When Hermione Granger walked into Malfoy Manor for the third time in her life, she was armed with resolve and a large pile of dictionaries. This time she entered through the fireplace in the drawing room which made her shiver a little, despite the different furnishing. A male house elf in a livery greeted her politely.

'The master is expecting you in his study, Madame. Please follow me'. Hermione walked behind him through a dark hallway lined with portraits. Pale blond people with haughty expressions eyed her suspiciously. Hermione sighed with relief when they finally reached the door of Draco's study. She was overly sensitive. The emotional turmoil during the last couple of days was taking its toll on her. Meeting with her children was splendid otherwise, but she did have to announce that she was leaving their father. Thankfully, Rose and Hugo were bright and mature for their age and there was no horrid drama. Hugo wept for a while and wanted an explanation, but calmed down after hearing his sister say that she just wanted her parents happy. Rose had sensed long ago that the atmosphere at home was not what it was supposed to be.

Inside the study she saw Draco sitting behind his desk, signing some papers. There was someone else in the room - a goblin, dressed like a Gringotts representative.

'Thank you, that would be all, Brimruk. Draco dismissed the goblin, passing him the papers. 'I will expect the confirmation as soon as possible'. Brimruk bowed and left with a short nod towards Hermione. The door closed behind the two magical creatures and she was alone in the room with Draco.

After all that happened she still didn't know how to greet him. What was he to her? An acquaintance, an ally, a lover? She put the books she was carrying on the desk and decided to follow her instincts this time. Which led to a thirsty, long kiss.

'I can get used to that'. Draco said, when they finally allowed their lips to separate.

'Maybe you'll get to. Or not…'. Depends on the contents of the box mostly, she thought. 'Why was a Gringotts employee here?'

'Granger, have I told you that you're extremely nosy? I didn't want you to know yet, but you arrived here early… I'm arranging Astoria's compensation for the divorce.' He took hold of her hand, as if she could run off suddenly. 'Don't feel pressured, this doesn't mean you have to do anything.'

'Oh. No, I don't. I've set things in motion as well.' His eyes lit up and he kissed her, pressing her to the desk, one hand grasping her hair, the other quickly sliding beneath her blouse to get a proper hold on her waist.

'Draco, the box!' Damn him, he had her breathless in seconds.

'Right. Here it is. I haven't opened it. Figured we should do it together.' Out of the top desk drawer he took out a dark blue lacquered wooden box. On the lid there were hindi markings in deep golden paint. Almost immediately Hermione knew that there was more to it, but she still opened it. Inside it lay a plane model, cut out from thick white paper. Nothing else could be seen.

'There could be additional safety measures that make the content invisible. I suppose the writing on the lid would tell us how to reach the script.' Hermione grabbed one of her dictionaries. When she deciphered it, she almost laughed.

'It says "embrace lotus and fly". They must have wanted to ensure that only initiates on the path to enlightenment could read it. Or just that you keep practicing while reading. Little did they know that in a few centuries half the muggle population would be doing yoga'. To Draco' s dismay she crossed her legs in the lotus asana on his desk and reopened the box. Underneath the paper plane a two page script appeared. Anxious, she started translating. Draco settled in one of the large dark green armchairs to wait.

….

Hermione was so absorbed in her work that she jumped, when she heard his voice.

'How is it going? No hurry, I'm just worried your legs would be sore after being tied in a knot like that for too long.."

'I'm done, actually.' She turned to face him. 'It's no wonder you didn't sense dark magic on it. It's not intended as harmful. Mostly it comprises instructions for out-of-body travelling. A complicated sequence of meditations and breathing exercises that would allow your consciousness to fly immaterial for a while together with your magical being. It says that when you feel tugging in your core chakra, you must go back in your body immediately. That must be where the connection lies.'

'What would Voldemort even need this for?'

'There's something else. Yajnavalkya warns readers against attempting some dangerous practices. For example trying to enter and enslave someone else's body. It says that if the "transfusion" of the soul is involuntary, the core stings are torn and the body slowly dies. When the sender returns to his body, he would have murdered the recipient body and soul. Once broken, the strings can only be revived by the connection with another "atman" on the "border". My translation is rough, but I think that's the gist of it.'

'Now that sounds like something a dark wizard can get ideas from. But what does it mean about us?'

'I think… it means that our own magical entities are lost forever. But if there is a free … soul being that wants voluntarily to inhabit us, there might be a chance. And it needs to be done on the border between life and death'.

'When you say free, you mean the magical being from someone who died?'

'Yes. Someone who died and has decided to linger around, because they still had deep attachment to this world...When that magical being enters us, it would lose every trace of its own sentience.'

'Won't this be like .. possession? I don't want somebody else's magic to control me…'

'No. Even Voldemort's horcrux inside Harry couldn't outrule his own will. But you'll get that person's specific magical signature. Their prowess and maybe some inclinations. You'll probably display their Patronus at least for a while. But we must put ourselves very near death for the connection to be established. It would be risky.' She moved to the armchair where he was sitting and accommodated herself in his lap. Her fingers traced his jawline, then his lips. 'Do you still want to try?

'Yes'. His voice was firm and unflagging. Hermione buried her face in his skin and started kissing his neck. She was beginning to realize how lonely she had been this past few years. How much the air around her felt like a cage. Draco's breathing was gradually turning into low moans. She could feel him growing hard beneath her and she undid his trousers, slipping a hand in to caress him. The sweet sounds of arousal he was making left her wanting more and she dropped to her knees to extract some. He felt so warm and lovely in her hand that she placed a kiss of reverence on his tip. She usually rather disliked oral sex. Apparently not with him, she thought, while she was taking him in her mouth. Slowly, deliberately she dragged her tongue around the head, enjoying every second, relishing the taste of him.

'Fuck! Fuck, Granger... I'm not twenty anymore, I can't endure your torture much longer. Come here.' Hermione hesitated for a moment, then stood up and undressed, reaching to unbutton and discard Draco's shirt. She straddled his legs, facing away from him, her back to his torso. Draco seemed to appreciate the idea.

'Oh, this just became my favorite armchair in the world'. She gave him a sly smile over her shoulder and started moving,gripping the armrests, balancing on her toes. The sensation of his hands along her back was sending shivers up her spine. She imposed a gentle pace, inhaling and exhaling with every rise and fall of her hips. But it wasn't that long before Draco grew impatient, taking control of her body. He grabbed her waist, quickening and deepening his trusts. Hermione leaned forward slightly to steady herself and she found that marvelous, perfect angle. His right hand moved to wrap tightly around her neck, drowning her in blissful agony. Hopefully there was no one near enough this time to hear her cry out his name, as their bodies synced in ecstasy again. Afterwards she relaxed, enveloped in his arms, feeling his heartbeat slowly return to normal against her shoulder blade. Trying to focus on her contentment, she disregarded any other thought.

'Hermione…' She shushed him. There was no need to state the obvious. Draco's mother had passed away recently, her love for him immense and undeniable. Transcendent. Whereas Hermione was muggle-born. There was no existing magical entity willing to make such a sacrifice for her.

Author's note: There will be two more chapters after this one. I sincerely hope you are all enjoying this, you are welcome to comment and criticise :)