AN: Once again, thank you to everyone reading and especially those leaving comments. I love hearing your thoughts on the story. I've mapped out the rest of the story and written ahead quite a bit. This will end up being 44 chapters - 45 if I write an epilogue. I want to give a special thanks to my alpha reader: LaDeeDaa and beta reader: astrangefan who always meet my deadlines even when I am writing like a maniac :) Enjoy!

St. Mungos

"How bloody long do they need to check out a few spots on the map? Weasley can apparate, can't he?" Draco muttered over breakfast the next day. Ron and Theo had been gone for nearly twenty-four hours and Draco was getting restless.

Hermione wasn't worried. Harry had assured her that it was very normal for such a scouting mission to take twenty-four to even forty-eight hours. She was also not going to reward Draco's pouting with a response. Harry, however, had no such restraint.

"Didn't Ron master it before you in class?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer to the question. After months of watching Fred and George apparate everywhere, Ron had picked it up almost as quickly as Hermione.

Draco sneered but said nothing. Obviously, Harry had been correct.

"I got an owl early this morning that they needed some more time, but they are perfectly safe and doing well," Harry explained.

"Did they have any news?" Hermione asked.

"They have ruled out several of the spots on the map. They are putting their focus on the abandoned manor," Harry explained.

"Best for last, I guess," Hermione said. "Okay, well I have some research to do. I was actually wondering…"

Harry let out a deep sigh, "Hermione, what laws am I going to be breaking today?"

Hermione snorted. "None. As far as I understand, any Auror can look into back case files for help on a current case. I suppose allowing me access is legally questionable, but even that could be argued considering it's Unspeakable business."

Harry pursed his lips but looked relieved that her request wasn't nearly as likely to get him sacked as her requests for wands for convicted felons had been. "What am I looking for exactly?"

"Fiendfyre," she said, causing both men to look at her, shocked.

"Look," she said, "We are in uncharted territory here. The Avada destroyed the part of V-The Dark Lord's soul that was in your scar. We know that Basilisk venom can destroy a horcrux, or even a separated soul. We also know Fiendfyre can. The obvious answer is Fiendfyre. A Killing curse is going to have no effect on a plant and trying to cast one on invisible energy would be ridiculous. Trying to stab his soul with a basilisk fang would be equally ridiculous, albeit potentially more fruitful if we could plunge it into the plant itself. But…"

She took a deep breath and continued on. "We don't need to be as precise with Fiendfyre. We can cast Fiendfyre into the entire warded area from safety - behind it."

"There's a problem with even that theory though, Hermione," Draco pointed out. "Fiendfyre is very hard to control - especially for someone who isn't adept at Dark Magic in the first place."

"And that's why I need to research," Hermione pointed out.

"Wait, during the War you insisted it was too dangerous to try this," Harry argued.

"That was more than five years ago. I'm a different witch today than I was then. And we must end this, Harry. We don't have the same options available to us," she reasoned.

Harry didn't look pleased, but he nodded. Her logic was sound, and that was exactly why she was researching. It wasn't so much the ability to put out the fyre. She knew the charms to do that. Her concern was conjuring and controlling. It was deeply Dark magic, and she was, admittedly, not skilled in that area of magic. Knowing the theory behind it was not the same as casting it.

Draco's jaw clicked and she could tell he was holding something back, but she wasn't about to push him to share. To be honest, she didn't want to know.

Before they could discuss anything further, they were interrupted by a speeding owl pecking hard on the window near the fireplace. Harry went to let it in. As he tried to take the scroll from its leg, it pecked him.

"Ow! Bloody bird!" he panted as the bird flew directly past him and to Hermione.

Confused, she took the scroll from the bird and offered it a bit of bacon from her breakfast plate.

"Don't feed that abusive bloody thing!" Harry protested, his injured finger in his mouth. Hermione ignored him and unscrolled the parchment.

URGENT

Hermione,

Narcissa Malfoy has been taken to St. Mungos. I don't know the details, but I was just informed of her transport there. Since she is part of your research for the Dark Mark case, I need you to go and assess the situation. Liaise with the hospital and Azkaban staff and insure her safety and security. I'll be along in a few hours to follow up.

Rilla

Hermione's heart pounded and she could hear the thump thump thump in her ears.

