A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! You guys are all so wonderful and kind to me, and it means a lot to have your support. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-six and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-seven soon!

December 1968

Without Rodolphus there, dogging her every step, returning to Hogwarts seemed entirely too empty. Of course it was wonderful to see her Gryffindor friends again, but most of the time Hermione just felt as if she was oscillating between missing her friends in her proper era and missing Rodolphus. Always out of place, it took her awhile to feel normal again.

In the end, she found herself returning the familiar practice of throwing herself into her schoolwork. It was her NEWT year, after all, and while Dumbledore had done nothing to answer any of her questions about his time turner research with the Ministry, Hermione had to do everything she could to secure a bright future for herself in this time period. She spent the majority of her free time haunting the library, getting ahead on all the assignments she had for classes, taking on whatever extra credit her professors would give her.

Her friends seemed to understand her situation, being that she was a muggleborn and didn't have a family to establish her in their society. She didn't particularly enjoy the social undercurrents that accompanied it, but at least it wasn't like Harry and Ron, nagging her to help with assignments that they had put off to practice Quidditch.

Still the winter holidays were very appreciated when they finally came, especially due to the fact that it would be the first time that she'd get to see Rodolphus in months. She wasn't even sure if they would be able to meet up, but she still told her Head of House that she would be returning home for the holidays, while telling Georgie that she was going to remain at Hogwarts. The sixth year had been skeptical, giving her a disbelieving look and one raised eyebrow, but hadn't argued with her about it.

But, she didn't actually hear from Rodolphus until Rabastan approached in the hallway one evening pressing a sealed note into her hands with a sneer. "Don't expect this to be a regular occurrence," he said with a sniff. "I refuse to act as an owl service, especially when I don't approve of my brother's chosen company."

Hermione was barely able to stop from snapping at the second year, but managed because she was so excited to see what Rodolphus had written to her finally. Rushing off to the nearest empty classroom, Hermione eagerly ripped open the note, finding details of how he'd rented a room for them at the Three Broomsticks.

Sighing happily, Hermione pressed the letter to her heart, leaning against the cool stone of the wall. After she knew what the plan was, she was too happy to pack up her trunk and follow the rest of the students down to the train station at Hogsmeade, before slipping away into the Three Broomsticks.

Madame Rosmerta gave her a raised eyebrow, but provided a key to Hermione without argument, watching as she happily bounded up the stairs.

Hermione was barely able to drop her trunk on the ground and shut the door behind her before Rodolphus was on her. One hand cradling her jaw and the other tangled up in her hair, he pulled her in for a searing kiss, seemingly intent on showing her exactly how much he had missed her in the months since they'd last been together. Lips, tongues and teeth pressed together, Hermione was helpless to do much more than grab his robes in great bunches, gasping into him when her back crashed against the door.

Gone was all of the shyness that she had in the beginning of their sexual relationship, far too eager to have him again to feel embarrassed. Fingers impatiently loosed the buttons holding his robes together, and then she was pressing him back, needing to find the bed because she wasn't sure how much longer her legs could support her, feeling her knees buckle when he tightened his grasp on her hair.

They tumbled back to the bed together, a desperate mess of limbs and loose clothing, before Rodolphus let her go long enough to get ahold of his wand, using a simple spell to release them of both of their clothing. Once they were free of all the obstacles between themselves, it did not take long for them to come together once again. She was throbbing with need, her body only too willing to accept him. Being so completely wrapped up in him felt like coming home, and Hermione felt as if her heart might beat right out of her chest.

Having been apart for so long, it was a matter of minutes before they were finishing together, moaning with one another to let the other know just how much they had liked it.

Rolling onto his back, Rodolphus pulled Hermione to wrap around him, his arm pulling her to rest her head on his chest. She threw a leg over his strong quads, knowing that she needed to clean up, but wanting to enjoy the come down in his arms. She listened to his heartbeat slow down, her fingers playing with the sparse amount of chest hair between his pecs. Rodolphus pressed a kiss to the top of her head, sighing. "I love you," he whispered into the sudden stillness of the room.

Hermione smiled into his skin, pressing a kiss of her own against his cooling chest. "I love you, too," she told him, honestly. This one moment made her heart feel like it was spilling over with love, making the long wait to see him all the more worth it.

His fingers traced up and down the length of her spine. "I've missed you. You have no idea how many times I thought about sneaking back into Hogwarts just to see you," he confessed. "My work is nearly unbearable without you to brighten my day."

