A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am really glad that you liked the previous chapter - they sure are needy for one another, aren't they? I know a lot of you are excited for the mating and we will get there...eventually at least, haha! 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-two and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-three soon!

Despite all of her protests, even Molly Weasley could not stop the reunion of Hermione and the boys after Harry had been brought to the Burrow. Remus had insisted that Ron and Harry come over to his cottage, privately knowing that it was not going to be an easy conversation to have, especially when they were unaware of Theo's presence. He was still a young werewolf, so keeping him in a familiar environment would hopefully keep things more manageable.

Bill, staying at home while they prepared for his wedding to Fleur Delacour, had finally offered to go with the two boys. Tonks also promised to be there the whole time in case something should go wrong, but really, nothing would be able to get them, even as the Death Eaters grew bolder.

Hermione had been a bundle of nerves waiting for them to show up. While it had been a nice reprieve to be reunited with Theo, she was not blind to the fact that they were far from safe. With Dumbledore dead, now, Hermione knew that they were unlikely to return to Hogwarts, especially not with Snape as Headmaster. Not to mention the task that Harry had been hinting at before the term was finished. Further, she knew that it was time to come clean about her relationship with Theo to Ron and wasn't looking forward to the fallout that was bound to happen.

When the day finally arrived for their meeting, Theo had done to best to reassure her frayed nerves. "No matter what they think, just know that I still think you are a brilliant witch," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple. "And I will still want you desperately, no matter what Ron Weasley thinks of you."

The boys arrived via floo. Upon walking through the fireplace, they immediately wrapped Remus in tight hugs. They had seen one another when they moved Harry from his Aunt and Uncle's home - something that she hadn't been invited to participate in - but it was still good to see a familiar face. "Thank Merlin for you, Remus," Ron said cheerfully. "I was going to go spare if I had to sit in the Burrow and listen to Mum's fretting for another minute."

Ron was the first to notice Theo sitting on the couch, a long arm thrown possessively across Hermione's shoulders, lounging back like he owned the place. The redhead drew his wand, not bothered that Hermione was also in his line of fire. "What the bloody hell is he doing here?" he demanded. "We can't trust a Slytherin snake! Whatever he's told you is a lie! He was probably sent here to spy on us."

"Theo is not a spy," Hermione insisted, standing up from her spot on the couch. She raised her own wand, ready to defend her mate if need be. "He is part of the reason you were asked to come here today, but if you can't sit down and discuss this like rational adults than maybe you should just leave."

Hermione watched as Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "Let's just hear them out, Ron," he said, cautiously.

It did not go as planned. Ron turned at narrowed his eyes at Harry. "This isn't a surprise to you," he accused. "You knew about Nott?"

"I tried to tell you that Hermione was seeing someone," Harry said awkwardly. "It's not my fault that you didn't believe me."

The look on Ron's face was thunderous while he contemplated his next move. "Fine, why don't you both try to explain this to me? Try to explain why my two best friends betrayed me!" He sat down heavily in the chair across from Hermione, arms crossed against his chest, rolling his wand in his hand idly. He looked like a petulant child.

Hermione sighed and sat back down again, giving Theo an apologetic look. The Slytherin's dark blue eyes were trained on Ron's body, completely on edge. "I didn't mean to keep Theo from you Ron," she said glumly. "But if you haven't forgotten, you were not exactly the best friend either this year. You completely ignored Harry and I for some of the year because of Lavender."

Ron scoffed and rolled his eyes at her. "At least Lavender isn't a Slytherin."

"You're right, Theo is a Slytherin," Hermione said finally. "But I don't care. He is still special to me...more than special, really." She took a deep breath while she prepared to drop a huge bombshell on the pair of them. She and Theo had talked extensively about what they wanted to share, but they knew there was no way to get around coming clean about being mates. Theo told her that it would next to impossible to let her go off wherever they were planning on going without coming with her. "I already told Harry, but...Theo is a werewolf. He was changed last summer by Fenrir Greyback."

"What the hell?" Ron exploded, staring at Harry, even angrier than before. "You've known this for how long exactly? And you were just going to let Hermione be with a dangerous werewolf without telling me?"

"Watch what you are saying, Ron," Bill cautioned from his silent sentry.

"I didn't mean it like that," Ron whined, knowing that he was treading on dangerous ground by saying that, especially knowing that Bill himself had been attacked, but not infected by Fenrir Greyback.

Hermione cleared her throat primly. "Yes, Harry confronted us after spying on me with the Marauder's Map," she explained. "And we decided that it would be best to tell you after school was out, so that you'd have more time to process it."

"And what about you?" Ron asked, completely ignoring what Hermione had to say. Instead, he was now totally focused on Theo. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself? Don't you see that you are putting Hermione in a dangerous situation?"

