A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! 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 forty-five and be on the lookout for chapter forty-six soon!

March 1970

Hermione was annoyed when Dumbledore never showed, or even sent word to her after her daughter was born. Arabella had sworn up and down that she'd gotten word to the Headmaster once she was in labor, but she had been left to deal with the muggle doctors on her own. Hermione was embarrassed to admit that it had taken several confundus charms for her to get out of hospital without anyone trying to register Daisy. It was not her intention to remain in the muggle world, and she needed as few ties to it as possible.

She was still frustrated that they hadn't been able to arrange for a healer to come deliver the baby at home. Of course, she was thankful that everything had gone well with the birth, but Hermione would have felt more comfortable knowing that there would be magic on her side with her healer.

After she got Daisy home to Arabella's house, she was left waiting and waiting for Dumbledore to send any kind of message to her that he was aware that she'd had the baby. She was beginning to panic and had to be talked down from returning to the Wizarding World more than once. What if Voldemort had found out what they'd been up to and killed Dumbledore? What if everything had gotten horribly out of hand.

When Dumbledore had finally stopped leaving her to languish, he couldn't even muster up the interest to wish her congratulations on her new daughter. Instead, he sat in Arabella's parlor, drinking tea. He told Mrs. Figg that he required her presence.

Hermione sat down in a huff, cradling the baby to her chest. "Her name is Daisy and we're doing fine, thanks for asking," she said, feeling irritated with the wizard seated across from her.

"I am glad to hear that," he said, setting his cup down, looking as though he was disappointed in her.

"Well, I am glad you care now. It's been weeks, Dumbledore," she practically snarled. "I really needed some support. I really needed Molly's help. You promised me that this was going to be temporary, and instead, I've been left here to rot!"

"It wasn't safe for Molly to come here," he chided her. "You know that I was just trying to keep you safe."

"You don't know what's best for me," Hermione insisted. Suddenly, all of Harry's anger at not being kept isolated after the Tri-Wizard tournament becoming all the more understandable. She was sick of Dumbledore making decisions unilaterally, and even worse, not explaining them to her.

Dumbledore frowned, sighing as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Can we litigate this later, Miss Granger? I promise we have bigger things to discuss," he answered.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Okay, what do you need?" she finally asked. Even though she was annoyed with the other man, she couldn't pretend that she wasn't thrilled at the prospect of being useful again.

"We were able to locate the last horcrux," he said, sounding proud. "It was a Cup that had belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, as expected."

"What?" she asked, nearly unable to believe that they had actually found it. That things with Voldemort were actually almost over. Once they took away his backup plan, he could be killed once again. "How on Earth did you manage that?"

"Funnily enough, it sort of fell into our laps," he said. "I cannot claim any part in it, myself. In fact, the mole that we have positioned among the Death Eaters has proven their loyalty to Voldemort so convincingly that he was entrusted with the horcrux himself."

"What?" she found herself repeating, wondering how so much had occurred in the short time that she was in hiding. Just how did they get a mole who was so well placed within the Death Eaters that Voldemort would willingly hand over a horcrux? "Who is the mole, Dumbledore? You need to tell me. This could be a trap."

Dumbledore gave her a wry smile. "Not a trap, I assure you," he said, sounding smug, knowing that he held all the valuable information in this discussion. "But I won't keep it a secret much longer. I plan on destroying the horcruxes tonight, but wanted to offer you the chance to assist."

Hermione bristled at how magnanimous Dumbledore thought he was being. Oh, he'd allow her to assist with destroying the horcruxes? He wouldn't even know about them if it wasn't for her! She was seething at the way he'd treated her, shoving her aside and expecting her to sit until she was needed. But, she also wasn't going to pass up on the chance to take down Voldemort for good. This had been a part of her life since she was twelve years old and she wasn't just going to do what she was told.

"Of course I will help you destroy the horcruxes," she told him, with a tight smile on her face. In her lap, Daisy squirmed and wiggled, sensing her mother's bad mood. "I can't believe you even had to ask. Arabella would be happy to watch Daisy for the evening, wouldn't you, Ar?"

The older witch stood in her house robe and curlers clutching the door jam of the kitchen, a guilty look on her face for being caught eavesdropping. "'Course I would, Hermione," she agreed. "Daisy is such a little sweet one. A good baby."

"Excellent, there is no reason to delay then," Dumbledore said, before offering Hermione his arm to side-along.

Once she had kissed her baby's cheek goodbye and ensured that she was settled in with Arabella, Hermione took Dumbledore's arm. The moment she did, he was already pulling her through space.

Hermione blinked when she realized where they were. Tears pricked at her eyes when she saw that she was at the Burrow once again. Arthur Weasley stood in front of his house, his eyes warm when they settled on her form for the first time in months. She ran the short distance between them, wrapping her friend up in a tight hug.

