Sunday, November 10, 1996
Draco paced the dim room, twirling his wand in absent thought.
He'd been there for only a few minutes, but he couldn't keep himself still. His anxious mind raced – too many things were slipping from his fingers without control. Too much was happening that he couldn't stop.
Winter holidays were fast approaching, and yet things continued to get worse. He couldn't help feeling that every step he took was leading in the wrong direction.
"No flying cauldrons this evening?" Her voice was honey, filling the empty silence.
Draco's mind paused, as did his pacing. He kept to his spot in the room, only turning to face Hermione.
"Different wand movement."
Hermione stepped toward an empty desk, nodding. Draco noted her muggle trousers with thoughtless interest. Given their late night meetings, it wasn't rare for her to arrive in things other than her uniform, but it still struck Draco each time. With each view, it emphasized Hermione's difference from any other witch Draco had spent such time with.
"What's on the agenda this evening?" Hermione paused with a belabored sigh, "and please don't say it's more of the same white wall routine."
Draco understood her eagerness to learn more, as he felt the same to teach her.
"No, you understand the basics of Occlumency well enough. I think we'll get started on actively blocking someone."
Hermione raised herself to perch on the desk and Draco followed suit, placing himself on one nearby. With her shoulders back and her eyes focused, Hermione looked prepared for an Arithmancy lecture.
"It's the same process," he continued. "But I'm going to actively try to find something, and you need to keep me from it." He watched as Hermione nodded, the picture of thoughtful determination. "I'll tell you what I'm looking for. Just do everything you can to not let that memory come to mind. If I see it – you lose."
"Example?"
Didn't you get an example the other night? He thought, recalling their meeting in the library. Draco tried to think of a memory to show her, something mundane but unique enough. If he were smart, he might have asked her to find his morning breakfast or walk to their meeting tonight. That, however, was a much too smart and sensible idea for Draco. The witch in front of him too often fed his addiction to bad decisions.
"Try to figure out what I worked on this afternoon," he suggested.
Draco almost bit his tongue, dangling such information right over her nose. Surely she wouldn't be strong enough to find anything he didn't want her to, but the chance was still there. Draco knew what he'd been working on all afternoon, and it wasn't his Potions revision. Hermione didn't need to know that as well.
"How can I find it if I don't know what I'm looking for?" Hermione shook her head, furrowing her brow.
"How does any legilimens find anything? Try."
Draco nodded to Hermione, and watched as she raised her wand to him. They locked eyes, and he immediately had to control himself from just blocking her completely. Hermione needed to see how the search works, and he needed to let her get just close enough to the answer before pushing her aside.
He could see as she started at the beginning of his day, jumping around without control. Flashes of his breakfast and time in the library passed behind his eyes. She found a memory of him walking the halls earlier in the week before jumping back to earlier that morning. Eventually she began to work with a rough chronological outline.
When she worked her way through his memories of lunch, Draco began subverting her efforts. Rather than her seeing him walk toward the castle stairways, he merged them into a memory of him walking out of the castle and toward the quidditch pitch. Draco had to piece a few memories together now, but showed her snippets of him grabbing a broom, waking the pitch, and surveying the stands.
Their connection snapped.
"You didn't play quidditch this afternoon – you just showed me a memory with Blaise's face in it. How did you do that?"
Drat, Draco hadn't noticed that. He hadn't meant for her to realize it was a fabrication quite so quickly.
"That memory is from sometime last spring." Draco shrugged, "I didn't want you to see what I did this afternoon, so I showed you something else. It's not the best option, but it's the next step up."
"So you," Hermione paused, considering this idea. "You guided me, somehow without me being able to tell?"
"Depending on the person, as you can see, it's not perfect. It can work if they're not familiar enough with legilimency or not paying enough attention." Draco recalled his own time spent learning these tricks as he explained them to Hermione. Hours upon days upon weeks spent in the family library, studying methods and philosophies. Months of subtle practice around family and friends, dodging invasive queries. He'd been caught plenty of times, but that was the risk.
"Alright." Hermione's chest rose with a deep breath. "Let's try."
"I'm going to look for what you did this morning, just don't let me find out."
Hermione nodded, meeting his eyes as Draco whispered the spell.
