Hermione locked the gym doors, turning back to Tetsurou to hand him the club keys. "Do you want to eat dinner with your family tonight?" She'd been thinking about it ever since their picnic, and they really should try to make an effort to stay for dinner. Because Tetsurou's parents ate later than the Tsukishimas, they'd been leaving before Tetsurou's family had dinner, usually, but…

Well, he missed it, so they should stay at his house longer.

Tetsurou stared at her, "You sure? I know you said it was ok, but—"

"It's fine, Tetsurou. I should be trying harder to get to know your family. We mostly just hide in your room and study while we're there."

"Ok then." Tetsurou nodded, adjusting his gym bag on his shoulder as they started walking toward his house. "Let's do that." He looked over at Kenma, who was leaning against the side of the gym, playing his game. "You want to come too?"

"Pass."

"Aww, come on, Kenma cat! It'll be a big family dinner!"

"Hard pass." Kenma caught up to them, annoyed. "That sounds a lot more awkward than fun."

Tetsurou sighed as he pulled out his phone. "If you're sure then. I'll make sure it's ok with Mom if we stay for dinner."

"Of course. If she doesn't have the time to prepare dinner for us all I understand, really we should've asked earlier, I suppose—"

"Relax, Mio. I'm sure it will be fine."

"Right." Hermione bit her lip; she really wasn't sure what to expect. Tetsurou's birthday dinner had been fine, though. This should be too. Hermione was getting along somewhat better with his parents, now that she wasn't a threat to their son's life and all.

And apparently Tetsurou's mom was looking forward to it?

That was good, right? But of course she'd look forward to eating a meal with her son—they didn't see him for long any more. Tetsurou really had been leaving close to when his parents came home from work.

Tetsurou unlocked the door and Hermione followed him inside, slipping off her shoes inside the door. Dinner wasn't for a few hours… should she help prepare things? Or should she do homework?

"Mio." Tetsurou dropped his backpack by the door, heading straight to his potion workbench. "It's just dinner. You don't need to work yourself up over this."

"Right." Hermione groaned, flopping back against the bed. "That's just the thing, though. I know more about your parents now, but everything's still so awkward! Better than it was, certainly, don't get me wrong. I probably know about as much of their past now as they know about mine, or at least of your father's past. But I just—"

"If you want to know more, you could just ask them, you know."

Hermione's nose scrunched up, "Interrogating someone is hardly polite conversation."

"Interrogating?" Tetsurou burst out laughing, "It doesn't need to be an interrogation. Just ask follow up questions if you're interested or they seem like they want to keep talking about something."

How did people even gauge that kind of thing? "I'm not good at small talk, though!"

"You'll be fine. They're just my parents."

"Yes. Exactly. They're your parents and I want them to like me, despite our disastrous introduction."

Tetsurou tipped a blue vile into the cauldron, his attention focused on that. "You're doing fine so far."

Hermione sighed, "I suppose." And she really should stop distracting him. He needed this time to work on the potion. "Focus on that, Tetsurou, I'll do my best to study."

His potion started hiccuping across the room, and Hermione rolled onto her side just in time to see the pot burp it's contents onto the protective shield.

Tetsurou groaned, running a hand through his hair as the wards cleaned up the mess. "Damn it. I feel like I'm so close to figuring this out, but every time I tweak something a different problem happens." He grabbed a pencil, scribbling something out in the notebook and then tossing the pencil back down.

"I'll try not to distract you."

Tetsurou looked over his shoulder, his smile rueful. "Thanks. Sorry I'm not the best conversation partner myself, right now."

Hermione shook her head. "It's fine. This is important."

They'd had Saturday together, at least. Hermione's eyes trailed over his back as Tetsurou turned back to his cauldron, flipping through pages of notes before starting the process all over again.

She wished there was something she could do to help. Well, other than be quiet.

Hermione sighed, then turned to her own notes.

She had a language to learn, five NEWTs to study for, occlumency to master, a wedding to plan, and political motivations to decipher.

Just a little bit of progress every day. Focus on one thing at a time.

An hour or so later, Tetsurou's father was knocking on their door for dinner, and Hermione felt like she hadn't accomplished nearly enough. And she'd probably been impolite by not helping his mother prepare the dinner, too, but she'd never even realized they'd come home, she'd been too busy studying, and-

There was fish on the table.

Each plate had a slab of fish, the skin still attached to it as it sat on their plates.

"Saba Shioyaki! This is the best!" Tetsurou practically ran to his seat, grinning at the…grilled and salted fish? Hermione knew Tetsurou liked fish, but she had no clue how to eat this, much less eat it with chopsticks.

Hermione wracked her brain, trying to think if she'd ever seen someone do so. She had to have, right?

"Mio?"

"Sorry!" Great, everyone else had already sat down while she'd been distracted. Hermione quickly hurried to do the same, reciting "itadakimasu" along with the others. She'd eat the soup and rice first, and maybe she could watch one of them eat the fish and figure it out from there. Or she could ask, she supposed, but it couldn't be that difficult, right? She should be able to figure this out.

