"Granger!"

Hermione turned to see the Australian ambassador waving to her from the station's opening. McIntyre was wearing a cute blue pastel jacket with pink pastel pants and a matching purse.

… And Hermione was in a grey knitted sweater and jeans, her usual purse slung over her shoulder.

Great. Now Hermione felt ridiculously underdressed. McIntyre had said she should wear something casual, though!

I'm sure you look fine, Mio. And uh… heads up, but Obaa-san says she wants to meet you properly, so she's insisting that we brew at my place today and wants you to come there after your lunch.

What? Oh lovely. Not that Hermione was opposed to spending more time with Tetsurou's family, but mental preparation would have been preferable and—

You'll be fine, love. Just enjoy your lunch.

Right.

Well, nothing she could do about that now. Hermione waved back at the blonde and made her way through the crowd toward her.

For goodness sake, even the girl's boots coordinated with her jacket! They were the exact same pastel blue. "Your outfit is cute."

"Thanks!" McIntyre grinned at her. "There are some great shops around Harajuku, I'd be happy to take you some time!"

"Harajuku?"

The tall blonde gave her a pitying look. "Oh dear, you really haven't explored much, have you?" McIntyre looped her arm through Hermione's, tugging her out toward the street. "We'll definitely have to shop sometime! Japan's fashion industry is so great! I mean, you'll find some really weird things sometimes, but I've heard British wizards like weird fashion items, right? So you should totally take those back for your friends."

"That would definitely be a bad idea." Hermione shook her head. "They'd think that the clothes are normal and would wear them the next time they went somewhere!"

McIntyre laughed, "The clothes aren't that terrible, promise! They'd defo get a few odd looks, but anything would be better than a robe, am I right?" She turned to the right, releasing Hermione's arm to open up a doorway that led to a stairwell. "After you! The cafe is in the basement, so just go down those stairs and you'll be at the front door."

Right…. Hermione wasn't exactly thrilled about heading into an unknown basement, but the stairwell was at least well lit, with checker-patterned stairs and… was that a playing card made into a knight?

"You said this cafe was Alice in Wonderland themed?"

"Yup! They take themes really seriously here." The door shut behind McIntyre, and Hermione cautiously made her way down the stairs. There was a mirror on the ceiling that reflected the stairwell back at them, making the whole passageway rather disorienting.

The doors at the bottom were propped open, and a woman greeted them in rapid Japanese, which McIntyre responded to with ease. "Come on, this way."

Hermione was so overwhelmed, she didn't know where to look first. There was some sort of carousel in the middle? Except the horses and such had been taken out and instead there were booths lining the bottom of the ride. And the checkerboard pattern continued across the floor, with mirrors reflecting the pattern in every direction and chandeliers everywhere you could possibly fit one. Not to mention the character cutouts or storybook murals

Hermione followed McIntyre in a daze as they circled around the carousel, heading towards the booths that were separated by hedges that held heart shaped plants rising above them and baroque chairs circled around white iron patio tables.

"Amazing place, isn't it?"

Hermione slowly nodded as she sat down, her gaze still sliding over the room. "It's certainly something." There would be plenty of places to hide here, too.

But she didn't need to think like that anymore.

Hermione forced herself to smile. This was just a normal lunch. "I used to love Lewis Carroll's work when I was young."

"I know, right?! You'd think he had to have known about us because his logic just follows our logic! I mean, there just isn't any logic at all, really. That kind of nonsense should be left to us." The girl winked at Hermione, then picked up a menu from the end of the table and handed it to her. "All the dishes are totally ace here, too!"

Even the food fit with the theme? Hermione's eyes widened as she glanced over the page. It was all so detailed! There was pasta like the cheshire cat, rabbit shaped fruit salad, cakes that said 'eat me' and drinks in potion bottles, bacon roses and all kinds of teas…

"I usually get the cheshire cat pasta here. You never know how tasty the food will be at these places since they always prioritize making dishes thematic, but here it's actually pretty bonzer!"

Bonzer? Well, she seemed excited about the food, so she must mean it was good. "I guess I'll get that as well." At least the menu was in both English and Japanese, but Hermione would rather go with a recommendation than try something outlandish. She looked up at McIntyre and gave her a small smile, "I have always been fond of cats."

"That's as good a reason as any!" McIntyre grinned at her, then leaned in close, "So, how'd you get so tight with Minister Akaashi so quickly? I have to know! You soulmates with someone in his family or something?"

