T/W: There is a trigger in this chapter that is a bit of a giveaway to something that happens so I decided to put it in the BOTTOM of the chapter. Please read it before proceeding if you may be sensitive to it (It is one that was mentioned on chapter one so it is not a surprise, but it is not a trigger that I have written yet.)

A/N: The 15th of September marked one year I had started posting TGwwO! In that time I had written over 310,00 words, and gained hundreds fof followers between here and A03. I am flabbergasted that not only was I able to find my love for writing again though fanfiction, but that other people enjoyed my vision. I don't say this enough, but thank you so much for reading.

A/N: Next update will be 10/04/20


When Rita Skeeter published the sordid article about Fudge being removed from office, she assumed she would be done seeing the drabby gray walls inside the Minister of Magic's office. She never expected to be back, especially not by invitation from the new Minister, nonetheless.

Griselda Marchbanks had only ever worked at the Ministry. She was a respected Wizgamont Elder and before that, she was one of the first witches to ever become an auror. When she took a heavy spell that maimed her magical core for some period of time, she was moved to serve on the Wizagamont part time while she also became Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority that ran the O.W.L., N.E.W.T. and W.O.M.B.A.T. Examinations. Rita Skeeter knew all of this meant that the woman was not just intelligent, but deadly.

Rita's only real concern was the intelligence part. She didn't know why she summoned to the redecorated, yet still depressing office, but there she was, sitting across from the older woman while she wondered if Griselda had the thought to scourgify the desk before setting her things on it. The universe only knew how many witches had been bent over it.

"Do you know what tradition I love about wizards?" It was the first time either of them had spoke after tea was served and pleasantries were exchanged.

"Mmhm?" Rite kept her pinky finger stuck out as she sipped on the Barren Wort and Mint tea mix. It was a verdant combination that made her stomach want to seize, but she played the part indifference well. "What is it?"

"Journals." Griselda's beady eyes flicked up to Rita's green ones. "Wizards always feel the need to write everything down and it can be so..." One hand dropped out of view to pull something out of a drawer. Rita's lip twitched as she fought the urge to purse her lips once Griselda's hand reappeared clutching a lime green, velvet journal. The same one she gifted Fudge last year. Rita knew Fudge had used it - she had the twin journal after all so she could see everything he wrote - however he only used it to document his encounters. Including the ones he had with her, his wife, and anyone else he got his hands on. "Incriminating. As a journalist, I'm sure you can agree?"

Rita swore she saw her career flash before her eyes as her lips finally gave in and puckered. She would be discredited if a scandal broke out that she had been sleeping around for her stories. Her title as an Editor would be stripped before she could say Flatplan and she'd be fired as her boss, Harold, had already stated that she was only allowed to write what she wanted if she had continued to be his mistress and his mistress only. Obviously she was not holding up his end of the bargain. Rita knew she would never find another job writing again.

Suddenly, she didn't find herself as thirsty anymore. "They can be, yes."

The Minister chuckled and set the journal back in her drawer. "Relax, I don't mean anything by it."

Why is that always the lie politicians go for first? "What would you like from me?"

Griselda's head tilted upwards in understanding: This wasn't Rita's first rodeo. The older woman stood from her seat and sat in the other guest seat that was parallel to Rita's. She turned in the chair to face Rita with bright eyes. Rita could see that there was one eye that looked cloudy around the ring of Griselda's eye, another sign that the witch was older than her sharp tact and great wit allowed others to believe. "I am only the second witch to ever become Britain's Minister of Magic. It is a bit of a disappointment not to become the first, but the concept is so new, I can still work with it. Not too many are willing to admit that maybe this could be a Witch's world, too."

Rita stifled a sigh. Of course. This was always their first requirement. "So you want me to write you in a positive light."

Griselda nodded her head to the side, as if that wasn't where she was heading in her speech. "Well, I expect that to be a given. I know you have looked in to my background - I am no Fudge and I will be respected." Alarm bells were going off in Rita's head as she gave the Minister a cautious once over. "Let's just say... We have a valuable citizen on our hands who wants a certain... little girl. One who should be locked up in St. Mungo's over a year ago now."

The blonde woman could hardly hear what she was hearing and put her tea cup on the Minister's desk as if it would make her hear the Minister better. "Are you talking about Hermione Granger? The public loves her -"

"And whose fault is that?" Griselda placed a hand on her cheek. "I'm only asking for you to undo what you had done and make wizards start to question her sanity. I'll handle the rest." Griselda placed a hand on Rita's arm and squeezed, as if she was reassuring a small child. "It'll be fun, don't you think? Wizards practically get off on wallowing in self gratification, but what if we could actually be great? Change the wizarding world for the better, you and I?"

Rita looked down at her hands - hands that were as spotted and aged as Griselda's under the glamour she had. The quill can only be mightier than the sword, if you don't constantly have the blade held to your neck.

"It would be my pleasure, Minister."


Narcissa sat on the stone bench at the end of the garden, looking at the yellow roses and the rock that had been turned into a headstone. Her gardening tools and seeds were laid by her feet. I didn't plant those... What was I going to do here again? Oh yes, I wanted to expand the garden -

"Look at me." Narcissa blinked and half turned her body to face Andromeda. Narcissa frowned. "It's Sunday, Ann. If you were going to stop by you should have owled. The garden, I want to get back to my garden.

"Is that what you have to say to me?" Andromeda had her hands on her hips and her lips were pressed into a thin white line. Narcissa turned around fully, allowing her sister to pull her from her thoughts of the flowers. Narcissa felt herself frowning. Why is she mad at me? "Did you really think I wouldn't find out?"

Narcissa slowly felt herself become grounded by mild panic - something she didn't allow herself to feel often, but it was better than the abstract thought pattern she had been fighting for the last day and a half. She had not been feeling well since they had gotten home after the Quidditch Cup and the disconcerted thoughts only worsened when she received Andromeda's owl on Saturday, explaining the Ministry was asking nearly all of their employees to help comb the fields, thus making her unable to see Hermione. She hoped that Andromeda would not come by the Earth she had used her fae magic on, but it was obvious now that Narcissa was not so lucky. "What are you talking about?"

Andromeda let out a sigh through bare teeth. Her face was red and Narcissa realized it had been over a decade since she had seen her sister this upset. "You are selfish, manipulative, and a liar, but you are NOT naïve. You know what I am talking about and I am BEYOND livid to know that you and that son of a bitch you call a husband was out there on Friday! You told me that you weren't involved when you rekindled our relationship thirteen years ago! Come to find out that while you have no mark, you continue to serve Voldemort to this day! Did you even know that those children lost a muggle father because of you?!"

