October 9th

Waking up in Draco's arms was an experience that Hermione could get used to quite easily. Though he hadn't attempted anything beyond the gentlest of kisses since her near-murder brought her to his flat, even when they were in the same bathtub, he'd made it clear without saying a word that when she felt her body was healed and she wanted him again, he would be there. She was able to push away her nagging fears that she couldn't trust him when she was enveloped in his embrace. It really was quite pathetic how she could ignore his past betrayals just because it felt nice to be there alone with him.

She knew that he was aware of her visit to Hogsmeade the day before. He might have tried to make it seem like he was disinterested in her activities and hadn't even bothered to get dressed for the day, but somehow she was aware that he followed her to Ron's house. Maybe it was because she told him not to or because he probably would've done it anyway. She couldn't be certain if he was simply acting under orders he'd received from his uncle or if it was something he did for his own personal reasons. Just one more thing to worry about. She feared her brain was reaching its full capacity. Regardless of his reasons, she knew she would be foolish to remain in his flat for much longer.

A few days had come and gone since Hermione had the unsettling conversation with Ginny when she was looking for Antonin. With the shock of the discovery of her husband's daughter beginning to wear off, she remembered her reason for trying to find him in the first place. Draco only stunned William Wood and Aubin. They were both still alive doing whatever they wished. If Aubin crossed Antonin's path, he could be in danger.

Pulling herself out of Draco's arms, Hermione excused herself to the large connected bathroom. Going to Ginny's had been a failure. She didn't know where else to go next. Part of her feared that Thorfinn would hurt her if she went to him again. No, she decided as she showered and prepared for another day. Thorfinn wouldn't want Antonin near him either. Not yet. His wounds were still fresh. She missed having a mentor, someone she could trust implicitly who would always be honest with her even if she didn't want to hear the truth. Before they were married and their relationship got complicated, Hermione had that with Antonin. And for a brief period of time, she had the same with Rodolphus.

An idea struck her as she was drying her hair, one that she was probably insane, but hadn't that described virtually all of her recent decisions? There was someone she trusted to be honest with her if she asked. Years might have come and gone since they last were anything resembling friends, but she knew she could trust him. By the time she was dressed and walking back into the bedroom she'd been sharing, she made up her mind to seek him out. He would know what to do next. He always knew what to do.

"Leaving again?"

Hermione sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down to kiss Draco. There was a note of concern in his voice. Maybe he feared she was running away again just like Antonin always worried. Though she knew it was dangerous to remain, she didn't want to leave nor did she have anywhere else to go.

"For a few hours."

She wouldn't give him any further details. He didn't ask. After another kiss that quickly deepened, she pulled away lest she convince herself to stay. There was enough temptation in that bed to encourage her to push her worries aside a little longer. She was feeling much stronger, almost completely healed. Giving into the silent pleading in his grey eyes would only satisfy her for a short time. Gently pushing him back onto his pillow, she stood.

"Please be careful, Hermione."

She was exhausted being told the same thing over and over. Without promising him, she left the room. Her nerves were already on edge. It didn't seem right to start the day by cursing her host. Not after he'd been so generous about sharing his home.

The entire journey from Draco's opulent flat to Kingsley's dingy one only took a few minutes, but in that time she almost managed to talk herself out of visiting the former auror. He'd made it perfectly clear the last time they spoke that he wasn't interested in joining their side because he hated her husband and fought alone. Would he really be interested in giving her counsel on what she should do next? Deciding the worst that could happen was him saying 'no', she knocked on his front door.

"Hermione? What are you doing here?"

Kingsley was surprised to find her standing just outside his home. She started to say something in answer to his question, but her words were cut off by the wizard pulling her into a tight hug. He hadn't been so demonstrative in his affection towards her for years. Was he really that pleased to see her again? Something felt off about the whole thing. She couldn't ignore her concerns even as she allowed him to pull her inside and close the door.

The first odd behavior of Kingsley's she noticed when she was inside his flat was the way his eyes kept cutting to the closed bathroom door. He wasn't alone. She couldn't imagine that she wasn't in any danger. Not caring in the slightest that it would be considered rude and she might be no match for his decades more of experience than she possessed, she removed her wand from her pocket. She'd already been a victim one too many times in recent days. She wasn't going to let it happen again. Ignoring his questions, Hermione squeezed her wand, never taking her eyes off of the bathroom door. It was always possible that Kingsley just had a woman in his flat. Hermione couldn't afford to take that risk, however. She had too many enemies. The doorknob turned and the door opened.

"Kings, have you seen my..?"

It wasn't a woman after all. How Hermione managed to stumble upon the place where her husband was in that exact moment, she didn't understand. Fresh from the shower and clad only in a towel, Antonin stared at her like he didn't trust what he was seeing. Of all of the places they could find themselves in together accidentally, how was it possible that they were in Kingsley's flat? Kingsley claimed they'd always hated each other.

"Look who just popped by, Antonin. Astonishing luck, isn't it?"

Antonin was across the small room in seconds. His arms wrapped around Hermione and crushed her tight against his chest. A deep sigh of relief fell from his mouth. Had he been worried about her?

"I went to the cottage. You weren't there and there was blood everywhere."