Immediately Draco felt himself enter her thoughts without resistance. The first image he could see was Hermione leaving the Gryffindor common room, the portrait closing behind her. He skipped ahead easily through her morning breakfast as she shared quips and comments with Potter and Weasley. Draco watched as she walked from the Great Hall, a heavy bag slung over her shoulder. Just as she neared the library, the white wall blurred the edges of his mind. He pushed past her efforts and focused on the memory, but a few times she was able to wholly block him with the image.
Draco ended the spell, closing his eyes to rub them. "It's probably best to not start with the memory right at the front of your mind."
"What are you expecting of me – I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing." Hermione's face pinched in frustration. "Should I just picture a field of daisies or something?"
"Sure," Draco shrugged, annoyance beginning to cloud his mind. "This isn't some exact spell or wand movement – it's a skill. You have to force your mind to follow your own will over the will of others."
Draco raised a hand to rub his forehead. Hermione had done well, but he couldn't help wanting more. Soon the pressure would be on to protect themselves and Occlumency would be a key part of it. If anyone was to just peek into her mind freely, he would be at risk just as much as her.
The list of people who'd want that access was growing too large to remember. The Dark Lord, his father, Bellatrix, Dumbledore, Snape, Potter, and just about anyone else with the power of legilimency.
Break it off, he thought.
He should, he really should. But what difference would it make at this point? If someone were to catch them, they could already find mountains of proof in her mind. They'd already snuck all over the castle to meet – if someone wanted a picture they'd had no shortage of chances. Little hadn't already been risked.
And almost as terrifying – he didn't want to break it off.
They'd been doing this for a couple months now, and he'd realized that any hate was waning. With all of Slytherin treating him like a sheltered animal, he found himself rather alone without her. Unlike Pansy, Hermione wasn't hoping to play tricks on him and constantly remind him of his dynastic responsibilities. She had even confided her own troubles with him, providing a welcome relief from the tightrope his life had become.
"Fine let's try again," Hermione said. She rolled her shoulders, straightened her spine, and met Draco's eyes dead on. "Tell me where I went on vacation this summer."
His eyes narrowed at her, skeptical. "You'll be able to block off multiple days' worth of memories?"
Hermione faltered slightly, breaking eye contact before snapping back to him. "I'll try – that's all I can say."
They agreed and Draco raised his wand.
His first glimpse was back in the library as he'd seen her earlier, pulling out various tomes and carefully scrawled pieces of parchment. Draco tried to lightly steer himself toward the summer, but Hermione showed him another memory from earlier in the semester instead. A fleet of owls flooded the Great Hall during breakfast and Hermione waited as a thick stack was landed in front of her.
Draco pushed back earlier and saw her descending the Hogwarts Express in London. She hugged with the Weasley clan while looking for her own parents. Trying to move forward, Draco found himself watching her get back on the Hogwarts Express again in London, now with shorter hair pulled away from her face.
Satisfied that Hermione was grasping the general idea, Draco tried harder.
Still in her mind, he added just a bit more strength to how he pushed her. Pulling back from the train scene, Draco tried to pull up memories of traveling. Immediately he watched as she walked through some building with her parents, similar to Kings Cross.
He continued to watch for a moment, waiting to see if she could stop him. Draco could feel her pushing back, and for a moment he was brought out of the building, finding himself outside. Hermione was walking alone in a field. A few seconds passed before he realized it was a field of daisies. Clever. He pushed them back to the previous memory and nudged forward ever so slightly, watching as she traveled by some means he couldn't identify.
It was difficult to maintain that same level of effort in her mind, as he had to hold back his natural instinct. Draco held no doubts that he could take this opportunity to overpower her, to find whatever he wanted – but that wasn't the point. If he wanted these lessons to have any effect at all, he needed her to keep up with him.
Hermione blurred the edges of his mind with the white wall, but he blocked it easily. Now was the time to develop a new defense strategy. Soon he watched as Hermione and her parents were walking out of a restaurant and into a street, immediately finding his answer.
Draco broke the connection, looking at her smugly.
"Barcelona."
"I was able to see how it works for a minute, but then it just felt like I wasn't strong enough – like I was pushing against an unstoppable force." Hermione shook her head, seemingly puzzling out the task.
"You're getting better. I kept it easy at first to show that you grasp the concept. You just have to keep practicing, build your strength."
Hermione huffed, trying to fortify herself again. "This has to be some of the hardest magic I've ever done. It feels like I'm just being blocked with every effort."