"Harry," she choked, she didn't even want to think about the possibilities. She looked up at Draco who stared back at her, confused. "I need to go to St. Mungos' now."

"St. Mungo's? Why?" Harry asked. Hermione looked at Draco again and took his hand in hers. "Narcissa…" she breathed.

Draco's hand immediately tensed in her own. "What? What's happened?" he demanded.

Hermione looked between both men, their stances equally tense. "I'm not sure. Rilla says she was just transported there. I have to find out what's going on. Harry, do you know where Padma is? I want her to come along."

"I'm going," Draco said, standing up.

"Draco…"

"No!" he shouted, his eyes blazing. "I'm not staying behind this time. I'm going. Disillusion me, get me Potter's bloody invisibility cloak, I don't care…"

Neither of those options would work, but…

"Hold on," she said, putting her finger up as if to indicate she needed a moment. "Harry, send a patronus to Padma. Tell her to bring the Polyjuice from Pomfrey's restricted stock and to meet us here as soon as possible."

"Hermione, are you sure?" Harry asked.

"No," she admitted. "But he has a right to see her. He has a right to know…"

Harry sighed but nodded again, then turned to cast his patronus. Hermione turned back to Draco who looked panicked. He'd begun to pace, and she knew he was going over the possibilities in his head.

"I…" he started, "Hermione…"

"I know," she said, pulling him toward the bed they shared. "You have to remain calm. I know that's impossible, but you have to. If you are going to go with us, you cannot give yourself away. Take a moment…"

"I've been here, with you, honestly as happy as I've probably ever been in my whole life and she's…I haven't even considered what she's been going through," he hissed between his teeth, angry at himself.

Hermione ran her fingers through his hair, unsure what to say to him, or how to help him. She did know something about being happy when the world was falling apart though. "Draco, I…" she sighed, "I should have done more. I should have visited more."

"More than once a week?" he scoffed. "They are doing this because of me," he bit out. "They can't beat me. They can't hurt me, so they are hurting her!"

"We don't know what happened," Hermione explained. "Let's get there, assess what is happening, and go from there."

She realised quickly she needed to alert Kingsley. It was likely she was going to have to throw her weight around and giving him warning would help the situation. She also knew Harry had better luck getting what he wanted than she did, so she left Draco's side long enough to instruct Harry to send an urgent owl to the Minister.

When she returned to Draco's side, he'd calmed slightly. His eyes were intense, his posture straight, but he seemed to have moved past the self-blame and had moved on to determined. "Who will I be impersonating?" he asked.

"Ron, hopefully," she said. "I'm hoping he left some hair on his pillow."

He sneered with disgust but said nothing else.

She was leaning over Ron's bed looking for an orangy red hair when Padma rushed into the common room breathlessly.

"I've floo called my former boss. She didn't know much, but she said Mrs. Malfoy is being kept in a separate ward and that they've stabilised her. Doris didn't know the details of the case," she explained.

"Here," Padma said, offering Hermione a stoppered flask of a chunky Polyjuice potion. "I assume Malfoy's coming?"

"He's coming, if and only if he makes a wand oath to stay calm,' Harry said. 'This is serious. Polyjuice, utilising Ron's body, bringing a convict into the hospital without clearance = these are things that will get all of us thrown into Azkaban. I'm not going to take his word on it, he needs to swear an oath."

Hermione was offended, and she was about to round on Harry and tell him so, but Draco stood and offered his wand readily to Harry. "You have my word," Draco said. "I will not jeopardise my mother's care nor the secrecy of this mission."

Harry eyed him for a moment and Draco's stance softened just slightly. "Please, Potter," he said, searching the black-haired man's eyes for some sort of understanding. Apparently, he found it because after a beat Harry performed the Wand Oath and Hermione located a hair that could only have been Ron's.

"Here," she said, placing the hair in the flask and watching it bubble. "We'll bring it with us in case we have to be there longer than an hour."

"I'll stay here in case Ron and Nott arrive," Harry said. "Send a patronus if anything happens."

Hermione and Padma both nodded, but Draco just gagged as he choked down the sludge. Instantly his body started to distort and reform into that of Ron Weasley. It was a testament to how distracted he was that he had nothing sarcastic to say about it.

Hermione's eyes doubled as she saw Draco's ramrod straight, perfect posture on Ron's body. "What?" Draco asked.