"I wouldn't have objected," Hermione told him honestly, surprising even herself. It seemed reckless and silly to have him sneak into Hogwarts just to see her, not to mention dangerous, but she didn't care, not in the moment, not if it meant that she would have been able to spend a little time with her boyfriend. "I'm glad it's a NEWT year, otherwise I wouldn't have mountains of revision to distract myself from your absence. I'll confess, I find myself missing you bothering me in the library so often."

He chuckled, the rumble transmitted where her cheek pressed against him, making her smile as well. "Are you sure? There were times when you seemed ready to duel me to get me to leave you alone," he teased.

"That was only in the beginning," she answered. "When I couldn't understand why you would want to be around me at all."

"Why shouldn't I want to be around you?" he asked, sounding not in the least bit serious.

Swallowing thickly, Hermione figured that this was as good of a time as any to talk about the big roadblocks that were still hindering their relationship. "Well, aside from my bushy hair and the fact that your family hates my kind and wishes they were eradicated from the wizarding world..." she trailed off, knowing that she'd sucked all the humor right out of the room. "There is the biggest reason of all."

"And what's that?" he murmured, stilled by the tone of her voice.

"The fact that you are engaged to another witch," Hermione said, hoping that she wouldn't cry in front of him. "And not just any witch, but Bellatrix Black."

"I thought...I thought that I told you I would handle Bellatrix," he said, sitting up and pulling the covers of the bed with him. He was clearly growing more agitated, perhaps not expecting this type of conversation for their romantic getaway, but Hermione couldn't think of a better time to do it. Who knew if she would get to see him again before graduation? And after graduation...well, it might be too late.

"But...when were you planning on it?" she asked, sitting up and mirroring him, looking into his hurt, blue eyes. "Because, Bellatrix is very keen on breaking things off, and well, she...she sort of threatened me on the train ride to school. It seems like she is going to take things into her own hands, and that wouldn't be such a bother to me, but I think that it could end up being very serious for you," she explained, nibbling on her lower lip, unsure of what else to say.

"Take things into her own hands...how?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to think of what Bellatrix's play might be.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure, but she said that it was up to me to get the engagement broken off, or else...well, she didn't specify, but I got the impression that...that it wouldn't be pleasant for either of us," she said, staring at her hands in her lap. "I just...don't want to underestimate her, because I know how dangerous she is."

"Dangerous?" Rodolphus asked with a snort. "Bella might be rude and awfully spoiled, but I very much doubt that she is dangerous."

"I very much got the impression that Bellatrix was used to getting exactly what she wanted, Dolph," Hermione protested, unable to share the details she knew about the witch from the future. "And that she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty if it meant her own desired outcome. Please, trust me on this. I'm worried about you."

"It's my father that I have to be worried about," he said seriously. "And I promised you I would handle him."

"I just...I wanted to be sure that you had all the pertinent information," Hermione explained, feeling a weight lift off of her chest now that she had shared Bellatrix's threats with him. Really, she'd been bearing that burden alone for far too long. "No need to be caught by surprise, and...well, it's not as if our relationship has gone unnoticed."

Rodolphus nodded. "You are right, of course," he agreed, looking up at her. "It's better to be over-prepared. And I've known that I will have to confront him eventually. I can't put it off forever, no matter how much I don't want have that conversation. But...I'm very serious about you, Hermione, and it's necessary if I want our relationship to continue in the direction it's going."

Hermione blushed brightly at the implication. The idea of being in an openly acknowledged relationship with Rodolphus had her heart beating double time in her chest. Just how serious was he, she wondered? Was there really some possible...alternate universe that she had created in which Rodolphus Lestrange might want to marry her? Godric, it was almost more than she dared dream.

"Enough about Bellatrix and my father," he said pulling her back to rest against the soft pillows that lined the bed. "I want to spend my limited time with you enjoying every minute of it. Tell me everything about school, because I am sure that it's going to be more interesting than my work, and I will order up dinner for us."

She very much doubted that he was all that interested in school, but it was nice to talk to him a little bit about what she'd been studying and what she thought about doing once she'd sat her exams. From the face he made, she could tell that he was surprised that she would want to have some kind of gainful employment, but kept any negative remarks about it to himself.

Once two hot bowls of beef stew with mash were sent up to their room, the pair of teenagers sat next to the cheerful fire, enjoying the warmth. Hermione finally badgered Rodolphus enough to share the status of all the initiatives that he was working on at the moment, eager to add her opinions of each one.

They would spend the whole vacation tucked in their little room together, enjoying each other's company, save for the one night that Rodolphus had to return home for his father's Yule celebration. It was a welcome reprieve from the monotony of Hogwarts, and Hermione found herself wishing that they could spend everyday together like that. For once, she didn't let the negative voice in her head insist that this would all have to come to an end eventually.