoved her hands into his pale blonde locks and kissed him back with as much passion as she could muster. Deep down, she had known this was coming and she could finally admit to herself how badly she had wanted it.
Hermione couldn't think, couldn't do anything but kiss Draco Malfoy with everything she had. Every little piece of her heart was singing in joy at the completed feeling inside of her. She finally felt like everything in the world was perfect.
Draco couldn't think at all. The only thing he could do was finally allow himself to have this experience that he had been longing for since that dream. As the image of the dream returned, Draco growled hungrily beneath Hermione. With his arms still wrapped around her waist, he rolled them both over so that she was on her back, and he was above her in a plank-like position, still not daring to touch her too much. He continued kissing her until both of their lips were swollen and they were forced to come up for air.
They both gasped and their lungs eagerly took in fresh oxygen. Draco rolled onto his back and lay there staring at the ceiling until he saw a slim face surrounded by lush brown curls come into view. They just stared at each other, both still sucking in air like drowning victims, until Hermione opened her lips.
"So I guess this means that we're done pretending there's nothing between us?" she asked hesitantly, testing to see what his reaction would be.
Draco closed his eyes tightly, then opened them. "Yea. I guess so, Granger," he replied.
"Hermione," she said.
"Pardon?" he asked confusedly.
"My name. It's Hermione. If you're going to be snogging me senseless, we should probably be on a first-name basis," she answered matter-of-factly.
Draco thought about it for a minute, then nodded his agreement. "Hermione." He liked the way her name rolled off of his lips.
"Draco." She tested the name, almost like she would test a fine wine to see if it was to her liking. She judged that it was.
Draco exhaled again as a bright smile lit up her face. From his position on the floor, with her face above his, she looked like an angel gazing down at him, her curls like a halo around her head. He felt his lips curving of their own accord.
"You taught me how to be an animagus. Thank you, Mal… I mean, Draco," she whispered.
Draco sat up and looked at her, face to face. "You're welcome, Hermione," he replied.
The two sat in silence for a long while, thinking about what had just happened between them. The strange thing was that, with all of the emotions flooding through both of them at warp speed, neither one felt even an inkling of regret. Confusion, yes. Even a little bit of fear. But no regret.
"So what are we going to do about this now?" asked Hermione.
"I have no idea," Draco answered truthfully and thrust a long, pale hand through his white-blonde hair.
Hermione watched him as he ran his hand through his hair like Harry tended to do when he was stressed, and sighed. Now that reality was sinking in, none of what had just happened looked like it was going to be good. It had been so much easier when she could just pretend that she didn't feel anything for the beautiful Slytherin sitting before her but hatred. But now that they had both let out their repressed feelings, Hermione knew that nothing would be easy anymore. But she still didn't regret it.
Draco looked at Hermione's face and watched it fall. He didn't feel the need to ask her what was wrong, since he figured what was wrong with her was exactly the same thing that was wrong with him. Things would never be the same now. Draco shook his head and stood up. He offered a hand to Hermione and she took it. He then led her back over to the couch and they both sat down. They just sat there in silence for a little while, both lost in their own thoughts.
"Let me see your arm," whispered Hermione, breaking the silence.
Draco looked startled. "What?" he asked incredulously.
"Your arm. Let me see it," she responded with determination.
"Why?" he asked, eyeing her warily.
"Because I need to. I need to see your Mark, Draco." The look in her eyes was enough to tell him that she was sincere about that need, so he slowly lifted his left arm, palm up, and held it in front of her. Hermione hesitantly reached out and rolled up his sleeve. The look on Hermione's face wasn't the disgust and fear that he expected. The only thing that marred her pretty features was a look of grim amazement.
Slowly, Hermione lifted her hand to run her fingers over the snake-and-skull tattoo marring Draco's smooth, snowy flesh. She grazed her fingers over the Mark, which rocked Draco to his core. He had expected her to flinch away in fear, not caress the Mark like it was something soft and sweet.
Hermione looked up into Draco's surprised features and met his eyes. She stopped tracing the Mark on his arm and wrapped her fingers around it instead. "You're wondering why I'm not running away from you right now." It wasn't a question, but a statement. "I'm not running because this horrible Mark is not who you are. It may have been who you used to be, but not anymore. I knew you were different the second you walked into the Great Hall during the feast the day we got back here and almost let Ron and Harry kill you. I could see it in your eyes, Draco. What happened that changed you so much?" she whispered the question.
Draco shook his head and pulled his arm from her grip, gently. He set his hand on the couch but didn't bother covering the Mark again. There was no point in hiding it from her anymore. "You don't want to know what happened to me, Hermione," he replied, his eyes downcast.