Narcissa took a moment before answering to prepare herself for the onslaught her sister had in store for her. She wanted to deny it, but Andromeda was right, she wasn't naïve and she should not pretend that she was. "It's impossible for that muggle to be dead, you know the spell I cast-"

"His mind though? Did you stop to think about that? He already had his memories altered all day by the Ministry, but erasing the attack was his breaking point. I had to do the memory charm on him and it was too much. Now he's either going to be a burden on his family or he's going to have to be put in a hospital 'till his body can take no more." Narcissa closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. The small act was a mistake. Every time she closed her eyes she just saw the two children, floating unconscious in the air. For the past two nights she dreamt of the same scene, but with Draco and Hermione in their place. When Andromeda spoke again, she was no longer yelling and her voice wavered in the begging tone she forced out. "You told me you weren't involved, Narcissa. You let me search you and -"

"You want to know why there is no mark on me, Andromeda?" Her sister's pleading was too much. Narcissa stood and walked towards her older sister as she talked. "We can't be marked. Just as Bellatrix can't take heat to her hair to straighten it, nor can we touch anything that has even a particle of iron. Our bodies will reject it." Narcissa could feel her emotions overwhelming her just as it had at the World Cup. She knew her reactions following the world cup were so unlike her, but for some reason she could not find herself to be stable enough to push the anxiety back down. Narcissa was extremely aware she was about to crack under the stress she usually held within her until she could tend to her garden or cook, but deep down, she was relieved to finally come clean to Andromeda.
Each of the three Black sisters had a unique fae gift. With Narcissa's allowing her to form pacts to her interpretation, every lie she told in turn felt like a weight on her body. The Fae saw lies as speaking evil and Narcissa's gift was to ensure she would always get the truth she sought, which meant she was also supposed to give the truth, even if it was convoluted. "When the Dark Lord learned from Bellatrix that I could make contracts that could go as deep as someone's magical core, he made me mark them all with that horrid image of a Basilisk sliding out of Salazar Slytherin's skull. Me and me alone."

Andromeda, who had just been red with rage could feel her face cool as the blood started to drain. "His mark was not just a mark then."

Narcissa's pale face warped with a silent sob of regret. "It was to bind them all to him. A death wish - an Albatross of sorts after he was gone. One that Lucius is still afraid of." Narcissa searched her sister's blue eyes. She couldn't tell her sister about the damage Abraxas Malfoy left on his son, that wasn't her secret to tell, but Narcissa was more than aware that Lucius was motivated by few things. One was fear, another was fear for his family. "Imagine what would have happened to us if we had refused the rest of the Death Eaters. Hermione would be -"

"Is he still alive, Narcissa?" Andromeda was frozen in place. She wanted to grab Narcissa by the shoulders and shake her, but she couldn't. She hated that her response to the intense fear was to freeze, but as a healer, she knew it was just how her brain was wired. "Tell me, Narcissa. Is he still alive?"

Narcissa couldn't manage more than a soft whisper, now turning into the one who may have needed to beg her sister to understand. "I don't know."

"Nymphadora was out there, Narcissa." The last time they had a similar conversation, Narcissa had succeeded at dancing around her words so Andromeda's gift would not be triggered. Andromeda had the ability of detecting a lie when she heard it, as the Fae did not want her to hear evil. It was useful in her field, especially after studying the human psyche. When Andromeda's ears did not burn at her sister's admission, proving that Narcissa was telling her the truth, she still felt her rage explode inside of her, granting her the ability to move again. "Do you know what would have happened if any one of your lot had hurt her? Do you know what I would have done?" Narcissa was hoping that her sister would not react to coldly to the truth, but she couldn't say she did not understood why. "When she announced that she wanted to become an auror I cried for three days straight, I was so scared - the same three days you were present for and reassured me she would not have to face the horrors we just had. Saturday was one of her first times out on the field and she had to face Death Eaters? We were supposed to be done with this."

Narcissa reached a hand out to her sister, only for it to be slapped away. She laced her fingers in front of her. Narcissa knew her sister's temper and she was aware she had reached a point of no return with her sister. The truth was often more damaging than a lie was. "You know I am telling you the truth, no one was supposed to get hurt - "

"No." Narcissa felt despair pull her eyebrows together as Andromeda physically morphed back into her alias of Dr. Augsen. When she took a step forward, the Ministry appointed therapist took a step back. "I am only here for Hermione from now on. You will refer to me by my title-"

"Ann-"

Dr. Augsen spoke over her. "As her healer and nothing else, for you are no sister of mine."

"Please listen to me -"

"Anything said after this conversation that leads me to believe there are dark, illegal, or activities leading to treason are taking place in your residence, will be reported to the Ministry at once." Narcissa quickly turned her back on Dr. Augsen and held one hand to her forehead, not being able to face the words being said anymore. "Good day, Mrs. Malfoy."

Narcissa listened to her sister's retreating footsteps until the crunching of the soft grass could no longer be heard. Andromeda walking out on her hurt more than it had when their parents cut her out of the family at the announcement of Andromeda's engagement to her half-blood husband and it hurt more than it had when Bellatrix was sent to serve a life sentence in Azkaban. Narcissa pondered why the pain was so great as she returned to the stone bench and sat with her back to the roses. Maybe it was because no one was forcing her sisters to leave her this time or maybe it was because she knew she was solely responsible this time. She thought the pain was worse because of both reasons, not to mention she knew her sister was the type of person to not go back on what she said. Andromeda learned that from their parents.

Narcissa stayed like that for hours, crying into the earth. When she picked up her head to look at the flowers, she noticed the roses had grown into two large rose bushes. Consider it a gift from one parent to another. She meant to laugh at her unspoken joke, but it only made her hiccup as the titter ended up being caught in her throat. She shook the wings that had emerged with her emotions over the bushes so they could get as much of her tears as she could. Narcissa learned that once she started at Hogwarts that being half fae had it's many perks. Her tears were a catalyst for plant growth, which always helped in Herbology, while her nose was sharp enough to pick up on what plants were needed in potions - a trait she was sure Draco had, no doubt.

When her wings melded back into her skin, she sighed. Her eyes settled back on the rose bushes that had been planted, but she no longer felt like they were an outlandish addition. Narcissa never planned to uproot them at all, but the fact that she had not planted them had made her controlling side flair up and lock her in place where Andromeda had found her. I've spent enough time being in my head. Nothing good will come of being like this. Narcissa thought back to Andromeda walking out, but she shoved the pain of the memory away. I should find Lucius before I visit Hermione. She's been in a state, too, and I need to make sure she is all right to return to Hogwarts. Narcissa did not know when she developed the trait of needing to govern everything around her, but it was not something she fought often. Narcissa got to her feet before she banished her gardening utensils back to the greenhouses.

As she walked back to the manor with her chin held high and her shoulders back, she allowed herself to think about her actions at the World Cup. Fairies were temperamental creatures; they did not like being hoodwinked, have their territory breached, nor did they tolerate any disrespect. It fazed Narcissa that she gave into the stress of these things at the Quidditch Cup, but her only regret was letting Draco and Hermione see her like that. I need to practice more self-control. I shouldn't teach the children to react to their fears with violence - especially with an official. She thought of Andromeda pleading with her, begging Narcissa to deny that she had not been a Death Eater. That's not who I am any more.

With that thought, It may have taken her a day and a half to recuperate from what she would have labeled as a meltdown, but the Malfoy Mistress was back to being an imposing fortress again.

A fortress that guarded a bleeding heart for a family that had been partially torn again.


