A/N: WARNING! This chapter is incredibly corny. Like, more than usual.

Louise entered the guest bedroom, having just returned from her visit to Azkaban Prison. Her instructions had been to meet with Severus and the rest of the team in Hermione's flat. It was already quite late into the night. She had knocked on the door about four times, before a rather handsome blondie answered. His name was Draco — the Draco — and he looked positively spent.

"He's in the guest room," Draco told her, gesturing to the corridor. "Second door to the right."

She resolved to give him a polite nod, before proceeding into the corridor and past the door leading into Severus' room. It was the only open door, and inside rested the man of the hour. To her surprise, he was not asleep. His eyes were open. There were dark circles beneath them and even darker marks along his arms and neck. His bruises had apparently settled in — a deep purplish colour at that point.

The young woman closed the door behind her and leaned back, into it. She could feel moisture collect around her eyes.

It was only then that he noticed her, having glued his eyes to the window. There was light rain pouring from the sky, pitter-pattering on the rooftop and glossing the streets.

Louise breathed in, overwhelmed by the sight of him. There had been so many thoughts running through her mind, so many scenarios that left Severus' life hanging by a thread. But he was not dead. He was in front of her — alive as ever. She buried her face in her hands, having never experienced such strong waves of relief in her life.

Her body slid down the door.

There was movement coming from the bed. Severus came to her side and knelt down, pulling the hands from her face. His eyes were wild with concern. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? Did something happen in Azkaban?"

"I'm fine," Louise blurted. "You — You're not. You shouldn't be out of bed." She motioned for him to get back on the mattress. "You need to recover. You need to — to —"

Severus wiped the tears from her eyes. "Don't cry," he whispered. "Please."

"I thought you were dead," she confessed, revealing to him the notions that had tormented her from the moment she left The Leaky Cauldron. "I thought you were — you were —"

"I'm right here," Severus told her, kissing both of her hands and then her lips. "I'm a little bruised up, but I'm right here, good as ever."

Louise shakily brushed her fingers along the sides of his face, as though he were an illusion. "Thank Merlin," she whispered. "Don't scare me like that again. I love you too damned much."

"I love you," he declared, running his hands through her hair. "I love everything about you."

Severus had meant to tell her before, back in The Leaky Cauldron, but she stopped him before the first syllable left his lips. She wanted to hear it, but not then, not when she didn't know if she would hear it again. It may have been considered selfish on her part, but making those declarations then, when his lifeline was in dire state, would have sounded too much like a goodbye and she was not ready to say goodbye.

Their lips brushed together, never coming in full contact, only feathering and familiarizing.

Louise's breathing turned shallow. "What — What are you doing?" she asked, flustered as Severus worked to unbutton her blouse. "I was joking when I said I wanted you in bed as soon as I'm back. You're hurt."

"I'm fine enough to do this," he reasoned, sweeping her lips into a full kiss and simultaneously pushing the blouse from her shoulders. "To give you thanks for being so brave."

Her cheeks burned with hotness. "…I…I…"

Severus reached behind her back and unfastened her bra with one hand, causing titillating chills to crawl the length of her spine. The points on her breasts perked, and without further ado, he went for it.

Draco waited for the guest bedroom door to close before slumping back onto the sofa. There were countless things running through his mind, preventing him from getting the proper amount of rest he needed in order to find his daughter. But how could he possibly rest, when she was out there somewhere…alone…scared…in danger? It tore him to pieces, thinking about all those painful details.

His conversation with Hermione only solidified the fear in his chest. She had gone to change her clothes. Nothing had happened between them, but even so much as speaking with his former wife made him miss his daughter more than words could describe. They were so alike. Both so passionate, so brilliant, so strong.

The weight on his shoulders increased with each passing second.

He sat up, realizing there was no possible way he could ever sleep — not without some assistance.

The wizard rose from the sofa and made his way to the kitchen, locating an open bottle of Firewhiskey.

Strange.

Hermione didn't drink Firewhiskey. It must have belonged to Nott.

There was a twitch in his biceps. Draco hadn't been given the chance to face Nott. But he would make time for that. He would find the man responsible for his daughter's kidnapping, and he would tear him apart limb from limb.

He emptied the Firewhiskey into the sink, as though it were Nott's blood, and opted for some wine instead. It was an older bottle — about five years — and from Italy. He knew this bottle. It was the bottle he and Hermione had drank from, during their wedding feast.

"Sorry I took so long," someone voiced from behind.

