Hermione watched Ginny finally asleep on the narrow cot she was provided. She made it a point to visit the witch alone for a few hours every day as she suspected it was the only time the younger witch managed to sleep at all. Ginny had made significant recovery under Cora's watchful eye. With the exception of her limp and the scars on her neck- the result of a cursed blade, not a Diffindo as originally presumed- at least physically Ginny was back to her old self. Even the bald patches on her head had finally begun to sprout hair so she was slowly beginning to look more and more like herself. Unfortunately the same could not be said about her personality.

It was hard to figure out Ginny's triggers, she could go from vacant-eyed absent to inconsolably weeping in a split second. There were also moments where she could be incredibly cruel with her words. But those moments were usually reserved for her, thought Hermione, recalling one such incident from a few weeks before the twins were born.

"So what? What does that matter?" Ginny asked. "It doesn't change what he did, Hermione. I can't believe you let him fuck you again."

"He couldn't really help it, Gin, just like I couldn't help feeling aroused," Hermione said. "It was this new fertility potion- makes you mad with lust. He was just acting on instinct when he did what he did."

"I don't know how you could stand to even look at him after he raped you," Ginny said.

"He was just as much of a victim as I was," Hermione said. "Besides, if not him it would've been someone else. Riddle intended me as a plaything for Fenrir's pack- our fates were sealed the minute we were caught. At least with Draco..." Hermione paused trying to think of a way to explain her complicated relationship with Draco without further upsetting Ginny. "I just don't want to blame him for things when he's the one trying to help. It's not fair to him."

"It's not exactly fair to us, either, Hermione," Ginny said hugging herself. "He's no innocent. He's in this situation because of his own choices. He willingly took the Dark Mark and let Death Eaters into Hogwarts. He may not have killed Dumbledore himself but he sure helped make it possible."

"It all seems so long ago now to me, that it hardly seems to matter. I just want to make it through this." Hermione slumped in her bed, rubbing her hands over her face. "I don't want to argue. I'm tired and my stomach hurts."

"Well, you should've thought about that before going to your Death Eater lover for a shag in your condition like some cheap slag," Ginny said as she lay down in her bed, facing away from Hermione.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something. Shut it with a sigh and stretched out on her bed hoping to get some sleep.

Sadly, there were far more conversations with Ginny in that vein than any other since their reunion. Things only improved after Ginny was given her own room and Hermione gave birth. As she no longer witnessed Hermione's comings and goings with Draco and with Hermione no longer sporting a pregnant belly that served as a reminder of her transgressions, Ginny finally stopped lashing out at her friend and using taunts like Death Eater slut when talking to her.

Unfortunately, despite all this progress Hermione was unable to have a single productive conversation with Ginny. As fragile as her state of mind was, the only subject they could discuss without running the risk of upsetting Ginny was talking about happier times at Hogwarts. Reminders of her family, Harry, or even the Order often resulted in an anxiety attack if not a complete breakdown. It was despair- that much was clear to Hermione; Ginny had given up on ever making it back to her loved ones.

As sympathetic as Hermione was to Ginny's plight, her inability to answer her questions was turning out to be a real problem. While they remained captive it was only Ginny who could help her answer the question bugging her for a while now: Who was the traitor in the Order?

For over three months the Order kept a close watch on high ranking Ministry bureaucrat, Dolores Umbridge. All of Hermione's research suggested that the locket worn by their old Defence teacher was the very same Slytherin family heirloom that was later made into a horcrux by Voldemort. In recent years every photograph of Umbridge published in the Daily Prophet showed her wearing the locket, but no one had thought to investigate it assuming it was just another fake just like the one they retrieved from the inferi infested cave some years ago. After all, there was no reason why Umbridge, a Halfblood and mid-level Death Eater, should have possession of such a valuable artefact.

Hermione only began to suspect Umbridge's locket was real when reading one of the Prophet's latest propaganda pieces praising the works of Dolores Umbridge, Minister for Cultural Preservation, for her untiring work towards helping rid their world of the Muggle scourge. While Umbridge had always been sadistic and fond of abusing her authority there appeared to have been a distinct shift in her personality in recent years amplifying her cruelty to new and unprecedented levels. It was Umbridge who provided the Death Eaters the means to commit genocide by establishing the Muggleborn Registration Commission. Umbridge worked to weaken the powers of the Improper Use of Magic Office so that the practice of Dark Magic became acceptable and the torturing and killing of Muggles only a petty infraction. And most recently, it was Umbridge who decided that instead of an invitation letter to Hogwarts Muggleborn children and their families receive an Avada on their eleventh birthdays.