Draco sent another textbook flying through the air to slam into the far bedroom wall. He reached for what would have been book number nine to send soaring after book number seven, but he only touched the cold wood of his desk. "Ugh!" He was now left with the choice of picking up the eight books he had already abused or throw his third year Care of Magical Creatures book - something he was not likely to repeat again as the last time he had treated it with blatant disregard, it chased him halfway though the East wing of the manor.

Harry Potter had a way of getting his hands into everything and it drove him mad. Who does he think he is? Sending me a letter in regards to Hermione's care all because she chooses not to reply to him! Good for her if she doesn't want to converse with the twat! Draco started to pick up the books he had thrown across the room, slamming them on top of each other, not caring what he was doing to the pages within the book covers.

At least, he tried not to care. His anger gave way to his guilt as he put the last book on top of the stack, knowing Hermione would be loosing her mind over the damage he was causing the tomes. He decided to plop himself on his bum to take his time fixing the pages, mulling over Potter's letter.

Malfoy,

I think you and I both know what Hermione did after the Quidditch Cup was not normal. She hasn't replied to my owl this whole week.

It's obvious you two are friends. I just want to know she's all right.

- Potter.

Am I a friend though? Do friends neglect to tell the other the truth about something as big as Death Eaters storming such a large event when they had experienced something so horrid last year? Draco ran his fingers through his hair before shaking it back into place. She would hate me. Draco thought about how he had nearly kissed her before the Death Eaters blew up a tent next to them. Even his strong feelings for her had been suffocated by guilt, just like a vine would cause a shrub to wither beneath its hold. Hermione is a good person. She doesn't need someone like me. It hurt to tell himself this when he truly wanted her to need him.

Draco stood up and wiped the stray, frustrated tear away from his face and clenched his jaw. Simultaneously, Crewe apparated into his room holding two plates of food for lunch. One plate was really for Hermione, but Crewe had refused to bring her any more meals until 'the misses felt better' as Hermione apparently started to throw clothes at him last time he had seen him. It terrified the house elf that he had become so close to being freed. Lucius usually wouldn't of had been so gracious in letting his house elf refuse an order, but after loosing Dobby, Lucius barely batted an eyelash before asking Draco to bring Hermione her morning and mid-day meals since Narcissa was having dinner again in Hermione's room in an attempt to coax her downstairs.

When Draco was outside of Hermione's bedroom door, he balanced her food on top of the glass of pumpkin juice so he could knock with his free hand. He let himself in shortly after when there was no response. She often pretended to sleep, or she was actually sleeping when he stopped by, but today, he walked in to find her crying. Hermione wasn't facing the door so all he could see was her back, which was shaking with every blubbering sound she made. This is all my fault. She's like this again because I didn't tell her. His hands curled into fits as the hate within himself doubled. There was a vial of a yellow potion his mother had left her, an indicator she was having trouble eating again. I need to fix this.

"Hermione."

She coughed from trying to stop her crying mid whine. She didn't turn around. "Mmm?"

"Hermione, come eat with me."

"Why should I? I'm not hungry." It was odd to hear her sound like that. In second year, he would have called her pitiful. Now her defeated voice just made his heart ache for her. "I want to be alone."

"Mother left your potion here. You know it makes you hungry." He tapped the vial twice on her desk, but she did not turn around to the sound of the glass knocking into the wood. He narrowed his eyes at her back when her only response was to wipe her nose. He looked at the potion in his hands, then her pumpkin juice. She was going to have his head if his idea worked, but she hadn't left her room for a week and he wasn't going to allow the behavior to go on any longer without making a genuine effort.

Putting the stopper between the front of his teeth, he gently wiggled it till it was loose enough for him to remove it without making an audible pop when released. "Fine. I won't force you to eat, but I will ask you to at least drink your pumpkin juice while I eat your serving." He poured the potion into the juice as he held his breath, hoping the color of the juice wouldn't turn. He swirled the mixture by using the technique his father did with wine. Draco was relieved when the color had not changed.

Draco could tell Hermione was trying not to give in to his request, but after a moment she slowly rolled over. She looked as if she would stay there, her eyes somewhat blank so he offered her a hand to help her sit up. When she took it and he didn't miss how cold her fingers were. He offered her the juice, which she took without hesitation, already giving up the fight. Anticipation had him wanting to bounce on the heels of his shoes, but he relaxed when she took a large gulp of the sweet elixir.

"That's it. Grape?" After placing one in his mouth, he offered her a green one from the mixed fruit cup on her plate after he sat down in the desk chair across from her. She shook her head before taking another drink.

Hermione smacked her lips that were puffy from her crying. "Is this a new flavour? I feel like there is a bit of lemon in it this time."

"I doubt it." Draco answered coolly. She made to set the cup down on her desk, but he touched the bottom of the cup, completely catching her off guard, and gently lifted it so she had to continue drinking. "Ah, ah, ah." Hermione had to lean back not to spill anything, but before long, he took his hand away. Draco felt some satisfaction seeing she had drank half of the mixture, meaning that it wouldn't be long before she would start to get hungry. He popped another grape in his mouth, even though she was now glaring at him. Draco looked out of her window and his eye caught the stack of unopened letters that were pushed neatly into a corner. Reading upside down he could see the address of 'Privet Drive' printed on it.

"You're not going to ask me how I'm doing? Did you come here just to loiter and force sugary drinks down my throat?"

Draco pushed away all thoughts of the letter he received from Harry and shrugged a single shoulder. "You look like shit, so you must feel like shit. It's been a week and I think I gave you enough space."

Hermione shook her head at him in exasperation and laid back down. She didn't roll over and instead stared up at the top of her four-poster bed. Several minutes passed before she looked over at him, one corner of her lips pulled upwards. "So you admit it: You are loitering."

Draco made a show of rolling his eyes. "Malfoys don't loiter."

He smiled when she attempted to laugh at her own joke after throwing her hands palm up as if to say my mistake. The act wasn't much, he knew that, but Merlin was he worried about her. "How are you, then? I, ah, missed you at dinner." Draco shoved another grape in his mouth as he looked down at the soft carpet on the hard wood floor.

Hermione looked at him then, her brown eyes seeming to look a little more there than not. "I missed having dinner with everyone too. I... I just couldn't leave. I couldn't face anyone. When I knew Narcissa was coming with dinner, I tried taking my dreamless draught early so I didn't need to face her. That only worked twice though." Hermione was grateful for Draco visiting her. He was a friend - a distraction. A heart racing, beautiful, part fairy distraction she could be honest with. The handful of days she was awake for dinner with Narcissa had been primarily quiet. Narcissa tried to get Hermione to come downstairs, or to talk, but already, she had said more words to Draco than she had to the Malfoy Matron - not to mention she was starting to get hungry. Something that hadn't happened to her since the Quidditch World Cup.

Since her flashback in the woods by the Quidditch stadium to be more precise.

"Can you pass me that fruit over there?" She held a hand out to Draco as he grabbed several grapes. Her stomach growled and she knew it would not be enough. "Can you pass me the whole cup? You can have the rest of the food there, I just want something light."

Draco suppressed a grin, knowing the Black potion was finally kicking in. "Are you sure you don't want anything else?"

