The next morning I decided to read for a bit, knowing that Severus wouldn't be back for a few days. Antonin had returned late last night, but told me that Severus still had a few more locations to visit. I spent an idyllic morning reading in the library, shifting only as often as necessary to stay in the slice of sunlight beaming through the frost-covered window. At last, I couldn't ignore the growling of my stomach any more and decided to wander into the kitchen and find some lunch.

I opened the door to leave the library and collided with something very solid. I took a step back to see who or what I'd run into, and promptly took two more steps back. Before me stood Fenrir Greyback, smelling just as awful as ever. I wanted to distance myself even more, to get away from the smell of blood, sweat and something darker, but I was determined not to show an ounce of weakness.

"Greyback," I bit out, willing my voice not to tremble.

"Well, well, well," he drawled, "I've been hoping to run into you here. You've come a long way, wildling, from Death Eater's whore to Death Eater's bride."

The rational side of my brain knew it was very unwise to antagonize him, but I suspect that part of my brain has been permanently damaged by extended contact with Harry Potter. "Hardly," I rejoined curtly, "For one thing you're not a real Death Eater."

Greyback actually growled at me, "Watch your mouth, wildling. You wouldn't want me telling your dear husband about our sordid past, would you?"

His threat was spot on, but I couldn't let him know that. "We don't have a past, Greyback. Now if you'll get out of my way, I have things to attend to."

Rather than moving out of my way, Greyback stepped inside with a feral smile and shut the door behind him.

"So eager to get away from me? I was rather hoping that we could have a reunion, re-live some old times."

"Not a chance, wolf. My husband will rip you limb from limb. I'd do it myself, but I find myself without a wand."

"Well that's the crux of the issue, isn't it little wildling?"

"What is?"

"That unless you let me fuck you, right now in this library, I'll be forced to tell your husband all about our past... dealings."

I thought quickly. I was pretty sure that he had the upper hand here. Dolohov would have no use for a wife who'd been fucked by half the damn snatchers and a hand-full of his Death Eater brethren besides. Definitely not up to the "standards of his house".

I didn't really think he'd kill me to dissolve the marriage (but wouldn't he? He's killed before. What makes you think you're so special to him?). But at the very least he'd lock me away and take on another wife.

I knew that if my only goal was the mission succeeding, I should just acquiesce to Greyback's demand and carry on as normal. However, I couldn't bring myself to go that far. I just was not going to let his bastard rape me again.

That left me two options: kill Greyback now, or get Severus to help me escape before Greyback had a chance to get to Dolohov. I eyed Greyback's position. I didn't think I could get out of the library without him snatching me. That left one option.

I silently cursed the twins; whose bright idea was it to not give me any weapons implants? Fuck it, I decided. Either he'd win this fight and get what he wanted, or I'd win and get to come up with a story to explain away the body on the library floor.

All the time I'd been thinking, Greyback had been edging closer and closer to me. He was much bigger than me, and more powerfully built. However, I wasn't the same under-fed, over-tortured girl he'd met last time. I decided I'd at least give him a run for his money.

I grabbed a large china vase and hurled it at his head. He got his arm up in time to block it, but I quickly closed the space between us and got in two quick jabs to his face before he was able to recover. He threw a wild haymaker at me, and I was forced to step back.

We circled each other slowly, eyes fixed on the other. Bizarrely, Greyback grinned and didn't draw his wand. I had a sinking feeling he'd enjoy this. Unfortunately that also meant that my shield wouldn't be any use, which I had been counting on.

He threw a couple of punches at me, but I skipped back easily out of range. The problem, I was realizing, was going to be his reach. With his long arms, he could land solid blows on me without ever being in danger himself. The next punch he threw, I stepped into and deflected with my shoulder. Taking advantage of the moment inside his guard, I hit him with a couple of hooks in the ribs. He wheezed, but to my surprise before I could get back out of range, he wrapped both arms around me and picked me up.

I found myself slammed against the library door, and felt my teeth puncture my lip as my head bounced off the wood. I couldn't move my arms, and my legs dangled uselessly off the floor. Seizing the only avenue open to me, I leaned forward and sunk my teeth into his cheek. Greyback's grip loosed suddenly in his surprise, and he gave a yowl of pain. I took the opportunity to slip out from under his arm and land an elbow to the back of his head before I got loose.