Looking at Umbridge's biography and the picture of her wearing the locket, Hermione decided to dig through old copies of the Prophet to check if Umbridge had always worn it and found that the locket began appearing in photographs right around the time she started making the first of her policy changes at the Ministry. Hermione then dug up her old notes from the time they interrogated Mundungus Fletcher on the whereabouts of the locket and noticed that Umbridge only began sporting her locket some months after Mundungus lost possession of the horcrux. Inebriated as he was at the time of its confiscation, Mundungus was unable to provide the Order with a name or even an accurate description of the person who took the locket from him. He only made one statement worth noting at the time, "Looked like a regular Ministry toady, 'cept this one had a Dark Mark on its arm."

They had assumed the individual was male and since it was a Death Eater they presumed the locket must have made its way back to Voldemort. Looking at all the pieces of information, there was a good chance Umbridge did possess the genuine locket just as there was a chance she was wearing a copy of the locket to set a trap for the Order. Considering Umbridge had worn the locket for years, the latter seemed unlikely.

With no other leads to pursue, they had voted in favour of going after Umbridge's locket. Hermione, Ron and Bill were working on a plan to break into Umbridge's home, which would be less guarded than the Ministry, while the Death Eaters and Black Cloaks were busy with their Samhain Revels. However less than a month before the day they were to execute their plan the Order received intelligence that hinted the cursed locket was hidden somewhere in the ruins of the old Riddle House.

Security around the ruins of Riddle House was lax as it was only guarded by a few Black Cloaks posted there to discourage curious tourists from poking around for clues that may substantiate the claims published by the Order about Voldemort's true origins. It was hard to believe that Voldemort would choose to acknowledge his Muggle roots by hiding his horcrux there so Hermione had opted to stay focused on Umbridge. But there were a few Order members who thought the ruins were worth looking into. Of the Order members posted at their safe house the only ones not assigned to any duty at the time were Ginny Weasley and Padma Patil. It was decided that the two would go on a quick reconnaissance mission to check if the place tested positive for high levels of Dark Magic.

Unlike Ginny, Hermione was a last minute addition to the mission. Restless from only being assigned to research and planning for over a year, Hermione thought a night out would do her some good. Hours before they were due to leave Hermione asked Ginny if she could tag along, which the younger witch promptly agreed to. Their objective for the night was simple enough there was no need for any briefing or preparation.

When Hermione arrived outside the wards of the safe house at the appointed time to only find Ginny waiting there for her she didn't think to question Padma's absence. Things were awkward between them ever since Padma started dating Ron a few months ago. Like Hermione, Ginny too hoped that Ron and Hermione would eventually work out their differences and be together, so both witches refused to acknowledge that Ron and Padma were in a relationship. At the time Hermione assumed Padma had simply dropped out once she heard she would be stuck with both Ginny and Hermione for the night.

That fateful October night, under the cover of darkness, both witches were able to easily apparate to their desired location, a short walk from the Riddle House. A quickly cast Homenum Revelio confirmed there were no humans at the ruins, it was followed by a few other spells to test for wards. They proceeded only after confirming it was safe to do so. Once there Ginny cast a spell to test for Dark Magic while Hermione barely began to cast a revealing spell- on the odd chance the locket was there and wasn't well hidden- when suddenly they sensed a change in the air surrounding them signalling that Anti-Apparition wards had gone up.

Sensing danger both witches ran towards the edge of the wards only to run into a group of Death Eaters who looked surprised to see them soon as they recognised who they were. Taking in the food and wine lying around as well as the number of Death Eaters present, clearly they had gathered there for some event and weren't expecting to have any sort of run in with the order, still, with the numbers in their favour they succeeded in subduing both witches.

It was only later when Hermione recalled the events of that night that it dawned on her how the wards weren't triggered till Ginny cast a spell. It was almost as if Ginny's magical signature set off the wards that herded them in the direction of the waiting group of Death Eaters. If true, it meant that Ginny was definitely the intended target that night.

