Hermione hoped that maybe this could be the end, a sign of the last bits of trouble being sorted away. At the same time she couldn't shake the dark feeling that this was only the beginning.

McGonagall sat behind her desk, a tired expression spread across her face. It was late, the night sky showing through the small windows in the office. A fire crackled in the grate, bathing the room in a flickering light. Slughorn stood in one corner, wand out and pointed at Theo. Filch lurked in the shadows, Mrs. Norris growling at his feet. Malfoy and Hermione sat in matching chairs on the other side of the Headmistress's desk.

Only Theo looked pleased to be there. He surveyed the office like he owned the place, apparently oblivious to the ropes still binding his arms and legs. He made a move like he was going to attempt to throw himself out the window and then laughed as Slughorn twitched to stop him.

"This is too much fun for that, old man," he said. His voice was smooth and arrogant in a way that ground on Hermione's nerves. It reminded her of how Draco used to be before the end of the War. Before she'd really met him. They even looked a little alike—same imperious, slightly ferret-like features and slim builds.

"The Aurors will be here soon," McGonagall said, though whether that was for Theo's benefit or theirs Hermione wasn't sure.

"I'm honored," Theo said. "They must be so busy and they're taking time out of their day chasing ghosts to come fetch me. How nice." He spat on the floor and Slughorn gave him a look of utmost disgust.

Hermione couldn't take it anymore. "How did you get into the castle?" she demanded. Fury thundered through her, beating in her ears and blocking out everything around them. She stood, stalking her way across the floor until she could peer into Theo's dark eyes.

"I Apparated. My, my." He whistled appreciatively as his eyes trailed down her body. "If I'd known there was a pretty young thing like you around the castle, I would've waited a bit longer to go after Draco."

Hermione's skin crawled, but instead of backing off his words only fueled her fury. She heard the legs of Draco's chair screech against the floor as he made to get up, but she flicked her hand to wave him off. She had this. "Not even someone as clever as you could Apparate into Hogwarts." She smiled, softening her body to appear smaller. Her flattery worked, judging by the way he preened and grinned.

"You're right about that. Maybe I took a secret passage, honey. I knew of more than a few in my days here. Though I daresay you know a few secrets of your own." His tongue flicked out over his bottom lip.

"You—" Draco snarled behind them. Hermione glanced quickly over her shoulder, silencing him with a look. He huffed, crossed his arms over his chest, remained standing but didn't say anything more as she turned around to continue.

Hermione paused, expecting Slughorn or McGonagall to stop her, but they didn't. They hung back, waiting and ready in case something went too far. Secret passage. Honey. Harry. "Honeydukes. That passage was blocked after the Battle."

Theo sagged a little. "Oh you're good. But you're not invincible."

"What do you mean?" Her eyes narrowed and she resisted the urge to pace around him. He needed to believe that he had the upper hand here, that he was smarter than her.

"Perhaps there's a traitor in your midst."

Hermione backed away a couple steps, mind racing. Theo hadn't been alone, not in the attacks and not in the castle. He wasn't alone inside the castle, so why wouldn't he have had help getting in? "Crabbe and Goyle. They helped you."

"I didn't say…" Theo's eyes flashed.

Hermione felt a sharp surge of triumph as the pieces clicked into place in her brain. "You Apparated into Hogsmeade and when you realized that you couldn't get into the castle through any of the secret passageways, you convinced Crabbe and Goyle to help you. They got you into the castle, probably just returning from their visit to Hogsmeade, after all everything that's brought into the castle is checked but not everyone and you were a student here before after all. No one questioned you."

"That's…" Theo's eyes were wide with terror. He struggled against his bounds, but he only succeeded in making them tighter. "Filthy Mudblood…"

Draco stood up, his hand reaching into his pocket for his wand but they were interrupted by three uniformed Aurors flinging open the door and hurrying inside. One of them took hold of Theo while the other two scanned the room.

"Did you get all of that?" McGonagall asked, calmly watching them.

"Yes, ma'am," one of the Aurors said. Hermione's eyes flicked over them and she was relieved to realize that none of them were Ron. They were all older, probably mid-thirties. The one who spoke was the taller of the three, a man with graying hair and thick pink scars like ropes running up his arms. There was also a second man with dark skin, and a blonde woman with her hair twisted back in a complicated braid.

"We'll make sure he's brought to justice, ma'am," the woman said. "And these other two—Crabbe and Goyle—as well."

"You'll find them in the Slytherin dungeons," Slughorn said. "I'll escort you there." He swept out of the room, followed by the two remaining Aurors. The one guiding Theo left last with a nod to all of them.

"Mr. Filch, you may go," McGonagall said.

Hermione looked to Filch in the shadows, having forgotten he was even there. He stood in the corner, leaning back against the wall with his mouth agape as he watched the proceedings. On his dismissal he shook his head and staggered from the room, Mrs. Norris trotting on his heels.

"Is there anything the two of you would like to say?" McGonagall asked, surveying them through her glasses. She had her own way of making them feel like they were being x-rayed. It was a piercing gaze that made Hermione want to shift in her chair.

"No, ma'am," Draco said. "I'm just glad that I could help."

"Ms. Granger?"

