Hello again!

I hope you all are safe and healthy during the pandemic! To make the time a bit better for you, here's the enxt chapter! I really hope you guys are going to like it. My biggest thanks to everyone who followed and favourited, and a warm hug to everyone who left a review, thank you!

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to one of the most amazing people I know, who today celebrates her birthday! 3 Love you, my best friend!

Caroline smiled at that. Lucius had some basic occlumency training, she already knew that, but his abilities couldn't match. She knew what he was up to.

"Is that a question?" she answered and made a point of looking confused.

"Who's Bode?" asked Rabastan abruptly.

Caroline and Lucius both turned their attention to him and the woman was the first to answer. "My patient."

Lucius gave her a look and then turned back to the other man. "Former Unspeakable."

"I've heard about the unfortunate event. I'm sure the healer will know next time she'll see a Devil Snare," he pointed and looked at his companion.

Caroline frowned at that. She particularly liked that healer. But Lucius's thoughts were all too clear. He was aware about the situation with Broderick Bode. He just started to explain the whole situation to Rabastan and Caroline took advantage of it and advanced towards his mind, and was trying to make sure he wouldn't notice. As he was just speaking about it, it was easy to find other memories connected with this one quickly. She's seen Lucius putting Bode under Imperius curse and giving him orders.

But she didn't have the time to actually hear his instructions, because her husband interrupted her. "Caroline," was a firm call.

She quickly withdraw herself from Lucius's mind and looked at her husband. If his look could sent her a Cruciatus, she was quite sure, she would be on the ground, crying with pain right away.

She focused her abilities on him for a second, as she fell there was something he wanted to tell her.

Are you completely mad? Invading Lucius's mind?

She didn't pay attention any longer, as she noticed the look Malfoy Sr. was giving both to her and her husband on their silent exchange.

"Pardon me, Lucius, I let my thoughts wandering away. You were saying?" she asked politely.

"I asked whether you'll be coming for the St. Mungo's Annual ball this year, Caroline. The director was kind enough to send me a list of guests who already confirmed their attendance and I haven't seen your among them."

Of course Lucius was given the list. As the main sponsor of St. Mungo's for the last decade, he attended every Annual ball and was sure to have the best places.

But Caroline hasn't received any invitation letter this year yet and she shoot a glance at Rabastan, who stared at her with emotionless face. Just the fact, that he put an effort to block his mind made her sure he knew something about that. And Caroline felt an opportunity.

She turned back to the blond man and gave him another smile. "I'm afraid I haven't had the time to send my confirmation yet, but I plan to come for sure." Rabastan's face was turning into stone again, and she could see the anger in his eyes.

"Narcissa will be glad to hear that. In fact, she wanted me to let you know that she's expecting you to owl her soon. She was a little bit worried when you disappeared, you know. We weren't sure whether someone from Order was keeping you somewhere. But of course, once Rabastan contacted us, we knew you were back in safety."

"I'll make sure to contact Cissy soon, " she answered politely and ignored the mention about Order, "I may even ask her for an advice about the dress for the ball. Her taste is legendary."

"I am sure she would love that, " was his polite answer before he turned to Rabastan. "It's really a shame you cannot attend, Rabastan. Your wife has been an adornment of every St. Mungo's ball over the past years."

"I'm sure she was," was Rabastan's strict answer. But Lucius seemed to ignore the foul mood her husband was getting into and kept going on.

"But no need to worry yourself, my dear friend. Severus made sure no one even looked at her inappropriately."

Rabastan quickly turned his head towards Lucius. "Severus? As Severus Snape? He went for a ball? And with Caroline?" he pointed his head towards his wife.

"Oh, it was a surprise for me as well for the first time. But you know, he's supplying St. Mungo's with some really difficult and rare potions. And I can assure you, on behalf of both, Severus and Caroline, they were just friendly companions," Lucius answered again with a polite smile and then turned to Caroline and smiled even braider. She didn't breathe.

She still hold her breath as she watched Rabastan. She could feel his anger. "Is that true? Honey, you never mentioned that you and Severus became such friends."

"You never asked." And with that, she gave him her sweetest smile, turned towards Lucius again and made her apologies for leaving them, explaining she'd better go and send the confirmation for the ball right away. Although she was sure Rabastan saw through her little lie, she looked at him before she extended her hand so that Lucius could kiss it, and then offered him her cheek as well.

She could sense Rabastan was beyond furious. She went on to her private lab, where she spent a lot of her time recently and while preparing some Mind-stabilizing potions, quietly waited for her husband to come.

"What was that?!" not more than one hour passed as Rabastan threw the door open and walked towards her with a really angry expression.

Caroline's heart started beating fast, but she kept her emotions checked and expression neutral, as she kept brewing her potions.

"What do you mean?" she asked and added two peppermint leaves to the cauldron.

"Don't play with me, Caroline." His voice got dangerously low. But this time, although the fact that she still was scared, she was also pissed.