Hermione placed a finger under his chin and raised his face back up to hers. "Yes, I do. Please tell me."
Draco almost shook his head again, but decided against it. Maybe if she knew the things he had done, she would run away like a smart little girl. Maybe then, things would go back to normal and they wouldn't have to face everything that had just happened. Even though he was thinking that, he knew it was half-heartedly. No matter how many times he told himself she wasn't what he wanted, he knew that he was lying, and even if she did decide to leave him and whatever messed-up relationship they were developing, he would never get over the strange feelings he had for this girl.
"Fine. The night I let all of the Death Eaters into the castle and Dumbledore died, Snape took me back to the Manor. The Dark Lord was there and so was my father. Neither one of them was happy with me for failing my mission. Lucky for me, Snape came to my rescue and stopped him from killing me. Instead, he decided it would be fun to toy with me.
"My father had me sent to the dungeons, where I was whipped daily for my worthlessness to the Dark Lord. My mum came in every night to try and heal me but my back didn't heal fully for weeks.
"Then one day, the Death Eaters threw a muggle girl in my cell with me and gave me a little time to get to know her before they forced me to take her life." Draco looked up into Hermione's eyes to measure her reaction to that last statement. She didn't look horrified like he expected, just sad. He continued, shocked at how strong she seemed to be.
"That was my final test to see if I was worthy of becoming a Death Eater. Apparently, I passed the test. The Dark Lord used my shock to his advantage, and branded me right there like a cow," Draco added darkly.
"After that, I was free to wander around the house and to sleep in my own bed. And I would have, if I had been able to sleep at all after that. But after that first killing, things just got worse. The Dark Lord decided to use me as executioner. Every time anyone stood in his way that he could get his hands on, he brought them back to the Manor and when they were on their hands and knees in front of him, begging forgiveness, he had me kill them. It got easier after a while. I realized it made it better if I just didn't think about it. I had to obey him or I would never have gotten away. He would have killed me if I didn't do as he'd ordered." Draco looked at her a little nervously, like he was afraid she was going to hate him for what he had done.
Hermione couldn't believe what she had just heard. Voldemort had forced DRACO, of all people, to be his executioner? Why? Was it just to mess with him? Hermione felt so horribly for the poor boy sitting before her. They had broken him. That was why he wasn't the same anymore. The things that had been done to him, and that he had been forced to do, had completely broken his spirit and changed him into a new person, one who was good. Hermione couldn't believe his strength. That after all of that, he still had the power to get up and walk away. That he had the courage to join the Light and be a double-agent. Hermione just stared in wonder at the blonde.
Hermione lifted her hand to Draco's cheek and he closed his eyes. It was obvious that he wasn't used to being touched, which made her think about the whippings he said he had been forced to endure. Her heart cried out for him. "You are one of the strongest, bravest people I have ever met, Draco. The fact that you could do all of those things and still have the courage to get up in the morning, let alone to come back to this school and change sides, proves how strong you are. I am so proud of you."
"I killed countless numbers of innocents, Hermione. Most of them, without a second thought. I did all of that to protect my own life. If I was really brave, I would have just said no and sacrificed myself, like bloody Potter would. But I didn't," Draco said angrily.
"No, Draco. That's not true. Harry is the way he is out of a ridiculous sense of obligation. He thinks he owes the world and that's why he's always putting himself in danger for everyone. I constantly worry that one day I'm going to wake up and my best friend will be dead and it's almost too much for me to handle. I don't know what I'd do if I had to worry about someone else like that too. I'm just so glad that you're here with me right now. Once Voldemort is dead, you will be free. You won't have to worry anymore. You're safe with us. You're safe with ME."
Draco looked up into her face again and Hermione could tell by his eyes how upset and angry he was. And he had every right to be. Hermione couldn't imagine having been put through everything that he had been put through. She didn't think that she would have been able to move on after that.
Hermione caressed his cheek again and leaned toward him to lay a hesitant kiss on his lips. It unnerved them both how willingly she touched him. He wasn't used to it, but for whatever reason, he wanted to GROW used to it. He didn't ever want to let her go now. It was too late for him when it came to Hermione Granger. And all of those things that he had held against her all of those years past seemed so stupid and insignificant to him now. All of his prejudices had been instilled in him from birth by his father and his father's Death Eater cohorts. None of those opinions had truly been his own and he hadn't realized that until this girl had imbedded herself in his life. Hermione had an unnerving way of breaking down Draco's walls without him even realizing it until it was too late to build them back up again. He didn't know what to think about it.
