April 5th

Waking up in Augustus' embrace was a surprise Hermione hadn't been expecting. Part of her felt like the previous two nights had all been a dream. She certainly never believed that she would once again be back in the same place with the man who once meant so much to her. Too much time passed. It was all too easy to ignore the warnings shouting inside her brain to snuggle deeper into his arms.

The exhaustion that plagued them both, one because of his injuries and one because of her travels and anxiety, meant that neither one of them stirred from bed for many hours that first day, long past the point that it was acceptable to remain in bed. Hermione knew that it was wrong to take advantage of the situation. Just her mere presence was putting them both in a great deal of danger. Antonin wasn't likely to give up on the notion that she was somehow tucked away in one of the dark corners of the old Rookwood house.

Her husband's jealousy was legendary. Everyone who had ever spent even a single moment in his presence knew that it was the emotion that affected him above all others. If he thought that the Dark Lord was paying more attention to a lesser-deserving Death Eater, the unlucky recipient would find themselves in possession of a new enemy. He was not timid about removing those he considered a hindrance to his path of total power. When someone looked upon his wife with anything bordering on lust or admiration, he grew angry. Many times in their marriage Hermione had to shout at him that she was a person, not his possession.

And Antonin's hatred for Augustus was also legendary. There had been a time, long ago, when the two men would've considered each other friends. Certainly when her protector arrived at Antonin's house that first time after she left the window open, her teacher had been happy to see him and invite him in for tea. Their friendship soured soon after it became evident that Augustus' purposes for being in his house were a bit more nefarious than he cared for. When Hermione didn't return from France with the others after her first mission without him, her future husband considered removing his competition from the equation entirely.

Yes, it made perfect sense that Antonin would come running straight to Cornwall. The largest reason why she refused to stay any length of time in his house after Augustus took her out of the Leaky Cauldron was because she had the suspicion that her husband would eventually make his way there to see for himself that she was hidden. Likely he'd been there over a dozen times since she disappeared. He probably had even been to France more than once to make sure the Ambassador wasn't keeping his wife tucked away in a little cottage in the French countryside. Where Augustus was concerned, Antonin would never be able to think clearly and without the raging jealousy that had always been a part of his personality. Because of his known feelings, she couldn't ignore the worry in the back of her mind that she should've seen him approach Augustus' house at least once when she was hidden in the grove. She knew she could've been asleep for one, possibly two visits. All three? Highly unlikely. Something was off.

When she first tried to stir from the bed, Augustus' arms tightened their hold. He was in no hurry to let her go. She just had to laugh. He had always been possessive. Truthfully, she didn't really want to leave either. It felt peaceful back in his bed again. Even if nothing beyond the kiss to the top of her head happened, she was glad to have had the opportunity to relax in his arms once more. It was almost like jumping back into the past.

"Don't leave just yet. I'm afraid if I let you walk out that door, I'll never see you again."

"It would probably be best for both of us if you didn't."

Augustus' sigh tickled the sensitive skin on her shoulder. She forced her body not to shiver. It would send the wrong signal. As much as her mind might have been rushing to thoughts of recreating some of their best moments from the days when they couldn't keep their hands off of each other, Hermione knew it wasn't a good idea. Not only was he still recovering from his injuries, but that presented a set of complications that she just wasn't prepared to deal with. Not yet.

"I've been worried about you since the first time Antonin dropped by. He told me you were attacked by the Resistance."

Hermione wondered what happened to Aberforth Dumbledore after she Disapparated away. Part of her felt guilty that he got caught up in the mess. The rest of her, however, wasn't too concerned. He knew from the very beginning what he was getting mixed up in when he chose to ignore the Dark Lord's generous offer of continuing to operate his pub in Hogsmeade for just the simple act of swearing his loyalty. He could've spent the remaining years of his life happily living in the village that he'd made his home. It wasn't exactly like he hadn't been used to serving questionable clientele. The bread and butter of his business was made up of those souls who weren't exactly welcome to cross the threshold of Madam Rosmerta's more respectable establishment.

"It was more that I attacked the Resistance."

She knew from bits and pieces of information that Draco and Ginny granted her that Augustus was mixed up in the whole nasty business too. Even over a decade since they were forced to end their romance, he was still pulling the strings he could to keep her protected. What his part in the whole planned revolution was was still unclear. Knowing that if there was one person alive that she should still be able to trust, she elaborated.

"Aberforth Dumbledore was teaching me how to cloak my magic. I wanted to be able to cast spells without Antonin being able to use the Trace to find me."

"What happened? Antonin said you'd stunned the wizard. I didn't realize it was Dumbledore."

"He grabbed me. I didn't appreciate it. Instead of cloaking my magic, I made a mistake. Stunned him by instinct."

If Dumbledore was able to escape from the predicament she put him in, he would be a genuine miracle worker. She didn't think it was possible though. Which meant that he was likely in the custody of the Death Eaters. Probably had already been dragged back to Hogsmeade and then on to Hogwarts to await his fate. Despite it still being a functional school, the castle had many uses those days. Much like the third floor corridor had been off-limits her first year, there were entire sections of the school, especially down in the dungeons, that were forbidden. Dumbledore was most likely in one of the cramped cells deep in the bowels of the castle. Or, he could be in Rabastan's custody in the Ministry of Magic. Neither location was much better than the other.

The Resistance would never trust her again. Not that they had already. Besides few people knowing that she was receiving lessons from the wizard, it looked bad. He was attacked, Death Eaters arrived, and she disappeared. It wouldn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to believe she'd orchestrated the whole ordeal. After many, many years of eluding the Dark Lord, she'd been able to deliver Dumbledore right into his hands. She wouldn't blame anyone for thinking she'd done it on purpose.

At least she no longer had to worry that they would call upon her to become a spy. It was small comfort. She truly did feel badly that she'd been the reason why one of the main leaders of the Resistance was captured. He'd been kind to her, in his own way. Because of him, she might even one day be able to escape from the country completely. She would always be grateful for what he taught her in those few lessons.

"I'm starving and you need to eat something to keep your strength up. Old men like you take longer to heal."

Hermione wiggled out of his grasp. She needed a few minutes to herself. Augustus' amused chuckles followed her out of the bedroom.