Notes: (PLEASE READ)

Alrighty people, this is it!

No, it's not the end! Not for a while, I hope.

With this chapter I'm finally caught up to what I've had posted on AO3. This will mean the following:
- Updates won't be happening every day anymore
- There will only be one chapter uploaded each time

In case you've missed the notes in the beginning of this story:
When I posted this story on FFnet, I had already completed about 20 chapters, which were also posted on AO3. I wanted to catch up to that, so decided to spoil you guys and post 2 chapters a day (sometimes even 4 a day).

But don't fret! I still (usually) update once a week. Sometimes I'll upload sooner than that, it really depends on whether I have finished a chapter and how impatient I am. All in all, I don't think I've missed the weekly deadline up until this point.

With that being said, for the last time, I would like to point out that earlier today I posted chapters 19 and 20. if you haven't read those yet, please do!
Also, chapter 21 has ALSO been uploaded. Please make sure you've read that one before starting this chapter.

Me uploading 4 chapters today just shows how *bleep* impatient I am. Then again, I don't think you guys are complaining eh? :)

To clarify all of the above:

- After this upload, it will take roughly one week for me to upload. This can vary, but usually won't exceed the one-week limit.

- The following uploads will only contain ONE chapter.

- I uploaded 4 chapters today because I'm impatient as hell. I would say I'm sorry, but I'm really not.

- Chapters 19 and 20 were uploaded earlier today, so read those first! (if you haven't already)

- Don't forget to also read chapter 21!

And most importantly: ENJOY!

Chapter 22: Baby Steps

After having cleaned all the grime and blood from their bodies, Hermione dried both Teddy and herself off and got dressed. Walking towards the kitchen, Teddy started struggling in her arms again.

She sighed and set him on the floor, "You want to do it yourself, don't you? I get it, I get it."

Letting him crawl on the floor, she made her way to the kitchen, seeing if they had any food in the house, at all. She checked the fridge, finding it empty. Well, there went any hope for a fresh meal. Maybe they still had some food in any of the cupboards, she thought. But that hope was soon crushed when she couldn't find anything that even resembled food.

Figuring she'd have to ask Kakashi to get some food, she slowly made her way to the living room, knowing he and the other teen were in the garden. Teddy had also made his way up to the living room, having found a toy to play with. Walking up to Teddy, he looked at her as she limped towards him, sitting up and leaned on his hands.

"What are you- oh! Teddy! You're such a smart boy aren't you?" She praised as she watched the little boy trying to stand. "Come on, sweetie, you can do it!" Hermione said as she stopped walking towards him, trying to encourage him to try and come to her.

Her heart swelled with pride as she watched him try to find his balance. Clapping as he was able to keep his balance, "that's it! Good job!" Teddy started clapping as well, letting out a laugh.

"Now, sweetie, think you can come over here, hm? Think you can walk towards me?"

"Ma-mai!"

"Wh-what did you say?" Hermione sputtered, wide eyed.

"Ma-mai!"

Oh, Merlin. Any thought Hermione had, had disappeared from her mind as it registered what was being said. Bless him, she thought. She didn't have it in her to correct him. She didn't know what to say or do at that moment, staring at him with her mouth open in surprise. And of course, Teddy doesn't do anything in halves, does he? He slowly and very unsteadily patted towards her, falling down a few times, but getting right back up.

It took less than a minute for him to get to her though, she had only been a few steps away from him. He stumbled against her legs, but steadied himself, looking up at her with a big smile on his face. "Mamai, mamai! Up!"

Hermione couldn't help it as she choked back a sob, this time of happiness. "Oh, Teddy. I'm so proud of you! You did so well!" She said as she bent down and picked him up, hugging him tight.

"So, so proud!" She twirled around as she kept her hold on Teddy tight. Teddy in return giggled and squealed with joy, clapping his hands.

She heard a throat being cleared behind her, making her turn around suddenly. Her heart was pounding and as she realised there was no danger, she let out a relieved sigh. Kakashi stood there with the brown-haired teen next to him, both looking at her. While Kakahsi seemed as emotionless as ever, she could see a bit of pride in his visible eye. The thought made her give him a smile. She watched as he blinked at her before giving her a nod.

Kakashi then turned to Iruka, saying something before leading him to the front door. A moment later he was back, "Umino-san is done with the wards."

"That was quick." Hermione said surprised. She knew she hadn't been in the shower that long. Not that she knew how long something like this would normally take, but it still seemed rather fast.

"We already had wards in place, remember? All he needed to do was put an extra layer on it. It's not as complicated as actually placing completely new wards." Kakashi explained. "Now, with that taken care of, it's time we talk."

"Actually-"

"Don't try to-" Kakashi interrupted her.

"Would you please let me finish?" Hermione in turn interrupted him. "Yes. We need to talk. That much is obvious. I know that."