The depth of emotion in his voice threatened to overwhelm her senses. She could only imagine what he thought when he stumbled upon that scene and no indication that she was still alive. He had to have been terrified. Coupled with the fact that she had already almost been murdered at least twice before in recent memory, he had every reason to be frightened. Releasing his tight grip on her body, he stepped back enough that he could see her face. Running his fingertips gently across the mark on her face that hadn't fully healed yet, he looked sick. She knew how bad it looked. At least three inches long just underneath her eye, the mark would be there permanently. Both she and Draco tried to heal it with charms and potions. Nothing worked. The blade that Wood used was clearly cursed. Her prior experiences with cursed blades taught her that there was nothing that could be done about it.

"What happened?"

"Your brother, I'm afraid."

"Alain?"

His fear that his oldest younger brother was the culprit behind her attack almost made her laugh. While she never got the impression that Alain liked her much, she thought it had more to do with the way she treated his brother and nephew than anything to do with her heritage or blood status. On that point, she could agree wholeheartedly with her brother-in-law. She wasn't kind to her family when she was under the influence of her potions. She hoped that he came away with a better impression of her after his last visit.

"No. Apparently, your baby brother's ex-boyfriend is none other than William Wood. They've recently reconnected. Maybe this time those two crazy kids will make it work."

Antonin hated when she was flippant about her own safety. Sometimes she made jokes at inappropriate times. She wasn't sure when the bad habit started, likely some time after she became a Death Eater and she had to deal with horrors beyond her previous imaginings. Dark humor was common amongst people who lived around constant death. Sighing when she saw how frustrated her husband was, she grew more serious.

"Wood tracked me to the cottage weeks ago, but because of the Fidelius Charm couldn't see it. He knew the general location though because of his past romps with your brother that I don't even want to think about. He owled Aubin and he came back. They were able to see the cottage after Hannah… well, it was bad. It's only because of their incompetence that I was able to get away."

To remind himself that she was still there and all right, Antonin pulled her back into his arms. It felt good to be back there. Attempted murder had a way of pushing away even the worst of marital woes for the short-term.

"I swear that we will make them pay for what they did to you."

She caught Kingsley staring at them over Antonin's shoulder. The reason why Antonin was there still wasn't clear. Feeling the urge to make another joke to ease the sudden tension in the room, she pushed back a little to look in her husband's eyes.

"Why are you in Kingsley's flat? Are you two having an affair?"

The grimace on Kingsley's handsome face followed by his loud laughter answered her question before Antonin could even open his mouth. Stepping further back from her husband, she could see Antonin roll his eyes as the owner of the flat muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'he wishes' under his breath.

"Kings and I have been working together for a while now."

"How long?"

Both men exchanged a silent look at her question. When it seemed like neither of them would answer, she repeated herself. Antonin sighed.

"Eight years, was it, Kings?"

"Yes, that's when she… yes. Eight years."

It was impossible to miss Kingsley get flustered by the seemingly simple question. There was more to the story than they were saying. Eight years was a long time to have a secret partnership. Maybe it wasn't the most appropriate time to ask questions, but she wanted to know everything. Before she could ask a single one, Antonin continued.

"I had a bad feeling the other night. So I went back to the cottage and found nothing but blood. I was afraid it was Rodolphus."

"No, just your brother and my insane stalker, I'm afraid. Let's kill them both. I'd really hate to have to spend an entire Christmas with them."

She could tell that he was seriously considering it. Family meant a lot to Antonin. Even though he despised some members of his, he valued blood. Very little would entice him to want to actually murder his own brother. While torturing and attempting to kill his wife would definitely push him closer to committing murder, there was one fail-proof way she knew would nudge him in the right direction.

"Aubin says that he resents Oliver and me for keeping you away from the Dark Lord's position. Said that he hates us both and when he was done killing your 'Mudblood whore' that he'd go after the 'mongrel that fell out of' my 'well-used vagina'."

Anger that she'd rarely seen exploded onto his face. He'd been exceptionally angry with her the night that she admitted to ending her pregnancies without telling him. Standing in the middle of Kingsley's flat, he was even angrier. Aubin was a fool for threatening their son. She could tell that it was only a matter of time before he went on the hunt.

"Where have you been staying, Hermione?"

"Doesn't matter. It's safe."

For a reason she wasn't quite sure of, she wasn't ready to leave Draco's flat. Not yet. And she certainly couldn't tell Antonin where she was staying. He wouldn't understand. Instead of directing his anger towards her, he simply kissed her firmly on the mouth, the first affectionate gesture she could remember from him since that night in the castle.

"I suppose I deserve that."

She didn't want to have a fight, especially not in front of Kingsley. To his credit, Antonin simply kissed her again and promised her that he would find his brother. Neither of those men would ever touch her again. She believed him. No further mention was made of her current living arrangements. That was a discussion that they could have another time when emotions were less high.

"Thank you for inviting me in, Kingsley. Oddly enough, I came here to get your opinion on whether or not I should search for my husband and for any tips that you might have to point me in his direction."

Kingsley laughed.

"Glad I could be of some help."

She allowed her husband to kiss her one final time before she made her excuses to leave. After she returned to Draco's flat, she considered what her next move would be. It seemed that Antonin had his little brother and hopefully, William Wood taken care of. She could start working on her own plans.