A/N: So I only got one review yesterday in regards to the update schedule so I'm just gonna post them every day 'cause I can! Ha! I just finished the last chapter last night (or should I say around 1am this morning) and it feels so weird to be done but I am so excited for you guys to read the later chapters. I think you're going to flip! But for now...

Tallyho!

Chapter 25: Draco

We go back to work today. I wasn't crazy about Hermione returning to work so soon after the accident but she insisted so, here we are, walking to the Auror department together. When we enter the meeting room, we're surprised to find Teigan and Keller here.

"Daniel!" Hermione exclaims and walks towards him. They share a quick hug before she pulls back and greets Teigan while I shake hands with Keller. "Auror Teigan, it's good to see you," she says.

"You as well, Auror Granger. I'm glad to see you've made a full recovery." He looks to me and nods. "Good to see you, Auror Malfoy."

"Likewise, sir. If I may ask, what brings you to our neck of the woods?"

"Aurors Weasley and Keller are here to take Aurors Quentin and Zabini's places while the case continues," Potter says, walking in, Weasley right behind him. "Auror Teigan will be monitoring the case with me and we will step in, when and where it is necessary."

I furrow my brows at the mention of Blaise. "Do we have any word on where they might be? It's been weeks!"

Potter shakes his head and looks at me sadly. "Unfortunately, we have no idea where they are. The area's been searched over with a fine tooth comb three times and we have no leads onto what could have happened to them or where they could have vanished to."

"We do, however, have more information on the explosion," Teigan says. We all sit at the table before he begins to go into detail about what happened. "We found indications that the explosion that went off was not the original bomb that was supposed to go off."

"Wait, what?" Hermione asks. "You mean there were two bombs?"

"Well, yes and no," he says. "We had our muggle technical team look at the other bomb we found in the area and they found that the original bomb that was supposed to go off was a fake."

"A fake?!" I say.

Teigan nods. "A decoy to distract us from the real bomb, which just so happened to be right near where Auror Granger was walking when it when off. Which brings me to my next point of interest." He looks directly to Hermione now. "We believe the bomb that went off was meant to kill you, Hermione."

She tenses up and, losing my professional demeanor for a moment, I place my hand over hers in a protective manner. She takes a deep breath and looks at Teigan, but doesn't remove her hand from mine. "What suggested that?"

"Where the bomb went off was in close proximity to where you were, which is why you were thrown when the bomb went off and why our protection spells didn't work as well as we'd hoped; the bomb was already within the protected area."

"Wait a second," I say. "Are you telling me that Granger was targeted?! By who? Why?!" Hermione's stood up by this point and begins to pace as she listens to the conversation.

Teigan sighs and shakes his head but it's Keller who speaks up. "Unfortunately, we don't have the answer to either of those questions; what we've put together so far, however, is that we suspect that Auror Granger has become a target due to her conversations with Morrison. We believe that whoever killed Morrison (maybe the accomplice or the mole or maybe someone else altogether) is now targeting her because of the information that she gathered. They may think that she's a potential threat because of what she knows from what Morrison told her."

"Oh my God," Hermione says, finally. We all look at her and see a worried expression on her face.

"What?" Potter asks.

"Theo;" she says, looking up.

"What about Nott?" Weasley asks, very confused.

"Theo's next. If I'm the ultimate target, that means Theo's next! That's the killer's goal: get rid of anyone who might have had any sort of information into what Morrison was doing. It's why Blaise and Q disappeared!" She must see my eyes widen at the idea of Blaise dead because she shakes her head, fervently. "I'm not saying that they're dead; maybe just locked away somewhere while he tries to kill me next."

"What makes you think that they're still alive?" Potter asks.

"Because we would've been told by now if they were. Keep in mind, the killer didn't take Morrison away; he left him there for us to find. The killer would want to show the world what he had done; show us that things are escalating. If Blaise and Q were dead, we'd know by now. If my theory's correct, the killer took Blaise and Q to distract us while he works his way to try and get to me again."

There's a quiet muttering of agreement amongst everyone at the table. "We need to keep an eye on Theo, 24/7. Maybe even move him occasionally to keep him from being in one spot too long. We can't risk losing him too."

"Is he even that important?" Weasley asks. "You said so, yourself, Harry, you weren't sure if he was even worth the suspicions."

