They'd only been asleep a few hours before Draco's wand buzzed to page him back to St. Mungo's.

He'd come back to her after. It must have been a few hours later, trying to be as quiet as possible so as to not wake her, that he arrived back at her flat. It didn't matter though. She'd been waiting.

He'd crawled back into her bed, his head resting on her middle as he fitfully fought for sleep. Her heart had swelled that he'd decided to come back to her, while also shuddering at why he'd had to leave.

Neither thought helped her find sleep.

They both finally managed it at about 5 am, and for the first time in years, she'd slept in.

She managed to pull herself out of bed without disturbing Draco before settling in the kitchen with a warm mug in between her hands.

She'd opted for coffee this morning. The need for concentrated caffeine outweighing the familiar comfort of her customary tea. She sipped slowly, enjoying the warmth. The light had barely begun to trickle through her window. The world was still asleep and the peace was much needed.

It seemed though that her peace would not last. A pecking at her window broke her solitude. She sighed, placing her mug down. She slowly got up and opened the window. She quickly undid the letter, pausing to admire its sleek brown feathers. As soon as she had the letter in her hands, the owl flew off without so much as waiting for a treat.

She examined the letter, finding no indication of who had sent it.

She swallowed as a growing sense of dread settled in her gut.

Another one.

She quickly summoned her wand and cast a modified containment charm on the parchment before setting it on the table. Mentally, she began cataloging the order of spells she wanted to run before attempting to open the letter.

Unlike the first one, this letter seemed to hold a malignant air to it, and she was not taking any chances.

She began casting her first set of spells. She was about two minutes into unraveling the first layer on the parchment when she felt a warmth spread through the kitchen. Turning her head, she caught sight of Ron's terrier patronus flitting about the room. As though sensing her attention, it turned to her.

I've got news Mione. Would it be alright if I came through the floo?

Her eyes dropped to the parchment on the table before returning to the patronus. Whatever Ron had to say obviously couldn't wait. She'd return to unraveling the dark enchantments on the missive later.

Perhaps he wouldn't notice it.

She swallowed before nodding. "Tell him that I'm going to open the floo."

The patronus was gone in an instance at her dismissal. She made her way to the floo, quickly flicking her wand to remove the lock on the floo.

When the wards dropped, the fireplace roared as Ron stumbled through.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she took in his haggard appearance.

It seemed they'd all had a rough night.

"Hi Ron."

He let out a breath, offering her a small smile as he dusted off the powder from his clothes.

Before he could speak, she put a finger to her lips. "Draco's still sleeping. He had to go back to St. Mungo's last night and got back early this morning."

To his credit, Ron took her warning rather well. She could tell he was struggling not to fire off his first thoughts at hearing Draco had spent the night. His face betrayed him though. His skin had grown flush as his face pinched tight as though he might be sick.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he finally nodded his understanding and acceptance.

"Why don't we have some tea in the kitchen." She gestured for him to follow as she flicked the stove on and set a kettle with water over the fire.

"So he's staying over now?" Ron finally said as he leant over her island watching her as she set a mug in front of him.

She glanced up before turning and grabbing the pot of sugar.

"Last night was the first time." She bit her lip, "I didn't think either of us should be alone."

She chanced a glance at Ron then who's expression had turned thoughtful.

"Probably not the worst idea." He said.

She nodded, pouring the tea into their mugs. He reached for his with a soft thanks.

"Well?"

"It's been a mess at the pulled everyone in from the reserves." He set his mug down, his finger tracing the rim, "We managed to locate one of the packages that served as a bomb. It hadn't gone off thankfully, so it's going to the Charms and Cursebreaker teams. Looked like runes were cast to bind a bombarda or something."

"Who's heading the teams?" She asked quietly.

Ron sighed, understanding her unspoken concern. They already had grounds to suspect the Ministry was compromised. They couldn't afford any part of an investigation to be leaked. "Padma."

Her shoulders dropped in relief.

