The best part about writing is that I know what's going to happen and you don't. Slightly sadistic, I know, but if you enjoy this stuff why shouldn't I?

Speaking of which, enjoy.

Istalindar

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Constantine woke with a start in the middle of the night, confused and with a desperate urge to pee. Last she remembered she'd been in the carriage on the way home from the Yule Ball, just having dropped off Lucas and Carina. She must've fallen asleep.

Well that explained where she was. Now her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she recognised her room. There was the customary pang of sadness as always when she saw it: she missed the times she'd been here, hiding from Harry and Ron. She missed Draco.

Speaking of which…there was no doubt in her mind who the man behind her was. If absolutely nothing else, Daniel would have killed any man who tried anything with his bare hands. Sweet, and quite chivalrous. But quite inconvenient. A man's inevitable attraction for a woman was one of the fairer gender's greatest weapons, and it didn't help if the man she was using the weapon against was already mauled by the man who had felt the edge of said weapon and didn't care. She sighed, her bladder signalling again that a toilet run was both inevitable and immediate. She gently untangled herself from Daniel's arms, slipping from the bed and to the toilet as he sighed and turned in his sleep.

When she returned he was still asleep and she stood watching him for a moment. The moonlight played over him as the curtains shifted slightly with a barely-there breeze.

"Are you going to come back to bed or are you just going to stare at me?" He asked softly, without even opening his eyes. Constantine wasn't all that surprised he was awake…as Draco her slightest movement in bed could wake him. She smiled and moved back to the warm bed, slipping beneath the covers and letting him pull her against him, wrapping her in the heat of his body. She smiled and closed her eyes.

"I want you back." He whispered into the silence. She shifted against him and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"I never left." She replied gently, breathing deeply.

"Africa."

She didn't have an answer to that, so she rested her head against his shoulder, pulling the covers higher to their chins, and let herself relax.

"Please don't leave me again." He continued.

"I wasn't lost." She replied. "Just angry."

"I love you. And I missed you and didn't want to be miles away thinking of you when I could be here beside you." She smiled and swallowed against the tears she felt rising.

"I wish you had told me. I felt guilty, because I felt for Daniel without wanting to…I missed you and looked for you everywhere, but Daniel…you can't ever stop being you, no matter what you look like."

"I didn't want you to send me away." He said, stroking his fingers up and down her sides beneath the covers. "Every moment I was with you I wanted to tell you, because I knew you felt torn." Constantine opened her eyes and looked up. He smiled down at her, his eyes pools of black in his shadowed face. "I could see it in your eyes, and how sometimes you used to lie awake and watch me asleep."

"I should have known you were awake." She muttered, closing her eyes again.

"If I'd been Draco you would have." He replied. He kissed her shoulder. "Can I ask you something?"

"Something else?" She asked drowsily. She was nearly asleep, and his voice kept pulling her back from the abyss. He smirked.

"You and Tom. Tom in Africa."

"He liked me." She agreed. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"And?"

"Nothin'."

"Nothing happened?" He asked. She shook her head and grumbled under her breath, snuggling closer to him. He winced, there were few ways she could have done a better job of making him feel like she was trying to crawl into him.

"No. Tired." She complained. He waited a minute.

"Constantine?" No answer. "Hermione?"

Nothing. She was asleep. He sighed and resigned himself to the same.

Poke.

Poke.

Poke.

Poke poke.

Poke.

Poke poke poke.

"The world better be ending, you know." Daniel muttered. Constantine glared and poked him again. He sighed and rolled over. She poked harder. "Constantine, what? If you want coffee go get some."

"I know what you did when I was trying to sleep." She said darkly. He rolled back over to face her and opened his eyes. She looked glorious in the morning, especially this morning when her eyes were burning with indignation and her hair was free over her shoulders. He couldn't help it: he smiled.

"It isn't funny."

"You're beautiful." He said, raising the hand that had been poking him and bringing it to his lips. She snatched it back and glared.

"Never mind that! I know what you did last night."

"And what was that, my lotus blossom?" He asked around a yawn. Her green eyes burned brighter, and there was a pink flush rising along her cheeks. He was infuriating her, and he knew it. But she was so much damn fun to annoy, and was so bloody stunning when he managed it that he felt it was worth the risk of bodily harm.

"You…ooh!" She narrowed her eyes and huffed, spinning and sliding off the bed. He grabbed her wrist and jerked her back to him, which resulted in her lying half across him. "Daniel!"