"N-nothing," she said, shaking her head. "Just, um, maybe unlearn about 500 years of proper breeding a slouch a bit."

He pouted but his shoulders hunched slightly. Padma covered her mouth to hide a snicker. He scowled at them both. "It's fine," Hermione assured. "Just don't talk unless we are alone," she instructed.

"In fact, neither of you talk much," Padma added, looking between both of them. "Draco, because there is no way he will pull of Ron's rough, Devon accent nor his plain vernacular," Draco pulled Ron's face into a seriously affronted expression but Padma ignored it and turned to Hermione, "You, because you aren't exactly everyone's favourite person at St. Mungos, and it will go much faster if you just let me handle them."

Hermione nodded. It made sense and she hardly felt like speaking with the bigoted huns at the hospital anyway.

"Okay, off we go," Padma said, and Hermione wondered if she was really in charge.

Draco needed a moment to collect himself. unused to the Floo - it was usually a poor-man's travel option. Thanks to McGonagall, though, it made for a quick trip directly into St. Mungo's Floo lobby. Padma allowed him a moment then led them through the lobby to the main entrance of the hospital.

Her pace was fast, her head held high. She meant business and no one dared challenge her as she moved right past the welcoming triage centre and toward the lifts. "Granger!" she heard from her left but she speed-walked with Padma, quickly clasping Draco's hand in her own. The absolute last thing she needed was another confrontation with 'the public'.

"Miss Granger!" closer, Draco's head whipped around toward the sound and Hermione cursed under her breath.

"Granger! Miss Granger!" she felt a hand around her upper arm, and she was abruptly turned around, shock plastered over her face.

A wizard of about forty, sandy blond hair stared back at her. "Granger!" he cried again - his own eyes wide with astonishment.

"Unhand her," Draco growled next to Hermione, his wand in hand, but - thankfully - not aimed at the man.

The man didn't drop her arm but loosened his grip. "Where are the Death Eaters?"

"Wh-?" Hermione shook her head. "Sir, I really must go. Please let go."

"Unhand her now," Draco growled again, this time his wand was casually aiming at the man. Hermione was about to panic. She looked around trying to see if they'd been noticed. They had.

Padma's face was set in a stoney look of rage. "Unhand Miss Granger at once," she hissed at the man. "Go back up to your wife's ward, Mr. Burrows, and I won't have you barred entirely from the hospital."

"She's hiding Death Eaters," he said, his eyes leaving Hermione's to look at Padma. "The Death Eaters who cursed my wife." He turned back to Hermione and gripped her arm tighter. "Tell me where they are, little girl."

Draco's breath was coming out in harsh pants and, for the first time since imbibing the potion, he looked exactly like Ron Weasley - red faced and furious. "Burrows, was it?" he said, seething. "If you don't take your hands off of Hermione right now, I promise you that whatever the Prophet has been publishing about her will be the absolute last thing on your mind. Remove your filthy fucking hands from her now."

Hermione reached behind her to grip his thigh, trying to indicate to him that he needed to remain calm. "Mr. Burrows, I must go," she said, pulling her arm from his grasp as Draco's warning had caused him to unconsciously loosen his grip again.

Padma raised her wand to alert security as Draco moved Hermione toward the lifts, turning her away from Burrows and shoving her further into the hospital, just as Ron had done in the Ministry. "Should have polyjuiced me," she muttered miserably.

Every time she went into public, now, she was accosted. Every. Time. Would she ever know peace again? Would she ever be able to leave the few safe places that didn't let the public in? She shuddered at the thought.

Padma jogged up behind them and muttered out of the side of her mouth, "Wife was cursed six years ago by Yaxley. He's basically lived here since. She's aware but the curse keeps her too weak to leave."

"He should be arrested," Draco insisted. "He attacked her."

"The last thing we want to do is draw attention," Hermione said, moving into the lift after Padma, Draco behind.

"He's quite right," a woman inside the lift said, startling all three of them.

"He should be arrested. You can't go around grabbing witches. And for what it's worth, dear," the woman went on, a warm smile on her face, "some of us know better than to believe Hermione Granger would ever do anything to hurt this community."

Hermione let out a long low breath and felt tears prickle her eyelids. "Thank you," she breathed. It was an overwhelming sense of relief to hear a stranger - someone who didn't know her at all and had no loyalty to her - be willing to respect her judgement.

