September 26th

She waited for the confusion that was sure to come. Why else would Rodolphus pin her up against a brick wall and kiss her until she desired nothing more than to let him do with her body whatever it was that he desired? There must have been a potion on his lips to force her into the terrified, paranoid state where she didn't know where she was or even what year it was. All night Hermione waited for her next episode. Well into the next day she was convinced that it would happen. She even kept one of Antonin's potions nearby her at all times to drink when the inevitable happened.

But, it never came. Not even a mild confusion. She didn't know what to think. Did Rodolphus kiss her in the darkness simply because he wanted to? Had she been wrong about his true intentions? As she waited for the darkness that was sure to engulf her, she thought back to their conversation in the White Wyvern. He didn't make much sense to her. More than once he told her that she was wrong about his intentions, that he never wanted to harm her. Was that true? She couldn't understand the man.

As much as she hated herself for doing so, she started to question her own memories. What if what she believed was true wasn't? What if her new memories weren't real at all? She had been so certain before she returned home to Hogsmeade that Antonin had been the physically violent one in their relationship. It made the most logical sense after all. His temper was legendary. It was how he kept so many afraid of him for so long. The Dark Lord used to make her husband punish her physically for her wrongdoings, perceived or otherwise. It wasn't much of a stretch of the imagination that he would bring that violence home. After all, it wasn't exactly like they had the happiest of homes to begin with.

And who was Babajide Akingbade anyway? Before he came to her house and started rooting around in her brain, she didn't know him. He was a complete stranger. As much as she cared about Alain, his word alone shouldn't have been enough to convince her to allow a strange man to peer into her mind. Especially since she knew that Alain's true loyalty was, and always had been, entirely with his elder brother. What if Mr. Akingbade was just a part of Antonin's plan to confuse her true memories with fake ones? And the nasty trick Mr. Akingbade played on her was still happening. Every single day the faces of every person she'd ever killed flashed in her mind one after another. Some days it happened more than once. She couldn't make them stop. At least once a day she felt sick to her stomach as she was forced to remember every single victim. What sort of dark treachery was that anyway?

Hermione could afford to trust no one. Not even her husband. Hadn't he proven that he would do whatever it took to get what he wanted? The ends always justified the means in Antonin Dolohov's opinion. Besides, he was not an enemy one would wish to have. His anger over her lying about her pregnancies wasn't likely to dissipate any time soon. It was entirely possible that he would never forgive her for what she did in the past. She needed to remember how to rely on no one but herself again.

Maybe Rodolphus was right…

The instant that thought crossed Hermione's mind she knew she'd allowed her wonderings to go too far. Was she seriously about to ignore everything she knew about the man simply because of one conversation and a heated kiss she swore she could still feel on her lips? It was all madness, just sheer madness. She couldn't believe that she'd allowed him to manipulate her again, to make her feel like she was losing her mind. No, he was wrong.

She needed to get away from the cottage and into the presence of other people. Too much time alone would destroy all of the progress she'd been making. Rodolphus was just trying to make doubt her own sanity. "Gaslighting" was what it was called. Once outside of his presence and able to calm down, she could finally remember the words she'd been trying to think of. She was not crazy. She wouldn't allow that horrible man, or any other for that matter, to ever make her question her sanity again.

By mid-afternoon Wednesday, Hermione had had enough. Once she was certain her beaded bag was packed, she stepped out of the cottage. If she never returned to that dreadful place, she would be perfectly all right with that. Where she would go if she chose not to return was still uncertain. Thankfully, she knew she still had several friends and allies who would probably still be willing to provide her with shelter. At least until she could figure out her next moves.

Outside of the protective wards of the cottage, she headed straight for Hogsmeade. Maybe it wasn't the smartest decision to return to a village full of people who hated her and wouldn't shed a tear if she died, but she didn't care. Landing in front of the Rowles' home, she knocked, hoping someone was home.

Hannah opened the door with a bright, welcoming smile only moments later. Inviting her unexpected guest inside, she acted as if she regularly had friends over for tea who could bring death and destruction on her entire family. Hermione was never quite sure if she envied Hufflepuffs for their loyalty and ability to see the good in everyone they met or if she resented them and thought them foolish or stupid. Maybe it was a little of both. As much as she'd come to admire Hufflepuffs and wish she was more like them, she still didn't understand the first thing about them.

"Finn took Alice to Diagon Alley to pick out a new kitten."

She rolled her eyes even as she smiled.

"With her sisters at school, she told him last night that she was 'awfully lonely' and thought she would be less sad if she had a kitten."

"And he promised her whatever she wanted?"

"Of course he did. He's never been able to tell any of our girls 'no' even when he should."

They both chuckled at the adequate description of her husband. For such a fearless, enormous Death Eater with a terrible reputation for reckless fury and battle rage, he was no match for any of his blonde, beautiful daughters.

"See what I told you about Alice being a Slytherin? Mark my words, next year she'll be Sorted into her daddy's House."