But, why would anyone in the Order want to help Ginny get captured, who stood to gain from it? Was Padma's absence that night just her good fortune or was she involved in some way? What was the source of the intelligence that directed them to the ruins that night? How was the message relayed to them? Who all among them would have known their schedules and known Ginny would be assigned for the mission that night? Hermione had many such questions and since Ginny was assigned to the mission, she would know the details that could help answer Hermione's questions.

However, with Ginny's fragile state it didn't seem likely to happen. Ginny needed help to cope with her experience, to move past it. She was going to be no use till she recovered from her trauma. Did their desperate situation warrant resorting to desperate measures?

Hermione had long shown a proficiency in performing memory charms, having gone as far as erasing herself completely from her parents' memories when she first heard the drums of war beat. Over the years she had plenty of occasions to perfect her technique, so now it was only a matter of minutes for her to locate and, extract or erase specific memories without arousing any suspicions. Having seen the effects of her captivity at Malfoy Manor and Chateau Lestrange, Hermione was considering erasing that entire period from Ginny's memory as she was certain there was nothing in there that Ginny would want to remember. Of course she would first extract memories of the atrocities perpetrated against Ginny should there ever come a time her assailants stood trial for their crimes.

Altering Ginny's memories was not an option Hermione could have considered before. But since it looked like Draco intended for her to have Professor Dumbledore's wand she could easily perform the necessary magic. She just couldn't decide if it would really be in Ginny's best interest to leave a blank hole in her head for all those months she was held captive.

The biggest snag in the plan was the pregnancy. Because of the pregnancy Ginny would suspect she had been raped and then would she not feel worse when she failed to recall the details? Would she not consider Hermione tampering with her memories to be a violation in itself no matter her reasons for doing so?

She wished to confer with someone else, but Cora couldn't be relied upon for help in matters not concerning the pack and while Draco could be objective, she knew Ginny would hate her for making such a crucial decision about her based on a discussion with a Malfoy. Hermione looked at Ginny fast asleep and wished there was a way for her to talk her friend and get her opinion on the course of action she was considering taking.

Fenrir rarely visited now, confirming that he wasn't really attracted to her beyond her reproductive abilities. Since he couldn't mate with Hermione till he was done with Cora's potion regimen his attempts to woo Hermione stopped altogether. She imagined he would start again at the end of three months when he was done with the potions or important pack business as he called it, she remembered with a snort. He also stopped keeping a close eye on Draco. Maybe Fenrir had taken measures to ensure Hermione couldn't get pregnant till he was ready for her or was simply too cocky to imagine she wouldn't wait for him, whatever his reasons, Fenrir was no longer dictating Draco's daily schedule or finding excuses to see Hermione every day. And the pair welcomed this change.

They spend a lot of their time training, with Draco even handing her Professor Dumbledore's wand for a few of their training sessions. The wand was an odd fit- though it was far more effective as a conduit for her magic than any wand not her own, something still didn't feel right about the wand.

Most of their training sessions were spent with Draco trying to get Hermione to cast wandlessly again. But, no matter how much he fought her, beat her or in general tried to frustrate her during training she was unable to produce a wandless magical blast. Hermione preferred the use of a wand, the idea of trying to channel something she had little to no control over scared her. Draco remained optimistic, he believed with enough training she would figure out how to manipulate her emotional state to unleash her raw magic at will.

Of course, training wasn't the only physical thing the couple did during their time alone together.

One hand maintained a bruising grip on Hermione's hip while the other pinned her wrists above her head to the wall, his balls slapping against her arse with every frantic thrust. Without Hermione's bulging stomach and impending labour to worry about, Draco fucked like the beast the moon turned him into.

Longing to touch him, Hermione whined in frustration and wriggled about trying to free her hands from his steely grip, but trapped as she was against the wall her struggles only left her soaked in the milk dribbling from her breasts.

Draco pulled out and quickly spun her around. He grabbed her legs, jerking them up and around his hips. Wasting no time he immediately fucked right back into her. Eyes shut, head thrown back, and mouth hanging open he enjoyed the way her pussy squeezed the head of his cock every time he thrust into her. Upon opening his eyes, his attention was immediately drawn to the mouth-watering sight made by Hermione's breasts as they glistened with milk and sweat in the light of the moon. Leaning forward he wrapped his mouth around a teat, and gave it a hard suck.