"No, I should be alright with this." Hermione sat up again once the miniature ceramic bowl was in her hands. This is good. This is improvement. When Dr. Augsen came to visit her on Monday to make up for the missed Saturday appointment, she only listened and refused to answer Dr. Augsen's questions. After thirty or so minutes, her therapist left, but not without telling Hermione that she had been doing well and was sorry to see her like this.

"Draco, what's today?"

"Friday."

It really has been a whole week - What? Hermione's fingers had hit the bottom of the cup. Her appetite had more than just started up again, but had completely returned to her. Hermione frowned into the empty dish before looking at the plate of food that Draco had come in with. It was completely untouched, as Draco had sat there, head resting on his fist as he watched her. Seeing her glance over to her lunch, he grabbed the plate before holding it out to her as he knew what she wanted.

Hermione greedily took the plate from his hands. Lamb that was adorned with olives, feta, and paired with a side of fondant potato greeted her on the warmed plate. Hermione stabbed her fork into the potato and twisted to rip off a piece of it. Her eyes closed and she kicked her feet in delight at the savory food.

"Going to take your lunch to the Yule Ball, I reckon?"

She swallowed and took a sip of her Pumpkin juice to rinse any bits of potato in her mouth. She started to feel like she was starving, but that didn't mean that she was going to start talking with food in her mouth like Ron did when he couldn't decide if swallowing or being a part of the conversation around him was more important. "Oh, shut up. Is the Yule Ball something..." Hermione's voice trailed off as her hunger seemed to hit an all too familiar peak. Her eyes darted over where Narcissa had left the potion.

Draco was carefully arranging the letters on her desk into a pyramid like he sometimes saw his house mates do in the Slytherin Common room with Exploding Snap cards, so he didn't see the anger that clouded her face. "Did mother not talk to you about?" Draco assumed Hermione had gotten the same, humiliating talk that Lucius had given him. He focused even more at the task he was working on to avoid her seeing the blush on his face. "We're not supposed to know, but the Triwizard Tournament-"

"Did you put the potion in my drink?"

The envelopes collapsed beneath his hand as he was putting the fifth and sixth letter on top of the three he had already arranged. Damn it. He set the letters down and looked at her, anticipating her wanting to hit him again, but instead he found her furiously chewing on a piece of lamb instead. He opened his mouth unsure of what to say before he decided that nothing good would come out of a lie. "Yes."

Hermione didn't know what to say after receiving his honesty. She would have at least expected Ron to lie to her. "So drugging people is just a Slytherin thing then, is that it?" She furiously cut the rest of her lamb into pieces. He stayed quiet, but she refused to look up, deciding to cut up the rest of her potato into bite sized pieces after she was done with the meat. Hermione only looked up from her plate when she heard the bedroom door close. She was once again alone in her room.

If she hadn't drunk the potion, her hunger would have been replaced for the feeling of her throat closing up and dropping like a stone into her abdomen. Tears pricked at her eyes, and she wanted to put her food down to chase after him to tell him he had no right to be mad at her when he was the one who gave her something she didn't want to drink in the first place. Instead she just continued eating so she at least wouldn't have to deal with the discomfort of hunger before she went to chew him out.

Hermione never got the chance to though as he came back into her room with his own plate food in his hands. Draco didn't look up at her as he started to cut up his serving of lamb. He was back to being irate, but he knew he was wrong. He didn't want to acknowledge the fact, but he did. Draco felt everything he had touched either got bad or became worse when it came to Hermione. "I'm. Sorry." Draco coughed before taking a long drink from his serving of Pumpkin juice. He could count on one hand how many times he uttered those words. Even with him only being a quarter fae, he felt as if a hot rod had been shoved down his throat. "I can make it up to you. There's something I've been wanting to show you for a while now."

"It hurts for you to say that, doesn't it?" Draco looked at Hermione at that to see she now wore a look of sympathy. Unless she knew about his heritage before the Quidditch World Cup, which he doubted, she knew because of Narcissa's crying when they had returned home. Lucius had cast a drying charm on Narcissa's back and served everyone tea when he returned to the room to break them up, but it was too late. Hermione had already taken notice of the salt water coming from Narcissa. "To literally say the words 'I'm sorry', I mean."

"It... Does." She gave a quick nod and he could literally see her filing away the confirmation of her suspicions of Draco and Narcissa. "It can also cause discomfort to hear it."

"I see." They ate in silence. Draco expected to be hit with rapid fire questions, but instead, Hermione put her nose in the air and looked at him with a steady gaze. "Then at your willingness to put yourself in pain to apologize to me for something that was downright despicable, I will accept your apology. And whatever you want to show me to make up for it." He laughed and she managed a small smile. He was infuriating, but Hermione was aware she needed him just as much as she needed Ron and Harry. "But don't put yourself in pain again for me. They're just words and I do in fact agree that they can be very dismissive. It took me a while to realize that."

She's so brilliant and... Good. I wonder if she would still forgive me if she found out I wasn't only apologizing for the potion. Draco forced himself to look down at his food when he caught his eyes lingering on her for more than was socially acceptable. "I can live with that, wouldn't want you to get used to it anyway."


For once, Hermione didn't mind that she was crying in front of Draco. The yellow rose bushes that surrounded the makeshift tombstone he had written on in memory of her parents meant more to her than their actual graves. This is how she would have remembered her parents if they were allowed to be cremated. Draco sat one end of the stone bench in a small attempt at feigning privacy. He didn't need to hear that she loved what he had done, he already knew that she did.

"Draco, this is everything to me." She finally said as she sniffled and dragged her arm against her nose to wipe off the snot that was falling with her nose. Draco tossed a handkerchief into her lap and she thanked him with a watery smile. After blowing her nose into it, she looked around the rose bushes to see if she could find the rest of the flowers from the bouquet. "Were you only able to save the roses?" Her voice was still choked up as she wiped at the tears leaking from her eyes.

"Yes." His reply was simple and Hermione didn't ask him to elaborate. "I suppose mum had found the roses I planted though. They weren't nearly this big the last time I was here." Draco scooted across the bench so he was that much more closer to Hermione, who had opted to kneel on the grass when he surprised her with the memorial.

Hermione's heart was full of so many emotions. It felt heavy as she allowed herself to mourn her parents, especially after such an elaborate flashback, but at the same time, it felt as if it was soaring. He's so kind and caring. How were we ever enemies before? They sat there in silence, Draco wondering what was on Hermione's mind, while Hermione was thinking about Draco. He only ever tries to take care of me... Was he really going to kiss me? No- He doesn't see me that way. I'm sure of it. Swallowing what she saw as the truth, she pressed a thumb to the inside petal of a half bloomed rose, enjoying the smooth texture of the petal. So Narcissa found the roses...

"What are you thinking?"

"What is it like being a fairy?" Hermione whispered the question even though they were the only two in the outer gardens.

Draco couldn't stop the smooth pull of his lips from being caught off guard with her question. As his mouth automatically settled into a smirk, he licked his lips before giving a small laugh. "And here I thought you would be mad enough that I wasn't going to be bombarded with questions today." After they finished eating and Draco announced that they needed to go to the gardens to see what he had reserved for her, Hermione practically fought him tooth and nail on the notion. He said a bath and sunlight would make her feel better, but she disagreed, arguing she would rather stay inside all day. Hermione had no intention of giving in until he had returned from her bathroom, where she heard a bath being drawn.