"Not at all!" Hermione shook her head frantically, "No, my cousin knows Akaashi Keiji, actually. So I met him over the summer when I went with Kei-kun to help out at his volleyball camp."

McIntyre let out a low whistle. "Talk about lucky! You just stumbled into the Akaashi heir like that?!"

Hermione nodded, "He recognized my name, so he introduced himself and we became friends."

"So luckkyyy." The girl sighed. "I've been here for years and I've never even met the bloke. Word has it that he's already met his soulmate, so he never even comes to the social events that happen every few months." She brightened, grinning at Hermione, "You should totally come to the next one! They're loads of fun!"

"Um…" How did she get out of this? A party was not how Hermione wanted to spend her time here, especially if she had to pretend to be looking for her soulmate when she'd already found him. "I'm a bit busy at the moment, actually. I'm trying to take some of my NEWTs over the winter holiday."

"Boo." McIntyre was frowning now. "Give it a burl! You'll study better if you take a break and come back to it refreshed! The next one's not until after the new year, so it might be after your exams."

Lovely. "When is it?"

"January 6th."

Thank Merlin! Hermione faked being disappointed, "Kei-kun has his nationals that weekend, and I promised I wouldn't miss it. Plus I'm supposed to be helping out the team if they need it."

"You really are staying busy, huh?" McIntyre shook her head. "Most of us are bored out of our minds in between classes and ambassador meetings."

"Classes?"

McIntyre nodded. "Yeah, at the University of Tokyo. A bunch of the ambassadors take classes there."

"Like political science courses?"

McIntyre started laughing, "No, silly!" She leaned forward, whispering, "For magicals. Japan has university courses for pursuing a masters. You seriously don't know?" When Hermione shook her head, the girl leaned back in surprise. "But that's why so many people come here as ambassadors! Why did you even get the position if it's not for that?"

Hermione wanted to groan. Tetsurou! You never mentioned that one of the universities has magic classes! "I wanted to be with my family for a while, especially after everything that happened back home."

"I guess that makes sense. Still sucks that you haven't even seen Harajuku. You've visited other places, right? Like Kotodama?"

Hermione nodded, "Akaashi took me there. He and the Miya twins have shown me around umm… sites like Kotodama." It was always hard to avoid mentioning magic in nonmagical settings.

"You've met the Miya twins, too?!"

Sorry, Mio. I kind of forget we have those. It's not like anyone I know plans on taking them…

Hermione barely resisted the urge to respond. The oversight was annoying, but it's not like she could even qualify to take them at the moment. For now she needed to focus on talking with McInytre. This was someone with magic, after all. She might suspect what was going on if Hermione suddenly stared into space. She took a deep breath, focusing on the image of the water orb and forcing those thoughts from her mind.

Hermione nodded to McIntyre. "They came to Akaashi's volleyball match."

"Ugh." McIntyre crossed her arms as she leaned back in her chair. "Good onya. I've never been able to stand sports."

"It helps if you know people on the team. I don't enjoy them normally."

"Yeah, that makes sense, I guess." McIntyre called the waiter over, explaining their order for both of them and ordering some tea for them both, as well. "Anyway, if you're an international student they'll only accept you after you've passed your nation's standard exams—is that what those NEWT things are?"

Hermione nodded, confused. "What subject matter do the classes cover then? I've always heard that Japan relies on an apprenticeship system."

"They do, but sometimes people don't have the best teachers, like if their parents are nonmagical, you know? Or if they want to do a different specialty than their family. So they need a little bit of a push to earn their Mastery." Merlin, it would've been nice if Hogwarts had acknowledged the advantage pureblood families had.

"If anyone hasn't gotten their Master's by the time they're college-age, they'll enroll in the classes at Tokyo U. Even if they don't actually attend there as a normal student, it's just a quick apparition trip away, so it's no big deal."

"That sounds like a wonderful program!"

"I know right?" McInyre grinned at her. "There's only one class per specialty, and some of those are even combined, but they've all got really experienced professors who are available to help you during the class hours."

Available to help? Did they not give lessons? "Is it mostly self-study, but with a more experienced mentor than you might have had before?"

"Pretty much. And you can brainstorm and study with others in your area, which is hard to do before then unless your family has connections."

