When Monday morning arrived, I woke with a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. My appointment with Penelope was at eight and Blaise had reluctantly agreed to meet me at her office. Robotically, I went through my morning routine, trying to figure out exactly what to say.

How did I sum up everything that had happened from the time I left her office on Monday?

Gods, how had it only been a week?

And did I tell her the full truth? That I'd Obliviated Draco and now he knew about our past?

I just couldn't decide.

Before stepping into my Floo, I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself for what I was about to endure. She'd have questions and likely be upset with me for lying to her, but there was nothing to be done about it. It was all in the past, and that couldn't be changed. As I'd learned, the past can sneak up on you, come back to haunt you when you're least expecting it.

Everything I'd done — everything I'd lied about — over the past three years was catching up with me now. I had two options — try to hide from it or simply finally deal with it.

When it came to Draco, pushing him away and running hadn't worked. I had a feeling it would be the same with Blaise; he wouldn't let go without a fight. Especially since he'd apparently wanted to start something with me for longer than I'd realised. The parallels between them just continued to grow, making me feel like I'd been blind to everyone around me for most of my adult life.

Squeezing my eyes shut for just a second, I steadied myself and then threw the powder down. I let the flames whisk me away, hoping that Penelope would forgive the lies and help me sort myself out again.

Blaise was already in the waiting room when I arrived. He stood but looked at me with uncertainty; he didn't know how to greet me.

I didn't know how I wanted him to greet me.

Settling for a somewhat awkward half-hug and a kiss on the cheek, I felt my nerves picking up again. For years, falling into Blaise's arms had been so easy for me. It had felt so right, first as friends and then as lovers.

But now?

I felt like I hardly knew him at all, and the forced closeness made my skin crawl.

"Hermione," he said, his voice stiff.

My breath caught and I had to force his name out. "Blaise."

We sat on one of the small sofas, a few inches of distance between us, and it felt like we were miles apart.

A few minutes later, Penelope came out and looked surprised to see us both sitting there. She took it in stride, though, welcoming Blaise and inviting us into her office.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Mr. Zabini," she began. "Hermione didn't let me know that you'd be joining us."

Rather than letting Blaise answer, I interjected. "There have been some… developments since last Monday."

His Adam's Apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

"Developments?" she asked.

And then I word vomited. I told her everything — from the duration of the affair to Astoria's pregnancy to Lucius' blackmail to the Obliviation to Draco's discovery of the photos last week. It all came out in a rush, the abridged story only taking about fifteen minutes to tell.

"That's — Well, that's a lot," Penelope answered, and Blaise scoffed. She turned towards him. "You're angry."

"Of course I'm angry. Did you just listen to all of that?" he spat. "Draco fucks her around for almost two years, and then she erases their affair, I help her get better, and now that he knows about their past relationship, she's pulling away from me—"

"Blaise, that is not why—"

Penelope cleared her throat, halting our argument. "I'm assuming that since you're here, you need a mediator?" I nodded, and she continued, "Okay. Let's go back to where you left off. Draco now knows everything—"

"Not everything," I interrupted. "He knows we had a relationship, and I'm showing him pieces of it because he needs someone to monitor him while he watches the memories."

"And Blaise, you're upset that she's doing this," Penelope stated.

He nodded. "I am."

"Hermione, how are you handling watching the memories?"

Dropping my eyes to my lap, I said, "Honestly, I'm not sure. Sometimes it seems like it's going fine and then other times it feels hard to deal with."

"Okay," Penelope said, her attention shifting to Blaise. "And you think she's pulling away from you?"

"She is," he replied. "She has been since the moment he came back to work."

"Hermione, do you want to tell him about what we talked about last week?" Penelope asked.

After taking a deep breath, I looked over at Blaise. "Since Draco's come back to work, I've felt like you're a bit possessive. Overbearing. It's not anything I haven't told you before, for the most part."

"For the most part?" he questioned.

"Well, I've noticed similarities between the way Draco acted when we were together and the way that you treat me," I said in a rush. "You're… similar."

Penelope observed us carefully.