"Oh, so you mean the fact, that you were obviously taking my post over the last few weeks?" For the first time, she looked up from the cauldron.

"Fuck the post. What where you playing at? What were you doing with Snape? And when have you became the Malfoys closest friend?" he was shaking with anger, which influenced Caroline's own emotions as well.

"What I was playing at? Have you ever realised what happened to me after your capture? Do you know how it was, being Lestrange after the Dark Lord fell? After you tortured the Longbottoms to insanity? After I was tortured by your companions as well?"

Rabastan's face was getting white, but she wasn't finished. She was controlling herself for some time and now, all the emotions were coming out. She dropped the ingredients she was holding and looked at him.

"I was the bottom of the society, no one would look at me! People were actually hexing me whenever I went out on street for months! Lucius got away with an Imperius course, and then it was easy for him to pay his way back up. But do you think someone wanted any money from me? Wife of a convicted Death Eater? And I couldn't very well go into the society and influence every mind over there! And believe it or not, Severus and Narcissa were actually the only ones talking to me!"

Rabastan was still looking at her until he noticed the smoke coming from her cauldron. That was also when she noticed it, but it was already too late.

"Caroline!"

She wasn't quick enough and second later, it exploded into her face. She couldn't see. Everything burned. How could she be so stupid? The dried pumpkin seeds were supposed to come right after the peppermint leaves!

But she couldn't think about that now. Her face was burning and all that she could focus on was the pain. She noticed him kneeling beside her. She let out a cry of pain.

He removed the bits of the hot potion from her face with his wand, but that didn't ease the pain.

"Rudoplhus! Bella!" she heard him call for the rest of the family. They wouldn't hear, she was sure. They lived on the other side of manor.

She let out another cry of pain. She was sure she lost most of her skin on the face.

"Wixie!"

The elf was at his side almost immediately. "How can Wix-?" the elf stopped in the middle of sentence, as she noticed her mistress crying in pain on the ground.

"Can you heal her?" Rabastan asked harshly.

Wixie took a closer look at Caroline and snapped her fingers. With that, Caroline could feel the heat to get a bit colder, but the pain was still there. Wixie snaped one more time, but this time nothing happened. Caroline kept her eyes shut, the pain was getting unbearable and she thought she would pass out soon.

"Wixie doesn't know how to heal the burns from this potion," the house elf said with a trembling voice, and if Caroline wouldn't cry in pain, she would notice the elf crying as well.

"What's happening in here?" Rabastan turned quickly towards his brother in the doorway. Rudolphus was at his side almost immediately. "Potion?" he asked in a deep voice.

"I don't know which one," was Rabastan's answer. Caroline was slowly losing her consciousness as the two brothers tried to provide her with something, that would make her feel better.

"Damm it," cursed Rudolphus. "Bella's better at this than I am. But she's on a mission now. She needs a healer, Rabastan."

"Have you gone mad? We cannot take her to St. Mungo's and we most certainly cannot call one in here!"

"Do you want her to be blind? With burnings all over her face for the rest of her life?" Rudolphus replied harshly. "We can obliviate the healer afterwards, or even kill him. But whatever you want to do, decide now."

Rabastan was looking at his brother with disbelief. It took another five seconds of utter silence, before he spoke again. "Wixie." The elf stopped sobbing and looked at her master immediately.

"Apparate to Hoghwarts. Now. Find Severus Snape and bring him here. And be quick about it. Or you'll be taking care of you blind mistress."

Wixie was gone in another second. Both brothers tried more spells, something to cool down the irritated skin, to clean the wounds and protect the area around her eyes, but with a little success. Caroline was deeply unconscious and just moaned in pain from time to time.

They didn't know how much time passed, when they heard footsteps from the corridor and Wixie's voice navigating, to the door on the right.

Seconds later, Severus Snape entered the room and his sight fell on the trio on the ground. But before he approached them, he went for the remains of the potion in the cauldron and carefully looked at it.

He seemed to identify the potion immediately, as he was by Caroline's side in the next moment.

He approached the woman, took out his wand and began murmuring some spells neither of the brothers next to him knew. Then he took some kind salve he brought with him and gently began applicating it to her face.

Rabastan didn't say anything as the potions master put three different potions through his wife throat and silently helped him with it.

Rudoplhus then conjured stretcher, where they carefully laid the woman, and Rabastan was levitating her to their bedroom. None of them said a word, until she was laid on her bed and the three of them were standing outside the room.

"She should be fine. Make sure to put this on the burns on her face at five times a day, otherwise she going to have scars. And give her enough of the pain potions, at least for the first few days. These kind of injuries are pretty painful," Severus was talking with his usual cold voice and emotionless face.

"Thank you, Severus," was the answer from Rabastan, after he took the salve from his hands.

There was another moment of silence. "What kind of potion was the hell that?" Rudolphus asked the question both he and his brother were thinking aloud, and broke the silence.

Severus looked at both of them and seemed to think whether to tell them or not until he replied: "Mind-stabilizing". And Rabastan's face went back to pale white.