Early spring had finally returned to Hogwarts, melting away the layers of snow to reveal the thousands of budding flowers dotting the grounds.

Draco was in a dead sleep until the pillow covering his head was ripped away. Groaning, he peeked one eye open to see Hermione smiling excitedly above him.

"C'mon, Draco, get up!"

"Why?" he mumbled.

"Because the sun is finally out."

"Then go and bother it," he replied, shoving his face into the mattress.

"No, silly. The sun is out, which means we can finally leave this castle and mingle with the rest of civilization. You remember it, right?"

The last three weeks had been a constant bout of sleet and rain, confining the students and professors inside, driving them stir-crazy.

"Vaguely."

"Then, let's go," she urged. "We need to go to the apothecary in Hogsmeade." When he groaned, she was reminded of why they needed the ingredients and changed her tone. "Unless you're not feeling up to it, I know the moon's tonight. We have enough to wait a bit."

"No, we can go," he assured her, yawning. "I'm feeling fine."

"You're sure?" she asked, running her hand along his jaw.

"Yeah, just me let me get dressed."

She smiled before turning for the door. "I'll be downstairs."

Draco rolled out of bed, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to fix the bedhead he was sporting. He rifled through his trunk and quickly dressed but couldn't find his sweatshirt. Settling for one of his better coats, he headed downstairs making his way over to Hermione by the fireplace.

"Love, have you seen my hoodie? I laid it out last night."

She slowly turned around, a sly smile on her face. "What hoodie?"

Draco rolled his eyes, smirking. "The one you're wearing right now."

"I think you're confused, this is mine," she replied, shoving her hands in the pockets, snuggling into the fabric.

"Why do girls always go for the hoodie?" Draco mused.

"It's universal law."

"All three of them?" he laughed.

"What happened to the 'what's mine is yours' thing?"

"I didn't think it'd apply to my wardrobe, too."

Hermione snickered. "Well, if it makes you happier, you can have a few of my bras, even out the odds."

"No, they'd clash with my high heels," he deadpanned.

Hermione doubled over in laughter, holding her stomach. "Oh Merlin, that's not an image I need in my head."

Draco rolled his eyes but smiled at the sound of her carefree laughter. "C'mon, if we're walking around the village today, I need to eat first." He held his hand out and pulled her to her feet.

They we're halfway through breakfast when the post arrived with The Daily Prophet.

"Thanks," Hermione told the owl, slipping a knut into its pouch and offering it a strip of bacon.

"Anything noteworthy?" he asked.

"No, not yet," she answered, shuffling through the pages. "Wait, yeah, but it's sad. An auror passed away at his home. He was stationed at Azkaban."

He held his hand out. "Can I see that?"

She passed the paper to him, pointing at the article. Draco studied it a bit, the hairs on his neck standing on end when he saw the picture. "I know him. Not personally, but I recognize his face. He escorted me to my father's cell that day I was summoned. I remember thinking he looked familiar then."

"Do you know him?"

"No, not that name anyway." Draco continued to stare at the article, trying to think of why the wizard seemed familiar until he realized he was being called.

"Draco!"

Finally his head snapped up. "Yes, love?"

"I called you three times. Are you okay?"

"Sorry, yeah, I'm alright. Just lost in thought," he tossed the paper to the side and got up. "You ready to get out of this castle?"

Hermione smiled. "You have no idea."

The very first stop they made in the village was to the apothecary to restock their personal cupboard of Wolfsbane ingredients. Draco grumbled under his breath as he paid the clerk, annoyed at the overpriced items.

They remained outside for as long as they could but the sun did little to warm the chilly Spring air so they sought refuge in the bookstore. Draco grabbed a book from the fiction section and settled into one of the chairs and tried to read but was distracted by Hermione. After a bit, he gave up trying to focus on the book and instead took to watching Hermione wander through the shelves, adding more books to the growing stack in her arms. He smiled at the simple joy Hermione got running around the store, her eyes lighting up whenever she found a new title. She had five books in her arms when she finally wedged herself between Draco and the armrest.

"Good haul?" he mused.

"Think so, still have to decide which ones I really want," she replied, opening the first book.

"Please," Draco laughed. "You'd buy the entire store if you could."

