"You need to go." Claude stirred the brew five times anti clockwise and removed the spurtle smoothly. "That monster infected an entire village of children. Your potion is their best chance."
"It hasn't been approved for use on children. It's still in trials." Hermione looked up at him with wide eyes. "How did he manage to infect so many in a single night?"
"Apparently, it is a custom of the village to have the children greet the dawn with song to commemorate some battle from a thousand years ago. Greyback must have heard tell of it." Claude crossed the room and took her hand. She liked to be touched and coddled. He sighed. "There are thirty two children that might never know the change if your potion works. You can not take the horror of this night from them, but you are their best chance for any kind of normalcy. The Italian Ministry and the ICW have asked you to help, so you must."
"So, a month in Italy." Hermione sighed. "I can handle that, but what about the trials?"
"I will brew your potion, so that they might continue as scheduled. It would be best if I proved it can be replicated by someone other than you in any case." He released her hand and resisted the urge to clean it immediately. Severus had warned him of her tender heart in his letter. He saw no need to hurt the girl. "Eat the food, enjoy the sights, but do not watch those fools play quidditch. They are horrible. Every last one of them."
He watched as she nodded. She was quite talented. Severus had been right about that. She was amusing and witty. He liked her quite a lot.
"Go tell your man that you must travel." He shooed her off. "Spend some time with him. I am sure he is quite a bit younger than I am and likely to miss you for more than I."
She was out the door with a muttered apology and a sweet smile. Severus had never found love, not the all consuming and returned affection he deserved. It was possible the man would have been just as insufferable as Hermione if he had.
Claude didn't care for people. Potions made sense. There was a serenity he found only when brewing. He loved good quidditch, but that was hard to find. Potions, however, never disappointed him.
He'd never found a person to inspire him to change or adapt. He'd made Severus his heir when the wizard had been elevated to Master status. Losing him had been a shock, but the clever boy had found him a replacement in Hermione. She was brilliant, incandescent in intellect. She reminded him of Gellert when they'd been at Durmstrang together. Ideals and talent wrapped up in an appealing wrapper. Of course, she wasn't determined to destroy herself or the world whichever melts away first. That was a good thing for the most part. Though he did miss living without having to worry about the emotions of butterflies and cats.
For all her devotion to the betterment of the world, she was his now. He'd filed his new will with the French Ministry this very week. Hermione would inherit both his estate and Severus'. Severus had been very clear that she had to have the sense to follow his advice or his estate would have been dispersed to charitable causes.
It made her quite the heiress, but he was fairly certain no wizard would ever woo her. His brightly irritating flower had set her heart on a muggle.
The world had changed while he was stirring up potions. He looked out the window for a moment and caught sight of her at the end of the street. She was clutching some purple flowers in her hand and waving at his neighbors. He let himself smile. Perhaps she was infectious.
"Mother, you need to tell me what you're up to right now." Draco sighed and watched as she paced through her private salon. "I've been visited by Shacklebolt and Potter. They know more about your wedding vows and the bond you share with father than I do."
"Your father is in trouble." She sat down on the ice blue damask covered settee. "I can't accuse the Ministry of doing something horrible to him. I can't risk all our futures like that. Pardons can be revoked."
"So, you thought asking for a divorce would seem like a legitimate reason to see him." Draco took a deep breath. Yelling at her would do no good. "Father agreed to no visitation for a shorter sentence. It was a good deal."
"He's not in Azkaban." His mother shoved her sleeve up her arm and displayed the twisting runes on it. "I'm not sure where he is, but it isn't there. The runes are fighting to keep us connected. They were dull and lifeless at first, but things started to change. I'd know he was in pain for a moment, sometimes longer. There are occasional moments of contentment and happiness. None of that should be happening."
"I don't remember the runes being twisted before." Draco reached out and touched one of the delicate marks. His mother stiffened, and his own magic flared uncomfortably. "What could cause this?"
"I have no idea, my dragon. Something is interfering with the bond I share with your father. That bastard Riddle never managed to do this much damage." His mother sighed and let her sleeve slide down, pushing his hand away. "I think Lucius is in danger."
Ambert smiled as Hermione whirled into the apartment and handed him a small bunch of flowers. He felt the dampness of the stems in his hand and glanced down at the small purple blooms. The loud crash of Hermione's bag on the floor pulled his attention back back to her. Being around her energy was usually comforting, but there was something in her rapid movements that reminded him of a coming storm. She seemed frantic. He trailed the fingers of his free hand down the side of her face and waited for her to take a breath.
"What brings you home so early, my love?" He bent his head and met her lips for a gentle kiss. He felt her breath flash across his skin as she dropped back on her heels and quirked a brow to emphasize his question.
"My medicine is being used in an emergency situation. I have to go to Italy tonight. I need to be there. Without proper testing, I'm the only one with enough knowledge to make adjustments if they are needed." She pressed her hand against his chest. "I have an hour. I wanted to see you before I left. Sending you a note wasn't enough."
He nodded and set the flowers on the table beside his hip. Pulling her close, he lifted her up and carried her into their bedroom. Their bed was still rumpled and welcoming as he spilled them both back onto it.
"I'll be back. I'm not leaving forever." She gasped against his shoulder as he shoved her skirt up to her waist. He let his fingers swirl along the skin of her inner thighs, drawing her attention away from her upcoming trip. "It shouldn't take more than a month."
"I know you're coming back to me. In the grand scheme of things, a month isn't very much time at all." He nipped her shoulder and reveled in her shuddering response. "But I'm not passing up a chance to love you thoroughly before you go."