"Did school go well today, Tetsurou?" Tetsurou's father was pulling the skin off the fish from the center, but she'd missed the initial movement. Had he pinched it?

"Yeah." Tetsurou nodded, placing his chopsticks in the middle of the fish and pushing outwards? Did that loosen the meat somehow? "We didn't cover anything too difficult today, so it should be pretty easy to remember it all. Practice went well, too." He grimaced, "This potion isn't making any sense, though."

"They wouldn't have requested your help if it was easy." Tetsurou's mother sipped at the soup, and Tetsurou groaned.

"I know that, but there are plenty of substitutions I can make with the ingredients I've been given that should deconstruct the composition of the potion. The problem is they always create some sort of complication that makes them impossible to digest." He took off a piece from the top left, skin and all, savoring the taste as he ate. "Oishii, Okaa-san. Arigatou."

So you could eat it with the skin or without? She'd prefer without, at least at first, but she had no clue how his father had removed the skin like that. For now, Hermione took another sip of the soup, still trying to figure out how Tetsurou was eating his fish.

"You could always go ask your grandmother for advice."

"Ask her?" Tetsurou's chopsticks lowered as he shook his head. "I can't. Slughorn-san said it was important to keep this a secret. Plus it's the only potion I'm working on right now that would qualify as my invention for my mastery. I gave up the other one I was trying to modify in order to spend more time on this one!"

"People ask their teachers for advice all the time on their mastery projects, Tetsurou. It's not that uncommon of a circumstance. Even if you don't finish your project, as long as you've made significant headway in a new discovery, you'll likely be approved."

Asking for help would probably be best; Tetsurou was clearly struggling. "I don't think Slughorn would have an issue with it. He values using your connections."

"You think I should ask, too?!" Tetsurou groaned, "but I'm so close."

Hermione frowned at Tetsurou. "There's no shame in asking for help, especially when lives are on the line."

"I know that but—"

"What is the problem with it?" Tetsurou's mother raised one eyebrow, "Do you believe she wouldn't be discreet about the issue?"

"No, but—"

"Swallow your pride and go talk to your grandmother again this weekend. I don't know why you didn't just ask her when you were there the weekend before last."

Tetsurou scowled. "You know how she is. She spent the entire time lecturing me for not visiting and telling me that my skills were inadequate. I barely managed to mention Mio and update her on the summer."

"You hadn't told her about us?!" She'd thought Tetsurou had at least told all his family by now!

"I did!" Tetsurou sulked as he took another piece of his fish. "I wanted her to be safe and stay in the Miya enclave, so of course I told her. I just hadn't really gone into a lot of detail."

Hermione sighed. She could understand that, at least. She'd rarely gone into as much detail as she should've with her own parents. "That's good." Hermione glanced over at Tetsurou's mother, "I do agree with your mom, though. I think it would be a good idea to talk to her about the potion. She could help."

"Precisely. She's a good resource. You're being foolish by trying to do this all on your own, Tetsurou. Even at your level, your knowledge can't match hers. And Hermione-chan, when it's just us, then you can call us okaa-san and otou-san. You two are legally married, after all."

Hermione felt her face reddening, and Tetsurou's amusement didn't help. "Oh. Um, Arigatou." She gave a stiff bow. "I'll work on it…un, Okaa-san."

Merlin, that felt awkward. At least it wasn't the same names she'd used for her own parents; she didn't know if she could manage that, but… this she could probably do?

"Don't force yourself." The woman smiled at her, then turned back to Tetsurou, "Go see your grandmother, and don't let her dominate the visit's agenda."

Tetsurou pouted again, taking his time to chew his fish before he swallowed and responded, "That is impossible to manage and you know it."

Hermione frowned, "Surely she would recognize how important this potion would be, though?" Lives were at stake; it's not like this was an easy topic to brush aside.

"If she lets me get that far into explaining things, sure."

"Then do so." Tetsurou's mother set down her soup, turning to her fish as if the matter was settled.

Tetsurou's eyebrow twitched as he looked between the two of them. "I'm beginning to regret suggesting we have family dinners more often."

His father laughed. "It was only a matter of time before they started ganging up on you, son, you should accept it. Fate has always matched our family members with strong-willed souls."

Tetsurou's shoulders slumped. "That's for sure. And Baa-san is no exception."

Hermione rolled her eyes; he was being ridiculous. "You don't have practice this Saturday, right? You should go see her then."

Tetsurou groaned. "Fine."

"Brilliant." Hopefully that would help Tetsurou's stress levels a bit. "Though while we're talking about your grandmother, I've been meaning to ask, what exactly was the vine that the Sakai family put on my wrist? You said I should give it to her for potions, but the name you mentioned wasn't in any of my reference books."

"Hm?" Tetsurou turned to her, swallowing his rice. "Oh. The Kanjanotsuru? They wouldn't grow in your climate, so that's probably why. They're used for spying on the wearer's emotions. Fairly harmless, but the colors of the blossoms on the main plant will reflect the human emotions nearest to any offshoot vines."