As I made to slip away, I saw his wand sticking out of his back pocket. I made to grab it, but Greyback must have felt my movement. He grabbed it too, and as I pulled away it snapped. Dropping the pieces on the floor, I slipped out of range again. I could feel myself flagging and knew this had to finish quickly.

Greyback looked at the snapped pieces of wand on the floor, and his face was transformed by pure rage. With a roar, he turned around and tried to tackle me. I grunted in surprise and dropped low, just avoiding his snatching arms. He hit the floor but was back up almost immediately. Sensing that he was off balance, I threw myself at him and rained punches on every inch of him I could reach. I could dimly feel his fists battering my body in return as he retreated, but adrenaline drove me on. If he could get me on the floor, I knew I'd be finished.

Suddenly, Greyback and I were hurled away from each other. In a moment of bizarre choreography, we both hit the floor, rolled once and righted ourselves. As one, we dove back at each other like beasts. But instead of slamming into 200 pounds of werewolf, I found myself bouncing harmlessly off of a shimmering barrier.

I shook my head to clear it, and for the first time noticed Dolohov in the room. His face was like thunder.

"WHAT IS THIS?" he roared. Greyback and I both took an instinctive step back, sensing that neither of us was the most dangerous person in the room at that moment, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY WIFE, WOLF?"

Greyback wheezed, "Don't look at me, you big lummox. Your wife attacked me."

I was struggling to breathe deeply. I managed to hiss, "Provoked." Then I had to stop and spit out a mouth-full of blood.

Greyback's face was transformed by something between a grimace and a smile, made much more horrible by the blood dripping down his nose and coating his teeth, "Well yes, I did threaten to tell you all about what your wife got up to before you were married."

"Shut your mouth!" I wheezed angrily, "Don't you dare!"

As the words left my mouth, I realized that I'd just lent credence to whatever he was about to say. Fuck.

"What the hell you are talking about?" Asked Dolohov, his accent so strong in his anger that his words were almost incomprehensible.

Greyback's smile broadened. A string of rope-like, bloody saliva descended from his chin. I tried to throw myself at him again, but bounced off the barrier. "Well, before the two of you were united in marital bliss, your Lady Wife over there was whoring around with Death Eaters and Snatchers."

Dolohov looked dumbstruck. All the plans, schemes and missions left my head. I just sat down on the floor in the library and started to cry. For a moment, I thought I was choking on my tears, but then I realized with horror that I was actually choking. I tried to call for help, but I couldn't get the words out. I gestured wildly at my throat, panic threatening to engulf me.

Dolohov's eyes widened, and he yelled, "Mopsy!"

The elf appeared by his side and looked on the scene with undisguised horror.

"I need Narcissa, now!" Antonin ordered. The edges of my vision were starting to go black, and I laid down on the rug. My last conscious thought was that Harry would find it very ironic that I'd died in a library.

To my surprise, I woke up. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest. Narcissa was sitting next to me, reading a glossy magazine, and next to her was Anonin, staring at me with such intensity that I flinched, and then flinched again at the shooting pain in my chest. Antonin grabbed the magazine out of Narcissa's hand.

"She's awake!" he roared.

"I can see that," Narcissa answered calmly. She took back her magazine and placed it carefully on the table before turning to me, "Hermione, can you hear me?"

I nodded, not sure if speaking was a good idea.

"Do you remember what happened?" she asked gently. Nod.

"You had a punctured lung," she informed me, "along with an impressive amount of fractures. You nearly suffocated before I got there."

I nodded again. My mind was spinning. Dolohov looked furious, and I couldn't really blame him.

"Will she be alright?" Antonin demanded angrily.

"Yes, you oaf," snapped Narcissa. She seemed to be at the end of her rope with him, "She just needs rest. I'm going down to get some more potions from Severus."

She stalked out of the room, and I wondered if she just wanted a break from Antonin. Rather than meet his eyes, I looked around the room. It was immaculately decorated in a late regency style, with high windows that bathed the room in light.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Morning," grunted Antonin. I nodded. I wanted to say something else, but couldn't work up the nerve. I also suspected my head might split open.

Antonin slammed himself back down into the chair beside me. I decided I couldn't deal with him just yet, so I shut my eyes again and let myself drift off to sleep.