"Practice," Draco reminded. "We'll go again, this time I'll look for your conversation with Megan – "
Hermione scoffed.
"Don't scoff at me!" An indignant smile quirked on Draco's lips. Once the ever straight laced and reserved swot, Hermione now openly guffawed and chortled around him. The sound was so delightfully ill-fitting that he couldn't help but enjoy it.
"Care to choose something else?"
"Hmm," Draco pretended to muse for a moment. "Let's look for the first time you came onto me earlier this term. Right there in the library – "
"Would you come back to reality? You came onto me in the library," Hermione corrected, crossing her arms primly.
"It seems you're remembering it wrong, let's just get to the root of the problem." Draco whipped his wand up with a little twirl, raising himself from the desk, an amused smile twisting his face as he stepped toward her.
"Draco –" Hermione laughed with protest, stepping back. "Fine, look for when I spoke to Megan."
Draco shook his head, his words thick with condescension. "Now why would I do that, when I can kill two birds with one stone – teaching you and correcting you?"
Hermione went back and forth with him until they eventually settled on him looking for her meeting with Megan. Draco might have preferred looking for something more scandalous, but he knew they could come back to that later. Plus, he really wanted to make sure she didn't tell Megan about him.
As they continued, Draco could feel Hermione getting trickier. With each new memory, she was getting incrementally stronger. Hermione couldn't yet keep him from finding things entirely, but she could delay him more effectively each time.
Even such small steps gave Draco that dastardly emotion – hope. Hope sprung that maybe he could keep this time with her a secret, that she wouldn't be further punished for his indiscretions. Hope that he wouldn't be further punished for his indiscretions. The route before Draco was already laden with death, he hoped not to make it worse by exposing the one witch he'd somehow grown to appreciate.
Monday, November 11, 1996
"Look at his face right now," Ron gestured toward the professor's table. "Swear he's got a handful of lemon wedges in there."
Hermione glanced up, knowing immediately where to look.
"Isn't that just his normal expression?"
"How can anyone look so sour so often?"
"If anything, he's taught us it's possible."
Ron snorted, returning to the full plate before him.
Hermione had been trying to mend fences with the boys lately, and from what she could tell, her efforts were paying off. Ron's fling with Lavender was still running it's course, and Hermione was taking great pains not to comment. Hopefully the metallic taste breaking out on her tongue every time she saw them together would be for good use. If things went horribly wrong enough that her weird relationship with Draco was outed, then her work now might make things easier for her later.
Logically, Hermione knew there was no way to really mitigate that explosion before it happened (fingers crossed it wouldn't), but she couldn't help trying.
There was also the not-insignificant matter of Harry's special talent for being in right place in the right time. With the Marauders Map, invisibility cloak, and a penchant for trouble on his side, Hermione needed to keep his eyes off her however she could – especially given his interest in monitoring Draco's every move. Yes – keeping the peace was the best she could do for now.
"Speaking of Snape – can you help me with that essay, Hermione?" Ron stretched his face into an endearing smile, leaning toward her ever so slightly.
"For Defense? Ron, it's due tom–" Hermione bit her tongue.
"He's a bloody maniac, eighteen inches! Man's sadistic, I swear."
Hermione was relieved that her chance to reply was stolen by Harry seating himself beside her.
"Good morning," Harry smiled, giving them both nods in greeting. "Discussing Snape again, are we?"
"Hard not to," Hermione quipped.
Ron snorted, his mouth full of toast.
"So Ron told you, then?" Harry leaned forward to pour his pumpkin juice, seemingly sure of Hermione's answer.
Her brow furrowed as she tried to recall anything noteworthy. Eyes skimming Ron, she noticed his own brow shoot up in recognition, his eyes widening. Hoping to preempt a full-mouthed explanation by Ron, Hermione immediately turned back to Harry.
"I think that's a no."
Harry glanced at Hermione, his lips turned downward. "Well," Harry paused to grab more food, wiping crumbs from his hands before looking back to her. "I told Ron last night and just assumed he'd tell you."
"Hey, I – "
"We tried to tell you last night but we didn't see you in the common room."
Hermione felt her body stiffen, but tried to focus on Harry's words. Surely if they knew where she was, neither would be so calm. "Early night, I was up late in the library on Saturday." Shut up, Hermione scolded herself, throat tightening with guilt.