Hermione cried out, arching away from the wall. Her fingers tangled in Draco's hair. Her clit throbbed, painfully sensitive after being brought to orgasm so many times already. She shuddered as Draco sucked again, milk rushing out, then whined in protest when he pulled away to watch milk bead at the tip of her nipple.

Draco lapped the milk up and fucked harder into Hermione. This was nearly perfect, he thought as he came inside her with one last snap of his hips.

This was nearly perfect, was the thought echoed in Hermione's head as she collapsed panting against the wall, but she knew how to make it better even if it wasn't a full moon tonight. She stretched out her neck, submissively baring it to Draco in an unspoken invitation.

Even in the throes of his orgasm, Draco did not miss the gesture. Leaning forward he licked spot he wished to mark before sinking his teeth in.

Hermione hissed from the unexpected pleasure that came with the bite. She wrapped her arms and legs around him trying to pull him further into her. For one brief second she could have sworn he'd sprouted fur on his back.

Draco groaned in pleasure as she tightened around his cock. For a brief second after he bit into her, his wolf came forward to claim his witch, something she welcomed by drawing him in further. Satisfied, his wolf howled, this way he was able to mark her without completely changing her. Draco, torn between feeling an overwhelming desire to fill her belly with his pups once more and saddened by the knowledge that it would be a while before he was able to do so, failed to register what his wolf said to him. He slumped heavily against Hermione for a moment weak kneed from the powerful orgasm he had experienced. He took a few seconds to recover then carried Hermione over to the bed. The pack was watching the twins tonight and Draco recalled he still had a promise to keep. Sometime before the birth of their boys Draco had promised to give his witch a thorough fucking which he fully intended to deliver on tonight. The witch wasn't going to be able to walk for the next few weeks, he thought with smug satisfaction, without feeling just how thorough he'd been with her tonight.

Hermione stood hidden in an alcove in the courtyard listening to a rather interesting conversation taking place among a group of unknown werewolves. Recently her hearing was sharper than usual; she knew she wasn't imagining it as the group stood at a distance sheltered by a cluster of trees. She must've been standing downwind from them as they weren't alerted to her presence.

"I don't get why only the Malfoy brat gets to breed her. A witch capable of carrying wolf pups to term is a rare find... We should all get to share her."

"Yeah, I'd like a go at her - You can bet she wouldn't even need that bloody potion... I'd give her so many children."

There was a mix of sounds of laughter and scoffing noises.

"But isn't it true that only true mates can have children?"

"Someone's been spending time with Oskar's pack."

"So it isn't true, sir?"

"Can't say, pup... Never been part of a pack before."

"Well, the only children that survived in my old pack were born to true mates. We had mated pairs who managed to conceive, but their babies usually died during the shift."

"Ye had wee ones in yer ole pack?"

"Not really. The babies born were human so we send them away for their safety. We were a fairly new pack, didn't have any Elder to guide us like some of the old European packs. We barely knew what we were doing as werewolves, just moving around, trying to satisfy our instincts but not get killed for it."

"That's what life was like for most of us, brother. It's why we never wanted children. It felt too cruel to inflict such a life on them."

"Aye, 'tis na leef fur a bairn."

"Exactly! After the kind of life I've led, it feels like a blessing to hold the twins... I'd love to have my own pups soon."

"Well, you'll need to wait your turn as Fenrir plans on having her first."

"Is it true he's never sired any pups in all this time?"

"I don't think I care for your tone. Remember your place, omega."

"Forgive me, sir. It's just that Draco's already sired twins and from the look of things he's likely to get the witch up the duff again."

"Once again, you ought to watch your tone. If the alpha hears such talk he'll have you on your back with his jaws wrapped around your neck."

"The pup does have a point though, Logan. Fenrir's neglected his pack in favour of service to the Dark Lord while Draco favours us by bringing new blood into the pack."

"You forget, Arnold, it was the alpha's service to the Dark Lord that earned him the witch who brings new life to the pack."

"Which brings us to the point I was making earlier... about how we all need to get our turn with her-"

"You men speak as if Draco didn't land each of you on your arses to earn the right to breed her the first time," said an older sounding man, ending his words with a snort.

"It really was something, right? I'm mated so I wasn't involved that night, but just watching him rip his way through the competition- phew- made my wolf shudder and want to yield to him even without a fight."

There were sounds of agreement from several voices.

