"Where are the Curse Breakers?"

Hermione did not enjoy cooling her heels in the grand foyer of the Greengrass' mansion. Much like the others before them, the residents did not enjoy being woken up at such an early hour. They were the only ones home that they knew of, and were dubious about helping or allowing access to the rest of their house.

Luckily there was a tactful Auror on hand that was consistently called to handle relations with Purebloods. It was a necessity when the Head Auror was Harry Potter. The issue was also that she was not an Auror. Harry pointed out that their careers were to ensure that others followed the laws, not broke them, and however ironic that was, she should remember that.

Hermione hated having her own words used against her.

She looked at the copy she made of the instructions given to them by Tracey, the original in the hands of the Aurors. When the wizards around her were distracted, she sneakily cast a Homenum Revelio. Four pale markers appeared before her and something inside of her snapped.

The directions had been clear and easy. She walked further into the house where the sitting room was, spotted the bust of Merlin, and reached behind it. Pressing her fingers against the base of its skull made a small click and a portion of the window seat disappeared.

Being privy to information on many house raids, especially shortly after the war, it amazed her how many of these large old houses had secret areas of the house. Of course, they almost always led somewhere where dark secrets were kept. She missed those days in Hogwarts when secret passages led to places like the kitchen and sweet shops.

Though technically Hogwarts also had a Muggleborn-killing Basilisk in its most famous hidden place.

Climbing down the steep staircase that appeared in the window seat, Hermione cast a Patronus with no message and conjured up her favorite bluebell flames so that she avoid breaking her neck on the steps.

The hidden floor was utterly ordinary. Two closed doors and one open study that had many books that were obviously not legal. Most books didn't need to be hidden behind a glass display with ancient runes etched on the front.

Curiosity drove her closer, able to pick out the runes for anonymity and safety. She could have stayed to study the rest, but a prickling down her spine sent her back to the doors. Two. Both were heavily warded and silenced, but only one, through further examination, had an extra layer added on recently.

It was not like the other spells or signatures at all, but she hadn't the time to examine it further as she dismantled each one as carefully as snipping a thread.

Even though the Curse Breakers would frown heavily on this, she did not simply move them in displacement. These would be in tatters by the time she was finished, but she felt safe in the fact the other door had nearly identical spells.

The last hurdle was the lock. It responded to neither simple Unlocking spells nor complex, which meant it was either blood warded or password protected. This deep inside the bowels of a Pureblood house she was guessing it was the former.

Muttering an apology to Harry, who was in charge of the case, she sent a terrific blast of power that weakened the frame enough that the door slammed open.

A familiar spill of blond hair on the female hunched over a very bound pair of legs, she couldn't see anything else for a dizzying moment except the blonde - Lavender? - turning toward her then bringing something down on the person's face. Draco, she knew without seeing.

"NO!" she yelled, wand at the read as she sent fake Lavender flying. It had only taken a moment to know it certainly bloody wasn't her friend.

Because Hermione had ignored the simple rule of not rescuing someone you care about, she thought nothing of dashing to Draco's side immediately. There was blood on his face, but only a bit, and a tiny blue bottle by his face. It was infinitely better than a knife in some ways. In every other, she had no idea what he was given. It was a nondescript bottle one could buy in any store and fill with poison or worse.

Draco stared up at her, hair sticking up and wild silver eyes and pink wet marks on his neck.

Regret and pain welled up inside of her for what he must have endured and she immediately banished the ropes. Then she had her arms full of fake Lavender because of course she paid more attention to Draco than the attacker.

Twisting around, Hermione clamped both hands on the witch's forearms as she threw their weight to the side. Witch landed first and hard, while Hermione wrenched a knee into her abdomen and groped for her fallen wand.

It wasn't there. She frantically looked around for precious seconds.

"Don't...don't hurt her." Draco was breathing hard, one hand clutching his chest. He was still gasping for air even when silent, her wand in his hand.

"I've got it under control, Draco," she said calmly, her hold and weight enough to keep the Witch subdued, albeit making soft whimpering sounds. Hermione looked back down at Witch, lips curving in a disdainful frown. "You won't be able to get anyone's hair in Azkaban."

Without warning a wave slammed into her and she went skidding along the floor, landing mercifully short of the unforgiving wall.

"Don't you EVEN SPEAK TO HER! You're nothing compared to her!"

Hermione was thankful for her charmed robes at that moment, saving her from the weak spell. She twisted around, one aching arm barely holding her weight. She was mostly confused. "What?"

Those would be bloody moronic last words, she thought, as Draco lifted her wand again. His mouth moved and a purple light filled her vision.

