A/N:

Writing update: I'm halfway through ch16 currently and I'm so excited to share the rest of this story with you all. (Chapter Fifteen is TWICE as long as every other chapter!)

Thank you again for all support you've shown me and Tethered! Alphabet love to WordsmithMusings.

Hope you all enjoy :)

Chapter Thirteen:

"Your research is spot on—truly, Granger," Draco said as he read over her work the next day. The praise made something coil tightly in her chest. "Why haven't you started testing it yet?"

"I have everything nearly perfect, but there's something missing from the potion—some element I need. I don't even have enough ingredients to brew a simple sleeping draught. We have to go to Diagon."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry, what happened to, 'We'll stay inside the house?'"

"You really believed our Hermione would roll over that easily?" Sirius grinned, slinging his arm around Hermione's shoulders and tugging her close. Her heart leapt. Our Hermione.

"Of course not," Draco replied, eyes twinkling at Hermione's flushed face. "She's a lioness."

Desire shot through her like an arrow; she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, biting down slightly to ground herself. Sirius' scent surrounded her; pine and freshly mown grass. He smelled like the outdoors, like the sun, even after being inside for so long. The hot press of his covered tattooed chest against her arm wrapped Hermione in a comfortable embrace.

The sound of the Floo roaring to life had them all pulling apart with racing hearts. Hermione's beat in her ears as they walked to the sitting room to find an upset Harry. He clenched his fists and ground his jaw multiple times before saying anything.

"Ron told me about Lucius, that he was there. How is she?"

"She's okay for now," Draco replied quickly, easing Harry's temper. "My father... he broke the spell. He stopped it for her."

Harry stared up at Draco. He knew more than anyone what Draco's father was like, what his mother was like. But there was true love between Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. The kind of love that was worth dying for.

Bloodshot green eyes sought out Hermione's. Was he upset about Lucius? Or at Kingsley keeping him in the dark? "What's the plan?"

"Harry, you could lose your job," Hermione warned, chewing on her thumb. "I know how badly you wanted to be an Auror."

Harry straightened his coat and stood tall. "Being an Auror isn't the only thing I'm good at. I'm Harry Potter; I was the youngest Gryffindor seeker in a century."

Draco snorted and rolled his eyes. Sirius patted Harry on the back while Hermione smiled at her friend. He always supported her no matter what insane idea she proposed.

"How was Ron while he was here? He refused to say anything about it."

Hermione sniffed, her good mood instantly dashed. "I don't want to speak about Ronald."

"It's just a lot for him to process," Harry frowned. "Sirius is alive, but he's tied to you—not to mention Draco's on the other arm."

"Well, he certainly didn't have to be an arse about it," Hermione replied snidely. She really didn't want to talk about Ron right now, not after whatever just happened in the library.

"Well, he's sorry—"

"No, I want to hear an apology from his lips." Hermione interrupted. She was so sick of Harry and Ron apologising for each other. "Not from you, and no excuses."

Harry huffed. "Fine, come to dinner tonight then; I'll invite him."

"Won't Blaise be there?" Draco asked.

Sirius perked up at the opportunity to finally meet Harry's husband and grinned when Harry confirmed Blaise would.

"When we were married, I had Blaise sign a contract too so that I could speak to him about all my cases," Harry explained. "I refused to have a marriage with secrets. I've had enough secrets to last me a lifetime."

"And if Kingsley finds out?" Hermione asked. She had no problem breaking the rules for herself, but when her friends were involved, she worried for them. Old habits, she supposed.

Harry shrugged. "It'll just be us and Ron. Maybe Lavender, if she was put on a contract too."

Hermione's stomach twisted at the thought of Lavender being there. But she supposed it was inevitable, and she needed to sort things out with Ron.

"What Kingsley doesn't know won't hurt him." Harry continued. "Now, what's the plan?"

She appraised Harry for a moment; he certainly had grown up since their time at Hogwarts, but somehow he was still completely himself. "I need to go to the apothecary in Diagon."

Harry nodded, not missing a beat. "I've got a few more glamour rings at home; I'll be back in half an hour."

"Keep up," Harry said, ducking out the backdoor of the Leaky Cauldron. The brick Muggle entrance to Diagon slid apart, and Hermione pressed further into Draco as it revealed a bustling Diagon. She caught a glimpse of today's Daily Prophet as they walked, spying the date.

Saturday, 2 July. Oh, Merlin—it was the first Saturday after the school year.

Sirius padded beside her, his shaggy hair bristling as he avoided stomping feet. A brunette Draco pulled her closer, her now blonde, straight hair spilling around her. She let his body surround and protect her from the crowd as they wove through the foot traffic.

The Apothecary loomed before them, thankfully not as busy as the street. Only a few customers stood inside, and they perked their heads up as they entered.