"The Minister is likely going to ask for a rep from the Unspeakables also be added in. We're going to push for it to be Nott, seeing how he already knows what's happening." Ron continued.

"Good."

Ron nodded absently, as he tapped his fingers on the island.

She recognized the gesture. Whatever else he had to say was going to be bad.

"What else Ron?" She said softly.

His eyes met hers.

He knew she wouldn't want it sugarcoated. It wasn't her way, and they both knew each other too well to not call the other out when they were tempted to skirt around an issue.

The truth only. That had been the foundation of their relationship and it had carried into their friendship even after they'd broken it off.

"During all the chaos yesterday and last night." He began, "Azkaban was breached."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

Startled, she straightened as she focused on where Draco stood in the entrance of her kitchen with his arms folded and pressed against his chest.

How long had he been standing there?

He didn't meet her gaze as he stalked into the room. His face betraying nothing as he came toward them.

She couldn't help but appraise him even if he was stubbornly ignoring her.

He'd obviously freshened up some, combing down his hair and transfiguring a set of joggers and a loose jumper. The skin under his eyes gave him away. Dark circles and faint sleep lines were still obvious.

He likely hadn't been awake for long.

"Malfoy-"

"Don't start with me about clearance Weasley," Draco hissed, "I testified and tracked down nearly every Death Eater in Azkaban, now who the fuck got out?"

Ron scowled as Draco came to a stop at the island. Ron briefly glanced at her. She inclined her head. Despite the deep frown, he nodded.

"Only one. Crabbe is missing."

She felt the room still. Her heart rate raced as she quickly turned her head to Draco, who'd gone rigid at the name. What little color he had seemed to flee his face as his breath caught.

She shifted closer to him, hesitantly laying her hand above the one closest to her on the countertop. He surprised her then, turning his hand so that he could grasp hers in his.

She could feel the nearly imperceptible tremble of his fingers against the pads of hers.

"How?" Draco finally bit out even as his eyes flickered from focusing on them and drifting… falling into the whirlwind of his thoughts.

No doubt, he was fighting off the urge to drown in the memories that had been brought to the surface at hearing Crabbe's name.

Ron bit the inside of his cheek as he tilted his head toward her.

"That's why I came to you." He ran a hand through his hair.

She could feel the weight of Draco's scrutiny as she continued to look straight ahead at Ron.

Oh. It made sense now, why he'd come to her so quickly.

"I… when I was at the Ministry. One of the first things I did was lobby for humanitarian changes to Azkaban." She finally tore her eyes away from Ron to look up at Draco. "I worked with the Aurors and the DMLE on everything. Security, prisoner lodging, nutrition and healthcare, all of it."

"Who has access Granger?"

She swallowed, "The guards obviously, but they do shift changes between Aurors and DMLE officers. No one stays on a floor for longer than two weeks."

She shook her head, "And every inmate's solicitor is given clearance, but they get vetted at the entrance before they're allowed in. I don't-"

"It's a place to start." Ron interrupted, flashing her a small smile in thanks.

Draco shook his head, pulling his hand from her as he rubbed at his face. "Fuck." he muttered as he dropped his arm and looked back at her.

"Maybe we should delay our announcement."

Her heart stilled.

"They printed pictures of us already." She whispered.

He flinched as he dropped his eyes to the countertop. "It's still at a stage where we could deny," He swallowed, "We could deny anything serious. We cut out any public appearances and-"

"I'm not going to hide." She interrupted, folding her arms.

"I don't want you to become a target because of me." He said, his shoulders dropping.

"Might be too late for that mate."

They both turned to Ron where he was holding up the letter she'd received that morning.

She'd forgotten that Ron was still in the room.

That Ron had gone through Auror training.

That he would notice the dark magic radiating off the parchment.

That he would recognize it.

He'd broken the spells, and now the letter lay open in his hands with the message inside written in bold letters.

Have you learned your lesson yet?