Draco thought, Screw it, and pulled Hermione so that she was curled on his lap, with her head rested on his shoulder. He adjusted himself so that he was lying with his back against the armrest, so that he could cradle her small body against him. He whispered, "I'm sorry, Hermione. For everything I ever did to you. I was a stupid, ignorant prat back then and I hope that you can eventually forgive me for it."
Hermione looked up into his face, stunned that he would apologize. "You're already forgiven, Draco. Yes, you were a complete arse back then, but that is not the person you are now. You're brave and smart and caring, even though I get the feeling you would never admit it. I don't hold your past against you, Draco." Hermione smiled sweetly at him, then closed her eyes.
Before either of them knew it, they were both asleep.
.ooOoo.
Hermione awoke to the sun's warm rays streaming in through the windows and onto her face. She started when she felt something move beneath her and opened her eyes wide. When she saw Draco's face below her, eyes still closed and usually perfectly coifed hair mussed, she felt a little spark of excitement. She smiled and brushed the back of her fingers lightly across his smooth forehead.
Draco's eyes flew open and his hand was crushing her wrist so quickly she hadn't even seen him move.
"It's okay, Draco. It's just me," she whispered slightly fearfully at the wild fear that was in his eyes before it was taken over by recognition.
Draco immediately let go of Hermione's wrist when he realized who it was that had woken him. She looked down at it and rubbed it to soothe away the pain from his crushing grip. Draco immediately felt horrible and embarrassed. He gently took her arm in his hand and looked at the purple fingerprint-shaped bruises that were already beginning to form.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to wake a sleeping Death Eater," Draco scowled, still holding her arm gently. He pulled out his wand and muttered a healing spell and immediately, the painful bruises on Hermione's wrist were gone. Draco tenderly rubbed the spot with his thumb, and his scowl was replaced with a worried look, his silver gaze begging for forgiveness.
"You really aren't used to being touched, are you?" she asked softly, not angrily, but with genuine curiosity.
Draco just looked at her for a second. He didn't think he would ever get used to how strangely forgiving she was. "No. I'm not," he admitted.
"And the only touches you've ever felt were bad ones, weren't they?" she asked.
"For the most part. Or they were for the pleasure of the person doing the touching," Draco muttered, thinking about Pansy.
"Well, you probably should get used to me touching you. It will be rather frustrating for both of us if you keep tensing up when we graze each other or breaking my wrists when I wake you up in the morning…. Oh Merlin, what time is it?!" Hermione flew out of Draco's lap and rushed to pick up her wand from where it had fallen on the ground during her transformation the previous night.
Draco said the spell that would reveal the time. "8:06 AM," announced an airy voice from his wand.
"Shoot!" Hermione yelled and spun around to head toward the door. Draco grabbed her arm, effectively stopping her in her tracks.
"When can we meet again?" he asked. He took a step closer to her and brushed a hand through her unkempt curls.
"Umm… I don't know…," she whispered. Her mind was starting to fog up at his touch. She shook her head to clear it and brushed his hand away. "Just send me an owl and we'll plan something," she said a little more in control of herself.
"Tonight," Draco said and stepped toward her again, eyes smoldering. She took a step back and he continued following her until her back was pressed up against the wall.
"O..okay. Tonight," she whispered, transfixed by his heated, mercury gaze.
Draco nodded slightly, then his lips descended on hers. He caught her lips with his and kissed her hungrily for a few moments, then pulled away, turning his head to the side and inhaling deeply as if trying to gain control of himself.
"We should probably get to class," he whispered, taking a step back, either because of their mutual need to get to class, or to keep himself from throwing himself at her again, he wasn't sure which.
Draco's words seemed to clear Hermione's smoke-hazed mind and she hurried for the door. She turned her head slightly to gaze back at him and smiled at him before she rushed out the door.
Draco sighed heavily and leaned his forehead against the cool stone in front of him to clear the
haze taking up residence in his brain. That girl was so damned intoxicating and he never knew what was going to happen when she was around. Draco growled in frustration, then figured he should probably get to class too. His first class was Advanced Arithmancy with Hermione. Wouldn't that be interesting after they had just spent the night together?
Draco shook his head and headed out of the door and toward the dungeons. He still had to change and get ready for class.
.ooOoo.
When Hermione entered the common room she was startled by the commotion. Harry, Ron, and Ginny were all on their feet and in front of her in a split second and they were all yelling at once. Luckily, there was no one else in the common room to see this.
"Woah, woah, woah, guys. Stop yelling," Hermione begged, holding up her hands as if surrendering.
"Where in Merlin's name were you, Hermione?" boomed Ron. His face and neck were tinged pink from his frustration… or worry, Hermione didn't know which.