Hermione smiled. "You sound like my mum. She'd joke about me trying to spend their savings at Hatchards."

"What's that?"

"A muggle bookstore. We would go every Tuesday after school where I was allowed two books. If it was dad who took me, I could get more with the 'look' I used on him."

"I'm quite familiar with the 'look' myself," he laughed.

"Again, I have no idea what your talking about," Hermione smirked haughtily, flipping through the pages.

Amused, Draco patiently waited for her to decide which ones she was going to get, which was, unsurprisingly, all of them. She told him to shut it at the smug smile he sported as she paid.

The rest of their visit was broken up into their usual haunts; The Three Broomsticks for some Butterbeer, a quick stop at the owl emporium for Cyrus's treats, and Honeydukes where Draco spent an obscene amount of galleons on their finest chocolates, filling Hermione's bag to the brim.

Later in the afternoon, Hermione and Draco were walking along the forest's edge when they heard heavy footfalls rushing toward their general direction. They both turned to see Hagrid, red faced and out of breath.

"Hey, Hagrid," Hermione greeted.

"Thank Merlin, I found yeh," he huffed gruffly. "Both of yeh get back ter the castle now, yeh hear me? McGonagall's orders."

"Why, what's going on?" Draco asked, concerned.

"Not sure meself, but the place's crawlin' with Aurors so I can only assume they're lookin' for someone, so try not teh be seen," Hagrid urged. "Now go, quickly!"

Hermione wasted no time and took Draco's hand, pulling him into the cover of the dense tree line.

"How do we remain out of sight?" Draco asked. "We'll have to walk through the village to get back."

"We're not going through the village. If we head to the Shrieking Shack, we can use the tunnel to the Willow."

They ran through the forest as fast as their legs could carry them, slipping occasionally in areas of thick mud and dead leaves until they arrived at the shack, panting.

Draco eyed the boarded up windows and door. "I really hope these aren't charmed to be impregnable."

"It should only be on the inside, so as to keep Remus from breaking out during his shifts. Everyone else was terrified to go anywhere near the outside," she explained, pulling her wand out, aiming at the door. "Bombarda!"

The sound of wood cracking echoed off the trees like a gunshot while sending decades of dirt and dust flying into the air but the boards remained mostly intact.

Draco pulled his wand out, too. "Here, on three."

They both focused their efforts and cast on his mark, this time splintering the boards and allowing the door to swing in on its rusted hinges. They quickly filed in and repaired the door behind them to cover their tracks.

Draco's head swiveled around. "Where's the passage?"

"There's a hatch in the floor by the stairs."

He stomped around the area until he found the hollow echo. "Got it." He threw the hatch up and ushered Hermione through first.

They dropped down into the tunnel and both cast lumos, bathing the low tunnel walls in a bluish light, their eyes taking a minute to adjust from the afternoon sun to artificial light in such a dark area.

"How long is this tunnel?" Draco asked quietly.

"Not too long, maybe a five minute walk. It's pretty much a straight shot to the tree from here," she explained. "What do you think is going on?"

"I'm not sure. After the war ended, I've always wondered if the zealots on Voldemort's side would seek retribution after the war. I mean it's bound to happen, right?"

Hermione shuddered. "I hope not."

The tunnel floor under them slowly began to phase from brick to wood before it was entirely earth as they approached the Willow. Cautiously as she could, Hermione crept up through the Willow's roots and located the knot, freezing the swaying tree.

"Okay, hurry, I'm not sure how long it'll remain frozen," she urged, climbing out.

Draco clambered out and grabbed Hermione's hand, leading the way to the castle looming above them. They were only a few meters from the path that led to the covered bridge when a spell imploded the ground at their feet, forcing them to skid to a halt.

"What the bloody hell?" Draco growled, shaking dirt from his eyes.

While Draco took most of the brunt, Hermione was able to pinpoint where the spell originated. Her stomach dropped as she gripped his arm. "Draco," she whispered.

When his vision cleared, he focused on her wide, panicked eyes. Hesitantly, he followed her gaze and his entire form went rigid. Standing before one of the stone monoliths ringing the path that connected Hagrid's hut to the school, was Lucius Malfoy.

Draco instinctively pushed Hermione behind him, keeping a hand on her hip while he aimed his wand at Lucius. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"When the opportunity arose to leave, I took it. It's true what they say about the second time being easier," Lucius said haughtily.