Those sounded brilliant, honestly. She couldn't take them yet, but maybe while Tetsurou was at college… "And most ambassadors attend them?"

"At least for a while, yeah. Interns, too. Doesn't matter what age you start this job, the classes are a helpful way to earn a Mastery."

"How do you enroll?"

McIntyre laughed, "You're all excited about those, aren't ya? Once you've passed your NEWT tests, go talk to Fujita-san."

"Fujita-san?" The man Minister Akaashi had asked to show her to the first meeting?

"The bloke you were talking to at the end of the meeting-the assistant chair of the education department. He also works at Tokyo University and is one of the people in charge of admissions there." She leaned forward to whisper again. "He handles all the magical students and keeps everything hidden away from the nonmagicals."

Oh. That… there was no way that was an accident. The minister had wanted Hermione to make that connection. She sighed. "I'll have to talk to him about that." Yet another way the Akaashi family was trying to maneuver her. It wasn't anything she didn't want, necessarily, but she didn't like feeling as if her every movement was manipulated.

At least she could be sure that Akaashi and Bokuto really were her friends and weren't manipulating her.

"Is there anyone else I should make sure I introduce myself to?"

"Mmm… depends on what your country's goals are? Everyone in the meeting is important in their own way, obviously, but a lot of ambassadors only talk to the chairs whose policies impact their own countries."

That made sense, but unfortunately it didn't really help Hermione too much. "My government is still struggling to rebuild itself, much less pay attention to other countries."

"Yeah, that's gotta be hard. More opportunities to change things, though, right?"

"That's definitely true." At least the people in charge wanted change now.

The rest of the conversation with McIntyre was... pleasant, Hermione supposed. The other girl was loud and friendly, quick to laugh at things and ecstatic to experiment with the various dishes and desserts at the cafe. When Hermione said she didn't have a sweet tooth, McIntyre acted as if she'd personally offended her and insisted she order a dessert anyway.

Apparently McIntyre was working on her mastery in care of magical creatures and Japan's education program was the only reason why she'd become an ambassador. McIntyre planned on leaving the job as soon as she had her qualifications and heading back home to work as a conservationist for magical species.

Hermione could admire her dedication, certainly—

A wave of happiness rolled through her, breaking her train of thought. Tetsurou?

I think I figured it out!

Figured it out? The potion? You've created an antidote?

Not created it yet, no, but this should work! Sorry, need to focus for a bit.

Their connection dulled, leaving Hermione at a loss. If Tetsurou really had been able to create an antidote, that would be completely brilliant! She really hoped this worked.

"You good there?"

Hermione blinked, then shook her head and smiled at McIntyre, "Yes, sorry. Got a bit lost in my thoughts for a moment. I really appreciate how everyone I've met here really values magical beings. That wasn't always the case back home, though of course we're trying to change that."

McIntyre winced, "Yeah, I've heard that some of your policies are still literally from the Dark Ages."

"Please don't remind me." Hermione groaned. Learning about those had been terrible.

They would change things, though. They had to.

"Well, it was ace getting to know you a bit!" McIntyre stood up with a stretch, "I've got something to head to, so cheers! I'll see you at the ambassador's meeting in a few days!"

Hermione stood up as well, gathering the change from the waiter's tray and putting it back into her coin purse. "Yes, it was great to talk with you, thank you for reaching out to me."

"For sure! Holler if you ever want to hang again! We should totally go shopping sometime!"

"Right." Hermione tried to keep her smile from becoming strained as she followed McIntyre back through the restaurant's maze. Clothes shopping had never really been something she did for fun.

Now that the lunch was over and McIntyre was leaving, though, Hermione wasn't sure what to do. Tetsurou had told her that his grandmother wanted to meet her, but if he was working on a breakthrough with the potion, she hardly wanted to interrupt that…

Well, he hadn't told her not to come, she supposed.

First, though, she was going to go change into something a little nicer. She still needed to make a good impression on his grandmother, and the woman seemed just as hard to please as Tetsurou's mother had been.

Hermione headed back through the crowd toward the station, finding the apparition room with ease. What could she wear that would be better, though?

She apparated into her room, frowning in thought as she moved toward her trunk. Maybe her light gold turtleneck? That looked more polished than this sweater, at least. Hermione summoned it, barely finishing changing before there was a soft knock on the door. "Come in!"

Hermione turned her head to see the door open and Kei-kun appear. "I thought I heard you arrive. I didn't think you'd be here today until later, though."