"They wanted to know my emotions?" But why would that information be valuable to them?

"For instance, if you were feeling hostile toward something, the blooms would turn a deep red." Tetsurou pinched the fish meat with his chopsticks, somehow breaking a piece free with ease. "The Mopsus potion is a rare brew that can give someone seer-like abilities, letting them have access to the 'inner eye' or whatever for as long as the brew remains in their system."

"So you wanted me to mention that potion in order to assert that I knew what they were up to, even though I actually didn't."

"Exactly." Tetsurou had now completely finished his fish, and Hermione still wasn't exactly sure how he'd gotten it to the stage where he'd been eating it. "It's not like your emotions actually would've given them too much info, but it uh…" Tetsurou paused, glancing over at his parents awkwardly before plowing on, "well, it would have let them know that you love someone, and it wouldn't have taken them much looking to find out who."

Hermione could feel her face burning. "Right. Um. Thank you, then."

"No problem! You've already got enough to deal with, I don't want my own family mess adding to it."

"Right." Hermione sighed, she wished that she understood the political tensions better. For right now, though, she'd settle for figuring out how to eat this fish.

Carefully, she picked up the chopsticks, trying to copy the motion she'd seen Tetsurou make earlier. He'd set them against the skin, and—

Tetsurou snorted, and amusement filled the bond. "Mio, do you not know how to eat fish with chopsticks?"

Hermione glared at him, her face burning. "You can read my thoughts and find out the answer to that yourself."

Why did he have to bring it up out loud? Now she felt even more embarrassed. "What did I do incorrectly?" And he didn't have to look so amused, darn him. She didn't dare look at his parents right now. How had she messed up so quickly? She was sure that Tetsurou had placed them in the middle of the fish!

"You're holding them wrong." Tetsurou shifted closer, placing one hand over hers and repositioning her grip. "At first you want to move the meat away from the bones, not pick up a piece, so you'll grip them differently." He nudged her fingers and she pushed down gently, and then he tugged her hand a different way, causing the chopsticks to pull the fish apart. "Like that."

Oh. That had been fairly simple, but he was right, she'd definitely been holding the chopsticks wrong. Hermione sighed, "Thank you." Though now she felt embarrassed for an entirely different reason—Tetsurou rarely sat this close to her in front of his parents, but he wasn't moving. Instead he was repositioning her hand again, then pulling loose a bone that was still in the fish.

"Tetsurou, I can manage to find those on my own." It's not like she'd never eaten fish in general before.

"Awww, you sure?" He pulled away from her, sitting back with a grin, "You're usually the one teaching me things, it's fun to have the positions reversed."

That wasn't true. "You teach me things about volleyball all the time." She picked up a piece of fish from the top left like Tetsurou had, and was surprised to find that she actually didn't mind the taste of the skin.

"That doesn't count." Tetsurou shrugged as he went back to his food, "You're only learning about that because I enjoy it."

"You know more about potions, too. Like with that plant earlier." Actually, "Though there are some questions I have that all three of you may be able to help me with?"

"Oh?" Tetsurou's mother set down her tea. "How can we help?"

"I'd like to have a better understanding of Japanese political positions before the ambassador's meeting next week. Like what exactly are the main points of contention between the Akaashi family and the Miya family?" Hermione picked up another piece of fish, giving Tetsurou a glare when she felt amusement flicker across their bond. "I know that Akaashi's family is more open to international influence and the Miya family is more focused on Japan itself and the peace between all its magical inhabitants, but not much else. If I'm stuck in between these two families, I need to have more information."

Tetsurou's mother nodded, "Of course. I suppose their general background starts with the fact that the Sakai, Miya, and Onishi families have held power for longer than the Akaashi and Suzuki families. The first three rose to power before the Edo period, but the Suzuki family became stronger healers during the Edo period, which is what gave them more influence, and the Akaashi family is the youngest of the group, as they did not become influential until the Meiji era."

"Why the time difference?" That didn't make sense. "Surely wards would have been helpful before Japan opened its ports?"

"Yeah, but if you took enough time, back then you could still find someone that could eventually dismantle their wards." Tetsurou shrugged, "They were influential, sure, but nowhere near as powerful as the other families."

"So what changed?"

Hermione carefully picked up another bite of fish as Tetsurou's mother replied, "They were the first family to look into western magic, though, so suddenly they were able to build wards with two layers—one with western magic to keep local enemies out, and another with only local magic so that western wizards couldn't break through, either."

"So it's precisely because of Western influence that the Akaashi family became one of Japan's five most powerful families. That's why they're so open to continued influence."

"Exactly." Tetsurou's father nodded. "Their position isn't as unique anymore, but they are still some of the best in their field and bring Japanese wizardry international recognition because of it. As much as the other families sometimes look down on them because of their newer status, they cannot deny the importance of the family politically."

Right, even Bill had recognized the name and been impressed. "What about the Miya family? How did it gain power?"