Draco turned and found Hermione there, changed out of her day clothes and into some cotton pyjamas. They were olive green and quite conservative, but something about them made his temperature rise. He recognized these pyjamas, vividly remembering the moment he'd popped every last one of those buttons and devoured her body on the kitchen counter, and then in the shower.

Those memories were everywhere in the flat.

Their marriage had been short-lived, but it had also been filled with sex and sex and more sex. It seemed every time they argued, they would resolve to undress and have a go at one another in that way.

Needless to say, he didn't mind.

"What?" Hermione asked, noticing the change in his expression. She stared down at her pyjamas, confused. "Is something wrong?"

Draco shook his head, falling back to reality. "No — Nothing," he mumbled. "I found this." He held up the wine, hoping to deter the topic of their conversation elsewhere.

There was a touch of colour on her cheeks. "Our wedding wine."

"You remember," he remarked.

She gave him an obvious look, taking hold of the wine and pouring it in two glasses, before handing him one. "Of course, I do."

It tasted exactly how he remembered. Each note. Each flavour. Each subtle detail. The wine wasn't very old, but it was damned good. Draco savoured his glass, not wanting to diminish the bottle so soon. It was the last shred of their marriage that survived the divorce — apart from Cissy.

The pair moved to the bench on the balcony. There was rain falling from overhead, but it was peaceful.

Neither of them felt comfortable spending an entire night doing nothing, but they had no choice. Their Port Key wasn't scheduled for use until morning. Draco had arranged for it moments before Louise arrived, having discussed with Hermione the possible places Leanne and Nott could have taken their daughter. It turned out the Forbes had a place in Scotland, as they discovered after reading a few of the documents he 'borrowed' from the archives.

It felt as though months had passed, but it had only been four days since the kidnapping.

Still, the knot in Draco's chest tightened. He couldn't shake the guilt. He could shake the worry.

"Who all should go to Edinburgh?" Hermione asked.

Her words snapped him out of his worries, as they usually did. He rubbed the back of his head, in thought. "I'm thinking us and Ron."

She nodded along. "I was thinking the same. Severus is still hurt and needs Gemma to take care of him."

"What about Louise?"

"Is she back from Azkaban?"

Draco confirmed this by gesturing to the entrance of the flat. "She arrived while you were changing."

"Oh — shame I didn't get to see her," Hermione frowned, genuinely disappointed. "I've been wondering about this girlfriend of Severus'."

"I didn't speak to her long," he shrugged. "It seemed like she was in a hurry to see him."

"I'd imagine so," the brunette agreed, taking a sip from her glass. "I don't know what I would do if — if —" There was a hitch in her breathing.

Draco faced his former flame. "If?"

"If the man I love were suffering like him," Hermione finished, having another go at her wine. "Then again, I do have an idea."

Her gaze drifted into the distance. Something changed in her demeanour. She went from pained to pensive. There were memories floating in that brilliant mind of hers.

There were memories floating through his, of all the times she had suffered.

"I know this is going to sound random but —" He breathed out, trying to find the right words. "I don't think I've ever properly apologized for hurting you, back when I didn't have my memories."

Hermione flashed him a perplexed look. "That is random," she remarked. "But you don't have to apologize. There was dark magic at play. You were drugged. You weren't in the right frame of mind."

"But it was my choice to erase my memories," Draco countered, having mulled this over for ages. "I wouldn't have been drugged so easily, had I been myself. It was my fault…and to think…I did it because I was jealous."

"Jealous?" Hermione repeated.

He nodded. "I found out Ron was alive and — and couldn't bear to see you with him, so I erased my memories." It was a ridiculous decision, to say the least. But his former self thought it was his only option. "I think 'jealous' is probably an understatement. It was more of a crippling, covetous rage." He exhaled and looked at her, embarrassed. "Basically, I was an idiot. I'm sorry."

Strangely enough, there was a look of amusement on her face. "You were only eighteen. There's nothing wrong with what you did. I just — I can't believe you thought I was still interested in Ron, after everything that happened between us."

Draco considered her reasoning, realizing she was alluding to what happened moments before he'd been summoned. The meadow. Their first kiss. The first time he'd touched her with desire, rather than duty. The first time she touched back. It was vivid in his mind, as were many memories of theirs.

"I was attracted to you from the beginning," Hermione furthered, sneaking looks at him. "Even at the Institute."

He listened carefully, having never heard these words come from her mouth. After defeating Tom Riddle, they had resolved to push those painful memories behind them. But not all the memories were painful — some were heated, some were sweet, some were spell-binding.

She bit her bottom lip, in thought. "I remember bandaging your torso, wondering what it would feel like if I ran my hands down your back…and…over your abs."