"Sorry if I startled you." Kei-kun was probably still wary of unexpected apparition. "Tetsurou's grandmother wants to meet me, so I came back here to change before I go over to his house."

Kei-kun's eyebrow rose. "Didn't you already meet her?"

"Yes, but it's not like either of us could speak freely then." Hermione sighed. Who knew why the woman wanted to meet away from the Miya estate. "Wish me luck, I guess."

"Granger, luck is something you hardly lack." Malfoy's voice drifted down the hallway, and Hermione frowned as he appeared in the doorway. "You're meeting someone?"

"Kuroo's grandmother, not that it's any of your business." After his breakdown the other day, the blonde had given them an occlumency lesson and then proceeded to ignore them.

Malfoy gave her an empty smile. "Why wouldn't it be? Don't forget, I'm related to her, to."

Hermione grimaced. That really wasn't something she liked to think about. "If you seal your bond."

His expression turned blank, "That's a low blow, Granger." Malfoy's mouth twisted for a moment, but then he nodded to himself. "I want to talk to her."

"What? Why?" He'd not shown any interest in her when they met on the Miya property.

Malfoy's shoulders tensed, but that was the only sign he felt defensive. "If you must know, I want to talk to her because she might have insight about my dilemma."

"Dilemma?" Kei-kun looked between them, confused.

Malfoy sneered at the taller blond. "It's none of your concern."

"Don't snap at Kei-kun." Hermione glared at Malfoy, but then sighed. Tetsurou's grandmother might be able to help Malfoy…. She really didn't want to disturb Tetsurou when he was this close to the potion, though. "Fine. But if she doesn't want to talk with you, don't push it."

Malfoy rolled his eyes, "Always so protective, you Gryffs. I just want a conversation."

"We're well aware that nothing is ever just a conversation." Hermione held out her arm so that she could side-apparate them there, and Malfoy approached her, setting his hand on her elbow.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked back at Kei-kun. "Ittekimasu."

Her cousin nodded. "Itterasshai."

Hermione apparated.

She felt a little nauseous when she landed, but thankfully that problem was definitely improving. It also helped that Tetsurou was a lot closer now, and she could feel happiness practically rolling off him, even with their bond muted. Hermione grinned, happy that the antidote must still be going well.

"Wait out here." Hermione didn't want Malfoy to somehow disturb the potion, so she waited until Malfoy nodded before she let herself in through the back door. She should probably stay in the living room until Tetsurou realized she was here. She didn't want to distract—

She froze.

Tetsurou's grandmother wasn't helping with the potion, but was instead sitting on the couch, sipping tea.

Crookshanks was sitting up next to her feet, acting as if he was trying to be just as regal. Hermione would laugh, if she wasn't worried about offending her.

Instead, she quickly bowed low. "It is good to see you again."

"Yes." The woman placed her cup gently on its saucer, then gestured to the space next to the couch. "Come have a sit with me, dear. Would you like some tea?"

Lovely. A one on one conversation while Malfoy was outside growing impatient. "That would be brilliant, thank you." She should determine what the woman wanted before inviting Malfoy inside.

The woman leaned over, slender fingers pouring tea with precision, and Hermione cautiously navigated around the other chairs to sit beside her.

"Here you are." Hermione accepted the cup and saucer with both hands, bowing her head and murmuring her thanks as Crookshanks jumped up onto the couch between them.

Even though Tetsurou's grandmother had visited today in order to work on potions, she was still wearing traditional clothing, albeit a tan yukata instead of a kimono. Her posture was perfect as she sat next to Hermione, brown eyes evaluating her.

Hermione sipped at the tea, trying to ignore the woman's piercing gaze. "The tea is lovely."

"Tetsurou is a stubborn boy."

Hermione blinked, confused. What?

"He's amenable enough about most things, but when he doesn't like something, he never fails to make it known." She paused, her mouth twisting slightly downward. "He's like his mother that way. His father has always been the type to stay silent and wait to reveal his opinions when the moment is ripe."

"Tetsurou certainly never hides his feelings."

"No." The woman stared at her. "So while I certainly know how he feels about you, I'm curious about how you view him. I appreciate that you saved his life from that woman, but you seem like someone who would save another person regardless of your personal feelings."

She wanted to know how Hermione felt about Tetsurou? Was it because her own relationship was with someone who wasn't her soulmate? "I love him. I would regardless of our bond."