"I can't believe you didn't say anything." Ron had begun, slamming the letter on the table.

She shook her head as she fell into a seat. Her eyes drifted to Draco who had gone eerily silent. His eyes had remained focused on the letter as he mouthed the message seemingly over and over.

Ron, having noticed that she was not focused on anything he was saying, followed her gaze to Draco.

She bit the inside of her cheek. After a breath, she cleared her throat, "Draco?"

His head swung up, eyes finally focusing on her. Her breath caught and she felt her chest cave in at his expression.

"How many have you gotten of these Granger?"

She shuddered, opening and closing her mouth. She just couldn't seem to get the words out. It had been some time since she'd been on the receiving end of his scrutiny, and she'd forgotten how hard it was not to crumble in the face of it.

"Hermione," He snapped, "How many?"

She swallowed. "Just..just one. Padma is analyzing it."

"You should have said something then." He said, his shoulders dropping as he let out a sigh, "We are not going to put out a statement right now, and you are not going to be alone until all of this is sorted." He tilted his head toward Ron, "An auror escort and-"

The nerve of him. To assume and begin making plans without her input as though she were nothing more than a child.

"Excuse me." She stood, "Do not talk about me like I'm not in the room. If any decisions are going to be made, then I'm going to be involved in deciding them. Especially if they concern my safety. I am perfectly-"

"This is not a pride thing Granger. I'd never bet against you in a duel, but what if they surprise you? What if there's more than one? Do you- " his voice cracked. He coughed, dropping his head with his eyes trained on the floor, "Do you know what it would do to me if something happened to you… if it was because of me?"

She looked up, her eyes slipping from Draco to meet Ron's gaze.

He tilted his head in question. With their history, it was really all that was needed.

She nodded, and Ron gave her a small smile before he quietly stepped out of the kitchen with the letter in hand.

He'd likely head toward the Auror office and begin instituting most of Draco's requests. She'd deal with that later, fight for boundaries, but for now this was a conversation that needed to happen now and just between the two of them.

She stood and slowly came toward him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling herself flush against him.

"Hey." She murmured, tucking her head beneath his chin.

His arms adjusted around her to return her embrace, his breath warming the top of her head. Though he'd relaxed slightly, he'd remained still and rigid in her arms. Most would have crumbled, yelled, but then they weren't most people. They'd both been forced to stand still as the world trembled below their feet.

Child soldiers who'd become adult soldiers.

"I know where you're coming from," She began, "But I swear Draco if you make decisions for me it won't end well."

She pulled away, tilting her chin so she could level her eyes with his as best she could.

He let out a breath, dropping his forehead against hers.

"You're a stubborn witch." He murmured. He lifted his head, his eyes roaming across her face. "Would you consider-"

"One Auror." She interrupted, "One Auror and I'll reinforce the wards on the flat." She bit her lip, "We can wait on a press release, but I'm not hiding Draco."

He exhaled, "I can work with that."

A small smile stretched across her face.

"See," She took a hand and cupped his jaw, tracing his cheekbone, "Compromise."

He bit his lip, holding back a grin at her cheek before he grew solemn once more.

"Since you're open to compromise, will you try to balance that Gryffindor bravery with a healthy dose of self-preservation?"

She tilted her head before she leant forward and captured his lips with hers. He relaxed against her, returning the kiss with the fervor of all he was asking of her and why, but was not quite able to say out loud. One day when they were both ready to confront what had already begun to grow between them, maybe they would put words to their actions.

But not yet. They were walking on fragile ground, and she could already feel the threat of the fall.

"I'll try." she finally managed, pulling away and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

He closed his eyes, dropping his head against hers.

"Thank you."

She offered him a small smile before lacing their fingers and leading him to have a seat at her table.

"Coffee or tea?" She asked, dropping his hand.

He puffed out a breath, biting his tongue before murmuring a request for coffee.

So it was going to be that kind of day.