"No dogs allowed!" the shopgirl called.

Shit. Hermione had forgotten about that. She threw a pleading look to Harry, and he nodded in agreement at her silent question.

"Stay outside; I'll talk to her. You're sure I can't find the ingredients myself?"

Hermione shook her head, "I need to feel the product and think. I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for yet."

Without another word, Harry ducked into the Apothecary to gain them entrance. They were in too much of a hurry to argue; besides, Harry had learnt long ago not to question her logic.

"My, what an interesting dog you've got there. Wouldn't you say so, Georgie?"

Hermione's stomach dropped at the familiar voice behind her. She turned, Draco's hand tightening in hers as they looked at the pair behind them.

Weasleys. The twins. Hermione wished the ground would swallow her whole.

But they had on glamour rings; surely they worked, the twins invented them for Merlin's sake. But Sirius' dog form wasn't glamoured, and the twins had seen him enough to recognise his dog.

George leant down a bit and inspected Sirius, who wagged his tail appreciatively. He always had a soft spot for Fred and George, so similar to him and James. George's gaze continued up to Hermione, then Draco. As soon as his brown eyes sparkled with mischief, Hermione knew they were fucked.

"How did you come to own such a pretty beast?" George asked, his voice dripping with fascination. "And that collar; impressive magic."

Hermione was saved from having to think of an answer as Harry walked out with a triumphant grin. "She said we can shop as long as Sirius doesn't eat anything—"

He stopped in his tracks as he took in the two redheads before him, eyes widening before a flustered blush covered his cheeks. "O-oh! Fred, George. How are you? I see you've met—uh... Frances and Mary, they're from America—"

"Oh, for fuck's sake; it's me, you numpties," Hermione said, interrupted Harry's pathetic excuse. "Now, will you please go away before you attract unwanted attention?"

"Love, if there's one thing that follows us no matter what, it's unwanted attention," Fred grinned, reaching out to tug on a stray lock of her straight blonde hair. Draco stiffened beside her, but Hermione only swatted Fred's hand away. He always picked on her. "How do you like our rings?"

"How did you know it was them?" Harry asked in shock. "I never told you what I wanted the rings for."

"Didn't think we'd make rings we can be fooled by, did you?" George grinned.

Fred nudged Harry. "Wouldn't make for very safe business, now would it?"

"And we'd never mistake Sirius for any old dog. He's one of a kind." George and Fred both winked at Sirius, who let out a happy bark. Hermione shushed him as they received a few startled glances.

"Yes, yes, now that we've exchanged pleasantries, we have much more important things to do," Draco said, tugging on Hermione's hand to pull them toward the shop.

The twins exchanged knowing grins. "Come to the shop when you're done here," George said.

"We won't take no for an answer, Harry." Fred piped up as Harry made to decline. "We have more questions."

Knowing he'd never win an argument against them, Harry sighed in irritation and returned inside to the Apothecary. Hermione, Draco, and Sirius followed after.

"They're cunning, the pair of them," Draco conceded as they walked around, the shopgirl staring daggers at Sirius.

Hermione nodded and chewed her lip. "If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's don't underestimate the Weasley twins. They're too smart for their own good. Sometimes I think they should've been Slytherins."

Both Draco and Hermione shuddered at the idea.

They walked around in relative silence, Hermione stopping once in a while to inspect various ingredients on display. So far, she had collected lionfish spine, fluxweed, and horklum juice. But something still felt off, still felt needed.

"Hermione, what about dandelions?" Harry called across the room, pointing to a display of wildflowers. Hermione walked over, and her eyes caught not on the pretty petals, but down the stalk and to the hacked roots. That article she read in the hospital the other day discussed uses for it. But what did it say?

She closed her eyes for a moment and retraced her memories. Dandelion petals were used in a few basic healing potions for stomach aches, but that article had talked about using the root.

The root was too strong to be used in digestive aids, but it could be used to boost the magical effects of potions. Perhaps it would be useful in hers.

Hermione collected a handful of dandelions and approached the counter, the attendant's narrowed gaze following each rise and fall of Sirius' paw. Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead settled for placing the basket rather hard atop the counter.

"We're all set," Hermione said, forcing a sweet smile on her face.

She snapped her glare from Sirius to Hermione before moving up to Draco, where it dissolved instantly.

The glamour rings did nothing to hide the natural beauty of its' wearer, though they did change features to make them unrecognisable. Which meant that while Draco was a brunette with dark brown eyes, he still kept his striking, sharp features.

Hermione hated it; she much preferred him with his platinum hair and grey eyes. She also hated the blush and shy glance the shopgirl gave Draco as she rang them out and bagged their ingredients. The girl was young, perhaps eighteen or nineteen; Hermione wondered if she was the owner's granddaughter. She certainly seemed to have inherited his dislike for dogs.