Draco stood at the foot of her bed, shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She sat with her back to the headboard, arms crossed over her chest. "Granger-"

"Oh, I'm Granger now?" Hearing him open the faucet so her tub could fill with water just annoyed her further and she resorted to mocking him.

"I will pick you up and toss you into the bathtub - Night clothes and all."

Being stubborn as ever, Hermione just blinked at him, not believing he would. They unintentionally started a staring match and Hermione was determined not to move or blink at all. Slowly though, she watched his face darken to the point that she was becoming convinced he would throw her into the bath. She gulped and Draco raised an eyebrow before taking a step towards the side of her bed. She put one hand down on the mattress, registering what Draco was going to do. When he lunged for her, she was just able to roll off the mattress with a squeal.

"Okay, okay! You win!" Hermione immediately headed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. What a brat! Always has to have his way! She was breathing heavily, as she pressed her back against the door, but her smile wasn't forced this time. It was only then that she accepted that she should give in to his coaxing because Draco was right and she was wrong. She needed to be moving again, nothing good would come out of being idle.

"You wanted me out of my funk, and for simplicity sake, we'll say I am. That means you have to deal with my insufferable curiosity." Hermione looked at him and wagged a finger to punctuate Snape's favorite adjective for her. "How different are you from another wizard? Other than the Ichor?"

"I... I suppose I'm not too different." The turn in conversation had been sudden, and Draco found himself being uneasy for a multitude of reasons. One being he would have thought he would have liked the attention if he was able to tell everyone he wasn't fully human, but now that he was under Hermione's studious gaze, it settled in why it had to be kept a secret, especially at the mention of the coveted Unseelie Blood. While potions masters and apothecaries alike would kill for a steady supply of fairy dust, something only given by the Seelie court of fairies, the Unseelie court fairies had been hunted to near extinction for their blood. They were considered to be protected beings under the Ministry of Magic, but poachers didn't exactly care about not breaking the law.

Hermione didn't believe him. "That's a load of rubbish." Hermione felt a light breeze and she couldn't stop herself from inhaling. She started to catch his scent, but she exhaled as soon as she did, never taking her eyes off the leaves of the bushes that rustled in the wind. I need to get over this crush, just like I had with Ron. "Do you have wings, too?"

"No. I don't think I can morph like mother can."

"Morph? Is she a Metamorphagus?"

"No, although I have an aunt who is." Draco paused as he didn't think this was a conversation that he would be having with Hermione. He thought that his mother would be the one to tell her and explain how the Blacks had gotten them to this point, but now that his secret was out in the open, he was more than aware she wouldn't stop until she had answers. Draco couldn't deny his discomfort with the heavy topic, but it was much better to the alternative of her crying all day in her room, so he kept the dialogue open. "I'll start from the beginning if you want, but you'll need to let me talk uninterrupted."

"Okay." Hermione put her chin on to the end of the stone bench, eyes wide with anticipation.

Draco took his time gathering his thoughts. Hermione tapped a finger on the grass as she waited patiently, something she thought she should practice more. "When it comes to the classifications of fairies, there are two main kinds. There are those of the Seelie court - which are the ones most wizards think about when they hear the name fairy. They are the small, colorful, and are more inclined to be kind creatures. Fairies of the Unseelie court, however, are human sized. A full bloodied fae is unable to completely blend in with a human, but someone like mother, who is only half fae, can change between the two forms."

"Then does she have any extraordinary powers? Why are the two courts so different?"

"I'll never get to tell you everything if you're going to interrupt me after I say one thing." Hermione made a face before making the motion of zipping her lips shut and locking it. "Mother, to my understanding, pretty much has full use of a fairy's power if she is in her true form, but since she is only a half-blood, she has to be in contact with whatever she wants to use that kind of magic on. I feel you may have witnessed that with Fudge?"

Hermione's sucked her bottom lip between her two teeth as she thought back to that night. "I don't think so, when Narcissa and Andromeda performed... Whatever they had on Fudge, it involved the moonlight, a potion, dirt and blood." Hermione looked over her shoulder as if Narcissa would jump out at any moment to scold her.

"Wait, did you just say Andromeda?" Draco's eyebrows pulled together as he scooted closer to Hermione. That's impossible. She was burned off the family tree!

"Yes, do you know her?" Hermione lifted her head and leaned closer in her excitement of possibly finding another piece to the many puzzles she had in her life.

"That's the name of my aunt but... She was disowned. There is no way she could have been here..." Or could she have been? That was a question Draco thought would be better addressed at another time, and so he continued his conversation. "What you described sounded like a mix of fairy and wizard magic, so maybe mother reconnected with her." Draco's eyes searched the ground between them as he thought about how maybe his mother was a muggleborn sympathizer before Hermione entered his life. It didn't sound so far fetched when he realized that maybe Narcissa played the part of a blood purist to keep the search off of her own trail. Technically speaking, we're not purebloods. Draco shook his head at where his train of thoughts were headed. Muggleborns weren't horrendous like his parents always taught him they were, but that didn't mean he was going to stop thinking he was less pure than them. He and Hermione were just as valuable.

"Wait - Why was she cut out? Is she half fae, too?"

"Yes. My grandparents disowned her for marrying a half-blood." Draco didn't need to look at her face to know she was angry at that - he heard the sharp intake of breath.

"How foul! Their own daughter!" Draco chose not to respond as his gaze fell down to his shoes. Draco found it odd that while his brain still found his grandparent's reasoning understandable, although his heart completely disagreed with it. His silence came across to Hermione as him not wanting to talk about it much more so she brought the conversation back to their original topic. "Narcissa's eyes change color when she wants us to do something."

"Something like that." This was the part of his heritage where things became what gossipy witches would have called messy. "My mother's parents, Cygnus and Druella Black, were unable to conceive children, namely, Cygnus was unable to produce any. It would have been an embarrassment to them if the Black line had ended there and it worried them both. The Rosier family - My grandmother's surname before she married Cygnus - were known for their connections to the fae though. I don't know if it was Cygnus or Druella who contacted the King of the Unseelie Court -"

"You say Court as in an actual Kingdom? I don't mean to interrupt but -"

"Yes, I didn't get to finish explaining that earlier." The smile he threw at her was only half-teasing, but Draco continued to talk about the lore, nonetheless. "There are many different stories on how the courts became divided, but there are some things that stay consistent in most of the teachings: There was a garden governed by two wizards. There were rules that they were to follow and one day, the female wizard broke one and she had to leave, along with her innocent mate. The garden was supposed to have everything they ever needed - food, water, shelter, everything - it was a private utopia, something they would not experience on the outside. When it came to the fairies though, there was civil unrest within the once singular court. Half of them wanted to explore and follow the wizards, while the other half wanted to stay. Thus, those who stayed deemed themselves to be a part of the Seelie court while the fairies who left, dubbed themselves as the Unseelie court once their bodies took on their new transformation - a reflection of the new world around them."

Sounds like bullocks to me. Hermione thought the story sounded much to similar to the story of Adam and Eve being forced out of the Garden of Eden, but she didn't mention it.