She could see the ajar door gape open from the angle she laid in. Lots of crimson robes, like blood pouring out of a wound. Harry was there, taking her wand from Draco in a practiced move. He looked like school-age Harry for a second, his hair wildly messy and his green eyes focused behind those same glasses while casting in short frantic motions.

Was he ever going to get new glasses? She'd have to talk to Ginny about that soon. Maybe she'd just tell him herself. But when he knelt by her his mouth moved without words, which was silly. Everything felt floaty, that was almost nice.

She put her head on his chest because he was her best friend, he was safe, and she was going to sleep now.

Lavender sat in St. Mungo's, fingers tracing nervous circles on her knees over and over. She did not like it here. But she promised to come.

She had barely gotten any sleep, what with the disappearance/kidnapping, the talk with Parvati, and holding anxious hands with Ginny. It was hard not being in the fight and hearing everything long after it happened.

Before she could delve too deeply into memories a wizard sat beside her. "I came as quickly as I could."

"Blaise!" She wasn't sure whether to smile or frown, but she was pathetically grateful to see him. "I thought you'd be sleeping!" Of course she sent a note to him, but hadn't expected it would be read. Writing had just made her felt better.

"I got a few hours after sunrise." He spoke with just a hint of extra pronunciation in his words, but otherwise he looked as well put together and handsome as always. "Snape's Wolfsbane kept me going to class even during the full moon as long as I worked in extra sleep before sunset. If I can go to class, I can be here." He started to lean forward, but then stopped.

For an absurd moment she thought he had been about to kiss her cheek. Shaking off the thought, she nodded and looked upward. "Still, thank you. Everyone else is waiting in the rooms near the main area." The Spell Damage floor was by no means a quiet floor, but this far from the regular residents it was utterly silent save for the occasional Mediwizard walking by.

Blaise looked up at the sign over the door proclaiming the Janus Thickey Ward, sobering. "Will he be there long? I did read your note, but.."

"It wasn't very specific." Lavender nodded. She tried to keep her hands still. "It depends on the strength of the love potion and if it was correctly made. Normally you can tell just by looking at it, but there wasn't any left in the bottle and neither are able to talk." Talking about the mundane details of the case kept her together.

Blaise dragged his eyes away from the door and back to her, placing one hand on top of hers. His movements were slower than normal, careful instead of casual. Even she wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't spent quite a bit of time watching him. "Why isn't Daphne talking?"

She shook her head. "She's just the same as him, crazed that they have to be apart. It was confirmed that she dosed herself with the Amortentia."

"That's a bit crazy." Blaise raised an eyebrow, brow furrowing in thought. "So she's been stalking him under the pretense of working with Patil and downed the strongest love potion in the world to…what?"

"I don't know. Parvati confirmed it was her she worked with. Maybe Daphne thought it would be romantic. She was married and had a lover, I'm guessing there were parts of her life that she wanted gone." To say nothing of the other bits and pieces she heard in the past few hours about all those involved.

Blaise had apparently forgotten he had his hands on hers, because it was still there. She daren't move and remind him. "Would you," he started, "take a potion if it could erase all your doubts and give you a single purpose?"

Lavender thought about this seriously. If she could not feel such pain over her parents' abandonment, if she could just stop fighting all the time in her head? That was the problem with war, that some part of you never left it.

His thumb made a restless stroke over the back of her hand. She closed her eyes, but opened them again right away. "I should probably say no. That all the hardships in my life have been worth it because I'm a different person than I was then."

He didn't say anything, only kept his hand on hers and waited.

"But I liked myself back then. I was pretty and bold and wore my heart on my sleeve. I know I was also selfish and oblivious. But I'd rather have worked on being caring than dig myself back out this self-made hole I've made for myself."

He seemed saddened by her words, in ways that made her heart flutter with hope. "I don't think you made it." He opened his mouth to continue, but the door beside her opened.

A short and elderly Healer stopped next to her, a sheath of papers in one hand. "You may visit with him now, everything checked out." It wasn't easy to visit the closed rooms in Janus Thickey Ward for the first time and Lavender threw a quick look at Blaise in concern. He wasn't here when she filled them out.

"Thank you, Healer Dorn. Can, umm.."

However, the Healer just took a look at them both and opened the door. Blaise and her followed Dorn past the open rooms with residents who weren't a danger to anyone to a locked door. The Healer did a complicated hand movement over the latch and let them both in. A burly wizard sat by the desk and took their wand to do a diagnostic before sending them through again.

