A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! Apologies for the delay in getting this chapter out to y'all - I find myself doing that a lot lately :/ I try really hard to keep a regular update schedule, but basically, I've had a lot of things going on IRL lately, and it's been difficult to find the time to write. I will try to get back on schedule soon! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-three and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-four soon!

August 1968

As the school year grew closer, Cedrella grew more suspicious of Hermione's increasing desire to want to spend time with her friend Lottie. "I just don't understand," Mrs. Weasley said with a bit of a frown, when Hermione asked to spend the weekend with Lottie. "You'll be seeing the St. Clair girl every day in just a few weeks."

"Well, she's invited Fawn and Elna, too - oh, you know them...Fawn Fawcett and Elna Honig - to have a little bit of a girls weekend before going back to school to study all the time. Fawn is back from Switzerland and we are all dying to hear about her trip," Hermione lied with a plastered on smile, knowing that she wanted nothing more than to spend the weekend with Rodolphus. "And, we were planning a trip to Diagon Alley to get all of our school supplies."

"I thought that we would go to Diagon Alley together next week," Cedrella said with a frown. "Just like we did last year."

"Come on mum," George said with a frown, throwing Hermione a bone. "Hermione doesn't want to go with us when she could go with her friends. She's a teenage girl after all."

"Oh, I'll go with you, too," Hermione promised, hoping that she sounded sincere. "I mean, I would love to go on an outing with you and George, but I just wanted to-"

Cedrella cut her off. "It's alright, Bunny, I completely understand," she said with a knowing look on her face. "I haven't forgotten what it's like to be young and popular. I suppose I just am realizing how much I will miss you company when the two of you go back to Hogwarts this September."

Hermione was touched to know that the other woman felt that way about her, that she was a treasured friend and almost a real part of the family. She realized that she was going to miss Cedrella, too, as she was almost certainly not going to be coming back after her school year was over. Wrapping the older woman in a tight hug, Hermione rather caught her off guard. "I'm going to miss you, too. I will never forget what your family has done for me," she swore, knowing that it was true. She couldn't imagine where she would be if the Weasleys hadn't agreed to take her into their home.

When she eventually released Cedrella, the other witch was blinking rapidly, trying to hide her tears. "Well, go on Bunny, and pack for your weekend," she insisted. "I hope you girls have fun."

Being given the final go ahead made Hermione feel a little bit bad to be lying to her, but she was too excited to see Rodolphus to rethink her plans for the weekend. Heading up to her room, Hermione grabbed the overnight bag that she had prepared, before apparating off to Diagon Alley where she could be meeting her boyfriend.

Rodolphus was waiting for her there, looking casual with the top button of his robes undone after his work shift, making him look a bit roguish. He pulled her into a quick hug and kiss in greeting, before leading her along the familiar path to his flat, telling her all about what he'd found that day in the libraries of the Ministry, having grown to enjoy the research that he did.

Since their discussion in France, it seemed like he was more willing to look at things in a different perspective. It seemed to her that he was considering some of the long held beliefs that had been passed onto him by his father were not entirely true. Of course, it wasn't as if he'd become a crusader for muggleborn rights, but he seemed more aware of the way some of his casual comments would be received by her.

And, Hermione was grateful for it. She knew that he was at least trying, and that was all she could ask for. It always made her heart flutter in her chest when she thought about the changes that she'd made, because she was entirely certain that the Rodolphus Lestrange that had attacked her and her friends in the Department of Mysteries would never have done that. But, she wouldn't let herself fall into an existential crisis over the dangers of her meddling with time, not when everything was going so well.

With her bag deposited safely in his flat, the pair of teenagers left the building once again to head to the little wizarding market nearby. Hermione was embarrassed to admit that she hadn't known that it was there, and even more embarrassed that she hadn't thought about how wizards got their food to begin with. After all, it wasn't as if there was a Sainsbury's on the corner. She was more excited to be cooking with Rodolphus to begin with. Somehow, she'd gotten him to agree to try cooking with her, the muggle way, something that had surprised herself, as she wasn't exactly known for being the best chef. Hopefully, she couldn't mess up spaghetti and meatballs too terribly.

It was nice to wander around the little cobbled streets with Rodolphus, feeling almost like they were a real couple. They weren't having to hide from anyone, strolling hand in hand, while they stopped from shop to shop. When they came across a florist, Rodolphus insisted on buying some pretty hydrangeas, if not for Hermione when she protested, at least to liven up their dining room table. "It's nice being out in the open with you like this," Hermione commented with a smile on her face. "It reminds me of France."

Rodolphus colored a bit when he revealed that he knew there was no chance of his father or any of his associates running into them in this part of the alley. Hermione frowned when he said that, but didn't comment further. "Honestly, I small part of me is almost hoping that he will find out about you - that he will finally get off my case about all of his plans for me," he admitted. "Only, I wouldn't want to subject you to his fury."