"Figures," Ron supplied.
"Anyways," Harry shrugged. "I was walking back to the tower from Hagrid's and I almost ran into Dumbledore and Snape. They were walking toward Dumbledore's office, so I followed them."
"Of course," Hermione nodded. Dumbledore had seemed to manufacture a situation before for Harry to catch him with Snape, so it couldn't hurt to keep an ear out for anything interesting.
"I didn't hear everything since I had to stay so far behind, but it sounded like they were talking about this whole Theo situation."
"You mean with Blaise?"
"And Katie," Ron replied.
Hermione wasn't sure how she was the only person not ready to condemn Theo. Harry and Ron only really knew half the story of why Theo looked so good for the murder and attack but were twice as sure he was guilty. Hermione felt caught without any answers – how could she ever get the proof she wanted? Evidence in the wizarding world was hazy at best. Murder weapons were interchangeable and not even required since wandless magic was possible. Bodies and blood could be vanished or scourgified. Eyewitnesses could be obliviated. The whole event could just be wiped from memory!
For all Hermione knew, she'd done it! It was just as likely a story.
Maybe Blaise had come upon her in the corridor that evening after curfew. She would have been on edge to start with, gripping her wand. Draco had more or less confirmed her fear that the Slytherins were tied tightly with Voldemort, and Blaise was an adept enough wizard. Maybe Blaise stepped forward just a bit too fast. Maybe his smile was just a bit too ominous. She could have taken the bait, the tension could have snapped – she could have tried to defend herself.
Would she have had the stomach to cover up a murder? Would her friends?
Hermione couldn't remember if she'd been with Draco that night. Maybe he came upon the scene. Maybe they devised some kind of plan. Maybe neither of them remember for a reason.
"Yeah, it sounded like they were discussing what's going to happen with Theo after all this speculation." Harry's voice interjected her worries, breaking the quickly developed fog in her mind.
Shaking her head, Hermione tried to force that image from her mind. The blood still thrummed in her veins, her heart beating faster. No. Of course she didn't kill Blaise. Somehow she'd know – she'd have to. Something in her would have to change, to make her a different person. She'd be able to feel it. Right?
Teeth sunk into her lip as her eyes flickered over Ron's shoulder and across the hall, spotting her darkest secret sitting mere tables away.
Was she that person?
"What were they saying?" Hermione tried to focus back on Harry's words. It would be nice to hear that the Headmaster didn't truly believe that a murderer walked among them.
Especially since she already had proof that Death Eaters did.
"Dumbledore said it's going to become too big for the Ministry to stay out of soon, and that it'll hit the Daily Prophet. It didn't sound like he was upset, more like he was just really sure of himself."
"Could've guessed that one though, the Daily Prophet would put Dumbledore's picture front page if he stepped in gum," Ron supplied, shaking his head as they all thought of the Prophet's pressure on Harry and Dumbledore. "They'll have a field day when they see the Free Press's articles."
Hermione realized now that she hadn't given much thought to that. Somehow she hadn't connected how Blaise's disappearance would affect Harry and Dumbledore after all the summer's propaganda. Glancing up again to the professor's table, Hermione began to worry at what might happen. Would this be enough for Dumbledore to be removed as Headmaster?
But no – aurors had already visited the castle once, and Dumbledore was still sitting right there.
"So what happens when it hits the Prophet? They've already been blaming Blaise's disappearance on Dumbledore for being incompetent." Hermione questioned over her coffee, hoping Dumbledore had something helpful to provide.
"If the Prophet realizes there's speculation against Theo, they can take Dumbledore to task for not reporting it sooner. They've already been covering Blaise's disappearance, but if they get hold of the rumors about Theo they'll come arrest him from the castle in no time. Suddenly everyone believes Dumbledore is sheltering a murderer, and the Ministry gets to save the day." Harry's eyes were wide, filled with concern and urgency at the implication.
Hermione pursed her lips, unsure of how she felt about that. Yes, rumors should be investigated, but she was firmly against arrests without solid evidence. Somehow it felt like she was missing some piece of this puzzle.
"So Dumbledore and Snape are just passing time until the Ministry steps in and makes a fuss? If Dumbledore thinks he's going to get criticized for not stepping forward to report Theo, then why not investigate it himself? Surely that would be better than sitting on his hands."
"He's not sitting on his hands, Hermione," Harry immediately responded, voice biting.