"You're mad because I asked about Tom when you were nearly asleep." Daniel stretched, and Constantine pointedly ignored the play of his muscles against her. Typical Draco to take a form that was as buff as he'd like to be (and was, in all fairness, but one should never encourage a Malfoy ego).

"Yes." She practically spat.

"I didn't want an argument." He said calmly. "I didn't want you to get defensive. I wasn't accusing you, I was just asking."

"Why?"

"Why what?" He asked, meeting her gaze with his.

"Why would you bother asking? Even if Tom and I did have a fling, what does it matter to you?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'm not property, Daniel. I'm not yours."

"Now, that's unfair." He remarked. She looked surprised at his response.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"It's not fair. I'm yours, but you aren't mine?" Constantine shook her head.

"I don't own you, Daniel. I don't control your actions and I wouldn't want to."

"It would take a lot of the surprise out of the sex." He agreed. She sighed, irritated.

"I don't…it makes me feel trapped. Like a bird in a cage." She tried to explain what made her object so to the concept of being 'owned'.

"But the cage door is open." He replied, stroking one finger down the side of her face and pushing a tendril of hair out of her eyes. "You aren't trapped." She hesitated.

"You say that. But if I even look at another man you seem like you're ready to rip his arm off and beat him with it."

"I am." He said simply.

"Precisely." He raised an eyebrow. "If you don't trust me how you can you leave the cage door open?" She asked gently. "I am not going to betray you. I love you. And I know the whole Daniel thing annoyed you-"

"What Daniel thing?" He asked, confused.

"The fact that I slept with Daniel before knowing he was you."

"That actually hadn't occurred to me." He replied thoughtfully.

"Well don't think about it. Draco, it's something about you that attracts me, no matter who you look like. It comes off you in waves." She grinned. "In all fairness, you could look like Avery and I'd just have to tell Ginny that there was 'something about you'." He grinned.

"I'm flattered."

"You should be." She smirked. "It would have to be a helluva something to make me kiss Avery."

"What if I looked like Potter?" Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow. Hermione cringed.

"That'd be hard. I think I'd have to resist on principle."

"Would it be difficult?" He asked. She snorted.

"You're fishing for compliments." She said wryly.

"I'm being serious." He raised his head to kiss the tip of her nose. "Is it hard?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." She replied gently. He raised his head again, but kissed her mouth this time. She let him, and it wasn't long before he had wrapped one hand behind her neck and pulled her down to him, rolling her over so he hovered above her. She looked up at him, utterly trusting.

"Take off the ring." He whispered. A slow smile spread across her face and she tugged the engagement ring from her finger, Constantine disappearing and leaving Hermione in her place. "Now I can see you." He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"What about you?" She asked quietly. He muttered something under his breath and suddenly it was Draco she was looking at, and she raised her upper body off the bed so she could kiss him. He smiled down at her.

"Soon." He promised. She nodded.

"Soon." He bent to kiss her again, pressing her into the pillows.

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"Constantine!" Hermione grumbled and turned over, Draco pulling her tighter into his arms. "Constantine! Constantine DeVere, if you do not get out here this second…" Ginny's voice trailed off threateningly.

"Ring." Hermione grumbled, raising herself onto her elbow so she could reach over Draco. He grinned at the view that was presented to him. "Coming, give me a second, Gin!" She called.

"You have fifteen minutes to be downstairs and presentable, Constantine." Ginny warned. "We have that brunch with Lavender, you remember?"

"Oh, for the love of…" Hermione grumbled, grabbing the ring and kissing Draco swiftly. "I love you." She said gently, slipping the ring on her finger and climbing out of bed even has her hair lengthened and turned the flaming colour that made Constantine so recognisable. She dashed through the shower and threw on the nearest expensive suit in the wardrobe, a slim fitting black trouser suit. She added a dark green silk camisole and twisted her hair up before shoving her feet in shoes, grabbing her purse, kissing a very amused Draco, and dashing out the door.

He got up at his own leisure, turned back into Daniel, and met Amadeo downstairs.

"You look happy." Amadeo commented. Daniel shrugged. "I'm guessing you and dear little Connie made up."

"We never argued. It was Connie and Draco that argued."

"That's the most pathetic excuse that I've ever heard leave your mouth." Daniel shrugged.

"Whatever."

"Well, pleased as I am that you two are shagging again, we have work to do. I've already had numerous letters informing me that support will be given to young Lucas, so we need to get cracking."

"So he didn't show us up?"