Blaise narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

I stood and started pacing. "He also acted like he had some sort of claim over me, like I was his and couldn't speak to other men."

"Do I act like that when you speak to men or just to Draco?"

When I thought about it, I realised he had a point. But, at the same time, I thought about my birthday, before we'd started dating.

"What about when Theo was flirting with me on my birthday?"

He groaned. "You know why that was. If we ran into Theo today and the situation repeated itself, I wouldn't care if he eye-fucked you."

"I don't think that's true," I responded. "I haven't been around a male who's not you or Harry or Ron in a long time."

"Hermione—"

"And you've kept me separate from your life, the same way he did," I said quietly. "I haven't met your mother or a single friend of yours besides Sara, and you know how I feel about her."

He was thinking back, grasping for straws, and I watched the realisation dawn on him. "It wasn't intentional. My mother — she's a lot."

"Everyone's mother is a lot." Continuing to pace, I added, "If my mum could remember me, I'd warn you that she's a lot before you met her. I would still have made the effort to introduce her to you before now."

Penelope cleared her throat. "May I?"

Waving his hand, Blaise gestured for her to go ahead.

"Blaise, what you need to understand is that someone like Hermione — who was the other woman for so long — needs complete transparency from you. Feeling like she's being hidden away, tucked inside some little box, it's triggering for her," Penelope explained. "And the possessive behaviour — acting like you don't trust her — that likely sets her off, as well. She's been through all those feelings before."

"And you lied to me," I stated, my voice low. "You broke my trust."

Penelope looked over at him. "What happened?"

He sighed and rubbed his palms over his face. "I had a relationship — or friends with benefits situation — with my friend Sara—"

"For over three years," I interjected.

"—and I didn't tell her about it."

She nodded. "Okay. That's also something that's going to be very hard for someone who is dealing with the specific issues that Hermione has to overcome." Focusing her attention on me, she said, "What else, Hermione?"

"We bury every hard conversation with sex," I admitted. "We use it as a distraction — and it's always been good between us, so I've never once complained."

"That's more you than me most of the time."

"I know that, but it's not healthy. Especially when I'm doing it to hide what I'm feeling and keep you happy."

Penelope gave me an encouraging smile.

Blaise's face fell. "Hermione, I never asked you to do any of that. I didn't want you to act a certain way or pretend anything just to make me happy."

"Everyone wanted me to be better." I ran my fingers through my hair, frustrated. "You and Pansy and Harry and, fuck, even I wanted to be better. I thought that if I made you all believe I was fine, that I really would be fine."

"Before you react," Penelope began, looking at Blaise, "let's talk about Hermione and her abandonment issues."

"Abandonment issues?" Blaise asked. "She's never…"

Once again, I breathed deeply. "Blaise, after the war — after Ron and I broke up, I wasn't really speaking to Harry. And then Ginny left to play for the Harpies, and I couldn't fix my parents' memories, so they were gone, too." Blinking the tears that were forming away, I said, "I was alone all the time. No one really tried to spend any time with me, and—"

"You're completely thick," he interrupted, standing and grabbing my hand. "Everyone wanted to date you back then. You just never realised it."

"Draco, yes—"

He rolled his eyes. "Not just Draco. Me, Hermione. Half the blokes in the years surrounding ours at Hogwarts."

"It doesn't matter," Penelope said, cutting him off. "She felt completely alone."

"I was afraid that you would leave if I wasn't who you thought I was, if I hadn't completely moved past Draco and how I'd been after I Obliviated him." Meeting his gaze, I continued, "I didn't want to lose you, so I pushed a lot of things down and hid what I was feeling. I saw him before the ball. I just — I never told you because I fell apart."

"What?" he hissed. "When did you see him?"

Pulling my hand away, I wiped my tears and replied, "I saw him in Diagon Alley — he was with Astoria, and they had Scorpius with them as well. I wrote about it in my journal—"

Pain — pain I'd caused — marred his handsome face, making him look harder, angrier. "You've been writing to him again?"

Unable to speak, I simply nodded.

"I want to read it," he snapped. "All of it. I want to see it today."