"Well if that's how he thinks its going to go, why not make it better for himself – for you?" Hermione could hear her voice rising and tried to take a deep breath. If she could just step away and think.
"I didn't hear everything, maybe he is doing something and we're just not seeing it. "
"Maybe he's not! He's certainly not working to find Blaise here in the castle." Eyes were flicking in their direction, nearby conversations had dropped to whispers.
"Are you following his every step, Hermione? You don't know that!"
"Guys – " Ron tried.
"Is that not what you just said a minute ago, that the Prophet is going to point out him not doing anything? I certainly don't see anything happening here."
"Dumbledore has pulled through every time before, and we all know it. Can you not just trust him?"
"Harry," Hermione felt her voice rising and outside eyes peering, and tried to reel herself in. "A student has been missing for almost two months now, another was attacked, and absolutely nothing has been done about it."
"Guys, come on." Ron pressed, leaning forward and forcing a hand between them.
Hermione's face felt hot, and she bit her tongue to stop from continuing. Harry couldn't be blamed, his quick temper wasn't anything new. She sipped her coffee quickly, looking away from the boys. Now was not the time to raise waves, now was the time to swallow her pride. If only she could remember that.
Breathing deeply and holding her shoulders back, Hermione turned to Harry. "I apologize, Harry." She tried to keep her lips from pursing before she continued, knowing each word was a lie. "I'm sure Dumbledore has some kind of plan that we're not seeing."
Harry nodded, and Hermione could hear him forcing heavy breaths through his nose. "Sorry I raised my voice, Hermione."
Raised his voice, Hermione had to keep herself from scoffing in return. She'd conceded her point, like a fool, only for him to claim victory.
A minute of silence passed between the trio. Hermione tried to tune out the buzzing of breakfast chatter all around them. Near the hall's entrance, Hermione could see Ginny approaching, the girl's eyes locked somewhere near Harry's ear. It was unlikely the boys would be willing to share anymore information once Ron's sister arrived, whether Hermione agreed or not. Seeing another fifth year catch pull the girl's attention, Hermione seized the moment.
"So what else did you hear?"
Ron glanced up at them, looking less than ready for another row. Harry swallowed his pumpkin juice thickly before turning back to her.
"That was biggest thing, I guess. I also learned Dumbledore's password is shock-o-choc." Harry shrugged, fidgeting with the goblet in his hand. "I didn't have the cloak with me, so I only caught pieces of everything. Snape asked how can they put it off much longer, and I wasn't sure who or what he was talking about."
"S'either the Prophet or the Ministry." Ron didn't look up as he spoke, his eyes still fixated on the plate before him.
"Yes," Hermione agreed. "Yes, they – in the corridors?" She paused, looking to grab Harry's attention once more. Ginny was still standing not far away and glancing toward them with every few words. "Harry, how loud were they speaking?"
Harry's brow furrowed as he thought. "It was just a normal conversation. I don't remember them shouting or anything."
Not far away, Hermione could see Ginny stepping away from the other student, nodding in some kind of agreement.
"And this was before curfew?"
"Yeah, but it was pretty close. I think it was fifteen minutes before or so."
Hermione nodded. How odd, she thought. The conversation wasn't exactly sparing classified knowledge, but she might have chosen to take it inside her office, if she were Dumbledore.
"Morning guys," Ginny greeted, seating herself beside Ron and across from Harry. The group all nodded in her direction, Ron shooting her an appraising glance from the corner of his eye.
The door for any more questions was closed with the benign sound of idle chitchat. Hermione still felt tense, her jaw flexing needlessly. Realizing she need not risk another argument, Hermione stood with her bag.
"Going somewhere?" Ginny's cheerful voice stopped her movement, so she hovered near the table for a moment.
Most of the nearby eyes were on her, having fully heard her and Harry's rising voices just a moment ago.
"Just back up to the tower, I forgot one of my textbooks," she lied. Their first class would begin within the next hour, and she certainly didn't want to hike the stairs into Gryffindor tower just to immediately come back down. The nice thing was that none of them would want to either, so she wouldn't have to come up with a reason to go alone.
They exchanged parting words and Hermione turned to leave the Great Hall. It took an effort to keep her face blank as she walked. Hopefully her disagreement with Harry hadn't killed her plan to keep him out of her business.