"Don't let the likes of Florian Burrows take you down, girl," the woman said. "He's a pillock."

Hermione and Padma both snorted, but Draco stood ridgid against her back and she knew that he was still processing the incident.

The lift ride was short, and Padma directed them off on the third floor where she immediately turned right, down a barely lit hall. "This way," she indicated, needlessly, they were already on her heels as she walked them down the long corridor.

They made a left and she saw Baggs as well as two healers. The Azkaban guard was nodding, arms across his chest as the healers talked softly, one holding a chart in hand.

"Healer Pucey," Padma greeted, a warm smile on her face. "I didn't know we were sharing medical details with the prison guards."

Hermione smirked. "Well, it's most unusual. She has no family," Pucey defended.

"I wasn't sure," said the younger, female healer to Pucey's left, chart in her hand. "But without a family…"

Hermione could feel rage rolling off Draco in waves and it took everything in her not to reach out and grab his hand. Besides being unprofessional, the absolute last thing she needed was "Hermione and Ron are back together!" headlines in the next day's paper.

Narcissa did have family, and her chart should have indicated that any health issues should have immediately been brought to the Department of Mysteries.

"Protocol," Hermione said, stepping forward, "dictates the name on the chart is informed. That's Hermione Granger."

Bagg snorted, his arms still crossed. "I'm the one who cleans up her drool, so I think informing me of her needs is more important," he said in a casual tone.

She really did not want to deal with Baggs anymore but, until Kings gave the word, she was stuck with him. What she knew for absolute certain was that she had to keep Baggs away from Draco because she didn't know how much provoking it would take to get Draco to break his wand oath and kill the man with his bare hands.

Padma, as usual, was already ahead of her. "Oh, a guard at Azkaban?" she asked, smiling demurely and looking up at Baggs between her lashes. "That's so brave."

True to stupid form, Baggs blushed under her flirtation. "It's hard, but rewarding," he replied and Hermione had to control the urge to roll her eyes.

"Well, Hermione has to go over a bunch of boring medical stuff with the Healers. Do you want to take me to breakfast while they do all of that?" Padma asked, and Hermione knew she'd owe her friend big if she managed to pull Baggs away from the scene.

It took a moment's hesitation, but after looking between Hermione, Draco - who looked like Ron - and Padma he nodded. "I'd be happy to," he said. "At least there is an Auror here," he said, jerking his thumb in Draco's direction. "She's stronger than she looks, mate."

Draco didn't move or speak. They both watched as Padma took Baggs' arm and allowed him to lead her down the hall. Hermione instantly turned to the healers. "Healer Pucey, and - I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name…"

"Healer Jorgens," the young woman answered with a small smile.

"Healer Jorgens," Hermione repeated. "Can you tell me what has happened and what the patient's current status is?"

"Of course," Pucey answered with a huff of a sigh, as if he was put out at having to repeat himself. "Inmate Malfoy was brought in early this morning. She'd had an episode of hallucination so strong she began to harm herself."

Hermione pursed her lips and she felt Draco sway behind her. She discreetly reached around and held onto his thigh again, reminding him he was not alone, and they'd see her very soon. "How did she harm herself? Was she alone? Was she taken to the infirmary?"

"Well, the guard was not entirely forthcoming, but according to them she was brought here directly and within moments of the episode reaching the destructive phase," Jorgens cut in.

Hmm. That's odd.

The inmates were left alone for long stretches. How would they have even known she was in distress immediately?

"She tried to rip out her own throat," Pucey continued and Draco's breath hitched just slightly.

"I'll need to go in, and Mr. Weasley and I will need a discrete perimeter around the room," Hermione said. "When Padma returns, she'll be the Healer on this case."

Pucey sputtered, "A third year!" he cried. "I outrank her. This is my case."

"No, this is the Department of Mysteries' case. Padma is the healer for the Department of Mysteries on contract indefinitely," Hermione explained, her tone indicating that she was not to be crossed. Jorgens handed her the chart.

Pucey swore but backed down. "Come on Jorgens," he bit out. "Waste of my whole bloody morning…" she heard him mutter as he walked down the hall, Jorgens on his heels.

Hermione turned back to Draco. He was now panting hard, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. "Breathe," she reminded him. The last thing either of them needed was a panic attack now.

He nodded jerkily. "Let's just go in," he said, nodding toward the door.