"You saw their shrine, correct?" Tetsurou's father sighed, "I doubt they would have taken you to their property and not shown it to you."

"Yes." It had certainly been impressive, though Hermione was sure she had missed a lot of the reasons why it was so important. "They said it had a powerful kitsune sealed there."

Tetsurou snorted, "Figures they wouldn't give you the backstory. During the Heian period a powerful kitsune attacked their home because they'd been protecting villagers by killing magical creatures. They sealed it away there and the emperor gave them the surrounding land as a thank you, and so that they could keep watching over the seals that held it."

His father sighed, "They don't like to talk about that story as much nowadays since they're all about maintaining good relationships with other magical beings and not killing them. Around the Meiji era, many sought to return to Japan's cultural roots and stave off Western influence and the family shifted its stance on native magical beings and now staunchly supports them."

"I imagine that's around when they started hating foreigners so much, as well." Hermione sighed.

"Correct." Tetsurou's father nodded. "It's also around when the Miya family began to support firm separation between magical and nonmagical worlds, and after World War II they became advocates for outlawing magic inside cities except inside wards and creating rural enclaves that would act as war shelters."

"What happened to the magical community here during World War II?" Grindelwald had never come to Japan… "Or were they reacting purely to non-magical events?"

"Hiroshima held another large magical family. The Sato family were all killed when the bomb fell."

Oh.

That…

She swallowed, setting her chopsticks down on the plate.

That must have been terrifying.

To have roughly twenty percent of your population wiped out instantaneously…

To feel like there was nothing you could do from having it happen ever again…. It's not like wizards had much influence on preventing nonmagical wars, and no spell could stop a bomb.

She could understand why that would make someone want to flee. "What families support that kind of separation?"

"Everyone supported the enclaves." Tetsurou's mother picked up her cup, but continued before she took a drink, "We've had five of them for a while—one of them is where all your meetings are held, actually. The Akaashi family updates their wards every year."

Which would give the Akaashi family incredible power, since they were essentially in charge of protecting the community's strongholds.

"As for separation of magical and nonmagical humans, everyone agrees that complete separation is impossible because magical children can be born to nonmagical families. However, the Sakai and Miya families, as well as some in the Onishi family, all fight for policies that restrict the use of magic in nonmagical areas. The Akaashi and Suzuki families, along with their Onishi allies, support policies that allow magical use in nonmagical areas, as long as the user doesn't reveal its existence."

"So the Onishi family will vote both ways?"

"Right. The Onishi family is…" Tetsurou leaned back in his chair a little, waving a hand nonchalantly, "Well, they're different. Each member will have different beliefs, but in matters of importance to the clan, they will defer to the current leader. The current head sides more with the Miya family, but the member with the most power in the ministry typically sides with the Akaashis and is Minister Akaashi's assistant."

Ok, so Onishi family members were wildcards, and its two most powerful members were political opposites. "Doesn't that create a lot of tension?"

"Not really." Tetsurou's mother cleared her throat, "To clarify for you, Hermione, the Onishi family do not have a centralized household like the other families, but instead live separately as hermits in different mountains."

Well that would definitely lead to a lot of different perspectives, so that explained it. Wait. If they lived as hermits… "Then do they have more contact with magical beings than other humans?"

"Bingo." Hermione took another bite as Tetsurou explained, "They still take part in our government, but mostly it's to make sure their own interests are protected."

"Ok… so what policies do they care about? I assume they're defensive of nonhuman magical beings since they live side by side with them?"

"Correct." Tetsurou's mother nodded. "An Onishi is currently the assistant head of the Department of Nonhuman Magical Beings. They also care a lot about transportation policies since their family is so scattered. Other than that, however, it depends on the individual."

Brilliant. So they could be predictable in some areas, but for the most part they were wildcards. "Does the Onishi family frequently ally with the Miya family on policies that pertain to nonhuman magical beings?"

"Typically." Tetsurou's father nodded. "But despite their close proximity to magical beings, the Onishi value nonmagical lives as equally important. The Miya family, however, regards magical beings as superior to nonmagical beings."

"Lovely." Hermione was very familiar with that perspective, even if it wasn't aimed at her here. "Wait. If the Miya family consider themselves above nonmagical beings, then why do the twins attend a muggle school and play Volleyball?"

Tetsurou huffed, rolling his eyes. "The Miya idiots think Japanese blood makes people better than foreigners, too. So they're a little different from the purebloods in England." Hermione honestly wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Just another prejudice, really. "As for volleyball, at first the twins joined to spite me, but Atsumu loves it too much for that to be the only reason he's still playing. Pretty sure that's the only reason for Osamu, though. Well, that and Atsumu would kill him if he quit now."

"They joined volleyball to spite you?" That was completely ridiculous.

Tetsurou shrugged, "They never said as much, but the twins started a month after I did, and no other Miya has played a muggle sport. What other reason would it be?"

Ok, that was pretty convincing. Still, how young would they have been then? And they already had hated Tetsurou that much?