"Anyways, my grandmother Druella decided to make a pact with fairies. Not once, but three times to give her my aunt Bellatrix, my aunt Andromeda, and mother."

"What did she have to give up?"

Hermione had seen Draco portray several different emotions; cockiness, anger, giddiness, but the one she hated to see him experience almost as much as fear, was uncertainty. Draco Malfoy was a lot of things, but if he allowed you to see him uncertain, there was an issue. "I don't know."

Hermione slowly nodded. It was safe to assume that Narcissa refused to tell Draco what Druella had to pay. While the fairies had great powers to do what Wizards could only dream of, it was always documented in the texts she read from that it came with a great price.

"To further expand on your question from earlier, my aunts and mother were each given a gift. Mother has the ability to manipulate magical contracts to her needs, Andromeda is able to pick up on lies being told, and Bellatrix has the ability of sight. No invisibility cloak or disillusionment charm will work on her."

Hermione thought about each ability. Someone using a cloak or a charm could easily be found out with the right spell and knowing when someone was lying could only be useful in specific scenarios. Being able to verbally bind someone though... "I think your mother got the best gift, then. Can you do that, too?"

"Perhaps 'gift' isn't the best word. There are drawbacks to it. Having to lie is nearly impossible and a contract is always two-sided. Breaking your end of it has consequences."

Her reply was a murmured, "Of course."

"What I can do though, is pick up on what the missing ingredients are in potions. At least when it comes to the plant portion. Sometimes creatures since the fae naturally have a basic understanding with a lot of them."

"That's interesting." Hermione's head tilted to the side a little. "Is it like a sixth sense?"

"It's all in the nose." Draco's head wrinkled as he remembered all of the charmed rosettes at the World Cup. Usually he was able to ignore the smell of dead flowers, but the world cup had been difficult with the amount of flowers the salesmen had. He knew flowers did not smell like the putrid scent he associated them with, but shivered as he remembered the odor permeating his narrow nostrils. It was enough to force him to fight off a gag if he focused on it too long.

"So... When Narcissa was at the funeral, her face wasn't due to being round so many muggles?"

Draco looked at Hermione, discovering where her thoughts had ended up. "Yes. It all had to do with the flowers, she's much more sensitive than I am."

Hermione felt stupid as tears welled up in her eyes for the third time that day, but she couldn't help it. It was a small thing that only bothered her once in a blue, but first impressions were hard to shake, especially since she had her first break down shortly after laying her eyes on Narcissa. They do care - Why do I keep trying to convince myself they don't! Hermione looked down at her lap, willing the tears not to fall, while she turned away from Draco. What have I done for them but cause problems or put Narcissa into a panic? Even Lucius, Hermione was still unsure if she heard him right, called me... his daughter. Family. How am I supposed to show them that I care when I continue to doubt them?

"Hermione, are you still there?" He called out to her several times, but she didn't look up. It had been a while since Hermione had zoned out in front of him and it unsettled him to see her do it now, more than it ever had before.

This time though, she slowly looked over at him, blinking away the rabbit hole she nearly fell into. She still had a far away look on her face, but her eyes were present and shining. "Have your parents ever done a game night?


"Just to make sure I have this correct," Lucius held up the parchment Hermione had placed in front of the Malfoys, on the small drawing room table. "You can't speak, but we have to somehow guess what our partners are... pantomiming?"

"Correct." Hermione stood with her fingers laced over her chest as she looked between the three of them. She had already debriefed Draco on the game, and together they had convinced his parents that it would be fun for them to spend time together. Narcissa was immediately taken by the idea which left Lucius unable to refuse. "Draco helped me convert some of the game rules so it's more wizard friendly; You can't use your wands or spell anything out. If the word or phrase you pull from the jar is a book, you can pretend you're reading a book so we know that's the category it's in. If it's a creature, you can flap your arms like an owl and if it's-"

"I can read." Lucius was in fact reading the parchment as she spoke, his eyes zipping from her right to left faster than she was speaking.

"Be nice." Narcissa chided. She was hesitant with the idea, but intrigued at the new activity Hermione had called Charades - Especially since it seemed like it was an event that would bring them all together.

Lucius looked up to see Hermione had her hands on her hips as she looked at him. "My apologies, continue." Lucius put the parchment down as he had finished reading, anyway.

Hermione was only a bit affronted, but she accepted the apology. "Crewe agreed to help by keeping time, so as soon as your teammate guesses the thing in question, pull another slip from the jar. There's no limit to how many points your team can get." Draco and Hermione almost ended up in another row when she insisted they ask Crewe to help instead of giving him the order to help. Luckily, Draco gave in and Crewe agreed to assist. "Did you have any questions? Narcissa?"

"No. In the very least this is bound to be a good laugh." Narcissa clapped her hands together, nearly slipping into the role of hostess. "So shall we do Young vs. Old? Ladies vs. Lads?" Narcissa winked at Hermione who giggled.

"I think it'd be best if Draco and I were partners-"

Lucius pointed a finger at Hermione, a indiscernible look on his face as if he had caught her doing something he did not quite disapprove of. "He would know the game better than any of us since he's been learning from you all day - Nice try, but it'd be fair if you were paired with Narcissa."

"It'd really just put you at a disadvantage if we were on the same team, father." Draco had a twinkle in his eye the resembled the one he had when Lucius encouraged Draco to talk about Quidditch one Christmas dinner a few months ago. "You and mum practically communicate nonverbally."

Lucius narrowed his eyes at his son before breaking out into a small smile. "Touché, but Hermione ought to go first so Narcissa and I know for sure what we're getting into." More quietly he added, "And to determine if I need more wine for this."

Hermione missed the grin Draco shot her after getting a one up on his father. She had stuck her hand in the jar to pull out a single word. Ballet. Easy enough. Hermione nodded at Crewe to start the one minute timer before she raised her hands to her eyes to pretend she was holding a camera, signaling her word had to do with the arts. Hermione took a before performing two less than wobbly fouettés. On her third, Draco made his guess.

"Spinning top! Wait, Ballet!"

Hermione nodded and pulled another word out of the jar. Mermaid. After waving her arms, Hermione dropped to the floor and pretended to brush her hair over one shoulder. Hermione thought it would have been obvious as it was an action she saw one of the animated stained glass windows at Hogwarts do, but Draco simply stared at her. She threw her hands out in front of her before bringing them around to her sides in a motion that was supposed to make it look as if she was swimming.

"Veela?"

Hermione shook her head at the same time Crewe announced the remaining time. "Fifteen seconds." Hermione pointed at her legs out in front of her, keeping her heels together and toes apart in an attempt to make it look like a fish tail.

"Oh!" Narcissa patted Lucius on the arm several times. "I know what it is." Her excited whisper only made Draco more nervous.

"A Grindylow? Cockatrice? A Niffler- No-"

"Time is up, Young Master." Crewe looked as if he were trying to contain his excitement watching the family he served have a night of fun.

"A mermaid."

Hermione threw her head back and groaned. "Yes, but we don't get the point. Time was already called." Hermione got to her feet with an eyebrow raised. "A Grindylow? Really?"