"I'm not even showing it to him," I replied. "I don't think it's fair—"

"Fair? Please, Hermione, tell me what's fair. Is it fair that I've been competing with his memory since the beginning? Or that you feel like you can write all your thoughts to him and not talk to me?"

Sitting back down, I leaned forward and braced my elbows on my knees, hiding my face behind my hands. "You knew, Blaise. You knew what you were getting into when you started a relationship with me."

Penelope must have silenced him or gestured for him to remain silent because he didn't answer.

"Hermione," she said, her voice gentle, "I think you both have good points, and we're making progress. You're opening up and talking."

Sniffling, I forced myself to look up at her. "It doesn't feel like progress."

"But it is," she replied, gesturing for Blaise to retake his seat beside me. When he did, she smiled. "Now, I know you've both had a hard time recently, and Draco's reappearance in Hermione's life has brought up a lot of issues. Is there anything else you need to bring up specifically?"

"Yes," I answered, and I felt Blaise stiffen beside me. "I wasn't happy that you told both Sara and Mel about my relationship with Draco."

"I didn't tell Mel anything. I did tell Sara — a long time ago. She's always known. I don't know if she said something to Mel," he explained, and his voice was steady. "Hermione, I wouldn't tell anyone who had contact with Draco about the Obliviation. Why would I take that chance?"

Everything he was saying made sense, but I was having trouble believing him. He'd broken something between us — or I had — and I just didn't trust his answers. But I remained silent.

Penelope's eyes bounced between us. "Okay. Here are my thoughts," she began. "Hermione, you need to open up and tell Blaise what you're thinking and feeling. I know I'm the one who told you to journal and write to your ex, but I don't think that's the right thing for you anymore. If you can't speak about these things to Blaise, I would recommend writing to him and letting him read it."

"I'll try," I replied. "But I'm not willing to share my previous journals with anyone."

"And Blaise, I think you need to come clean about everything — Sara, the nature of your relationship with her—"

He interrupted her. "I have. I told Hermione everything after she eavesdropped on a private conversation."

His statement made me curl in on myself; I was ashamed that I'd behaved that way.

"She has trouble trusting," Penelope said calmly. "She was in a situation where she wasn't put first, and she's lost a lot of the people who were important to her. I'm not saying that eavesdropping is right, but we can discuss healthy ways of communicating so that Hermione doesn't feel suspicious of your friendship with Sara. And, on the other hand, so you don't feel suspicious of her friendship with Draco—"

"She shouldn't even have a friendship with him," Blaise stated. "He's a fucking acromantula, and she's going to get caught in his web again."

"Blaise, I already told you that I'm showing him what didn't work between us!" I replied, my voice straining.

Penelope held up a hand. "Okay, I think we need some ground rules here. Number one, the two of you need to actually listen to each other and try to trust. Number two—" pausing, she held up two fingers "—no sex until you're in a better place. Sex will just cloud the issues and hide them for a short time."

"We haven't had sex in over a week," Blaise said sullenly. "Which, by the way, isn't normal for us."

"Noted," she answered, her tone clipped. "Number three, you will sit down and talk about your feelings or issues at least twice more before you come back here."

Nodding my head in agreement, I said, "That's all fine with me."

With a sigh, Blaise also committed to the ground rules.

"Good," Penelope said, her charmed quill coming to a halt. "Blaise, I need a few minutes alone with Hermione. Could you please step out?"

Rising to his feet, he left her office, not sparing me a glance. As soon as he was gone, I stood and started pacing again.

"Hermione, how are you doing?"

"My life is a catastrophe." I took a deep breath. "I don't know if I can trust him. I really, really don't. He lied to me about Sara, and they had a sexual relationship for years."

"That was definitely wrong of him. He should've been honest with you," she agreed.

"I know that," I snapped. "Why do they lie to me about other women?"

"They?"

"Draco and Blaise," I answered. "Both of them. They both just lie."