"Then what?"

"We need food, Kakashi. There's nothing here and I can't remember the last time I had a decent meal. Also, I have no idea when Teddy last ate something."

Kakashi sighed, but nodded. "Alright, okay. I'll go to the store then. Anything specific?"

For a second there, Hermione didn't know what to say. She hadn't expected him to agree that easily. And was he actually offering to go?

"Don't look so surprised, Hermione-san. You and I both know you're in no condition to go shopping. This will be easier and quicker."

"O-of course. Yes. Thank you. Could you bring some veggies for him? And maybe some fruit?"

"Sure. I'll be right back." He was barely done speaking when he disappeared from the house.

If Kakashi was completely honest with himself, he had to admit he enjoyed getting a rise out of Hermione. It was good to see some of the liveliness he had seen before. Of course he wasn't going to admit to being Hound. He wasn't sure how he felt about being interrupted, however. It gave her another out and he was done with that. He was going to get answers from her. Today.

The wards had informed him of the arrival of the Chunin before the knock came. He wished he had gotten a little more time, but in all fairness, he wanted to get this over with as well. Kakashi wasn't sure what this Chunin could offer in this case but he was willing to give it a shot. The Hokage wouldn't just recommend anyone.

He opened the door to reveal a brown-haired Chunin, who was a few years younger than him. Ah, yes. He remembered him. Umino Iruka, his mind supplied. Kakashi had been the squad leader on one of the missions Umino was sent on. The mission had gone downhill quite fast after the kid had taken pity on one of the enemy nin. Shortly after that mission, he had requested to become a teacher at the academy.

"Ah, um, Hatake-san, I apologise for disturbing you. Hokage-sama asked me to help with your wards? Oh! Sorry, I'm U-"

"I know who you are. Come in, Umino-san."

"Ah, right. Yes, of course."

Kakashi moved to the side as he let the Chunin into the house. He heard the kid mumble an apology as he entered the house, removing his sandals as he did so. He watched the kid who looked extremely on edge. Seriously, the kid needed to relax a little. He wasn't going to bite. As soon as the kid was ready, he made his way back to the living room. It was probably best to start in the garden. That was where all the previous wards had been put into place.

Entering the living room, he saw Hermione look up in surprise, having forgotten about the Hokage's order no doubt. Beside him he could hear Iruka mumble a greeting. While she had learned most greetings, he doubted she could hear that.

"This is Umino Iruka-san," Kakashi said. "He's here to help with the wards." The surprise on her face quickly changed into understanding. "Stay here while we work on the wards."

He turned to Iruka and tilted his head towards the door that led to the garden, indicating that that's where they were going. He could hear Hermione stutter a response, but he ignored it. The wards were more important now and it would definitely need his focus.

Kakashi showed the Chunin to the garden, where the wards were previously placed. His house was almost at the center of the small Hatake compound, which was why the wards had been placed here. A few yards from the backdoor, there was a stone placed. The stone marked the spot where the wards had been placed. He wasn't sure how it had been done, his ancestors had been the ones to do so.

"Y-you have a beautiful garden, Hatake-san."

Really? Small talk? Kakashi gave a grunt in reply, not bothering to actually give the kid a proper reply. He didn't do small talk, surely the kid knew that?

"S-so, um-"

"How long will it take to place an extra layer on the wards?" Kakashi knew he was being incredibly rude as he continued to interrupt Iruka. And while Kakashi truly appreciated someone coming here to make sure his house was secure, he didn't like anyone invading his privacy. He just wanted Iruka to get started and leave as soon as he could.

"I have to inspect the current wards first, so that I know what I'm dealing with and to check if I can apply the new layer over the old ones, without messing them up."

"Go for it."

"Right, okay. Let me take a look." Iruka moved through the garden with a frown on his face. Kakashi followed his every move, watching for anything that would be suspicious. Just because the Hokage had trust in him, didn't mean Kakashi would just blindly trust the Chunin. Looks could be very deceiving.

"Well?" He asked impatiently.

"Well," Iruka started. "From what I can tell, the wards are definitely strong. It'll be more complicated than I had originally thought to put another layer on it."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that, stopping himself from letting out an annoyed sigh. "But you can do it?"

"Oh, yes. Definitely, Hatake-san. Don't worry about that." Iruka said as he took a scroll from his pouch. "I should be done in no time," he added as he started drawing the seals needed for the wards.

The kid hadn't been lying. He was done within half an hour. Kakashi could feel the new layer strengthening the original wards. This would definitely help protect his home. He didn't care much for himself, he knew he could defend himself. He also knew Hermione could protect herself to some degree but it had become clear she was no match for shinobi of his caliber and that included Root. Not to mention countless other shinobi in the village.