Draco shrugged a shoulder bashfully. "It was the first thing that game to mind."

"Oh really, I couldn't tell." Hermione poked him in his side as she sat next to him. "Whose up next?"

"Lucius is." Narcissa offered before patting her husband on his back, in an almost doting fashion, but it really came off as condescending.

Lucius took it in stride, though and turned a charming smile on Narcissa in an attempt to deflect the offer. "Me? But ladies first." He waved an arm in front of him, causing Narcissa to laugh.

"As the head of house, you should lead by example." The two adults were silent for as they stared at each other, neither wanting to crack, lest they be forced to go first.

Hermione knew a big part of why they had agreed to do the game night was to amuse her and Draco after a terrible week, but Hermione was choosing to ignore the fact just like the adults were so she could enjoy the night. They were in fact, communicating in their own way and it intimidated her that they had such an intense understanding. "If they win, I'm telling all of Hogwarts that you sleep with at least three stuffies every night."

Draco narrowed his eyes at her, not paying attention to his father who had just walked to the center of the room. "You wouldn't."

"You're right. I'd tell all of Gryffindor who would tell the rest of Hogwarts." She gave him a look that said that she meant every word she said.

"Ahem." When all eyes were on him, Lucius reached into the jar and pulled out a piece of parchment. Lucius looked crossed between sulky and tired as he looked at the paper. "Go ahead, Crewe."

The elf nodded his head, his ear flopping as he did so. "Time has started, sir."

Lucius raised both of his arms and lowered them several times, obviously not comfortable with vigorously flapping them. Hermione imagined Lucius was trying to hold on to his dignity for dear life while trying to make everyone else happy with his participation. Lucius put a hand on the top of his head, fingers flexed and pointing towards the high ceiling of the drawing room as he walked around in a circle.

A peacock? Perhaps a chicken? Hermione tilted her head to the side. Perhaps a mooncalve?

"I think you need to get into character a bit more, I don't know what you're doing." Narcissa sounded completely amused by her husbands embarrassment. Lucius gave her a withering look, convinced she knew what he was doing.

"Aww, It's just us! No need to be shy." Hermione couldn't stop the grin on her face when she taunted Lucius. He huffed and Hermione stifled a giggle by biting on to the knuckle of her thumb at his childish behavior.

Lucius felt ridiculous and now his family was taunting him. Family. Draco was torn between making eye contact with his father to avoid making Lucius more distressed, and joining in making fun of him. Seeing his son torn again on a night he should have been enjoying for a second weekend in a row struck a chord within Lucius. Narcissa probably knew what he was, but thought letting him make a spectacle out of himself was better than winning. Now that he took the time to think about it though, he didn't mind. Narcissa had been distraught until Andromeda spoke to her - Which was surprising after he heard what the context of the conversation was.

Then there was Hermione, who he had recently and publicly claimed as his daughter. He admitted to himself that her ability to bounce back from what had happened was admirable. The fact that she arranged a game night after being a recluse for an entire week made him feel a little, dare he say, proud?

Lucius came to the decision that he didn't want to disappoint them because his ego was too large.

"Sir, there's thirty seconds left. Would you like to stop?" Crewe's question was timid and it reflected the same uncertainty as Draco.

Shit. Now feeling the pressure of time, Lucius crouched down and folded his arms in to look like more like wings. He moved his neck back and forth as he walked around in a circle. There was silence as Hermione and Draco's jaws dropped before they clutched their sides in laughter.

Narcissa was ecstatic to finally see her husband drop another wall he kept up between him and Draco. "A chicken! No? A Peacock!"

Lucius rolled his shoulders forward after withdrawing the next piece of parchment and swung his arms around this time for his next clue to Narcissa. "Troll?" Lucius shook his head, prompting Narcissa for a second guess. "Giant!"

Lucius pulled out another slip of paper, which caused him to immediately drop into the Sphinx pose. Hermione was impressed that Lucius didn't seem to hesitate to throw himself on the floor.

"Fifteen seconds, Sir." Crewe's voice was trembling. The elf was terrified seeing his master behave in such a manor and Draco understood why. His father was terrifying, not a fun-loving, easy-going family man. Draco had never seen his father act this way and he considered that maybe his mother might have put Lucius under the imperious curse.

"Oh, I'm not quite sure-" Lucius rubbed his fist against the side of his head like a cat, causing some hairs to stick up. "Sphinx!" Another correct guess.

"Time is ups, Sir."

When Lucius stood, he made a show of dusting off his clothes. "Three points versus your one."

Hermione was now over her shock and looked at Draco in surprise. She thought that she and Draco would have the upper hand for sure, but Lucius had proved to be a worthy opponent. "Draco, we have to wi - Oh!"

The feeling of something cold going down Hermione's spin stopped her in her tracks.

"Whose visiting after dinner?" Draco was almost as confused as Hermione was was, but his question had answered one she didn't even know she had. Oh, is that what that feeling means? Hermione found it was actually a brilliant idea to alert you when someone was at your residence.

Hermione flinched when Crewe disapparated on the spot so he could open the front doors of the manor. Lucius quickly strode off to greet whomever was at the front of the manor, the tail of his shirt still untucked, but his was wand drawn.


"This is why I bloody say we eat the rich." Moe Besser grumbled as he walked down the rocky pathway to the manor. He had trained under Griselda when she was still an auror and ever since then, his loyalty had lied with her. She was as formidable as any other man, and was also not easily offended when something crass was said in front of her. Thus, Besser was taken with her and did anything she said. He also made sure he over delivered, too, even if all he had to do was train new aurors - like he had to tonight. "No reason anyone should have this much money." The rambling was typical of the older auror, and while Timothy Finn hated being paired with Besser, he listened. Everyone at the Ministry agreed that Besser provided results like no other, but Finn secretly thought that was due to the seasoned auror not following the books like Finn preferred.

Usually, Finn was much more timid around Besser, but between the "Initiation Ceremonies" all the new auror recruits were being forced to participate in by the veteran aurors and the exhaustion he felt from from said ceremonies, he didn't care how Besser would take him disagreeing with his opinion. "Maybe they just worked for it, and deserve to live so lavishly."

"You're a god-damn idiot sometimes, you know that?" The insult was one of many that favorite Besser reserved for his trainees. "Did you read the file?"

"Yes. This property belongs to the Malfoys." They were almost to the front door now, but Finn's mind was so far away. He wanted nothing more than to catch some sleep. Agitation flashed through him every time he felt pain behind his eyeballs from being awake for so long. Maybe they'll let me get two or three consecutive hours tonight...

"Which means that Lucius bloke didn't even lift a finger for it. It was all inherited. I'd feel a little different if it was earned - not that different though."

"I see." Finn left it at that. Not wanting to trigger Besser into another rant.

When they got to the top of the stairs and Finn went to use the knocker on the large, wooden doors, Besser grabbed his forearm. "We're going to rough him up a little before we bring him in, you understand? Griselda said we're allowed to use force if necessary and with this escaped Death Eater, I want him to know that he's still going to be held accountable for what the Wizarding World went though. And I want you to do it this time."