Hermione nodded and slipped her hand in his before walking over to the door and pushing it open.

Narcissa was small, terribly thin, but she looked clean, and she was surrounded by warm blankets. Hermione was happy to know that she was at least treated unlike Theo and Draco when they'd been transferred what seemed like ages ago.

She could see a temperature stasis charm cast over the bed and she wondered if Narcissa was having a hard time maintaining her temperature. She opened the chart and took note of the relevant information.

Extreme blood loss
Tracheal regrowth
Vocal Cords potentially damaged
Episodic hypothermia
Malnutrition
Weakened bones
Dementia
Vivid Hallucinations
BP 82/50

It was a hefty list along with a terribly low blood pressure. She slapped the chart shut and pulled out her notebook flipping to her section on Narcissa. She ran the basic diagnostics and noted that her blood pressure had gone up just slightly and she made a note both in the chart and in her notebook.

She wasn't sure why she kept the notebook any longer that case was effectively closed and Narcissa wasn't even marked, but she'd felt compelled to personally notate everything about her interactions with the woman - just in case.

While she'd been busy making notes Draco had moved to his mother's side, her small, cold hand in his. Tears were welling in his eyes and Hermione felt a pang in her heart. The last time she'd seen Ron look exactly like that he'd been weeping over Fred. The memory of the loss hit her like a ton of bricks.

That was grief. You forget for a moment and then it hits you and it can debilitate it if you let it. She could not let it. Draco needed her. Narcissa needed her. She looked at the chart again and noted the potions she'd been given so far.

Blood Replenishing
Calming Draft
Dreamless Sleep

No pain potion, she noticed. Padma would rectify that.

She also took note of her concerning theory about why Narcissa had been so quickly transported.

With little time before her hallucination, self-harm, and transportation, it's my theory that she was in the presence of a guard when the episode began. If so, that's quite a coincidence or they are paying her closer attention than they did before.

She set the notebook down and pulled a chair up for Draco who immediately sat in it, never taking his hand from his mother's, and she pulled another around for herself on the other side.

Narcissa's neck was heavily bandaged, and she didn't want to remove it without Padma. "I don't know how long Padma will keep Baggs, but when she comes back, if Kings hasn't sent him back to Azkaban, we might have to deal with him a bit longer," Hermione warned. "I need you to ignore whatever he says."

"Hermione…" his voice was raw and his breath hitched. "She can't go back there."

"I know," Hermione said. She didn't know what exactly she was going to do, but she knew that Narcissa's days were numbered if she returned to that prison. Whatever they were doing, they were starving her again, and her mental state had significantly deteriorated.

"I should have demanded they release her to me," she bit out, frustrated and angry. She felt guilty. They did this because of her, because of her case and her audacity to stand up to them.

"They would never have allowed it," Draco reasoned with a sniff. "She's not even Marked."

"I know," Hermione said, "But…"

"There is no use going through the buts, and ifs," Draco continued. "All we can do is move forward."

Hermione nodded. "I'm going to try to have Rilla include Narcissa into the case. It's certainly stretching the bounds of truth."

"I think the rails fell off 'truth' a long while back," Draco said.

The whole time he spoke he never took his eyes off his mother. Hermione knew they were close. She knew he loved his mother desperately and she him. She couldn't imagine being in his position, watching her own mother fall apart, be tortured, lose her money, hurt herself and be powerless to do anything about it.

As much as she missed her parents - she knew they were safe. She didn't have to watch them suffer.

"She shouldn't have been there," Draco continued. "I took the Mark. Father brought us into The Dark Lord's circle, but what did she do? She never committed an Unforgivable. She never did anything but try to keep her family together the only way she knew how. They put her in because of me and because of Father. It's not fair."

"It's not," Hermione agreed. Narcissa wasn't perfect, but she felt hard pressed to come up with anything the woman did that she, herself, wouldn't have done for someone she loved. And she'd saved Harry's life - something Harry made sure the Wizengamot was aware of.

"She's brilliant," Draco said, smiling softly. "You never got to know her before. She could blend into the background when she needed to. But she is bloody brilliant. She was nearly Head Girl and her Arithmancy skills…she might give you a run for your galleons, Granger."

Hermione smiled. "I wish I knew her better," she admitted.

"She was everything to Father. If he was here, if he still had some kind of power, he'd have everyone in this hospital quaking in fear."