Pulling her shirt and skirt off over her head, he pushed back to admire the flush of passion on her creamy skin. She seemed to glow against the navy cotton sheets. He dipped his head and traced skin at the lace edge of her bra with his tongue.
"I love you." She stroked her hand over his head and whimpered when he bit down lightly on her nipple through the delicate lace. He reveled in the small sounds escaping from her as he removed the delightful garment from her delectable self.
"I love you, too." He pressed his lips to her neck and felt the throb of her pulse against them. "I love your giant heart, your wonderful mind, your passionate soul."
She bit his shoulder and he knew she wasn't paying attention to his words. He hummed as he slid his open mouth along her clavicle and down her sweat slicked skin to the peak of her breast. He glanced over to the tattoo on her skin and traced his fingers along each delicate purple flower and each leaf and vine as he imagined the future he wanted for them. The pad of his index finger heated as he traced the floral figure eight on her shoulder again and again. Images of Hermione laughing at him as he tried to tame her wild hair with a braid gave over to quiet moments of them reading on a blanket in the sunshine. He tried to push his mind back into the moment, but the image of her rounded with their child stilled his hand. He pressed it flat against her marked shoulder and yanked the last barrier between them down her legs with his other hand.
"Tell me you want this." He waited for her to focus her eyes on his. "Tell me you want all of it."
"I do." She panted and squirmed as she tried to force their bodies together, but he moves to keep them apart.
"Tell me what you want, Hermione." Ambert felt her fingers digging into to his skin, the prick of her nails scraping at him.
"I want you. I want all of you. I want you in me and with me always." She arched up under him. "I want it."
He pushed into her and lost those fleeting images to the enjoyment of the present. Hermione slid her legs up along his and settled them along his flank allowing him to push them further into mindless ecstasy. He heard his name falling from her lips again and again as he shifted their bodies on the bed. She grabbed at his back and he felt her quake against him as she gathered for the plunge into satisfaction. He pressed his forehead against hers and let himself go. He felt her jolt and stiffen before she softened against him. Lost in the pleasure of the moment, he pulled her with him as he tumbled to the side. She slid further down him as she sprawled bonelessly over his body.
"I'm going to miss you so much." She mumbled against his chest. "How am I supposed to survive a month without you?"
He chuckled and kissed the riot of curls on the top of her head. He wanted so much more than matching tattoos. He wanted that imaginary future. The ring hidden under the bed wasn't going to wait for him to come up with some stupidly romantic gesture. He wrapped his arms around her and considered the bleakness of thirty days alone.
"The Department of Mysteries is trying to unseal Sirius' will. Whatever Dumbledore did to it is proving quite the challenge." Gawain looked at Harry. "I'm sending you up to Scotland to check the protections at Hogwarts. That should give you a bit of breathing room from Narcissa Malfoy."
"Hopefully, the unspeakables will figure it out quickly." Harry ran his hand through his hair. "I can't dodge her for the next two years."
"If they can't get it open, I'll go to Shacklebolt and see if we can shorten Malfoy's sentence from seven years to five." Robards sighed. "Whatever that witch is after, let her husband deal with it."
Young Potter nodded.
"We need to make a list of all life debts owed and owing by members of our department. We can't afford to have compromised aurors out in the field without knowing it, and it will be years before we can clean house." Robards pushes back from his desk. "There aren't enough of us as it is."
"People want to forget about the war and the violence. Most of them are happy enough to see us, but joining up is another matter." Harry shrugged. "Give it time, Sir."
Hermione sighed as she grabbed a couple of things from the wardrobe. She was already packed, but Ambert might wonder why she didn't take anything with her if she didn't pick a few items. She needed to get back to Claude's for the port key, but leaving Ambert felt wrong.
"It's a month." Ambert smiled at her from the bed. "You'll be busy working. I'll be fine. When you get back, maybe we could get the old priest to make it official?"
Hermione turned to face him fully. He was still leaned up against the headboard of the bed in all his naked glory, but there was something in his hand. He flipped open the box and held it out toward her.
"I wanted to do this with all the proper pomp, but, while the tattoos may be enough for us, rings are traditional." He shrugged his shoulder. "I saw this in the window of the old antique shop down the way, and, suddenly tradition seemed like a fine idea."
"You want a real wedding?" Hermione licked her lips. "You aren't doing this out of some sort of sense of duty or anything?"
"I want the wedding." He grinned at her. "I want you to be mine in every sense. Even if it does reveal some deep seated Neanderthal longing in my soul. I love you, Hermione. I want the world to know it."
"I'll marry you." She leapt at him and kissed him as they tumbled back into the sheets. He chuckled as she pressed him flat against the bed and grabbed the box from his hand.
The ring was beautiful. White gold formed the main body of the ring. Yellow and rose gold flowers joined the metal work framing an oval amethyst. It was lovely.
"It reminded me of your flowers and of you." He stroked a hand along her arm. "I never expected to find love. I was content with my life, but now there is so much more."
"Put it on me." Hermione held her hand out and smiled as Ambert pushed the ring onto her finger. "I wish I didn't have to go, but I can't put this off."
"Go save the world." He yanked her back down for a kiss before letting her go. "When you get home, we will have our quiet, little ceremony."
She smiled at him and ran her fingers through his dark hair. She'd spent most of her life straddling the divide between their worlds. Marrying Ambert was a simple choice. His being a muggle didn't matter. Love would see them through any trouble.