Before Potter can answer, Hermione speaks up. "Yes, Ron, he is that important. Something happened to Theo the night that Morrison was murdered; I don't know what but I will find out. We have to assume, however, that Theo's missing memories have to do with the killer and that means that the killer is going to come after Theo. Even if his memories are gone, the killer can't risk it on the off chance that something comes back to Theo that would help us figure out who the killer is."

"What makes you think that the killer would go after Theo before going after you again?" Teigan asks.

"If there's anything that I figured out about Morrison, it's that he liked a challenge and he loved to play games. It only make sense that he would work with people who are similar in mindset. The killer may have attempted to kill me in New York but now that I survived, I think he wants to wait; he wants to mess with my head. Have me watch everyone who was affiliated with him or this case to either die or go missing before my turn so I have to slowly watch my death come and have there be nothing I can do about it. He wants to try and scare me; in doing so, he'll try to go after Theo next. I'm sure of it. We need to keep a watch on him all the time."

"Does that technically mean that we're all at risk?" Weasley asks.

"Yes and no. Those of us who got closest to Morrison are probably at the biggest risk right now; hence why there's a target on my head because I was the one he talked to the most."

The team discusses a little more about keeping an eye on Theo and Hermione's theory before we're dismissed. Hermione wanders off back to her office with Keller, discussing the day of the explosion while I stay behind and ask to speak to Teigan and Potter privately. Weasley tries to stay behind to listen in but Potter, thankfully, shoos him away and closes the door after him leaving me to talk to them alone.

"What's wrong, Malfoy?" Potter asks.

I take a deep breath before just saying what's on my mind. "I think Granger needs to have an escort with her; just until we're sure that the target on her head is gone. I'm not comfortable with her walking around out in the open knowing that the killer could come after her at any moment."

Potter nods but Teigan speaks before he can. "I understand that you're concerned for your partner, Auror Malfoy, but Auror Granger's one of the best in the department, next to yourself. The extra security to help her almost seems unnecessary since we don't even know if the killer is in London."

I clench my fists but manage to keep myself calm. "No disrespect, sir, but that kind of thinking is the reason Ivan Rostov and everyone else in the Western Union Building is either severely injured or dead. We weren't as well prepared as we thought we were and in the process we lost a lot of information, time, two Aurors, and I very nearly lost my fiancé." I vaguely process the surprised look on Teigan's face but I'm too angry to really give it any thought. "Forgive me for being so blunt but that excuse is a load of bullshit. There is a target on her head and Theo's also at risk and you don't want to do anything because you think they'll be fine. Absolutely not. I've already lost my best friend and very nearly lost the woman I love because of us assuming that we'd be fine. I'm not taking that chance anymore; we can't lose more people. Not while I'm working this case."

Teigan sighs and glances at Potter before looking back at me. "I didn't realize that you and Miss Granger were so serious. I had my suspicions about you two but I wasn't aware that-"

"The official announcement hasn't been made yet," I say, annoyed.

He nods and looks back to Potter. "What do you think, Harry?" he says, breaking his professional demeanor.

Potter sighs and shakes his head. "This is your call, Nick. Hermione is practically my sister so I'm going to agree with Malfoy on this one that some extra protection wouldn't necessarily be bad at a time like this. Yes, we're short staffed right now but I think it'd be worth it."

Teigan sighs and nods to both of us. "It appears that I am outnumbered, then. You two can pick who her escort will be and I will discuss with Keller on keeping Mr. Nott safe as well."

"Thank you, sir," I say, immediately feeling a lot lighter than before.

Teigan nods and walks out of the room, leaving Potter and myself to discuss who a good guard for Hermione should be. We agree that he, myself, and- Merlin help me- Weasley would be the best choices to be a guard for her, since 1) she trusts all three of us and 2) we're the ones who know her the best. Neither Potter nor I feel comfortable letting anyone else guard her so that's the decision we made. She's not going to like it but until the target is gone from her head, she's going to have to get used to it.

We agree that I should be the one to tell her, since it was my idea, so that's how I end up in front of her office, more than a little nervous to tell her that I want someone to be with her at all times just until we know we have the killer in custody. Taking a deep breath, I summon some of that Gryffindor courage of hers and knock. "Come in," I hear her say.

I walk in and close the door behind me. She looks up and smiles and I feel a bit of the tension seep out of my shoulders. I walk over to her side of the desk and lean down to place a soft kiss on her lips. When we pull out, she furrows her brows at me and I know she must sense that I'm nervous. "What's wrong?"