"You don't have to worry so much about me, Rodolphus," Hermione responded, softening a bit when she heard that he was just worried about her. Only, she didn't exactly need looking after. She almost found herself telling him about the number of times that she'd taken on fully grown Death Eaters, before stopping herself from revealing too much. "I'm a capable witch. You should see me in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

He snorted at her pronouncement. "My father would make what they teach you in DADA look like childsplay unfortunately," he said with a frown, going a bit sullen and quiet.

Once Hermione had selected the tomatoes, garlic and onion she wanted for her sauce, she turned to face him. "What has he been nagging you about lately?" she asked, wondering if he was still hoping that Rodolphus would join the Death Eaters, and if he would be successful in his quest.

"Preparations for the autumnal equinox - it's meant to be a time to celebrate the harvest and give alms to those less fortunate in our community," he explained, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Of course, to my father's set, that means finding some poor sap who is down on his luck and encouraging him to eat and drink to the point of excess, all while laughing to his face."

"That sounds horrible," Hermione said, thinking that it was rather typical of those sort of purebloods to ruin what was probably a wonderful tradition.

"Yeah," Rodolphus agreed, his eyebrows drawn together. "Just another way to rub how unworthy someone is in their faces. The things that they come up with sometimes absolutely disgusts me. Of course Rab has been pestering me to go and give him all the details. He can't wait to participate when he comes of age."

Hermione knew that Rabastan was a very touchy subject for the wizard. He genuinely cared for his little brother and wanted to shower him with the love and affection that he didn't get from his father. But the standoffishness of his father only made Rabastan crave the attention more. Rodolphus tried to steer his little brother in a better direction, but was so far unable to, especially considering that Rodolphus had brushed off his concerns about Hermione. "I'm sure that someday he'll understand the bigger picture...about treating people right," she offered, hopefully.

Rodolphus was not as convinced and just guided her into a butchers where they could get the final ingredients that they needed for their dinner. "I hope so," he agreed quietly. "But the sort of friends he made...they weren't like my friends." Of course, it wasn't as if Rodolphus and his friends had been known for being politically minded - instead, little more than Quidditch jocks.

With all their needed groceries assembled, Rodolphus lead her back to his flat, changing the topic of conversation to Hermione's difficult schedule for her coming seventh year. She was intending to take seven NEWTs, and considering taking the Muggle Studies NEWT, even though she'd dropped the class. Surely she could just wing that one as a muggleborn? Rodolphus thought that it sounded like an awful lot of studying.

"Well, think of all of the free time that I will have now that you are away from school," Hermione teased him with a coquettish grin, once they got back into his flat. "Think of how many hours I wasted snogging you in broom closets."

"Oi, I take offense that you would call that wasted time," Rodolphus said with a fake scowl on his lips.

"I just meant that I won't have you there to distract me," she said, pressing a hand to his chest to sooth him. "The library will be a lot lonelier without you there, this year."

Rodolphus looked a little bit unsure of himself for a moment. "Promise?" he pressed, grabbing her hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it.

Hermione felt her heart stutter in her chest, her heart full of love for the young man in front of her. "Of course, I promise," she told him honestly, knowing that it was going to be difficult to say goodbye to him and return to Hogwarts, unsure of how their relationship would go after that.

He pressed his hands to her waist, easily lifting her up to sit on the counter, before standing in the space between her legs so that they were nearly eye to eye. Rodolphus caught her lips in a kiss that was familiar, but still just as exciting as the first one that they had shared together. He always seemed to know just how to move, just when to press and when to pull, when to take their kisses deeper, until her mind was spinning with the feeling.

Pushing back at his shoulders, knowing there would be plenty more time for snogging, and maybe even more, later, she laughed when she saw the disappointed pout that he wore on his face. "Rodolphus, we have to start making our dinner," she insisted, breathless and amused. "Or else you will starve. And I will never get the pleasure of seeing you trying to cook the muggle way."

Rodolphus groaned, thoroughly disappointed, but knowing that it was the truth. He helped her down from the counter, before unpacking their bag. "Couldn't I just trim the flowers and put them on the table? Maybe light some candles and pour the wine?" he asked, coming up behind her to press another kiss against the side of her neck.

Hermione giggled, leaning back into him. "You are incorrigible. Start with the wine and then join me, chopping the tomatoes," she suggested, knowing that he was probably going to do great at it. "It's not that different from potions, I promise."

The two of them settled into a routine, working side by side, filled with several breaks for kisses. It was so enjoyable that Hermione found herself imagining a time when they could do the same thing every night together, before slipping off into bed for the evening.

That was the future she found herself longing for.