Hermione arrive at the front of the Ministry of Magic with a flourish. With her cloak sweeping behind her she quickly made her way through the main lobby to the lifts. Once inside she selected her floor and tapped her foot, impatient in a lift that normally went to fast for her liking.

Finally reaching her desired level she swept off and through the small crowd that was gathered in the hallways. Everyone who saw her quickly jumped out of the way, her temper was almost as well known as Rowle's. If not more so due to her short fuse in Hogwarts.

Swinging the doors of the Auror's office open with a loud bang she scowled her way through the office before finally finding her desired target sitting in the back of the room with a small group of colleagues. Once his eyes fell upon her he smiled serenely at her for a split second before a look of fear cross his face.

Harry knew the expression was wearing now, having seen it pointed at Ron one too many times.

"Harry James Potter!" Her voice boomed in the quiet room.

Scrambling quickly to stand he tried to flee, wanting to be as far out of her vicinity as he possibly could. With the speed of a hawk closing in on its prey she was directly in front of him, closing off all hope of escape and backing him into a corner.

Leaning in real close she spoke lowly, her voice considerably calmer than it had been previously. The kind of calm that comes before the storm.

"You and I. We're going to have a chat." Her tone was deadly.

Not wanting to argue he simply nodded his head and tried to swallow the lump that had appeared in his throat.

As she dragged him through the offices in the direction of her own he wracked his brain trying to think of everything he could have possibly done wrong. Nothing came to mind though. But there had to be something.

His face drained of colour as a though came unbidden to his mind. What if she was angry at him for putting her father in prison. She might not have been able to know him growing up and because of him, she wouldn't be able to truly get to know him now that he was locked away for good…

A feeling of guilt rushed over him, despite knowing that Dolohov belonged in prison for good, he felt guilty to taking another child's parent away from them.

Finally reaching her office she firmly shut the door behind them and cast a strong locking charm as well as a Muffliato to make sure they were not over heard.

Pointing to the chair across her desk Harry quickly sat down waiting anxiously for her to start yelling.

Instead of blowing up on him like she had wanted to she took a deep breath in before slowly releasing it.

"Harry," She started her voice held a calmer note to it, noticeably less angry than she had been previously, "I went to visit Dolohov today. I needed to know what else he had to tell me."

Harry leaned forward and kept silent waiting for her to tell him where this was going.

"He wasn't alone when he was brought in." Harry raised a single eyebrow in question at her, it made her crack a small smile. He just looked like a puppy when he did that. Sitting down next to him she slumped back in the seat, feeling defeated.

"Thorfinn Rowle was with him." Her brows furrowed in annoyance. "The remaining piece was apparently that we were betrothed… to each other." A burst of laughter left her mouth, a feeling of self deprecation flushed through her.

Harry's mouth dropped open, hanging there in shock.

"Wha- What the bloody hell do you mean, Mione." He stood now, the news having finally set in.

"Betrothed! No! No! Absolutely not! You won't have to marry that monster, Mione. We'll find a way out of it for you. There has to be a way to break it. He's in Azkaban for Merlin's sake." Harry was getting worked up. The feeling of guilt was replaced quickly with one of relief when she first said those words, but in a split second it turned to one of anger.

Laughing bitterly she looked up at her best friend and smiled a sour smile.

"It's a blood oath, Harry. If I don't go through with it I will die. I said the same thing when I was there," Her smile softened looking more genuine. "I was so hell bent on the information being a lie that I completely denied the inevitable. You can't break blood oaths. It's not possible." Shaking her head she stood and pulled Harry back into the chair.

"But, you're right about one thing. Thorfinn is in prison, and will remain there for the rest of his life. Right?" The question was sharp with a slight accusing tone.

A look of guilt cast a shadow over his face.

"About that, Mione." He started slow as if he didn't want to complete what he was about to say, a hand rubbing the back of his neck. "I kinda fought against a lifetime imprisonment for him" The last bit was mumbled into his chest as if he didn't really want to let her hear him.

"What do you mean, Harry?" The sharp edge was back in her voice.

"Well, he didn't really kill anyone. And his worst crimes were done under the coercion of torture. So he got some years in Azkaban with the opportunity of parole." Harry winced as he said this.

"He tortured you Harry!" This time she was yelling. "He burnt down Hagrid's shack! Fought in the final battle with us! He was a marked Death Eater!"

"It was war, Mione. He didn't have much of a choice, Voldemort was holding his sister hostage. He said so under the influence of Veritaserum." Harry said weakly.

Hermione's shoulder slumped down, she looked even more tired than she had this morning, and her migraine was back full force.

"How many years, Harry?"

He didn't answer, the guilty look only deepened.

"How. Many. Years."

"Three, three years and five years of parole."

Three years. She had three years of peace without him. Then she would be stuck as his wife, his prisoner.