"To bring us back to their political stances," Tetsurou's mother's smile was slightly teasing, making Hermione blink, startled. She'd never seen her like that before. "The Miyas are against any kind of outside influence because they worry that outside prejudices would be volatile in our country where intelligent magical beings easily outnumber magical humans."

Hermione frowned. She hated that her country still had such stigma against it. Voldemort had ruined so much. "Britain is working on developing better laws, but it's certainly easy to see what would give them that impression." And how long would it take for those laws to be created and enforced?

"Gomen." Confused, Hermione looked over at him. Why was he sad? "I know that you and your friends experienced a lot of that prejudice first hand."

Hermione shook her head, "We'll make the country better so that Teddy won't have to face the kind of prejudice his father did."

"Your godson?" Tetsurou's mother looked over at her questioningly, and Hermione nodded.

"His father was a werewolf. Teddy doesn't transform during the full moon or anything like that, but it does affect him in small ways, like he gets cravings for more meat around that time of the month."

"I see. It's good that you and your friend are there for him."

"We try to be." Hermione bit her lip. She still wondered if maybe she should have stayed, honestly. It's clear that Molly could use help with him and she was sure Kingsley could use the extra hands and—

"Mio, love, relax, alright? You can't solve all your country's political problems and dissect Japanese political alliances over one meal. And the Australian ambassador said you could ask her questions, right? She'd be a neutral source of information, and you have her number."

Hermione frowned. "That's true… she texted and said we could do lunch sometime, but I wasn't sure with our bond…"

"Go eat lunch with her, alright? We'll make it work."

Hermione frowned. She didn't like leaving Tetsurou, but it would be nice to have another perspective… "I'll text her." She looked back over at Tetsurou's parents, "Thank you for helping me understand some of the overall issues. It will help me have more informed questions when I meet with her."

"We're glad to help." Tetsurou's mother smiled at her, "You can always ask us questions about things that confuse you here. We know the culture must be very different."

Hermione sighed, her shoulders sagging. "Thank you, I appreciate that." And she should probably ask them about wedding traditions...

Hermione's hands tightened around her chopsticks. This was as good a time as any, right? Tetsurou's parents seemed willing to answer questions, and she needed to find out more about Japanese wedding traditions for wizards. It's not like you could just search for information about those on the internet like she could for nonmagical traditions.

"Well, dinner was lovely, Asuka." Tetsurou's father stood up, gathering his dishes. "And you two should stay for dinner more often."

Oh.

Apparently dinner was over. She supposed they had all finished their food…

Hermione hurried to thank them for the dinner, assuring them that she'd enjoyed it as well. "I'll help you with the dishes, um, Okaa-san." Merlin saying that felt awkward. She could feel Tetsurou's happiness about it, though.

The woman gave her a pleased smile, but shook her head. "I can take care of these. You two should prepare your things for the evening trip to the Tsukishima household."

Right.

Well, there went that chance to ask about wedding traditions. She'd have to try again later. Hermione bowed her head slightly, "Arigatou."

Waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt, right? As much as she felt like this was the right decision, talking about it with even just Tetsurou was nerve-wracking. Mentioning it to his parents would just make everything too real.

"Mio?" Tetsurou closed the door to his room behind him, but didn't reach down to grab his backpack or start gathering his things. "You alright? You're still as anxious as you were before the dinner. I thought it went well?"

"It did!" Hermione rubbed her arm, sheepish. "I just started thinking about all the questions I still have about wedding traditions, that's all. It's fine, though, I'll ask them some other time."

Tetsurou pulled her close, holding her arms with his as he grinned at her, "You're not getting cold feet about that, are you?"

"No!" Hermione glared at him. "How could I anyways, when we're already married?"

"As much as people say that, right now it's really just a legality. No one outside the family knows and that doesn't have to change."

"I've told you, I want it to." Hermione stepped closer, resting her head against his chest as she hugged him. "I want people to know. I just start thinking about logistics and talking to your parents about it and everything else that needs to be done and-"

"It'll be fine, Mio. I can help with things, too, alright?"

"But after exams you'll have to start applying to colleges and taking their entrance exams."

"It's not like I plan on applying to that many, love, and my grades haven't dropped. I'll be ok."

"I know. It's just…" Hermione sighed, "Things are always so much easier when there's an answer I can find in a book, but books about politics and cultural traditions are always biased and usually terribly out of date, so I need to actually ask people and socializing has never been one of my strengths."

"Then it's a good thing that it's one of mine." His arms felt comfortable around her; a strong support that would always help her stand. "You're not alone. We'll plan everything and face life together."

Right. She didn't have to face career planning alone, or work through organizing their future together alone. Tetsurou would help her find the answers.

So one thing at a time.

She'd arrange lunch with the Australian ambassador, they'd spend the night studying, and then she'd study all day tomorrow while Tetsurou was in classes. Then Nekoma's practice and then occlumency with Malfoy… just focus on the present and doing what she could every minute of the day.

But of course all of her scheduling would never be perfect, and the next day's volleyball practice went past the usual ending time, making them arrive back at the Tsukishima's much an hour later than they'd originally planned.