"There are Aurors everywhere," Draco said.

"I'll soon be the least of their problems," Lucius smirked.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to ruin your life like you ruined mine by getting me thrown into that prison."

Draco scoffed. "You did that yourself! Everything you did was entirely your choice. No one forced you to join that madman, you did, dragging Mum and I into that hell with you. How exactly did you think living under a murderous, tyrant's rule would turn out? A wizard threatened by muggles, no less? That monster was a coward, just like you."

Lucius regarded him with cold eyes. "Really? Tell me, Draco, of the two, which of us actually becomes a monster?"

Before Draco could even respond, Lucius gave a quick jab of his wrist, firing off a spell at Draco. The streak of murky purple light collided into Draco's chest, knocking him into the air before landing in a crumpled heap a few meters away.

"Draco!" Hermione cried, running to his side.

Groaning in pain, Draco tried to push himself up to his hands and knees but his arms collapsed under his weight as the familiar searing pain radiated from his bones and rippled through his muscles. He finally locked his eyes on Hermione's. "Run," he panted through gritted teeth.

Hermione tried to heed his advice but found herself paralyzed in horror as Draco writhed around in pain as his anguished cries morphed from human to wolven roars as his body broke and snapped as he transformed under the afternoon sun.

Draco rose to all fours, teeth bared and ears flattened against his head. His eyes, normally a bluish hue when he transformed, were now entirely glazed over, black as night, and fixated on Hermione.

Hermione slowly backed away, her gaze trained on Draco, but not meeting his eye. From her peripheral, she could see Lucius muttering silently as he maintained eye contact with Draco, controlling him.

"Draco, listen to me. I know you're in there. Your occlumency skills are some of the strongest I've encountered, I know you can force him out." She kept her voice as calm as possible all while she surreptitiously aimed her wand toward Lucius from behind her hip. She waited for her moment to strike, the sudden sound of voices calling nearby, and spun around, throwing the strongest stunning spell directly at Lucius's head.

All three reacted simultaneously; Lucius dodged her spell at the last second while Draco launched into the air toward Hermione, but she dove to the ground, rolling away from his advance. Draco corrected, pivoting on his heel, and lunged again, but Hermione was quicker. She brought her wand up and connected with Draco as he sailed through the air. The altered trajectory sent him into a massive tree, knocking him out cold.

Hermione's stomach clenched painfully at the thought of hurting Draco but it was a sure way of severing the control his father had over him. She quickly cast a shield over his prone form and refocused her attention on the elder Malfoy.

When Lucius straightened up, he growled in frustration at his weapon being taken out of action. "Filthy Mudblood!" He rounded on her, throwing a string of spells in her direction but she easily blocked them. Using the environment to her advantage, Hermione advanced on him, rotating their positions until she had the forest at Lucius's back. She swept her wand in an upward arch, severing a line of tree limbs and bringing them down on the elder Malfoy, catching him off guard and pinning him momentarily but he vanished them before she could disarm him.

Hermione and Lucius were locked in a vicious battle, constantly hurtling spells and curses that the other managed to block or dodge at the last second. As the minutes passed, Hermione could feel her muscles starting to burn throughout her body as she began to grow tired but she could see Lucius was worse off after rotting in prison so long. She needed to end this soon. Tapping into her emotions, she unleashed a furious slew of spells fed by her anger of the vile man before her. Lucius, caught off guard and overwhelmed, stumbled under the onslaught, allowing Hermione the opportunity to finally disarm the him while conjuring thick ropes that bound him where he stood.

Focused on her target, Hermione failed to hear familiar voices calling before two figures ran past her to apprehend Lucius. A hand landed on her shoulder, startling her. She whipped around and leveled her wand at the person before she realized it was Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Miss Granger, are you alright?" Kingsley asked in a low voice. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. "I'm... I'm fine."

Kingsley nodded before turning around. "Potter, take Malfoy into custody. Weasley, clear the scene, make sure no one is with him."

Physically exhausted and feeling magically drained, Hermione staggered over to Draco's side, cradling his head in her lap. A fresh wave of quilt bubbled in her stomach when she felt the knot she caused knocking him unconscious.