"Of course I see that," Theo snapped, finally speaking for the first time. Hermione could see the muscles working in his jaw and she knew that he was trying to keep control of his temper. "I agonize over it every day. But, I don't know if you've realize it or not, your friend can be very stubborn and persistent. She wouldn't leave me alone, and well, I've found it impossible to stay away from her, too."

"Merlin, don't you have any self control?" Ron wondered out loud.

Knowing that she needed to cut in before things got too out of control, Hermione knew that she had to tell them she was Theo's mate, too. "It's not that simple," she said firmly, gaining the attention of all three boys. "There is something else. There is no easy way to say it really, but...I am Theo's mate."

Things were silent for a moment, but once everything seemed to sink in, Harry and Ron immediately started yelling, asking how she could keep it from her. "Come on, Hermione, he must be lying to you," Ron insisted, furiously, perhaps realizing that Theo was a much more permanent fixture in their lives now. "He's just trying to trick you."

"Yeah, there is no way that mates really are a thing, are they Remus?" Harry asked, turning to look at their former professor with a question in his eyes.

"I'm happy to tell you that mates are real, Harry," Remus said, sternly. "They are rare, but they are considered quite a gift for a werewolf."

"It's not possible," Ron said, looking at Hermione desperately. "He can't be your mate, Hermione. You and I were always meant to be together." He blushed when the words spilled out of his mouth, but he didn't make any moves to take it back, either.

The thought of her with Ron seemed too much for Theo to stand. "That's enough," he growled, standing up. "I can't listen to another minute of this," he said, before storming off to his own room, not even faltering when Hermione called after him.

Feeling tears prick at the corner of her eyes, Hermione knew that this had really gone much worse than she'd imagined. She wanted to go after Theo, to promise him that nothing was going to come between them, but she knew that she needed to finish discussing things with Harry and Ron first.

"How could you keep this from us, Hermione?" Harry asked, sounding hurt. "This is going to change everything. How are we supposed to...when...is he going to have to come with us?"

"Don't act like you are blameless in this, Harry Potter!" she shouted at him, feeling her tears spill over onto her cheeks. "I'm not the only one who has been keeping secrets. How could you not tell me the plan with Dumbledore's Army the night that Dumbledore died? I wouldn't have even known if anything was going on if I hadn't stumbled into the fighting!"

Harry's cheeks turned red in shame. "I wasn't sure...I wasn't sure if we could trust Nott," he revealed, looking down at his lap. "I knew that you wouldn't be able to stop from telling him. He said he was still friends with Malfoy, Hermione. I couldn't chance him tipping Malfoy off!"

Hermione took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to get through the pain of him not having faith in her. Didn't he know what she would do to Theo - mate or not - if he were to do something like that to her? Hadn't he remembered Marietta Edgecomb or Rita Skeeter? She could be vindictive when she needed to be. "I don't appreciate being left out of the loop or ignored," she said with finality. "If you want my help, Harry, you need to tell me everything."

Harry seemed to recognize that this was the truth. "Fine, from now on, we will all be honest with one another. Deal?" he asked, looking between Ron and Hermione.

"Deal," Hermione said readily, knowing that dealing with Voldemort was really bigger than them at this point.

"Fine," Ron agreed. "But don't expect me to just be cool with you and Nott, Hermione. I still say that he can't be trusted, and I will be keeping an eye on him."

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron's still possessive tone. "Let's get down to business, then," he said, pressing his hands together, before turning over to look at Remus and Bill. "Could you guys give us some space?" he asked.

Bill and Remus looked between one another before nodding eventually, stepping outside so that that trio could speak alone. "I don't really know if I should be keeping this from the Order," Harry said, cautiously. "But, Dumbledore said it was imperative I keep it to myself, not even to tell you two." He thought it over for a few more seconds, before finally deciding to open up to his oldest friends.

Hermione was on the edge of her seat as the whole story came pouring out of Harry. He told them everything, about Slughorn and Voldemort and how they had gone to look for a horcrux, one of seven they thought that Voldemort had made. Defeating the dark wizard had always seemed like an insurmountable task, but learning the truth made things seem even more impossible than ever. Hermione's stomach twisted in nerves as she tried to figure out how they were going to find them when they didn't even know what they were.

"Well, we know one of them is Slytherin's locket," Harry supplied, showing them the fake and passing the little note inside to Hermione to read over. "Dumbledore reckoned that the Diary I destroyed in second year was another, and he took care of a ring. But it still leaves five to find and destroy."

Letting her fingertips slide across the glassy surface of the locket, Hermione knew that it was a step in the right direction, but they still had a lot to figure out. And, as quickly as possible. Pursing her lips together, she racked her brain trying to figure out who R.A.B. really was. In the end, it wouldn't matter how difficult or impossible they found the task they had been left with.

They had no other choice but to complete it.