Sure that she was about to meet an annoyed Malfoy, Hermione approached the tent, cautiously pulling back the flap. When she didn't see him in the common area, though, she called out, "Malfoy! We're here!"

No response.

"Malfoy?"

That was odd. It wasn't like Malfoy to be late to something. Hermione stepped back out of the tent, pulling out her phone. No text from him either. Had something happened while he was with the Miyas? She quickly texted the blonde, and a few seconds later she received a curt reply that he was fine and would get there when he could.

Hermione stared at it.

What was going on?

"C'mon, let's go say hi to Tsukki and wait inside for Malfoy." Tetsurou's hand circled around hers, tugging her toward the house. "He responded, so he's not in danger, right?"

"I suppose, but this isn't like him."

"He'd tell you if he needed help, even if he had to code it or something like that. You know that."

"Right…" Hermione looked back down at the message. It seemed more like Malfoy was reverting to their fourth year like a coded request for backup. Hermione shook her head. "You're right. Let's go inside." She'd never be able to understand Malfoy, anyway.

They went around the corner, and Tetsurou was grinning as he threw the door open wide, "Yo! Tsukki! Where's my fav—"

He stopped, staring at the room in front of him.

"What are all you crows doing here?!"

Almost every member of the Karasuno team was crowded into the front living room, with Kei-kun trapped in the middle, grimacing. On either side of him sat the two over-enthusiastic second years, each with a hand on one of his shoulders.

Hinata jumped past Kageyama, babbling in rapid Japanese, and Hermione closed the door behind them as she turned to her cousin for help.

"This is all your fault."

"What?" That made no sense. She hadn't seen the Karasuno team in forever! And now Tetsurou was laughing his head off and being absolutely no help, either. "How exactly is your team's presence my fault?"

"Yamaguchi mentioned that I seemed to be seeing Kuroo-senpai fairly regularly, now, and the team overheard and decided to come see if he was showing me secret techniques. Since Kuroo-senpai is here because of you, it's your fault."

"Gomen." Yamaguchi gave her a shy grin, scratching at his cheek from his perch on the edge of the couch. "I did not think the team was listening."

The captain had moved toward Hinata now, and for some reason was physically pulling him back from Tetsurou, who was still laughing.

This was all ridiculous. The tall third year was practically hiding in the corner, for Merlin's sake! Hermione crossed her arms, glaring at her cousin. "It sounds like this is all your fault, actually, for talking about Tetsurou being around so much."

"Tetsurou?!" The libero gasped, his hand finally dropping from Kei-kun's shoulder as he stared at her and Tetsurou in awe.

Hermione could feel her face starting to burn.

Now Kei-kun was glaring even harder, while Yamaguchi and the girls were the only ones who didn't look shocked. The bald second year had practically fallen over onto the floor.

Lovely.

Hermine sighed. She always forgot about the first name thing.

Tetsurou slung an arm over her shoulders, rattling off something that made several of the boys relax and nod in understanding. I told them first name basis is more common in your culture.

Brilliant. Thanks for that.

And now Kei-kun was mouthing off again, but in Japanese—something about Tetsurou liking her?

He's saying that he told them I was only here to flirt, not play—

"Gah!" Tetsurou was tugged forward by Kei-kun's bald teammate, who clapped on the back, laughing uproariously.

Hermione barely held back a wince as Hinata and the libero tackled Tetsurou.

They were not toning it down like Bokuto tried to do whenever he remembered that she could feel the slaps, too.

"Sorry, I tried to stop the team, but they were determined. You two are still dating, then?"

Hermione looked over to see Shimizu smiling at her, Yachi hovering behind her senpai. Hermione had no clue how the two had managed to make their way through Karasuno's chaotic jumble of limbs, but she supposed it came from knowing the team.

"It's alright; it's nice to see you all again." Hermione smiled at the two. It was hard to believe that the last time she'd seen them had been back at her birthday party in September. "And yes, we are."

"Wonderful!" Yachi grinned at her, "I'm glad you two are happy!"

Happy. She was, actually. Incredibly stressed, as well, but… she glanced over at Tetsurou, watching as he rubbed Hinata's hair. "We really are."

The door banged open, and Hermione quickly stepped to the side, almost running into Shimizu as she tried to avoid being hit.

Malfoy stood in the doorway, his shoulders tense as he frowned at the scene. "Granger. Kuroo. Let's go already."

"What the hell, Malfoy?" Tetsurou glared at the newcomer, "You're the one that wasn't here on time, and there are guests. We'll work with you in a bit."

"Does your safety really mean that little to you? You fought so hard, and now you're just going to ignore everything else to stay with guests who don't even know—"

"Malfoy!" Hermione stepped between the two boys—what in Merlin's name had got him so upset? "Calm. Down."

"Right." The blonde sneered, "I need to be the calm one. It always has to be me. Meanwhile, you Gryffindors can parade around doing whatever you want."

Gryffindors?! What was he thinking?!