"Hermione," Ron began hesitantly. "What are you doing?"

She ignored him, her eyes locked on Draco.

"Can someone explain why my friend is hugging a werewolf right now?" Ron stressed.

"Weasley, focus on your task at hand," Kingsley barked.

"Yes, sir," he conceded, going back to clearing the scene.

Kingsley slowly approached Hermione's side, kneeling beside her while still keeping a watchful eye on the silver blond wolf with her. "Hermione, are you sure you're okay?"

When she nodded, he pressed further. "Who is this?" he asked gently.

Hermione finally looked up at him with tired and wary eyes but she didn't answer him.

"You can swear me to secrecy if you want, them as well," he said, gesturing to Harry and Ron. "Nobody else needs to know. But I need to know if I'm to help."

"It's Draco," she finally said. "By Greyback a year ago."

"What happened for him to shift now? Lucius's doing?"

Hermione nodded. "He used a nonverbal so I'm not sure what he used to do this. Then he used Imperius to control him."

"We need to get you both to the Hospital wing, I don't like the color you've taken, Hermione, you look close to passing out yourself."

Hermione stubbornly waved him off. "I'm fine. How are we going to get there without being seen?"

"McGonagall has the entire school confined to the Great Hall, we can quietly slip by unnoticed," Kingsley explained. He then turned to Harry and Ron. "Weasley?"

"No one else is here, sir."

"Good. Escort Mr. Malfoy back to Azkaban with Potter then both of you report back here. Make sure Malfoy is silenced and speak to one one else about what's happened here, understood?"

"Yes sir," they chorused, leading a struggling Malfoy to the gates.

Kingsley turned back to Hermione with apologetic eyes. "I hate that I have to, but I'll need to bind him. Lycans are only dangerous under the full moon but I want to make sure everyone stays safe until we know what Lucius did."

Hermione merely nodded, moving away. "I understand."

Kingsley waved his wand, conjuring thick ropes that wrapped around where Draco's wrists and ankles would be and another set around his mouth. He gave a final wave, levitating Draco from the ground to follow himself and Hermione as they made their way to the castle.

Hermione was lost in her thoughts, trying to process everything that she failed to realize they had arrived to the hospital until Madam Pomfrey sat her on the nearest bed and started running diagnostic spells on her. In the corner of her eye, she saw McGonagall enter the wing while Kingsley placed Draco on a bed farthest from the door.

"Miss Granger, your magical reserves are extremely low, what have you been doing?" Pomfrey admonished.

"Fending off a Death Eater."

McGonagall joined them then. "You encountered Malfoy? Are you alright, dear?"

Hermione just nodded, her eyes on Draco.

"How many Aurors know of the situation?" McGonagall asked.

"Only myself and my trainees Potter and Weasley. I sent a Patronus to the rest saying that the situation had been resolved and Malfoy is in custody again," Kingsley stated before turning to Hermione with a pointed look. "A successful catch with no altercations."

"Thank you," Hermione sighed gratefully, her shoulders sagging. She spaced out again, barely listening to Kingsley explaining what happened though her ears did perk up when she thought she heard the word 'released' used. When she went to ask what he meant, Harry and Ron entered the hospital. They both looked torn between going to their friend and having to report to Kingsley.

"Is it done?" Kingsley asked.

"Yes sir," Ron replied, handing over a wand. "He had this on him, not the one taken at his trial, though."

"Very well," he replied before nodding over to Hermione. "Go ahead."

They both rushed off before Kingsley was finished speaking. Hermione met them halfway and was sandwiched between them in a crashing hug, bombarded with questions if she was alright.

"I promise I'm fine, just a lot to process" she answered, pulling back. "How did you find us?"

"We ran into Hagrid, said he last saw you near the Shack so we took a gamble that you might have used the Willow passage," Harry explained. "We ran as fast as we could to meet up with you. Instances like this I wish apparating was allowed on the grounds."

"Hermione, I hate to ask this after everything," Ron began hesitantly, "but is the werewolf Draco?"

Hermione bit her lip and sighed, hating the situation she was in.

"C'mon, Hermione, it's us," Harry said gently.

"He was bitten as a punishment for not giving us up that night back at the manor."

"Who all knows?"

"Narcissa, everyone in this room, and Ginny," she explained.

