June 15th

At the sound of her alarm blaring, Hermione rolled over on her side to shut it off. A pleasant ache in her body reminded her of the delightful end to her anniversary celebration the night before. Antonin had been insatiable. She teased her husband more than once during their exertions that he must have imbibed some kind of performance enhancing potion. He'd only laughed and plucked another delightful chord from her primed body. Perhaps the chef added a few special ingredients to his dishes to assist the couple in enjoying a night they'd remember. Certainly Hermione couldn't imagine forgetting any part of it any time soon.

She reached for the edge of the covers. There was no sense wasting time avoiding getting out of bed. Before she could set her feet on the floor, she felt Antonin's body slide behind hers. He pressed his lips to her bare shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist. Pressing up against her thigh was further proof that he didn't want to let her go.

"Stay home today."

Even after a pleasurably exhausting night, she was very tempted to give in to his request. Nothing at the Ministry seemed nearly as important as what was happening right inside their bed. The Dolohovs might not have always liked each other much, but there was never any denying that they had excellent chemistry. Antonin's hand slid down her bare body leaving goosebumps on her flesh wherever it touched. His lips and tongue traced patterns on her shoulders and neck. She had to bite back a sigh that she knew would only encourage him.

"Stay here and let me taste every inch of you."

"You don't think you did that last night?"

"I want to do it again."

He lifted her thigh and slowly pressed inside her body for the countless time. The sigh she was trying to stifle came out at the intrusion. Yes, the Ministry could wait just a little bit longer. It wasn't as if she was really doing any serious work there anyway. Antonin's pace remained languid and unhurried. In his mind, surely he was hoping that he could entice her to stay in bed all day. He was almost successful. Up until the very moment that his deft and practiced fingers pulled another trembling orgasm from his wife and he followed behind only seconds later, she was of the opinion that there were worse ways to spend her time.

"You are a very evil man."

Antonin laughed as she climbed out of bed, her legs still a bit unsteady. She glared at him over her shoulder with no heat. His eyes raked over her bare body, proving his appreciation for her form even after so many years was still evident. It made her cheeks flush. Pushing aside the desire to crawl back in next to him and forget her responsibilities and their less-than-convivial past, she forced her way to the shower.

All morning long her mind kept returning to the events of the previous evening. She decided that she would need to get Antonin drunk on champagne more often. He was much more pleasant and enjoyable after a few drinks. She was glad that Rabastan wasn't present in the office to ruin her mood. Wherever he was didn't matter. Remembering Antonin's words the night before about wishing to run away with his family to an island thousands of kilometers away struck her as being very interesting. Did he no longer have ambitions to ascend to the throne to be the next Dark Lord?

She'd never once, for even a single second, desired to replace their master. Even if he no longer had his horcruxes, Hermione was half-convinced he would never die. Imagining being his successor was moot at that point. Lord Voldemort would outlive them all. When the trickles of doubt plagued her and she imagined him toppling, she never saw herself taking over. Antonin? Yes, absolutely. He was the logical choice. Years of being the Dark Lord's right hand prepared him for the position. For him to admit now, even candidly to his wife, that he wanted to run could be his downfall. What if someone like Rabastan or Nott heard him say something so bold? He was being reckless to admit something so personal.

Friday passed quickly to her great relief. She was exhausted. There had been little time to sleep the night before. Not that she was complaining. The Antonin she was with was much more pleasant to be around than some of his other personalities. Stifling yet another yawn, Hermione checked the time. It was late enough in the day that no one would blame her for going home. As she arranged the files she'd been reviewing in neat stacks, a knock at the door annoyed her. It would be just her luck to be stopped by some worthless visitor moments before she was free of the horrid place for two full days.

"Yes? What do you want?"

She barked out her question, not even bothering to look up. If it was her worthless assistant bothering her, she would finally grant Rabastan his wish to get rid of her. It was no longer fun torturing him with Rachel's unwanted presence if she started annoying Hermione too.

"I was hoping you could spare a few minutes to speak privately."

Hermione dropped the files she was shuffling at the sound of the voice she hadn't heard in months. Standing just inside the doorframe, Augustus looked as if it physically pained him to be there. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn't unreasonable to expect him to drop by her office eventually when he learned where she was. Deciding to try her best to put everything unpleasant behind them, she crossed the office to greet him properly with a hug. Stiff and tense at first, she feared his pride wouldn't let him give in. Finally, Augustus sighed and returned the affection.