"That, I'm sure," Hermione agreed with another small smile. "I've never doubted Lucius' love for your mother."

Draco smiled sadly. "I wonder what life could have been like without The Dark Lord."

"No offence," Hermione said, "But you'd probably be insufferable.'"

Draco chuckled. "Probably."

There was a long silence. "That man in the entry," Draco finally began, and Hermione sighed. It had been too much to hope he'd have forgotten it.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said, frowning.

"But these people do this because of me," Draco said. "I'm the reason they hate you."

"Yes, and people like the woman in the lift also exist. Draco, I have so much on my plate, how I'm perceived cannot be a priority."

"It's a safety priority," he shot back. "That man was a bumbling idiot, but what if someone with skill and a real grudge were to intercept you."

"It's not as if I go anywhere alone," she replied tersely, irritated at having to talk about this. She didn't want to. It was a problem for another day. Her comfort was hardly important while they sat next to Narcissa, half her throat torn out.

Draco sighed. "It's such a sacrifice. You can't believe this is sustainable. You just never go outside alone?"

"When I finish the fifty thousand other things that I have to do, I'll address getting my public life back in order," she said. "Really, Draco, when I tell you that I'm not worried about it, I truly am not. Right now, I'm worried about getting Rilla and Kings to agree to allow me to take Narcissa under my care."

He sighed again but nodded and turned his attention back to his mother.

For all her reservations, Kingsley came through again - though his note sounded long suffering. He'd sent Baggs back home and agreed to leave Narcissa's immediate care up to the head of the Department, Rilla.

Hermione bit her nail as she considered how she'd try to convince her boss that a woman who did not have the Dark Mark was a vital part of her case about removing Dark Marks. Before she could consider it, however, Narcissa began to stir.

Padma was at the woman's side instantly.

"Mother," Draco cried when she moved her fingers.

"Draco?" Her voice was like a whisper in the wind, barely audible but it was there.

"Good sign," Padma noted, moving her wand over the woman to take various vitals. "Mrs. Malfoy, can you open your eyes for me?"

With great effort the older woman opened her pale grey eyes. She tried to turn her head but moaned in pain.

"Sound," Padma noted. "That's good. It means her vocal box hasn't been entirely destroyed."

"Mother," Draco cried again, sitting on the bed and taking her face in his hands. But he must have forgotten he was in the body of Ron Weasley because he startled her, and she gasped.

"No, mum! It's me, Draco. I had to take Polyjuice to come see you," he explained, his hands delicately cradling his mother's face.

"Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione started, coming to the edge of the bed. "Do you remember me?"

"Of course," she answered hoarsly, her hands instinctively coming up to her neck.

"It will be a bit sore," Padma said, gently pulling the older woman's hands down. "Please, take this." Hermione watched as Padma helped Narcissa swallow down a strong pain potion.

Narcissa's eyes went back to Draco, her gaze looking him up and down. "Red doesn't suit you," she quipped, but a warm smile crossed her delicate features and Draco fell into her, wrapping both arms tightly around his mother and resting his head against her chest.

It had been more than five years since they'd seen each other. Hermione felt her heart leap as she considered just how profound this moment was. She hated that Draco couldn't do it in his own body. But soon - with Rilla's help - they could be properly reunited.

Moving from the bed, she and Padma allowed them privacy while they discussed the situation. "So, what's the verdict?" she asked her friend.

"She has some very serious neurological deficits that cause hallucinations. I don't know if I'd diagnose dementia. The part of the brain that holds memory is very well intact. It's like trauma has caused her to lose touch with reality at times. I'm not a mind healer, so I have no idea how to deal with that. But to her other symptoms and diagnoses, she needs to eat, she needs safety, she needs to feel secure, and she needs a quiet, clean place to do that."

"Would you please relay all of that to Rilla when she arrives?"

"Of course," Padma said. "Is the plan to take her to Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "I want to move her to the Hospital Ward there under the care of Madam Pomfrey and you. I'll take her back to my parents' house after that until…"

"Until you figure out how to deal with the Wizengamot…" Padma supplied. "Okay."

"Padma, when all of this is over, I'm taking you out to dinner. You can order whatever you want, drink whatever you want. It's on me."

"Totally unnecessary," Padma said with a smile, "but I'll absolutely hold you to that."