"Merlin, aren't you a sight for sore eyes, Hermione," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders so that he could get a good look at her. "You don't even look like you had a baby. Tell me - is it a boy or a girl? What's their name?"

"Daisy, she's a love," Hermione gushed. "I can't wait for you and Molly to meet her."

"Congratulations. I am sure she is as beautiful as her mother," he said. "Molly and I actually just found out...she's pregnant, due at the end of November."

"Oh, Arthur, that is fantastic!" Hermione congratulated her friends. Her heart was aching, seeing how proud Arthur was of his future child - Bill - before he even held the child for the first time. A fresh pang of guilt filled her when she thought of how she'd robbed Rodolphus of that opportunity. She would have to speak to Dumbledore about contacting him. But first-

"As much as I hate to cut this reunion short, we do have something else to take care of first," Dumbledore said. "Arthur, do you have the items?"

"Yes, right here," the younger wizard answered, before picking up a sack.

"Shall we just put them into a pile and dump the basilisk venom on them all? Do it all in one fell swoop?" Hermione suggested.

Arthur shrugged his shoulders, before dumping the contents of the bag out on the grass. The diadem, diary, ring, cup, and locket didn't take up much room, but they did represent so much history, Hermione felt bad that there wasn't anyway to save them from certain destruction. But, if the only way to rid the world of true evil like Voldemort, Hermione would destroy them a thousand times over.

Dumbledore pulled a large container of basilisk venom out of his sleeve. There was so much more than Hermione had thought there would be, but she supposed that the basilisk from the chamber was much bigger than your typical one.

"I'll just create a shield so that we don't get any splatter on us," Hermione offered, before pulling out her own wand. "And then, you'll just pour it on, Dumbledore?"

With the Headmaster in agreement, Hermione created the shield and held her breath as he unstoppered the venom and tilted the container. She had absolutely no idea what was going to happen and she knew that all three of them would have to be on the ready. She watched as the dark green liquid streamed out, her heart pounding as time seemed to slow before the first drop hit the Diadem.

Immediately, an unholy screech like a hundred mandrakes filled the clearing and it was nearly enough to make Hermione drop her shield in order to cover her ears in pain. But somehow, she held on. "Don't stop pouring! Use it all!" she shouted, hoping the Headmaster would hear over the sound. After what seemed like an eternity, wisps of black smoke rose from the items, disappointing in the cold evening air.

Once all the venom was gone, the horcruxes remained in a mangled mass of metal, their previous form completely unknown. The grass was completely burnt from the venom, leaving an oddly shaped circle of dirt behind.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Arthur said, once it was all done.

"Yes, I expected them to put up more of a fight," Hermione said, remembering the way that the Diary version of Tom Riddle had fought Harry in his second year. But there was no denying that the horcruxes were fully destroyed. The stain of dark magic no longer chilled her.

Hermione turned to the Headmaster, placing her hands on her hips. "Don't think that you can distract me from our discussion. I still need to know who the mole is, even though this wasn't a trick," she insisted. "He might be a double agent for Voldemort."

"As it happens, the mole is waiting inside the Burrow right now, being sternly lectured by one Molly Weasley," Dumbledore said with a smirk. "If you wanted to meet him."

She swallowed thickly. Of course, there was practically nothing that he could do to stop her from meeting the mole. Turning on her heel, she marched off towards the Burrow, unsure of what she was going to find in the cheery little kitchen. Who could it be, she wondered, her mind running through Death Eaters that she was aware of.

Throwing the door open, she felt her heart stop when her eyes settled on the form of the man she'd given her heart to all those months ago. She felt a lump form in her throat when she realized that the mole had been Rodolphus all along.

He looked up when he heard her gasp, standing from his chair so abruptly that it was knocked back. His blue eyes lit up in surprise and awe when he saw her. "Hermione," he said, his voice full of fondness. "It's really you."

Rodolphus closed the distance between them. He grabbed her, his hands cupping her jaw, before pulling her in for a kiss, pouring every ounce of emotion into her, filling her up with love once again. Hermione could feel herself melting against him, surprised by how good it felt to be in his arms once again. He felt like home.

He deepened the kiss for just a moment, before he pulled back. "Salazar, I've missed you so much," he confessed, before using his thumbs to wipe at the wetness on her cheeks. "You are crying," he added with a fond smile.

Hermione could feel herself getting choked up. "Merlin, Rodolphus, I've missed you, too," she told him honestly, all the hurt of their last meeting melting away. "You were the mole? You've been helping us..."

"Yes, listen, I have so much I need to say to you," he cut her off, a dark look of shame coming over his face.

She bit her lower lip, remembering little Daisy tucked away in Muggle London. "I've got something I need to tell you, too."