"You will drink this. You may have one person here, not Potter. Or young Malfoy." Hermione stared at what she thought was veritaserum in the bottle. It had the St Mungos seal on it and he tossed the bottle to Rowle who examined it and cast several spells on it. Blue eyes met hers and he nodded, no trace of a smile on his face.

This was one of those moments, comply or leave. Veritaserum. She leaned back against the wall, and closed her eyes to think. What would he ask her? As part of her mind compiled questions he could ask, and the ramifications of answering, another part was thinking about why he was doing this. Everything he had told her to, she had done. Maybe they argued sometimes and he had let her try her way and fail first twice.

In a burst of hope she thought maybe he was doing this so he knew why. Why she had his journals and why she wanted this so badly. From his point of view it probably looked insane. Girl he had a bad history with wins war and instead of riding high, takes a job that could make her minister and trades it to get him, and others, out of prison. Then comes to him asking to apprentice and when he says no she gives him the journals she had stolen to keep and return to him. If that was the reason then she would answer. He could embarrass her but not hurt her with the information.

If it was other things he asked her, security or political information. About Harry or something else he could exploit then she would confess to the people affected. Maybe she should have been concerned that he would kill her or something, if he didn't like what she said or after he had something he wanted. That didn't seem a possibility. Why would he want to go back to prison. She may be annoying but if he asked her to, she would leave him alone.

Taking another moment to analyze her feelings and finding them still in favour she held a hand out to Rowle. He seemed a bit unsure and reached for hand, as if to help her stand. She batted it away and reached for the bottle. As he realized what she was doing he snatched the hand holding it away and backed up quickly. Hermione scoffed at him.

"Give it to me. Please." Hermione didn't understand why he wouldn't, he had been here for the conversation.

"What are you doing little witch? He gave you options for your security, take them." He was looking at her as if she had changed colours. The thought made her lips pop a grin.

"Nothing to smile about here. Get off." He was batting at her hands and she reached for her wand, hoping he wouldn't notice. He did of course, these men didn't underestimate her as often as her friends. He tossed the bottle to Dolohov who caught it easily and raised a brow at him. Then he launched himself at her and she would have been broken had he not curled himself around her body and rolled them until she was on her back under him, arms pinned.

For a moment she stared into his face then looked at Dolohov, that had been impressive right? He raised a brow and she tried to shrug, not knowing why she had been manhandled like this.

"Granger. Always take the security measures offered you." She raised a brow at the big blonde in turn.

"He said another person, not Harry or Draco. Which are understandable. Harry would be so defensive that he would be a liability and Draco seems to be a bit sensitive about me at the moment. I don't anticipate that lasting too much longer. Something should come along to distract Theo and him soon. Conditions met." She concluded, mind half on the man on top of her and half peeved at Draco lately. His father has been preferable and that made her uncomfortable.

Thorfinn's next argument was cut off as he was levitated off of her and dropped from two feet onto the floor.

"She means you meet the requirements tupitsa." The look on Dolohov's face and the tone in his voice would have frozen Hermione in shame. Rowle just looked up at her, now standing next to him. He looked the question and she tilted her head in exasperation. Slowly she nodded at him.

"Don't speak." This was directed at the man on the ground. Hermione looked at the bottle in the dark Russians hand and reached for it again. He didn't extend the arm and she huffed. Then walked up to him and tried to pry it from his grip. When it didn't come loose at her tugs she looked up and met his eyes, freezing in place.

There was no feel of legilimency but she felt as exposed as if there was. What the hell was he looking for. Feeling like she wanted to start wilting she raised her chin hardened her expression. She would not cower. He wanted whatever security he would get from these questions and she wanted the chance to learn from him. Work with him even. Wanted to get to build that workroom and develop her theories about spacing. Even if he wouldn't teach her, she could imagine that she would want answers to a situation like this, if their positions were reversed. All of her weight went into the next tug and he released it. Of course she fell on her bottom.

