The fireplace in Lavender Brown's flat landed right in the middle of her trendy living room. Hermione had only done a handful of house calls in the last couple of years, but she knew the way to the kitchen.

"Lav?" She called. Around the corner she found Lavender, in her pajamas and her wavy hair disheveled, crying as she kneeled next to a broken bottle and a pool of bright blue liquid. "oh, Lavender, it's okay."

"I'm so stupid," she sobbed.

"I have extra. Don't move," she waved a simple cleaning spell and the bottle repaired itself. Setting her bag down on the counter, she dug around for her box of potions and draughts. "C'mere"

Lavender sucked in a sniffle and stood up holding out her hand for the vial of wolfsbane. "Bottoms up."

She made a face as she took the potion like a shot of vodka, but finished it in one gulp. The moon would technically not be considered full until tomorrow. Still, it was clearly affecting Lavender in a way Hermione hadn't seen before. Tilting her head, she said, "what's going on?"

"You probably think I'm a stupid bint, screwing up my potions and crying on the floor."

" I don't think that at all."

"Everyone thinks that."

Hermione grabbed her by the arms, nearly shaking her "no, they don't. You were great just last night, what happened?"

With a sigh, Lavender made her way back to the living room where she wrapped herself in a blanket. Hermione sat next to her, folding her legs up to her chest.

"It is great. Everything is great."

"Okay."

Lavender blinked tears out of her eyes, "Hermione, do you ever feel like your life is nothing close to where you thought you'd be? Who you thought you'd be? I mean, you probably don't."

"I do. And I know you're going through something right now and as your healer, it's my job to support you, but acting like everything is so easy for me and so hard for you isn't exactly doing any favors for our friendship."

A smile broke out on her face, "we're friends now?"

"I'm still miffed at you," Hermione said, but she felt herself starting to laugh.

"You're right. Sorry. You make it seem so effortless."

"Me? Effortless?"

"Natural, is probably the better word. I feel like I'm spinning out of control. All of my plans and my dreams, they keep slipping away. Just out of my grasp."

"Now that, I understand. Hey, chin up, you made Witch Weekly's most eligible healers!"

"Oh, that stupid list is outdated and sexist and you know it. Do you see any cute successful wizards lining up to take me out? Merlin, even Malfoy mugged me off at my own birthday party."

"He did what? I'll punch him. Again."

Lavender shook her head, "no no, he didn't mean it. Just bought me a drink and kept telling me what a great mate and colleague I was. I got the hint."

"Sorry...I thought."

"Me too," she yawned. The drowsiness from the wolfsbane setting in, "I can never quite figure him out."

"That makes two of us," said Hermione, but Lavender was already asleep.

With Lavender tucked in on her couch and an extra dosage of her potion on the coffee table, Hermione made her way back to the floo. She could go back to the party, it was still early, but she didn't particularly want to mingle with Ron and their old friends any longer. Plus, the detour had done a number on sobering her up which was good for consoling Lavender but less good for relaxing and letting off steam. She took it back to her own place instead.

She couldn't sleep. It wasn't exactly uncommon for her, but usually came from a tough case. The puzzle would taunt her until she'd taken it apart and looked at it from every angle. Draco Malfoy was, she supposed, a puzzle in his own right.

"I've got it!" She burst through the office door and didn't wait for Draco to look up from his parchment.

"Is 'it' coffee?"

"For me, not for you," she sat down and looked at him expectantly. "I've figured out how to reverse the mark. I couldn't stop thinking about it and I was reading this book from Dumbledore's library-"

"I take it the party was good?"

"I didn't stay long. Anyway, the mark, it's cursed with snake venom right? So we need to simultaneously administer anecdote to the venom while breaking the curse and healing the outer layer of the skin. There's an old spell in one of these books I think would be strong enough and-"

"Granger. Shush," Draco said through gritted teeth. The tone was enough to make her stop in her tracks. He looked over her shoulder and calmly got up to close the door and perform a silencing charm. Turning back to her, his face was still tense. "Are you out of your bloody mind?"

"I told you, I think we can reverse this. I thought you'd be happy!"

"You're talking about performing an illicit procedure that has undergone absolutely no review by any medical board, in a fucking hospital where you and I both work."

"I don't care about that, we're talking about your life here."

His face twitched and he dropped his voice despite the silencing charm. "We are talking about your license to practice and your oath. Trust me, Granger, I love this rebellious spirit of yours but I'm not letting you lose your career over this."

"You're being dramatic. That's only a possibility if we get caught. We won't try it on hospital grounds, you can come to mine. Ginny's on her engagement-moon."

"You're not listening to me. It's too risky."

Hermione stood to meet him. He still towered over her, but it made her feel less like a child being dressed down. "What aren't you saying?"

"Maybe I don't want to do it, Hermione, have you thought of that?"

"No, actually, I literally never thought of that. Why would you not want to be cured of a curse that will one day kill you?"

"That's my burden to bear, not your little potions project."

She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks, "potions project? I try and help you and you belittle my idea, which is brilliant by the way, as a potions project?"

"Maybe I don't want your help!" He threw up his hands and pushed past her, back to his own desk, but she caught him by his arm and forced him to look at her.

"You don't think you deserve to be healed, do you?"

"Granger," he warned, "leave it alone."

"What's this? Just another case of your self-flagellation?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, drop it."

"Oh so it's fine for you to sit around stewing in your remorse but if anyone actually tries to help you live a life, that's a bridge too far"

He slowly walked towards her, his face composed but his eyes revealing the anger flaring up. She took a step back, her thighs hitting the edge of the desk, and keeping her chin up even though she could tell she'd hit a nerve. It wasn't that she was afraid of him, that he'd try something or hurt her. But now they were both off the deep end, and they were going to have to finish this. He was close enough she could smell his cologne, it was all she could smell actually. She could feel the heat from his body.

"I have a life."

"It's all making sense now. How you let yourself get close to the things you want but never close enough to reach for them. I fail to see how it helps me, or anyone else you've hurt."

Now his face fell and he said quietly, "you have no idea what you're talking about."

"I know you didn't submit your research on the effects of cursed jewelry for the Goshawk Foundation grant. It was good, it stood a chance."

He sighed and shook his head, "Hermione, they can't go awarding grants to former Deatheaters. It's embarrassing."

"So you just wrote out the whole application and then didn't even try?"

"I saved everyone the trouble."

"Wallowing. And then there's Lavender."

"Lavender?! What the hell does Lavender have to do with this?"

"She was interested in you and you knew it. So what, you bought her a drink and told her how much you like her friendship?"

Draco laughed out loud at that one, a hallow, mirthless laugh, "I'm sorry, I thought that was what you're supposed to do when it's someone's birthday. Lavender's a beautiful girl and a great healer but there's nothing between us more than friendship. Is that alright with you, Granger?"

"You're being an arse."

"I don't need your help. I don't want your help. Not everything is about you and your puzzles. And if you think this is wallowing, you've got no idea."

It hung there, between them. His eyes narrow and sharp, but full of so much pain.

"Fine," she said quietly, then cleared her throat. "We should, um, open the door. People will think we're shagging in here."

Draco smirked, "people always think we're shagging in here."