His grandmother's expression was unimpressed. "Love is a fickle thing: two shadows overlapping that will separate once more. How do I know you won't run back home and leave him? You've already run once from the country you loved."

"I have not left England behind." How dare she suggest that Hermione had run away from her friends! She would never abandon them. "And I will not leave Tetsurou, either."

One thin eyebrow rose. "Then you propose to uproot him from his dreams?"

Hermione shook her head. "I took the ambassadorship position so that it wouldn't be an issue."

"That is merely a temporary fix." She paused, forcing Hermione to wait as she took a sip of her tea. "Will you really be happy sitting on the sidelines while others make the important decisions about the country you love? I doubt it."

Hermione grit her teeth, trying to force herself to stay calm. "I do not have a permanent answer yet, but I will find one. If an answer doesn't exist, then I will make one."

His grandmother smiled. "Good." She took one last sip of tea and set her cup back down. "Don't let Tetsurou forget about Yuino. An informal dinner is fine, but despite his desire to eschew familial traditions, that one shouldn't be ignored."

"Yuino?" Tetsurou had never mentioned the word. Crookshanks batted at her hand, and Hermione absently set down the cup and saucer, petting behind his ears. "Are most wizarding marriage traditions dependent upon the family then?"

"Yes. His father ignored those and I have no doubt he intends to, as well." The woman shook her head slightly, an almost fond smile appearing for a second before it disappeared. "However, a yuino is an engagement ceremony between the two families and has been held for centuries even within the nonmagical community. No doubt he'll exclude the Miya branch, but I expect to be included."

Engagement ceremony? "I'll make sure to remind him." Wait, did this topic shift mean that Hermione had his grandmother's approval?

"Do so." She stood up, bowing her head to Hermione, which made Hermione's eyes widen in surprise at the honor. Before she could return the gesture, though, the woman spoke again, "That is all I need. You may let Tetsurou know I've left. He should be past the potion's volatile stage at this point."

"Wait!" Hermione quickly stood up, standing up to offer a brief bow as Crookshanks hissed in protest. "I have… a colleague, I suppose. He wanted to ask for your perspective on something, should you have the time."

"My perspective?"

Hermione straightened and nodded. "Malfoy, Draco. He was with me the other day on the Miya property. He is Miya Osamu's soulmate."

"I see." Her expression remained unreadable, but after a long pause, she nodded. "The Miya family is filled with pride. I can speak to him."

Hermione tried to keep her shoulders from sagging in relief. She didn't know what she would have told Malfoy if the woman refused. "He is waiting outside. I can go-"

"There is no need." Tetsurou's grandmother was already moving toward the back door. "Go to Tetsurou. Advice touching on issues of pride is always better given one on one."

Right.

Her silhouette was straight and poised as always as she slipped out the door; a sharp contrast to the more down-to-earth furnishing of the house.

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. Thank Merlin. Whatever test that had been, apparently she had passed. She finished her tea, then took the dishes to the kitchen, washing them off and drying them. She had no clue where they went, though, so she left them on the counter before making her way back toward Tetsurou's room.

She slipped in quietly, making sure Crookshanks stayed outside. Tetsurou was standing over a cauldron, his sleeves pushed back as every cell focused on the task in front of him.

Well, at least she didn't seem to have distracted him. She should just sit back and—

"YES!" Hermione jumped as Tetsurou whirled around, grinning at her. "It's done! It's completely stable and it should actually work and reverse the process!"

"That's great, Tetsurou!"

"Yeah!" He grabbed his notebook off the counter, holding it out to her, "The key actually was from that acidic explosion the other day. I realized that the hydra skin would react to the mandrake leaves just like kappa skin did, so that had to be one of the missing ingredients. And then I was thinking about what would cause the hydra skin to have a delayed reaction to the mandrake leaves while it's in the body, and I realized they had to be combined into a compound that would dissolve at a certain key point. There are mushrooms that—"

He kept going, his eyes lit up with excitement as he explained how the likely mushrooms were a variant of the ones Luna had planted, and Hermione had never found him more attractive.

She couldn't even follow all of the deductions he'd made about the ingredients, but he kept going, confident that he was right and she could follow every detail, and he clearly just loved potions so much.