There were times when Draco had caught her lingering looks, back at the Institute. But he tried to ignore them, thinking his mind was playing tricks on him. It was nice to know he hadn't imagined everything.

"Then in the woods, after we had that stupid mud fight," Hermione reminisced. "I rested my head on your shoulder and went right to sleep. I — I realized then that I could actually trust you."

"I remember that," he spoke. "Nothing like some mud to bring two hypochondriacs together."

She rolled her eyes, smiling. "I'm trying to be sentimental, you twat."

Her smile made his chest contract. "Do continue, Sleeping Beauty."

The colour on her cheeks deepened. She glanced at her feet, shifting them. He hadn't directly called her Sleeping Beauty since before their divorce.

"Do you remember the argument we had in Sterling Harbour?" she asked. "The one in our room at the Inn."

"I do." It was the first time he felt genuinely hurt by her, and the first time he felt genuinely remorseful for hurting her.

"I think about it sometimes," Hermione confessed. "I think about the things you said to me that night and — and what I could have done differently." She breathed in and then out, slowly. "It's going to sound ridiculous, but I think the reason I left to be with William was because — because I was afraid of what I was starting to feel...for you."

Draco had a drink from his glass. "I was afraid, too."

"I was such an idiot back then," she groaned. "But as foolish as it sounds…the sight of you busting through the doors in that warehouse made almost getting assaulted kind of worth it."

He arched an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Hermione's shoulders shook as she laughed to herself, soundlessly. "It was definitely one of your finer moments."

The wizard cracked a smile, drinking the rest of his wine to keep himself from doing a victory dance right in the middle of the balcony. It had been a long time since they just talked like this — fondly. It had been an even longer time since they discussed their attraction towards one another. Then again, he wasn't sure they ever discussed it — just acted on it.

"And you in that dress," Draco added. "After your initiation."

Her cheeks were now bright red. It was understandable, given the memory floating through both their minds.

"But my most favourite memory was after Greyback's attack," he explained, looking down and placing his hand on hers, waiting for her to pull away and then lacing their fingers together when she didn't. "I remember racing towards you and taking your hand in mine, and then, for the first time, your hand squeezed back." She did, just then, even before the words finished leaving his lips. "It was like air through my lungs."

There was a single tear sliding down her cheek. She didn't bother wiping it. "Do you ever think about Tuscany?"

"All the time," he answered.

It wasn't just those three months looking after her, that he'd spent in Tuscany. It was also her pregnancy and some time afterwards. He loved that villa. He loved the air. He loved the greenery. But there was something incomplete about it, when he was there on his own.

"I wonder what it would have been like, if all those things happened later in life, when we were old enough to handle them," she thought aloud.

Draco shared these sentiments. "I still think we did a decent job."

"We did," she agreed. "I just — I wish some things turned out different."

He wished, too.

She leaned her head against his shoulder, echoing the moment in the woods. Another sleepless night. Another conversation spoken entirely through subtext from start to finish.

"I suppose there's a second chance for everything," Hermione spoke, quiet in every way apart from her underlying message.

This message sent a flurry of emotion through his bloodstream.

He breathed out, no longer crippled with uncertainty, and used his free hand to brush the hair from her face. She was beautiful. Her eyes. Her freckles. Her lips. There was a gentle part between those lips. They were a soft shade of pink and even softer against his, if memory served right. Just earlier in the day, he'd kissed her. It was an impulsive decision on his part and although she had not scolded him for doing so, there was still an air of remorse that ran through his veins.

"Do you know my favourite memory?" she asked.

Draco had an idea as to what it could be, but he wanted to hear it. "Tell me."

She didn't say anything. Instead, she took his hand and placed it on her lower abdomen. There was nothing left to do. The meaning was clear. But the brunette narrated her actions anyway. "It was when you put your hand right here…and spoke to our daughter for the first time."

It was inconsolable, the grief they felt for being without their precious girl. But the manner in which Cissy's disappearance erased all the negative tension between them and reawakened their need for one another, was difficult to miss. Perhaps all they needed was a push in the right direction. Perhaps all of this was supposed to bring them together — stronger than ever — in order to find their daughter and destroy her kidnappers once and for all.

Perhaps it was meant to happen.

Draco moved his hand from her lower abdomen to her waist and slipped the tips of his fingers past her waistband, drawing her even closer.

So close.

So unbelievably close.

A/N: Well, I wonder what happens next haha. Thanks for reading this chapter. I know it's on the cornier side but I had to do it. It's kind of a shout-out to people who know the first story well. Anyway, stay tuned for the next one!

Cheers

xo.