I lean against her desk and take her hands in mine. "Please don't be angry with me," I begin.

She sighs and rolls her eyes. "What did you do?"

"W-well, Potter and I-mainly me- weren't necessarily very comfortable with the idea of you wandering around with this target on your head without some sort of protection for you. So, after talking it over with Teigan, we came to an agreement that we think there should be someone with you at all times until we can catch the killer. A guard of sorts, if you will."

The look she gives me would have made Potter or Weasley cringe in fear of her reaction but I know better and instead, just meet her glare with one of my own. I love her but I'm not about to let her scare me out of my decision. We took a chance with all our safety once; I won't do it again, especially with her life on the line.

I continue to hold onto her hands and rub small circles on the back of them, soothingly, as she continues to glare at me, not saying anything; I take the fact that she hasn't taken her hands away as a good sign but I'm not letting the relief flood over me just yet. "Please just bear with me, okay?" I say. "I know you think I'm being paranoid-and maybe I am- but I can't risk your life. Not again; not with the chance that this killer could-and probably will- come after you again."

She sighs. "Draco, I know you want to protect me but don't you think that this whole 'guard' thing is a bit much?"

I shrug. "I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"It just seems like we're putting a lot of our energy on one place when we could use it elsewhere."

"It'll only be me, Weasley, or Potter who'll be guarding you, love. Potter and I agreed that we don't necessarily trust anyone else to protect you just in case they're the mole."

She sighs again and pulls her hands from mine and runs them through her hair. I stay silent as I watch her process everything; partially for fear she'll lash out at me and partially because I love to watch her think. Her eyes get a distant look to them as if she's seeing something that's not in the room, her breathing quiets as if she's afraid if she's too loud, she'll lose her train of thought and the way she bites her bottom lip when she's concentrating. Oh, what I'd give to bite that lip for her while she moans from the way that my hands run up her legs…

Shit. Two and two makes four, three and three make six, eight and eight make sixteen, I say to myself to distract myself from the erection that's growing in my trousers. Ten and ten is twenty. I'm so focuses on reciting muggle math equations in my head that I don't notice Hermione has been trying to get my attention until she stands up in front of me and plays with my tie that my attention is back to her. Her brows furrow in confusion. "Where were you just now?" she asks.

I shake my head and place my hands on her hips and pull her closer to me. "Nowhere, love. What did you decide?"

She shrugs. "While I think that you're being paranoid, I don't want to argue with you about this so I'll concede and let you do this whole guard thing. Just… promise me that this is all you'll let your paranoia do, okay? You can set some extra wards around the house too, if you'd like, but none of that overprotective shit where you need to know where I am or what I'm doing at all times, alright? I won't stand for that for one second."

I smirk. "Of course, love. I just want to make sure that you're protected is all; I promise I won't go overboard."

"Good," she smiles and leans in to kiss me. I kiss her softly but as her fingers start to trail up my chest to my shoulders and then up to my hair, the kiss begins to deepen and I know that there's no way I'm leaving this office without thoroughly shagging my fiancé first. Thankfully she seems to have the same idea because when we break for air she only says one thing: "Lock the door."

I leave Hermione's office sated, still tasting her chapstick on my lips. It takes everything I have not to grin like an idiot; especially since I'm about to head to the holding cells to see Theo. I haven't properly spoken to him since he was arrested and, with Blaise missing, it's time I paid a visit to my friend.

Hermione's still convinced he's innocent (she finally told me what she saw in Theo's head the day he was arrested) and I can't help but agree with her; not that I've told Potter that detail. Right now, I'm heading to see Theo just to see how he's doing; this isn't a business call, it's personal.

When I find him in his cell, he's laying on the cot, staring at the ceiling. "Hey, Theo," I say.

He looks up at me and for a split second, I see a small smile appear on his lips. "Hey, Draco."

We're silent as we figure out what to say next. He speaks first: "I, uh, I heard that Granger got hit pretty hard by that explosion in New York. She okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, she's fine," I say. "She's back at work already, actually."

His eyebrows raise. "Really? Well, she's a resilient one, isn't she?"

I chuckle and shake my head. "She's stubborn, is what she is."

We're silent again for another minute. I look around and, when I see that no one is around, I unlock the cell with some wandless magic and give him a nod to my right. He furrows his brows but quickly gets the idea and follows me out of his cell. I close it once again before I turn to him and walk him down the hall into an interrogation room. We sit across the table from each other and, despite the setting, we both immediately relax. It's probably because no one else is around to hear us anymore.