"Hermione, I know you like to move around while you're talking, but you need to sit down and look at me for a minute," Penelope said, and I turned towards her. She waved towards where I'd been sitting previously and waited for me to obey. Once I had, she continued. "You always knew Draco was married. Did he promise to leave her?"

"A thousand times," I answered, remembering each and every one. "But that's not what I meant just now."

"Could you explain?"

"He told me he was staying at the Leaky," I began, the words flooding out. "But, last night, when he left my house, he went home. To her."

"That doesn't mean anything," Penelope said gently.

"It does. It means that he's going to do the right thing and fix things with her for Scorpius' sake. He's forgiving her and he's going to forget me."

The quill started scribbling again, clearly finding something of note in this bit of conversation. Penelope didn't speak, just made eye contact with me.

After a moment, I said, "And that's what I wanted all along. I wanted him to choose his son, not me."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Because you're on the verge of tears right now."

I swallowed hard, unable to answer. Her eyes darted to the clock, looking at the time, and she sighed. Given the amount of time it had taken for me to tell the story, I knew our time was up.

"I think you should come back this week, Hermione. Alone. I don't think having Blaise here today was helpful."

Nodding, I replied, "I can do that."

And, deep down, I knew I needed to do that.

"Good. Get something set up. I want you to talk to Blaise a bit before you come back, if you can." Meeting my eyes, she said, "I think you have some hard decisions to make and I can only help you so much."

She was absolutely right — only I could decide what was right for me, or if I could forgive him.

Much to my surprise, when I stepped out of Penelope's office, Blaise was already gone. I'd thought he would wait for me, but his anger must have won out.

After scheduling an appointment for Wednesday, I made my way to the Ministry. In addition to everything I was going through personally, I had to make a decision about what I wanted to do professionally, as well.

When I thought about the prospect of coming to work and being on my own — no Harry, no Draco, no Blaise — I found that I felt a lot better. I wouldn't have to constantly think about who was watching me, what every single knock on my office door would bring.

If I worked in the Department of Mysteries, I could just be me. I could choose my projects and how I spent my time, more than likely. As much as I hated using my celebrity, I could pitch projects and they'd likely accept them. If I wanted to study time or death or love, I would be able to.

I wouldn't be fixated on catching dark wizards and potioneers, on helping Harry or Draco or Blaise.

Work could be my escape. I needed space, especially right now. I needed to have that time to myself.

In that moment, I made the decision. I had to find myself again, and I couldn't rely on anyone else to help me with that. I wanted to be me — not a version of me that someone else had shaped into what they thought I should be. And I couldn't ask anyone for their opinion on the matter.

Even though I knew I didn't have an appointment with Kingsley, I marched through the Ministry and straight to his office, barely giving anyone a second look on my way. Fully expecting to be turned away, I was shocked when his secretary ushered me into the Minister's office.

Kingsley looked at me and smiled. "Good morning. I take it you've made a decision?"

Nodding, I replied, "I have. I need a change, Minister."

"I think you've needed one for quite some time." My face must have shown my shock because he continued, "Yes, I've noticed a change in you over the years."

"Kingsley—"

"There's no need to explain," he said, halting my words. "I don't want you to leave the Ministry, so I'm willing to help you and give you whatever you need, Hermione. Fight for magical creatures, invent spells or potions. It's all up to you. You were never meant to continue fighting if you didn't want to."

I exhaled, my relief evident. "Thank you."

"Don't be afraid to ask for what you want. If you're feeling empty, then you have nothing to give others. There are different kinds of contributions."

"I need to be my own person," I said, admitting it aloud for the first time. "I can't just be Harry's friend, or Blaise's girlfriend who also works in the DMLE."

With a laugh, he replied, "You've always been your own person. I've never thought of you as Harry's friend or anyone's girlfriend or, hell, the brainy part of the Golden Trio. You've always been Hermione, and it's an honour to know you."

Once again, I felt tears welling in my eyes.

"Thank you, Kingsley."

He waved off my appreciation. "Now, when do you want to make this change?"

"Well, Harry and Malfoy are both back. And I think Malfoy would be a natural fit for my role," I began nervously. "He's very good and can generally handle his own research."