Dorn brought them to a door in short order with a reminder to avoid using magic in the rooms as much as possible. Lavender carefully tucked her wand away before entering the room.

Draco certainly would have hated it if he was in his right mind. Soothing blue walls, fuzzy dark orange furniture and cushioned floors the shade of bright purple.

"Was the last resident blind?" Blaise muttered under his breath.

The bed was very close to the ground and Draco was on it, one of his arms extended because it was bound to the headboard. There was a squat table next to him with a covered tray and several facial toiletries. Tissue, toothbrush, haircomb.

"It's just you two." His voice was bitter as the last dregs of tea. Even though Draco's face was clean and his hair straightened, the skin under his eyes were puffy with lack of sleep.

"Hello, Draco." Lavender took a seat next to the bed, but not within arm's reach. She could respect the warnings they kept giving, even though she was not afraid of him.

The bound wizard simply sent them a sour look, silver eyes with those dilated pupils flipping from her to Blaise. "You two are like an interchangeable Beauty and the Beast. At least for three nights a month."

It doesn't bother Lavender, but Blaise sits up straighter and growls. A legitimate, hair-raising, guttural growl that reminds her that last night and tonight he would be transformed into something that killed. Save for the grace of a potion.

"Down, dog." Draco sneers at Blaise, before snapping his fingers. "Also interchangeable!" He laughed.

Lavender moves to grip Blaise's arm as he stands up, sending him a sharp look. "If you can't handle this…"

It was the only time he'd seen her cross or angry, and that seems to calm him down. She released her hand when he sits back down, tamping down the urge to apologize. He could walk right out and never speak to her again. Lowering her eyes to hide the very real fear pounding in her chest, she turned her head toward Draco. "You're angry with us."

The malicious laughter instantly warped into anger, so much anger. "Of course I am! You're keeping me from her! I shouldn't be locked up like this, like I'm the animal, right Blaise? I'm so sorry I helped overturn that law that would have kept you out of hospitals. It's like a feast for you, isn't it?"

Tears burned at the back of her eyes, watching the way he strained against the invisible tie around his wrist. Not even to get at them, but to just get away. He was paler than normal as well, the soft cloth on his body sticking in sweaty patches. She may not feel the way about him as she might Blaise, but he was still a wizard and deserved some dignity.

Blaise, however, had turned a cold eye on the scene. "I know it's the potion talking," he said stiffly.

"Fuck off," he spat.

There was no way that anyone else could visit him in this condition. He was worse than teenage Draco. Maddened was the only way she could describe it. This, this is why potent love potions were illegal.

"We'll still be here when you're healed." Lavender murmured, nodding slowly.

"I'm not broken!" Draco shook his arm, but of course it didn't budge and nothing rattled. "Whatever happened to a person is a person no matter what? I'm in love with Daphne, and she's in love with me. You tell me right now why we can't leave together. Where are your high-minded principles now?! There's nothing else wrong with me!"

She didn't know when her hand found Blaise's, but she was gripping it tightly now. There were lots of things crowding in her head that she could say. 'If you love her, then you should love her when the potion is out of your system' or try to reason with him on the merits of him not even remembering Daphne existed before this. But she had reason to doubt this would have any impact right now.

She shook her head slowly, never looking away from him. "I believe in you, Draco. You'll come through this."

The lines of Draco's face deepened, as if he were in pain, as if sorrow touched his wide eyes. Then it was gone. "I hope she's dead. I hope I killed her for coming between us."

Blaise reached out to turn her face against his shoulder as she muffled a sound of distress. He didn't say anything, just gently massaged the back of her neck while she gained a measure of composure.

Author's Notes:

Yay update! Right?

HMJ

Personal Notes:

Soooo long between updates, I'm the worst. For those that read my crossover, I did end up writing the extended one-shot in (nearly) one night in efforts to feel better. I've been pretty broken up about my own little furry companion. Been working through it, but sometimes grief knocks me right back down on my butt. To say life isn't fair would be putting it lightly, wouldn't it?

Anyway I did want to share awesome news with you (that I was a lot more excited about before all this happened, but will be excited about again).

I have a book up, if anyone is looking for one to read.

Bound: Academy of Shifters

Hanna Maria Jones

Summary: Haven is devastated when she doesn't Change by the full moon like the rest of her family. The House of Egemen takes her in with the promise of giving her the future she was meant to have in return for serving for the rest of her life. She accepts her fate until she meets silver-eyed Andrew Joiner, who brings freedom and danger in equal measures.

It is set in the same world as the first, but can be read as a stand-alone.