"Umm…." Hermione said, not knowing what lie she should tell them. She had no idea what to say. She looked toward Ginny with a pleading look in her eyes and watched as the realization slowly dawned in the redhead's eyes. They went wide and her lips formed an 'O' shape. She shook her head once, as if to snap herself out of it and turned toward the boys.
"We should let her get ready for class. We're all going to be late. We know she's safe now, so we can interrogate her later," Ginny said matter-of-factly.
Ron looked like he was going to argue, but he changed his mind when Harry smacked his arm and shook his head. "Leave it be, Ron. Ginny's right. We can talk to Hermione about it later, IF she doesn't run off again tonight," Harry said almost angrily. He then turned and pulled Ron out of the portrait hole. Ginny made it look as if she was going to follow after them, but the boys were storming away so fast they didn't realize when she whirled on Hermione instead.
"What the HELL were you thinking, Hermione?" Ginny yelled.
Hermione sighed in resignation. "If you're going to yell at me, can we at least go upstairs so I can get ready at the same time?" she asked dully.
Ginny looked like she was considering tearing into the brunette right there but thought better of it. She nodded stiffly. "Fine," she snapped, then headed for the staircase before Hermione had even started moving.
Hermione followed Ginny up to their unoccupied room and closed the door behind them.
"What the HELL were you thinking?" Ginny repeated, in the same tone as before.
"I wasn't, Gin. I wasn't planning on falling asleep. It just kind of happened. When I woke up I immediately rushed back down here. I'm sorry I worried you guys," she whispered with her head hung low.
Ginny exhaled heavily, as if trying to get her temper in check. "So do you want to explain yourself or should I just GUESS what the two of you did last night?" Ginny asked after she felt like she wouldn't explode at the girl.
"Wait a second. Ginny, we didn't DO anything. We just fell asleep. ACCIDENTALLY fell asleep. Draco…," Ginny's eyes widened at the use of the blonde's first name, but Hermione continued, "he taught me how to become an animagus because I couldn't master it with McGonagall. He brought me to the Room of Requirement so he could teach me that. That's all. And he did teach me, Ginny. I'm an animagus now!" Hermione couldn't hide the excitement from her voice, and to her surprise, Ginny smiled at her. Ginny then seemed to realize what her face was doing and snapped her lips back into a scowl.
"Well that's great for you, but what do you expect to tell Harry and Ron? They were worried sick about you, and because you had the Map, Harry couldn't find you to make sure you were safe. They both stayed up the entire night waiting for you to return, Hermione. You really scared them. You scared all of us," Ginny said disapprovingly.
"I'm sorry, Gin. I didn't mean to. I would never have done that on purpose and you guys know that," Hermione replied.
"I know. That's why it scared us so much. You're not the kind of person that stays out all night of your own accord. Harry was worried that the Death Eaters got into the castle again and found you. He's got a wild imagination, but place him and Ron in the same room together and their anxious personalities bubble up so much energy that it makes everyone around them nervous too…"
Ginny trailed off, not knowing what to say next. She was just turning around and heading toward the door when Hermione whispered, "Draco kissed me."
Ginny whirled around so fast her hair smacked her in her eye. "Ow," she muttered, then got it together and forgot about the stinging. "Merlin, Hermione. How did it happen? What did you do?... How was it?" she asked.
Hermione laughed, knowing the redhead was hooked now, and turned toward her wardrobe to start getting ready. "Well it happened after he taught me how to turn into my animagus form, a black panther. I got this insane urge to pounce on him, so I did it. It's a lot harder to control yourself when you get an urge in animal form. I landed on his chest on the ground and the look in his eyes startled me so much I turned back into a human. Next thing I knew, he was kissing me. And what do you THINK I did? Of course I kissed him back! And he was bloody fantastic!" Hermione blurted uncharacteristically, then covered her mouth as her cheeks got hot.
Ginny burst into laughter at her best friend's outburst. "Well of course he was bloody fantastic, Hermione. Just look at him! He just oozes kissing prowess," she teased, waggling her fire-engine red eyebrows.
Hermione thwacked her on the arm and shook her head, choosing not to dignify that statement with a response, and continued getting dressed. Ginny laughed. When Hermione was finished they flew down the staircase to the common room and out the portrait hole together. When they reached the hallway leading to their classrooms, they parted ways and sprinted to their separate classes.
So what did you think? I just love my Draco so much and I'm quite jealous that I'm not Hermione at the moment. Haha. So what will happen next? How will their relationship evolve from here? Will they both end up regretting their decisions and go back to ignoring their feelings, or will they keep it together and grow closer as time passes? I dunno… Haha. Don't hate me. I'll be posting another chapter as soon as I can. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated (and sometimes even make me post faster. ;] ) Thanks!
Love, MBS