"I'm just happy that we know how he got into the castle and we can make sure that no one else takes advantage of the loophole," Hermione said. She only wanted to leave, to get a few minutes to talk to Draco. She was so exhausted that she could have curled up in the chair and fallen right to sleep if she thought McGonagall would allow it.

"Very well." McGonagall let out a soft sigh. "You two may go. Why don't you go get some rest, Ms. Granger. I daresay I think I can find someone else to keep watch on the castle tonight if need be."

"Thank you," Hermione said. Draco nodded his head in thanks as they stood and headed out of the office. They were midway down the spiral staircase, out of sight of the office and the ground floor, when Draco grabbed her wrist and pressed her softly against the wall for a kiss. The sweetness of it made Hermione's breath catch in her throat.

"I thought…when he hit you…" he whispered between kisses.

"I'm fine." One of Hermione's hands ran down the tense muscles of his back while the other slipped through his hair. "I'm fine. But I do think that I should get some rest now."

"Right." Draco's hands slipped off of her, slowly letting her go. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

It was Saturday, a day that she would normally spend holed up in the library studying. She probably still should, but she could afford a couple of hours. "I'll meet you in the Room after breakfast. Bring your books, I want to see that Transfiguration essay."

Draco groaned and opened his mouth to say something.

"Good night, Draco." Hermione reached up to press a kiss onto his lips before she started down the stairs, one step at a time.

The castle seemed a lot larger than normal as she dragged herself up the staircases and down the halls until she finally reached the familiar portrait of the Fat Lady. She mumbled out the password and crawled through the hole.

"Hermione!" Ginny threw herself out of her chair and at her friend. Hermione staggered under the force of her hug while Harry hovered nervously in the background. "We heard something about you catching a Death Eater on patrol. What happened?"

Hermione sighed. Sleep would have to wait. She sank down into her chair and brushed over her capture of Theo, leaving out Draco's involvement and most of the details of the fight. All she wanted to do was curl up in bed and not think anymore.

"I'm fine," she finished. "Just really tired."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ginny looked abashed. "We can talk in the morning, if you want."

"Yeah. In the morning." Hermione climbed out of the chair and tried not to crawl up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Her bed waited, warm and inviting. She crawled between the sheets as a little paper bird fluttered through the cracked window and landed on her arm.

The note read: Good night, Hermione Granger.

There was a smile on her face as she pushed the note under her pillow and closed her eyes.

After a comfortably uneventful breakfast, Hermione bowed out with the excuse that she had a lot of homework to make up after all her time spent patrolling and hurried down to the Room.

"I'm not sure how this happened," Draco said, still surveying the room with a confused expression. There was a chess table in the middle with an armchair on either side. Bookshelves lined all four walls, most of them crammed with books but a few shelves were laden with fresh rolls of parchment.

"It must have known I wanted to study," Hermione said, walking over to slip her arms around his waist. "I don't mind this at all. I…think we need to talk."

Draco looked cautious. "No good conversations start with that sentence."

"Depends on the meaning of good." She took his hand and guided him to the other side of the chess table while she sat down. "Can you play?"

"Of course I can play." He snorted. "I've been playing wizards' chess since I was a kid."

"This isn't wizards' chess." Hermione slid a white pawn forward.

They played in silence for a few minutes. Hermione held her tongue between her teeth in concentration. She'd never been great at chess—it was Ron's game after all—but she knew the rules and she preferred the Muggle game to the wizard version. "What did you want to talk about?" Draco asked.

Hermione looked up at him staring down at the game, wanting to see his face when she said it. "What if we stopped hiding?"

"What?" Draco knocked his castle off the table. He didn't reach to pick it up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what if we acted like a real couple? You know, eating together, sitting next to each other in class, hanging out, getting in trouble for making out in the hallways. It's just…a relationship is a flower…" She was rambling now and she knew it. He always made her feel so flustered and she couldn't get Luna's words out of her head. "I'm not saying I want to tell the whole world about us but I'm tired of keeping my friends in the dark."

Draco picked up his king and queen and tossed them from hand to hand. He looked like he did in the beginning, when the walls were up behind his eyes and he wasn't going to let any of his real feelings through. "If you think that's right…"

Hermione tugged her chair around so that she could reach over and touch him. It wasn't until he snatched his arm away that she realized that was the one with the Dark Mark. "I won't tell them if you don't want me to. What if I told them something, like I helped you with your Potions essay or that you were the one that captured Theo? And if they're okay with it, I'll tell them everything."

"That would be…good." Draco's eyes rose slowly from his hand to her face and he dropped the queen into her lap. "I just don't want to lose you."

For a moment the walls fell away and she could see the unbridled worry behind his eyes. Hermione looked down at the queen and smiled, placing her back on the board. "You won't lose me. I just really like you and I'm tired of not being able to say it anywhere but this room."

Draco leaned over and kissed her. She kissed him back, a new feeling of excitement and nerves welling up inside of her. She was more than ready to step out of the shadows and into the daylight. So just hoped that Draco was willing to come with her. As afraid as he was to lose her, she couldn't think about losing him. She just hoped that her friends would be understanding, because she didn't know what she would do if they offered an ultimatum.