"Okay, so as soon as possible?"

"Talk it over with Harry," I said, losing a bit of nerve. "If he thinks they'll be okay without me, I'd like to do this sooner rather than later."

Kingsley smiled. "The DMLE isn't going to crumble without you, you know. If it did, we'd have much larger problems than I can even fathom."

I laughed and covered my face with my hands. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to make it seem like I feel that way."

"Go and start packing your office, Granger," he said, his deep voice giving me an order — direction — before I could falter. "Wrap up what you have on your plate this week, and we'll see about moving you down to the Department of Mysteries next week."

"Okay. I'm sure we'll be in contact later this week."

"We will be. Have a good day."

Knowing I'd been dismissed, I walked out his office and back to the lift. After hitting the button for the DMLE, I finally exhaled.

Five more days.

I could survive five more days.

I arrived in my office and looked around, taking in the photos and items that had made up my space for nearly a decade. Sure, I'd added to them over the years, but I still had some of the originals.

A Hogwarts pennant — not Gryffindor, since I was proud of my school, not just my house.

A photo of Harry, Ron, and I, taken a few days after the battle.

My Order of Merlin, First Class.

The books that lined my shelf — textbooks, references, rune dictionaries.

Anima, the book that had started this spiral with Draco, was still at my house, leaving a glaringly empty space on the shelf.

Photos of me with James and Sev, reminding me that I needed one with Lily.

A photo from the Ministry ball — Blaise and I entering the ballroom.

As I set my bag down, I considered each item carefully, wondering if I should take it with me to my new office. But, when my eyes fell on the picture from the ball, I felt my stomach drop and my anxiety picked up.

I'd thought it was a sweet gesture, the way Blaise had set this photo on a shelf a few weeks earlier, but now I saw it in a new light. It was yet another way to mark what he perceived as his territory. In the photo, his arm was wrapped tightly around me and he was smiling widely. He called me treasure — not something like darling or sweetheart or love — but treasure, something to be jealously guarded.

Pulling my iPod from my bag, I slipped my earbuds in and started to catalogue what I wanted to pack, pointedly ignoring that photo and trying not to consider what that meant.

Deep down, I already knew, but I wasn't ready to accept it yet.

My door burst open, pulling me from my focused state and making me jump out of my skin.

"I need you," Draco said, his voice desperate.

Just as my mind started to run away with what those words meant, he clarified his statement. "I went to Falmouth this morning, and that building where you saw Jera, there's a different rune on it today. I just went down and got a warrant."

The potioneer case. The reason why he'd come back to work.

Pulling my earbuds out, I said, "Right. Of course. What rune is it?"

"Fehu," he responded. "I'm thinking it means either—"

"A fertility potion, or Amortentia."

"Or Felix Felicis," he added. "It can also stand for luck."

"What do you need me for? You should just take Blaise and Mel if you think this is it," I stated, knowing I'd be no help on a raid.

"It's strongly warded today." Draco put his hands on his hips. "And there are several rune clusters on the side of the building. I'm guessing they're responsible for the warding since I saw Eihwaz and Thurisaz."

"I thought you didn't know runes."

He sighed. "I may have read that book on how they modify protective runes last week and those ones are pretty common. Can we please just go? We don't have time—"

Getting to my feet, I slipped my shoes on and he raised an eyebrow. "You sit in here barefoot?"

"Always have," I answered, not bothering to tell him he'd reacted the exact same way the first time he'd found out. "Women's shoes are bloody uncomfortable."

I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. Draco turned, falling into step beside me, and I felt his hand on my back for just a second before it dropped away.

Blaise, who was standing at his desk, had noticed it as well. Setting his papers down, he made his way towards us.

"Malfoy," he said. "Where are you going? I thought we were going to work on your potioneer case today."

He hadn't even acknowledged me.

Draco, not missing a beat, said, "I went to Falmouth this morning. The building Granger originally identified is heavily warded and the rune that was on the front of it has changed."

"Great," Blaise replied. "I'll back you up. I can grab Mel, too."