Kakashi made his way back to the living room, as Iruka finished up. He paused at the sight that greeted him. Hermione stood in the middle of the room, completely focused on Teddy, who was taking one shaky step after another. Every couple of steps he fell down but got right back up, determined to go to Hermione. The kid was actually walking? He hadn't seen the boy do anything else than crawl, so this was actually quite something, he knew.

"Wh-what did you say?" Hermione sputtered in response to something Teddy said. He glanced at her and saw her looking at the boy wide eyed.

"Ma-mai!" The boy repeated. Oh damn. That was not something he had expected to happen. Actually, as he thought about it, he should've expected it. The kid had called him 'dada' on several occasions. Why wasn't she correcting him, though? She wasn't his mother.

As Teddy reached Hermione, he looked up and asked to be picked up. While that happened, Iruka had come up beside him. Kakashi cleared his throat, signalling to Hermione that she wasn't alone. Her response was a complete one-eighty from what had just enfolded in front of him, she turned around, fear across her face before realising she wasn't under attack. This would take a while.

Catching his gaze, she gave him a small smile. She caught him off guard with that. He blinked a couple of times and gave her a nod in return. Maybe they could work this out after all. After showing Iruka out and getting back from the store, he prepared himself for the conversation they were going to have.

Hermione tried to calm her nerves as she put Teddy to bed. With everything happening she had completely lost any sense of time and was shocked to see it was way past Teddy's bedtime when they had finally finished eating. Kakashi went to clear the table as she went to the bedroom. Giving Teddy a kiss on the top of his head, she tucked him in and wished him goodnight.

As she got back to the kitchen, Kakashi was already sitting at the table. A cup of tea in front of him. She noticed he had removed his headband, but kept his left eye closed. She sat down and was happy to see he had made her a cup as well.

"So," she said as she took the cup into her hands. The warmth radiating from the cup actually made her relax a bit.

"So," Kakashi parroted.

Hermione swallowed the response that threatened to come out. No. They could do this. They could have a talk without getting into a major argument or without yelling at each other. And if he wasn't going to act like an adult then she would have to. But, Merlin, how she wanted to smack him for behaving like this.

"Right. Well. It's clear we both have some things we haven't told one another. And-"

"And what? I don't have to tell you anything." Kakashi said. Hermione had to bite her tongue then. For the love of- this was impossible.

"Besides, you seem to have forgotten that you're still in our custody. We don't know you and are still uncertain whether or not we can trust you. So you don't get to demand answers, Hermione-san."

She wasn't sure what to think of the way he spoke to her. He had a point, of course. She was still, technically, a prisoner. They may have given her some freedom and even her wand back, but that didn't mean they fully trusted her. She would have to earn that trust. Hermione knew that one way to start earning it, was to be truthful. Kakashi was suspicious of her, that much was clear. Who could blame him?

"I know that. I haven't forgotten." And she hadn't. She knew where she stood. The Hokage had been kind to her, as had several others. The whole situation with what she learned was the Root organisation proved that even being somewhat trusted by the leader didn't mean anything here.

Looking down at her cup of tea, she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "I wasn't trying to change the subject." She said.

"Hm?" Kakashi looked up at her in confusion.

"When I started about you being Hound." She clarified, "I didn't say that to change the subject. The reason for saying that had everything to do with what's going on between us."

"Oh? How so?" He cocked his head at her, in that annoying way. As if he had no idea whatsoever what she was talking about.

"Really? Don't act like you don't know, Kakashi-san. I know that you know what I'm talking about." She was getting exasperated by his behaviour. Hermione kept eye contact as she angrily glared at him.

They kept glaring at each other. She didn't back down, though. She wouldn't give him that kind of satisfaction. He would have to learn that she was not going to give up, especially when she knew she was right. There was no way in hell he couldn't have known.

It was a few moments longer that they looked at each other, before Kakashi sighed. "Okay. I'll give you that one." He then raised his eyebrow at her in a playful way and said with a chuckle, "you're stubborn as fuck, anyone ever tell you that?"

"Plenty of times," she said with a small smile. "All jokes aside, I didn't know at first. I mean, I suspected it, obviously. And after I didn't experience it with anyone else, it became pretty clear."

Kakashi hummed in return, "about that. You'll tell me about it? I mean, it's obvious you know what's happening between us, at least to a certain extent."

Hermione knew he wasn't actually asking her to tell him, he was almost ordering her to tell him. And she knew he had a right to know. Not because she was living in his house and definitely not because they didn't trust her completely. This affected him too. That was why he had a right to know. She just didn't know how to tell him. She thought so much about how to explain it, yet she still didn't know. It was probably best to just start at the basics.

"The thing that happens between us," she started softly, eyes trained on the table. "I'm not sure if you are familiar with this here. Honestly, I don't know much about it either, where I'm from it's so rare-"

"What is rare?"