"Do you have a dropper? I'd rather not overdose. Spasibo." Russian came out easier when she was talking to him than when she practiced. It was starting to just replace words without thought. On that happy note she opened the vial and held it up, still sitting on the floor. Not being able to see clearly to dose herself she handed them back to him and took Rowle's offered hand to stand. She was so focused on the dropper that she missed the communication going on above her head.

When he grunted she opened her mouth and waited. Feeling two drops and waiting for a third. When it didn't come, she opened her eyes and looked at him. A quick nod noted he was done and truth not forced speech would be closer to the actual outcome. Unable to stop her smile she nodded back and reseated herself on the bench. Looking at the man who had dosed her.

"Tell me the first you heard of me." She nodded.

"The first time I read your name was first or second year in passing. I ran to the trophy room, the beginning of fourth year after having a fight with Ron and walked the charms isle. Then runes. Then not really believing I would see it, arithmancy. There your name was. I'd been reading about careers in preparation for advice in fifth, and because my parents were talking about me going to university after Hogwarts."

"University?" Rowle repeated the word a bit slowly, clearly unfamiliar with it.

"Muggles start school at about five and go until about eighteen. Then, the ones who want to and have the grades go to university for four years. You can go far longer depending on your career. My parents were dental surgeons and went for nearly ten years total." Her answer clearly sparked more questions but when he opened his mouth again Dolohov broke in.

"Later. Go on Malyshka."

"I had just read the summoning charm and started notes for the eventual essay and was thinking of all the work I'd have to do to get my name there like that. How much paper it would make. Then I thought about the stacks of paper in the back. Several times in school the boys wouldn't be talking to me or busy with quidditch and I had spent a lot of time hiding back in the stacks. Reading. It's like a little academic journal library back there. Madam Pince said the school compiled it, not her. That made me curious and I read many that I came across. There were some gems of information or tips in there. I used the summoning charm and your name, thinking about it written on parchment. I didn't know if it would work. It did." Dolohov's eyes were on her face, and she had most of her attention on him. She could see Rowle listening and watching the two of them closely. The intent and concentrated look seemed a bit out of place on his reactive features.

"The paper is in the first journal. I took it. Didn't even make a copy, just read it three or four times and packed it in my bag. I referenced it for ideas later on." She smiled remembering how exciting that had been for her. Like her own private flame of knowledge that no one could take from her. Someone thought it was okay to overthink things, to want to understand all the steps and intricacies that made up the final product.

"Which one was it?"

"Matrices and their Applications in Creation." She answered without having to think about it at all. Then she grinned at him. Letting him see the real happiness in her. Rowle sat up straight.

"Then what?" She wasn't sure what he meant.

"How did you use it?" He clarified. Her smile dropped and she didn't know how to answer. The potion wanted her tell him everything but that would take a while and be complicated. He couldn't know much about Hogwarts then.

"The first thing I built with the concept of creating a matrix then using it to alter a charm was the snitch curse at the beginning of fifth year. I used the matrixes of the two spells I wanted to mesh and that took a long time. I didn't understand how to combine them. Knowing we would need a way to know if somebody told something eventually, I had been working on it since I found your paper really. Once I figured that out, I added the movements and then the intent element. I used a ward for that on the actual parchment the DA signed." Dolohov had a wrinkle on his forehead and she thought back over her words. So many people knew of her exploits that it was odd for someone not to know. Marietta Edgecombe carried that word, though it shrank to fit under bangs, until the war was over.

"The Edgecombe brat sold them out to Umbridge. Draco told us a dozen times. It wrote sneak on her forehead. Scared everyone apparently, when it couldn't be removed. The girl still have it?" Rowle cut in.

"No, I removed it after the war. Seemed a bit small, in the grand scheme of everything. Can I have a drink?" She sipped a glass of water and thought.