"That won't be necessary. Granger and I—"

"Hermione isn't an Auror. She shouldn't be going to a takedown."

While I agreed with him, my hackles rose. Once again, I knew why he was doing this — he didn't want me to be alone with Draco.

"I need her," Malfoy answered. "The wards are linked to runes. She can likely take them down without causing a fuss."

He seemed confident in my abilities, which was more than I could say for myself. Minus rebuilding my own wards, I hadn't really done anything with protective magic in years.

Blaise looked over at me, seemingly reading my thoughts. "When was the last time you did something like that?"

Before I could answer, Harry stepped into the office and saw us standing there. His eyes narrowed and I shook my head. He didn't need to jump into this pissing contest.

"It's been awhile," I admitted. "But I'm sure I can still manage it."

"And after this morning? Is your head clear?"

Draco's eyes shifted between us and I felt my cheeks heat.

"My head is fine," I hissed. "What about yours?"

"Granger, we need to go. Potter, do you want to come with us?"

Harry sighed. "I don't go out in the field, Malfoy, but I'll make an exception today. Zabini, you're staying here."

Anger radiated off of Blaise. "Are you joking?"

"I will not have you and Malfoy squaring off in the middle of Falmouth and blowing this case," Harry stated, leaving no room for argument. "And Hermione casted and took down protective wards all through the war. She could do it in her sleep." He stepped forward and settled a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I know you can do this."

"Okay," I said, meeting Blaise's eyes. "I'm fine. And Harry will be there, so you don't need to act like I'm doing something wrong."

Once again, he didn't say anything, just turned and stormed over to his desk.

Draco narrowed his eyes at Blaise's back and shook his head. "Let's go."

I stepped up to the building, shrouded in Harry's Invisibility Cloak. My finger traced over Fehu, the same way it had over Jera. While runes carved into buildings weren't uncommon, ones that shifted were.

Fehu — wealth, luck, energy, fertility, foresight — was definitely not a rune I used often, but I could see the symbolism in it.

And fertility potions were illegal, unless prescribed by a practising healer. Felix Felicis wasn't illegal, but it was extremely difficult to brew. Either potion would fetch a hefty sum.

With a quick flick of my wand, I reversed the rune, altering the meaning. Reversed Fehu meant failure and loss.

And whoever was running this operation was about to lose.

Moving away from Fehu, I walked along the side of the building, my fingers tracing along the stone until I found exactly what I was looking for. The modified Y of Algiz was smaller, hidden away in the center of another rune.

Algiz meant protection and was intended to ward off evil but, in this case, it seemed to be protecting an evil-doer.

The small rune was within Othala, which symbolised home. I held my wand to Algiz and started chipping away, leaving Othala entirely undisturbed. Once Algiz had been erased, I moved towards Thurisaz and Eihwaz. They were large, but I systematically removed them, as well.

And then I carved a new rune into the side of the building, strategically placing it where Eihwaz had been. Teiwaz — for justice and authority.

For good measure, I also cast an Anti-Apparition ward over the house to try and contain whoever was in there.

When I moved back towards Harry and Draco, their eyes were focused on the building, waiting to catch a glimpse of something or someone.

"Where is she?" Harry asked, his voice nervous. "It never used to take her this long."

Rolling my eyes, I kept walking.

"I'm sure this is a bit more complex than what she cast as a teenager, Potter," Draco snapped. "She's fine. You know she can handle herself better than just about anyone."

The way he believed in me filled me up the same way it always had. Even when my confidence faltered, he trusted me. He didn't hover or doubt my abilities.

Bolstered by his words, I stepped into their impromptu stake-out location, removing the Cloak. Harry jumped and Malfoy smirked.

"See? She's fine."

I nodded. "I am. The wards are down. You should be able to get in."

"Do you think we need more than two?" Harry asked.

Draco shrugged. "I'm not sure. Granger, do you want to follow us in? Or should we call for backup?"

"I'm not an Auror."

"Like that stopped you when you were a teenager," he said, his voice almost teasing me, making my heart skip a beat.

Harry met my eyes. "It's up to you. I know I shouldn't let you, but Malfoy's right — you handle yourself better than most."