"Thank you," Hermione muttered and snatched her packed items, tossing down more coins than were necessary. She just wanted to go outside. Draco's fingers tightened around hers as she pulled him from the shop; Sirius pulled back on the leash.

"Hold on!" Harry called behind them. "Let me lead the way to the twins' shop; it's gotten busier."

He was right. People circled them, bumping shoulders and pushing past people as they wove through the crowd towards the joke shop. It seemed that the closer they got to Weasleys' Wizards Wheezes, the denser the street became.

When was the last time she had visited the shop? Years, surely. Lavender worked there now at the register, but Hermione never managed to bring herself to enter the store. At the Burrow, it was easy; there were so many people to speak to that Hermione could pretend that Lavender wasn't there. But at the store, she'd have to interact with her alone.

Hermione determined that she had quite the flaw to overcome. Emotional confrontation scared her. It was easy to stand up for others or even when she knew something was right, but when it came to confronting her feelings, Hermione wanted to avoid it altogether.

Her realisation did nothing to quell the fluttering in her stomach as she pushed through the crowd and past the wide-open front doors. The store was filled with people; teenagers played Exploding Snap at the nearby table; parents stood in line, arms piled with enchanted toys to entertain their children for the summer holiday.

She spied the familiar figure of Lavender, long hair in braided pigtails, each held by bright pink scrunchies. They swung over her shoulder and landed atop her swollen stomach as she rang customer's out. Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat. Merlin, she'd gotten big quick. To Hermione's surprise, no werewolf scars marked her, her face devoid of any impurity. A glamour?

"C'mon, Granger," Draco half-shouted in her ear over the roar of the packed store. He tugged her toward the centre spiral staircase, following Harry as he led them to the top floor and toward the twins' office.

They stood just outside floating baskets handing out freebies to a group of kids. Fred's eyes landed on them first, and he elbowed George, indicating his head to the group. George grinned and shooed the kids away, pulling Hermione, Sirius, Draco, and Harry into their office in less than a minute.

"Our doors are warded with the best magic money can buy," George stated.

"Our own magic, of course," Fred whispered to Hermione with a grin. She jumped and pressed further into Draco, heat coursing over her cheeks at Fred's proximity.

"Great; now, what do you want?" Draco asked, his voice laced with annoyance as he tucked Hermione's hand into the crook of his elbow, pulling her against his body. Their bond flickered to life as their hands separated, and the twins both grinned with interest.

"Before you both start," Harry interrupted, stepping between them. "We're all under contract, so we can't answer more than some basic questions."

Fred waved him away as he and George stepped closer, reaching out to touch the glowing rope she shared with Sirius. It was the first time anyone had tried, and Hermione was curious of the outcome. But his fingers merely slipped through, catching on nothing but air.

"Interesting," George muttered, eyeing the faint rope that hung between Hermione and Draco's interlocked arms.

"Do it, and I rip your arm off, Weasley," Draco sneered, shielding Hermione further behind him. Under normal circumstances, she would be a bit annoyed at being thrust into the damsel in distress role, but right now, her heart hammered too wildly to care. Draco was so close. His strong back pressed flush to her chest, and it was doing all kinds of crazy things to her body; every nerve tingled.

She could feel him through their bond, his magical energy. She could feel Sirius too, and oh, how badly she wished Sirius would transform back and hold her from behind—

"I like both my arms, thanks," George smirked, holding his hands in mock surrender as he stepped back and pulled Hermione from her perverted thoughts.

Godric, what was wrong with her?

The dog form beside her suddenly shifted; Sirius stood tall and shook out his wavy black locks. "Sorry, all. I had the sudden urge to transform back."

Something stirred in Hermione's stomach at the heated, knowing gaze Sirius gave her from the corner of his eye. He turned back to the twins with a grin and wrapped them both in strong hugs, their shared bond stretching as she stayed beside Draco.

"My second favourite pranksters," Sirius said happily as he let them go and returned to Hermione's side. "It's good to see you."

"Second favourite?!" George pouted.

Sirius laughed. "'Fraid the first is reserved for myself and James."

"Ah, the great Marauders," Fred sighed dramatically.

Hermione huffed at their antics, her ire rising. They needed to get home. "Alright, you two. Why are we here?"

Their demeanour changed, no longer joking and merry, but instead cocky and arrogant. Trepidation filled Hermione's stomach. Either something very good, or something very bad, was about to happen.

"You seem to be in a real bind," Fred said, circling them.

"A bit tied up," George added, walking in the opposite direction of his twin.

Hermione glared daggers at the men as they walked, her small bit of patience nearing its end. "If you two don't tell us what you want this instant, I will make sure Ginny knows exactly who put the hair-frying serum in her shampoo last season."