She hummed in response, muttering a quick spell to reheat the pot she'd made that morning as she rummaged for a mug.

She could hear him readjust himself in his seat, tapping his fingers against the wood. She'd just grabbed the sugar when the tapping ceased.

She turned to see him staring at her pile of papers, eyes wide and darting across the pages. She set the mug in front of him, breaking his concentration. He startled, snapping his head toward her.

"Harry's been cataloging the inventory taken from all the properties that have been robbed recently." She began, "I started separating them into miscellaneous objects and potion ingredients." She paused, watching as Draco's eyes drifted back toward the pile of papers.

He swallowed before he glanced back at her.

"You...you don't know what this is?" He ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head.

She blinked, "Am I supposed to?"

Draco let out a breath, propping his elbow on the table and leaning his forehead into his hand. "This." He bit his lip, "This is the potion...our potion, but with modifications. The erumptant tail and griffin claws…"

"They're reversing agents." She whispered. She clasped a hand over her mouth, "Oh my gods."

Draco shook his head before slamming a hand on the table.

"Fuck."

She'd been threatened. His work had been threatened. His family had been threatened.

It was beginning to feel like history cycling back on itself, except this time he had better means to deal with the coming doom.

He'd convinced Hermione to head to the Auror office for the day. For one, she'd helped with the added changes to Azkaban and could offer the office insight for how the fuck Sebastian Crabbe had managed to waltz his way out of Azkaban in the chaos of yesterday's attacks. Plus, it would mean, she'd be surrounded by Aurors at all times.

He'd be the first to admit that with both Potter and Weasley at her side, no one would dare make a move against her.

And he needed that; the peace of mind that came with knowing she would be protected.

She was not fooled by his insistence that she join Potter and Weasley instead of joining him in dissecting the potion ingredients he'd stumbled upon in her kitchen that morning, but she didn't fight him. Something that he very much appreciated.

So he escorted her to the office, not leaving until she made it into Potter's office and then left with the intent of locking himself in his lab to begin experiments.

He'd only just made it to the office before being bombarded by Blaise. He'd have simply continued up toward the lab with Blaise in tow, but the photo in his hand had stopped him.

There they were; Hermione walking resolutely toward him with dried blood decorating his clothes and drawing him into her embrace. How the press had managed to get such a photo he'd never know. His gut twisted at the invasion. More than that, this photo was undeniable proof that he and Hermione were on more intimate terms than just friends.

He took the photo from Blaise's outstretched hand.

"Who?" He finally said, swallowing.

"Pansy passed it to me from a friend at the Prophet. She's held them back for now, but…" he trailed off. Blaise let out a breath, his jaw taut as he folded his arms against his chest.

Draco shook his head, his tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek. Without a word, he tucked the photo into his pocket. He leant down and pulled the bundle of sheets with the list of stolen potion ingredients he'd already begun to jot notes on from his desk and handed them to Blaise.

"I'm going out." he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and stepping out of his office without a glance back at Blaise. There was no need at that point. They both knew that a photo like that would not stay hidden for long and the consequences of it being leaked were too great to risk.

He left his lab with a plan already taking shape. It wasn't often he appreciated the teachings his father had impressed upon him from an early age.

Some, well most, had been utter nonsense such as the hours spent on the history of various pureblood ancestors and societal norms. The other things though… The shrewd dissection and analysis of any situation, knowing which strings to pull and when to pull them…he'd drank up those lessons with a fervor.

He was a Slytherin by nature. The Sorting Hat at Hogwarts had sensed as much, telling him his house before it had even been placed on his head. So as he turned toward Diagon Alley, like any respectable snake, he began to assemble his pieces.

His first stop was Gringotts.

While the bank had certainly updated its security measures since the war, very little had changed otherwise.

A glance his way, a sliver of recognition, and he was swept upstairs and into a private office.

His name. His money. It still meant something here. It got him to a private office with an impromptu meeting with Bronswick, the head goblin that had managed most of the underground old family vaults dating back to his great grandfather.