"We call them 'bonds'. You don't have that here?" She asked, moving her gaze back up to him. Kakashi wasn't looking at her, though. His brows furrowed as he seemed to be contemplating what she said. "I'm assuming you don't know what I am talking about?"

"I've never heard anything about these so called bonds that would even slightly resemble whatever it is that's happening between us." He sounded frustrated at that admission.

"Right. Well, if I'm completely honest, there's not a lot I do know about these bonds either. I've heard of them, but-" She fell silent after that. She suspected he wouldn't accept that answer, yet it was all she had at the moment. Unless… Of course, she groaned as she hid her face in her hands.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm so stupid, how didn't I think of this before?" She said standing up and quickly limping towards her bedroom.

"Mind filling me in on what you're doing? Hermione-san!" He yelled after her, his chair scraping against the floor but she ignored it.

This was her territory, this she could do. Now, where did she put it? Hermione looked around the room, making sure to be quiet for Teddy who was sleeping. She glanced at the small stack of books on the small cabinet. The one she was looking for wasn't there. Okay, bag. Where was her bag? A-ha!

She moved to the other side of the bed, to the nightstand where her bag was placed. Up until now she hadn't had the time to properly sort through it but she knew there was a book in her bag that would explain it all. Well, not everything, she knew there was still so much that had to be researched on it. Reaching into the bag, she felt around, finding it had sunk all the way to the bottom. It was quite a large book, mostly on wizarding families and bloodlines. While she was a muggleborn, she did find it incredibly interesting to read, hoping to understand them more. Hoping to understand their thought process more.

As she entered the kitchen, now with her hands full, she found Kakashi sitting down at the table. Chair back in place. He looked at her hard, with both eyes this time. Yes, it was very clear he was pissed at her, she just decided not to care about that this time. Hermione stopped next to her chair and dropped the book on it. "This," she said, "is what will clarify our situation." Sitting back down, she added "I think."

"I remember reading a passage on bonds between certain bloodlines." She said as she flipped the book open, browsing through the pages, skimming sections here and there. "It said something about how the bonds work. It was a bit vague, but I hope there's something in here that will tell us a bit more."

Kakashi let out a humourless chuckle. "You hope? So, what you're actually telling me is that you have no fucking idea what this is?"

Hermione paused her skimming, stopping her finger on a section about some family's ancestors and looked up. "No," she said, raising an eyebrow. "You're not listening to me. I never said that. I know what this is, I've told you what this is. What I don't know for certain is what it means and how it works. There's a difference." She knew she was being insolent in the way she spoke to him. It was incredibly rude, especially for someone in her position.

"Get to the goddamn point, Granger." Yep, definitely pissed off. Well, two could play that game.

"Shut up! I'm looking, okay?" She said angrily, moving her attention back to the book.

Suddenly she was pulled from the table and slammed against the wall with a hand wrapped around her neck. Hermione put her hands on the arm used to hold her neck, trying to get him to let go. Kakashi moved closer, his chest touching hers and put his face right next to hers, lips near her ear. "Don't fuck with me. You won't like the consequences if you do," he hissed.

"P-please," she gasped, eyes squeezed shut. Her nails dug into his arm as she tried to get him to let go. The strength in her grip waned as the feeling their connection caused went through her. It was so weird to feel these sensations at once, almost as if they were fighting each other.

"Look at me!" He ordered. Scared to make him even angrier, she opened her eyes immediately. "You need to understand what your place is in all of this." His tone was cold and flat as he looked at her.

"I- I understand. Please, don't hurt me. Please." She pleaded.

He sighed in response as he visibly calmed himself down. She kept digging her nails in his arm, though. Thoroughly afraid that if she let go, he'd hurt her. His other hand easily grabbed her left wrist and pushed it up, next to her head. As his fingers flexed around her neck and wrist, he paused. It made her open her eyes in question, her gaze locking onto his. He was incredibly close to her like this, which made her feel trapped all over again. She watched as his eyes flickered to her neck and then to her wrist before moving back to her eyes. Hermione could see the question in his as his thumb softly caressed the thin scar on her neck and his other hand moved to touch the lower part of her left arm.

The sensation of both his touch and the usual feeling that came to life between them had her breathless, gasping for air. It had nothing to do with him holding her neck. No, that hold had lessened the moment he felt her scar there. The same happened to her arm as she felt his fingers trace the letters that Bellatrix had carved into her arm.

He took a step back, his body no longer touching her as he let go of her neck and moving his attention to her arm, holding it in his hands. Kakashi only had felt a small part of that scar, her sleeve covering the rest of it. Hermione felt herself tremble as he slowly moved her sleeve out of the way, feeling the rest of it. Surprisingly, he didn't look at what had been carved into her arm, instead he kept his eyes on her.

"What does it say?" He asked softly.

She took a shaky breath, closing her eyes momentarily. "'M-mudblood'." She whispered. "It says 'mudblood'."