"Malfoy-san!" Tetsurou had stepped away from the Karasuno captain now, and Hermione could feel his anger and shock responding to her own as he came to her side.

"Oh like the Muggles even know what it means."

"Bloody hell, what's gotten into you?" First Gryffindor, now muggle? Hermione grabbed Malfoy's arm, yanking him back out the front door, "Whatever this is, we're solving it outside since you obviously can't control yourself!" She dragged him to the tent, about to shove him through its flap before he pushed her away.

"I can walk on my own still, thank you! Nothing's managed to kill me, yet."

Kill him? What on earth?

I think I convinced them he was talking about a rugby team called the Gryffins. They're still confused about who he is, though.

Thank you, Tetsurou. Just… Tell him he's my cousin or something, I don't know.

When she followed through the flap, Malfoy was standing in the middle of the tent, wand pointed straight at her. "I could ruin everything right now if I wanted. What does it even matter? Why do I have to put up with you?"

She'd not been paying attention again. Annoyed, she snapped her wrist, her wand immediately falling into her hand. She raised it, "But you didn't fire. You could have caught me off-guard just then."

Mio? Everything ok?

Malfoy sneered at her, "It would've been too easy. Don't you know, Granger, I can never have things the easy way."

I'm fine. Keep Kei-kun away. The last thing she needed was for her cousin to follow her and walk into the middle of a fight, and she knew Karasuno was probably even more riled up than before Malfoy arrived.

A stunner slammed against her shield. "You really want to do this?" She couldn't understand what Malfoy was thinking. He'd wanted to be here!

"Do what, Granger? Exchange spells with the bloody paragon of the light?"

What was with him today?! "I'm hardly a paragon and you know it."

"Might as well be; you're his best friend, after all." A cutting curse this time, followed by a bombarda, both easily absorbed.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. Why was he only using basic spells if he really wanted to fight? Sure he was forcing a lot of power into them, but—

Hermione hissed as another bombarda forced her to step back and she quickly strengthened her shield. "What did the Miyas do to set you off? Did they try to duel again?"

What will it take to convince them that he's her cousin!

What in Merlin's name? No. She had to focus. Tetsurou would have to handle Karasuno.

Malfoy was laughing, "Like that would be a problem. They play by the book too much." With a twist of Malfoy's hand, wind began to stir around the room, picking up various objects and making them swirl around him. "I've just been realizing how much the universe really hates me, that's all. I'm sick and tired of getting the short straw while everything turns out perfect for everyone else!"

That's it.

"Nothing turned out perfect!" Hermione let loose with a wave of summoned birds, knocking all the objects back down to the ground. "We've both lost people! Your parents may be in Azkaban, but mine are dead!" Tears threatened to cloud her vision, her voice thick. "So what if something isn't ideal?! Neither one of us has ever had things ideal! You know that!" She sent her own blasting curse, forcing him to put up a shield and slide back a few steps. "Stop being a melodramatic idiot and tell me what the actual issue is!"

"Like you would help!"

He threw another bombarda, this one with even more power than the last.

"I'm here, aren't I?!" She glared at him. "I could've just locked you in this tent and avoided whatever tantrum this is, but I'm here!"

Malfoy's jaw tensed, his hand tightening around his wand.

"You said it yourself." Hermione glared at him. "It only makes sense for us to help each other right now."

"I said it only makes sense for me to help you. You could easily abandon me with no repercussions. Everyone would even call you a saint for lowering yourself to help out a dark wizard for a few weeks."

"Well I'm a Gryffindor, not a Slytherin, and when someone offers to help me I like to do the same for them. And besides, I can tell that you're trying to change. I'm not going to leave you."

Malfoy sneered, his wand slowly lowering. "You lot really are pathetic like that."

Thank Merlin. "What happened?"

Grey eyes stared at her.

Malfoy sheathed his wand, and Hermione's shoulders relaxed as she put hers away, as well. Malfoy still didn't say anything, though. He just stood there, his whole body tense as he watched her for a few seconds, and then he spun on his heel, marching back to the room where he'd been sleeping.

Hermione wasn't really sure if she should wait or follow him-

I've convinced them not to rescue you, but they think he's your cousin who disapproves of our relationship.

What?! That made absolutely no sense. What made them jump from 'cousin' to 'he disapproves of our relationship'?

Believe me, I have no clue. Something about you looking the same?

What? She looked nothing like Malfoy!

I know it's ridiculous, but at least they're not following you out to a tent that doesn't even exist, alright? And it's better than the love triangle theory!

Love triangle?! Hermione didn't even want to know.

Malfoy was reemerging, though, now carrying his father's cane. Just please keep them there.

Hermione stared at it.

He'd brought that with him?

All the times she'd seen that cane…

"This has always been an heirloom in my family." Malfoy tapped the snake's head as he sat it on the table. "I used to take pride in it, and when I was young, I looked forward to the day I would carry it." He paused, his face twisting into a sneer, "Except now I can't carry it openly because the second anyone sees it, they think of my father." He spat out the last word, anger clouding his face. "Everything my family has ever done was ruined by that man. Every single heirloom I have is tainted. There is nothing I own that the people around me don't associate with Voldemort. Nothing! Not my home. Not my name. Not even my own arm."