"When I went to see Obaa-san this morning I told her the problem I kept running into and she gave me some amabie scales, which are really rare so I've never used them and didn't even think about them, but they would work perfectly! They would help ease the antidote's volatility and increase it's rejuvenating capacity!"

Hermione closed the distance between them, pulling Tetsurou down for a kiss, but not stepping back when they were done.

Tetsurou raised an eyebrow, "Not that I'm complaining, but what brought this on? Figuring out the potion?"

Hermione blushed, "Yes, but you also just looked so happy talking about potion elements, and you've been so stressed, so, well, it's nice."

Tetsurou's grin softened. "I could do without the weight of knowing that people are dying while I spend time working on it, but yeah, I do enjoy working with potions in general." He lifted up the journal between them. "The quickest way to get this to Slughorn is probably through your mirror instead of international mail or getting a portkey permit. Is that ok?"

Hermione bit her lip. She could just tell Harry to take the mirror to Slughorn… She knew they'd been trying to keep this from him because he would try to do something about it, but she could just ask him to give the mirror to Slughorn so Tetsurou could ask him potions questions…. "I'll make it work."

She stepped back from Tetsurou and pulled out the mirror from her purse, tapping it with her wand to activate it.

It took a minute, but eventually Harry appeared in the mirror, running a hand through messy hair. "Sorry, Mione, had to get away from the common room for some quiet to talk. What's going on? You don't usually call this late."

"Tetsurou has some potions questions, could you go down to the dungeons and give Slughorn the mirror?"

Harry stared at her. "It's almost midnight, Mione."

"Please?"

"Is there no one else he could ask?"

"They're about western ingredients and we can't find the answer in any of my texts."

Harry sighed. "Fine. I'll get the cloak and go see if he's awake. You're lucky he'd never be angry with me."

"Thank you!"

Harry set the mirror down, briefly disappearing from the screen. "If McGonagall catches me out after curfew I'm telling her it's your fault this time."

Tetsurou snorted behind her, and Hermione elbowed him. "You have the cloak. There's no reason she'd catch you."

"I think she patrols as a cat. The cloak doesn't hide my scent."

Hermione winced. That was true, she supposed. "Take the map too, then."

"Ginny's borrowing it."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "And why is Ginny borrowing it?"

"To bring George's products on campus." Hermione groaned. Of course that was why. Students would always want to fake illnesses to skip classes and such. "You're lucky I have the cloak, sometimes she borrows that, too." The mirror started to move and Hermione could see shadowy forms through the fabric as Harry navigated his way out of the dorms and through the common room.

Tetsurou whistled softly. "That's where you lot slept?"

Hermione nodded; it was nostalgic to see everyone there, laughing and playing exploding snap despite the fact that they should have all been in bed hours ago. She whispered back to Tetsurou, "Stay quiet, the cloak doesn't mute sound." She felt a bit silly, making Harry think that they were asking him to do this for some study questions, but it was for the best.

And it really did mean a lot that he was willing to break curfew and wander the halls after hours to find a professor just to help her soulmate's studies.

The hallways were quiet, and there was no rubble in sight. The paintings were all back up on the walls, though there were blank walls in some places where Hermione remembered tapestries and paintings once hanging, whispering at them as they walked from class to class.

Finally, though, Harry made it to Slughorn's quarters and knocked against the door, pulling the cloak off as he did so.

Silence. Hermione bit her lip. She honestly had no clue how late Slughorn was typically awake, but she also had no clue how far she could push Harry before she needed to provide a better excuse.

Thankfully, the door opened. "Harry! What are you doing out after curfew?"

"Sorry, professor, but would you mind answering a few potions questions for Hermione? I'm afraid times a bit different for her, so she didn't realize how late it was here."

"Of course, of course!" Slughorn opened the door wider, letting Harry step past him. "Anything for you two. But how can I help?"

"We have two way mirrors. My father and Sirius worked on all the spellwork."

"And they work across that distance? Simply marvelous!" The image shifted, and then Hermione saw Slughorn's face.

"Evening, Professor. I apologize for disturbing your night."

She felt Tetsurou shift behind her, drawing her closer so that he would be visible in the screen, his voice was rumbling in her ear. "I'm afraid the questions are actually mine, professor."

Slughorn's eyes widened. "Of course, of course! I'm always happy to help a fellow potions researcher, Kuroo-san! How may I be of assistance?"

"I had some questions about that potion we last discussed, regarding the way western ingredients would react with eastern ingredients."