Ron looked confused. "How come he's like this? It's five in the afternoon and broad daylight, no less."

"Lucius cast a spell I've never seen and used Draco's confused state to control him, forcing him to try and attack me."

"Who in their right mind would even attempt something like that?" Ron grumbled. "Bloody idiot!"

"That's just it, Lucius isn't. The last few years have warped his mind," Hermione sighed, before she turned to Ron. "Did you find anything on him, other than the wand?"

"No."

Hermione turned to Kingsley. "May I see it?"

"Of course."

She took the wand from him and studied it closely, turning it around her fingers until the light caught tiny markings etched into the wood, runes linked in a braid that had no discernible end or beginning. It took a minute to decipher them but when she did, it clicked. "Lunar runes."

"I'm sorry?" Kingsley looked confused.

"This is how Malfoy did it, lunar runes with a transfiguration spell."

"I'm lost," Ron admitted.

Hermione fell into encyclopedia mode. "It's one of the most ancient runes known to wizardkind, not to mention some of the most difficult since they have to be inscribed at the start of the lunar cycle, the new moon."

"I don't see how that's difficult," said Harry.

"Look at how intricate the markings are," Hermione stated, holding the wand out for them to see. "When inscribing them, it can only be done under the light of the new moon."

"But it's pitch black during that time," Ron observed.

"Exactly, you better hope you get it right or they're useless."

"How long do they last?" Harry asked.

"Years, so long as their source of power isn't interrupted by a more powerful event, like an eclipse. It's one way break them."

"What's the other?" Ron mused.

Hermione took the wand between her hands and snapped it in half, releasing a shower of silver sparks. "They're also very delicate." She then turned to Kingsley. "I know that it's considered evidence but I'm honestly past the point of caring."

"I don't see a problem, the wand broke during the altercation," Kingsley simply said.

"Thank you," Hermione sighed.

The Hospital Wing was silent after that, save for the low murmurs of Kingsley and McGonagall. Hermione sat back on the bed and zoned out the world again but kept her eyes focused near Draco, who was being kept unconscious with spells cast by Pomfrey. It was only when Harry and Ron, who had been keeping her company, stood up from the bed, jostling her back to reality. She followed their gaze to the door where she could hear the sound of approaching footsteps. Hermione got to her feet seconds before the door opened to reveal Narcissa.

"Where are my kids?" Narcissa demanded, her eyes darting around the room. When she spotted Hermione, she rushed over to her side and pulled the young girl into a tight hug before holding her at arms length, checking her over. "Dear, are you alright? I got a letter saying you and Draco had been attacked."

"I'm alright," Hermione reassured her.

"What happened? Where's Draco?"

Hermione took Narcissa's hand and led her to the end of the wing where Draco lay hidden behind a privacy curtain. She slowly pulled it back and felt Narcissa's grip on her hand tighten, her breath catching at the sight of her son.

"You've never seen him like this," Hermione quietly stated.

Narcissa shook her head. "He would only share the things I needed to know." She looked back to Hermione. "How'd this happen?"

Hermione quickly brought her up to speed, explaining everything that had happened up to that point to Lucuis's demented method.

With hard eyes, Narcissa turned to Kingsley. "How did he get out?"

Kingsley looked troubled, his brow furrowed. "My Auror's reported no findings of an escape. In fact, they believe someone released Lucius after being moved to solitary three days ago."

"And who exactly was that?" Narcissa asked.

"Seth Gorman."

Hermione racked her brain, remembering the name from the Prophet. "The Auror from this morning's obituary?"

"Yes," Kingsley nodded. "When he didn't show for work, we sent someone to his flat to check on him but found Gorman dead. It wasn't until we discovered Lucius was gone that there might be a connection between the two."

"You mentioned the Auror was in the paper, can I see it?" Narcissa asked.

"I have one in my office," Pomfrey said, rushing off and returning with a copy.

Narcissa studied the picture, her face going pale as a ghost as she became rigid in her spot. "Did this man have a scar that runs along his jaw, wrapping under his ear into his hairline?"

"Yes, do you know him?" Kingsley pressed.

"Not the face or name but I'd remember that scar anywhere," Narcissa whispered. "That's Marcos Ragnofski and he's a Death Eater."