"That wasn't so hard, was it, Augie?"

As she teased her former lover, Hermione's eye caught Rachel watching the two of them. No doubt she was taking notes of everything that was happening in hopes to get back into good graces with Rabastan. The girl was desperate for reasons that her boss didn't understand.

"Let's talk, but not here."

"Meet me at my house in five minutes?"

"I'll meet you on the beach next to your house. That'll be safer."

He started to argue, but decided against it. Spending even a moment inside his house was a recipe for trouble. She didn't want to get caught in an awkward position. Augustus kissed her cheek, offered Hermione an innocent reason for stopping by her office for a minute loudly enough for Rachel to hear, and walked away towards the lifts. She took her time organizing her files to give him a few minutes' head start. When she thought enough time passed to make it seem unlikely that she was following him, she exited.

Augustus stood in the sand staring out at the ocean waves. Though Hermione knew this was likely to be an uncomfortable conversation, she directed her steps straight to him the moment her Apparition deposited her onto the beach. He tried to offer her a smile, but it fell flat. They began an awkward walk across the sand unspeaking at first. Of course, Augustus had always had a bad habit of saying too much.

"I was only in France a week before I was able to come back."

Hermione sighed. It was only ever going to be a matter of time until they had this conversation. Best to just get it over with.

"Do you know how disappointing it was to come home and find you gone?"

"It wasn't safe for me to stay there any longer, Augie. Antonin found me. He almost caught me."

His reaction was to scoff and roll his eyes. Despite all of his years, he could act like a petulant child when it suited him. For once, Hermione found it annoying instead of mildly charming. She wasn't in the mood to deal with him. If he didn't stop or get to his point quickly, she was going to leave.

"Were you the one who told Antonin where he could find me?"

Augustus shook his head. The question of how she was discovered there still hadn't been answered. Draco claimed Fenrir was the one who revealed her location, but she wasn't convinced. Fenrir never once betrayed her. Why would he start now? Of course, it was always possible, and even most likely, that Antonin simply showed up on his own. Why would Draco bother to lie at all? She stopped that line of thinking before it could go too far. Draco's suspicious motivations could be examined later.

"Were you lying to me when you promised that the reason you wouldn't come back with me was not because you wanted to go back to Antonin?"

She sighed, suddenly exhausted in every part of her body. Did he really come all the way from France just to ask her if she was lying about her true feelings for her husband? Yes, she decided. That was exactly the sort of dramatic gesture he would make.

"Augie, you're being ridiculous."

A copy of that morning's Daily Prophet was shoved into her hands. It was already opened to a section way in the back that Hermione rarely looked at. She could understand his anger, his insecurity, maybe even excuse it. Splashed across the society page was an article about her wedding anniversary celebration the night before. A photo where the couple appeared to be quite happy accompanied. Captured right at the moment Antonin was whispering to his wife and then kissing her without thought or care who was watching, it was definitely incriminating. She looked up to see the hurt present in Augustus' eyes.

"Augie…"

She wasn't sure she could tell him the truth of why she was really back with Antonin. He might support her efforts to get Dumbledore released, but he was also likely to try to keep her safe by exposing her plan. It was just too risky. He'd already proven he was willing to tell on her when he was worried. She couldn't afford to fail. Pushing the paper back in his hands, she made a decision.

"Go back home to France, Augie."

It was time she went back home herself. She took a step away, but his next statement stopped her from moving any further.

"I've been recalled. Dark Lord's orders. I'm not going back to France again. Not for awhile anyway."

Hermione didn't want him in the country. It was easier to forget about him when he was gone. Why did he have to come back into her life to muck everything up when she finally had a plan? Could he not see that he wasn't wanted?

Except… he was. She could easily see falling back into his embrace. It was why she needed him to leave her alone. Almost as if he could read her mind, Augustus pulled her into his arms and kissed her. The feel of his lips against hers was exactly what she needed to remind herself they could never be together again. No matter how much she wanted it. She pushed him away. With pure grit and determination, she was able to cloak her magic to allow her to Apparate to Number Twelve.

Her mind was still reeling from the unexpected turn to her ordinary day as she checked that her potion was still bubbling away as it should. Relieved that Draco didn't stop by to upset her further, she calmed herself again enough to cloak her magic to return to Hogsmeade.

Antonin was already home. Seated at the kitchen table with an open bottle of fire whiskey and a full glass, she could tell he was in a foul mood. Experience taught her it was always best to avoid him when he was like that.