When I woke up again, I felt much better. My body was still sore, but it felt like post-workout sore rather than near-death sore. I also realized I was starving. It seemed to be much later in the day, judging by the shadows in the room. Narcissa was nowhere to be found, and Antonin was still sitting rigidly in his chair. I wondered if he was just waiting for me to get better so he could kill me. I pressed the locator, but I knew logically that I had no way out, as Severus was off somewhere in Iceland. By the time he returned, this would be over one way or the other.

I noticed a tray next to Antonin with a shimmer over it that indicated a warming charm. I decided if I was going to die, I might as well do some on a full stomach. "Can I eat that?" I asked, gesturing to the tray.

He grunted, and passed me the tray. I sat up, groaning and grabbed a fork. Mopsy had made my favorite comfort meal, steak and baked potatoes.

I dug in eagerly, and didn't stop eating until the plate was completely clean. I didn't dare look over at the chair where my enraged husband sat, clutching the arms.

"Do you want more?" Antonin asked, breaking the silence.

I shook my head. Why was he being so nice to me? Suddenly I couldn't stand it.

"Just get it over with," I snapped.

Antonin opened his mouth, shut it again, and then roared, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"

His accent was thick, indicating just how angry he was, but I honestly didn't understand the question.

"What?" I asked, indignantly, "How could I possibly have told you that?"

"I am your husband," he growled.

"Yes..." I agreed, slightly confused, "I didn't want to lie to you, but what could I do? I didn't really fancy dying."

Now Antonin looked confused, "Dying?"

"There's no divorce in the wizarding world, is there? If you want to get rid of me there's just one way out," I stated calmly, wondering why I was explaining this to him instead of the other way round.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded, "I mean, why didn't you tell me what happened at Malfoy manor? You had to see those fuckers around this house, go to parties with them, and you never thought to mention to me what had happened?"

"I. Didn't. Want. You. To. Kill. Me." I explained slowly. Surely this was obvious to him.

"Why I would kill you?" He asked, apparently just as confused as i was.

"Well you can't honestly want to be married to me any more," I ventured. I wasn't sure why I was supporting this point of view, but I'm nothing if not a pragmatist.

"Of course I do," he growled, "Why would I blame you for being raped before we met? I know who I blame, and it's not you. And believe me, I will deal with them."

Looking at the set of his jaw, I didn't doubt his word. My mind was reeling. Even Ron, who was supposedly my best friend, hadn't wanted me after what happened. He'd never been able to get over it.

For the first time, Antonin's hard expression softened. He put a hand on my cheek.

"I made that beast tell me what happened. I know it wasn't your fault. Why would you think I would discard you because of that?"

I shrugged, on the edge of tears. Somehow, after what happened at Malfoy Manor, Ron had convinced me that no man would want me, knowing what had happened, how I'd lost my virginity. Even with Sirius, I never even thought about trying to have a real relationship, assuming that he would never want that. What had happened to me wasn't a secret in the Order.

Antonin sighed. "Hermione, I can't imagine what you must think of me. I had no idea that Death Eaters, people I thought were honorable men, would do something like that. I would never have made you stay here, with them, had I known."

I rolled my eyes. How could someone so terrifyingly powerful be so naive?

"You all kill muggles. And mudbloods. And blood traitors. i was just a mudblood when that happened. Are you really surprised?"

"People die in wars, Hermione. It's unavoidable. But what happened to you wasn't war. It was just... sick."

I really did cry then. Antonin sat on the bed next to me and pulled me to him, cradling my head against his massive chest. I head the door open and the tap-tap of Narcissa's heels returned.

"What did you do to that girl?" She demanded shrilly.

Antonin growled.

"I told you not to bother her!" she sniped. Antonin released me gently, one arm still around my shoulders.

I dried my eyes, trying to get myself under control. Narcissa's mouth was pinched tight.

"Let me examine you, then," She sniffed. She ran her wand over me, scanning my body.

"Well it doesn't look like there will be lasting damage, at least. I think you can move her back to your bedroom, Antonin."

"Thank you, Narcissa," I told her sincerely.

She nodded jerkily, and added "Maybe next time don't get in a muggle duel with a full-grown werewolf."

I gave her a small smile, "I'll try to avoid that next time."

"Well, after what your husband did to him-"

"Narcissa!" Antonin interrupted.

"Don't you Narcissa me!" she exclaimed, "Mopsy will be getting those stains off the library walls for a week!"

I leaned over and vomited.