"If you'd taken your eyes off Constantine for longer than three seconds you would have realised he did very well. And any faux pas he may have committed was very well covered by Carina. I will ask her later if she would consider being a more permanent escort for him."

"I doubt she'll refuse." Daniel said, remembering the occasional glances Carina had sent Lucas throughout the night. His attention hadn't been that focused on Constantine all the night.

"Nor do I. They appear quite fond of each other, something I believe will work well in our favour."

"So what's next?"

"We need Lucas somewhere where the public can see him. Taking an interest in Connie's homeless work will do nicely."

"She'll kill you if you call her Connie to her face, you know." Daniel warned. Amadeo snorted.

"Hardly. She'll get peeved and then you two will go off and 'talk'. While a perfectly reasonable arrangement, it does tend to slow things down a bit, so I won't be calling her Connie to her face." Daniel smiled. "Anyway. Lucas will do some work with Connie, more for being seen than anything else. The Pureblood families like the idea of the Minister being Pureblood, we've had too many halfbloods recently."

"Don't say that too loudly." Daniel said with a smirk.

"Connie's a pureblood and believes the same." Amadeo said, his voice laced with warning. His unsaid words hung over Daniel 'Don't forget Hermione isn't here yet.'.

"Whatever." Daniel shrugged. "So there won't be any problem with the vote."

"No. And the time for it is quicker than we thought. In two weeks there will be a council. The proposition for Lucas to become Minister will be raised and followed through. Harry will be deposed, and Lucas will begin the investigation into some of Potter's less reasonable activities."

"Two weeks?" Daniel raised his eyebrows. "That's hardly enough time."

"He won't be unreachable when he's Minister, Daniel." Amadeo pointed out. "He'll still be wishing to see his old friends."

"How's that going to work?" Daniel asked. "Daniel and Constantine will be gone."

"To Asia to help at her Projects. When Draco and Hermione go on holiday every so often, funnily enough Connie and you will return."

"Amazing. We'll just miss each other, how sad."

"What's sadder is Connie's funding for Bangladeshi safehouses has been cut. That's why she's there in the first place."

"No." Amadeo raised his eyebrows at Daniel's tone. They'd gone from a joking, 'oh what a coincidence' kind of conversation to something completely serious. And something Daniel was refusing utterly. "You are not going to cut Connie's funding. Those Projects are her life."

"I thought you were her life."

"I'm her soul, moron." Daniel rolled his eyes, but got back to the subject at hand. "I won't let you cut the funding."

"Think of it this way. Amadeo, now that Draco has finally returned, has decided that being socially acceptable isn't his thing and cuts the funding. Draco, so pleased that he and Hermione are back and pardoned, and aware of Connie's oh-so-subtle part in it, replacing said funding meaning the cut was nothing more than a blip on her statement. The money doesn't have to leave, Daniel. She just needs a reason to be very very far away once Hermione gets back." Daniel couldn't help but see Amadeo's point.

"Does Connie know her time-scale?" He asked, his thoughts wandering back to the bedroom. Amadeo nodded, then smacked Daniel around the back of the head when the other man paid no attention.

"I told Ginny, so she'll fill Connie in."

"Where are they now?" Daniel asked. "All I heard was something about brunch with Lavender."

"Lavender Brown, she was a Gryffindor with Hermione." Amadeo explained. "She's a reporter now, and Connie and Ginny decided to give their old pal an exclusive regarding Lucas."

"And Carina?"

"Miss Goyle's name is sure to be mentioned, yes."

"She'll finally get the publicity she wants." Daniel said with a smirk.

"More than that." Amadeo corrected him. "She got all the notice she needed last night when she turned up behind Connie on Lucas' arm. This is all extra, and its gonna increase."

"Well, she has Greg when it gets out of hand." Daniel shrugged. "So, what about Lucas?"

"What about him?"

"Next step?"

"He's on his way now, we'll brief him about the council meeting and about Connie's little projects. Then he can go with her when she does her soup run tonight, and the press will be there to see…in fact, Carina could be there too, I'll see if she's free." Amadeo stared off into space as he thought. Then he brought himself back to reality. "You can see what Potter's up to, his plans for the foreseeable future, I'll be spreading propeganda about Lucas and how even I back him up."

"You'd back up a mountain troll if it had a chance of deposing Potter." Daniel snorted. Amadeo shrugged.

"We take care of our own." Daniel looked at him and knew Amadeo wasn't just talking about Hermione.

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