He shook his head, then looked back up at Hermione. "I swore to change that."

Hermione wasn't sure what to say. "I told Miya Osamu you wanted to redeem your family. Is that what brought this up?" But he'd told her to mention that!

"In a way." Malfoy's laugh was hollow.

"I can't help if you don't tell me."

"You can't really help either way, Granger."

Hermione scowled. "You don't know that."

He took a long, shaky breath. "I swore to use everything I could to bring back my family's honor."

"You still can."

Malfoy stared at her.

The silence stretched out between them, but as much as Hermione wanted to say something, she wasn't sure what would help or hurt. Not when she didn't know what was upsetting him. Why bring up his family honor now?

Malfoy finally spoke. "Osamu said his family wouldn't allow him to bond with me unless I give up my family's name."

Hermione's eyes widened.

Oh.

So that was why…

Merlin, why were purebloods always so ridiculous?

"Either I give up my life's goal to redeem my family, or I give up this bond and go back to a wife who will try to kill me for the rest of my life. Those are my choices." Malfoy shrunk the cane, then shoved it into his pocket. "Forgive me if I'm not feeling companionable at the moment."

"I could try to talk to him for you."

"Oh yes, because they like you and your soulmate so much." Malfoy laughed, the sound less hollow than before, but was definitely sardonic. "I'm honestly impressed at the extent to which your soulmate's father managed to tick off everyone in his own family. It takes commitment to make a rift that big."

Hermione frowned. "He's not the only one to blame."

"Right." Malfoy raised one eyebrow. "You can believe that if you want, but he knew exactly how to hit them where it hurt, and he went straight for the kill."

Well, she couldn't really deny that. Especially with the Miyas apparently still taking the same stance with Malfoy as they had with Tetsurou's grandparents. "You're the only heir, though. Surely they realize how important that is?"

"I'm the only heir to a family of Death Eaters. They couldn't care less if my family name died, and Osamu said they would see a refusal on my end as acknowledgement that I still follow Voldemort's beliefs."

Hermione winced. No wonder Malfoy was so furious. "Osamu doesn't see it that way?"

"He's refusing to take sides."

"Then maybe he could be persuaded to speak on your behalf."

"Please, Granger. He agrees with them; he just doesn't want to anger me on the off chance that I eventually capitulate to their demands."

"Then we'll have to think of something that will persuade them that you don't follow those beliefs anymore."

Malfoy laughed again. "And what would that be? They already know that I'm here with the Gryffindor Golden Girl speaking on my behalf. If that won't convince them, I doubt Potter himself could do the job. Or were you thinking of your Japanese allies? Because I'm sure their political enemies will be able to help me."

"There has to be some way!"

"There isn't." Malfoy glared at her. "I either give up my family's honor and live a life of relative peace, haunted by my past but never able to restore anything, or I try to regain our honor and live with my own wife trying to kill me. There is no other option."

"I'll find one."

"Merlin save us from stubborn Gryffindors."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "One would think you'd be thankful for stubborn Gryffindors."

"Like that day will ever come."

She glared at him. "You said Osamu told you all this. Do you know that's what his family actually believes and demands, or if it's merely how he thinks they'll react?"

"He hasn't told them yet." Malfoy sighed, crossing his arms. "He was very convincing about their stances, though, and I spent the whole afternoon interrogating him about different options, so I don't have any hope that he's wrong. He said he wanted to give me some time to decide before he told them about us."

"He could be wrong, though. They might have learned from their mistake with Tetsurou's grandparents."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "If anything they've merely become more set in their ways and view your soulmate's family as the consequence of his grandfather's failure, not the family's. I wouldn't hold out hope, Granger."

"You can't know for certain, though!"

Silver eyes stared at her, disappointed. "Don't patronize me. You won the war, so maybe you actually believe in hope and other naive things, but I've never had that pleasure."

"You're still alive, though. And you're not in Azkaban."

"I didn't hope for those things. I planned." Malfoy rolled his eyes, then gestured toward the door. "Now tell your other half to come here already, guests or not."

"You don't want to find a solution?"

"There's no solution to find, Granger. Just a decision to make." He sighed, "And lucky me, either way I'll be stuck with you in my life, so either choice involves staying in your good graces." He pulled out his wand, this time to create one of the occlumency water spheres. "So get your soulmate in here, and let's begin already. We have work to do."

Hermione sighed, at least Malfoy hadn't changed his opinion about helping them. But for now, he was right.

They had to become more proficient with occlumency, or they'd never be able to freely use their telepathy.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Hermione's figuring out more about the political situation now, and be ready for the ambassador's meeting next chapter! A big thanks to CrownsofLaurels for beta-ing for me :D And as always, thank y'all so much for all comments and kudos! I've gotten several nice comments here and on Ao3 since the last chapter and it made me so happy to see those 3