"Theo, Hermione told me what she saw in your head…" I begin. He sighs and shakes his head but says nothing. "I- I'm so sorry," I say. "If I had known-"

"You'd what?" Theo says. "Visit me? Make sure I was okay? Try to help me?" He scoffs and shakes his head. "Look, Draco, I appreciate the thought but nothing you could have said or done would have helped."

"You don't know that, Theo."

"Don't I? I saw Healer after Healer and all they did was give me some potions to take a few times a day and sent me on my way. They worked for a little while… but after about four months, they weren't as effective…"

"That's when you turned to attempted suicide?" I ask.

He nods. "Not immediately. At first it was just upping the dosages. Then I just became more and more miserable that I didn't want to be anymore. Then not wanting to be became not wanting to live." He stares behind me, not really seeing anything. "I won't go into the ugly details but basically, it was around the third attempt when the house elves took matters into their own hands and called a therapist and after about six months my therapist decided to send me to a rehab in New York. I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

"Theo… you have more to live for than the rest of us. Why- why suicide? Why do you feel that you have nothing to live for?"

He shrugs. "Because I don't, Draco. Dad's in jail for the rest of his life, I can't stay at a job longer than a few months because I lose interest, and that damn Manor is so empty, it kills me. I have nothing left, Draco. Just a name and an empty house."

I want to yell and shake him and tell him that he has so much to live for; that there's so much that he's yet to do. But he won't listen. I know he won't. Theo's just as stubborn as Hermione (don't ever tell either of them I said that) and when he sets his mind to something, he sticks with it.

"Theo," I say. "Just… please don't give up yet. Hold on. If you won't hold on for me, hold on for your dad, okay? He would want you to be happy."

He glances at me before looking down to his hands but doesn't give me a definitive answer. I'll take what I can get for right now. In the meantime, I decide to change the subject. "Blaise is missing."

His head shoots up and he furrows his brows. "What do you mean Blaise is missing? How? When?"

"The day of the attack, minutes before the explosion, actually. He and another Auror were monitoring the area behind the building when suddenly another Auror noticed that they were gone when they had been there minutes before. We didn't have a lot of time to investigate further as the explosion went off. We still don't know where they are."

"What does Granger think?"

I smirk; Theo may not know Hermione well, but he knows enough to know that she would have her own opinion on the matter. "She thinks they're still alive, for now. She's convinced that because we haven't heard of any bodies being found that the killer is keeping them alive for the time being. Why, we don't know; we're just hoping that we can find them in time." Theo nods in agreement. "Theo, there's something else."

He furrows his brows but says nothing, encouraging me to continue. "Granger suspects that you've been targeted by the killer. She thinks that you're next on his hit list."

"What? Why? I never even knew Morrison and I'm sure I never met this suspected killer!"

"That's just the thing, Theo: you're not sure. Your memories are still missing and we don't know what happened in those hours that you blacked out in. For all we know, you did meet the killer."

His eyes widen as he realizes what I'm saying. "But I don't understand, why am I his target? If I don't remember what happened that night, then shouldn't I be in the clear?"

I shake my head. "Granger suspects that the killer is going after anyone who was involved with him in some shape or form: Morrison was his right hand man and he was the first person murdered, both Blaise and our other Auror were closely involved with the case, and you have your missing memories. We think he's picking everyone involved off one by one, but his ultimate endgame is to kill Granger."

"Are you at risk?"

I shrug. "I assume so but that's not my main priority right now: I have to make sure that Hermione stays safe at all times." He smirks at my slip of using Hermione's given name but I really couldn't care less right now. "I shouldn't even be sharing this much information with you but I felt that you deserved to know that you're being targeted. It still needs to be discussed with Potter and Teigan but I think Granger's going to try to set up a guard around you and even transfer you every other week or so just as an added precaution."

"Transferring me? What am I, a package?"

I chuckle and shake my head. "Nothing's set in stone, yet, Theo. Don't get your knickers in a wad just yet. We'll figure something out in regards to keeping you safe."

He rolls his eyes but there's no malice behind it. I end our conversation there, for the time being and walk him back to his cell. "See you soon, Theo," I say.

"See you soon, Draco," he smirks but I can still see the sadness in his eyes.

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