"Oh yes!" Slughorn nodded as he looked off screen. "Do make yourself comfortable, Harry. I'm just going to take this into the next room over where my private labs are so that I can reference my notes on that potion."

Harry must have nodded or replied, because the screen was moving again, and they entered a much darker room. "There's a silencing ward on that doorway, so we can speak freely."

"Are you sure? You might want to check for the Weasley's extendable ears." Or whatever the twins had named those things."

"Quite sure!" Slughorn laughed. "Nothing can enter this room unless it's attached to my person. Now, Kuroo-san, how can I help?"

"I'm fairly certain I've determined the missing ingredients and have a workable antidote, but we couldn't send the recipe back through Malfoy like we'd originally planned."

"Marvellous!" Slughorn's eyes practically lit up before he began moving again, setting the mirror down as it sounded like he was digging through drawers. "Simply wonderful news! I can transcribe with no issue, so let's start with the missing ingredients and work from there."

Tetsurou started the long explanation again, and Hermione leaned back against his chest, closing her eyes as he talked. Tetsurou's excitement was absent this time, but his voice was calm and confident, and Slughorn's exclamations of agreement or occasional question to clarify something never made Tetsurou stumble.

Tetsurou had proven that he was skilled in potions so many times, but this had been a conundrum that had stumped several potions masters. And sure he had different ingredients to work with and his grandmother had given him a little help, but still. He'd been the one to figure out an antidote.

Well, a possible antidote.

She hoped it worked.

"Thank you, Kuroo-san." Slughorn paused, peering at what was most likely the notes he'd just written. "Have you made a batch already?"

"I have. It's under stasis right here with me, but I don't know how to get it to you."

Slughorn nodded to himself, "Some of these ingredients are quite difficult for us to acquire here, as well…." He looked over at them, "What's the exact time difference between us?"

"We're about 9 hours ahead of you."

"I see." Slughorn paused in thought, but then smiled and shrugged, "Well, I suppose it's a good thing that it will be the weekend. I'll go to Kinglsey first thing in the morning to get an international portkey. I have a carrier that should help the potion remain stable through a portkey trip without problem, and I'll pick up some of the ingredients myself while I'm there. Kotodama is still around correct?"

Hermione nodded, confused. "You've been here before, Professor?"

"Yes, it was wonderful! There are quite a few rare ingredients that one can only acquire through personal travel. And I've told you that you can call me Horace, Miss Granger. You're hardly my student any more."

"Old habits, sorry." Right… It was still hard to wrap her mind around the idea of Slughorn coming to Japan. Or even being in Japan.

"Well, I can probably leave here by ten, but that will be around two am for you, so that won't do me much good. When can I pick up the potion, and where should I meet you?"

"I can make it to Kotodama in the morning and bring you back here to package it. The time isn't an issue."

"You have my thanks." Slughorn frowned in thought, "Still, though, we should give ourselves a few extra hours to account for any trouble I have finding Kingsley and government difficulties and such… I'll meet you at your eight o'clock. That castle place is still there, right? That's one landmark I remember."

"It is."

"Wonderful." Slughorn beamed. "Well, this will be simply marvelous if we can get it to work! I'll see you then, Kuroo-san, though I should probably take this back to Mr. Potter at the moment. He's probably wondering what's taking so long."

"Of course." Hermione nodded and the mirror's view began to shift as Tetsurou's arms wrapped around her, his chin resting on her head.

Harry's exasperated expression shown in the mirror. "Did you get all your questions answered?"

"Yeah, thanks man. I know it's late there."

Harry gave them a 'no, really?' look. "I'm going to end the call and head back up to the dorms then. Unless you need something else?"

"No, that sounds good Harry, thank you."

"Anytime."

The mirror went blank.

"I really hope it works. I think it will, I just-"

"You did great, Tetsurou." Hermione turned around in his arms and reached up, running a hand through his hair. "Don't worry about it, alright? Slughorn will be tomorrow and he'll test the potion. Until then, there's nothing you can do."

He sighed, "Yeah. I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work, but it's always hard to tell and-"

"Tetsurou."

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry. I've just been working on this for months. I'm so happy that it's done, but at the same time it's really hard to believe that it is."

Hermione grimaced, "I can definitely understand that." What he needed was a distraction, really. "By the way, Malfoy insisted on coming with me. He's outside talking with your grandmother."