"I think you're probably right."

"So what brings you to Hogsmeade? Is everything all right?"

It meant more to Hermione than Hannah could possibly ever know that she didn't just immediately jump to questions about Antonin and the state of their crumbling marriage. No doubt it was the topic at the top of her mind. She simply was too kind to jump right in and demand answers.

"Everything is fine. I'm just bored of being stuck in that cottage alone."

"Has Antonin not come back then?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

She sighed, not really in the mood to talk about her husband but knowing it would be rude not to. Antonin was their friend too. If she discovered that he'd been by the Rowle home several times since he left, she wouldn't have been surprised. Of course, that was assuming that he could tear himself away from Ginny Weasley long enough to come up for air.

"But don't worry about him. I've seen with my own eyes that he's doing perfectly all right."

It was evident that there was a great deal more to that story than Hermione was saying. Not wishing to make her guest uncomfortable, Hannah stood up from the table they'd only just sat down at to suggest they take a walk around the village. The weather was still quite nice for late September and they should take advantage of it while they still could. Winter seemed to come a lot faster in that corner of the world than most others. Hermione recognized that she was leading her out into the fresh air in hopes that it would calm her down. She wasn't as subtle in her machinations as she imagined. Hufflepuffs rarely were.

"You're not worried that we'll be too exposed if we walk around the village? We could draw unwanted attention to ourselves."

"I'm not afraid to be seen with you, Hermione, if that's what you're worried about. I'm also not afraid of the village I've been living in for fifteen years. I refuse to be afraid in my home."

Very little could sway the opinion of a Hufflepuff with their mind made up. With a smile, Hermione finally agreed. It would be nice to enjoy the outdoors. She felt like she'd spent too much of her life in recent months wasting away indoors. While she had been on the run, she'd gotten used to being outside and active just about every day. It was something that she was surprised to discover she enjoyed very much. When she dedicated her life to her work at the Ministry, she almost never took time to enjoy the simple things in life like a long walk.

"Emmy sent me an owl this morning. She said that Ollie is back to his normal self again… annoying her endlessly and following her around the castle."

Both women chuckled. Young love could be frightfully adorable. Hermione was glad to hear that her son was doing all right. She was ashamed to admit that she hadn't given him as much thought as she should have since she last saw him in the castle. Between her exhaustion that made her almost insane and then witnessing her husband with his surprising mistress and then her unexpected meeting with Rodolphus, she'd had her mind focused on other matters. As much as the man annoyed her and repulsed her just the slightest, she trusted that Temeritus Mulciber would follow through on his word to make sure her son remained safe.

"I appreciate your daughter keeping an eye on him. I didn't get a chance to thank her that night in the castle."

"Not to worry. There was a lot going on that night."

Hermione was glad to see that there were few villagers out wandering the streets. Because she didn't have quite the same trust in her fellow man that Hannah did, she was worried that her presence would not be welcomed. There were still a number of people out there who didn't want her around. She was a symbol to many of an inferior bloodline trying to worm their way into Pureblood society and a reminder of the harshness of the regime under the Dark Lord to others. Plenty of enemies wouldn't mind being the one to cast the spell that ended her life.

"You said you've seen Antonin. I take it that it wasn't under the best circumstances?"

A heaviness landed square on Hermione's shoulders when the other woman brought up her husband. She knew that it would make her feel better to talk about what she saw, but she didn't want to. It was too embarrassing. Besides, how would Hannah even be able to relate to what she was going through? Thorfinn wouldn't even look at an another woman. There was no reason to ask if her husband had ever strayed. Hermione knew the answer. Not least of all because there were several times over the years that she tried to proposition the burly blond herself and he would have none of it.

"I think I was foolish to imagine that there would ever be a day when we might actually have a normal marriage that others take for granted. That's just simply not in the cards for us, I'm afr…"

They turned a corner down a silent street. Instantly, Hermione felt ill at ease. She felt the same presence that she'd felt before in the area surrounding the cottage. Just as she had before, she didn't feel safe. Stopping their walk, she turned towards Hannah to warn the other witch that she felt unsafe. Without having the benefit of years under her belt as a Death Eater, Hannah wouldn't necessarily even be able to recognize when she might be in danger. She likely lacked the honed instincts always expecting danger.

"Hermione, look…!"

Hannah wasn't even able to get the full warning out of her mouth. With wide eyes filled with terror at something she was seeing behind Hermione's back, she tried to scream out. A bright flash of green light hit her straight in the chest before she could finish. Collapsing to the pavement with her beautiful blue eyes still wide open, she was dead.

The shock of the horrific act left Hermione paralyzed for just a moment. Regaining her composure, she moved to face their attacker with her wand at the ready, a dozen curses waiting on her tongue, but she wasn't fast enough. Struck in the back of the head with something heavy, she fell to the ground without ever seeing who it was behind her. Everything happened so quickly and without any sort of warning beyond a simple uncomfortable feeling in her gut. It was all over in just a few heartbeats.