I awoke suddenly to see Antonin pulling on his Death Eater robes in the pre-dawn light. Seeing I was awake, he offered a curt explanation: "Summons."

I nodded and rolled back over. Hopefully I could catch a few more hours of sleep.

However, it couldn't have been long after that when I found myself bolt upright in bed, heart racing. Another damn nightmare. Sunlight was creeping in around the heavy velvet curtains, and when I wrenched them open I found that the sun was rising over the treetops. I wondered if it was just a coincidence that as soon as Antonin had left, the nightmares had started up again. I tried to think back on other bed partners I'd had in the last few years to see if there was a pattern.

With Ron, the nightmares had been even worse. Of course, he was also the first person whose bed I shared after my time in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor. I probably would have had the nightmares then regardless of who I'd shared a bed with.

Then there had been Sirius, off and on for the next year. We hadn't shared a bed often, an unspoken agreement between us to keep things light and casual. I'd been more than happy to finally have a sexual partner who I actually enjoyed being with, but I also considered Sirius one of my closest friends. Neither of us had wanted to ruin that friendship by trying to turn it into anything more. Nonetheless, now that I thought about it, I realized that on those nights when I'd been too tired to stumble back to my room, I'd only woken up to the nightmares once or twice.

Other nights, after the breakup with Ron, I would wake up screaming and Harry or Ginny would rush in to comfort me. They'd usually stay the night with me, and that seemed to help too. They thought the nightmares had stopped eventually, but really I'd just placed a silencing charm on my room so that at least some of us could get a full night's sleep.

But, I reflected, this was the first time that someone seemed to keep them reliably at bay. I decided not to dwell for the moment on why that might be. Instead, I rolled out of bed and pulled on a warm cloak over my pajamas. I knew nobody else would be up for ages, so I decided to go for a walk in the woods.

It wasn't until I tried to open the front door and was repelled with a sharp shock that I remembered that I was a prisoner in this bloody house. I turned dejectedly with the idea of taking a warm shower or going to the library when I came face to face with Lucius Malfoy.

He was as immaculately dressed as ever, and I blushed slightly as I realized that I was wearing my pajamas and muggle boots.

"Good morning, Hermione," he intoned smoothly, with a slight bow.

"Good morning, Lucius."

"Out for a walk?"

"I'd been thinking about it, but I forgot I'm not allowed to leave the house."

"Nonsense!" He insisted, "Allow me to accompany you. Surely even your overprotective husband would consider my presence sufficient protection."

"I wouldn't want to trouble you," I replied awkardly, "And besides, I think his concern is more about my escaping than my being attacked."

Lucius smiled broadly, "Oh, I would never let such a pretty little thing as you out of my sight."

Without further ado, he placed my hand on his arm and threw the door open.

"Come, I insist!" he smiled again, "I'd hate for you to develop cabin fever in that dinky little house."

Only Lucius Malfoy could refer to this manor as a 'dinky little house.' Oh well, I suppose I'd better take opportunities where they come.

I subtly turned the pheromone emitter on my wrist to its lowest setting. Cozy flannel pajamas and bed-head aren't exactly prime seduction material, after all.

As we walked, I reveled in the feeling of the sun on my skin. It really had been too long. We followed a winding path into the woods, and soon found ourselves out of sight of the manor house.

"You, Miss Granger, are a most intriguing young woman," Lucius commented. I noticed he didn't use my married title.

"How so?" I asked coyly.

"You know, even at Hogwarts I always suspected Draco had a bit of a pash for you. Nobody spends their entire summer holiday raving about a girl unless they have some sort of interest in her." He gave me a broad wink, "Even if she did beat him on every exam."

I laughed then, "Did he ever tell you I punched him in our third year?"

Lucius chortled, "He left that out somehow. But I'm sure he deserved it; he was quite insufferable as a teenager."

"You can't imagine. Well, I suppose really you can."

Lucius stopped walking and turned to me suddenly, "He was right about one thing though. You are most intriguing." He brushed a piece of hair back from my face, and I looked away.

"Don't get all shy on me now, Miss Granger," he admonished, "I've thoroughly enjoyed our talk thus far, and I was hoping to enjoy something more."

I looked back at him, and before I could say another word, his lips were on mine. Damn, but that man is bold. And not a bad kisser either. I wound my arms around his neck and kissed him back, nibbling cautiously on his lower lip. With a growl, Lucius pulled me to him and delved deeper into my mouth. Deciding that it would be suspicious if I made this too easy for him, I finally pulled back and took a step away. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes a dark, stormy gray. I imagine I looked a right mess as well.