"Wasn't he found innocent?" Finn did not want to "rough" whoever Lucius was or anyone up. Besser's version of using force was breaking bones and making wizards bleed. When the medics had to be called in once their detainee was at the Ministry, Besser blamed it on splinching or a floo accident. The Wizards who were arrested always tried to tell whoever else they ran into the truth, but no one cared. Finn learned it was just how the system was, and it was a system he was meant to obey if he wanted the job.

Besset's slightly cheery face dropped before he rolled his eyes. "Fucking idiot. Listen, when we separate him from his family, we're going to take a little detour and you're going to use the cruciatus curse on him. The Death Eaters loved using that one back in the day - A little tit for tat."

Finn suddenly felt awake at that, his mentor kick-starting an adrenaline rush with a fresh wave of anger. "Are you barmy? Not even you are allowed to use that curse anym-"

The heavy looking door swung open with ease and Lucius Malfoy himself was now standing in the door way. One side of his head had a bit of a messy look to it, but other than that, he looked as perfect as always from what the aurors could see of him. "I do apologize if you are a bit lost from wherever you two are going, but please do me the favor and leave before I contact reputable aurors." Lucius' barely even acknowledged Finn as he stared down Besser. If looks could kill, Besser would be dead ten times over as he stared at the man who had arrested he and Narcissa so many years ago.

Besser only smiled and gave a forced laugh. "Oh, but we're not lost. We're here to arrest you - Again." Besser saw movement behind Lucius and he rudely poked his head in to see Narcissa, Hermione and Draco all standing there.

"Lucius, are they here to collect our statements?" Narcissa took several steps forward, but she stopped when Lucius looked back at her.

She hadn't heard what the aurors had said, but she knew that if Lucius was attempting to stop her from joining him, then something was surely amiss.

"What are you gentlemen on about?" Lucius changed his tone, but it was hardly as placating as Besser thought it should be. "There will be no arrests tonight, but if you are here to take our statements, come inside and I'll summon-" Lucius had went to put his wand away, but Besser, not being one to miss an opportunity, acted.

"WAND!" Besser punched Lucius before disarming the former Death Eater. Finn thought it would have been best if Besser would have bound Lucius right then and there, but the two men thought nothing alike as Besser swung again at the blonde before tackling him.

Despite being knocked to the ground, Lucius started to fight back. They rolled around on the floor of the door way as Narcissa watched horrified. To Hermione and Draco, it was almost another rerun of watching Lucius and Arthur grapple on the floor of Flourish and Blotts, except Hermione was still unnerved though, because while Arthur worked for the Ministry, he had not been the wizard equivalent of an on duty cop.

"Do something! He attacked for no reason!" Hermione screamed at the other auror who was just standing there with dark circles under his eyes, punctuating the roundness of them as he starred, unsure of how to act.

"Uh..." The young auror pulled out his wand and aimed at the two men... and did nothing. Finn was scared, trying to remember any useful information or training that was passed to him from others - Even trying to remember advise Besser had given him. He walked into the manor then around the men, but for some reason he couldn't make the call on who to curse. Mr. Malfoy is a civilian, and we're supposed to protect them. Besser attacked first, but he's also an auror, and should be respected. Lucius can be charged for assault even if it was self defense, so does that mean he's in the wrong? Panic and frustration only filled the young auror when Lucius flipped Besser and pinned him down. Lucius started to rain blows on to the auror and Finn said the first spell that came to mind that would get him to stop. "Crucio."

Lucius' back arched before her felt to his side with a heavy thud. He didn't scream as he twitched as Finn's heart wasn't fully in the incantation, but hell had already break loose before he could severe the curse.

"NO!"

Narcissa took a step forward to intervene, her wand out, but somehow Hermione found herself jumping on to the young auror's back before Narcissa had even gotten close. Despite Finn being years older, he was only several inches taller than Hermione and was easy to top over with the force of her weight colliding into him.

When Finn's head hit the portrait that was hanging in the hallway, that was the moment where he felt he could understand the anger Besser had festered over the years. Something within him snapped, finally accepting the truth of being out on the field after a year at the auror academy. None of his missions and assignments had been what he imagined, nothing was easy, and the citizens were simply uncooperative on a good day. Two weeks on the field and he was over it.

But more than being over it, he was now angry. Angry, sleep deprived, and unable to think clearly.

Finn stood up before Hermione had the chance to tighten the hold she had on him. Finn pushed her against the wall and in his peripheral vision, he could see Narcissa rushing towards him, but Besser's words were now the loudest in his head as he turned his wand on Hermione: Tit for tat. Tit for tat. Tit for tat. "Crucio."

In Hermione's mind, the gruesome curse that was uttered was an intense Legato that altered her perception of reality after it was uttered in a matter of seconds; The first thought Hermione could piece together was that she should have been able to feel the violent vibrato of her vocal chords as they rubbing against each other, but instead, there was only the feeling of her magical core being attacked mercilessly. The only other time she could feel her magical core so prominently was when she had drunk the potion Theo left her, and while that had been pleasant, this was more than just the opposite. Her core felt as if it would collapse into itself and burst at the same time, a cacophony of pain she would have done anything to stop - The pain was a fortissimo that danced along the decibel that would kill her in an instant -

And then it did stop. When the cruciatus released its vicious grasp on her, so did her consciousness.

She thought the last thing she was able to hear was Draco calling her name, but she really wasn't sure.


T/W: TORTURE SCENE.

A/N: Man, I hope y'all like this chapter. There was a bit to unpack and I ended up making it a little longer than I usually do.

Saoirse820: Oh my gosh, thank you so much and welcome! I am always delighted to hear someone enjoys my writing!

Lady-Werempire: Perdóname si esto no tiene mucho sentido, estoy usando Google Translate. Muchas gracias! Espero algún día publicar mi propio libro, pero significa mucho para mí que usted lo atesore tanto como yo.

AshKat5678: Thank you and welcome! I hope you enjoyed this update.

Alice Helena: Gah, thank you! If I was actually good at digital art, I would totally try and draw that scene for you! I am so happy to hear you thought she got kidnapped, I was hoping that part sounded believable because I did want people to think that for a good second.
YES! YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE TO CATCH THAT FOR SHADOWING (Or at least mention it, haha)

MotekElm: Thank you! I hope all is well with you.

Zahra Arya Hghar: Thank you! I may or may not have Jason Isaacs as the screen saver on my phone... :)

NovelIsRoman: I hope you enjoyed it! Welcome!

KangBoRam: AWWWWW I teared up again reading that. Thank you so much for telling me that! I try!

JeanRoseElliot: Thank you!

meooowwwdramionelover: Thank you so much! I hope you liked this chapter!

Ms. Anbu-Chan: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy it and found this chapter enlightening! Narcissa is half fairy and Draco is quarter fairy. The Fairy kingdom is split into two kingdoms, one called Seelie, one called Unseelie. Draco and Narcissa are part of the Unseelie.

Shawnjoell: I'm happy you enjoyed this chapter!

Unsterblichkai: Welcome! I am happy to hear you are enjoying the story, but thank you so much for bringing that to my attention. I will for sure work on that in future writings and will be sure to correct that once I revise the earlier chapters.