"What the heck?" Surprise broke through his emotions and he glanced over toward the door. "Why does he want to talk to her? Just because she's a Miya and Osamu's being a piece of shit?"

"Basically, yes."

Tetsurou shook his head, "Whatever, I guess. Anything else strange happen while I was brewing? How was your lunch?"

"Lunch went well enough, I think. McIntyre is nice, even if she's a bit… exuberant. Learning about the college classes was helpful."

Tetsurou groaned, "I am sorry about that. In retrospect it's obviously something you'd be interested in, and we've even mentioned college plans a few times, but just with everything going on I didn't think about that."

"It's fine; I still found out in plenty of time." And she did understand that they were both a bit overwhelmed at the moment. "I talked with your grandmother a bit when I got here. I think I earned her approval? But she also mentioned something called a Yuino and insisted that she be invited."

Tetsurou's eyebrow twitched. "What the hell. No one does those anymore!"

"She said an informal dinner was fine?"

"Oh how kind." He tilted his head back with a groan. "That does make it better, but there's still not that many places in Tokyo that have those dining halls since it's not that common anymore. We'll probably have more luck in Miyagi-more people still hold them out in the country."

"Really? But she said it was an engagement ceremony that even the nonmagical community did."

"Ah…" Tetsurou rubbed at the back of his neck. "It was. Grooms would give gifts to the bride's family to prove that they could provide for a family and such."

"Well that sounds annoyingly patriarchal." Hermione wrinkled her nose in distaste.

Tetsurou laughed, "Yeah, there's definitely that. It used to be an elaborate ceremony that involved both families and took place over a long period of time, but now if it happens it's usually just a dinner where you wear your best kimono and the two families meet. It's mostly still around as an excuse to bring the families together."

"That shouldn't be too chaotic." Most of their families had already met, after all.

"Yeah, the groom does still have to give the bride's family some ceremonial gifts, though." Tetsurou sighed, "I'll have to figure out which ones to use, then find somewhere that sells them."

But Tetsurou already have enough work, even if he'd finished the potion. "If it's that big of a hassle, we could just skip it? You said it's not common anymore."

Tetsurou laughed, "If Obaa-san mentioned it to you, that means she'll be ticked for years if I don't hold one. I'd rather not risk that, thanks." Tetsurou shrugged, exasperated, "I'll figure it out. It's something that the groom always plans, so don't worry about it, alright? Plus my grandmother is the one demanding it."

"If you're sure…" He felt so exhausted over the bond, though. He'd been holding it at bay for the potion, but now it was definitely starting to hit him. "Make sure you get more sleep than you have been, though?"

"Yeah, yeah." Tetsurou yawned. "We've got, what? A month and a half before our exams? Plenty of time to sleep."
Hermione groaned, resting her forehead against his chest. "Please don't mention that. Why did I sign up for five?"

"Because you're ridiculous. And you signed up for eight, don't forget."

She could do without how smug his voice sounded. Besides, "Three of them are later, so those don't count."

"For now, sure."

Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, and Muggle Studies. She could do this. Defense, Charms, and Muggle Studies would be easy. Transfiguration shouldn't be too hard, and neither should Potions. Then at the end of spring she would take Herbology, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy.

She could do this.

Malfoy's voice called out from the kitchen, and Hermione sighed. "We should go see what he needs."

"Right." Tetsurou pulled back from her, and when she opened the door Crookshanks almost tripped her by winding through her legs.

"Crooks!" Hermione sighed. She really wasn't spending enough time with him. She was always reluctant to let him into Tetsurou's room while he was brewing. She bent down and picked up the cat, carrying him with her toward the kitchen.

Malfoy was standing between the table and the backdoor, looking around.

"Was she able to help?" Hermione walked through the living room, and Malfoy turned toward her, frowning.

"Not particularly. She said the Miya family would never care about English affairs and I was better off not trying."

Hermione winced. That was hardly what he'd been hoping to hear. "Sorry, Malfoy."

"I don't want your pity." He sneered, "I just came in to tell you I was leaving so you wouldn't panic and think I'm off doing some nefarious plot."

"Malfoy-"

He disapparated.

Hermione sighed. "I know he wants to find a way out of the betrothal contact, but I don't know if the Miyas are going to be an option."

"He'll find something he can live with, one way or another."

Hermione hoped Tetsurou was right.