"We shouldn't have done that," I whispered, "I should go."

Without another word, I turned and hurried out of the wood. If Lucius is as competitive as Snape says, I was sure sure he'd relish a bit of a chase.

...

At breakfast that morning, I acted as if nothing had happened. I didn't avoid Lucius, but engaged in a polite conversation with him and Daphne. I could feel Lucius's eyes keep sliding back to me, and noticed that his conversation seemed a little bit disjoined. Almost as if he had something else on his mind... Suddenly, I wondered if Lucius had re-established the ward that kept me from leaving the house. I'd have to test it later when I was alone.

Severus had returned, so we walked down to the lab together to get started on our work. Once we were behind closed doors, Severus pulled a scrap of parchment out of his cloak. He wordlessly handed it to me and then tapped it with his wand. I was delighted to see that the touch of his wand had revealed Harry's chicken-scratch handwriting.

I sunk down onto a stool and devoured the letter.

Mione-

What the hell were you thinking going off on a mission like that without telling me? I would never have let you go. Which I guess is why you didn't tell me. Have I ever mentioned you're too bloody smart for your own good? Anyway, I know you're stuck with this now, but just remember if you do decide to off Dolohov after the war I'll happily help you hide the body. Or, sooner if you like. I wish you'd come back. Ginny and I are just stuck here with Ron now, and he's still being a right git.

I'm sure Severus is keeping you up to date on the war, so I won't bore you with that. Not much new is happening here. Ginny and George developed a new product that makes you spew swear words every time you open your mouth. Unfortunately, they were trying to slip it to Percy, but Molly somehow drank his hot chocolate. Although I'll never admit this out loud, it was wonderful. She confiscated their wands for a week after that one and made them scrub down the kitchen with a toothbrush.

It's Ginny's birthday next week, and she still hasn't agreed to get back together with me. Still angry about us leaving her to hunt Horcruxes, I guess. I'm thinking of planning a big birthday surprise with roses and the whole bit. Girls like that, right?

I miss you here, Mione. Please come back in one piece.

Love,

Harry

I looked up and realized my face was wet with tears. I was glad beyond belief to hear that George had planned a prank again. I hadn't even realized how much I'd missed the family until I got Harry's letter. With my parents somewhere in Australia, they were all I had. Snape had mercifully turned his back to fiddle with some potions ingredients.

"You can write back if you want to. Quills are right there."

"Thanks, Severus," I hiccuped.

"Just the once, mind you. I'm not a bloody owl."

I smiled through the tears. There's the snarky asshole I know.

I grabbed a quill and wrote quickly,

Harry,

I miss you too. I knew you wouldn't be thrilled with this plan, but if it can end this war and let us all live free then it'll be worth it. I'll do my best to come back in one piece as long as you do the same. Don't eat anything in the same room as George for starters...

It hasn't been awful here- Dolohov's not a complete bastard and I've sort of become friends with Daphne Greengrass. She's not a bad sort, really, just on the wrong side of this whole mess.

As for Ginny's birthday, she will absolutely not go for the roses. I repeat, NO ROSES. If you want to get her on your good side, plan a surprise party with the family and everyone for her. It'll show her you care, and she'll be so pleased to see all of them. I know she gets lonely in that big, drafty house. For a present, I happen to know that she's been wanting those new ultra-cushioned heels from Madame Minnera's. Probably burgundy. If you could take a break from declaring your love for her every five minutes, let her know that I miss her.

Stay safe and we'll see each other at the end.

Love,

Hermione.

I rolled up the parchment and returned it to Snape with a sincere,

"Thank you,"

"So what have you found out from Dolohov?" Snape asked briskly, as he chopped ingredients with precision that would make a sushi chef jealous.

Long practice kept my expression neutral and allowed me to give a nonchalant shrug,

"Nothing yet," I said calmly. Truth be told, I couldn't even explain to myself why I hadn't yet invaded Dolohov's mind. I certainly wasn't about to try to explain to to Snape.

Snape turned to look at me and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Have you not- erm..." he trailed off uncomfortably. Snape had not been thrilled about this plan, and I could tell it made him rather uncomfortable to be discussing intimate topics with a former student. Truly, he should have been born a Victorian.

"Of course we have," I said with a laugh, "Turns out he's a rather good occlumens,"

Snape responded with a "hmmm" that didn't leave me entirely certain if he'd swallowed my lie.

"I'll keep at it though," I said quickly, "I'm sure I'm bound to get something from him soon."