Without even thinking of it, her eyes met with Draco's across the hall. Hermione watched him for just long enough to see his eyebrows quirk and his head tilt in question. Looking away, she nodded her head twice, not looking back as she passed through the doorway.
Hermione kept her steps even and slow as she walked further from the Hall and into the castle. When the footsteps didn't appear behind her, she soon began to feel silly. She must have misinterpreted Draco's quirked brow.
"That was quite public." Draco's voice sounded just as she stopped walking, making her jump in surprise.
Hermione sighed, turning to look at him. "And not at all my intention."
Draco chuckled a bit, stepping forward. "How odd, I often plan for my own outbursts of anger to be right there where the entire castle can watch and listen."
Scoffing, she shot him a frown. "Yes. Hysterical."
Draco nodded, taking note of her impermeable mood. "And from what I've heard, it was over the Headmaster?" He stepped forward again, close enough to catch her sweet peach scent.
"Yes, it – well it was ridiculous." Hermione shook her head, scanning walls around them, listening for any eavesdroppers. "I shouldn't have even let it start."
"What were you talking about, then?" Draco narrowed his eyes, watching her face.
"Harry heard Dumbledore and Snape talking about Theo, I think." Hermione repeated without hesitation. "There might have been more that he heard, but I couldn't be sure. I'm going to have to bring it up later – Godric."
Draco shook his head, trying to connect the scattered dots Hermione gave him. "What did he hear?"
"Apparently Dumbledore thinks the Daily Prophet is going to find one of the Free Press's pieces about Theo and publish it, meaning now all of Britain will be scrutinizing Theo too. Dumbledore thinks this will lead to Theo being arrested and – and something else, I just remembered! It didn't make any sense, Dumbledore said it'll be too big for the Ministry to stay out of soon," she recalled.
"After the Prophet covers it? What am I missing?"
Hermione took a deep breath, clearing her mind. "Okay, let's think logically. The ministry's main goal right now is to discredit Dumbledore and Harry. They've used Blaise's disappearance as evidence of Dumbledore's incompetence."
"So the only change would be having someone new to blame – Theo."
Hermione shook her head. "No, because there's heavy speculation against Theo but no real proof. The new difference would be that Dumbledore didn't investigate a possible culprit." Mulling over the words, Hermione tried to spin the web of everyone's motivations. "How does that make sense, though? Because they could still blame it on Dumbledore? So why are they ignoring it for now?"
"After the Prophet prints the speculation against Theo, what changes?" Draco seemed just as confused, his brow furrowed and mouth pinched. "The ministry would have to step in to save face, because then all of Britain sees Theo as a possible kill – no."
"What? What did you think of?" Hermione jerked her head up, hoping for a thread to follow.
"Who are we missing here? The Dark Lord. Speculation against Theo might turn the tide against the Ministry for ignoring Dumbledore." Draco shook his head, his jaw locked.
"The Crabbe family was just in the Prophet for possible dark sympathies!" Hermione remembered.
"That might be it, it'll be too big for the Ministry to stay out of soon." Draco's mouth thinned as he thought further. "Theo has the mark. If he's taken in for questioning, they just might see it."
What is Dumbledore up to?
"Draco! I didn't even think of that, you're absolutely right. If that accusation against him makes it to the Prophet, then the Ministry will have to intervene, and it gives credit to Harry's story!"
Hermione's eyes locked on his, sharing in the moment of revelation. Draco had followed her train of thought the entire minute or so, and she couldn't help feeling surprised. Usually once she began thinking out loud like that, people got lost and just let her figure it out alone.
"I'm worth more than just my jawline, you know," he seemed to read he thoughts. Draco's cocky grin sat comfortably on his face, breaking the ever present veneer.
Hermione still felt fraught with tension over the morning's events, but watched his eyes with a sneaking grin. "Oh yeah, you're great with your hands!"
Draco chuckled at the remark. Stepping forward, he placed one hand to hold the back of Hermione's head as he leaned into her.
"Yours aren't too bad either."
Author's Note: As we have now passed what I believe is the halfway point of this story, I want to thank everyone for their time following Hermione (and now Draco). Things are beginning to unravel and reveal themselves around her now, each a hesitant clue at what may be working behind the scenes.
As always - thanks to everyone for their time, follows, reviews, and comments. I'm always fascinated to hear how people interpret this mystery.