"Think he could be an alpha?"

A chorus of disagreeing sounds this time.

"He's too young to say really."

"No way!"

"He had one good night. Never seen him fight like that before... or since. One good night doesn't make you an alpha."

There was an assortment of assenting voices this time.

"Anyone of you that thinks you stand a chance with that witch, has lost his mind. Doesn't matter what the alpha's promised, there's no way Draco's letting anyone within sniffing distance of her. Far as I can tell, he's bonded with her."

"Bollocks. If he's bonded with her how come he's been rutting with a different moon mate these past full moons- What? What's with that look?"

"That's on the alpha- commanded Draco to rut with the omegas."

"Think about it, you fool. Why would a beta willingly fuck an omega?"

The question was followed by a chorus of agreeing noises.

"I heard Draco was given no choice. Lanie was complaining about how he threw up soon as they were done knotting."

"Mmhmm. Wonder why Fenrir's mad at Draco this time. It's pretty clear from the way he acts around the witch he's bonded with her, so to force him to rut with someone else..."

"I may be a pup but even I know that's a cruel thing to do to a wolf."

"Arnold, you really need to do a better job of keeping these pups in line. They can't be questioning their alpha's actions in this manner!"

"Come on, Logan, Mitchell has a valid question-"

"Whatever he's mad about, you can be sure it's got nothing to do with pack business. I mean, when was the last time the alpha punished anyone for doing something bad to the pack?"

"I don't care for your tone or whatever it is you're implying. We volunteered for the experiments. We knew what to expect... Besides, I don't get how anyone can complain when we have two beautiful boys as a result of those experiments?"

"But do we know for sure if the boys were born because of the experiments or because Draco and Hermione are true mates?"

"Let's say all that thestral dung about true mates is real. If not for the experiments the twins would be regular humans, not lycans."

The statement caused several different people in the group to speak up at once so it was hard to tell if the voices agreed or disagreed.

Finally one voice rang out louder than the rest. "We don't know if they're lycans. We won't know till they're in their teens."

"Really? Tell me something Arnold; you had children in your old pack, right? Did they smell like pack or prey to you?"

The question resulted in another chaotic buzz of conversations till the voice that asked the question spoke again.

"You all know what I mean. Our wolves recognise the twins as pack. Our wolves will never pose a threat to Wilbur and Martin because we see them as one of us. Now, why do you think that is?"

"I thought it was because they were Draco's pups."

"It has to be because of Draco's scent. I mean, my wolf also recognises the witch as pack now. I figured it had to be because of Draco's scent masking their own."

"You're right. Her scent doesn't bother me like it used to. I figured it had something to do with her smelling like the twins."

"The only reason for her scent to not bother us is if she's bonded with the pack, which would only happen if she's bonded with someone from the pack as she's still human."

"So they really have bonded then, eh?"

"Can't be. Don't you think Fenrir would've gotten wind of it if that was the case? Would Fenrir be making all those plans for her if she's already bonded with someone else?"

"Yes, if we feel the pack bond, Fenrir would definitely feel the alpha bond with her."

"Unless..."

"What?"

"No!"

"No way!"

"Oh shite!"

"What? What is it?"

"He doesn't know because there's no alpha bond."

"That's not possible. With the mate bond, the alpha bond would also fall into place."

"So if Fenrir doesn't know but we all recognise her as pack, that can only mean..."

"Fucken hell!'

"What does that mean?"

"Another alpha."

"Sounds like trouble to me."

"Aye."

"Look, I think this is all a bunch of nonsense-"

"Do not repeat this discussion. If the alpha catches wind..."

"She's bonded with a different alpha."

"Let's talk to Gunnolf. Surely he knows something that'll explain what's going on."

"Do you think it's someone in the pack?"

"We're making a mistake. Clearly we must be. How can there be another alpha?"

"Screw that. I'm gonna find Oskar. That old dog always seems to know what's going on."

"Shut up! Don't breathe a word of this to anyone-"

From that point it became harder to track the conversation as they resorted to hushed whispers. Clearly the werewolves were spooked by the idea that there may be another alpha in their midst. She was thankful for whatever she did manage to hear as it offered her helpful insight into her situation. She would need to speak with Draco and even Oskar to help clear some things up but it sounded like she and Draco had managed to bond together and their sons were a new breed of lycanthropes.