"I created a few silly charms and a few useful ones sixth year. Mostly I spent that year miserable and planning our warding scheme. It took a lot of time. I used to get so impatient with Harry obsessing over Malfoy when I was struggling to maybe be able to hide us from you." She could see the comprehension in his eyes. Then she could see his mind start moving quickly. He had been absorbing information and now he was reprocessing it with the new variable.

"You didn't have the journals then." This was a statement.

"No. I came across those in a Ministry storage room my first week. I was moving through the aisle and felt my scar twinge." This was uncomfortable to talk about. "I froze and then cast every ward and spell for protection and evasion that I could. After I had a panic attack, and a clerk found me, they called Harry. I wouldn't tell him what it was just that I had a flashback. Which was true. Several really. To every time you had cast magic in my magics reach since the first time. Once I came back to myself I realised I hadn't imagined it, I could still feel it, and wasn't totally ruined by my experiences." She stopped at Rowle's chuckle. Then glared at him. This was her life and she didn't enjoy it being mocked. This didn't seem to dampen his spirits though.

"I took the wooden box home, disguised as a file box, and no one was the wiser to my theft. I had no idea what was in that box and more than once I didn't want to know but it was my first chance to test myself. Only myself against you and I took it. The reward was more than I expected. Eleven journals filled with your tiny script and even in English. Mostly." There were short Russian spells and a few words scattered throughout the book, she had always thought fancifully that it was to torment her. That night she had taken the one to the back corner of the Black library and read, wand moving occasionally, until dawn. Then closed it and not opened another one.

"You read them." It was a statement and she was glad at that moment to have veritaserum in her system or she knew he wouldn't believe her.

"194 pages of the first one, chronologically." She replied. Not looking at him. This felt a bit embarrassing. If he asked her why she wasn't sure what words would come out.

"Why?" She closed her eyes at Rowle's question. Though she was sure he only asked it from curiosity.

"It talked about individual ideas creating the most powerful potential combinations and I knew that." Her speech was cut off by the question Dolohov barked at her.

"When did you get the last one, and did you read it?" She looked up gratefully at him for interrupting her.

"I got the last one before your trial. I was reading about the procedures following different trial outcomes. We weren't allowed in those closed sessions, only the trial itself. All deliberations are members only. I seen there what would happen to your things. I took your wand and the journal." Both men stiffened at that.

"My wand?" For the first time she saw a personal emotion on his face. Longing maybe. Quickly she looked away and summoned a box from her bag.

Clearly a wand box. Not his original, that had been taken from his Estate, she was sure, with everything else there wasn't a Head of House to fight for. She had wondered how he still had a wand, seemingly an older one with wear marks like that if they had taken his last on and destroyed it as they planned too. Then she understood, there hadn't been a trial and they hadn't followed the protocols. He took the box from her before pulling the wand he was using and casting several spells on it and there was a quirk of his lips. He hadn't scanned it first. Astonished she watched him run a finger over the wooden case.

"Eto zaymet nekotoroye vremya." This will take some time. Her gaze flew back from his hands to his face and Rowle's head cocked as he tried to puzzle out the Russian.

"Are you finished?" She felt drained by the emotions and memories. His gaze met hers for a long minute then he nodded at her and she knew she was dismissed. For a moment she looked down and then knowing she had to leave she mentally braced herself and shot Rowle a quick smile. Then in silence she grabbed her bag and coat before pulling her wand and taking down the wards she needed to in order to leave this place he had brought her. Two she checked and tore through safely but the third she had to take down in a back and forth pattern or it would suspend her immobile and do something to her mind. No doubt disabling her until the creator could tend to his catch. This took a few minutes but she just bit her lip, glad they couldn't see her.

Hermione could feel the shake start in her hand and knew she didn't have long before she embarrassed herself. Almost there. The last flick and she almost missed the trigger for release as it flashed past her. With a gasp she wrenched the door open and ran out of the house and to the apparition ward. Feeling the tingle in her scar tell her she was passed the magic, it was so sensitive right now, she spun herself into nothing thinking of safety.