"I'll be an extra wand," I replied. "But I'm not going to jump in unless you tell me to."

"Am I taking the lead or are you?" Draco asked Harry.

"You go ahead," Harry answered. "This is your case, and you're the one who came back here and realised it was active. Mel and Blaise all but abandoned this site last week."

With a quick nod, Draco Disillusioned himself. I handed the Cloak to Harry, and he shook his head. "You wear it, Hermione."

"No, I'm fine with a charm. This is yours and you have your little ones."

Sighing, he reconsidered and shrugged it on, and I felt a Disillusionment Charm trickle down my spine.

Turning to where I could see the vague outline of Draco, I said, "Thanks, Malfoy."

"Watch my back, Granger. That's it. Don't go running off after anyone." His hand squeezed my arm, and I could feel the warmth of his touch through my sleeve. "Hear me?"

"Got it."

"Alright, let's go," he said, starting to move, and Harry and I followed in his wake.

As soon as we breached the door, it was obvious that this had been an active brewing location for quite some time. There were cauldrons in every room, each one labelled with a different potion.

Polyjuice. Fertility. Strengthening Solution. Aging and De-Aging. The Drink of Despair. Lust. Amortentia. Veritaserum.

Moving through the house, we eventually came to a locked door and my adrenaline spiked.

"Alohamora," Draco hissed, unlocking it.

As soon as the door opened, a flash of red whizzed by, somehow missing all three of us. Either Harry or Draco quickly fired a wordless spell into the room, a flash of blue-green bouncing off a Shield Charm.

Harry's voice cut through the air. "Expelliarmus!"

I nearly rolled my eyes. With Stunners and curses flying, he still went for disarming, even after all these years. However, a second wand flew towards Harry — like always — and I wanted to laugh.

Draco took two steps forward, breaching the entryway, and shouted, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Making my way in behind them, I saw Marcus Belby, wandless and raising his hands in the air. "Who's there?"

Draco dropped his charm and shot an Incarcerous at him. "Is this what your uncle taught you? To brew illegal potions?"

Belby shrugged. "They're not illegal."

"They are if you don't have a license to sell them," Harry said, removing the Cloak and draping it over his forearm. "For a Ravenclaw, you're not very bright."

"I sell the regulated ones to the apothecaries," he said, shrugging. "What they do with them after that is out of my hands."

"I suppose that's why you were in here with the building warded and the door locked," I stated. "That would be totally normal for a potioneer who was doing things above board."

"I strongly believe in safety," he answered. "Can't have just anyone waltzing into an active potions lab. All sorts of bad things could happen."

"While that's admirable, this building wasn't warded like this a week and a half ago," Draco said, hoisting Belby to his feet. "You knew we'd found you."

"I'm sure it wasn't all that hard, Malfoy," he replied. "After all, your wife knew where I was."

Time seemed to slow as Belby's words sank in, questions forming in my mind.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowing and moving between Draco and Belby.

"Mrs Malfoy bought potions from me," he answered, looking smug. "I'm in the same place I was two years ago."

What had Astoria done?

Draco looked at him, clearly curious but holding his questions back, trying to resist the goading.

"I mean, you must have been satisfied with the results. She never came back, and I think I saw in the papers that you got your heir," he offered.

"What are you saying?" Draco asked, his voice dangerously low.

"She told me she hadn't been able to conceive. I sold her a strong fertility potion."

I could hear my heart pounding in my chest, speeding up at the implications.

Astoria had taken a potion to ensure a pregnancy.

She hadn't been able to conceive.

They'd been trying to get pregnant.

"You don't need me anymore, right?" I asked, somehow keeping my voice even though I felt panic like never before racing through me.

Harry turned, took one look at my face, and said, "We've got it handled. Especially since Belby just admitted to private sale of a regulated potion."

The colour drained from Belby's cheeks.

Taking a step towards me, Draco held out a hand. "Granger—"

"I'll see you later," I stated, turning and walking out before he could touch me.

As soon as my feet hit the pavement, I Disapparated.