It also meant that when he asked to sell and buy stock in any company that it was done without question and instantly.

So when he walked into the office of the Head Editor at the Daily Prophet and made it known he was a majority owner, he really only had his name to thank.

It left something bitter in the back of his throat.

It wasn't enough though.

He sighed as he landed from his apparition, feeling the wards warm and welcome him as he stepped further into the property.

He stopped for a moment, closing his eyes as he fully took in the familiar feel of the magic that had seeped from the ground to greet him.

It really always did come back to his family name.

He let out a breath as he opened his eyes. If asked he'd never admit to it, but he never felt as at ease as he did when he felt his family's magic brush up against his own. The history housed within the Manor may have somewhat spoiled it, but out here it was just the land and magic.

He shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he trekked back through the private gardens and entered into the Manor through a back entrance. He smiled to himself, recalling how he'd often come through this exact doorway after flying or roaming about the grounds.

It was so long ago, yet it felt like just yesterday.

He veered to the right, ducking through a staircase and headed toward the east wing.

It was easy to track down his mother. She'd kept the same habits for most of her life. It was tea and breakfast in the Solarium in the morning, late mornings in the gardens and greenhouses, and afternoons in either her sitting room or the East Wing study if she wasn't entertaining.

It was fitting, the routine, when he was about to ask for something that was nothing short of a routine tradition.

No doubt his mother would be giddy.

He scowled at the thought before quickly schooling his face to a more neutral expression.

His mother was sitting in one of her favorite reading chairs, a book in her lap that she'd closed at the first sound of his footsteps. She stood at the sight of him, placing her book on the armrest.

He flashed her a small smile. "Hello mother."

"Draco dear." She tilted her head as she regarded him with a thoughtful expression, "I thought you might come today." She took her wand and pulled another chair forward and gestured for him to sit. "You had an eventful morning."

His hand gripped the armrest as he sat down. Of course she had heard. It would have been more surprising if she hadn't. A transaction like that was bound to draw attention.

He raised a brow and glanced over to the window.

"Well maybe the Prophet will actually print news instead of the vicious gossip it's become known for."

Of all the responses he would have expected from his mother at his declaration, he was not expecting her to burst into laughter.

"Oh," She cleared her throat, a few stray giggles escaping her as she composed herself, " Good for you Draco. It's about time someone did something about those pests at the Prophet."

He allowed himself a small smile. "Well they took it too far. They should have known it wouldn't go unanswered."

Narcissa hummed in response as she sat back in her seat.

"Yes I suppose not." She agreed. They sat in silence for a moment that was broken only when his mother sighed as she readjusted herself in her chair. "As much as I enjoy a good plot my darling, I'm sure that's not all you came here to talk to me about."

He dropped his shoulders, dropping his elbows to lean on his knees. He bit his lip before he allowed himself to look up and meet the expectant gaze of his mother.

"Mother, I need… I need one of the pieces from the family vault. A necklace; the one with the engraved pendant."

Her expression didn't falter as she drew her eyes along his face, no doubt judging how serious his request was. He understood her hesitation, her need to be sure that he meant what he was asking. He'd never once asked for a family piece, not even for Astoria. It was an old tradition, one that had marked the turn of a courtship into a promise. Though that was likely the furthest thing from his mind right now. Family heirlooms were imbued with family magic; protection charms that he wanted to take advantage of.

Though to anyone else who saw it, they would know what such a gesture would mean. It was a statement, and to him, the risk of the statement versus the protection it could offer was a no brainer.

Narcissa finally let out a breath.

"Draco…" She paused, "Does she know-"

"I'll tell her. I have to tell her. I mean," He let out a frustrated breath as he stood and paced toward the window before abruptly turning back around, "To me, they're hers already."

Narcissa smiled then stood to meet him by the window. She took his hands into hers. "Well then," she squeezed his hands, "Come with me darling, I know exactly the piece you're thinking of."