"You don't have any proof." George frowned, his steps pausing.

Hermione glared. "Try me."

"She cost us a hundred pounds, you know! We bet good money on the Magpies winning the League Cup, and she put their first-string seeker out of commission in the quarter-finals!"

"I always wondered why Weaselette cut her hair so short," Draco mused in mock fascination. "She was always so obsessed with keeping it long."

A satisfied grin pulled Hermione's lips at having put Fred and George on edge. She was sure they thought they'd gotten away with it, but Hermione had seen the knowing glance they gave each other when Ginny screamed from the bathroom.

Fred returned to George's side. "Alright, alright," he said. "No need to get your knickers in a twist. Think you've been hanging out with Malfoy for a bit too long."

"We have a gift, is all." George continued, walking to the large ornate desk. The tip of his wand tapped the lock to the top drawer, and a series of licks and bolts unlocking filled the room. As the final one slipped out of place, George opened the drawer soundlessly and pulled out a small book, its golden filigree cover shining in the sunlight.

"We saw your pictures in the Prophet and couldn't help but notice the familiar dog beside you or the leash around his neck," Fred started. "And the thing is, we know a little about your bond."

Hermione let go of Draco's arm and walked forward, both ropes glowing as they stretched behind her. She tried to reach for the book, but the bonds held her back. Something hummed in her veins; excitement, terror, scepticism. The twins stared at the bright ropes with raised brows.

"How?" Draco asked.

Fred and George shared a grin. "We did a bit of freelance work back in the day for the Ministry. Kingsley loves us, you know." George said, inspecting his nails as if he were having a casual conversation. "He told us about his very private library, and we couldn't help but be interested."

"It was his own fault, really," Fred interjected with a shrug. "He shouldn't have told us."

George nodded in agreement. "We had these special visitor passes, see. We could use them whenever we wanted. Including at night."

"Are you..." Hermione stared at them in disbelief. "Are you saying you snuck into the Ministry at the dead of night and stole from the Minister of Magic?!" She was astounded, yet something in her knew that the twins were capable of such a feat. "How did you even manage to find out the password? How the hell did you even manage to get into his office?!"

Fred wrapped an arm around George's shoulders and grinned. "We won't reveal all of our secrets, but let's just say his receptionist is a bit lonely."

He gave Hermione a wink, and she sucked in a sharp gasp. "She's twice your age!"

Both Fred and George shrugged. "We had a great time, and we gained some useful information, including a couple of books that the Minister never even missed."

George extended the book to Hermione, and she wrapped her fingers around the rough cover. Though small in size, it felt heavy in her hands.

"Why did you take a book about bonds?" Harry asked, walking behind Hermione to read it over her shoulder.

"We were thinking about inventing something that mimicked bonds, a simpler version of the Unbreakable Vow, but we never managed to get it just right."

"It shows how to break all types of Magical Bonds, including accidental ones," George said, gesturing to the book. "Take it; maybe it'll help."

Hermione glanced over her shoulder at Draco, and they shared a long look. She wondered if Kingsley had had this book from the start... Would they have been separated already?

Sirius stepped forward to look at the book over her shoulder, and she leant into his warmth and stability. The weight of his hand landed gently on her shoulder and gave a soft squeeze.

Fred shoved his hands into his purple trouser pockets and grinned. "Unless you don't want to break it, of course."

Hermione opened her mouth to tell him off, but Draco spoke first. "Thank you," He said to the twins, a serious expression on his face as he filled the space on Hermione's opposite side, his hand settling to the small of her back. Sirius and Draco both pressed their fingers into her skin, igniting heat between her thighs. Hermione squeezed the book tightly.

"Blimey, Georgie. A thank you from Malfoy of all people." Fred feigned shock as George snickered.

Harry arched a brow and walked closer to the twins, his arms crossing and chest puffing. "And what else did you take from the Minister's library?"

Fred mimicked locking his mouth. "Sorry, Auror Potter, I have no idea what you mean."

They continued to banter, but Hermione tuned them out. She was too focused on the men beside her. Something blossomed between them, a possibility. Hope. This book could save them; set them free from their debt.

The cover was a blank piece of leather, save one single word etched into the centre. Bonds. Her desire turned to a heavy ball that settled in the pit of her stomach. The gentle fingers on her skin suddenly felt heavy. What would she find beyond its pages? Would it have an answer or just more disappointment?

"Hermione," Sirius muttered to her. "You don't have to read it. Let Draco do it."

"No," she replied quickly, hugging the book to her chest. Sirius stood straight and raised a brow at her reaction. It was absurd, really, but Hermione was why they were in this mess to begin with. She should be the one to clean it up.

Draco dropped his hand from her back and stretched out his fingers in invitation for her to hold his hand. "Alright then, Granger. Let's go home."